FREEDOM'S HOLY FLAME

John Winthrop spearheaded the movement to establish a colony of Puritans in America. He had wealthy friends who assisted him in obtaining a charter from the king, allowing for the establishment of this colony of Puritans. In 1630, eleven ships carried 700 people from England to America. They landed at what is known as Salem, Massachusetts. The colony eventually came to be known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (1)

Some of the settlers were wealthy and were able to bring livestock, such as cattle and sheep. They also arrived in the spring and therefore were able to plant crops. (Ibid.) Their start in the new world was not nearly as difficult as the Pilgrims’ beginning.

The Puritans believed the citizens of its colony should uphold their government leaders in prayer and obey civil authorities. They also proposed other important principles that would affect the future government of the United States. They believed in limited government and the election of government leaders by their citizens. Government, in return, was to protect private property. John Winthrop believed their colony was to be a colony that exhibited godly government by being a Christian civilization. (2)

The main difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans was their neglect of the “freedom of conscience” theory. Only people who were members of certain approved Puritan churches were allowed to participate in the colony’s government. In other words, there was no separation of church and state. (Ibid).

Other colonies formed along the eastern seaboard. For the most part, they based their constitutions on principles from the Bible, some offering more freedom of conscience than others. One example was Rhode Island. People of any religious affiliation could vote or hold office. Their only qualification for the right to vote was that the person had to own property, which was possible for just about everyone. Other colonial governments formed, mainly as a result of religious persecution from their homeland. These settlers originated primarily from England but also from other European countries.

The people forming the new colonies in America were all interested in protecting God-given freedoms by limiting the power of government. They all had different ideas about how this was to be accomplished. It was like trying to invent something without a blueprint. Because no one had ever attempted self-government, it was indeed an experiment; an experiment carried out by flawed people with a sinful or fallen nature. But God is able to use the ideas of imperfect people to accomplish his purposes.

(1) Our Christian Heritage, Cherie Noel, OCH Publishing, 1994, pp. 128-129.

Ibid.

(2) UNITED STATES HISTORY In Christian Perspective, A Beka Book Publications, 1983, 38-40.

(3) Ibid.

Interesting Tidbits: Watching the development of our nation was like watching a stalk of corn grow. First there is the seed, then the plant, then the ear of corn. The seeds were ideas dropped into the hearts of these brave, thoughtful people by God himself. Other seeds were contributed hundreds of years earlier by people like Luther and Calvin. These seeds were transported to the new world by the colonists and incorporated into the governments of the new colonies.

When the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod, they immediately realized their need for some form of government.  They believed in the rule of the law and wanted to be protected by the laws they adopted.  They saw the need for laws to govern the outward behavior of citizens, because they believed in what the Bible refers to as the fallen nature of man.  This is referred to in Romans 3:23:  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Calvin put it this way:   ” We see that some form of organization is necessary in all human society to foster the common peace and maintain accord.” (1)  At the same time, they did not want laws that deprived them of freedom of conscience, or the right to not only believe but also to follow their beliefs.

The balance came about in the social contract theory mentioned in the second blog post, “More Reformers.”  In essence, the social contract theory states, “There is ever, and in all places, a mutual and reciprocal obligation between the people and the prince. If the prince fail in his promise, the people are exempt from obedience, the contract is made void, the rights of obligation of no force.” (2)

Another early reformer, Algernon Sidney, based his understanding of the social contract theory on the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.  According to Sidney, a legitimate government is based on the consent of the governed.  He incorporated the law of nature and the law of God in the social contract theory.  The law of nature is the part of God’s law which is obvious in creation.  The law of God is God’s law expressed in the Bible.  Sidney believed the law of nature and the law of God demanded that the laws of a country be conditional on the consent of the people it governs. (3)

These principles can be seen in the Mayflower Compact, and it became the model for future colonial governments that were established in the land called America.  By signing the Mayflower Compact, the pilgrims were committing to self-governance, a new concept in the formation of government. (4)

(1)  Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN HISTORY, Haughton, 1998, p. 12.

(2)  Ibid. p. 13.

(3)  Ibid. p. 34.

(4)  Ibid. p. 40.

(5)  Ibid. p. 43.

(6)  Ibid. p. 43.

