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The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2 - Contents
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    V. Unitarian John Biddle—Persecuted for Conditionalist Beliefs

    In 1655 the spirit of persecution again broke forth, resulting in unlawful imprisonment of men in the grim confines of old Newgate prison, and banishment for conscience’ sake to the Isle of Scilly for three years for holding, among other “heresies,” that in death “the soul of man dyeth or sleepeth when the body is dead.” 2828) Ibid., note 5, p. 21. And this, it is to be noted, was done by invoking an abrogated ordinance of the Lords and Commons for “punishing Blasphemies and Heresies,” formulated against the Anabaptists. So harassment was by foul means as well as fair.CFF2 144.6

    In this case two men—Unitarian John Biddle and Baptist William Kiffin, pastor of a “Baptised Congregation” in London—were the victims. Kiffin was a signatory to the Baptist Confessions of Faith of 1644, 1646, and 1651, for the heresies of the time included “baptism” as well as “soul sleep.” The moving story is recorded in “Two Letters of Mr. John Biddle, late prisoner of Newgate, but now hurried away to some remote island.” 2929) Ibid. One, dated July 27, 1655, was addressed to the Lord Protector (Cromwell), and the other to the Lord President. Here Biddle, a man of exemplary life, appeals for justice, “or at least a hearing, or trial.” The background of the episode is this:CFF2 144.7

    JOHN BIDDLE (1615-1662), Oxford-trained (M.A.) logician and theologian, was a devout Baptist who later became the founder of British Unitarianism. Oft imprisoned for his convictions, he lived a stormy life, and died at the early age of forty-seven, as the result of hardships and suffering in prison. Precocious as a student and a keen reasoner with a penetrating mind, Biddle became a tutor at his alma mater, Magdalen College, Oxford, as well as master of a grammar school in Gloucester. He was “highly proficient” in Scripture, having memorized all the Pauline Epistles in both English and Greek. He was said to be able to give the location of any verse in the New Testament that was quoted to him. Because of this he was naturally a formidable disputant. 3030) Joshua Toulmin, A Review of the Life, Character and Writings of the Rev. John Biddle, M.A., Who Was Banished to the Isle of Scilly, in the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.CFF2 145.1

    In 1647 he issued a pamphlet concerning the deity of the Holy Spirit. Complaint was lodged against him, and Biddle was summoned before Parliament for an accounting. After a protracted trial he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. While under duress he wrote Confession of Faith Concerning the Holy Trinity. After the death of Charles I, Biddle was released and he founded the Unitarian Society. But under Cromwell he was twice imprisoned thereafter, and his books were publicly burned. Even after the restoration under Charles II he was again sent to prison, being harried particularly by the Presbyterians.CFF2 145.2

    A Parliamentary commission, sitting in Westminster, again put him “in gaol” until he could be brought before the House of Commons. Archbishop Ussher sought to convince him, but failed. Then in 1648 an ordinance was passed inflicting the death penalty upon those who denied the Trinity. Released in 1650, Biddle wrote other tractates. In 1654 he published A Twofold Catechism for adults and for children. Upon acknowledgment of authorship he was once more imprisoned, and in 1655 was banished by Cromwell to the Isle of Scilly for life. However, a Baptist minister interceded and obtained his release in 1658. But again, in 1662, he was sent to prison without bail, dying after six weeks from the ordeal.CFF2 146.1

    In chapter twenty-four of his Catechism, dealing with “The Resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment; and what shall be the final condition of the righteous and the wicked thereupon,” 3131) John Biddle, A Twofold Catechism (1654), pp. 133-141. in the customary question-and-answer form Biddle states the standard Conditionalist view of the time, which was one of the “heresies” for which he suffered imprisonment and banishment. In his letter to Lord Protector Cromwell, Biddle set forth the gist of his belief in these explicit words:CFF2 146.2

    “The sum of my doctrine hath bin constantly this, that Almighty God hath by the exceeding greatness of His power, exalted His Son Jesus Christ, to be a Prince and a Saviour, so He is become the author of eternal salvation to none but such as obey Him; and consequently that the power of religion consisteth in yielding obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ.” 3232) Two Letters of Mr. John Biddle, quoted in Mills, Earlier Life-Truth Exponents, p. 21. (Italics supplied.)CFF2 146.3

    That was clearly Conditionalism.CFF2 146.4

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