| Subject: Founder of Liberal Christianity |
Author:
XOX
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Date Posted: 12:56:40 06/24/04 Thu
We, Christians fought among ourselves. Not on important things as 'salvation' but on women rights to access to abortion, or homosexuals rights to get marry. That got little to do with salvation, yet this is what we most polarized. Other areas we fought are on 'faith and work' or 'faith without work', on Trinity or how Mary was being treated within church tradition.
I found this in Whether Heretics Should be Persecuted? by Castellio. And I see a shadow of what's going on here in this age.
After such an introduction Castellio proceeds to describe the world in which people spend their lives "in every manner of sin" and dispute not about the manner by which they may achieve their heavenly reward, but about the "state and office of Christ" – the theoretical, theological issues (e.g., the Trinity, predestination, free will, the nature of God, of angels, the state of souls after life, etc.) which are absolutely not necessary for salvation. All this knowledge and false knowledge, he says, leads only to pride, cruelty, persecution, imprisonment, stakes and gallows, because no one wants to tolerate a differing opinion. All sects condemn each other and claim the truth for themselves only. If someone, however, tries to prepare "the white robe" by living justly, all others who differ with him in any opinion decry him as a heretic and ascribe to him unheard of crimes. But they commit a still higher offense when they justify their conduct according to the wish and in the name of Christ. At the same time they have no scruples against all moral offenses – so they have everything ?rebours: "they hate good and love evil." These differences in opinion concerning articles of religion such as the question of baptism or any other have no relevance to moral conduct. Castellio admonishes Christians to look into their own souls and examine themselves, to search their own conscience and restrain themselves from the condemnation of others. But on the contrary, says Castellio, we see reigning a license of judgment and wrongful shedding of blood: "I mean the blood of those who are called heretics, which name has become today so infamous, detestable, and horrible that there is no quicker way to dispose of an enemy than to accuse him of heresy. The mere word stimulates such horror that when it is pronounced men shut their ears to the victim's defense, and furiously persecute not merely the man himself, but also those who dare to open their mouth on his behalf; by which rage it has come to pass that many have been destroyed before their cause was really understood."
More on that, if you are interested at Whether Heretics Should be Persecuted?
Sebastian Castellio was considered by many Christians as the real founder of Liberal Christianity. Castellio was persecuted by John Calvin for his beliefs in tolerance of different interpretation of the scriptures.
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