Arminianism in the thought of John Cotton and Increase Mather.

Abstract

A number of historians of the early colonial era of this country have concluded that there was a tendency among Puritan theologians to move from Calvinist theology to Arminian theology. In an effort to decide if this truly is the case, two prominent Puritan theologians were examined in order to determine if they were Calvinistic or Arminian in their theologies. The two test cases were John Cotton (1584-1652) and Increase Mather (1639-1723). In determining the theological stances of these two men the following approach was used. First, the thought of John Calvin in seven areas was ascertained, with heavy reliance on his commentaries and his Institutes of the Christian Religion. Second, by use of his collected writings the thought of Arminius in these same seven areas was determined. Against this background the writings of Cotton and Mather were compared. The results were that John Cotton was found to be an ardent Calvinist who assiduously avoided any Arminian leanings. Increase Mather was found to be still within the Calvinist camp, though with a much more Arminian tendency than Cotton. While Cotton seems more consistent in his theology, Mather seems less so. It is to be stressed however, that neither man was in fact Arminian.