20 Comments
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Foghorn Leghorn's avatar

I love the way you write together. And yes,

Madison was right. Free exercise is God’s own way of letting His own “choose this day Whom we will serve.” Men should not appropriate by compulsion that which God granted freely in conscience and spirit.

And as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, the One God Almighty, by the spirit of Jesus Christ.

Foghorn Leghorn's avatar

(Citing Joshua 24:15)

Jean's avatar

Beautiful! Thought provoking! Thank you for sharing this inspiring history. Very timely! Looking forward to your next.

Paul B. Cohen's avatar

Thank you for sharing this important piece of history that apparently goes under the radar for many, including me. Every American citizen should read it.

I was also reminded of the recent act by President Trump cutting off public funding to PBS and NPR. I was very glad indeed that tax monies supplied by American citizens were no longer automatically routed to the woke, anti-Biblical, anti-God religion of the lefty leftists and its practitioners/propagandists.

lynn's avatar

Loved this. I recently finished teaching a course in America's Founding Documents. I tried to fill that course with local stories that ended up being turning points in history. I will add this one! Thank you.

It's also a testament to sovereign men and women who understood and exercised their rights as human beings, created equal by the Creator. They didn't learn about these rights in civics class, they learned them from their Christian texts.

James Lord's avatar

I count 8 different schools I attended grades 1 - 12 in the 70s and 80s. Of those 8, at least 5 have been rebuilt, relocated, or closed/demolished altogether. The areas in which I grew up in my home state are barely recognizable to me whenever I go back; and there are fewer and fewer reasons to do so.

It's a reminder that I am getting older, and it feels as though the historical markers of my existence have faded. There's something to be said for preserving old buildings as historical markers, and I salute those showing the skill, discipline, and dedication to keep old places like the church in such fine shape.

Big E's avatar

Wonderful essay.

Now, if only we could stop pouring tax money into teachers unions, which are a religion unto themselves.

Sonia Nordenson's avatar

What a beautiful and well-illustrated historical account! Thank you.

beccar1954's avatar

Fascinating history! Hillsdale College has a free online history of the American Revolution that fills in an awful lot that I never learned in high school. Definitely worth watching.

DRC's avatar
2hEdited

Interesting. This might help to explain why my ancestors kept going past Virginia, and continued on to North Carolina, finally settling in the mountains. Also, none of them that I know of were either Anglican, Episcopalian, or Baptist.

virginia smelley's avatar

great information, I am a Virginian and never heard this history. Thank you

Richard Kerr's avatar

What a nice change-of-pace essay for leisurely Sunday afternoon reading. Seeing the nearly contemporaneous accounts of the of folks who lived in the early years of our Republic's evolution and revolution adds valuable context to our understanding of our history.

Debra Nolasco's avatar

As a lover of early American history, I loved this account & can easily picture the whole setting. Thank-you very much for providing this slice of American & Virginian history. I am already looking forward to the next part. If you are interested in the broader account of the years preceding, during, & following the Revolution, I recommend the book, "Revolution" by Eric Metaxas, which is a recent release. He wrote it to tell the story of the founding of our country, in time for our 250th anniversary. It is very compelling & you will learn things in this book that you will not learn elsewhere. It is about 600 pigs. & I am only half-way through it. It is hard to put down.

Barbara's avatar

As always, grateful for your research and your time and energy. Blessings to both of you and all who value and support your many endeavors to open our eyes, minds and hearts to truth and light .

Nadia Nichols's avatar

Wonderful history. Beautiful valley! One of my ancestors, Mary Dyer, was hung in Boston for not forsaking her Quaker religion. This was back in the 1600's, in the same general area as the Salem witch trials. Those were perilous times rife with religious prosecution. Our constitution and bill of rights were drafted by exceptional patriots.

"Mary Dyer was an English and colonial American Puritan-turned-Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony due to their theological expansion of the Puritan concept of a church of individuals regenerated by the Holy Spirit to the idea of the indwelling of the Spirit or the "Light of Christ", which was deemed dangerous heresy. She is one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs. Dyer's birthplace has not been established, but it is known that she was married in London in 1633 to William Dyer, a member of the Fishmongers' Company but a milliner by profession." from Wikipedia

Christopher Quick's avatar

Your ancestor Mary Dyer had it right. As the apostle St. Paul stated, it is not I who lives but Christ within me who lives. It is this indwelling of the Spirit or "Light of Christ" which will lead humanity to victory over this current age of darkness. By keeping Christ in our hearts, we can discern God's will for us through contemplative prayer. Once our collective talents and abilities are used in accordance with God's will, and we become His instruments, you will know what to do in this fight against Evil. This is a spiritual battle for the outcome of humanity, and not a secular one - hence the solution is spiritual as well.

Sheila Barkofske's avatar

Sarcastic alert: So assuming the Germans were white it would appear the early Virginians were not racist when it came to slave labor. When you consider all the obstacles these people had to endure (had to wait for the ship’s captain to bail himself out of debtors prison) & there were no government assistance programs or apps on the other end, it is nothing short of a miracle anything got done.

MarKe's avatar

Lovely. So appropriate considering that the Steuben Day parade was just yesterday in NYC. Needless to say, the Mayor did not show. In the past, Mayor Adams always did. Thank you for the history. Quite a story.