Gary: Some years ago, Banner of Truth published a double issue
(96 pages) of their monthly magazine. The entire issue dealt with John
Cotton and Anne Hutchinson and was anti-Anne from the word go. Several weeks
later, I was preaching in Dallas and stayed with a family that had been
raised in Criswell's church. The wife had read every Banner book that had
been published. She was almost in tears when she said, "John, all my life I
was taught that Anne Hurchinson was a heroine of Christian liberty. Banner
of Truth is making her out to be a heretic and a near witch. What is the
truth about her?" I confessed that I did not know but promised to do some
research.
Shortly after this, I was preaching in Boston for a week and
spent four afternoons in the library reading the various accounts dealing
with Anne Hutchinson's trial. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind
that Anne Hutchinson was the victim of the dirty tricks of legalist
preachers who could not silence her with Scripture. She literally "ran them
up a tree." Her claim that John Cotton was the only preacher in New England
declaring the free Gospel on the covenant of grace was probably pretty close
to the truth. What those men called antinomianism was often in reality the
true free Gospel of sovereign grace.
One of the most interesting things during that period was the
request of the New England preachers to John Cotton to answer sixteen
carefully written questions. What is little known is that the preachers who
submitted the questions were not satisfied with twelve of the answers and
submitted them again in a more definitive way. Most of the questions dealt
with the grounds of assurance of salvation. The trial and conviction was
sufficient grounds to drop the discussion between Cotton and the other
preachers and he never answered the resubmitted questions.
There is no question that Anne Hutchinson was a very
strong-minded woman. Likewise she was born a couple of hundred years too
soon. However, there is every indication that she was a godly women who was
victimized by a bunch of men who spent more time worshipping in the shadow
of Mount Sinai than they did standing under the cross at Mount Calvary.
The New England puritans, including John Cotton, never
understood or believed Biblical liberty of conscience. Cotton's controversy
with Roger Williams make that very clear. That whole period of history
should teach how far Godly men, and I believe John Cotton was indeed a godly
man, can go in their treatment of fellow Christians when they sincerely
follow a bad system of theology. If you want to see the logical and
consistent application of the Covenant Theology of the Westminster
Confession of Faith, study the trial of Anne Hutchinson and its results.
Read Roger Williams book "The Bloudy Tenent" and Cotton's response, "The
Bloudy Tenet Washed White in th Bloud of the Lambe." JGR
----- Original Message -----
From: <GSG1023@...>
To: <randcmartin@...>; <jackjeff@...>; <dmarsfam@...>;
<24jreisinger26@...>
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 6:28 AM
Subject: ?
> We have a new man coming to our church whose name is Gary Hutchinson, and
who's ancestry traces back to Ann Hutchinson. With our view of New Covenant
theology versus the Puritan's view back then, would we consider her more of
a spokesman for truth rather than a heretic as she was so labbelled back
then? and as covenant theologians would do so today?
> gg
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> Switch to Netscape Internet Service.
> As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at
http://isp.netscape.com/register
>
> Netscape. Just the Net You Need.
>
> New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer
> Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups.
> Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp
>