Gouverneur Morris

Gouverneur Morris spoke on the floor of the Constitutional Convention 173 times. Morris addressed the members of the convention more than any other delegate. As chairman of the Committee on Style, Morris drafted the document and was directly responsible for most of the wording of the Constitution.

He was born on January 31, 1752 to a prominent family in Morrisania, New York. Morris enjoyed sports in his youth and was educated at a French Huguenot school in New Rochelle, New York. While attending King's College (Columbia) he studied law and began his law practice at the age of nineteen. Tragedy struck him at the age of twenty-four when he lost his leg in an accident. His use of a wooden leg became a distinguishing mark throughout his life.

Gouverneur Morris served the New York Assembly from 1775 till 1777. In that era, Morris drafted a Constitution for the State of New York with Robert R. Livingston and John Jay. He was 35 years old when he served as a member of the Continental Congress. Although he served in the Continental Congress from 1777 till 1779; Morris wasn't reelected for he was an opponent of lawlessness. Hence, he was suspected as being pro-British.

Morris settled in Philadelphia to practice law; eventually being selected by Robert Morris (of no relation) in 1780 to hold the position of assistant superintendent of finance for the American War of Independence. Morris continued to hold the post until 1785.

He was chosen to be a delegate from the State of Pennsylvania to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Gouverneur Morris was the originator of the phrase “We, the People of the United States.”

Morris became a powerful advocate of a strong central government. He supported positions which include a president elected to serve for life and senators chosen by the president having lifetime tenure. Furthermore, he supported the idea of independent appellate judges serving life tenure.

Gouverneur Morris was a staunch opponent of slavery.

“I will never concur in upholding domestic slavery. It is the curse of heaven on the States where it prevails.”

After Washington sent Morris to France in 1789; he was eventually named U.S. Minister to France. Morris was scornful of the morality of the French and disgusted by what was occurring in France during the French Revolution. He was a positive asset as U.S. Minister to France representing American interests. Morris became the only foreign minister to remain in France throughout the Reign of Terror. His house was thoroughly searched several times and he was arrested once for not having a 'citizen card' in his possession. At each instance Morris would vigorously protest and received a rude apology. Morris attempted to shelter members of the French aristocracy but failed in his attempt to arrange for the escape of the king and queen. Consequently, he was disliked and feared by members of the fledgling French government. President Washington became disgusted with the French minister to the United States and demanded that “Citizen” Genet be recalled. In response to Washington's position concerning Genet; the Revolutionary French government demanded that Washington recall Morris.

Washington reluctantly recalled Morris as minister to France. Afterward, Morris chose to travel for four years throughout Europe and in 1798 he returned to Morrisania, New York.

New York elected Morris to serve an unexpired term to the United States Senate in 1800. He served as a senator from New York till 1803. Morris was a strong Federalist who was critical and opposed Thomas Jefferson. He did support Jefferson in the purchase of Louisiana. Morris supported plans for the construction of the Erie canal which he proposed twenty years earlier.

Morris held the biblical view of the depravity of man yet held great faith in his country. Gouverneur Morris was a man of acute foresight. He had a positive belief in the future of his country and predicted America's greatness.

“The proudest empire in Europe is but a bauble compared to what America will be, must be, in the course of two centuries, perhaps one!”

He felt the War of 1812 was unjust. Consequently, Morris felt America was giving aid to the French by waging war with Great Britain. He firmly believed that aiding the French was an offense to “Christian civilization.”

Hence, he encouraged New York and New England to secede from the Union to form a new confederation. Morris believed that secession was the right of each state based upon his experience within the Constitutional Convention.

Morris wasn't a deist and had a deep enduring faith in God whom he believed interacts in the affairs of the nation. Morris spoke to the New York Assembly concerning the tense relationship between the American colonies and Great Britain before the Declaration of Independence was written.

He wrote to his mother: 

“There is one Comforter who weighs our Minutes and Numbers our Days.”

“Providence has kindly interfered so far for our preservation.”

He wrote to his mother on April 17, 1778 declaring:

“I look forward serenely to the course of events, confident that the Fountain of supreme wisdom and virtue will provide for the happiness of his creatures... 

Whenever the present storm subsides, I shall rush with eagerness into the bosom of private life, but while it continues, and while my country calls for the exertion of that little share of abilities, which it has pleased God to bestow on me, I hold it my indispensable duty to give myself to her.”

His faith in God was expressed in a letter to George Washington dated January 24, 1789:

“I hope in God, my dear Sir, that you may long continue to preside.”

In a letter to George Washington dated June 25, 1793; he expressed his hope that Washington would seek reelection.

“It will be time enough for you to have a successor, when it shall please God to call you from this world's theater.”

Morris consoled his sister Ephemia Ogden in a letter dated June 23, 1793 at the death of her child with these sentiments:

“His bounty is as unbounded as His power! Confiding in the one, be resigned to the other; and accepting with gratitude what it may please Him to give, surrender with respectful obedience what He shall think proper to take away. O God! Thy will be done.”

When asked by David Humphreys what he foresaw for revolution torn immoral France he made the following remarks on June 5, 1793:

“Guerre, famine, peste (war, famine, pestilence).” Furthermore, Morris declared: I pray God the prediction be not fully accomplished.”

His keep perception into the spiritual realm is seen in his remarks concerning the defeat of Napoleon's invasion of Czarist Russia. In a letter to Harrison Gray Otis dated April 29, 1813, he declared:

“The signal victories of Russia (over Napoleon) demand our thanks to Almighty God, by whose Providence they are ordered.”

Furthermore, when speaking of God's intervention on behalf of the French refugees in Dresden, Germany; Morris declares the goodness of God. An entry in his personal diary dated August 19,1796 Morris declared:

“...This ground of hope in the kindness of that Being, who is to all his creatures an indulgent father...
O God! It is thy wisdom which hath ordained, and thy hand which heavily hath inflicted this blow, consistent most surely with those just decrees, which we may not presume to measure, nor ever dare to know, but yet we know, for we feel, that thy mercy will season to those, who suffer them, the sharpness of these affections. Yes, we feel! And it is this consciousness, which, precious and paramount to all reasoning, has diffused through the whole human race, and impressed in the heart of each individual, the same conviction of his own existence, and the existence of God. Yes, we feel! And it is in the strict accordance between our finest feelings, and the principles of the religion we profess, that this stands demonstrated by their evidence to be of divine origin.”

