the mother of vs all which is the holy Catholike Church that we beleeue Hereunto I will adde a few sayings of the Fathers to them which I haue before alleaged Saint Augustine saith Corpus huius capitis Ecclesia est non quae hoc loco est sed quae hoc loco per totum orbem terrarum nec illa quae hoc tempore sed ab ipso Abel vsque ad eos qui nascituri sunt vsque in finem credituri in Christū totus populus sanctorum ad vnam ciuitatem pertinentium quae ciuitas corpus est Christi cui caputest Christus that is The bodie of this head is the Church not which is in this place onely but that which is in this place and through the whole world neither that Church which is at this time but that of them which from Abel shall be borne vnto the end and shall beleeue in Christ euen the whole companie of Saints pertaining to one citie which citie is the bodie of Christ whereof Christ is the head And in another place Ille caput est nos membra sumus tota ecclesia quae vbique diffusa est corpus ipsius est cuius est ipse caput Non solum autem fideles qui modo sunt sed qui fuerunt ante nos qui post nos futuri sunt vsque in finem seculi omnes ad corpus eius pertinent cuius corporis ipse caput est qui ascendit in coelum He is the head wee are his members the whole Church which is dispersed euery where is his bodie whereof he is the head And not onely the faithfull which be now but also they which haue been before vs and which shall be after vs vnto the end of the world all pertaine to his bodie of which bodie hee which hath ascended into heauen is the head Againe Caelestis Hierusalem ciues sunt omnes sanctificati homines qui fuet unt qui sunt qui futuri sunt that is All sanctified men which haue been which are and which shall be citizens of the heauenly Ierusalem Cyprian saith Ecclesia nunquam à Christo discedit ijsunt ecclesia qui in domo Dei permanent that is The Church neuer departeth from Christ and they be the Church which continue in the house of God Againe Adulterari non potest sponsa Christi incorrupta est pudica vnam domum nouit vnius cubiculi sanctitatem casto pudore custodit Haec nos Deo seruat haec filios regno quos generauit assignat that is The spouse cannot be defiled she is vncorrupt and chast she knoweth one house and keepeth with chast shamefastnes the holines of one chamber she keepeth vs to God she assigneth the children whom she hath borne vnto his kingdome Saint Hierome saith Ipsa ecclesia quae est Sanctorum omnium congregatio pro aeterna sibi in Domino stabilitate columna fundamentum dicitur veritatis The Church which is the congregation of all Saints by reason of her eternall stedfastnes in God is called the pillar and ground of truth Chrysostome saith Ecclesia est tabernaculū à Deo fixum non ab homine ab vno loco in aliū fugit sednon à pietate ad impietatē fugit that is The Church is the tabernacle which God hath pight and not man she flieth from one place to another but she neuer flieth from godlines to impietie and wickednes Ambrose Apostolus omnem ecclesiam dicens summatim totum comprebendit quod in coelo est interra that is The Apostle meaning all the Church briefly comprehendeth the whole which is both in heauen and in earth Bernard saith Electi Dei sunt ecclesia Dei The elect of God be the Church of God So saith Clemens Alexandrinus as I haue before alleaged Non nunc locum sed electorum congregationem appello ecclesiam I call not now the place the Church but the congregation of the elect Yea Frier Lyra saith Ex quo patet quod ecclesia non consistat in hominibus ratione potestatis vel dignitatis ecclesiasticae vel secularis quia multi principes summi pontifices alij inferiores inuenti sunt apostatasse à fide propter quod ecclesia consistit in illis personis in quibus est notitia vera confessio fides veritatis that is Whereby it appeareth that the Church consisteth not in men in respect of their ecclesiasticall or secular power or dignitie for many Princes and Popes and others of lower degree haue bin found to haue bin Apostates and to haue fallen away from the faith Wherefore the Church consisteth in those persons in whom is true knowledge and the confession of faith and truth This is that holy Catholike Church which we in the Creede confesse and beleeue euen the whole number of them whom God hath elected and chosen to eternall life whom God hath had in all ages and of all nations of which Church euery true and faithfull man and woman must beleeue himselfe to be a true and liuely member whereof he may be assured if he finde and feele that God hath lightened his minde with the knowledge of his truth hath wrought in his heart an vnfained faith to trust in his mercies and to beleeue that his sinnes be forgiuen him for Christs names sake and that God hath sanctified his soule and bodie to hate sinne and to haue a care and conscience to serue him in true holines and righteousnes all the daies of his life This being our confession and beliefe with what conscience and truth can this man say that the Church which the Protestants beleeue hath been interrupted all the ages betwixt the Apostles and Luther and in very deede was neuer seene before Luthers daies or that wee imagine the same to be comprehended within the narrow bounds of England I can say nomore but that a false witnes shall not be vnpunished and he that speaketh lyes shall not escape But now let vs see what this man and his fellowes hold beleeue and call the Catholike Church forsooth the companie of all them that receiue and professe the religion and doctrine of the Church of Rome and submit themselues to be ruled and gouerned by the Bishop and Pope of Rome They that doe not this be Heretikes Schismatikes out of Noahs Arke and out of the Catholike Church And hereupon it followeth that the Christians in Graecia Muscouia Armenia Aethiopia c. where Christianitie hath continued vnto this day and among whom no doubt but some haue been of Gods elect and chosen people yet be they no Catholikes nor of the Catholike Church nor in the state of salnation And why because they neither haue been nor be subiect to the Pope of Rome For so it is with many words solemnely defined and determined by that holy and vertuous Pope Boniface the 8. Subesse Romano pontifici omni humanae creaturae
