Unstained by the World

Becoming a doer of the word (and not only a hearer) prevents us from being self-deceived and from our religion becoming stained by the world. The Puritans, perhaps more than any other people, went to the greatest lengths to ensure their religion remained pure and undefiled. Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet brilliantly saw through the tendencies in her day for religion to be corrupted by the world. The legacy of pure religion the Puritans left us in this world was a product of continuing to set their gaze on the next.