The Puritans seem to rub us the wrong way, don't they? All that talk about not smiling on Sunday, submissive wives, and an angry God doesn't sound very appealing, does it? Maybe Jonathan Edwards needed to read a few books on church building techniques and self-esteem from the pulpit before he started preaching. Maybe George Whitefield needed a few guitars and some drums in his services. With all their rules and doctrines, these guys were just way too serious for our modern tastes.
The most important characteristic of Puritan theology is the idea of a covenant. The word covenant is often misused in modern language. When we state that God is a God of covenants, what do we really mean? Does God give us some sort of contract to sign when we are born? God does not say "Thank you for choosing earth; we (The Son, The Holy Spirit and I) hope that you enjoy your stay here, but do ask that you abide by a few rules. Thou shalt not murder, steal, covet, run on the pool deck, or worship any other gods while you are here. If at any time you feel that these rules are not fair, you may move along to the next solar system, where Ba'al is a little more lenient than I AM." God does not give us these options. We are creatures, and He is Creator, and we have absolutely no choice but to submit to His rules. God declares how the universe is to operate, how we are to worship, and even how we are to be saved and we as humans have no input. A contract is negotiable, but God's covenants are not. The only choice we as humans have in God's covenant is whether we will obey and submit to the eternal decrees of God.
This Puritan (Biblical) idea of God's non-negotiable decrees partially manifests itself in what is call Covenant Theology. The first covenant language in the Bible comes to us in the first chapters of Genesis, when God declares that Adam must obey God's commands. If Adam fails to obey God's commands, God will kill Adam. This first covenant is commonly called the covenant of works. The second covenant is the covenant of redemption. The covenant of redemption maintains that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have a covenant within the Trinity to not allow the elect to be destroyed by sin. This covenant of redemption has existed from all eternity, and states that some of humanity will be saved by the grace of the Trinity. The covenant of redemption is made possible through the covenant of grace, which is the third main covenant. The covenant of grace states that God will extend His mercy to the elect through Christ, who shall be the only way of salvation for those who believe. This covenant also states that Christ has fulfilled all of the necessary obligations in order to bring wicked souls to God the Father, namely justification, sanctification and glorification. Puritan theology stands and falls according to these doctrines. Notice that there is absolutely no human input in any of the doctrines, only whether we will submit to them. God does not give us the option of Buddha, Mohammed, or Joseph Smith as the mediator instead of Christ. In every covenant, God defines the terms.
Puritan theology is difficult to summarize in such a short space, but hopefully this article has given you a basic overview necessary to either make you angry or to continue further studies. Modern Americans need to remember that our beliefs are shaped by the culture that we live in. In a relativistic, hedonistic, pagan society, Christianity will be shaped and tainted towards relativism, hedonism and immorality. I believe that God calls the Christian to the same diligent obedience no matter what direction society is headed.
Puritan theology and lifestyle may be the kind of obedience that God demands of every Christian. It is certainly worth studying. Granted, the Puritans made some mistakes, but some things that we call mistakes (home-schooling, family worship, reverent church services, and husband as the household head) may be closer to Biblical truth than we think. For further study, J.I Packer's book A Quest for Godliness and Leland Ryken's Worldly Saints, The Puritans as They Really Were are both challenging, interesting resources.