Author: WyattPitts

If you had heard the sermons “Marks of a True Conversion” and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, would you have assumed that you were the target? Marks of a True Conversion was a sermon spoken and written be George Whitefield. According to Wikipedia, “George Whitefield, also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at the University of Oxford in 1732.” He was alive from 1714-1770. He might be best known for being a central figure in the Great Awakening. According to Bartleby.com, “It (the sermon) is representative of the Great Awakening. It was a revival sermon, the goal was to gain conversions to Christ, the sermon used detailed imagery as rhetoric, it was Calvinistic. But, it didn’t focus on the role of the local church. It assumed the conventional preaching had not produced conversions.“

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God  was a sermon by Jonathan Edwards. According to Wikipedia, “”Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon written by the American theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached to his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts, to profound effect, and again on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. The preaching of this sermon was the catalyst for the First Great Awakening.” Who was Jonathan Edwards? According to Wikipedia, “Jonathan Edwards was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian. A leading figure of the American Enlightenment, Edwards is widely regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians.”

If you had heard the sermons “Marks of a True Conversion” and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, would you have assumed that you were the target? According to Bartleby.com, “His (Edwards’) sermons were intended as a wake-up call for those who underplayed the majesty of a holy God and overemphasized their own worthiness as a decent, hard-working, successful citizens. Edwards believed strongly that only a genuine conversion experience should qualify a person for church membership.” Both of their sermons were a wake-up call for Christians. So would I feel as if I was the target of the sermons? Yes. The sermons were for Christians, not for converting people to Christianity. So yes I would feel like a target of these sermons. 

Is a tax-supported school different in principle from a tax-supported church? According to Wikipedia, “A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer by a governmental organization in order to collectively fund government spending, public expenditures, or as a way to regulate and reduce negative externalities.” Taxing is just another way for the government to rob us. Being tax-supported is when the government is giving something the taxes that we pay, even if we don’t want them to. 

Is a tax-supported school different in principle from a tax-supported church? There is really no difference. The government gives that church or school money, but in return they make the church or school teach what they want. Public schools are tax-supported. Those schools teach some of the biggest lies this generation came up with. The teachers are forced to teach what the government wants, even if they don’t believe it. The same goes for tax-supported churches. The only difference is one is a church and one is a school. So they teach different things, but the things that the government wants. Not the truth. Private schools are not tax-funded and kids who come from those are much smarter than public school kids. Or they should be. My church is not tax-supp0rted and we’re doing great without the government. We even have a private school there. 

If you had been a member of the General Court, how would the sermon Theopolis Americana have influenced your politics? Theopolis Americana was a sermon written by a man named Cotton Mather. It was basically an  extended description of Revelation 21:21. “The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” According to Wikipedia, Cotton Mather was “a New England Puritan child prodigy, clergyman, theologian, and writer. Beginning his Harvard College undergraduate education at age twelve, he is the youngest person ever to be admitted there.”

This sermon was written to the Massachusetts General Assembly, which is also known as the General Court. Mather was hoping that His sermon would change the General Court in how they viewed politics, how they change their laws, and possibly how they think. There were parts of his sermon that were messy and other parts were very serious and extreme. This is because he needed to be vague and general. He needed to keep it civil, because he couldn’t risk dividing up the legislators in being more specific than he needed to be. There were many criticisms in his sermon. Many of these were being dealt with 0r already dealt with, Some of these problems were contract violations, commercial dishonesty, business corruption, and this includes the kidnapping of African slaves. He quoted Richard Baxter to describe how horrible it was to kidnap people from a different continent and force them to work in yours as slaves. He also describes his dislike of alcohol and its overuse. He says h0w he isn’t against it, but he doesn’t encourage it. He only says that he hates its excessive use, but he doesn’t want it banned. He doesn’t give an explanation. He just says he hates its excessive use. He wants them to solve the problem themselves. 

If you had been a member of the General Court, how would the sermon Theopolis Americana have influenced your politics? I don’t think it would. The General Court already knew the problems of the thing that he criticized. If they didn’t already change it, then why would they change. 

1: I’m homeschooled. Many people don’t like homeschoolers for multiple reasons although their reasons aren’t very good. Because I’m homeschooled I’m self  disciplined, I listen to instruction, I’m  diligent, and other things. 

2: I’m a Christian. People hate Christians for multiple reasons. Some of these are misconceptions, but there are Christians out there who do things that they would get hated for. Because I’m a Christian I do my best to obey, listen, and things like this. There are things that I don’t like to be around when I work. Cursing, fighting, LGBTQ, and other things like this.  

Other than the things covered in these two points, I don’t thing there’s much more that someone could want in an employee, other than knowing what they’re doing. 

