What can we learn from the Pilgrim Fathers?
Climate change, rapid technological innovation, religious persecution. No, not 2020 but 1620.
Philip Quenby looks at the relationship between the struggles of the Pilgrim Fathers and the struggles we face today
Writing for Heart Publications, Historian Philip Quenby talks through some of the very relevant issues discussed in his book One Small Candle.
“This isn’t distant history. It’s a bang-up-to-the-minute glimpse into what we’re facing, and why. And it provides important lessons for how we need to respond to what’s unfolding around us.”
Philip explains the religious tensions that were forming in Britain, as many pushed for church reformation. However the Pilgrim Fathers were part of a small minority, know as Seperatists.
“Unlike Puritans, they weren’t interested in reformation of the Church as it then was. Instead, they looked for restoration of the Church as it had been in its earliest days. With today’s denominational churches seemingly moving further and further from the biblical pattern and orthodox teaching, that’s something to ponder.”
Read the full article to find out more about how climate change, religious and technological change, were all issues faced by the Pilgrim Fathers.
About the Book
Christian historian Philip Quenby investigates the ideas and motivations that brought the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World, setting them alongside King James’ contrasting autocratic vision for church and state.
What special claim do these people have on our attention? The answer is: an idea, a book and an inheritance. The idea was freedom of conscience, the book was the Geneva Bible and the inheritance was the accumulation of English liberties bound up in all that Magna Carta has come to symbolise.
Remembering how and why the Pilgrim Fathers stood firm against overbearing state power is vital. By learning from the past, we can find hope, purpose and direction for our nation today.
