[somber music]
00:00:00.50\00:00:02.63
[dramatic music]
00:00:04.57\00:00:07.34
[dramatic music continues]
00:00:13.74\00:00:16.58
[dramatic music continues]
00:00:22.58\00:00:25.42
[dramatic music continues]
00:00:27.86\00:00:30.76
[adventurous music]
00:00:34.30\00:00:37.23
- It is the 20th
of January, 1649,
00:00:45.34\00:00:48.51
and it's a trial unlike any
other in the history of England.
00:00:48.51\00:00:52.18
Charles I is
being tried for treason
00:00:52.18\00:00:55.42
and Oliver Cromwell and his
men have handpicked 68 judges.
00:00:55.42\00:00:59.82
Now, the king is defiant.
00:00:59.82\00:01:00.82
He refuses to believe
00:01:00.82\00:01:02.26
that a monarch can actually
be tried by his subjects
00:01:02.26\00:01:04.99
and he demands to know by what
authority they're doing this.
00:01:04.99\00:01:08.46
Charles believes, you see,
in the divine right of kings,
00:01:08.46\00:01:11.87
a long standing idea
00:01:11.87\00:01:13.40
that kings receive their
authority directly from God.
00:01:13.40\00:01:17.24
To Charles' way of thinking,
a rebellion against the crown,
00:01:17.24\00:01:20.81
well, that's a
rebellion against heaven itself.
00:01:20.81\00:01:23.58
To suggest that a
king might be guilty
00:01:23.58\00:01:25.35
of treason seems
ludicrous to him,
00:01:25.35\00:01:27.18
because while the
very definition of treason
00:01:27.18\00:01:29.58
is to betray the nation
00:01:29.58\00:01:31.15
and the king is the
embodiment of the nation.
00:01:31.15\00:01:34.09
So whatever Charles wants,
well that's ordained by God.
00:01:34.09\00:01:37.86
So he insists that
he will only answer
00:01:37.86\00:01:40.00
to the charge of treason
00:01:40.00\00:01:41.56
if the court can prove
they have the right to try him.
00:01:41.56\00:01:44.67
And at one point, he reaches
out and pokes a court official
00:01:44.67\00:01:47.97
with his cane and the
top of the cane falls off.
00:01:47.97\00:01:51.51
Now, never in
his life has Charles
00:01:51.51\00:01:53.64
ever had to pick
something off the floor
00:01:53.64\00:01:55.31
because well, that's
what servants are for.
00:01:55.31\00:01:58.21
But on this day, nobody moves,
00:01:58.21\00:02:00.55
and that's when Charles
realizes he is no longer a king,
00:02:00.55\00:02:04.45
but a mere man.
00:02:04.45\00:02:05.95
And the object resting
on the floor is a dark omen
00:02:05.95\00:02:08.62
of what's going to happen next.
00:02:08.62\00:02:10.56
On the 25th of January,
00:02:10.56\00:02:12.66
Charles is convicted and
sentenced to death by beheading.
00:02:12.66\00:02:17.37
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:02:17.37\00:02:21.20
[dramatic
suspenseful music continues]
00:02:25.31\00:02:30.05
He was executed right here,
00:02:32.61\00:02:34.98
outside the
Banqueting House in Westminster.
00:02:34.98\00:02:37.72
Now, there was nothing
special about the executioner.
00:02:37.72\00:02:40.29
The people who were here tell us
00:02:40.29\00:02:41.72
his head came off
with a single blow,
00:02:41.72\00:02:44.63
which means that the
sentence was carried out
00:02:44.63\00:02:46.90
by an
executioner who had performed
00:02:46.90\00:02:48.86
an awful lot of
them on mere commoners.
00:02:48.86\00:02:52.03
The severed head was
hoisted high above the crowd,
00:02:52.03\00:02:54.37
the executioner shouting,
"Behold, the head of a traitor."
00:02:54.37\00:02:58.44
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:02:58.44\00:03:02.54
Now, it's not the kind of story
00:03:02.54\00:03:03.95
most people would
read their kids at bedtime,
00:03:03.95\00:03:06.11
but it is one of the
most important moments
00:03:06.11\00:03:07.78
in European history.
00:03:07.78\00:03:09.38
Another one of the
threads we have to pick up
00:03:09.38\00:03:11.55
if we're going to
understand how America was born.
00:03:11.55\00:03:15.19
At that moment, when
the common people tried
00:03:15.19\00:03:18.19
and executed a king,
00:03:18.19\00:03:19.96
a new idea was
taking root very quickly,
00:03:19.96\00:03:22.50
the universal rule of law where
even a monarch had to obey.
00:03:22.50\00:03:27.60
It was of course kind of a
violent way to make a point,
00:03:28.94\00:03:30.47
and Cromwell did make a
lot of mistakes after that,
00:03:30.47\00:03:33.01
including, well just
dismissing parliament
00:03:33.01\00:03:35.31
when he didn't
like their opinion.
00:03:35.31\00:03:37.35
But the point had been made,
the tide was turning in Europe
00:03:37.35\00:03:40.48
and people were starting to
question absolutely everything
00:03:40.48\00:03:43.12
including 1,000 years
of social organization.
00:03:43.12\00:03:47.29
And the most thoughtful,
00:03:47.29\00:03:48.49
the most
influential of these people
00:03:48.49\00:03:50.23
started to move away
from swords and spears
00:03:50.23\00:03:52.99
and instead they
adopted the power of the pen.
