To the modern reader, one strange feature of Christian history is witchhunts. A series occurred in seventeenth-century New England colonies. However, the New England witch-hunts were only a small part of the total. It is estimated that between seventy thousand and one hundred thousand people worldwide were accused and killed as witches from 1400 to 1700 Beliefs about witches arose from popular culture as well as from the church itself.
Some villagers practiced magic as a way of coping with natural disasters and other problems of everyday life. Many villages had persons skilled in the practice of magic arts. These individuals held positions of respect, but often they were feared. The clergy practiced magic in the sacraments and in such procedures as exorcisms of demons.
In the thirteenth century, the church declared that only its priests had legitimate magical power According to the church, because such power could come only from the devil or God, anyone outside the church who engaged in magic was in league with the devil. The witch-hunts were part of the larger struggle with Satan. They also may have been a way for Christianity to extend its control over non-Christian areas. A majority of witch-hunt victims were women. Often these women were forty-five or older.
Witch-hunts ended in the seventeenth century, perhaps partly because they tended to get out of control. Accused witches would often claim that important townspeople participated in Satanic activities. The Reformation also possibly played a role in ending the witch-hunts. When the Protestants denied transubstantiation along with the sacrifice of the Mass, much of the magical element was removed from religion. Protestants also decreased the power and importance of the devil. For them, God was the all-powerful being. Rationalism and science reduced the importance of the supernatural and claimed that the material universe functioned according to natural laws, not at the whim of supernatural beings. Disease epidemics and natural disasters were shown to have their origins in the material world People increasingly turned away from magic and religion to medicine and science to solve their problems.
finally defeated by two Catholic armies His army withdrew, having only increased the suffering of the German people Emperor Ferdinand was now determined to restore the large sections controlled by him to the Catholic faith. Many Protestants were converted to Catholicism at the point of the sword Protestant areas were viciously looted and burned
Another phase of the conflict began in 1630 when King Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) of Sweden launched an invasion of Germany Gustavus was a strong Lutheran who also feared the Habsburgs He felt that he had a mission to save Protestantism He was aided by money from Cardinal Richelieu of France Gustavus was a brilliant military commander His campaign left him in control of major parts of southern and western Germany He successfully defeated the opposing armies but was killed at Lutzen in 1632, depriving the Protestants of a great leader.
The French then openly joined the fight on the side of the Swedish in 1635 Neither side could win a clear victory The war degenerated into a long stalemate, with raids, lootings, and killings on all sides. The troops seemed to have forgotten their original purpose, and war had become a way of life Civilians of all faiths suffered. Finally everyone grew so tired of war that the only option was peace. The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia basically restored the conditions of the Peace of Augsburg. The one significant change was that toleration was extended to the Calvinists, though Anabaptists and other radical groups continued to be persecuted.
Germany was divided into more than three hundred states. Habsburg power had been limited. People were to follow the religion of the ruler of the state, but many ceased to care. The folly of trying to enforce religion by force of arms was made clear on the Continent The secular state was now supreme Never again did the Continent go to war primarily for religious reasons. Their many wars were now openly for political purposes . 3
The Church in the Desert
The French Protestants, or Huguenots, had grown steadily in the sixteenth century. They probably represented about one-ninth of the total French population. However, because many nobles and professionals were in their ranks, they asserted a good bit of influence in French society. The monarchy feared their influence, which led to the persecution and warfare of the late sixteenth century. The Edict of Nantes finally ended the strife by guaranteeing religious and political privileges to the Protestants. To ensure these privileges, the Huguenots were permitted to keep a number of fortified cities that were almost self-governing as well as thousands of fortified castles.
Th is relative peace continued with only minor disturbances until Cardinal Richelieu came to power in the 1620s Richelieu was not worried about the Protestants as heretics, but he was concerned with the potential threat to royal control that their fortified cities represented As a result, in 1629 he had the French army attack the main Protestant stronghold at La Rochelle The siege of the city was long and bloody and many who defended their city died valiantly When La Rochelle finally fell, a Catholic mass was celebrated in all the
churches there. This led other Protestant cities to take up arms against the Crown. The revolt was smashed and the fortifications of the Huguenot cities were destroyed Because the Crown was no longer threatened by the Protestants and their fortified cities, Richelieu issued an edict that restored the political and religious rights of the Huguenots. Protestantism then grew among all social classes and was well accepted.
The fortunes of the Protestants again changed when Louis XIV came into power in 1661. The Sun King would not tolerate anyone who did not submit to him. He strongly defended the liberties of the Gallican church (ancient privileges granted to the French church) against the pope. He also attacked dissidents of all kinds, including the Huguenots. Measures were taken against the Protestants to force them to reunite with the Catholic church. In 1684 the army forced the reunion of tens of thousands of Protestants. A year later the king issued an edict that abolished the Edict of Nantes. It was now illegal to be a Protestant.
Thousands of Huguenots fled to Switzerland, Germany, England, the Netherlands, and North America. Many were skilled in crafts and business. Their talents contributed much to the economies in the countries where they settled. The loss of their talents in turn caused a great deal of damage to the French Some historians claim the disruption that resulted from the flight of the Huguenots was one cause of the French Revolution.
