Champions of Choice and Change: Religious Dissent in Seventeenth-Century England and the Rise of Democratic Ideals in Western Society

By Dennis C. Bustin and Robert Wilson

Champions of Choice and Change examines the role of seventeenth-century English dissenting religious groups and the rise of democratic ideals in western society. Many people assume that the French philosophers whose ideas and writings gave rise to the Revolution in France were the creators and initiators of the democratic theories which would shape, order, and give direction to modern Western society as it developed. This work argues otherwise, claiming that such advances--ideas related to equality, choice, political involvement, education, enabling and inclusion of women, religious liberty/toleration--occurred first, not in the secular context of late eighteenth-century Enlightenment France, but in the spiritual context of radical and/or dissenting religious groups in Stuart England over a century earlier, shaped by previous ideas of the European Reformers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Release date: Aug 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781725273566

Dennis C. Bustin

Dennis C. Bustin’s early studies concentrated on New Testament studies and backgrounds.He earned an MDiv with a focus on the New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, after which he completed a ThM at Harvard University in Greco-Roman and Jewish backgrounds of the New Testament. Following this, Dennis shifted his attention to British/European history, receiving an MA and PhD, from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His research concentrates on the Stuart era of British history, particularly on dissenting religion. His first book, Paradox and Perseverance, examined the life and thought of Hanserd Knollys, one of the founders of the Particular Baptists in London. Dennis is currently Associate Professor of History at Crandall University in Moncton, NB, Canada, where he resides with his wife Diane.

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Champions of Choice and Change

Religious Dissent in Seventeenth-Century England and the Rise of Democratic Ideals in Western Society

Dennis C. Bustin

foreword by Robert Wilson

CHAMPIONS OF CHOICE AND CHANGE

Religious Dissent in Seventeenth-Century England and the Rise of Democratic Ideals in Western Society

Copyright ©

2023

Dennis C. Bustin. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers,

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Pickwick Publications

An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

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paperback isbn: 978-1-7252-7354-2

hardcover isbn: 978-1-7252-7355-9

ebook isbn: 978-1-7252-7356-6

Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Names: Bustin, Dennis C., author. | Wilson, Robert, foreword.

Title: Champions of choice and change : religious dissent in seventeenth-century England and the rise of democratic ideals in western society / Dennis C. Bustin ; foreword by Robert Wilson.

Description: Eugene, OR : Pickwick Publications,

2023

| Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Identifiers:

isbn 978-1-7252-7354-2 (

paperback

) | isbn 978-1-7252-7355-9 (

hardcover

) | isbn 978-1-7252-7356-6 (

ebook

)

Subjects: LCSH: Dissenters, Religious—England—History—

17

th century. | Religious tolerance—England—History—

17

th century. | Democracy—Europe, Western—History—

17

th century.

Classification:

BR757 B87 2022 (

print

) | BR757 (

ebook

)

Table of Contents

Title Page

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Priesthood of the Believer

Introduction

Biblical Teachings

Reformation Background

Radical Reformers

Conclusion

Chapter 2: Religious Liberty and Toleration—Sects, Schism, and Society Redefined

Introduction

William Laud, James I, and the Rise of Dissent

Independents

Kiffin, Knollys, and the Particular Baptists

Lilburne and the Levellers

The Quakers

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Dissenters’ Understanding of Abraham’s Other ‘Descendants’

Introduction

Background

Jews, Turks and the Stuart Context

Jews, Turks, and Hanserd Knollys

Conclusion

Chapter 4: A, B, C, 1, 2, 3—Seventeenth-Century English Dissenters

Introduction

Educational Advances

Dissenters and Education

Conclusion

Chapter 5: All in Favor, Say ‘Aye’

Introduction

Separatism

General Baptists

Independents and Particular Baptists

Independents/Baptists and the Levellers’ Politics

The Quakers

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other whether you are . . . a man or a woman.530

Introduction

Women in Early Modern England and Europe

Independents and Particular Baptists

The Quakers (Society of Friends)

