When I began this series of articles, I had in mind taking only a few examples that would serve to illustrate how extreme, cruel and unjust men can be when they perceive a threat to their authority structure. Since then I have read so many examples showing this to be a recurring pattern over and over again throughout the course of history, that I felt moved to recount the stories of more of these brave men and women whose only crime was that they were loyal to the truth and spoke out. Their love for God and neighbor proved greater than the fear of being branded a heretic, imprisoned or put to death. (Matt. 10:32-39)
In many cases, future generations greatly benefited from their sacrifices.
That being the case, I thought it best to place them in chronological order from past to present. I’m hoping their example will give us the courage to “preach from the housetops”.
Authority is the greatest and most irreconcilable enemy to truth
and argument that this world ever furnished. All the sophistry—all the
color of plausibility—the artifice and cunning of the subtlest disputer in the
world may be laid open and turned to the advantage of that very truth which
they are designed to hide; but against authority there is no defense.
(Bishop Benjamin Hoadly, quoted in the McClintock & Strong Cyclopaedia of
Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. I, pages 553, 554.)
On March 31, 1717 Hoadly preached a sermon before king George I of Great Britain on The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ based on John 18:36, which gave rise to the famous Bangorian controversy. He stated in the sermon that the “Church is Christ’s kingdom; that he alone is lawgiver; and that he has left behind him no visible human authority: no vicegerents who can properly be said to supply his place; no interpreters upon whom his subjects are absolutely to depend; no judges over the consciences and religion of his people.”