In correspondence to Timothy Pickering dated October 17,1814 he wrote: 

“The Almighty will work out his wise ends by means of human folly.” 

Morris recognized that God uses the foolish things of this world for his glory as stated in I Corinthians 1:18-31.

Toward the end of his sojourn in this world he thanked God for his manifold blessings declaring:

“I descend towards the grave full of gratitude to the Giver of all good.”

Madame de Damas was a close friend of Morris who wrote:

“If instead of a simple error, an opinion is ventured in his presence offensive to religion, good morals, or sound political principles, it is no longer a regard for truth alone, it is the passion of virtue, the ardor for justice, the love of humanity, which inflames his generous soul... 

The idea of a Deity is always present, the habit of contemplating him in his works, of imitating his goodness, of submitting to his will, with that calm resignation which arises from a belief that God can will nothing but what is good; such is the fountain from which his soul derives a confidence full of serenity, a boundless charity, and a hope...”

Jesus Christ is seldom mentioned in his correspondence. Hence, it is difficult to determine Morris' personal thoughts concerning Christ. He was an Episcopalian and the Episcopal church of his day held an orthodox view of the divinity Christ and the Trinity. There isn't evidence that he disagreed or rejected the doctrines of the Episcopal church to which he was a member.

Morris opposed a proposal in1785 which would abolish the charter of the Bank of North America. The Pennsylvania State Assembly was considering an action which Morris though would violate commitments which were made by the State of Pennsylvania. The following statement is from “An Address on the Bank of North America” Pennsylvania State Assembly, 1785:

“How can we hope for public peace and national prosperity, if the faith of governments so solemnly pledged can be so suddenly violated? If private property can be so lightly infringed? Destroy this prop, which once gave us support, and where will you turn in the hour of distress? To whom will you look for succor? By what promises or vows can you hope to obtain confidence? This hour of distress will come. It comes to all, and the moment of affliction is known to Him alone, whose divine providence exalts or depresses states and kingdoms. Not by the blind dictates of arbitrary will. Not by a tyrannous and despotic mandate. But in proportion to their obedience or disobedience of his just and holy laws. It is he who commands us that we abstain from wrong. It is he who tells you, “do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you.”

Morris is referring to Jesus Christ when he speaks of “Him” who “exalts or depresses states or kingdoms.” It is Christ who ordains “his just and holy laws.” It is Jesus Christ “who commands us that we abstain from wrong.” Finally, the declaration “do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you” is a quotation of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31.

Hence, Gouverneur Morris utilized the same pronoun for Jesus Christ and God. To Morris when he speaks of God; he is speaking of Jesus Christ.

Morris often used biblical allusions which demonstrates his knowledge of the Holy Bible. He speaks of Aaron while in Egypt utilizing his rod which swallows up the others. He alludes to Jesus declaration of a certain burden which is easy and whose yoke is light. He mentions to one that he hopes a person will remember his creator in the days of his youth. Morris speaks of the trumpets of Joshua. Furthermore, he speaks of “peace in our time, O Lord!” He utilizes and allusion declaring that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. He uses a phrase concerning people who will not listen because if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

In a letter to John Murray, Jr., dated September 22, 1811, Morris referred to the “Holy Writings” a clear reference to the Holy Bible. In a letter to David B. Ogden dated April 5, 1813, he declared:

“...to which I reply, in the language of the Holy Writ, thou shalt not do evil that good may come of it.” 

The point here one should understand is that Gouverneur Morris recognized special revelation – the inspired Word of God – which a deist would deny.

He had no naive view of human nature concerning the goodness of man or the doctrine of the perfectability of man embraced by the French. He did not see human nature as evil but fallen from an original state of grace.

“There is always a counter-current in human affairs, which opposes alike both good and evil. Thus the good we hope is seldom obtained, and the evil we fear is rarely realized.”

He had an excellent sense of humor which is revealed in this satirical statement concerning Jefferson's faith in the human goodness of the common man.

“It is the fashion with those discontented creatures called Federalists, to say that our President [Jefferson] is not a Christian; yet they must acknowledge that, in true Christian meekness, when smitten on one cheek he turns the other, and buy his late appointment of Monroe has taken special care that a stone which the builders rejected should become the first of the corner. These are his works; and for his faith, it is not a grain of mustard' but the full size of a pumpkin, so that while men of mustard-seed faith can only move mountains, he finds no difficulty in swallowing them. He believes, for instance, in the perfectability of man, the wisdom of mobs, and moderation of Jacobins. He believes in payment of debts by diminution of revenue, in defense of territory by reduction of armies, and in vindication of rights by the appointment of ambassadors.”

Morris believed that man's evil tendencies must be restrained through strong government. He believed the type of government suitable to a particular nation varied from nation to nation. Hence, the French were not suited for the same type of government as the Americans.

“They [the French] want an American constitution, with the exception of a King instead of a President, without reflecting they that have not American citizens to support that constitution.”

As early as 1789, Morris realized that the French Revolution would eventually lead to “probable tyranny” as he records in his diary. A fundamental reason for his conviction was the immorality of the French people. In a letter to George Washington dated April 29, 1789, he declared:

“The materials for a revolution in this country [France] are very indifferent. Everybody agrees that there is an utter prostration of morals; but this general proposition can never convey to an American mind the degree of depravity. It is not by any figure of rhetoric, or force of language, that the idea can be communicated. A hundred anecdotes, and a hundred thousand examples, are required to show the extreme rottenness of every member. There are men and women who are greatly and eminently virtuous. I have the pleasure to number many in my acquaintance; but they stand forward from a background deeply and darkly shaded. It is however, from such crumbling matter, that the great edifice of freedom is to be erected here. Perhaps, like the stratum of rock, which is spread under the whole surface of their country, it may be hardened when exposed to the air; but it seems quite as likely that it will fall and crush the builders. 

...there is one fatal principle which pervades all ranks. It is a perfect indifference to the violation of engagements. Inconstancy is so mingled in the blood, marrow, and very essence of this people, that when a man of high rank and importance laughs to day at what he seriously asserted yesterday, it is considered as in the natural order of things. Consistency is a phenomen. Judge, then, what would be the value of association, should such a thing be proposed, and even adopted. The great mass of the common people have no religion but their priests, no law but their superiors, no morals but their interest. These are the creatures who, led by drunken curates, are now in the high road a la liberte, and the first use they make of it is to from insurrections everywhere for the want of bread.”