Although it was illegal to be Protestant, many continued to practice their faith in private meetings. The meeting places were kept secret, but when officials uncovered them, the pastors were executed, the men were sent to slave galjeys, and the women were imprisoned for life Children were raised by Catholic foster parents. Torture was used to force the resistant Protestants to reunite. Under such conditions, the Protestants began calling themselves the "church in the desert."
As often happens, persecution generated apocalyptic movements. Many members of the desert church became convinced that the Lord would soon return. In turn, this belief created a rebellion that lasted for some time and resulted in much death. The rebellion was led by the lower classes because many of those who were better off had left the country Persecution continued under Louis XIV's successors. These policies stopped in 1787, when Louis XVI declared tolerance of the Protestants. As many as two hundred thousand died in the persecutions from the time of Richelieu until toleration was extended in 1787. In spite of deaths, the church in the desert survived.
The Puritans and the Puritan Revolt
In England, Elizabeth I managed to maintain a high degree of religious peace during the latter part of her reign. More trouble was brewing for her successor
THE REFORMATION
James I (1566-1625), however. James was the son of Mary Stuart and was already King James VI of Scotland when he was selected as heir to the English throne in 1603 Scotland already had gone over to the Presbyterians. James himself had a Presbyterian background. He wished to rule in the same absolute manner as the French kings but the Presbyterians hindered him from being an absolute monarch in Scotland.
James and the Puritans. When James assumed the throne in England, his troubles with the Scottish Presbyterians inclined him not to support the Cal- vinistic Puritans. Instead he supported the Elizabethan Settlement and the episcopal structure of the church it established. An episcopal structure (episcopacy) is an organizational hierarchy in which bishops rule over the church. James regarded bishops as natural supports for a strong monarchy.
The Puritans had been gaining strength in England They were not an organized group but a loosely knit movement comprised of several groups whose common desire was to "purify" the church from Catholic influences. The Puritans also wished to force more disciplined living on society. They opposed frivolous games and heavy drinking and wanted to return to a biblically based faith. Their rejection of popish practices led them to attack the episcopacy. However, they disagreed on the pattern of church structure that should be adopted in its place
Some opted for a presbytery. The word presbyter means elder. Presbyterian churches have congregations presided by a minister and several lay elders. They may also have a synodwide (districtwide) presbytery, consisting of ministers and lay presbyters who decide matters of theology and morals. Others believed a congregational structure was the biblical pattern. In the congregational pattern, the local congregation has final authority in matters of faith, morals, and practice There is no hierarchy . 4
Tensions grew between Puritans who dominated the House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament) and James I. James finally called the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 to resolve differences However, James would not compromise his positions on the divine right of kings and the role of the episcopacy The conference hopelessly deadlocked.
James did authorize a new translation of the Bible into English. This translation was done by scholars at Oxford, Cambridge, and Westminster. It came to be known as the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible The first edition
containing the Apocrypha appeared in 1611 By 1629, the Puritans had the
»
Apocrypha removed from those editions not used in Anglican churches. The KJV became one of the most important works in the English language It helped form English culture from that point on and was a significant influence throughout the English-speaking world
Separatists and Baptists. As James put more pressure on the Puritans, a split began to develop Some of them chose to create congregations not associated with the Anglican church. They felt the church was too corrupt to renew These were called Separatist Puritans to distinguish them from those Puritans who stayed in the Church of England and continued to try to reform it. Some Separatists came to believe that they would have to leave England to find religious freedom.
One Separatist group led by William Brewster, William Bradford, and John Robinson established a religious community at Leyden in the Netherlands. Portions of the Leyden community came to believe that only in the New World could they practice their religion as they saw fit. They returned to England and departed from Plymouth on September 20, 1620 aboard the Mayflower. Their hope was to create a model society in the wilderness. This group founded the Plymouth colony in New England They are the Pilgrims whose first Thanksgiving gave Americans that holiday. Over the following decades, thousands of pilgrims migrated to New England. 5
Another Separatist group led by John Smyth (d. 1612) settled in Amsterdam. Smyth decided that he must break with the Anglican church entirely. He rejected infant baptism, baptized himself, and set up the first Baptist church in 1609. Smyth was aided in his task by Anabaptists from the Amsterdam area. He eventually left his Baptist congregation to become an Anabaptist. Others kept the congregation going, one of whom, Thomas Helwys (ca. 1550- ca. 1616), returned to England to establish Baptist churches. In 1612 he organized the first Baptist church outside London. His preaching was very successful.
A document that Helwys wrote, A Short Declaration of the Mystery of Iniquity , became popular. It brought him to the attention of authorities who imprisoned and eventually executed him. In the Mystery of Iniquity , Helwys rejected infant baptism and accepted general election (Christ died for everyone, but some will not accept the salvation he offers). More important, he contended that all religious groups who have political power will abuse it. The king has power only over earthly matters. He has no rights in religious matters. His power must not be used to try to enforce religious orthodoxy. A persons beliefs are a matter of personal conscience. All religions must be tolerated These doctrines of toleration and separation of church and state historically have been one of the distinguishing marks of the Baptist movement.