Interesting tidbits:  The Puritans and Pilgrims believed God dealt with countries in the form of covenants, such as God’s covenants with Israel in the Old Testament.  A covenant was a contract between God and a group of people in which the people agreed to obey God and create laws that honored him.  God, in turn, would bless the group or nation that adhered to the covenant.  The covenant was seen as binding as any law, and there were negative consequences if the covenant was broken.  An additional element to the covenant was that it was binding from generation to generation.  Since the Mayflower Compact was a covenant between God and the Pilgrims, it continues to apply to this generation. (5)

The second covenant in the new colonies was drawn up by the Puritans in Salem, MA.  It began with these words:  “We Covenant with the Lord and one with another, and doe bynd ourselves in the presence of God, to walke together in all his waies, accordingly as he is pleased to reveale himself unto us in his Blessed word of truth.”  (6)  What appears to be misspelled words are simply the way they wrote and talked.

There was one distinct difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The Pilgrims adhered to Martin Luther’s “freedom of conscience” mandate. Citizens of their colony were free to worship according to their conscience. As we will see in the next post, the Puritans were another story.

I remember studying about the Pilgrims in elementary school.  The girls would dress up with wide white paper collars.  The boys would also wear the wide paper collars, but they would add tall black hats with buttons on the front.  We would then put on a Thanksgiving program for our parents and sing Christian songs like, “We Gather Together To Ask the Lord’s Blessing.”  One year especially stands out in my mind, because one of the students wasn’t feeling well and vomited all over the small stage we were standing on.  It’s interesting what childhood memories make us a lasting impression on us.

Back to the pilgrims.  The official name for the Pilgrims was “Separatists.”  They viewed the Church of England as unscriptural and refused to abide by its rituals.  They sought to separate from the Church of England and form an entire new church.  The Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England and thus the name, Puritans.  Both the Pilgrims and the Puritans were Calvinists in doctrine.  Therefore, they believed in Luther’s “creator-redeemer distinction,” and his “liberty of conscience” theories.  They also adhered to Calvin’s “resistance theories” to rulers who infringed upon God given liberties.

Persecution was brutal for these groups in England.  The king had appointed Archbishop William Laud to reign in these rebellious groups.  The Puritans in particular suffered, for they published pamphlets defining what they considered the errors in the Church of England.  If caught, it was common for Archbishop Laud to order their ears to be cut off or one or both cheeks to be branded.  Some were even hanged.  These punishments were meted out to both men and women alike.

In response to the persecution, the Separatists, or Pilgrims, chose to flee to Leydan, Holland.  In Holland, they experienced the freedom to worship according to their firmly held beliefs and were allowed to practice their religion in the public square.  However, after a few years, they became concerned, because they saw their children picking up the habits and customs of the Dutch.  They did not want their children to grow up to be Dutch.  They wanted them to be English.  After returning to England to join another group they called the Strangers, the Pilgrims boarded a ship named the Mayflower and sailed to the New World.

After sixty-four days of difficult sailing on the Atlantic Ocean, they landed at a place in New England, which they named New Plymouth, after Plymouth, England.  Upon reaching land, one of their first realizations was that they were many miles from the authority of the King of England.  Recognizing their need for some form of government, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620.  They elected William Bradford as their governor.

The second paragraph of the Mayflower Compact states, “Having undertaken, for the glory of God and Advancement of the Christian faith and Honour of our King and Country…”  The Pilgrims pledged their submission to God and one another and to fair laws based upon Biblical principles.  It was the first time common people had participated in forming their own government.  It was based on the assumption that all men are created equal, and that government should be based on the “consent of the governed.”(1)  The Mayflower Compact would influence the formation of subsequent colonial compacts and the new government of the United States of America.

(1) Peter Marshall & David Manuel, THE LIGHT AND THE GLORY  For Children, Revell, p. 61, 1993.

Interesting Tidbits:  Most people are familiar with the first Thanksgiving of abundance the Pilgrims celebrated.  There were also difficult times.  During the winter of 1621-22, food was so scarce for the Pilgrims, they were limited to six kernels of corn per day for their ration of food.  In subsequent years, they would place six kernels of corn beside each person’s plate at Thanksgiving time to remind themselves of their difficult past, making their gratitude to God that much greater.

In the previous post, I mentioned that those in parliament loyal to the king were referred to as Cavaliers, and those opposed to the king, which were comprised of Puritans, were called Roundheads.  The king during this time was Charles I (1641-49).  He angered not only the Puritans in England but also the Presbyterians in Scotland when he attempted to force the populations of both countries to use the English worship book.  To the Puritans, this was equal to forcing them to become Roman Catholic.  This resulted in a civil war in England. (1)

