sayth he keeping the foundations of fayth about secondary matters haue fallen into misbeliefe And Bucanus loc 41. de Eccles quest 5. auoucheth plainly that Anabaptists are a Church Like as a man attainted with leprosy or out of his wits is a man Hi◠Maiesty epist ad Card. Peron pag. 25. sayth Some reckon baptisme among those things which whether we haue or want the matter is not great And D. Whitaker cont 4. quest 7. cap. 2. pag. 716. sayth we may abstaine from baptisme so there be no contēpt and scandall in the fact Finally D. Morton in his answere to the Protestants Apology lib. 4. albeit in the 6. chapter he make a doubt whether Anabaptists retaine and hold the foundation yet in the 2. cap. sect 10. speaketh thus The Anabaptists exclude Protestants and all different professions from the hope of spirituall life yet do not Protestants iudge the state of euery Anabaptist to be so vtterly desperate We see how they teach that Anabaptists hold the foundation and deny but an externall secondary and ceremoniall matter and such as may be omitted so it be don without scandall that Anabaptists and themselues are sonnes of the same Father that they are in the state of saluation and that they are a church as a man tainted with leprosy is a man Now concerning the Arrians of these tymes M. Morton in his booke of the Kingdome of Israel and the Church pag. 94. And the Arrians auoucheth plainly that their Churches are to be accounted the Churches of God Because sayth he they hold the foundation of the Ghospell Hooker in his 4. Daneus in c. 53. Aug. de hares VVhitak ad Rat. 10. pag. 241. Parentius in Instruct Gall. p. 27. booke of Ecclesiasticall policy pag. 181. writeth thus The Arians in the reformed churches of Poland c. Nay some of the Protestants lay clayme to that old heretike Aërius for that he agreed with them in denyall of prayer for the dead and some other points yet that he was stained with Arianisme S. Epiphanius who liued in those tymes haer 75. and S. Augustin 53. witnesses whole credit herein can no way be impeached do plainly testify They lay claime to their professed enimies 10. Lastly they forbeare not sometymes to challenge for their owne such as were their profest enemies as is certaine by their clayme to the Papists and Grecians who condemned and branded their doctrine with the marck of heresy And the Sacramentaries pretend a right to Luther and the Lutherans In Concil Trid In Censura Orient howbeit it is well known that both the Master and the sect haue diuers tymes censured and condemned their doctrine by name as in the Confessions of Auspurg Mansfeld Antwerpe that of Sueueland set forth anno 1563. in the booke of Concord in the visitation of Saxony and else where it appeareth And that in the Conference of Marpurge and Montbelgard they gaue them the repulse and flatly refused to admit them for brethren Nay as Lanatherus writeth lib. de dissid Euchar. anno 1556 There haue byn many Synodes held by the Lutherans wherein they consulted what way they might take to quell and make an end of the Sacramentaries And they shew the same encroaching desire in personall Claimes For Illyricus in his Catalogue lib. 19. col 1917 enrolleth amongst his witnesses Clicthouaeus an earnest and vehement aduersary both of Luther and Occolampadius D. Humfrey in vita Iuelli claymeth Erasmus for a maintayner and Champion of the truth Rainolds l. 1. de Idolat cap. 2. M. Fox vouchsafes him a place in his kalender of Protestant Saints and Verheiden sets his pourtraiture amongst the Worthies and Pairs of their religion Vorstius in Append Respons ad Sladum pag. 136. accounteth him one of his owne that is sayth he one of the reformed D. Whitaker Contr. 4. quest 5. cap. 3. pag. 693 sayth It is most apparent that Erasmus thought the same of religion that we do And yet Erasmus himselfe lib. 16. epist 11. professeth that he acknowledgeth not Luther and impugneth openly both him and his doctrine And as Amidorfius writeth in epist apud Lutherum tom 2. fol. 487. The summe of Erasmus doctrine is this that Luthers doctrine is heresy O tho Brunsfelsius in his answere to Erasmus spunge layth these things to his charge Thou makest protestation neuer to haue conuersation or fellowship with those men who imbrace the ghospell vnder Luthers name Againe It is well knowne and confest that of so many enemies of the Protestant ghospell no one euer did it more harme then thou Hutterus in Expostulat Hospin part 2. Histor fol. 72. Iames Andrew lib. cont Hosium p. 110 D. Iames l. de corrupt scripturae Patrum pag. 66. and others say the like of him D. Humphrey ad Rat. 3. Campiani will haue King Henry 8. to haue byn a member of their Church D. Fulke lib. cont Heskins Sander sect 82. sayth he was a member of the Catholike church of Christ And D. Andrews in Resp ad Apoll. Bellarm. cap. 1. sayth He was a true defender of the true sayth Bucer epist dedicat Comment ad Rom He imbraced the pure Ghospell of Christ reiecting those forgeries of men which are repugnant to it And yet it is most certaine that he sharply