Who Said That?

"The God of the Genevan reformer [Calvin] was a monster of iniquity. He was so bent on justice that he possessed no conscience. He was so concerned about being respected and glorified that He found in Himself neither glory nor respect for men. When men become servants of such a God, they may be expected to set flame to the faggots piled high about the body of a Servetus or preach the sermon of Jonathan Edwards, `Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.'”

You know the drill!  Leave your guess in the comments section below.  Please, no google searches or cheating.  Answer to follow next week.

Update on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 02:50PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is from Martin Luther King's 1953 Boston University essay, "A Comparison and Evaluation of the Theology of Luther with that of Calvin."  King does a good job of comparing Luther with Calvin, but wrongly concludes that Calvin's doctrine of God loses sight of God's love because of Calvin's misguided emphasis upon God's sovereignty.

The essay was submitted to Harold DeWolf for a class on Christian doctrine.  This is found in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project.  Here's the link, http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/primarydocuments/Vol2/530515ComparionAndEvaluation.pdf

Comments

[Adam M]

Richard Dawkins

[Chris Sherman]

Robert Schueller?

[Clay Smith]

We recently celebrated a national holiday in this man's memory. I can't for the life of me remember why I know this.

[Zac Wyse]

Dave Hunt

[pb]

John Adams?

[Ken Rapoza]

It sounds kind of like Dave Hunt...but almost too extreme even for him.

["lee n. field"]

I've heard this one before. It's older, I think. "Flame to the faggots" -- we don't talk that way these days.

I'm going to guess (and guess it is) H. L. Menken.

[Andrew C]

I'd guess Thomas Jefferson!

[dsanger]

C.I. Scofield

[Mark Tritschler]

Chuck Smith ;)

[Lloyd I. Cadle]

"flame to the faggots", would probably date this earlier than a Dave Hunt etc.

Finney.

[presbyterian_keith]

based upon the hint at the end...MLK?

[Alberto]

I guess Martin Luther King Jr. as well. I remember reading what I think was a seminary paper written by him in which he wrote that Calvin's God was a monster. I wish people who should know better would not praise the man as an example of a great Christian; they just go along with the rest of the culture and equate good works with being a good Christian. I guess they also just want to claim someone as their own that the rest of the unbelieving world admires. Benny Hinn is closer to being orthodox than MLK. I'm almost certain that my guess is correct.

[Coyle]

Mark Twain? He wasn't a fan of Edwards or Calvin...

[Andrew W]

I'll go along with Andrew C and say Jefferson as well.

[Zrim]

Coyle,

Twain was no friend of Christianity, to be sure.

But one has to love his unintended Calvinism when it comes to Christian nationizing. When Roosevelt declared that “In God We Trust” should be stricken from the coin, as it “carried the Name of God into improper places,” Twain said he found the motto to be one that is “simple, direct, gracefully phrased; it always sounds well—In God We Trust. I don’t believe it would sound any better if it were true.”

[Donatello]

It looks like it's from “A Comparison and Evaluation of the
Theology of Luther with That of Calvin”, by Martin Luther King Jr.

[Richard]

It's an interesting quote. The author goes on to quote approvingly from Immanuel Kant, that "ought implies can." Good old Kant.

[James]

Jesus

[Chris Donato]

Chuck Finney?