Rosenritter
New member
Was not Servetus an heretic? And was not heresy a capital crime in Geneva at the time?
If you wish to argue that heresy should not be a crime, or that if a crime, one not deserving of a death sentence, that would be OK. But to argue that the legal punishment of a crime is the same as murder seems to be a bit much.
Calvin was also a heretic with the sentence of death pronounced upon him by the Pope. A certain parable comes to mind when a servant who is forgiven much turns about and imprisons a man who has done little.
Matthew 18:32-35 KJV
(32) Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
(33) Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
(34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
(35) So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Additionally, Servetus was not arrested for speaking or preaching heresy within Geneva, he was singled out by Calvin because he had already determined that he already wanted the man dead. These are not the actions of a man with the spirit of God in him. And if we have not the spirit of God, we are none of his.
I think Calvin is a fine example of what happens when Calvinism has taken root, and given branch and blossom, for we shall know them by their fruits, shall we not?