church we define to be a congregation of men amongst whome the word is truly preached and the Sacraments administred Such a church hath not alwayes byn neither can we be assured that it shall alwayes be sound vpon the earth There was a tyme when as the visible church failed vpon earth The visible church failed This inuisibility of the Protestant Church which I haue hitherto proued by their manifold Confessions I will also proue by sequels out of other their sayings First therefore D. Morton in his Apology part 1. book 1. cap. 31. disliketh not these words of Bellarmine Protestants when they say the church cannot faile or perish meane the inuisibible church And many of them in expresse words deny that the Promises of perpetuity Protestāts say the promises belong not to the visible Church which in the scripture are made vnto the church Math. 16. and other where be made to the visible church D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 3. pag. 468 It is most false that it is the visible church against which the gates of hell shall not preuaile And Daneus Cont. 4. lib. 3. cap. 13. pag. 717 There Math. 16. is not meant the visible church To whome assenteth D. Willet in his Synopsis cont 2. quest 2. M. Powell of Antichrist lib. 1. cap. 10. Beurlin in his Refutation of Sotus cap. 53. Moulins of the vocation of Ministers lib. 1. c. 4. in his Bucklet part 1. pag. 49. And D. Morton lib. cit cap. 13. addeth that those three places Math. 16. vlt. and psal 47. which promise the perpetuity of the Church Protestāts belieue not the visible church Are euery one of them vnderstood almost by euery Father of the only company of the elect which the Protestants call the inuisible Church Besides they all generally teach that by the Catholike Church which they professe to belieue in the Creed they meane not the visible Church but only the inuisible Luther in his booke of abrogating Masse tom 2. fol. 247 VVho shall shew vs the holy church seeing it is hidden in spirit and is only belieued according as I belieue the holy church Zuinglius in his explication of the 31. article The church which consisteth of those which are knowne to God alone in that which we professe in the articles of our creed Danaeus lib. cit pag. 713 The question is of the true church of God whereof it is sayd in the creed I belieue the holy church Bellarmine vvill haue it to be the visible vve deny it The like he sayth pag. 789. 717. 718. and 725. Vorstius in his Antibellarm pag. 144 VVe professe not in the creed to belieue the visible church but the inuisible D. Whitaker lib. 3. against Duraeus sect vlt You see vvhat Catholike church vve belieue not the visible multitude of Christians but the holy company of the elect The same he sayth Cont. 2. quest 2. cap. 2. Brentius in Prolegominis pag. 2. and others commonly Furthermore they say that the visible Church is not the true Church in the sight of God For Caluin in his 4. book of Institutions cap. 1. § 7. They say the visible Church is not the true Church before God and the rest graunt that both wicked and reprobate Christians may be of the visible Church but deny that they can be of the true Church in the sight of God Now surely if the visible Church be neither the true Church in the sight of God nor she to whome he hath promised perpetuity nor she which Protestants do belieue what reason can they haue to belieue that the visible Church shall alwayes remayne or which is all one that the Church shall be alwayes visible Againe their common doctrine is that preaching of true doctrine is the note of the visible Church for so teacheth the Confession of Auspurg cap. 7. the English Confession artic 19. and all the rest To which his Maiesty in his epist to Cardinall Peron D. Whitaker Contr. 2. q 5. c. 17. D. Morton part 1. Apol. l. 1. c. 6. M. Willet in his Synopsis Cont. 2. quest 3. pag. 102. Sadeel to Turtians Sophismes loc 5. Vorstius in Antibellarm pag. 145. and others do adde that it is an essentiall note of the visible Church And it is manifest that they must say so because they vse to define the visible Church to be a company vvherein the pure vvord of God is preached the Sacraments rightly administred For so it is defined of the English Confession and of Sadeel lib. cit of Whitaker quest 5. cit cap. 20. of Melācthon tom 1. in cap. 15. Matth. and of others generally But before Luther there was no preaching of Protestantisme as we shall heare them confesse cap. 7. therefore there was then no visible Protestant Church Finally sometymes they say that not only preaching of the word but that also a lawfull ministery or that not only what true preaching soeuer but also such as is made by a lawfull Minister of the word is of the essence and substance of the visible Church For thus writeth D. Whitaker Cont. 2. q. 5. cap. 19. pag. 550 Stapleton sayth that the preaching of the Ghospell by lavvfull Ministers is the proper note of the church and vve say no othervvise And pag. 551. That he confesseth true preaching by a lavvfull Ministery to be a note of the church is no other thing then that vve say and defend The like hath Sadeel in the place now cited and the Switzers Confession cap. 17. putteth lawfull preaching for the chiefest note of the church Caluin 4. Institut cap. 2. § 1. for a perpetuall note the conclusions defended at Geneua pag. 845. for an essentiall note thereof But before Luther there were no Protestant Ministers at all as we shall hereafter heare the Protestants confesse Therefore no visible Protestant Church 8. By that which hath byn rehearsed it is manifest Summe of the foresayd confessions that very many and very famous Protestants haue often and plainly confessed that when Luther came first as they speake to the Ghospell the Protestant Church and religion was not visible say hid lurked lay in the wildernes in lurking holes indarknesse in Trophonius his denne was buryed was vnknowne vnheard of appeared to none cold not be discerned Her image could not be seene no shew of besides a huge spoile did appeare no face no fashion no trace of her was extant and she was so hid that he who would iudge according to the outward shew would think her to be no where And that this is so manifest as that the experience of many ages beareth witnes thereof With what words I pray you could they say that their Church was altogeather inuisible if they haue not sayd it in these 9. Moreouer it is manifest that for to maintaine their inuisible Church they do teach that the Church may be vnknowne to the godly to those who are of it that it may be not visible not appeare not
society in profession of true doctrine and right vse of Sacraments is termed of Protestants the true Church not because this Church or society is of it self the true church or the society instituted by God but because alwayes in or vnder it there is the true Church to wit the society in iustice and predestination by reason that in euery company of them that professe true doctrine and rightly vse the Sacraments there are some who are sociated and vnited in iustice and predestination Which D. Whitaker intimateth when Cont. 2. quest 4. cap. 1 pag. 485. he sayth The visible Church which holdeth and professeth true sayth is the true Church only of the part of the elect and predestinated I answere that this supposeth a thing doubtfull and perhaps false For what certainty can there be that in euery particuler company of them who professe the true fayth rightly vse the Sacraments there is alwayes a coÌ„pany of the iust and elect when as Christ sayth Many are called but few are chosen Matt. â—0 especially if as Protestants say one or two make a church Surely Danaeus Cont. 4. pag. 689. seemeth to deny this saying These visible companies are sometymes a part of that true Church sometymes none But admit that in euery company of true professors there be always a company of iust and elect what reason were this to terme the society in profession of true fayth the true Church if in deed the society in iustice predestination be the only true Church This would suffice to say that the apparent Church could neuer be separated from the true Church but not to call that society the true Church which indeed is only the outward appearance of the true Church And much lesse would it suffice to call it the church properly so termed the spouse and body of Christ the Catholike Church the Church which we professe to belieue as the Protestants haue termed the visible Church Neither can these epithets or names be giuen to any other society then to that which hath the true nature and substance of the Church indeed because they signify as properly and expresly that only Church as she can be expressed of vs by any words whatsoeuer And sith Protestants haue giuen them all to the visible church they must needs confesse that shee hath the nature and substance of the very true Church indeed and consequently that an inuisible Church is no true Church indeed 6. Fourthly I proue that the Church cannot be inuisible ProtestaÌ„ts somtyms say that the church cannot be inuisible because oftentymes Protestants do confesse it The Apology of the Confession of Ausburg chap. of the Church The Church is principally the society of fayth and of the holy Ghost in the hearts which yet hath her outward markes that she may be knowne Luther vpon the 4. chap. of Genesis tom 6. fol. 56 The Church was neuer so voyd of externall marks that it could not be not knowne where God was certainly to be sound And vpon 51. psalm tom 3. fol. 474 For Christ will not lye hid in the world but will be preached not between wals but vpon the house top Melancthon vpon the 11. of Daniel tom 2. pag. 511 It is necessary that the Church be a visible company Againe VVe seigne not an inuisible Church like to a Platonicall idea And in the Preface of his 3. tome he thinketh it so absurd to put an inuisible Church as he sayth To what tendeth that perdigious speach Monstruous to say the Church was inuible which denyeth that there is any visible Church We must needs confesse a visible Church And vpon the 3. chap. 1. Tim. tom 4. pag. 398 Others sayth he setting aside wholy the externall shew do speake of an inuisible Church as of a Platonicall idaea which is no where seene or heard Kemnice in his common places title of the Church cap. 3 God will haue vs to know where and which is the Church Therefore she must be knowne not to God only but also to vs and therupon is defined to be the visible company of them who imbrace the Ghospell of Christ and rightly vse the Sacraments Iames Andrews in his book against Hosius pag. 210 VVe are not ignorant that the church must be a visible company of teachers and hearers Againe The Church is and is called a company of men chosen of God in which the word of God soundeth incorrupt c. Hunnius in his treatise of Freewill pag. 91 God in all tymes hath placed his Church as in a high place and hath exalted it in the sight of all people and Nations Hutter in his Analysis of the Confession of Auspurg pag. 430 The elect are not the whole Church no if you speake only of the true church For the church consisteth not only of inward sayth in Christ but also of the outward administration of the word Sacraments Now as farre as this in outward rite is performed so farre the true Church truly is visible Beurlin in the Preface of his Refutation of Sotus I confesse the Church of Christ is alwayes to be acknowledged visible And he addeth that all confesse the same The same doctrine is taught by Gesner loc 24. by Adam Francis in his 11. place and by other Lutherans Amongst the Sacramentaries thus writeth Vrsin in Prolegomenis ad Catechcsin pag. 2 The Church must needs be seene in this world that the elect may know vnto what company they must adioyne themselues in this life Iunius Cont. 4. lib. 3. cap. 13. affirmeth that it is impious to say that the Church can wholy want a visible forme Keckerman in the 3. book of his Theologicall systeme writeth that the Church must always be sensible that other nations may know to what church they ought to adioyne themselues and that Confession of sincere doctrine can neuer faile wholy nor the visible church wholy erre Danaeus in his booke of the visible Church dareth to say that who denieth the true church of God and that visible to haue byn from the beginning of the world he without doubt sheweth himselfe to be ignorant in holy scripture Amongst our English Protestants M. Hooker in his 3. booke of Ecclesiasticall policy pag. 126 God hath had euer euer shall haue some Church visible vpon earth D. Feild in his 1. booke of the Church cap. 10 For seing the Church is the multitude of them that shall be saued and no man can be saued vnlesse he make Confession vnto saluation for fayth hid in the heart and concealed doth not suffice it cannot be but they that are of the true Church must by profession of the truth make themselues knowne in such sort that by their profession and practise they may be discerned from other men And D. White in defence of his Way cap. 4. pag. 390 I acknowledge the prouidence of God who hath left the records of history to confirme our fayth and freely graunt our religion to be false if the
Heathens Pagans and infidells And in his Apology for the Switzers Churches he defineth Schisme to be a separation from the rest of the body of the Catholike Church Zanchius also in his treatise of the Church cap. 7. reacheth that Schismatikes are not in the Church And suâ—us in his 3. booke of the Church c. 5. approueth the fame of such Schismatikes as separate themselues from the whole Church The strangers in England writing to Beza in the 24 epistle haue these words in their 13. article VVhosoeuer is lawfully excommunicated of a particuler Church or cutteth himselfe of vpon vnlawfull causes and with scandall in that doth loose all priuiledge of the Catholike Church And Beza answereth them in the name of the Church of Geneua in this manner Your thirteenth article we wholy receiue at most orthodoxall Casaubon in his 15. exercitation against Baronius num 6. It is an vndoubted truth that how often soeuer a pious flock is ioyned to a true Bishop there is a Church of God in so much that if any forsake that Church it cannot be doubted but that he is out of the Church Finally Chamier in his epistle to Armand excludeth Schismatikes out of the Church because sayth he they want the sincerity of the Sacraments English ProtestaÌ„ts Amongst our English Protestants his Maiesty in his foresayd epistle to Cardinall Peron All those testimonies of Augustin proue only this that there is no hope of saluation for those who leaue the Communion of the Catholike Church which the King willingly graunteth D. Whitaker in his 2. controuer 5. quest 6. cap. sayth It is false that hereticall and Schismaticall Churches be true Churches Againe The Catholike Church consisteth not of diuided but of vnited members And cap. 2 The true and Catholike Church is that which consisteth of Catholiks D. Fulke in his booke of the succession of the Church VVhat auailed it them to eternall saluation to haue byn sound in Religion and doctrine seing they were cut of from the Communion of the true Church in which alone saluation is and from her true head VVhat skilleth it whether one being drawne by heresy or Schisme from the body of Christ be subiect to euerlasting damnation D. Humfrey in his answere to the 3. reason of F. Campian VVe confesse that he is vndone who is separated from the followship of the Church And D. Feild in his first booke of the Church cap. 7 The name of the Catholike Church is applyed to distinguish men holding the sayth in vnity from Schismatiks And in his 2. booke c. 2. he sayth that Schismatikes are not Catholike Christians Thus we see how Protestants sometymes do teach that the true Church consisteth of Catholiks of members vnited not deuided that it hath no Schismes or Sects That Schismatiks are not Catholiks that their vnity is not true nor Catholike that their Churches ought to be forsaken that they are not vniuocally Churches nor true Churches that they are not members of the true Church but out of the Church altogeather out of the Church and actually neither of the visible nor inuisible Church and that this is an vndoubted truth which coÌ„fession of theirs must be well noted and kept in mind for thereby is ouerthrowne as we shall see in the 2. booke their only argument wherwith they endeauour to proue that their Church was before Luther and also is defaced their only essentiall mark of finding the true Church by the truth of doctrine For Schismatikes as we shall heare them confesse in the 2. booke hold true doctrine and neuertheles as here they acknowledge are not of the true Church They exclude those that deny any fundameÌ„tal article 5. In like manner they do commonly debarre from their Church all such as deny any principall or fundamentall point of fayth Melancthon in his booke of common places in the title of the Church They are not members of the Church who pertinaciously maintaine errours opposite to the foundation And in his answere to the Bauarian articles Saints may haue errours but not such as ouerthrow the foundation In his examen of those that are to take orders Agreement in the foundation LutheraÌ„s is a thing necessary to the vnity of the Church And vpon the 3. cap. of the 1. epistle to Timothy The foundation is held in the Church otherwise there should be no Church at all And in his 79. proposition tom 4 It is most certaine that those companies are not the Church of God who either are altogeather ignorant of the Ghospell or impugne some article of the foundation that is some article of fayth or doctrine of the decalogue or maintaine open idols Chemnitius in his common places pa. 3. title of the Church Neither can these be acknowledged for the true Church who imbrace fundamentall errours And the Lutherans in the conference at Ratisbon Ses 14. Hutter in his Analysis of the Confession of Auspurg Gesner in his 24. place Adam Francis in his 11. place and other Lutherans commonly agree that the Church cannot erre Fundamentally or in the Foundation And the Confession of Saxony giueth this note to know who are in the Church SacrameÌ„taries Those who hold the Foundation As for Sacramentaries Caluin in his 4. booke of Institutions cap. 2. num 1 So soone as a lye hath broken into the castle of Religion the summe of necessary doctrine is inuerted the vse of Sacraments is fallen certainly the destruction of the Church ensueth euen as a mans life is lost when his throat is cut or his vitall parts deadly wounded And soone after It is certaine that there is no Church where lyes and errour haue gotten to the toppe And cap. 19. num 17 VVithout doubt the Church of the faythfull must agree in all the heads of our Religion Sadeel in his answere to the Theses held at Posna cap. 12 I thinke the matter is thus to be defined by the word of God that if any in what Church soeuer dissent in the foundation of sayth and be obstinate in their errours such appertaine not to the vnity of the Church The like he hath in his answere to Arthure cap. 12. Vesinuâ— in his Catechisme quest 54. cap. 4 The whole Church erreth not nor wholly nor in the foundation Polanus in his Thesis of the Church sayth The Church erreth not in the foundation The same teacheth Zanchius in his treatise of the Church c. 7. Lubbertus in his 2. booke of the Church c 3. Vorstius in his Anti-bellarmin pag. 139. Bucanus in his 41. place and other Sacramentaries commonly And with them herein agree our English Protestants English ProtestaÌ„ts For thus sayth his Maiesty in his epistle to Cardinall Peron The Churches are vnited in vnity of sayth and doctrine in those heads which are necessary to saluation And D. Whitaker in the preface of his Controuersies The foundations of sayth are of that nature that one being shaken nothing in all religion remaineth sound And Contr. 2. quest 4. cap.
1 We say that the Church cannot erre in things simply necessary Which he often repeateth in the 2. cap. And quest 5. cap. 17 If any fundamentall doctrine be taken away the Church straight way falleth And cap. 18 The fundamentall articles are those on which our fayth relyeth as the house vpon the foundation Againe If any fundamentall and essentiall principle of fayth be ouerturned or shaken it cannot be truly called a Church And quest 6. cap. 3 That is no true Church which taketh away one only foundation The same he teacheth in his 1. booke of the scripture cap. 7. sect 8. and cap. 12. sect 3. M. Perkins in his explication of the Creed If any man or Church retaine or defend obstinatly or of willfull ignorance a fundamentall errour we must not account them anymore Christians or Churches D. Sutliue in his first booke of the Church cap. 1 Those blemishes take away the name of the true Church which are against the grounds of fayth D. Feild in his 2. booke of the Church cap. 3 Purity free from fundamentall and essentiall errour is necessarily required in the Church D. Morton in the 1. part o◠his Apology booke 2. cap 38 Purity of doctrine in fundamentall principles of fayth is required to the being and constitution of the Church And in his answere to the Protestants Apology l. 4. c. 3. Sect. 5 The deniall of fundamentall doctrines doth exclude men from saluation and disannulleth the name of the Church in the gainsayers D. White in his way to the Church pag. 110 VVe do not thinke euery company to be the true Church that holdeth only some points of the true fayth but it is requisite that the foundation be holden And in his defence of the way cap. 17 A fundamentall point is that which belongs to the substance of fayth and is so necessary that there can be no saluation without the knowledge and explicite fayth thereof And surely they all and at all tymes ought to affirme this seeing they deliuer truth of doctrine as an essentiall marke of the Church which they must needs vnderstand and so Vorstius in his Anti-bellarmin pag. 148. expresseth it of true doctrine in fundamentall points And this their doctrine touching this matter I earnestly commend to the memory of the Reader because it is necessary to find out what a Protestant is and also is one of the grounds whereby it may appeare that there was no Protestant Church before Luther because before him there was no company which held all the same fundamentall points of doctrine which Protestants do hold 6. Finally They exclude all that deny any article of fayth they sometyms shut out of their Church all those who deny any one point of fayth be it fundamentall or other For thus writeth the Apology of the Confession of Auspurge The Church of Christ is not among them who defend naughty opinions contrary to the Ghospell And Luther in his epistle to Count Albert It is not inough if in other things he confesse Christ and his Ghospell For who denieth Christ in one article or word denieth him who is denied in all because there is but one Christ Lutherās the same in all his words And vpon the 17. cap. of Deuteronomy Faith suffereth nothing and the word tolerateth nothing but the word must be perfectly pure and the doctrine alwayes sound throughout And vpon the 17. cap. of S. Matthew Fayth must be round that is belieuing all articles though small ones For who belieueth not one article rightly belieueth nothing righly as Iames sayth VVho offendeth in one is guilty of all and so who in one article doubteth or belieueth not at least obstinatly dissolueth the roundnes of the graine and so can do no good And vpon the 5. cap. to the Galathians In diuinity a small errour ouerthroweth all the doctrine Doctrine is like to a Mathematicall point it cannot be deuided that is it cannot suffer either addition or detraction And when Zuinglius and his followers desired of the Lutherans to be esteemed as their brethren Melancthon as Hospinian reporteth in his Sacramentarian history fol. 81. roughly sayd vnto them VVe meruaile with what conscience they can account vs for brethren whome they iudge to erre in doctrine And againe fol. 82. Luther grauely spake vnto them saying he greatly merueiled how they could hold him for a brother if they thought his doctrine to be vntrue And the same Melancthon togeather with Brentius writeth thus to the Lantgraue Perhaps Christians who are entangled in some errour which they do not obstinatly defend may be tolerated as brethren but they which not only bring false doctrine into the Church but also maintaine it are not to be acknowledged for brethren And againe Melancthon in his examen of those who are to take orders tom 3. There are in that company of the Church many who are not Saints but yet agreeing in doctrine The Deuines of Wittemberg in their refutation of the orthodoxall consent pag. 73 Like as he who keepeth the whole law and offendeth in one as Iames the Apostle witnesseth is guilty of all so who belieueth not one word of Christ albeit he seeme to beliue the other articles of the Creed yet belieueth nothing and is to be damned as incredulous For euery heretike did not impugne euery article of fayth but commonly each of them of purpose impugned some one or other whome neuertheles the Church iustly condemned as heretikes if they pertinaciously stood in their errours Schusselburg also in his 3. tom of the Catalogue of Heretiks pag. 85. Christian fayth is one copulatiue and who denieth one article of fayth calleth in doubt the whole body of the heauenly doctrine Which he repeateth againe in the next pag. And tome 8. pag. 361 The Lutherans do fly him who depraueth the doctrine of truth in any article whatsoeuer And in his 2. booke of Caluinisticall diuinity article 1 VVe are certaine by the testimony of Gods word that an errour in one false doctrine obstinatly defended maketh an heretike For S. Chrysostome vpon the epistle to the Galathians sayd most truly that he corrupteth the whole doctrine who ouerthroweth it in the least article And Ambrose wrote rightly to the Virgin Demetrias That he is out of the number of the faythfull and hath no part in the inheritance of Saints who disagreeth in any thing from the Catholike truth Sacramētaries Thus the Lutherans Peter Martyr in his epistle to the straungers in England tom 2. loc col 136 VVe answere all the words of God as farre forth as they proceeded from him are of equall waight and authority and therefore none may receiue this and reiect that as false Iames sayth boldly who sinneth in one becommeth guilty of all That if it haue place in keeping of the commandements is also true in points of fayth Sadeel in his index of Turriās Repetitions pag. 806 I sayd that it was no true Church which teacheth doctrine repugnant to the
followers not knowing the Pope did honour his Kingdome belieuing all things thereof to be good and iust and of God The Magdeburgians in their 12. Century col 1637. speake thus of him He worshipped the God of Maâ—zim they meane the masse till the last moment of his life And in the next columne He was a most eager defender of the seat of Antichrist Melancthon in his booke of the Church and vpon the 14. cap. to the Romanes He yelded to many errours as to the Abuses of the Masse to the Popes power to vowes to the worship of Saints Danaeus in his controuersies pag. 313. sayth He approued the Popery M. Iewell in his defence of the Apology 21. art diuis 8. pag. 450 Bernard was a monck and liuing in a tyme of such corruption and being caryed with the tempest and violence of the same must c. Bale in his 2. century of writers pag. 177 He increased the authority of the bishop of Rome as much as he could D. Feild vpon the 14. of S. Matthew Bernard was deceiued with the errour of Peters superiority And D. Whitaker in his answere to the 7. reason of Father Campian Bernard whome alone your church in many yeares hath brought forth a holy man And in his 4. controuersy quest 2. c. 17. he affirmeth that he endeauoureth to confirme the Popes superiority Seing therefore by the confession of Protestants he was both an earnest Papist vnto his dying day for all his life tyme he honoured masse beleiued the Popes superiority in which two points Protestants say the essence and soule of a Papist doth consist and briefly belieued all things belonging to the Pope to come from God and also was a very holy man in his life tyme and now a blessed Saint in heauen they must needs confesse that euen the most vehemeÌ„t Papist may be of the church because neither true sanctity nor saluatioÌ„ can be found out of the church Whereunto the Protestants in the late Conference at Ratisbon Sess 13. say If they were truly saints then their errour was not of that kind which ouerturneth the foundation For it implieth contradiction that one should be a true Saint and yet foster errour which ouerturneth the ground of saluation In like sort they graunt diuers others to be true saints and yet withall Papists but for breuities sake I will content my selfe with this example of S. Bernard But I will not omit to say that they confesse our Christian forefathers before Luthers tyme to haue byn Papists from the top to the toe from the first to the last as shall be shewed in the 2. booke cap. 3. and notwithstanding dare not say that they be damned yea confesse them to be saued Luther in his booke of priuate masse enquireth what is to be thought of our auncestors who haue founded innumerable Masses and answereth I cannot tell certainly But vpon the 41. cap. of Genesis he sayth Doubtlesse many haue byn saued vnder Popery And vpon the 5. of S. Matthew Our Popish forefathers saued Neither do we condemne the Christians who liued vnder the Pope Brentius in the preface of his Recognition VVe doubt not but that many haue obtayned true saluation in Popery Osiander in his Manual englished VVe do not condemne our godly ancestors who liued in tyme of Popery Zuinglius in his actes of disputation fol. 638 It is impious to pronounce our ancestors to be damned D. Morton in his Apology part 1. l. 1. c. 90 Be this impiety far from vs to adiudge our ancestours to damnation And D. White in his defence pag. 356 I neuer denyed the church of Rome to be the visible church of God wherein our ancestors possessed the true faith and were saued But how could our Popish ancestors be not damned how could they be saued vnles they were in the true church out of which euen Protestants themselues confesse that there is no saluation That they confesse true mission and Pastors in Popery but only damnation 4. Fourthly I prooue that Protestants cannot deny Papists to be of the true Church because they oftentymes both by word and deed acknowledge the vocation and Mission of Popish Pastors to be lawfull and sufficient to make a true Pastour of the Church Luther vpon the 5. cap. of S. Matthew VVe confesse that amongst Papists are pulpits Baptisme Sacraments and all other things belonging to Apostolicall vocation and function And in his booke or priuate masse There remaineth in Popery Vocation Ordination Ministery of the word and keyes to bind and loose Againe Christ hath conserued his Ministery vnder Popery And as is before cited There is all Christian good in Popery the keyes the charge of preaching c. Iohn Regius in considerat Censurae pag. 93 Although it be true that the Popish ministery was depraued with sundry traditions and deuises of men yet had it those things which were necessary to saluation Bucer in Rom. 8. pag. 427. telling vs by what authority and right he preached Protestantisme sayth I had by lawfull meanes already attayned the charge to preach Christ and to teach those things which he commanded Iunius lib. singulari de eccles cap. 17 God calleth the church wherein Popery raigneth by his spirit by his word by the publike instrument of that holy marriage by the ministery by sacred affaires actions On Gods part these things are apparantly in that church Plessy lib. de Eccles cap. 11. p. 361. The vocation of our men is the same that they the Papists boast of Pag. 362 Our aduersaries and our first ministers had the same Ecclesiasticall calling Boysseul in confutat Spondaei pag. 486 It is no reproach for our Pastors to haue issued out of yours or as you say to haue had their vocation from yours Moulins lib. 1. de vocat cap. 5. pag. 20. endeauouring to vphold the calling of their first Reformers sayth They haue that calling which is ordinary in the church of Rome Pa. 21 They had their calling of the Pope cap. 9. pag. 36 They haue the same ordinary calling which our aduersaries haue And lib. 2. tract 1. cap. 1. pag. 172 The calling they had in the church of Rome sufficed to bind them to preach And pag. 173 Their commission was no other then the ordinary charge Serauia in defen Grad minist cap. 2. pag. 31. VVe ought not to thinke that in the church of Rome ecclesiasticall ministery is decayed And pag. 33 I like not their frowardnes who acknowledge no ministery in the church of Rome but deeme all that is there diuelish Ibid Beza doth exagitate Popish orders ouer much wherein I feare least he preiudice a good cause D. Whitaker contr 4. quest 5. cap. 3. pag. 682 The Papists haue some sort of ministery and some preaching of the word which doubtles auaileth many to saluation And other where as is before cited Among the Papists there are the keyes the office of preaching c. M. Bell in his first booke of the Popes funerall cap.
