From about 1660 to 1688, the English king tried to force Anglicanism on Scotland. The trouble with that of course, was that Scotland was Presbyterian and the clergy and large numbers of church members had sworn to uphold Reformation doctrines in worship by signing or aligning with National Covenants. They overtly rejected the king as head of the church. Those “Covenanters’” oaths were put to the test when more than 300 ministers were thrown out of their pulpits by the agents of the Crown. As they continued to preach against conformity, attendance at the illegal worship services was a punishable crime and preaching a capital offense. The leaders were tried and many executed. By the time the persecutions were over, more than 18,000 Christians, most of them just common folk, had been murdered by the English king’s proxies in Scotland.

I am a direct descendant, 13 generations apart, of one of the first martyrs, a preacher, scholar, and author by the name of James Guthrie. He was minister at Stirling’s Holy Rude Church and fearlessly spoke out against royal supremacy over the church. He was a close friend and confidant of Samuel Rutherford, author of Lex Rex, and he also wrote a book denying royal authority over the church, a text later outlawed and burned publically by the executioner. After his arrest and incarceration at both Edinburgh and Stirling Castles for eighteen months, Guthrie gave a brilliant but futile defense before the courts but would not recant his convictions.”The little man who could not bow” was hanged on June 1, 1661. His head was hung on the Netherbow Port for twenty seven years.

In a recent newspaper comic strip, Jeremy, a fifteen year old boy, is taken by his parents to see several magnificent historical sites. He is totally bored and even angry at them for wasting his time; the pyramids are of no interest to him. The family enters a phone store and he spots the newest phone gadget and suddenly comes to life, “Awsome!” Jeremy ostensibly represents the average modern teenager. I’m here to tell you that if he represents the average teenager, I have been with a  group of non-average ones on a history tour of Scotland.

There were about 65 children on the tour. One of our first stops was a round flat memorial in the middle of an Edinburgh street called “The Grassmarket.” In the 17th Century, the Grassmarket was filled with gallows upon which the Covenanters were hanged, my ancestor, James Guthrie being the second. The memorial is a remembrance stone to those men, women, and children who would not compromise their faith. As we told the stories of those brave souls, the teenagers stood in grieving rapt attention, tears in their eyes as they pondered the question, would I be willing to die for Christ? We would see other such memorial places, and each time, the children listened in solemn respect. Dreaming of their next cell-phone could not have been further from their minds.

Children of character and conviction are the hope for the future-children who appreciate the price that has been exacted of their ancestors to give them the liberties and freedoms they posses today. My hope is that someday my own children will stand on those sacred historic sites and tell their children standing in reverent awe, about faith, fortitude, and perseverance.

Bill Potter