Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	canonical_a	church_n	council_n	2,601	5	7.0385	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09739	Ane answer made the fourth day of Septembre a thousand fyue hundreth syxtie [and] one, by maister Theodore de Besza minister of the holie Euangile, in the presence of the quene mother, the king and quene of Nauarre, the princes of the blood royall, and of the priuie counseil, vnto that whiche the cardinall of Lorraine had replied against that whiche was propounded in the first iourney of their talking together, by the said de Besza in the name of the reformed churches. Together with an other short answer made by the said de Besza the 26 day of the said moneth vnto certein articles of replie set forth by the said cardinall	Bèze, Théodore de, 1519-1605.; Baron, John.	1562 (1562)	STC 2000; ESTC S119255	24,857	90

them that are superfluouse These pointes being resolued it is easie to decyde this question if the Churche be aboue the Scripture the whiche semeth to me to be so foolish a question as if one asked whether the infant or childe were aboue his father the woman aboue her husband yea the man aboue God And in very dede the trew Churche will neuer striue against God in suche a quarrell nor none other but will escaip condemnation And it serueth to no purpose to say that the Churche was before the Scripture For althogh that so it be yet it is so that this worde that afterwardes haeth bene written is alweys more ancient seinge that by the same the Churche hath bene conceiued ingendred and nourished as it haeth bene said The saying of S. Augustine is alledged in this behalf I wold not beleue the Scripture if y e authoritie of the Churche moued me not thereunto But here must ye cōsider that Saint Augustine speaketh of him self as a Manicheen When therefore two parties will debate or stryue for the treuth of an instrument vnto whome shall they haue recourse but vnto nota●ies w c kepe the registre thereof And yet notwithstanding it can not be said that the register is founded vpone y e witnessinges of notaries the whiche should not faill to be trew althogh no man liuing bare witnes thereof Euen so muche hereof must we answer vnto them that think that the authoritie of the canonicall bookes is not founded vpon that whiche the Churche haeth determined thereof as if it were so that there were found determinations of Councelles altogether diuers in this pointe y t whiche may be more at large declared in a mutuall conference It shall suffice me to alledge besides y t whiche I haue before spoken one onely reason accompanyed with the authoritie of some of the ancientes that be well approued The reason is this that Iesus Christ him self haeth so muche honored y e doctrine of the Prophetes that he ratified and proued his doctrine by y e witnessing of them S. Paule suffered that they of Tessalonique should do the lyke as it is written in the 17 chaptre of y e Actes Saint Petre haeth expresly allowed this maner of doing Then must not they that say that they be the vicares of Iesus Christe and successors of Saint Petre and S. Paule refuse the lyke condition And further consider what S. Ierome sayeth in the 9 chaptre of his second booke vpone Ieromie y t men must nether follow the error of their fathers nor of their ancitors but the authoritie of the Scriptures And Saint Chrisostome vpone the 24 of Saint Mathew in the 49 homelie The same man sayeth he that wold knowe whiche is y e trew Churche of Iesus Christe how shall he know it in so great a confusion of suche semblance or liknes also why is it that in y e tyme then all the Christians oght to retire and draw them selues to the Scriptures Forasmuche as that after that tyme that heresie had obteined and occupyed the Churches there might be no certē probation had of the trew Christianitie nor other refuge vnto Christians willing to know the treuth of the faith but the holie Scriptures Lykewyse oure Lorde knowing so great confusion to come in the latter dayes cōmādeth that the Christians whiche be in the Christianitie w c wold haue a trew and firme fayth should haue none other refuge but to y e Scriptures or els if they regarded other thinges they should be offended and perishe not knowinge what were the trew Churche and by that meanes they should fall in to the abhomination of desolation y t whiche is set in the holy place of the Churche Saint Basill also in his moralles the 12 chaptre of the 9 somme writeth thus if all thing that is without faith is sinne as the Apostle saieth and faith is by hearing and hearing is of the worde of God all that is without the Scripture whiche