Conclusion

Epilogue

Introduction

Republic

Restoration, Persecution, and Upheaval

Resolution—Glorious Revolution

Conclusion

Bibliography

Dedication:

As one engages in the writing of a book, undoubtedly he or she thinks often of the treasured individuals who have proven invaluable to the creative process. I cannot even begin to express adequately my appreciation to those closest to me, who have encouraged me along the way, even as their eyes often glazed over while they politely nodded as I told them the title and focus of my work. And so, with joyful thanksgiving, I dedicate this book to them. Dad and Mom, you are amazing parents and faithful friends, who have a very significant role in making me who I am. My other parents, Brad and Annie, you too have poured much into our lives and are so very much appreciated. Jay, Alyssa, and Abigail, my kids, my brother and sisters in Jesus, it has been a joy sharing life with you and watching you embrace adulthood. All of you, both parents and kids, have played a huge role! Most importantly, Diane… I can never express what you mean to me. You are my best friend, my muse, my partner and wife. As the author of Proverbs wrote, you are worth far more than diamonds (31:10 – The Message). I love you more than life and each and every day I’m re-reminded how much I rely on your friendship, influence, and support! I thank God for you every day!

Foreword

I am pleased to write a foreword to this significant book for two reasons; the author and the theme.

I have known Dr. Bustin for most of his life: as a friend of the family, as his pastor for his final year in high school, as his professor at Atlantic Baptist College (Crandall University), and as a friend and colleague as he teaches at Crandall where I served as Dean for twenty years. We also serve on several denominational historical committees together. Dennis has always been a good scholar and I was pleased that he moved to history for his PhD. While he has encountered personal tragedy, which would have stopped many, he has persevered to become an excellent professor and a fine scholar.

In this excellent work, he expands his study of Hansard Knollys to the broader seventeenth political world to demonstrate the importance of nonconformist ideas and examples in the developing British democracy. The major thesis of the work is that modern democratic ideals did not originate in the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century but, in the British context, have their roots in English religious nonconformity. While this is not a new idea, the contribution of this work is to examine in detail where the ideas were practiced and to demonstrate how they worked out in the religious and political sphere.

The author chooses themes important to the religious dissenters which, when expressed politically, brought about significant moves toward democracy. Within their religious societies and congregations, they practiced principles which became common in British democratic institutions. Beginning with the undergirding concept of priesthood of believers, the author ties religious liberty, individual freedom, religious dissenter decision making processes, Biblical literacy, education, class equality, and an expanding role of women to a growing political consciousness in Britain. Religious dissenters developed these principles as they sought freedom to practice their faith and exercise their God-given rights. (9)

This work is a significant contribution to the broader study of developing British parliamentary institutions. Using the lives of important individuals like Hanserd Knollys, the author provides examples of the increasing political influence at the local and national level of the key political ideas of the dissenters. While the Cromwellian interlude advanced many of the ideas, it was during the Restoration Period, with the increasing pressure on religious nonconformists that the determination of those who sought religious liberty is best seen.

Champions of Choice and Change is an impressive work in that it is very readable while tying together themes which were important for seventeenth century dissenters and for citizens of the modern world. Using a thematic approach, it does not lose sight of the movement of the whole story as it uses the lives and actions of individual participants to give context and meaning to their principles which grew out of their deeply held Christian faith. I highly recommend this well written study.

Robert Wilson, Thomas James Armstrong Memorial Senior Professor of Church History, Emeritus, Acadia Divinity College

Acknowledgments

As I begin to consider the many people who have played a role in the coming together of this work, it truly makes me realize the ‘group effort’ involved. It has been said, It takes a village to raise a child.¹ First, I want to acknowledge the many workers in several libraries and archives, both in North America and in Great Britain, in which I’ve researched, who have assisted me in finding and copying important books and records for my work. Special thanks to Ivan Douthwright and the staff of the George A. Rawlyk Library at Crandall University. To my colleagues at Crandall University, for your support, encouragement, stimulating discussion, and friendship, I thank you. Together you have encouraged and spurred me on.