It is evident through his personal correspondence and diary that Morris deplored the immorality of the French people. To him, the French Revolution was established on a false foundation doomed to failure – a monstrosity. The rampant lawlessness and disregard for human life were the consequences of a revolution not established on the true principles of divine law. Morris recognized the fundamental problem of the French was the flawed world view on which they attempted to establish a democracy. Hence, the fundamental problem was the lack of sound religious principles on which to establish a national government.

He wrote to Thomas Jefferson on January 21, 1792 while in Paris:

“The open contempt of religion, also, cannot but be offensive to all sober minded men.”

In a letter to Thomas Pinckney on December 3, 1792 Morris declared:

“Since I have been in this country, I have seen the worship of many idols, but little of the true God.”

Furthermore, he declared to Pinckney in the same letter that he hoped for a French constitution as “the principle means, under Divine Providence, of extending the blessings of freedom.” Morris doubted that this would occur, “because I do not yet perceive that reformation of morals without which liberty is but an empty sound.”

Despite his objections to the immorality of the French people; Morris hoped for the best possible government for the French people. He firmly believed that a constitutional republican government as found in America would not be possible in France. He believed the nature of government would vary according the moral character of the people within a nation. Morris spoke of the absolute principles of the law of nature and the law of nations. In his work “Notes on the Form of a Constitution for France” he writes:

“...the tranquility and liberty of nations can only be sustained upon the basis of justice.”

The principles of which he speaks apply differently in different conditions. Hence, a system of government designed to work for a highly moral ethical religious people would not work in an immoral society. Since these principles vary from nation to nation:

 “The true object of a great statesman is to give to any particular nation the kind of laws which is suitable to them, and the best constitution which they are capable of.”

In order to govern themselves; nations must first learn the supremacy of laws. If not they are easily led astray and victimized by demagogues leading them into radical causes.

In correspondence to Robert R. Livingston dated October 10, 1802, Morris declared:

“The engine by which a giddy population can be most easily wrought on to do mischief, is their hatred of the rich.”

Concerning proposals in America for a constitution, he declared: “Give the votes to the people who have no property, and they will sell them to the rich.” or vote to themselves property and possessions of those persons who are more affluent.

Education and training are necessary before societies are ready for self-government. People within society must learn to revere laws above the arbitrary whims of men and democratic majorities.

Morris wrote “Observations on Government, Applicable to the Political State of France” in July of 1789 while in France.

“...in free governments the laws being supreme, and the only supreme, there arises from that circumstances a spirit of order, and a confidence in those laws for the redress of all injuries, public and private, The sword of justice is placed in the hands of a constitutional magistrate and each individual trembles at the idea of wresting it from his grasp, lest the point shall be turned upon his own bosom, or that of his friend. In despotic governments the people, habituated to behold everything bending beneath the weight of power, never possess that power for a moment without abusing it. Slaves, driven to despair, take arms, execute vast vengeance, and then sink back to their former condition of slaves. In such societies the patriot, the melancholy patriot, sides with the despot, because anything is better than a wild and bloody confusion. Those, therefore, who form the sublime and godlike idea of rescuing their fellow creatures from a slavery, they have long groaned under, must begin by instruction, and proceed by slow degrees, must content themselves with planting the tree, from which posterity is to gather the fruit.”

When speaking of the law as supreme, Morris is stating that the citizen must hold law in high regard respecting it. No one is in a position to exploit or manipulate law to his or her personal advantage. Only after careful deliberation can majorities, minorities, rulers and commoners change the law.

Judges are to interpret and apply the law disregarding possible personal motivations concerning reelection and reappointment. In a Speech Prepared for the King of France, Morris declared the reason he favored life tenure for appellate court judges: 

“Those who are charged with the important duties of administering justice, should, if possible, depend only on God.”

In “Notes on the Form of Constitution for France” Morris stated the major role that religion plays in educating the people of France in order to prepare them for self-government.

“Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God. 

These duties are, internally, love and adoration: externally, devotion and obedience; therefore provision should be made for maintaining divine worship as well as education. 

But each one has a right to entire liberty as to religious opinions, for religion is the relation between God and man; therefore it is not within the reach of human authority.”

Morris proposed that a Council of Education and Worship be established for each district in France. Furthermore, each council would be formed and headed by a local bishop and various ecclesiastical and educational persons in positions of authority. He also proposed that the state collect tithes for the financial support of education and worship. He proposed a legislature be composed of ninety senators. Twenty of the senators would be bishops and other persons of authority within the church.

Note that although Morris believed that a church establishment was suitable in France; he did not believe that such an establishment would work in the United States.

He believed that state funding and maintenance of education and divine worship and “entire liberty of religious opinions” could co-exist.

Gouverneur Morris died on November 6, 1816 after witnessing the restoration of the Bourban dynasty in France.

Although it is not certain that Gouverneur Morris was a Christian he expressed himself on religious doctrines. He had a profound faith in the providential superintendence of an immutable God. The Episcopal church to which he belonged affirmed the Triune God, the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, and the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The public and private declarations which he made conform to those doctrines. He recognized the human sinfulness of mankind. His political beliefs were formed upon his view of the fallen nature of mankind. He firmly believed that religion and morality were essential prerequisites to a society free from arbitrary rule. Gouverneur Morris formed his political philosophy around an essential world view founded upon the Bible.

This essay is gleaned and condensed from:

Christianity and the Constitution – The Faith of Our Founding Fathers by John Eidsmoe

Doctor Walter L. Wilson (1881 - 1969)

Doctor Walter L. Wilson of Kansas City, Kansas had a deep love for the Holy Scriptures.  Throughout his life he became a medical doctor, businessman, salesman, preacher, and winner of souls for Jesus Christ. He was born on May 27, 1881 in Aurora, Indiana. He was raised by his grandmother for his mother died the year after his birth. The Kansas City physician became a Christian in December 21,1896 when he was fifteen years old. He began to have evangelistic street meetings when he was sixteen years old. 

Nine years would pass when he completed his medical schooling and established a medical practice in Webb City, Missouri. He was educated at the University Medical College and Northwestern Medical College in Chicago.

Dr. Wilson realized that it wasn't enough to heal the bodies of his patients. He wanted to be the conduit through which Jesus Christ could heal their souls.

