[The Urban Sombrero]

Exactly, and THE Church that he sought freedom from, was THE Church of England. Not the true Church of God. Roger Williams grew up in England. He fled the religious tyranny there to come here to worship in freedom, not how the Church of England told him to worship. And believe me, you were told.

As a member of the Church of England, one got punished if he broke the Sabbath day by working or some such trespass against the Ten Commandments. The Church was connected to the Crown and thus any with standing and an ax to grind, could control every aspect of men's lives. It was miserable and oppressive with nowhere to escape. Then came the news of America and the colonies. Desperate times demand desperate measures. Roger Williams along with his wife and children, left England with the second wave of immigrants.

Yes, and he soon found that the oppressive spirit within the Church of England was not limited to that nation's shores. And, when Williams did not toe the company line, church authority, merged with civil authority, banished him, sending him into the wilderness in a brutal winter. He knew that of which he spoke and believed.