00:03:52.99\00:03:57.43
[dramatic bright music]
00:03:57.43\00:04:00.70
[dramatic
bright music continues]
00:04:04.44\00:04:08.68
The Church of
England, of course,
00:04:12.38\00:04:13.85
was founded on a
sticky personal problem
00:04:13.85\00:04:16.18
that Henry VIII had.
00:04:16.18\00:04:17.69
He wanted an heir,
and his wife was barren,
00:04:17.69\00:04:20.56
so he wanted an annulment.
00:04:20.56\00:04:22.89
The Pope wouldn't give him one.
00:04:22.89\00:04:25.26
Then he noticed that a
lot of the German princes
00:04:25.26\00:04:27.20
were shaking off the
authority of the Pope,
00:04:27.20\00:04:28.90
and he thought, you know
what, I could do that too.
00:04:28.90\00:04:31.33
I could become the head
of a new independent church.
00:04:31.33\00:04:34.54
[dramatic music]
00:04:34.54\00:04:36.40
Now, when England
formally broke with Rome
00:04:36.40\00:04:38.74
the hopes of a lot of people
probably started running high
00:04:38.74\00:04:41.28
because, hey, maybe
like some of the people
00:04:41.28\00:04:43.71
over on the continent,
00:04:43.71\00:04:44.95
they could finally
be free to worship God
00:04:44.95\00:04:46.41
according to the
dictates of conscience.
00:04:46.41\00:04:48.85
Maybe they could be free
to answer directly to God
00:04:48.85\00:04:51.79
and not through a
state prescribed religion.
00:04:51.79\00:04:54.29
That's not at all what happened.
00:04:55.19\00:04:56.69
By the 1600s,
people began to realize
00:04:56.69\00:04:59.03
that they had exchanged one form
00:04:59.03\00:05:00.96
of religious
tyranny for another.
00:05:00.96\00:05:03.40
The new Church of England
00:05:03.40\00:05:04.60
was not just one
more religious option,
00:05:04.60\00:05:06.94
it became compulsory.
00:05:06.94\00:05:08.74
By 1593, there was a law
known as the Conventicle Act
00:05:10.07\00:05:13.48
forbidding any religious
gathering of more than five
00:05:13.48\00:05:17.25
people outside of an officially
sanctioned parish church.
00:05:17.25\00:05:20.45
So essentially a home
church could land you in jail.
00:05:20.45\00:05:25.09
After the English
monarchy was restored in 1660,
00:05:25.09\00:05:28.36
they passed another
law, the Act of Uniformity,
00:05:28.36\00:05:31.69
which said that all
clergy had to be ordained
00:05:31.69\00:05:34.63
by the Anglican bishop
00:05:34.63\00:05:36.43
and all church
services had to be conducted
00:05:36.43\00:05:38.90
according to the
Book of Common Prayer.
00:05:38.90\00:05:41.40
There was no room for creativity
00:05:41.40\00:05:43.47
and no room for
differences of opinion.
00:05:43.47\00:05:46.41
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:05:46.41\00:05:49.44
So the 1600s
proved to be anything
00:05:49.44\00:05:51.48
but a time of religious liberty.
00:05:51.48\00:05:53.75
In fact, in some ways, things
might've even gotten worse.
00:05:53.75\00:05:57.32
You had all these
groups popping up,
00:05:57.32\00:05:58.59
people known as non-conformists,
00:05:58.59\00:06:00.92
and they're just the
people who wanna worship God
00:06:00.92\00:06:03.16
the way their own
conscience told them to.
00:06:03.16\00:06:05.33
People like the Barrowists
who believed you didn't
00:06:06.70\00:06:08.73
need the sanction of
the state to worship God
00:06:08.73\00:06:10.87
however you wanted.
00:06:10.87\00:06:12.33
People like the
Fifth Monarchists,
00:06:12.33\00:06:13.97
who had studied the
four kingdoms of Daniel
00:06:13.97\00:06:16.40
and decided the
next world empire
00:06:16.40\00:06:18.97
was going to be
the kingdom of Christ.
00:06:18.97\00:06:21.18
And people like the
Levelers and the Puritans
00:06:21.18\00:06:23.51
and the Quakers and
the Sabbath-keepers,
00:06:23.51\00:06:26.48
none of them were
allowed to worship freely.
00:06:26.48\00:06:29.35
[dramatic music]
00:06:29.35\00:06:32.82
Most people have
heard of John Bunyan,
00:06:32.82\00:06:34.42
the man who wrote that great
classic "Pilgrim's Progress."
00:06:34.42\00:06:37.33
What some people don't
realize is that he wrote it
00:06:37.33\00:06:39.56
while sitting in
prison for his faith.
00:06:39.56\00:06:42.33
In 1661, he was convicted of
breaking the Conventicle Act,
00:06:42.33\00:06:45.70
which forbid worshiping
or preaching in private.
00:06:45.70\00:06:49.34
So what they did
with Bunyan is said,
00:06:49.34\00:06:51.47
"look if you
agree to stop preaching,
00:06:51.47\00:06:54.14
you'll just spend
three months in prison,
00:06:54.14\00:06:56.18
otherwise, you're
gonna have to stay here."
00:06:56.18\00:06:58.31
Bunyan chose to stay.
00:06:58.31\00:06:59.85
His faith was
that important to him.
00:06:59.85\00:07:02.28
He was in the Bedford
County Jail for 12 years.
00:07:02.28\00:07:06.65
[dramatic music]
00:07:06.65\00:07:07.59
So when a lot of people realized
00:07:07.59\00:07:09.59
that they were
never going to be free,
00:07:09.59\00:07:11.43
some of them took up
arms to change the country,
00:07:11.43\00:07:13.90
like Oliver Cromwell.
