Hal Shurtleff

Director and Co-Founder of Camp Constitution.

The U.S. Constitution vs. Sharia Law

This presentation was conducted back in 2017 but the information Father Michael Carl presents is timeless.   Father Carl used Islamic writings and teaching to demonstrate that Sharia Law and the U.S. Constitution are diametrically opposite to each other, and any elected official who promotes Sharia Law cannot uphold his or her oath of office.  Indeed, they are deliberately lying when they promise to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

 

How to Avoid Being Manipulated by Left-Wing Experts By Samuel Blumenfeld

Have you ever wondered what goes on in those left-wing, politically correct “leadership
seminars” in which individuals learn how to become “leaders”? Who and what are they
trying to lead? According to Beverly Eakman, America’s best writer on the subject of
psychological warfare, these so-called leaders are professionally trained to manipulate
you in going along with a group that promotes an idea, or a program, or a policy which
you may at first not agree with, but in the end find yourself unable to resist.

Ms. Eakman’s enlightening book, How to Counter Group Manipulation Tactics, is a must
read for those who will be involved in such group meetings. When you become aware of
the unethical techniques used by these consensus-building community leaders, you
become immune to their methods and your individualism reasserts itself.
As an employee in a federal agency, Ms. Eakman was required to attend a sexual
harassment-AIDS awareness workshop in order to adopt the politically correct mindset
regarding such ideas as “homophobia” or “intolerance.” It was a not-so-subtle form of
values clarification, a form of Psych-War.

She writes: “Today, be it the workplace, a community forum, airport security, or the
PTA, team spirit (the old Marxists called it “collective spirit”) is valued above individual
conscience and over unique ideas. … Schoolchildren … can encounter similar problems
in the classroom. It’s all Marxist tactics, just dressed differently.”
It’s all based on the psychologically known fact that “it‘s easier to control a group than it
is to control a single individual.” That is why leftists prefer to deal with groups than
individuals.

If a community organizer, like Barack Obama, “can generate a mob
mentality, and get it to work for him, control of the agenda is usually assured.”
That’s what Obama learned as a provocateur and community organizer in Chicago, how
to manipulate a group of citizens to adopt his left-wing, pro-socialist agenda.
Ms. Eakman delves into Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, the handbook which Obama
read in order to apply these manipulative techniques to his work at a community
organizer and later as a political candidate. His ability to speak before huge crowds of
adoring supporters permitted him to stroke their fragile egos “to make them believe they
were more ‘aware’ than they really were.” Such techniques have been used by every
demagogue in history.

But the danger of such a dishonest strategy is that when some of those individuals wake
up and discover that they’ve been manipulated by a clever liar, you cannot fool them
again. Of course, we are reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying, “You can fool
all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
But apparently, there are enough Obama fans who can be fooled all of the time.

Ms. Eakman goes into great detail exposing the Delphi Technique which is used in
groups to achieve a deceptive consensus on a controversial topic. She writes: “A
consensus is essentially a collective opinion that isn’t necessarily reflective of anybody’s
private view. Manipulators get away with this because the collective good (or “team”)
trumps the individual–a socialist concept.”

She writes further: “Provocateurs, or agitators, often call themselves ’facilitators’ because
that sounds neutral. But what these pros really do is to work the group over to ensure a
predetermined outcome which they call a ’consensus.’”

If you work in a company or profession where you are required to attend such consensus
building meetings, you may want to use some of the techniques Eakman herself has
developed to trump the facilitator. She teaches you how to take apart the arguments of
the politically correct robots. Of course, you will become known as a resister, whom they
will try to ridicule and ostracize. But that’s the price we all must pay when we go
against the politically correct consensus. But you will also attract those in the group who
secretly agree with you.

In this valuable book you will learn to understand the principles of psych-war, how to
turn the tables on the facilitators, master the art of argument, and control the environment
of thought. A very useful manual on how to maintain your sanity and individuality in a
climate of cultural confusion and chaos.

