When I make certain arguments against a doctrine, even showing that it is an anti-gospel heresy, you would sometimes answer, “But Calvin believed this” or “But Spurgeon preached this.” Or you might say, “But the Westminster Confession teaches this” or “But this or that historic creed says this.” Sometimes you would defend the mere idea of religious traditions, as if that is a sufficient answer.

This is not a refutation, but an amplification. You have not refuted my arguments, but you have just applied them against Calvin, Spurgeon, the historic creed, and your religious traditions. You have not refuted my arguments, but you have just magnified them to destroy all the authorities that you cite against me. It is stupid to say that Calvin disagreed with me unless you also explain how Calvin refuted me, otherwise you have just elevated me above Calvin. If my arguments condemn you, it is useless to use Spurgeon as your human shield, or to hide behind Westminster, because you have just declared that Spurgeon and Westminster fall under the same condemnation, and that I have triumphed over them also.

If you refute the actual content of my arguments, then you would not need to cite a human authority. But if you fail to refute my arguments, then to cite a human authority only makes me greater than that authority. The more you appeal to your authorities, you more you elevate me, so that you make me greater than all the historic theologians, creeds, and denominations combined. It is cruel to attack someone with such flattery. Since I am unmoved by the authorities, I remain unaffected by your adulation, but take care that you do not cause others to stumble by your praise.

The matter is simple. If I argue that it is wrong to rape children, it does not help you to answer that your pastor did it fifty times, even if your pastor is the highest religious authority in a millennium. Unless your pastor has proved that it is right to rape children, your reply only shows that I am a preacher of righteousness, that I possess a greater status than your pastor, and that your pastor is a fraud and a criminal. This is how stupid you are.