00:07:13.90\00:07:15.80
But some of
them decided to leave
00:07:15.80\00:07:18.20
and they came
here to the Netherlands
00:07:18.20\00:07:19.87
which was the freest republic
in Western Europe at the time.
00:07:19.87\00:07:23.61
Here, people with
different religious opinions
00:07:23.61\00:07:26.24
somehow managed
to live side by side
00:07:26.24\00:07:28.54
without killing each other.
00:07:28.54\00:07:30.21
They were experimenting
with a novel concept,
00:07:30.21\00:07:32.81
religious liberty,
and it was working.
00:07:32.81\00:07:36.28
The Dutch were
really onto something
00:07:36.28\00:07:37.79
and they found
themselves taking all sorts
00:07:37.79\00:07:39.75
of religious refugees.
00:07:39.75\00:07:41.66
During the 1600s,
this was the place to be.
00:07:41.66\00:07:45.76
[dramatic music]
00:07:45.76\00:07:48.63
The
non-conformists or dissenters,
00:07:50.73\00:07:52.60
as they were sometimes called,
00:07:52.60\00:07:54.24
were coming here from England.
00:07:54.24\00:07:56.27
The Huguenots were fleeing
religious persecution in France.
00:07:56.27\00:08:00.44
And maybe most importantly,
00:08:00.44\00:08:02.51
the Jews were coming from Spain
00:08:02.51\00:08:04.81
to get away from the
wrath of the Inquisition.
00:08:04.81\00:08:08.22
[dramatic music]
00:08:08.22\00:08:11.02
[dramatic music continues]
00:08:13.79\00:08:16.73
Now, let's take
a bird's eye view
00:08:16.73\00:08:18.13
of this for a moment
00:08:18.13\00:08:19.39
because this is one of
the most important moments
00:08:20.73\00:08:22.26
in the birth of America.
00:08:22.26\00:08:23.77
These dissenters coming
from England were Protestant
00:08:23.77\00:08:26.63
and they believed
that the best model
00:08:26.63\00:08:28.60
for the Christian life was found
00:08:28.60\00:08:30.01
not in cannon law or
in long held tradition,
00:08:30.01\00:08:33.17
but in the pages of the Bible.
00:08:33.17\00:08:35.34
Most of the educated
dissenters could read Latin,
00:08:35.34\00:08:38.28
because that was the
current language of learning.
00:08:38.28\00:08:41.45
But very few of
them could read the Bible
00:08:41.45\00:08:43.39
in the original languages.
00:08:43.39\00:08:45.45
So here in the Netherlands,
00:08:45.45\00:08:46.96
there was this entire Jewish
community who could teach them.
00:08:46.96\00:08:50.16
Suddenly they were reading
the Old Testament in Hebrew
00:08:50.16\00:08:53.50
and they had access to
some very old commentaries.
00:08:53.50\00:08:57.50
And in the midst
of their studies,
00:08:57.50\00:08:59.70
they stumbled into that
story we looked at last time
00:08:59.70\00:09:02.87
about Israel
asking Samuel for a king.
00:09:02.87\00:09:05.61
The dissenters'
jaws were on the floor.
00:09:05.61\00:09:07.71
Was it possible,
that this was the reason
00:09:07.71\00:09:10.91
they were still having trouble
with human kings to this day?
00:09:10.91\00:09:13.92
And was it possible if
they had already thrown
00:09:13.92\00:09:16.42
off the political
shackles of a powerful bishop,
00:09:16.42\00:09:19.55
that they could also
dispense with having a king?
00:09:19.55\00:09:23.69
This became one of the biggest
debates of the 17th century.
00:09:23.69\00:09:26.73
What could you do
if you had a nation
00:09:26.73\00:09:28.90
that didn't have a king?
00:09:28.90\00:09:30.50
I mean, clearly
God had been angry
00:09:30.50\00:09:32.73
when Israel asked for a monarch,
00:09:32.73\00:09:34.57
and the world
had been struggling
00:09:34.57\00:09:35.87
under human empires ever since.
00:09:35.87\00:09:37.44
So what if the dissenters
reversed that decision?
00:09:37.44\00:09:41.51
What if they created
a new situation where
00:09:41.51\00:09:43.45
people could be
directly answerable to God
00:09:43.45\00:09:47.02
the way they had been prior
to the incident with Samuel?
00:09:47.02\00:09:50.35
Now, I know this
likely did not come
00:09:50.35\00:09:52.69
up in your history
classes in high school,
00:09:52.69\00:09:54.72
but do not underestimate
how important this was.
00:09:54.72\00:09:58.73
Here were people who
dreamed of a new republic
00:09:58.73\00:10:01.93
that didn't have a king.
00:10:01.93\00:10:03.57
To you and me, that
just seems like old news.
00:10:03.57\00:10:05.87
But in the 1600s,
that was revolutionary.
00:10:05.87\00:10:08.94
And I use the word revolutionary
quite deliberately.
00:10:08.94\00:10:13.07
The very ancient Israelites
these people discovered
00:10:13.07\00:10:15.74
lived in a republic
instead of a monarchy.
00:10:15.74\00:10:18.95
And when you go back
and read their deliberations
00:10:18.95\00:10:21.22
you'll find some
of them referring
00:10:21.22\00:10:22.68
to the government of
Israel as the Hebrew republic.
