M I CHAEL SE RVETUS

His Life an d Teac hin gs

CAR L T HEOPH I LUS ODHNE R

D E P R OF ES S OR OF C H U R C H HIS T ORY, A CA EM Y OF T H E N W

CH C B Y AT HYN P A . UR H, R N ,

O n e truth fro m an e ne my is w orth m ore than a hun dred lies fro m o u r fri en ds — SE RV E T US

PHI LAD ELPHIA

P B . PP RESS OF J. LI INC OTT C OM PAN Y

19 10 COP R G HT 1910 BY C RL TH EOPH L S ODHNER Y I , , A I U CONT ENT S

PART I .

SERVETUS AND CALVIN

SERVETU S IN M ODERN LITERAT URE T H E FAILURE OF TH E RE FORM ATION A GENUINE REFORM AT ION OFFERED T HROUGH S E R

VETU S . THE LIFE AND WOR" OF SERVE T US T H E TRIAL A ND DEAT H OF SERVETU S THE AFTERM ATH

P ART II . THE THEOLOG Y OF M IC HAEL SERVETUS

SERVETU S A s A NAT URAL P HILOS OPHER

TH T T E S PIRI UAL S EN S E OF S CRIP UR E . THE S PIRITUAL WORLD

F T H CHA T Y AI AND RI .

S I N F M TH S C M T S , REEDO , AND E A RA EN CHRI S T AND TH E TRINIT Y

TH F T H TH I N T E S S E A ER , E NFI I E E

TH E L G S TH SO C H S T O O , E UL OF RI TH E I NCARNATION THE G LORIFICATION

TH E H OLY SPIRIT . THE M IS S ION OF S ERVETU S

MI CHAEL SERVETUS

H is L ife and T eac hin gs

PART I .

SERVET US AND CAL V I N .

1 SER E US I N M ODERN LI ERA URE . . V T T T

TH E recent celebrations of the four hundredth ’ anniversary of Calvin s birth have once more brought to of s public notice his treatment Michael Servetu ,

a the Spanish physician and reformer . C tholic and Protestant foes of Calvinism h ave gleefully pointed

’ to the auto - da-f"in Geneva as evidence of Calvin s

a h as a fan ticism and cruelty ; it been pleasure, evi den tl rub of ease on e y, to the salt this into the ever open sore of the C alvinistic brethren .

Th e t latter , while regretfully admit ing the one ” of great error their otherwise immaculate leader , hi have now, as ever before, endeavored to s eld his “ memory behind the barbarous age in which he ” of lived, and some his modern apologists have frankly admitted that they themselves would have

as done Calvin did, had they lived in the sixteenth MI CHAEL SERVETUS

di d t century . Moreover, not the Calvinists a one

of sufficiently for the fault their theologian, when in the year 1 903 they erected at Geneva a mon u

x iatoire ment e p to Michael Servetus, recording the “ i of ul of fact that it was ra sed by sons Calvin, f l respect and recognition of our great reformer , but condemni ng on e error which was the error of his ” ? U age nfortunately for the apologists , the fact ’ remains th at this on e error of Cal vin s was quite un ique in the whole Protestant world even in that

“ ” b arbarous age . For Mich ael Servetus himself the Calvinists of

- h to day h ave as little love as did Cal vin himself . T e latter burned the body of Servetus ; the former are still burning his character and teachings by repeat l ing the slanders original y invented by Calvin . Even so temperate a journal as the BIBLIOTH E CA “ SAORA is not ashamed to denounce Servetus as a persistent liar, a foul reviler, and at the best a vain

a . . 1 909 . dre mer ( Oct , , p

Much , indeed, has been written about Servetus, yet " a little is known concerning his re l teachings . Socinians an d Unitarians h ave cl aimed him as a m a rtyr in their cause, seizing only upon his argu ments in denial of a Trinity of Persons but ignoring his sublime faith in the sole and complete Divinity

Non e Of h is o k s av e i n co es o f th e o n a s w r h g pi rigi l , been an s a e n o E n an d ev en of th e e n s tr l t d i t g r pri t , s an d th e few em a n " a re a os n access b e li h , r i lm t i i l . 2 HI S LI FE AND TEACHIN GS

a of Jesus Christ . The only av ilable biography of

E a S T AND Servetus in the nglish l nguage , ERVE US

L N U Dr. CA VI (London , is by a nitarian ,

R th e obert Willis, who has hardihood to assert that Servetus was an Arian wh o moreover denied the life after this " The work is worthl ess from a theological

hi s point of view, but is of great value as unbiased

of tory . The portrait Servetus in the present treatise is copied from the frontispiece in the work of Dr.

of a in Willis . The history this portr it is given ’ Allwoerden s HI STORIA M I CH AELI S S ERVETI

' wh ere it is stated that it was origin ally drawn by a friend who visited Servetus in his prison in Geneva

w as a at (p . It engr ved in copper Amsterdam

F E . . 1 607 . ( See the LI E OF S RVETUS by J G de

Ch au if l e 1 7 7 1 . p , London, , p The most recent contribution to the literature on

a Servetus is a paper by Prof . Ephr im Emerton in

R TH OLOG C L R E W A l 1909 . the HA VARD E I A EVI for pri , “ This writer admits that there h as not yet appeared any one successful effort to unravel the mystery of ’ ” Servetus life an d thought . His manner of expressing hi mself is confusin g and intricate to the

a so so a ow n l st degree, much th t neither in his time, n or h as on e a sa since, any quite d red to y that he u nderstood it . Prof . Emerton certainly h as not been successful in grasping even the central idea of

S ervetan the theology, since he commits such gross “ errors as to m aintain th at Servetus declared that 3 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

Christ was n ot consubstantial and co- eternal with ” “ God , and that like his great forerunner, Arius, he was willing to accept almost any description of the d — ivine perfections of the redeeming Christ, only he would not admit the thought of his eternal exist ence i In Germany, however, more serious and mpartial efiorts have been m ade to investigate the theological system of Michael Servetus . We refer to the volume

on M CH L S R N N V ORGAN ER . I AE E VET U D SEI E G , by F 328 Trech sel 1 83 9 . (Heidelberg, , pp ) a very fair and ’ systematic study of Servetus own works : an d more especially th e three v olumes on DAS LEH RSYSTEM

’ H L SERVET Giiters MIC AE S, by the late Henri Tollin (

1 87 6 of the loh, The latter, a pastor

F e to rench Prot stant Church in Magdeburg, seems h ave devoted his whole life to the study and defense of of Servetus, writing a series not less than twenty on e f m di ferent volu es, pamphlets, and monographs , dealing with this subject . His LEH RSYSTEM is really a most remarkable work, written with a warm hearted sympathy hardly to be expected from a

Lutheran theologian . It is, in fact, a complete com

en dium of of p the works Servetus, consisting largely of in quotations free German rendering, with the original Latin sentences as footnotes . Tollin himself is so unsparing in his denunciation of the funda

a of one mental f lsities the Old Theology , that might almost suspect him of being a secret Swedenborgi an . 4 HIS LI FE AND TEACHINGS

v of There is no direct e idence, however , his having read the Writings of Swedenborg . I n the New Church the interest in Michael Ser vetus dates from the time when the late Rev . Louis

of an d H . Tafel published an account Calvin Ser ” vetus in the last issue of WORDS FOR THE NE W H R C U CH ( Philadelphia, This writer, after an independent but somewhat cursory study of the

of original works Servetus, came to the conclusion “ of that the latter, with the exception some minor

e. . and unimportant errors, as, g , his belief in the of of revolt angels and his rejection infant baptism, represents quite fully as to his general teachin g the

D of New Viz . : Heavenly octrines the Jerusalem , God

of in Christ, and the conjunction Faith and Charity ; and with the exceptions mentioned above, the doc trines taught by Servetus are in general agreement with those enunciated in their fulness, and with

innumerable particulars, by the Lord at His Second ” Coming . f The remarkable extent o this agreement was not,

us s however, realized by until we took up the pre ent

a study of the theology of Mich el Servetus .

T H E T HE M . 2 . FAILU RE OF REF OR ATION

The ends of Providence in sending to the world a man such as Servetus may to some extent be per ceived in th e light of the interior historical sense of

h I n D 9 t e Word . ANIEL : 27 we read the prophecy 5 MI CHAEL SERVETUS that the Messiah shall confirm th e cov en an t with many for on e week; bu t i n the middle of th e week

H e shall caus e to cease the sacri ce an d th e ablation fi , u n til at las t desolation shall c ome up on th e bird of abominati on even u n til th e consu mmation an d th e , , ” d c io shal r o th e v tatio e is n l d op u p n de as n . “ ” on e By this week, we are told by Swedenborg A O L E" L 84 “ P C S P N D . 6 in the A YP E AI E , n , is meant

of R ul the time the eformation, when again there wo d be reading of the Word and acknowledgment of the D m ‘ ivine in the Hu an of the Lord . But that in the middle of the week He shall cause to cease the sac ’ rifice n and the oblation, signifies that still, i teriorly h R wit the eformed, there would not be truth and

in good their worship , and this for the reason that they had assumed faith as the essential of the Church , ” and had separated it from charity . He states, O T ON 1 “ BR F E"P S . 2 further, in the IE I I , n , that the leadin g Reformers retained all the dogmas such as R they were and had been with the oman Catholics, but they separated charity and good works from that faith and declared them to be not conjointly saving, in order that they might tear themselves asunder from the Roman Catholics . R As far as Theology was concerned, the eformers cleansed nothing but the outside of the cups and the platters of the ruined Christian Church in which

' the bird of abomination had made its nest . Not on e of “ the fundamental falsities introduced by the 6 HI S LIFE AND TEACHINGS

Coun cil of Nicaea was as much as touched by the Th Reformers . e dogmas which had divided the One D i God into three equally iv ne persons, and which h ad separated the Divine and the Human of the One God- Man into two natures forever distinct and

- m stification s unblendable , these reason killing y of the Athanasian Creed remained in full force in the

Protestant Church, and with them all the rest of the — Greek and Roman fiction s such as the doctrine of

sin V m original , the icarious atonement, the i puta tion of the merit of Christ, etc . Not one step for

was R m ward taken by the eformed Theology, fro the time of Luther an d his fellow confessionalists until the day when finally “ the decision dropped upon the devastation in the Last Ju dgm en t which took

a 1 5 place in the spiritu l world in the year 7 7 .

“ In the middle of the week as to the — in teri or quality of its state the Reformation proved itself a failure . It indeed brought forth the Word of God out of the prison - house into which it had been h th e i t rust by Church , but it was a bl nd Sampson , a Bible obscured by false interpretations , which the Reformers now set to work to grind out dogmas in

a their new theological mill . Chief of these dogm s was the doctrine of instantaneous salvation by faith alone without th e need of charity or good works .

And this . foun tainhead of heresy quickly gave birth

F r of . o to the doctrine Predestination , so Calvin

m an reasoned with infernal logic, if has no free will MI CHAEL SERVETUS

n o u i in spiritual things, if he ca not even pr c re fa th

of God for himself but receives it by the grace alone, . it foll ows inevitably that the grace of God is extended only to those few favorites or elect who do receive the savi ng faith . Luther and Melanchthon shud dered at this Frankenstein born from their own pet dogma . Theological controversies immediately fol

on . lowed this and other subjects Charity, being of

of no consequence in the Protestant scheme salvation, was thrown to the winds . The Protestant movement i was split up nto hostile camps which , even in the

ul face of overwhelming common danger, co d never

n be brought togeth er for a single common purpose . R Henceforth the Lutheran Church , and the eformed

c e Church, and the Angli an Church, were anath ma maranatha one to the other, while the Beast at R ome gleefully licked his bloody chops .

" For And such as the Clergy, such the Laity centuries the Protestant nations have fought each other just as if they had no common spiritual cause . R it eligion, of course, has nothing to do w h Politics, — R nor with private life, for that matter, since eligion consists in Faith alone " H as this their Faith made Protestants more sincerely religious than the great

of R ? - sacrificin mass oman Catholics More self g, more temperate, more chaste, more truthful, more pure in life and conduct ? By their fruits ye shall ” know them . HI S LI FE AND TEACHIN GS

3 A G EN UIN E RE ORM A ION O ERED . F T FF

THR OUGH SERVETUS .

Yet R neither the eformation , nor the Christian

a Church as a whole, was predestined to f ilure by the al - i in l merciful Prov dence of God, but both were tended to restore the Garden of God to the earth . The Christi an Church cou ld have come into a greater

i Christians light and a consequent greater charity, f

l n had been wi li g. The Lord who in His very last

‘His words on earth had told disciples Behold, I am with you all days until the Consummation of the — Age this same Lord was ever standing at the

His i closed door of Church, knock ng, knocking, but not admitted . The Church was willing enough to admit E of the heathenism of gypt with its triads gods, resulting in the Christi an doc trine of three Divine persons ; the heatheni sm of Carthage with its ” infant sacrifices , resulting in the Christian doc trine of the Vicarious Atonement by the bloody sac rifice of the innocent Son of God ; the heatheni sm of Imperial Rome with its unquenchable lust of

- world dominion, resulting in the Christian claims

a and practices of Papacy . But for the pl in and i of simple teach ngs the Gentle Shepherd, by whose a was Holy N me this Church dared to call itself, there no room . Still the forsaken Lord did not fors ake His

a Church , but sent prophet after prophet to His f ith

m s less husband en, bearing me sages from Him of 9 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

i i . nstruction, protest, warn ng, and reproof Through ou t the Dark Ages He raised up an almost continu ou s a — ch in of illumined and fearless teachers , known to Church History as Reformers before the Refor ” — r mi mation, th ough whom the Church ght have been led to become a Heaven instead of a hell upon

m of earth . A ong the first these special messengers

OR G N an d - was I E , the greatest most spiritually minded of all the ancient Fathers ; through him the seven sealed Book was almost opened . And the last and M CH A L S R T S greatest of all was I E E VE U , through whom the Lord of the Church extended an oppor tu n ity for the Reformation to become n ot onl y a Reform but an actual Restoration of the Christian

Church . But this opportunity was rejected, like all

n ofier f the precedi g s O salvation . Some of the

r prophets had been stoned, some tortured, d awn and

quartered, and others, like Savonarola and Servetus, were sacrificed as burnt offerings on the altar of

Satan . — More than any of the other reformers , whether i R before, dur ng, or after the eformation itself , Servetus thoroughly appreciated the spiritually cor

rupt and vastated condition of the Christian Church .

own As will be seen by extracts from his works, he realized that the source of the corruption was a

of false idea God, introduced as early as the Council of Nicaea when the Godh ead was divided into three

a an d persons with one n ture, Christ divided into two 10 HI S LIFE AND TEACHI NGS

on natures in e person . This mystical doctrine was

r left untouched by the Ge man reformers, but Ser vetus insisted that there could be no real Re forma tion until the primary proposition of the Christian Religion had been reconsidered and brought into har mony with the plain teachings of Scripture and the

wa imperative demands of human reason . It s not

u of eno gh, he urged, to lop off a few the most unsightly bran ches of ecclesiastical polity and cus tom ; the tree itself was rotten and should be hewn down in order to make room for a new tree planted upon the Word of God alone . To this radical work he felt himself called “ through a certain Divine ” 1 . R a impulse The real eform tion , therefore, was yet to come, all previous attempts being at the best only a preparation for the future great work . And

ru on e he himself, he confessed, was only a fore nner, of the earlies t champions in the coming great battle of Armageddon for the establishment of a new and

