Chapter 16 . Land of Liberty
The English Reformers , while renouncing the doctrines of Romanism , had retained many of its forms . Thus though the authority and the creed of Rome were rejected , not a few of her customs and ceremonies were incorporated into the worship of the Church of England . It was claimed that these things were not matters of conscience ; that though they were not commanded in Scripture , and hence were nonessential , yet not being forbidden , they were not intrinsically evil . Their observance tended to narrow the gulf which separated the reformed churches from Rome , and it was urged that they would promote the acceptance of the Protestant faith by Romanists .
To the conservative and compromising , these arguments seemed conclusive . But there was another class that did not so judge . The fact that these customs " tended to bridge over the chasm between Rome and the Reformation " ( Martyn , volume 5 , page 22 ), was in their view a conclusive argument against retaining them . They looked upon them as badges of the slavery from which they had been delivered and to which they had no disposition to return . They reasoned that God has in His word established the regulations governing His worship , and that men are not at liberty to add to these or to detract from them . The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church . Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden , and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined .
Many earnestly desired to return to the purity and simplicity which characterized the primitive church . They regarded many of the established customs of the English Church as monuments of idolatry , and they could not in conscience unite in her worship . But the church , being supported by the civil authority , would permit no dissent from her forms . Attendance upon her service was required by law , and unauthorized assemblies for religious worship were prohibited , under penalty of imprisonment , exile , and death .
At the opening of the seventeenth century the monarch who had just ascended the throne of England declared his determination to make the Puritans " conform , or . . . harry them out of the land , or else worse ." --George Bancroft , History of the United States of America , pt . 1 , ch . 12 , par . 6 . Hunted , persecuted , and imprisoned , they could discern in the future no promise of better days , and many yielded to the conviction that for such as would serve God according to the dictates of their conscience , " England was ceasing forever to be a habitable place ." --J . G . Palfrey , History of New England , ch . 3 , par . 43 . Some at last determined to seek refuge in Holland . Difficulties , losses , and imprisonment were encountered . Their purposes were thwarted , and they were betrayed into the hands of their enemies . But steadfast perseverance finally conquered , and they found shelter on the friendly shores of the Dutch Republic .
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