Roger Williams

About the year 1630 there arrived here one Mr. Roger Williams;

who being a preacher that had less light than fire in him,

hath by his own sad example preached unto us the danger

of that evil which the apostle mentions in

Rom 10:2 ‘They have a zeal, but not according to knowledge.’”

~Cotton Mather in Magnalia Christi Americana, Vol. II, pg. 495

Roger Williams is oft celebrated as a man who was a pioneer of “religious freedom” and tolerance, a victim of the extremely intolerant, paranoid, Puritanical folk who banished him into the cruel New England winter merely because of their virulent dislike of Baptists.

According to an A Beka history book, “A Puritan named Roger Williams, whom you have already met as a missionary to the Indians, saw religious freedom—or the whole idea about religious freedom—Roger Williams and preachers like Obadiah Holmes have gone down as champions in the cause of liberty for all. Roger Williams’ teaching upset some of the leaders of Massachusetts. The leaders told Williams that he must either change his ways or leave Massachusetts. Williams’ ideas about the Indians also upset some people. He traded with them fairly and never tried to cheat them. After they were finished trading he would tell them about God,” implying that the Pilgrims cheated the Indians and did not tell them about God.

John Quincy Adams called him, “Conscientiously contentious.”

Henry Martin Dexter recounts, “When [Williams] lived in Massachusetts he was evidently a hotheaded youth, of determined perseverance, of vast energy, considerable information, intense conviction, a decided taste for novelty, a hearty love of controversy, a habit of hasty speech with absolute carelessness of consequences and a religious horror of all expediency.”

Roger Williams claimed there were “No True Churches!”

In the year 1631, Roger Williams arrived in Massachusetts to pastor a church in Boston. He refused to take the position because they would not renounce the Church of England as apostate. He fanatically declared, “I durst not officiate an un-separated people,” He had a hearty love of controversy.

He then went to Plymouth and found that the parishioners visited congregations of the Church of England. Roger Williams demanded that the church of Plymouth rebuke these people and if they did not repent, excommunicate them. They didn’t go along with his ideas and he thereupon declared that they “were no true church,” because they put up with this “Intolerable evil.”

Roger Williams then went to Salem and assumed the office of Assistant Pastor. Some time later he denounced the king for referring to Christian Europe as Christendom, calling it blasphemy, and for issuing charters giving the Indians’ land to his subjects, calling the king a “Public liar.” John Cotton went to Roger Williams and pleaded with him to stop saying these outlandish things. For awhile Williams was quiet, and then six months later he published a document saying that the charter was invalid, demanding that the Bay Colony uproot and return to England, and tell the king to his face that he was a public liar, and that he ought to amend his charter to omit the clause of the donation of land.

Upon another summons to the General Court, Williams declared that all the churches in Massachusetts were “no true churches of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He said the New Testament “nullifies” the Old Testament

Roger Williams was the first to seek to put a biblical face on Humanism. He was an Antinomian, believing that the New Testament annulled the Old Testament, getting rid of the sanctions of the Old Testament law. He believed in a “neutral state.” Jesus came to fulfill (i.e. put into force) the law. He said “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Three years after his banishment for the space of three months he became Baptist. W. Clark Gilpin comments in The Millenarian Piety of Roger Williams on pg. 56: “Having once become a Baptist, Williams did not long remain one. Instead, he concluded that the Roman apostasy had so disrupted the church that no authentic congregations could exist until Christ initiated the millennium by sending new apostles to recreate the church,” thereby aligning himself with the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, and the father of Dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby who both believed that there is no true church. “Hence, only a few months after being re-baptized by Holliman, Williams departed from the Baptist congregation at Providence, never again to count himself a member of any church.”

The cause of his banishment was his ecclesiastical intolerance coupled with his anarchical views on civil government. In Williams’ view The New Testament completely nullified the Old, leading him to view God’s revealed will in His law, as rubbish.

