Today Robin and I had a
Thanksgiving lunch with our daughter Beth at her school. When I arrived I found
her standing in the lunch room waiting on us wearing a solid white paper
Pilgrim’s (actually Puritan) bonnet. After getting our lunches we went back to her classroom where
her teacher had made tables ready for the children and their parents to eat. It
was a special time, which we began with prayer as the Pilgrim’s themselves
expressed their thankfulness to God.
Upon arriving back home I decided
to refresh my memory a bit on the Pilgrims, their plight, and their history
leading up to that time of thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony. And, as much as
our schools have steered away from influence of faith, their roots lie very
strongly there. Over the next few days I will tie in various pieces of this
history from Duane Cline’s, “The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620.”
For starters, let’s go back to
their earliest beginnings.
“Until the latter part of the
sixteenth century, the only Bibles available were printed in Latin. After the
Reformation began the Geneva Bible was published in English. For the first time
the common men were able to read the Scriptures for themselves. The Geneva
Bible is the version that would have been most familiar to the older generation
of Pilgrims. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, King James authorized
another translation of the Bible into English, which still bears his name [The
King James Version]. Until these English versions came into being, the common
man was not able to read or understand the Scriptures. It was necessary for the
ministers and church officials to tell the worshippers what was in the Bible
and interpret the Scriptures. As the English translations became more readily
available, the people were able to read the Scriptures for themselves, and
controversies began to arise concerning the interpretation of many passages in
the Bible. Other controversies arose concerning the rituals of the church
service.
“At the time the Pilgrim Fathers
were living in England there was only one church approved by the English
rulers. Everyone was required to attend that church - and ONLY that church -
every week. If the English ruler were Protestant, all people of the realm were
required to follow the Protestant beliefs and attend those church services; if
the ruler were Catholic, everyone in the kingdom was required to practice the
Catholic faith and rituals. All religion in the kingdom was strictly dictated
by the government. This is what we call a “State Church.”
“The reigning ruler appointed the
archbishop of his or her choice and every church in the kingdom was under the
direct orders of the ruler and the archbishop. There was no freedom to choose
what a person believed or how he could worship.
“Anyone who objected to the
beliefs of the state church or the forms of the church services could be
arrested, questioned and thrown into prison. If they refused to give up their
personal beliefs, they could be tortured in an effort to make them agree with
the state church. If they still refused to give up their convictions after
torture, they could be executed. Many people were imprisoned, tortured and put
to death. Those who were executed for their religious beliefs died painful deaths.
Many were hanged and quartered, some were burned at the stake, while others
were crushed to death under heavy weights.
“There were two major groups of
believers who disagreed with the beliefs and practices of the Church of
England. One group wanted to stay in the church, but hoped to change its forms
of worship: This group was called “Puritan” because they wanted to “purify” the
church. The other group did not believe the state church could be changed: This
group was called “Separatist” because they wanted to separate completely from
the Church of England.
“At the beginning of the 1600s, a
group of Separatists began to gather at Scrooby in the northeastern county of
Nottingham. Scrooby was located on the main post road which ran between
Scotland and London. When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 and James VI of
Scotland was to become James I of England, he traveled the post road on his way
to be crowned.
“James I was a Protestant and the
Separatists were hopeful he would be more tolerant of differing religious
views. It was not long, however, before the Separatists learned that differing
religious views would not be allowed under the new king.
“One group was called the
Separatists because they demanded a complete separation from the Church of
England. They wanted to worship in a very simple manner without all of the ritual
and symbols which were used in the Anglican Church. In their study of the Bible
they had decided the original church in New Testament times had been a simple
church and they wished to follow that example in their own worship. They
believed there were so many changes needed to be made in the Anglican Church
that it could not be accomplished to their satisfaction. Therefore, the only
possibility for them was to “separate” completely from the state church.
“Their pastor, Richard Clyfton,
had guided this religious community into a form of democratic self-government.
Various points of view were tolerated, but the will of the majority ruled in
decision-making. The members of this group believed in equal rights and equal
duties for members of its congregation. Our modern concepts of a democratic
system of government began with Pastor Richard Clyfton. It was their Pastor
John Robinson who first coined the word "independent" in the matter
of self-government.
“The Pilgrims were warm, generous
and thoughtful in their dealings with their fellow citizens and with the
Indians they met in America.
“Their manner of dress was
typical of the ordinary fashions in England at that time. We know from Wills
and Inventories of that early period that some of the leading men wore brightly
colored clothing. Some even wore breeches of red, green or violet. This is a
far cry from the dark, somber clothing of the Puritans which we see pictured
every Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims were a good-natured, fun-loving people who
loved life and insisted on the freedom of choice.
“It was the Pilgrims who
established Plymouth Colony. It was the Pilgrims who celebrated that first
Thanksgiving with the Indians. It was the Pilgrims who brought our American
principles of democratic government into being - not the Puritans.” ("The
Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620" is available at http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd.) Mr.
Cline is a well-regarded authority on this topic, and I am looking forward to
continue reading of his work.
So far we have the history of a group
of people who had been given the Bible in their own language to discover that
some of what they had been taught did not line up with what they had then be
enabled to read in their own Bibles, and they had to decide what to do. They
had to decide how to live under a government who dictated their belief and even
dictated when that belief might change. And for them, the Separatists at least,
the answer was to step away from the authorized church and adopt their own
simple form of worship.
I imagine for many first century
Jews who came to faith in Christ they had to make similar decisions. Like these
early believers in England, we also know that the early followers of Christ were
not accepted with their new faith and were even dispersed throughout the land
in the face of aggressive persecution and even death. But also, as we know from
history, as people have stood firm in their faith and have been persecuted and
dispersed that God has used this for His glory and the advancement of the
gospel to those who otherwise would not hear. What man intended for
destruction, God intended for the furtherance of His plan as we read even Jesus
telling His disciples, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8,
NASB95)
James, in writing his letter primarily to Jewish believers,
wrote, “James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the
twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.” (James 1:1, NASB95)
Peter started his first letter with the following, “Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to
obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours
in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an
inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly
rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been
distressed by various trials,” (1 Peter 1:1–6, NASB95)
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in
Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I
have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NASB95)
The reality is that the world opposes the gospel and at
times this resistance has been established firmly in the government and a
prescribed religion (even one in which there were faithful believers) and has
been accompanied with intense persecution. Our God has long used persecution to
spread His Word. It was true of the apostles. It was true of early believers,
and it has been true of believers throughout history even continuing today. This is one way God sends out the message that
His Son died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose
again also according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3)
People need to hear and God even uses the evil
of man to send out His preachers. “How then will they call on Him in whom they
have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And
how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are
sent? Just as it is written, “How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news of good things!”” (Romans 10:14–15, NASB95)
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