5. affirmeth that he had reiected only the accidents of his Popish orders but retayned the substance still M. Mason in his 5. booke of the ordination of ministers cap. 12. sayth that Popish ordination consistes of two parts to wit of power to offer sacrifice of power to administer the word and Sacraments and albeit he reiecteth the former yet the later he approues as that wherein true ministery consisteth Sadeel respon ad artic abiurat 61. And Vorstius in Anti-bellarmin pag. 177. teach the same and so must all others do who hold the mission of Luther and their first ministers to haue byn ordinary and receiued from the Papists which opinion most Protestants do now follow retracting vpon better aduise their former assertion confessing that the mission of their new Reformers was not in substance extraordinary And their deeds and actions do no lesse declare their approbation and esteeme of the mission and Pastorall charge which is in the church of Rome For as Turrian reporteth lib. 2. de Eccles cap. 3. and Luther intimateth tom 2. epist ad Bohemos when the Catholike Bishops giue orders the Hussites of Bohemia steale in priuily among the rest The Lutherans also made sute to the estats of the Empire that their ministers might receiue orders from the bishops of Misnia and Numburg And in artic 10. Smalcald they professe thus If the bishops of the church of Rome would truly execute their office and looke carefully to the church and word of God it might be permitted them to giue orders vnto vs and our preachers You may adde hereunto that neither Luther nor any Reformer else euer sought other ordination then what they had receiued of Papists and that in the beginning of Queene Elizabeths raigne the supposed Prelates earnestly be sought a Catholike Bishop to consecrate them And euen to this day if any renegate Priest ioyne himselfe to the Protestants they order him not anew but deeme him fit for their ministeriall function by vertue of the orders he receiued of Papists Now if Papists haue true Mission true pastorall charge and true Pastors True mission and Pastors inseparable froÌ„ the Church surely they haue also the true church it being impossible that the church should be seuered froÌ„ the true Pastours or that the keyes of heauen which are in the true Pastours hands should be out of the church or that the power to remit sinnes the prerogatiue of true Pastours shold be where the church is not Nay the Protestants themselues confesse as much Luther tom 4. in cap. 4. Oseae fol. 295 True it is that the Ministery is only in the Church Melancthon tom 1. Lutheri disput de Eccles Polit. fol. 483 The ordination of Ministers is one of the peculiar giftes of the Church Caluin lib. de neces reform Eccles pag. 57 This one reason is as good as thousands that who so hath shewed himselfe an enemy to true doctrine hath lost all authority in the Church D. Whitaker ad demonstrat 18. Sanderi Out of the Church there is no other seate but the seat of errour of pestilence and euerlasting destruction The same teacheth Sadeel ad Sophism Turrian loc 10. D. Feild in his 1. booke of the church cap. 14. and others 5. Fiftly it is euident by the doctrine of the Sacramentaries who hold that the children of Papists are in the couenant of God and estate of saluation through the fayth of their parents Papistâ— children saued by the fayth of their parents and may therefore be baptised much more then must they teach that the parents themselues are for their owne fayth in the couenant of God and estate of saluation which could not be were they not in the Church The antecedent is manifest by the saying of many Protestants For thus writeth Luther lib. de capt Babylon tom 2. fol. 77 Here I say that which all say that infants are holpen by the fayth of them which offer them Caluin in his Catechâ—sme cap. de lege God extendeth his bounty so farre vnto the faythfull that for their sake he is good to their children not only blessing their affaires in this world but also sanctifying their soules that they may be accounted of his flock Contr. Seruetum pag. 601 VVe think that there will be no vse of Baptisme vntill this promise I will be thy God and of thy seed be apprehended by fayth but euery one apprehendeth it not only to himselfe but also to his issue Beza part 2. Respon ad acta Montisbel pag. 118 Parents through Gods grace do apâ—rehend grace by true fayth according to the forme of the Couenant as well to their posterity as to themselues Which he oftentymes repeateth And likewise in Confes cap. 4. sect 48. and cap. 5. sect 9. and pag. 126 M. Perkins de Sacramento Baptismi tom 1. col 846 Others say that the fayth of the Parents is also the fayth of their children all the tyme of their infancy or childhood and that because parents do by their fayth apprehend the promise both for themselues and for their children VVhich opinion seemeeh to me the fittest of all The like he sayth in cap. 3. Galat. The sequele likewise is vndoubted For if the fayth of Popish parents be of force to establish their very children in the Couenant of God and estate of saluation though it reside not in them nor be their act much more doth it establish the parents themselues who haue that fayth in them and whose act it is Nor do the instances D. Morton brings against it in his answere to the Protestants Apology lib. 4. cap. 6. make any thing to the purpose as that in case of necessity an hereticall Priest or Schismatike may absolue from sinnes and an Infidell administer Baptisme Againe That if such as were free of a citty and are araigned of treason should haue issue after their condemnation their children neuertheles shall enioy the title and right of cittizens whereof their parents were destitute These examples I say are not to the purpose because he who is eyther baptized by an Infidell or absolued by an hereticall Priest enters not into the couenant of God and estate of saluation for ought that is in the person which baptizeth or absolueth him but for the Sacrament of Baptisme or Pennance which he receiueth indeed by the others administration but hath it in himselfe And the sonne of a traytor is not made a Cittizen in regard of any thing that is in the father alone but for his owne birth which appertaines to himselfe though his Father be author thereof But the Sacramentaries teach that the child of a Papist is in the couenant of God and estate of saluation not for his owne fayth for they say he hath none but for the beliefe of his father which is no way possible if the same fayth be not of force to worke the like effect in the father himselfe seeing it belongs farre more to him then to his child and therefore must
man Sonis Respons ad Spondeum c. 10. pag. 365. Heretiks are within the Church Lubbert lib. 2. de Eccles cap. 3 It is manifest that heretikes are some as yet in the visible Church some also in the church of the elect Iunius lib. 3. de Eccles cap. 4 Heretiks absolutely are of the Church vnlesse they be such as ouerthrow fundamentall articles of religion Cap. 3 n. â—â— Bullinger teacheth the same Decad. 2. serm 8. and it is the common doctrine of the Protestants who as is before proued exclude none from being members of their Church that deny only such articles as are not fundameÌ„tall Howbeit some of them vpon hereticall priuiledge as Tertullian speaketh will not haue such called heretiks Lib. de carne Coâ—isti cap. â—5 being indeed more ashamed of the name then of the thing it selfe Zanchius likewise lib. 1. epist ad Dudit pag. 150. sayth that hereticall and Schismaticall sects are within the Church Tilenus in Syntag. disput 14 Heretiks euen those that subuert the foundation and Schismatiks in regard of outward Communion are in the Church till either of themselues they go to the enemies side or are cast out by the lawfull iudgement of the Church And D. Feild in his first booke of the Church cap 14 Seing God gaue the power of the keyes and the dispensation of his word and Sacraments only to his Church if Heretiks be not of the Church they do not then baptize And cap. 7 They that are partakers of the heauenly calling and sanctified by the profession of diuine truth and the vse of the meanes of saluation are of very diuers sortes as heretikes Schismatiks hypocrites and those that professe the whole sauing truth in vnity and sincerity of a good and sanctified heart All these are partakers of the heauenly calling and sanctified by the profession of truth and consequently are all in some degree and sort of that society of men whome God calleth out vnto himselfe separateth from Infidels which is rightly named the Church D. Whitaker contr 4. quest 5. c. 3. pag 679 All heretiks are within the Church Hooker in his 3. booke of Ecclesiasticall policy pag. 128 VVe must acknowledge euen heretikes themselues to be though a maymed part yet a part of a visible Church Againe If an Infidell should pursue to death an heretike professing Christianity only for Christian Prosession sake could we deny vnto him the honour of Martyrdome By which words it is plaine that they admit heretiks not only into the visible Church but into the inuisible also or company of the elect and predestinate to saluation And D. Andrews in his answere to Bellarmines Apology cap. 5. pag. 121. denyeth that the words Catholik and Heretike are opposite wherefore vnlesse he will debarre and shut out some Catholiks from the Church he must needs giue admittance to heretiks seing by his owne verdict they may be Catholiks D. White in defence of his way cap. 38. pag. 367 The second sort of the militant Church are hypocrites and vnsound members that are not called effectually but disobey the truth whereof they make profession such are heretiks schismatiks c. Touching their acceptations of Schismatiks besides what hath byn already alleaged D. Feild in his first booke of the Church cap. 13. Writeth thus They challenge Schismatiks The departure of Schismatiks is not such but that notwithstanding their schisme they are and remaine parts of the Church of God Iunius in the place before quoted layeth clayme to those Schismatikes VVho sayth he seuer not themselues from the whole Church but only from a part thereof But D. Mortoâ— in the 1. part of his Apology lib. 1. cap. 2. sayth absolutely without any acception or restraint at all Schismatiks are of the Church And lib. 2. cap. 10. pag. 288 Variances sayth he and schismes do not betoken the false Church And D. Willet in his Synopsis cont 2. quest 3. pag. 104 VVe say that Schismatiks though they hold some false points of doctrine yet if their errours be not fundamentall and if they retaine the purity of doctrine in all points necessary to saluation and the administration of the Sacraments may make a particular Church by themselues These are their acknowledgements touching Heretikes and Schismatikes in generall They acknowledge the Grecians Let vs now descend to particularities and see the courteous admission they giue to some of them by name 8. The Grecians and other Easterne Schismatiks yea heretiks to for the most part find that fauour at their hands as they vouchsafe to account them members of their Church His Maiesty epist ad Card. Peron pa. 13 hath thus The Churches of Rome Greece Antioch Aegipt Aethiopia Muscouy and others more are members of the Catholike church D. Whiâ—e in defence of his way c. 37. pag. 355 The visible churches of Greece Aethiope Armenia and Rome with the nations contayned therin haue in them the true church of God wherin men may be saued D. Morton in his answere to the Protestants Apology lib. 4. cap. 2. sect 7. sayth that the Assyrian Churches keep the true foundation of Christian fayth The same especially of the Grecians teacheth Luther tom 2. lib. de captiu Babylon fol. 65. in Assert art 37. fol. 114. Innius cont 4 lib. 4. cap. 6. Sedeel Respons ad Thes Posnan cap. 12. D. Whitaker lâ—b 7. cont Duraeum sect 3. Bucanus loco 41. quest 5 D. Feild lib. 3. de Eccles cap. 5. 28. D. Fulke de Success pag. 120. Burhill pro Tortura Torti c. 15. and others 9. And sometymes they are not lesse free-harted towards westerne heretike Melancthon in locis à Maulio editiâ—tit de Eccles pag. 491. writeth that two girles who were burnt as he sayth for Anabaptisme They challenge the Anabaptists held the foundation of sayth and died in a good Confâ—ssion And Zuinglius tom 2. lib. de Author sedit fol. 134. seq exhorting his fellowers not to reuolt from his doctrine for the debates and quarels between the Protestants and the Anabaptists calleth both parts most learned and sonnes of the same Father Neither must thou sayth he giue any man way to shake and weakeâ— thy sayth although thou see that men of the greatest learning moue disputes and fall by the cares with much â—agernesse of contention touching externall matters he meanes baptisme but let this be rather thy stedfast persuasion that by the Sonne of God we are all made sonnes of the same Father Againe Neither am I wont to speake these things for that I am so greatly moued with the baptisme of children And ibidem lib. de Baptismo fol. 96. he sayth that baptisme is a matter of ceremony which the church may omit or take quite away Oecolampadius in his 2. booke of epistles p. 363. sayth baptisme is an externall thing which by the law of charity may be dispensed withall And Musculus in locis tit de haeresi pag. 605. reckons the Anabaptists amongst those who
Chapter of Isaias tom 4. fol. 220. thus writeth There is no religion in the world which receiueth this opinion of iustification by only fayth and we our selues in priuate do scant belieue it though we publikely defend it By which words he sheweth that neither Hussytes nor Waldenses nor any Christians besides Protestants and scarce they also do belieue the principall and most fundamentall article of Protestancy howsoeuer openly they professe it That the Church cannot be so inuisible as Protestant confesse theirs to haue byn before Luthers tyme. CHAP. VI. 1. BY the name of the Church we vnderstand not as I sayd before only the men but men sociated or the society of men in the fayth worship of God Wherfore that a church be sayd visible not only the men but their worship of God must be visible Neither by this word visible do I vnderstand here that only which can be seene but whatsoeuer is sensible according both to the vulgar phrase of speach wherewith we say See how it soundeth as S. Augustine noteth and also after the phrase of scripture Lib. 10. Confess c. 35. wherein as the same holy Doctour obserueth All sensible things are called visible And Protestants as is before shewed do confesse that before Luthers rising their Church was simply inuisible Lib. 1. de mor. Manich c. 20. and vnseene of any either of those within or without her And necessarily they must say so because they can name none at all who before Luther arose did see a company of men who professed to belieue iustification by only fayth and the rest of the fundamentall principles of Protestancy yea they affirmed that it was so inuisible Ca. 4. n. 11. as it implyed contradiction to haue byn seene of any That the Church cannot be inuisible 2. Now that the Church Militant or liuing on earth cannot be so inuisible I proue first because it is against an article of fayth of diuers Protestants And if perhaps any hereupon imagine that either Protestants neuer graunted the contrary or that if they did graunt it their testimonies against themselues are not to be accepted let him read what hereafter I write touching that matter in the last chapter of this booke Wherefore in the Confession of Saxony cap. 15. they professe in this sort God will haue the Ministery of the ghospell to be publike he will not haue the voice of the ghospell to be shut vp only in corners but will haue it beard of all mankind Therefore he will haue publike and seemely meetings and in them he will haue the voice of the ghospell to sound He will also haue these same meetings to be witnesses of the Confession and separation of the Church from the sects and opinions of other Nations God will haue his Church to be seene and heard in the world and will haue her deuided by many publik marks from other people And the same they repeat in the Consent of Polony cap. de Coena And the same Confession of Saxony cap. of the Church VVe speake not of the Church as of a Platonicall idaea but we shew a Church which may be seene and heard The eternall Father will haue his Sonne to be heard in all mankind VVherefore we say that the Church is in this life a visible company c. SecoÌ„dly it is against their owne definitions of a militant Church ProtestaÌ„ts definitioÌ„s of the Church For the foresayd Confession of Saxony defineth the Church in this life to be a visible company The Magdeburgians in their 1. Century lib. 1. c. 4. col 170. do thus write The Church may be thus defined The Church in this life is a company of those The câ—urch in this life who imbrace the sincere doctrine of the Ghospell and rightly vse the Sacraments And the very same definition giueth Melancthon tom 4. in cap. 3.1 ad Tim. pag. 398. Hutterus in his Analysis of the confession of Auspurg pag. 444. saith This Church which is sayd to be and to be belieued The Church which we belieue is not a Platonicall idea but the visible company of those that are called Zanchius also in his treatise of the Church cap. 2 The militant Church is the company of the elect and truly saythfull Church militant professing the same sayth partaking the same Sacraments c. Hereof properly speake the scriptures when they call the Church the spouse of Christ the body of Christ redeemed with the bloud of Christ sounded vpon a rock Gerlachius tom 2. Disput 22 Defining the Church as it is on earth we say that it is a congregation of men Church on earth who called by the voice of the Ghospell heare the word of God and vse the Sacraments instituted of Christ. 3. Thirdly it is against the properties and markes of the true Church assigned by the Protestants themselues to be altogeather inuisible For thus their Confession of Auspurg cap. 7 The Church of Christ properly so called The proper Church hath her marks to wit pure doctrine c. The Confession of Saxony cap. 12 The true church is discerned from other nations by the voice of true doctrine and lawfull vse of Sacraments The true Church The French Confession art 27 VVe belieue that the true church ought to be discerned with great care VVherefore we affirme out of the word of God that the Church is the company of the faythfull who agree in following the word of God and imbracing true religion wherein also they daily profit growing and confirming themselues mutually in the feare of God The Confession of the Low Countries art 29 By these markes the true Church shall be discerned from the false if in her the pure preaching of the Ghospell be of force by these markes it is certaine that the true Church may be distinguished The Confession of Scotland art 18 It is necessary that the true Church be discerned from the false by euident marckes least being deceiued we imbrace the false for the true to our eternall damnation Againe VVe belieue the markes of the true Church to be true preaching of the word c. Melancthon in his answere to the Bauarian articles tom 3. fol. 362 It is euident that the true Church is a visible company And vpon the 16. to the Romans tom 1. pag. 486 She is the true Church who teacheth the Ghospell aright and rightly administreth the Sacraments Danaeus in his booke of Antichrist cap. 17 The proper definition of the Church This is the proper definition of the Church that the true Church is the company of the faythfull who serue God purely and keep the notes of adoption instituted by him such as are the heauenly word the Sacraments and discipline By these 3. marks the false Church is distinguished from the true Lubbert in his 4. booke of the Church cap. 2 VVe say that the Church doth shew her selfe to be the true Church by the sincere preaching of the word of
God And Beza wrote a booke of this title Of the true and visible marks of the Catholike Church D. Whitaker in answere of the 3. reason of F. Campian That we iudge to be proper to the true Church that it increase and conserue Christs word that it vse the Sacraments entiâ—rly and purely These we defend to be the most true and essentiall properties of the Church Take these away and you will leaue nothing but the carcasse of the church Againe They containe the true nature of the church which if they be present they make the church and take it away if they be taken away And D. Feild in his 1. book of the church cap. 11 VVe say that that society wherein that outward profession of the truth of God is preserued is that true church of God c. Finally to omit the words of others the same teach Wigand in his method of doctrine cap. 19. Gesner in his 24. place of the Church The Magdeburgians in the Preface of their 6. CeÌ„tury Heshusius in cap. 1.1 ad Cor. Soterius in his method title of the church Pelargus in his Compend of diuinity loc 7. Sohnius in his Thesis of the Church Bullinger in his Catechisme fol. 44. Aretius in his places part 3. fol. 50. Theses of Geneua disput 74. SummeoiÌ„ Protest former CoÌ„sessioÌ„s Thus thou seest good reader that according to the manifold iudgement of Protestants a part of the definition of the essence the marke of the Church in this life of the Church militant of the Church which is belieued of the proper Church of the Church whereof the Scripture properly speaketh when it calleth her the spouse of Christ the body of Christ of the true Church of the Church properly so termed and finally of the Catholike Church that I say it is of the definition and essence a marke of this church to be a visible company professing the faith partaking the Sacraments mutually confirming themselues and that otherwise it is as they say but a carcasse of the Church Wherefore it implieth manifest contradiction that there should at any tyme haue byn a true Church and not a visible company because nothing can be without all its essentiall parts The Protestant Church therefore which as we head was before Luthers tyme altogeather inuisible was no true and proper Church but to vse their termes a Platonicall idaea or a carkasse of a Church If any reply that when Protestants affirme the foresayd definitions properties and marks of the true Church they meane not by the name of the true Church that which is simply and absolutely the true Church but that which is the true visible Church I aske why then do they simply call it the true Church if they do not so meane why are not their words conformable to their meaning Besides the Church wherof they giue the foresayd definitioÌ„s and marks they call not only the true Church but also the Church properly so termed the spouse and body of Christ the Catholike church and such like which cannot agree to any which is but a Church in appearance only and in the sight of men but only to that which is the Church in very deed and in the sight of God Further more according to the opinion of Protestants these two termes True and Visible in the nature of the Church do one destroy the other as these two True and Painted exclude each other in the nature of a man For they imagine that the true Church is a society in something that is inuisible to wit in iustification and predestination Wherupon they deny any ill or reprobate Christians to be of the true Church Wherefore as he should speake fondly who should say A true painted man so according to their owne opinion they speake as fondly when they say The true visible Church But as we can only say the true picture of a man attributing the word True to the picture not to the man so they should only The true appearance or shew of the Church gâ—uing the word True to the shew not to the Church it selfe But they are ashamed to speak so least when they inquire the marks of the true visible Church Why ProtestaÌ„ts somtyme call the visible visible Church the true Church it should appeare that they seeke not the marks of the true Church indeed but only of the shew shadow or shape of the Church And yet in very truth they seeke but the marks of the shadow of the church For the inuisible Church consisting only of the iust and elect which alone they will haue to be the true Church hath no certaine marks else we should know certainly who were the iust and elect And this themselues confesse for thus writeth D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 8 ProtestaÌ„ts giue no marks of the true Catholike Church The question is not of the marks of the inuisible Church Againe VVe say the marks of the Catholike Church simply so called are knowne to God alone And D. Humfrey to 3. reason of F. Campian pa. 281. sayth that the marks do not reach vnto the nature of the true Church And the reason is manifest because as I sayd otherwise we should know who were the iust and elect 4. If any againe reply that when Protestants say The true visible Church they meane the visible Church true in doctrine in which speach there is no contradiction according to their owne opinion because they admit that the visible Church that is the society in true doctrine and right vse of Sacraments into which Church or society the wicked or reprobate may enter may be true in doctrine though they graunt not that such a Church or society be the true Church in nature or essence Which perhaps Vorstius meant in his Antibellarm pa. 180. when he sayd The outward Church is not without cause called the true church of Christ by reason of the prosession of true doctrine I answere if they so meant why did they not speak so were they ignorant that it is one thing to be true in doctrine or in speach and another to be true in nature as a lyer is a true man in nature of man but not true in his speach Or if they did know this why did they abuse the words and their hearers Moreouer though in this sense their words did not destroy themselues as they did in the former yet fondly should they as they vse to do assigne the truth of doctrine for the marke of the true Church in doctrine For this were to assigne a thing for a mark of it self as if to know a true man of his word one should giue this marke that it is such as speaketh truth Besides this were rather to define what is a true man then to giue the marke to know who is a true man And yet marks are giuen to know which is the true Church not what is the nature of the true Church 5. If yet any reply that the visible Church or