The Blumenfeld Archives

The above article came from the Sam Blumenfeld Archive:  https://campconstitution.net/sam-blumenfeld-archive/

TIME TO TAKE DOWN INDUSTRIAL WIND TURBINES say Tom Harris of International Climate Science Coalition

 

Wind turbines are environmentally destructive, causing serious problems to people and wildlife alike. And for what? A tiny amount of expensive power that only generates energy when the wind blows in a narrow range. With the climate scare finally dying, it is time to take down these useless machines!

Tom Harris is the Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition, Canada.  His website:  https://www.icsc-canada.com/

 

The Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving

 

On Thursday November 27, millions of Americans will have a hearty meal with family members and friends.  Some, but not most, will begin the meal with a prayer.  Some will dig right into the food hoping to finish the meal before kickoff.  However, members of the American Left, especially those of the self-loathing Caucasian persuasion,  not only won’t celebrate the day but will lecture us about how  the Pilgrims were evil exploiters of the  Indigenous Peoples.  But our Leftists friends would be wrong

Back in October 2021, Dr. Paul Jehyle of the Plymouth Rock Foundation hosted a two day event in Plymouth, MA which culminated in a “If My People” Rally at the Forefathers Monument.  (The name comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14.)      Speakers at the rally including several Indians-that’s right Indians not Native American- chiefs.  These Indians are  devout Christians who have a keen appreciated of the Pilgrims  because they brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the region.   At the conclusion of the rally,  Indians and Mayflower descendants held hands  and prayed for our nation.

One historical misconception is that the Pilgrims came here for religious freedom.  They already had it in Holland. We know that the main goal of the Pilgrams coming to what is now The United States was to promote  the Gospel of Christ because they said so in the Mayflower Compact which read in part:

“Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the Northern parts of Virginia…”

Nearly half of the 102 passengers of the Mayflower died during the first winter-1620-1621.   In April of 1621, the Mayflower returned to England. The ship’s captain, Christopher Jones,  offered passage for anyone that wanted it.  There were no takers.

 

The Pilgrims had a good relationship with the Indians.  After an encounter with the Nauset Indians which attacked a party of Pilgrims without any casualties, an Indian, Samoset paid the Pilgrims a visit.  Speaking broken English, Samoset told them of another Indian who been to England and spoke the language better than he.  That Indian was  Squanto who had been captured years earlier by Thomas Hunt. Hunt planned to sell him into  slavery in Spain.  Squanto escaped to England and eventually made his way back to his homeland only to discover that his tribe was wiped out by a plague.

Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and fish. Governor Bradford believed that Squanto was “a special instrument send of God…”  Squanto facilitated a treaty with the Wampanoag Indians and its great chief Massasoit that was signed in March of 1621.   Massasoit was regarded as the “preserver and protector” of the Pilgrims.  This treaty  lasted fifty years  and,  gave legitimacy to the land the Pilgrims were living on.   Squanto lived among the Pilgrims until his death.

The First Thanksgiving in Plymouth

Today, many children in government schools are taught that Thanksgiving was a day the Pilgrims set aside to thank the Indians for their help.  That is untrue.  While the Pilgrims were grateful for the help rendered to them by the Indians, Thanksgiving was  a feast to thank God  The actual date of the first Thanksgiving is unknown.  It was most likely late September 1621.   Edward Winslow gave an account of it in a letter to a friend:

“Our harvest being gotten our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.  They four in one day killed as much foul, as with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted: and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation, and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

In March of 1622,  the Pilgrims got word that Massasoit was seriously ill.  Governor Bradford sent a party led by Winslow armed with medicinal herbs to help Massasoit.   Along the way, an Indian told the group that the great chief was already dead.  They went along anyway, finding an extremely sick Massasoit.  The Pilgrims with their medicinal herbs, and prayers were successful.   Massasoit made a quick recovery and remarked “I see the English are my friends and love me., and whilst I live, I will never forget tis kindness they have showed me.

On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation recommending a day of Thanksgiving.  It began with:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be…”

On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation making November 26 a day of thanksgiving.  In 1941, Congress-a Democrat controlled at that-passed a law making Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

 Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving.  I would like to offer a PDF of an article “The Pilgrims Weren’t Socialists” written by my late friend, and mentor Andy Lane.  If interested, E-mail me at campconstitution1@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

The Weekly Sam: Faith and Education By Samuel L. Blumenfeld

It can be said that education tells us a good deal about the faith of a nation or the lack of
it.

