Today in Christian History   1563 The Edict of Amboise granted a limited amount of freedom to French Protestants, thereby ending the First Huguenot War. 1641 A General Court ended which declared the Colony of Rhode Island a democracy. The Court also adopted a constitution granting religious freedom to all its citizens. 1937 Pius XI declared in the encyclical "Divini redemptoris": 'There would be neither Socialism nor Communism today if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and material warnings of the Church.' 1944 German Lutheran pastor and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter: 'We can have abundant life, even though many wishes remain unfulfilled.' 1987 Jim Bakker, 48, stepped down as head of the PTL ministry amid disclosures of a 1980 sexual liaison with church secretary Jessica Hahn. © 1987-2001, William D. Blake. Used by permission of the author, from Almanac of the Christian Church