Note 1196 — Chapter XVIII

Paulus, “Luther und die Gewissensfreiheit,” p. 47 ff. Paulus quotes from a pamphlet of Melanchthon’s—which escaped the notice of the editors of his works—entitled “Prozess, wie es soll gehalten werden mit den Wiedertäufern,” and dated 1557. Here we read that even the Anabaptist articles which did not concern the secular government were to be punished as blasphemies, as for instance the rejection of infant baptism and the denial of the Trinity. Such articles were not to be regarded as of no account, “for the Jewish fallacy that Christ did not exist previous to His Incarnation is plainly blasphemous, and so is the denial of original sin,” etc. Then follows the list of penalties. The memorandum is signed by the theologians Melanchthon, J. Brenz, J. Marbach, J. Andreae, G. Karg, P. Eber, J. Pistorius and J. Rungius.