He worked at his father's tent-making while he attended college pursuing a medical degree.

After graduating from college; he opened a medical practice and married Marion Baker in 1904 the same year he received his medical license. Marion was the daughter of the tent-maker who worked for his father. They proudly raised a family of eight children: Elizabeth, Walter Jr., Margaret, Marion, Norman, Martha, Nathaniel, and Catherine. Marion died on September 25, 1962. He affectionately called his wife “Sweetheart” throughout their 58 years of marriage.

He was compelled to work full time in the tent-making business and his medical practice due to his father-in-law's failing health. He continued to work in this manner for 25 years from 1904 to 1929. During the First World War, he devised a method of camouflaging and waterproofing tents which greatly assisted the war effort.

Buffalo Bill Cody was another important customer for whom he provided canvas.

He diligently studied the Bible and applied himself to do as God had commanded throughout the inspired Word of God. He was concerned that his life did not bear the spiritual fruit which he believed it should be evident. Others assured him “not to look for results, but only to be busy at seed sowing.”

He continued to press on as a fine doctor and lay preacher. A missionary from France visiting his home in 1913 challenged him with a question: 

“What is the Holy Spirit to you?”

Wilson answered the missionary: 

“He is one of the persons of the Godhead, a Teacher, a Guide; the third person of the Trinity.”

The missionary exclaimed:

“He is just as great...just as precious, just as needful, as the other two Persons of the Trinity. But still you have not answered my question, What is He to you?”

Wilson replied: 

“He is nothing to me... I have no contact with Him, no personal relationship, and could get along quite well without Him.”

The missionary replied: 

“It is because of this that your life is so fruitless even though your efforts are so great. If you will seek personally to know the Holy Spirit, He will transform your life.”

Throughout the next year, Wilson was haunted by the missionaries words. Wilson sincerely desired to bear the fruit of the Spirit but feared becoming a fanatic. He feared he would give Jesus an inferior place in his life by exalting the Holy Spirit. It was through a close Christian friend who explained to him from the Bible that it was only by the Holy Spirit that Christ could be known intimately to him.

He attended a medical convention where he found a tract which an office nurse slipped into his briefcase. It showed that while Jesus had a body, the Holy Spirit had none. Christians are his body. The Holy Spirit utilizes each Christian to touch the people in whom God brings into our lives.

Dr. James Gray who would become president of Moody Bible Institute spoke on the evening of January 14, 1914. Wilson heard Dr. Gray preach a sermon from Romans 12:1. 

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Dr. Gray asked: “Have you noticed that this verse does not tell us to whom we should give our bodies? It is not the Lord Jesus...He has His own body. It is not God the Father...He remains upon His throne. Another has come to earth without a body...God give you the privilege and the indescribable honor or presenting your bodies to the Holy Spirit, to be His dwelling place on earth.”

Wilson declared that he said to the Holy Spirit: 

“My Lord, I have mistreated You all my Christian life.I have treated You like a servant...I shall do so no more. Just now I give You this body of mine; from my head to my feet. I give You my hands, my limbs, my eyes and lips, my brain; all that I am within and without, I hand over to You for You to live in it the life that You please. You may send this body to Africa, or lay it on a bed of cancer...It is Your body from this moment on. Help yourself to it. Thank You, my Lord, I believe You have accepted it, for in Romans twelve You said, “acceptable unto God.”

One the following morning, two women arrived at his office selling advertising as they had done one other previous occasions. He had never spoken to them about Christ before; but on this occasion he did. Both women put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Dr. Wilson began to believe and pray asking the Holy Spirit to take charge of his life. The following day he was urged to speak to a drug store attendant about Christ. After a moment of protest, he yielded to the unction of the Holy Spirit. Three people knelt and asked Christ into their lives after he spoke to them.

This became the beginning of the mighty way in which God began to utilize Dr. Walter L. Wilson. Eventually, he became the pastor of the interdenominational Central Bible Church of Kansas City, Kansas in 1920. He became the co-founder and first president of the Kansas City Bible College which is now Calvary Bible College. Furthermore, Dr. Wilson established the Flagstaff Indian Mission to the Navajos. Dr Wilson traveled to the British Isles, Europe and the Near East becoming a much sought after Bible conference speaker. He became the author of a series of books giving instruction and encouragement to others in the work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

At 82 years of age, Dr. Wilson married Ruth Selders of Kansas the year after his first wife's death. She had been a member of the Central Bible Church for forty years and an alumna of the Kansas City Bible College. Walter and Ruth enjoyed six years together until his death in 1969.

He became the author of over twenty books. Among the writings which he authored are these works: Soul Winning Stories, Miracles in a Doctor's Life, The Romance of a Doctor's Visits, Strange Short Stories, The Doctor's Best Love Story, Let's Go Fishing with the Doctor, A Sure Remedy Prescribed by the Doctor, Remarkable New Stories Told by the Doctor, Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types, Just What the Doctor Ordered, and True Stories Told by the Doctor.

Although he was never ordained, he led many people whom God brought into his life to surrender their lives to Christ. His wit and homely stories were an asset to illustrate what it meant to be saved and how one can truly know one is reborn of God. Furthermore, he became a pioneer in Christian radio starting in 1924. He spoke of various medical themes as well as hardware and carpentry but always giving a clear plan of salvation.

Dr. Wilson wrote the following statement in “The Romance of a Doctor's Visits:”

“How often people make the mistake of believing the facts without applying them to their own hearts! To acknowledge the truth of the Gospel is not sufficient, it must be applied to the soul and accepted personally in order to have real value. The fact that Christ is a wonderful Savior is a blessed truth. Each one, however, must come to Him personally and accept Him as his own personal Lord and Savior (John 1:12). To believe that a doctor is able to prescribe the proper remedy is only to acknowledge the truth of the facts. To engage the doctor to handle your own case, and to take charge of you and your disease, brings the application of the facts to your own life. Do not miss heaven by missing the Savior.”

Dr. Walter L Wilson testified:

“With regard to my own experience with the Holy Spirit, I may say the transformation in my own life on January 14, 1914, was greater, much greater than the change that took place when I was saved December 21, 1896.”

Edward D Griffin 1770 - 1837

Edward D. Griffin planned to become a minister but upon entering his senior year at Yale; he realized that he didn't know Jesus Christ as his lord and savior. He turned to study law for the idea of becoming a minister without faith in Christ was horrifying to him. Edward Griffin was born on January 6, 1770 to a prominent wealthy family living in East Haddam, Connecticut.