Christ and applied vnto our soules by the hand of faith by the which Christ doth dwell in our harts and is made ours We beleeue that we are true members of that holy Catholike Church which is Christes mysticall body and whereof he is the head which is his spouse and he the bridegroome which is his flock and he the shepheard which is the heauenly Hierusalem the Mother of vs all finally which is the number of Gods elect and chosen people that shall rest with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdome of Heauen And we know that we haue perticular and visible Churches wherein Gods word is more truly preached the Sacraments seales of the word are more purely ministred and Gods name more faithfully inuocated and called vpon then in any or all the Romish Synagogues Indeede we haue no Idolatrous altars to offer either carnall or externall sacrifices vpon as though Christs sweete smelling sacrifice were not yet offered but we haue Mensam Domini the Lords Table whereupon we minister the Supper of Christ which is a holy Sacrament of Christs body and bloud giuen for vs a memoriall of his death and passion and a pledge of our redemption and saluation purchased thereby We haue that sweete smelling and sufficient sacrifice which Iesus Christ by his eternall spirit offered without fault vnto God to purge our consciences from dead workes to serue the liuing God As for the sacrifice of the masse as being iniurious to the said sacrifice of Iesus Christ which he once for all and for euer offered vpon the Altar of the Crosse we deny and defie We haue no thauen nor greased priests to offer the said false and forged sacrifice of the Masse but we haue priests pastours or ministers howsoeuer we terme them according to the ordinance of Christ to preach his holy Gospell and to administer his sacraments to his Church We haue and vse that religion which hath the testimonie of the law prophets and wherein the true worship and seruice of God according to his will reuealed in his holy word is contained your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and superstition we flee and forsake Finally we haue that Christ which came into this world to saue sinners and which is that Lambe of God that taketh away the sinne of the world whom we acknowledge more soundly to be our onely high prophet to instruct vs in the will of his father whose onely voyce we must heare our onely high priest with the sacrifice of his body and bloud once offered to redeeme vs and reconcile vs vnto God our onely mediator and intercessorto sit for euer at the right hand of God to make intercession for vs and our onely high king to deliuer vs out of the hands of our enemies to giue lawes vnto our consciences and to rule vs with the scepter of his holy word then the Pope and all his adherents doe This our true confession whereunto God and our consciences be witnesses we oppose to your false and slaunderous obtrectation and accusation saying with Saint Paul We passe very little to be iudged of you or of mans iudgement and with him also exhort you not to iudge before the time vntill the Lord come who will lighten things that are hid in darkenes and make the counsels of the harts manifest and then shall euery man haue praise of God Further I doe exhort you that take vpon you so seuerely to censure and iudge others carefully to take heede to your selues that you haue not a false faith grounded not vpon Gods promises contained in his word but vpon mans deuises and traditions which as Epiphanius saith as worse then no faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that you be not voyde of true hope by teaching the doctrine of doubting whereof I shall speake hereafter and by fearing to be after death throwne into the firie torments of purgatorie and that you want not true charitie in iudging so falsely and maliciously and persecuting vs so cruelly as you vse to doe when time and power serueth you and that you haue no true repentance nor remorse of conscience for sinne in persisting so obstinately in damnable doctrine and abominable idolatrie and that by leaning to your owne righteousnes and the merites of other men which were sinners themselues you lose not that true iustification which is the righteousnes of God by the faith of Iesus Christ vnto all and vpon all that beleeue which is onely able to stand and discharge vs before the iudgement seate of Iesus Christ and is the onely strong staffe to leane vpon to leap ouer the ditch of damnation and beware I say that you leaning vpon the weake reede of your owne merites and others fall not into the middest thereof from which there is norising take heede you be not of the malignant Church which heareth not the voyce of Christ and wherein that man of sinne and sonne of perdition sitteth and raigneth and that you haue not such Idolatrous altars as Ieneboam had against which the man of God cried and vpon which the like iudgement of God fell as hath done vpon yours now And that you haue not a false forged sacrifice which appeaseth not but daily prouoketh Gods wrath against you and that you be not without priests to teach the law of God truely but haue swarmes of such priests as say not where is the Lord and know not