In what ways was Penn an advocate of middle class morality? According to Wikipedia, “William Penn was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era.” Penn is best known for founding Pennsylvania. The name Pennsylvania was based on his father Admiral Sir William Penn, a British naval officer. Penn was one of the most important people to influence religious freedom in the states. He also wrote a book called “Fruits of Solitude”. This was a book of aphorisms. According to Wikipedia, “The term middle-class values is used by various writers and politicians to include such qualities as hard work, self-discipline, thrift, honesty, aspiration and ambition. Thus, people in lower or upper classes can also possess middle-class values, they are not exclusive to people who are actually middle-class.“

In what ways was Penn an advocate of middle class morality? Penn’s book “Fruits of Solitude” was just aphorisms. According to the dictionary aphorisms are “a pithy observation that contains a general truth.” They usually have themes like luxury, truth, servant, master, religion, passion, knowledge, discipline, ignorance, pride, and many others. Aphorisms should have a moral to them, but almost none of Penn’s aphorisms have morals. There are many aphorisms in this book that aren’t true aphorisms. In his book “Fruits of Solitude”, he makes it obvious that he is completely fine with the “middle path”. He wants those reading his book to take the “middle path”. If we have the choice between riches and rags, we should choose the middle path. That’s essentially what he’s saying. He wants people to have a healthy balance in life, the middle path. 

The views of Cotton, Winthrop, and Rowlandson regarding the Puritans’ errand in the wilderness.

1: John Winthrop. According to Wikipedia “John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of colonists from England in 1630 and served as governor for 12 of the colony’s first 20 years.” John Winthrop is probably best known for being the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He’s also known for being a leading Puritan founder of New England. Both of these people were authors who wrote about the emigration to New England in America from Europe. There were many puritans that instead of getting closer to the truth of why they left, some got farther. This is very similar to the Israelites leaving to Canaan. 

2: John Cotton. According to Wikipedia, “John Cotton was a clergyman in England and the American colonies, and was considered the preeminent minister and theologian of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He studied for five years at Trinity College, Cambridge, and nine years at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. John Cotton was the speaker of a speech called “God’s Promise to His Plantation.” In this speech, Cotton talked about how leaving Europe and going to America was a part of Gods will. He also said that America would be free for settlement for the Pilgrims once they arrived. Today, people debate on whether this speech was given before they began their journey, or during the trip. He also regarded their journey like the Israelites leaving for Canaan. 

3: Mary Rowlandson. She was a ministers wife, who like every other woman was expected to keep her mouth shut, obey her husband, and not interfere. However she was kidnaped by Indians and when she returned to her home wrote a book on it. She had a terrible time with the Indians who didn’t treat her well, but she believed that God was keeping her alive. 

Do I have what it takes to become an entrepreneur? What is an entrepreneur? This is a very simple question that I will answer in this essay. According to the dictionary, an entrepreneur is “a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.” What I believe an entrepreneur to be is someone who wants to help the community and is willing to take risks in doing so. They are someone who has an idea that will help the community, does it, and their not always successful, but that’s the risk in entrepreneurship. I believe everyone has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. All you need is a good idea that helps the community, a want to help, knowledge that your business could very likely fail, and some money to start. Let’s go through these statements and I’ll explain why you have what it takes. 

I don’t have any ideas: This is simple. You don’t always need a good idea. You just need to solve a problem in your community. People love when a problem is solved and you can help with that. It could be a product that helps with their everyday life. 

I don’t want to help: Why wouldn’t you want to help?! Luke 6:38 says “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” God loves when we want to help others. It also earns you money. 

I’m going to fail: Yes, it is very likely that you are going to fail. This is because of the government. THEY CHEAT! The government gives other companies protectionism, subsidies, and if they don’t like what your doing they’ll make a law that hurts your business. So yes, the government will make you fail, but it isn’t the only thing. There is also competition. You probably think that competition is a bad thing, but it’s actually great for your business. Competition forces you to improve your business, so make your company better and now you only have to deal with the government. 

I don’t have the money: That is probably true. You may not have the money, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a loan from the government. You can also ask some people close to you if they can lend you money and you can pay them back when you do well

Solve all of these problems and you may have a great business (if the government doesn’t mess it up). 

How did Cotton and Winthrop view the emigrating people’s connection with the Old Testament? Who was Cotton. His last name was Cotton. First and last was John Cotton. According to Wikipedia, “John Cotton was a clergyman in England and the American colonies, and was considered the preeminent minister and theologian of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He studied for five years at Trinity College, Cambridge, and nine years at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.’” Winthrop’s first name was also John. According to Wikipedia “John Winthrop was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of colonists from England in 1630 and served as governor for 12 of the colony’s first 20 years.” John Winthrop is probably best known for being the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He’s also known for being a leading Puritan founder of New England. Both of these people were authors who wrote about the emigration to New England in America from Europe. 

