"OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY"
-310-
DECEMBER
A HISTORY OF PERSECUTION
The early church suffered
tormenting persecution at the hands of pagans, and as strange as it may
seem the church soon turned to persecute the pagans. But profounder yet
is that members of the professing church soon turned upon one another to
persecute all who differed in conviction from themselves. It was the
religious leaders who directed this persecution.
Christians have always been persecuted. The Lord Jesus
promised, "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution." Saul, later the Apostle Paul, was one of the earliest
persecutors of the saints. With the murder of Stephen in Jerusalem,
whose murder he consented unto, the persecution of the church quickly
spread to Rome and then to Italy proper. It extended to Spain, to
France, and then reached the Netherlands. Germany at first resisted it,
but soon took its place with others as a persecutor of the saints.
European society had been penetrated by vice and
profligacy. Women and men acted out their depravity. Conjugal fidelity
was degraded, and motherhood was held in contempt. Their songs were
pictures of nastiness, and their uncontrolled appetites were enough to
pollute and destroy their countries. Profligate manners always produce
profligate principles. The people were now prepared for a system of
deliberate cruelty. It was called the “Holy Inquisition." While it
flaunted itself as being a pious institution, it will always bear the
brand of infamy and execration.
In Spain, the priesthood with the aid of civil
authorities stamped out the reformation by sheer force. In one night 800
Protestants were thrown into the prisons of Seville. They were seized
everywhere and burned. But what profit did it bring to Spain? 1.) Its
wealth left the country. 2.) Its people were left uneducated. 3.) The
priests came to be regarded as the natural enemies of the people, and
the clergy were left poor. It has been said Spain was more prosperous
under the Moors than under her so-called Christian rulers. The
government was then freer, more tolerant, more cultured; her people
better educated, and her land better cultivated.
In an edict published in 1568, Philip II sentenced to
death every Protestant in the Netherlands. The Edict failed only because
the means were not available to carry out the decree. But Alva, his
minister, did all he could with the Council of Blood, and the Sheriffs,
and the executioners of the "most Holy Inquisition." He was sometimes
able to put to death by torture 800 people in a week. The chief crime
was Protestantism, but the second was wealth and under this latter, both
Catholics and Protestants were butchered.
At the end of six years, Alva boasted of having
strangled, drowned, burned, or beheaded more than 18,000 people. This
did not include the tens of thousands who perished in sieges and
battles. His robberies, like his murders, were colossal. He destroyed
the commerce of Belgium. His terrors were realized throughout Germany,
Italy, the Netherlands, and even extended to the New World.
In France, the Albigenses were murdered or driven into
the Pyrenees. The Vaudois (Waldensians), with the help of Savoy, were
hanged, and burned throughout the Southeast of France and the Northwest
of Italy. Half a dozen Lutheran counselors were burned in Paris to give
pleasure to the grandees of Spain.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew and the attempted
invasion of England by the Spanish Armada dominate the history of the
latter half of the 16th century. But the armies of Louis XIV, "the most
Christian king", were powerless against conscience. He maintained a
perpetual massacre in France for more than 60 years.
How did France benefit? First, Louis left France ruined and
laden with taxes. Second, he destroyed commerce and agriculture. Third,
he left France a prey to anarchy which resulted in the Revolution of
1789. The history of France in the 16th century was characterized by
persecution which resulted in civil war. Seventeenth century France
experienced continued persecution that took the form of terrorism known
as dragonnades. In the 18th century, revolution resulted. In the 19th
century France entertained Communism. And in this century, she has
espoused Socialism.
In England, Forest, an Observant Friar was burned for
denying Henry VIII was supreme. In the time of Queen Mary, the
executions for religious convictions became 10 times more frequent than
before. Persecution for conscience-sake extended to the reign of Charles
II who, and after him James II, extended these persecutions to Scotland.
The Presbyterians under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell persecuted
Episcopalians, and now the Episcopalians under the Stuarts hunted the
Presbyterians --shot them, or tortured them and hanged them. The "boot"
intended to shatter the leg bone, and the thumbscrews were common
tortures. Cavalry, foot soldiers, and artillery, and armed clergymen
were sent to arrest or murder Presbyterian, ministers and their
congregations.
What might be said of Baptists against whom
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and even Lutherans warred! Baptists with
names like Bunyan, Keach, and Roger Williams suffered, as did
Presbyterians with names like Flavel, Knox, Calvin, and Erskine;
Episcopalians like Wesley, and Cranmer all suffered, and were all
brethren for there is only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." F. W.
Newman said, "Strange, how religion in any form should have generated
cruelty."
Much blood has been shed. May it never be so again.
Since we cannot keep any out of heaven who rely on the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation, let us learn here to love as brethren.
"Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world;
they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and
washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued,
and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold I
should offend against the generation of Thy children. When I thought to
know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of
God; then understood I their end."
-Psalm 73:12-17-
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"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold the Devil
shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried ...Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
-Revelation 2:10-