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The Puritans, like most theistic religions, believed in predestination. The belief that a person is not subject to free will, but their lives are destined by God. The Puritans believed that people were chosen by God before their birth, to be either saved or damned.

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The Puritans beliefs in predestination and divine providence are very similar to other Christian and other non-Christians theistic religions.
Predestination and Divine Providence are prominent principles in Roman Catholicism, the most popular denomination of Christianity in the world, as well as most other forms of Christianity.
The principles of predestination and providence are mostly the same across Christians, though many are different in how they interpret free will.

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Puritanism and Predestination - Source 1

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Puritanism and Predestination - Source 1

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http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/puritan.htm
The Puritans shared Calvanist religious ideals and commonly clashed with the already established churches of Europe, being one of their largest reasons for migrating to the New World.
“They shared a common Calvinist theology and common criticisms of the Anglican Church and English society and government.”
Puritans followed Calvanist principles including belief of predestination. They made it their mission to cleanse land of what the thought were sinful, another large reason for their migration.
“Puritans in both Britain and British North America sought to cleanse the culture of what they regarded as corrupt, sinful practices.”

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Puritanism and Predestination, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center

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https://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_18c/defoe/puritanism.html#puritanism
Puritans, like most other Calvanist disciplines of Christianity, held belief in Divine Providence. The believed God oversaw the actions of all men.
“As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God's permission, and as controlled and overruled for good . God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, overrules it for good.”
Puritans believed that sinful actions were due to ones predetermined status to be either saved or damned by God. People were born without free will and were subjects of God.
“ God predetermines who is to be damned (also called reprobation) and elects who is to be saved (also called regeneration). Also God is actively and directly involved in the affairs of nations and of individuals.“

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Puritanism started in the sixteenth century as a movement to reform the Church of England. Puritanism accepted the interpretations of John Calvin (1509-64) on the nature of man, free will and predestination, and other basic concepts. Puritanism became, after the restoration of Charles II as king in 1660, nonconformity and split into three major denominations-the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Baptist sects. The Puritans saw God as the awesome Father-God of the Old Testament and emphasized His majesty, righteousness, and control of the universe to achieve His just ends. God's maintaining and directing everything in the universe is God's Providence. By extension and over time, the word came to have other meanings associated with this one, e.g., God Himself and the lot assigned by God.

In his Bible Dictionary (1897), Matthew George Easton describes Providence in this way:

Providence literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes. God's providence extends to the natural world, and the affairs of men, and of individuals. It extends also to the free actions of men, and things sinful, as well as to their good actions.
As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God's permission, and as controlled and overruled for good . God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, overrules it for good.

The mode of God's providential government is altogether unexplained. We only know that it is a fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions; that this government is universal , particular, efficacious, embraces events apparently contingent, is consistent with his own perfection, and to his own glory.

