the real story of thanksgiving
During the reign of King James I in early 1600's England, the official state-sponsored religion of that country was the Church of England. The church, as well as the worship processes and expressions of that church, were completely controlled by the government. Two major groups opposing the practices of the Church of England formed. They were the Puritans and the Separatists. The goal of the Puritans was to purify/reform the church from within. The Separatists believed that it was necessary to completely separate from the church because of the depth of corruption they found within the church. They also saw no hope of ever being able to freely express their love for God within the stuffy, restrictive regulations of the church. A very influential group of Separatists formed in the town of Scrooby, and the authorities in the Church of England soon began to feel threatened by this group. Harrassment followed, and the Scrooby Separatists began to feel threatened. Some of the leaders ended up being executed, and others were fined, imprisoned or tortured. By 1609, the Separatists knew that they would have to flee, so they banded together and made the journey to Leyden, Holland.
The Separatists truly appreciated the religious freedom they found in Holland. They were able to worship God in that country in a profoundly personal way with no government interference, and for that they were thankful. After almost 10 years in Holland, however, the Separatists had become troubled by the loose morals in their new home. The government of Holland didn't interfere with the Separatists and their religious practices because that government wasn't particularly concerned with the moral or religious behavior (or lack thereof) of their citizens. The Separatists were especially concerned about the effect that kind of loose atmosphere would have on their children. Kind of like raising kids in Vegas or New Orleans, I suppose! Several of the Separatist leaders began to explore the possibility of voyaging across the Atlantic to "the new world."
Take a moment to think about that. Think about how insanely dangerous a voyage like that would be, and understand that the Separatists knew about the danger. Then wrap your mind around the fact that they were willing to risk everything, including their lives, to move their families to a place where they could worship God in an environment that wouldn't corrupt them. That's amazing.
The Separatists prayed and they fasted and they debated and the prayed some more, and God spoke to them. They set sail on the Mayflower on Sept. 6, 1620.
I won't go into a lot of detail about the voyage. History has adequately covered the unbelievable trials endured by the Pilgrims during their voyage. There were 102 passengers, including 33 children. They were at sea for 65 days before they finally caught a glimpse of land. The Pilgrims were so overcome with joy and thankfulness that they dropped to their knees to pray and to sing praises to God. They celebrated by reading Psalm 100:
1 Shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come to him with songs of joy. 3 I want you to realize that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him. We are his people. We are the sheep belonging to his flock. 4 Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple. Give praise as you enter its courtyards. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.
After giving thanks to our Heavenly Father who had delivered them to this new world, the leaders of the Pilgrims began the task of creating a government to maintain order in the community they were about to establish. The document they put together was, of course, the Mayflower Compact. This marked the first time in recorded history that free and equal men had volutarily covenanted together to create their own new civil government. The covenant said:
"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."
Can there be any doubt as to what the purpose of these first "Americans" was? In the tradition of both the Old and the New Testaments, the Pilgrims had made a covenant with God and with each other to live their lives and order their government according to God's will, for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God. That, my friends, is the foundation of America!
All of the history books talk about how brutal that first winter (1620-21) was. By March of 1621 almost half of the Pilgrims that had stepped off of the Mayflower had died from starvation, disease, or exposure. Of course, we all learn about how Samoset and Massasoit of the Algonquins and the Wampanoags, and Squanto (the lone surviving Pautuxet from that area) all assisted the Pilgrims with hunting, fishing, farming and trapping. The Indians were instrumental in helping the Pilgrims survive. But that's not the end of the story.
In November of 1621, another ship unexpectedly arrived from England with 35 passengers, and they brought no supplies. The winter of 1621-22 was just as brutal as the previous winter and starvation began to set in but God miraculously carried all of the Pilgrims through to the spring. Nobody died. Spring and summer came and went, and the winter of 1622-23 again saw supplies and food run out and starvation set in. The Pilgrims seemed unable to produce enough food to last through the brutal New England winters. I wonder, do you know why?
It seems that when the Pilgrims originally landed, they established a system of communal property. Any food grown/caught/produced was put into the community storehouse and everybody followed the precept "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." Of course we recognize that as socialism, or collectivism, or modern liberalism, or the Democrat agenda for 2007-08. Guess what? It didn't work. I know that fabulous geniuses like Dennis Kucinich would become thoroughly discombobulated by this revelation, but the truth is that collectivism destroys work ethic, creativity, and production. Wow! Ain't that a kick in the head! (Sorry Dean!)
Would you like to take a wild guess what the Pilgrims did? By spring of 1623, the leaders of the Pilgrims knew that one more winter would probably kill all of them. William Bradford, the governor of the colony, prayed and fasted along with the rest of the leadership group, and God revealed the answer to him. Bradford divided up all of the land into individual family plots. He instructed each family to produce as much food as they needed for their own family, and the concept of collectivism was abolished. What Bradford established in its place was the idea of private ownership of property and a free market system. Capitalism was born on this continent in 1623! Guess what the result was? The Pilgrims produced more food than they ever had before, they ate like kings throughout the winter, the colony flourished in the spring/summer of 1624, and they never looked back. August 9, 1624, according to Bradford's diaries, was the date of the biggest Thanksgiving feast they had ever had.
