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John Cotton

Disciplines:
theology/puritan theology
political theology

Summary

Leading Puritan minister in early Massachusetts Bay Colony who argued for a close alliance between church and civil government, making him the primary target of Roger Williams's arguments for church-state separation.

Core Contribution

Developed the Puritan model of covenanted community governance — civil government should enforce God's law and support the church; magistrates are responsible for the moral and religious life of the community. His theocratic vision was contested by Williams and Anne Hutchinson.

Notable Works & Achievements

The Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven

The Way of the Churches of Christ in New England

Historical Influences

John Calvin William Perkins

Intellectual Lineage

Calvinist Theology English Puritanism

Contemporaries & Peers

Roger WilliamsAnne Hutchinson

Minds Influenced

New England Theology

Intellectual Posterity

New England Puritanism

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John Cotton

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