Friday, May 25, 2012

Laws of Virginia in 1610

Have you ever wondered why we go to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday? It came about in the Virginia Colony in 1610 as a means to restore order. The law stated that "All preachers and ministers within this our colony or colonies shall, in the forts where they are resident, after divine service, duly preach every Sabbath day in the forenoon and catechise in the afternoon and weekly say the divine service twice every day and preach every Wednesday."

Do you know what failure to do so meant? The law states, "As also every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath day in the afternoon to divine service and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and allowance for the whole week following, for the second to lose the said allowance and also to be whipped, and for the third to suffer death."

Apparently, our founding fathers understood something that we've obviously forgotten.

1 comment:

  1. I think it was a good way to re-start a colony.

    Enoc Sibbick

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