His father was a British Navy Admiral who captured Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655 and established England as a global sea power during the First Anglo-Dutch Wars.
He disappointed his father by being expelled from Oxford for having religious meetings in his dorm room rather than going to the Anglican chapel.
At age 24, he converted to the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and wrote the “The Sandy Foundation Shaken,” for which he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for 8 months.
His name was William Penn, born OCTOBER 14, 1644.
While in prison, William Penn wrote his classic book, No Cross, No Crown, stating:
“Christ’s cross is Christ’s way to Christ’s crown…The unmortified Christian and the heathen are of the same religion, and the deity they truly worship is the god of this world.”
William Penn continued:
“It is a false notion that they may be children of God while in a state of disobedience to his holy commandments, and disciples of Jesus though they revolt from his cross.”
After Penn’s father died, King Charles II repaid a debt owed to him by giving young William Penn a land grant in America, named “Pennsylvania.”
Penn’s “Frame of Government” for his Colony became a model not only for most State governments, but also for the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
It was in Pennsylvania that both the Declaration and Constitution were written.
Regarding his colony of Pennsylvania, William Penn wrote to a friend, January 1, 1681, declaring he would:
“…make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in all opposition to all unchristian…practices…
God that has given it to me, through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation.”
William J. Federer is a nationally known speaker, best-selling author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc., a publishing company dedicated to researching America’s noble heritage.
To learn more about the author please visit William Federer
Leave a Reply