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vmginny -> RE: Ginny's Place: Life, Struggles, Joys, Praise, Thoughts (3/24/2008 2:30:40 PM)
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I'm reading a book called "Head and Heart: American Christianities" by Garry Wills. How "Christian" is America.
My understanding of the America's beginnings is we were founded on religious freedom but I'm learning by reading the book that this is not so. It seems the Puritans were very prejudice on who could be free or not. A small elect that were members of the church and under grace could be public servants, leaders in the government and the rest were outside the box of approval. You couldn't vote unless you were a member of the church.
The book starts out with the execution of Mary Dyer. She was executed because as a Quaker she was not allowed to even come into the territory of Massachusetts and she kept doing so. Seems Quakers were exiled and on threat of death if they came into the state and many were hanged because they wouldn't stop coming back to make a point for religious freedom.
Learned more about Quakers too at least their early history. Found out why they got the name of Quakers. They would shake and quiver during their services and subsequently were named Quakers. They believed in an 'inner' light.
The fear of the devil was predominant and making sure the devil did not have reign plus so much was contributed to the devil's work. "Witches were executed in Virginia and Maryland in 1659, and trials and penalties occurred in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. Yet there is no denying that seventeenth-century New England was witch-obsessed, with an exceptionally virulent spasm in Salem Village during the year 1692."
Here is how the book describes the people by concentric rings in a circle:
The innermost ring is the "Saved". The next is the "protestant heresy" all who were not under grace, could not vote, be in public service, etc. but were expected to pay taxes, tithe, attend church, and obey the rulings of the church and government. The next ring is "Papalism", then "Indian Idolatry", then "African Idolatry", then "Pagan Idolatry", and finally "Satan".
African Americans were considered property and not wholly human but a subhuman species under the curse of Cain or Ham. It was imperative they be converted to the Puritans teachings of God. Indians were lost in darkness and worshiped the Devil. It was imperative they be converted too but Catholic faith was a form of the devil influence and being Catholic was outside the box of salvation.
It is interesting to read about what was truly going on in the early centuries of America. Seems it was not the Pilgrims that taught tolerance but actually the King of England who broke the charter with Massachusetts because of all their intolerance and the King spoke up for tolerance of other faiths. This is not what was in my understanding. I didn't realize there was so much intolerance in our founding fathers.
Ginny
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