There are certain names that are familiar to every American who cares about history. Names like Christopher Columbus, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington to name a few.
In addition, there are names that are familiar to American Christians who pay attention to Christian history. Names like George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and DL Moody are examples.
I would like to add one name to both of those lists. One name of a person that few people know, but that everybody SHOULD know, because of the contribution he made to American history, to Christian history, to Baptist history, and to world history. I would like everyone to know the name John Clarke. You may think I’m overstating his importance, but I hope that before I finish, you’ll at least consider what a difference John Clarke made in the world.
If you have no idea who he is, don’t feel TOO bad. I’ve been a more-than-casual student of history for much of my life, and I didn’t learn about John Clarke until I was 50 years old.
So who is John Clarke?
John Clarke was born in England, and he came to the New World when he was 28 years old, in November of 1637. He arrived exactly 17 years after the Pilgrims.
John Clarke quickly discovered that “freedom of conscience,” or what we would call “freedom to worship or freedom of religion,” didn’t exist in the New World. As a result, he and some other likeminded people looked for a place where they could live peaceably together.
They chose to settle in Aquidneck Island, which is now part of Rhode Island. On May 7, 1638, they established the settlement of Portsmouth on the northern end of the island. And here’s where John Clark dramatically changed history: he authored the Portsmouth Compact. This amazing document formed the first government in the history of the world that guaranteed its citizens complete civil AND religious liberty. A year later, John Clarke moved to the southern end of the island, and founded the town of Newport on those same principles.
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“This amazing document formed the first government in the history of the world that guaranteed its citizens complete civil AND religious liberty. “
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After these victories, he knew that his battles for liberty were not over. He returned to England in 1651. He fought for 12 years to obtain a new charter for the colony of Rhode Island. He petitioned the King for the right to “Hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing civil state may stand and best be maintained, and that among our English subjects, with a full liberty in religious concernments.”
Finally, in 1663, King Charles II granted Rhode Island its royal charter, making them the first colony in the world to guarantee religious freedom.
You see, each of the colonies recognized an official religion, and citizens who did not abide by it could be arrested, fined, and imprisoned. John Clarke himself had been arrested in the colony of Massachusetts for the crime of being a Baptist. His friend Obadiah Holmes was publicly whipped for his Baptist beliefs.
But here’s something about your Baptist faith that you need to recognize: when John Clarke had the opportunity to lead in establishing a separate colony, he didn’t petition the King of England to start a BAPTIST colony, though he certainly COULD have. Instead, he petitioned the King to establish a colony where religious FREEDOM would prevail. You see, Baptists do not believe, and never HAVE believed, in the existence of a state church.
Baptists have historically believed in the SEPARATION of the church and the state.
The other colonies all had, or would eventually have, official state churches. Some states were Congregational, some were Presbyterian, some were Quaker, and some were Episcopal. But when given the opportunity to found one, the Baptists said, “We don’t want a state church, we want religious freedom.”
When religious groups around the world that had been oppressed and persecuted for years HEARD about Rhode Island, they pulled up stakes and settled in Newport, RI. Google the phrase, “Oldest synagogue in America,” and you’ll see the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. To this day, the people of that synagogue hold John Clarke, a Baptist, in the highest regard because he established the government that gave Jewish worshippers the freedom they didn’t find anywhere else in the world at that time.
John Clarke is known as “the father of American Baptists;” he’s been called, “the foremost diplomat of his time.”
The principles of government that he established in Portsmouth, RI would affect every colony, and eventually every state in America.
Newport, RI is one of my family’s favorite places to visit. It’s about 3 hours from where we live. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Newport, especially on a sunny summer day, don’t miss it. It’s a beautiful place.
You’ll want to shop on Bowen’s Wharf, and get some of the best New England Clam Chowder you’ll ever taste at a restaurant called “The Black Pearl.” But my family knows that they can’t visit Newport without me taking them to two spots. The first place is found at the north end of the island. It is called “Founders’ Brook Park.” That’s where you’ll find a stone monument, commemorating the Portsmouth Compact of 1638.
The other spot is at the south end of the island in Newport. It is the cemetery where John Clarke is buried. Just outside the graveyard fence, there’s a monument, about 12 feet high, 4 feet wide, and a foot thick; it was erected by the Baptist History Preservation Society, founded by Pastor Jeff Faggart of Rockwell, NC. It gives a detailed description of the life of John Clarke.
In fact, many of the details that I’ve shared with you today are copied directly from the information on that monument.
We are watching all kinds of important principles being destroyed, both in our American culture, and in our Baptist church culture. One reason we don’t stand up against the decay as boldly as we should is that we don’t know how we obtained what we have. We don’t know what life is like WITHOUT religious freedom, and we don’t know what it cost to win it.
John Clarke’s lifelong fight led to freedom enjoyed by millions of Americans who don’t even know His name. I pray that you’ll remember the name John Clarke.
Christian, God has big things ahead for you…stay the course!