is clearly evident that he will do anything necessary to carry out what he believes to be Gods will. Mather is a very religious man and does everything in the name of God. A title to one of his writings was labeled What Must I do to be Saved? When Mather refers to being saved he is referring to being saved in the eyes of God. Mather believes himself to be an authority concerning the matters of God, and at this time, especially with the Puritan society, he was considered the authority. Every one of Mathers works has a distinct and clear point, which very often relates to improving some aspect of ones relationship with God. At the very least his goal is to in someway aid the reader into becoming what he believes to be a better person. It is my belief that Mather lived his life in accordance of what he thought to be Gods will. While it is certain that Cotton Mather put forth his best effort to serve God, I do believe that he got carried away with himself at times. Perhaps Mather was too ambitious with his attempts to exceed his fathers fame. I think that at times Mather concentrated too much on the how of a situation instead of the why. One incident that shows this clearly is at the execution of George Burrows. At his own execution, Burrows recited the Lords prayer perfectly, something that was believed impossible for witches to do (6). The crowd shouted out for the execution to be stopped, but Mather intervened and said to the crowd that Burrows was convicted in a court of law so the execution must not be stopped (6). Was Burrows truly a witch? Or was he executed an innocent man? Or if not a witch, nor innocent, did his crimes warrant death? With the court weighed so heavily by Mathers influential friends and members of his church on the panel, we will never know.Mather was influenced by many things that caused him to steer this way or that way through life. With his father being so successful, I can imagine the adm...