It was certainly Williams’ intention in founding Rhode Island to discredit the political views of the Puritans. “Williams’ insistence on the secular nature of the state led him to conclude that a ruler could still be a good ruler even though he had never heard of Christ. There was no reason to assume that a person would perform better in his particular calling simply because he was a Christian...Williams declared ‘that Civil places of Trust and Credit need not be monopolized into the hands of Church-members (who sometimes are not fitted for them)” T.H Breen, The Character of the Good Ruler, p 45

The Puritans viewed these positions, in the language of John Quincy Adams, as “altogether revolutionary.”

“Sir, we [in Williams’ colony of Rhode Island] have not known what an excise means; we have almost forgotten what tithes are, yea, or taxes either, to church or commonwealth.” quoted by Craig S. Bulkeley, “Christianity and Religious Freedom,” Christianity and Civilization, No. 1, Spring 1982, pg. 264.

The settlers of Rhode Island proved to be more consistent in following Williams’ teaching than he did himself. It was more “prosperity” than he could stand.

Providence became a haven for every crackpot, rebel, misfit, and anarchist in the country. A Mr. Verrin refused to obey any order from the government on the grounds that it violated his “liberty of conscience.”

A seductive heretic named Samuel Gorton soon found his way to Providence as well (he had already been booted out of the Bay Colony, Plymouth, and the settlement of Aquidneck, an island in Narragansett Bay.) He began to preach, provoking Williams to write to John Winthrop, “Master Gorton, having foully abused high and low at Aquidneck, is now bewitching and bemadding poor Providence, both with his unclean and foul censures of all the ministers of this country (for which I myself in Christ’s name withstood him) and also denying all visible and external ordinances.” (quoted in Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Light and the Glory, pg. 197)

All this caused Williams to write, “Rhode Island had long drunk of the cup of as great liberties as any people that we hear of under the whole heaven…But, the sweet cup hath rendered many of us wanton and too active.” Quoted by Bulkeley, ibid pg. 265.

Implications

To quote America the first 350 years:

Williams was astounded at what happened in Rhode Island. He shouldn’t have been. If, as he believed, every man should be free to follow the dictates of his own conscience, nothing can be wrong or unlawful. No one can be condemned. All laws and government are wrong (since they force the consciences of men.)

In Winthrop’s words “Having…refused communion to all, save his own wife, now he would preach to and pray with all comers.”

But now we are able to understand why Roger Williams is lionized by the modern historians and viewed as an unblemished hero by most modern Americans. He opposed the sovereign rule of God and sought to establish the autonomy of man. He sought to justify the “neutral state” and thereby nullify the importance of a distinctly Christian State. He was in a real sense the first to put a biblical face on Humanism.

Notes from Geoff Botkin Webnar #4, “How to Think Like a Christian”

Father in heaven, thank you for the opportunity to think about the manly issues of Christendom. We confess we are needy in ways we wish were better prepared. We ask that You be generous with us with wisdom.

Q: It is hard to be double minded, and I believe I am. It is a hard way to live. How can I reign this in?

A: Learn to study the Bible with the ready direct obedience; especially those [commands] that will make you a leader.

George Washington surrounded himself with men of maturity. You are leading every single day. Good leaders are never double minded when they grasp the commands of their commander-in-chief.

Q: My family is constantly struggling with the effects of successful social engineering in the past. Would you describe what we are learning as “Biblical Social Re-Engineering” or should it be viewed as such?

A: No, social engineers used indoctrination; and want to control your minds to accept spoon fed information by agents of the state. You become a slave of the system. Neo-Marxist teachers teach class war, messianic state, taxing as ‘good’ to re-distribute wealth.

Christians go to the word of God with attitude of obedience.

Marxists want to control your mind. Christ teaches you how to think and reason from scripture. In Marxism government is the Savior that provides solutions for everything. Marxism teaches us that: Politics is more important than people and that the workforce more than the family.

Q: If I am to work for a man to make an income, shouldn’t I work for the highest wage and or profit? Working hard typically means making sacrifices at the family level. The reward is that I have to work fewer years and I have more resources to invest, versus a philosophy that family comes first, and taking a job that allows family first. Most successful businessmen I believe will tell you that their business came 1^st and that’s what allowed them to succeed.