Theoretically, education is what the past generation wants the future generation to
know, believe in, and do. That was the sort of education I got back in the 1930s in the
public schools of New York City. At assembly our principal read the 23r d Psalm, so we
all knew that God existed as concretely as the magnificent city around us. He was there
to protect us, and He certainly protected me during my time in the Army in World War II.

In those days faith and education were clearly inseparable. Life without God, education
without the acknowledgment of God, were simply unheard of. Yes, there were atheists
and humanists and communists among the public educators, but the culture itself strongly
adhered to biblical faith, and most of the school personnel were believers. There may
have been talk of the separation of church and state among the progressive elite. But, as
everyone knew, the public school’s exhibition of faith had nothing to do with a federal
establishment of religion. It was a faith that came down to us through history, through
tradition, through the Bible, and was considered an indispensable component in the
raising of the next generation.

We knew of the faith of the founding fathers. We read of faith in the works of English
poets. We read of faith in the biographies of great men. We learned of faith in dissecting
a frog in the biology lab. Darwin had not quite erased faith from the bio lab. (I had
watched my mother “dissect” a chicken in preparation for the Sabbath dinner.)
We sat in orderly rows behind desks bolted to the floor. Learning required order and
silence, and the mind responded by absorbing knowledge, honing skills, observing the
world, developing an independent mind with independent intelligence.

One of the most salient points that John Taylor Gatto makes in his remarkable book, The
Underground History of American Education, is how today’s schools do everything in
their power to make and keep the students childish, indeed, so childish that they cannot
engage in an adult conversation with anyone.
Jay Leno, the TV comedian, provides enormously entertaining interviews with today’s
youth, some of whom are in college. Their ignorance is so appalling that it is really more
tragic than comic. “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?” gets responses so absurd as to
make one wonder. A high-schooler was asked, “Who wrote Handel’s Messiah?” and he
answered, “I don’t read books.” He didn’t even know that Handel’s Messiah was a piece
of music, not a book.

But the simple truth is that most young people today don’t read books. They don’t read
because either they can’t or that it is simply too difficult, too much work, too painful.
And the schools have done that to these poor victims of progressive mis-education. And
yet we spend more money on education than ever, the students spend more time in school
than ever, and teachers are supposedly more professional than ever. But Dr. Rushdoony
explained what happened in his masterful study, The Messianic Character of American
Education. The humanists took over the schools and replaced Christianity with their
atheist religion.

Thus, faith in God has been replaced by a nihilism that Satan uses to destroy minds and
souls. Faith has been removed. God has been removed, and thus we no longer have
education, we have the mutilation of the mind, the retarding of growth, the spread of
ignorance, the enslavement ofthe soul. We have barbarians living in a hi-tech
civilization. And all of the hi-tech toys are used to provide more awesome spectacles of
fiery destruction than the human race has witnessed since the Creation.

When I was growing up, it was assumed that the future generation would know more than
the previous generation. They would be better informed, wiser, more skillful more
talented. And indeed some of the young in our time have been able to achieve some
wonderful things. But they are a small minority in a nation of over 270,000,000 people.
Without faith our education system has become a destructive, nihilist force.
Faith is the backbone of true education, for you cannot understand the world or the nature
of man until you know the nature of God. John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the
Christian Religion, “Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid
wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”
And today’s public schools deny both. Thus we get ignorant atheists.

But even so, some of these ignorant nihilists and atheists find their way to God, for as
Calvin observed, man is by nature deistic. He wrote: “That there exists in the human
mind, and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute,
since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men
with some idea of his Godhead, the memory of which he constantly renews and
occasionally enlarges, that all to a man, being aware that there is a God, and that he is
their Maker, may be condemned by their own conscience when they neither worship him
nor consecrate their lives to his service.”

But faithless education has given us so many crippled minds and souls that one is
saddened by the prospect that so many of them will spend their lives wandering in an
empty landscape with no hope of redemption, for they cannot read and are trapped in a
web of emotion, superstition and ignorance.
The tragedy for them is beyond calculation. If faith is for all of life, then it must begin in
the womb, and grow within us in the various stages of life. For we are all programmed to
go through these stages.

