Religious Liberty, the Legacy of Henry VIII
A commentary by Melvin Rhodes
Good News Senior Writer
 This
month marks the 500th anniversary of England's most famous monarch's
ascension to the throne.
Henry VIII became king on April 21st, 1509, succeeding his father,
Henry VII, who was the first of the Tudor dynasty. The dynasty ended
with the death of Henry's daughter Elizabeth I, arguably England's
greatest monarch.
He was most famous for having six wives. When European leaders met
in Henry's Hampton Court Palace some time ago, the then British
Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed them all with the introductory remark: "As
Henry VIII said to his six wives, 'I won't keep you long!'"
But his reign was far from humorous. And its significance continues
to this day throughout the English speaking world. For without Henry
(and his daughter Elizabeth I), we might never have had religious freedom.
Henry's reign coincided with the Protestant Reformation, led
by Martin Luther. Henry was appalled at Luther's criticisms of
the church. He quickly came to the defense of the Papacy, publishing
a book on the Sacraments that criticized Luther. For this he was awarded
the title: "Defender of the Faith."
It wasn't long, though, before Henry himself clashed with Rome.
Married to Catherine of Aragon, Henry had no male heir, for which he
blamed his wife. He petitioned the pope for a divorce but was refused,
mostly because the pope was a virtual prisoner of Catherine's
nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Since Henry could not get his
own way, he had himself proclaimed the head of the Church of England
which eventually led to a total severing of the tie with Rome.
Henry did finally have a son by his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward
VI became king in 1547 at the age of 10 but died at 16 and was succeeded
by his stepsister Mary, a Catholic zealot who persecuted Protestants.
Mary died in 1558 and was succeeded by her stepsister Elizabeth, a Protestant
who stood up to Rome and secured the Protestant Reformation. Realizing
the need for England to turn its back on the continent of Europe, Elizabeth
laid the foundation of the British Empire.
Thanks to her and her father, the English speaking world has known
religious freedom for as long as anybody can remember.
Fearful of losing religious freedom, colonial America was "Protestant
and virulently anti-Catholic" wrote American historian Brendan
McConville in The King's Three Faces (page 7).
Historic fears of Catholicism led to anti-Catholic riots in Philadelphia
in 1844.
Anti-Catholic sentiment continued until fairly recent times. John Kennedy's
Catholicism was a major issue in the election of 1960 with many fearful
that he would take his orders from Rome. President Carter refused to
address the Pope as "His Holiness" when the latter visited
the United States in 1979.
So it's indeed ironic that today we see so many intellectuals
on both sides of the Atlantic converting to the Church of Rome. The
latest two famous converts are England's Tony Blair and U.S. Congressman
Newt Gingrich. This trend is highlighted in the latest issue of the
Catholic intellectual magazine Faith and Reason.
Reasons for changing allegiance are not difficult to fathom. Many Protestant
churches are largely in disarray, unsure of what they believe. So many
conservatives are looking elsewhere.
Attitudes toward Rome have changed substantially in the United States,
Britain and Australia in the last few decades. In the 1950s there was
great distrust of Rome, as many considered Pope Pius XII (1939-58) a
Nazi collaborator. It would have been unthinkable then that 5 out of
9 U.S. Supreme Court justices today would be Catholics, including the
Chief Justice. Even in England, five centuries after Henry there are
moves to allow a Catholic to once again sit on the throne.
Returning to Rome could have significant political consequences just
as great as Henry's severance of allegiance toward the Eternal
City. The revival of the Church of Rome at this time seems of particular
interest in light of biblical prophecies about an end-time revival of
the Roman Empire led by a political "Beast" and a spiritual "False
Prophet."
The 17th chapter of Revelation is a prophetic account of a church-state
relationship that will lead to a modern restoration of the Roman Empire's
model of governing. It explicitly states: "The seven heads are
seven mountains on which the woman sits" (verse 9).
This church-state relationship is described in verse 2 as one of "fornication" in
which the church (the woman) plays a major role in this end time prophecy.
The final revival of this religious-political system is set to take
place immediately before Christ's return (verses 10-14).
 For
a fuller explanation of how these events will affect your life simply
download or request our free booklet, The Book of Revelation Unveiled.
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