00:10:22.68\00:10:26.86
And then they dug even deeper
00:10:26.86\00:10:29.89
and they stumbled
onto Deuteronomy 17
00:10:29.89\00:10:32.36
where God actually predicted
that Israel was one day
00:10:32.36\00:10:35.23
going to ask for a king.
00:10:35.23\00:10:37.77
And in that event, if
that's what they insisted on
00:10:37.77\00:10:41.27
God provided some
very strict guidelines,
00:10:41.27\00:10:44.01
a safety rail if you will,
00:10:44.01\00:10:45.71
to prevent things from
getting out of control.
00:10:45.71\00:10:48.61
Now, this is a passage
that does bear reading at length
00:10:48.61\00:10:51.85
because what we find here
are some of the key concepts
00:10:51.85\00:10:55.52
that gave birth to
the American republic.
00:10:55.52\00:10:57.79
I'll start reading in verse 14.
00:10:57.79\00:10:59.69
"When you come to the land
00:11:00.66\00:11:02.16
which the Lord
your God is giving you
00:11:02.16\00:11:03.83
and possess it and dwell in it
00:11:03.83\00:11:05.86
and say, I will
set a king over me
00:11:05.86\00:11:08.10
like all the
nations that are around me
00:11:08.10\00:11:10.40
you shall surely
set a king over you
00:11:10.40\00:11:12.17
whom the Lord your God chooses."
00:11:12.17\00:11:14.57
In other words,
00:11:14.57\00:11:15.84
they were supposed to
follow God's guidelines.
00:11:15.84\00:11:18.94
"One from among your brethren,
00:11:18.94\00:11:20.81
you shall set his king over you.
00:11:20.81\00:11:22.48
You may not set a
foreigner over you
00:11:22.48\00:11:24.95
who is not your brother."
00:11:24.95\00:11:26.28
So the king had
to be native born.
00:11:26.28\00:11:29.45
"But he shall not
multiply horses for himself
00:11:29.45\00:11:32.15
nor cause the people to return
to Egypt to multiply horses.
00:11:32.15\00:11:35.29
For the Lord has said to you,
00:11:35.29\00:11:36.69
you shall not
return that way again."
00:11:36.69\00:11:39.53
In other words, the
king would not be permitted
00:11:39.53\00:11:42.23
to return his people to bondage,
00:11:42.23\00:11:43.97
if he thought it
meant prosperity.
00:11:43.97\00:11:46.23
"Neither shall he
multiply wives for himself,
00:11:46.23\00:11:48.64
lest his heart turn away,
00:11:48.64\00:11:50.24
nor shall he greatly multiply
silver and gold for himself."
00:11:50.24\00:11:53.81
So there were checks
and balances, if you will,
00:11:53.81\00:11:57.08
in an effort to stem corruption.
00:11:57.08\00:12:00.18
Now comes the most
important part, verse 18.
00:12:00.18\00:12:03.55
"Also it shall be, when he sits
on the throne of his kingdom
00:12:03.55\00:12:06.89
that he shall write for himself
00:12:06.89\00:12:08.39
a copy of this law in a book
00:12:08.39\00:12:11.03
from the one before
the priest, the Levites.
00:12:11.03\00:12:13.70
And it shall be with him,
00:12:13.70\00:12:15.33
and he shall read it
all the days of his life
00:12:15.33\00:12:17.97
that he may learn to
fear the Lord has God
00:12:17.97\00:12:19.97
and be careful to observe
all the words of this law
00:12:19.97\00:12:22.87
and these statutes,
00:12:22.87\00:12:24.57
that his heart may not be
lifted above his brethren,
00:12:24.57\00:12:27.31
that he may not turn
aside from the commandment
00:12:27.31\00:12:29.38
to the right
hand or to the left,
00:12:29.38\00:12:31.31
and that he may prolong
his days in his kingdom,
00:12:31.31\00:12:33.98
he and his children
in the midst of Israel."
00:12:33.98\00:12:37.02
So we had the
absolute rule of law,
00:12:38.02\00:12:41.56
a nation where
the king had to live
00:12:41.56\00:12:43.39
by the same
laws as his subjects.
00:12:43.39\00:12:46.43
Now, this passage sparked
a great deal of controversy
00:12:46.43\00:12:50.23
because it raised
some important questions.
00:12:50.23\00:12:52.80
Had God actually
wanted a king for Israel
00:12:52.80\00:12:55.80
or was a king just plan B in
case everything went haywire?
00:12:55.80\00:12:59.81
Did the existence of
a king make God angry
00:12:59.81\00:13:01.98
or was a king
God's plan all along?
00:13:01.98\00:13:05.78
One thing was clear,
00:13:05.78\00:13:07.82
if we're going to have to
live with human government,
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.78
there are some
forms of government
00:13:09.78\00:13:11.49
that are much
better than others,
00:13:11.49\00:13:13.59
and this was one of those.
00:13:13.59\00:13:16.56
So what we have in the
17th century is a broad group
00:13:16.56\00:13:19.33
of diligent Bible scholars
who become absolutely convinced
00:13:19.33\00:13:22.90
that what the Israelites
had in the very beginning
00:13:22.90\00:13:25.57
was a republic and these
ideas that the top executives
00:13:25.57\00:13:30.41
should be native born, that
you had to prevent corruption,
00:13:30.41\00:13:33.61
and that everybody should
live by the very same law,
00:13:33.61\00:13:36.44
including the top executive.
