A Curious History

...as if he had come to give the Law to the whole world and receive it from no one, hardly had he entered his Church than he began not only to rebel against his colleagues, but even to mutiny against the entire body of those churches in the country. This he did through his repeated refusal to sign the public ConfessionA formal statement of religious belief; in this context, likely the Belgic Confession used by Reformed churches., to approve the regulations, and to submit to their resolutions. He sought everywhere for opportunities to quibble, to contradict, and to break away. All the poisoned writings, full of gall, which he has published from time to time against the SynodsRegional or national meetings of church leaders and elders., prove this with such clarity and evidence that posterity will be astonished that the outbursts and extravagances of this turbulent man were tolerated for so long without applying the remedy of a vigorous discipline.

Not only did he open the path to schism through the irregularity of his conduct—even before any formal censure had been brought against him—going so far as to hold secret conventiclesIllegal or unauthorized religious meetings held outside the established church. in various places without the knowledge of the Pastors and ConsistoriesThe local governing body of a Reformed church, consisting of the minister and elders. established there, a proceeding highly condemned by all church laws, both old and new. But also his nature, if considered carefully, provides the two sure characteristics of a troublemaker and a schismatic, which are Pride and Enthusiasm In the 17th century, "Enthusiasm" was a derogatory term for someone claiming direct, private divine inspiration over established scripture or church authority.. Never did a man in the world make

appear more pride under the guise of a pretended humility; his intolerable arrogance, like that of another DiogenesA Greek philosopher who lived in a barrel and practiced extreme poverty; the author suggests Labadie uses his "poverty" to mock others., was visible through the holes of his cloak. All the seditious pamphlets he has published are nothing but eulogies in his own praise. In them, he treats all others as "little boys" and looks down on them from on high, and he places himself everywhere at such an inestimable value that he would be careful not to trade places with anyone else without expecting a great deal in return. He usually gives himself the title of Pastor without specifying the name of the Church where he serves, as if he intended to be considered in the Church in the same rank as the brothers of Kings in France, to whom one gives purely and simply the title of Monsieur In the French court, "Monsieur" was the official title for the King's eldest brother, requiring no further name.. Or perhaps, as if his conscience reproached him that he was not performing the function of a true Pastor in the Church, he was ashamed to name a Church when giving himself the title and quality of Pastor.

He has taken it upon himself to publish Pastoral Letters for the Reformation of the Churches, as if he were the Bishop or the MetropolitanA high-ranking bishop with authority over other bishops. of the entire country, and as if the others whom God has honored with the holy Ministry there were under him as mere village curates. He titled the first sermons he gave at Middelburg The Apostolic Arrival, and he has the audacity to compare himself there with the Apostle St. Paul, even claiming to have been cut from the same...