R r genuine Church . egarding Ch istianity as pri maril D — y a system of octrine, since men could not possibly do wh at is right unless they were taught

— of what is right, Servetus course was immediately ” condemned as a mere doctrinaire, a conceited and

a - as unpractical person of r mpant self sertion, “ of of incapable, from the tendency his mind, admitting the importance of the element of practical ” MoClin of i etc . ethics in the scheme Christ anity, (

‘ H I S TI ANI RE S T U T RZC R S M I IT IO p . 4 . 1 1 M I CHAEL SERVETUS

’ to k THE OLO L CYCLOPZEDI A . o Strong s GICA , vol ix,

p . How far from the truth is this estimate of Ser vetus will be seen in our account of hi s doctrine of e faith and charity . We think his appr ciation of “ practical ethics will compare favorably with ’ Luther s advice to Melanchthon :

“ Re a o a S n n e an in b ave bu t con fi e m in th u i r, d S r ly d an d e o ce s o e b a e i s A s on as w e r j i till m r r v ly n Chri t . l g are e e w s s in s e i s n ot th e ab a on of h r e mu t . Thi lif h it ti e o sn ess i s en o a we b the eas e right u . It ugh th t , y tr ur o f ace ack n o e e th e La b of G od c ak e gr , wl dg m , whi h t th a a h s h F s th s in sh al l n ot w y t e i n s of t e wo rld . rom thi e

ea u s oose even w e a. o san an d a o san es t r l , if th u d th u d tim ’ a d a n a L e co o ca on n d . s y , mmit f r i ti murder ( uth r

E S T S . V o l . . Jen a 1556 . PI LE I , , p

4 T HE I E A D R OF ER E U L N WO " . . F S V T S

The chief purpose of the present treatise is to bring out a system atic view of the theological doc

trines of Servetus, and we must therefore confine our

account of his life to a few general outlines . Michael

of Servetus was a Spaniard, born a good family at a a 1 509 Vill nuev , Aragon , in the year (or Of

his childhood nothing is known, but he is said to have entered the university of Saragossa at the age of

fourteen years . Being an intellectual prodigy he

of rapidly acquired such a knowledge Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic that on account of his linguistic proficiencyhe was at the age of seventeen appointed

a - Em secret ry to "uintana, the father confessor of 12

MI CHAEL SERVETUS

his born in mind, a system which in all its essential features remain ed unchanged with him to the end of his days ; this system he now committed to paper

his own a and published under name at H genau , near

a 1 53 1 DE T N B sel, in the year , under the title RI I TATI S ERRORI BUS ( on the errors in respect to the

The appearance of this little volume was received at first with some degree of tolerance by the reform ers . Oecol ampadiu s (with whom Servetus had come

a a n a in personal cont ct at B sel) , while fu dament lly

n a a disagreei g with the author, st ted th t the book ” is a contains much that good, and Mel nchthon wrote that he read Servetus a good dea and fore saw great future controversies on the subjects in volved . Further study of the book soon convinced

T A E a n n P a N T T S c A . DE RI I I RRORI Chur h t Bry thy ,

BU S L B S T M . P er con a n s as an a en I RI EP E It t i , pp dix , M i cha elem S erv etu m ali as th e DI AL OGORU M DE TRINI R ev es ab A rra on ia Hi s TAT L B DU O b Se r g E I RI , y " "I v e s an d h is I N TI TI A an u m . A n n o MD " . S p tu ,

s a 8v o . 120 th e R GN CH S T CA T A ( m ll , pp , E I RI I , PI UL es Th e eav es n s ea of th e a AT U . l i t d p g "U OR , ( pp be n n be e Co es v o e i s bo n i n a ea i g um r d ) . pi lum u d l f of the origin al edition are of p archmen t taken from an e cee n e A acs n a e ssa o f the x di gly rar . f im illumi t d Mi l i l e e on co n e fe n A es con a n n th e diti , u t r iti g Middle g t i i g th e o n a w as s o s an d s ca n o es rigi l , publi h ed w rd mu i l t in Hollan d about th e year of a c h an t readin g “ 1620 . e s o th e S an ctu s S an c tu s S an c It diff r fr m , , o na b a s n e i s lori P a tr i li o rigi l y i gl m tu s . G a i e t F ” n 83 r t / s b co f e i i u an t . w a pri t ( p . ) A py o t S p S c o It s e on i c s os c ase at A s e a b thi diti , wh h i alm t pur h d m t rd m y as a e h th e Re a e i n as t e o na i s v . . H . en r r rigi l , W B d se v pre r ed in th e library of the year 1878 . th e Ac ademy of th e New 14 HI S LI FE AND TEACHI NGS the theologians of its radical and dangerous char — a . cter , dangerous alike to Protestants and Catholics Th e Roman Church was here identified with the ” a woman in sc rlet, and with the Babylon that was

tia e ti r m mer a . 0 bes b s a u e bout to be destroyed , tria: sceleratissima " The mendicant monk he com pared to a devouring locust . The locust has by ’ of nature a sort monk s cowl ; add to this a wallet,

a and you have a begging fri r complete, in other

uffi for words, a hooded This was s cient

of the monk "uintana, the quondam patron Servetus, to secure the promulgation of an imperial edict for bidding the work and ordering its destruction every

. r ou a where The refo mers, the other h nd, were infuriated at its unsparing and unanswerable argu ments against the doctrines upon which they had b ased their sole hope of salvation : the Vicari ous

an d a . on e Atonement , F ith Alone With voice they

out an d B ucer cried against it, Martin , the gentle “ m of e— of refor er Strassburg, the peac maker the

R as eformation, publicly declared that such a man Servetus “ ought to be disemboweled and torn to ” pieces ( avu lsis vis ceribus di scerp eretu r) . Small wonder that the Christian world arose as on e man to crush this stripling theologian of twenty on e a e , who, rmed with Scripture alone, had dar d to “ attack in its very stronghold the faith once dcliv

th e ered by the fathers, faith established by major ity votes and anathemas at the great and holy ( Ben 15 MI CHAEL SERVETUS m en i cal Councils, where inspired bishops fought each

literall an d m s other y tooth nail , until the great y ” tery of th e tripersonal Godhead had been tri umphantly established upon the ruins of a dead

Church .

I n fin itel y great, declares Servetus in his first “ h as book, been the injury brought upon the Chris

n tian Church by this dogma of Tritheism . I n u m er able heresies and monstrous notions have sprung

th e from it, and within Church it has given birth to the most marvellous doctrines and thousands of in ex ” a 2 plic ble, hairsplitting and unreasonable problems . These insanitie s and phantasies have n ot only been

of r the objects idicule for Jews and Mohammedans, but they have also constituted the chief obstacles to the conversion of these people to th e Christian faith . ’ It would be wise to listen to Moh ammed s own decl a

r on e tru th rom an en em i worth m ore ration, fo f y s ” 3 h r d t an a hu n d ed li es from our fri en s . Mo hammed expressly declares that Christ was the great

oi th e est all prophets, a spirit, a force, nay , soul of

God Himself, the Word born by a virgin through the Divine Breath ; and he declares that the Jews had deserved the misery which had come upon them on account of their unfaith and the wickedness they ” 4 “ had done to Christ . For all this philosophic noise and corruption we have to thank the Greeks at

“ Z E DE TRIN . E RRORI BU S , 3 8 a ( z first p age of th e

3 8th l ea f ) . 16 HI S LIFE AND TEACHIN GS

the Great Councils ; but of what authority is the witness of a Church that h as fallen from the true foundation of faith ? A Church wherein the mem bers no longer know Christ, but are filled with the spirit of rapine and inchastity instead of the Holy Spirit ? ” 5 Having rejec ted the doctrine of three Divine per

at a sons, Servetus next strikes the other great pill r in the house of th e Philistines : the Protestant doc

trine of Justification .

m rit of i h e It is not faith in the e Chr st , says,

that justifies a man, for neither the merit nor the fault of on e person can be transferred to another

s person , but it is the faith in the Lord Je us Christ

n hi as the S o of God . Having departed from t s one

of foundation faith, the Lutherans do not under

stand wh at justification is . But even this faith in Christ does not justify without the positive element

e of love or charity . The faith alon of the Lutherans

is empty, vain, and monstrous, good for nothing but im to make men spiritually lazy and torpid . It is possible to understand why Lutherans should urge

s men to charity, when neverthele s they do not ascribe

to a a any uses charity, since they decl re th t all good ” 3 works contribute nothing to sal vation .

a It is not to be thought, however , th t Servetus merely contented himself with the negation of the two fun damental falsities of the Old Theology ; on

5 ‘ E . 43 E b. . 99 a. 17 MI CHAEL SERVETUS th e was contrary, his whole effort to reconstruct a pos itive Christian Theology on the basis of Sacred

. t Scripture , and on it alone We will not a tempt,

hi s will now, to outline actual system, but consider it as a whole in conn ection with his last and greatest ffi R ST T T O OF H R ST N T . work, the E I U I N C I IA I Y Su ce it to state here sim ply that the Lord Jesus Christ was to him n ot only the centre but the whole of al l l r of of a l R . Scriptu e, all Theology, and eligion

Christ is the eternal Word made Flesh . The Word of God is God Hims elf . Therefore Christ is God

on e l n of Himself, the only God, the and on y Perso the Godhead, for in Him dwelleth the fulness of the

o Of Godhead bodily . This is the theol gy Servetus in a nutshell . Oecol ampadiu s and the other theological auth ori

in s r e i ties Ba el, where Se vetus resid d at this t me , now thr eatened him with expulsion from the city and promptly confiscated all copies of his book within their reach . Servetus promised to write a “ ” 1 532 retraction of his errors, and in published a

Tw D LOG CONC RN new little work, entitled o IA UES E

T N e s I NG THE RI ITY . In the pr face he declare that he takes b ack everything he had formerly written “ on the subject of the Trinity, but, he adds, not as

e w being false, but as imperf ct and as it were ritten ” “ ” to by a boy to boys . He then proceeds retract his former teachings by asserting them more Vigor

e i e en cou r on ly than ever , declar ng that he had b en 18 HI S LI FE AND TEACHI NGS aged to do so by the fact that his adversaries had not been able to bring against hi m on e single passage

. of Scripture . The personal union of the Father

of D and the Son, the ivine and the Human in the on e e substance of Jesus Christ, is exhibited in ven clearer light than before . He further emphasizes th e freedom of the human will and the absolute necessity of r for th e a charity and good wo ks sake of s lvation, and he closes with a fervid prayer for the speedy coming of the time when there would be freedom of “ conscience and freedom of speech . May the Lord

a . destroy all the tyr nts of the Church . Amen Realizing that he no longer coul d hope to influ wi ence the German reformers, Servetus now thdrew

n ss m of to Paris where, u der the a u ed name Ville

hi s n neuve (the name of native tow in Spain) , he i took up the study of Ph losophy, Mathematics, and

Medicine at the Sorbonne . Two years later he accepted a position as proofreader and editor with

r a publishing house at Lyons, returning to Pa is in

1 53 7 in order to resume his medical studies . The authorities were quick to recognize his unusual 1 538 hi m talents , graduated him in and invited to

a deliver course of lectures on Geography, Mathe

an s m atics d Astronomy . His lecture were hi ghly

ni popular and were attended by many high dig taries,

of but his love of truth, lack caution, and, possibly, h a native love of fighting, soon brought im into trouble . Having accused the medical profession as a 19 MI CHAEL SERVETUS whole of being the plague of the world because

s Of a l aw of their gros ignorance N ture and natural , the whole university was stirred into commotion . The medical faculty accused him of having mixed Astrology into his lectures on Astronomy ; the theo

r hi m v logical faculty suppo ted , howe er, and Servetus

se e managed to escape further per cution, aft r having “ ” received a severe warning .

h is D i After graduation as octor of Med cine, Serve tus found a patron in the Archbishop of Vienne, in

D e of auphin , and under the protection this powerful friend he remained in Vienne as a practising physi cian or e a a i for twelve thirt en ye rs, cquir ng a lucra tive practice and many friends . Theology, however,

a 1 542 still rem ined his dearest love, and in the year he brought out a n ew and annotated edition of ’ n n P ag i i s Latin version of the Bible . In the preface he teaches that there is a twofold meaning in the

— on e - i r s Word of God, a literal h sto ical sen e , and the other an internal spiritual sense which everywhere refers to Christ and His "ingdom . In his marginal

s notes, especially to the Psalms and the Prophet , he suggests interpretations of the Messianic passages

of in the light of the history Biblical times, and then carries them over to Christ in the higher or spiritual sense . On this accou n t alon e the edition was placed on the Index Prohibitoru m by the Catholic theo

l o ian s . g Personally, he remained unmolested and in freedom to turn his attention once more to the 20

MI CHAEL SERVETUS to hi m a copy of th e first outlines of the proj ected

OH RI TI ANI SM I R ST T T O e to S E I U I , Calvin wrot thus his hi n ° e c ef lieutena t, Farel Servetus lately wrot to me an d sent me with hi s letters a great volume of his

o see stu ravings, saying that I w uld there things pendons and unh eard of until now . He offers to come here if I approve , but I will not pledge my

. t faith to him For should he come, if my au hority ”

i f him . ava ls, I should never su fer to go away alive As he did n ot yet have Servetus withi n the reach of own o e to his hand, Calvin wr t Cardinal Tournon

a for denouncing the Sp nish physician heresy, but Servetus was again protecte d by the Archbishop of

Th e ani of th e Vienne . Sp ard, unconscious plot,

his serenely kept on with daring theological studies , and in 1 552 completed hi s second and last great

I T O as CH R STI AN M S T T . w work, the I S I RE I U I This a

734 s stout volume of page , and was secretly printed ’ e in Vi nne, without the author s name, but the initials ” h r i l . . . Mic ael e vetus V l an ovus M S V ( S ) , at the

r i uf end of the book, fu n shed a s ficient clue as to the f authorshi p . The work consists of a series o separate treatises , paged continuously . First there are five

two D books and dialogues on the ivine Trinity, then ’ two books on Faith and the Ju stice of Christ s "ing dom these are followed by four b ooks on Regenera

" of i E tion and the ingdom Antichrist, th rty pistles to Calvin, sixty Signs of Antichrist, and finally an “ ' ” e a Apologia addr ssed to Philip Mel nchthon . Of 22 HI S LI FE AND TEACHIN GS

ori in al of on e the g edition thousand copies, only two copies are known to have escaped confiscation and destruction ; one of these is preserved in the National

Library at Paris, and the other in the Imperial

n Library at Vien a, where a reprint was published in 1 90 7 . n Of this repri t there is a copy at Harvard . Immediately upon publication a mm of thi s work was v sent to Cal in, who at once recognized the hand of i " Servetus, and forthw th, through a go between, denoun ced the author to the Catholic authorities in

Vienne . On the pretext that his medical services e were requir d by some sick prisoners, Servetus was

u e s a ind ced to proc ed to the prison ho pit l, where he

was . r arrested and examined On this occasion D . Villeneuve denied that he was identical with Michael r t of D TR N T T S Se ve us , the author the book E I I A I ERRORI BU S i n , and th s is the sole fou dation for the ” a a charge that he w s a persistent li r . But what if he did play with the facts of hi s biography in front ? Did of treacherous, unj ust and cruel inquisitors