14. Ninthly Nothing can make the church inuisible I proue that the Church could not be inuisible because there is nothing which can make that the Church professe not her fayth For if any thing most of all persecution But as the waters did lift vp the Arck of Nöe which was a figure of the church so do persecutions raise vp the church and make her more knowne And as the heauen in day tyme all shineth but at might glittereth in the starres so the church in tyme of peace flourisheth in all her members but in tyme of persecution is most glorious in her constant soldiers And there are many and most excellent testimonies of the holy Fathers how that the Church is by persecution made more pure more famous and more plentifull which one may read in SS Iustin Irenaeus Tertullian Gregory Nazianzen Hilary Ambrose Hierome Augustin Leo Theodorete Gregory the great others I according to my purpose will alleage only the testimonies of Protestants Luther vpon the 1. psalme tom 3. fol. 125 The faythfull whiles they are killed do encrease while they are diminished do multiply And vpon the 9. of Isaias tom 4. fol. 84 The Church is made fruithfull with the bloud of the Godly and increaseth Caluin against Seruet pag. 595 The true and proper church rising vnder persecution flourished vnder the same The like he hath vpon the 2. Tim. cap. 2. and Philip 1. Lubberia lib. 5. de Eccles cap. 3 The true Church grew vnder suffering persecutions And the Apology of the English Church in the end This flame the more it is kept downe so much the more with greater sorce and strength doth it breake out and fly abroad D. Fulke of Succession pag. 255 I acknowledge that the Church is so farre from being extinguished by the persecution of the materiall sword that I graunt it giueth her occasion to delate and extend her bounds For so as Tertullian sayth well the bloud of Mâ—rtyrs is the seed of the Church This all that are not starck blind do see to haue happened to our Church For how much the more Antichrist raged with fire and sword so much the more famous she became And D. Whitaker Cont. 2 quest 5. cap. 4. pag. 501 Persecutions destroy not the Kingdome of Christ but make it more famous And Cont. 4. quest 5. cap. 2. pag. 669 VVhen tyrants raâ—ed against the church religion suffered no losse yea then most of all flourished How then could the Protestant church if it were the true church of God become inuisible before Luther arose by persecution 15. If any reply that this is true of violent persecution of the heathens but not of persecutions by fraud deceit as is the persecution of Antichrist which made the Protestant Church in former tyms to become inuisible I answere that first he speaketh voluntary without all proofe Againe that the English Apology and D. Fulke speake namely of Antichrists persecution meaning the Pope which they say hath since Luthers tyme made their church more famous How then could it before his tyme make it inuisible Moreouer the scripture and holy Fathers teach that Antichrist shall rage most cruelly against the Church and Protestants affirme that the Pope whome they will haue to be Antichrist hath byn so cruell against Protestants as any Herode Nero Domitian may seeme to haue byn mild if they be compared to him Finally heretikes do by fraud persecute the Church and neuerthelesse the Apostle saith There must be heresies 1. Cor. 10. that those who be tryed may be made manifest So farre is fraudulent persecution from making the Church inuisible as it maketh the tried faythfull to be manifest And both S. Augustin oftentymes others obserue that heresies haue byn occasion of great increase of knowledge vnto the Church 16. Tenthly I proue ProtestaÌ„ts inferre an inuisible Church to be no Church that the Church cannot become inuisible because Protestants do often inferre such and such a Church or company not to haue byn because it was not seene as in the Preface of the Protocoll of Frankentall they proue the Anabaptists were not before the year 1525. Because say they if you read all stories you shall find no people from the beginning of the world who had a Confession of fayth like vnto yours But by the same manner it were easy to proue that Protestants were not before Luther For as Spalatinus in his relation of their CoÌ„fession of Auspurg boasteth One shall not find such a Confession neither in any history neither in any ancient Father or Doctor In Luther tom 9. German And Fox in his Protestation before his Acts sayth that of their Church there is no mention made in Histories Luther also vpon the 3. chap. ad Galat. tom 5. fol. 358. writeth that of his principall opinion nothing is read in books of Monks of Canonists of Scholmen yea nor in the books of ancient Fathers There was a wonderfull silence of it for many ages in all schooles and Churches Likewise when one sayd that the Roman Church was a member of the Catholike Church Caluin in his Answere ad Versipellem pag. 359. sayd I do not gainsay that the Roman Church is a member of the Catholike if he could shew a Church at Rome Which supposeth that no Church is where it cannot be shewed When Bellarmine sayd that beside the Synagogue of the Iewes there were in Elias tyme Churches amongst the Gentils D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 3. pag. 475. thus answered If they say that God had other Churches let them shew them and tell which they were and where they were And D. Rainolds in his 12. Prefection vpon the scripture col 106. inferreth that none of the Synagogue did belieue those bookes of Scripture which they deny to be canonicall because we cannot name any When D. Harding sayd that there was such an heresy M. Iewel art 2. diuis 8. pag. 75. denying it sayth It must needs be a very straung heresy that neuer had neither beginning nor ending nor defender nor reprouer nor mouth to speake it nor eare to heare it nor pen to write nor tym to last in nor place to rest in And if an heresy must be heard of certainly much more the Church of God When Beza impugned the Arians thus he discourseth epist 18. pag 98 If their opinion be true we bid them shew where there Church hath byn sith from the propagation of the ghospell it is easy to demonstrate that neuer any one held any such thing who was not condemned by the perpetuall consent of the Church And he addeth epist 81 Certainly there hath byn no true Church if these men teach truth When the Bohemians would proue that they had borrowed nothing of the Anabaptists thus they write in the Preface of their Confession Our Congregation was long tyme before any thing was heard of the Anabaptists or their name knowne in the world Finally M. Bancroft in his Suruey of the
22 I deny sayth be this Succession of Pastors to be alwayes notorious to the world And in his answere to Stapletons Cauillat who will acknowledge that she alone it the true Church who can shew her Pastors in a continuall succession D. Humfrey to 3. Reason of F. Campian p. 288. confesseth that not so much as the names of the Pastors who taught their Church were extant D. Whitaker Cont. 2 quest 5. cap. 6. page 508. thus writeth VVhat then was the succession of our Pastors alwayes visible No. For this is not needfull Though therefore our Pastors were not in tymes past manifest neither can we name then yet c. D. Morton in the first part of his Apology lib. 1. cap. 21. sayth that the Catholike church cannot alwayes shew the ordination of Pastors D. White in his way to the church pag. 410 I haue shewed the teachers of our fayth do lawfully succeed and so alway haue done though not outwardly and visibly to the world The like he hath pag. 411. and 436. Sadel wrote his book de vocatione MinistroruÌ„ against such Protestants as thought that their ministers wanted all lawfull calling because sayd they they haue no perpetuall visible succession from the Apostles vnto these tymes And himselfe there pag. 560. confesseth that visible succession hath byn broken of for many years in the church Thou seest good reader how they plainly confesse that before Luther start vp their Pastors were vnknowne to the world not manifest their succession not always visible their names not extant nor they can be named of Protestants And indeed and effect they all confesse the same when as none of them can produce any one man worthy of credit who heard any Protestant preacher who before Luther arose preached iustification by only fayth and the other fundamentall points of Protestancy 2. Secondly Luther eyther complaineth or boasteth for sometyme he alone preached Protestancy In his Preface vpon his 1. tome At first I was alone Luther alone And in his booke of the captiuity of Babylon tom 2. fol. 63 At that tyme I alone did role this stone And against the King of England fol. 497 I alone stood in the battell I alone was compelled to cast my selfe vpon the weapons of the Emperour and the Pope I stood alone in danger forsaken of all helped of none And vpon the graduall psalmes tom 3. fol. 5â—5 In the beginning of my quarrell I took all the matter vpon my selfe and did think that by Gods help I alone should sustaine it And otherwhere as before is reported he sayth that without him others should not haue knowne one iot of the Ghospell Melancthon in the Preface of the Acts of Ratisbon tom 4. pag. 730 sayth Luther alone durst medle with the errors of the Popes schooles Zuinglius in his Exegesis to 2. termeth Luther Ionathas who alone durst set vpon the campe of the Philistians And Caluin in his Admonition to Westphalus pag. 787. saith Luther alone doubted not to set vpon all Popery Besides Luther as before we haue rehearsed writeth that the only scripture was left whereby men might recouer the fayth But if at that tyme there had byn other Protestant Pastors the scripture had not byn alone and without Luther men might haue learnt the gospell Neither had Luther byn left alone and forsaken of all The Protestant Ministery wholy perished but some of them would haue stept out and seconded him especially after they saw that the preached without all danger 3. Thirdly Protestants do sometyme plainly say that their ministery was wholy perished before Luther arose Taken away Luther in his booke of priuate Masse tom 2. fol. 249 Papists haue taken out of the Church the true Ministery of the word And of the Institution of Ministers fol. 372. Aboloshed he writeth that Protestant ordination was by Papists abolished and extinguished And vpon the graduall psalm tom 3. fol. 568 The Church had no true Ministry vnder Antichrist No true Ministery Vpon the 25. of Genesis tom 6. fol. 319 In our tyme after those Popish monsters the true knowledge of the word and of diuine ordination was extinguished And vpon the 49. chap. fol. 655 Extinguished VVe are not the church for any ordinary succession Caluin epist 290 Because the true ranck of ordination was broken of by the tyranny of the Pope now we need haue new help to raise againe the Church BrokeÌ„ of And in Answere to Sadolet pag. 132. he writeth that when the supremacy of the Pope was set vp the true order of the Church perished Perished And of true reformation p. 322 Not without cause do we auouch the Church of God for some ages to haue byn so ioâ—ne and scattered that is it was destitute of true Pastors Beza in his Catechisme Destitute of Pastors title of the Church cap. 5 sect 18 In our tyme it came to passe thinges being so fallen downe that there was left no place for ordinary vocation And epist 5. pag. 39 In our tyme ordinary vocation Ordinary vocation no where which no where was neither could nor ought to be expected And Epist 24 Ye know being taught by fresh examples how the publike ministry being as it were ouerwhelmed for a tyme yet the church of God remaineth And epist 81 The matter came to that passe Ouerthrown to the grouÌ„d that the Ecclesiasticall order was wholy ouerthrowne euen to the foundation the vaine names therof only remayning And lib. de Notis Eccles pag. 82 They who in our memory haue freed the church from the tyranny of Antichrist had none of whome they might lawfully aske or receiue imposition of hands And epist 86 It is maniâ—est that for some ages lawfull order was quite abolished in the Church Quite abolished none not so much as the slenderest shadow of the cheifest part of ecclesiasticall calling remayning The French Confession art 31 Sometymes as in our age the state of the Church being interrupted it was needfull that some Pastors should be extraordinarily raysed of God Sadeel also de Vocat Ministrorum p. 556. sayth that true Order of Pastors was interrupted D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 6. pag. 510 VVe say that our mens calling was not ordinary but extraordinary Wholy corrupted because ordinary calling was wholy corrupted Againe The state of the Church was fallen and wholy ouerturned And pag. 612 VVhen ordinary succession was corrupted God found an extraordinary way by which the Church might be restored For God would that this restauration should be made not in the old foundation that is in succession of Bishops but after a certaine new extraordinary manner And D. White in defence of his way cap 49. pag. 421 Finding no other kind of Pastors sayth that the Protestant Pastors were euen those who liued in communion of the Roman Greek Armenian and such like Churches and addeth that his aduersary doth deceiue the reader when he intimateth that Protestants goe
Brentius in his Apology for the confess of Wittemberg pag. 873. speaking of Protestants sayth VVe also once were all fooles seduced and seducing and seruing idolatry and Antichrist Serauia defens lib. de Grad Minist cap. 2. pag. 33. I marke that the Authours of all Reformations which were made in our age were Priests of the Roman Church To al which I adioyne that Luther in cap. 2. Oseae tom 4. fol. 279. sayth that these be the speeches of Papists VVere yee not Christned in the Popes Church VVhy therfore go yee from her And he acknowledgeth that the Roman Church is their Mother but sayth that they haue left her because she is a harlot and an adulteresse And Scrauia de diuers Minist grad cap. 6. pag. 30. hath these wordes Popish Church Mother of Protetestants The Roman Church is our Mother in which and by which God regenerated vs but because she is a harlot and an Adulteresse we iustly contest against her The like hath Iunius lib. singulari de Eccles cap. 17. and others commonly So that they acknowledge themselues to be the children of an harlot and consequently bastardes not begotten of God because God begetteth not children of harlots but only of his chast spouse the Church Let them therfore heare the Romā Church speaking to them in these words of S. Hierome Dial. cont Lucif If an Angel or Apostle haue rebaptised thee I breake not that which thou followest But if thou borne in my lappe nourished with the milke of my breasts doest draw thy sword against me restore what I gaue thee and be if thou canst a Christian by other meanes I am a harlot but yet thy mother I keep not chastity to one husband such I was when thou wert begotten Or els let them harken to S. Athanasius It remayneth that they find fault with the basenesse of their stock De Synod Arim. Seleuc. and say that they came not of pious but of heretikes neither feare they that which is written in the Prouerbs An ill brood curseth their father Or else let them giue care to S. Augustin thus speaking to the Manichees doe so slaues of Cham. L. 11. cont Faust c. 24 lib. 6. c. 5. Get you gon who despise the naked flesh wherof you sprung Againe Yea thou often maryed to elements or rather harlot prostitute to deuils and great with sacrilegious vanities darest thou reuile Catholike maryage of thy Lord with the crime of vnchastity But omitting this because Protestants regard not how farre they disgrace themselues so that they reuile the Church of Rome out of that which we haue rehearsed in this Chapter it appeareth how impudently D. Morton 1. part Apol. lib. 1. cap. 10 wrote that Melancthon Pellican and others were Protestants before Luther arose and much more impudently D. Feild sayd lib. 3. de Eccles cap. 8 that before Luthers time those who defended the Popish errors were but some faction like to those in the Church of Corinth who in S. Paules time denyed the Resurrection which vntruth is so apparant as to haue related it only is to haue confuted it But here by the Reader seeth how needfull it is for me to heap vp many testimōies of Protestants for to proue euen those things which are most manifest 11. My sixt demonstration therfore I frame in this manner If all Protestants who were first knowne whether people or perticuler persōs were Papists before Luther began to preach then were there no Protestants before him and he author of their Church But all the first knowne Protestants were such Ergo. The Maior is manifest by it selfe the Mimor by that which hath bin recited in this chapter That no Protestant ancienter then Luther did come forth and adioyne himselfe to his company when Luther safely preached CHAP. XII THE seauenth demonstratiō for to proue Luther to be the first Beginner of Protestancy shall be taken from thence that after that Luther securely preached Protestancy no Protestant ancienter thou he peeped out and adioyned himselfe vnto him This I proue first out of the reall Confession of all Protestants who neither then nor hitherto could name one such Protestant Whereupon it followeth necessarily that Luthers company was altogether new no one member thereof before him neither did he adioyne those whome de drew out of Popery vnto any company before extant neither did any company which had bin before adioyne it selfe vnto him Secondly this may be proued by the silence of D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 3. where being vrged with this argument he answeareth it with silence only and standeth mute as confessing the accusation to be true Thirdly I proue it by the sillinesse of the Answeares of other Iunius lib. 4. de Eccles cap. 5. sayth only that some ancienter Protestants came forth and adioyned themselues to Luther but nameth none nor proueth any thing therfore giueth words nought else He should as Tertullian said to old heretikes haue feignes the names of some Praescrip c. 32. For after blasphemy what may not they doe But I know not how it cometh to passe that wheras Protestants feigne many things and persons yet they dare not feigne names As D. Sutliue when in the Preface of his book of the Church he had sayd only that Bolsec who wrote Caluins life doth insinuate that he wrote for hire after growing more bould in his answeare to exceptions cap. 4. pag 120 deuiseth a synode D. Sutcliue feigneth a Synod in which as he sayth Bolsec publikely recanted the book which he had writtē of Caluins life Of which Synode none before him euer heard but since D. Morton and M. Beard write that they haue heard of it 1. part Apol lib. 2. cap. 33. Beard Motiue 12. perhaps by D. Sutliue but yet durst not feigne the names either of the men who held this synode or of the place where it was held nor yet specifie the yeare of our Lord when it was held This he left to others to feigne or to himselfe at more leasure 2. Fourthly it may be proued by the ridiculous nomination and prouing made by some D. Morton part Apol. lib. 1. cap. 16. writeth that Melancthon Pellican Lambert Capito Osiander Sturmius Bucer came forth which he proueth because Alphonse a Castro in the epistle dedicatory of his booke against heresies hath these words Neither did Luther in this age come forth alone but accompanyed with a great troupe as with a guard and nameth those before cited But first it is ridiculous to say that the foresayd persons were Protestants before Luther sith partly themselues partly Protestants deny it as we shewed in the former chapter Againe it is ridiculous to proue this by Castroes testimony who being a Spaniard and those all Germans except Lambert who was a French mā it is most likely that he neuer knew thē nor heard of their names before Luther had reuolted Moreouer ridiculous it is to imagin that in the forecited words
OF THE AVTHOR AND SVBSTANCE OF THE PROTESTANT CHVRCH AND RELIGION TWO BOOKES Written first in Latin by R. S. Doctour of Diuinity AND Now reuiewed by the Author and translated into English by VV. Bas Euery thing must be reduced to its beginning Tertull. Praescript cap. 20. Permissu Superiorum M.DC.XXI The Scope of this Worke. IF both Luther himselfe and the famousest Protestantâ— of all sorts haue many wayes most plainly and most freely confessed that Luther was the Author and Beginner of the Protestant Church and Religion as in this worke doth manifestly appeare then vndoubtedly he was so And if Luther were the Author and Beginner therof assuredly it is not the Church and Religion of Christ. Read therefore and iudge indifferently and thereby an end may be made of all Controuersies in Religion betwixt the Catholiks and Protestants THE PREFACE OF THE AVTHOR TO the Reader Wherein the manner and profit of this Worke is declared THERE are two kinds of questions gentle Reader which are in controuersy betwixt the Catholikes and Protestantes the one kind is of fact to wit Whether Luther was the Author and beginner of the Protestants Church and ReligioÌ„ whether before him it were visible and had Pastours whether he and the first Protestant Preachers were sent to preach Protestancy and the liâ—e The other kind of question is of Christs doctrine or law For example whether Christ taught good workes do iustify be necessary to saluation meritorious and such others Why a a question of Fact is handled rather theÌ„ of doctrin At this present I treate not of this second kind of question but only of the former and that for three causes First the questions of Doctrine are innumerable but the questions of Fact few And many haue handled them and that most exactly but these few haue touched and for ought that I know none of purpose hath hitherto written of the Authour of Protestancy and in that manner as I intend to write Secondly there are few questions of doctrine of that nature that all other controuersies of faith depend vpon them but the most questions of Fact are such as if they be well decided al other Controuersies of religion are at an end Such kind of question this especially is which now I handle VVhether Luther were Author and beginner of the Protestant church and Religion For if it be made manifest that he was the Author and Beginner of it euery one will straihgt see that it is not Christs Church Religion but Luthers deuise and inuention Thirdly in questions of doctrine or law Protestants want not some pretext of Scripture as neither any Heretikes wanted and therfore diuers tymes they are ready to debate these kind of Questions in which as Tertullian sayth they pretend Scriptures Prescrip c. 15. and with this their boldnes shake some and in the dispute weary the constant catch the weake send away the midalâ— sort with scruple and douâ—ts But in questions of Fact they are destitute not only of al pretence of Scripture vnles it be some most vaine but also of all testimony of men and help of reason and stand only vpon their owne sayinges are conuinced by the testimonies of the whol world and sometyme also by their owne confessions and therefore are brought to debate these kind of questions no more willingly then is a theefe to his tryall Neither do they in these disputs either weary the constant or catch the weake but shew their owne weaknes and wilfullnes vnto all kind of men And this is the cause why Ministers are so loath to dispute of the Church because the Church being a company of men includeth many questions of fact as of antiquity succession continuance visibility mission ordination of Pastours and such like in which points there is little colour or shew on their part 2. Fourthly Protestants exact more difficult poofes in questions of doctrine then they can demand in matters of Fact For in matters of Fact wherof the scripture speaketh nothing they must be content with testimonies of men against whome no iust exception can be made or they must refuse all triall of these kind of questions But in controuersies of doctrine they account those only to be lawfull proofes which are taken out of the scripture Neither doe these satisfie them vnlesse they be plaine (a) Melan. Brent in Hospin fol. 107. Colloq Ratisb sess 11. expresse and as they say word (b) Vorst respons ad Slad for word containe that which is in question or at least be so pregnant and strong that they (c) Luth. de seru arbitr fol. 440. Lib. 6. confess c. 4. stopp all mâ—ns mouths that they can gainsay nothing For it is the common fault of Protestants which S. Augustin saith himselfe was guilty of whiles he was an heretike that they will be as certaine of all things as that seauen and three make ten Nay they yield not alwayes to these kind of proofs For what can be sayd more expressy more plainly more literally then the scripture saith that man is iustified by workes and not only by faith that that which our Sauiour gaue with his hands to his Apostles after his last supper was his very body and bloud and such like yet the Protestants yield not to these kind of testimonies but deuise figures and shiftes to delude them Catholiques proofes in controuersies of doctrine are certainly Theological demonstrations because they are clearly drawne from the proper principles of Diuinity to wit from cleare words of God confirmed by the tradition of the Church and vnanimous exposition of the Fathers which kind of proofe is as great and strong as either Diuinity or law or any Science whatsoeuer which is founded in words either doth affoard or the nature of any law or science which is grounded in words as Diuinity is can beare or affoard And as the Philosopher saith well it were starck madnes to exact any other kind of proofes of any Profession then the nature therof can affoard 1. Eth. 1. But because heretiques expound what words soeuer as they list and litle set by the authority of the Church or Fathers and the vnlearned hardly perceaue what kind of proofe is a Theologicall demonstration such as Diuinity can affoard no greater or which is the true sense of Gods word or how great the authority of the Churh and Fathers ought to be therefore with them Catholiks proofs in points of doctrin albeit in truth they be Theological demonstrations take litle effect Wheras on the other side Catholique proofes in matter of Fact are not only Theologicall but also that I may so speake Mathematicall demonstrations because they consist of one principle which is grounded not only vpon the foundations of Diuinity to wit the word of God together with the expositioÌ„ of the Church and Fathers but also is manifest by the light of reason which kind of principles these are That Gods Church hath alwayes him
that Protestants as (u) Lib. 2. c. 9. Lactantius wrote of Cicero cannot be more sorely confuted then they are by Protestants themselues Faults escaped in the printing Page Line Fault Correction 8â— 11. himelf himselfe 82. 27. vnles he vnles he be 96. 6. numb 66. numb 96. 107. 19. The There 109. 23. light of dele of 120. 4. credible incredible 127. 7. the these 23â— 6. dele haue bin 237. 2. be be by 140. 6. fourth third 147. 33. waye waxe 154. 7. in is 168. 23. sonde sponge 169. 3. one our 170. 33. 1525. 1535. 181. 14. should only should only say 184. 27. predigious prodigious 205. 31. boasteth boasteth that â—19 vlt. Taye Faye 211. 33. of fayth faith of 222. 21. first fifth If any other faults haue escaped it is desired of the Gentle Reader to correct them of his courtesy the Author being far absent from the Print THE FIRST BOOKE Of the substance of the Protestants Church and Religion and of their vncertainty therein CHAP. I. BECAVSE as after Plato and Aristotle Tully sayth very truly VVhosoeuer will according to the order of reason treat of any thing Lib. 4. must first define or explicate the nature thereof that it may be knowne what it is whereof he speaketh and Protestants agree that the definition is the very ground of all disputation before I do shew Caluin 3. Institut cap. 4. §. 1. Sadeel in Refut Thes â—osnan cap. 2. who was the first author of the Protestant Church and Religion which I will do in the second booke I will in this first define and determine what is a Protestant and what is the Protestant Church and Religion And because Protestants in this matter as in all others are variable and inconstant sometymes requiring many things to the making and constitution of a Protestant sometymes being content with very few things sometyms stretching the bounds of their Church most largly otherwhiles drawing theÌ„ very strait according as it serueth to their present purpose I will first discouer this their vncertainty about so weighty a matter afterward out of their owne principles and confessions of fayth set downe what is indeed necessary to the very substance and being of a Protestant and of their Church and Religion And in this Chapter I will shew how few they sometymes do admit to be of the Church and how many things they require to the making of a Protestant and in some chapters following how many they at other tymes do graunt to be of their Church and how few things they account necessary for to be a member thereof That done I will make manifest what is indeed necessary thereto They exclude Papists 2. First of all therefore they sometymes exclude Catholiques whome they terme Papists out of the Church as is manifest by all their writings in so much that the French Protestants in the 28. article of their confession say VVe openly affirme that where the word of God is not receiued nor there is any profession of obedience due thereto nor any vse of Sacraments there properly speaking we cannot iudge to be any Church VVherfore we condemne the Popish Conuenticles And D. Whitaker in his second booke against Dureus 2. section is so earnest that he sayth I will not allow the very name of a lawfull Church vnto the Roman Church because it hath nothing which a true Church ought to haue And both he in his 2. Controuersy 6. question 3. Chapter D. Sutliue in his first booke of the Church 3. cap. and lib. 2. cap. 9. M. Perkins in his reformed Catholique towards the end Caluin in his book against the Chaunter of Lions Beza in his of the notes of the Church the Confession of Saxony in the Chapter of the Church and many others do reckon diuers articles or euery one whereof they pronounce Papists to be â—ut of the Church And because their opinion hereâ—n is well inough knowne and hereafter also we â—hall haue occasioÌ„ to shew how haynously they conâ—emne the Popedome or Papistry I will heere reâ—earse no more of their sayings touching this point The like sentence they sometymes pronounce of the â—nabaptists Anabaptists and Atians For thus speaketh the conâ—ession of Auspurg Cap. 9. They condemne the Anabapâ—â—sts who disallow the baptisme of infants and think them to â—â—e faned without baptisme And the Confession of Switâ—erland cap. 20. VVe condemne the Anabaptists who deny â—at infants ought to be baptized The same is manifest by â—he English Confession c. 38. by the Confession of â—asse c. 24. others Of Arians Arrians they giue this verâ—ct in the forsayd Confession of Auspurg in the first â—rticle They condemne all heresies risen against this article of the Trinity as the Manichees Arians Eunomians c. â—nd in like sort the French Confession art 6. the â—nglish art 1. the consent of Poland and others in 〈◊〉 much as in England the Protestants haue burnt me Arians 3. Sometymes also they thrust out all hereâ—ckes Heretiks For thus writeth Luther in his explication of â—e Creed Neither Gentile Iew Heretike LutheraÌ„s or any sinner is â—ued vnlesse he make attonement with the Church and in all â—ings thinke do and teach the same And the Magdeâ—â—rgians in the preface of their 6. Century Neither â—eretikes nor deuisers or patrons of sanaticall opinions are of â—â—rist but they are of Antichrist and of the diuell and apperâ—â—ne to Antichrist and the diuell they are the impostume and â—â—e plague of the people of God The ministers of the Prince Elector of Saxony in the Conference held at Aldburg in the 3. writ cast out of the Church all VVho say they wittingly and willingly defend such corruptions of doctrine as haue byn condemned by the lawfull iudgment and consent of the Catholike Church And the Ministers of the Duke of Saxony in the 4. writ of the sayd Conference pronounce this sentence VVhosoeuer they are that do cloak and defend corruptions of the word of God that is of the articles of fayth after they haue byn admonished we iudge not to be true members of Christ vnlesse they repent And Vrbanus Regius one of the first and cheifest scholers of Luther in his Catechisme sayth All Heretikes are out of the Church The same teacheth Schusselburg a principall superintendent amongst the Lutherans in his Catalogue of heresies and many others As for the Sacramentaries SacrameÌ„taries thus professeth the French Confession in the 6. article VVe detest all Sects and heresies which haue byn reiected by the holy Fathers as S. Hilary S. Athanasc S. Ambrose S. Cyrill Whereupon Sadeel in his preface of his answere to the abiured articles sayth Our Confession of fayth condemneth all Heretikes Likewise the Confession of Basle in 24. article writeth in thiâ— sort VVe driue away all whosoeuer dissenting from the society of the holy Church do either bring in or follow strange wicked doctrines And Peter Martyr in his Commoâ— places in the title