John Cotton was the speaker of a speech called “God’s Promise to His Plantation.” In this speech, Cotton talked about how leaving Europe and going to America was a part of Gods will. He also said that America would be free for settlement for the Pilgrims once they arrived. Today, people debate on whether this speech was given before they began their journey, or during the trip. Cotton’s reason for the pilgrims going to America was better employment, their own colony, business opportunities, and freedom to choose which religion to have. In England, they were being forced to have the religion that parliament wanted them to have. 

Winthrop was in charge of the Puritan fleet sailing to America. He wrote about the problems of not knowing what to expect when arriving in America. 

Both Winthrop and Cotton spoke of the Old Testament commandments when they spoke to the puritans and their journey was similar to the Israelites journey in the Bible. 

How does making a budget reduce impulse shopping? According to Consumer.gov, “A budget is a plan you write down to decide how you will spend your money each month. A budget helps you make sure you will have enough money every month. Without a budget, you might run out of money before your next paycheck.” A budget is extremely helpful. Adults budget and kids budget. Budgeting helps you save money and buy things you need instead of junk. Adults use budgets to better take care of their family, pay for taxes, and make sure they have enough for whatever else they need. Kids use budgets to save up for college, a car, a family, and other thing that they’ll need for the future. 

According to Verywell Mind, “Impulse shopping involves buying items that a person was not planning to purchase.” This happens almost every time I go to the store with my mom. We go in for five things and we come out with twenty. Women do this almost every time they go in a store. Because of this, they don’t get everything that they need and go into debt. This is where a budget comes in. With a budget you can get everything that you need and have some leftover for yourself. People don’t budget for multiple reasons, one of which is because they think it’s too hard. It’s really not. Every time you get paid you need to set some money aside for taxes, some for food, some for supplies, and any leftover can be for yourself or you can save up. 

So how does a budget reduce impulse shopping. A budget helps you save money. If y make a budget, then you’ll have an excuse for not buying everything you see. A budget will save you money and time. A budget stops people from spending everything on what they want, and so it stops impulse shopping. 

Was Bradford’s account a morality tale for future generations? Who was William Bradford? William Bradford was an emigrant to Plymouth Colony in 1620. While in Plymouth, he wrote a book called Of Plymouth Plantation. According to Study.com, “ This book focuses mainly on the journey of the pilgrims from England to North America and discusses the founding of the Plymouth settlement. It gives his opinions on the biblical importance of the pilgrims reaching America and their struggles. The second book was not completely finished because of Bradford’s death.” This essay is about Bradfords account. This book was Bradfords account. Because of this, I’m going to simplify the book for you. 

this book begins with many Europeans fleeing England because of persecution. These emigrants fled to Leiden. Leiden is across the ocean from England in the Netherlands. Anyway, the emigrants stayed in Leiden for twelve years. While they were there, they had a debate of whether to stay or not. They chose to leave and hired a ship and some left Holland. Apparently at Southampton, the promised supplies were less than they expected. So they had to sell supplies to gain one hundred pounds. When they were about to start one of their ships the Speedwell had a leak, so some of those people boarded the mayflower while the rest went back to London. The Pilgrims landed at Cap Code and spent November there. In December they sent ten men to scout to find a better place to stay. Some Indians attacked the men, but they scared them away with their guns. Nobody was hurt. The ten men soon found a harbor and told the others. The pilgrims moved their and built a storehouse and a small house. Half of the pilgrims died by then because of no food, the cold, and a disease called scurvy. And now for the part that everyone knows. Squanto and Samoset arrived. Squanto lived in England for a time because he was kidnapped as a kid. At England he learned English, so he was the translator for everyone. They showed the pilgrims how to hunt, farm, and fish. Soon the chief Massasoit arrives and makes a treaty with them. Then the pilgrim started getting threats from local Indians. This forced them to build a wall and soon a fort. While this happens, Bradford becomes governor and their harvest is sparce. And then another ship arrives. The pilgrims are scared that these new people will eat all their food, but the new people are scared that the pilgrims will eat all the food that they brought. They solve this problem by everyone eating their own food. The pilgrims then stated to trade with England using wampum for trade. The Indians noticed this and started doing the same. The king of England made a law to not sell guns to Indians. Captain Wollaston and Morton. Wollaston moves to Virginia, but Wollaston stays and sells guns to Indians. He was told to stop, but he didn’t. Captain Miles Standish is forced to take him back to England. In 1632 the region became very prosperous. 

Was Bradford’s account a morality tale for future generations? In a way yes it is.