In light of Thanksgiving, let’s look at the actual story of the pilgrims for a moment. Not the usual story in children’s books, but what REALLY happened. This group of people is the reason we celebrate a holiday this week. This group truly had a sense of courage, determination, and fearlessness that most people today would turn their nose up at, rather than relating to it.
A basic context of the time.
Around the turn of the 17th century (1600-1620) England was not in good shape. It had a monarchical leader who was in control of everything, including the church. King James VI of Scotts, also known as King James I of England was not as appealing as most people realize. He was paranoid for his life beyond a reasonable doubt, and was a major contributor of the horrible witch hunts and trials in the late 1500’s. He would interrogate suspected witches himself and he alone would decide if they were or were not a witch. He wrote the ultimate authoritative book at the time, “Daemonologie” (modern spelling would be “demonology”) on how to tell if a person was a witch or not. Don’t get me wrong, King James had his highlights, as he is also the main contributor on the most popular translation of the Holy Bible in history. King James was neither favorable towards the Catholics or the Puritans, thus introducing a word-for-word translation without doctrinal notes or denominational bias from either side. The King James Version has been a best seller for over 400 years now. However, in the late 1500’s-early 1600’s a dispute arose over baptism…
What? It’s all about baptism?
Yes. A small group called the Puritans were lying in wait, itching at the chance to jump ship from this ruler, and especially, his church. The Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church was having a major disagreement with anyone who was baptizing outside of the Church of England. The Church of England was not happy with this group that believed they did not have to be baptized by the Anglican Church, but could be baptized by themselves into Christ, just as the Bible states. Two of the biggest controversies was;
- The Puritans did not believe an infant must be baptized, that it was a personal responsibility once a person reached an age to be held accountable to their own actions
- that a person did not have to be baptized into the Anglican Church to be saved.
The Puritans also simply wanted to read from their own bible, and worship how they saw fit, without a higher leader ruling the stipulations of worship. After all, just 50 years before King James I, King Henry VII had separated England from the Roman Catholic Church due to his wives not producing a male heir to the throne. King Henry VII wanted to divorce his wife for this reason and the pope refused. This led to King Henry separating from the Roman Catholic Church and forming the Church of England. The new church believed that the King (not Christ) was the Head of the Christian church, and had ultimate authority over the affairs of the church.
(It is also at least worthy of note that a group of people that believed in reading the bible, and that the bible alone had authority, came to the conclusion that not only was baptism required, but that there was a correct, and incorrect way to perform it.)
The Puritans become Separatists
So what’s the difference between the Puritans and the Separatists? In a word…courage. The Separatists were the Puritans who had finally had it and were willing to SEPARATE (get it? SEPARATists?) from the country. In today’s language they would be labeled “intolerant”, “religious bigots”, “radicals”, “bible thumpers”, and probably even “terrorists”. These people were NOT “politically correct” by any means. Yet we celebrate them. They first went to Holland, a place where they acquired religious freedom, but they had become so poor they were barely scraping by. They were hardly able to put food on the table, and eventually Holland was not the place of a better life they were seeking anymore.
The Journey
After being fed up with the Church of England, King James I, and striving for “Freedom of Religion”, they were able to commission two ships bound for the New World, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. They poured all the money they had into this journey. They were only allowed to carry two items on the ship due to limited space…A clothes chest, and a bible box, PER FAMILY. They left everything else they owned…behind. The Speedwell sprang a leak and left the Mayflower to be the only ship that was able to make the journey the first time. The trip was not pleasant at all. The pilgrims lived below deck, on board with pirates that made fun of them, and likely threatened them. They only came up on the main deck to dump the pots they were puking or defecating in, and they were basically eating dried beans and dry biscuits. Disease ran rampant, and many died on the boat. During the horrible trip across the Atlantic, they veered way off course and landed further north than they had wanted, and late, in the dead of winter. It was not a good situation. 50% of the people that set out on the trip died either on the journey or within the first year in the New World. The natives were a saving grace to them. They helped them out with food, shelter, and other provisions. The Pilgrims had a deep respect for the Natives and thus was the birth of the holiday Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving
First let’s define a word so the correct meaning is carried through this idea.
diversity
[dih-vur-si-tee, dahy-]
In light of the mutual agreements on both sides of the diversity between the Pilgrims and the Natives, the first Thanksgiving was held. A time when the Natives respected the Pilgrims just as much as the other way around. It was a MUTUAL relationship, not one side taking advantage of the other. The pilgrims respected the natives and wanted to celebrate overcoming all of the obstacles they had faced. After all, many of their family members had died, they suffered being persecuted in England, dropped the ball in Holland, survived a nightmare journey across the Atlantic, survived through the dead of winter and managed to plant, grow, and harvest a crop the following year. It’s really a no-brainer what they were celebrating. God had blessed them. They were THANKFUL just to be alive! This event is not to be confused with the settlers that flooded in later and exploited the Natives, slaughtered them, referred to them as “savages” and rejected any possible agreements.
So let’s remember the pilgrims correctly…
The Pilgrims respected diversity, as with the Natives. However, when push came to shove, when it really came down to standing for right and wrong, they would stand their ground, defend their beliefs to the death, and ultimately do just about anything to have the Freedom of Religion. To worship God without the input of the government. How many people today would have the courage to do this? In the face of an intimidating ruler, his government, his church, and even the general population? How many people are willing to be labeled “intolerant”, “radical”, or a “religious bigot” today, defend their faith, stand up for what they believe, and make the defining decision to NOT agree? Well, there’s the REAL story of the pilgrims. Let’s be thankful that we are alive, have food on the table, and have God’s word.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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