Every scholarly quest follows a path of inspirations, who serve to model and motivate. I acknowledge all those who have taught me at some post-secondary level or at conferences. However, a few stand apart as inspiring me in special ways. Dr. Steve Dempster, former teacher, current colleague; thank-you for leading me to love learning while loving even more the Source of all truth and knowledge. Dr. Robert Wilson, the late Dr. William Nigel Kerr, Dr. Paul Christianson, my Ph.D. supervisor; all of you fellow historians and former professors, who took a New Testament scholar and gave him a passion for history. Thanks for your encouraging spirit at different points in my journey. Also, thanks to Crandall University for my Research Leave in 2018 when I was able to pull this work together. The topics for this book first found expression as conference papers. Thanks to Wipf and Stock for allowing me to share these thoughts, that have circulated around in my head, in printed form and to share this fruit of my research with a wider audience. Thank you for preparing this text for publication. Any errors or oversights in this work are my own.

Enough can never be said about family. My faith family has been very important to me and has served as a wonderful support. My friends at Lewisville Baptist Church in Moncton played an especially vital role. Thanks for being a living example of the ideas that I research and write about. Special thanks to Pastor Gord, for your teaching and for your friendship. Special thanks as well to the other members of the staff at Lewisville—Sunny and Jill, I love singing and worshipping with you; Di and Lauren, thanks for letting me be a part of Kidsville and helping kids find and follow Jesus; Josh and Adams, the Newbies, I’m excited to see God unleash your gifts and passion on our church body . . . it’s so cool; Carolyn, I love how you love God’s Word and God’s people, I’m with you; Elaine, Mark, and Ruth, you three are the vital behind the scenes people who literally keep everything well-oiled and running along smoothly . . . thank you all for your work, friendship, and leadership! You have all played a crucial part in my life and hence, this work. To my brothers and sisters at Lewisville Baptist Church in Moncton, especially those I have served on Boards, committees, or taught with: You have been an unending source of joy and encouragement through this process. I count many of you as valued friends. Thank you.

I find it hard to know how to express adequately my gratitude to my family. Words seem trite. To all my family, thanks. Don and Peggy Bustin, my parents: For the years of love and sacrifice, for always believing in me, for being unfailing friends, for showing me what love is and for introducing me to the unconditional Love of Jesus, I thank you with all my heart. You are the best! Brad and Annie Ripley, my parents through marriage: For sharing Diane with me, for all you have done for us for so long, the support, encouragement, and everything big and small that you do, I thank you. I could not have done this without your ‘lived out’ expressions of Christ-like love. Diane, Jay, Alyssa, Abby: You’ve seen the best and worst of me, but yet you love me (and laugh at me) anyway. Your love and encouragement have been a source of constant joy. I could never, ever express my appreciation or love for you sufficiently.

Finally, above all, I give thanks to my Heavenly Father, Who has blessed me beyond all measure, and to Christ Jesus, Who daily gives me hope (Ephesians 1:3–8) and strength (Philippians 3:14) and Whose plan for me is perfect (Jeremiah 29:11). May I faithfully serve You in all I do and am.

Crandall University

May 2020

1

. Attributed to proverbs of several ethnic groups in Africa.

Introduction

In 1645, the victory of the Parliamentary New Model Army at the Battle of Naseby, for some Englishmen, signaled the culmination of several years of social, religious, and political tumult. However, for many others, the chaos seemed far from over. As the Puritan party gradually began to dominate Parliament, a broadside ballad appeared in early 1646 decrying the Puritan conservatism which had already begun to place constraints on the people of England. The ballad was aptly entitled The World Turned Upside Down and the first stanza sets the table, so to speak, for the portrayal in the ballad of the change and disorder that England now faced:

Listen to me and you shall hear, news hath not been this thousand year:

Since Herod, Caesar, and many more, you never heard the like before.

Holy-dayes are despis’d, new fashions are devis’d.

Old Christmas is kickt out of Town.

Yet let’s be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn’d upside down.

