In the Netherlands the papal tyranny very early called forth
resolute protest. Seven hundred years before Luther’s time, the
Roman pontiff was thus fearlessly impeached by two bishops, who,
having been sent on an embassy to Rome, had learned the true
character of the “holy see:” “God has made his queen and spouse,
the church, a noble and everlasting provision for her family, with a
dowry that is neither fading nor corruptible, and given her an eternal
crown and scepter; all which benefits, you, like a thief, intercept.
You set up yourself in the temple as God; instead of a shepherd, you
have become as a wolf to the sheep. You would have us believe you
supreme bishop; you are rather a tyrant... Whereas you ought to be
a servant of servants, as you call yourself, you intrigue to become
lord of lords.... You bring the commands of God into contempt....
The Holy Ghost is the builder of all churches as far as the earth
extends. The city of our God, of which we are citizens, reaches
to all parts of the heavens; and it is greater than the city, by the
holy prophets named Babylon, which pretends to be divine, equals
herself to Heaven, and boasts that her wisdom is immortal; and
finally, though without reason, that she never did err, nor ever can.”
Others arose from century to century to echo this protest. And
those early teachers, who, traversing different lands, and known by
various names, bore the character of the Vaudois missionaries, and
spread everywhere the knowledge of the gospel, penetrated to the
Netherlands. Their doctrines spread rapidly. The Waldensian Bible
they translated in verse into the Dutch language. “There is,” they [238]
said, “great advantage in it; no jests, no fables, no trifles, no deceits,
naught but words of truth. There is, indeed, here and there a hard
crust, but even in this the marrow and sweetness of what is good
and holy may easily be discovered.” Thus wrote the friends of the
ancient faith, in the twelfth century.
Now began the Romish persecutions, but in the midst of fagots
and torture the believers continued to multiply, steadfastly declaring
that the Bible is the only infallible authority in religion, and that “no
man should be coerced to believe, but should be won by preaching.”
The teachings of Luther found a congenial soil in the Netherlands,
and earnest and faithful men arose to preach the gospel. From
one of the provinces of Holland came Menno Simons. Educated
a Roman Catholic, and ordained to the priesthood, he was wholly
ignorant of the Bible, and he would not read it, for fear of being
beguiled into heresy. When a doubt concerning the doctrine of transubstantiation
forced itself upon him, he regarded it as a temptation
from Satan, and by prayer and confession sought to free himself
from it; but in vain. By mingling in scenes of dissipation he endeavored
to silence the accusing voice of conscience; but without
avail. After a time he was led to the study of the New Testament, and
this with Luther’s writings caused him to accept the reformed faith.
He soon after witnessed in a neighboring village the beheading of
a man who was put to death for having been rebaptized. This led
him to study the Bible in regard to infant baptism. He could find no
evidence for it in the Scriptures, but saw that repentance and faith
are everywhere required as the condition of receiving baptism.
Menno withdrew from the Roman Church, and devoted his life
to teaching the truths which he had received. In both Germany and
the Netherlands a class of fanatics had risen, advocating absurd and
[239] seditious doctrines, outraging order and decency, and proceeding to
violence and insurrection. Menno saw the horrible results to which
these movements would inevitably lead, and he strenuously opposed
the erroneous teachings and wild schemes of the fanatics. There
were many, however, who had been misled by these fanatics but
who had renounced their pernicious doctrines; and there were still
remaining many descendants of the ancient Christians, the fruits of
the Waldensian teaching. Among these classes Menno labored with
great zeal and success.
For twenty-five years he traveled, with his wife and children,
enduring great hardships and privations, and frequently in peril of his
life. He traversed the Netherlands and Northern Germany, laboring
chiefly among the humbler classes, but exerting a widespread influence.
Naturally eloquent, though possessing a limited education,
he was a man of unwavering integrity, of humble spirit and gentle
manners, and of sincere and earnest piety, exemplifying in his own
life the precepts which he taught, and he commanded the confidence
of the people. His followers were scattered and oppressed. They suffered
greatly from being confounded with the fanatical Munsterites.
Yet great numbers were converted under his labors.
Nowhere were the reformed doctrines more generally received
than in the Netherlands. In few countries did their adherents endure
more terrible persecution. In Germany Charles V. had banned the
Reformation, and he would gladly have brought all its adherents to
the stake; but the princes stood up as a barrier against his tyranny.
