Tuesday 17 March 2009

Evangile et Liberté and Sebastian Castellion

I bought the latest Evangile et Liberté at the Protestant bookshop yesterday. It has the first of two major pieces by Philippe Vassaux about Sébastian Castellion.
He is seen as an important thinker in the development of humanism and the idea of tolerance and religious pluralism.
"He who, in order to prevent the blood of others being shed, shed his own." Or, "Out of zeal in Christ, we do evil to others -- for Him who taught return of good for evil".
Next month's article will concentrate more on Castellion's protest at the burning at the stake of Michel Servet. In the article I read yesterday Castellion's translation of the Bible into both Latin and everyday French was charted, as was his passionate commitment to teaching.
He referred to his translation of the Bible into French as "for idiots" by which he meant that it could be read by people who had not had the possibility to read or study a great deal.
More about Castellion as the Calvin year advances.

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