Some Basic Info On John Calvin

:thumbs::wavey: Right on again! This is classic "society says" or "society does" relativism. It is a tactic of the Godless and immoral.
We can't derive an "ought" from an "is"....
Attempting to justify Calvin's actions by appealing to the practices of a wicked society is absolutely NO DIFFERENT than when the heathen in our culture justify such sins as homosexuality, effiminacy, immodesty rampant divorce etc... by simply stating that: This would be perfectly acceptable in culture a. b. c. ad nauseum.

Whether it was common or not, fact is as far as Calvin's situation was concerned:
1.) He previously taught against the persecution of heresy until AFTER the Servetus affair
2.) Propositionally speaking....there were numerous reformers and church-men (many who personally knew Calvin) who spoke strongly against his actions and policies, and he was VERY aware of them.
3.) His former friend Castellio (prior to his murder) and Luther (who didn't meet him personally) both decried Calvin's actions for example.

This appeal to moral relativism by claiming (in modern parlance)that "everyone does it" is not only false in that certainly not "everyone" in society was guilty of it but also that even if it were true, it would in no way justify doing that which is expressly against the Scriptures.

 

You conveniently ignore the fact that Calvin had nothing to do with the burning of Servetus.

 

Not only is that not true, you ignore the fact he had many tortured and executed. You ignore the fact he persecuted local, autonomous churches preserving the NT church. You ignore the fact he wrote on seperation of church and state yet created a theocracy. You ignore the fact he was for infant baptism.

 

If that were true, I can't imagine a man besides Luther who would be more qualified to do so.