God but prophesie in Baal which haue gone out of the way and haue caused many to fall by the law c. Beware that you be not without religion remembring the saying of Lactantius Quare non est dubium quin veligio nulla sit vbicunque simulachrum est that is wherefore there is no doubt but that there is no religion wheresoeuer an Image is Finally I say againe and againe beware that you forsake not the true Christ and worship Antichrist sitting in the westerne Babylon built vpon seuen hilles which in the dayes of Saint Iohn raigned ouer the Kings of the earth wherefore be not so rash in iudging so hardly and vncharitably of others but examine and iudge your selues that you be not iudged of the Lord. But I now come to your pithie probation of this your vncharitable and shameles assertion The reason you say is For if they haue then the world was without them for a thousand yeares as they themselues must needes confesse videl all the time their Church was eclipsed and for 1500. as we will proue by the testimonie of all records of antiquitie c. Whereunto I answere that if we take the world in that sense which the scripture sometimes doth for the multitude and societie of them whereof the Diuell is prince which hateth Christ and his true disciples which is set vpon wickednes for the which our Sauiour Christ refused to pray saying I pray not for the world and where
to beleeue must be vninersall for all time comprehending allages and vniuersall for place comprehending all nations but that Church which the Protestants beleeue was interrupted all the ages betwixt the Apostles and Luther which was 1400. yeares or in very deede was neuer seene before Luthers dayes therefore that Church they beleeue cannot be Catholike Neither is it vniuersall in place being contained within the narrow bounds of England which is accompted but as a corner of the world for the Lutherans in Germanie the Hugonites in Fraunce and the Guines in Flaunders detest their religion as much as the Catholikes neither will they ioyne issue with them in diuers essentiall points And therefore the Protestants Church which they beleeue can no more be called Catholike or vniuersall then England the vniuersall world or Kent the Kingdome of England or a pruned bough a wheate tree or a dead finger a man or a rotten tooth the whole head The second article is the communion of Saints the which they many wayes deny First by not beleeuing that Christ hath instituted seuen Sacraments wherein the Saints of his Church communicate and specially the true and real presence of our Sauiour Christ in the Eucharist by which all the faithfull receiuers participating of one and the selfe same bodie are made one bodie as all the parts of a mans bodie are made one liuing thing by participating one soule Secondly they denie the communion of the Church militant and triumphant by exclaming against inuocation of Saints by which holy exercise the blessed Saints in heauen and we in yearth communicate we by prayer glorifying them and they by meditation obtayning our request Thirdly they deny the communion of the Church militant and the soules in purgatorie bereauing them of that Christian charitie which charitable compassion and mercifull pitie requireth and by naturall affection the members of one bodie helpe one another The third article is remission of sinnes for they acknowledge no such effect in the Sacrament of Baptisme but onely count it as an externall signe or seale of a prereceiued grace or fauour of God by his eternall predestination against the expresse word of God which therefore calleth this Sacrament the lauer of regeneration for that in it the soule dead by sinne is newly regenerate by grace Moreouer they allow not the Sacrament of penance wherein all actuall sinnes committed after Baptisme are cancelled and that which exceedeth all in absurditie is to deny that our sinnes are all perfectly forgiuen but onely not imputed and as it were veiled or couered with the passion of Christ all the botches and biles the filth and abomination of sinne still remaining and as it were exhaling a most pestiferous sent in the sight of God For let them shift themselues as they list and scarfe their â—ores according to their fancies yet no veile nor mantell can couer their deformitie of sinne from the pearcing eyes of Gods perfit vnderstanding from which nothing can be concealed Fourthly the puritanes in effect deny that Christ is the sonne of God for they peremptorilie affirme that Christ is God of himselfe and not God of God So that he receiued not his diuinitie from his father The which position flatly taketh away the nature of a sonne for the nature of a sonne is to receiue his substance of his Father and it implyeth contradiction that the sonne receiueth his person of his Father and not his substance and essence for the substance of God is essentiall to euery person in trinitie Fiftly finally they deny the descension of Christ into hell and desperately defend that he suffered the paines of Hell vpon the Crosse whereby they blaspheme most horribly that sacred humanitie as if Christ had despaired of his saluation as if God had hated him and he had hated God as if he had been afflicted and tormented with anguish of minde for his offences for which he was depriued of the sight of God and eternally to be depriued all which horrible punishments are included in the paines of Hell and whosoeuer ascribeth them to Christ blasphemeth more horribly then Arius who denied him to be God for lesse absurditie it were to deny him to be God then to make God the enemie of God Answere IN this fourth article the syllogisme promised is not performed But in steede thereof here is an accusation that we know not what we beleeue