January 4, 2024 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to know about the history of America, it is imperative that you know the role that the Bible played in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers—both Christian and non-Christian—were heavily influenced by the Bible. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan who is the author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Enduring Foundation of Faith.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people you to share. Another story is Robert Morgan, who's
the author of one hundred Bible verses that made America,
defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith. Let's
take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
After King Henry the eighth severed ties with Rome and
appointed himself the head of the Church of England in
fifteen fifty three, three groups of Protestants emerged. First the Anglicans,
who continued within the traditions of their church. Secondly, the Puritans,
who wanted to work within Anglicanism to reform and to
(00:53):
purify it, and third separatists and dissenters, who were determined
to establish their own endent congregations. Over the next one
hundred years or so, the Puritans and the separatists faced
extreme pressure from the English Crown, and this compelled many
of them to flee their country. One of these men
(01:14):
was named John Robinson born in fifteen seventy six. He
had gotten his education at Cambridge, which was a hot
bed of Puritanism. It was the intellectual center of the
Puritan movement, and during his studies there, John Robinson adopted
the belief system of the Puritans. After graduation, he became
(01:35):
the pastor of Saint Edward's Church in Norwich, England. But
King James the First put so much pressure on the
Puritans that Robinson found it impossible to continue being a pastor.
As a result, he began meeting with other separatists in
the home of William Brewster in the village of Scruby.
There was also a sixteen year old who worshiped with
(01:57):
the same small congregation, and his name was William Bradford.
John Robinson became the spiritual leader of this group and
the pastor of this informal church. But it was the
church that met in this house which contained the seeds
of the United States of America. When these Christians faced
(02:19):
the eminent possibility of imprisonment, they had to make a
very hard decision. John Robinson, William Brewster, William Bradford, and
the others left their native land of England and emigrated
to Holland. John Robinson began pastoring his congregation, which was
now in the Dutch city of Leiden. The church flourished
(02:41):
and tripled in size there, but these dissenters grew concerned
at how easily their children were being assimilated into the
Dutch culture. They were strangers in the land. Somehow, an
idea arose in their hearts to emigrate to the New World,
where they could establish a colony to freely pursue their
(03:01):
English customs while retaining religious liberty. It was a breathtaking idea.
With the exception of Jamestown. No English colony had survived
in the New World, and Jamestown was hardly an exception.
It was a disaster. Of the thirty six hundred settlers
sent to Jamestown, three thousand of them had perished. Going
(03:25):
to the New World must have seemed to these dissenters
like colonizing the moon. Yet they felt compelled to go.
They said, it is not with us as with other men,
whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments caused to
wish themselves home again. As William Bradford would later write,
(03:49):
they knew they were pilgrims. Their beloved pastor John Robinson
was heartbroken when he realized he couldn't leave the bulk
of his congregation to travel with these pilgrims. He hoped
to join them later, but death kept him from fulfilling
his dream. Unable to go himself, Robinson led his church
(04:10):
in a very emotional send off. About one hundred and
twenty five members signed up for the first voyage, with
the rest planning to come later. Robinson proclaimed the Day
of Solemn Humiliation, on which he delivered a passionate sermon
based on Ezra chapter eight, verse twenty one, which is
(04:30):
about Ezra leading the remnant of Jews from exile to
the promised land. Robinson's text apparently encompassed the paragraph from
verses twenty one to twenty three, which says, then I
proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ajava, that
we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from
(04:53):
Him the right way for us and our little ones
and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to rea
quest of the King and escort of soldiers and horsemen
to help us against the enemy on the road, because
we had spoken to the King saying, the hand of
our God is upon all those for good who seek him,
(05:14):
but his power and his wrath are against those who
forsake him. So he fasted and entreated our God for this,
and he answered our prayer. After his sermon Robinson led
the congregation in powering our prayers to the Lord. Then
(05:34):
he traveled with the pilgrims to the harbor, where the
reverend Pastor, it is said, fell down on his knees,
and they all with him, with watery eyes, commended them
with the most fervent prayers to God from deafshaven. The
pilgrims sailed to Southampton, where they boarded a creaky little
(05:55):
ship called the Mayflower. This group of pilgrims ended up
upon Cape cod and established the Mayflower Compact. They went
on to establish the city of Boston and began building
homes in churches and schools, including Harvard University. They wanted
to establish a nation based on Biblical Judeo Christian values.
(06:19):
Nothing like this had ever been done before in history,
and it was their love for liberty and freedom that
paved the way for the values that were later incorporated
into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the
United States. The Great Puritan Migration, led by John Winthrop,
(06:40):
occurred between sixteen thirty and sixteen forty, resulting in the
establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. But before the Puritans
were there, there were the separatists, the Pilgrims who came
to Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower in
sixteen twenty and the search of freedom and for the
(07:03):
sake of the Gospel.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Greg Hangler. And a special thanks to Robert Morgan,
who's the author of one hundred Bible verses that made America,
defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith, the
story of the Pilgrims, the story of the real founders
of this country. Here on our American Stories, this is
(07:30):
Lee Habib, host of our American Stories. Every day we
set out to tell the stories of Americans past and present,
from small towns to big cities and from all walks
of life, doing extraordinary things that we truly can't do
this show without you. Our shows are free to listen to,
but they're not free to make. If you love what
you hear, go to our American Stories dot com and
(07:52):
make a donation to keep the stories coming. That's our
American Stories dot Com.
