Try to imagine the uncertainty of the life during the Renaissance in Europe. Your station in life was determined prior to your birth, and chances are that you are a part of the 97% who serve those born to a high station. If your existence on earth was destined to be short and miserable, at least you could take comfort in the assurance that eternity was, well, eternal and filled with all the joy, happiness, and beauty that had been denied to you on earth. Priests guided you carefully through the combination of faith and works that would guarantee your forever, and you simply followed the rules without question.

All that changed with the Protestant Reformation.

What if the answer was faith alone with good works as a product of your faith? What role would dogma and ritual play in that demonstration of faith? Ah, “Therein lies the rub.”

What had been simple suddenly became controversial. Was the “Holy Church” (Catholic meaning universal) correct, or did Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others who questioned have valid points? If Christendom was being ripped asunder by questions and multiple answers, what about the kingdom? Previously, princes and kings since the 800s had ruled with the anointment of the Church, and a portion of their wealth supported the works of faith as guided by the Holy See and his Holy Roman Emperor. By the 17th century, the Holy Roman Empire was divided, and the ruling princes chose their religious allegiance to either Rome or the newly created Lutheran faith. As the prince of your province believed, so you, his loyal subject, “believed.” No exceptions. The Lutheran princes complained about the continuing levies imposed for support of Rome, becoming known as the protesting princes and leading to the name for those who broke with Rome: the Protestants.

Calvinism spread through France (the Huguenot faith) and into Scotland through the ministry of John Knox (Presbyterian), and the fabric continued to rip. England’s Henry VIII chose to leave the faith he had once championed in an attempt to save his earthly kingdom — it’s a long and fascinating story that includes war, six wives, and lots of intrigue — and the Anglican faith was born. The Low Countries, historically controlled by the Spanish crown, divided over the issue of faith and the Dutch Reformed Church was born, along with a constitutional form of government. Small splinter groups emerged and new “faiths” were christened.

How do these divisions contribute to the settlement of the colonies? With the ability to question how earthly kingdoms could best reflect the will of God and the role of individual faith and actions, it was natural that men would also question the political, economic, and social constraints imposed.

New technology supported the questioning of old beliefs — think Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo and their exploration of the heavens — and new technology also allowed man to turn his gaze from the heavens to the world around him. Exploration and discovery could result in wealth, fame, and a new social status somewhere between peasant and king: a middle class. If one’s financial, social, and religious position in life was subject to personal choice, what about the role of the individual in government? Was intelligence only granted to those destined by birth to rule, or was man capable of governing his own actions?

We often think of the Renaissance as a period of “rebirth,” but perhaps that descriptor is a bit too simple. Yes, there was a rebirth of literature and art, but it was accompanied by an elevation of the worth of the individual. While that elevation was not universal, men (and women), now allowed to explore the Scriptures for themselves, expanded their base of knowledge. If man was created in the image of God and gifted with talents that were to be used in His service and the service of mankind, then there was much to be learned.

The rise of nations led to competition between nations. Spain jumped into the early lead, adding lands and wealth to coffers, but the Dutch, French, and English were quick to join the competition. While the initial goals might have been “God, Gold, and Glory,” a shift to colonial empires and control of the lands claimed by each nation’s crown became a factor. But who would be willing to leave the homelands and begin anew?

The answer came quickly: the second and third sons, the explorers and the wanderers, the families that longed for the freedom of choice, those who had failed in their first attempts at greatness, those who truly wondered what awaited them beyond the far horizons, and those who saw that the unknown possibilities were preferable to the known limitations. They gathered their courage and their meager belongings and then they stepped out in faith.

It was a new beginning in a new world.