Will the theologians please Sit Down by David Bercot, Scroll publishing p 5-7
Casper Zacher trembled in fear as he was led into the courtroom in chains. He glanced around the room, looking for sympathetic faces, but he saw none. instead, he spied a number of his enemies-townspeople with whom he had argued. Casper desperately studied the face of the judge for sighns of sympathy, but all he saw was a stern countenance. Casper was convinced he faced certain death.
The Year was 1562. The place was the town of Waiblingen in southwestern Germany. The Charge heresey. The scenrio was one that had been witnessed countless times in Europe for a thousand years or more. Most of those heresey trials had been conducted by RCC authorities. However, the authorities whom Casper faced were Lutheran. Times had changed, but the nature of Christendom had not.
Casper could scarcely keep from trembling when his turn came to stand before the judge. The charges were read. He was being accused of heresey--specifically of belonging to a group known as the Anabaptist. When asked to enter his plea, Casper emphatically denied the claim.
I'M A good lutheran, Casper protested. I've never had anything to do with those horrid people!
The state then methodically presented its case against Casper. One by one, various townspeople took the stand and testified against him. Several people described Casper as an envious an , always coveting what others had. Nearly every witness testified that Casper was extremely quarrelsome, frequently getting into arguments and fights with others. They pointed out that they had heard him swear and curse in public many times. A few witnesses reported that he had nearly always carried a knife or sword with him when he went out of his house. The whole town hated him.
When the witnesses finished testifying, Casper was certain he would be found guilty. He knew he couldn't deny the truth of what the witnesses had said. Looking Casper staight in the eyes, the judge cleared his throat and began to speak:
Haveing heard all the evidence presented by the state's witnesses, this court finds the defendant, Casper Zacher..."
Casper swallowed hard, dreading to hear the judges next word.
"....innocent"
Caspar could hardly believe his ears.
The judge went on to explain his decision: "The witnesses are uniform in testifying that you are an envious and quarrelsome man. You fequently curse in public, and you go about town carring weapons. You are a disagreeable man, justly hated by your townsmen. But fortunately, you are obviously not one of those detestable heretics, the Anabaptist. For the life you live is exactly opposite theirs. They would never have you. You are just as you say, an orthodox christian.
It was a happy day for Caspar Zacher, but a black day for christianity. A man was acquitted of heresy because he lived an ungodly life.
