fied on account of the impious, and would have sufficient fear of God in him to feel concerned about the lies, violence, and injustice which he unreasonably practices on us. For what else does he but wilfully defame the pious, perhaps against his own sentiments, that he may oppose the word, may uphold his cause by making ours false and suspicious, lest his pharisaical faithlessness be made manifest. Yea, he writes as if he would say, Judas was a traitor and thief, therefore all the other apostles are traitors and thieves. Again, Simon was a rogue, therefore all the members of the apostolic communities were rogues, &c. For he well knows that we do not, may not suffer heretics, peace-breakers, &c. in the communion of the peaceful and pious, as already heard.
O, that he would leave off slandering the peaceable and could rightly see into the angry quarreling, bitter hatred, division, rupture, and brawlings of all those who uphold infant baptism; could see how dreadfully they are divided amongst themselves; that they are so inflamed by envious zeal one against another that they not only slander and adjudge each other to hell by calling each other fanatics, profaners of the sacraments, and anti-Christians, but that they also take up the sword against each other, as is the way of sectarians; that they utterly destroy countries and inhabitants, cities and towns, against the meek nature, doctrine, and example of Christ Jesus and his apostles.
Besides their learned men are so divided amongst themselves that we can scarcely find five or six in one country who agree in doctrine. One includes every thing in the providence and predestination of God, Quasi necessarium (as an implied necessity). Another disputes it; the third includes Christ's flesh and blood in the bread and wine; the fourth understands it spiritually; the fifth baptizes the children on their own faith; the sixth on the strength of the covenant with Abraham and its promise; the seventh says that faith is no obstacle to persecution; the eighth denies it; the ninth believes in faith without fruits or work; the tenth says, that faith through love shall be active; the eleventh says, that the sacraments may be dispensed to the impenitent and perverse; the twelfth denies it; and other like differences exist among them.
Notwithstanding they call the godly, pious hearts and peaceable children of God, who are zealous for God and his righteousness, as much as is in their power, and who do not countenance quarreling, a contentious sect and ungodly, deceiving conspirators, while they, on the contrary, are peaceable, teachers of one mind; besides they call the impenitent, wicked world the church and people of the Lord.
Behold, so manifestly the Lord "will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent", 1 Cor. 1: 18, yea, that to them Christ Jesus is Belial, and Belial Christ Jesus; light, darkness and darkness, light, 2 Cor. 6; that they, alas consider the doctrine, life, power, confession, and the sacrifice of possession and life of the chosen as nothing; but that they judge every thing perversely, unfavorably, and with partiality, according to the flesh, and thus construe every thing to offensiveness; that they seek all kinds of excuses to offend the pious, to blaspheme truth and to uphold unrighteousness, that nobody be converted, repent and sincerely seek and follow the word of the Lord. O, Lord! grant that this may be made manifest unto them.
He further writes: "Nor is it a desirable fruit, but a shameful disgrace that they, contrary to the example of Christ, and the apostles constitute themselves a church, desecrate the Lord's Sabbath, leave the open assembly and service, hate and upbraid the servants, and not only not examine the solicitous labors and prophecies of the servants but also boldly despise them, contrary to the command of the Holy Ghost and the doctrine of the command of the Sabbath."
Answer. Observe, reader, how adroitly they can adorn lies, and how frightfully they can suppress and despise truth under cover of virtue. All the evangelical Scriptures teach us that the church of Christ was and is, in doctrine, life, and worship, a people separated from the world. It also was in the times of the Old Testament, 2 Cor. 6: 17; 1 Peter 2: 9, 10; Exod. 19: 12.
Since the church always was and shall be a separate people, as has been heard, and since it is as clear as the meridian sun, that for centuries no difference has