This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories,
the show where America is the star and the American
people you to share. Another story is Robert Morgan, who's
the author of one hundred Bible verses that made America,
defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith. Let's
take a listen.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
After King Henry the eighth severed ties with Rome and
appointed himself the head of the Church of England in
fifteen fifty three, three groups of Protestants emerged. First the Anglicans,
who continued within the traditions of their church. Secondly, the Puritans,
who wanted to work within Anglicanism to reform and to
(00:53):
purify it, and third separatists and dissenters, who were determined
to establish their own endent congregations. Over the next one
hundred years or so, the Puritans and the separatists faced
extreme pressure from the English Crown, and this compelled many
of them to flee their country. One of these men
(01:14):
was named John Robinson born in fifteen seventy six. He
had gotten his education at Cambridge, which was a hot
bed of Puritanism. It was the intellectual center of the
Puritan movement, and during his studies there, John Robinson adopted
the belief system of the Puritans. After graduation, he became
(01:35):
the pastor of Saint Edward's Church in Norwich, England. But
King James the First put so much pressure on the
Puritans that Robinson found it impossible to continue being a pastor.
As a result, he began meeting with other separatists in
the home of William Brewster in the village of Scruby.
There was also a sixteen year old who worshiped with
(01:57):
the same small congregation, and his name was William Bradford.
John Robinson became the spiritual leader of this group and
the pastor of this informal church. But it was the
church that met in this house which contained the seeds
of the United States of America. When these Christians faced
(02:19):
the eminent possibility of imprisonment, they had to make a
very hard decision. John Robinson, William Brewster, William Bradford, and
the others left their native land of England and emigrated
to Holland. John Robinson began pastoring his congregation, which was
now in the Dutch city of Leiden. The church flourished
(02:41):
and tripled in size there, but these dissenters grew concerned
at how easily their children were being assimilated into the
Dutch culture. They were strangers in the land. Somehow, an
idea arose in their hearts to emigrate to the New World,
where they could establish a colony to freely pursue their
(03:01):
English customs while retaining religious liberty. It was a breathtaking idea.
With the exception of Jamestown. No English colony had survived
in the New World, and Jamestown was hardly an exception.
It was a disaster. Of the thirty six hundred settlers
sent to Jamestown, three thousand of them had perished. Going
(03:25):
to the New World must have seemed to these dissenters
like colonizing the moon. Yet they felt compelled to go.
They said, it is not with us as with other men,
whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments caused to
wish themselves home again. As William Bradford would later write,
(03:49):
they knew they were pilgrims. Their beloved pastor John Robinson
was heartbroken when he realized he couldn't leave the bulk
of his congregation to travel with these pilgrims. He hoped
to join them later, but death kept him from fulfilling
his dream. Unable to go himself, Robinson led his church
(04:10):
in a very emotional send off. About one hundred and
twenty five members signed up for the first voyage, with
the rest planning to come later. Robinson proclaimed the Day
of Solemn Humiliation, on which he delivered a passionate sermon
based on Ezra chapter eight, verse twenty one, which is
(04:30):
about Ezra leading the remnant of Jews from exile to
the promised land. Robinson's text apparently encompassed the paragraph from
verses twenty one to twenty three, which says, then I
proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ajava, that
we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from
(04:53):
Him the right way for us and our little ones
and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to rea
quest of the King and escort of soldiers and horsemen
to help us against the enemy on the road, because
we had spoken to the King saying, the hand of
our God is upon all those for good who seek him,
(05:14):
but his power and his wrath are against those who
forsake him. So he fasted and entreated our God for this,
and he answered our prayer. After his sermon Robinson led
the congregation in powering our prayers to the Lord. Then
(05:34):
he traveled with the pilgrims to the harbor, where the
reverend Pastor, it is said, fell down on his knees,
and they all with him, with watery eyes, commended them
with the most fervent prayers to God from deafshaven. The
pilgrims sailed to Southampton, where they boarded a creaky little
(05:55):
ship called the Mayflower. This group of pilgrims ended up
upon Cape cod and established the Mayflower Compact. They went
on to establish the city of Boston and began building
homes in churches and schools, including Harvard University. They wanted
to establish a nation based on Biblical Judeo Christian values.
(06:19):
Nothing like this had ever been done before in history,
and it was their love for liberty and freedom that
paved the way for the values that were later incorporated
into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the
United States. The Great Puritan Migration, led by John Winthrop,
(06:40):
occurred between sixteen thirty and sixteen forty, resulting in the
establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. But before the Puritans
were there, there were the separatists, the Pilgrims who came
to Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower in
sixteen twenty and the search of freedom and for the
(07:03):
sake of the Gospel.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Greg Hangler. And a special thanks to Robert Morgan,
who's the author of one hundred Bible verses that made America,
defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith, the
story of the Pilgrims, the story of the real founders
of this country. Here on our American Stories, this is
(07:30):
Lee Habib, host of our American Stories. Every day we
set out to tell the stories of Americans past and present,
from small towns to big cities and from all walks
of life, doing extraordinary things that we truly can't do
this show without you. Our shows are free to listen to,
but they're not free to make. If you love what
you hear, go to our American Stories dot com and
(07:52):
make a donation to keep the stories coming. That's our
American Stories dot Com.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.