Don't Be a Pilgrim

I tell my history students that the past is always changing. It is not that the actual events are altered, but our perception of them changes. This happens because as additional information is discovered we gain a more complete picture of events that happened long ago. One of these changes is the stereotype that the Pilgrims were the pillars of American values. The original story states that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, made friends with the Indians and had the first thanksgiving. This is basically true but the Pilgrims were not the tolerant and open-minded people that they are honored to be. All of the valued American ideals that are attributed to the Pilgrims were actually characteristics of the Dutch.

In the 1500s most of Europe was under the oppression of the Catholic country of Spain. Many Europeans were seeking religious freedom because of the spiritual reformation that had swept through Europe. At this time the Netherlands were one of the countries welcoming these religious exiles to live among them. The Dutch, in the Netherlands, fought to be released from the Spain's control and gained their freedom, which gave them the right to sail all over the world. As a result, the Dutch prepared to jump into world trade and set up colonies around the world.

The Dutch were very dissimilar from most of Europe because they were welcoming to those who were different from them and tolerant of their diverse values and ideas. They were also open to new ideas. Upon entering the world of trade, the Dutch came up with the idea to use joint stocks to fund their global trade ventures. This allowed more people to earn money from the trade they were conducting instead of simply permitting a few of the rich to get richer. The Dutch also devised a new design for a ship, which was less expensive to build, sturdier, and less likely to capsize in a storm.

New ideas in science were beginning to circulate in Europe at this time as well, and many countries were unaccepting of these concepts because they were considered to be blasphemous. One such unacceptable idea came from a man named Galileo who proposed that the earth revolved around the sun. No one would publish his papers about these unique ideas until he approached the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. The Dutch were intrigued with this new way of thinking and not only published Galileo's papers, but also opened up the use of their university telescope for those interested.

Since the Pilgrims were looking for help to get to the New World, they moved to the Netherlands along with the other religious and political exiles. The Dutch welcomed them and made plans to send the Pilgrims across the ocean to the young Dutch colony of New Netherland. But, as the Pilgrims enjoyed a temporary settlement while awaiting their voyage they became uneasy with life among the Dutch. Their chief complaint was that their children were becoming "too Dutch;" or in other words, their youth were becoming more accepting of others’ cultures, and the Pilgrim leaders were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the differences between the people living around them. The Dutch were very welcoming to those who needed help, tolerant of those who were different from themselves, and open to new ideas and ways of thinking; the Pilgrims could not deal with the diversity and acceptance that the Dutch thrived on. So, the Pilgrims moved back to England where diversity was not as prevalent, and eventually sailed to the New World on the Mayflower.

Meanwhile, the Dutch sent about 30 families on the ship, Nieu Nederlandt, to live in the recently established colony of New Netherland - known today as New York. The people that came to this colony resembled the cultural climate of the Netherlands in Europe - many languages, cultures, and beliefs - a variety of people living side-by-side starting out a new life in the New World. Even though the people who populated New Netherland were not all Dutch, they identified themselves with the Dutch culture. In her book “New Netherland in a Nutshell,” Firth Fabend stated that the diverse group of colonists called themselves Dutch because they liked the characteristics that were associated with the Dutch way of life. Fabend listed these traits as: “inclusivity, tolerance, the value placed on civic concord, pragmatism, charity, humanism, liberty, literacy, and the relatively enlightened Dutch attitude toward women” (Fabend, 115).

The Pilgrims settled in the New World, south of the colony of New Netherland and their voyage had led them to a place where they could have the freedom to worship as they pleased. The ironic thing is that the Pilgrims would not allow anyone in their colony to have freedom to worship as they pleased; for those living in the Pilgrim's colony, it was necessary to believe as they believed and conform to their way of thinking. If a colonist had a different way of looking at the world, especially religiously, the Pilgrims banished them from the colony. The only place these exiles could go in the New World was to the colony of New Netherland, where they were welcomed and given land to live on.

In the beginning, the Pilgrims made friends with the Indians and learned how to survive in the New World; however, in the end, they used up the friendship and took advantage of the Indians. The Dutch had a few war filled years with the Indians but for the most part had a civil relationship with them. The directors of New Netherland even had to establish laws to prevent the Dutch colonists from baking too much bread for the Indians, because it diminished their own supply of wheat.

The Pilgrims carried out the unthinkable during the mid 1600s in the New World by outlawing Christmas for twenty-three years. They were afraid of pagan beliefs creeping into their way of life and did not appreciate the different cultural activities that had found their way into Christmas from others parts of the world. The Dutch in New Netherland, with the help of Sinter Klaus, never missed a Christmas in the New World. Instead of being afraid of Christmas corrupting them, they used each December to help the poor and little children to find a bit of happiness during this yuletide time of the year.

