Before Abraham Lincoln used his faith to make a case that all men are equal, John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson made the case that all men were endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.
They were inspired by the Mayflower Pilgrims who pushed back against the government of England and set up the first civil body politic as well as John Locke who spent his life making radical changes in the British Parliament and establishing God-given rights in the upper chambers of government.
In 1698, his Discourses Concerning Government was published, outlining what he believed constituted a valid civil government.
Sidney believed individuals have the right to choose their own form of government and that, if that government became corrupt, the people retained the power to abolish it and form another.
Before Locke, William Tyndale bucked the system, translated the Bible from original Greek and Hebrew, and smuggled Bibles into England.
For his efforts, Tyndale was charged with heresy—beliefs or theories that went against established beliefs and customs of the church—for his translation of the Bible and executed by strangling.
His body was then burned on a stake.
His final words, before the chain around his neck strangled him to death, were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” Before the politically radical Tyndale, Martin Luther challenged the political arm of his day that changed the course of history by his faith, translating the Bible into the language of the German people and promoting the doctrine of faith alone, which led to his excommunication and almost death.
He sparked a Christian government revolution.