“I will never meddle with any strife but that which shall have peace to be the end of it. No war is good upon any terms, taken up upon the justest ground, unless it aims at peace. That soldier is a murderer who sheds blood not in reference to peace. The swords and ensigns of …
Oh, Yeah
“Would you receive benefits? Bestow benefits then. Would you have mercy? Be merciful then. Would you be commended? Commend others. Would you be loved? Then love. You be the judge yourself; you be the lawgiver of your own life. That which you hate, do not to another. Cannot you endure reproach? Do not reproach others. …
Here. Try This First.
“Let this be a constant rule: Never make use of severity till you have tried what clemency will do” (Burroughs, Irenicum, pp. 371-372).
If the Shoe Pinches, Throw It Away
“But if you look into the church and consider the dissensions there, there is an additional reason for them, for usually many hypocrites are mingled in with the godly there. They take up a profession of religion and so creep into the church; they find spiritual things unsuitable to them, hence they fly off. Their …
What Strange Corruptions
“Luther, in one of his epistles, said that there was no wickedness, no cruelty, that Zwingli did not charge him with. And in another epistle he complained that Carlstadtius was more malicious against him than ever any of his enemies had been. And as for Oecolampadius, Luther was so provoked against him that he called …
Walking On a Different Sunny Side
“They will be on the sunny side wheresoever it is. Cunning heads and corrupt hearts will serve their own turns by all varieties of times. If they were in Diocletian’s time, they could be pagans; if in Constantine’s, Christians; if in Constantius’s, Arians; if in Julian’s, apostates; if in Jovian’s Christians again, and this within …
Why Isn’t It Peaceful, Like Before?
“If the devil is put into a rage now more than before, it is a sign that he is more opposed than he was before. he possessed all in quiet before, but now his kingdom begins to shake” (Burroughs, Irenicum, pp. 328-329).
Scandals are Interchangeable
One of Girard’s conversation partners (Jean-Michel Oughourlian) says that it “is obvious that bringing to light the founding murder completely rules out any compromise with the principle of sacrifice” (Reader, p. 179). Well, no. Our task here is to point to some of the reasons why Girard falls into this either/or trap. “That is indeed …
A Certain Logic Undeterred
“We beat our brethren till they cry, and then we beat them because they cry” (Burroughs, Irenicum, p. 319).
The Hand of the Lord On Presbyterians
“Isaiah 9:21: ‘Manasseh against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh, and they together against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.’ When we are thus one against another, the anger of the God is not turned away from us, and we may fear His hand will …