God reveals His will in many ways, like the Bible and natural forces and law In the words of William Cowper (1731-1800), "God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain." Puritans actively sought to learn God's will. To fulfill this duty, they read the Bible; listened to sermons; studied daily events; analyzed nature for signs; paid particular attention to out-of-the-ordinary events like earthquakes and material prosperity, which were called remarkable providences; and reviewed the events of their lives and the state of their souls, usually by recording them in a diary and looking for patterns and spiritual meanings. . The concept of God's Providence is related to free will, predestination, and grace. Christians generally accept the position that God predestines or elects the good to salvation; the fate of sinners regarding salvation and damnation is an open issue. The Puritans, however, accepted Calvin's belief in double predestination:
By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every person. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1599)
In other words, God predetermines who is to be damned (also called reprobation) and elects who is to be saved (also called regeneration). Also God is actively and directly involved in the affairs of nations and of individuals. The efforts to explain how man can have free will and be predestined have taxed theologians for thousands of years and there is no general agreement on the matter. Calvin denies that there is a conflict; he bases his interpretation on the concepts of God's grace, the agency of the Holy Spirit (it carries God's grace to the elect), and man's natural depravity.
... the grace of God (as this name is used when regeneration is spoken of) is the rule of the Spirit, in directing and governing the human will. Govern he cannot, without correcting, reforming, renovating, (hence we say that the beginning of regeneration consists in the abolition of what is ours;) in like manner, he cannot govern without moving, impelling, urging, and restraining. Accordingly, all the actions which are afterwards done are truly said to be wholly his. Meanwhile, we deny not the truth of Augustine's doctrine, that the will is not destroyed, but rather repaired, by grace - the two things being perfectly consistent, viz., that the human will may be said to be renewed when its vitiosity and perverseness being corrected, it is conformed to the true standard of righteousness and that, at the same time, the will may be said to be made new, being so vitiated and corrupted that its nature must be entirely changed. There is nothing then to prevent us from saying, that our will does what the Spirit does in us, although the will contributes nothing of itself apart from grace. (Institutes of the Christian Religion)
Covenants, in theology, are the promises which God makes to human beings and which are recorded in the Bible. The Puritans emphasized the covenant of works, which was in the control of human beings, and the covenant of grace, which was in God's power to bestow. There are many other covenants, such as the covenant of redemption, the agreement between God the Father and the Son concerning the salvation of man. The covenants or God's promises not only make clear to men and women what their duties are but also force them to face their inferiority--because of their corrupted natures, they are incapable of fulfilling their duties to God. The covenants did not affect just the Puritans' religious life: "This emphasis on contractual relationships became a controlling metaphor for Puritans in their social as well as their religious thought" (Francis J. Bremer,Encyclopedia of Religion).
The covenant of grace is God's promise to send his Spirit to the elect so that they believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The basis of this covenant is the frequently repeated statement in the Bible, " I will be your God, and ye shall be my people." This covenant restores man to a normal relation with God. Left to themselves, men and women would continue to reject or rebel against God; their refusing salvation means that Christ died in vain. But since the covenant of redemption promises that Christ's suffering would redeem humanity, God sends the Holy Spirit to the elect to enable them to repent, to have faith, and and to be eligible for eternal life.

The Puritans saw grace as a gift from a kind and loving God; human beings were unworthy to receive salvation because of their depraved natures. As Augustine comments, "You are nothing in yourself, sin is yours, merit God's. Punishment is your due; and when the reward shall come, God shall crown his own gifts, not your merits."

The covenant of works is God's promise to Adam. In return for perfect obedience, he would merit God's reward. The reward in this covenant does not result from grace; rather, it is a debt owed to Adam for keeping his part of the covenant. Unfortunately, Adam failed to keep the covenant and "after the fall, the free gifts on which salvation depends were withdrawn, and natural gifts corrupted and defiled" (Calvin).

Glorification unites the soul with God after death; also, the elect will form a community of saints.

Grace. See the covenant of grace.

Justification is conversion or being born again. Justification, which is the mark of election, rehabilitates depraved human nature; however, conversion does not overcome it, so that the individual may relapse into unregenerate behavior. The abililty to persevere in righteousness is bestowed by God and is given as He pleases.

Natural depravity refers to human nature; that is, every human being is by nature corrupt and perverted as a result of Adam and Eve's fall. Calvin is unsparing in his description of natural depravity,

the mind of man is so entirely alienated from the righteousness of God that he cannot conceive, desire, or design any thing but what is wicked, distorted, foul, impure, and iniquitous; that his heart is so thoroughly envenomed by sin that it can breathe out nothing but corruption and rottenness; that if some men occasionally make a show of goodness, their mind is ever interwoven with hypocrisy and deceit, their soul inwardly bound with the fetters of wickedness.
It is because of natural depravity that human beings are, in Calvin's words, "the authors of their own destruction."
Regenerate or regenreated describes the converted individual; regeneration is, a sovereign gift of God, graciously bestowed. Only God can determine who should be saved In their fallen state, men and women may mistakenly think that they can reform at will and return to God; this delusion counteracts God's plan and denies God's omnipotence. As Dr. Warfield says, ''Sinful man stands in need, not of inducements or assistance to save himself, but precisely of saving; and Jesus Christ has come not to advise, or urge, or woo, or help him to save himself, but to save him." The individual is passive during this transforming process. The glory is all God's.

Sanctification is leading the life of a saint out of gratitude for God's grace.

The term unregenerate describes the individual who has not experienced God's assisting grace and conversion and so continues to be alienated from God.

Vocation is God's call to social, economic, civil, and religious roles or behavior. Individuals must use their talents, which come from God, wholeheartedly in fulfilling a call; however, they must not carry their behavior to extremes. Richard Baxter (1615-1691) explains the danger of excessive behavior, " Overdoing is the most ordinary way of undoing."
Providence is an important concept for Defoe, who was raised a Puritan and remained one throughout his life. His religious belief is one of the few consistencies in his life. The depth of his belief in Providence is suggested by the fact that the Oxford English Dictionary (the OED) illustrates three different meanings for the word with quotations from his writings:
The foreknowing and beneficent care and government of God (or of nature); divine direction, control, or guidance.