The Roundheads in Parliament were losing the civil war, so they begged the Scots to assist them with military aid.   The Scots agreed on the condition they be allowed to participate in the assembly at Westminster.  Westminster Palace is where the houses of Parliament meet.  One of the representatives Scotland sent to the West Minster Assembly was a gentleman name Samuel Rutherford.  King Charles had employed a writer named John Maxwell to write a book endorsing the “Divine Right of Kings” theory, also explained in the previous post.  While at Westminster, Rutherford wrote a book refuting Maxwell’s book.  Rutherford’s book was titled REX LEX which translates into “The Law Is King.”  REX LEX reiterates the resistance theories of Calvin.  It also argues that the king is subject to the law of nature equally with the common people.   In other words,  the king is not above the law.  It also stated that if the king deprives his subjects of their God given rights, he can be deposed. (2)  REX LEX laid the groundwork for the “rule of law” which would become an important component of America’s government.  Americans would establish a country that believed the rule of law applied to everyone.

Together, the Puritans and the Scottish Presbyterians at the Westminster Assembly co-authored a document titled the Westminster Confession.  The Westminster Confession was a clarification of the principles of the Protestant Reformation.  It reaffirmed the theory of “liberty of conscience,” which enforces the right of every individual to  believe and practice their faith according to their own conscience.  This document refered to Martin Luther’s and John Calvin’s theories in much the same way as REX LEX.  The Westminster Confession would influence James Madison a hundred years later during his education at Princeton.  James Madison is considered the Father of our Constitution and the First Amendment. (3)

The Westminster Confession not only dealt with the political side of life but the spiritual as well.  The spiritual aspect of the Confession was divided up into the shorter catechism and the larger catechism.  The shorter catechism alone was over ten pages long.  Years later the entire catechism would become an important part of colonial education at the elementary level as well as the university level.   Its memorization was required for admission into Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.  The catechism included the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostle’s Creed.  The Founding Fathers,  graduates of these Universities, studied the Westminster Confession. (4)  Matters have certainly changed.  I think it can be safely said our present day government has “slightly” twisted the intent of our Founding Fathers when it comes to the role religion was to play in the affairs of government.  The founders weren’t interested in keeping religion from influencing government.   They simply wanted to prevent government from dictating what a person believes.  At the time, the major religions were all Christian.  The conflict was between the different Christian denominations.  They did not want a state endorsed denomination interfering in their religious beliefs and doctrine or their method of worship.

There are many others who influenced the thinking of our Founding Fathers, such as John Locke.  His father was good friends with Samuel Rutherford, and Rutherford played a great influence in Locke’s writings.  He wrote the “Two Treatises of Government”,  in which he declared that men are by nature free and equal.  He also authored the Carolina Constitution.  This constitution afforded religious freedom to all groups, Christian and nonchristian. (5)  His writings would also influence the founders.

In the next post we will examine the groups that decided to migrate to America and what caused them to come to such a radical decision.

Interesting tidbits:  Westminster is considered a city located in the center of London, along the Thames River.  West Minster Palace is where Parliament meets.  Also included in Westminster are Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and Westminster Cathedral. Westminster Palace and Westminster Abbey are impressive gothic structures that take a person back to the medieval period. (6)  Westminster is definitely high on tourists’ list of places to see.

(1)  Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN HISTORY, Haughton, p. 12, 1998.

(2  Ibid, pp. 22,23.

(3) Ibid, pp. 23,24.

(4) Ibid, pp., 24,25.

(5) Ibid, pp., 28,29.

(6) Wikepedia

Everyone is familiar with politicians who seem to believe they are above the law either because they break the law, or because they vote special privileges for themselves.  Is it possible they have gotten this idea from history; from the thinking of  European kings and queens?

England’s first line of kings and queens came from the Tudor family.  They were all Roman Catholic until Henry VIII came along.  He wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she could not provide him with a son.  This narcissistic man did not realize he was the one who determined the sex of his children.  Because the Pope would not sanction his divorce, he broke away from the Catholic church and pronounced himself the head of the Church of England.  The country bounced back and forth between being Catholic and protestant, depending on who was king or queen.  When “Bloody Mary” became queen, she executed every protestant she could find.  Hence, her name, Bloody Mary.  When the monarch was protestant, the protestants would flood back into the country, where they could live without persecution.

The last of the Tudor royalty was Queen Elizabeth.  She was referred to as the “the virgin queen,” because she never married or had children.  After Queen Elizabeth died, she left no heirs to take the throne, so the Stuart family took power.  This family, which was related to the Tudor family, believed in what is termed the “Divine Right of Kings.”  This theory states that God appoints kings and queens, and therefore, they answer to no one but God. (1)  The king considered himself God’s ambassador.  He was not subject to God’s natural law or any other laws the “common people” were forced to obey. He answered to no one in this life, only to God in the next life.  In other words, ultimate power and authority rested with the monarch.  He or she did not even have to honor anyone’s “inalienable rights.”   Consequently, if the king or queen said, “off with your head,” the head had to go!  The king could dictate not only outward conduct but also a person’s personal beliefs. (2)   This theory was in direct opposition to theories like the “creator-redeemer distinction,” “inalienable rights” or the “social contract theory.”

