The author, Sandra M. Gustafson, has written a short biography about the literary writer Roger Williams. Gustafson immediately describes Williams as “the preeminent figure associated with freedom of conscience and religious liberty” (203). The literary work written by Williams entitled “From a Key into the Language of America” may give the reader the impression that he felt compelled to write about the experiences he witnessed regarding freedom of conscience and religious freedom towards Indians Native Americans (205).Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To better understand Williams, the biography written by Gustafson is a compressed view of his life. Gustafson goes on to describe Williams' character as one who writes about controversial topics or ideas. In this period of American literature he includes that Williams "was a brilliant polemicist" and that his "polemical writings on colonization and religion contributed importantly to the rise of popular print culture in England" (Gustafson 203). Gustafson includes Williams as “the son of a London merchant” and while in England he was influenced by a man she describes as “a leading legal thinker,” Sir Edward Coke (203). According to Gustafson, Coca-Cola helped Williams get his education at Cambridge University, and after graduation Williams began taking holy orders (203). However, years later Gustafson adds that Archbishop William Laud began requiring that all clergy “swear an oath of allegiance to the Church of England” thus contributing to the “Great Migration of the Puritans to New England” (203). Gustafson walks the reader through background information describing how people viewed Williams, some of his thought processes regarding his literature, and how he himself felt about attacks on freedom of conscience and religious liberty by the Church of England (203) .Williams wrote about how he had experienced enlightenment, the actual awareness of religious freedom. He informs the reader of his intent with this key piece of literature. Williams expresses his faith, hopes, and opinions so eloquently. He states, “with the assistance of the Almighty to blend those materials into this key” (Williams 205). Williams informs that there are many different forms of language used by native Indians. He also warns the reader that, even if there are thousands of people with a different dialect, with the help of this key, a man could "please the Father of Mercies to spread civilization, (and in His holiest season) Christianity ” (Williams 205). Williams informs that he will cover four themes; the names used by the natives, their ancestry, their religion and customs, as well as the way in which the Indians achieved conversion (205). Williams began to get used to the natives and soon realized that these people had their own beliefs about a God and their own kind of religious practices (206). As Williams details some of the dealings with the natives, he leads the reader to understand that these people are no different from the English people (206-208). Its key is to empathize with these people, imagine sharing the gospel with the natives, and then let them decide whether they want to believe in God's son, Jesus. Jessica R. Stern also wrote about Williams in the academic journal "A key to the bloody principle of the persecution." Stern explains, “Williams fully articulated his argument against religious violence and his manual for peaceful coexistence in two pamphlets he published” (579). He states.
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