A: The ones who look successful on the outside often tell you later in life that they have lost their children. They lost their will to work for Christ. Are we trying to achieve like the Greeks and Romans, with freedom from work, when God says that we were created to work? In Mathew, Christ promises us that if we seek first the kingdom all these things will be added. My prayer for all of you is that you begin to process these things biblically in terms of faith. We must disciple our children. Not just have time with them when we retire early when they are 16 or 17.

Q: How about James 1:27, teaching our sons to be less self-focused and more service minded.

A: Do we allow the Evangelical church to shape and determine our service in ways that are not productive? The church is to be a marching organization. [We are to serve others in need, not the government.]

How do we define service minded? Do we allow the church to define service as para-church organizations that were not part of the church? Church is more than ritualistic ceremonies on Sunday.

Sons want to be individuals. What kind of hair cut should I have? How should I talk? Who should I copy? Guide their focus into the kingdom of God, they will decrease, Christ will increase.

I gave assignment to my son to quickly write a note to his friend. What do I write? Self focused. Think about how to edify him, how can you bless this friend, what does he need? My son had a hard time writing because he was thinking about himself. When he thought about how to serve God and his friend, he had no problem with what to write.

We can meet those needs with our sons and daughters in our communities, not service minded in the way evangelicals want us to that we’ve got to go on a short term mission trip to Haiti.

Our sons will be acting like officers and generals in their youth. Geo. Washington was given commission at a very young age.

Q: Where do you see the major battle grounds?

Legacy:

Cowardice of men

Fear of man – criticism of people who will not like the clothes we wear, IRS, BATF

Debt – bondage has become a way of life for Christians

Barrenness – twisting roles, a rejection of children, even in the way we raise them.

Adolescence: Perpetual adolescence,

Perversion of Marriage

Rejection of Children

Destruction of the Family Economy

Segregated Lives

Rise of the youth Culture

Doctrine to teach our children:

5 Solas

Must teach scriptural literacy

Providence

Dominion

Theonomy

Jurisdiction –There is a huge problem in Haiti. Who is in charge?

Antithesis – Who are the good/bad guys?

Law

Sovereignty

Patriarchy – not a dirty or dangerous

Historical legacy will yield an understanding of context for planning. What hills need to be taken? What would be foolish to fight right now? Moral courage is what George Washington looked for in his officers. Family life and multigenerational vision will yield understanding of the future. “Sons make sure you learn this, it will be important for your sons, grandchildren.”

We must learn how to think like a Christian:

How to examine our affairs

How to discern if we are losing our children

How to discern if we’re losing our nation

How to seek first the Kingdom of God

Deut 20

David B: Dad, I’ve never understood how important it is to know the sinfulness of a nation. We may need to leave a city, a jurisdictional area and shake off the dust so we are not judged along with the city.

Judging by the fruit of our life, what are the issues of our heart that fill our heart? Our children? Our spiritual children? The battles in the present and future? The immediate and future will of Christ the King for His kingdom?

We must teach our sons to work without protest, without laziness.

When men focus on the wrong things they lose the battle and the war and will have bitter regret in later life and the life to come. When asked what he feared, George Washington known to be a fearless man said, "I'm afraid of bringing eternal dishonor upon myself." If we are lazy, we will stand before Christ and realize that we were worthless servants. Realize we squandered talents God gave us.

Some children from Christian families develop into:

Anti-Christian zealots: Their bitterness motivates them to be willing instruments of dangerous forces.

Some Become Nominal enemies of Christ

They hold Christianity in contempt.

Selfish cynics

They do what is right in their own eyes, indifferent to the wishes of their earthy and heavenly fathers

Influence

Bad influence is not fellowship, it is darkness, if you cannot find good fellowship with their peers, then you can find it with adults. Yes it is hard to find, do not give up. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; you do not need to give them lots of time with foolishness.