Because of the acceptance of general election the churches associated with Helwys came to be known as General (Arminian) Baptist churches. Another branch of the Baptist movement developed in the 1630s from the Calvinist Separatist congregations. One leader in this movement was Henry Jacob These Baptists accepted the Calvinistic idea of the atoning death of Christ
THE REFORMATION
being for the elect alone. They came to be called Particular Baptists, and they eventually accepted baptism by immersion in water as the biblical method. Baptism by immersion would come to be the standard Baptist practice
Roger Williams (ca. 1603-1684) established the first Baptist church in America after he broke with the Massachusetts Puritans to found Rhode Island. His Bloody Tenent of Persecution, which argues for separation of church and state and for universal toleration, is one of history's great documents.
Additional Conflict, Revolt, and Restoration. James I continued to have conflicts with Catholics, Puritans, Parliament, and others. The situation did not improve under his son, Charles I (1625—1649). Charles married a sister of King Louis XIII of France. In the process, he had to make concessions to English Catholics. These concessions enraged the Puritans who were already upset over the restrictive measures that had been taken against them. He also was in trouble with the Puritan-dominated Parliament. He dissolved Parliament and ruled eleven years without it.
Yet the English king had limited power to raise money through taxes without Parliament. That caused problems for Charles when the Scots revolted. The revolt occurred because the archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud (1573-1645), tried to impose the Anglican liturgy on the Presbyterian Scots. The Scots soon invaded England. Charles needed money to put down the rebellion, and he called together the Parliament. Thus began the Long Parliament, which met from 1640 to 1653. Parliament quickly assumed control of the government from Charles. When Charles sent troops to arrest the leaders of Parliament, an armed mob forced the king to flee from London.
Parliament moved toward abolishing Anglicanism and establishing a Presbyterian type of Puritanism. This was done partly to attract the Scottish rebels. Parliament was assisted in religious decisions by the Westminster Assembly, a remarkable group that produced the Directory of Worship, Short Catechism, and Westminster Confession. These documents are some of the best expressions of Calvinism They formed the groundwork for later Presbyterianism. (Congre- gationalists, Baptists, and others also drew heavily on these documents in creating their theologies.)
Both the king and his enemies prepared for civil war. The king was supported by the nobles and bishops while Parliament received its support from the lower classes who had suffered under both James and Charles. Parliament found a military genius in Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), a Puritan who felt called by God to his mission. Cromwell also extended acceptance of the independents (Anabaptist separatist Puritans who rejected the national Church of England). His army contained numbers of various types of dissidents such as Baptists and Quakers who had suffered at the hands of Anglicans and Puri-
tans alike. Cromwell reorganized the army around a regiment of “godly men" who fought with the zeal of religious conviction. He also improved the rest of the troops. His efforts were rewarded when Charles was defeated and captured in 1646. Both Laud and Charles were imprisoned and executed by Cromwell Cromwell became the virtual dictator of England, though he refused the title of king. He chose the designation "Lord Protector “ He successfully put down rebellions and defended the country against foreign enemies. Religious toleration was extended to Presbyterians, Baptists, and others. The only ones excluded were strong advocates to the episcopacy and Catholics. The Puritans undertook reform in society and produced legislation regulating the Sabbath and prohibiting various forms of "licentiousness," such as attending games, horse races, dancing, and heavy drinking. Christmas and other festivals were eliminated. Marriage was made a civil ceremony. Ornate church altars were desecrated. Opposition grew to the Protectorate.
When Cromwell died in 1658, his son was unable to hold England together. Parliament decided to restore the monarchy and brought the son of Charles I back from exile in France. There Charles II (1660-1685) had acquired a taste for Catholicism and royal absolutism. Charles undid much of what the Puritans had accomplished. He restored the Anglican church and launched a severe attack on those not conforming to Anglican ways. He even entered a secret treaty with Louis XIV to restore England to Catholicism, a move Parliament prevented Charles confessed Catholicism on his deathbed His successor James II (1685-1688) openly tried to bring Catholicism back to England. Parliament invited William of Orange and Mary, the daughter of James, to invade England. William and Mary were rulers in Holland. The Dutch army did invade and placed William and Mary on the throne They issued the Act of Toleration in 1689, which extended toleration to all but Catholics and Unitarians. (Unitarians were a group who argued for the "oneness of God and rejected the Trinity.) Puritanism was past its prime The middle way of Anglicanism was firmly established 6
ORTHODOXY AND PIETISM
New religions often develop from the intense personal experience of their founders. Yet a personal experience of God is very difficult to transmit to followers. It becomes especially hard to ensure that each successive generation has the same kind of experience that gave rise to the new faith Oftentimes an emphasis is placed on right belief in determining who is among the "chosen" and who is not. Things that were mere speculations in the original teachings evolve into absolute truths that must be accepted by all true believers.