of heretiks This in summe I will say heretikes are not otherwise to be dealt with all then Infidells 〈◊〉 Iewes Caluin also in his 2. booke of Institution cap. 15. number 1. Rightly Augustin denyeth Heretikes haue the same foundation with the godly albeit they preach tâ—â— name of Christ And in his instruction against the Libertines That we may speake properly Heretikes are not oâ—ly like to wolues or theeues but much worse Beza in his booâ— of punishing Heretiks If one terme Heretikes saithleâ— apostatas he shall giue them their due title And againe Heretikes affirme Christ in word and deny him indeed Danaeus in his 5. Controuersy and 691. pag. An heretike condemned by lawfull iudgement and actually cast out of the Church is not of the visible Church nor of the inuisible neither actually or apparently so long as he remaineth in that state Polanus in his 7. booke which he termeth Syntagma cap. 5. Heretikes whiles they remayne such are not members of the Catholique Church And Vorstius in his Anti-bellarmin pag. 79. The Ghospellers do esteem Antichrist in common to be euery heretike who opposeth himselfe eyther openly and plainly or closely and indirectly to Christ and his doctrine And in the 121. pag. There is no controuersy betweene vs and our aduersaries touching heretikes Schismatikes and Apostatas properly and truly so called that they are altogeather out of the Church of Christ Thus forraine Protestants In England English Protestants his Maiesty in his epistle to Cardinal Peron written by Casaubon The King damneth and detesteth those who either haue departed from the sayth of the Catholike Church and are become heretikes or from the Communion and are become Schismatikes The Apology of the Church of England part 3. diuis 3. VVe condemne all sortes of the old heretiks as the Arians the Eutichians c. and shortly all them that haue a wicked opinion either of God the Father or of Christ or of the holy Ghost or of any other point of Christian Religion for so much as they be confuted by the Ghospell of Christ we plainly pronounce them for damnable and detestable persons and defy them euen to the diuell D. Whitaker in the preface of his Controuersies If we be heretikes it is reason they should warne all theirs to fly from vs. And Controuer 2. question 1. cap. 4. That he proueth heretikes and Apostatas and Schismatikes not to be members of the true Church maketh nothing against vs. None of our men euer taught that The like he hath question 5. cap. 1. and 18. D. Sutliue in his first booke of the Church cap. 1. Heretikes are not of the Church D. Morton in his Apology 1. part 1. booke cap. 3 affirmeth that Heretikes are not to be accounted of the â—hurch in truth but in name not indeed but equiuocally Finally D. White in his way to the Church pag 110. All hereticks teach the truth in some things and yet we deny them to be the Church of God And in the defence of the same way cap. 8. sect 1. There is little or no difference betweene the Diuell and an Apostata or Heretike 4. The same censure they sometymes giue of Schismatikes They exclude Schismatiks as appeareth by the words of his Maiesty D. Whitaker and Vorstius already rehearsed Besides Luther in his great Catechisme tom 5. pag. 628. affirmeth the sense of that article The Communion of Saints to be this I belieue that there is on earth a litle Congregation of Saints agreeing in all things without sectes or Schismes And Melancthon in his book against Swenfeild tom 2. LutheraÌ„s pag. 201. Neither is there more then one Church the Spouse of Christ neither doth this company consist of diuers Sectes Salomon Gesnerus in his Common places the 24. place of the Church Catholiks are opposite to Schismatikes heretiks The same teacheth Schusselburg in his 8. tome of the Catalogue of heretikes pag. 726. 727. Amongst the Sacramentaries the Switzers in their Confession SacrameÌ„taries article 17. do thus professe VVe so much esteeme the Communion with the true Church of Christ as that we teach that those cannot liue before God who communicate not with his true Church And the French Protestants in theirs article 26. VVe belieue that none can lawfully withdraw themselues from the assemblies Bullinger in his Epitome or Compendium of fayth 6. booke 11. cap They be out of this Church whâ— vpon enuy or contention separate themselues from her withouâ— cause will haue some thing peculiar to themselues Musculus also in his common places in the title of the church The vnity of Heretiks and Schismatikes is bastard and diuided True entier and Catholike vnity is not among Schismatikes And in the title of Schismatikes A Schismatike putteth himselfe in daunger of losse of his saluation in departing from the Communion of the flock of the Lord. For by that departure he is not only separated and diuided from that Ecclesiasticall and externall society of the faythfull but also from participation of the bloud and spirit of Christ Caluin likewise in his treatise of the necessity of reforming the Church VVe do professe the vnity of the Church such as is described by S. Paul to be most deare vnto vs and we accurse all them that shall any way violate it And in his fourth booke of Institutions chap. 1. numb 2 Vnlesse vnder Christ our head we be vnited to all the rest of his members there is no hope for vs of the euerlasting inheritance For we cannot haue two or three Churches vnlesse Christ be torne in pieces And num 4. Out of the lap the Church there is no saluation departure from thence is alwayes pernicious Againe num 10 God maketh so great account of the Communion with his Church as he holdeth him for a renagate and fugitiue whosoeuer obstinatly separateth himselfe from any Christian society which retaineth the true vse of the word and Sacraments And he addeth that the forsaking of the Church Is the deniall of God and Christ The like doctrine he deliuereth in his Catechisme vpon the 1. Cor. cap. 1. and other where Polanus in his Theses part 2. sayth Schismaticall Churches are to be forsaken And Bucanus in his places loc 41. of the Church quest 33. auoucheth Schismatiks to be out of the Church and quest 5. that they are not vniuocally a Church that is they haue not the true nature of a Church The same sayth Danaeus in his treatise of Antichrist cap. 17. And in his 3. booke of the Church cap. 5. writeth thus Schismaâ—ikes actually excommunicated and cast out of the Church by lawfull sentence are no more of the visible Church For sayth he the marke that you be of the visible Church is this that you outwardly professe the fayth and communicate in Sacraments with the rest of the Church And he addeth that such are neither actually of the inuisible Church but only in possibility and that the holy Fathers liken sucâ— to
written word of God And his Maiesty in his Monitory epistle pag. 97. English ProtestaÌ„tâ— in Latin I call God to witnes that I hold him not for a Christian who in this learned age belieueth that to wit that Enoch and Elias are to come And D. Morton in his answere to the Protestants Apology lib. 4. c. 2. sect 3. after he had sayd that in a Church albeit corrupted with errour and superstition yet if it do not ruinate the foundation the erroneous superstitious professors may be saued adddeth VVhich notwithstanding we must so vnderstand as that the errour and superstition do not proceed from knowledge but from ignorance which ignorance is not affected but simple Thus we see that Protestants somtymes confesse that true fayth is like a graine or Mathematicall point which cannot be parted that the articles of fayth are one copulatiue and cannot be deuided that who so obstinatly denieth one article belieueth truly none that the obstinate deniall of any one poynt of fayth is sufficient to damne or to make an heretik and no brother of the faythfull or member of the Church And finally that she is no true Church who willfully maintaineth any one thing repugnant to the Ghospell or word of God Which indeed is most true and is the doctrine of the holy Fathers and Catholiks and I would to God Protestants would constantly stand vnto it 7. By all which hath byn rehearsed in this chapter out of Protestants it appeareth how many sortes of Christians Protestants do sometymes exclude out of the Church namely Papists Anabaptists Arians al Heretiks all Schismatiks all those who deny any fundamentall point of fayth and finally al who obstinatly deny any point whatsoeuer of fayth or of the word of God And how many things they sometymes require to the making and being of a Protestant to wit that he belieue all and euery point of their fayth and obstinatly dissent in none To which their doctrine if they would as I haue sayd alwayes constantly stand it would easily appeare first how small a company the Protestants Church is and how little it is spread through the world and much lesse Catholike or vniuersal seeing there is no Prouince nor scarse any citty in which all Protestants agree amongst themselues in al points of their doctrine Secondly it would easily appeare that the Protestant Church was neuer before Luther seeing there is no apparence that before him there was any company of Christians who in all points of doctrine agreed with Protestants But ProtestaÌ„ts as I sayd in the Preface accommodate their doctrine and opinions to tymes and occasions And the tymes when they deny Papists to be of the Church are when they exhort them to leaue the Roman Church or excuse their owne reuolting from her or when they dehort others from returning to her For at all these tymes it serueth to their purpose to deny that Papists are of the Church or in the way of saluation which at other tymes as we shall see in the next chapter they are content to graunt And the tymes when they exclude Anabaptists Arians Heretiks Schismatiks and all that deny either fundamentall or other articles of fayth out of the Church are when either the euidence of truth enforceth them thereto or when they are ashamed to acknowledge such vgly monsters for brethren and members of their Church or would exhort such as haue left their company to returne vnto them and keep others from forsaking them or finally would brag of the agreement and purity in doctrine of their company For at those tymes it serueth their turne to renouÌ„ce all the foresayd kind of men whom at other tymes especially when we demaund of them who were of their Church before Luther they are most willing to receiue as their kind brethren diligently scraping gathering such shreeds and clouts when they perceiue their owne nakednes and beggary which themselues when they thought they were rich and had no need thereof most disdainfully cast on the dunghills as shall appeare in the chapters following CHAP. II. That Protestants sometymes account Papists for members of their Church IN the former chapter we haue seene how sparing Protestants sometyms be in admitting others into their Church now we shall see how liberall they be at other tymes in so much that they graunt not only all those whome in the former chapter they reiected but also their professed enemies idolaters Infidells Atheists Antichrist himselfe and all whosoeuer vnder the name of Christians impugne the deeds or doctrine of the Pope to be their brethren their fellowes and members of their Church This we will shew concerning the Papists in this chapter and of the others afterward 1. That Protestants sometymes do acknowledge Papists to be in the Church is manifest First by their open confession thereof LutheraÌ„s For in the preface of their Confession of Auspurg speaking of themselues and Papists Papists serue vnder christ they say VVe are all soldiers vnder one Christ And Luther in his epistle against the Anabaptists as Caluin in his booke against the Chaunter of Lions and D. Whitaker in the place hereafter cited do confesse writeth The kernel of Christianity in Popery That in Popery is true Christianity yea the kernell of Christianity and many pious and great Saints Againe If Christianity be vnder the Pope then it must be the body and member of Christ And vpon the 28. chapter of Genesis VVe confesse that there is a Church among the Papists because they haue Baptisme absolution the text of the Ghospell and many godly men are among them Caluin in his 140. epistle to Soziâ— I think I haue sufficiently proued that in Popery there remayneth some Church albeit halfe destroyed and if you will broken and deformed And vpon the 2. câ—ap of the 2 epistle to the Thessalonians The Body of Christ I confesse it is the temple of God in which the Pope ruleth and he calleth it the very sanctuary of God And de vera reform pag. 332. SacrameÌ„taries â—ayth that S Paul affirmeth that Antichrist whom he will haue to be the Pope shall sit in the temple of God And lib. de scandalis pag. 103 In the midest of Gods temple And lib. cont Precentorem pag. 372 In the very sanctuary of God And Respons ad Sadolet In the midest of Gods sanctuary Surely this is to graunt that the Romane Church in which the Pope sitteth is the very temple and very sanctuary of God And in his answeare to Sadolet VVe deny not those to be Churches of Christ which you gouerne In his 4. booke of Institutions chap. 2. num 11. he sayth that among Papists Gods couenant remayned inuiolable Not yet killed And num 12 VVe deny not that there are Churches among them Neither deny we but there remaine Churches vnder his the Pope he meaneth tyranny but which he hath almost killed Iunius in his book of the Church cap. 17. writeth that the Popish
Church as farre as it hath that which belongeth to the definition of a Church is a Church that it hath not giuen vp the ghost that it hath all diuine things Not yet dead and of Gods part is yet the Church Zanchius in the preface of his booke of the nature of God Satan euen in the very Roman Church could not bring all things to that passe that it should no more haue tâ—e forme of a Christian Church And soone after VVherefore the Roman Church is yet the Church of Christ Yet the Church of Christ Pâ—essy in his booke of the Church 2. chap. auoucheth that the Roman Church is the Spouse of Christ Spouse of Christ is not yet forsaken of him that as a Mother she beareth children to God which he repeateth againe in the 10. chap. that she retaineth life and that the name of the Church ought no more to be denied to her then the name of a man vnto a liuing man Bucan in his 41. place of the Church quest 5 The assemblies of Papists are Churches as a man infected with leprosy or besides his wittes doth not leaue to be a man Polanus in his first part and Thesis of the Church The Roman Church truly is a Church because Antichrist sitteth in the Church And in his Syntagme of diuinity lib. 7. c. 8 The present Roman Church is yet the Church of Christ Serauia in his defence of the degrees of ministers pag. 30 The Roman Church is a Church and mark what I say more she is our mother in whome and by whom God did regenerate vs. And pag. 31 The couenant of God remayneth this day in the Latin Church Boysseul in his confutation of Spondé pag. 6 I exclude not the Roman Church out of the vniuersall Church I acknowledge her to be yet in the couenant of God which he repeateth oftentymes And pag. 12 The Roman Church is the Church of God Pag. 19 It is a member of the vniuersall Church p. 283 It is yet the Church Spouse and temple of God Yet the Church Spouse temple of God And pag. 822 VVe deny not that the Roman Church is the Church of Iesus Christ redeemed by him Vorstius in his Anti-bellarmin p. 188 The vulgar Roman church hath not yet lost all spirituall life is not yet openly deuorced from Christ And Peter Martyr in his epistle to Bullinger writeth Yet aliue that he gaue counsaile that the Papists they should not call one the other Heretiks but account themselues for brethren As for English Protestants Engli h ProtestaÌ„ts his Maiesty in his speach to the Parlament anno 1605. 9. of Nouember and put forth in print speaketh thus VVe do iustly confesse that many Papists especially our forefathers laying their only trust vpon Christ and his merits may be and oftentymes are saued detesting in that point and thinking the cruelty of Puritans worthy of fire Papists may be saued that will admit no saluation to any Papist And in his epistle to Cardinall Peron The Roman the Greek c. Churches are members of the Catholike Church Members of the Catholike Church And D. Andrews in his Tortura Torti towards the end speaketh thus to the Papists VVe are content to call you members of the Catholike Church though not sound members Hooker in his 3. book of Ecclesiasticall policy pag. 128 VVe gladly acknowledge them to be of the family of Iesus Christ Of the family of Christ And lib. 5. pag. 188 They should acknowledge so much neuertheles still due to the same Church of Rome as to be held and reputed a part of the house of God a limme of the visible Church of Christ D. Couel in his defence of Hooker pag. 68. May be saued Note sayth VVe affirme them of the Church of Rome to be parts of the Church of Christ and that those that liue and dye in that Church may notwithstanding be saued D. Barlow in his 3. sermon ad Clerum The learneder writers do acknowledge the Church of Rome to be the Church of God M. Bunny in his treatise of Pacification sect 18 Neither of vs Papists Protestants may iustly account the other to be none of the Church of God VVe are no seuerall Church from them nor they from vs. D. Some against Penry in diuers places auouceth That Papists are not altogeather aliens from Gods couenant That in the iudgement of all learned men and all reformed Churches there is in Popery a Church a Ministery a true Christ If you think that all the Popish sect which dyed in the Popish Church are damned you think absurdly and dissent from the iudgement of the learned Protestants D. Whitaker in his fourth controuersy quest 5. cap. 3. calleth the Papists Church the temple of God more then halfe dead and almost decayed And that temple wherein the Apostle sayth that Antichrist shall sit and which he affirmeth to be the Roman Church he termeth the very Church of God the true Church of God the society of the faythfull the liuely temple composed of liuely stones such as are the faythfull the elect And he addeth There is among them Papists some Ministery and some preaching of the word which doubtlesse affordeth saluation vnto some And as the giftes of God are without repentance so the couenant which God made with Christian people is not quite broken And cont 2. quest 5. Gods couenant with Papists cap. 15. after he had confessed that Luther had sayd that in Popery are all the goods belonging to Christians the keyes the office of preaching true Christianity and the very kernell of Christianity he addeth These things are indeed among them M. Powell in his 2. booke of Antichrist cap. 2. graunteth the Roman Church to be the true Church albeit with a new kind of distinction he deny the Popish church And D. Rainolds in his 5. Thesis albeit he say that the Roman Church be more then sickly and weak yet he dares not say that she is quite dead And D. White in his way p. 352. sayth That Popery in as much as it differeth from vs is not to be imagined by vs to be another Church distinct in place and countries from the true Church of Christ but we affirme it to be a contagion raging in the midst of the Church of Christ it selfe And in his defence c. 37. pag. 355 I neuer denied the Church of Rome to be the visible Church of God wherein our auncestors professed the truth and were saued And cap. 41. pag. 408 Professing the Church of Rome it selfe in all ages to haue byn the visible Church of God Lastly D. Hall in his Rome Irreconciliable sect 1. sayth that the Roman Church is a true visible Church but not sound and that it differeth from the Protestant Church At the sick from the whole Heereto I adde that oftentymes they call the Roman Church their Mother which hath borne them to Christ as we shall rehearse hereafter
sooner giue him interest in the couenant then the child that is descended of him For how can the fathers beliefe lay hold on the promises and couenant of God for his children and cannot do it for himselfe 6. These allegations demonstrate The suÌ„mâ— of Protestants ConfessioÌ„ touching Papists that by the Confession of the Protestants the starkest Papists such as are of beliefe that the masse the Popes primacy and all things else of his are good vpright and of God are soldiers vnder Christ may attaine to saluation may be Saints yea that there are among them both many and great Saints That there is in the Church of Rome what so is necessary to saluation the summe of fayth the ground-works the essentiall ground-works the principall grounds of fayth the cheife articles the fundamentall heads the necessary heads the cheife parts the Ghospell of saluation the kernell of Christianity and all Christian good Lastly that the Church of Rome Is a limme and member of the vniuersall Church of the Catholike Church a member of the true Church and is of the family of Iesus Christ that it is mother to the children of God that it is the Church of God the temple of God the body of Christ the Spouse of Christ that it abides yet in the couenant is not yet cast of or put away is not yet killed but is yet aliue Which words plainly import that the Roman or Popish Church is a true Church in the sight of God 7. But is it credible Note that such as make profession of Christian religion should mount to that height of impiety as dare to reiect diuorce themselues from that Church which they confesse remaynes yet in the couenant of God which Christ hath not yet reiected Is it credible that they feare not to impugne to make bitter inuectiues to disgorge curses and execrations against her whom they acknowledge to be their Mother which bore them to Christ to be the Church of God to be the body and Espouse of Christ What can be more lewd and impious then to rage and raile against their owne mother against the Church of God against the very body and Espouse of Christ What strang and monstrous blindnes is it not to perceiue that whiles they confesse the church of Rome to be the church of God Espouse of Christ they acknowledge their owne to be the Synagogue of Antichrist and strumpet of the Diuell For Christ cannot haue two Espouses repugnant each to other Now the Protestant church and church of Rome are parts so opposite as can neuer make one For they iarre and disagree mainely in diuers weighty points as namely touching the canon and exposition of the Scripture touching sacrifice and the Sacraments touching the worship of God his Saints touching the meanes to obtaine remission of sinnes and many the like Whereupon Beza in Confes cap. 7. pag. 56 VVe dissent sayth he from the Papist about they very summe of saluatioÌ„ And others say no lesse as shall be shewed hereafter in the 2. booke and 6. cap If ours be true Religion sayth S. Augustin to the Donatists which yet came nearer to Catholiks then Protestants do yours is superstition Lib. 2. coÌ„t Gaud. c. 11. Againe If our communion be the Church of Christ yours is not Christs Church Lib. 1. de Bapt. c. 11. for that is but one which so euer it be And in another place VVhen they approue that Church which as is manifest we communicate with all and they do not by that their testimony they acknowledge themsâ—lues conuinced Lib. ad Donat post codat and giue you plaine notice if you be wise what you ought to forgoe and what it behoues you to cleaue to and retaine And S. Cyprian epistle 76 If the Church were on Nouatus side it was not with Cornelius Num. 4. 8. The Protestants now and then perceiue as much when they acertaine vs as hath byn shewed in the first chapter that who so seuereth himselfe from any particuler congregation which is a true Church excludes himselfe wholy from the church Caluin saw it when 4. Insti c. 2. § 10. he wrote thus VVe cannot graunt them Papists that they are the church but the necessity of subiectioÌ„ obedieÌ„ce will befall vs. If they be churches the power of the keyes is in their possession If they be churches that promise of Christ VVhatsoeuer ye bind on earth shall be bouÌ„d in heauen takes effect in them M. Perkins perceiued it to when in his explicatioÌ„ of the Creed col 794. he sayd Zanchiuâ— lib. 1. de Eâ—cl c. 7. As long as any church forsakes not Christ we may not withdraw our selues from it The reason is apparant because in so doing we should depart from Christ or Christ shold be parted euen as we are rent and disioynted from the church wherein he is And in his Reformed Catholike tract 22. col 470. Whâ—re he sayth VVe ought not to deuide our selues from any nation or people which hath not before cut it selfe of from Christ D. Feild likewise saw it in his 3. booke of the Church c. 47. Where he makes this acknowledgement Surely if he can proue that we confesse it the Church of Rome to be the true Church he needeth not vse any other argument But we haue clearely prooued it by sundry plaine confessions of many famous Protestants And hitherto we haue discouered how they sometyme harbour and receiue Papists into their church now we will shew that they vse the like curtesy towards the rest CHAP. III. That Protestants acknowledge for members of their Church sometyme those that deny as well fundamentall as other articles of their fayth sometymes Heretiks Schismatiks yea their profest and sworne enemies THAT they esteeme all such to be members of their Church as swarue from the Christian fayth only in points not fundamentall themselues in the preface of the Switzers Confession declare in these words Mutuall consent and agreement in the principall points of doctrine in orthodoxe sense and brotherly charity was of religious antiquity thought abundantly sufficient And D. Whitaker cont 4. quest 1. c. 2. pag. 527 God forbid that they should be no longer of the number of the faythfull who are in some points of a contrary opinion so they assent in the cheife and principall and necessary matters And for as much as the Protestants opinion herein is well knowne for whâ—Ì„ it is obiected vnto them that their churches disagree in points of fayth this serues them for excuse I think it needlesse to alleage any more of their sayings He that will may looke the Confession of Saxony cap. de Eccles Luther tom 7. lib. de not Eccles fol. 149. Melancthon tom 4. in ca. 3. 1. Cor. Kemnitius 1. part Examinis tit de bonis operibus pag. 332. Zuinglius tom 1. in Prefat lib de Prouident Caluin 4. Institut cap. 1. § 12. and cap. 2. § 1. Beza epist 2. Zanchius in prefat lib.