In modem America, schooling has become a twelve-year prison
sentence in which the individual is manipulated, twisted, bored, propagandized, and
reduced to animal status in order to fulfill an evil progressive agenda sustained by billions
of dollars in taxes. The public has been persuaded by politicians and the education
establishment that what goes on in the schools is worthy of their support. And the
majority of our citizens not only send their children to these schools, but actually believe
that they are being “educated.”

Deuteronomy 6 tells us what is entailed in education. Faith can only be passed on by
faithful parents to their children in need of the knowledge of God. It cannot be passed on
by faithless schools or by the U.S. government. In a rational society, the knowledge of
God would be the first and foremost reality that children would be confronted with. In
fact, that is the way it was in the early days of this country when children were taught the
alphabet by such statements as: A-In Adam’s Fall We sinned all; B-Heaven to find,
The Bible Mind; C-Christ crucify’d For sinners dy’d; D-The Deluge drown’d The
earth around; E-Elijah hid By ravens fed; F-The judgment made Felix afraid; etc. In
fact, the entire Primer was a simple, straightforward catechism in the Christian religion.
That Primer contained instruction in the Ten Commandments and such verses for
children as:

Though I am young a little one
If! can speak and go alone,
Then I must learn to know the Lord,
And learn to read his holy word.

Today, Christian schools and Christian homeschoolers are the only ones in America who
make it a point to catechize their children. They may use modern, watered down texts,
but at least the children are taught that they were made in the image of God and have a
duty to live up to God’s estimation of them. Life is a gift that must be cherished, and that
it is God who gives our lives meaning and purpose.

The public school nihilist has no idea why he or she is alive. Their soul has been
removed and replaced with nothing. Materialist fulfillment and sensual satisfaction
become their only purpose. The nihilist is a digestive tract on legs with an inner yen for
self-destruction. There is no intellect, no love of life, no appreciation of beauty. Several
years ago the subways of Montreal were plagued by gangs of nihilistic youths with much
time on their hands. The city officials came up with an ingenious way of getting rid of
them: they played classical and operatic music through the subway’s speaker system, and
before you knew it, the gangs were gone. They simply could not tolerate beauty. The
music these nihilists enjoy is totally barbaric and satanic.

The deliberate effort of the public schools to destroy religious faith in their students must
be considered the most destructive aspect of our culture. A culture without faith can only
lead to madness. But there is a growing underground of Godly sentiment that has risen in
America since the terrible events of September 11, 2001. More and more Americans are
beginning to realize how dependent we are on God’s mercy and forgiveness for our well
being. God has made us the strongest and richest nation in history because of our
original faith in Him. That was our beginning, and it must be renewed in the next
generation if we are to survive as a nation blessed by Him.

Signing of the Mayflower Compact November 21, 1620

Five years ago, during the height of the unconstitutional Covid lockdown, Camp Constitution Media travelled to Provincetown, Massachusetts to video and participate in the 400th Anniversary of the Signing of the Mayflower Compact.

Camp Constitution Instructor and historian Richard Howell along with re-enactors Stan Wollman, Michael Heenan, Al Rubega, and Jae Dunn celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown, MA . Saturday November 21, 2020

A link to a PDF version of the Mayflower Compact:  https://campconstitution.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Mayflower_Compact.pdf

Promotional Materials for Camp Constitution’s 2026 Annual Family Camp

 

We are looking forward to our 18th annual family camp which will run from Sunday July 12th to Friday July 17 at Singing Hills Christian Camp in Plainfield.  We have several promotional flyers as well as a tri-fold pamphlet.  They can be downloaded here:

https://campconstitution.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2026-Brochure-1.pdf

2026-Camp-Flyers-Set.pdf

Christian Leaders Letter to Trump on Syria

 

Our friend at Save the Persecuted Christians    Home – Save the Persecuted Christians  asked usto sign this letter.  We were honored to do so.