“ th e e y tell the truth in their charg s against him, or could he expect any justice from them ? Is a m an ” a persistent liar if he tries to deceive a band of robbers and murderers ? Calvin and hi s saintly fol

of i lowers would not, course, under any c rcumstances n have tried to save their lives, or even their cou try, by

of a misstatement facts, but they did not mind de ceivin g the human race by the false doctrines of

D . Predestination and Infant amnation Conscience,

is a " truly, a vari ble quantity 23 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

Having frankly acknowledged himself as the

th e t author of letters to Calvin, which the la ter i i R k ndly subm tted to the oman Catholic Inquisition, Servetus was imprisoned and condemned to death

s man by slow fire , but by the a sistance of friends 1 5 e n 7th 5 3 . ag d to escape from Vien e on April ,

5 T HE RIA AND D EA OF SER E US . . T L TH V T

Intending to take refuge in Italy, Servetus made

of hi s his way to Geneva in July fatal year . Imagin in g himself safe in this free Republic where so many

French Protestants had found refuge, he remained

inn an d here for a month at an , even appeared at public worship . His presence in the city thus became

i n as as known to Calv n, who, bei g the political well

him s on ecclesiastical dictator, caused to be arre ted 3 Augu st 1 th . The arrest and the subsequent trial

a a and execution were, of course, tot lly illeg l, as Ser

an e e vetus was not, y mor than Calvin, a subj ct of

the Commonwealth, nor had committed any of his alleged offenses within the jurisdiction of the Genevan

authorities . Nobody, in fact, except Calvin had ever read or even seen any of the books for whi ch

to n Servetus was condemned death, or u derstood the

first thing of the theologi cal controversy involved . The Court that was sitting in j udgment was com

of of posed nothing but laymen, some them the polit

a e n a ic l enemi s of the bilious tyra t , but the m jority 24 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS were the subservient tool s (sincere or terrorized) of

R . the eloquent, imperious and saintly eformer To the ruling majority the testimony of Calvin alone

n th e of was enough, and to Calvi case Servetus was a test as to the perm anence of his rule over the disaffected political party in Geneva . We will not dwell at length upon the details of

a an d c of h the ensuing tri l exe ution, the story whic reads as if enacted in Hell rather than on the earth

a among Christians and reformers . Immedi tely upon his arrest Servetus was robbed of his money and per

- sonal property, (ninety seven gold crowns, a gold

of chain, a number rings and precious stones, cloth

n ing, etc . ) and was thrust into the foulest du geon

s a of the common jail , a cell set a ide for crimin ls of the lowest class, where for some time he was left to rot without being informed of the charges against him . One might think that any ordinary Reformed Christian savage even in that “ barbarous age would have been moved to pity by th e following 5 h 553 . 1 t 1 : appeal , written Sept ,

— My most honored Lords I humbly entreat

of you to put an end to these great delays , or to

Y u exonerate me of the criminal charge . o must ’ see that Calvin is at his wits end and knows

sa not what more to y, but for his pleasure would

have me rot here in prison . The lice eat me up 25 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

in a alive ; my breeches are r gs, and I have no

— n o i r in change doublet, and but a single sh t

tatters . I have al so demanded to have coun sel

a assigned me . This would h ve been granted me in my native country ; and here I am a stranger an d ignorant of the laws and customs of the Y n . et la d you have given counsel to my accuser, i ” wh lst refusing it to me .

S ome clothing was indeed sent to the unfortunate

a for prisoner, weeks afterwards, but the appe l legal assistance was rejecte d as a piece of extraordinary ” W LL . S . impudence ( I I , p 1 0th t of . The appeal is renewed in a let er Oct ,

1 553 :

o —I t h Most n ble Lords, is now about t ree

weeks since I petitioned for an audience, and

the still I have no reply . I entreat you for love of Jesus Chri st n ot to refuse me that which

to e you would grant a Turk, wh n I ask for jus

o n . e tice at y ur ha ds I have, inde d, things of

i n eces mportance to communicate to you, very

sary to be known . As to what you may have commanded to be

done for me in the way of cleanliness, I have to

r i e info m you that noth ng has be n done, and

that I am in a more fil thy plight than ever . In

f r addition, I su fer te ribly from the cold and 26 HI S LI FE AND TEACHIN GS

r from colic, and from my ruptu e which causes me miseries of other kinds that I should feel

shame in writin g about more particularly . It

is very cruel that I am neither allowed to speak, nor to have my most pressing wants supplied "

of t or for the love God, Sirs, in pi y in duty, give ”

e . W LL S . orders in my b half ( I I , p

When at length hi s accuser (through th e person ’ of s " his Calvin cook ) brought forward charges, we find among these accusations such as the following

u that he had remained nmarried, probably because he preferred an immoral life — that he had read

" was a the oran, and therefore a secret Mohammed n ; — that he had troubled th e Churches in German y by his first book "of which al most all the copies had

e a been confiscated", and thus don etern l injury to a — vast number of soul s ; that "like Calvin"he had — escaped from the Roman Catholic Inquisition that he had blasphemed against the Trinity in deny

l a of ing the plura ity of divine persons, e ch whom was — a God that he had written in scurrilou s and blas phemou s terms against Monsieu r Jean Calvin ; that he had taught that the soul of man is mortal ; and that Jesus Christ had taken only the fourth

etc . part of His body from the Virgin Mary ; etc . , Many of thes e charges Servetus did not deem

of worthy an answer, but the last two he designated “ . n of as horrible , execrable Had I said anythi g 27 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

n of . the kind, I should myself thi k me worthy death

W LL S . ( I I , p During th e personal hearings of the long and

was u tedious trial, Servetus threatened with tort re on e the rack, and scaped only at the earnest remon

a an . str nce of V del, one of the Genevan senators U rged by the Catholic authorities of Vienne to return the prisoner to the death by slow fire from whi ch

h ad e r m erci u ll him he scaped, the Cou t f y gave the choice of being returned or remaining in their own

R n . eformed ha ds Servetus, relying, perhaps, on the ’ i e nfluence of Calvin s political enemi s, preferred the i latter . Calv n himself frequently appeared in per

V s son against his ictim who e calm, rational , and unfe aring arguments be overwhelmed with personal ” “ ” n Vil compliments such as scou drel, rascal, ” ” ”

ass . t lainons cur, dog , , swine, etc In writ en

r notes Servetus, indeed, retu ned the compliments by ” “ ” a epithets such as reprob te, blasphemer, and “ ” murderer, but at the hearings he generally pre

m a t to served a cal t itude, and a manifest endeavor shift the quarrel from the personal to the theological

plane . What especially infu riated Calvin was the persistent demand of Servetus for S criptural proofs

a a hi m r g inst , proofs that were never fo thcoming. Alluding to the man y clerical signatures obtained “ ” R a by Calvin to his professed efut tion , Servetus writes thus to th e Court

28

MICHAEL SERVETUS

Mihi ob cam rem m orien du m esse certo sci o; scd n on ro terea animo de cior u t am disci u lus p p fi , fi p ” 7 similis prceceptori . CH RI STI AN I SM R ST T T O Again , in the I E I U I he writes If now thou shouldst endure the cross and

nl a death for Christ, remember o y th t thou owest

e ff th se things to Christ who su ered them for thee .

t is Consider, again, that mar y rdom no death to thee, but life itself and the des truction of death . Death

n ot to for Christ is be feared by thee, for thou owest it and it is precious in His sight ; and this the more so as is it not death to thee, but the dissolution of ’ o of Satan s pris n, and the call to the liberty glory, ” 8 life itself always remaining living in Christ . Thus

w as e prepared , he abl to face his persecutors without

or . fear, absolutely refusing to recant compromise In a note to Calvin from th e prison he writes : I defy thee, murderer, and I shall prove it by my con

so duct . In a cause just I am constant, and I have ” 9 no fear of death .

a a s The tri l dr wing to a clo e, and the verdict being

- as r self evident, Servetus ked for a last inte view with

. i or Calvin Instead of begg ng for mercy, offering

Th at I am about to HI S TORIA M ICH AELI S S ER A ll o r n kn f r V T b H . s A w e de . die for thi s cau e I ow o E I y . c e n bu t do n ot ose He lmstad 1727 A co of rtai , I l . py co a e a acco n in s a e o k i ese v e ur g on th t u t, thi r r w r s pr r d order that I m ay becom e a by th e Academy of the New sc e s a h i M as C c n A n P di ipl imil r to s hur h , Bry thy , a . ” 8 r Th e o n a o f s R . 545 . te . rigi l thi “ ll and e e e s b S er A woerden . 9 . oth r l tt r y , p 6 vetu s is publi shed i n th e 30 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

of tu some kind retraction , Serve s simply asked Calvin to pardon him for inconsiderate personal treatment . The latter loftily as sured him that the quarrel was n m ot personal but theological, and im ediately began to excuse his course by referring to th e welfare of

’ ’

. ui s excus e s accuse the Church " , The final sentence was pronounced upon him an f h hour before noon o October 27t . Among the offenses recapitulated in the charge we find items “ such as thes e : having perfidiou sly broken and

of n escaped from the prison Vien e, where he had been confined "by the Roman Catholic Inquisition because of the wicked an d abominable opinions eon “ fessed in his book ; Continuing obsti

in a nate his opinions, not only ag inst the true Chris tian religion, but as an arrogant innovator and inventor of heresies again st Popery which led

e n to his being burned in effigy at Vi n e, along with f ” mi five bales o his book . For thes e and si lar offenses “ Servetus was condemned to be bound and taken to to Champel, and there , being fastened a stake, to ” be burned al ive .

The sentence having been read, and the Staff broken hi over the prisoner, a terrible silence ensued, w ch was finally broken by Servetus entreatin g for a less “ of s cruel manner death, lest, through exce s of

h s suffering I might prove fait le s to myself, and belie ” the convictions of my life . The appeal meeting

on with no response, the prisoner went to say that 3 1 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

he had done nothi ng to deserv e death ; he prayed

s v e God , neverthele s, to forgi e his en mies and perse ” cutors , and he ended his appeal by the prayer

O God e " 0 esu , sav my soul J , Son of the eternal

God . , have mercy upon me

A solemn procession was now formed, winding its way through the narrow crowded streets to the place

- l of . E e a v d execution y witnesses relate th t Ca in , seate 1 0 a m b . by window, smiled as his victi passed y Farel , who h ad been appointed to offer th e last consolations

a to the prisoner , w lked by his Side and unceasingly tried to make him admit the errors of his theological

an a ways . But in vain ; he had no swer other th n broken ejacul ations and invocations on the name of “ t God . Is there no word in your mou h but the ” name of God ? asked Farel indignantly . On ” whom can I n ow call but on God ? was the answer .

s w "ue tions as to ife or child, if he had either, elic “

ited n o . a reply We exhorted, wrote F rel after

o . wards, we entreated, but made no impressi n He

a his beat his breast, asked p rdon for faults, invoked

his i God, confessed Sav or , and much besides , but

d God sav i the would not acknowle ge the Son of , e n ”

man Jesus.

“ of When he came in sight the fatal pile, the

on wretched Servetus prostrated himself the ground,

n t wi a man a l u bri sse v u l tu s u s inu S u g ffir t C s , b m m i i t a u v ti s l e i t r d e c to vi n u cu v d sse d s p es v e je . ( ALL

li ci u m d u ci S ervetu m W N . p OERDE , p HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

a and for a while w s absorbed in prayer . Rising

h e and advancing a few steps, found himself in the

of c hand the exe utioner, by whom he was made to

on u . sit a block, his feet j st reaching the ground His body was then boun d to the stake behi nd him

ai by several turns of an iron ch n , whilst his neck was secured in like manner by th e coils of a hempen — o . two on e a r pe His books , the in m nuscript sent to Calvin in confidence six or eight years before for his r u on e r e st ict res, and a copy of the lately p int d in

— a to a Vienne, were then f stened his w ist, and his head was encircled in mockery with a chaplet of

straw and green twigs bestrewed with brimstone . The deadly torch was then applied to the faggots an d his c a i flashed in fa e ; and the brimstone c tch ng,

an d the i a flames ris ng, wrung from the victim such cry of anguish as struck terror into the surrounding

crowd . After thi s he was bravely silent ; but the

bein u r osel reen a wood g p p y g , lthough the people aided the executioner in heaping the faggots upon

- s to him , a long half hour elapsed before he cea ed

Show Signs of life and suffering . Immediately before

s efiort giving up the ghost, with a la t expiring he ‘ : Son E God cried aloud Jesu, Thou of the ternal , ’ have compassion upon me " All was then hushed save the hissing an d crackling of the green wood ; an d by- and-by there remained no more of what had bee n Mich ael Servetus but a charred and blackened

h s . O a a of . as e S trunk and h ndful died , in advance 3 3 3 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

hi s a e on e te of God V of g , of the gif d sons , the ictim ”

a . W LL S of religious fanaticism and person l hate ( I I , p .

6 T HE A ERM A . . FT TH

Not even the death of hi s victim could satisfy ’

a . C lvin s hatred Before long, a wave of reaction set

a of a in mong the citizens Geneva, m ny of whom were profoun dly impressed not onl y with the forti

an tude and const cy shown by Servetus, but also with

’ Calvin s bloodthi rstiness and shiftiness . It was well known that Calvin in earlier years had emphatically denoun ced the right of the Sword in dealing with

f his heresy . In the earlier editions o I N STITUTION S

a for a ak of he had s id, inst nce, spe ing heretics

D an d rowning, beheading, burning, are far from being the proper means of bringing them and their

V . 2 W LL S . like to proper iews (Book I, Chap ; I I , pp 3 01 , Before the year was over Calvin found hi mself

a forced to expl in, excuse, and defend himself, and early in 1 554 he published in L atin and French his DE FENSE OF THE ORTH ODox FAITH RESPECTING THE H OLY TRINITY AGAIN ST THE E RRORS OF MICH AE L

S R T S s of E VE U , a work which was far le s a defense the Trinity than a defense of his own course and a “ a r renewed ttack upon his dead adversa y . It can

ou r o . hardly soften judgment f Calvin, says Prof “ E o an e n ow mert n, t hat in this attack upon en my 34 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

e on ea of av b y d the r ch his assault, he should h e chosen to employ the foulest and most insulting lan ” of guage in his choice vocabulary abuse ( e. g when Servetus and his like presume to meddle with th e s mysterie of religion , it is as if a swine came ” a thru sting his snout into a tre sury of sacred things . — W LLI S . I , p A letter written by Calvin to his special friend f Z o e . 3 rd and supporter, Bullinger, urich, dat d Nov ,

1 554 u a or , plainly exhibits an ne sy conscience, , more

a of s an d likely, a fe r consequence a desire to shift responsibility . Others may construe me more h arshly ; say that I am a master in severity an d

e a cru lty, and that with my pen I l cerate the body o i f the m an who came to h s death through me . — Some, too, there are, not otherwise evilly disposed,

sa as was who y that the world is silent to what done, an d th at no attempt is made to refute my argumen ts on throu h ear o m the punishment of heresy, g f f y dis l asu re a p e . But it is well that I h ve you for the

of m e t an associate y fault, if, inde d, here be y fault ;

r o r h ti to fo y u we e my au t ority an d ins gator. Look ”

a ou for the . it, therefore, th t y gird yourself fight

W LL S . ( I I , p

Ev own il, however, contains its punishment, and

of the mills God, though slowly, grind exceeding

fine . The hatred of Calvin against Servetus was theological and spiritual ; it was the doctri n es of

r u a r Se vet s that he h ted , rather than the pe son , 35 MI CHAEL SERVETUS th e doc trine of the supreme and sole Divinity of

c e f m an Jesus Christ, the do trine of the fre dom o in

tu l i an d spiri a things, the doctr ne of charity good

a of works . The uthor the doctrine of Predestination an d Infant Damnation carried with him this con firmed hatred into the Spiritual world ; it had become the ruling love of his life and the Shaper of his destiny . ’ a a d As to Calvin s ultim te f te in the life after eath , Swed enborg gives the following account in the TRUE

H R ST N R LI GI ON . 7 98 C I IA E , no “ In respect to CALVIN I have heard as follows :

a h I . When he first entered the spiritu l world e fully believed that h e was still in th e world where he h ad been born . The angels who in the beginning asso

ela him h e n ow ted with him, told that was in their

an d n ot h is m o world, in for er w rld , but he said ,

a a a an d I h ve the same body, the s me h nds, the same ’ senses . The angels then told him that h e was now in a

a a substanti l body, and th t formerly he had been not only in that s ame body but also in a material body which inv ested the substantial on e ; and th at the

a a h ad a off a m teri l body been c st , while the subst ntial

i a man m . body, from wh ch man is a , still re ained

at t This he firs understood, but the next day he returned to his former belief that he was still in

the world where he h ad been born . This was because he w as a sensual m an and had no other belief than 36

MI CHAEL SERVETUS

a understand anything bout Predestination, he betook

i on e n an d h mself to cor er of the society, there he

s hid him elf for a long time, not opening his mouth i on any ecclesiastical matter . Th s was provided in order that he might withdraw from his error respect

an d ing Predestination, in order that the ranks of

of D those who, after the Synod ort, adhered to that t t de es able heresy, might be filled up . All of these were gradu all y sent away to their fellows in the

r cave n .

