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Servetus and the Genevan Libertines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Roland H. Bainton
Roland H. Bainton
Affiliation:
Yale University
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Extract

The defenders of John Calvin have sought to excuse his share in the execution of Servetus by resorting to the type of apologetic employed by Catholics in defense of the Inquisition. The victims, we are told, were politically and socially subversive and would have been suppressed in any age. In the case of Servetus this charge cannot be substantiated from his writings, since he did not reject the oath, nor the authority of the magistrate, neither did he counsel immorality. The only recourse for the apologists is to connect Servetus with Calvin's political opponents, the so-called Libertines. The argument has assumed slightly different forms in different hands, but three main contentions emerge: 1) that Servetus plotted with the Libertines for the overthrow of Calvin's régime; 2) that the Libertines endeavored to bring about the acquittal of Servetus; and 3) that they communicated with him to that end during the course of his trial.

Type
Articles
Information
Church History , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , June 1936 , pp. 141 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1936

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References

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