nor why we beleeue Your proofe before I haue examined and what we beleeue I haue declared whereof the rule is not our owne fancie as you say and shew not as the rule of your faith and life is the Popes folly as hath been in part shewed You say we haue no rule whereby to know what is the matter of faith We haue the word of God contained in the canonicall Scriptures of the old and new Testament and is that no rule I pray you what doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie but a rule and why be the Scriptures called canonicall but because they be the rule of our faith and life Thomas Aquinas saith Doctrina enim Apostolorum prophetarum dicitur canonica quia est regula intellectus nostri that is The Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is called canonicall because they be the rule of our vnderstanding Dauid when he said Thy word is a light vnto my feete and a lanterne vnto my pathes what did he but make that same the rule direction and guide of his faith and life when Moses said Now therefore hearken O Israel vnto the ordinances and to the lawes which I teach you to doe that ye may liue and goe in and possesse the land which the Lord God of your Fathers giueth you ye shall put nothing to the word which I commaund you neither shall take ought therefrom that ye may keepe the commaundements of the Lord your God which I commaund you what did he but make Gods word declared to him and written by him the rule of their faith and life When God said to Iosua Let not this booke of the law depart out of thy mouth but meditate therein day and night that thou maist obserue and doe according to all that is written therein for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous and then shalt thou haue good successe What did he but make his written word the rule of his faith and whole life When Abraham said to the rich man condemned in Hell They haue Moses and the Prophets let them heare them what did he but shew that the writings of Moses the Prophets were the onely rule which his brethren should follow to auoyd damnation and consequently to attaine eternall saluation Chrysostom saith Ne igitur multorum opiniones habeamus sed resipsas inquiramus Quomodo autem non absurdum propter pecunias alijs non credere sed ipsas numerare supputare pro rebus autem amplioribus aliorum sententiam sequi
simpliciter praesertim cùm habeamus omnem exactissimā trutinam gnomonem ac regulam diuinarum inquam legum assertionem Ideo obsecro oro vos omnes vt relinquatis quidnam huic vel illi videatur deque hijs à scripturis haec omnia inquirite c. i. Let vs not seeke the opinions of many men but let vs search the things themselues for how is it not absurd not to beleeue men concerning mony but that we wil count it for matters of greater waight to follow simply the minde and opinion of others especially seeing we haue the most exact ballance square rule the doctrine of Gods lawes Therfore I request and beseech you all to leaue and forsake what seemeth good to this or that man of these matters search ye al these things by the Scriptures The same Chrysostom hath these words Vides in quantum absurditatē incidunt qui diuinae scripturae canonem sequi nolunt sed suis cogitationibus permittunt omnia i. Thou seest into how great absurditie they doe fall which follow not the rule of the diuine Scriptures but permit all things to their owne fancies and deuises And againe Satis sufficere credimus quicquid secundum praedictas regulas Apostolica scripta nos docuerunt vt prorsus non opinemur catholicum quod apparuerit praefixis sententijs contrarium that is we beleeue that that is sufficient enough whatsoeuer according to the foresaid rules the writings of the Apostles haue taught vs so that we doe not at all iudge that to be Catholike which shall appeare to be contrarie to the foresaid rules Beda hath an excellent saying hereof which is recorded in Gratians decrees Nobis sacris literis vnica est credendi pariter viuendiregula praescripta that is The onely rule both of faith and also of life is prescribed vnto vs in the holy Scriptures This rule we haue and will you say this is no rule If you haue a better rule let vs know it And whereas you would haue the councels doctors and Church the rule of our faith and life bring such like plaine places out of the Scriptures and doctors for the proofe of it and then we will yeeld vnto you As touching the Apostles creede we acknowledge it to be abriefe abridgment of the especiall and principall points of Christian faith and doctrine yet there be some truthes which are not particularly expressed in the same But whereas you say or rather falsely slaunder that the Protestants denie three articles of our creede and the Puritanes fiue I say that you affirme much and proue little But first you might well enough haue forborne this distinction of protestants puritanes for although some haue differed in some outward matters concerning ceremonies externall orders in the Church yet these all greatly agree and consent in all points of the doctrine of faith and Articles of Christian Religion Neither doe I know any that so well deserue this name of Puritanes as you who glorie that you after baptisme be pure from all sinne and for actuall sinnes after committed can make so full satisfaction to God for them that he can request no more of you as hereafter I will shew and therefore it be you that may well be called Puritanes of whom that saying of Salomon may be well verified There is a generation that are pure in their owne conceit and yet are not washed from their filthines But let vs come to the examination of your proofe of this your absurd and slaunderous assertion The first you say is the Catholike Church Credo Ecclesiam