Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

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The ministers of Zürich defended Zwingli against Bolsec’s charge, that in
his work on Providence he made God the author of sin, and they referred
to other works in which Zwingli traced sin to the corruption of the human
will. Bullinger, in a private letter to Calvin, impressed upon him the
necessity of moderation and mildness. “Believe me,” he said, “many are
displeased with what you say in your Institutes about predestination, and
draw the same conclusions from it as Bolsec has drawn from Zwingli’s
book on Providence.” This affair caused a temporary alienation between
Calvin and Bullinger. It was not till ten years afterwards that Bullinger
decidedly embraced the Calvinistic dogma, and even then he laid no stress
on reprobation. f894
Myconius, in the name of the Church of Basel, answered evasively, and
dwelt on what Calvin and Bolsec believed in common.
The reply of the ministers of Bern anticipates the modern spirit of
toleration. They applaud the zeal for truth and unity, but emphasize the
equally important duty of charity and forbearance. The good Shepherd,
they say, cares for the sheep that has gone astray. It is much easier to win a
man back by gentleness than to compel him by severity. As to the awful
mystery of divine predestination, they remind Calvin of the perplexity felt
by many good men who cling to the Scripture texts of God’s universal
grace and goodness.
The effect of these letters was a milder judgment on Bolsec. He was
banished for life from the territory of Geneva for exciting sedition and for
Pelagianism, under pain of being whipped if he should ever return. The
judgment was announced Dec. 23, 1551, with the sound of the trumpet. f895
Bolsec retired to Thonon, in Bern, but as he created new disturbances he
was banished (1555). He left for France, and sought admission into the
ministry of the Reformed Church, but returned at last to the Roman
communion. f896 He was classed by the national synod of Lyon among
deposed ministers, and characterized as “an infamous liar” and “Apostate”
(1563). He lived near Lyon and at Autun, and died at Annecy about 1584.
Thirteen years after Calvin’s death he took mean and cowardly revenge by
the publication of a libellous “Life of Calvin,” which injured him much
more than Calvin; and this was followed by a slanderous “Life of Beza,”
1582. These books would long since have been forgotten, had not partisan
zeal kept them alive. f897