Focus on the Family Citizen April 2009 : Page 10
Christian Statesman Series: William Penn ATOP CITY HALL A statue of William Penn overlooks Philadelphia. England colonies is the founding of Pennsylvania in 1681. As the late Brit- ish historian Hilaire Belloc observed: The pioneers who gradually ex- tended the influences of the east- ern seaboard into the interior, and so built up what was to become the United States, were of every kind and origin … but the door through which all had to pass, the politi- cal society which determined the western movement, was … that of the broad, wise, and just William Penn: the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, and bequeathed his spirit to his followers. The son of Sir William Penn, an ad- Holy experiment The son of a British Royal Navy hero established a Christian democracy that grew large and prosperous and served as a model for the rest of America. Part 3 of a series on American statesmen whose lives offer hope to people of faith. by Alan R. Crippen II ly captivates many Americans. But perhaps more culturally and politically influential than the New T 10 © PATRICK WARD / CORBIS he Pilgrims’ landing near what is now Plymouth, Mass., in 1620—ending their quest for a land in which they could worship God freely—right- miral of faithful service to England, the younger Penn grew up as a “gen- tleman commoner.” Baptized an An- glican, Penn did not conform to the Church of England, and in 1667 con- verted to Quakerism—a dissenting and radical movement within English Puritanism. Founded by George Fox (1624-1691), Quakerism ignored re- ligious ritual and focused on personal belief as an evidence of true conver- sion. Quaker views of authority were radically democratic and egalitarian. Fox also practiced what might today be characterized as charismatic gifts of the spirit, including exorcism, di- vine healing, and the offering of a su- pernaturally inspired “word of knowl- edge.” British officials considered Quak- ers dangerous subversives and perse- cuted them, repeatedly imprisoning Penn, who would become the most renowned Quaker. On Aug. 14, 1670, the British arrested Penn and an asso- ciate, William Mead, for “illegal assembly, preach- ing, and disturbance of the peace.” A jury acquit- ted Penn and Mead, but the magistrate threatened jury members with fines and imprisonment unless they changed their verdict. A later trial upheld the right of juries to judge evidence and freely deter- mine a verdict. Reflecting on this event at a public banquet in Philadelphia more than a century later, the Marquis de Lafayette referred to the Penn- Citizen
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