How is it that a woman or man—the most faithful, most prudent, and most approved in the church—goes over to the other faction? . . . And is it surprising that someone who was approved might afterward fall away and return to his former condition? . . . Only the Son of God persevered and was preserved without fault. What then? If a bishop, deacon, widow, virgin, teacher, or even a martyr falls from the rule of faith, does this mean that heresies possess the truth? Do we prove the faith by persons, or persons by the faith? No one is wise unless he is faithful; no one is eminent unless a Christian; and no one is a Christian except the one who perseveres even to the end. . . . Are we surprised that some persons forsake the churches of Christ when the things that we suffer in accordance with the example of Christ prove that we are Christians?
Tertullian
Prescription against Heretics 3