He became miserable after falling ill and being confined to a sickbed in July of 1791. Griffin contemplated these thoughts:

“If I cannot bear this for a short time, how can I bear the pains of hell forever?”

The thoughts of eternal punishment continued to torment him for three months. Within those months he eventually trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Consequently, he began to question his decision to study law and become a lawyer. On a Sunday after church, he ascended the steps to his room and thoughtfully contemplated:

“And why should not you be a minister?”

By the time he reached the top of the staircase; he resolved to thoroughly investigate the issue. He earnestly sought direction from God through prayer and by searching through the Holy Scriptures. He would open his Bible and read a passage which repeatedly pointed him in the direction of the ministry.

The Scriptures gave him direction toward “preaching the everlasting gospel and plucking souls as brands from the burnings.” Edward Griffin was certain that he had been called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ after reading his Bible for less than forty-five minutes.

Griffin attended Yale College; graduated with honors and joined the Congregational church when he began theological studies. On October 31,1792, he received his license to preach.

Griffin was trained by Jonathan Edwards Jr. and served as pastor in various Congregational churches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. He began his ministry at a Congregational church in New Hartford, Connecticut in 1795.

He became the pastor of churches in New Salem; New Hartford, Connecticut; New Orange, and in Newark, New Jersey. Reverend Edward Griffin became the professor of preaching at Andover Seminary in 1808. He became the pastor of Park Street Church in Boston between 1811 and 1814. Between the years of 1821 and 1836 Griffin served as the president of Williams College.

A national revival known as the Second Great Awakening was occurring throughout America during Griffin's ministry. Revival fires began to spread throughout the nation after years of decline following the American Revolution. Edward Griffin played an important role in the spiritual awakening that was occurring in the frontiers of Kentucky and the institutions of higher learning on the East coasts.

Griffin believed that revival was the result of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and not the efforts of man. His preaching was passionate as was his praying. He urgently appealed to sinners to be reconciled to God through Christ. He sought to stay true to the Scriptures always displaying the kindness of God even when engaged in controversy.

Griffin held to his maxim: 

“Crush heresy, but spare the heretic.”

During the Second Great Awakening the frontier's of Kentucky and the halls of Princeton and Yale were consumed with persons seeking Christ. From 1790, when the revival began, America entered a remarkable era for the next forty-five years.

“The history of his life seems little less than the history of one unbroken revival; and it would perhaps be difficult to name the individual in our country since the days of Whitefield who has been instrumental of an equal number of hopeful conversions.”

Edward Griffin was a man of God who came into God's harvest fields during the early days of the revival. In God's providence, he arrived in God's perfect timing when the harvest was made ready through prayer.

In 1829, one who heard Edward Griffin while in New Jersey described his preaching filled with love and brokenness which empowered his oratory.

“During most of the sermon his face was wet with tears, and for nearly an hour he spoke to us with such tender and appealing sentences that it seemed as if his hearers must cry out in an agony of fear and trembling...But what a climax the ending was! It was a wonder how he endured the strain so long that he had not given up physically exhausted. The mental agony, the heartbreaking sympathy, were enough to break an angel down! When he fell on his knees as if he had been knocked on the head with an ax, with outstretched arms, tears coursing down his face, he cried out; “Oh! My dying fellow sinners, I beseech you to give your heart to the Savior now. Give your life to Jesus Christ, do not putt it off! Do not leave this house without dedicating yourself to His service, lest you be left at last to cry, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved.”

Edward Griffin was keenly aware of his own personal need to drink of the Fountain of Living Waters. The man of God, an instrument of true revival, is fashioned in the secret place of prayer. Griffin described the transforming effects of a personal encounter with the Living God.

“...it is only when the open face we behold the glory of the Lord that we are changed from glory to glory. A view of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ, is the faith which purifies and produces good works. When God is seen in all the majesty of His glory, in the awful purity of His holiness, the Christian cannot, dare not willingly sin. He pants after universal purity with groanings that cannot be uttered. This is the faith 'which worketh by love.' Under the influence of these views the Christian knows what is to be moved to action by the love of God in Christ...”

His wife's health required them to travel to New Jersey in 1800. While he was in New Jersey, Griffin received a call to become the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Newark. In Griffin's era, there was a great deal of cooperation between Congregationalists and Presbyterians. Sometimes there were referred to as “Presbygationalists.” Griffin became the co-pastor with Dr. Alexander McWhorter. After serving in Boston at a later date, he returned to Newark in 1815 and became the pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church which had been newly founded.

Reverend Griffin was also involved in helping to found the American Bible Society. He also offered his services to the United Foreign Missionary Society. Three colleges offered him the presidency of their respective institutions. He eventually accepted the call from Williams College of Massachusetts and was inaugurated as president of the college in 1821. He chose to remain with the college until 1836 when he resigned due to his failing health.

Newark Presbyterian Church was among the largest churches in the nation. Griffin left Newark Presbyterian to become the professor of pulpit eloquence at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. He assumed his new position after leaving Newark for Boston accompanied by five students. Lewis LeCount Conger was among the five students who accompanied him on his journey to Boston. Conger whom Griffin had grown to love deeply fell seriously ill. Reverend Griffin sought to console and comfort the family of the young seminary student. Edward Griffin began to correspond with Conger's family informing them of his condition and seeking to comfort their hearts.

January 2, 1810 

My Dear Sir, 

"How often have you and your dear family said, “The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice.” What a blessing it is that he has the appointment of all our changes and trials...You have given a son to Christ, and if he has work for him on the earth, he will preserve him, and make him a blessing to the church; but if he has other designs, he will, I doubt not, take him to himself." 

"...Lewis has the typhus fever. His mind is weak; but he loves to hear of the name of Christ, and will listen with deep interest and tender affection to every thing that is said about the blessed Savior...I beseech you, my dear friends...Prepare for every thing which God has in store for you...May God Almighty support you, my dear friends, under this trial, is my prayer."

January 3, 1810 

"We do little else but pray for him; and the whole college is crying with tears, “Spare him, spare him!” ...I cannot but humbly and earnestly pray that God will spare him for your sakes, and for ours, and for the sake of Christ."