 

 

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear Mr. President,

We, the undersigned faith leaders representing tens of millions of American Christians, extend our sincere gratitude for your recent leadership in combating Christian persecution in Nigeria. Your designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act is a decisive measure that upholds global religious liberty.

You are the only major world leader fighting for religious freedom, and we need you once again to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

With the visit of Syria’s new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, scheduled for November 10, 2025, we urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area. These religious minorities face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists.

We are grateful for your Administration’s recent announcement that you are urgently rushing humanitarian aid to southern Syria, and—as winter approaches—more needs to be done to prevent the impending catastrophe.

Mr. President, we respectfully request that you secure President al-Sharaa’s commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria.

This corridor will enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation, signaling the new government’s commitment to minority rights and stability.

Your advocacy for the persecuted inspires us.

We stand ready to support your efforts and pray for fruitful discussions.  As Ambassador Mike Huckabee once wrote to you, “You were ordained for such a time as this.”

 

With Deepest Respect,

Dede Laugesen

President & CEO, Save the Persecuted Christians

Jack Hibbs

Founding Pastor, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills

Eric Metaxas

Religious Liberty Commission

Jason Rapert

Founder & President, National Association of Christian Lawmakers

Matt Crouch

President, Trinity Broadcasting Network

Patrick G. Brown

CEO, Western Journal

Dr. Alveda King

SPEAK FOR LIFE

Travis Johnson

Lead Pastor, Pathway Church

CEO, People for Care and Learning

Tim Head

President & CEO, Unify Us

Stephen Strang

Founder, Charisma Media

Kelly Shackelford

President, CEO & Chief Counsel

First Liberty Institute

David Barton

Founder, Wallbuilders

Tim Barton

President, Wallbuilders

Mario Braminick

President, Latino Coalition for Israel

Richard Harris

Executive Director, Truth and Liberty Coalition

Jackson Lahmeyer 

Pastor, Sheridan Church

Founder, Pastors For Trump

Gary Bauer

President, American Values

Matthew Faraci

Senior Advisor for Jewish and Israel Affairs, National Association of Christian Lawmakers

Frank J. Gaffney

President, Institute for the American Future

Walker Wildmon

CEO, American Family Association Action

Tony Perkins

President, Family Research Council

Bob McEwen 

US House of Representatives, Fmr. Member, Ohio

Lucas Miles

Senior Pastor, Nfluence Church 

Suzanne Grishman

Executive Director, The Nazarene Fund

Craig DeRoche

President & CEO, Family Policy Alliance

Victor Marx

Chairman, Board of Directors, All Things Possible

Candidate for Governor of Colorado 2026

Joni Lamb

President, Daystar Television Network

Jerry Newcombe

Executive Director, Providence Forum

Dr. Robert Pacienza

Senior Pastor, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church 

Rev. Kevin Jessip

President, Global Strategic Alliance

Dr. Jeff Myers

President, Summit Ministries

Lorenzo Sewell

Senior Pastor, 180 Church

George Parker

Executive Director, Revealing Light Ministries

Nadine Maenza

Co-chair, International Religious Freedom Roundtable 

Dr. Bob Rodgers

Pastor, Evangel World Prayer Center

David and Nicole Crank

Co-founders and lead pastors of FaithChurch

Rick Joyner

Founder & Ex. Director of MorningStar Ministries

Richard Ghazal, Esq.

Executive Director, In Defense of Christians (IDC)

