The term Puritan anthropology refers to what belief about human nature?

• A. Humans are sinful, fallen, dependent on grace
• B. Humans are inherently virtuous and self-sufficient
• C. Humans can achieve perfection by knowledge alone
• D. Humans are predetermined to be saved or damned

Answer: (A)

Puritan anthropology is about human nature and what people are like at their core. The central belief is that humans are inherently sinful and fallen because of original sin, and because of this they cannot save themselves or do enough good on their own. Salvation hinges entirely on God's grace, not on human effort or merit. That emphasis on total depravity and dependence on grace best captures how Puritans understood what people are really like.

The other ideas misstate this view: thinking people are inherently virtuous and self-sufficient ignores the Puritan conviction of sustained fallenness; claiming perfection can be achieved by knowledge alone denies the need for grace; and while Predestination is part of their theology, it concerns the fate of individuals rather than the nature of human beings themselves.