A story for every day...
The unbeliever and the bottle of wine.
In an inn, a peasant was having a glass of wine near a gentleman who soon began a discussion with him on religious matters, and especially stressed the principle that one should only believe what one sees. As his interlocutor did not answer him, this gentleman addressed a third guest, at a nearby table. This forced him to turn his back on his first neighbor, who took advantage of the distraction to empty his bottle and drink his wine. When the other turned around, he noticed his empty bottle and exclaimed, “You drank my wine! – Did you see it? – No,” the atheist was forced to answer. “If you have not seen it, you have no right to accuse me, for just now you claimed that you only believe what you see.” Great burst of laughter in the whole audience, to the great shame of the freethinker.
The principle of the unbeliever: I do not believe, what I do not see, is so absurd that people who have never been to Rome, Paris, London, would be entitled to dispute the existence of these cities.
Calvin’s portrait.
The king of England once showed his wife, Queen Henrietta, a portrait of Calvin painted by the famous Van Dyck. Calvin is shown with a pen in his hand and his eyes turned to heaven, probably to indicate that the books of the heresiarch contain a doctrine inspired by God. The queen considered the painting for some time and said to the king who asked her opinion, “It is no wonder that Calvin wrote so many errors, he does not even pay attention to what he writes.” Indeed, the Reformers sought less the truth than the satisfaction of certain personal passions.
The heresiarchs often regarded religious matters only as pretexts for seeking their personal interests.