persecuted and pursued Protestants euen vnto death And as Melancthon writeth to him in epist tom 4 He oppressed the truth then appearing and shewing it selfe And as Cambden sayth in Apparatu Annalium Anglie Protestants he burnt for heretikes Of Charles 5. Scultetus in Conc. secular pag. 10. writeth thus It is knowne by vndoubted demonstration that Charles 5. departed this life trusting to the same comfort an◠the same sayth which Luther drew from the sacred welsprings and broached to the people Iames Andrews lib. cont Hosium pag. 233. hath the like and yet in the same sermon p. 27. he sayth To this alone he bent his whole endeauours that he might pluck vp the Lutheran religion by the rootes M Doue in his booke of Recusancy will needs persuade vs that Bellarmine himselfe is a Protestant or at least no right Papist What meruaile is it if these men be so hardy as to challenge the ancient Fathers seing they are not ashamed to claime in this manner their professed enemies such as are knowne to all the world and are yet aliue That Protestants sometymes acknowledge Idolaters Infidels Antichrist himselfe and Atheists to be members of their Church CHAP. IV. 1. THAT they sometymes confesse idolaters are members of their Church Protestāts challenge idolaters is euident First for that they refuse not to receiue Papists as we haue heard before in exclamations and outcries against whose idolatry their tongues and pennes are set most a worke for to their worship of the Eucharist of Saincts of images of reliques they afford no milder name And secondly it appeareth by their owne words For M. Hooker in his 3. booke of Ecclesiasticall Policy pag. 126. sayth Christians
they knew not the Apostolicall doctrine And D. Whitaker de Scriptura lib. 2. cap. 8. sect vlt Howsoeuer they were enuironed with most grosse darknesse yet they told some sparckes of truth and shewed them to others And what other thing I pray you is this but to confesse that such were but Protestants in part and in some sort Yea they name some whome they confesse to haue reprehended only certaine abuses amongst the Papists as Melancthon in his Answere to the Bauarian articles tom 3. fol. 369. and Illyricus in his Catalogue lib. 15. confesse of Hilten It remayneth yet for the accomplishing of this demonstration that we also shew by the Confessions of Protestants that the true Church of God can neuer want Pastors as they haue confessed theirs to haue wanted for the space of some ages That the true Church cannot be without Pastors CHAP. VIII 1. THAT the Church can neuer be without Pastors I proue first out of the Confessions of the Protestant faith For thus professe they to belieue in the Confession of Saxony cap. 12 The Sonne of God hath giuen ministers of the Ghospell vnto the Church to the end it do not quite perish Againe He would haue alwayes a company in mankind in which the Sonne himselfe appointed and conserued the Ministery of keeping and spredding his doctrine The Confession of Suitzers cap. 18 God hath alwayes vsed ministers for to setle and gather him a Church and also for to gouerne and preserue it and vseth the same now and further will vse them whiles the Church shall be on earth The French Confession art 25 VVe belieue the Church cannot consist if it haue not Pastors who haue the office of teaching The Confession of the low Countries art 30 VVe belieue that the true Church ought to be gouerned and ruled by that spirituall policy which God hath taught in his word so that there be Pastors and ministers in it And the Confession of Strasburg Seing the â—hurch is the Kingdome of God it hath diuers functions of ministers 2. Secondly I proue it because for the church to be without Pastors is to want some part of the essence and definition giuen by the Protestants themselues For Luther Proposition 15. to 1. fol. 385. thus defineth a Church It is a number of baptized persons and belieuers vnder one Pastor And tom 2. fol. 366. he sayth The publike Ministery of the word whereby the Mysteries of God are dispensed must be instituted by holy ordination as the thing which in the Church is the cheifest and principallest of all Kemnice in his Common places title of the Church pag. 146 The Church consisteth of Pastors and learners Gerlachius in his 22. Disput pag. 966 The Church is not a company meeting by chance or disordered but called by the voice of the cryers of the word for to heare the doctrine of the Ghospell Caluin 4. Institut cap. 2. § 7 The Ministery is the cheifest sinew and soule of the Church Beza of the Notes of the Church pag. 9 By the name of the Church properly taken it is certaine that not only Pastors but also stocks are vnderstood Iunius Cont. 5. lib. 1. cap. 15 God instituted orders in the Church for the essentiall outward constitution therof D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 6. pag. 508 The Church cannot subsist without Pastors of whome it is taught For doctrine doth make and constitute the Church and is her soule and life And cap. 18. pag. 546 The Church is no other