Independency Sentence Examples

See James Ross, History of Congregational Independency in Scotland (Glasgow, 1900).

Thenceforth 4 The opposite of this external Independency, admission of civil oversight even for churches enjoying internal ecclesiastical selfgovernment, was also common, being the outcome of the traditional Puritan attitude to the state.

Church and State, citizenship in the one and membership in the other, thus became identical, and the foundation was laid for those troubles and consequent severities that vexed and shamed the early history of Independency in New England, natural enough when all their circumstances are fairly considered, indefensible when we regard their idea of the relation of the civil power to the conscience and religion, but explicable when their church idea alone is regarded.

The remarkable junction or fusion of the Independents or " Separatists " who emigrated from Leiden to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the Puritan Nonconformists of Massachusetts Bay, modified Independency by the introduction of positive fraternal relations among the churches.

Episcopacy, Erastianism and Independency, though of little account in the assembly, were to bulk largely in England's future; while the church polity which the assembly favoured and recommended was to be almost unknown.

The war being now over, the great question of the establishment of Presbyterianism or Independency had to be decided.

Cromwell, without naming himself an adherent of any denomination, fought vigorously for Independency as a policy.

Congregationalism, however, " denotes a positive theory of the organization and powers of Christian churches," having as corollary independency of external control, whether civil or ecclesiastical.

But the tendency was towards "Independency," and the New Englanders were farmers tilling their own land, traders and seafaring men.

This, the negative aspect of the congregational idea, has emerged at certain stages of its history as Independency.

The league did not mention Presbyterianism; but the assembly had refused to hear of any recognition of independency; if religion were thoroughly reformed, they considered the result must be Presbyterianism in England as in Scotland.

For the promulgation of these views, which were confessedly at variance with the doctrines of the standards of the national church of Scotland, he was summoned (1726) before his presbytery, where in the course of the investigations which followed he affirmed still more explicitly his belief that "every national church established by the laws of earthly kingdoms is antichristian in its constitution and persecuting in its spirit," and further declared opinions upon the subject of church government which amounted to a repudiation of Presbyterianism and an acceptance of the puritan type of Independency.

An opponent of church government in any form, he was no friend to the rigid and tyrannical Presbyterianism of the day, and inclined to Independency and Cromwell's party.

With John Adams and Edward Rutledge he was selected by Congress to discuss with Admiral Howe (September 1776, at Staten Island) the terms of peace proposed by Howe, who had arrived in New York harbour in July 1776, and who had been an intimate friend of Franklin; but the discussion was fruitless, as the American commissioners refused to treat " back of this step of independency."

Independency, like Nonconformity, is primarily a negative term.

Now it is the ambition of man to affect an independency, to be a god to himself, sufficient for his own happiness.

They stood for the principle of Independency against the Presbyterian form of church government which Fox had recently established in the " Monthly Meetings " (see below).

Hence even before the Westminster Assembly met in July 1643, Independency could reckon among its friends men of distinction in the state, like Cromwell, Sir Harry Vane, Lord Saye and Sele; while Milton powerfully pleaded the power of Truth to take care of herself on equal terms. In the Assembly; too, its champions were fit, if few.

Yet the " Five Dissenting Brethren " would have failed to secure toleration even for themselves as Congregationalists - such was the dread felt by the assembly for Anabaptists, Antinomians, and other " sectaries " - had it not been for the vaguer, but widespread Independency existing in parliament and in the army.