Kate Bradford
Feb 2015
Feb 2015
Roger
Williams (1603 -1683) was a 17th Century Puritan reformer who
lobbied for the end of religious persecution, freedom of conscience, land
rights for First Nation Peoples, and a separating wall between church and state,
in order to protect the church. Williams established Rhode Island State as a
safe haven for refugees fleeing religious persecution. Williams believed all
people, no matter which race, tribe or religion, bore the image of God and
expressed God-given difference. Therefore, cross-cultural ministry and
proselytization must be neither coercive nor accompanied by penalisation or
withdrawal of social goods or services.
Roger Williams lived a life that expressed
life-long obedience to God in the same direction.[1]
Roger Williams saw no separation between our public and private Christian life.
For Williams the whole of life was an expression of faith (or lack thereof) in
Christ, and was lived out through every relationship and activity of life.
Why do I wish to nominate a puritan
reformer as a patron saint of anything? In addition, I do not really think that
RW would approve of my plan! I do wish,
however, to introduce and highlight the extraordinary achievements of someone
who single-handedly laid out the relationship for Christian ministry and
engagement in the public space (in the English speaking world) four centuries
ago and has a great deal to offer chaplaincy.
I simply cannot think of any other historical figure who more deeply
ploughed a theological furrow for our chaplaincy plough-disk to follow, which
draws us inevitably forward into secular intuitions in the public space.
Williams proposed a radical new paradigm
for a working relationship between secular agencies and religious institutions
whereby the secular agency (magistrate) has no authority to discipline or judge
on matters of religion not violating secular law, and religious leaders had
authority over only those who have placed themselves under the authority of the
minister.
What
Motivated Roger Williams?
Williams’ radical thinking arose out the
religious turmoil Europe was experiencing and had experienced through the
previous century following the reformation. In Europe, uniformity of religion
was enforced and any religious dissent considered treasonous, leading variously
to harassment, oppression, persecution or execution.
Under Catholic rule, Protestants were
persecuted and under Protestant rule Catholics were persecuted. Minority religious groups such as Jews,
Anabaptists, Quakers, followers of witchcraft and heathen were subject to
persecution by all religious powers.
In 1630, a group of Anglican Puritans left
England for Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England, fleeing from King Charles
who brutally crushed all political and religious dissent in England. In New
England, far from King Charles, the Puritans planned to establish a ‘New Israel’,
a city on a hill, a light to the Gentiles. Massachusetts Bay Colony was to be a
theocracy, a colony ruled by God’s laws. Roger Williams emigrated with the
Puritans in a second wave arriving in New England in Feb 1631.
Roger Williams, the son of a tailor, had
been sponsored by one of England’s finest Jurists for his studies at Cambridge
and training for the Anglican ministry. He was appointed chaplain to a
prominent English Puritan family. During
his voyage however, Williams had become convinced that the pilgrims should
break completely with the Church of England. This led to a conflict and he
ended up pastoring a Separatist congregation of like-minded parishioners. He came
into more conflict with his leaders over several further matters. Firstly, he
was incensed that the pilgrims had taken their land from the Native Indians
without purchasing it, and secondly, he believed that true worship could not be
forced, or commanded by any church or state, as it is a gift given freely from
God.
Both issues threatened the authority of the
church. As a result, this led to Williams’ banishment from the colony. He spent
the winter of early 1636 in the wilderness of New England. Years later he
recounted that during this time he was often without ‘bread or bed’. Williams’
life was spared when he found shelter with the Narragansett Indians, leading to
lifelong friendship and mutual respect. Williams acquired the Indian language
gaining both insights and appreciation into Indian culture. During this time of
persecution, alienation and banishment for expressing both ‘secular’ and
‘religious’ views that differed from the religious establishment, his thoughts
crystalized into a new way of thinking about the interface of secular and
religious principles.
‘[Williams] was a social creature, a man
who made friends easily, yet he was now cast adrift emotionally, mentally and physically.
But being unmoored in an entirely new world had one benefit: He began
exploring, probing, thinking about what kind of society he wanted to create,
for he now had…“the country free before me.”’[2]
Williams was both a 17th century
puritan and a radical Christian thinker. Williams’ key principles were securing
religious freedom for all people, where charity and civility replaced
persecution. He proposed separation of church and state whereby authority of
the government lay with the civil power of the people not the church and
religion was voluntary, not compelled. People of all faiths were allowed to
worship (or not) as they chose.
Touchstones
for Williams’ new paradigm
1.
Piety - Williams was a sincere and pious
man who depended on God through prayer and study of the Bible.
2.
Humanity – God created all people. No
nation or human church acted as his proxy.
3.
Society – Human society was a collection
of civil societies. No society, after the coming of Christ, was the New Israel.
The New Israel was the invisible community gathered around Christ whose members
were drawn from all nations. This demonstrates Williams’ notion of equality.
4.
Sanctity – Each person bore the image of
God. People of all tribes, races, cultures and languages were created and
sustained by God. Therefore Williams held abolitionist principles, believing
that no person could own another.
5.
Legality – There were legal limits and
boundaries placed upon all people, the so-called second tablet of the Law. i.e
the prohibition against stealing applied to all people.
6. Liberty - Liberty of conscience; or freedom in matters of religion - worship
cannot be compelled.
7.
Generosity - Proclamation of the Gospel
of Grace should not be tied to receiving or withdrawal of civic privileges
8.
Charity – Providence. Rhode Island was a
refuge for people fleeing religious persecution.
9.
Civility – Civil society where church
and state are separate, civic services extended to all members regardless of
religion. Each member of the society seeks the common good.
What
do these touchstone issues look like in chaplaincy?
Chaplaincy is a Christian ministry. Faithful
chaplaincy ministry rests upon faith in Jesus and the prayer and devotional
life of the chaplain. A chaplain does not speak for God but rather creates a
space to allow a sufferer to explore issues of a spiritual nature while holding
out the possibility of discovering the new Community gathered around Christ.
Chaplaincy should be offered to all suffers
as a secular institution has no authority to speak on behalf of an individual
in matters of religion. Each individual sufferer is a person for whom Christ
died and of infinite value to him. Chaplains are empathically concerned about
the whole person - physical, social, cultural, political, emotional, psychological and
spiritual, yet the sufferer’s boundaries and wishes regarding a conversation on
matters of religion are to be respected - a chaplain must seek permission
before pursuing a conversation.
Perhaps a good summary of a ‘Roger Williams
style chaplaincy’ might be: pray continually,
be present in the world, be prepared to given
an answer, seek permission, respond respectfully to people
not ideas, keep it personal.
(cf 1 Peter 3:13-18)
Beatification for Roger Williams? … Probably not.
Saint? … Definitely!!
[1] An expression used by Eugen Peterson, who quoted the 19th century
German philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche, ‘ The essential thing in
'heaven and earth' is that there should be a long obedience in the same
direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run,
something which has made life worth living.’