Drew Bowling

Executive Director, Catholics for Trump Vance

Faith McDonnell

Director of Advocacy, Kartartismos Global

Lauren Homer

Founder and President, Law & Liberty International 

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton

Founding President​, Genocide Watch, C​hair, ​The Alliance Against Genocide

Dr. Ben Carson

Vice Chair, Religious Liberty Commission

Kimberly Fletcher 

Founder & President, Moms for America

Dr. Jack Graham

Senior Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church

Ralph Reed

Founder & Chairman, Faith & Freedom Coalition

Rob McCoy

Senior Pastor, Godspeak Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks

Kevin Sorbo

Director, Actor, Producer

Troy Miller

President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters

Samuel Rodriguez

President & CEO, NHCLC

Frank Turek

President, CrossExamined.org

Mark Driscoll

Founding Pastor, Trinity Church in Scottsdale

John Amanchukwu

Founder & CEO, IKNOWGOD.US

Dr. Scott Colter

CEO, Danbury Institute

Sam Brownback

Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom 

Greg Locke

Founder, Global Vision Bible Church

Frank Pavone

National Director, Priests for Live

Chad Connelly

Founder & CEO, Faith Wins

Jim Garlow

Founder & CEO, Well Versed

Ryan Helfenbein

Founder & Executive Director, Standing for Freedom Center

Luke Moon

Executive Director, The Philos Project

Robert Stearns

Bishop, Founder & President, Eagles Wings

Dave Kubal

President & CEO, Intercessors for America

Jorge Parrott

President, Christ’s Mandate for Missions

LTG (Ret.) Jerry Boykin

Vice President, Family Research Council

Mike Farris

Religious Freedom Litigator

Harold Shurtleff

Director, Camp Constitution, Plaintiff “Shurtleff v Boston”

Greg Young

Pastor, Chosen Generation Radio

Allen Jackson

Senior Pastor, World Outreach Church

Kelly M. Kullberg

General Secretary, American Association of Evangelicals (AAE)

Drew Bowling

Executive Director, Catholics for Trump Vance

Dr. Malachi A. O’Brien

Pastor, The Church at Pleasant Ridge

Former VP, SBC

Dr. Jay Strack

Founder, Student Leadership University

Mike Evans

Founder, Friends of Zion

Charmaine Hedding

President, The Shai Fund

Kelvin L. Cobaris

Bishop, New Life Church International

William J. Murray

President, Religious Freedom Coalition

Sucharitha Cole

President, International Christian Rescue Mission.

Paul Pickern,

Executive Director, All Pro Pastors International

Joe Kennedy

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District

Mariam Ibraheem

Persecution Survivor

Patricia Streeter

Co-leader, Anglican Persecuted Church Network

Ann Schockett

Chair, More Like Us

Douglas Burton

Managing Editor, TruthNigeria

Jacqueline Halbig von Schleppenbach

CEO, Sovereign Global Solutions

 

Camp Constitution T-Shirts With a Message

Camp Constitution has made three T-shirts available on our on-line shop.  They include quotes on education by Pastor Voddie Baucham and Malcolm X, and one concerning “climate change.’   (Disclaimer:  We do not endorse the late Malcolm X but he did say some things which we agree and this quote is one of them.)  Cost of each T-shirt $20 which includes shipping,  Men’s sizes small, medium, large, x-large, and xx-large.  Color for the Voddie and Malcolm X shirts Heather Grey.  The CO2 shirt is white.  Links to order the shirts:

Pastor Voddie Baucham Quote T-Shirt | campconstitution.net

https://campconstitution.net/product/malcolm-x-quote-on-education-t-shirt/

https://campconstitution.net/product/i-love-co2-t-shirt/

For larger orders, please call or E-mail me (857) 498-1309     campconstitution1@gmail.com 

American Minute with Bill Federer Star Chamber Secret Trials, Jails, Persecution of Christians; Pilgrims Fled to Holland, then New England

 

American Minute with Bill Federer

Star Chamber Secret Trials, Jails, Persecution of Christians; Pilgrims Fled to Holland, then New England

Read American Minute

Britain’s William Laud sent spies to listen to pastors’ sermon to see if they said anything against the King’s ordinances … continue reading …

Download as PDF …

The Treacherous World of the 16th Century and How the Pilgrims Escaped It: The Prequel to America’s Freedom

If any pastor violated the government’s mandates, they were arrested.

The rigged trials were held in a secret government room called the “Star Chamber.”

These arbitrary and oppressive inquisitions did not allow those who were arrested to have defense attorneys, or meet their accusers.

No witnesses were allowed.

Though the secret hearings started with the intention of cutting through the red tape of bureaucracy, Britain’s Court of Star Chamber proceeded to usurp power.

It became a political weapon for auditing, intimidating and punishing opponents to the King’s policies, similar to modern-day IRS audits or partisan secret special counsel investigations.

Individuals were subject to hostile questioning, and if they gave unsatisfactory answers, they were charged with perjury.

