If you were a member of the church that was tasked with casting a vote for the guilty or not guilty, what would have your vote been? Explain your choice and cite examples from the trial to support your answer.

If I were a member of the church and was asked to cast a vote to whether or not Mrs. Anne Hutchinson should be convicted guilty, I would reply saying that she was innocent - although that would have been an entirely different thought that what everyone else in that room was thinking. But I have several different reasons for why I think she is innocent. Even though she has some very supercilious and bold thoughts about herself (saying that she is a messenger of God) and also saying that the church members are all not certified to be "saved" thus, they should not be a church member (even I would say that that is going too far), but she also stated some very key pieces of evidence in order to prove herself innocent. One thing that she discussed was the passage from the Titus "that the elder woman must instruct the younger," which I found to be quite a smart move on her part. It certainly got me believing she was innocent, even for a moment. But then the Governor brought up the rules of the Corinthians and I suddenly felt very conflicted. Thinking logically, if I were alive during this time period and especially a male, I'd feel the need to stand up and support the Corinthians. But thinking about this whole situation from a modern point of view, I feel the need to say that the woman is only speaking her thoughts. Free speech, that is a huge thing that we can find in our modern laws. Another thing that I also realized was true was Mrs. Hutchinson's argument of the covenant of grace versus the covenant of works. The church is preaching that if you are a good citizen and are well mannered and have proper etiquette, then you are probably saved. Basically, the church is preaching the covenant of works is the way to go. But technically, the actual puritan faith is based around the fact that whether we are saved does not depend on our actions, but from the predetermining grace that God has set upon you, reassuring you are saved.

Picture: Gun, Thomas. Anne Hutchinson on Trial . N.d. NA, NA. Wikipedia. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.