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A different kind of history resulted. Rather than straightforward facts, the history flowed in more of story-telling mode.
“The only thing I wrote was the introduction,” Hewitt said. “I edited and coached, although I did write some little bits on some smaller congregations.”
Today the Baptists comprise a large segment of Virginia’s religious population. That wasn’t the case when the Association infor' mally came together in 1791.
Fresh in the early members’ minds was the persecution they had suffered at the hands of the state-sanctioned Anglican Church. Baptists had rebelled against taxes toward the church, and paid the price. They likewise incurred the authority ire by preaching without a license.
“The Baptists said that only God calls someone to preach,” Horton said. “You don’t need a license.”
But America had won the Revolution, and the new government in has passed a Constitution that guaranteed them religious liberty Before, they had merely accepted the inevitable persecution. Now, they had a chance for something different.
“To understand what the First Amendment is all about, you have to understand the history of preRevolutionary Virginia,” Hewitt said “In the Culpeper area, the Culpeper jail saw more imprisonment of Baptist ministers than any other jaiL”
Initially called the Culpeper Baptist
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