Protest of the Princes
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any other faith. The Holy Scriptures, with one text explained by other
and plainer texts, are, in all things necessary for the Christian, easy to
be understood, and adapted to enlighten. We are therefore resolved
by divine grace to maintain the pure preaching of God’s only Word,
as it is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,
without anything added thereto. This word is the only truth. It is the
sure rule of all doctrine and life, and can never fail or deceive us. He
who builds on this foundation shall stand against all the powers of
hell, whilst all the vanities that are set up against it shall fall before
the face of God.” “We therefore reject the yoke that is imposed upon
us.” “At the same time we are in expectation that his imperial majesty
will behave toward us like a Christian prince who loves God above
all things; and we declare ourselves ready to pay unto him, as well as
unto you, gracious lords, all the affection and obedience that are our
just and legitimate duty.”
A deep impression was made upon the Diet. The majority were
filled with amazement and alarm at the boldness of the protesters. The
future appeared to them stormy and uncertain. Dissension, strife, and
bloodshed seemed inevitable. But the reformers, assured of the justice
of their cause, and relying upon the arm of Omnipotence, were full of
courage and firmness.
The Protest denied the right of civil rulers to legislate in matters
between the soul and God, and declared with prophets and apostles,
“We ought to obey God rather than men.” It rejected also the arbitrary
power of the church, and set forth the unerring principle that all human
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teaching should be in subjection to the oracles of God. The protesters
had thrown off the yoke of man’s supremacy, and had exalted Christ
as supreme in the church, and his Word in the pulpit. The power
of conscience was set above the State, and the authority of the Holy
Scriptures above the visible church. The crown of Christ was uplifted
above the pope’s tiara and the emperor’s diadem. The protesters had
moreover affirmed their right to freely utter their convictions of truth.
They would not only believe and obey, but teach what the Word of
God presents, and they denied the right of priest or magistrate to
interfere. The Protest of Spires was a solemn witness against religious
intolerance, and an assertion of the right of all men to worship God
according to the dictates of their own consciences.