Pretend Christians

These are willing to identify themselves as Christians, but not to think or act like Christians. They are content to live and die in servile service to the state.

Nominal Christians

These do what they consider to be the most minimal deeds and acts of the Christian but rarely with joy, and live lives of frustration.

Christian Foot-soldiers

This should not be your goal. These might dedicate their lives to work as missionaries or church staff, or staff at a Christian organization or even as clergymen. They want to serve Christ, adopt pigeon-hole titles under the name: “missionary,” “pastor,” “church staff”

Some become Christian warriors

These are passionately concerned with the most serious affairs of the Kingdom. They develop the discernments to know how to advance it against the most insidious enemies of our time. They operate like officers in a victorious army, who take initiative in battle, who seek to break deadly traditions of ineffective warfare and who risks their lives and develop more effective strategies for defeating the foe.

Think not as a captive, we are free men which means we are to be leaders, never double minded. Washington’s men understood that they we were to be leaders. Officers, vs. men in fox holes wondering what is going on.

Will understand the objective, take initiative, and actively think of strategy. I want you men to think in the general category - not many months from now. Officers Shepherd the sheep, protect their men.

Q: What is the practical role of being a Christian Warrior? Not smile sweetly and roll over and get stepped on for Jesus. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ… II Cor. 10:5

Q Does Christ want us to be Biblical warriors or to be meek?

A: Both. He wants us to be meek with Him as our commander; meek before God.

We have been created to triumph over Christ’s enemies. This does not mean we are mean and rude. When the wicked rule the people groan.

The first lesson I teach my sons is: “Men, we are soldiers for Christ and we must make sure we are always fighting on the right side.” Since the inter-testamental period, history has been defined by a war of antithesis between to worldviews.

Our sons want to be warriors. They need to fight on the right side. My oldest son is a very capable filmmaker. He could have said, ‘Dad I want to be the greatest filmmaker and win Oscars’ and he could have gone to Hollywood. He would have been fighting on the wrong side.

Satan’s Administration is Greco-Roman, Man Centered:

I’m like a god; smart enough to find a personal philosophy. My worth will be defined the State. Personal immediate gratification is part of a pride filled life. Family life can be defined by the state. Everything needs to reflect the growth of statist power religion.

God’s Administration; The Christian Worldview:

Everything must be God centered.

Man is a creature and will find wisdom from biblical obedience. My purpose and duty will be defined by a loving savior. Self-sacrifice is part of a short earthy existence. Family life is godly relationships, strong multi-generational dynasty. Everything needs to reflect the growth of Christ’s kingdom.

I teach my sons that a fierce battle rages around them at all times. Sparks will fly. Stare them down. Our calling is not to surrender to God’s enemies but to resist them.

I teach them compromise can be treason to our rightful King.

Q: What about, “My kingdom is not of this world”

A: Yes the kingdom of Jesus Christ does not derive it’s authority from this world. Romans 13 means that every single realm derives their authority from God – their authority is derivative.

In America in 2010, it can be said that the Christian Worldview has been defeated because of our surrender.

A culture of Christendom is no longer even a memory with most people.

Marxism is really just a continuation of the Greco-Roman worldview.

The battle rages around us everywhere we go and will never stop. Everything we do in life either helpful to Christ’s kingdom or destructive of it. We have inherited pattern of compromise and defeat. Christ would say, “Your house is left to you desolate.” Look at these in detail: Deut. 28, Lev 26. America is deep in judgment right now. There could be two more stages of judgment if there is no repentance.

Your spiritual dynasty has become so Hellenic that you’ve lost every grace-producing law with which you were entrusted.

The reason we are together men, is because we want to change this.

Today the house, or dynasty, of Christendom is desolation.

We are going to change this.

Three Most Evident Characteristic of Christian Men in the West:

1 Men are worldly, moral cowards. Not just in public policy and business, but church, family and personal affairs as well. They do not love their wives enough to disciple them.

2 Men are followers, not leaders. They are content with a perpetual childishness that betrays their calling and loved ones for worldly pleasures. They do not train their children.

