"Duty belongs to us, and Events to God"

John Pordage was a minister in Bradfield, England, who claimed to have had conversations with angels. He preached about them in the church, where some followed him and others rejected his new teachings. Those who rejected them condemned him as a blasphemer and a heretic, which led to his Ejectment from the church in a very public and defaming trial, beginning Monday, September 18, 1654.

In the trial, Pordage was accused of (1) Blasphemy, (2) Pretended Visions of Angels, to confirm the blasphemy, (3) The Doctrine and Scandal of Uncleannesse, the Issue of the blasphemy, and (4) Ignorance and Insufficiency (Fowler, "Daemonium Meridianum, part 1").

Among Pordage's specific charges of blasphemy were his teachings from his conversations with the angels. He rejected the Godhead and dirtied the idea of Jesus's purity in its sacred blood. As far as the idea of "vilifying the blood," it seems as though Pordage's teachings suggested that there was nothing special about Jesus's blood running in our veins as well. He compared its mixing to Biblical scriptures of water and wine, and that through mixing, it all becomes the same. Another accusation of Pordage is that he preached a religion with no salvation and corrupted the sacred text.

Important to note of this period is the attempt to rid the world of angels, as they were previously corrupted in the forms of angel cults whose leaders claimed to be angels or have spoken with angels. Because of this, it is no wonder that Pordage's teachings were slammed and he was ejected from the church, because people feared the rise of idols and corruption. However, is it possible that he was actually speaking with angels? The Renaissance popular belief was that he was blaspheming, and that if figures did appear to him, they were the devil in disguise.

“To the second, the Visions of Angels, we believe the Christian Reader will easily persuade himselfe, that the blessed angels would rather lie down in the flames of hell, than come to confirme such wicked, antichristian doctrines, but this is an old fetch of the Prince of darkness."
-- from "Daemonium Meridianum, Sathan at Noon, part 1" Christopher Fowler, p. 5.

The harshness and violence is interesting in this quote. Despite the author's claim to deliver an impartial and unbiased account, it is hard to see this as impartial. Fowler and Pordage's Commissioners believe that angels do not appear to humans, and as such, they follow the scripture that warns of Satan's ability to disguise himself as an Angel of light. However, the imagery in this statement is particularly shocking. In a propagandist manner, the reader now sees Pordage as responsible for the burning of angels in the fires of Hell.

In the second part of Fowler's pamphlet, he uses much more emotional appeal to distinguish between himself, the innocent godly writer and Pordage, the ungodly blasphemer. He constantly apologizes for having to write about this, hoping that Pordage can still repent and expressing pity for those who heard and believed the doctor's teachings.

One last quote from these accounts:

"Duty belongs to us, and Events to God; let us in conscience conform to the will of God revealed, and we shall quietly submit to the secret will of God when it is revealed." (Fowler, B3)

This quote demonstrates Fowler and the Commissioners' firm belief that they need to eject Pordage from the church. God is in charge of Creation and after death He is the judge for which souls go where. However, on Earth, it is the responsibility of good Christians to keep the church pure and eradicate it of any poisons, such as the teachings of John Pordage.