The Beast: Interpretations of Daniel 7.2-9 and Apocalypse 13.1-4, 11-12 in Lutheran,Zwinglian and Calvinist Circles in the Late Sixteenth Century

Abstract

The trial of the Spanish theologian and physician, Miguel Servet, charged with heresy and blasphemy by the City Council of Geneva in 1553, led to a long and abstruse debate between two apparently irreconcilable standpoints. In an attempt to clarify the terms of discussion on such crucial areas as the Trinity, divine immanence and the immortality of the soul, Calvin and Servet embarked on a three-day written debate (15-17 September 1553). In what ultimately became a genuine ‘duel to the death,’ what stands out, over and above the actual argumentation, is their use of insults as rhetorical weapons. Given that both adversaries were equally convinced that they were defending the ‘true faith,’ most of their attacks were aimed at demonstrating the corrupt nature of their opponent. Accordingly, mutal denigration was inseparably intertwined with the substantive debates and thus in the old tradition of demonizing polemics. When the duel of words is examined carefully it reveals ultimately the deep gulf separating not only the doctrinal standpoint of the protagonists, but also their basic visions of the world.