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
yea not so much as the outward face of a Church and that they exhort the Court of Parlament with perfect (d) Pag. 32. hatred to detest the present state of the Church that no (e) Pag 33 Iew no Turke no Papist could possibly haue spoken more spitefully of their Church and state and that they seeke to shake nay to ouerthrow the (f) Pag. 6. foundations grounds and pillars of their Church Finally that the Puritans will not account the Protestants their (g) Resp ad schedas Bancrofts suruey c. 33 brethren and yet the Protestants neuerthelesse acknowledge Puritans for their (h) Resp ad schedas Oxon. resp ad Miâ—len Lonfer ad Hampton Court p. 44. brethren and fellow-labourers in the Lords haruest In Scotland likewise as his Maiesty witnesseth That which was Catechisticall doctrine in one assembly was hardly admitted for sound and orthodoxe in another and yet these assemblies excluded not one another from the Church What can be therefore more cleare and euident then that both the Lutherans and Sacramentaries acknowledge when they list those to be members of their Church who deny fundamentall articles of their fayth 6. A third proofe may be drawne from the Protestants demeanour and carriage towards the Fathers ProtestaÌ„ts say the fathers dissent fundameÌ„â—ally from theÌ„ whome they claime and challenge for their fellow-cittizens and yet confesse plainly to omit what they acknowledge concerning other points that they were of a contrary beliefe in the article of Iustification by sole fayth wherein as shall be here after shewed they say the soule the summe and definition of Protestantisme consisteth Luther tom 1. In the art of iustification by only faith colloq German apud Coccium tom 1. pag. 131 In which errour that works ioyned with fayth do iustify were many of the Fathers And tom 5. in cap. 3 Galat. fol. 358. he sayth that of the difference which he espied between the law and the Ghospell as that the law taught iustification by works the Ghospell by sole beliefe There is nothing to be found in the works of the old Fathers Augustin held it in part Hierome and the rest knew it no Melancthon tom 1. in Dominicam Trinitaris pag. 89 It is meruaile that the cheife Doctours had no knowledge of the iustice of fayth Tom. 2. lib. de Eccles pag. 134 Chrysostome reckons vp many wayes and meanes to obtaine remission of sinnes as almes deeds teares and other works The Centuriatours of Magdeburg cent 3. cap. 4. col 79. seqq say that the Doctours of the third age Make workes the cause of our iustice in Gods sight Cent. 4. c. 4. col 293 In this article of iustification this age reuolted wholy from the doctrine of the Apostles And Cent. 5. in Prefat they say of the Fathers of that age Chrysostome and the residue attribute iustice vnto works they make works the meanes of saluation and ascribe iustification either in part or formally or wholly vnto works Gerlacinus tom 2. dispat 13 The ancient Fathers would haue the iustice life and saluation of a Christian man consist in obseruing Gods commaundements as Hilary Origen Tertullian Eusebius Chrysostomâ— Augustine c. Kemnitius in locis part 1. cit de Iustificat pag. 242. sayth that the Fathers Intermingled sometymes and entwyned the doctrine of good workes with the article of iustification sometymes plied and bended the article of iustification to good works And part 2. tit de lege pag. 106 If the Fathers disputes be all layd together the summe of them is this in effect that sinne and infirmity of nature is manifested by the law to the end we may search out a Phisitian by whose grace it may be so healed as it be able to satisfy and fullfill the law and so we be saued And ibidem in orat de lectione Patrum pag. 3. The suÌ„me of the fathers doctrine is iustification by works he sayth of S. Cyprian He had a fundamentall errour And pag. 4. of S. Hilary He held an erroneous opinion touching the foundation Caluin also lib. cont Ver si pellem pag. 353 Three maine points of our sayth to wit the corruption of our nature free and vndeserued iustification and Christs Priesthood are so darkly and obscurely touched in the ancientest writers that no certainly can be drawne thence Againe VVe shall neuer learne by the Fathers how we may be reconciled to God how the obedience of Christ is freely and vndeseruedly reputed ours Martyr in locis cit de scriptura col 1432 Other Fathers think good works much auaileable to iustification Hospin in epist dedicat part 1. Histor All the Fathers well nigh do now and then sprinkle and cast on with all the leauen of good works and attribute iustification to them either in part or formally or wholy Parcus lib. 4 de Iustificat c. 12 The Fathers both Greek and Latin especially those that wrote before the Pelagian bickerings fancied ouer much and tooke too great a liking to the Philosophers doctrine concerning the iustification of worcks Finally M. Perkins in Problem cap. de Iustificat sayth that the old writers consound the law with the Ghospell and do not distinguish the iustice of the law from the iustice of the Ghospell 7. To them who in this manner ioyne friendship and Communion as well with such as renounce fundamentall articles of fayth as with those whose beliefe is contrary in articles not fundamental whâ—â— meruaile is it if all heretiks and Schismatiks seeme fit companions and worthy to be accounted their brethren and fellow-cittizens But let vs heare their owne words wherein they acquaint vs what ranke heretiks Schismatiks hold amongst them Luther tom 7. serm de Dominica 20. post Trinit fol. 262. sayth They are frantique and beside themselues who go about to seuer the Church corporally from heretikes Hemingius in Syntag. Institut pag. 192 In the outward society of the Church are many heretiks and Schismatiks Salomon Gesner in locis loc 24 Are heretiks then in the Church By any meanes Brentius in Praefat. Recognit Christ giues not ouer the conseruation of his sheep in the middest of heresies but they must be such as do not quite take away the foundation and Ministery Reineccius tom 4 Armatur cap. 6. pag. 35 VVe affirme there are heretiques euen in the true Church Hutteâ—us in Analysi Confest August pag. 435 Neither were heresies without the territory and limits of the true Church Plessy in his booke of the Church cap. 2. affirmeth plainly that all hereticall and Schismaticall congregations are truly the Church And ibid. pag. 25. he sayth Although particuler Churches be insected with heresies from top to toe neuerthelesse they are parts of the vniuersall Church as long as they professe the name of Christ Moulins in his Bukler of fayth part 1. sect 89 An hereticall Church may be sayd to be a true Church euen as man blemished with a canker or infected with the plague is notwithstanding a true
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
at least virtually and implicitly all their articles and wittingly deny none of them because as we see they are fundamentall articles of Protestancy without which one cannot haue the whole essence or substance of a Protestant nor be an entire and absolute Protestant We speak of any who are ProtestaÌ„ts only in part but only in part and in some sort And we as hath byn often sayd treat here only of an entire and absolute Protestant such as at least hath all the substantiall parts of a Protestant and endeauour to proue that Luther was the author of such a company and of such a faith and religion and regard not whither that before his tyme there were any who were Protestants only in part and in some sort and held only some part of Protestant religion but not the whole substance thereof And hereupon we frame an inuincible argument to proue that there was no true Protestant or Protestant church before Luther The definition of a true ProtestaÌ„t Euery true Protestant belieueth Iustification by only speciall faith and at least virtually and implicitly belieueth the articles of the Confession of Auspurg or of Saxony Scotland Strasburg or Bohemia But there was no man no Church before Luther who thus belieued Therefore no true Protestant or Protestant church The Maior is the very definition of a true Protestant gathered partly out of the common doctrine of all Protestants partly out of the foresayd Confessions of their fayth The Minor being negatiue is sufficiently manifest by that neither Luther nor any in his tyme or to this day could produce any one man or company who before Luthers preaching had belieued in that sort This foundation therefore touching the essence and substance of a Protestant and Protestant Church being layd to wit that he only is a true absolute Protestant who belieueth Iustification by only speciall fayth and the foresayd other fundamentall points of Protestancy and that the Protestant Church is a company of such belieuers and the Protestant religion such a beliefe and worship of God I will endeauour in this next book out of Protestants testimonies and Confessions to proue that Luther was the first beginner of their Church and Religion The end of the first Booke THE SECOND BOOKE Of the Author or Beginner of the Protestant Church and Religion CHAP. I. That Protestants confesse that the substance of their Church and Religion was perished when Luther began THE first demonstration wherewith we will proue that Luther was the author and first beginner of the Protestant Church and religion we will take out of Protestants Confessions of the substantiall destruction of their Church ProtestaÌ„ts confesse their religion was perished religion principall article of Iustification by only fayth before Luther arose For of the destruction of their fayth and religion thus writeth Luther himself tom 1. Proposit 62. fol. 375 Certaine it is that our Apostaticall Bishops raigning Gods fayth perished Perished And lib. de Captiu Babylon tom 2. fol. 77 The Popes tyranny hath many ages agone extinguished the fayth Extinguished And lib. de abâ—og Mist fol. 249. he sayth to the Catholikes Ye haue extinguished the Ghospell And lib. de pijs ceremon is fol. 387 alià s 393 Destroyed The doctrine of the ghospell lay destroyed by humane traditions Tom. 3. in psalm 1. fol. 126 VVhat thinkest thou was in the Church but a whirle wind of Gods wrath by which we were thrust into so many so different so inconstant so vncertaine and those infinite glosses of Lawyers Christ altogeather vnknown and opinions of Deuines in the meane tyme Christ being altogeather vnknowne stumbling into many quicke sands gulfes and snares of conscience were knockt together And in psalm 22. fol. 345 Christ together with fayth is now extinguished Christ and fayth extinguished And fol. 348 Fayth lyeth extinct And in psalm 51. fol. 460 The former age could neither vnderstand nor soundly teach the greatest and weightiest points Praefat. in psalm Grad fol. 509 God punisheth contempt so as he plainly taketh away his word whereof Popery is a notable example Al knowlâ—dge of Christ wholy extinct in which we see it hath so fallen out And fol. 568 Fayth it selfe was plainly extinct Tom. 4. Praefat. Eccl. fol. 1 The schooles of Deuines haue wholy extinguished most assured fayth in Christ togeather with all the knowledge of Christ Tom. 5. in cap. 2. Galat. fol. 306 The Papists with their impious and blasphemous doctrine haue not only obscured but simply haue taken away Not only obserued but simply taken away the Ghospell and ouerwhelmed Christ And fol 322 Christs ghospell being obscured yea truly ouerwhelmed the Pope c. In c. 4. fol. 376 This most common and most receiued opinion of the vncertainty of the remission of sinnes was surely an article of fayth in all Popery Christ shut out of the Church wherewith truly they ouerwhelmed the doctrine of fayth destroyed fayth and shut Christ out of the Church Fol. 400 The Pope hath vtterly extinguished Christian liberty In cap. 1. Petri The sincere knowledge of fayth was extinct In cap. 15.1 Cor. fol. 134. VVithout our helpe they had neuer learnt one word of the Ghospell Without Luther not one word or iot of the Ghospell And fol. 141 They had not knowne one iote of the Gospell vnlesse by our labour and study it had byn brought forth into the world â—om 6. in cap. 3. Genes fol. 43 Holesome doctrine was by little and litle extinct In cap. 4. fol. 57 The light of the word was extinguished by wicked Popes In cap. 17. fol. 199 That I may say all in one word the Pope hath truly buryed Christ In cap. 48. fol. 643 The Pope hath obscured nay destroyed the doctrine of sayth In cap. 49. fol. 660 The Pope hath truly obscured the doctrine and taken away the Promises Christ truly buried that we knew not what Christ was Fol. 666 He hath extinguished the Gospell Tom. 7. lib. de Missa fol. 230 The knowledge of Christ was truly abolished and destroyed This ye Papists ye cannot deny the matter it selfe proclaimeth it And fol. 231 All true VVorship of God being extinct from the bottom c. Epist ad Fredericum Electorem fol. 506 Knowledge of Christ truly destroyed The Pope of Rome hath most plainly rooted out the Ghospell truly oppressed and ouerthrowne lib. cont Papatum fol. 469 Fayth was weakened choaked and extinguished and Christian liberty lost Thus plainly speaketh Luther almost in all his Latin comes of the substantiall destruction of his fayth and Ghospell before that as he sayth he brought it againe into the world Ghospell most plainly rooted out To which he addeth in his 7. Dutch tome in his admonition to the Germans This abomination was increased so that they blotted out and supprest the words of this Sacrament and fayth so that neither a letter nor point of them remayned in all Popery in all
masses and bookes Thus Luther 2. In like manner the Protestants in Sleidan lib. 1. fol. 258 The Pope made lawes by which true knowledg was vtterly oppressed Melancthon tom 2. Lutheri fol. 192 Scholasticall diuinity being receiued fayth was destroyed the doctrine of works being admitted The Magdeburgians Praefat. Centur. 5 Extreme abolitioÌ„ of religion There was an extreme abolition of true Religion and the word of God vnder Popery Caluin Praefat. Institut In former ages men had extinguished the light of God And 1. Institut cap. 11. § 9 Many ages since true religion was drowned and ouerthrowne 4. Institut cap. 2. § 2 The substance of Christianity buried Vnder Popery that doctrine without which Christianity cannot consist was all buryed and shut out Respons ad Sadolet pag. 128. he sayth that the necessity to leaue the Roman Church was That the light of diuine truth was extinct the word of God buryed c. And p. 130. Cheifest points of doctrine ouerthrowne from the root maketh this speach vnto God in defence of his forsaking the Roman Church There were not a few profane opinions which euen by the ground ouerthrow the cheifest points of that doctrine which thou diddest deliuer vnto vs by word Lib. de necess Refor pa. 49 VVhen the word of God was choaked with these so many so thick darknesses Luther stept forth c. pag. 62 None prayed to God with assured sayth that is in earnest neither could they for Christ being buryed in that manner as he was c. Word of God ended Respons ad Versipell pag. 358 They haue extinguished the doctrine of saluation In Psycopan pag. 388 The word of God being ended by peruerse vse and sloth now returneth to light In Rom. 11. vers 22 The truth was taken away The light put out S. deel de vocat Minist pag. 552 God suffered that light to be put out which should perpetually haue lightned vs in gouerning our life Pure worships banished Crispin Praeâ—at operum Occolampadij Both the doctrine of saluation and piety were taken away they banished out of the Church all pure worship of God Celius secundus Cario de amplitudine regni Dei lib. 1. pag. 33 True Christ taken out of the world And so by litle and litle true Christ was taken out of the world and Antichrist put in his steed And Hospin part 1. Histor lib. 4. pag. 291. writeth that after 800. yeares after Christ the light of the holesome and true doctrine began to be darkned till it was vtterly put out The light cleane put out Thus forraine Protestants both Lutherans and Sacramentaries 3. Amongst English Protestants thus writeth M. Bale Cent. 4. c. 6 Holesome truth perished from the earth Cent. 1. pag. 69 From this tyme anno 607 purity of heauenly doctrine vanished out of the Church The truth perished froÌ„ earth In his Apology against Priesthood and vowes fol. 3 Two things haue cheifly byn the cause of the vtter decay and full destruction of Christian religion c. Vanished out of the Church M. Powell in â—tinerarium Cambrâ—ae lib. 2 cap. 7. sayth that about the yeare 1189 There was the cheife raigne of darknesse in so much that not only preaching of the true word but also the true religion was banished and scarce the name of Christianity remayned Vtter decay full destructioÌ„ of religioÌ„ M. Fox in the Protestation before his Acts affirmeth that about the yeare 1215. and 1080 Christian sayth was extinguished And pag. 840. that Christian Religion was wholy changed into Idolatry D. Fulke ad Cauillat Sâ—apletoni Scarse name of Christianity remayned Scarce could he fiue hundred yeares after banish the true doctrine of saluation out of the Churches of Europe And finally the Apology of the English Church part 5. cap. 13. diuis 1. sayth that Papists haue broken in peeces all the pipes and conduicts haue stopped vp all the springs and choaked the fountaine of liuing waters and by damning vp all the fountains of Gods word haue brought the people into a pittifull thirst Item Not a sparck of diuine light found VVith great distresse went they scattering about seeking some sparck of heauenly light to refresh their consciences withall but that light was already throughly quenched out so that they could find none This was a rusull state this was a lamentable forme of Gods Church It was a misery to liue therein without the Ghospell ProtestaÌ„ts light thoroughly quenched out without light without all comfort Thus write these learned Protestants both English and strangers of the destruction of their doctrine their fayth their religion and Ghospell before Luther arose which do so plainly testify the substantiall destruction therof as I may well vse S. Augustins words in the like occasion If I should speake thus they would resist and cry Lib. 1. de pec mer. c. 9. that I speake not truly thought not truly For in these words if they were spoken by others they would imagin no other meaning then that which in the foresayd Protestants they will not vnderstand 4. ProtestaÌ„ts confesse their lundam art perished Neither write they otherwise of the destruction of their principall and most fundamentall article of Iustification by only fayth For thus the Confession of Anspurg cap. 20 VVhen the doctrine of fayth which ought to be principall in the Church lay so long vnknowne Sole faith vnknown as all must needs confesse that there was a most profound silence of the iustice of fayth that in sermons only the iustice of works was spoken of in Churches c. And tit de bonis operibus pag. 25 Horribly ouerwhelmed In tymes past certaine absurd opinions horribly ouerwhelmed this doctrine in which the vnlearned faigned that men did satisfy the law of God In the meane tyme there was great silence how Christ is to be apprehended by fayth And pag. 27 The was no word of fayth which is necessary for remission of sinnes And pag. 19 In tymes past there was great silence in Churches of the exercises of sayth And Praefat. Apol. Confess August in Melancthon tom 3. fol. 27 All Churches Monasteries schooles briefly all bookes of late diuines No man taught c All Prot. coÌ„fort vnknown were before mute of the iustice of fayth No man taught sinnes to be forgiuen by fayth in Christ Sacraments were impiously profaned after that opinion that they iustify by the work wrought was receiued And this opinion did wholy oppresse the doctrine of saith Praefat. Conf. Saxoniae All this comfort which is necessary to euery one how a man conuerted to God is iustified was vnknown The Protestant Princes and Cities in Sleidan lib. 21. fol. 240 The contention is about the doctrine of sayth and of the true knowledge of God which is the cheifest head of Christian life and of pure religion Vtterly extinct And it cannot say they be denyed that this doctrine was vtterly extinct and
a new doctrine brought in And lib. 13. â—ol 304 It cannot be denyed that there was no word taught of receiuing grace by Christ of remission of sinnes Luther in Catechismo Maiori tom 5. fol. 627 No maÌ„ belieued iustification without works Popery raigning fayth wholy neglected and obscured was in pitifull plight No man belieued Christ to be a Lord who had reconciled vs to the Father without our worcks Tom. 7. in c. 5. Matthaeâ— fol. 23 The Popish company saying nothing of the cheifest article of iustification by fayth in Christ c. And in 3. Symbol fol. 140. I haue obserued that all errours heresies and all impiety came into the church principally because this article or this part of Christian sayth in Iesus Christ was despised and neglected or vtterly lost And in the Epitaphe grâ—uen vpon Luthers tombe is this verse He restored to the world the difference lost before which is meant of the difference which Luther taught to be between the law and the ghospell that the law teacheth iustification by good works the ghospell by only fayth without which difference Luther professeth that Christianity cannot stand And in his table talkes cap. de morte he thus speaketh Shew me one place of iustification of fayth in the decrees in the decretals in the Clementines in all the summes and sentences Coccius to 1. pag. 1217 in all the sermons of Monks in the statutes of Synods in all the Postilles in all Hierome Gregorie c. Thus assured Luther was that before he preached of this principall article of iustification by only fayth there was no news in the whole world 5. The same confesseth his Copemate Melancthon who tom 2. Respons ad Clerum Colon. pag. 96. hath these words The doctrine of pennance was ouerwhelmed there was no word of fayth by which remission of sinnes is to be receiued and pag. 97 The doctrine of true inuocation and of the exercises of fayth lay dead If any sayth he denie that such was the state of the Church be may be disproued not only by testimonies of honest men but also by the bookes of Monkes And pag. 99 There was no speach of the hope of free mercy And lib. de vsu integri Sacramenti pag. 188 The Popes haue destroyed the true doctrine of fayth And the same Melancthon or Carion in Chronico lib. 4. pag. 418. seq These errours being setled and established by publike authority drew after them a great ruine wherewith they wholy destroyed the doctrine of iustice before God and free remission of sinnes And pag. 439 Schoole diuinity qu te trampled and extinguished the least sparkles of pure doctrine The least sparkles extinguished touching the law the ghospell fayth and iustification before God And pag 4â—3 They haue quite taken away the difference betweene the law and the ghospell Vigand lib. de bonis malâ—s Germaniae The difference betwixt the law and the ghospell was quite blotted out after the Apostles tym Quite blotted out The Magdeburgiâ—ns Preâ— Câ—â—tur 13. The doctrine of sayth without works was extinct The matter it selfe shewed that pure doctrine was vtterly supprest Kemnice in lâ—cis part 2. â—â—t de Iustificat pag. 246 In all ages the light of holesome doctrine touching iustification first decayed after more and more obscured and last was plainly lost and extinguished And pag. 244 Plainly lost In our tyme God hath restored the doctrine of iustification out of most thick darknesse And Humius Praesat lib. de libero arbit The article of â—ustification was by Luther brought into light of out of the more then Chymerian darknesse of former ages Thus the Lutherans 6. The like Confession make the Sacramentaries For thus writeth Caluin Respons ad Sadolet pag. 125 VVe say that doctrine of Iustification by only fayth was by you blotted out of the memory Blotted out of memory of men Lib de Necess Reform pag. 46 The vertue of fayth was vtterly extinct the benefit of Christ destroyed mans saluation ouerthrown And lib. de vera Reform pag. 322 By these the Apostolicall doctrine was corrupted nay destroyed and abolished Corrupted nay destroyed Iezlerus de bello Euchar. fol. 24 The doctrine of iustification was most sowly darkned corrupted Pareus lib. 5. de Iustificat cap 3 The doctrine of grace began to be obscured and at last to be vtterly oppressed in Popery Only nam of Christ remained Finally M. Fox in his Acts printed 1610. pag. 391. sayth In these later dayes the only name of Christ remayned among Christians As touching fayth the end and the vse of the law of grace and iustification by sayth of liberty of a Christian man there was no mention nor any word almost spoken of Thus both Lutheran and Sacramentary Protestants confesse their doctrine of iustification in which as we haue seene they affirme the definition life soule and all points of a Protestant to consist to haue perished byn extinguished horribly ouerwhelmed vanished out of the church no spark thereof to be found the light therof cleane put out and vtterly extinct before Luther start vp And consequently they must needs also confesse that the substance of their Church and religion was perished which could not be without the soule life definition and summe thereof 7. Neither do they lesse openly confesse that their Church was perished ProtestaÌ„ts confesse that their church perished For thus sayth Luther lib. de Captiu Babylon tom 2. fol 76 But now fayth being not spoken of the Church is extinguished by infinite laws of works and ceremonies Respons ad Catharin fol. 140. after he had sayd that the Church is conceiued formed borne nourished and conserned only by the vocall word he addeth Extinguished By the Pope and Papists the vocall ghospell being choaked and extinct was silent through all the world Tom. 3. in psal 17. fol. 285 And now that common sort of preachers reprobate what proposeth it to vs in the Church of the deeds of Saints but some small works vntill faith being extinguished there become nothing but heathenish superstition where once the Church of God was the name only of the Church left Name only of the Church left the substance quite lost In psalm 22. fol. 332 This day vnder the Popes dominion there is not lest one trace of the Church which appeares And 10. 6. in cap. 49. Genes fol. 666 The order of the Church perished The Pope hath extinguished swallowed vp the Church Caluin Respons ad Sadolet pag. 132 The matter came to that passe that it was manifest and euident to the learned and vnlearned that the true order of the Church then perished the Kingdome of Christ was throwne downe Christs Kingdome throwne downe when this dominion of the Pope was erected 4. Institut cap. 3. § 4. after he sayd that Apostles Euangelists Prophets were instituted only for that tyme when Churches were to be set vp or to be drawne from Moyses to Christ
