involved." And wherever the Interim was enforced, the
consequences foretold by Flacius showed themselves: consciences were
confused, simple Christians were offended, and the enemies were
strengthened in their error and emboldened in their attacks and in
further demands made upon the Lutherans.

140. Sophistries of Adiaphorists Refuted.

The Wittenberg Interimists endeavored to justify their attitude by a
series of sophisms to which they also adhered in the "Final Report
(Endlicher Bericht) of the Theologians of Both Universities of Leipzig
and Wittenberg," 1570. (Frank 4, 87. 2.) By adopting the Interim, the
Wittenbergers, in reality, had assented also to doctrinally false and
dubious statements and to a number of ceremonies objectionable as such.
Yet they pleaded the guilelessness of their intentions and the
harmlessness of their procedure. They maintained that they had yielded
merely in minor matters and ceremonies, which were neither commanded nor
prohibited by the Word of God; that this was done in order to preserve
intact the central Christian truth of justification; to preserve
political peace and to save the Church from ruin; to protect the weak,
whose shoulders were not strong enough to suffer persecution; that in
their concessions they had been guided by the dictates of true wisdom,
which always chooses the lesser of two evils; and that in all this they
had merely followed the example set by Luther himself. They minimized
the entire affair, and endeavored to explain away the seriousness of the
situation. In particular they ridiculed Flacius for shouting and
sounding the fire-alarm when in reality, they said, he had discovered
nothing but a little smoke coming from a Wittenberg chimney.

But in the ears of all genuine and earnest Lutherans their sophistries
and apologies rang neither true nor sincere. The arguments which they
employed merely served to defeat their own purpose. What else, for
example, than disgust, indignation, and distrust could be the effect on
all honest Lutherans when the Wittenberg theologians, dishonestly
veiling the real facts, declared in their official "Exposition" of 1559
(when danger of persecution had passed long ago) concerning the
reintroduction of Corpus Christi that they had reintroduced this
festival all the more readily in order that they might be able to
instruct the people in the right use of the Sacrament and in the
horrible abuses and profanations of the most holy Supper o