Page 19 - Pilgrims in Georgia

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It changed their view of the world

From these teachings of the sole authority of Faith and Practice of the Christian Faith being found in the Bible,
and its teachings that a right relationship with God is only found in Christ alone by Grace through Faith in Christ alone,
came a change in the way Protestants viewed and interacted with the world. They could read God’s Word to them for
themselves, universal education, national languages, missions, and Bible translation became important. They could
commune with God directly, therefore the individual peasant, his vocation and his family were as important as clergy and

kings. This would lead to Democratic Republics; the rule of law verses the Divine Right of Kings, limited government, and a
balance between church and state. Also these principles implied, freedom of religion, they were free to choose which
church best complied with their understanding of the Scriptures and free from patronage to any particular church in the
world, in terms of money, energy, time, or obedience. They understood that God was a God of loving unmerited Grace who
rewards and requires only Faith, creating personal acceptance, security, confidence, vision, inspiration, energy,
perseverance, and inspiring exploration, financial venture, and the growth of the free market. Their understanding of
Christ’s preeminence in salvation and God sole glory was also an inspiration of manifest destiny as citizens of His Kingdom
to be a “city set on a hill “.
It changed what they did in the world

‘Many of the British North American Colonies that joined in 1776 to form the United States of America were settled in the
17th century for religious purposes by men and women who, in the face of European persecution, refused to compromise
passionately held religious convictions and risked the perilous crossing of the Atlantic to practice their religion as they

believed the Scriptures commanded. The New England Colonies and New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland were
conceived and established "as plantations of religion." Some who arrived in these areas came, of course, for secular
motives -- "to catch fish" as one New Englander put it -- but the great majority of settlers left Europe to worship God as
they wished and enthusiastically supported the efforts of their leaders to turn individual Colonies into "a city on a hill" or a
"holy experiment," whose success would prove to European enemies that God's plan for his churches could be successfully
realized in the American wilderness. Even Colonies such as Virginia, which were planned as commercial ventures, were led
by entrepreneurs who considered themselves "militant Protestants" and who worked diligently to promote the prosperity
of the church. The faith in which the Colonies were founded gave them a religious orientation that remained strong when
the government of the United States was created in the years after 1776. Boosted by the "golden age" of evangelicalism,

religion thrived in 19th century America. Its impact remained so conspicuous in the early decades of this century that in
1922 a British observer called the United States "a nation with the soul of a church.“
Library of Congress Information Bulletin May 1998 - Vol. 57, No. 5 Religion and the Founding of the American Republic