00:13:36.44\00:13:39.21
Well, oddly enough,
those same ideas made their way
00:13:39.21\00:13:42.22
into the American Constitution,
00:13:42.22\00:13:44.79
because the founders
of the American republic
00:13:44.79\00:13:46.89
were students themselves
00:13:46.89\00:13:48.62
and they had
been reading the works
00:13:48.62\00:13:50.29
of the English dissenters.
00:13:50.29\00:13:52.23
They'd read John Locke,
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.50
who'd been forced to
hide in the Netherlands
00:13:53.50\00:13:55.60
when he was accused of
plotting to kill the king.
00:13:55.60\00:13:58.53
Today, Locke is widely regarded
00:13:58.53\00:14:00.10
as one of the
architects of our liberty.
00:14:00.10\00:14:02.67
And while hiding
in the Netherlands,
00:14:02.67\00:14:04.21
he wrote a letter
concerning toleration,
00:14:04.21\00:14:06.78
which made powerful
arguments suggesting
00:14:06.78\00:14:09.54
that the proper sphere of
government was civil matters
00:14:09.54\00:14:13.52
and the proper sphere of
the church spiritual matters.
00:14:13.52\00:14:17.22
- [John Locke Voiceover]
The only business of the church
00:14:18.69\00:14:20.49
is the salvation of souls
00:14:20.49\00:14:22.29
and it no way concerns the
commonwealth or any member of
00:14:23.79\00:14:28.13
it, that this or the other
ceremony be there made use of.
00:14:28.13\00:14:32.20
Neither the use nor the
omission of any ceremonies
00:14:32.20\00:14:36.60
in those religious
assemblies does either advantage
00:14:36.60\00:14:40.44
or prejudice the life,
liberty, or estate of any man.
00:14:40.44\00:14:45.51
- The founding
fathers had also read
00:14:48.18\00:14:49.62
the works of John Milton,
00:14:49.62\00:14:50.85
the famous poet
who argued for the rule
00:14:50.85\00:14:53.46
of law and the
consent of the governed.
00:14:53.46\00:14:55.99
- [John Milton
Voiceover] It follows, lastly,
00:14:57.29\00:14:58.69
that since the king or
magistrate holds his authority
00:14:58.69\00:15:00.96
of the people, both
originally and naturally
00:15:00.96\00:15:03.40
for their good in the
first place, and not his own,
00:15:03.40\00:15:06.67
then may the people
00:15:06.67\00:15:08.17
as often as they
shall judge it for the best,
00:15:08.17\00:15:11.17
either choose him or reject
him, retain him, or depose him,
00:15:11.17\00:15:15.94
though no tyrant
merely by the liberty
00:15:15.94\00:15:18.78
and right of freeborn men
to be governed as seems best.
00:15:18.78\00:15:22.68
- These were powerful ideas,
00:15:24.75\00:15:26.89
and today we
find those same ideas
00:15:26.89\00:15:29.09
in the American Constitution.
00:15:29.09\00:15:30.69
It was an idea
whose time had come.
00:15:30.69\00:15:34.20
[dramatic music]
00:15:34.20\00:15:37.00
Some of these
ideas also made their way
00:15:43.17\00:15:45.34
on board the famous Mayflower,
00:15:45.34\00:15:47.38
a ship that carried
Puritans to the New World,
00:15:47.38\00:15:50.21
Puritans who
have been hiding here
00:15:50.21\00:15:52.18
in the city of
Leiden in the Netherlands,
00:15:52.18\00:15:54.18
like many others were.
00:15:54.18\00:15:56.05
Today we call them the Pilgrims,
00:15:56.05\00:15:58.59
a name that captures the
essence of who they were,
00:15:58.59\00:16:01.46
deeply religious people
looking for something better
00:16:01.46\00:16:04.16
from the hand of God.
00:16:04.16\00:16:05.86
Here in the Netherlands,
they found religious liberty,
00:16:05.86\00:16:08.40
the freedom to worship, but
over time, they became concerned
00:16:08.40\00:16:12.30
that their children were growing
up more Dutch than English.
00:16:12.30\00:16:16.40
And because the Netherlands
were an important center
00:16:16.40\00:16:18.47
of world commerce at the
time, they were also worried
00:16:18.47\00:16:21.44
that their children
might become rather worldly.
00:16:21.44\00:16:23.98
So, they decided to do
what so many others have
00:16:23.98\00:16:26.85
done ever since, get a new
start in a brand new world.
00:16:26.85\00:16:31.09
[adventurous music]
00:16:31.09\00:16:34.12
[adventurous music continues]
00:16:38.59\00:16:42.43
[adventurous music continues]
00:16:46.63\00:16:49.00
Now, what they
intended to do was settle
00:16:49.00\00:16:51.24
in a relatively
established area near the mouth
00:16:51.24\00:16:53.78
of the Hudson River,
but the wind mysteriously
00:16:53.78\00:16:56.75
blew them off course, and
they ended up here in Plymouth,
00:16:56.75\00:16:59.65
an area that had
already been somewhat developed
00:16:59.65\00:17:02.32
by the Patuxet Indians.
00:17:02.32\00:17:04.32
But the Patuxets had been wiped
out by a devastating plague
00:17:04.32\00:17:07.49
before they arrived
00:17:07.49\00:17:08.89
and the few remaining
survivors had already left.
00:17:08.89\00:17:11.36
So the pilgrims found
an agreeable piece of land
00:17:12.93\00:17:15.80
that had already been cleared,
00:17:15.80\00:17:17.57
and more importantly
they found stores of corn
00:17:17.57\00:17:20.54
that had been
buried in the ground,
00:17:20.54\00:17:22.80
and that was enough to help them
00:17:22.80\00:17:24.31
survive their first
brutal winter in the New World.
