Dorothy Page Part 20

"It is on pages 394 and 395 of Campbell's 'The Puritan in His Three Homes, Holland, England and America'. And listen to this from the same author: 'Thus it came about that the persecuted Anabaptists of Holland, taking their doctrines from the early Christians, gave birth to the powerful denomination of Baptists, which has played so important a part in the history of England and America'."

"Miss Dorothy, you amaze me," said Sterling.

"I learn from my reading that the religious liberty which the Christian world is enjoying today is largely due to the Baptists."

"Julius Caesar!" exclaimed the father. "What do you think of that, Sterling?"

"Do you mean to say, Miss Dorothy," asked Sterling, "that you found in your reading that the great blessings of religious liberty that are enjoyed in this country, and to a certain extent in Europe, are due to the Baptist denomination?"

"I find that fact positively stated in many places. Here is something from the same book of Campbell, 'The Puritan in His Three Homes, Holland, England and America', which I mentioned just now. It is on pages 202 and 203: 'But no words of praise can be too strong for the services which the English Baptists rendered to the cause of religious liberty. They went down with Cromwell and suffered a relentless persecution after the restoration of the Stuarts, but they have never lost their influence as a leaven in the land. In purity of life and substantial Christian work they have been surpa.s.sed by the members of no other religious body. Having been the first British denomination of Christians to proclaim the principle of religious liberty, they were also the first to send out missionaries to the heathen.'"

"Just listen to that!" exclaimed Mr. Page.

Dorothy continued: "'In fact, if the Anabaptists had done nothing more for the world than to beget such offspring they would have repaid a thousand-fold the care shown for their liberties by the Prince of Orange in his contest with some of the narrow-minded Calvinists among his a.s.sociates.'"

"Hold on there, you take my breath away," said the father.

"Please note what that says," remarked Mr. Walton. "Those words call attention to the purity and high Christian character of the Baptists, and to the fact that they were the first in these centuries to send out missionaries to the heathen. It is a fact that the great Foreign Mission movement now encircling the world was first started by the Baptists a little over a hundred years ago under the lead of William Carey, a Baptist. Notice it gives to the Baptists the honor of being the author of religious liberty for the world."

"But who is that Campbell?" asked Sterling.

"His book is one of the great books of the day."

"Of course," said Sterling with a smile.

Dorothy read on. "Here is another statement from Gregory. He is writing concerning the Anabaptists: 'The history of that remarkable people is yet to be written, and when it shall have been written an heroic chapter shall have been added to the history of the world. The Dutch Anabaptists were Puritans before Puritanism had sprung into recognized existence and held all that Puritanism afterwards contended for.'"

"Think of that," said Mr. Walton. "We all know one of the greatest religious movements of the past was Puritanism. It saved England from the blight of Catholicism and made and kept her Protestant. But there were two wings of the Puritan movement; one wing stayed in the English church and sought to work reforms within the church, and the other wing fought the battle on the outside of that church, and of this party the Baptists were the foremost fighters. They sounded clear and strong the demand for absolute religious liberty."

"Here is something from Ma.s.son's Life of Milton," said Dorothy.

"Let us have it," said Sterling. "That is a standard book."

"On page 90, Vol. III., find this: 'Not to the Church of England, however, nor to Scotch Presbyterianism, nor to English Puritanism at large does the honor of the first perception of the full liberty of conscience and its first a.s.sertion in English speech belong. That honor has to be a.s.signed, I believe, to the Independents in general and to the Baptists in particular.'"

"Well, well," said Mr. Page. "Sterling, this daughter of mine has indeed made a discovery. I think it is an eye-opener for both of us. But go ahead, daughter. You seem to have yet other surprises up your sleeve."

"Here is something very interesting."

"And where does it come from this time?" asked the father.

"It is also from Ma.s.son's Life of Milton, and it is on page 101, Vol.

III.: 'In a confession of faith or declaration of faith, put forth in 1611 by the English Baptists of Amsterdam, just after the death of Smith, this article occurs: "The magistrate is not to meddle with religion or matters of conscience, nor compel men to this or that form of religion; because Christ is the King and the Lawgiver of the church and conscience." It is believed,' continues Ma.s.son, 'that this is the first expression of the absolute principle of liberty of conscience in the published articles of any body of Christians'."