None of the monarchs from the Tudor and Stuart families were friendly toward the Puritans.  Whether the ruler was a Catholic or a protestant, the Puritans suffered persecution.  The name “Puritan” came from their desire to purify the Church of England, but because of intense torture for their beliefs,  some of them began to consider seeking a new life in America.

Interesting tidbits:  Parliament came to be filled with more and more Puritans which produced a power struggle between the king and Parliament.  The Puritan faction was called the Roundheads, and those loyal to the king were called Cavaliers.

(1) Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN HISTORY, pp. 16,17, Haughton, 1998.

(2) Ibid., p. 17.

0Several western European countries, including Germany, France, and Switzerland influenced the founders of the United States.  However, the country most influential in the minds of those who wrote our laws and founding documents was England.  For one thing, the majority of the early colonists were English.  They included the pastors who greatly influenced colonial thinking, such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield,  John Wesley, and John Witherspoon.  Additionally, the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were of English descent.

The pastors and teachers were influenced not only by John Calvin, Samuel Rutherford, and John Locke but by documents that dated as early as the medieval period.  In 890 King Alfred took the laws English people lived by and put them on paper.  As his guide, he took the Mosaic Law from the Old Testament and applied it to the circumstances of English life.  Years later,  men such as Edmund Coke (1552-1634) and Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780) would expound on this work that became known as English Common Law.  Much of the law included sins listed in the Mosaic Law, such as cursing, adultery, and prostitution.  Blackstone based the authority for these laws on what he called revealed law or the Bible.  In time, English Common Law developed laws concerning various legal issues and functions of government. (1)

Sir William Blackstone also used what he called natural law to illustrate what he called rights bestowed upon each individual at birth by God.  Natural law is just another way of saying the law of nature, mentioned in the previous post.  The rights included in natural law concerned the right to life and liberty.   Blackstone wrote:  “Natural liberty…(is) a right inherent in us by birth, and one of the gifts of God to man at his creation.”   Because these rights are God-given,  no king has the authority to deny them to any individual, unless they abdicate them by committing a crime.  Blackstone wrote four volumes collectively titled, “Commentaries On The Laws of England.  They were widely read in the colonies and used as justification for declaring independence from England. (2)   During America’s conflict with England, Blackstone was a member of Parliament and supported the cause of the colonies.

Just as important as the English Common Law was the Magna Carta.  An original copy of the Magna Carta can be viewed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  It is considered to be the most important legal document to Western Civilization.  It was written by Cardinal Stephen Langton, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Langton wrote the Magna Carta in an effort to establish limits on the power of kings.  This concept came to be known as “constitutionalism.”  Hmmm- sound familiar?  The Magna Carta proclaimed that “no person could be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”   At about the same time the Magna Carta was written, a group of Catholic lawyers called canon lawyers developed the concept of “inalienable rights.”  This term would be coined by Thomas Jefferson six hundred years later.  Again, these were rights an individual was born with; that no king could take away.   It is important to note that English Common Law and the Magna Carta were in place long before the Reformation and were instrumental in influencing Sir William Blackstone.  Both the Catholic church and the protestant churches of the Reformation played important roles in developing the political theories that would be studied and incorporated in forming the government of the United States of America.(3)

Interesting tidbits:

After Langton drafted the Magna Carta, he and several noblemen approached Prince John and pressured him to sign it.  This validated the document and gave it power.

It is interesting to note the ownership of property was grouped with inalienable rights.  Ownership of property meant the ability to grow crops to feed a family.  Without that power, people were at the mercy of a king or face starvation

Many state constitutions were based on the moral laws contained in the English Common Law.

(1) Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN HISTORY, Haughton, pp. 62,63,68.

(2) Ibid. pp. 68, 69.

(3) Ibid. pp. 66,67.

