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A03880 A treatise of the vnvvritten Word of God, commonly called traditions. Written in Latin, by the R. Father Iames Gordon Huntley of Scotland, Doctour of Diuinity, of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English by I. L. of the same Society. The second part of the first controuersy; Controversiarum epitomes. English. Selections Gordon, James, 1541-1620.; Wright, William, 1563-1639. 1614 (1614) STC 13996.A; ESTC S115739 25,730 61

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A TREATISE OF THE VNVVRITTEN WORD OF GOD commonly called TRADITIONS Written in Latin by the R. Father Iames Gordon Huntley of Scotland Doctour of Diuinity of the Society of Iesus And translated into English by I. L. of the same Society The second Part of the first Controuersy Permissu Superiorum M. DC XIV THE FIRST CHAPTER Of the true state of the Question HAVING already in the precedent Treatise spoken of the written Word of God and of all other things therunto belonging now it remayneth we speake a litle of the vnwritten word cōmonly called Traditiōs But to the end that the state of this controuersy may more easily be vnderstood I will heere set downe foure things diligently to be considered in this matter we treate of The first is that by the vnwritten Word we only vnderstand that which is not written in the old or new Testament for of the vnwritten word of God in this sense is our whole Controuersy in this place Wherefore that obiection of our Aduersaries is both friuolous and nothing worth to wit that the word of God which we call the vnwriten word may be found extant eyther amonge the holy Fathers or in the books of the Councells or other Canons of the Church But this nothing belongeth vnto this purpose for it is sufficient for vs that this word of God is not written in any booke eyther of the old or new Testament 2. The second is that a thing may be cōteined in the holy Scripture 2. wayes The one way is implicite that is to say in some generall principle from whence this other may be certaynly deduced and in this sense we acknowledge that the whole word of God is conteined in holy writ and not only in Scripture but also in the Apostles Creed yea euen in that one article I belieue the Catholike Church so that it be diligently examined and well vnderstood as S. Augustine very well noteth For so sayth Christ the whole Law and Prophets doe depend vpon two precepts of charity as in the same place S. Augustine noteth For seing that the holy Scripture teacheth that we are bound to belieue the Church in all things that it can neyther deceiue vs nor be deceiued as we will euidently proue in the next Controuersy in the 〈◊〉 Chapter it consequently also teacheth the whole and entire word of God seing that all that which is not expressed in the holy Scripture is conteined expresly in the doctrine of the Church the which the Scripture commendeth vnto vs as infallible as S. Augustine very well sayth and declareth in many places For euen as God the Father comprehended in these few words This is my wellbeloued Sonne heare him the whole word of God so Christ proposed vnto vs the whole word of God when he commaunded vs to heare the Church 3. And in this sense do the holy Fathers oftentymes say that all the points of fayth are conteined in the holy Scriptures to wit in that generall principle in the which they admonish vs to belieue the Church but many of the holy Fathers sayings are falsifyed corrupted by Martinꝰ Kēnitius and some Caluinists as may be seene in Iudocus Ruesten in his first tome defending the Councell of Trent against Kemnitius 4. Secondly a thing may be conteined in expresse words in the holy Scriptures as that Christ is borne suffered and risen againe c. And in this sense we deny that the whole word of God is conteined in the Scriptures That obiection of our Aduersaries by this may easily be answered when they say that we affirme that Traditions are the vnwriten word of God and yet we goe about to proue thē by Scriptures For we do not proue euery particuler Tradition by expresse words of Scripture but we only deduce and gather them out of it and conuince in generall that there are Traditions 5. The third thing which is to be considered is that our Aduersaries being conuinced by truth doe acknowledge that many things were deliuered vnto vs by the Apostles besids those which are written But say they those were only externall rites and ceremonies seruing only for the ornament or discipline of the Church but nothing concerning doctrine of fayth was deliuered by the Apostles which they haue not set downe in writing So Caluin and some others which follow his opinion Wherfore it remayneth for vs to proue that not only external ceremonies but also those which belong vnto the doctrine of fayth were deliuered vnto vs by the Apostles and that they were neuer expressely set downe in writing 6. The fourth thing is that seing our Aduersaries cannot deny that which was obiected vnto them by Catholikes to wit that the Scripture in many places maketh expresse mentiō of the word of God preached deliuered and diuulged ouer the whole world as we haue already declared euen out of the holy Scriptures they are wont to answere that long since in the Apostles tyme this word of God was deliuered preached and not written but the Apostles afterwards set downe in writing all the preached word of God or at the least as much therof as was necessary vnto saluation The which solutiō albeit it be very weake and friuolous seing that it relyeth vpō no sure ground yet notwithstanding that it may more fully be confuted we will declare hereafter that many of the chiefest points of faith were not expressely set downe in writing by the Apostles And thus much of the state of this Question CHAP. II. Out of the first and chiefest principles of faith it is clearly conuinced that there are Traditions THE first argument wherby we proue Traditions is taken out of some of the chiefest principles of faith For there are three chiefe and most necessary points of faith yea the thiefe grounds of our whole faith which are not to he found expressely in Scriptures 2. The first that there must needes be some Catalogue or Canon of the sacred Bookes aswell of the old as of the new Testament the which all Christians with an assured faith should imbrace as a most certaine and an vndoubted truth and this is a very necessary point of faith yea of it dependeth the authority of all the bookes of holy Scripture because by this Canon the sacred and true books of Scriptures are discerned and made knowne from all those which be Apochriphall especially because aswell in times past as in these our daies there hath byn so many and so great Controuersyes about the Canonicall and Apochriphall bookes of Scripture and such a Canon was altogeather necessary aswell in the auncient Church before Christ as in our present Church after Christes tyme the which also our Aduersaries themselues haue learned by experience For they haue also placed their new Canon of the bookes of holy Scripture in their Confession made at Rochell and in the later end of some of their Bibles and yet neyther in the tyme of the old Testament nor in the tyme of the
