From Here to Forever

Page 166

Chapter 16—The Pilgrim Fathers The English Reformers, while renouncing the doctrines of Romanism, had retained many of its forms. Thus though the authority and the creed of Rome were rejected, not a few of her customs and ceremonies were incorporated into the worship of the Church of England. It was claimed that these things were not matters of conscience; that though they were not commanded in Scripture, and hence were nonessential, yet not being forbidden, they were not intrinsically evil. Their observance tended to narrow the gulf which separated the reformed churches from Rome, and it was urged that they would promote the acceptance of the Protestant faith by Romanists. {GC 289.1} To the conservative and compromising, these arguments seemed conclusive. But there was another class that did not so judge. The fact that these customs “tended to bridge over the chasm between Rome and the Reformation” (Martyn, volume 5, page 22), was in their view a conclusive argument against retaining them. They looked upon them as badges of the slavery from which they had been delivered and to which they had no disposition to return. They reasoned that God has in His word established the regulations governing His worship, and that men are not at liberty to add to these or to detract from them. The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church. Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined. {GC 289.2} Many earnestly desired to return to the purity and simplicity which characterized the primitive church. They regarded many of the established customs of the English Church as monuments of idolatry, and they could not in conscience unite in her worship. But the church, being supported by the civil authority, would permit no dissent from her forms. Attendance upon her service was required by law, and unauthorized assemblies for religious worship were prohibited, under penalty of imprisonment, exile, and death. {GC 290.1} At the opening of the seventeenth century the monarch who had just ascended the throne of England declared his determination to make the Puritans “conform, or ... harry them out of the land, or else worse.”—George Bancroft, History of the United States of America, pt. 1, ch. 12, par. 6. Hunted, persecuted, and imprisoned, they could discern in the future no promise of better days, and many yielded to the conviction that for such as would serve God according to the dictates of their conscience, “England was ceasing forever to be a habitable place.”—J. G. Palfrey, History of New England, ch. 3, par. 43. Some at last determined to seek refuge in Holland. Difficulties, losses, and imprisonment were encountered. Their purposes were thwarted, and they were betrayed into the hands of their enemies. But steadfast perseverance finally conquered, and they found shelter on the friendly shores of the Dutch Republic. {GC 290.2} In their flight they had left their houses, their goods, and their means of livelihood. They were strangers in a strange land, among a people of different language and customs. They were forced to resort to new and untried occupations to earn their bread. Middle-aged men, 165


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

Chapter 42 The Controversy Ended

30min
pages 390-399

Chapter 41 Desolation of the Earth

16min
pages 384-389

Chapter 40 Ultimate Deliverance

31min
pages 374-383

Chapter 39 The Time of Trouble

39min
pages 361-373

Chapter 37 Only Spiritual Defense

16min
pages 349-354

Chapter 38 The Final Warning

16min
pages 355-360

Chapter 36 The Impending Conflict

18min
pages 342-348

Chapter 35 Liberty of Conscience Threatened

33min
pages 331-341

Chapter 34 Can Our Dead Speak to Us?

19min
pages 324-330

Chapter 33 The First Great Deception

35min
pages 312-323

Chapter 32 Snares of Satan

22min
pages 304-311

Chapter 29 The Origin of Evil

22min
pages 288-295

Chapter 31 Agency of Evil Spirits

11min
pages 300-303

Chapter 27 Modern Revivals

32min
pages 269-279

Chapter 30 Enmity Between Man and Satan

10min
pages 296-299

Chapter 28 Facing Life’s Record

23min
pages 280-287

Chapter 26 A Work of Reform

17min
pages 263-268

Chapter 25 God’s Law Immutable

31min
pages 252-262

Chapter 23 What is the Sanctuary?

24min
pages 238-245

Chapter 24 In the Holy of Holies

16min
pages 246-251

Chapter 22 Prophecies Fulfilled

32min
pages 227-237

Chapter 21 A Warning Rejected

27min
pages 217-226

Chapter 20 A Great Religious Awakening

35min
pages 205-216

Chapter 19 Light Through Darkness

20min
pages 198-204

Chapter 18 American Reformation

45min
pages 183-197

Chapter 17 Heralds of the Morning

32min
pages 172-182

Chapter 16 The Pilgrim Fathers

17min
pages 166-171

Chapter 15 Behind the French Revolution

41min
pages 152-165

Chapter 12 The French Reformation

46min
pages 119-134

Chapter 14 Later English Reformers

36min
pages 140-151

Chapter 13 The Netherlands and Scandinavia

13min
pages 135-139

Chapter 11 The Protest

24min
pages 110-118

Chapter 10 Progress of Reform in Germany

20min
pages 103-109

Chapter 9 The Swiss Reformer

23min
pages 95-102

Chapter 8 Luther Before the Diet

45min
pages 80-94

Chapter 7 Luther’s Separation From Rome

44min
pages 65-79

Chapter 6 Huss and Jerome

41min
pages 51-64

Chapter 5 Early Reformation

30min
pages 41-50

Chapter 4 The Waldenses

30min
pages 31-40

Chapter 3 An Era of Spiritual Darkness

20min
pages 24-30

Chapter 1 Destiny of the World

37min
pages 5-17

Chapter 2 Scourges in the First Centuries

16min
pages 18-23
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.