St. Thomas More predicting the destruction of society when it rejects truth and morals

September 18, 2021 • 2 min

From Life and Writings of Sir Thomas More, page 274
By Rev. T. E. Bridgett, C.S.S.R.

We have already seen in the last chapter that Sir Thomas More was moved to his opposition to the new doctrines by his keen prevision of their consequences, as well religious as social.

It is no exaggeration to say that he clearly anticipated and foretold such results of the Lutheran revolt as history reveals to us in the sudden overthrow by the Scotch fanatics of the whole fabric of the Catholic religion and of every venerated monument of antiquity, the national madness of the English Puritans, the impieties and atrocities of the various French revolutions, or the brutal agnosticism of modern secularists in England and America.

When he was chancellor More wrote as follows:

“In good faith, I never thought other yet, soon after the beginning, but that when those folk fell once to their horrible heresies, which Tindale in his books has taught us, they should not fail to fall soon after unto these others too.”

(I.e., the tenets of the Munster Anabaptists, denying all obligation of law spiritual or temporal, rejecting all government, introducing communism in property, and abolishing all marriage.)

“And then that Our Blessed Saviour Christ was but only Man, and not God at all. And, as help me God, I verily fear that they shall fall unto that at last, that there is no God.”

“And then, reckoning neither upon God nor devil, nor immortality of their own souls, but jesting and scoffing that ‘God is a good fellow,’ and ‘as good a soul hath an owl as a cuckoo,’ and ‘when thou seest my soul hang in the hedge then hurl stones at it hardily and spare not’; and, as Tindale saith, ‘When thou speakest with St. Peter then pray him to pray for thee’.”

“Thus reckoning upon nothing but only upon this world, and therefore reckoning for nothing but only for the body, they shall at the last fall in a new rage, and gather themselves together (but if their malice be the better suppressed) to make other manner masters than ever they made yet, whereof the mischief shall fall in their own necks.”

“But yet if this may be suffered once to rise, all the mischief will not fall in their own necks alone, but much harm shall hap upon many good men’s heads, ere these rebellious wretches be well repressed again.”