In the Netherlands his power was greater, and persecuting edicts
followed each other in quick succession. To read the Bible, to hear
or preach it or even to speak concerning it, was to incur the penalty
of death by the stake. To pray to God in secret, to refrain from
bowing to an image, or to sing a psalm, was also punishable with
death. Even those who should abjure their errors, were condemned,
if men, to die by the sword; if women, to be buried alive. Those [240]
who remained steadfast, sometimes suffered the same punishment.
Thousands perished under the reign of Charles and of Philip II.
At one time a whole family was brought before the inquisitors,
charged with remaining away from mass, and worshiping at home.
On his examination as to their practices in secret, the youngest son
answered, “We fall on our knees, and pray that God will enlighten
our minds and pardon our sins. We pray for our sovereign, that
his reign may be prosperous and his life happy. We pray for our
magistrates, that God may preserve them.” Some of the judges were
deeply moved, yet the father and one of his sons were condemned
to the stake.
The rage of the persecutors was equaled by the faith of the
martyrs. Not only men but delicate women and young maidens
displayed unflinching courage. “Wives would take their stand by
their husband’s stake, and while he was enduring the fire they would
whisper words of solace, or sing psalms to cheer him.” “Young
maidens would lie down in their living grave as if they were entering
into their chamber of nightly sleep; or go forth to the scaffold and
the fire dressed in their best apparel, as if they were going to their
marriage.”
As in the days when paganism sought to destroy the gospel, “the
blood of the Christians was seed.” Persecution served to increase the
number of witnesses for the truth. Year after year the monarch, stung
to madness by the unconquerable determination of the people, urged
on his cruel work; but in vain. Under the noble William of Orange,
the Revolution at last brought to Holland freedom to worship God.
In the mountains of Piedmont, on the plains of France and the
shores of Holland, the progress of the gospel was marked with the
blood of its disciples. But in the countries of the North it found
a peaceful entrance. Students at Wittenberg, returning to their
[241] homes, carried the reformed faith to Scandinavia. The publication
of Luther’s writings also spread the light. The simple, hardy
people of the North turned from the corruption, the pomp, and the
superstitions of Rome, to welcome the purity, the simplicity, and the
life-giving truths of the Bible.
Tausen, “the reformer of Denmark,” was a peasant’s son. The
boy early gave evidence of vigorous intellect; he thirsted for an education;
but this was denied him by the circumstances of his parents,
and he entered a cloister. Here the purity of his life, together with
his diligence and fidelity, won the favor of his superior. Examination
showed him to possess talent that promised at some future day good
service to the church. It was determined to give him an education
at some one of the universities of Germany or the Netherlands. The
young student was granted permission to choose a school for himself,
with the one proviso, that he must not go to Wittenberg. The
scholar of the church was not to be endangered by the poison of
heresy. So said the friars.
Tausen went to Cologne, which was then as now one of the
strongholds of Romanism. Here he soon became disgusted with
the mysticisms of the schoolmen. About the same time he obtained
Luther’s writings. He read them with wonder and delight, and
greatly desired to enjoy the personal instruction of the reformer. But
to do so he must risk giving offense to his monastic superior, and
forfeiting his support. His decision was soon made, and erelong he
was enrolled as a student at Wittenberg.
On returning to Denmark he again repaired to his cloister. No
one as yet suspected him of Lutheranism; he did not reveal his secret,
but endeavored, without exciting the prejudices of his companions,
to lead them to a purer faith and a holier life. He opened the Bible,
and explained its true meaning, and at last preached Christ to them as
the sinner’s righteousness and his only hope of salvation. Great was
the wrath of the prior, who had built high hopes upon him as a valiant
defender of Rome. He was at once removed from his own monastery [242]
to another, and confined to his cell, under strict supervision.
To the terror of his new guardians, several of the monks soon
declared themselves converts to Protestantism. Through the bars of
his cell, Tausen had communicated to his companions a knowledge
of the truth. Had those Danish fathers been skilled in the church’s
plan of dealing with heresy, Tausen’s voice would never again have
been heard; but instead of consigning him to a tomb in some underground
dungeon, they expelled him from the monastery. Now they
were powerless. A royal edict, just issued, offered protection to the
teachers of the new doctrine. Tausen began to preach. The churches
were opened to him, and the people thronged to listen. Others also
were preaching the Word of God. The New Testament, translated
into the Danish tongue, was widely circulated. The efforts made by
papists to overthrow the work resulted in extending it, and erelong
Denmark declared its acceptance of the reformed faith.