00:17:24.31\00:17:27.51
[dramatic music]
00:17:27.51\00:17:30.41
It's really an incredible
story, so incredible in fact,
00:17:31.98\00:17:35.72
that the Pilgrims
themselves became convinced,
00:17:35.72\00:17:38.19
like Columbus, that
God had sent them here.
00:17:38.19\00:17:41.32
There were just
too many coincidences
00:17:41.32\00:17:43.22
to believe anything else.
00:17:43.22\00:17:45.03
Take for example
the story of Squanto.
00:17:45.03\00:17:47.83
Now, his real
name was Tisquantum
00:17:49.73\00:17:52.20
but apparently they found
that too hard to pronounce,
00:17:52.20\00:17:54.80
so they shortened it to Squanto.
00:17:54.80\00:17:57.41
It turns out that
Squanto had been kidnapped,
00:17:57.41\00:18:00.14
not once but twice by Englishman
00:18:00.14\00:18:02.91
who had taken him
captive to Europe.
00:18:02.91\00:18:05.28
He was eventually
liberated by some Spanish monks
00:18:05.28\00:18:07.82
and made his way
back to the New World
00:18:07.82\00:18:10.12
only to find out that his people
00:18:10.12\00:18:12.05
had been wiped out by plague.
00:18:12.05\00:18:14.59
It was a horrible
series of events t
00:18:14.59\00:18:16.59
hat was perpetrated by
some really bad people.
00:18:16.59\00:18:20.13
But like Joseph of the Bible,
00:18:20.13\00:18:21.76
who was sold into slavery and
ended up saving God's people,
00:18:21.76\00:18:25.57
Squanto ended up
saving the Pilgrims.
00:18:25.57\00:18:28.87
Not only did they
discover a local resident
00:18:28.87\00:18:31.14
who happened to speak English,
00:18:31.14\00:18:33.78
but they also found a
man who could teach them
00:18:33.78\00:18:35.94
how to survive
in their new home.
00:18:35.94\00:18:38.15
From Squanto, they
learned how to raise corn
00:18:38.15\00:18:40.95
and mine the riches of
the local rivers for food,
00:18:40.95\00:18:44.62
and they also negotiated
peace with the Wampanoag Tribe,
00:18:44.62\00:18:48.92
a peace that lasted 50 years.
00:18:48.92\00:18:51.96
Now, here's the
interesting part of this story.
00:18:51.96\00:18:54.30
Because of his time in Europe
00:18:54.30\00:18:55.70
and because of his
time with the Spanish monks
00:18:55.70\00:18:57.77
who liberated him,
00:18:57.77\00:18:59.27
Squanto had already
been exposed to Christianity
00:18:59.27\00:19:02.80
and he'd adopted some of
it, but his ideas were Catholic
00:19:02.80\00:19:06.04
and the Pilgrims were
rather staunch Protestants.
00:19:06.04\00:19:09.01
In some parts of the old world
00:19:09.01\00:19:10.28
this might have been a problem,
00:19:10.28\00:19:11.78
but the pilgrims had already
been living in the Netherlands
00:19:11.78\00:19:14.48
where religious
toleration was popular
00:19:14.48\00:19:17.22
and now they were
building a new existence
00:19:17.22\00:19:19.89
in the New World,
00:19:19.89\00:19:21.49
where eventually the
various sects of Christianity
00:19:21.49\00:19:24.29
would be able to
coexist peacefully.
00:19:24.29\00:19:27.66
Not that the
pilgrims always got it right,
00:19:27.66\00:19:29.50
because in the beginning
they were really only interested
00:19:29.50\00:19:32.00
in religious
liberty for themselves.
00:19:32.00\00:19:34.37
Turns out that
centuries old religious habits
00:19:34.37\00:19:37.04
can be very hard to shake
00:19:37.04\00:19:38.64
and we have some
horrible examples
00:19:38.64\00:19:40.71
of religious
intolerance that took place
00:19:40.71\00:19:42.88
in decidedly
Puritan communities.
00:19:42.88\00:19:45.85
As other Puritans
joined these brave souls
00:19:45.85\00:19:48.35
who'd come on the Mayflower,
00:19:48.35\00:19:50.02
Plymouth was
eventually overshadowed
00:19:50.02\00:19:51.95
by the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
00:19:51.95\00:19:54.29
a place they all hoped
would become a shining example
00:19:54.29\00:19:57.66
of good Puritan government.
00:19:57.66\00:19:59.56
But in spite of the
grief that they'd experienced
00:19:59.56\00:20:01.60
in the old world, it
was still a theocracy,
00:20:01.60\00:20:04.83
a new state that still
had an official religion.
00:20:04.83\00:20:09.10
[dramatic music]
00:20:09.10\00:20:11.97
[dramatic music continues]
00:20:16.11\00:20:19.78
So when people with
different opinions showed up,
00:20:21.22\00:20:23.79
like the Quakers,
there was trouble.
00:20:23.79\00:20:26.22
At first, they simply banished
these people from the colony.
00:20:26.22\00:20:29.46
They even fined ships' captains
00:20:29.46\00:20:31.13
who brought
Quakers over from England.
00:20:31.13\00:20:33.46
Eventually things escalated
00:20:33.46\00:20:35.60
and they began
confiscating property,
00:20:35.60\00:20:37.80
cutting off ears or boring holes
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.37
in Quaker's tongues to
keep them from speaking.
