[TruthTalk] The Heresy for which Servetus was Burned at the Stake

[Judy Taylor]

jt: In my quest to learn why this "eternal Son of God" doctrine is considered so "important that it must be an integral part of "those things which are most surely believed among some, even without scriptural foundation" - I found the following which was posted on the internet by the Middletown Bible Church in Middletown CT.  It makes my skin crawl to learn that this man potentially made in the image of God was burned at the stake for this.... and it shows what religious and controlling spirits are capable of when given the opportunity to run amock.  Lance is probably familiar with a book about Calvin called "What Love is This?" by Dave Hunt.  Such an appropriate title - I haven't read it, yet but maybe I should because my question remains unanswered and from my perspective (right now) the late Servetus was a martyr who loved the truth more than he loved his own flesh. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ QUOTE: [....]  Bible schools and mission agencies declare that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, and the inclusion of such indicates that this doctrine is considered important and an integral part of "those things which are most surely believed among us." Of historical interest is the case of Calvin and the intolerant Swiss Reformers in the days when Servetus was burned at the stake for his heresies on the Trinity. The controversy centered on his denial of the doctrine of eternal Sonship: When Servetus heard of the unexpected sentence of death, he was horror-struck...The venerable old Farel visited him in the prison at seven in the morning, and remained with him till the hour of his death. He tried to convince him of his error. Servetus asked him to quote a single Scripture passage where Christ was called "Son of God" before his incarnation. Farel could not satisfy him. [Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1910), p. 783.] Servetus was taken to the stake to be burned. The account continues: The flames soon reach him and consume his mortal frame in the forty-fourth year of his fitful life. In the last moment he is heard to pray, in smoke and agony, with a loud voice: "Jesus Christ, thou Son of the eternal God, have mercy upon me!" This was at once a confession of his faith and of his error. He could not be induced, says Farel, to confess that Christ was the eternal Son of God. [Ibid., p. 785.] END OF QUOTE ________________________________________________________________________________________________