Social Hierarchy in A Modell of Christian Charity
Lucas Baker
November 16, 2002
1 Introduction
In 1630, on board the ship Arbella bound for New England from Great Britain, John
Winthrop wrote a famous sermon entitled A Modell of Christian Charity. In his sermon,
Winthrop paints a highly idealized picture of proper relations among Christians, intended
as a foundation for the creation of an ideal Christian society in the world. He draws heavily
on biblical themes, using stories from the Hebrew Bible as paradigms that present life must
follow, and using the words of Christ and the disciples from the New Testament as lessons
to the colonists. Winthrop's interpretation of these themes both re
ects and shapes the
seventeenth-century Puritan world-view.
One particularly interesting aspect of this world-view is Winthrop's perspective on social
hierarchy. On the surface, A Modell of Christian Charity supports the existence of hierarchy
and class structure as a valuable part of Christian culture. At a deeper level, however, the
sermon depersonalizes class di erences within a Christian society and argues that the value
of hierarchy lies in how individuals act to balance out di erences. At this level, Winthrop's
models of Christian charity and love downplay the importance of hierarchy in interpersonal
relations, emphasizing instead the creation of a semblance of equality in a society where
1
people are inherently unequal. This dynamic tension between the belief in hierarchy and
the de-emphasis of hierarchy is highlighted by Winthrop's description of Christian society
by analogy to the body of Christ.
2 Hierarchy Within Christian Society
A Modell of Christian Charity opens with an explanation of the importance of class di erence