Constantine was the Roman leader who united secular government to the “Christian” religion – a false and corrupted form of Christianity. From that day until the late 18th century, true Bible-believers have been oppressed and persecuted by both Catholics and their children, the Protestants, as they struggled for soul liberty and the freedom to worship God according to His Word. During the Dark Ages, the Anabaptists, descendants of earlier believers and the forefathers of the Baptists, stood and died preaching the Truth of the gospel when the laws of the unified state/religion throughout Europe denied them that liberty. In Britain, speaking for fallen Christianity, a spokesman for the Westminster Assembly stated, with approval: “Liberty of conscience and toleration of any and all religions is so prodigious an impiety that this religious parliament cannot but abhor the very meaning of it.”
When the Puritans came to North America, telling the world they wanted religious liberty, they were lying. They only wanted liberty for themselves, and they continued to deny Godly people the opportunity to preach and practice the precepts of the Bible. It took the suffering of Baptists and a few others to bring about religious freedom in this country.
On this day (December 15) 1792, well after the establishment of the United States of America, the first amendment to the constitution was adopted. It reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Most secular historians would say that James Madison was the Father of the First Amendment. But if he would be allowed to honestly testify, he would have to say that the Baptist preacher John Leland was its true father. The Baptists of Virginia opposed the ratification of the constitution, and Virginia was a “swing” state, whose vote was crucial. Leland met with Madison and explained the Baptist reluctance to accept the Constitution without a Bill of Rights and assurance that the government would not establish a “state” church. Madison listened to the logic and the scriptures, promising to take heed to John Leland’s recommendations. Leland then recommended to the Baptists throughout Virginia to vote “yes” to the Constitution. The rest has become a part of American history.
The United States owes to the Baptists one of its greatest and most important defining characteristics – religious freedom.