Crusoe refers to Providence throughout the novel; his shifting from one meaning to another as occasion warrants is reflected in his sometimes capitalizing the word and sometimes not. If you would like more information on religious topics, you could start by exploring some of these sites:
Bible Study Tools
A collection of reference works: a Bible, encyclopedias, dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, and histories.

Sola Scriptura! A Reformed Theology Resource
A discussion of theological topics, ranging from God and Calvinism to The Covenant and Eschtology. Articles by different writers and perspectives.

The Victorian Web
An authoratative site with a clear, detailed summary of the history of Christianity in England. It makes clear the development of the various Protestant sects, including Puritanism, their differences, and their changes over time.

Day 1 (W, Sept. 4)

Introduction

Day 2 (M, Sept. 9)

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, "Preface" - "I Build My Fortress"
Overview of Daniel Defoe
Overview of Robinson Crusoe
The Sources of Robinson Crusoe
Alexander Selkirk

Day 3 (W, Sept. 11)

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, "The Journal" - "I Am Very Seldom Idle"
Puritanism
Increase Mather, Remarkable Providences

Day 4 (T, Sept. 17)

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, "I Make Myself a Canoe" - "I See the Wreck..."

Day 5 (W, Sept. 18)

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, "I Hear the First Sound..." - "We Quell..."
Religion in Robinson Crusoe
Web paper due (1-2 pages)

Day 6 (M, Sept. 23)

Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, "We Seize the Ship" - "I Revisit My Island"
Robinson Crusoe as Economic Man

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Puritanism started in the sixteenth century as a movement to reform the Church of England. Puritanism accepted the interpretations of John Calvin (1509-64) on the nature of man, free will and predestination, and other basic concepts. Puritanism became, after the restoration of Charles II as king in 1660, nonconformity and split into three major denominations-the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Baptist sects.

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General Agreement on Predestination - Source 3

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General Agreement on Predestination - Source 3

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https://biblechurch.org/the-doctrine-of-election-and-predestination-where-christians-agree-and-disagree/
Modern Christians still hold beliefs of predestination. They believe that all humans are sinful and must be saved through their own actions.
“Humans are fallen creatures because of Adam’s sin, and therefore are unable to earn their salvation (Rom. 3:23)
The human sinful condition renders people incapable of seeking God purely on their own, so God must be the initiator of reconciliation…”
This differs from the Puritan belief that people are judged before their births and that they are instead judged based on their actions conducted on their own volition.

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R. C. Sproul rightly said, "The word predestination provokes more theological discussion than perhaps any word in the Bible." Unfortunately, these conversations can get prickly, even between the most warm-hearted Christians. Maybe that makes a blog post the ideal venue to discuss this issue! In the small amount of space a post like this provides, I'd like to bring some clarity and unity to the doctrines of predestination and election.

First of all, a couple of definitions. Predestination is the doctrine that states how God determines what will happen in human history according to his eternal will and pleasure. Election is a subset of predestination, focusing specifically on God's sovereign choice of who will be included among his people.

General Agreement on Predestination

The debate on these doctrines is generally split between two camps: Calvinists and Arminians. Before getting into how these two differ on this issue, allow me to list some points of agreement (although, as you will see below, how each scheme works out these concepts is different). Both sides agree that:

1. Humans are fallen creatures because of Adam's sin, and therefore are unable to earn their salvation (Rom. 3:23).

2. The human sinful condition renders people incapable of seeking God purely on their own, so God must be the initiator of reconciliation and salvation (Rom. 3:10-18). We can only love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

3. Therefore, only through faith in Christ is anyone able to be saved (Eph. 2:8-9).

4. Predestination and election are undeniable biblical doctrines, since both themes appear in the inspired, infallible Scriptures (e.g., Mark 13:20-22, 27; Rom. 8-9; Eph. 1:4-5; 1 Thess. 1:4-5).

The differences that exist between Arminianism and Calvinism stem from the question of how human choice factors into predestination and election. If God chooses who is included in His people, does the individual therefore not choose? Arminians answer this question by stating that people do in fact choose for themselves to believe in Jesus - free will is a value in Arminianism.

