Halfway Covenant
One of these groups sided with a controversial doctrine termed the Halfway Covenant. This covenant "denied the rights of participation in the sacrament of the Eucharist" and prevented the voting on church issues to members of the Congregational church whom, although they had been baptized in their infancy, as adults had not experienced a personal conversion.
Davenport Disagrees
John Davenport opposed this view, as did a part of the congregation of the First Church. This resulted in the group that supported the convenant leaving the church and forming the Third Church. In time, the Third Church became better known at the Old South Church.
Works by John Davenport
Davenport was the author of several works. These writings include Discourse About Civil Government in a New Plantation Whose Design is Religion, published in 1663, and The Power of Congregational Churches Asserted and Vindicated, published in 1672 after his death in 1670.
Colonial America series continues with:
Recommended Reading:
William Brewster and the Pilgrims found religious freedom in Holland but it was very difficult to live and work in a land where English was not the major language spoken. So after many serious discussions the Pilgrims decided to migrate to the New World. There they and their children could speak English and continue to enjoy their religious freedom.
Narcissa Whitman and her husband, Doctor Marcus Whitman, ventured west in 1836 to become missionaries to the Indians of the Northwest.
This article stresses the courage of our pioneer forefathers in comparison to the September 11, 2001 disasters.
Sources:
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Vol. 8. Funk & Wagnalls, Inc.
Sachs, William S. and Ari Hoogenboom. The Enterprising Colonials: Society on the Eve of the Revolution. Argonaut, Inc., Publishers, Chicago, 1965.
