Winthrop\'s Sermon and How He

¶ … Winthrop's sermon and how he brings the Bible (gospel of John) into his idea

The Gospel of John served as inspiration for many documents written consequent to it, as people found that Jesus teachings were essential in critical circumstances. Gerrard Winstanley's book "A New Israel" perfectly exemplifies this through the concepts that the author is trying to put across. In spite of the fact that he wants to express thinking related to religion, Winstanley actually provides his readers with an interpretation of the gospel and with the way that he adapted it to English Civil Wars period. Similar to the Gospel of John, "A New Israel" promotes the belief that Jesus is present in all people. By doing this, both documents influence people in considering that it is in their nature to change, as their connection with the divine would assist them in doing so.

Winstanley wants rich people to abandon their interest in making profits with the purpose of accepting Christian principles. He practically suggests that rich people should abandon ration in order to embrace morality and to assist those who are underprivileged. The Gospel of John adopts a similar approach through relating to how it is essential for people to repent if they want to be accepted by God. Both documents advise that true believers need to abandon material values in order to employ moral thinking and with the purpose of acting in accordance with God's laws.

Winstanley does not want individuals to go against wealthy people because of their reluctance to help the masses, as he is certain that Jesus will be the one who will decide who is a true believer and who is not. The Gospel of John presents matters from a similar point-of-view, considering that it influences people in refraining from taking matters into their own hands because this is Jesus' mission. Through implying that Jesus is present in all believers, Winstanley indirectly wants to get people to consider that it is only normal for them to get actively involved in punishing whoever they consider is a sinner.

The Gospel of John and "A New Israel" promote the belief that equality should dominate society and that it is wrong for someone to consider himself or herself worthy of being provided with preferential treatment. Moreover, Winstanley insists that those who fail to repent and to become a part of God's movement are going to be punished by Him. Whereas the Gospel of John does not specify the categories of people that Jesus is determined to chastise, Winstanley indicates that "selfish counselors, selfish governors, selfish soldiers" will not manage to escape God's anger.

Winstanley wants his readers to understand that society is heading in a wrong direction because it accepts and actually encourages immoral concepts. He lobbies against practices that were common in the seventeenth century and instead claims that people should focus on performing more traditional tasks that would make it possible for them to be equal and for discrimination based on intellect or wealth to be removed from the English society. From his perspective, much needs to be changed in order for people to live in agreement with how God wants them to live. The writer is determined to have people comprehend the importance of equality in a society that is experiencing great suffering. He cannot accept people's interest in material matters and advises against all forms of discrimination, regardless of society's standards.