pdf - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

Book Reviewscause ofthe ruin offour thousandmen and of whom atleast three are sti II seekingconstantly to overthrowGod's truth. who scatter thepoor church. who deceive allwhom they trap in their nets,who sow damnable blasphemies.and. what is still worse,put everyone into a horrendousconfusion? Am I tokeep si lent or conceal it?What cruelty on my part itwould be if. in order to sparethem or to please everybody,I should allow them to destroyand ravage everyonewithout warning that weshou Id be on guard againstthem? If I were to know ofbrigands who had seized aroad, ought I not reveal themfor fear that poor travelersmight fall into their hands?Should I hide poisoners whohave conspired to murder anentire people?Now there is no brigandageas evil, nor poison as perniciousto the world, as thisaccursed doctrine whichtends to scatter and destroynot only Christianity but alsoall .human propriety-noteven among the Turks andpagans has such ever been!But if I were to remain silent,then I would deservebeing thought of as a murderer.since I should be consentingto evi I. [Hence]November, 2001should I not sound a word,seeing that they abuse thename ofJesus Christ in orderto introduce under Hisshadow an abom inationgreater than any the worldhas known. and by means ofwhich He is subjected to suchdisgrace that He is consideredworse than a devil fromhell? In remaining silent. Ishould be less faithfu I than adog that doesn't care if itsmaster is attacked. or at leastdoes not bark.Therefore I am compelledto cry out with a loud voice... (pp. 203. 204).Calvin mentioned names,for example, Quintin.He added adjectives. forexample, '"the swine Quintin:'which, it should be noted, wasnot a deplorable weakness ofCalvin, or the sad characteristicof that age, but simply biblical(see II Pet. 2:22).Evidently, Treatisesagainst the Anabaptists is a recentreissuing of a book originallypublished in 1982, althoughnowhere does the dateofthe reprint occur.As will be apparent fromthe lengthy citations, it is thejudgment of this reviewer thatthe book is nearly required readingfor Reformed ministers. •69