So, the next time you gather around a table with family and friends to celebrate all that you are thankful for, don't be a Pilgrim; instead, remember the Dutch of New Netherland. Remember the kindness and tolerance the Dutch showed to those who differed from themselves. Remember that they were the ones who were brave enough to think outside of the box and do things a bit differently from others. Remember that a lot can be learned from being open-minded to new ideas and that there is nothing wrong with being unique.

Science and Religion

Looking to the past one may find innumerable examples of how expanded knowledge leads to a better understanding of the world. Early mariners had maps of the Earth showing the known landmasses, oceans, sea serpents and the edge of the world that one would most certainly fall off of if they got too close. Then one day, a brave sailing captain navigated to the very edge of the map – and continued sailing. He and his crew did not fall to their deaths off the edge of the world; instead they kept gliding on into unknown waters, eventually finding land that was not recorded on any maps. This new knowledge changed what had been previously known, which in turn, led to even more discoveries and further knowledge.

We see yet another example in the field of medicine. To cure individuals of diseases and illnesses the practice of bloodletting was once used. It was believed that bleeding a person would help restore the proper balance of their bodily fluids and allow them to heal. Though surprising to us today, this was not a unique exercise but one that was used for almost 2,000 years by the Egyptians, Greeks, Aztecs and others as well as by doctors during the U.S. Civil War. Today we understand that bloodletting is not helpful to those who are ill. This new knowledge has changed the way medicine is practiced and thankfully, doctors no longer use bloodletting to cure illness.

These two examples demonstrate the provisional nature of scientific knowledge. We, as a species, are continually learning more about the world around us and as a result, we understand more how and why things work the way they do. Many times new discoveries require us to think and understand issues differently than we have in the past. Living during this time of continual learning and research requires us to keep up with what is new in our ever-changing world. We need to be aware and honest enough, to correct information, even from our own belief windows, that has become flawed.

I experienced an interesting event recently. My husband teaches science and is also a religious individual. Some people have asked him how he can ‘believe’ religion and science at the same time and he has explained that they complement each other; his growing knowledge of science has actually strengthened his spiritual beliefs. He was asked to give a talk in our congregation and he spoke about the importance of finding truth in our lives. He discussed how it is valuable to find truth in the secular world, such as in his science classroom, and how it is also vital to continue to learn spiritual truths as well.

A few weeks after his address, the leader of our congregation called my husband in and reported that a few members of the congregation had some concerns about the talk he had given. They were worried that my husband actually believed all of the science he taught in his classroom. After some discussion, he asked my husband if he could assure these few, fatuous members that he did not think all of the science principles he taught were true. I tried to keep my jaw from dropping and could not believe what I was hearing. As my husband respectfully refused to declare that the science he taught in his classroom was untrue, my mind I was immediately transported to a lavish room in Italy at the top of an ornate spiral staircase. The room, with its frescoed ceiling was filled with several persons who were decision makers as well as the individual they were cross-examining. The accused had spoken what were considered to be blasphemous statements, which he acknowledged to be true because of recent evidences he had discovered while studying and experimenting with them. The ideas he shared did not fit with the archaic notions that rattled around in the minds of the accusers so they were certain he spoke falsehoods. This individual’s blasphemous idea was that the sun was the center of the solar system and not the Earth. So on June 22, 1633 Galileo Galilei was convicted of the heinous crime of “having held and believed the doctrine which is false and contrary to the Sacred and Divine Scriptures, that the Sun is the center of the world and does not move from east to west and that the Earth moves and is not the center of the world” (Sobel, 274).

Galileo believed that there was much to be learned about the world around him and that is was prudent to continue to gain knowledge. In a letter to his friend, Castelli, Galileo stated, “I do not think it necessary to believe that the same God who gave us our senses, our speech, our intellect, would have put aside the use of these, to teach us instead such things as with their help we could find out for ourselves, particularly in the case of these sciences of which there is not the smallest mention in the Scriptures” (Sobel, 65). Galileo could see that truth could be found everywhere; both in secular and spiritual aspects of life and that those truths in the secular world did not threaten the truths of the spiritual world.

We live at a time with access to unlimited knowledge but do not always take advantage of it. The age-old battle between science and religion is not really a battle but a blending of truths from both arenas. By losing our fear of change and being brave enough to let go of outdated information we can expand our knowledge in so many more areas of our lives. As Galileo said about those who were against the truths he found through the lens of his telescope, “They seem to forget that the increase of known truths stimulates the investigation, establishment and growth of the arts, not their diminution or destruction” (Sobel, 67). As we bravely go to the comfortable edge of our knowledge and then proceed beyond, we can learn more than we ever thought possible. We will realize that the illusory brink was never actually there and that a remarkable horizon is before us, leading us to greater truths in every aspect of our lives.

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Dava Sobel. Galileo’s Daughter. New York: Penguin Books. 2000.