The doctrine of discovery was built on pride, aggression, and disrespect of others. It condoned methods of aggression for the “end” of “conversion.” But there was another movement, a remnant, born of true revival, that was arising as well. In that movement, true conversion was sought, one from the heart and voluntary. Though not as…
What makes the Pilgrim movement so unique is that it stands in such contrast to the coercion practiced by the State Church of England? The State (in this case King James) was the head of the Church and thus there was little religious liberty. Richard Clyfton had such pressure when pastoring in Babworth, England where…
In the United States which has benefited so much from the legacy of the Pilgrims who came in 1620, it is hard to imagine being forced to go to the parish church or face dire consequences. We have taken for granted that the State does not enforce religious belief and thus people are free to…
Consider for a moment the year 1820 at the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims. Daniel Webster came to Plymouth, Massachusetts and on Forefathers Day declared: …let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by…
Thomas Faunce, born in 1646 in Plymouth, is the key individual who preserves the memory of the rock the Pilgrims stepped on when landing in Plymouth in December of 1620. The fifth of eight children, his father John arrived on the Anne in 1623 at about 15 years of age and was thus considered a…