number then that which holdeth the pure preaching of the word and right vse of the Sacraments And cap. 17. dag 541 Syncere preaching of the word and lawfull administration of the Sacraments do make the church in so much as whersoeuer they be there the Church is and where they be not the Church is not D. Feild in his 2. booke of the Church cap. 6 The Ministery of Pastors and teachers is absolutely and essentially necessary to the being of the Church And lib. 1. cap. 10 Bellarmine laboureth in vaine in prouing that there is and alwayes hath byn a visible Church and that not consisting of some few scattered Christians without order of Ministry or vse of Sacraments for all this we do most willingly yield vnto Yea the Philosophers by the light of reason perceiued that it is impossible they should be a Common wealth without Magistrates This same also is manifest by many other definitions which Protestants haue made of the Church and we haue rehearsed them before in which they place true preaching and administration as essentiall parts of the true Church which yet cannot be without Pastors 3. Besides this were against the definitions of the Church giuen by the holy Fathers For thus writeth S. Cyprian epist 79 The Church is the people vnited to the Priest and the flock cleauing to the Pastor And this he proueth out of those words of our Sauiour Math. 16 Thou art Peter and vpon this rock will I build my Church S. Hierome also in his dialogues against the Luciferians It is no Church which hath no Priest S. Ignatius in his epist ad Trallianos VVithout these Priests the elect Church is not no congregation without these no meeting of Saints And whereas Danaeus lib. 4. de Eccl. cap. 8. sayth that these Fathers define only a visible church that auaileth nothing because indeed there is no Church on earth which is not visible in profession of faith Againe Pastors shall be at least of the essence of the visible Church and consequently the Protestant Church which before Luther wanted Pastors was no visible Church Furthermore S. Cyprian proueth his definition out of those words of Christ Matt. 16. which as is certaine and Protestants confesse are spoken of the true Church in the sight of God And S. Ignatius sayth that there is no elect church no congregation of Saints without Priests which he must needs meane of the true Church And Saint Hierome simply sayth it is no Church which hath no Priests which he could no wayes say if the true Church in the sight of God could be without Priests And hereby also is refuted Sadeel in Repetit Sophism Turriani pag. 652. when he sayth The definition of S. Cyprian is not essentiall nor properly teacheth what the Church is but what a one it ought to be For S. Cyprian inferreth out of his definition that if one be not with the Bishop he is not in the Church And Saint Hierome pronounceth one Hilaries sect to haue perished with him because he left no Pastor behind him And for this cause the Fathers do still obiect vnto heretiks the want of succession of Pastors as an euident marke that they are not the Church as euen Protestants themselues confesse For thus writeth D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 6. pag. 509 The Fathers rebuked heretiks that they wanted succession of Bishops Sadeel of Vocation of Ministers pag. 546 S. Augustin oftentyms opposed this succession against the Manichees and
common both to good and bad touching his ascending vp to heauen and his sitting at the right hand of his Father of all these points they contend and that with such exceeding heat of disputation as that old heresies not a few long since abolished and condemned begin againe to lift vp their head as if they were recalled from hell The like they haue ibidem in Prolegomenis Of the controuersy which is betweene the Lutherans Sacramentaries about the â—eall presence of Christs body in the Eucharist Martyr in locis tom 2. p. 156. giues this iudgement The contention and difference therein concernes the cheife heads of Religion Caluin epist 292. sayth that the opinion of the Lutherans doth By mischeiuous iuglings and legierdemains ouerturne the principles of fayth Beza in his 5. epist that it destroyeth the verity of Christs body And epist 81. that it recalleth from hell the folly and doting errours of Marcion and Eutiches Bucer cited by Hospin part 2. Hist fol. 84 It followeth thereupon that Christ is not true man Paraeus in cap. 3. Galat. lection 37 There is nothing more directly opposite to Christian Religion then to think that the body of Christ doth indeed lye hid really vnder the bread and that the same is truly eaten with the mouth Sadeel in tract de Coniunctione c. pag. 369. that it ouerthroweth the true nature of the true body and bloud of Christ VVhich thing sayth he we still lay to their charge And tract de Sacramentali manducatione pag. 26. that it is a word of euils pag. 267 That it traines after it idolatry And pag. 268 that it â—annot stand with the verity of Christs body Hospin part 2. citat fol. 2. that it is the foundation of Papistry