Final answer:
Anne Hutchinson's teachings were controversial in the Massachusetts Bay Colony due to her criticism of Puritan ministers for emphasizing a covenant of works over a covenant of grace, her claims of direct revelation that bypassed ministerial authority, and her Antinomian belief that grace, once given, could not be lost. Her theological salons and outspokenness led to her banishment and excommunication as a heretic.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why Anne Hutchinson's Teachings Were Controversial
Anne Hutchinson's teachings grew controversial within the Massachusetts Bay Colony for several reasons. Hutchinson criticized the religious practices of the Puritan ministers as a shallow version of Protestantism, focusing on a covenant of works instead of a covenant of grace.
Her defiance of authority, especially that of Governor Winthrop, and her claims of direct religious revelation challenged the established hierarchy and presented a threat to the male-dominated religious order. Her theological discussions, or theological salons, went further to openly scrutinize the teachings of Puritan ministers, which was seen as undermining their authority. Her adoption of Antinomianism, a belief that grace, once received, could not be forfeited, contrasted with the strict moral code of law in the colony.
These factors, coupled with the colony leaders' suspicion of a plot of the old serpent against their holy experiment during the Antinomian Controversy, led to her being seen as a dangerous dissenter. In November 1637, Hutchinson was tried, convicted of heresy, and banished from the colony, leading to her excommunication and forced departure to Rhode Island in 1638.