January 6, 1810 

"The Almighty God support you, my dear friends, under the trial you must feel. I wish will all my heart that I had something agreeable to communicate. And I have – Jesus of Nazareth reigns. The infinite God is happy. And our dear Lewis is happy. Ah, my heart, why this aching and trembling? The will of God is done. Lewis himself wished that the will of God might be done. And I am confident that he does not wish to oppose it now...Lewis left these abodes of pain this morning at 10 o'clock..." 

"No young man was ever more beloved...He has not lived in vain...He has been the means of good to some souls; and by his influence on the college, has probably been indirectly the means of some good to thousands..."

January 7, 1810 

"My friends, it is all the appointment of heaven. Eternal wisdom fixed it that he should die at this time and place... 

Think not my dear friends, that you have lost your pains in giving him an education. No, you have been fitting him for more than a pulpit – for a higher throne in heaven...There it is! Think not of him on a bed of sickness, in a land of strangers...Think of him on Mount Zion. There is all that is Lewis. The rest is mere dust. We have not lost him. He is only gone a little before us...There we shall soon find him and enjoy him again, and forever – far more than we ever did in this world... 

Your afflicted and affectionate friend,"

E.D.Griffin

God's anointing was upon Reverend Edward Griffin who received the blessing of a history almost unequaled in the history of the Christian church in America for his ministry was one of nearly continuous revival.

Wherever Griffin preached, people were drawn by the Holy Spirit to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Under his ministry more people were converted to Christianity than under the preaching of any other man of God since George Whitefield during the 1^st Great Awakening.

There were only eighteen students out of the entire student body of Williams College who were not Christians while he was president of the college.

In his old age, Edward Griffin diligently pursued a greater intimacy with his Lord and Savior. While thirsting for more of Jesus he declared:

"I long and pray for high communion with God and for affections more ardent and delightful than I have ever felt before."

He departed from this world after giving his grandchildren and servants a challenge to meet him in heaven. His passion to save the lost continued till his death. He declared to his grandsons:

“You must give your heart to the Savior. Don't put it off another hour.”

Edward D. Griffin entreated his granddaughter: 

“Give your heart to the Savior while you are young.”

After he experienced failing health Griffin moved to Newark and lived with his daughter and her family.

He had a slight paralytic stroke a few years before his death. Eventually, he experienced a dropsical condition in which he retained fluids in his chest.

Griffin was neither disheartened nor sad but was expectant. He gladly anticipated being with the One to whom he introduced to others through his preaching and ministry. A friend who was visiting with Griffin expressed her desire to be as faithful as Griffin. She expressed to him her wish to experience God's kindness when she died. He replied to her: 

“Don't say that again, sister; it is not because I am good, but because Christ has died.”

Through his words and demeanor the contemporary reader finds a calm confidence in the sovereignty God who orders all things according to His divine will for good to those who believe him. 

A local minister, “alluding to the providence which brought him back to Newark, beautifully remarked: “It was fitting that he who came in his youth to teach us how to live should come, when his head was gray, to show us how to die.” (Sprague, p. 237)

In the early morning hours Edward Door Griffin fell asleep and awoke in the presence of Jesus Christ.

Reverend Edward D. Griffin left this world to appear before his Lord and Savior on November 8, 1837.

J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937)

J. Gresham Machen was born to a prominent Presbyterian family living in Baltimore, Maryland in 1881. He attended John Hopkins University where he majored in classics and graduated first in the class of 1901. After attending a graduate program for a year; Machen enrolled in Princeton Seminary. Machen graduated in 1905 and studied in Germany for a year before returning to Princeton Theological Seminary to teach as a professor of New Testament. While in Germany, Machen studied at the universities of Marburg and Gottingen.


His career as a professor of New Testament literature and exegesis began in 1906-1929 and Machen was ordained in 1914 after teaching at Princeton for eight years.


During World War I, Machen worked with the Young Men's Christian Association in the French Army and with the American Expeditionary Force (1918-1919).


J. Gresham Machen became well known for his scholarly writings on various subects concerning the New Testament. He was known for one who took his studies seriously.


Machen became a staunch defender of conservative orthodox theology especially concerning the authority of the Holy Scriptures. In 1923, Machen published "Christianity and Liberalism" which brought him national recognition. He firmly believed and taught that liberalism was not a variation of true Christianity but actually a different religion.


Machen declared:

"Liberalism appeals to man's will, while Christianity announces, first, a gracious act of God." 

Machen firmly believed and taught that historic Christianity was founded upon the saving act of Jesus Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. True Christianity was not a general set of religious principles concerning the ethical moral teachings of Jesus. Liberalism reduced Christianity to a general moral code of ethics of Jesus by which one should live his or her life.


J. Gresham Machen was an outstanding conservative Christian apologist and theologian. Consequently, Machen became a controversial Christian within the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. his denomination and at Princeton Seminary. Princeton and his denomination were increasinly influenced by liberal modernism theology with which Machen staunchly disagreed. Machen was offered the presidency of several schools
but continued to refuse the offers.


Machen sought to keep Princeton faithful to the creeds of the Presbyterian church but the drift toward liberal theology at Princeton wounded his heart.


J. Grecham Machen vigorously encouraged faculty to take a firm stance for:

"the full truthfulness of the Bible as the Word of God and for the vigorous defense and propagation of the Reformed or Calvinist system of doctrine, which is the system of doctrine that the Bible teaches."

In 1929 Princeton chose to officially reorganize to ensure a more inclusive theological curriculum. Machen became deeply concerned about the lack of sound evangelical training for future Presbyterian ministers at Princeton. Machen and several Reformed theologians sadly left Princeton and founded Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.


Westminster became a seminary which stands for theological orthodoxy and academic excellence. Machen served as president of Westminster and continued to teach as a professor of New Testament from 1929 - 1937 his death. He continued to defend Protestant Christianity from liberalism which infiltrated the Presbyterian Church.


Machen continued to protest the liberalism of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign missions. The conservative Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions was created through his assistance to counteract liberalism which crept into Presbyterian foreign missions.


The mission board was rejected by the Presbyterian General Assembly. Machen was charged with insubordination, tried, found guilty, and suspended from the ministry of the Presbyterian Church for refusing to break his ties to the new Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions. Sixteen other clergymen and laymen withdrew with J. Gresham Machen in 1936 to found a new denomination.


J. Gresham Machen played a pivotal role in the creation of a the Presbyterian Church of America which eventually was renamed the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The new church of which he played a central role in creating upheld theological orthodoxy a high view of Scripture. Machen was chosen to be their first moderator.


