was to the climate of England, was a breach of the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill". But there was another reason for their dislike, which rested on stronger grounds than an objection to particular ceremonies. When the great Civil War broke out, the question of the religious future of England was inextricably interwoven with politics. The Presbyterians hoped to set up a Presbyterian Church; to this the Independents demurred and demanded toleration for themselves. But the question naturally arose, where was toleration to stop? An attempt was consequently made to define the limits of "tolerable" opinions; but it was found that the Baptists formed a serious obstacle. Their numbers were considerable and their zeal was great. The organised Baptist bodies might have been dealt with, but we have seen that the Baptists did not so much represent a definite form of opinion as a tendency towards the assertion of the superiority of spiritual religion over all that man could desire. The Independents wished for toleration on the ground that the individual had the right to hold any beliefs he chose: to obtain this result they destroyed the idea of a visible Church and left only a number of Independent congregations; did not this system afford ample liberty for all? But the Baptists were not interested in this external and purely English and practical view of the situation. They asserted that there was a Church, but that it was a spiritual body; they asserted further the inherent incapacity of the State to meddle with matters of religion, because Christ is the only King of the Church and the only lawgiver of the conscience.