sanctam Catholicam Doe wee denie this Article Why doe wee then not onely print it and rehearse it in our Creede but also expound it in our preachings and Catechising I haue said before that which may seeme sufficient concerning this matter and article yet the better to satisfie the Christian Reader and to stop the mouth of this malicious accuser I say againe that by the holy Catholike Church mentioned in the Creede is meant the companie of all Gods elect and faithfull people whom he calleth iustifieth and sanctifieth to be vessels of his mercie and heires of his kingdome of glorie which is the bodie of Christ and he the head the spouse of Christ and he the bridegrome the house of Christ and he the foundation the flocke of Christ and he the shepheard And this Church wee confesse to be Catholike that is to say vniuersall both in respect of time for that it consisteth of al them that are written in the booke of life which haue been from the beginning of the world and shall be to the end therof and also of place for y t it is not now contained in any one countrie but as S. Peter saith In euery nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousnes is accepted with him and is a true mēber of this Catholike Church That this is the holy Catholike Church which we confesse beleeue whereof the prophane wicked hypocrites and reprobates be no part besides that which I haue said before I will further proue it by the holy Scriptures and ancient Fathers Saint Paul saith Let vs follow the truth in loue and in all things grow vp vnto him which is the head that is Christ by whom all the bodie being coupled and knit together by euery ioynt for the furniture thereof according to the effectuall power which is in the measure of euery part receiueth increase of the bodie vnto the edifying of it selfe in loue Againe Christ loued the Church and gaue himselfe for it that he might sanctifie it and clense it by the washing of water through the word that he might make it to himselfe a glorious Church not hauing spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blame These things belong only to the elect people of God who shall raigne with him in his eternall kingdome of glorie For they only be the bodie of Christ knit together in him sanctified here to be without spot or blemish hereafter The Apostle to the Hebrues saith Whose house we are if we hold fast that confidence and that reioycing of hope vnto the end Where hee sheweth that they belong to the house of God which is the Church of the liuing God the pillar and stay of truth which vnto the end hold fast their confident faith and hope of Gods glorie wherof they reioyce which belongeth onely to the faithfull and chosen children of God This is that Church whereof he speaketh after But ye are come vnto the mount Sion and to the citie of the liuing God the celestiall Ierusalem and to the companie of innumerable Angels and to the assemblie and congregation of the first borne which are written in heauen and to God the Iudge of all and to the spirits of iust and perfect men To whom can these things pertaine but only to the Ierusalem which is aboue
this disputation that our Lord Iesus Christ hath as he speaketh in the Gospell put vs vnder his easie yoke and light burthen whereupon he hath bound together the societie and communion of his people by Sacraments in nūber fewest in obseruation easiest in significatiō most excellent as is baptisme consecrated in y e name of the Trinity the cōmunion of his body bloud if there be any thing els commēded in the canonical scriptures The like he writeth in his 3. booke de doctr Christiana cap. 9. by the which it appeareth that he thought these two Sacraments to be sufficient for faithful Christians to communicate in And if he had acknowledged any mo it is maruell y t writing of purpose of thē he did not name them Yet S. Augustine did not deny this article of the cōmunion of Saints Bessarion a Cardinal of Rome a learned man dissenteth frō you saith Haec duo sola sacramēta in Euāgelio manifestè tradita legimus i. We read that these only 2. sacraments are plainly deliuered to vs in the Gospell yet did he not deny this article of faith Your own doctor Alexander de Hales flatly affirmeth that neither Christ nor his Apostles did institute ordain the Sacramēt of Cōfirmation but y t it was afterward ordained in the Councel called Meldense yet he denied not this Article And therfore you ouershot your self in saying that they which beleeue not y t Christ did institute 7. sacramēts deny this article of faith The cōmunion of Saints But to proceed with you concerning y e true real presence of Christ in the Eucharist we denie the same not to the faith of the godly worthy receiuer but to the mouth teeth of y e car nal eater We beleeue and say that Christs bodie bloud in as much as they were offred vpon the crosse for our redēption are the spirituall food of our soules without which we can neither liue vnto God here nor liue with God here after that y e same is offred to vs partly in the promises of the Gospel partly in y e sacramēts of Baptisme Christs supper and is in both apprehended of vs by faith without which neither the word nor Sacraments can profit vs. But here I must put you in mind that you corruptly alleage a place of Saint Paul 1. Cor. 10. 17. foisting in this word Bodie for Bread S. Paules words bethus We that are manie are one bread and one bodie because we are partakers of one bread This shifting of the words of the holy Ghost is too vsuall with your companions Bunderius a Louaine Frier alleaging the words of Saint Paul in the next chapter verse 27. Quicunque manducauerit panem hunc c. He that eateth this bread c. putteth out the word panem and foisteth in the word carnem flesh alleaging it thus Qui manducat carnem bibit calicem Domini indignè c. He that eateth the flesh drinketh the cup of the Lord vnworthily c. D. Harding in his Confutation of the Apology intreating of Purgatorie alleaging the words of S. Paul 2. Cor. 7. 