Dec. 3, 2023, column from the Amarillo Globe-News
Pilgrims' lessons from 1830 book - plus 'Peanuts' - needed today
By Mike Haynes
Kathy
and I joined some of her family during the Thanksgiving weekend to watch “The
Mayflower Voyagers,” part of the 1988 miniseries, “This Is America, Charlie
Brown.”
The
animated program shows Charlie, Lucy, Linus and others of the “Peanuts” gang
traversing the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620, dealing with disease and
hunger at Plymouth and welcoming Chief Massasoit and 90 of his tribe to “the
first Thanksgiving” in 1621.
It’s one of many retellings of the story of the Pilgrims who landed in Massachusetts, part of the New World, in search of religious freedom. Other than the inclusion of the cartoon kids, the “Peanuts” version seems pretty accurate. It even points out how the settlers’ faith in God was a key factor in their perseverance through hardship.
Another retelling was published in 1830, 210
years after the famous landing. In a day when most history focused only on the
men, it was titled, “The Pilgrim Fathers, or the Lives of Some of the First
Settlers of New England.” The little book was printed in Portland, Maine, and
was “Designed for Sabbath School Libraries.” It was reprinted in 2020 by the
Dunham Bible Museum at Houston Baptist University, now Houston Christian
University.
Like
“Peanuts,” its main target audience was young people.
The
last chapter of the book – “Remarks: Addressed to the Young, on the biography
of the Pilgrim Fathers” – offers four lessons learned from the examples of
those early Americans, including the pioneer women. Now, four centuries after
they disembarked on the East Coast, we would do well to follow their advice.
No. 1: “Observe
the devout spirit of the Fathers of New England. They prayed when they parted
from their friends in Holland; they prayed amidst the dangers of the sea; they
prayed when they first landed on these shores; they prayed when famine
threatened them. They asked God the blessings they needed; and they thanked him
for the favors they received.
“Let this
example, dear youth, remind you to pray. You are the beloved hope of our
country; learn then to pray to him, who only can give our country prosperity,
and by whose favour alone you can become instruments of good to the land of
your birth.”
No. 2: “Our
fathers loved the ordinances of religion. … when a company of them sailed first
for America, they did not go without a preacher.” The book quotes “the
historian, Hubbard” on the importance they placed on Christian leaders “to
direct, protect, and defend the people, and promote the cause of God and
religion among them, as well as their civil rights and liberties.”
The book applauds
the establishment of a college, Harvard, to educate ministers and which “formed
habits, which, through the sovereign mercy of God, spread a Christian influence
through each successive generation. Depart not from these habits.”
No. 3: “Family religion flourished among our
fathers. … I bless the memory of those good and generous women, whose enlightened
and fervent piety contributed so much to the respectability, usefulness, and
eminent devotion of their husbands and our fathers. Dear to me are the names of
John Robinson, William Bradford, John Winthrop and other founders of New
England, but not less dear to me is the remembrance of the faithful women who
accompanied them. …
“Dear youth. Has
not a mother’s lips taught you to pray? Has not a mother’s heart poured into
your mind the melting truth of a Savior’s love? Has not a mother’s hand led you
to the sanctuary?
“It is in the
family that great benefactors to society and blessings to the church are
trained up; and it is by maternal care, joined with a father’s influence and
authority, that a rising race are formed for usefulness.
“Let the hours
then of family devotions be dear to the youth who read these pages.”
No. 4: “An
enlarged public spirit flourished among our fathers. I know of no temper which
spears so disgusting in the young as a sordid selfishness. Let our youth early
cultivate a generous, disinterested (impartial) public spirit.”
The book then
urges young people to follow Christ’s directive to carry his Good News to the
ends of the Earth. “Millions are suffering miseries from which nothing can
relieve them, but the gospel which you enjoy.:
So the
unidentified 1830 author encouraged the youth of his day to adopt from the
1620s Pilgrims the virtues of prayer, organized religion, family faith and public
outreach. I can’t think of better ways to steer our country onto a healthier
course in the 2020s.
My wife and family even saw a hint of that
outlook in Charlie Brown’s America.
