Cotton's theology espoused that a person is helpless to affect his own salvation, and instead is totally dependent on God's free grace.
In contrast, most of the other New England ministers were "preparationists", espousing the view that morality and good works were needed to prepare one for God's salvation.
 Most members of Cotton's Boston church became very attracted to his theology, including Anne Hutchinson.
She was a charismatic woman who hosted 60 or more people at her home each week to discuss Cotton's sermons, but also to criticize the colony's other ministers.
 Another highly important advocate of Cotton's theology was the colony's young governor Henry Vane, who had built an addition onto Cotton's house where he lived during his time in Boston.
 Hutchinson and Vane followed the teachings of Cotton, but both of them also held some views that were considered unorthodox, and even radical.

John Wheelwright, a brother-in-law of Hutchinson, arrived in New England in 1636; he was the only other divine in the colony who shared Cotton's free grace theology.
Thomas Shepard was the minister of Newtown (which became Cambridge, Massachusetts).
He began writing letters to Cotton as early as the spring of 1636, in which he expressed concern about Cotton's preaching and about some of the unorthodox opinions found among his Boston parishioners.
Shepard also began criticizing this unorthodoxy to his Newtown congregation during his sermons.

Hutchinson and the other free grace advocates continually questioned, criticized, and challenged the orthodox ministers in the colony.
 Ministers and magistrates began sensing the religious unrest, and John Winthrop gave the first public warning of the ensuing crisis with an entry in his journal around 21 October 1636, blaming the developing situation on Hutchinson.

On 25 October 1636, seven ministers gathered at the home of Cotton to confront the developing discord, holding a private conference which included Hutchinson and other lay leaders from the Boston church.
 Some agreement was reached concerning the theological differences, and Cotton "gave satisfaction" to the other ministers, "so as he agreed with them all in the point of sanctification, and so did Mr. Wheelwright; so as they all did hold, that sanctification did help to evidence justification."
 The agreement was short-lived, and Cotton, Hutchinson, and their supporters were accused of a number of heresies, including antinomianism and familism.
 Antinomianism means "against or opposed to the law" and theologically means that a person considers himself not bound to obey any moral or spiritual law.
 Familism is named for a 16th-century sect called the Family of Love; it teaches that a person can attain a perfect union with God under the Holy Spirit, coupled with freedom from both sin and the responsibility for it.
 Hutchinson, Wheelwright, and Vane were antagonists of the orthodox party, but Cotton's theological differences from the colony's other ministers were at the center of the controversy.

By winter, the theological schism had become great enough that the General Court called for a day of fasting on 19 January 1637 to pray for a resolution of the colony's difficulties.
Cotton preached a conciliatory sermon at the Boston church on that morning, but Wheelwright preached a sermon in the afternoon which was "censurable and incited mischief" in the view of the Puritan clergy.
Cotton considered this sermon to be "ill-advised in manner, although ... valid enough in content."
Cotton's theology espoused that a person is helpless to affect his own salvation, and instead is totally dependent on God's free grace. In contrast, most of the other New England ministers were "preparationists", espousing the view that morality and good works were needed to prepare one for God's salvation.  Most members of Cotton's Boston church became very attracted to his theology, including Anne Hutchinson. She was a charismatic woman who hosted 60 or more people at her home each week to discuss Cotton's sermons, but also to criticize the colony's other ministers.  Another highly important advocate of Cotton's theology was the colony's young governor Henry Vane, who had built an addition onto Cotton's house where he lived during his time in Boston.  Hutchinson and Vane followed the teachings of Cotton, but both of them also held some views that were considered unorthodox, and even radical.
John Wheelwright, a brother-in-law of Hutchinson, arrived in New England in 1636; he was the only other divine in the colony who shared Cotton's free grace theology. Thomas Shepard was the minister of Newtown (which became Cambridge, Massachusetts). He began writing letters to Cotton as early as the spring of 1636, in which he expressed concern about Cotton's preaching and about some of the unorthodox opinions found among his Boston parishioners. Shepard also began criticizing this unorthodoxy to his Newtown congregation during his sermons.
Hutchinson and the other free grace advocates continually questioned, criticized, and challenged the orthodox ministers in the colony.  Ministers and magistrates began sensing the religious unrest, and John Winthrop gave the first public warning of the ensuing crisis with an entry in his journal around 21 October 1636, blaming the developing situation on Hutchinson.
On 25 October 1636, seven ministers gathered at the home of Cotton to confront the developing discord, holding a private conference which included Hutchinson and other lay leaders from the Boston church.  Some agreement was reached concerning the theological differences, and Cotton "gave satisfaction" to the other ministers, "so as he agreed with them all in the point of sanctification, and so did Mr. Wheelwright; so as they all did hold, that sanctification did help to evidence justification."  The agreement was short-lived, and Cotton, Hutchinson, and their supporters were accused of a number of heresies, including antinomianism and familism.  Antinomianism means "against or opposed to the law" and theologically means that a person considers himself not bound to obey any moral or spiritual law.  Familism is named for a 16th-century sect called the Family of Love; it teaches that a person can attain a perfect union with God under the Holy Spirit, coupled with freedom from both sin and the responsibility for it.  Hutchinson, Wheelwright, and Vane were antagonists of the orthodox party, but Cotton's theological differences from the colony's other ministers were at the center of the controversy.
By winter, the theological schism had become great enough that the General Court called for a day of fasting on 19 January 1637 to pray for a resolution of the colony's difficulties. Cotton preached a conciliatory sermon at the Boston church on that morning, but Wheelwright preached a sermon in the afternoon which was "censurable and incited mischief" in the view of the Puritan clergy. Cotton considered this sermon to be "ill-advised in manner, although ... valid enough in content."
John Cotton (minister)