00:20:40.37\00:20:43.27
Eventually, they even
used the death penalty,
00:20:43.27\00:20:46.21
the most famous case, of
course, being that of Mary Dyer
00:20:46.21\00:20:49.51
who was hanged here
on Boston Common in 1660
00:20:49.51\00:20:53.05
for the simple
crime of coming to town.
00:20:53.05\00:20:55.78
The previous year they
had already walked her up
00:20:55.78\00:20:57.85
to the scaffold
00:20:57.85\00:20:59.12
and put the noose
around her neck as a warning.
00:20:59.12\00:21:01.76
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:21:02.62\00:21:06.26
So no, they really
didn't get it perfect.
00:21:06.26\00:21:09.26
But for that matter,
00:21:09.26\00:21:10.60
you and I don't
always get it perfect either
00:21:10.60\00:21:12.57
because even though we
now live in this free republic
00:21:12.57\00:21:15.67
we still sometimes struggle
00:21:15.67\00:21:17.41
with the idea that
people should actually be
00:21:17.41\00:21:19.37
free to believe whatever they
want, say whatever they want,
00:21:19.37\00:21:23.11
to the point where
now some points of view
00:21:23.11\00:21:25.38
are being forcibly
removed from the public arena.
00:21:25.38\00:21:28.88
But still, in spite
of our fallen humanity,
00:21:28.88\00:21:31.35
here we are with a
constitution that guarantees
00:21:31.35\00:21:34.29
a lot of things that you
and I now take for granted.
00:21:34.29\00:21:37.43
But back in the 17th century,
00:21:37.43\00:21:39.03
when these ideas
were first taking root,
00:21:39.03\00:21:41.16
they were nothing but a dream,
00:21:41.16\00:21:43.50
a dream that was
cherished by people
00:21:43.50\00:21:45.17
who had seen something better
00:21:45.17\00:21:47.07
in the pages of the Bible.
00:21:47.07\00:21:49.07
And some of those early
settlers were much faster
00:21:49.07\00:21:52.34
than others to put
those new ideas into practice.
00:21:52.34\00:21:56.18
Take Roger Williams, for
example, a man who was expelled
00:21:56.18\00:21:59.88
from the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
00:21:59.88\00:22:01.82
and went on to found
the colony of Rhode Island,
00:22:01.82\00:22:04.85
where the separation of
church and state became reality.
00:22:04.85\00:22:08.59
And William Penn,
the devoted Quaker,
00:22:08.59\00:22:10.83
who had been locked
up in the Tower of London
00:22:10.83\00:22:12.69
for his beliefs, but
then went on to create
00:22:12.69\00:22:15.50
the colony of Pennsylvania,
00:22:15.50\00:22:17.43
where people were free
to exercise their faith,
00:22:17.43\00:22:20.24
including a very interesting
settlement at Ephrata,
00:22:20.24\00:22:24.11
that decided they
would keep the seventh day
00:22:24.11\00:22:26.41
Sabbath instead of Sunday.
00:22:26.41\00:22:28.68
[dramatic music]
00:22:28.68\00:22:31.08
So it might've taken time
00:22:31.08\00:22:33.52
and we might've
been slow to learn,
00:22:33.52\00:22:35.42
but things
moved much faster here
00:22:35.42\00:22:37.45
than they did over in Europe.
00:22:37.45\00:22:39.25
In fact, compared to
the pace of the old world,
00:22:39.25\00:22:41.79
which was still beleaguered
by centuries old power struggles
00:22:41.79\00:22:45.59
and hindered by complicated
political considerations,
00:22:45.59\00:22:49.26
these new ideas were taking
root at an astonishing pace.
00:22:49.26\00:22:53.40
As Victor Hugo once put it,
"there is nothing as powerful
00:22:53.40\00:22:56.74
as an idea whose time has come"
00:22:56.74\00:22:59.27
and when you see all the
things that had to happen
00:22:59.27\00:23:02.04
to make this republic possible,
00:23:02.04\00:23:04.41
well, you've gotta wonder
00:23:04.41\00:23:06.05
if somebody wasn't
driving the process.
00:23:06.05\00:23:09.32
[bright music]
00:23:10.19\00:23:12.82
[bright music continues]
00:23:17.19\00:23:20.70
[bright music continues]
00:23:25.07\00:23:28.54
Today it's become
popular to suggest
00:23:30.21\00:23:32.57
that the reason we
have religious freedom
00:23:32.57\00:23:34.54
is because of the Enlightenment.
00:23:34.54\00:23:36.81
The way some
people tell the story,
00:23:36.81\00:23:38.31
the world had been steeped
in religious superstition
00:23:38.31\00:23:40.68
for a very long time,
and then the light of reason
00:23:40.68\00:23:43.72
overthrew the superstition
and finally set us free.
00:23:43.72\00:23:47.39
Now, to be sure, the founders
00:23:47.39\00:23:48.82
of the American
republic did consult
00:23:48.82\00:23:50.89
with the ancient
Greek philosophers,
00:23:50.89\00:23:52.69
and they did tap
into the Enlightenment,
00:23:52.69\00:23:55.20
which was a good thing
00:23:55.20\00:23:56.80
because they did manage
to mine the very best ideas.
00:23:56.80\00:24:00.07
But to suggest that
America was born chiefly
00:24:00.07\00:24:02.24
from secularism,
that's just not true.
00:24:02.24\00:24:05.77
The ideas that made
this republic were born
00:24:05.77\00:24:07.88
in the hearts of Christians,
00:24:07.88\00:24:09.31
Christians who were open
enough to study the classics
00:24:09.31\00:24:11.98
but still Christians.