John Calvin was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1509.  His beliefs concerning freedom of conscience mirrored Martin Luther’s in significant ways.  He believed man should be free to form his own religious beliefs, and the state could only regulate mankind’s behavior when it affected the well being of society.  He  called one the spiritual kingdom and the other the political kingdom. He described his religious philosophy in a huge book he wrote titled “The Institutes of the Christian Religion”.(1)

Calvin not only believed in the creator-redeemer distinction but also in what is termed “Calvin’s Resistance Theory.”   “The Institutes of the Christian Religion” explores this resistance theory.  Calvin refers to the account of Daniel in the Old Testament and how Daniel disobeyed the Persian king’s order.  Calvin wrote “If they (political authorities) command anything against him (God), let it go.  And here let us not be concerned about all the dignity which the magistrates possess.” (2)  In other words, if the king (or president) tells his subjects (or citizens) to do something that contradicts what is moral according the Bible, the subjects have a right to disobey the king’s edict.  In fact, they have a responsibility to God to do so.

Other European theologians would pick up on Calvin’s resistance theory.  John Knox, from Scotland, formed the Scottish Presbyterian Church.  He believed the Bible supported rebellion against an unrighteous ruler to the extent of overthrowing him or her and even executing the unrighteous ruler.(3)

Calvin’s theories spread to France, where the French Calvinists were called Huguenots. The Huguenots wrote a paper titled, “Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos”, (The Legal Claim Against Tyrants).  The paper justified rebellion against tyrannical kings.  It also introduced something called the “social contract theory,” which would become an important part of the foundation of America’s government.  The social contract theory in the Vindiciae states: “There is ever, and in all places, a mutual and reciprocal obligation between the people and the prince….If the prince fail in his promise, the people are exempt from obedience, the contract is made void, the rights of obligation of no force.” (4)

Two centuries later, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers would refer to Calvin’s resistance theory, the Vindiciae’s social contract, and other calvinist writers, such as John Locke when arguing for independence from England.

Interesting tidbits:

The Calvinists in Switzerland were called Presbyterians. The Calvinists in Scotland were called Scottish Presbyterians. The Calvinists in France were called Huguenots, and the Calvinists in England were called Puritans.

(1) Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, pp. 11, 12, 13, Haughton, 1998.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4). Ibid.

Most individuals believe America’s beginnings originated with The Sons of Liberty, the Committees of Correspondence, or fiery speeches like Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty, or give me death. ”  The ideas that influenced this nation’s foundation actually began with the Protestant Reformation.  In 1517, Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses to the door of the Roman Catholic Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  The Pope ordered him to stand trial for his actions.  During his trial, Luther argued on behalf of the principle of “liberty of conscience.”  Liberty of conscience is the belief that people should be free to form their own religious beliefs concerning God, and that no king or government has the right to force a person to believe a certain way.  This was the beginning of religious liberty, and this thinking would profoundly influence the development of the government of United States and ultimately, the First Amendment.

Martin Luther believed in what is termed the “creator-redeemer distinction.”  The creator-redeemer distinction states that a person’s life is divided into two spheres. One sphere pertains to an individual’s physical life in society and how he/she interacts with other people. This is the creator sphere. God governs this sphere through what is known as “natural law,” or the “law of nature.”  Natural law includes physical laws, such as physics and chemistry.  It also includes outward morality.  Luther believed all people, Christian and nonchristian, must obey God as creator, because we are all created by God. Government can, and must, enforce laws governing outward behavior in order to preserve society.(1)  The Bible speaks of natural law in the first chapter of Romans, verse twenty: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made….”  In other words, right and wrong, good and evil, can be understood by observing nature.

The second sphere of life involves a person’s spiritual life and his or her need of redemption.  Luther believed the government’s role in this sphere must be restricted.  In this sphere, the individual relates to God as redeemer through Christ and the need for salvation.  No government laws are to be written that interfere with a person’s beliefs in God.  Luther believed people must be free to adhere to their own religious beliefs.  He went so far as to state it was folly for a government to attempt to coerce correct religious beliefs.  Luther wrote, “Faith is free and no one can be compelled to believe.”

By reading Luther’s writings, it is clear his main concern was to limit the state’s interference in the affairs of the church, and more importantly, the individual’s personal beliefs about God.  As stated above, this became known as freedom of conscience. The movement started by Martin Luther has been named the Protestant Reformation.  There were others involved this world shaking movement, and next time we will look into the teachings of another individual who shared Luther’s world view.   We will begin to see how their teachings, and others down through the years, would influence the brilliant minds of our founders two centuries later.  Eventually, it will become clear that the Protestant Reformation did not end in Europe.  It culminated with America’s Revolutionary War and some contend, the Civil War. (2)

Interesting tidbits:

After leaving the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther married.  He is said to have suffered severe bouts of depression and was reported to be antisemitic, but throughout history, God has used imperfect men and women to reveal his will for the best form of government.

(1) Amos and Gardner, NEVER BEFORE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, Haughton, 1998, pp. 6-11.

(2) Ibid.