1. to proue satisfaction for sinnes by that fained fire putteth out Sanctification and in place therof putteth Satisfaction alleaging it thus making perfect satisfaction in the feare of God Cardinall Hosius changeth the words of Saint Paul alleaging them thus Neque ferre possunt vt per verbum Dei signo crucis vlla creatura sanctificetur that is They cannot abide that anie creature should be sanctified by the word of God and signe of the crosse He putteth out prayer and putteth in the signe of the Crosse as a more holie thing The foresaid Bunderius doth most shamefully alleage a place of the Apostle in this sort Nam si cinis vitulae conspersus populum sanctificauit atque mundauit quantò magis aqua sale conspersa diuinis precibus sacrata populum sanctificat atque mundat that is If the ashes of an heifer sprinkled haue sanctified and cleansed the people how much more shall water sprinkled with salt being hallowed with diuine prayers sanctifie and cleanse the people c. The words of the Apostle be these If the bloud of bulles goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling them that are vncleane sanctifieth as touching the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the bloud of Christ which through the eternall spirit offered himselfe without fault to God purge your conscience from dead works to serue the liuing God Is not this horrible handling of Gods word blasphemous attributing that to their salt water which is proper peculiar to the bloud of Christ I could shew in like maner how they haue clipped the coine of Gods word in leauing out words of purpose which serue not their turne but I wil omit them only this I say y t if they which counterfeit clip the kings coin deserue hāging what do they deserue y t counterfeit clip the word of the eternal God king of al Kings but corrupt doctrine cānot be maintained without corruptiō of Gods word But to returne to S. Pauls place he there disswadeth the Christians of Corinth from going to Idolatrous feasts by a reason taken from the Supper of our Sauiour Christ shewing that as the faithfull by eating that bread which there is broken drinking that Cup are made partakers of Christ Iesus so they that did eate those feasts ordained to the honoring of Idols were partakers of Idolatrie there committed or rather of the Diuell that was there serued And as the faithfull by being partakers of that bread haue communion together and be made one body to wit the mysticall body of Christ so they that receiue those Idol bankets haue communion together and shew themselues to be of one body videl of the Diuell Now as there needed no transubstantiation for the one no more there doth for the other Also this bread which S. Paul calleth the communiō of the body of Christ is broken yet I trust they wil not say that Christs body is broken although Pope Nicholas caused that excellent man Berengarius so to confesse But of the grosse and absurd doctrine of transubstantiation I will speake no more at this present You say moreouer that we deny the communion of the Church militant and triumphant by exclaming against inuocation of Saints by which holy exercise those blessed Saints in heauen and we in earth communicate we by prayer glorifying them and they by meditation I thinke it should be mediation obtayning our requests Hereunto I answere first that this inuocation of Saints is vnlawfull and cannot bee proued by the holy Scriptures And this offer I doe make you that if you can bring one plaine place out of all the holy Scriptures wherein it was euer commaunded or of any faithfull man or woman vsed I will yeeld vnto you not onely in this but also in all matters of Religion You quote
are they then baptized for dead To picke Purgatorie pickpurse out of this place passeth my skill Here is mention made of baptisme for the dead but neither of Purgatorie nor of prayer for the dead I am not ignorant that there be sundrie expositions of this place yet I doe not remember that euer I read it expounded of Purgatorie or applied vnto it And therefore I will write no more at this present of it but wil expect a syllogisme to be made of it for the proofes of Purgatorie and then I shall further consider what to say vnto it We doe beleeue that they onely be members of that bodie whereof Christ Iesus is the head which be either triumphing with him in heauen or be fighting for him against Satan sinne and the world here vpon earth Saint Paul saith that Christ came to make peace by the blood of his crosse and to reconcile the things which are in earth and the things which are in heauen That is to say his whole vniuersall Church whereof part was alreadie in heauen and part remained behinde vpon the earth They therefore that be in Purgatorie be no members of his bodie nor are to be deliuered by him but being the Popes creatures are either by him who can at his pleasure emptie and scoure Purgatorie to be deliuered or else still in that fained fire to be tormented Neither hath true Christian charitie so much as the cursed couetousnes of Priests been the bellowes to blow that forged fire for the heating of their kitchens Now that I haue answered your reasonlesse reasons of our denying this article of Christian faith the communion of Saints I will briefly shew what is our beleefe of it We beleeue that al the Saints of God and members of the holie Catholike Church haue communion and fellowship with Iesus Christ and are partakers of all his benefits Of this