Religion
Chain letters
What do you do with chain letters? A lady from Catherine Slack annoyed Oliver Heywood, by asking him to copy one out for her to send on. This was in the early 1600s, so we can see that chain letters are no modern phenomenon!
The letter, entitled ‘God’s Message from Heaven’, claimed to be a copy of one ‘written in God’s hand’ and found under a large red stone in a village called Mackabe. The letter (in Heywood’s transcription in his journal) exhorted -
"they that work on the Sunday are excommunicated, and cursed of Jesus Cht, - and I doe command yt [that] you goe to church, that you keep the day holy without labour, that you earnestly desire me to forgive you your sins, and offences, my comts [commandments] you shall faithfully and zealously believe keep and observe, and shall steadfastly believe that this was written with my own hand - to fast on Fridays in remembrance of the 5 wounds I received for you - he that believes not that this was writ with my own hand is cursed, whoso takes a copy of it, causeth it to be read and published shal be blessed, if he have sinned as oft as there be starres fixed in the sky - he that keeps a copy of this in his house no evil spirit shall annoy him, women shal be delivered of their burden, &c. In the name of Jesus Cht Amen".
Heywood’s response to this was characteristically fulminatory: "Oh dreadful Blasphemy! oh horrid popish foppery!” and so on. This was typical of a period of intense reaction against both Roman and Anglican styles of Christianity. He adds -
"I would not have taken this pains to transcribe this much unintelligible nonsense, but for these reasons, 1- that the world may have a tast in after times of popish ignorance and absurditys: 2- that doting priests and monks would put out peoples eyes and lead us blindfold whither they list, imposing the most ridiculous vanitys on us: …Oh that ever such stuff should be taking about Halifax, where gospel hath shewed so bright!"