If they did not answer for fear of self-incrimination, they were held in contempt of court.

The founders of the Baptist faith in England, John Smyth, John Murton, and Thomas Helwys, were each arrested and imprisoned, with Helwys dying in the notorious Newgate Prison, described as “hell above ground.”

The abuses of England’s Star Chamber led America’s founders to include the Fifth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

Notoriously biased in favor of the King, the Star Chamber was used in 1637 by William Laud to punish religious dissenters, such as William Prynne who objected to the state’s control over religious matters.

William Prynne was tied to a pillory – a public pillar – where he had his ears cut off and was branded on the cheeks with the letters “S.L.” for seditious libel, which Prynne called the “Sign of Laud.”

William Laud approved of the Star Chamber’s sentence of dissenting Pastor Henry Burton for his “seditious” sermons, resulting in his ears cut off and imprisonment.

When John Bastwick published religious opinions which opposed government mandates, he was brought before the Star Chamber.

He, too, had his ears cut off and was thrown in prison.

Dr. Marshall Foster, of the World History Institute, co-produced with Kirk Cameron the 2012 film Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure.

Marshall Foster wrote in “A Shining City on a Hill,” February 27, 2013:

“When King James died in 1625, his son Charles I ascended to the throne with the arrogance of a Roman emperor.

He was the quintessential ‘divine right’ monarch. He declared martial law and suspended the rights of the individual …

The king’s inquisitors at his ‘Star Chamber’ in the tower of London used torture techniques to ‘discover the taxpayer’s assets’ …”

Dr. Foster continued:

“A turning point in public opinion took place on January 30, 1637.

Three prisoners were locked down in the pillory in London before a huge crowd …

… These men included a Puritan minister, a Christian writer and Dr. John Bastwick, a physician.

What was their crime? They had written pamphlets disagreeing with the king’s religious views.

The sheriff began by branding the men with red hot irons on the forehead with an SL for seditious libel.”

The Star Chamber forced similar fates on religious dissenter Alexander Leighton, and John Lilburn, who had coined the term “freeborn rights,” a term often cited by Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black.

American biographer Edgar Lee Masters, 1868-1950, wrote:

“In the Star Chamber the council could inflict any punishment short of death, and frequently sentenced objects of its wrath to the pillory, to whipping and to the cutting off of ears …

With each embarrassment to arbitrary power the Star Chamber became emboldened to undertake further usurpation …

The Star Chamber finally summoned juries before it for verdicts disagreeable to the government, and fined and imprisoned them.

It spread terrorism among those who were called to do constitutional acts. It imposed ruinous fines.”

Dr. Marshal Foster concluded:

“The tyranny of the king … finally aroused the Christian sensibilities of the people. They would no longer tolerate burnings or mutilations for matters of conscience on religious views …

The persecutions drove tens of thousands of liberty loving believers to follow the Pilgrims to New England where they laid the foundation for the world’s most biblically based nation.”

One of those thrown in prison by William Laud during this time was Edward Winslow, one of the Pilgrim settlers.

Edward Winslow was the agent for the Pilgrim colony in America and would sail back and forth bringing supplies.

His wife had died in the first winter of the Plymouth Colony and he remarried widow Susanna White, whose husband had died that same winter.

On one of his trips back to England, Edward Winslow was thrown in jail for 17 weeks because he had performed marriages in the Plymouth colony without being ordained.

The Pilgrims had a covenant church structure, seeking to return to the simplicity of the early New Testament church.

This followed Tyndale’s and Coverdale’s Bible translation of the Greek word “ekklesia” as “congregation” or “assembly,” rather than “church.”

Pilgrims believed that marriage was only between a man and a woman, being created by God for the benefit of their natural and spiritual life: procreation of children to increase Christ’s flock; and to avoid the sin of adultery.

The Pilgrims with an open Geneva Bible is portrayed in the painting “Embarkation of the Pilgrims” hanging in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda

The Geneva Bible gives the words of Jesus in the Book of Matthew 19:4-6:

“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning, made them male and female,

And said, For this cause, shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they twain, shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.

Let not man therefore put asunder that, which God hath coupled together.”

