They created a strong bond between Church and State. This allowed them to control most activities of the colony up until the end of the seventeenth century.
The ideals that divide Puritans from other Christian sects include a strict belief in predestination a term that defines as the idea that God has chosen already or 'predestined' those who will be saved. Therefore, an individual is able to do nothing to change his/her status. The Puritans held five basic beliefs:
Total Depravity: By virtue of the original sin of Adam, when one is born, he has no right to salvation.
Unconditional Election: Some are chosen for salvation, some are not. There is nothing one can do to change his status.
Limited Atonement: The extent to which one can please God with acts is limited.
Irresistible Grace: God showers one with a quality of grace, and one cannot resist it.
Perseverance: Once one has been saved, nothing he does will change that fact. http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/salem.html
The Salem Village residents, like other Puritans, believed in witches and the power of witchcraft. They alleged that witchcraft meant one was actually entering into a compact or contract with the devil in exchange for powers to accomplish evil. To Puritans, Witchcraft was not only a sin but also a criminal act. One utilized the power of the devil to execute malicious acts against others. The harshness of the witchcraft accusation meant that each individual case involving a suspected witch was required to be painstaking and meticulously investigated.
At this time, the colonists lived under British law. The Massachusetts Bay Colony legal 17th century framework stated that those who were accused of consorting with the devil were to be deemed felons, having committed a criminal act against their government (tyranny). The punishment for a tyrannous crime was death by hanging.
Unfortunately, the citizens of Salem forgot...