communion Christ speaketh I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruite Of this speaketh S. Paul God is faithfull by whom ye are called vnto the fellowship of his sonne Iesus Christ our Lord. This communion or fellowship is wrought by faith by the which Christ dwelleth in the hearts of all his elect and faithfull people and by which wee be graffed into him to receiue all grace and goodnes from him as the branch doth from the vine or stocke And we beleeue that all the faithfull and godly be knit together in loue as the Apostle speaketh whereby they are to communicate those graces and gifts which God hath bestowed vpon them to the edifiyng and helping of others in such sort as God hath appointed Yea we beleeue that all the faithfull haue communion and fellowship together in that they haue all one heauenly father one Iesus Christ their redeemer and mediatour one holy Ghost their sanctifier are iustified by one faith common to all the elect dedicated to God by one baptisme called by one Gospell to be partakers of one kingdome of glorie This is the summe of our beleefe concerning this article wherein wee would know what fault you can finde But your communion and vnion consisteth in being vnder one Pope of Rome vnder whose obedience whosoeuer is not you think he cannot be saued as is before shewed neither will you haue communion with him And therefore whereas Christianitie hath continued as I said before in Greece Russia Aethiopia Armenia and other countries amongst whom no doubt but God hath had and now hath his elect and chosen people yet you haue no communion or fellowship with them because they be not vnder your owne Pope And much lesse haue you communion with the Saints in heauen because you haue not the faith of Gods elect For did the faithfull Patriarkes Prophets Apostles and others beleeue to be deliuered from the fire of hell by the merits of Nicholas or to ascend into heauen by the blood of Thomas Becket Nay Iesus Christ is the onely mercie seate into the which the two Cherubinis did looke that is as I take it both the faithfull before his comming in the flesh and they that be after doe looke onely vpon Christ in him onely to seeke and finde mercie Now let vs see the third article of our Creed which you say we denie which is Remission of sinnes Here I beseech the Christian reader to consider who they be that denie this article containing a principall point of Christian religion and saluation whether wee or this accuser with his partners Wee beleeue that whereas wee be children of wrath vnprofitable seruants and prodigall children that haue sinned against heauen and our heauenly father and are so deeply indebted to God that wee be neuer able to make payment for the which he might iustly throw vs into the dungeon of damnation for euer wee I say beleeue that he hath giuen his onely begotten sonne that whosoeuer beleeueth in him should not perish but haue euerlasting life by whom wee haue redemption through his blood euen the forgiuenes of sinnes according to his rich grace and that our sinnes are forgiuen vs for his names sake And we beleeue that God of his great mercie in Iesus Christ doth forgiue vs not onely our sinnes but also the punishment due vnto them and which wee haue deserued by them accepting vs for vessels of his mercie and heires of his glorie Now this accuser of vs and his companions doe first beleeue that they doe make satisfaction to Gods iustice for their sinnes which is a flat deniall of the forgiuenes of our sinnes For whereas our sinnes be called debts and satisfaction is a paiment it followeth that if we doe make satisfaction for them then we neither need nor can haue forgiuenes of them For our satisfaction and Gods forgiuenes cannot stand together For euen as if I owe a man a hundreth pounds and I pay him he doth not forgiue it and if he forgiue it I doe not pay it So if we by satisfaction make paiment to God for our sinnes then hee doth not forgiue them if hee forgiue them then wee doe not make satisfaction for them Now let vs see what is the doctrine of these men concerning this their satisfaction whereby they make paiment themselues to God for their debts Bishop Fisher whom I suppose the Pope hath sainted for standing so stifly in his cause writeth hereof thus Thirdly some there be which by grace in this life haue so punished themselues for their offences that they haue made a sufficient recompence for them Againe So doth heartie weeping for sinne expell sinne and is a sufficient and iust recompence for it And againe But whereas any creature haue made due satisfaction in this life he neuer after shall suffer more paine and also is cleane out of debt and nothing after that shall euer be claimed of him Againe They be called recti corde that haue made satisfaction
Erasmus saith we iustly reiect and condemne We exhort men when they come to receiue that holy mysterie the Sacrament and pledge of our saluation in Christ to examine themselues and so to eate of that breade and drinke of that cup For he that eateth and drinketh vnworthily eateth and drinketh his owne damnation because he discerneth not the Lords bodie But if as you say sinfull liues conforte not with this sacred mysterie I meruaile how your Priests liues consorted with it which how holy they were I will shew hereafter Lastly you charge vs with a new negatiue religion wholy standing vpon negation of Sacraments ceremonies rites lawes customes and other practicall points of the Catholike Church whereunto I answere that we deny nothing that God hath commaunded in the holy canonicall Scriptures the which as I haue before shewed is the onely rule of our religion and life In deede we deny and defie your trifling traditions and vnwritten