The true story of Thanksgiving provides the perfect illustration of what makes America great, and it really ties together the whole mission of my blog. The Pilgrims founded their new colony on the love of God and the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They had the wisdom to recognize that the system of collectivism was destined to fail, and they replaced it with the system of the free market that the great president Ronald W. Reagan revitalized 360 years later. They understood that the powers of government, ideally, should come from "we the people" and they created just such a system. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the example set by those Pilgrims. I am thankful for their faith, their courage and their wisdom. I am thankful that the colony that they founded almost 400 years ago has grown into the greatest nation on earth, and that I and my family were put in this nation by God. "The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come."
The Separatists truly appreciated the religious freedom they found in Holland. They were able to worship God in that country in a profoundly personal way with no government interference, and for that they were thankful. After almost 10 years in Holland, however, the Separatists had become troubled by the loose morals in their new home. The government of Holland didn't interfere with the Separatists and their religious practices because that government wasn't particularly concerned with the moral or religious behavior (or lack thereof) of their citizens. The Separatists were especially concerned about the effect that kind of loose atmosphere would have on their children. Kind of like raising kids in Vegas or New Orleans, I suppose! Several of the Separatist leaders began to explore the possibility of voyaging across the Atlantic to "the new world."
Take a moment to think about that. Think about how insanely dangerous a voyage like that would be, and understand that the Separatists knew about the danger. Then wrap your mind around the fact that they were willing to risk everything, including their lives, to move their families to a place where they could worship God in an environment that wouldn't corrupt them. That's amazing.
The Separatists prayed and they fasted and they debated and the prayed some more, and God spoke to them. They set sail on the Mayflower on Sept. 6, 1620.
I won't go into a lot of detail about the voyage. History has adequately covered the unbelievable trials endured by the Pilgrims during their voyage. There were 102 passengers, including 33 children. They were at sea for 65 days before they finally caught a glimpse of land. The Pilgrims were so overcome with joy and thankfulness that they dropped to their knees to pray and to sing praises to God. They celebrated by reading Psalm 100:
1 Shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come to him with songs of joy. 3 I want you to realize that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him. We are his people. We are the sheep belonging to his flock. 4 Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple. Give praise as you enter its courtyards. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.
After giving thanks to our Heavenly Father who had delivered them to this new world, the leaders of the Pilgrims began the task of creating a government to maintain order in the community they were about to establish. The document they put together was, of course, the Mayflower Compact. This marked the first time in recorded history that free and equal men had volutarily covenanted together to create their own new civil government. The covenant said:
"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."
Can there be any doubt as to what the purpose of these first "Americans" was? In the tradition of both the Old and the New Testaments, the Pilgrims had made a covenant with God and with each other to live their lives and order their government according to God's will, for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God. That, my friends, is the foundation of America!
All of the history books talk about how brutal that first winter (1620-21) was. By March of 1621 almost half of the Pilgrims that had stepped off of the Mayflower had died from starvation, disease, or exposure. Of course, we all learn about how Samoset and Massasoit of the Algonquins and the Wampanoags, and Squanto (the lone surviving Pautuxet from that area) all assisted the Pilgrims with hunting, fishing, farming and trapping. The Indians were instrumental in helping the Pilgrims survive. But that's not the end of the story.
In November of 1621, another ship unexpectedly arrived from England with 35 passengers, and they brought no supplies. The winter of 1621-22 was just as brutal as the previous winter and starvation began to set in but God miraculously carried all of the Pilgrims through to the spring. Nobody died. Spring and summer came and went, and the winter of 1622-23 again saw supplies and food run out and starvation set in. The Pilgrims seemed unable to produce enough food to last through the brutal New England winters. I wonder, do you know why?
It seems that when the Pilgrims originally landed, they established a system of communal property. Any food grown/caught/produced was put into the community storehouse and everybody followed the precept "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." Of course we recognize that as socialism, or collectivism, or modern liberalism, or the Democrat agenda for 2007-08. Guess what? It didn't work. I know that fabulous geniuses like Dennis Kucinich would become thoroughly discombobulated by this revelation, but the truth is that collectivism destroys work ethic, creativity, and production. Wow! Ain't that a kick in the head! (Sorry Dean!)
Would you like to take a wild guess what the Pilgrims did? By spring of 1623, the leaders of the Pilgrims knew that one more winter would probably kill all of them. William Bradford, the governor of the colony, prayed and fasted along with the rest of the leadership group, and God revealed the answer to him. Bradford divided up all of the land into individual family plots. He instructed each family to produce as much food as they needed for their own family, and the concept of collectivism was abolished. What Bradford established in its place was the idea of private ownership of property and a free market system. Capitalism was born on this continent in 1623! Guess what the result was? The Pilgrims produced more food than they ever had before, they ate like kings throughout the winter, the colony flourished in the spring/summer of 1624, and they never looked back. August 9, 1624, according to Bradford's diaries, was the date of the biggest Thanksgiving feast they had ever had.
The true story of Thanksgiving provides the perfect illustration of what makes America great, and it really ties together the whole mission of my blog. The Pilgrims founded their new colony on the love of God and the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They had the wisdom to recognize that the system of collectivism was destined to fail, and they replaced it with the system of the free market that the great president Ronald W. Reagan revitalized 360 years later. They understood that the powers of government, ideally, should come from "we the people" and they created just such a system. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the example set by those Pilgrims. I am thankful for their faith, their courage and their wisdom. I am thankful that the colony that they founded almost 400 years ago has grown into the greatest nation on earth, and that I and my family were put in this nation by God. "The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come."
posted by hondo at 9:29 PM
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