Edward Winslow, born October 18, 1595, was the only Pilgrim to have his portrait painted.

His original career was a printer, when he joined a group of Christian Separatists who fled to Holland in 1608 to escape religious persecution.

During this period, known as the Dutch Golden Age, Holland was the center of the world’s foremost economic maritime power.

Dutch Reformed was Holland’s predominant faith, but the country led the world in extending religious toleration to other Christian denominations.

Settling in 1609 in Leiden, Holland, Edward Winslow helped the Pilgrim Separatist leader William Brewster print illegal religious pamphlets which were smuggled back into England.

William Brewster taught University of Leiden students.

The University of Holland also taught Hebrew, as did England’s Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, since 1549 and 1575, respectively.

The King of England sent spies and police to Holland where they raided and confiscated the printing press used by Winslow and Brewster.

After years of hardship, Edward Winslow, at the age of 25, departed with 102 Pilgrims for the New World.

In 1622, Winslow cured Indian Chief Massasoit of an illness, resulting in the Indians and Pilgrims making a peace treaty which lasted over 50 years. If the chief had not recovered, the Indians would have killed Winslow.

Accompanying Winslow’s meeting with Massasoit was Stephen Hopkins.

Hopkins had been the minister’s clerk on the vessel Sea Venture headed to Virginia in 1609.

The ship was caught in a hurricane and the 150 survivors were shipwrecked on Bermuda.

Hopkins took part in fomenting a mutiny, for which he was sentenced to death, but his friends procured a pardon from the Governor, the account of which became the basis of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, 1610.

He served as an indentured servant till he was deported back to England in 1614.

In 1620, he was a passenger on the Mayflower with the Pilgrims and signed the Mayflower Compact.

Beginning in 1621, Hopkins served several times as an emissary to Chief Massasoit.

Edward Winslow served three times as the Plymouth Colony’s Governor.

He kept the finances and often sailed back to England for business with the Colony’s adventurers (investors), bringing back the colony’s first cattle.

On one trip to England in 1625, as described in Governor William Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement, Edward Winslow encountered Muslim Barbary Pirates expanding the Islamic State on the sea:

“The adventurers (investors) … sent over two fishing ships …

The pinnace (light sailing ship) was ordered to load with corfish … to bring home to England … and besides she had some 800 lbs. of beaver, as well as other furs, to a good value from the plantation.

… The captain seeing so much lading wished to put aboard the bigger ship for greater safety, but Mr. Edward Winslow, their agent in the business, was bound in a bond to send it to London in the small ship …

The captain of the big ship … towed the small ship at his stern all the way over.

So they went joyfully home together and had such fine weather that he never cast her off till they were well within the England channel, almost in sight of Plymouth.

… But even there she was unhapply taken by a Turkish man-of-war and carried off to Saller – Morocco – where the captain and crew were made slaves.

Thus all their hopes were dashed and the joyful news they meant to carry home was turned to heavy tidings …”

Bradford added:

“In the big ship Captain Myles Standish … arrived … in London …

The friendly adventurers were so reduced by their losses … and now by the ship taken by the Turks … that all trade was dead.”

Edward Winslow sailed back to England after the English Civil War.

He published pamphlets defending the New England colonies, such as:

  • “Hypocrisy Unmasked,” 1646;
  • “New England’s Salamander Discovered,” 1647;
  • “Introduction to Glorious Progress of the Gospel Amongst the Indians in New England,” 1649.

Winslow served in briefly in Oliver Cromwell’s army during England’s Civil War, 1642-1651.

Edward Winslow sailed with Admiral Sir William Penn, father of Pennsylvania’s founder, in an attempt to capture Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, from Spain.

They were unsuccessful.

Admiral Sir William Penn then sailed to the Island of Jamaica and captured from the Spanish in 1655.

On the way, Winslow contracted the deadly disease of yellow fever and died.

Andrew Young’s Chronicles of the Pilgrims recorded a spiritual quote of Edward Winslow’s, who wrote of the Pilgrims response during a time of crisis:

“Drought and the like … moved not only every good man privately to enter into examination with his own estate between God …

but also to humble ourselves together before the Lord by fasting.”

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