Now a kindhearted man (as they say) might ask, “What harm is there if one holds to the word of God and yet lets all these matters, or at least those that are bearable, remain as well?” I answer, “They may be called kindhearted, but they are wrong-hearted and misled, for you have heard that it is impossible to teach any word other than God’s word, to serve anyone other than God, to light any light other than that which has been placed by God in the darkness” [Matt. 6:24]. It is indeed an error and a will-o’-the-wisp thing, even if it were only one single thing, for the church ought not and cannot teach lies and error. If it teaches one lie, then it is wholly false, as Christ says in Luke 11 [:35–36], “Be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no dark part, it will be wholly bright.” That is to say, it must be all light, without any darkness in it. The church must teach God’s word and truth alone, and not error or falsehood. And how could it be otherwise? For God’s mouth is the mouth of the church, and vice versa. God cannot lie, nor can the church. (Luther’s Works, v.41, p.215-216)