00:24:11.98\00:24:13.88
Thomas Hobbes, John
Locke, Bunyan, Milton,
00:24:13.88\00:24:17.15
and countless others drew their
inspiration from the Bible,
00:24:17.15\00:24:20.62
and then we drew our
inspiration from them.
00:24:20.62\00:24:23.66
[dramatic music]
00:24:23.66\00:24:25.33
What occurred in the
United States happened
00:24:25.33\00:24:27.23
because Christians
finally recognized in the wake
00:24:27.23\00:24:29.86
of the Reformation that
something had gone horribly
00:24:29.86\00:24:33.77
wrong when we
married church and state.
00:24:33.77\00:24:36.04
They recognized that
Jesus had never suggested
00:24:36.04\00:24:38.41
any such thing
00:24:38.41\00:24:39.54
and they set
themselves to the task
00:24:39.54\00:24:41.21
of undoing the damage we caused.
00:24:41.21\00:24:44.28
In the words of Jesus,
00:24:44.28\00:24:45.88
"The kings of the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them
00:24:45.88\00:24:49.88
and those who exercise authority
00:24:49.88\00:24:51.72
over them are
called benefactors.
00:24:51.72\00:24:53.82
But not so among you;
00:24:53.82\00:24:55.39
on the contrary,
he who is greatest
00:24:55.39\00:24:57.56
among you let
him be as the younger
00:24:57.56\00:25:00.30
and he who
governs as he who serves.
00:25:00.30\00:25:03.50
For who is greater,
00:25:03.50\00:25:04.67
he who sits at the
table, or he who serves?
00:25:04.67\00:25:06.94
Is it not he who
sits at the table?
00:25:06.94\00:25:09.47
Yet I am among you
as the One who serves.
00:25:09.47\00:25:13.68
[dramatic music]
00:25:13.68\00:25:16.51
[dramatic music continues]
00:25:20.72\00:25:24.39
We finally recognized
that Jesus never seized
00:25:26.99\00:25:29.72
the reigns of power in
order to make his point.
00:25:29.72\00:25:32.33
We shouldn't be doing it either.
00:25:32.33\00:25:34.36
The Kingdom of God is
built on love, not force.
00:25:34.36\00:25:37.77
That's the very thing
that we were trying to
00:25:37.77\00:25:39.43
set straight here in America.
00:25:39.43\00:25:41.60
Now, here's the thing that
you've really gotta wonder.
00:25:41.60\00:25:44.01
If all of those
other big empires from
00:25:44.01\00:25:45.84
Babylon to Rome and beyond
00:25:45.84\00:25:47.61
if they're all
in Bible prophecy,
00:25:47.61\00:25:49.48
what about the most powerful,
00:25:49.48\00:25:51.18
wealthiest nation in
the history of the world?
00:25:51.18\00:25:53.35
Shouldn't we be able to
find America in prophecy too?
00:25:53.35\00:25:56.52
You might be
surprised at what we find,
00:25:57.55\00:26:00.06
and you might
really be surprised
00:26:00.06\00:26:01.52
at what the
Bible says comes next.
00:26:01.52\00:26:04.36
[dramatic music]
00:26:04.36\00:26:07.23
[dramatic music]
00:26:13.67\00:26:16.44
[dramatic music continues]
00:26:21.74\00:26:25.38
[dramatic music continues]
00:26:30.39\00:26:34.06
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:26:37.19\00:26:39.53
- [Announcer] This
has been a broadcast
00:26:39.53\00:26:41.06
of the Voice of Prophecy.
00:26:41.06\00:26:43.20
To learn more about
how you can get a DVD copy
00:26:43.20\00:26:46.07
of "Final Empire" for yourself,
00:26:46.07\00:26:48.17
please visit FinalEmpireDVD.com
00:26:48.17\00:26:51.94
or call toll
free [844] 822-2943.
00:26:51.94\00:26:56.18
[dramatic suspenseful music]
00:26:57.95\00:27:01.75
[dramatic
suspenseful music continues]
00:27:07.36\00:27:11.99
[dramatic
suspenseful music continues]
00:27:16.56\00:27:21.24
[dramatic
suspenseful music continues]
00:27:25.74\00:27:30.41
[upbeat music]
00:27:31.48\00:27:32.75
- [Host] Here at
The Voice of Prophecy,
00:27:32.75\00:27:34.18
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:27:34.18\00:27:36.25
for the whole family.
00:27:36.25\00:27:37.69
Like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:27:37.69\00:27:40.79
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:27:40.79\00:27:43.43
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:27:43.43\00:27:45.69
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:27:45.69\00:27:48.46
from this small
mountain, summer camp and town.
00:27:48.46\00:27:51.30
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:27:51.30\00:27:53.80
and fresh content every week
00:27:53.80\00:27:55.97
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:27:55.97\00:27:59.64
[upbeat music]
00:27:59.64\00:28:02.68
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:28:02.68\00:28:06.98
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:28:06.98\00:28:11.59
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:28:11.59\00:28:13.72
and come away scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:28:13.72\00:28:16.83
Our free, "Focus
on Prophecy" guides
00:28:16.83\00:28:19.19
are designed to help
you unlock the mysteries
00:28:19.19\00:28:21.30
of the Bible and
deepen your understanding
00:28:21.30\00:28:23.53
of God's plan for
you and our world.
00:28:23.53\00:28:26.00
Study online or
request them by mail
00:28:26.00\00:28:28.47
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:28:28.47\00:28:31.47