The Puritans were taught to view the Old Testament as a set of rules and regulations. They were required to obey the concepts laid out in it's pages. It wasn't a matter of love or devotion to their religion, it was just expected of them. Their children were taught a simplified version of this book. in their catechism. It played a large role in their overall education, as a core belief of the Puritans. Cotton's theory was that they could study it further, when they were older and more mature.
Obviously as young children, they couldn't grasp the deep truths in this complicated book. Therefore, they could enjoy and understand it better as adults. In the meantime, their leaders wanted to expose the youngest and most influential members of their congregation.
You never mentioned Winthrop's view -only Cotton's very briefly
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