And fol. 181 The base and pillar which sustaineth all the whole blended and disordered heape of abuses and all the bread-worship whicâ— hath vnder the Popedome byn deuised and brought in Lauaterus lib. de dissid Euchar. fol. 7. that it is the Foundation of the Popedome Cureus in Spongia that it is the foundation the strength the throne of the God Maozim and of the Popish state Caluin de Coena p. 8. in CoÌ„s pag. 754. Beza in fo 6. v. 23.62 ad 4. Demonstr Illyrici Zanâ—hius in Confess c. 16. sect 12. And Vrsinus in Catechism quest 78. cap. 3. sayth As long as the opinion of the corporall presence is maintained Popish adoration and oblation and the whole Popish masse is kept on foot And there is not one Sacramentary but thinks the verity of Christs body and his ascention sitting at the right hand of the Father cleane taken away if he should say he were substantially in the Eucharist Whereupon Zanchius tom 1. Miscell in iudicio de dissidio Coenae pag. 553. sayth There are two maine reasons why the one party to wit the Sacramentaries renounce the presence of the body The one that the article of Christs ascension into heauen may be kept entire the other that the nature and verity of his humane body be not destroyed Nay some of the Sacramentaries in their Confessions of faith condemne the opinion of the Lutherans as mad and blasphemous For Confess Crengerina cap. de coena Domini sayth VVe condemne their madnes who auouch and maintaine flesh-eating that is who hold that Christs naturall and very body raw and bloudy without any change or transubstantiation at all is receiued with the very mouth And the Scots in their Confess pag. 159. say they Detest that blasphemous opinion which auoucheth Christs reall presence in the bread wine and that he is receiued by the wicked or taken into the belly This and much more of the like is sometymes the Sacramentaries plea against the reall presence of Christs body in the Eucharist and yet at other tymes they professe that this controuersy is not of so great weight and moment as that it should dissolue Ecclesiasticall Communion and fellowship For so teacheth Martir apud Simlerum in vita eius the author of the orthodoxe Consent Prefat Apologet. Hospinian part 2. Histor fol. 78. Caluin de scandalis pag. 95. In Consens p. 764. Beza lib. de coena cont Westphalum pag. 258. M. Perkins in his exposition of the Creed col 792. and others Nay as we sayd before these men besought the Lutherans who stedfastly maintaine the reall presence to hold them for brethren and members of their Church They can then find in their conscience to haue fellowship and Communion with those men whose doctrine they condemne As Frantike blasphemous whose doctrine they say destroyeth Christs ascension What kind of men Sacramentaries challenge for brethren and the verity of his humane nature subuerteth the principles of fayth and cheifest points of religion recalleth the doting follies of Marcion and Eutyches establisheth the Kingdome of Antichrist traines after it idolatry and a world of euills Fy on these meÌ„ beliefe who think the maintenance of an opinion which as themselues professe ouerthroweth the principall articles of Christian fayth drawes after it idolatry and most foule heresies layeth the foundâ—tion whereon Antichristianity is raised of so sleight consequence as it ought not to dissolue fraternity and Communion What regard of fayth or saluation may we think these men haue There is yet another point oâ— Luteranisme touching the vbiquity or presence of Christs body euery where reproued of the Sacramentaries and held in extreme dislike of which they likewise exclaime that it is (a) Beza respons ad acta montisb l. pag. 252. forged and composed of Eutychianisme and Nestorianisme that the heresies of (b) Caluin 4 Instit c. 17. p. 17. Marcion and Eutyches yea well nigh (c) Hosp pref par 2. all old heresies are by it raised againe from hell that it subuerteth the whole (d) Perkins expos Symb. coll 792. Creed that it takes away the (e) Sadeel de verit hum nat cheife heads of Christian Religion that there is scant any one article of Christian beliefe which it doth not vtterly abolish And yet these selfe same Sacramentaries stile them who defend this opinion (f) Sadeel sup Most flourishing Churches and made earnest sure to be held for (g) Beza in colloq moÌ„tisbel pag. 462. brethren of those very men who vpheld this doctrine against them and maintayned it to their face Nay the particuler Churches of Sacramentaries themselues consist of parts mainly disioyned in matters of beliefe SacrameÌ„taries say there is fundameÌ„tall differeÌ„ce amoÌ„g them Examples hereof we need not seeke a broad Our owne Protestants tell vs how the Puritans their brethren allow not of the booke of common prayer but hold it to be full of (a) Whitgift resp ad Admonit p. 145. 157. corruptions and all abominations and teach that Protestants (b) Ib. resp ad schedas wickedly mangle and wrest the Scriptures that they haue no (c) Resp cit pag. 6. Pastours that they haue not a true Church