vanities and inuentions with the which you haue gone a whoring as the Prophet saith If you can shew that we deny any thing which God hath commaunded as wee can plainely proue that you doe then spare not to charge vs with a new negatiue religion You deny the sufficiencie of the Scriptures and that all doctrine necessarie to saluation is contayned in them You deny the same Scriptures to bee in the vulgar tongue for all Gods people to reade and heare to their comfort You deny prayer and the publike seruice of God to be in the same vulgar tongue You deny Christ to be our only mediator betweene God vs. You deny the Cup of Christs Supper to Gods people You deny the lawful authoritie which Princes haue ouer their people subiects in all causes ecclesiasticall and temporall You deny mariage to ecclesiasticall ministers whereby what great and horrible wickednesse you haue caused I will hereafter declare You say we bring in for fasting feasting for praying playing c. Concerning your fasting consisting in a superstitious obseruing of times and diuersitie of meates and tending to the honouring of Saints and satisfying Gods iustice for your sins we deny it But fasting purely vsed according to Gods word to humble our soules before God to mortifie the wicked affections of our sinful flesh we allow and especially that great and principall fast in abstayning from sinne whereof Saint Augustine speaketh in these words Ieiunium autom magnum gerale est abstinere ab iniquitatibus ab illicitis voluptatibus seculi quod est perfectum ieiunium in hoc seculo The great and generall fast is to abstaine from iniquities and vnlawfull pleasures of the world which is the perfect fast in this world Chrysostome saith Ieiunium dico abstinentiam à vitijs I say that fasting which is to abstaine from vices Hereby let it be discerned who doe most truely fast In deede I know that it is your manner much to glorie in your writings and speeches of your outward fasting from meates as the Pharisee in the Gospell did who gloried that he fasted twise a weeke which neither God in his law had required nor the Apostles of Christ for any thing we reade vsed Whereby wee may note that true godlynes neither is to bee measured by such outward abstinence from meates nor is alwayes ioyned with it Iohn Baptist vsed greater austeritie in his diet and abstinence from meates then our Sauiour Christ did yet was his life nothing so holy Iohns Disciples vsed more fasting then the Disciples of our Sauiour Christ did Yet it is not to be doubted but our Sauiours Disciples liued as godly or more then they did The Montanists Heretikes were greater fasters then were y e true Christians as Tertullian sheweth And S. Hierome writeth y t they obserued three Lents in a yeere and yet were Heretikes condemned by the Church of God although then fauoured by the Bishop of Rome as Tertullian sheweth in the beginning of his booke against Praxeas The Iewes vsed such great abstinence and fasting that they brought weakenesse and sickenesse to their bodies as Saint Hieromie writeth who neuerthelesse were enemies to our Sauiour Christ The Moscouites which neuer acknowledged the Popes authoritie bee as great fasters as Papists are And so also be the Turkes And therefore these men neede not to boast so much of their fasting Saint Paul saith that bodily exercise profiteth little but godlinesse is profitable to all things and hath the promise of this life present and that which is to come Howbeit as I will not deny but that there may be lesse fasting and more feasting then were requisit yet that there is more feasting and superfluitie in fare now especially in ecclesiastical persons I thinke it would be too hard for this man to proue Whence came these phrases As fat as an Abbot he hath a face like an Abbot and an Abbey Lubber but of their immoderate fare and feeding And how these men were giuen to gluttonie and excesse I will shew at this time but by one example Giraldus Cambrensis in his Booke intituled Speculum Ecclesiae writeth that the Abbot and Monkes of Saint Swithens in Winchester came to King Henry the second hunting at Gilford in Surrey and fell downe in myre and durt before him pitifully crying out The King asked them what was the matter They answered that their Bishop had taken three dishes of meate from their dinners and suppers He asked them how many he had left vnto them They answered tenne but from the foundation of their house they had vsed daily to haue thirteene dishes at a meale The king turned to his Nobles and said By the eyes of God for that was his oath I thought their house had bin burnt and now I see it is but a matter concerning their paunches And then turning to the Abbot and Monkes said If your Bishop deale not with you as I haue done with my court to bring you to three dishes I would he were hanged This was the remedie that these gluttonous Monkes found at the hands of that prudent Prince Where the reader may note not onely the great gluttonie but shameles impudencie of these men or monsters in making such a lamentable complaint for wanting of three dishes hauing tenne remayning The same Cambrensis writeth that in some Abbeies they had at euery meale sixteene dishes which slender diet was a good meanes to preserue their vowed virginitie Hereof came the old ryming verse O monachi vestri stomachi sunt amphora Bacchi c. To come to the next I wish there were more praying and lesse playing then there is yet this wil I say that there is now more true praying according to the will of God lesse playing then was euer in poperie Dicing and carding is in some reformed Churches abolished and of those that truely professe the Gospel lesse vsed then it hath been of Papists But I wil not stand to