Theophilus Ransom Gates (January 12, 1787October 30, 1846) was an American religious leader who founded a sect known as the "Battle Axes", a

free-love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues wer ...

perfectionist Christian sect near Pottstown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

Theophilus Gates was born in 1787 in Hartland,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. As a young man, he left town to travel, teach, and eventually preach. By 1810, he had settled in Philadelphia and he began to publish religious tracts and pamphlets. He became acquainted with

Lorenzo Dow Lorenzo Dow (October 16, 1777February 2, 1834) was an eccentric itinerant American evangelist, said to have preached to more people than any other preacher of his era. He became an important figure and a popular writer. His autobiography at one ti ...

, the itinerant preacher, and

John Humphrey Noyes John Humphrey Noyes (September 3, 1811 – April 13, 1886) was an American preacher, radical religious philosopher, and Utopian socialism, utopian socialist. He founded the Putney Community, Putney, Oneida Community, Oneida and Wallingford C ...

, the future founder of the

Oneida Community The Oneida Community was a perfectionist religious communal society founded by John Humphrey Noyes and his followers in 1848 near Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus had already returned in AD 70, making it possible for them ...

. In 1837, Gates began to develop and publicize his religious philosophy by publishing and selling the broadside "Battle-Axe and Weapons of War". It opens with a quotation from the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah ( he, ספר יִרְמְיָהוּ) is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the boo ...

(51:20): "Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war; for thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms." He wrote "The truths of the Battle Axe are from the Lord and those that have opposed them will have to bear their own shame." Gates railed against

Sunday blue laws Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...

, organized religion, clergymen, and marriage. While Gates was married, he described marriage as "man and wife, so called, living in strife and disagreement" and believed this institution would fade away. Gates believed that the coming of Christ changed the very nature of human love. He believed that "falling in love" was "an enchantment of the devil". Gates instead advocated a "free intercourse between sexes" instead of monogamy. His free-love ideal emphasized kindness, generosity and tenderness for the loved one. Along with Hannah Williamson, a self-declared prophet, Gates established a small community for himself and his followers in East Coventry Township, Pennsylvania. The area became known as Free Love Valley due to two of the more controversial tenets of his sect:

nudism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

and

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wit ...

. Gates died in 1846 and was succeeded by Williamson. An unsolved murder within the community ultimately led to its breakup: one of the members, Hannah Shingle, was murdered in her own home with her own axe. The sect dissolved and Williamson left the area in 1857.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Theophilus Ransom Founders of utopian communities Utopian socialists American socialists American Christian socialists American political writers American theologians People from Hartland, Connecticut Writers from Connecticut People from Chester County, Pennsylvania 1787 births 1846 deaths