they should be vnderstood rather according to Saint Hieromes meaning then according to their owne most proper most plaine and most frequent words especially when as Luther sayth tom 1. fol. 414 Many thinges are borne withall in the Fathers who were knowne to be orthodoxe which we may not imitate 8. Wherefore out of all which hath byn rehearsed in this chapter I thus frame my second demonstration If so be that before Luther arose there were not one only Protestant in the whole world but that all euery man followed a different Religion Luther was the Author and beginner of the Protestant Church and Religion But that is true as manifestly appeareth by the manyfold and open confessions of Luther and many and most famous Protestants Therefore c. That Protestants confesse their Church and religion to haue byn altogeather inuisible before Luther appeared CHAP. IV. 1. THE fourth demonstration wherewith we will proue Luther to haue byn the Author of the Protestant church and religion we will draw out of that which they confesse of the inuisibility thereof before Luther brake out And by the way I must aduertise the Reader of two things The one is that by the name of the Church is not to be vnderstood only the men who are of the Church but their society in religioÌ„ wherby they make a church wherefore those Protestants speake not to the purpose who to excuse the absurdity of their doctrine touching the inuisibility of the Church say they meane not that the men whereof it consisted were inuisible men for it sufficeth that they confesse that they were inuisible worshippers of God according to the Protestant manner or that their society in this kind of worship of God was inuisible Note The other point is that in these kind of questions VVhether before Luther the Protestant Church were VVhether it were visible Colloq Batisban Ses 1.6 10.17 Iuel Def. Apol. par 5. c. 15. d. 1. VVhither it had Pastors and the like the Catholiks hold the negatiue part and Protestants the affirmatiue and that it belongeth to the affirmer to proue what he affirmeth wherein if he faile he is ouercome and it is not needfull for the denyer to proue his denyall but is sufficient reasonably to answere the proofes of the affirmer which if he performe he hath wonne the cause As if one like Anaxagoras would say that there were many worlds besides this or that such and such things haue byn done in tymes past he were bound to proue what he sayth he that should deny such matters were not bound to proue his denyall but only reasonably to answere his aduersaries arguments And the reason is manifest because for to affirme or belieue any thinge we must haue reason or proofe thereof bur for the not belieuing of it we need no other reason then to shew that there is no sufficient reason why it should be belieued Hereupon Luther in his booke against Henry 8. King of England tom 2. fol. 340 sayd He must be taught the principles of disputation who hauing to proue his affirmation vrgeth his aduersary to proue his denyall And Vorstins in his Antibellarm pag. 464 It is inough for the denyer probably to deny Wherefore in these kind of questions Protestants ought to be vrged to performe their part that is to proue what they affirme to wit that before Luthers tyme their Church was had Pastors and the like which if they cannot do they must needs confesse that in this debate they haue lost their cause And they ought not to presse vs to proue that before Luther their Church was not had not Pastors c. Because as I sayd herein we are only the defenders and denyers Tom. 1. fo 389. 473. and therefore it sufficeth for vs to shew that no reasons which the Protestants alledge conuince a reasonable man to belieue that there was any such Church before Luther appeared which if we do we haue wonne the cause That the ProtestaÌ„ts Church was inuisible to strangers Neuerthelesse that I may vse Luthers words in the booke before cited Albeit it belong not to vs to proue the negatiue let vs do it 2. First therefore touching the inuisibility of the Protestant Church before Luthers tyme Protestants confesse that it was inuisible to Papists to enemies to the world and to all that were not of it For thus sayth Sadcel in his Refutation of the 61. article pag. 538 VVe deny not that the Godly men lurcked vnder Popish darknesse and we giue God thanks that such persons families Inuisible to Papists and companies were for a tyme inuisible and vnknowne to the Pope and all his Catchpoles seing they were for a long tyme like sparckles couered with much ashes The same he sayth in his answere to Arthur cap. 8. and to the Sophismes of Turrian loco 10. and to the Repetition of them pag. 706. Danaeus in his booke of Antichrist cap. 38. writeth That there were very few Protestants and those dwelling in wildernesses and also vnknowne to others vnknown to others Iunius in his 4. booke of the Church cap. 5. speaketh thus of Protestants before Luther They professed their sayth amongst themselues but not before dogges wild beasts who would runne vpon them D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quaest 2. cap. 2. pag. 458. VVas it the Protestant Church manifest to all No but to those only who had eyes And pag. 468 There was no true Church on earth Knowne only to ProtestaÌ„ts which appeared to all And quest 6. cap. 2. pag 359 VVe care not for their obiecting solitude vnto vs. For we are not ashamed to haue recalled our Church out of this kind of solitude D. Fulke to the Cauillations of Stapleton The whole forme of the Church was for some ages vnknowne to the vngratefull world And in his booke of succession pag. 118 They confessed Christ but not alwayes before heretiks but before themâ—elues and the Church And in his notes vpon the 11. cap. of the Acts If by visible you vnderstand that which is seene and knowne to the whole world it is not true that the Church was alwayes visible D. Morton in the 1. part of his Apology booke 1. cap. 16. sayth They professed secretly not publikely D. White in his way to the Church pag. 95 That they professed among themselues Osiander in his Manuel pag. 59 In the visible Church of Rome there was the inuisible company of belieuers hidden to the eye of the world Caelius secundus Curio in his booke of the lardgnes of the Kingdome of God pag. 212 It came to passe that for many yeares the Church lay hid and that the Cittizen of this Kingdome could scarce or not at all be discerned from others And the Scots in their generall confession VVe say that this is the only true Christian sayth which is now reuealed to the world Thus they acknowledg that before Luthers tym Protestants were vnknown to the Pope and his officers to their
enemies to the world to all others besides themselues could not be discerned from others lurcked in desertes in darknesses like sparkles vnder much ashes professed not their fayth before the world or their aduersaries but at most before themselues and were known only to those that had eyes that is to themselues 3. The same also they meane They teach that the church may be inuisible to the world when they teach that the church of God may be inuisible to the world and all that are out of it Iunius in his 2. book of the church cap. 13 VVe conclude that the outward forme and visible shape of the Church may so in common vanish that it cannot be pointed at or perceiued of the world And againe The Church is oftentymes couered and inuisible to the world Often inuisible to the world And cap. 16 The visible fashion of the Church may be hid and faile from the vngratefull world And in his Theologicall Theses cap. 43 Sometymes the church appeareth to the faithfull alone sometymes it is knowne to some godly persons not to euery one Besnage in his booke of the state of the visible and inuisible Church cap. 4 The Church is not alwayes knowne to the world Sonis in his answere to Spondé cap. 2. pag. 32 God sometymes taketh away the face of the Church from men Lubbertus in his 3. booke of the Church cap. 4 VVe affirme that the Church may be driuen to those straights that it may lye hid from the world and persecutors And cap. 6 VVe deny that she is alwayes visible to the world which he repeateth againe cap. 7. Riuet in his Epirome of Controuersies treatise 1. sect 37 It happeneth sometymes that the Church hath byn inuisible or rather hidden sometymes from the eyes of persecutors sometymes from the eyes of the faythfull themselues to wit of some and the most of them D. Whitaker Controuers 2. quest 3. cap. 3. pag. 474 VVe say that the Church may be conserued in so few that it appeare not to the world And quaest 5. cap. 6. pag. 508 It is most false that the Church shall alwayes be knowne and manifest to the world D. Fulke to Stapletons Cauillat Bullinger Alphonse Chytreus Marlorate and all the rest do acknowledge that the Church by the defence of Christ shal be protected in the desert that is in places remote from the sight and accesse of the wicked Againe The Church is not alwayes apparent to the multitude of the wicked And in his booke of Succession pag. 19 It is not doubted whether the Ecclesiasticall succession of persons and places ought sometymes to be visible to the world but whether at all tymes And pag. 21 Sometyms the Church is vnknowne to the world Pag. 42 God would sometymes prouide for the Church in this sort in striking her enemies with blindnes that they could not find her And pag. 129. The externall policy of the Church is vnknowne to the world that is to the enemies of the Church And pag. 366 I affirme that the Church is sometymes vnknowne to the world D. White in his way to the Church pag 86 The question is only of the outward state of the Church whether it be alway visible to the world or not that in euery age those congregations may be discerned and pointed to which are the true Church For we say not Pag. 87 This number may be very small and their profession so secret amongst themselues that the world and such as loue not the truth shall not see them they remayning so hidden as if they were not at all And pag. 97. The Church may be hid or become inuisible sometyme so that the world cannot see it D. Morton in the 1. part of his Apology lib. 1. cap. 16 ProtestaÌ„ts proper defence Protestants say the Church is not alwayes knowne to all the faythfull nor to her enemies And this he termeth the proper defence of Protestants And cap. 13 VVhen Protestant say the Church is sometymes ecclipsed like the moone they meane that she is brought sometymes to so sew that it is not seene but of those which are in her but not openly knowne by her visibility rites or visible Succession or to all the faythfull D. Willet in his Synopsis Cont. 2 quest 1. pag. 67 A number of faythfull people hath byn alwayes in the world but not alwayes visible to the world Againe If by visible they vnderstand that which is actually visible we say it is not so alwayes visible to the world Thus we see that for to maintaine the inuisibility of their Church they teach that the visible forme of the Church of God may vanish mayly hid may faile from the world is often taken away from men by God is vnknowne to the world That the Church sometymes is vnknowne or appeares not visible to the world sometyme knowne only to the faythfull yet not to all them neither but to some and the fewer of them and that neither by any visible rites nor by visible succession and that this kind of doctrine they terme the proper defence of Protestants to wit for to defend the inuisibility of their Church before Luther Which kind of defence hath neither truth nor probability and though it had yet would it not suffice to defend the inuisibility of their Church before Luthers tyme when it was inuisible not only to the world to enemies to straungers to some or most of the faythfull but to all and euery one as shall manifestly appeare hereafter 4. If any say that it is no meruayle if Protestants teach that their Church was inuisible to the world because the true Church cannot be seene but by fayth I answeare first that this supposeth their Church to be the true Church which ought not to be supposed but proued Secondly that they teach that the Church may be vnknowne not only to the world but also to some or most of the faythfull Lastly that the true Church may be knowne two wayes one way to be the true Church of God an other to be knowne distinctly from all other Churches The true Church discerned from all other Churches euen by Infidels as Christ was knowne to be the Messias only by his disciples but yet he was knowne distinctly from all other men by the Iewes And the scripture is knowne to be the word of God only by Christiâ—ns but is knowne distinctly from other writings by Infidels And in Christs tyme his company was known to be the true Church of God only by the faythfull but knowne distinctly from all other companies or Churches euen by Infidels And the same we say of his Church from his tyme vnto our dayes that it is and euer was knowne to be the true Church of God only of the faythfull but known and seene distinctly from all other Churches euen by the world Infidels And of his kind of knowledge and visibility wherewith the true Church is knowne and visible not only to the faythfull
but euen to Infidels and of the opposite ignorance or inuisibility we speake in this matter and Protestants also as appeareth by their testimonies already rehearsed shall yet more by those which we shall repeat hereafter That they say their Church was simply inuisible 5. Further more therefore Protestants do not only teach that their Church may and hath byn inuisible respectiuely that is to this or that kind of men as we haue already heard but also they graunt that it may be simply and absolutely inuisible Luther vpon the 90. psalm tom 3. fol. 493 The Church was and abode in Popery but truly so hidden as to one that would iudge by the appearance the seemed to be no where at all Seemed to be no where And vpon the psalm 22. fol. 344 The Church is brought into the dust of death so that no where there appeareth any shew or trace of her And vpon the first chap. of Micheas tom 4. fol. 434 No trace of church appeared In the former ages there was no true forme of religion extant The Magdeburgians in the preface of their 10. Century It is very hard to find where which the Church was in this age No forme extant Likewise in the Preface of the 11. Century Euery where was darknes neither durst the Church mutter any thing Gerlachius in his 22. disput of the Church pag. 927. writeth that before Luther The true Church withdrew it selfe from the eyes sight of men into lurking holes and hid her selfe in darknesse Zuinglius in his supplication to the Bishop of Constance tom 1. fol. 120 The heauenly doctrine lay a long tyme hid Hospinian in the epistle dedicatory of the first part of his History From the yeare 1200. vntill the yeare 1515. the Church lay miserably ouerwhelmed as it were with a most deep and most strong deluge Caluin in the Preface of his Institutions God permitted that in former ages there should be no face of the true Church extant No face of the church extant And addeth of his owne doctrine It lay a long tyme vnknowne and buryed Againe For some ages all things were drowned in deep darknes And vpon the 23. chapter of the Acts vers 6. he sayth The Church was hidden from the eyes of men And in his Preface vpon Isaias Touching the oueward shew of the church nothing for many ages appeared but desolate and confused wast on all sides Beza in his book of the notes of the church pag. 99 The Church lurked in the wildernes Pareus in his 4. booke of grace and freewill cap. 6 In Constantines tyme the church began to waâ— sick to death notwithstanding the Catholike Church remayned But where In the desert as in the world withdrawne from the eyes of men Sadeel in his treatise of the vocarion of Ministers pag. 533 After the Church had a long tyme lurked the Lord called her at this tyme into light Could not be discerned Voyen in his Preface of Catalog Doct The true visible Church could not be discerned no tract of Gods grace appeared in his Church The Apology of the English Church part 4. cap. 4. diuis 2. sayth that 40. yeares agoe truth first began to spring vnknowne at that tyme and vnheard of Vnheard of D. Humfrey vnto the 3. reason of F. Campian pag. 286 VVhy the picture of the Church in these later tymes cannot be seene of our aduersaries or drawne of vs c. And pag. 288 If the only names of our Fathers were extant who eyther by teaching Not so much as their names extant or monishing or writing did help the Church of Christ we should see another ranck and progresse of the Church another succession of Bispops another picture of Protestants And pag. 291 And yet they will obiect that our Church was hidden which they no where suffered aliue D. Whitaker Controu 2. quest 3. pag. 479 VVhen they aske of vs where was our Church in tymes past for so many ages we answere that it was in a close wildernesse that is that it was hidden lay secret fled the sight of men And quest 5. c. 3. pag. 499 Luther brought the fayth out of darknesse wherein before it lay drowned And cap. 4. pag. 502 Our Church was then but you will say it was not visible Not visible VVhat then therefore was it not No. For it lay hid in the wildernesse M. Perkins in his exposition of the Creed colum 788 VVe say that many ages past before this our age that vniuersall defection ouerwhelmed almost all the world Not visible and that our Church was not visible at that tyme. M. Base in his 1. Century of the writers of Britanny cap. 4 From Phocas vntill the renewing of the Ghospell the doctrine of Christ lay so long in lurking holes M. Downham in his 2. booke of Antichrist cap. 2 The generall defection of the visible Church began to worke in the Apostles tyme. M. Powell in his 1. book of Antichrist c. 23 Our religion lay long tyme vnknowne and buryed vnknown buried And M. Cox Chancellour of Oxford in King Edward 6. tyme exhorting the vniuersity men to Protestantisme biddeth them pluck out truth lying long tyme lurking in Trophonius denne Thus clearely and thus many wayes they simply and absolutely graunt that their Church was inuisible vnknowne and buryed before Luther arose 6. The same also they intend They teach the Church may be simply inuisible when they say that the Church either was or can be inuisible For they would neuer say so vnlesse they knew that such was the condition of their Church before Luther began Luther vpon the 90. psalm tom 3. fol. 495 Sometymes the Church was most weake and so dispersed as it appeared no where Hutter in his Analysis of the Confession of Auspurg pag. 448 No where appeare It is certaine that it may fall out that the true Church may ly hidden and her visible forme not at all tymes appeare to the eyes Herbrand in his Compend of diuinity place of the Church pag. 502. writeth That the faythfull sometymes appeare not to the eyes euen of the Godly Not to the Godly Kemnitius in his common places tit the epistles of the Apostles pag. 78 Sometymes the true Church another bastard and company preuailing and ouertopping doth so as it werely hid that Elias may say I am leâ—t alone Gerlachius in his 22. dispute of the Church pag. 946 No surely if at some tyme the Church be not seene with corporall eyes therefore she is not Caluin in the Preface of his Institutions Sometyme God taketh away the outward knowledge of his Church from the sight of men Sometyme the Church hath no apparent forme And in his treatise of the true Reformation of the Church pag. 332 The Church sometyme lyeth hid and flieth the sight of men And in his Antidote of the 18. article of the Vniuersity of Paris VVe gather that the Church
is not at all tymes subiect to the eyes of men as the experience of many ages witnesseth Againe Elias thought himselfe only left of the Church falsly indeed but that is a proofe that she may lye so hidden And in his 4. booke of Institutions cap. 1 § 3. he affirmeth that it is not needfull to see or to feele the Church and that she may passe our knowledge Beza in his Confession cap. 5. § 9 Diuers tymes the Church seemeth to haue perished vtterly Iunius in his 3 book of the church cap. 16 The Church shall neuer end but shall lye hidden according to her visible forme Chassanio in his common pâ—aces loc 2. of the Church pag. 148 The Church is not alwayes visible Danaeus in his 3. booke of the Church cap. 2. Bellarmine will haue that only to be the Church which is visible which is most false Cap. 12 God oftentymes will haue some visible Church on earth and often tymes none VVhen there is no visible Church OfteÌ„tyms no visible Church on earth then this precept of adioyning himself to the Church ceaseth And cap. 13 Bellarmine laboureth to proue the true Church of God on earth to be alwayes visible That being most false c. And cap 16 VVe say we affirme we auouch that the Church may so faile on earth not that there is none at all but that there is none in respect of vs that is of men that there be none visible to vs on earth Againe S. Paul inferreth generally that the whole Church may leaue to be visible And lib. 4. cap. 8 The true Church may sometymes faile to be visible Son is in his answere to Sponde cap. 2 pag. 33 The whole Church may haue to be visible God maketh that the Church is not alwayes visible Plessy Mornay in his booke of the Church cap. 1 Oftentymes the good corne is hidden vnder the chaffe without any appearance of the Church Polanus in his Antibellarm Colledge disput 14 The visible Church may faile Bucanus in his common places loc 41. sect 9 It oftentymes happeneth that there is no company of men extant which publikely and visibly worshippeth God purely The visible church may faile And sect 12 There is alwayes on earth some number which worshippeth Christ piously but this number is not alwayes visible Trelcatius in his 2. booke of Theologicall Institutions maketh rhis title of one Chapter That the visible church may fayle against Bellarmine Hyperius in his Methode of diuinity lib. 3. pag. 548 VVhiles Elias wandred here and there there appeared no face of the Church Sadeel in his refutation of the 61 â—rticle pag. 531 They are deceiued who think there is no Catholike Church vnlesse they measure it with their eyes And pag. 535 The true church maybe conserned without any visible state And in his repetition of Sophismes pag. 610 It is plaine Wanteth outward forme that the Church is not so to be tyed to any outward forme whatsoeuer that it ought to be denyed to be a Church as often as that forme shall not be extant And of vocation of Ministers pag. 543 The Church sometyme wanteth the externall forme Againe It is cleare that the Church hath sometymes byn without visible and personall succession Pag. 550 Mens wickednes doth sometymes take from vs the visible face of the Church And againe It is sometymes so darkned that it appeareth not to our eyes The whole visible Church may perish Scharpe of Iustification Cont. 5 The visible Church as such may perish The members of the visible Church may perish yea the whole visible Church as such Bastingius vpon the Catechisme title of the Church pag. 227 VVithout doubt in euery age things haue byn so troubled as like a graine couered with straw there appeared no face of the Church Vorstius in his Antibellarm pag 133 A litle before the calling of Abraham no where appeared any visible Church And pag. 136 Hereupon it followeth that the visible church of Christ not only in a great part The whole visible Church may faile but also taken whole in her vttermost extent may for some tyme faile from the true sayth and be wholy darkned The outward church of Christ may perish And pag. 424 Neither did Christ promise that he would absolutely and perpetually hinder the perishing and corruption of the outward Church The Flemmings Confession article 27 The Church in the eyes of men for sometyme seemeth as extinguished And Napper vpon the 11. chap. of the Apoc. pag. 186 They erre who think that the true Church is alwayes visible And vpon 12. cap. pag. 195 The visible Church wholy imbraced the errors of merits of indulgences c. And Proposit 20. pag. 41 The true Church was inuisible and the true knowledge of God so couered with darknesse that none could visibly enter Thus foraine Protestants Of our couÌ„trymen D. Whitaker Contr. 2. quest 3. cap. 2. pag. 470 Sometymes obscurity most of all helpeth the church For at some tyme she could not be safe vnlesse she lay hid And cap. 3. pag. 474 VVe say that sometyme the Church may auoyd the sight of men hide it selfe in corners Cap. 1. pag. 466 VVe confesse that euer more there is on earth some number of them who piously worship Christ hold the true fayth and religion but we say that this number is not alwayes visible Their Papists opinion is that there is euer more on earth a visible church Not alwayes visible It may fall out that there cannot be fouÌ„d out and knowne any true and certaine visible church And cap. 2. cit pag. 468 Our aduersary would proue that there was alwayes in the world some visible church And pag. 469 Hence inferreth Denis the Carthusian not as our aduersaries do that the visible church can neuer perish The visible church may perish or that there is euer more in the world some visible church but that sayth shall neuer perish wholy but that Christian religion shall still perseuer in some to the end of the world This sayth Whitaker is plainly that which we say and defend Marke how plainly he professeth that they do not teach that the visible Church cannot perish Note or that there is alwayes some visible Church on earth but only that some shall alwayes belieue the Christian religion The same doctrine he teacheth pag. 470. 473. 475. 476. and 479. And q. 6. cap. 2. pag. 559. And in his third booke against Duraeus sect 5. 6. 7. 11. M. Perkins in his problem title of the church The ancients do acknowledge that the church on earth is not alwayes visible D. Willet in his Synopsis Cont. 2. q 1. pag. 67 VVe say the church is not always actually visible to the world nay it may sometyms be so hid and secret that the members know not one another Againe In Elias tyme not visible In the dayes of Elias the church was not visible And quest 2. pag. 74 A visible
