Editing Hugh Binning (section)

==Impact of the Commonwealth==
Hugh Binning was born two years after [[Charles I of England|Charles&nbsp;I]] became monarch of England, Ireland, and Scotland. At the time, each was an independent country sharing the same monarch. The [[Acts of Union 1707]] integrated Scotland and England to form the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], and the [[Acts of Union 1800]] integrated Ireland to form the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]].

The period was dominated by both political and religious strife between the three independent countries. Religious disputes centered on questions such as whether religion was to be dictated by the monarch or was to be the choice of the people, and whether individuals had a direct relationship with God or needed to use an intermediary. Civil disputes centered on debates about the extent of the King's power (a question of the [[Divine right of kings]]), and specifically whether the King had the right to raise taxes and armed forces without the [[consent of the governed]]. These wars ultimately changed the relationship between king and subjects.

In 1638, the [[General Assembly of the Church of Scotland]] voted to remove bishops and the ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' that had been introduced by Charles&nbsp;I to impose the Anglican model on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Public riots followed, culminating in the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]], an interrelated series of conflicts that took place in the three countries. The first conflict, which was also the first of the [[Bishops' Wars]], took place in 1639 and was a single border skirmish between England and Scotland, also known as ''the war the armys did not wanted to fight.''{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

To maintain his English power base, Charles&nbsp;I made secret alliances with Catholic Ireland and Presbyterian Scotland to invade Anglican England, promising that each country could establish their own separate state religion. Once these secret entreaties became known to the English [[Long Parliament]], the [[Independent (religion)|Congregationalist faction]] (of which [[Oliver Cromwell]] was a primary spokesman) took matters into its own hands and Parliament established an army separate from the King. Charles&nbsp;I was executed in January 1649, which led to the rule of Cromwell and the establishment of the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]]. The conflicts concluded with [[The English Restoration]] of the monarchy and the return of [[Charles II of England|Charles&nbsp;II]] in 1660.

The [[Act of Classes]] was passed by the Parliament of Scotland on 23 January 1649; the act banned [[Royalists]] (people supporting the monarchy) from holding political or military office. In exile, Charles II signed the [[Treaty of Breda (1650)]] with the Scottish Parliament; among other things, the treaty established [[Presbyterianism]] as the national religion. Charles was crowned King of Scots at [[Scone, Scotland|Scone]] in January 1651. By September 1651, Scotland was annexed by England, its legislative institutions abolished, Presbyterianism dis-established, and Charles was forced into exile in France.

The Scottish Parliament rescinded the Act of Classes in 1651, which produced a split within Scottish society. The sides of the conflict were called the Resolutioners (who supported the rescission of the act – supported the monarchy and the Scottish [[House of Stewart]]) and the Protesters (who supported Cromwell and the Commonwealth); Binning sided with the Protestors.<ref name="SWOL">{{cite web|url=http://christianbookshelf.org/howie/biographia_scoticana_scots_worthies/the_life_of_mr_hugh.htm|title= The Life of Mr. Hugh Binning.|publisher=Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies)|last=Howie |first=John|access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref> Binning joined the [[Act of Classes|Protesters]] in 1651. When Cromwell had sent troops to Scotland, he was also attempting to dis-establish Presbyterianism and the [[Church of Scotland]], Binning spoke against Cromwell's act.

On Saturday 19 April 1651, Cromwell entered Glasgow and the next day he heard a sermon by three ministers who condemned him for invading Scotland. That evening, Cromwell summoned those ministers and others, to a debate on the issue. a discussion on some of the controverted points of the times was held in his presence, between his chaplains, the learned [[John Owen (theologian)|Dr John Owen]], Joseph Caryl, and others on the one side, and some Scots ministers on the other. Mr. Binning, who was one of the disputants, apparently nonplussed the Independents, which led Cromwell to ask who the learned and bold young man was. Told it was Binning, he said: "He hath bound well, indeed," ... " but, laying his hand on his sword, this will lose all again." The late Mr. Orme was of the opinion that there is nothing improbable in the account of the meeting, but that such a meeting took place is certain. This appears from two letters which were written by [[Robert Baillie|Principal Robert Baillie]], who was then Professor of Theology at the University of Glasgow.{{sfn|Leishman|1840|p=683}}At the debate, Rev Hugh Binning is said to have out-debated Cromwell's ministers so completely that he silenced them.<ref name="SWOL" />