Mather's "Punishment Sent By God"
"Mather says that King Philip's War is a punishment sent by God to the colonists. Why does he feel they are being punished?"
Before the King Philip's War, the English believed that God stood on the same side as the English. They believed that God had given them their "English Israel," and that it was rightfully the property of the English. But while the Plimouth Colony tried to fast and prey, a group of Indians shot and killed a member of the Colony, wounding two others. When two men were sent for medical assistance they were killed by the group of Indians, and at the same time, six men were killed in town. A total of nine Colonists were killed on the day that had been set aside for prayer. On this same day, Plimouth declared war and sent for assistance from other Colonies.
The idea that fighting could take place on a day of humiliation was new to the English, and so Mather assumes that the Colonies efforts are not what God is looking for. He believed that if man did not obey Gods word (or in this case be able to figure out what Gods word is), then the Lord will side with the enemy. At this point it was believed that the Colonists had to prove themselves worthy of the land that had been given by killing the nearby tribe. Even after many were killed, it was thought that God did not see the English as being worthy and would not until King Philip was executed.
Amazingly, the Colony believed in God in such a degree that they were willing to kill another group of human beings who they were once at peace with, to be sure that God was on their side. The sign of God was never actually given, only some individuals translation of an earthly happening having the meaning of a sign from the heavens; likewise, the Bible was believed to be the actual writings of God, even though it was written by several human beings. In these years, many contradictions took place. How could the Colonists be able to kill another human being, while attempting to be worthy of the heavens, which was something that they believed to be predestined? Perhaps the word of God was used as a crutch by which the ego could be balanced.
Based on:
Mather, Increase. "A Brief History of the War with the Indians in New England." Negotiating Difference: Cultural Case Studies for Composition. Ed. Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1996. 50-66.