new Law was this Canō euer written downe in the Bibles themselues 2. I know our Aduersaries that they may escape this argument do runne to the inward instinct of the holy Ghost wherby say they we know what booke is Canonicall and what is not But this answere is refuted reiected before where we haue shewed that the holy Ghost doth not moue vs to belieue any thing with the Catholike faith which is not the word of God If therfore the holy Ghost moue vs to belieue that some bookes are Canonicall and some are not it is necessary that this be the word of God We aske therefore of them whether this is the written word of God or the vnwrittē if it be the written word in what Booke or Chapter is it to be foūd if it be no where to be found our Aduersaries must needes cōfesse that by the instinct of the holy Ghost they also belieue the vnwritten word of God or Traditions 3. The second principle of faith is that we must necessarily with an assured and firme faith belieue that all those Bookes eyther of the old or of the new Testament which we now retaine are safely deliuered vnto vs entyre and vncorrupted through so many handes so many ages so many vexations and persecutions of the Christians for otherwyse the whol credit and authority of those bookes will decay and perish But this is no where extant or written for neyther the Prophets or Apostles haue euer written that their bookes should neuer be falsified or corrupted by any yea it appeareth sufficiently by that which hath byn already said that they were falsified and corrupted in many bookes by the Iewes and Heretikes Let our Aduersaries therfore tell vs where it is written that this holy Scripture which we haue now is not corrupted or falsifyed 4. The third principle of fayth is the true sense of the letter For the true word of God consisteth rather in the true sense or meaning of the words then in the words themselues as we haue declared before But the true sense of the words that is to say in what sense or meaning the words are to be vnderstood eyther properly or figuratiuely cannot be had from the holy Scripture alone but also from the doctrine and Traditions of the Church as we haue sayd before in the fourth Chapter wherby it also followeth that the writtē word of God conteyneth in it the least part of the word of God to wit the bare letter only but the word of God preached and deliuered keepeth and professeth vnto vs the cheife part of the word of God that is to say the true natiue sense of the same 5. And this is that which S. Basil sayth that those who reiect the vnwriten points of fayth as vndiscreet persons do wrong and damnify the chiefe parts of the Gospell yea they euen as it were cōtract or bring the whole preaching of the Gospell to the bare name therof 6. Many of our Aduersaries who deale more sincerely with vs conuinced by these arguments do acknowledge that these grounds or principles of our faith are only to be had by Traditions without any written word of God as Ioannes Brentius and Martin Kemnitius who adde also that those Traditions which doe not repugne to the written word of God are to be admitted and receiued of all and those only are to be reiected which are opposit vnto the holy Scriptures 7. But whatsoeuer our Aduersaries do answere it is altogeather necessary that they confesse these three principles of our fayth do belong indeed to the very word of God it selfe They must also needs confesse these are not extant in playne and expresse tearmes in any booke either of the old or new Testament out of which necessarily followeth that the whole intire word of God is not conteyned expresly in the holy Scripture CHAP. III. Wherein it is proued out of other particuler poynts of fayth that there are Traditions THE second argument whereby we proue Apostolicall Traditions is taken out of other particuler poynts of fayth the which almost all our Aduersaryes belieue with vs albeit they be no where expressely conteyned in the Scriptures There are many poyntes of fayth of this sort wherof for example sake we will alledge some few But to the end we may vse our accustomed breuity we will rehearse only those which do also manifestly shew out of this opinion of our Aduersaries that nothing appertayneth to the doctrine of fayth which is not expresly conteyned in holy Scripture there are many greeuous errours and heresies in this our age arisen 2. The first point is that in God there are three persons really distinct among themselues and one only substance for this is no where extant in holy Scripture yea in it nothing is to be found expresly writen eyther of the substance or of the person in that signifycation wherein these words are vsed when we speake of the Blessed Trinity 3. This indeed the Caluinists to their great losse and domage haue sufficiently learned by experience fourty yeares agoe in Transiluania For when one Iohn Huniades whom they called Iohn the secōd King of Hūgary was then Gouernour in Trāsiluania a Coutry or Prouince of Hungary had ordained a publike dispuratiō betwixt the Cal●…inists and the Antitrinitarians that is to say those who oppugned the mystery of the Blessed Trinity and that according to the cōmon doctrine on both syds they should dispute only out of the holy Scriptures the Caluinists could neuer proue out of the Scriptures alone that there is eyther a substance or person in God neyther could they by the Scriptures only declare what is a person or what is a substance 4. Wherefore at the last this was the end of the disputatiō that almost all those which were present iudged that the Antitrinitarians got the victory and that the Caluinists were shamefully ouercome wherupon it came to passe that the sayd Prince of Transiluania of a Caluinist became an Antitrinitarian yea one of their cheife friends in so much that he tooke some publike Churches from the Caluinists and gaue them to the Antitrinitarians and he continued miserably in that wicked heresy euen till death which happened in the yeare 1571. the 14. of March 5. All which things are aboundātly declared by one Ioannes Sommerus Pirnensis in the funerall Oration which he made at his death wherein among other things he affirmeth that the cheife cause why this Prince left the Caluinists and became an Antitrinitarian was this because for sooth in the Scriptures he could fynd nothing of the Blessed Trinity and for that the Caluinists were forced to confesse that the words wherby the mystery of the Blessed Trinity is explicated are not extāt in the holy Scripture but because this funeral Oration is scarse any where to be found least some should thinke that I falsely coyned these things my selfe I will heare set downe his owne words For after he had most