Rawlins White
RAWLINS WHITE
Rawlins White fished for many years in the town of Cardiff, a man who was well liked by his neighbors. During the reign of King Henry VIII, he was a good Catholic, but when Edward came into power, White became a great searcher of the truth. He was a totally uneducated man, unable to read, so he sent his young son to school; and when the boy had learned to read, his father had him read the Bible and other books to him every evening.
White enjoyed studying the scriptures so much that he soon gave up his fishing to travel from place to place and instruct others, taking his son everywhere with him. Although he never learned to read, White did have a remarkable memory and was able to cite the scripture more accurately than many educated men of the day. He soon became a well-known, successful professor of the truth.
Five years after White began his work, Queen Mary took the throne. White gave up preaching openly but continued to do so privately, bringing a great number of people to Christ. As the persecutions increased, his friends urged him to sell his goods, give the money to his wife and children, and go into hiding, but White refused to deny Christ.
The town’s officers soon captured White, taking him to the bishop of Llandoff, who sent him to prison after having many arguments with him about theology. He was imprisoned in the castle of Cardiff for a whole year. Even though White knew he was doomed and his family would suffer terribly when he was gone, he continued to pray for and preach to the friends who regularly visited him this year.
At the end of this time, White was tried before the bishop of Llandoff. The bishop made a long speech explaining why White was being tried, to which he replied, “My lord, I thank God I am a Christian, and I hold no opinions against the Word of God. If I do, I want to be corrected by the Word of God, as a Christian should be.”
After discussing the charges back and forth for some time, the bishop suggested they take time to pray that God would change White’s mind. “Ah, now you’re doing the right thing!” White exclaimed. “If your request is godly and lawful and you pray as you should, God will hear you. So go ahead. You pray to your god, and I’ll pray to mine. I know my prayer will be answered.”
When they were done, the bishop said, “How do you stand? Will you revoke your opinions or not?”
“Surely, my lord,” White replied, “Rawlins you left me, and Rawlins you find me. By God’s grace, Rawlins I will continue to be. Certainly, if your prayers had been just and lawful, God would have heard them; but you honor a false god and pray incorrectly, so God didn’t answer your prayers. I’m only one poor, simple man, but God has heard my prayer and will strengthen me in His cause.”
As the furious bishop was about to condemn White, someone suggested they have a Mass, to see if that worked a miracle in the man. Rawlins White left to pray in private while they went about their Mass, returning when he heard the elevation bell ring—the principle point in the Mass’s idolatry.
“Good people,” he cried to the congregation, “bear witness on the Day of Judgment that I did not bow to this idol [the host].”
White was condemned and returned to prison in the castle of Cardiff—a dark, horrible place. He was brought to his execution wearing his wedding shirt, an old russet coat, and an old pair of leather pants. On the way to the stake, he met his weeping wife and children, the sight of them making him cry, too, until he hit his chest with his hand and said, “Flesh, you’re in my way! You want to live? Well, I tell you, do what you can, you won’t win.”
White went cheerfully to the stake, leaning against it for a while, then motioning to a friend in the crowd. “I feel my body fighting against my spirit and am afraid it will win. If you see me tempted, hold a finger up to me so I’ll remember myself.” As the smith chained him to the stake, White told him to tighten it well in case his body struggled with his soul.
They began to pile the straw and wood around White, who reached down and helped them pile it up the best he could. When a priest stood next to him to preach to the crowd, he listened respectfully until the man reached the sacrament of the altar, then called out, “Don’t listen to this false prophet!”
The fire was lit. White held out his hands in the flames until his sinews shrunk and the fat dropped away, only taking them out once to wipe his face with the fire. All the while he was suffering—which was longer than usual—he cried loudly, “O Lord, receive my soul. O Lord, receive my spirit!” until he could no longer open his mouth. At last the fire consumed his legs, and his whole body fell over into the flames. Rawlins White died for testifying of God’s truth and was rewarded the crown of everlasting life.