I haven’t actually been tagged on this Evil Zwingli Meme:
1) Post something rude about Zwingli. (Outrageous slander especially welcome.)
2) Tag someone who is NOT Jim West.
But I have read about it from Doug at MetaCatholic and from Nick at Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. Of course this meme will not multiply exponentially as memes are supposed to if only one person is tagged each time. So, since while Nick doesn’t tag me he does mention and quote me, I will take that as a substitute for a tag and make this a response to the meme.
This meme of course will make little sense to anyone who doesn’t know blogger Jim West, the blogosphere’s one man fan club for Zwingli, the Reformer who apparently started a revolution by watching someone eat sausage.
But that is not a rude enough thing to say about Zwingli. I could be rude in a serious way, relating to how he persecuted and put to death the first Anabaptists. But instead, to be simpler, I will just repeat what I originally posted as a comment on John Hobbins’ blog, which Nick just found again:
I’m sure Zwingli would have had Jim West burned at the stake for his attitude to Scripture, if he hadn’t first had him drowned for being a Baptist.
Of course I wouldn’t want anyone to misinterpret this as rudeness about Jim West rather than about Zwingli. I wouldn’t dream of being rude about any living person on this blog. Well, maybe not …
Meanwhile I tag Lingamish, who has been commenting on this and no doubt longing to be tagged despite hating memes, Esteban Vázquez because I know he can find something rude to say about Zwingli if he wants to, and Jim West, who I am sure will be entertaining if not rude. Since I am breaking the rules by taking up this meme without being tagged, I claim the right to break them even further by tagging more than one person and including Jim himself.
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But I like Zwingli. I’m a member of his fan club on Facebook. And he has a cool hat. And he’s kinda cute.
It’s your call, Lingamish, but I think it’s a safe bet that Zwingli wouldn’t have liked you, probably to the extent that you would have shared one of Jim’s fates. And surely for you two to be burned or drowned together would have made the punishment seem far worse for both of you!
But to be honest, I am not entirely anti-Zwingli. Indeed if you search my blog for his name the only hit you will find before this post states that I share Zwingli’s theology of the Eucharist.
Tag me all you want, Peter, but I shall never speak a foul word of Zwingli (or Calvin or Luther or Oecolampadius or Beza)! 😉
(P.S.: I should like to note that the anti-spam word for this comment is “naboth,” which suggests to me that those who spread this vile meme risk suffering the fate of Jezebel!)
Thanks, Esteban. Good to hear such an endorsement of the Reformers from an Eastern Orthodox believer.
As for the anti-spam word, I think you mean the wrath of Jezebel and the fate of Naboth. I must say I am now a bit worried that the hordes of Zwingli worshippers I am shaking out of the woodwork might try to enforce against me the wrath of JWestebel. But I am prepared to suffer persecution for the truth.