Among the works which Machen wrote are these documents: "The Origin of Paul's Religion," "Christianity and Liberalism," "New Testament Greek for Beginners," "What is Faith?," "The Virgin Birth of Christ," "The Christian View of Man," and "The Christian Faith in the Modern World."


J. Gresham Machen never married. Hence, he has no descendants but those of a legacy of a conservative orthodox faith in Christ.


Machen was addressing an assembly in Bismark, North Dakota in 1936 when he contracted pneumonia. It was bitterly cold but Machen continued to preach although he was very sick. A friend visited him on New Year's Eve while he was hospitalized. Machen confided in his friend about a vision of heaven which he experienced while in the hospital:

 "Sam, it was glorious, it was glorious!" 

J. Gresham Machen experienced the glory of which he spoke to his friend when he died the following day on January 1, 1937.

Fathers of the Constitution

There were 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia but only 39 signers of the document. Unfortunately secularists cite James Madison as the "Father of the Constitution." It is tragic that several of those illustrious gentlemen who framed our Constitution have been forgotten.


For the first hundred years following the ratification of the Constitution Americans believed there were four "Fathers of the Constitution." Those men were George Washington (1732-1799), Roger Sherman (1721-1793), Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1826), and James Wilson (1742-1798).


Actually James Madison wasn't among the men who were spoken of as the "Fathers of the Consitution." Madison made 70 proposals on the floor of the Convention and forty of those proposals were rejected by the Convention. Furthermore, at the beginning of the Convention, Madison proposed the "Virginia Plan" which was firmly rejected by the other delegates to the convention. Hence, his positions were more often rejected than accepted by the delegates to the Convention.


Roger Sherman was the only delegate to the Convention to sign all four important national documents. He signed the Articles of Association in 1774, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Articles of Confederation in 1781, and the United States Constitution in 1787. Not only did he serve his nation as a framer of the Constitution; he was influential in framing the Articles of Confederation. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and served until 1781. Sherman was selected to be a member of the committee who drafted the Declaration of Independence. Roger Sherman served his nation as a judge on the Supreme Court of Connecticut and as a Congressman and United States Senator.


It was Sherman who resolved the conflict concerning representation of the large and small states. Sherman proposed two elected bodies or houses: a Senate in which each state had equal strength and vote. The House of Representatives where each state had representation based upon the population of the individual state.


Furthermore, Sherman was a member of the First Congress which framed the Bill of Rights. Roger Sherman was also a Christian theologian who wrote the creed which was adopted by the church to which he was a member. Roger Sherman was a strong unwavering Christian. John Adams spoke of him as:

"an old Puritan, as honest as an angel and as firm in the cause of American Independence as Mount Atlas."

He had legitimate fears that the British crown sought to establish an Anglican episcopacy in the colonies. As a Congregationalist, this legitimate fear was a boost to his patriotism. The Christianity of Roger Sherman was practical and down-to-earth who loved theology. The White Haven Church of New Haven Connecticut changed creeds in 1788. Sherman was responsible for writing a confession of faith for the church in his own handwriting.

"I believe that there is one and only living and true God, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost...that God did send His Son to become man, die...in the stead of sinners, and thus lay a foundation for the offer of pardon and salvation to all mankind...that at the end of this world there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a final judgment of all mankind."

 "A Short Sermon on the Duty of Self-Examination Preparatory to Receiving the Lord's Supper" was published in New Haven in 1789.


Although Sherman was among the conservative wing of Patriots, he became one of the first patriots to deny Parliament jurisdiction in the colonies. Among those colonists who jointed Sherman in this position were Jefferson, James Wilson, and George Wythe.


Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College spoke of Sherman:

[Sherman was] "profoundly versed in theology" and "held firmly the doctrines of the Reformation." 

Apparently, in Dwight's estimation, Sherman was a staunch Calvinist. Sherman was so concerned about correct Biblical doctrines; he engaged in a written debate with Samuel Hopkins concerning the fine points of Calvinism.


Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a general in the Continental Army who also became a prisoner of war during the American War for Independence. The British made a futile attempt to persuade Pinckney to join them in opposition to the rebel cause in the colonies.


He had been the chairman of the committee which created the South Carolina Constitution. Hence, he had gained much experience in drawing up a constitution. During the Constitutional Convention, Pinckney proposed the committee which suggested the great compromise of two houses of legislature. Pinckney was firmly grounded in Christian doctrine when he attended the Constitutional Convention. He was well educated in law, military science, and experienced in government. He believed that "the great art of government is not to govern too much." He stood for a balance between the powers of the state and federal government.He was the primary speaker for the Constitution at the South Carolina convention to ratify*the Constitution. He was the U.S. Minister to France under George Washington's administration although at first the French Revolutionary government refused to receive Pinckney. Eventually, he was received as a member of a delegation which included Elbridge Gerry and John Marshall. Charles Pinckney declared "No, no, not a*sixpence!" when the French expected a 'gift' from the United States for their agreement to refrain from capturing American ships by force.




James Wilson (1742-1798) was also considered to be a "Father of the Constitution". Wilson was one of the six delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. When George Washington was elected as our first president; Washington selected James Wilson to be one of the first six associate justices to the United States Supreme Court. While sitting as an associate justice on the Supreme Court; Wilson had the idea of teaching law while in session. Hence, he was responsible for creating a law school.James Wilson was responsible for creating the first legal textbook for students of law in America. His textbook for students of American law contained three volumes in which he believed one cannot have good civil law if not based upon divine law.


Furthermore, Wilson was the second most active delegate to the Constitutional Convention addressing the delegates on the floor of the Convention 168 times.




Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816) delegate from Pennsylvania was actually the most active member of the Constitutional Convention. He spoke 173 times on the floor of the convention. Whenever one steps on the floor of a courtroom to argue a constitutional principal; one is following in the steps of Gouverneur Morris. Morris was the final signer of the Constitution and is also known as the "Penman of the Constitution." Each time we examine a copy of the Constitution; we are gazing upon Morris' penmanship. Eventually, he assisted the French to write their constitution firmly suggesting that they make education teach the Christian religion affirming man's duties and responsibilities to God.




