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.
As the tidings spread
through the countries of Europe, of a land where every man might enjoy the fruit
of his own labor and obey the convictions of his own conscience, thousands
flocked to the shores of the New World. Colonies rapidly multiplied.
"Massachusetts, by special law, offered free welcome and aid, at the public
cost, to Christians of any nationality who might fly beyond the Atlantic 'to
escape from wars or famine, or the oppression of their persecutors.' Thus the
fugitive and the downtrodden were, by statute, made the guests of the
commonwealth."--Martyn, vol. 5, p. 417. In twenty years from the first landing
at Plymouth, as many thousand Pilgrims were settled in New England.
It was the desire for
liberty of conscience that inspired the Pilgrims to brave the perils of the long
journey across the sea, to endure the hardships and dangers of the wilderness,
and with God's blessing to lay, on the shores of America, the foundation of a
mighty nation. Yet honest and God-fearing as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet
comprehend the great principle of religious liberty. The freedom which they
sacrificed so much to secure for themselves, they were not equally ready to
grant to others.
It was demonstrated that the principles of the Bible are the surest safeguards
of national greatness. The feeble and isolated colonies grew to a confederation
of powerful states, and the world marked with wonder the peace and prosperity of
"a church without a pope, and a state without a king."
The regulation adopted by the early
colonists, of permitting only members of the church to vote or to hold office in
the civil government, led to most pernicious results. This measure had been
accepted as a means of preserving the purity of the state, but it resulted in
the corruption of the church. A profession of religion being the condition of
suffrage and officeholding, many, actuated solely by motives of worldly policy,
united with the church without a change of heart. Thus the churches came to
consist, to a considerable extent, of unconverted persons; and even in the
ministry were those who not only held errors of doctrine, but who were ignorant
of the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.
The wide circulation of the
Bible in the early part of the nineteenth century, and the great light thus shed
upon the world, was not followed by a corresponding advance in knowledge of
revealed truth, or in experimental religion.
----Satan could not, as in former ages,
keep God's word from the people; it had been placed within the reach of all; but
in order still to accomplish his object, he led many to value it but lightly.
---Men neglected to search the Scriptures, and thus they continued to accept false
interpretations, and to cherish doctrines which had no foundation in the Bible."
The Great Controversy p.290,292,293,297,298 E.G.W.
...and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2 Corinthians 3:17