John Cotton, John Winthrop, and Mary Rowlandson had varying views on the Puritan’s place in the wilderness, ranging from believing it was a fresh start to hating everything about it. First, however, what is the wilderness? It is simply a word describing a hardship or new experience, wild and untamed. It does not matter if the wilderness is an actual wilderness or not, the metaphor reaches out to the idea that the wilderness is an obstacle that we have to pass.
So how did John Cotton view the wilderness and the hardships of the Puritans? Cotton was a clergyman in England and wished Godspeed to the colonists, he did not believe he was needed just yet. It was his belief that the Puritans could have a place to call their own, a home for them in the New World. He wished to spread optimism and hope, assuring the colonists that the wilderness for them was indeed a blessing.
This is in stark contrast to Mary Rowlandson, who had been held captive by Natives for eleven weeks during King Philip’s War. She saw the Natives as savages, and always kept her mind on her scripture, being a woman of faith. She managed to stay hopeful through it all, comparing her life before captivity with her life in captivity, and though she was experiencing abuse, she managed to stay faithful to her Lord.
John Winthrop did not leave willingly. He was an English Puritan Lawyer and forced to move to the New World to escape prosecution for his Puritan practices, similar to what would happen to John Cotton. Winthrop wanted to keep the Puritan faith strong and would often compare what they were going through with the events of the exodus, which is a reasonable comparison. He saw the wilderness and uncertainty as an opportunity for him and the rest of the Puritans.
The wilderness is a scary place, and while it may be filled with uncertainty, these three authors understood that it was also filled with possibility. Opportunities to start again, separate from England. New things can be terrifying, but they usually reap the greatest of rewards.
Skool Blog 