The Penn's Grove record., 1920-11-26
The Bible and the Pilgrims

blDle-Cne IOT1ueT DcluS IHS DOOh VI
the people, whereas the latter was en-
dorsed by the dignitaries of the
Church.
The authorized or King James Yer
sion, issued in 1911, nine years before
the Pilgrims sailed, had not yet be-
come popular, but later it became the
version most commonly used among
the New England settlers.
There is no doubt that every family
that sailed in the "Mayflower" pos
sessed a copy of the Bible, which they
diligently studied, so that they might
receive further light" Several of
the Bibles possessed by the leaders
are still in existence.
The Pilgrims made a covenant with
each other Sin the presence of God"
that they would "walk together in his
ways according as he pleased to reveal
himself unto us in his blessed word of
truth"
Every question that arose among
them was discussed, disputed, and
cleared up by the word of Cod" and
it was not considered settled until it
was found agreeable to the Holy
Scriptures"
Public officials were selected accord
ing to the directions given in the Bible,
the qualities there demanded being set
up as the standard for all office
holders. Disputes among themselves
were not taken into the courts of law,
but were settled in harmony with the
precepts of the Bible. Largely be-
cause of the scarcity of other sources
of recreation and amusement, the Bible
vas employed in games and riddles,
thus ~popularizing it among the young
people.
Because the Bible is a democratic
book, sanctioning no privileged class
es, giving no exclusive rights, and rec
ognizing nc exclusive rights, and rec
ognizing all men as equal, having a
common heritage, it appealed to the
Pilgrims, who believed most profound
ly in a great spiritual brotherhood.
Their churches were organized upon a
simple Scriptural basis, having regard
for the teachings of both the Old and
the New Testaments.
All their hopes of civil and religious
prosperity were hung upon the Word
of God. The Pilgrims had no other
lCdCllluS VI duLilOIlly. LII lIluldI-
ing the basis of their religion they ad-
hered to NJ pagan creeds, nor church
traditions.
The Puritan movement, out of which
the Pilgrims came, was largely set in
motion by the translation of the Bible
by Wycliffe and the extension of it's
truths by the Lollards. The Bible
was to the Pilgrims a guide in all
things. 1t truly was "a lamp unto
their feet and a light unto their path"
The Pilgrims were a people of The
Book. To them was no other. They
studied the Bible so that they might
know themselves, so that they might
know each other, but principally SO
that they might know God. They
held that God spoke to them thru his
Word in an individual, personal way,
without any medium or interpreter be-
ing required.
The Pilgrims did not look upon the
Bible as a fetch or charm-they re-
garded it as The Word of God which
possessed vital, life-giving power.
The Bible was considered as a revolu-
tionary book, but it's teachings result
ed in the formation of a spiritual
brotherhood. If it were possible to
obtain a clear-cut statement from the
Bible regarding any question whatso-
ever, that question was settled for the
Pilgrims for all time.
The Pilgrims appreciated the incon-
sistency of a "liberty of thought and
expression" which permitted the laity
to find in the Bible only the facts
which they were told were there and
that regarded all further examination
into the truth as "unholy prying."
The social life of the Pilgrims was an
attempt to live in literal accordance
with the teachings of the Bible. The
Bible served as the whole literature of
life for the common people in the
times of the Pilgrims; because they
had access to no other books. Once
studied and digested, the Bible among
them created a taste for, and an appre-
citation of, the best literature.
The Bible became to the Pilgrims q
system of practical ethics and right
conduct; it not only quickened theil
thought but changed their lives. The
open Bible of the Pilgrims was a proc
lamation of liberty, which made then
impatient of all restraints imposed or
conscience and the free exercise o.
natural rights. 1t was the policy o.
the oppressors of these early church
men to keep the Bible a closed book
because they realized that an oper
Bible meant not only freedom from
religious tyranny, but political tyran
ny as well.
The Bible was a divinely inspired
book to the Pilgrims. With then
"Thus saith the Lord" meant the fina
word of authority. They misunder
stood some of the teachings of tn
Bible, just as others have done and a
some are still doing, but these misun
derstandings and misinterpretation
were of small consequence compares
with their dominant attitude and be
lief toward the Word of God. The,
: never claimed i%nfallibility for them
: selves. They approached the Bibl
with an open mind, with their face
: toward the light, in the supreme con
| fidence that God would not disappoin
r them in their desire to be led thru hi
Word. The Bible was the faunda
: tinn IF thair rr1ioiop tho kpvpofa n