be seene by corporall eyes that the externall knowledge therof may be taken from men that it may consist of no apparent forme be without any visible condition without visible succession and destitute of outward forme That the visible face thereof may be taken from vs that it may seeme to haue vtterly perished that the visible Church may perish the outward Church perish that it may wholy leaue to be visible and the whole visible Church perish and finally that there be no true visible Church in the world 10. Besides it is cleare that they teach that not only some part of the visible Church but also as they speake the whole and all the visible Church may perish and that it may fall out that there be none De grat lib. arb c. 8. none at all no visible Church in the world Certainly as S. Austin speaketh these words need no witty interpreter but only an attent hearer 11. Whereby also it is euident Protestāts vntrue shifts refuted that D. White in the defence of his way cap. 38. and 40. sayd vntruly that Protestants imagine not the Church to haue byn at any tyme simply inuisible For as we haue heard they oftentymes professe openly the contrary Vntruly also D. Whitaker auoucheth Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 2. pag. 472. that we slaunder them when we say they make such a Church as sometymes can be seene of none For as hath byn seene many Num. 5.6 and he amongst the rest haue taught so But D. Whitaker by the name of a visible Church vnderstandeth not a company visibly professing their fayth but one or two or some few visible men who keep their fayth secretly in their harts But this is not the church to haue byn visible but the men to haue byn visible Besides that it is inough for vs that the Protestant Religion and manner of worshipping God was before Luthers tyme altogeather inuisible and only secret in the hearts of some few For thence it will follow as shall appeare hereafter that it is not the religion of God which can neuer be kept so secret and inuisible Vntruly also sayth Iunius Cont. 4. lib. 3. cap. 16. when he writeth This only we say the visible manner of the Church may ly hid or faile to the vngratefull world not that it can become inuisible in it selfe For that which is so inuisible as the Protestants haue sayd the Church may be is in it selfe inuisible Lastly some do vntruly expound the foresayd words of Protestants as if they had only sayd that their Church had byn inuisible in some sort not simply and absolutely because their words were most absolute and it is sophisticall to expound so many absolute speeches only in some sort Besides hereafter we shall see that sometymes they confesse that their church was so inuisible as it implyed contradiction to haue it seene and those who limitate the former speaches agree not togeather in their expositions For D. Whitaker loc cit sayth they only meane that the Church is not alwayes to be seene glorious and of euery one D. White lib. cit cap. 37. that they meane that the Church is not alwayes to be seene a part and free from all errour D. Morton Apol. part 1. lib. 1. cap. 13. that they only meant that the church is not alwayes to be seene publikely of all men by her visible rites and visible succession which shift he calleth the Bulwarck of Protestants But this Bulwarck is built of him without all foundation and is manifestly ouerthrowne by the former Confessions D. Feild sayth they meane not that the Church is wholy inuisible at any tyme but that it is not alwayes to be esteemed by outward appearance But what more manifest then that they teach that the Church may be wholy inuisible as appeareth by their words already rehearsed The Protestāt Church impossible to haue byn seene and shall yet more appeare by and by 12. For they not only confesse that their Church was altogeather inuisible before Luther arose but also they affirme that it is a most vniust and impudent demaund to request them to shew it before that tyme. Hutter in his Analysis of the Confession of Auspurg pag. 448 Impudent demaund It is an impudent demaund of the Romanists to request to haue shewed vnto them such a church in former ages which touching the publike ministery and visible forme agreed in all things with Luther For we haue demonstrated that the true Church then lay hid D. Fulke in his booke of Succession pag. 19 But you bid me bring forth those elect Protestants which lay hid through all the world Good God how vniust a thing do you demaund Vniust that I should bring forth them whome I say lay hid And Sadeel to the Repetition of Turrians Sophismes pag. 766 But I promised not as you say that I would answeare to this your question where those inuisible remnants lay hid as if I had not sufficiētly answeared when I sayd that they lay hid by the vnsearcheable counsaile of God And in his answere to Theses Posnan cap. 8. He will haue them to haue layne so closely that it cannot be knowne what they did And in his booke of Vocation of Ministers pag. 551 At last came that generall Apostasy which the Apostle foretold For then the outward light of the Church being quite extinct Only shadow and name of visible Church there remayned the only shadow and name of the visible Church The same also intimateth Plessy Mornay in the Preface of his Mystery of iniquity when he sayth VVe are not bound to shew the Church it sufficeth that God knew his owne And Iohn Regius in his Apology pag 176 You deny that Luther sound a company of his sect I say there was an ecclesiasticall company of true religion and which agreed with Luther in all points But when the Iesuits vrge to shew a follower of religion they would that Luther shew that which implieth Implied to be visible and proue the inuisible to be visible Napper vpon 12. cap. Apocal pag. 294 From the yeare 316. God with drew his visible Church from the open assemblies of men to the hearts of particuler men and from that tyme the Church lay hid and was inuisible The same he sayth pag. 188 But if so it be an impudent and vniust demaund to haue their Church shewed before Luther if it were withdrawne from open assemblies to the hearts of some if her outward light were quite extinct and the only shadow and name of the visible Church remayned and lastly if it implyed contradiction that she should be shewed it is most euident that she was altogeather inuisible The same also they intimate when they say that the Church either hath byn at any tyme or may be thus inuisible Luther vpon the 90. psalme tom 3. fol. 495 Church no where but in the sight of God The Church was then in Elias tyme but so hidden as it was
no where but in the sight of God Hyperius in his Methode of diuinity lib. 3. pag. 349 VVas not the true Church at that tyme of Elias altogeather inuisible to men and knowne to God alone The Switzers Confession cap. 17 The Church hidden from our eyes and knowne to God only Knowne to God alone doth often fly the iudgement of men Besnage in his booke of the state of the visible and inuisible church cap. 4 The Church is eftsones knowne to God alone Son is in his answere to Sponde cap. 2. pag. 32 VVe say the state of the Church is such as is sometymes known to God alone And D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 3. pag. 478 VVe say that the externall state of the Church doth cease and that the faythfull and godly may be so scattered that they worship God only in heart and mind Worship God in heart only But who seeth not that it implieth manifest contradiction that a Church which is no where but in the sight God which is knowne to God alone which flyeth mans iudgement and which worshippeth God only in heart and mind should be visible or seene of man How long the Protestāts Church was inuisible 13. If any aske them how many ages their Church was thus inuisible Luther vpon the 1. cap. to the Galat. tom 5. fol. 214. sayth that she lay hid aboue 300. years To whome commeth neere Danaeus in his 3. book de Roman Pontif. cap. 8. saying the Church was in banishment 350. years But Luther better thinking on the matter in his booke of the Popery tom 7. maketh her to haue lurked 600. years And with him agreeth Hospinian in his epistle dedicatory of the 1. part of his History Melancthon in his oration for Luther tom 2. will haue this lurking to haue byn 400. yeares But Caluin his booke of Scandals Perkins and Bale in the places before cited will haue it to haue continued 900. years Parcus aboue cited will haue it to haue begon in Constantines tyme and Napper from the yeare of our Lord 316 With whome consenteth Brocard vpon the 11. Chap. Apocal. pag. 110. Fuccius in his Cronology fetcheth the beginning of this lurking a litle higher from the yeare 261. and finally Curio of the largenesse of Gods Kingdome pag. 33 Almost from the Apostles ages euen to our tym Which they also intimate who say that Popery began in the Apostles tyme. O Christ most patient Lord that I may cry out with Tertullian who so many years yea so many ages diddest suffer thy doctrine to be turned vpside downe till Luther came to helpe thee 14. Luther Author of the visible Protestāt Church Of all things which haue byn related in this Chapter it is most cleare that Luther was at least author of the Protestants visible Church and if not the first which founded it yet the first which after it was fallen in substance perished did rayse and restore it againe For when Luther began first to preach there was no visible Protestant Church at all and by his preaching there became such a visible Church Therefore vndoubtedly he was the author thereof And if any Protestant against so many and so open Confessions of his Fathers and brethren will say that there was a visible Protestant Church before Luther he shall first gainesay so many witnesses without all exception in this matter who hauing searched all corners and enquired of all men haue neuerthelesse confessed that at that tyme no such visible Church appeared Besides he shall say that without all either diuine or humane testimony which to do of tymes before his age is to play the Prophet or rather the mad man For it is not the part of a man in his wittes to affirme without all kind of testimony especially such a thing and so manifestly false as that so many and such kind of men as had most need to affirme it were neuerthelesse forced to deny it That it wanteth all sufficient humane testimony is euident because neither the foresayd Protestants nor any yet to this day could bring forth any sufficient witnesse who would depose that he had seene such a Church before Luthers reuolt That also it is destitute of diuine testimony is manifest by what hath byn before rehearsed For Protestants at we haue heard teach that the promises of perpetuity which in the scripture are made to the church Sup. num 7. are made only to the inuisible church that is to a society of men in election and Iustification out of which Church they exclude the reprobate and wicked and not to the visible Church that is to the society in Profession of true doctrine and lawfull vse of Sacraments And in truth they most needs say so sith they commonly teach that the inuisible Church whereof the elect and iust alone are members is the true Church before God and that the visible Church whereof the wicked reprobate may be members is but a Church in sight of men that is a shadow and outward shew of the Church And it is cleare that God promised perpetuity to that Church only which in his sight is the true Church and not to her which is no Church but only in sight of men When as I say they teach that God promised perpetuity and continuance only to the inuisible Church out of his promises they cannot inferre Lib. 2. cōt Maxim c. 3. l 3 c 176 that the visible Church hath or shall euer continue Of whome therefore that I may vse S. Augustins words hast thou heard this whence diddest thou learne it where hast thou read it for to belieue it whereupon hast thou presumed for to affirme it where there is neither any authority nor reason If Protestants cry out Whitak cont 2. q. 3 c. ◠that it is most absurd to say in Elias his tyme there was any Church visible amongst the Gentiles beside the Synagogue which now after so many thousands of years we cannot name how much more absurd ought they think it to say that before Luther arose there was a visible Protestant Church which yet none neither of that Church nor out of it neither at this tyme nor at that could euer name 15. It being thus manifest that Luther was the Author of the visible Protestant Church it followeth likewise that he was the author of all and Euery Protestant Church For as shall be shewed hereafter there can be no such inuisible Church as Protestants meane that is such as belieueth and worshippeth God only in hart and mind and no way professeth outwardly her fayth and religion Yet before we come to that we will first refute those who when they consider how absurd a thing it is to affirme such an inuisible Church especially for so many ages they begin to shufle and either send vs to others or themselues name vs such as only in part or in some sort held Protestantisme but imbraced not all the substantiall points thereof and
the Waldenses and therefore the Bohemian Confession is not the Waldenses Confession Nor albeit therein be mention of iustification by only fayth can it be inferred that therefore the Waldenses did belieue it Finally as I haue often sayd and it must be alwayes inculcated I regard not whome any one sayth to haue byn Protestants but whom he proueth to haue byn such Neither whome he can proue to haue byn Protestants in part and in some sort but whome he can proue to haue byn absolutely and wholy Protestants at least for the substance of Protestancy Neither will it auaile any whit to complaine that we haue burnt the writings of the Waldenses by which they might proue that they were true Protestants For if they haue nor wherwithall to proue they were true Protestants they in vaine do feigne it Besides we asked of Luther his followers to produce one man Waldensian or other who had byn a true Protestant before Luthers preaching for which end there was no need of writings but of liuing men Wiclif was no true Protestant 6. In like sort I proue that Wicliffe and his followers were not true and absolute Protestants First because the Wiclifists are by name condemned togeather with other heretiks of Protestants in their Apology of the Confession of Auspurg chap. of the Church in these words VVe haue plainly inough sayd in our Confession that we disalow the Donatists and VViclifists Secondly because neither in Wiclifs booke nor of any of his schollers is there any signe of sole iustifying fayth neither did euer any Catholike writer contend with them there about Thirdly because as Melancthon writeth in his epistle to Myconius in his 1. tom printed at Bâ—sle pag. 416 VViclif neither vnderstood nor held the iustice of fayth Yea Husse his principall follower as we shall anon rehearse belieued that works did iustify And Wiclif himselfe in Thomas Walden tom 3. tit 1. cap. 7. bid euery one hope in the proper iustice of his life and men to trust in their merits which thing alone doth separate him farre inough from the Protestants campe Fourthly because the Wiclifists are reckoned amongst Heretiks of many Protestants as of Schusselburg tom 3. Catal pag. 190. of Kemnice in fundament is Coenae pag. 114. of Pantalcon in his Chronicle and of Matthias Hoe disput 27. they are termed most monstrous monsters And D. Cay in his 2. booke of the antiquity of Cambridge obiecteth Wicliffe to the Oxford men as a flaine of their vniuersity Fiftly wiclif taught diuers things which Protestants dislike And to omit these things which Catholikes obiect vnto him Canisius to 3 antiq lectionum Rokesana Prince of the Hussites in his dispute with Catholiks before the King of Bohemia hath these words These are the articles of VViclif That tithes are meere almes That the Clergy ought to haue no ciuill gouernment If a King be in mortall sinne that he is no more a King Which last article Osiander in his 15. Century repeateth thus There is no temporall Lord no Prelate no Bishop whiles he is in mortall sinne And Melancthon in his foresayd epistle VViclif doth plainly sophistically and seditiously wrangle vpon ciuill dominion And in his dispute of the right of Magistrats VViclif is mad who thinketh the wicked to haue no Dominion And in his Commentaries vpon Aristotles Politiques VViclif would haue those who haue not the holy ghost to loose their Dominion So that I meruaile how D. Andrews in his answere to the Apology of Bellarmine could say that it is a sclaunder that Wiclif taught so when as not only Catholiks but euen Hussites and Protestants do affirme it Moreouer Wiclif as Osiander reporteth in the place aforecited did condemne lawfull oathes and taught that all things fell out according to absolute necessity And Melancthon in his sayd epistle giueth this sentence of him I haue looked into VViclif but I haue found in him many other errors Wiclife held not iustice of sole faith by which one may iudge of his spirit He at all vnderstood not nor held the iustice of sayth He fondly confoundeth the ghospell and politique affaires would haue Priests to haue nothing proper c. And in his common places chap. of Ecclesiasticall power That superstition of VViclif is pernicious and seditious which driueth the ministers of the Church to beggery and denyeth that it is lawfull for them to hold any thing proper M. Stow also in his Cronicle anno 1376. writeth that he taught that Neither King nor lay man could giue any thing to the church for perpetuity Finally Vadianus in his fiâ—t book of the Eucharist pag. 168. confesseth that in many things he fouly erred Hussites no Protestants 7. Husse likewise and his partners we proue not to haue byn true and absolute Protestants First because it cannot be proued that they held the foresayd article of iustification by only fayth and the other fundamentall points of Protestancy Secondly because Husse is by name reiected of Luther who in the defence of his 30. article tom 2. thus writeth of him He agreeth not with me He gaue not a litle to the idol of Rome He seemeth not to repugne against the Popes Monarchy And vpon the 2. psal tom 3. fol 395 Husse did not condemne the sacrifice of Masse as we do And vpon the 9. chapter of Isaias tom 4. fol. 108. he sayth that Husse held a doctrine most pestilent most pernicious horrible and wholy impious yea very diuelish And in his Lypsicall dispute tom 1. fol. 260 I know and that very well that an euill Prelate is not to be reiected and therefore I damne the article of Husse And both there and other where Tom. 1. fo 30. 291. 292. 251. oftentymes denieth himselfe to be a Bohemian by which he meant an Hussite And in his table-talkes chapter of Sâ—ermers sayth Husse belieued that works with fayth do iustify which point alone excludeth him from the number of Protestants Husse belieue not sole faith And in the chapter of Antichrist Husse departed not one iot from the Papists but only reproued vices and naughty life Which also affirmeth Hierome of Prage Husse his fellow in M. Fox vpon the 11. chapter of the Apocal. Where also M. Fox himselfe writeth that Husse agreed with the Papists touching transubstantiation Masse Vowes Predestination Free will formed fayth cause of iustification and merits of works which plainly declare how litle he held of Protestancy Lastly when Bellarmine wrote that there was not in the world when Luther began any religion but Paganisme Iudaisme Mahometisme Grecisme Nestorianisme Hussites heresy and the Romane fayth D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 5. cap. 3. pag. 502. denyeth these to haue byn all For sayth he our Church was then In which words he professeth the Protestants to be a different church from the Hussites Iunius also lib. 4. de Eccles cap. 6. acknowledgeth that some Protestant deny Hussites to be of their Church And Luther vpon the 53.
3. ca. 13. M. Perkins in his exposition of the Creed Col. 788. The Author of the church in Danaeus Opuscles pag. 1029. D. Fulk of Succession pag. 320. and others who say that the Church VVas propagated and receiued fayth by extraordinary meanes And they also who write that their Church was preserued miraculously merueilously by wondrous meanes or by meere miracle as Luther of priuate Masse tom 7. fol 240. Caluin 4. Instit cap. 1. § 2. Sadeel ad Repetit Sophism Turriani pag. 763. Danaeus of Antichrist pag. 1021. Son is against Spondé cap. 2. pag. 36. But this their assertion they neither do nor can proue otherwise then because God can in such manner preserue the church 10. Thou seest gentle reader vpon what a vaine foundation this imaginary church is built for the space of many ages in which it lay inuisible and lurcking in holes corners For they confesse that for many ages it was not seene of any man and if at any tyme they confesse not so much in words in deeds they confesse it alwayes because they can neuer name any whom they can proue to haue seene it in former ages and neuertheles they will that for al those ages it learnt their fayth miraculously and immediatly from God alone When we aske testimony hereof they produce neither diuine nor humane worthy of credit when we demaund proofe they giue vs no other then this Verstius Antibel pag. 468. Fulke de Succes pa. 74. that God could so teach it fayth As if God did or doth all that he can do We speake of an effect or a matter of fact of Gods will and they answere of his power When we affirme any thing they exact demonstrations that is plaine testimonies of Scripture or at least pregnant proofes deduced thence And when they affirme a matter of so great weight and so incredible as is that the church was so many ages taught her faith of God alone they will haue vs to belieue it not only without any testimony of God or man but euen contrary to the testimony of them both for one silly sophisme ridiculous to the very children and scorned euen of themselues in other matters as shall by and by appeare Surely that I may vse Saint Augustins words They seeme to thinke that they haue not to do with men Cōt Adimant c. 4. but as if they were meere beasts who heare thē or read their writings they abuse the ignorance or dulnesse of them or rather their blindnes of mind Or as Caluin sayth Antid ◠Conc. c. 15. These masters need haue a heard of Oxen if they would haue auditors to whome they may perswade what they will But to their Argument I say with Tertullian against Praxeas cap. 10 Surely nothing is hard to God But if in our presumptions we will so rashly vse this sentence we may feigne any thing of God as if he had done it because he could do it But we must not belieue he hath done that which he hath not because he can do all things but we must seeke whether he hath done it or no. Luther also vpon the 46. cap of Genesis tom 6 fol. 624. saith God can gouerne the church by the holy Ghost without the Ministery but he will not do this immediatly And vpon the 32. chap. fol. 454 He could by the holy Ghost inwardly enlighten the hearts and forgiue sinnes without the Ministery of the word and Ministers but he would not And the Confession of Suitzers cap. 18 God by his power can immediatly gather a church of men but he chose rather to deale with men by the ministery of men Caluin vpon 3. chap. 1. Cor. v. 6 Nothing hindereth God that he may not inspire fayth into men asleep but he hath otherwise determined to wit that that fayth should come by hearing And vpon 1. chap. of S. Luke v. 37 They raue peruersely who imagine of Gods power without his word It is a dangerous dispute what God can do vnlesse withall we find what he will do And 4. Institut cap. 17 § 24. he sayth VVe aske not here what God could but what he would do The like words he hath cap. 1. § 5. lib. 2. cap 7. pag 5. and de vera Eccles Reform pag. 326. Beza in the 2. part of his answere to the Acts of the Conference at Montbelgard pag. 97 An argument taken from the power of God needeth no answere vnlesse his will also appeare to vs by his word The Author of the orthodoxall consent in the Preface It is ridiculous to vrge the omnipotency of God where we know not hi◠pleasure Sadeel of Sacramentall manducation pag. 272. setteth downe this as a Theologicall principle VVe may not in diuinity argue from the omnipotency of God vnlesse his will be before declared by his expresse word Let Protestants therfore produce Gods expresse word wherin he sayth that he hath or will for many ages miraculously by himselfe alone teach the Church her fayth Danaeus also in his 4. booke deamiss grat cap. 15 It litle auaileth to proue Gods power vnlesse his will also be proued And D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 6. cap. 1 p. 617 VVhat a kind of argument is this This may be done because nothing is impossible to God therefore it is done or sometymes hath byn Doth our fayth rely vpon such foundations Finally Casaubon in his 7. Exercitation against Baronius It is a saying of the Fathers that Gods power is the refuge of Heretikes Thus thou seest how vaine euen by the Protestants iudgement is this proofe of the Churches learning immediatly from God They are wont to scoffe at the Miracles done by Saints albeit we proue them by sufficient testimony of man themselues feigne a continuall miracle yea so many miracles as they feigne men whome they say for many ages learn◠their fayth immediatly of God which they can proue by no sufficient testimony either of God or man Yea we will most manifestly herafter disproue it Here I will only note that those Protestants seeme to haue byn some Enthusiasts or heauenly Prophets as Luther scoffingly termed some who in his tyme challenged such immediat learning from God and that the Protestants themselues do sometymes condemne this immediat learning from God as Fanaticall Anabaptisticall Suenckfeldian and Enthusiasticall 11. The Confession of Auspurg art 5. Protestāts reiect immediat taeching of God as Fabritius relateth out of the originall copy sayth thus They condemne the Anabaptists and others who think that the holy Ghost cometh to men without the outward word Martin Luther vpon Genesis tom 6. fol. 117 The holy ghost doth not teach new reuelations besides the ministery of the word according as the Enthusiasts and Anabaptists true Fanaticall Doctours do dreame And in the 8. art of Smalcald In this we most constantly stand that God will not otherwise deale with vs then by the vocall word and Sacraments Schusselburg also in the 10. tom of his Catalogue pag. 30.