3. Men are willfully ignorant of their duties.

When men set out to try to think like Christians, They tend to want information over obedience. Obedience comes first, then wisdom. I have no formula. The same is true with your wives. If you are close to them you can impart life.

One of our modern sins: Psalm 50: 16, 17, 21, 22, 23 ‘For you hate discipline and cast my words behind you.’

Men who pick and choose what to obey and think God is just like me. He is going to be happy with the way I decided to run my life. One man decided, “I will always be at a church service on Sunday.” This became the main part of his Christian commitment. He ran his organization in a Marxist way, but presented himself as a righteous man. We don’t like the discipline required for the righteousness. Discipline: persisting in the right way, the holy way.

There was a code of honor among men which had been lost since men tend to get their bearings form general evangelical society instead of the word of God. Men of the American War of I shared a culture of honor and courage that included.

Washington’s greatest fear: that his actions “would reflect eternal dishonor upon me.” Gentlemen acted with physical courage in the fact of danger, pain, suffering and death. They upheld standards of moral courage. They aspired to a leadership as men. The moral stamina was a badge of honor. He discipled others to be men, not just, ‘Do as I say.’

II Timothy 2: 2-4 says to endure hardness as a good soldier. Undisciplined men try to be moral on their terms. Why are men passively religious when deep down we hate religious sacerdotalism (a man centered ceremony)? We have a drive for holiness and righteousness because we are made in the image of God. So we fall back on what religion says is holy.

We are not really good at relationships or discipleship, so we go to formulas.

We inherited from Charles Finney the revival method popular in his time. Men would brag about their effectiveness depending on numbers. Numerical results of teaching. You can go to Bible School you can get training.

Evangelical evangelism; Pray a prayer. Sign a card. People are told that the angels are rejoicing. Churches are full of people told they are Christians because they did this act. Nowhere in scripture does it say that this is Christ’s model.

Most of these are good people with good motives. ‘Go to this Bible school and learn this technique.’

Man justifies his ways before God and asserts that his ways are virtuous. What if we could find the real definitions of righteousness and holiness? Hebrew word translated as holiness: Vigorous, strong, majesty, moral purity. We are to be weak before God, but strong before men. If men were real men and thought like men, they would find confidence and fulfillment.

Luke 1:74 “That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear.” I Timothy 1:19 Keep the faith with a good conscience.

Military definitions that can help men learn to think like soldiers of Christ. God is the sovereign authority. State is way under the Lord.

Appear before another head of state.

Do you know Christ’s will well enough to represent it like an Ambassador?

The commission, duty, is work. Work is a blessing, not a curse. It is not something you get out of. We must take dominion but not on our own strength or terms. We have to adopt God’s standards, law, jurisdiction, doctrine.

Objective:

Possess, inherit the earth.

Disciple the nations.

Justice

All men complete in Christ

Christian order

Christ and society

Christian civilization

Teach your children about the enemy:

Antithesis: holy seed vs. bad seed

Resist: 2 Cor. 10: 5

Set captives free: Col 2: 8 –

Rival faiths: Statism is one of the greatest captors of the day

Pietism: carnal religiosity

The rewards are eternal: There are badges of honor and dishonor.

Gentlemen, I want you to have the rewards of honor. I want you to be honored as a faithful slave of Jesus Christ.

Churches are great blessing to culture and society. Christian nations are a great comfort to civilization and a blessing to women and children. Today women are exploited and they are living a nightmare.

Q: What are the sources of current events used by the Botkin family to use during dinner conversations while avoiding the polluting content of many news sources? Our Homeschooled daughter is 14.

A: You can use History books as an event source. If using a news source, explain to children the bias. NY Times has a humanist bias; it is married to the glories of the state.

Q: What are your thoughts on men joining the military?

If you have a corrupt commander and chief who has replaced competent officers, they can give illegal or unconstitutional orders.

I suggest that American men to serve as Christ’s officers to do reforming in the home, church…first.

