I’ve been getting on my roommate’s case a lot lately. Granted, about things could cause a lot of harm to herself and others. But I have to admit that much of my indignation comes from the fact that she’s enjoying herself. Reformed theology and Biblical Counseling have taught me to expect sin in the world and, I hope, be compassionate and unphased by it – but I want people to feel guilty for their sin. When they seem to be having fun and reveling in who they are, I get bitter.
Well, my roommate pointed this out indirectly the other day by saying out of the blue (but after several arguments over the last couple of weeks), “I think a worldview that doesn’t allow people to like themselves is bad.” This was a few hours I after had told her how shallow and/or self-righteous I think it is when people say “I’m a good person.” I responded, unperturbed, “Neither do I! … But I like a worldview that discourages complacency.” A few minutes later she said, “I’m reminded of ———-‘s quote, ‘A Puritan is someone who is deathly afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun.’”
My first response was to think how much I’ve always hated that quote, how unfair it is to Puritans, how they’re such an easy target, and how namby-pamby and unoriginal the people must be who keep bashing them. But then I realized – this saying may not be true of the Puritans (who were a diverse lot), but it does apply to me. I tend to be suspicious of too much fun. And, I have to admit, even though I try hard to quash it, to be jealous of people who are having fun in a way that I can’t join in. If I think people are truly having fun doing something wrong – well, that’s insupportable.
So I’m glad Ksenya said that, and I’m going to try to take it seriously.
Speaking of Puritans, I wish I knew more about them! I wish I knew more (or really, anything) about the historical context of the Westminster Confession, and I’d like to know more about the English Civil War. There’s a biography of Cromwell I’ve been wanting to read for ages.
Also speaking of Puritans, I’m going to write a paper on the river ordeal in Mesopotamia for my Akkadian class this term. The ordeal is “not well understood,” so one thing I might look at is whether people assume it worked the same way in Mesopotamia as it did in witch trials. I know I won’t have time for this, but it would be great to read some history of the practice in the West and anthropological/comparative material.
I don’t think it was only Puritans that did it in the West, but I’m most interested in their practice of it because it’s a pointed reminder that people who are claimed as our spiritual kindred, people whose devotions I still read, obviously had some big differences in their worldview!