"Just think of that publication by the little Baptist church in Amsterdam," said Mr. Walton. "Consider the circ.u.mstances. The religious world was at that time under the domination of the Catholic hierarchy.

The church and the government locked arms in absolute control of men's forms of wors.h.i.+p as well as of every phase of human action. The king and pope prescribed the prayers, the Scripture readings and the forms of wors.h.i.+p of every citizen; and in the face of it all this little band drew up its declaration of faith to the effect that the government had no right to meddle with a man's religion nor to compel men to any form of wors.h.i.+p because Christ was the King and Lawgiver. Think of the boldness of such an announcement. It was an ultimatum hurled by that little flock at the king, the pope and the civil government and the hierarchy."

"That explains all the horrible persecutions of the Baptists in Holland that I read about this morning,' said Dorothy.

"Very true," said Mr. Walton. "Of course the thunderbolts of the higher powers fell upon the heads of the rebellious Baptists, but persecution only fanned the flame of their faith and zeal. They grew and spread.

They planted the seeds of their faith on English soil, and we read that after 1660 the English prisons were full of Baptists, and Miss Dorothy has already read of the brave Baptists who formed the flower of Cromwell's Ironsides."

"What do you mean exactly by saying that the Baptists have given religious liberty to the world?" asked Mr. Page.

"I mean this," said Mr. Walton. "Up to the sixteenth century the Catholic Church held the so-called Christian world in its grip, controlled men's consciences and decided how every man was to wors.h.i.+p.

The Baptists rebelled against any interference with the religious life."

"I thought it was Martin Luther with his Reformation who broke the power of the Catholic Church and thus gave birth to religious liberty," said Sterling.

"The Reformation under Luther did strike a prodigious blow at Catholicism, but it was not a fight for absolute religious liberty.

Never forget that. Lutheranism simply threw off Catholicism to subst.i.tute a state church of its own. In the Reformation in England the church broke from Catholicism, but it sought to set up a state Episcopal church. In Scotland a Presbyterian state church was set up, but during all this time the Baptists were ever sounding their demand for absolute religious liberty without any interference or help from the government and for complete separation of church and state."

"Did not the Baptists bring these principles to this country?" asked Dorothy. "I think I read that they did."

"You are right, Miss Dorothy. Roger Williams, who was a Baptist--"

"What is that!" exclaimed Sterling. "Roger Williams a Baptist?"

"He surely was, and he was the apostle of religious liberty for America.

And how did the clause in the Const.i.tution of the United States granting religious liberty get in there? It was brought about by the Baptists of Virginia, who pleaded for it and fought for it and suffered for it.

Bancroft, the historian, states that the Baptists gave religious liberty to America, and John Locke states that the Baptists were the authors of religious liberty. And, gentlemen, it is a fact to be borne in mind that, while all Protestant denominations in America today practically believe in religious liberty, yet it was not always so. The Baptists in this country, single-handed, took up the cause and fought it through to a finish, and now all denominations are enjoying the benefits of it."

"By the way, Mr. Sterling," said Dorothy, "I read today that John Milton and John Bunyan were Baptists."

"Hold on, Miss Dorothy," said Mr. Sterling.

"It is a fact," said Mr. Walton. "They agreed with the Baptists in their fundamental doctrines. You must remember another thing, and that is that the principles of democracy that are sweeping over the world are largely the trophies of the Baptists."

Mr. Page, with a laugh: "There he goes gathering up some more of our treasures and claiming them for the Baptists."

"Come, let us vary the exercises with some ice cream," said the mother.

"You think the discussion is getting too warm, do you, mother?" asked Dorothy.

They adjourned to the dining room and a recess was taken.

CHAPTER XIII.

BAPTIST PRINCIPLES ON THE MARCH.

"Now let us have the facts about the part the Baptists have played in giving the principles of democracy to the world," said Mr. Page.

"History shows," said Mr. Walton, "that up to the sixteenth century the Catholic Church, in league with the government, not only controlled the religious life, but also the civil life of the people. There was neither religious nor civil freedom. The king and the pope ruled all. Then came the demand of the Baptists for absolute freedom, and although their demand had reference to religious freedom, yet the inevitable result of this principle is civil freedom; and in the wake of this came democracy, which is simply the rule of the people."