American military was changed in the 1990s when leaders were replaced with many worthless men. It is a sad thing to serve under a worthless man or a confused woman.

Q: What do you suggest we full time pastors do [to be free to teach without compromise]?

Don’t put your job security first and preaching the word second. Have something you can fall back on. One man I knew did not want to be a slave to the small church salary he was getting. Invest in a small business. His goal was 10 properties. Now he is financially independent and can serve Christ anywhere.

Q: I have heard from several teachers that instead of going out and taking dominion in politics you should focus your effort all on the local church and your family. Would you agree?

Yes, where a country is so corrupt, we can begin to invite the blessing of God when you get your house in order. This is why our family is no longer involved in political media. We are focusing on helping fathers and families.

We need to be humble; we need to ask the Lord to forgive us and ask, ‘What do I do to get things right.’

31 Qualities of a Godly Woman by Luke O.

1. She handles herself gracefully. (Proverbs 11:16)
2. She loves and embraces children. (Psalm 113:9, Titus 2:4)
3. She speaks with wisdom. (Proverbs 31:26)
4. She has discretion. (Proverbs 11:22)
5. She is able to be fully trusted by her husband. (Proverbs 31:11)
6. She desires to be her husband’s most faithful companion and closest confidant. (Malachi 2:14)
7. She joyfully embraces being a woman and abhors feminism. (Psalm 113:9, Romans 12:9)
8. She can manage her home well. (Proverbs 31:27, Titus 2:5, 1 Tim 5:14)
9. She is diligent to accomplish anything entrusted to her care. (Proverbs 31:13, 1 Tim 5:10)
10. She is firm in her convictions and desires to teach younger women the virtues of godly womanhood through her example and instruction. (Titus 2:4)
11. She desires for, and encourages men to be leaders in their families, churches and society. (Isaiah 3:12, Eph. 5:23, Titus 1:5-6)
12. She desires to build up and strengthen her home. (Proverbs 14:1)
13. She desires to raise and train the next president, not BE the next president. (Proverbs 31:1, Isaiah 3:12)
14. She believes children are a blessing from God, not a burden. (Deut. 7:14, 33:24, 127:3)
15. She has a humble spirit. (1 Peter 3:4)
16. She looks up to, follows, and respects her husband as the leader of the home. (1 Cor. 14:35, Eph. 5:33)
17. She has a quiet spirit, and influences others through godly conduct. (1 Peter 3:1-2, 4, 1 Tim. 2:12)
18. She desires to be a mother of nations, not a leader of nations. (Genesis 24:60)
19. She has a heart to open her home to hospitality and service to others. (1 Tim. 5:10)
20. She cares for the saints. (1 Tim. 5:10)
21. She is capable and skilled to clothe her family and decorate her home. (Prov. 31:21-22)
22. She desires to model the examples of holy women in Scripture. (1 Peter 3:5)
23. She has skills to prepare meals for her family and bless others through hospitality. (Prov. 31:15)
24. She is able to teach her children with practical, life instruction. (Proverbs 31:1, 26, 6:20)
25. She desires to please her husband and do him good all his life. (Prov. 31:12, 1 Cor. 7:34)
26. She is able to manage a business from her home. (Prov. 31:18)
27. She can be trusted with wise discretion in spending. (Prov. 31:16)
28. She cares for the poor and the needy. (Prov. 31:20)
29. She clothes herself in modesty and good works and does not desire to attract or distract men’s eyes. (1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Tim. 2:9-10)
30. She is kind and helpful. (Prov. 31:26-27)
31. She is prudent: intelligent, productive, skillful, wise and has understanding. (Prov. 19:24)

A woman such as this is priceless: her value is far above rubies. Her husband will exalt her, praise her, love her, give up his life for her, and her children will call her blessed. The man that finds such a woman is truly undeserving of such an honor, as God has bestowed upon him a blessing only few will find.

Salt of the Earth

Christians must either preserve their society from destruction or become themselves a particular target of destruction.

Mt 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.