is inspired of God is sinne Lykewyse the same author in his sermon of the confession of the faith If the Lorde be faythful in all his wordes and all his cōmandementes be sure for euer done in veritie and righteousnes It is manifestly to turne frō the faith and a cryme of pride to reiecte any thing of that that is written or to introduce any thing more that haeth not bene written seing that oure Lorde Iesus Christ haeth said my shepe heare my voice follow not a stranger but flie frō him because they knowe not his word Hitherto Madame I haue answered according to the measure of the knowledge that God haeth geuen vs vnto y e first point of the last oration of my Lordes the Prelates concerning the estate and authoritie of y e Churche of oure Lorde Where of as yet we are redy to vnderstād all that shalbe shewed vnto vs by the pure worde of God There resteth the article of the Supper the w c I will leaf of if it please youre Maiestie aswell because ye are to long holden and all the present assistance as also because of the desire that we haue that this conference should be begonne after a better ordre because all that in speaking sōmarelie of a mater y t hitherto haeth bene wrapped vp in so greate obscuritie it should be very hard but that many wordes shoulde escape how trew soeuer they were that shoulde offend the heartes of them that should heare them Neuerthelesse if it pleaseth youre Maiestie that we go forwarde we are redy to speak therof that whiche the Lorde will giue vs to vnderstand Submitting alweys oure selues vnto that whiche shalbe shewed by the holy Scriptures And make humble supplication vnto youre maiestie to be persuaded that next to y e glorie of God there is no thing that we seke with so greate desyre as the rest and quietnes of youre Maiestie of all this Realme ❧ Ane answer the xxvj day of septembre the yere a thousand fyue hundreth sixtie and one ▪ Being arriued at Poyssy twelue ministers of the worde of God with twelue deputies of Churches in an hall where was the Quene mother the King Quene of Nauarre the princes of the blood royall and all the Lordes of Councell and other Lordes of the one syde of the other part 5 Cardinalles w t many bus●hops and Theologiens of all sortes My Lorde Cardinall of Lorrain declared in few wordes that this assemble was made to heare what y e said ministers had to say vnto that whiche he had proponded two dayes befor whereat Theodore rase vp in the name of the said xij ministers for all the Churches of France that be reformed and answered as followeth Madame the last tyme y t it pleased you to giue vs audience we made declaratiō according to y e grace that oure Lord gaue vs of the article y t was propoūded touching the Churche the marckes and authoritie of

Micheas yea the Sonne of God him self and after him the Apostles but the assemblies of the Prelates of Israell If hereunto it be answered that these thinges happened in the tyme of the olde Testament I answer that it is not ynough spoken nor derectly answered For the conclusion will alweys be ferme and sure that the assemblie of Prelats of the Churche how generall soeuer that it was haue oftē tymes bene gouerned by the Spirit of error rather then by the holy Goste Secondly if we come to the new Testament S. Paule haeth not he expresly warned the Ephesiens in y e name of all the Churche that there shoulde wolues come oute frome amongest the mids of the Pastors that the sonne of perdition shoulde sit in the temple of God And in very dede in conferring the Councelles one with an other there will appere so many contrarieties amongest them selues that of very force ye must confesse that the holy Goste haeth not alweys there had audiēce but that Satan for a long tyme past haeth transfigured him self into the lyght of generall Councelles for to disguise and hyde his falshode There is a place in S. Augustine y t expresseth this in his second booke of Baptisme agaīst the Donatistes 3 chaptre the whiche I haue alledged in the first oration and now for a cause will alledge it again there it is expresly said that the Epistles of the particuler Busshops be corrected by the prouinciall Councelles and the prouinciall Councelles by the generall Councelles the first generall Councelles adnulled by the last when as by experiēce of things that whiche was close is opened that whiche was hidde is made euident Unto this my Lorde Cardinall answered ī his oration y t this was to be vnderstand of exterior or outward things whiche might oght to vary according as nede requireth But considering the hole mater nerer it is found that this worde Emendari presupposeth that there was a faute