Protestant England and Catholic Spain: Two Nations Molded by Religion, and Their Impact on America

By Jose Escamilla

Jose Escamilla has a forty-year Christian ministry. He has a four-year university education and an associate in arts degree in bilingual studies from San Diego City College. As an adolescent, he attended Nogales Bible School in Nogales, Arizona, for five years. There he received training for the Christian ministry and served eight years in Mexico as a pastor. In 1979 he applied for US residency, and in 1989 he became a US citizen. In San Diego he started a new congregation under the sponsorship of the Pacific Southwest Region Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He started the new church with around six families. When he retired in 2003, there were more than one hundred in the church. Since then, his son, Xose, took charge of the church. Now the attendance is between five hundred and five hundred fifty people.

Now a retired pastor, Escamilla lives in Sun City, California, with his wife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449730284

Jose Escamilla

El autor cuenta con un ministerio de cuarenta años. Tuvo una educación universitaria de cuatro años; graduó de Asociado en Artes en estudios bilingües, de San Diego City College. Fue a la Escuela Bíblica de Nogales, Nogales, Arizona. Ocho años en México como pastor. En 1979 obtuvo la residencia Americana, y en 1989 se hizo ciudadano. Ahora es pastor retirado de la Iglesia que el mismo fundó, y su hijo Xose tomó el cargo de la Iglesia.

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Copyright © 2011 Jose Escamilla.

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3027-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3028-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011960685

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Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/02/2011

Contents

Preface

The Roman World

Author’s Note

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

The Catholic Habsburgs

CHAPTER 2

No Reformation in Spain

CHAPTER 3

The Spanish Empire

CHAPTER 4

Religious syncretism in Hispanic America

CHAPTER 5

The Puritan Vision for America

CHAPTER 6

Civil Religion in America

CHAPTER 7

The Inquisition in Mexico

CHAPTER 8

Great Britain

CHAPTER 9

A Remarkable Puritan

CHAPTER 10

The English Protestant Faith

CHAPTER 11

The Mass and the Pope

CHAPTER 12

Emigration to North America

CHAPTER 13

Immigration from Latin America

CHAPTER 14

A New Class of Spanish Conquest

CHAPTER 15

An Occult Society—Protestantism under Siege

CHAPTER 16

Infiltration by the Church of Rome,

CHAPTER 17

Are We in the Right Path?

CHAPTER 18

Not One among Many

CHAPTER 19

Recovering the Reformation

CHAPTER 20

Be on the Alert!

Epilogue

Preface

In England, the preaching of the Gospel was done almost freely after Queen Elizabeth I took the reins of the English government. The Anglican Church was officially recognized, and all links with Rome were broken. Later English Protestantism was transferred to North America across the Atlantic Ocean. But sadly throughout the years the Protestant legacy gradually lost force and influence. What has been happening during these first years of this 21 st century? What is in general the view of the people about religion? I believe it is vital for us Christian leaders to ponder about our priorities concerning the role of Christianity in this great Nation, the United States of America. It may be that it does not really matter what society as a whole thinks, for large segments of it are ignoring religion; much more are ignoring now on what impact it has had on the nation itself.

We Americans have had the best preachers, the best evangelists; we have had men of courage and vision, men who proclaimed freedom and liberty for all. Where did they get such concepts? How is it that they were inspired? It will not be difficult to answer these questions if you just consider that American educational institutions like Harvard at first, trained young men for the Christian ministry. That institution, which was first Harvard College, was founded in the year 1636 in New Towne. To this effect the Britannica says: …it was designed originally to provide the wilderness colony with a continuing supply of trained clergy, rather than an educated population, Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 11 p.594.

Before all this happened in early America, the Europe of the last two decades of the sixteenth century was witnessing a radical change in the religious landscape; the Protestant Reformation, and the Elizabethan Settlement in England, (1558-1603) these had formally decided the destiny of England, and had restrained her political relations with the Roman Church.

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

*You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

*Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

*The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

*The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. Deut.28:1-14

The Roman World

And also, parting from centuries back since medieval times, we need to consider the conditions of the religious history of Europe. Because as you go through Europe’s history, it is evident that the Roman world was the major influence, and still more influential was the Middle Ages. During those years the Catholic Church had dominion over the people. For instance: France itself was ruined with heresy, and (….) were Charles V once to give way, the whole continent would be lost to Rome. This indicates that Rome stood for herself, and claimed submission and recognition from everybody. She was the Mistress of Europe, and possibly of the whole world. Rome would not tolerate being opposed to her authority and doctrine. At the outcome, it was England the only nation who openly opposed Rome and challenged her authority, particularly through the person of King Henry VIII. One author