I V . At length, when the modern Predestinarians

i was was inqu red where Calvin , he found, after a

for of search him, on the confines a society composed

- entirely of Simple minded folks . He was therefore called away from there and was brought to a gov cruor who was filled with similar dregs . The latter

u e now took him into his house and g ard d him, and thi s lasted until the New Heaven began to be estab is h r l h ed th e o . by L rd T en, when the gove nor who

s h guarded him wa ejected toget er with his crew,

o Calvin bet ok himself to a meretricious house, and remained there for some time .

As o V . he then enjoyed the liberty f wandering

was a about, and also allowed to come near the pl ce

was c where I was sojourning, I permitted to onverse

r a n with him, at first conce ning the New He ve which at this day is being formed out of those who ackn owl d God a t e ge the Lord alone as the of he ven and ear h , ac c o d r ing to His own words in Matthew 28 : 18 . I 38 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS told him that such believe that He an d the Father ’ ‘ are on e (John and that He is in the ’ r Father and the Father in Him, and that whosoeve

e h seeth and knoweth Him, s eth and knowet the ’ Father (John 1 4 : 6 and that thus there is one

h u rch God in the C as there is in Heaven . i h VI . After I had said these th ngs e was silent

was h is u at first, as habit, but after half an ho r he

a d : Was broke the silence and ske not Christ a man , the son of Mary who was betrothed to Joseph ? How ’ can a man be adored as God ?

e e ou r R e I answer d , Is not J sus Christ, ed emer ’ God an d ? and Savior, both Man ‘ e He repli d , He is both God and Man ; never

’ ’ theless D i n ot . , the iv nity is His, but the Father s “ ‘ ’ a e a ? I sk d gain, Where, then, is Christ ‘ ’ a He answered, In the lowest p rts of heaven, an d he gave as proof of thi s the humiliation of

Christ before the Father, and that He allowed Him self to be crucified . To this Calvin added some

a of jocul r remarks about the worshipping Christ, which then broke forth into the memory which he

a m c rried with him fro the world, which were, in

r w as brief, that the wo ship of Christ nothing but

r t idolat y . He wanted to add, further, hings unfit

a to be spoken concerning that worship, but the ngels who were with me shut h is lips . “

I I . a V Then I , from a zeal to convert him, s id that the Lord ou r Savior is not only both God an d 39 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

e God Man, but that in Him, mor over, is Man and

i ed Man s God . And this I confirm by the teaching

‘ of Paul that in H im dwelleth all the ful ness of ’ a 1 2 : t the Godhe d bodily ( Col . and by the sta e ‘ ment of John that H e is the true God and life ’ 1 E 5 : as of eternal ( pist . also by the words the Lord Himself that ‘ it is the Father’ s will that all wh o S on believe on the shall have eternal life, and

al see th e that he who believes not sh l not life, but ’ wrath of God abideth on hi m (John 3 : 3 6 ; 6 : and finally by the declaration of faith called Atha

a a God n sian, which decl res that in Christ, and Man

are on e r th e are not two but one, and in Pe son, like

m an soul and body in . “ n V I I I . Having heard these things Calvin a ‘ swered , What are all these things that you have ? brought forward from the Word, but empty sounds

of an d Is not the Word the book all heresies, thus ’ th e on - h like weathercocks house tops and s ips marts, which turn every way according to the wind ? It is Predestination alone that determines all thi ngs pertaining to religion . This is the habitation or tabernacle in which all things of religion meet

an d a ai t h together, the shrine and s nctuary there is f , h throug which justification and salvation is effected . H as any man freedom of choice in spiritu al thin gs ? Is not everything of salvation a free gift ? Any a u a a rg ments , therefore, g inst these principles, and

a an d n o thus ag inst Predestination, I hear perceive 40 HI S LIFE AND TEACHINGS

an belchin s otherwise th as g from the stomach , or as

h v m . ru blings of the bowels Because this is so, I a e thought to myself that any ch u rch where anything — else is taught, even though it be from the Word; an d an as y congregation there sembled, is like a pen h of beasts containing bot sheep and wolves, but with the wolves muzzled by the l aws of civil justice lest they break forth upon the sheep (those predestined

a th e e a being me nt by she p) , and th t the preaching and praying there are like so much hiccoughing . But I will give you my confession of faith ; it is d : an . this There is a God, He is omnipotent And there is n o salvation for any one except those who are

e an d a an d el cted predestined by God the F ther, every l ’ his a . body e se is condemned to his lot, that is, f te

“ I ". Upon hearing these things I exclaimed in

‘

a ou sa . indign tion, What y y is heinous Begone, wicked Spirit " Do you not know that you are in

r the spi itual world , and that there is a heaven and

an d m a hell, that Predestination involves that so e have been written down for heaven and some for

? H ow r hell , then, can you fo m for yourself any other idea of God than as being a tyrant who admits

v an d to his fa orites into his city, sends the rest the ’ rack ? Shame on you " “ a ". I then re d to him what is written in the

s E OR L book of dogma of the vangelicals, entitled F M U A

ON CO RD E a to C I , in reg rd the erroneous doctrine of

n o the Calvi ists , concerning the w rship of the Lord 4 1 MI CHAEL SERVETUS an d ni concer ng Predestination . Their doctrine Of the worship of the Lord is thus defined

I t is damn a le idolatr f h d f th b y , i t e c onfi e n c e an d ai o f th e hea t are lace d in h s t n n l a o d n r p C ri , ot o y c c r i g t o H is Divin e but als o ac c o rd n t o H is h m an n at e , i g u ur , ’ an d th e hon o o f w o shi d te d th r r p is ire c to b o .

And Predestination is th u s defined

Ch is t did n ot die fo r a l m u nl for h e l c t r l en b t o y t e e . G od h as c reate d th e greate r p art of m e n for e tern al amna i n n o d t o , a d d es n ot w is h that th e gre ater p art s hould be c onv e te d an liv e ho se w h o are elec t r d . T an d b o rn again c an n o t lo s e th e faith an d th e H oly S i t ev e n th ou h the shou ld o mm t all ki n ds p ri , g y c i r in n im e But o s w h ar n ot e ec of g eat s s a d c r s . th e o e l t ar n ec essaril damn e d n or c an the attain to s alv at o n e y , y i a z e a o san m e s o r e v en if they w e re t o b e b p ti d th u d ti , th o artak e o f th e S ac am en t e v e r da if ey w ere t p r y y , an d bes ides le ad as holy an d blam ele s s a life as it is

l liv e L ei z e d t on o f 1 6 . 8 ev e r p o ss ib e t o . ( p ig i i 75 , pp 37 ,

,Having read this, I asked him whether the things written in that book were from his own doctrine or

a not . He replied that they were, but th t he did not remember whether those very words had flowed from m his pen, although they might have come fro his lips .

the "I . When servants of the Lord had heard m him these things, they all withdrew fro , whereupon he hastily betook himself to a road leading to a cavern where thos e are who have confirmed them

a of a selves in the execr ble dogma Predestin tion . I afte rwards spoke with some of those imprisoned in 42

M I CHAE L SERVETUS

PAR T I I .

T HE T HEOLO G Y OF M I CHAE L ER ET S V US .

1 . SERVE US AS A NA URAL PHI L O OPHER T T S .

WE m ay now turn to the main subject of the

a i h present tre tise, the theolog cal system of Mic ael an d to Servetus , its wonderful approximation the Doctrines reve aled by the Lord through Emanuel

w a S edenborg . Like the l tter, Servetus was not only a a scientific theologian , but lso a theological seien

e — a a u i ti t, n t ral ph losopher whose eyes were open

of u a l a to the operation spirit l w in natural things .

” “ was To Servetus, observes Tollin , there nothing

D a a ivine without an element ry b sis, and nothing

a a mund ne without a Divine conte nt . N ture to him

a a th e of i bec me tr nslucent with Spirit God, wh le

God to him became concrete . To Servetus all nature

r all o se ves for illustration of Theology, and The logy serves for the fulfilment of nature . The meta

a u in n physic l world he looks pon a physical man er, an d a , vice versa, the whole physic l world he con ” 1 ceives m - m of in a ystic sy bolic manner . H ad Servetus been satisfied to remain in the service o f l a mere y natur l Science, he would no doubt be

1l L E H RS YS TEM v ol 2 . 177 . , . p 44 HI S LIFE AND TEAC HING S reckoned n ow as one of the greatest lights of learn

an a v ing of the sixteenth century . We c d ance this

a ad as n ow claim without fe r of contr iction, it is u ni versally acknowledged th at this Spanish physi c ian was actually the first discoverer of the circul a

of th e —a l tion blood through the lungs, who e century before H arvey more fully explained this process . And this momentous discovery Servetus announces

r his a an ve y quietly, almost casually, in l st book, as il lustration of his doctrine concerning the origin and

n composition of the human soul . The annou cement is introduced by a description of the three degrees of the or d t i blood, the three bloo s or spiri s , with n the

“

d of deriv rom. th e s ubstan ce o the bo y man , ed f f ” t r m n Th e a n atu ral h ee sup erior ele e ts . first is s i rit ma w th e red p , pri rily associated ith blood and communicated from the arteries to the v eins by their

a vital s irit an stomoses the second is the p , whose seat is in the heart itself ; an d the third is the an i mal s irit a ra an d h as p , which is like y of light its home in the brain an d the nerves . He then proceeds to show how the blood is sent from the right to the

l the n ot w as left ventric e of heart, , as commonly

s as of suppo ed , by p sing through the middle wall the heart, but by passing first through the pulmonary

e o un art ry int the l gs, and thence through the pul m on ar h y vein into t e left ventricle of the heart . He “ an nounced this process as a Di vine phi losophy

divi nam hiloso hiam ad u n am re ( p p j g ) , because he 45 MI C HAEL SERVETUS garded the blood in its thr ee degrees as the soul itself continual ly arising from the combin ation of th e Spirit of God in the atmospheres with the 2 materials taken in by the human body . In his Chr isto - centric Theology Servetus finds all the treasures even of natural science hidden in ” 3 o Christ, and also, c nversely, he finds Christ hidden

in in all things of nature . Everything the created universe was to him a symbolic represent ation of the eternal Word through which all things had been

an d w as . created, this Word the soul of Christ

2‘ HE SP R U S NS CR P UR . T L E E OF E I IT A S I T .

a v w- From this spiritu l ie point of Nature, Servetus

a looked upon the written Word, the S cred Scripture , as conveying throughout the same message concern in s was wh o who g the Chri t who , and is, and is to h me . e r co The whole Bible, maintains, in its interio or spiritual sense treats of Jesus Christ and of Him alone .

n d. This conception, however, by no mea s dissolve his h in fait the literal sense ; nay , it established the Law an d the Prophets upon a new and surer foun ' ” is dation . It highly significant, says Prof . Emer “ a r w as ton, th t from the sta t he impressed with what we should n ow call th e historical view of theology .

” — W 1‘ R . 168 18 1 . A LL OERDEN . 2 1 . . 25 1 p 3 R . 46 HI S LIFE AND T EACHINGS

a As he re d the Old Testament, its writers seemed to him to be referring to things th at their hearers would

on e a : understand . This point is f irly clear

h ad r , hi s that Se vetus grasped as no one up to , time

a on e a gr sped, this centr l notion that, whatever the

D v ivine plan may have been, it must be re ealed by ”

of t . the long, slow movement his ory Servetus ,

e therefore, bas d his Theology upon the solid bed

of acts — of rock f , upon the literal truth the Scrip tures when interpreted in the light of contemporary

an d of history, and the chief central fact all biblical

r to be— R histo y he believed CH IST, the incarnate

Word . His conception of the twofold sense of Scripture is set forth at length in the preface to his edition of ’ n n s e hi s ri Pag i i Lati n Bible . He illustrat s doct ne

a a w a u by the peculi r n ture of the Hebre l ng age,

is r which full of hyperboles, emphases, concu rences,

a an d of . ntitheses, allusions, other things the kind For the single prophets according to their

t i refi ured u let er followed History, wh ch p g the fut re in which th e mysteries of Christ are fulfilled accord

to for a i re ing the Spirit ; , as Paul s ys, all th ngs ‘ to as n ferred in a figure these ; and, Joh says , the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy " ‘ The whole Hebrew tongue is full of hyper

n i t e boles, containi g w thin themselves o her and great r

a mysteries . The liter l sense, therefore, is an over s obu mbratio for hadowing ( ) of the future verity, as, 47 MI CHAE L SERVETUS

t a of D ins ance, under the sh dow avid there shines

F r back the verity referring to Christ alone . o the historicals of Dav id in the Psalms are the occasions

n a i a for predicting concerning Christ, y, for th s re son i David is called the type of Christ . Thus it s said of a a of E the Isr elitish people in a sh dow , Out gypt ’ a son r to I have c lled my , when yet this t uly refers Christ alone ; so that we say that the literal sense is

a i prophetical of Christ . Add to this th t this book s a r e within an d with ou t an d s id to be w itt n , the Scrip

a f a ture manifestly has two old f ce, like a sword ” 4 sharpened on both sides . He further s ays that in th e person of Christ are fulfilled all the figures of the Law and all the

s of mysterie the ceremonies , concerning which we ” 5 shall speak in a book on Circumcision ; and he also promised to write a book On the True Under

a of . as st nding the Scriptures This, as far we k w w as an d n h ow no , never composed , we can ot tell far he entered into the p articulars of the internal

of so sense . As in the case Origen, with Servetus , his idea of the spiritu al sense was only a general perception ; it could not be otherwise without a direct new Divine Revel ation such as was given through Swedenborg . In various passages Servetus R o expresses his anticipation of such a new evelati n , and prays for the day when Thy book, now closed ” so a to . by m ny seals, shall be Opened all