cōmitted and after corrected also if this answer shoulde be receiued ye must say lykewyse of the particuler Epistles of the busshops and prouinciall Councelles the whiche is directly against the intention of Saint Augustine whiche reasoneth there of this point and not of any exterior policie but of one point of doctrine to wit of the opinion of Saint Cyprian and of the Councell of Affricke touching rebaptisation If there be also alledged an other argument whiche they vse to wit if oure Lorde haeth promised to be in y e myddes of two or three gathered to gether in his name now by greater reason wil he be in an assemblie vniuersall we grant that so it may be presumed but there is a difference betuene a presumption and a necessarie conclusion For y e malice of man cōmeth often tymes vnto this point to abuse the name of God to establishe their lesings that suche may haue God in theire mouth whiche haue his enemy in their hart The weaknes of man is so great y t there is comonlie in him an infinite nombre of dissordinate affections whiche blind oure eyes so that we say that he whiche haeth none other foundation then the aduyse of men and the outward apperance of a Coūcell is rather in danger to be deceiued thē otherwys What then Wold we y t the doctrine of y e Churche should be vncertain seing it may erre No thing les For we confesse that as yet we know in a parte as Saint Paule saieth in this respect there is alweys error mingled with the veritie yet neuertheles God suffereth not that the veritie in y e substanciall pointes of oure saluatiō be euer so buried in all his Churche y t there is not alweys some nombre now more now lesse y t vnderstādeth y t whiche they oght to vnderstād do follow that whiche they oght to follow Thus we see that it came passe in Israell in the tyme of Elias and in the tyme of the captiuitie of Babilon in the tyme of the cūming of Iesus Christe when as scarsely was there found a Zacharie an Elizabeth a Ioseph a Uirgin Marie a Simeon and an Anna the Prophetesse whiche had a vnderstanding of the fulfilling of the Prophetes amongest so great corruptions of Scrybes Pharises and Sadduces Suche interruptions therefore in the Churche of God ꝓceding and cōming of the iniquitie of men be as a storme or cloudy wether whiche afterwardes he causeth to vanishe away with y e brightnes of his worde as it pleaseth him and according as he distributeth the secretes of his iudgementes and of mercies Are we willing lykewyse thus to condemne the ancient Councelles God forbid For as ye your selues know ryght well y t if it were in question to be reuled by them ye should change mo thinges then we ye haue trauelled therein these dayes past but we require y t the Scripture be the touche stone for to examyn all that is done and said in the Churche If this seme strange I pray you my Lordes to cōsider this moste renouned place of Saint Augustine writing vnto Maximin Arian in the seconde booke chaptre 14 Is there any generall Coūcell more authorised then the first called the Councell of Nece And what is y e Councell of Arimin A Councell reiected and cōdemned that worthely And whereof disputeth S. Augustine Euen of a principall article of the beleif y t which had bene before that often tymes fully resolued to wit of the Cōsubstancialitie of the Sonne of God in this mean season ye may see that S. Augustine witnesseth that for his part he is not astricted nether to y e Coūcell of Nece nor yet to the Coūcell of Arimin but that he will fight w t the Scriptures whiche be saieth he cōmon witnesses vnto bothe parties If any body will against this alledge the obscuritie of the Scriptures we must nedes confesse that whiche S. Paule saieth that y e naturall man knoweth not those thīges that be of God and that whiche Saint Peter sayeth y t the Scriptures be not of any priuate interpretation Well then if this obscuritie be so great that the Scriptures can not be exponded by them selues whence cometh this that Christe sēdeth vs no where els when he sayeth searche the Scriptures And how cōmeth it to pas y t Abraham being required by the vnhappy riche man to send some of the other world to admonishe them of this worlde they haue sayeth he Moses and the Prophetes if they beleue not them no more will they beleue when any shall ryse again from the dead And moreouer in what case had they bene in then that had no thing but y e scriptures of the Apostles before y t euer there was any cōmentaries written by the Ancients And yet further I remembre my Lorde Cardinall y t in youre oration youre aduyse was to receiue for sure interpretation and Apostolycall tradition that whiche haeth bene alweys