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Roger Williams (c. 1603 – between January and March 1683) was an English Puritan theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. He was expelled by the Puritan Leaders because they thought he was spreading "new and dangerous ideas", so in 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams was a member of the first Baptist church in America, the First Baptist Church of Providence.〔http://www.abc-usa.org/what_we_believe/our-history/ 'Our History', American Baptist Churches USA.〕 Williams was also a student of Native American languages, an early advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans, and arguably the first abolitionist in North America, having organized the first attempt to prohibit slavery in any of the British American colonies. ==Early life== Roger Williams was born in London around 1603; however, the exact date has not been established by scholars because his birth records were destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 when St. Sepulchre's Church burned.〔Life of Roger Williams, the Founder of the State of Rhode Island. By William Gammell, A.M. Professor in Brown University Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 59 Washington Street. 1854〕〔Life of Roger Williams, the earliest Legislator and true Champion for a Full and Absolute Liberty of Conscience. By Romeo Elton, D.D. F.R.P.S., Fellow of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, Etc. Etc. London: Albert Cockshaw, 41, Ludgate Hill. New York: G.P. Putnam London: Miall and Cockhaw, Printers, Horse-Shoe Court, Ludgate Hill〕〔Memoir of Roger Williams the Founder of the State of Rhode-Island. By James D. Knowles, Professor of Pastoral Duties in the Newton Theological Institution. Boston: Lincoln, Edmands and Co. 1834 Lewis & Penniman, Printers. Bromfield-street.〕〔Foot-Prints of Roger Williams: A Biography, with sketches of important events in early New England History, with which he was connected. By Rev. Z.A. Mudge, Author of "With Hill", "Views from Plymouth Rock", "Christian Statesman", Etc. Five Illustrations. New York: Carlton & Lanahan. San Francisco: E. Thomas. Cincinnati: Hitchcock & Waldon. Sunday-School Department. (Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871)〕 His father, James Williams (1562–1620), was a merchant tailor in Smithfield, England; his mother was Alice Pemberton (1564–1635). At an early age, Williams had a spiritual conversion of which his father disapproved. As a teen Williams was apprenticed under Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), the famous jurist. Under Coke's patronage, Williams was educated at Charterhouse and also at Pembroke College, Cambridge (B.A., 1627). He seemed to have a gift for languages and early acquired familiarity with Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Dutch, and French. Years later, Williams tutored John Milton in Dutch in exchange for refresher lessons in Hebrew.〔Pfeiffer, Robert H. (April 1955). "The Teaching of Hebrew in Colonial America". ''The Jewish Quarterly Review''. pp. 363–73. .〕 Although Williams took holy orders in the Church of England in connection with his studies, he became a Puritan at Cambridge and thus ruined his chance for preferment in the Anglican church. After graduating from Cambridge, Williams became the chaplain to a Puritan gentleman, Sir William Masham. Williams also married Mary Barnard (1609–76) on December 15, 1629, at the Church of High Laver, Essex, England. They ultimately had six children, all born in America: Mary, Freeborn, Providence, Mercy, Daniel and Joseph. Williams knew Puritan leaders planned to migrate to the New World. While he did not join the first wave, before the year ended, he decided he could not remain in England under Archbishop William Laud's rigorous (and High church) administration. Williams regarded the Church of England as corrupt and false; by the time he and his wife boarded the ''Lyon'' in early December, he had arrived at the Separatist position.〔("A Brief history of Jacob Belfry" Page 40, 1888 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Roger Williams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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