The Rise and Development of the Congregational Polity and Spirit in New England

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  Lecture One: The Church at Scrooby

  Earl Clement Davis

  The 'Rise and Development' series starts with the Church at Scrooby, England, from whence the Pilgrims came. They were a Separatist Church that advocated for a more strict Calvinism than the Church of England, but also advocated for the right to free inquiry in matters religious and universal priesthood (i.e., against a special class of priests whose job it is to tell people what to believe).

  Davis' use of "these lessons" suggests that these manuscripts were intended for, and delivered to, a congregation. For this reason the most like date from 1905-1906 in Pittsfield.
  
  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Two: Earliest Traces of Congregational Polity and Spirit

  Earl Clement Davis

  Lecture Two looks back prior to the Scrooby Church at earlier dissenters from religious conformity, and in favor of free inquiry. He begins in 1165 with 30 weavers in the diocese of Worcester who made light of "priestly power." They were branded heretics and banished. From there he discusses the early Separatists and important figures in the Congregational Church's founding. These include Robert Browne, John Robinson, John Greenwood, Henry Barrowe, and Francis Johnson.
  
  

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Three: Brief Definition of Certain Terms Used in the History of Free Churches

  Earl Clement Davis

  Davis cites two sources for the English Reformation:a growth of popular feeling against the Catholic Church, and the personal and political troubles of Henry VIII. Henry VIII moved ultimate authority from Rome to the English monarch. But the popular movement for free inquiry and universal priesthood continued to press further change. Definitions clarified as they pertain to this historical context are: dissenters, non-conformists, independents, and "the New England way".

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Four: The Pilgrim Church in Holland

  Earl Clement Davis

  Davis begins with the courting and marriage of the widow Mrs. Thomasine Boyes and Francis Johnson, who was then in Clink prison. The Elders of the Amsterdam Church found her overly flashy and this nearly split the church. The Scrooby Church first arrived in Amsterdam and initially took up with the London Amsterdam Church. Feeling unwelcome and unaligned, they moved to Leyden with John Robinson as the learned and effective minister. Despite this, there were still concerns that the Scrooby Church would be absorbed into the broader (overly liberal) religious culture of Holland. It is because of this that they planned a move to the New World.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Five: The Pilgrim Church at Plymouth

  Earl Clement Davis

  This lecture covers the Mayflower Compact and the creation of a religious body politic -- the seed of New England Theocracy. It discusses the struggle to survive in the New World. The Plymouth Church was both conservative and liberal; it was very strict Calvinist, yet open to change and the possibility of new religious thinking.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Six: The Puritan-Pilgrim Church

  Earl Clement Davis

  Lecture six traces the beginnings of the Pilgrim-Puritan Church in Salem, going as far back as 1623 to cover events that would impact future relations with the Plymouth Church.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Seven: The Forces Without the Theocracy

  Earl Clement Davis

  This lecture addresses three issues that began to undermine the Theocracy. First was the question of regeneration and baptism. Second was the arrival of members from other faiths, initially the Church of England: Third was the treatment of heretics, particularly Quakers, under the Theocracy.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Eight: John Murray and the Beginning of the Universalist Movement

  Earl Clement Davis

  In this lecture, Davis covers the beginning of the Universalist Movement. By the 1700s, two movements within the New England Congregational churches, one liberal (Charles Chauncy) and one conservative (Jonathan Edwards) had emerged. This created room for other movements, including Universalism, which believes that all persons are "elected" to heaven in the afterlife. This movement was advanced by John Murray, who arrived in New England after a difficult life in Ireland and England.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Nine: Thomas Paine and Theology Without the Church

  Earl Clement Davis

  This lecture focuses on the religious writings of Thomas Paine -- famous for his political revolutionary pamphlet "Common Sense." His subsequent book, The Age of Reason, was very controversial upon release. But Davis argues that it accurately described the liberal tendencies emerging at this time.

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

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  Lecture Ten: Henry Ware and Harvard University

  Earl Clement Davis

  The final lecture in this series covers the main catalysts prompting the separation and birth of Trinitarian Congregationalists and Unitarian Congregationalists These include: 1. The election of Henry Ware (a liberal) as the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard (opposed by Jedediah Morse). 2. Jedediah Morse's attempt to resurrect the proposals of 1705, which was defeated at the congregational level. 3. The bitter dispute between Jedediah Morse and Hannah Adams over her claims that he plagiarized her history of New England 4. William Ellery Channing's 1819 "Baltimore Sermon" announcing the American Unitarian movement. 5. The 1820 decision concerning church property in Dedham, MA

  The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
  
  Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.