‘ “ A LWOEBDEN . 23 7 . ALL WOERDE N . 189 190 L p , ; p

R . 6 7 3 . HI S LIFE AND TEACHING S

At the trial in Geneva C alvin brought up his ’ victim s method of historical an d spiritual interp re “ tation as an e vidence of the insane lust of Ser ” “ vetus to destroy faith . Servetus then developed at length his well known distinction between the

a or literal or historical sense, and the spiritu l mys

all re tical . According to the first, the prophecies

to o ar a a ferred c ntempor y historic l persons , where s in the latter and higher sense everything had refer

to h h ad o ence C rist, as indeed, been sh wn by the ” 6 e ur arlier Ch ch Fathers . While Servetus lacked the term correspondences to give a universally comprehensive expression to his d a an d i eas of llegories, types, figures, shadows,

e s a e images , still he se m to h v grasped the essential idea of the relation of heavenly thi ngs to earthly ” “ r a things . From ete nity, he s ys , the images or representations of all things are in God, refulgent in

D of the ivine Wisdom itself, in the Word God , as in ” 7 an h D architype . And since t is ivine Wisdom or

a is Logos by which all things were cre ted, the soul of w all n Christ, it follo s that good thi gs of the h created universe, no less than all t ings of the

a of th e written Word , are im ges and types Christ who made them, while all evil things are the images and types of Antichrist . In a sublime passage he refers to Peter Lombard" “ who said th at almost every syllable of the New

” 3 C H S EL . 229 230 . A a o s s c o as c TRE , p , f m u h l ti 7 — B 13 7 . eo o an 1090 1 164 . th l gi , . 4 MICHAEL SERVETUS

m m Testa ent internally points to the i manent Trinity, but to me not only th e syllables but all the letters of the Bible, and the mouth of the sucklings, nay,

v ou t a the ery stones, cry tow rds me There is One 9 an d On e i " God there is Lord, Jesus, the Chr st And he comp ares the whole Law of the Old Testa ment to a pregnant woman wh o is about to give birth 1 0 No a to D v . t the i ine Son only the Old Test ment,

v a os or howe er, but lso the New, p sesses this internal

t of i spiritu al sense, for all the ac s Christ wh le He was in the world h ave an inn er secret sense beside 1 1 th e external symbol .

to i Like Origen, Servetus was unable expla n the

e internal sens in detail, and he generally contents himself with pointing out only their application to

. r of the Lord Himself His inte pretations, course, are mere hints or suggestions of the Divine unfold

be v a r o ing which was to gi en l ter th ough Swedenb rg , but nonetheless he often comes remarkably close to the real internal meaning . Thus h e shows that “ everything in the Jewish Church took place by

a of v n ot of me ns representati es, for the sake the

wh o n ot Jews, did understand these things, but for ” 1 2 of . the sake us, the followers of Christ His dis criminations are often quite remarkable . Circum ” “ cision h e w as n ot , says, a type of Baptism, as has

a been supposed , but it was type of that spiritual circumcision which takes place in regeneration .

‘2 2 R 48 . E 2 2 9 . E . 20 b. . . 7 b. R . 5 50

MICHAEL SERVETUS

” 1 5 its el was to . r f, be found in Christ For in eve y shadow there is at the same time a certain image. And thus in the shadow of the Old Testament Dis pen sation there is contained the sh adow - image of

Christ . Nor is the sh adow an y absolute darkness but ” 1 6 a i od only dimi n shed Light . G Himself is the

r N w in r t . o Light , the e e nal Sun a ce tain manner

a - M an i the ide l God like , Christ, in proceed ng from

a God to come to the e rth, comes between the Sun and

in t the earth . And thus coming He cas s His shadow before Him, and this , the shadow reflecting the

e figure of Christ on the earth, is what is s en in the types of the Old Testament . God Himself is as it were concealed behind the body of the coming Christ, an d is i th e a h u nvisible to e rt ntil Christ , the Light

a . from Light, appears upon the e rth Then , indeed ,

a an d the d rkening of the Sun is past, there is again

a v a free view of the Sun . But the sh dows themsel es a wa a l ys referred b ck to the Light, for shadows can be cast only when there is light behind the body . And th u s also the obscure Oracle of th e Word refers b ack to God : but God Himself can be seen only in of the Incarn ate Word, in the full radiance His — ” 1 7 Glory, Christ . One final quotation The whole secret of th e ” Word w as the glorification of the Man , Christ

i ri ( Totu m Verbi arean u m erat hujus H omin s glo 1 8 tio fica . )

1“ ‘7 IA . E b a 9 a D . . 2 b . 2 5 . L , , I

2 R . 579 . R . 20 . HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

D 3 T HE SP R UAL WORL . . I IT

as With a perception, such Servetus enjoyed, of the spiritual in n ature an d of the spiritu al in the

of Word God, it is not surprising to find that he enjoyed also an unus ual illumination in regard to

w a the la s an d the life of the spiritu l world . Though his teachings on this subjec t bear an astonishing resemblan ce to some of the things revealed by

e Swedenborg, it must be remember d that he did not

an m a lay claim to y new or im edi te revelation, but simply drew his conclusions from the statements in

a m of e the Old and New Test ments . So e his stat

s d are a a ment , indee , obscure and even f ll cious , but it is n ot our purpose to dwell on these in the present

a ou t brief tre tise, but to bring those things which are in most striking harmony with the Doc trine of the New Jerusalem .

th e s iritual natu re o man In respect to p f , Serve e tus sharply differentiates betw en the Spirit, the

. P R m Soul, and the Body By the S I IT he eans the i inmost vessel receptive of life, that wh ch Sweden ” borg terms the Soul or the hum an intern al . Ser ” a e an d vetus lso calls it the int rnal man , under stands it to be the supreme presence and dwelling

ac th e Go d - in D an d pl e of Spirit of , itself ivine

r inco ruptible .

U L on The SO , the other hand, with Servetus is that which Swedenborg terms th e Spirit or the inter 53 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

d a e i . a is me i t M nd This, Servetus s ys, an organic

a spiritual body, composed of subst nces from the

s a e of al higher element or tmospher s, consisting actu

e a a and divisible particles , s par ted from e ch other by

i s t s nter tices, and therefore in erpenetrable by force

and substance s acting from within an d from without . In the beginning thi s spiritual body was in terpen e

i trated ri of l only by the Spi t God, but since the fa l of man it is interpenetrated also by S atanic inspira

s . a a h ow tion It is not purely spiritual subst nce,

r t ever, for after death it car ies wi h it something essential from the substance of the material body ( ab ipsa corporis su bs tan tia essen tiali ter aliquid 1 9 un aeeipi t) . Students of Swedenborg will recognize here somethi ng resembling the doctrine of th e ” limbus . Servetus refers approvin gly to the ancients as “ a h a a te c ing that ngels and souls are spiritu l bodies ,

i of an e of consist ng the finest subst c s nature, which

n l appear almost i corporeal, but possess a so corrupt ” 2 ° r a ible natu e . The spiritu l bodies of all men , i having become corrupted, would nevitably have per

e h ad R i hed, not Christ by His edemption infused 2 1 new life into them and rendered them immortal . So substantial is this spiritual body of man that

v u m the Ser et s frequently speaks of the instru ents,

r e . vessels, the arte i s of the soul It is built up out

o f o d a . the purer bl o , and is etheri l and full of light

” 21 R 22 55 1 . R . 228 . 3 . R . . 54 HI S LIFE AND TEAC HINGS

e m a a d Aft r death , this hu an subst nti l bo y arises in

hu man su bstan tial orm a m a f , in the s me hu an shape which it had possessed on earth . For not only the

m l an angels, but also hu an sou s , possess the hum

a th e a of sh pe because created in im ge Christ, the

D M an 2 2 ivine , their eternal prototype Immediately a u m URGA RY fter the res rrection co es P TO , which Servetus calls a baptismal fire by which everything h out t e . impure is burned of soul This fire, there

n ot so th e u h for fore, is much for sake of p nis ment

a as a u rific a p st sins, rather for the s ke of a final p 2 3 l tion . As Christ receives the souls of hi s faithfu a em fter their departure, so also He purifies th both

an d in this life in the other, through this reception, and the fire of His Spirit consumes the dross by its ” 2 4 a fl me .

l a Whi e believing thus in a st te of vastation, pre

a l v p ratory to the entrance of the faithfu into hea en, Servet us utterly rejects the Roman doctrine of inter

as cession by m ses, prayers, etc . , for the dead .

E a own n verybody must c rry his debts , and pay u to

. so the uttermost farthing As the tree falleth, it ” 2 5 lieth . The sep aration of the blessed from the d amned takes plac e at death . Those who depart without having been reborn through Christ remain in hell

f a m . o forever But those who are to be s ved, so e are

th e purified in this world, and others more in world

22 ” - ” R . 276 . R . 723 724 . R . 7 24 . R . 540 . 55 M I CHAE L SERVE TUS

i h are to come . But the fire by wh c they pu rged is

of a e by no means the tormenting fire hell, but whol

a . some fiery consumm tion And these good spirits,

he says, do not rejoice if we pray for them, but they ” 2 6 do rejoice if we amend ou r lives .

AV N a In respect to HE E , Servetus teaches th t wherever Christ is there He forms Heaven round ” 2 7 a . of bout Himself Since the time the Ascension, Christ indeed dwells especi ally in the third heaven where He is the all in all an d fills all and every

i e th ng with His pr sence, but nevertheless He is not

a for confined to any special place in He ven , He is

a as H e al o l . bove all space, even is ab ve time He

of a an d dwells therefore in every part He ven, at 2 8 th e same time is also with us on earth Bu t in “ Heaven His pres ence will be so sensibly felt that

h e e our s we s all be abl to perceiv Him with all sen es,

— we see H im a H im shall , he r Him, touch , smell ” 2 9 a . Him, and t ste Him From the letter of Scriptur e it is evident to Ser vetus that there are three heavens ' In the begin

an d a r . ning God created Heaven ea th He ven, here, “ S hama i m a two in the Hebrew, is y , liter lly the us heavens . But above these two, says Servet , there D i l is a third heaven, a heaven of iv nity, which is a so c a h av was hi lled the heaven of e ens, and it into t s

a heaven that Paul tells us he w s caught up . This heaven of light an d fire is the radiance of the Word

2“ ” 8 25 E . 0 620 18 . R . 7 1 , 7 . . 17 b. R 28 , . R . 7 56 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

3 0 Ver u l or r . ( bi f g ) , the t ue universal exemplar And “ s a t in a beautiful pa sage he st tes, hrough Christ

a even we have become He ven, for when Christ makes ” 3 1 n ew a . us creatures, He m kes new heavens

I n as are Heaven, moreover, also in Hell, there

a h is many different conditions . Servetus repro ches adversaries for teaching that all th e just enjoy the

the e same degree of blessedness, and all lost the sam

a on degree of d mnation, while he, the other hand, could not believe that those who have betrayed Christ would receive no worse punishment than a poo r

" heathen wh o had not known the Lord . And there fore he held fi rmly to the conviction that in the world abo ve there are many mansions and many different d of as egrees light and bliss, even in the infernal regions there are various degrees of darkness and abysses beneath abysses . But we must always under t stand hat Heaven, as well as Hell, has its beginning 3 2 in the human heart . In the Preface to his RESTITUTIO N or CHRISTI “ A N I TY he states that t he "ingdom of Christ is a

of a . of th e kingdom f ith, a kingdom Gospel, and a m h kingdo of love . Wit out faith there is no en tran ce

of h ’ into the kingdom Christ, and therefore t e first

o 3 3 book f the work treats of faith . But faith is appreciated according to the gifts of Christ as given

GOS el a in the p , and therefore the second book tre ts “ of th e . " n of Gospel And , finally, the i gdom

“ ” ” “ R 1 57 . R . 3 12 . R 1 . . 28 8 . R . 3 4 . MI CHAEL SERVE TUS

a a Heaven is no mere festivity, no l zy dre ming of

of an d eternal rest, but it is a kingdom work of con

a duct . And the conduct or w lk through the heavenl y

an d kingdom, from step to step from plane to plane, is nothing but love . Where love is thus in its own

m for right at osphere, there mere faith vanishes, love is Divine . And therefore the third book treats ” 3 5 of love . The above is but a meager outline of his teach

n ings concerning the Spiritual world . We can ot

at t a enter present into fur her det ils, but enough has been given to indicate h ow nearly Heaven was a t to i e a e bout to unfold its secre s th s simpl , e rn st and

Ne rth e perceptive student of the Word of God . ve

om R i less, when c pared to the evelation g ven in

’ of Swedenborg s Writings, the things the other life

as that were seen by Servetus, were but seen through a glass, darkly

4 FA H AND C HAR Y. . IT IT

Almost in the very words of Swedenborg, Servetus condemns the reformers for their fundamental

r of a a . heresy, the doct ine s lvation by faith lone

a F ith, he admits , does indeed save a man, but not a e th of an f ith alone, specially not the fai the Luther s, or of any Church that has divided the Godhead into

To three person s and Christ into two n atures .

MI CHAEL SERVETUS

doctrine that good works are the fruits of faith he ” terms a magical fascination of the devil . Faith

an n d Charity are brother a d s ister . The Scripture

a es a are of S i rit te ch th t good works the fruits the p ,

as a th e of an d just f ith is fruit the Spirit, charity

of a to GA L 5 ° is the fruit the Spirit, ccording . 4 3

h e to To love Christ , exclaims, is better than ”

i of . believe . Charity s the greates t all the virtues

a a a a Ch rity and f ith are insep r ble companions . The judgment upon each one after death is according to

n n his works . Good works have their ow use a d re

a a d w rd, and even Jews and he thens have been save

a e by ch rity and good works, and will rec ive the true ” 4 3 h a ou r fait at the day of Judgment . Ch rity is

h s perfection un to C rist . Charity makes u more simi ” to God e o a G d . lar , becaus is charity itself F ith ” 4 4 is to charity what Baptism is to the Holy Supper . “ Those have altogether misunderstood the apostle

at all Paul , who this day are blaming good works ,

when yet Paul himself teaches that not. only the

a of justific tion the Law, but also the justification of

” 4 a a 5 n ture is a justific tion of work . Charity brings ” 4 “ a to a . effic cy f ith itself The Holy Spirit, which ” 4 7 a is ch rity, is the life of faith itself . All the books

are s s of Servetus teeming with teachings such a the e .

R . 3 50 .

R . 3 5 1 .

6 0 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

I N FREED OM AND T HE SAC RAM EN S . 5 . S , , T

v as d was Ser etus, might be expecte , a firm believer

e of m a in the fre dom the hu n will , and was an equally

firm Opponent of the doctrine of Predestination .

