by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. We live in a country where the choice of one\u2019s religion is freely made.<\/p>\n
A. It is not that way in all countries, nor has it always been like this<\/p>\n
II. The Catholic church had a long history of compelling membership<\/p>\n A. In his book, WHAT LOVE IS THIS, Dave Hunt writes and quotes: “Augustine …\nsaw the church as a mixture of believers and unbelievers, in which purity and evil\nshould be allowed to exist side by side for the sake of unity. He used the power of\nthe state to compel church attendance (as Calvin did 1,200 years later): ‘Whoever\nwas not found within the Church was not asked the reason, but was to be\ncorrected and converted….’ (The Rise of Christianity, by W. -H. C. Frend, p. –\n671.)”\n B. “Though he preferred persuasion if possible, Augustine supported the death\npenalty for those who were re-baptized as believers after conversion to Christ and\nfor, other alleged heretics.”\n C. In E. . Broadbent’s book, The Pilgrim Church, p. 49, he writes, “Why therefore\nshould not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return? … The Lord\nHimself said, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come\nin….”‘\nIII. It wasn\u2019t limited to Catholicism. 1,200 years later, John Calvin, a student of Augustine\u2019s\nwritings, obtained a high place in the government of Geneva, Switzerland, and like\nAugustine before, used his council position to impose his Institutes of Region upon the\ncitizens.\n A. A religion group called the Donatists, so called after Donatus, a 4th century\nCatholic bishop of Carthage in North Africa in the year 311, and holding that\nsanctity is essential for the administration of sacraments and church membership.”\nWebster’s Dictionary.\n B. It was declared: “…the Donatists were heretics …who could be subjected to\nimperial legislation [and force] in exactly the same way as other criminals and\nmisbelievers, including poisoners and pagans.’ (Frend, op. cit., p. 671.) ”\n C. Calvin’s power and influence over state authorities was so great, they were\ncompelled to act on all his orders without questions.\n D. “Calvin used the civil arm to impose his peculiar doctrines upon the citizens of\nGeneva and to enforce them. Zweig, who pored over the official records of the\nCity Council for Calvin’s day, tells us, ‘There is hardly a day in the records of the\nsetting of the Town Council in which we do not find the remark: Better consult\nMaster Calvin about this.'” (The Other Side of John Calvin, by Stefan Zweig, p.\n217.)\n E. Hunt writes (p 18): “By Calvin’s personal orders Michael Servetus, whom John\nCalvin had declared to be a heretic, was murdered by beheading. The Catholics and\nProtestants alike were for Servetus being burned at the stake. Some critics argued\nthat burning Servetus would only encourage the Roman Catholics of France to do\nthe same to the Huguenots \u201c\n 1. Huguenot were French Protestants, who were of the French Reformation\ncommunion.\n
2. 70,000 Huguenots were slaughtered in one night in 1572.<\/p>\n F. Historian, Philip Schaff wrote:”It was a glaring inconsistency; that those who had\njust shaken off the yoke of popery as an intolerable burden, should subject their\nconscience and intellect to a human creed; in other words, substitute for the old\nRoman popery modern Protestant popery [John Calvin]” (History of the Christian\nChurch, 8:357.)\n G. Of Calvin\u2019s efforts in Geneva, Will Durant. op. cit., p. 474 writes: “To regulate lay\nconduct a system of domiciliary visits was established … and questioned the\noccupants on all phases of their lives… .The allowable color and quantity of\nclothing … and number of dishes permissible at a meal, were specified by law.\nJewelry and lace were frowned upon. A woman was jailed for arranging her hair to\nan immoral .height …\n H. “Censorship of the press was taken over from Catholic and secular precedents and\nenlarged books … of immoral tendency were banned… .To speak disrespectfully of\nCalvin or the clergy was a crime. A first violation of these ordinances was\npunished with a reprimand, further violation with fines, persistent violation by\nimprisonment or banishment. Fornication was to by punished with exile or\ndrowning; adultery, blasphemy, or idolatry, with death … a child was beheaded for\nstriking its parents. In the years 1558-59 there were 414 prosecutions for moral\noffenses; between 1542 and 1564 there were seventy-six banishments and fifty-eight executions; the total population Geneva was then about 20,000.”\n
IV. Even in our country, it continues <\/p>\n A. “There are many Christian activists of looser attachment to Calvin hope in their\nown way, through protest marches and the organizing of large enough voting\nblocks, to force an ungodly American citizenry into godly living.” (What Love is\nThis? p. 83)\n
V. True Christianity is not like this<\/p>\n A. Ward Hogland once said, “If force were allowed, we could all arm ourselves with\nsub-machine guns and demand all to be baptized into Christ!”\n B. Revelation 22:17 – The key words are: “whosoever will,” those who come to\nChrist must do so of a willing mind. \n
C. Psalm 110:3 – God\u2019s religion is voluntary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. We live in a country where the choice of one\u2019s religion is freely made. A. It is not that way in all countries, nor has it always been like this II. The Catholic church had a long history of compelling membership A. In his book, WHAT LOVE IS THIS, Dave Hunt writes and quotes:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[59,726,1599],"class_list":["post-61984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-calvinism","tag-church-history","tag-roman-catholic-church"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/origins-of-denominations\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":0},"title":"Origins of Denominations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Over the years, I've done lessons that look at various issues that caused the rise of the various denominations that we see today. Rather than leaving them scattered, I'm gathering them up on a single page so that they will be more easily found. Where Did\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sola-scriptura-or-sola-papa\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":1},"title":"Sola Scriptura or Sola Papa?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chuck Durham via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 7, No. 9, Sept. 2007. Pope Benedict XVI released a Vatican document on July 10, 2007, that reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as providing the only true path to salvation. The document claims that the Roman Catholic Church is the only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-amazing-history-of-instrumental-music-in-christian-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":2},"title":"The Amazing History of Instrumental Music in Christian Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Allen Webster \"I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also\" (I Corinthians 14:15). In the average person's mind, gospel singing and organ music go together like \"rock\" and \"roll\" or \"blues\" and \"rhythm\" or \"hip\" and \"hop.\" It is assumed, expected, even celebrated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26822,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-you-bashing-the-roman-catholic-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":3},"title":"Why are you bashing the Roman Catholic Church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just had a question for you. I was browsing your web site (which is very nicely made, I might add) and I saw a question and it was answered about\u00a0what is wrong with the Catholic Church. It seemed to me that what was answered was mostly bashing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24589,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-mother-church-interpret-the-bible-for-catholics\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":4},"title":"Does the mother church interpret the Bible for Catholics?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am Catholic and was asked why Catholics need the Mother Church as the guardian and interpreter of the Bible. So the church interprets the Bible for you, right? How would one best respond to this? Answer: That is what Roman Catholicism teaches. See: \"Roman Catholic Quotes Regarding the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85343,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-catholic-church-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":61984,"position":5},"title":"The Catholic Church of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall I was asked this question: \"Why is Catholicism wrong?\" Here is my short reply: \"One reason is it equates church tradition and inspiration. They are not equal in authority.\" In theory, most of us in \"churches of Christ\" would agree - in theory. In practice, are we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}