Roger Williams

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Early Life3

The Baptist Movement5

The Boston Conflict7

Baptist Teachings/ Beliefs10

Life with the Indians17

Conclusion19

Introduction

The paper is related to Roger Williams, who born in January 1603 and passed away in March 1683. Williams, Roger was a founder of Rhode Island, Providence and religious controversialist. During his teenage, Williams experienced a spiritual development that motivated him to join the ranks of Puritan nonconformists who were raising resistance to the religious policies of the King James and Church of England. However, the passion of Williams towards the religion caused a disagreement with his father who was a strong supporter of the Anglican Church.

Roger Williams is considered as the father of American Baptists and a supporter of religious freedom, as well as an early proponent of the separation of church and state. Moreover, an important and perhaps the decisive step in the life of Williams was his stay in the American continent. The reason of this statement is that the views of Williams relating to the communities were different from traditional views that caused various problems, which have an impact on the life of Roger Williams and largely shaped his religious and also political views.

Early Life

Roger Williams was a smart guy as he excelled in reading, writing, public speaking, religion and logical thinking; besides it, he also leaned various languages that include Dutch, French, Greek, Hebrew and Latin. Williams grew up in St Sepulchre parish. He was a son of Alice Pemberton and James Williams who was a merchant tailor, and he was the third child of his four siblings.

Roger Williams is a typical figure of theology in North America in the colonial era. In 1640s, he developed a theology policy whose insights proved surprisingly innovative results in the further development of colonies of the United States of America and New England. Williams received his theological training at Cambridge. After serving as a Christian priest in a private Puritan family, he moved to the colony of Massachusetts in 1630.

After completing his school education in 1626, Williams studied theology and law at Pembroke College. In 1629, he became a priest of the Church of England ordained. He accepted a chaplaincy in Essex and married to Mary Barnard. Williams studied at the University of Cambridge, where he gained extensive knowledge humanistic and also know the biblical languages. Through collaboration with Sir Edward Coke, he gained the legal experience by working in the office of the king; at that time, he was also an ordained Anglican priest. At the end of 1630, he immigrated with his wife to America. There is not much known about the youth life of Williams, but he learned to write and read; and to take shorthand, which brought him to the consideration of Sir Edward Coke. Sir Edward Coke hired the Williams to take notes of lectures and also of discussions in the Star Chamber. Furthermore, in 1621, Williams was awarded a scholarship to learn at Charterhouse School in London, most likely through the intervention of Coke, who was one of governors of ...