In Sweden, also, young men who had drunk from the well of
Wittenberg carried the water of life to their countrymen. Two of the
leaders in the Swedish Reformation, Olaf and Laurentius Petri, the
sons of a blacksmith of Orebro, studied under Luther and Melancthon,
and the truths which they thus learned they were diligent to
teach. Like the great reformer, Olaf aroused the people by his zeal
and eloquence, while Laurentius, like Melancthon, was learned,
thoughtful, and calm. Both were men of ardent piety, of high theological
attainments, and of unflinching courage in advancing the
truth. Papist opposition was not lacking. The Catholic priests stirred
up the ignorant and superstitious people. Olaf Petri was often assailed
by the mob, and upon several occasions barely escaped with
his life. These reformers were, however, favored and protected by
the king. Under the rule of the Romish Church, the people were
sunken in poverty, and ground down by oppression. They were
destitute of the Scriptures, and having a religion of mere signs and [243]
ceremonies, which conveyed no light to the mind, they were returning
to the superstitious beliefs and pagan practices of their heathen
ancestors. The nation was divided into contending factions whose
perpetual strife increased the misery of all. The king determined
upon a reformation in the State and the church, and he welcomed
these able assistants in the battle against Rome.
In presence of the monarch and the leading men of Sweden, Olaf
Petri with great ability defended the doctrines of the reformed faith
against the Romish champions. He declared that the teachings of
the Fathers are to be received only when in accordance with the
Scriptures; that the essential doctrines of the faith are presented
in the Bible in a clear and simple manner, so that all men may
understand them. Christ said, “My doctrine is not mine, but His
that sent me,” [John 7:16.] and Paul declared that should he preach
any other gospel than that which he had received, he would be
accursed. [Galatians 1:8.] “How, then,” said the reformer, “shall
others presume to enact dogmas at their pleasure, and impose them
as things necessary to salvation?” He showed that the decrees of the
church are of no authority when in opposition to the commands of
God, and maintained the great Protestant principle, that “the Bible,
and the Bible only,” is the rule of faith and practice.
This contest, though conducted upon a stage comparatively obscure,
serves to “show us the kind of men that formed the rank and
file of the army of the reformers. When we confine our attention to
such brilliant centers as Wittenberg and Zurich, and to such illustrious
names as those of Luther and Melancthon, of Zwingle and
Oecolampadius, we are apt to be told that these were the leaders of
the movement, but the subordinates were not like them. Well, we
turn to the obscure theater of Sweden, and the humble names of Olaf
[244] and Laurentius Petri—from the masters to the disciples—what do
we find? Not illiterate, sectarian, noisy controversialists—far from
it; we see men who had studied the Word of God, and who knew
well how to wield the weapons with which the armory of the Bible
supplied them; scholars and theologians, who won an easy victory
over the sophists of the schools, and the dignitaries of Rome.”
As the result of this disputation, the king of Sweden accepted
the Protestant faith, and not long afterward the national assembly
declared in its favor. The New Testament had been translated by
Olaf Petri into the Swedish language, and at the desire of the king
the two brothers undertook the translation of the whole Bible. Thus
for the first time the people of Sweden received the Word of God
in their native tongue. It was ordered by the Diet that throughout
the kingdom ministers should explain the Scriptures, and that the
children in the schools should be taught to read the Bible.
Steadily and surely the darkness of ignorance and superstition
was dispelled by the blessed light of the gospel. Freed from Romish
oppression, the nation attained to strength and greatness it had never
reached before. Sweden became one of the bulwarks of Protestantism.
A century later, at a time of sorest peril, this small and
hitherto feeble nation—the only one in Europe that dared lend a
helping hand—came to the deliverance of Germany in the terrible
struggles of the thirty years’ war. All Northern Europe seemed about
to be brought again under the tyranny of Rome. It was the armies
of Sweden that enabled Germany to turn the tide of popish success,
to win toleration for the Protestants—Calvinists as well as Lutherans—
and to restore liberty of conscience to those countries that had
accepted the Reformation.
