In his work “A Model of Christian Charity,” Governor John Winthrop sets out a grandiose (and unrealistic) vision for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He desires the colony to be an ideal Christian community built on the principal of loving your neighbor as Christ commands. He imagines the colony as set apart from other communities as a devoted community that loves one another and is always charitable (while still being sure to keep some money back as a savings). The colonists, however, seem to be required to make a sort of “covenant” with God that if they follow His commandments, their colony will survive. Governor Winthrop is emphatic that they must act morally in order for their colony to be successful. He mentions things such as following the