God s is t , he says, is freedom it elf, since He infini ely

a superior to all extern l compelling influences . And as God s so a m an is freedom it elf, He gr nts to to 4 8 a . will freely and to act freely, within cert in limits

“ Th e highest freedom , however, lies in obedience , and in it at the same time resides the loveliest reward ” 4 ” s a of freedom . Prede tination he cries out gainst

D v t as the most horrible travesty of i ine justice . Wi h wonderful keenness Of vision he strikes at the very root of this execrable heresy by showing that pre destination rests upon the fall acy that God is a f c time as f e ted by the considerations of , if God would deliberately plan th at on e soul would be sa ved

a and another d mned at some future time, when

a o v all nevertheless God is b e all time, and things i 5 0 are presen t with H m . a d On the other h n , Servetus did not, like Pelagius , deny the fallen an d corrupt n ature of m an At th e ” “ a or sub fall, he s ys, the serpent Satan entered ” 5 1 s tan tiall a a a e y into hum n n ture, but this ffect d h ereditar . a v only his y, disposition Heredit ry e il

a uilt an d a a brings no ctual g , for it is evil dise se r ther ” a th n sin . Hence he threw o verboard the horrible

‘3 ‘9 50 3 54 . R . 3 8 R 2 . R . 3 . . 85 Wi 23 03 8 n . . s . p 6 1 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

o a for is res on doctrine f inf nt damnation, no person p sible for the sins which h e himself h as n ot com mitted or , and no child youth can ever be cast into hell before he h as reached the age of responsibility

a is th t , before his twentieth year, according to Num 5 2 “ bers 14 : Between the Good Shepherd and

to t the little children whom he pressed His hear , nothing is permitted to act as a sep aration . The

a e — Savior will toler te nothing to come b tween, no

d a d a interme i ry is nee ed, no good works are necess ry,

n o a —n ot e as no guilt, no debt, ccuser, ven baptism

a to a means of gr ce . The blessing which Christ gave the little ones will transform them into glory as ” 53 a . soon as they arise, wakened by Christ We wish we had space for the whole of his tender and beauti ful chapter on the relation of the S avior to the little

a ones . It is am ong the most lovely things th t have

an d ever been written, reveals the fighting Michael,

u —in the Daniel come to j dgment, the unsuspected

f a or an a character o a Spiritu l poet, , rather, ngel of 5 4 celestial tenderness .

With a rare power of discrimination, he dared to difleren tiate evil si n sin between and . The idea of com he confines to wicked actions alone, deliberately mitted against a better conscience by a man who h as ‘5 5 a a . freely f llen by his own volunt ry choice This , most especially, brought upon him the hatred of the

wh o an d a reformers , one all confounded heredit ry

“3 l“ 5“ T LLI 3 : 4 . R . 593 . R . 3 63 . R . 36 8 . O N 62 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

e v l a i with ctual guilt, thus making the burden of

SO so v i f sin enormous, o erwhelm ng, that no ef ort Of man, no endeavor to shun particular evils, would be of any avail for salvation ; nothing but the Grace of

a God, received through f ith alone, could sweep away all an d sin at a evil all , one inst ntaneous stroke, with those elected favorites who were destined to receive the gift of faith " A doctrine such as this ” a r r Servetus brands s pe h or en da. Having rejected the insane dogma of infant dam

a o n tion , Servetus unfortunately fell into the err r of rejecting the practice of infant baptism . Since

r d no infant, baptized or othe wise, could be damne , b aptism could n ot be a sin e qua n on for infant sal f . w as o vation Baptism, to him, an act faith, an act

a a an d Of m ture and r tional j udgment choice, such as a child could not exercise ; an d therefore Servetus

a would defer B ptism until the thirtieth year, when,

m an following in the footsteps of the Savior, the 6 a a 5 would be in full exercise of r tion l judgment . This doctrine is the only on e that we have been able to discover among the teachings of Servetus which D New is contrary to the octrine of the Jerusalem, but he must be pardoned for this error as he could not

a m of o possibly know that B ptis , by the Word G d,

a on an d by the l ying Of hands , by the surrounding

h ff an a sphere of the Churc , e ects ctual association in th the spiritual world , independent of e volition

— R . 57 3 57 6 . 63 MICHAEL SERVETUS

a of the one who is being b aptized . This f ct could be known only by an actual new Divine Revel ation .

is n ot a a Baptism, indeed, an essenti l of s lvation, but ’ it is the gate of entrance into the Lord s Church on

o earth , the Church int which the Lord invites espe ” cially the little children to come unto Me . Otherwise his general doctrine concerning the Sac ramen ts comes quite close to the Doctrine of the

a a R New Church . He c lls B ptism the bath of egen ” 5 7 a a a in trodu c cr tion , te ching th t it represents the

tion into the Church through faith and repentance,

an d a are a h as th t, when these present, B ptism an

organic influence upon the n ew birth in Christ . The Holy Supper he terms the Supper of the ” a a a Soul, and s ys th t it represents the life of ch rity 5 8 an d as a a . love, j ust B ptism represents f ith He rejects with an equ al condemnation all the prevailin g

a E a — a a notions in reg rd to the uch rist, the m gic l doctrine of Transubstantiation taught by the Roman 5 9 a a th e an d C tholics, who pretend th t bread the

a wine , by the mere blessing of the priest, ch nge their substance an d becom e the actual body and blood of Christ — the stolid literalism of the Lutherans who in sist that th e elements are the m aterial flesh and

of or blood Christ, in some way another, nobody knows or cares h ow — and the coldly historical view

“ B 484 h ocu s oc u s in th e ea s . . p r “ 5 4 2 o f h e c e R . 3 4 50 . t o on e o an , mm p pl , d 5° Th e R om an formul a fi tly expres s es th e humbug or u b ca o f th n h oe es t c p s e m e e pri estly co jurers . 6 4 HI S LIFE AND TEACHING S of Zwingli and Calvinwho maintain that the s acred re resen t a elements merely p , in commemorative and

a a an d artifici l m nner, the flesh the blood , without having the least idea of the spi ritual representation

f and o the flesh the blood . Neither was Servetus quite clear as to the real

S of ignificance the things involved, but he comes l “ remarkab y close to the truth . He teaches that in ’ the Lord s Supper the true eating Of the body of

Christ is internal and Spiritual . The internal eating b is demonstrated y the external , and the spiritual by

a the corporeal . The bre d is not only the

of of body Christ, but the body Christ is the true bread . And by the bread He makes Himself truly present to us , and as the true bread He feeds and nourishes ou r intern al man It is the spirit

u that eats, not the flesh (John The instr ments ” 6 ° — i r t a are a t n ha i . of the e ting in the heart, f h a d c y

6 C HR ND T HE R N Y. . IST A T I IT

That which abov e all else ch aracterizes and dis tin guish es the Theology of Servetus from the doc trines of his contemporaries, and that in which above all else he approaches most closely to the U niversal

of — Theology the New Church , is his doctrine con h as cerning the Lord and the Trinity in Him . This

a a - been c lled Christo centric Theology , but Tollin

” DE EGE L . . . 50 1 . R N . III p 65 MI CHAE L SERVE TUS

” 6 1 fittin l as Pan - Ch ristism has more g y described it ,

Deus - H omo was for Christ, the , to Servetus not only the Centre but the Whole of all Theology and all

Religion . This doctrine of Christ as the one and onl y God rin gs as clear in the first work of the Sp aniard as in

a w as i of his l st. He a progressive th nker, and many his conceptions underwent chan ge and development

as ma his from time to time, y be seen from successive

in i works and letters, but his doctr e concern ng Christ

w n . remains the same throughout all his riti gs But,

l b his was th e of as To lin O serves, Christ not Christ the theological schools ; it was the Christ of the Bible ” and Of the Conscience . The image of Christ stood ou t to Servetus in e very

a word, nay, every letter of the Scriptures, s also in all i a an th ngs gre t d small of the created U niverse . ” “ Na cr ou t y, he exclaims, the very stones y unto ‘ : is me There One God and One Lord, Jesus the ’ 6 2 “ . a Christ For Him I Spe k, He alone defends me . This only Master I love . His words ever pierce my bowels . In Christ alone God subsists an d is seen ; there is no other face or person or ” os of “3 hyp tasis God except Christ alone . And — consequently all the prayers, the many beautiful , tender and touching prayers aboun ding in the works

— an d of Servetus , are one all addressed directly to

“ L H SYS l . 2 E TEM Vo . R , , p

MICHAEL SERVE TUS

Th ose w h o ma i n tai n tha t there are three s ubs tan tial e son s o r osta s es i n Go d n s n ate t e e o s e a p r hyp , i i u hr G d , q u l e Fo r e o os e to u s e e s t n c n by n atur . th y pr p thr di i t a d ifle ren t s b s t an a n s an d t e n s s t t a t eac d u ti l thi g , h y i i h h e f e se n s or os ases as e c a i s on o th thi g , ( hyp t , th y ll it ) , H en ce n e ces s a t e ake t ee e a an d G od . rily h y m hr q u l

s n c o s . For en ese e son s o r os ases di ti t G d wh th p r hyp t , e en a s to n an d n be are on e b on e e ca e diff r t thi g um r, y pr di t d o f G od t n ecessa o o s a t e e are as an , i rily f ll w th t h r m y s b ec s a s e e are e cate s an d a acco n to th e u j t th r pr di , th t rdi g n e of th e e son s so a so th e n be f th e o s are umb r p r , l um r o g d A n d o i n w ord e e ca e on e multiplie d . th ugh s th y pr di t s c G od to u s et in e ec t an d a c t e e ese n to u h , y ff f th y r pr t i n e Fo r e v e ac e an d u s three God s n th e u d rs ta n di ng . ry ut S i nc ere i n telle ct mu st s ee th at there are three thi n gs p ro os f r th o s h o ese ee o o e o e . w f p d w r hip But th thr , wh m e ac o n e i s Go d ake on e G od in n be n o on e h as h , m um r, e h ev e r been abl e to say or to te ac h . It i s th re fore l eft in t e s pirit an d i n th e u n ders tan di ng an i n so lubl e perpl exity an d n e cab e con s on a th ee are on e an i xpli l fu i , th t e thr , d to set e the on e i s three . But up thr e G od s eq ual 6 6 b n a e s is th es b a s e a t y tur , thi e high t l ph my n d impi e y .

The three imagined p ers ons of the Trinity he char “ acterizes a Of in unsp ring terms, as a phantasm

- a an demons, a three he ded Cerberus, impossible ” “ 7 of a to m an monster, an invention Sat n alienate ” 6 8 a kind from knowledge of the true Christ . And the beginning of this abomination which has thor

a oughly corrupted the Church , and displ ced it from its

h e d a true foundation, , like Swe enborg, d tes from the time when Arius introduced his metaphysical Greek

6° A LWOERDEN "uoted by L , 13 1 o a s eec b , fr m p h y rv etu s be fore h is judges in Genev a . HI S LIFE AND TEACHINGS specul ations about the consubstantiality or non- con “9 an d — substantiality of the Father the Son , the “ e a time when the emperor b came monk , and the

i o of pope a k ng in other words, fr m the time the

a 3 25 Son Council of Nic ea, in the year , when the

God was Of snatched away from us , when the Church was a an d all b nished from the earth, abominations ” 7 ° established by laws . Servetus realized to the full the incalculable in juries done to the Church by the introduction of

- To a this man made doctrine . it he scribed the innumerable heresies and sects which h ave torn to

a pieces the Christi n Church . To it he ascribed the defeat of th e Church in the work of converting the

an d of a Gentiles, also the success the Mohammed n Religion whi ch not only covered Christianity with t well merited ridicule, but actually presented a bet er idea of Christ th an the one prevalent among pro

E a an d fessed Christians . very Turk, Scythi n, ” a a a B rb ri n, he laments, makes sport of your super s itiou s a of I S n ot v t b ttle terms . it terrible that e en

am h as a the lying prophet , Moh med , more biblical

a view of our Savior, Jesus Christ, th n our own ” 7 1 a ? sa n ot Christi n liars Nay, what do I y, only

a an d bu t a the Moh mmedans the Jews, the very be sts of the field , would despise us, could they perceive our

a a d a of for all of are ph nt stic i e God, the works God ” a 7 2 pr ising the on e Lord .

“ ° 72 R 22 . R 6 E 4 . . 66 . 2 b E . . MI CHAEL SERVETUS

of Servetus , however, does not reject the fact a Trinity in God ; it is the trin ity of p erson s th at he is

of D E . fighting against, not the trinity ivine ssentials

U of In maintaining the absolute nity God, he steers

of a a an a clear alike P trip ssi ism, S bellianism, Arian

a ism, and Nestorianism . Patrip ssianism he con d emn s h as a heresy, for it taug t that the Father su ere th e —a ah ff d together with Son, manifest

D a f surdity, since the ivine c nnot su fer either injury

elliu a a or change . Sab s he condemned as te ching th t the three Divine persons were so many different man i estation of f s God, when nevertheless the Father h as a never m nifested Himself as a Person, nor the i Holy Spirit, but the Son alone . Arian sm he con dem n ed con su bstan most of all, for it denied the tialit of a an d Son y the F ther the , and thus deprived the Lord Jesus Christ of all genuine Divinity . And i the Monophysites are equally in error, for they ma n

h as tain that Christ had and but one nature, the D ivine, thus denying that the Lord is Man as well as God .

- in t Servetus, alone the en ire history of the Chris

w - dis tian Church (before S edenborg appeared) , covered an approximately true definition of the R Trinity . Building his Theology firmly on the ock of Ages, and on Him alone, he found that the Scrip tures tell of no other Di vi ne P erson but Jesus Christ .

n i o or He is the only Ma festati n of the Infinite God,

a at an seen the F ther, for No one hath y time the 70 HI S LI FE AND TEACHING S

l Father . The on y begotten Son, He hath made Him manifest . The Father, therefore, is that invisible D ivine, which becomes manifest in and as the Lord

‘ n Jesus Christ . And the Holy Spirit is nothi g but the Divine breath and regenerating operation of the

D a ivine thus m nifesting itself as Jesus Christ . l In Jesus Christ, therefore, is the fu n ess of the

d ul s Go head bodily, as Pa teache ; and Servetus, with his usual keen perception, noticed that the Apostles,

i n th e n ame o Jesus Christ alon e when baptizing f , ’ actually ful filled the Lord s last injunction to baptize all th e nations in the name of the Father, and of

of — in al l Son, and the Holy Spirit for Christ 7 3 these are One . Instead of trying to bolster up the unbiblical term persons ” by offering possible explanations of the “ all impossible, he frankly states that it were well if distin ction of persons in the on e God were henceforth ” 7 ‘ abandoned and rooted out of the minds of men .

a And, not contenting himself with mere neg tions, he offers in the place of the Old term and idea, the

of dis ositi o or od i ns m es . e. idea and term p , , manners of a accommodation, ad ptation , and communication, of the on e infinite God in relation to the created

in a o a universe and rel tion t His hum n children . As

i e i of God the infin t orig n all things, is called the

A AS a i F THER. the first subst nt al manifestation of

n this infinite Power, the substa ce by which and out

7 ° 24 E 4 R . . . 6 . 7 1 MICHAEL SERVETUS

of all a which things were made th t were made,

is o s As i God called the WORD or L go . th s Word m of i ade flesh, for the sake redeeming and sav ng

S ON D men, He is called the ; and as the ivine Opera R m tion, by which this ede ption and salvation is con tin uall ff l H e y e ected with the faithfu , is called P 7 5 the HO LY S IRIT .

