Anabaptist Meeting House – Roger Williams

Massachusetts Puritans believed there was one true faith and persecuted any dissenters including Anabaptists. The name Anabaptist means "one who baptizes again" and was the name given them by their persecutors, referring to the practice of baptizing persons when they converted or declared their faith in Christ even if they had been baptized as infants. Many called themselves "Radical Reformers" and currently have grown into Mennonites.

Anabaptists internationally were heavily persecuted by state churches, both Magisterial Protestants and Roman Catholics, beginning in the 16th century and continuing thereafter, largely because of their interpretation of scripture, which put them at odds with official government religious control. Anabaptism was never established by any state and therefore never enjoyed any associated privileges.

Roger Williams started as a Puritan minister and theologian. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with Native Americans. He was expelled by the Puritan leaders from the Mass Bay Colony and established Providence Plantations in 1636 as a refuge which later grew into the colony of Rhode Island, and in 1638 he founded the First Baptist Church in America in Providence. While it isn’t documented he served here, it was in similar beliefs.

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Williams initially settled in Boston, but his controversial views led him to move to Salem MA. He was known for his skill with languages—a skill that would later help him rapidly learn American Indian languages in the colonies and later publish a study on it. He became a friend of Wampanoag Chief Massasoit and traded regularly with them.

He became the first American to call for separation of church and state. He also believed in complete religious freedom, so no single church should be supported by tax dollars. He claimed taking land from the Native Americans without proper payment was unfair. Ultimately, he was tried by the General Court and convicted of sedition and heresy and banished.

In 1636, he purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and founded the colony of Rhode Island. This colony was the first place in modern history where citizenship and religion were separated. He founded the first Baptist church in America and tried to prevent slavery from taking root in Providence Plantations. That made him North America’s first abolitionist.

With no official church in Providence, every head of household could vote. In the other English settlements, one had to be a member of the church to vote. No taxes were to be collected to support any church. In the other English settlements taxes were what built the meeting houses. With no meeting houses, each church met wherever they could, including at church members homes or even outside. But the diversity of religious belief coupled with lack of colony regulation led to problems.

For example, in the case of Joshua Verin and his wife Jane there was no legal recourse to protect Jane from her husband’s behavior in beating his wife for attending religious meetings against his will. The argument was he had a biblical right to discipline his wife and so was exercising his liberty of conscience while squashing hers.

Despite how concerned the town was the only thing they could do was cast him out of Providence Colony and together they moved back to Salem MA.

Joshua Verin was not prosecuted for ‘his furious blows’ that put his wife Jane ‘in danger of Life.’ He was prosecuted for violating an individual’s liberty of conscience. What is significant about what happened in the spring of 1638 in Providence is that it appears to be the first time a legal action was taken which supported a woman’s decision, independent of her husband, to act according to the dictates of her conscience.

What fruitage did these spiritual leaders produce? Mt 7:15-20. Consider John 17:16 vs Acts 20:29, 30. What would Jesus have said seeing this?

-Source Links-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptism

https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/roger-williams

https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/lessonplan/churchstate.html

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/roger-williams-lands-boston-shocks-puritans/

https://www.nps.gov/rowi/learn/historyculture/inprovidence.htm

Map https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/siege-of-boston-map.htm