¹

The ballad goes on to detail many different social changes, all summarized within the context of the Puritans’ prohibiting Christmas celebrations.

In 1972, the Marxist historian Christopher Hill, writing concerning the same time period, but focused specifically on radical religious groups and beliefs of the time, borrowed the title for his own work. In his work, although examining religious groups and their participants, he did so from a secular perspective. While the balladeer understood the Puritans as being the ones who had turned the world on its head, Hill believed that the sectarians (with what he determined to be a social/political agenda) were the agents of topsyturvey.

²

One of the criticisms of Hill’s work was his failure to take the different religious groups at face value, insinuating that their religious position was secondary and their real raison d’etre was social and political change. However, for many of these religious groups, the opposite was actually closer to reality. Certainly, Hill has provided a great service to scholarship by emphasizing these social and political elements in the writings and thought of dissenting and radical religious groups and individuals of the day. But to assume that these elements were the only or primary consideration of these is clearly erroneous. Many members of these groups had endured significant persecution and hardship due to their religious beliefs in the 1630s and 1640s. In fact, although many would have a brief respite from this mistreatment and oppression during the Cromwellian Protectorate in the 1650s, their difficulties would return and persist from the Restoration until the Glorious Revolution. It was in this fiery furnace where they more often than not developed their political and social ideas along with their theological ones, the ideas which themselves provided the fertile soil giving fuller and deeper meaning to their overall worldview.

Many people have assumed that democratic ideals in modern Western civilization have their origins in the Enlightenment, germinating in the minds of men like Rousseau, Condorcet, and Montesquieu. However, over a century earlier, the radical reformers in Europe, and the religious dissenters in England had already embraced, practiced, and extolled such principles; in fact, these groups could be thought of as the midwives of democratic ideals in Western society.

From the initial stages of the Reformation in Europe in the early 1500s, through to the rise of religious dissenters in seventeenth-century England, various theological beliefs emerged and merged. The earliest reformers, particularly Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, had emphasized the concept of the priesthood of the believer, specifically as it related to one’s salvation and ability to interpret Scripture. The Radical Reformers of the sixteenth century and the English dissenters of the seventeenth century continued to develop this idea and belief. It shaped their social views as well as their ecclesiology, resulting in churches organized and run on democratic principles and ideas based on the role and value of the individual. These principles were rooted in an understanding of equality and liberty based on the creation of people in the image of God and the re-creation of the believer in Christ. To what extent did these early believers’ churches help shape democratic ideals emerging in broader European society? To what extent could these believers’ churches be classified as democratic? Why is it important for Christians to examine this topic, and why now?

This topic is significant on a couple of levels. First, secularism has sought to claim that the concepts of human rights, human dignity, equality, and freedom are products of the Enlightenment period. Not only has secularism assumed that Christianity did not play a role in the rise of these concepts, but it has often held that Christianity has perhaps even hindered their development and acceptance. This work will contend otherwise, arguing that Christianity, and particularly, the tradition of the believers’ church, has played a seminal role in the rise and development of these principles in Western society. In fact, in earlier periods, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the cost for holding such different ideas, as is the case for many in the world today, was very significant, even to the point of the loss of one’s life. The first chapter of this work will look at the biblical and Reformation precursors which began to shape and establish these new and oftentimes radical ideas.

Second, on a more practical level, the post-modern climate has encouraged a renewed interest in spirituality.

³

Many evangelical churches, including believers’ churches, seeking to benefit from this spiritual interest are embracing new methods for church growth, forms of polity based on hierarchical business models and abandoning or significantly diminishing congregational models. This book, as a bit of a footnote, will argue that such abandonment results from failing to understand the true nature of congregationalism. For, although believers’ churches may have introduced democratic ideals to the Western world, congregationalism is not democracy, per se but embodies a much deeper and higher ideal.