7 T HE F HER E F E E E . A TH N N SS . T , I I IT

e In his conception of God, Servetus, like Sw den

of th e borg, begins with the thought the Infinite,

D . was was ivine itself Before creation , God ; but

was t neither He Ligh , nor Word, nor Spirit, but

a e - some other ineff ble thing ; thes the Light, the

— or Word, the Spirit, are only dispositions, modes ” 7 ° - D D expressions of the pre existent eity . This eity is absolutely One, not an abstract unit or a bare

a mathematic l point, but an infinite ocean of sub

as i stance which f h ons all forms, and bears them

a in within itself . In Himself He is ltogether com

re re prehensible, and He can be comprehended, p of sented , and thought only in an image, namely, in 7 u 7 the fig re of Christ as the Person of the Word . The n ame Jehovah is to be applied exclusively to this

E a D a One and tern l God ; the other ivine n mes, such El as E m . are , Adonai , lohi , etc , sometimes applied

as also to exalted but finite beings, such the angels ,

R 04 7 ° D v E 102 . . IA L . 4 . . b. 7 . II p 7 2 HI S LIFE AND T EACHINGS

7 8 bu t in an infinite degree to Jesus Christ . In the Trinity the F ather is the whole substance and the

all e only God, from which degre s and forms have ” 7 ” “ t . v come for h God is eternal , One, and Indi is ible in Himself He is inscrutable, but makes known His Being in an d through creation ; so that n ot only

v bu t s in every li ing thing, also in every lifeles thing, ” 8 ° “ there is an aspect of the Deity . In the uni versal an d all- formi ng essence of God there are an

of D a infinite number ivine essenti ls and modes, the

or a of architypes forms and ide s all things, contained an d represented in an ineffable man ner from all ” 8 1 of eternity . God Himself is the essence all ” 8 2 “ God things, and all things are in Him . It is who gives Esse or essential being to every existin g

—to a e thing, inanim t creation , to living creatures in ” 8 3 a gener l, and to man in special .

all is sub Being the Esse of things, God also the

Of . stance everything, and the only substance God

a ou t of of own cre ted the world Himself, His sub

a l an d E H e essentiates a l n . st nce , as ssence thi gs All finite things thus receive in a finite measure of the Divine Essence and substance ; but in the body an d spirit of Jesus Christ alone it was received with ou t measure . This daring conception of God as the on ly su b stance naturally laid Servetus open to the charge of

3° s‘ DIA : 4 DI L . I . A L . II . 3 ‘ R . 129 , 16 1 MIC HAEL SERVETUS

”

a . f od o G . E P ntheism His idea , says Prof merton, was of a being so completely pervading all life that it was hardly to be distinguished from the things

so a it utterly filled and nimated . The handiest word ’ d of is to escribe an idea this sort pantheism, and in fact the theology of Servetus has Often been thus

e . H ow n n is describ d u fou ded this charge, which h as also been brought against Swedenborg, is evi dent from the oft- repeated statement of Servetus ” God i s i e. that nevertheless separate, . , distinct 8 5 a from all created thi ngs . Servetus here spe ks of

su t nl s a of the bs an ce of God as the o y sub t nce, and

e of as the pres nce God omnipresent, but he also

od is o states that G above all space and ab ve all time, an d he nowhere denies that the forms of creation are

n i rm fi te fo s of the Infinite substance ; being finite,

h . they cannot be confounded wit the Infinite Calvin,

saw hi s a an of course, here opportunity to cre te

e t . unfavorabl impression of Serve us The latter, at of his last trial, had affirmed that the substance God

a is omnipresent and cont ins all things, whereupon

Calvin asked him if then, when we step on the side

God ou r ? walk, we trample under feet Servetus replied that the substance of God is in all things a s the only substance, being present, therefore , also v in wood and stone . Calvin then asked if the de il himself was of the substance of God ? At this Ser vetus is said to have smiled, replying, Can you

“ IA 0 D 1 . L . II . p . 74

M I CHAEL SERVETUS

Light or Word shone forth in th e beginning from

d h n God , it inherently possesse and reflected th e u ma 8 9 orm w as a th or o f , for in it lready manifested e f m f th e u tu re Chris t a a a f , not ide lly lone, but ctually and visibly ; an d from this origi nal type an d modus of Divine Manifestation proceed all other modifications of D the eity . Nay, even before the Incarnation , the

a w to Logos ctually as Christ, as His Spirit and as 9 0 o flesh . to His Soul, wanting only a b dy of Compare with this teaching the statement of “ t Swedenborg that in the Lord from e ernity, who

a is Jehov h , before the assumption of the Human in

th e two ri or d e ree a the world, p g s existed ctually, and

in oten c as s the third degree p y, such the e degrees also are with the angels ; but that after His as su mp

a tion of the Hum n in the world, He put on also th e third or natural degree and thereby became a ” n D AN D m a like a man in the world . ( IVINE LOVE WI SDOM

v I n c ar For, continues Servetus, e en before the

on all a a a nation, God occ sions ever cted in human

a m m nner, represented Hi self to man in the form

M an o as M an was a M an of a , sp ke a , and seen as — a by the patriarchs, but through the instrument lity ” ”1 a th e of a . s ngels Christ, therefore " Word

a before the Incarn tion", is the whole substantial

Deity and the primary uncreated Light itself . He Him self is Jehov ah and th e beginning of all natural

“ R 6 93 R . 69 1 . R . 6 90 . . . 7 6 HI S LI FE AND TEACHING S

” 9 2 “ h n of v t i gs . The soul Christ, as the prime al

Wo a all a rd , is the rchitype Of things, the represent

“ tive world -soul ( anima th e etern al ” 9 4 A a of . S ocean ideas such, also, He was the cre tor

all and ordainer of things, and all things, whether

a or or a he venly earthly, bodily spiritu l , consist in

a Him . He created the m tters Of the elements, He

o an d was ou t of mingled them t gether, He it who His own treasure - house of light endow ed them sub ” 9 5 stan tiall . o d y with forms of light The w rl , he

a ri as the concludes, c me into being through Ch st

an d of c o Logos, solely in order to admit His be ming a M an an d a a in the Flesh, it has no signific nce wh t e ver apart from Him who w as to appear in the w an d orld reign over it forever . It will be seen from these extracts how completely without foundation is the assertion th at Servetus

a r - of His denied the etern l p e existence Christ . whole

h as a a an d Theology, which ppe red so obscure com

a to a r plic ted the le rned world, is on the contra y v — e ery simple, nothing but the plain t aching in “ o : e J hn In the b ginning was the Word, and the

d was an d Go . Word was with God , the Word He was in the beginning with God . All things were made

was by Him, and without Him there not anything

im an d a was . H made th t made In was Life, the

Life was the Light of man . And the Word

an d a n saw became flesh dwelt mo g us, and we His

°3 “ “ D . . . . 6 . 8 . I L V 2 2 R . 2 8 . R 27 E . 15 1 R . 8 . TR N I p 7 7 MI CHAE L SERVE TUS

of l - o of glory, the glory as the On y beg tten the

Father, full of grace and of truth . It was not the idea of the eternal Christ that

of B RN Servetus rejected, but the idea a Son O from

ers on of D r eternity, a second p the eity, bo n from

co- " the first person, yet eternal with him The

n ot expression Son he says, does properly stand ‘ ’ 9 6 for w the Word, but al ays for a Man Not a single pass age Of the whole Sacred Scripture can hi ’ be brought forward, in w ch the term Son is used in any other sense than that of a Man who is a ” 9 7 on h in of God S . W en, the Old Testament, a Son is of t Son God a Spoken , it is always a fu u re of th t

S on i n time is predicted , a that was to be born , and

i . f in th s world The Logos itself, the Soul o Christ,

S on of God God H is is not the , but is Himself in first manifestation ; but this Logos actually became the Son of God when it appeared on earth as a man born of a woman .

so This doctrine, eminently biblical and rational , was the crux of the offense of Servetus against the

da for a prevailing Theology of his y, it destroyed t a blow the notion of a prearranged Atonement by an

n eternal Son to an etern al Father . A d it was chiefly

of i was ed because this doctr ne that Servetus accus , condemned, and executed . It was this doctrine ,

finally, that Servetus most stoutly defended through out be a his trial , and which asserted with his l st

R . 689 . HI S LIFE AND T EACHING S

a h i s expiring bre t am d t the flames, in his cry

“ Jesus, thou Son Of the eternal God, have mercy upon me .

T HE I NC RN I ON . 9 . A AT

w as i h D It th s Logos, then, whic , as ivine seed, ’ descended into Mary s womb and there covered itself

od of . with a b y human flesh Like Swedenborg, Ser

v as vetus looks upon the irgin conception , indeed ,

n ot as to a a Miracle, but anything contrary the natur l “ ” a of . as l ws order With Christ, with every man, “ he says, the soul was from the father, and the ” 9 8 “ body from the mother alone . The Logos was

i was . the seed from wh ch Christ conceived Indeed, every other seed has its pote ncy from the seed of ” 9 9 “ the Word . In the soul itself lies hidden the ” i as a s formative dea of the body, the future pl nt lie 1 °° “ hidden in the vegetable seed . AS in every con ce tion or p , the formative seed plasmic potency creates ’ for od itself a material b y in the mother s womb ,

God as ul even so the Word of , formative fac ty, formed ’ ” 1 0 1 . i a body for itself in Mary s womb Christ, l ke every other man, took from the maternal bosom Of

o Mary the matter f his flesh . The earthly matter ” “ was from the mother alone . But, different

of from other men, in the conception Christ it was

” 2 ” R . 54, TREOH S EL 13 1 . R . 25 1 .

R . 2 16 . MICHAEL SERVETUS

alon e as a all the Word of God , cont ining in itself seminal power. substantially, that made the natural dew for the conception Of Christ in the womb of the ” 1 0 3 “ D virgin . The ivine Logos took the place of

u l i the paternal seed, niting itself ivingly w th the ” 1 0 4 “ a m ternal blood in the embryo, mingling itself

of with the blood the virgin, and thus transforming

” 1 0 5 the human matter into God .

“ a Thus, by the Inc rnation, God and man were ” 1 0 6 on e . m an henceforth One, in flesh The Christ was so penetrated by the Deity that He became God in an d . his flesh blood, in his soul , body and spirit He

r a was such while in the emb yo, and continued to be r the substantial form of God even when in the grave .

m of He hi self is the Word and Wisdom God, and this very light of the face of Christ is to us the intel

a an lectu l light d the idea of all things . He is the Speech of God visible and audible at once to the ” 1 0 7 As an d . sense to the understanding , therefore ,

a SO v the F ther is true God, hath He gi en His true

a to Son a Godhe d His only in unique manner, and d ” 1 0 8 has caused the Son to be true Go . When God

at breathed into Christ His own soul, then the same time He breathed into Him the whole fulness Of ” 1 0 ° God m a . without e sure Christ, therefore , is n ot onsu bs tan ti only c al with the Father, but He

‘03 R . 260 . R . 26 7 . W 38 . I V . I V . 1 DE LI B . D . LI B . . E TR N , p TR N R . 16 . W R . 268 . R . 23 1 . 80 HI S LI FE AND T EACHINGS

” 1 1 ° “ h a alone is the w ole subs t n ce of God . Christ

od a of sub is G by natur l birth, naturally born the D od . stance Of G The whole eity of the Father, the

s of God a of God wor hip , and the spect , exist in ” 1 “ “ God . of Christ, the true The soul Christ is God ; th e body Of Christ is God ; the Spirit of Christ ” 1 1 2 is God ; and therefore the whole of Christ is God .

1 0 T HE LOR F C A ON . G I I TI

D v as its o a w While the i ine, to wh le subst nce d elt in the human body of Christ from its very con cep

a tion, it did not, however, at once t ke possession of

of a Glorification of the whole th t body, but the the 1 1 3 human body was a gr adual process . For the d bo y from the mother included corruptible elements, which were n ot fully laid as ide until the resu rrec ” tion . The resurrection of Christ was regarded by

u m Glorification as Servet s as the cli ax of the , even he regarded the Incarnation of the Word as the “ a - n i iz i n clim x of the self fi t at o of God .

to a Glorification As the actu l process of the , Ser

v a vetus , indeed, possessed only ery general ide s, and we have found but little in his works in regard to ’ a s a i the Lord s tempt tion , rising from the evil in cl na

of tions the maternal heredity, or in regard to the

” 3 DE I I B V . L . 182 TR N . ; DIA 26 L . II , 7 . ”‘ R. 2 79 . 8 1 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

v of or combats and ictories the Acquired Human, how the Lord first made His human the Divine Truth

to D v . itself, and then united it the i ine Good itself

of E l h m He speaks, however, Christ first becoming o i an d eh ovah rt afterwards J , which may indicate a ce ain faint conception of the two un iversal stages of th e

Gl orification , corresponding to the two stages of

a Reform tion and Regeneration with finite man . Ser ” v k Glorification etus ma es constant use Of the term , an d describes it as an i n terp en etration of the Word into the flesh, and as a transformation of the flesh 1 1 5 D . into ivine Substance The Word, indeed,

e an d . b came flesh, yet remained the Word By the

was a a Incarnation the Word not nnihil ted as such , nor was it chan ged into flesh by a transformation of substance ; but it was the matter of the flesh th at w as o so a transformed by the W rd, th t the combined “ 6 result was on e Flesh - Word ( caro “ Thus the substance of the Word participated in

on e the transformed flesh, so that both became Hypos

a on e d . t sis, substance, one bo y, and one real Man

n throu h m an O e g ou t is the Jesus Christ, containing ” 1 1 7 in Himself the Divine and the human nature . At the resurrection Christ h ad acquired to Himself all that which before belonged to the Father alone

D D v s to ivine Nature, i ine Sub tance, even as His

am - th e body, the s e eternity , Jehovah nature, power ” “ 8 of ea i . v the Cr tor H mself Ser etus, therefore, in

"5 m m " ° 2 R 3 70 . 2 6 R . 26 . R . 07 . . DIA L . II . p . 5 7 8 2

MICHAE L SERVETUS

from the Word not yet made flesh . Thes e Gifts R were the edemption of mankind, the aspect of a

a God of v a visible Hum n , the renewal the uni ers l

“ a th e a — M crocosm, and regener tion of man accord ” ing to the p attern of the Glorification of Christ

m a —a by the com unic tion of the Holy Spirit, Spirit ” which was n ot yet before Jesus was glorified . “ The renew al of the Cos mos w as a daring but magnificent conception quite peculiar to Servetus .

a of n a Through the f ll ma kind, not only was hum n

a defil ed at a n ture , but the s me time the whole of

a o the material universe . With the entr nce f Sin into the world the very elements became injurious .

Heat as well as cold began to be har mful to man . A certain defilemen t of the elementary fire took place 1 2 6 an d defiled through the devil, the devil even the

ai r . and the water I f Adam had not sinned, there would have been no stormy clouds and terrifying

to lightning, but God would have continued moisten the e arth by the Simple dew of heaven as in Para 1 2 7 v disc . With powerful imagery Ser etus describes

r of a as a God the glo y n ture origin lly created by , and the terrible ch ange introduced into the universe by 1 2 8 h the deliberate act of man . But throug the Glori

fication of an d on the R Jesus, day of the esurrection, not only Heaven but the earth and the whole world

Not was n ew r were made new . only a spi itual king dom od of intr uced, but a new creation the world

”5 m 1 m 2 2 R 9 R . 9 . TOLLI N : 196 . 7 9 . . 3 0 . 3 R . 8 4 HIS LIFE AND T EACHINGS

a o an d — in S ever took pl ce thr ugh in Christ, hort, y thin g was made new through a new universal Cove 1 2 9 n so s a na t, that the whole univer e was born gain 1 3 0 through Christ .

