November 24, 1572

John Knox (died November 24, 1572) is now considered the founder of Presbyterianism. He was Scottish and is a wonderful example of a kind of rationality. We will look at an excerpt of his writings, later collected in a multiple volume set: The Works of John Knox, collected and edited by David Laing, LL.D. (1895)

Below is Knox responding to the question of how is it God controls everything. One of the images to support his position that men, creatures are helpless, but God omnipotent, includes a feline reference.  This follows his first statement, which is that, if his questioner had:

.... [E]ither diligently... red our writinges, ...[or examined] faithfully ... the testimonies which we use for confirmation of our doctrine, ...[they would not be confused].....

When ye have said all, yet doth the veritie remaine invincible. .... 

For as it is impossible for a camel (or cable, that is, a great rope of a ship), remaining in the own quantitie, to go through an needle's eye (remaining in the own streitnes), so is it lyke impossible for a rich man, remaining in his own natural pryde, covetousnes, and corruption, to enter in to the kingdom of God. And therefor when those which heard were offended, asking," And who may then attein to salvation?" Christ answered, "Thinges that be impossible before man, are possible with God." Marke well, that Christ called the humiliation of the rich man impossible unto man, but possible unto God. And the same, I say, is true of those that seke glorie and praise of men, for impossible it is unto such abiding in the corruption unfeignedly to beleve in Christ Jesus. For albeit the spirit of vaine glorie did now and then burst out and appere among... the disciples, yet was it alwaies repressed and corrected by the severe objurgation of their Master, and in the end, by the power of the Holie Spirit it was removed....

I could not determine what the original reference to "the cat of the mountain," was. Knox's point is still clear.

The example.... of the cat of the mounteine, can in no wise receive your interpretation.... neither yet can any art utterly remove the spottes of that beast, which the Prophete in that place calleth the leopard. How impossible it is that they be changed none can be ignorant, except such as have not sene, or do not know the beast nor her nature. ... and so was it impossible,—impossible, I say, to themselves and to their own power. For what the Spirit of God worketh in the conversion of sinners, ought not to be attributed unto man's power....


The last sentence is a great example of the rationality of modern man. Knox compares God's power and man's helplessness, but Knox himself is under no doubt  about the division of power between god and man. Thus, a great mystery, the nature of human change, is solved by Knox saying that man and god are just separate. This is an example of binary thought--everything is either this or that.  Our use of Knox as an example is meant not to distinguish religious and scientific thinking, but rather the more complex medieval views (like the incarnation or the eucharist) from the rationalistic tendency in modern thought of which Knox is an early and vivid exemplar. 

John Knox is the author of The first blast of the trumpet against the monstrous regiment of women (1558).  An account of his conversations with Mary Queen of Scots, about that regiment, is quite informative and enthralling.  But not the point of this post.