Were the Puritans Puritanical? (Part 4)

"Alexander Niccholes theorized that in marriage 'thou not only unitest thyself a friend and comfort for society, but also a companion for pleasure.'  In this acceptance of physical sex, the Puritans once again rejected the asceticism and implicit dualism between sacred and secular that had governed Christian thinking for so long.  In the Puritan view, God had given the physical world, including sex, for human welfare.  Robert Croftes wrote that 'he that useth these external felicities of the world, such as this of nuptial love, to the glory of God and to good ends . . . is better to be reputed than he that . . . neglects so great a good, which God freely offers to our acceptance'" (Ryken, Worldly Saints, p. 44).