I thank Luther for protesting against the abuses of the church, and I denounce him because he was the enemy of liberty. I thank Calvin for writing a book in favor of religious freedom, and I abhor him because he burned Servetus. I thank Knox for resisting Episcopal persecution, and I hate him because he persecuted in his turn. I thank the Puritans for saying “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God,” and yet I am compelled to say that they were tyrants themselves.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Lecture (1877-06-23), “The Ghosts,” Carson Theater, Carson City, Nevada
    (Source)

Collected in The Ghosts, and Other Lectures (1878)

 
Added on 29-Aug-25 | Last updated 29-Aug-25
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