Nevin on the Illusion of Liberty
John Williamson Nevin, the German Reformed theologian, wrote this in an article for the first edition of the Mercersburg Review in 1849:
The liberty of the sect consists at last, in thinking its particular notions, shouting its shibboleths and passwords, dancing its religious hornpipes, and reading the Bible only through its theological goggles. These restrictions, at same time, are so many wires, that lead back at last into the hands of a few leading spirits, enabling them to wield a true hierarchical despotism over all who are thus brought within their power.
The Holy Spirit grants authority to the Church, not to the individual.