1 1 T HE HO LY SP R . . I IT

Since there is not in the Godh ead any tri - personal

a a D i Trinity, the Holy Spirit is not a sep r te iv ne

or er se Person Being p , proceeding either from the Father th rough the Son ( according to the Greek

th e a an d Church ) , or from F ther the Son (accord

h Nor ing to t e Roman Catholic Creed ) . is the Spirit an y supposed metaphysical inter - relation

“ between the Father and the Son or an immanent 1 3 1 a God oper tion within the essence of , but it is

S D D a d imply a ivine isposition or Modus, ccommo ated

one a an d on on the h nd to the created universe, the “3 2 other hand to the spirit of angel an d of man . From the outset Servetus draws a clear-cut distin c tion between the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit . The Spirit is called the Spirit of God in a universal

ex tern all a sense, and when it operates y, but it is c lled

S a an d it the Holy Spirit in a peci l sense, when is acti v e i n ternally in enlightening an d s anctifying the m 1 3 3 of an . spirit In other words, the essence of

God w mani es t w is a , hen it f s itself to the orld , c lled

m 1 9 ”3 5 I 2 6 . 52 L . 05 R . . R . . TOL N 7

R . 295 . MI CHAEL SERVETUS

’ m m n the Word 5 when it is co u i cated to the world , ’ 1 3 4 it is called the Spirit .

As to the former, the Spirit of God, Servetus teaches that it is the un iversal agent ; it is in the air we breathe and is the v ery breath Of life ; it moves

ou t the heavenly bodies, sends the winds from their

a a an d qu rters, t kes up stores the water in the clouds, ” 1 3 5 as a and pours it out r in to fertilize the earth . It is the presence an d power of God projected into

a a all creation, anim ting and actu ting that is therein, ” 1 3 6 A S man more especially than aught else . there c an be no speaking without the sending forth of

a i bre th, so also the Spir t of God is the breath of God, proceeding from Him when He sends forth His ” 1 3 7 “ h a a Word . As He s cre ted all things through

v ivified z His Word, so He has ordained, , and energi ed ” 1 3 8 all things through His Spirit, the Spirit of life,

th e n which, proceeding from Logos, fills all creatio ” 1 3 9 - as the world soul . As nothing takes place

al a without the Word of God, so so there is not plant or stone possessing the least virtue or quality without ” 1 4 ° th e of this Spirit . In very substance the wind

a so a a God Himself is Oper ting, th t in sense we can

w ou r a touch Him ith h nds , and without His Spirit the universe woul d be nothing but a mass of dead ” “ 1 “ a Man an d m tter . becomes a living immortal

7 “ E 68 a . . 1 38 bid I . m IA 268 D . . . L . II p 8 6 HI S LIFE AND TEAC HINGS

h e a at a being when first begins to bre the birth, bec use ” “ 2 the atmosphere is the Spirit of God . And this

ro God Spirit is not only f m , but it is God Himself t in all His fulness, Operating immedia ely in the ” 1 4 3 world, and everything is full of His Spirit .

AS to LY P R on the HO S I IT, the other hand, Ser vetus observes that this term is used very seldom in

a the Old Test ment, but very frequently in the New, and thi s was because the Jews thought nothing of

san ctification l a u rifica internal , but on y of extern l p 1 4 4 a a tions . The Holy Spirit, indeed , ppe red even

o before the birth of the L rd, but always then in the form an d Sh ape of an an gel Speaking an d acting in “ 5 Bu t a God . the name of , though ppearing through

a the angel , the Holy Spirit was by no me ns the angel 1 4 6 “ m himself . The angel hi self was not the Holy

bu t w as for Spirit, only the servitor the ministry of ” “ 7 the Spirit . But “ the first complete exhibition of the Holy

was of Spirit in the person Jesus Christ , in whom,

a together with the Logos, it ssumed human nature, an d a a thus, united with the n tur l breath of life, it ” “ 8 a formed the Sou l of Christ . This hum n Spirit of Christ is the true an d complete Hypostasis of th e t an d a Holy Spiri , is communic ted solely through ” “ 9 “ f th e a h i . as o bre t of Chr st Thus, the Word

" 2 I I 2 59 DE T I 18 ° D A I . . L . , p . R N “ 3 R . 190 E 6 6 b . . . E 6 5 . b . MI CHAEL SERVETUS

was a M an so God m de , the Spirit of God became the 1 5 0 of a M an a an d a l Spirit , hypostatic lly subst ntial y, an d i o a can hav ng bec me hum n through Christ, it be communicated by Christ to those who believe in Him in the Holy Supper an d through the b ath of Regen ” 1 5 1 “ a ou r a er tion . And own hum n spirit, having

- e become inter penetrat d by the Spirit of Christ, then I t becomes as it were a new holy spirit . is this inter penetration of the glorified Spirit of Christ that is the real cause and security for ou r own resurrection h D . H t e into glory In short, the oly Spirit is ivine

a l e motion or gitation in the human sou , and b side this there cannot properly be said to be any Holy ” 1 5 2 Spirit .

12 THE M SS ON o r SERVE US. . I I T

a o a th e Without ttempting to d gm tize upon subject, we may be permitted to od er some suggestions as to the meaning of the app arently mysterious mission of

Servetu s to the Christian world . To a student of ’ an Swedenborg s works, it is m ifest that Servetus cam e as near to the Doctrine of genuine truth as

m an ed could be possible to any , short of an imm iate

an Divine Revelation . That he enjoyed unusual

or t h light, e inspiration of a unique perception when

- h e a . re ding the Word, seems self evident To us bears a striking resemblance to Swedenborg during ’ th e . latter s preparatory career Both were laymen,

m IA 6 E 8 a . bid 1 16 . D L I I . . 2 7 . . 5 I . . p 88 HI S LIFE AND T EACHINGS spiritual philos ophers arising ou t of the common

a herd Of the l ity , to reprove the priesthood for its sins . Both were devout and simple Christians , lovers

of an d . a Christ believers in the Word Both , lso, were

a th e gre t scientists, founding their Theology upon exact sciences . Both were alone in this world, with o o a u t the joys f wife and f mily . Both were ignored or d a misunderstoo , hated by Catholics and Protest nts

a of own alike . Both were ges in advance their times , and both looked to fu ture times and future genera tions for appreciation of their doctrines .

v a Here, howe er, the an logy ceases . The ends and

w are purposes of S edenborgs mission well known , but those of Servetus still remain within the realms of a hypothesis . What is the meaning of his appe r ance an d his work ? Why was this un ique ph en om e non permitted to appear with the genuine truth of

a a the Word, only to dis ppear gain, almost without leaving a trace in the sands of time ? Scarcely h ad he opened his mouth before he w as howled down by

a the enr ged mob of theologians, and when again he

of lifted up his voice, it was stifled by the smoke the ’ h a h . few eretics pyre Wit the exception of copies,

w an d — we all his books ere destroyed, for ages, might

a m ou r own —h e h as a say, l ost until days, had sc rcely

t a a single sympathetic and in elligent reader . App r ently he has exercised no influence whatever upon the development of theological thought in the Chris

. a tian Church Tollin , indeed , asserts th t the doc 89 MICHAEL SERVETU S

of a trines Servetus were widely Spread in Holl nd, and

a o D a th t they exercised a str ng influence upon esc rtes,

a a n whose system, he s ys, bears strong resembla ce 1 5 3 of to that Servetus, but no evidence is produced to support this assertion .

“ Surely he was th e voice of on e crying in the wilderness ” " And this thought suggests something

of . of a solution the problem In some way, unknown to u s was u a at present, he ndoubtedly John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord in His

Second Coming . John represents the letter of the

Word preparing the way for the Word Incarnate . And Michael Servetus undoubtedly represents the t genuine tru h of the literal sense, for this is what

a . he t ught . Like John he saw the Lord coming He recognized the existence of the Internal Sense, but was not himself able to open the shoe - l atches of that

a an Sense . He appe rs to us like angel sent from Heaven to preach Repen tan ce to the Church of the R m a an d m efor ers, to w rn them guide the into the

a right path , where they might be prep red to wel come and receive the Lord in His soon approaching

m es Coming . But the warning was unheeded ; the s to enger, like John, was done death , and the Lord

a Himself, when He c me, was rej ected with scorn and h a tred . to con John, however, was permitted have direct

a ear to tact with Jesus, but Servetus does not pp have

“ 3 L S S l 56 . 3 . E H Y TEM vo . R , p 90

MI CHAEL SERVE TUS

This earlier phi los0 phic O- theological system of Swedenborg was th e matrix into which afterwards the jewel of the Heav enly Doctrine of the New Jeru salem could descend by an immediate Divine

v a Re el tion . Among them th at are born of women there hath n ot risen one gre ater than John the Baptist ; yet he th at is le as t in th e kingdom of Heav en is greater ” a MA so a th n he ( TTH . And lso may we sa y, in all reverence, that among all the teachers of — the Christian Church, ancient, medieval, and

— h as a modern, there not risen one gre ter in the per

v h e c eption of truth than Michael Servetus . Ne ert

s D less, the lea t of the teachings in the octrine of the New Jerusalem bears a Divine imp ress and ful n D Of - ess, a ivine Authority self evidencing light , that is infinitely greater th an the correct but more or less hypothetical conclusions drawn by Servetus from the letter of the Word .

a While freely dmitting this incontrovertible fact, we cannot deny that the human theology of Servetus still remains cousin - german to the Divine Theology of th e an d om r New Church , in s e way the fo mer must have served to prepare the way for the l atter. M ay it n ot be that the Lord opened to Servetus the genuine truths of th e literal sense of the Word in order to prepare s om e on e on the e arth for future leadership in that b attle of th e Armageddon which ? was soon to take place in the spiritual world Ser 92 HI S LI FE AND TEACHINGS

s e i vetus himself suggest something lik th s, hoping to

h ad on e a become, not t e le er, indeed , but of the e rliest

a a t champions in th t b ttle, and he almos playfully

l own a - a — S a a ludes to his n me, Mich el as ignific nt of his mission . We must quote here from his letter

to S a d a : ( Abel Pepin) , written ix ye rs before his e th

e o e e o e h ow B h ld , th r f r , yo ur Gos pe l i s co n fo un d ed b th e Law " Yo Gos e i s o o ne G o d o y ur p l with ut , with ut e a o t oo o k n s ea f h n tru f ith , with u g d w r s . I t d o t e o e G od y e h ave a three- h e ad ed Cerberu s ; i n ste ad of true fa ith y e h av e a fata l dream ; an d good work s y e ca ll empty c es Th e a i n C s i s t o u a e e e n s e pi tur . f ith hri t wi h y m r pr te , ' efl ec in n o n M an i s to ou a c k n od t . a g thi g y mere sto , d G i s to ou a c e a o f th e n ee s erv i ar bi tr i i y him r u fr wi ll , ( h i ce ra Re e n e a t on b th e eav en ate e d o c m ) . g r i y h ly w r y

n ot ack n o e e bu o as a ab e . Th e k n o wl dg , t, h ld it f l i gd m o f th e h eav en s ye hav e c los ed be fore men a s an im agi n ary t n ff o n o u e w oe " to be s o o u s . W e o w o hi g hut fr m u t y , , By thi s third l ette r I hav e been willi ng to warn y ou to n k b tt a a on e t as o f en e e e bu t s n n o . h thi r, I h ll w r l g r I f d d ou e a s a a m n n se n o t s ba l e y , p rh p , th t I mi gli g my lf i t hi tt o f c ae an d t a es e to n e ou n o a s Mi h l , h t I d ir mi gl y i t it e on e e n o n a t as sa e an d ou w ll . But p d r dilig tly up th p g y s ee a i s m n w h o fi t e e e os n will th t it e will ght h r , xp i g their soul s to death for th e bl oo d an d te s tim on y o f Je s u s Do ou o s ee t a t t i s eate t e e o f th e Chri s t . y n t h i tr d h r t n w fled o th e e a t for s o an Churc h of Chri s , o fr m r h m y ea s ? e e o th e ba t e o o an d th e y r Th r f re tl will f ll w, a a t am abo t e i s at an a s He s . tim h d , ith Th I u to d ie for s c a se k n o for ce a n bu t d o n o t thi u , I w rt i ; I o s e co a on t s acco n t i n o e t a m a beco e l ur ge hi u , rd r h t I y m s k e n o h is a s e T s ev e abo t a di c ipl e li u t M t r. hi I gri u , th at ye will n o t p ermit me to amen d ce rtai n p ass ages i n ’ t s a r i a v n s an s Fa e e my wri i ng whi ch e n C l i h d . r w ll , an d do n ot e e c t an t e e tte s o e xp y fur h r l r fr m m . s a s t an on a s a e a e an d I h ll d up my gu rd , I h ll m dit t , s h all s ee wh at wi ll be s aid . Fo r H e co e He ce a n co e n will m , will rt i ly m , a d w ill not tarry . 93 MI CHAEL SERVETUS

In many other places Servetus expresses more

a definitely his expectation of the L st Judgment, the Second Coming of the Lord and a New and crown E “ . a ing Church ven now, he says, he ven and earth are being moved against the Dragon and Anti christ; already a just faith in Christ is beginning

an d r L is to be understood, the wo thy amb beginning to Open the Book that has been closed by SO many ” 1 5 4 a A . S v a e se ls to himself, Ser etus rdently hop d to be allowed a place in th e army of Michael as one of a a the earliest champions in th t holy b ttle, even though he ful ly expected to be done to death on the 1 5 5 hi field . By t s comb at the genuine Church of the

Lord, which exists now invisible in Heaven , will h descend to the eart and become visible . B ut it will

a o v not be est blished by worldly weap ns, nor will e il men be prevented from mixing themselves into it ; i such are an nevitable part of the external Church, and are useful and necessary for the purification of

an d the good . Nevertheless, the presence of the evil , f the resulting su ferings and persecutions, will not be able to prevent the heavenly joy of the true mem ” 1 5 6 bers of this n ew an d celestial Church . There

s be — in would, he prophesie , a twofold battle, one

H eaven a a , where the rch ngel Michael, with his hosts

a v a a of ngels, would o erthrow the gu rdi n spirits Of

a a the p p l kingdom of Antichrist . The other battle

a la on th e earth a would t ke p ce , mong the members

1°‘ — 1 m‘ 1 “ 18 20 E P I T 2 628 I bid . AP . S . 0 . 7 7 . OL , p 94

MICHAEL SERVETUS

NOTE .

While th e presen t littl e work was i n press w e rece iv ed ’ a Os e s b oc e on I CH AEL a co py o f Dr. Willi m l r r hur M

E ET S Lo n n en Frow d e 1 909 . We S RV U ( do , H ry , , pp l e arn from it that a G erman tran s l ati on o f th e C H RIS TIAN ESTIT TI Dr e n a S e ss a ea e i n 1895 I S M I R U O by . B r h rd pi pp r d

2n d ed on esba en Ch r. Limbarth a n d t a t th e ( iti , Wi d , ) ; h

S e ve s b b o a is v en to 1890 in P o . r tu i li gr phy fully gi , up , r f ’ A V D . L n e s I C H AE SE ETU S on n en . . i d M L RV ( Gr i g ,

D r Os e o n in a be a an d s a e . l r, th ugh writi g li r l ymp th tic v e n e a n s o an at e o a n a z e th e eolo i , r fr i fr m y t mpt t ly th gy ” o f S e v e s . J e b h is a e Dr. Os e obs e v es r tu udg d y g , l r r , S e v e s w as a an k e e c an d as ese v n of r tu r h r ti , d r i g de ath v e a s c a s any e er ti ed to a stak e . W c n arcely c all him a — ” m artyr o f th e Churc h What C hurch would ow n h im ? a C c n ee ? Wh t hur h , i d d