Reading List Towards Formation of Biblical Communities in North America
God’s word provides command and precedent for the formation of Biblical communities, and there is a rich history of such in North America. A little over four hundred years ago a relatively small group of pilgrim volunteers founded a community in Plymouth, Massachusetts to serve as a model to the world of Biblical Protestant Christianity. In this they were both preceded and followed by others who sought to build a “city upon a hill” according to Christ’s command in North America (Matthew 5:14), forming numerous communities (Jamestown, New Amsterdam, Boston, New Haven, etc.) that eventually developed into Christian states. Their efforts proved a blessing in their own generation and for generations to come. The paganism rampant in North America today is arguably more insidious than the forefathers faced, for today it generally represents a determined rebellion against historic Biblical Christianity by some who even call themselves Christian, rather than simply the benighted ignorance of pagans of yore. The sad reality of the USA at this time is that it is essentially a modern-day Babel, Sodom, and Gomorrah rolled into one. Its foundations are built on sand, for it is rooted in rebellion against God and His moral law. It dishonors Jesus Christ.
God has given us the means to do what our forefathers did in providing to the world a community of volunteers set on the rocky foundation of God’s word. Jews and others have shown it is possible to form a religious community in a US metropolitan area, generally having started with a modest number of people. There are now multiple examples of this. By God’s grace we can translate the deep respect of what our North American forefathers did into a modern living example. But it must start with the conviction of its importance and the will to seek to execute it.
God has bequeathed us a candle, and we need to see why it should be placed upon a Biblical community candlestick rather than under a pagan community bushel. In addition, it is possible that it could prove not only a vehicle towards spiritual well-being but a wise business investment. There is ample economic, religious and political motive for investors to form a corporation for the purpose of investing in local agricultural operations and at the same time forming a local Biblical community. Wise investment can result in a profitable return on investment. An important first step is to organize the pool of investors which can be mobilized when a wise investing option is found.
Below is a reading list that describes historic Biblical communities planted in North America, and well as some on a major religious Jewish community started in our own time:
General
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/exploration/text5/hakluyt.pdf
French Huguenot Community in Florida
https://www.americanjourneys.org/AJ_PDF/AJ-141.pdf – History of the First Attempt of the French to Colonize the Newly Discovered Country of Florida
Raleigh’s Roanoke Colony
Jamestown, Virginia
https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/smith/smith.html
Plymouth, Massachusetts
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24950 – Of Plimouth Plantation by William Bradford
New Amsterdam
https://www.amazon.com/Colony-New-Netherland-Settlement-Seventeenth-Century/dp/0801475163/
Boston, Massachusetts
https://books.google.com/books?id=9No_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false – History of the Colony of Massachuset’s Bay
New Haven, Connecticut
https://archive.org/details/historycolonyne00atwagoog/page/138/mode/2up?view=theater – History of New Haven Colony
New Sweden (starting with Fort Christiana)
http://colonialswedes.net/History/History.html
Newark, New Jersey
https://www.proquest.com//docview/302831708 – THE MIGRATION FROM THE NEW HAVEN COLONY TO NEWARK, EAST NEW JERSEY: A STUDY OF PURITAN VALUES AND BEHAVIOR, 1630 – 1720
Kiryas Joel, New York
The Curious Case of Kiryas Joel: The Rise of a Village Theocracy and the Battle to Defend the Separation of Church and State – https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Case-Kiryas-Joel-Separation/dp/1613735006#:~:text=OK-,The%20Curious%20Case%20of%20Kiryas%20Joel%3A%20The%20Rise%20of%20a,State%20Hardcover%20%E2%80%93%20April%201%2C%202016
American Shtetl: The Making of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Village in Upstate New York- https://www.amazon.com/American-Shtetl-Hasidic-Village-Upstate/dp/0691199779