The Arminian View of Predestination

The Arminian's emphasis on man's free choice to accept Christ results in the following beliefs:

1. God's predestination is based on the foreknown free choice of the individual to accept or reject the gospel. So God's foreknowledge, for the Arminian, does not mean that God causes the person to believe. It means God can see into the future that a person will put their faith in Jesus. So God, in the past, as it were, elects an individual as a response to the foreseeing the free choice the person will make in the future.

2. God initiates a renewed relationship with sinful people through prevenient grace, a grace that "comes before". This is a general grace that God bestows on all fallen humans by which they are able to accept Christ.

The Calvinist View of Predestination

Calvinists, on the other hand, do not believe that people have the capacity to respond to the gospel in and of themselves, because people are "dead in their sins and transgressions" (Eph. 2:1). A dead person cannot come back to life - a dead person needs to be raised. This results in working out predestination and election in the following ways:

1. Predestination/election is God's eternal will concerning the soul of a human being, determining beforehand whether he or she will repent and believe. God does not respond to a foreknown choice of the person. God's foreknowledge is a part of the fore-choosing of election (Rom. 8:29).

2. Therefore, the Calvinist states that it is not a general, prevenient grace that enables someone to choose Christ. Rather, God calls individuals by His particular and efficacious grace, by which the individual necessarily responds with faith in Christ.

As opposed to free will, Calvinists emphasize "bound will," that is, since we are in bondage to sin, our will is incapable of choosing Christ.

Many people make the mistake of concluding that in the Calvinist scheme, the person has no choice in salvation. This is where the defeaters come in, like, "That just makes people into robots," or the "frozen chosen." I would say this is a description of hyper-Calvinism, and does not reflect the fullness of what Scripture teaches. Calvinists do not believe that God makes anyone a Christian against their will. So how should we understand the way personal choice factors into election for a Calvinist? Allow me to illustrate.

An Illustration

Imagine you are a child on Christmas morning, and your father has just placed a gift in your lap to open. In the back of your mind, you are thinking of all the things you wrote on your wish list, and you're wondering which of them could fit in a box this shape. As you open it, you quickly realize it is not anything you asked for - yet it is the most interesting and delightful toy you have ever seen. In fact, after all the gifts have been opened, it is your favorite present of all.

Did your father force you to like the gift, as if you were a robot? Did he make you enjoy that gift against your will? No. But in his wisdom, as he planned for Christmas day, he predetermined to give you that gift out of his gracious love for you, his child. And it was precisely in the giving of the gift that he also gave you the desire for, love of, and joy over the gift. After all, if he had never surprised you with this present that you didn't ask for, you still would not have the desire for it.

This is how Calvinists make sense of Ephesians 2:8, which talks about faith being a gift from God, not something that originates inside us. God gives us faith in Jesus, but when God gives us that gift it is genuinely our faith - we are doing the believing, out a will that has been renewed by the transforming power of the Spirit. But if God did not give us the gift of faith, we would never believe from hearts.

Conclusion

By now, you can probably guess which side of the debate I fall on! But I do think it is important for Calvinists to be charitable towards our Arminian brothers and sisters, and vice versa. Because of their emphasis on free will, many Calvinists say that Arminians are necessarily man-centered, not God-centered. But I've met too many Arminians who love God more than I do to accept that.

The most important thing is that all are constantly going to the Scriptures to gain our understanding on this and every doctrine. We need to Scripture to inform and reform our framework, and not force Bible verses into our own framework.

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The Doctrine of Election and Predestination: Where Christians Agree and Disagree | Chapel Hill Bible Church

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R. C. Sproul rightly said, "The word predestination provokes more theological discussion than perhaps any word in the Bible." Unfortunately, these conversations can get prickly, even between the most warm-hearted Christians. Maybe that makes a blog post the ideal venue to discuss this issue!

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In chapter 14, Hester converses with Roger Chillingworth. During their conversation Roger mentions that the townspeople are contemplating removing the scarlet letter from Hester. Hester argues that the letter cannot be removed by the magistrates, that the letter will “fall away of its own nature”.
Hester displays the Puritans beliefs of divine providence. The belief that God plays a role in guiding the universe, and has the power to intervene in the “mortal world”. Hester believes that it would be God’s will to remove the letter.

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Differences in Puritan beliefs and modern Christianity.

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Differences in Puritan beliefs and modern Christianity.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nMJGR4ByXU9epyTMrvw4hXiuDK6N0SQd2bC1hjr7WMM/edit

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.