In recent history, writings by Madison which were anti religious in nature have been found. In those documents, he declared that he thought that the religious positions which he originally supported were wrong and that he had made a mistake to do those things. Hence, secularists have utilized Madison as "Father of the Constitution" in support of their rewriting of history through various court cases. 

John Eliot - Apostle to the Indians

The first Bible printed in America was in the Algonquin Indian language. John Eliot (1604-1690) was responsible for translating the Bible into Algonquin and printing it in 1663. This was nearly one hundred and twenty years before the first Bible in the English language printed in America was published by  Robert Aitken in 1782.


Eliot, born in Widford, Hertfordshire, England, became reknown as the "Apostle to the American Indians."


He was born to Bennett Eliot a middle class farmer and was baptized on the 5th of August 1604.


In 1622, Eliot studied at Jesus College, Cambridge where he became distinguished in his skill for languages and received a Bachelor of Arts decree. Between 1629 and 1630, Eliot became an assistant at the school of Reverend Thomas Hooker located in Little Baddow near Chelmsford. Thomas Hooker's association with the school ended in 1630 when he chose to immigrate to America due to persecution. It was through the influence of Thomas Hooker which led him to become a Puritan. Eliot was unable to follow the nonconformist principles under Archbishop Laud and so chose to emigrate to the American colonies in 1631. Eliot chose to follow Hooker to America in 1631 upon experiencing the difficulties of nonconformist ministers. He settled in Boston and assisted the ministry of the First Church.


In November of 1632; Eliot became a teacher in the Church of Christ of Roxbury, Massachusetts. He continued to serve there until his death in 1690. Hannah Mulford, to whom he was betrothed in England, emigrated to America becoming his wife and constant helper. Eliot collaborated with Thomas Weld, pastor of the Roxbury Church, and Richard Mather preparing a new metrical version of the Psalms which became known as the "Bay Psalm Book" of 1640.


The "Bay Psalm Book," published in 1640, became the first book printed in the English colonies. Furthermore, they wrote "The Christian Commonwealth" and the "Harmony of the Gospels" which was published in 1678.


Thomas Weld and John Eliot were opposed to the antinomian teachings of Anne Hutchinson.


Eliot sought to learn the dialects of the Algonquin Indians. He accomplished this through the assistance of a young Indian whom he received in his home. Through the assistance of the young man, Eliot translated the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer into Algonquin. In October of 1646, Eliot sucessfully began preaching at Newton to the Algonquin Indians in their own language taking a sincere interest in the welfare of the Indians to whom he began to minister. Several of the Indians who heard him preach declared their faith in Jesus Christ during the third meeting in which Eliot preached. His initial success among the Algonquin Indians was very fruitful for many other Indians soon proclaimed their faith in Christ.


Eliot petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to set aside lands to be protected as their residence. The Court granted Eliot's petition and directed that two clergymen be annually elected by the clergy of the colony to minister to the Algonquin. Villages of "praying Indians" were established and he assisted in the organization of the first Indian church. The first work published by Eliot in 1653 in Cambridge, Massachusetts was a catechism in the Algonquin language. This became the first book printed in and Indian language. By 1661, the whole New Testament had been translated into Algonquin and was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two years later, Eliot had translated the entire Bible printing a Bible that included the Old Testament in Algonquin.


In 1644 Eliot published "Baxter's Call to the Unconverted" at Cambridge, Mass.


In 1664, his sons, John and Joseph, assisted him in preparing "The Indian Grammar Begun, or an Essay to Bring the Indian Language into Rules." In 1669, he published "The Indian Primer"  comprised of an exposition of the Lord's Prayer and a translation of the Larger Catechism which was published in Cambridge. The "Indian Dialogues" was a little volume which was printed in English in 1761 and the Logick Primer was published in 1672. Both the "Indian Dialogues" and the "Logick Primer" were created to instruct Indians in the English language. "Thomas Shepard's Sincere Convert" was translated into Algonquin and published in 1689 by Grindal Rawson. The Algonquin Bible printed in 1663 at Cambridge, Massachusetts by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson was the first Bible printed in the American colonies.


Reverend John Cotton also had a wide knowledge of the Indian language. A second edition was printed in 1685 in which the Reverend John Cotton (1640-1699)  of Plymouth assisted John Eliot.


Necessary funds for the advancement of the ministry came from private sources in England and throughout New England began when Eliot's endeavors to minister to the Indians became known.


John Eliot's mission to serve and minister to the Algonquin Indians led to the formation of the "Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in New England" which was incorporated by parliament in July of 1649. The society supported and directed the work inaugurated by John Eliot.


Eliot's Bible brought the message of the Gospel to the American Indian and provided from them a written language enhancing their literacy. A reason why English language Bibles were not printed in the American colonies until the Aiken's Bible of was that it was cheaper and easier to import the Bible from England. The Bible which John Eliot needed for missionary work among the Algonquin Indians required a Bible not found in England. The Algonquin Indian communicated primarily through spoken language and limited pictorial images. Eliot recognized the need of the Algonquin to have a written language which wound enhance their literacy. John Eliot gave them the gift of God's Word enhancing their literacy through their own written language.


He learned to speak their verbal language and utlized the phonetic alphabet - the manner in which one pronouces words comprised of character symbols to translate the Bible into their native tongue using the English alphabet.


Hence, the Algonquin didn't need to learn to speak English but had a Bible they could read. This opened a door through which Indians could learn the alphabet to communicate and write books of their own.


The Christian Indian town which was founded by Eliot was moved from Nonaturn to Natick in 1651. The Algonquin build residences, a meeting-house, and a school-house were erected. Eliot would continue to preach whenever able approximately once in every two weeks. His preaching ministry to the Indians continued throughout the rest of his life. Other pastors were encouraged to follow in Eliot's footsteps. Under his direction a second town at Ponkapog (Stoughton) was established in 1654. Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket were the locations in which his success among the Indians was duplicated. An unofficial census of "praying Indians" numbered 3,600 Christians by 1674. Tragically, during the era known as the King Philip's War, their numbers met reverses. John Eliot had a sincere love to the Algonquin Indians and sought to minister to their needs. Tragically, others did not share his compassion to the Native American Indians.


When Eliot died in Roxbury, Massachusetts in May 21, 1690, the ministry among the Algonquin Indians was at the height of their success and prosperity.


Tragically, after Eliot's death their extinction proceeded rapidly. Today, there isn't one person who is able to read the Scriptures which Eliot translated into the Algonquin language.