⁴

The events in the spring and summer of 2012 caught the attention of the world as the people of Libya, Egypt, and Syria demonstrated and fought passionately for political reforms. The so-called Arab Spring spread throughout the Muslim world as people in many other Islamic countries also sought more democratic styles of government, desiring greater freedom, equality, and inclusion, things that North Americans often take for granted.

⁵

During the first half of the 17th century in England, in the midst of the uncertainty brought about by the Civil War, there existed individuals and groups of people who believed in and practiced such ‘democratic things’ in their religious circles, and in some instances who demanded similar ideals be established in society at large.

Although the context and circumstances differed significantly from those in the current Muslim nations of Africa and the Middle East, the desired outcome was similar. As early as the 1640s, some groups had begun to apply these religious ideas to their social and political agendas. Such changes would not begin to take root in England in any meaningful way though, until after the Glorious Revolution of 1688/89, and even then, change would be gradual. Elsewhere in Europe, such ideas would not begin to be explored or embraced until the Enlightenment in the late-eighteenth century and even beyond. What seems to be less obvious to many is that before these ideas received much attention in the political and social spheres, they had already been established and accepted in the dissenting religious community in England.

This work will seek to examine different aspects with respect to the rise of democratic ideals in England in this context. It will look at such things as the role and the liberty of the individual, the ideas of equality and enfranchisement, which gave significance and a voice to the individual. In a society which had been based very much on hierarchy and order, the development of the aforementioned ideas contributed to improvement in opportunities for men and women of various social standings, particularly for those of the newly emerging middling sort.

However, perhaps the most central and significant of the ‘democratic ideals’ of the nonconformists, was that of religious liberty and religious toleration, for this served as the source from which their other ideals of liberty sprang. It was in the context of their struggle to practice and spread their faith and beliefs freely, that these dissenters also became champions of other rights and liberties; thus their faith and beliefs often tempered their social and political views. However, for the dissenters, unfettered liberty was as undesirable as the repression of liberty. Therefore, the moral guidance found in the pages of the Bible provided the safeguard and foundation of liberty.

⁶

And so, the second chapter of this work will focus on religious liberty and toleration; the freedom to practice one’s faith freely, without fear of persecution. This religious toleration not only allowed for differing faith positions to emerge and to be practiced, but also allowed for the free examination, discussion and debate of them as well, ergo freedom of expression or speech.

⁷

Even though different groups would emerge, each one believing it was right, at the same time the differing perspectives were tolerated due to the importance of religious liberty.

⁸

Another aspect of this ideal of religious liberty also extended beyond Protestant groups and sects. Due to Apocalyptic beliefs common at the time, those in religious traditions linked to Christianity—Judaism and Islam—also became part of the discussion related to religious liberty. Chapter 3 will examine this topic.

Among dissenting groups, as mentioned above, consideration was also given to the value and importance of the individual person, regardless of one’s social bracket, particularly as it related to one’s faith and belief. In a society which had been structured around hierarchy and social order for many centuries, this consideration for the individual certainly seemed unusual. That said, individualism was really not a new idea for Englishmen. Long before Martin Luther had uttered the words Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, John Wycliffe, the Oxford scholar of the mid-14th century, both a philosopher and a theologian, had focused his ideas on three things in particular which had led the Church of Rome to brand him a heretic: the church, the Eucharist, and the Scriptures.

Wycliffe viewed the true church as the predestined congregation, as opposed to the visible church. Christ was the only Head of the church

⁹

, thus flawed practices, like the sale of indulgences, showed that the visible church was false. As far as his views on the Eucharist, he addressed them in his tract On the Eucharist. He did not accept the relatively new doctrine of transubstantiation.

¹⁰

His view was the receptionist one, basically holding that the bread and wine after its consecration by a priest remained bread and wine; the determining factor in the taking of the elements was the faith of the individual participant.

¹¹

Finally, the Scriptures were the cornerstone of Wycliffe’s doctrinal position. He stated that it was the right of every Christian to know and have access to the Bible. Because of this belief, he introduced the Scriptures to the common man through his translation of the Vulgate into English. Wycliffe’s ultimate desire was for the individual to have the freedom to experience Christ