rehearseth it is an errour of Suenckfeld that men may be saued without the outward word of God and Ministery And Melancthon in his answere to the Bauarian Articles tom 3. fol. 372. affirmeth that it is the opinion of Suenckfeld and the Anabaptists That God communicateth himself to men without the ministery of the word Kemnice in the 2. part of his examen title of the Sacrament of Orders pag. 391 Iustly we disallow of Enthusiasts and Anabaptists who imagin the exercise of the outward ministery not to be needfull And title of Pâ—nnance pag. 316 The Enthusiasts are condemned who feigne that God forgiueth sinnes immediatly and without the vse of the ministery D. Whitaker Cont 2. quaest 3. c. 11. pag. 328 VVe wholy reiect reuelations which are besides the word as Fanaticall Anabaptisticall and altogether hereticall And in his 1. booke of the Scripture cap. 3. sect 1. pag. 44 VVe must expect no more immediat reuelation It is so And he addeth that Protestants hisse out all those who pretend these kind of reuelations And in the 2. book cap. 10. sect 4 VVhy are the Anabaptists held for Heretiks if the church do know matters of fayth without all externall meanes by the only instinct of the holy Ghost Pareus in his 3. booke de Iustificat cap. 3 The exception which they make of speciall reuelation is a meere iest For besides the Prophets Apostles some few Apostolicall men God doth not deale nor hath dealt with speciall reuelations but with ordinary and will haue the Church to be content with the word and the holy Ghost working in the hearts of the faythfull And cap. 8 God will not haue his church to be taught and confirmed by Enthusiasticall reuelations but by bearing of his word and ordinary vse of the Sacraments Finally Beza in the Conference of Montbelgard pag. 407. sayth That we haue no testimony in scripture of extraordinary meanes of infusing fayth Besides it was the fashion of both old and new heretiks to boast of speciall reuelations Of old heretiks witnesseth S. Augustin in his booke of heresies and Caluin in his booke of true Reformation pag. 322. Of Munster Carolstade and the Sacramentaries Luther testifieth the same vpon the 22. of Esaiae tom 4. fol. 280. Of Gentilis Caluin in his booke against him Of Storcke Manlius in his Common places pag. 482. Of Peucer and Bergius Schusselburb lib. 4. Theol. Caluin art 1. pag. 172. that I may say nothing of Luther The Protestant Church not taught by ordinary meanes Zuinglius and Caluin 12. Others therefore teach that the Protestant church before Luther receiued the fayth not by any extraordinary way but by ordinary meanes to wit by hearing some true doctrine of Popish preachers and some by reading scriptures Thus D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 2. pag. 424. Behold new fables and fictions for we are like to heare no other kind of stuffe of Protestants in these matters of fact not only lesse proued then the former but also lesse probable or possible For it was at least possible that God alone should haue taught his church but that before Luthers reuolt either Popish or Protestanticall preachers or the Scripture should haue taught Protestancy hath neither shew of probability nor possibility Not Protestant preachers because before Luther there were none at all as hereafter both D. Whitaker and others shall confesse For the present it may suffice that Luther vpon the 22. psalm tom 3. fol. 344. writeth That there was lest only the scripture and that comprised not in voice but in letters by which we might restore our selues to the fayth And Against Catarine tom 2. fol. 140. he sayth that the vocall ghospell being choaked and extinguished by Papists was silent in all the world Neither could the Scripture teach Protestancy not only because it teacheth no such doctrine but also because it plainly professeth Rom. 10. that none can come to fayth but by bearing of preachers lawfully sent as hereafter we shall see Protestants do confesse In the meane tyme it may suffice that Danaeus in his book of the visible church pag. 1069. writeth that S. Paul sayth that fayth commeth by hearing not by priuate reading and that we open a gap to Fanaticall spirits for to contemne their Pastors if we say that reading alone will suffice to get fayth which Protestants haue experienced For thus writeth Luther in the Preface of his Catechisme tom 5. fol. 645 There are found some this day euen of the Nobility who dare say we need no more Pastors or preachers that bookes suffice out of which euery one may learne the same things by himselfe without any mans teaching And Caluin vpon the 2. Thess cap. 4 Certaine phanaticall fellowes do bragge that they need no more the help of teachers because reading may abundantly suffice 13. Neither could those imaginary Protestants learne Protestancy of Popish preachers First because Protestants as before his shewed coÌ„plaine that Papists had extinguished all their fayth Againe because now no man learneth Protestancy of Popish preachers and besides because Papistry and Protestancy are directly opposite as Luther sayth in cap. 3. Micheae tom 4. fol. 446. and tom 7. epist ad Eslingenses and against King Henry tom 2. fol. 497 Or as Brentius speaketh in his Apology of the Confession of Wittenberg pag. 703 they differ in the very principles or as Beza writeth in his Confession cap. 7. pag. 56 In the very summe of saluation And as D. Whitaker affirmeth in his oration that the Pope is Antichrist ProtestaÌ„cy Popery quit opposite Papistry is more repugnant to Protestantisme then hoat to cold black to white How then is it possible that they should haue learnt Protestancy of Papists who teach so coÌ„trary doctrine Lastly because Protestants themselues deny it For Luther vpon the Graduall psalmes tom 3. fol. 516. thus writeth In Popery there was neuer heard one pure word of sinne of grace of the merit of Christ And fol. 568 Vnder the Pope all pulpits all Churches did sound out nothing but wicked doctrine And in cap. 2. ad Galat. tom 5. fol. 297 Seeing Papists know not what fayth is it is impossible that they should haue fayth and much lesse teach it to others And the Apology of the Confession of Auspurg in the Preface No man taught that sinnes were remitted by sayth in Christ Caluin 4. Instit cap. 2. § 2. sayth that in Popery the doctrine without which Christianity cannot stand was all buryed cast out And in Respons ad Versipellem pag 360 In Popery there soundeth the bare and empty name of Christ And vpon the 2. cap. 2. Tim There is a horrible destruction of the gospell in Popery Wherfore none learnt the Protestant Ghospell either in Popery or of Popish preachers Besides althogh they cold haue learnt the faith of Popish preachers yet they should be ashamed to say that they had learned it of them whom they account the bondslaues and ministers of Antichrist
pretended discipline cap 2. auoucheth that the Geneuian discipline began of Caluin because before him it was neuer seene or heard of And if they think that a discipline or an hereticall company could be and not be seene or heard of in the world how much more ought they to think the same of the Church of God 17. Lastly I proue that the Church of God could not be inuisible Absurdities follow of the inuisibility of the Church because thereupon would ensue many and great absurdities For first if the visible Church should faile it is manifest that it is not the Church of Christ against which he hath promised that the very gates of hell shall not preuaile And if it be graunted that the visible Church is not the Church instituted by Christ it must needs be but a humane society instituted by man How then shold it come to passe that one cannot be saued vnlesse he be in the visible Church if so he can be as commonly all Protestants do teach Who contemne all ordinances of men as vnnecessary to saluation why mak they such account of this humane institution At the last the Protestants haue felt this mischeife as ye may see in Caluin in his 3. homily in his Opuscles pag. 548. and Danaeus in his booke of the visible church where they bring many reasons to proue that it is necessary to be of the visible church But seing themselues do teach that the visible church is not the true Church in the sight of God and consequently a humane institution how can they proue that God hath commaunded or men can appoint so strictly to obserue this one humane Institution vnder paine of damnation Another inconuenience is that Christs promises touching the continuance of his church are exposed to the laughter and mockery of Iewes and Infidels For sith as the Law sayth and Protestants acknowledge among men there is no other account made of things that appeare not then of things that are not what man will reasonably perswade himselfe that Christs Church hath euer continued in the world if she for many ages appeared in no one corner of the world Surely this seemeth so incredible that I think not that any man well in his wittes belieueth it howsoeuer for to defend the Protestants Church he may say it But farewell rather such a Church which cannot be defended but by such improbable paradoxes 18. The 3. inconuenience is that the church of God should haue byn much more miserable then hath byn the Synagogue of the Iewes euen since it hath byn forsaken of God For the Synagogue hath euer since Christs tyme byn visible vnto the world and professed her fayth both before her owne and others Lib. 12. cōt Faust c. 11. The Iewish nation sayth S. Augustin whether vnder Pagan or Christian Kings hath not lost the signe of her law wherwith it is distinguished from other nations and people The same testifieth S. Hierome epist 129. ad Dardan And Peter Martyr in his Common places title of the Iewes § 47 The Hebrews albeit subdued of the Romans yet neuer tooke their lawes rites and customes they keep their own yet as well as they can And Sadeel in his Answere to Theses Posnan cap. 8. graunteth the same And the Magdeburgians in euery Century make speciall mention of the Iewes To this some Protestants say that it is no meruaile that the externall condition of the Church was more miserable thē of the Synagogue Iunius Daneus l. 4. de Eccl. c. 5. But whosoeuer shall read the Prophesies of the glory and amplitude of the Church will think this strange But besides not only the externall but also the internall state of the Church was more miserable then the Synagogue if the Synagogue durst in all ages euen before her enemies professe her faith and the Church of Christ for long tyme durst mutter nothing euen before her owne children yea as we shall hereafter heare the Protestants teach adored Antichrist and obserued Antichristian and idolatricall rites worships The 4. inconuenience is that if we say that the Church may be and yet not be seene of any we giue occasion to euery new start vp heretik to say that his church hath euer byn neither can we refute this his dotage vnlesse we do maintaine that the church must be euermore visible professe her faith which as we haue seene Protestants themselues do suppose when they proue that any Church or company hath not byn in former tymes 19. Out of all which hath byn sayd in this chapter it appeareth euidently that whither we put the forme of the Church in some visible thing or inuisible whether we say that the only elect and iust be of the church or not they alone of what kind soeuer I say the forme of the Church be and whosoeuer be of the Church of which matter I disput not now it is euident I say that the Church of God neuer is at any tyme but she professeth her sayth before her children and before the world and consequently that the Church her profession of fayth or which comes all to one that the Church according to her profession of fayth is euermore visible or sensible which sufficeth to my purpose because before Luther arose there was no Church visible in profession of Protestant fayth Wherefore I frame my 3. demonstration for to proue Luther to haue byn the Author of the Protestant Church in this sort VVhensoeuer the Church is she is visible in profession of her sayth whether this profession be an essentiall forme or a property or accident inseparable But the Protestant Church immediatly before Luther arose was not visible in profession of her sayth Therefore immediatly before Luther she was not at all And by his preaching became to be Therefore he was the Author thereof The Maior or first proposition of the Syllogisme is euident by all that hath byn layd in this chapter And the Minor or second proposition by all the verball Confessions which we haue reheased in the former chapter by reall confessions of all Protestants whatsoeuer who neither in Luthers tyme nor since could bring forth any man worthy of credit who had seene any company professing Protestancy before Luther began to preach it Then the which yet nothing had byn more easy to do especially in Luthers tyme if any such company had byn extant That Protestants confesse that before Luther their Church had no Protestant Pastors CHAP. VII 1. THE 4. demonstration for to proue that Luther was the Author of the Protestāt church and Religion we will take out of that Protestants acknowledge their Church before his tyme to haue wholy wanted Pastors First therefore they confesse that their Pastors in former tymes were vnknowne to the world Protestāts Pastors vnknown to the world and to Protestants themselues D. Fulk in his booke of Succession pag. 26 God hath raised vp Pastors in all ages howsoeuer they were vnknowne to the world And pag.
about to shew any other kind of Pastors Finally all those who affirme that the vocation or Mission of Luther and their first Ministers was extraordinary must needs say that there were no former Protestant Pastours of whome they could haue byn sent or approued ProtestaÌ„ts say the Church may be without Pastors 4. The same also they insinuate when they teach that the Church may be without Pastors which they affirme that thereby they may defend the being of their own Church before Luther when it had no Pastors Luther in cap. 4. Oseae tom 4. fol 295 As if the Church were tyed to any certaine order of Ministery The Confession of Saxony cap. 12 God estsoones restoreth the Ministery Caluin of true Reform pag. 332 I graunt indeed that it can neuer fall out that the Church perish but when they referre that to Pastors which is promised of the perpetuall continuance of the church in that they are much deceiued For the Church doth not perish streight if Pastors he wanting Beza of the notes of the Church pag. 55 Ordinary succession and vocation of Pastors was not always needfull or perpetuall Sadeel in Answere to the abiured articles pag. 533 It is false that the outward Ministery must be perpetuall The same he hath in Repetit Sophism Turriani pag. 763. Iunius and Danaeus lib. 4. de Eccles cap. 8. Bucan in his 41. place de Eccles quest 19 Sometyme the outward and vsuall ministry of the church being interrupted the Church is extraordinarily nourished of God as it were in the desert Keckerman in his Theologicall Systeme lib. 3. pag. 397 The Church is often pressed so that the order of succession of Pastors must be somewhat interrupted And Vorstius in his Antibellarm pag. 158 The ordinary succession vseth oftentymes to be interrupted for some tyme. Luâ—bert in his 5. booke of the church cap. 5 VVe say that the church may for a short space be depriued of Pastors D. Whitaker c. 6. before cited pag. 510 I gather that true and lawfull succession may be broken of and that it is not a true but only an accidentall note of the Church because it pertaineth not to the essence of the Church but only to her externall state And pag. 512 VVe say that ordinary succession hath oftentymes byn interrupted and cut of in the true Church D. Morton lib. cit cap. 17. writeth thus The matter of the proposition to wit where there is no succession there is no Church ye know to be weake And cap. 18. he affirmeth this saying to be false Succession of doctrine cannot be deuided from succession of persons And cap. 23. sayth Succession of fayth may be without succession of doctrine and succession of doctrine without succession of persons D. Fulke lib. de Succes pag. 319 Yea euen the very publike preaching of the word may be silent for a tyme and the Church being depriued for a tyme of this ordinary meanes of her saluation may be preserued so long of God And D. VVhite in his way to the Church pag. 87 All the externall gouernment of the Church may come to decay in that the locall and personall Succession of the Pastors may be interrupted And pag. 403 For the externall Succession we care not it is sufficient that in doctrine they succeded the Apostles and primitiue Churches and those faythfull witnesses which in all ages since imbraced the same 5. By the foresayd Confessions of Protestants it is most cleare that when Luther began to play the Pastor there was no Protestant preacher at all For they acknowledge that they are no Church for any ordinary succession that the true order of the church perished that the true Ministery was taken out of the Church true knowledge of diuine ordination was extinguished and ordination abolished and decayed That the Church had no true Ministery and that she was destitute of true Pastors And that they meane these words both of a substantiall vniuersall destruction of true Ministry is manifest both by the selfe same words and others also For they adde withall that the state of the church was quite ouerthrowne ordinary vocation wholy corrupted that ordinary vocation was no where no place left for ordinary vocation and there were none of whome those who freed their Church from Popery might receiue imposition of hands that the state of the Church was so interrupted that God must raise vp Pastors extraordinarily that the true ranck of ordination was so cut of as that their needed a new succour and a new foundation lastly that the Ecclesiastical order the vaine names therof only remayning was ouerthrowne from the foundation and lawfull order quit abolished that there was not left so much as the slenderest shadow of the cheifest parts of ecclesiasticall vocation In which words either they say that there was neuer a Protestant Pastor at all or that can be sayd by no words whatsoeuer And such was the state and condition of the Protestant church not for a small tyme but as themselues say for some ages And for this cause vsually they call Luther his first partners their (a) Plessie l. 1. de Eccl. c. 11. Napp in 14. Apocal. first ministers first (b) Sadeel de Vocat pag. 556. teachers first (c) Gâ—alt Praefat. in ep ad Rom restorers of the ghospell first (d) Perk. in â— Galat. cap. 11. preachers of the ghospell first restorers of the house of God Apostles and Euangelists 6. Finally I proue that there was no true Protestant preacher before Luther out of the reall coÌ„fession of all Protestants For none of them all can by any sufficient testimony or argument proue that there was any such Pastor Wherefore this is rashly affirmed and fondly belieued 〈◊〉 Marc. â— Either proue sayth Tertullian that which thou belieuest or if thou prouest it not how doest thou belieue it And that common argument of theirs wherewith they vse to proue that they had a Church and Pastors at all tymes because they bring the Scripture to proue their doctrine to be true we shall hereafter shew to be a most vaine Sophisme And besides themselues do ouerthrow it in teaching as we haue seene that the Church may be without Pastors wherby it would not follow that they had Pastors albeit they could by the Scripture proue that before Luther they had a Church Moreouer then those who endeauour to name some Protestant preachers or Pastors before Luthers tyme do plainly shew that there was no true and absolute Protestant Pastor to wit such as taught iustification by only faith and the rest of the fundamentall opinions of Protestancy For the Apology of the Church of England pag. 103. sayth That they gaue not so cleare a light but lightned as it were some sparck The Confession of Saxony cap. 12 That they ioyned stable vnto the foundation Cruciger and Rorarius in Luther tom 1. fol. 202 That they had some litle light D. Fulke of Success pag. 131 That perhaps in all points
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
was no where CHAP. IX 1. THE first demonstration for to proue that Luther was Author of the ProtestaÌ„t church and Religion ProtestaÌ„ts name not the place shall be taken from want of place to wit that it was no where before Luther began And this I proue first because they oftentymes say that before Luthers tyme their Church was in the desert in darknes in lurking holes in Trephonius denne neuertheles they tell not where this desert this darknes this lurking hole this denne was Secondly some of them confesse that they know not where their Church was in tyme paâ—t D. Whitaker Cont. â—â— quest 3. cap. 3. pag. 475 Know not the place They are angry with vs that we cannot â—hew and as it were point with our finger where our Church was in tymes past The same insinuateth Sadeel ad Repetit Sophism Turriani pag. 766. saying that he answered this question VVhere there Church lurked when he sayd That it lay hid by the vnsearcheable iudgement of God as if he sayd It lay so close hid that it cannot be knowne where it lay Also D. Hall in his Rome Irreconcileable sect 1. when he calleth this our demaund VVhere their Church lurked an idle demaund of Pettifoggers But that it is no idle demaund is manifest For first what man in his wittes seeth not that she who is pretended to be the Catholike Church that is spred ouer the world was not at all if no place can be found where she was for many ages Againe because the holy Fathers and Protestants themselues demaund this of heretikes VVho are yee sayth Tertullian when Praes 32.37 and whence come ye where lurked ye so long Againe Let them bring forth the oâ—spring of their Churches S. Athanasius VVhence came these things yea what hell hath vomited them out Lib. de Nicen Synod de Syn. Selenuc Lib 3 de Bapt. c. 2. And S. Augustine VVhere appeared Donatus Out of what ground sprung he Out of what sea arose he from what heauen fell he And Beza epist 18. demaundeth the like of the Arians saying If their opinion be true we bid them shew then where was their Church Besides the Confession of Saxony chap. of the Church professeth that the true Church knoweth where the is And Kemnice in his Common places tit de Eccles cap. 3 God will haue vs to know which and where is the true Church Wherefore it is no idle but a most necessary thing to know where the Church is and if Protestants immediatly before Luther arose knew not where the Church was it must needs follow that she was not the true Church Catholiks alwayes asked where was the Protestant Church 2. Thirdly I proue it because euen those who take vpon them to tell where their Church was in former tymes do shew indeed that they know no place where she was For as M. Iewel sayth art 1. diuis 7. pag. 10 Eckius Pighius Hosius and others haue often cryed out a mayne in their bookes and pulpits where was your religion before Luther first began to preach And that the same hath byn demaunded by Catholiks confesseth Peter Martyr in locis tit de discessu ab Eccl. Rom. col 1492. Beza de Notis Eccles pag. 78. and in his 132. question D. Whitaker Cont. 2. quest 3. cap. 3. M. Perkins in his Reformed Catholik tract 22. cap. 1. and others And it is manifest by the writings speaches of all Catholikes Yea Luther in cap. 19. Isaiae tom 4. fol. 125. writeth that this was our first argument against them and will be our last Art thou alone wise or doest thou thinke that all our auncestours saw nothing Did all those who were before thee erre Because he saw that this argument did most presse him and that he could neuer answere it Let vs see therefore what they answere to this our first and last demaund so often and with such earnestnesse and so great cryes proposed of vs. D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 3. cap. 2. proposeth their answere in these words ProtestaÌ„ts answere Stapleton sayth that Caluin and we say that the true Church was in Popery but that Popery was not the church That indeed we all say And the same in substance answereth Luther lib. de seru arbit tom 2. fo 438. in psalmos graduales to 3. fol. 589. And de Missa priuata tom 7. fol. 236. Iames Andrewes cont Hosium pag. 326. Herbrand in Compend Theol. loc de Eccl. pag. 502. Hunnius Praefat. tract de Iustific Huberus in Antibellarm lib. 4. cap. 2. Hutter in Aâ—alysi Confess August p. 447. Gerlachius disput 22. p. 952. Lobechius disp 10. pag. 202. Gesnerus loc 24. Reineccius lib. 4. armaturae cap. 3. And amongst the Sacramentaries Caluin 4. Instit cap. 2. § 11. Peter Martyr Beza and M. Perkins locis cit Sadeel in Refut Thes Posnan cap. 8. Polanus part 3. Thes de Eccl. Daneus de Antichristo cap. vlt. Iunius lib. 4. de Eccl. cap. 166. Vorstius in Catechism quest 54. art 2. Sohnius in method Theol. pag. 213. Bucanus loc 4. de Eccl. and others commonly 3. But this answere satisfieth not our question for many causes First because to say that the Church was in Popery but Popery was not the Church doth not seeme an answere but a ridle perhaps put of purpose because as Bucer sayd Lib. 1. epist Zanchii Protestants mysteries must not be expounded to Papists Secondly they agree not among themselues what they meane by Popery For Boysseul in his CoÌ„futation of Spondé pag. 723. will haue it to be Popish doctrine saying He knoweth not what we call Popery He imagineth that it is men But we say that it is heresies and errors the abuses idolatries of the Roman Church And D. White in defence of his way cap. 32. pag. 305 The Papacy is nothing else but a disease or excrement breeding in the Church Moulins of Arnolds flights cap. 6 Popery is a masse of errors and corruption of Christianity And Caluin in 1. Galat. v. 9 Popery is a horrible ouerthrow of the Ghospell Others by Popery vnderstand the company of Papists Schusselburg tom 8. Catal. heret pag. 480. writeth that Popery signifieth a company And Iames Andrewes Cont. Hosium pag. 326. sayth Popery that is the Pope Bishops and they who consent to their impiety Thirdly Popery whereby you vnderstand such a company or such doctrine is no place we aske for the place wherin Protestants were before Luthers tyme. Fourthly because we aske not wher only they say thier church was for what can they not say but where they proue their Church to haue byn Lib. 1. coÌ„t Gaud. c. 33. Wherefore that I may imitate S. Augustins words I demaund whither God told them that their Church was in tymes past in Popery or man If God let them read it out of the Scripture If man let them bring him forth that we may iudge whither he be worthy to be belieued or no.
church How then can Protestants gather certainly out of the Apocalipse that their Church heretofore was in Popery But as Luther in cap. 9. Genes tom 6. fol. 114. speaketh of the Anabaptists and others VVhy Protestāts accoūt to much of the Apoc. The Anabaptists make so much of obscure bookes as the Apocalipse because there they may seigne any thing And in cap. 11. fol. 136 Ambitious heads think it a great matter if they giue their iudgment freely of obscure places and after stubbornly maintayne their opinion And Praefat. in Cantica tom 4. fol. 47 Some do put all their labour in hard places thinking it a commendation of their wit to medle with those matters which others by reason of their obscurity do fly because in obscure places euery one may diuine and follow his owne head 2. Thirdly I answere that the foresayd place is allegoricall mysticall and obscure and therefore not fit to ground fayth vpon That it is mysticall and allegoricall is manifest because Babylon doth not litterally but at most mystically signify Popery That also the sense which Protestants frame thereof is obscure is euident because they cannot either by any part or by any circumstance therof clearly shew that by Babylon is meant Popery Besides neither any of the Fathers nor of those imaginary Protestants before Luther did perceiue this sense otherwise some of them would haue obeyed Gods commandement and gone out of Popery But it were playne madnes to vrge an incredible thing as is that Protestants were heretofore in Popery to be belieued certainly for one mysticall obscure place VVho sayth S. Augustin without great impudency will goe about to expound for himselfe Epist 48. any thing spoken in Allegory vnlesse he haue manifest places by which the obscure may be lightned Let them bring therefore some euident place Morton part 2. l. 2. c. 5. wherein Babylon signifieth Popery Luther also sayth If in the new testament the signification of a figure be not cleare we must not rely vpon it because the diuell an excellent craftsman playeth with figures if he catch a soule which without certaine ground wresteth the Scripture to Allegories he vseth to cast him here and therelike a dye Bnd in cap. 3. Genes tom 6. fol. 52 An Allegory serueth nothing for proofe Kemnice also 1. part exam tit de epist Apost pag. 79 VVe say that a sentence is not to be builded vpon any obscure places of Scripture which cannot de proued out of other cleare places Peter Martyr in locis tom 2. tract de Missa An opinion is not to be founded in doubtfull words Sadeel ad Sophism Turrian loc 11. pag. 597 The most learned interpreters do teach that Anagogicall arguments must rely vpon cleare and expresse testimonies if they will breed sayth And Pareus lib. 4. de Iustificat cap. 15. pag. 1120 Testimony for a false opinion is in vaine sought out of an Allegoricall and most obscure place But as the Fathers haue noted it was euer the humour of heretiks to seeke some pretext of allegoricall and obscure places Of the Gnostiques thus writeth S. Irenaeus lib. 1. cap. 1 Heretikes seeke out obscure places VVhereas many parables and Allegories are recited which may be drawne into diuerse senses they craftely accommodating that which is ambigious vnto their deuise do lead into captiuity from the truth those which haue a weake fayth in Christ And S. Augustin lib. de Vnitat ca. 24. sayth to the Donatists Yee willingly abide in obscure matters that you may not be compelled to confesse cleare matters And of heretiks in generall thus speaketh Tertullian Praes c. 17. Diuers presumptions of necessity will not acknowledge those things by which they may be ouercome and relye vpon those which they haue falsely forged and haue taken out of vncertainetyes Againe De pud c. 16. This is the custome of froward men idiots and heretikes by occasion of some doubtfull passage to arme themselues against an army of the whole testament And Clement 7. Stromatum They seek out doubtfull speaches and turne them to vphold their opinions The like writeth Luther of Anabaptistes And others as hath byn now rehearsed Wherfore Protestants do follow the custome of Gnostikes Donatists Anabaptists froward idiots and heretikes whiles they fit the Allegory of Babylon to their turne whiles they willingly abide in obscure matters and make such account of the Apocalipse because there they haue leaue to feigne any thing whiles they rely vpon those things which they take out of vncertainties and by occasion of one ambiguous and doubtfull place are armed against an army of sentences of the Scripture which teach that neither Popery is Babylon nor Protestants the people of God Moreouer Donatists for the very like place Isaiae 52 Goe backe againe out of the midst of her lib. de vnic bapt c. 14. L 2. cont Parmen c. 28. l. 2. cōt Gaud. c. 9. would proue that they ought to go out of the Catholik Church of their tyme as witnesseth S. Augustin and Danaeus confesseth lib. 3. de Eccl. c. 9. who also in lib. 1. August cont Parmen hath these words The argument of the Donatists out of Isay the 52. was That we ought to goe backe and goe out of the midst of Babylon And the Anabaptists in Zuinglius tom 2. in Elencho fol. 21. Out of this selfe same place of the Apocalipse did gather that they ought to goe from Protestants Why then may wee not say with D. Whitaker Cont. 2. q. ◠c. 23. Our aduersaries serue themselues of the same weapons whereof most wicked heretikes did and herein shew themselues to be nothing lesse then Catholikes Moreouer I say that if I list to expound Scriptures at my pleasure I might say and more probably too then Protestants that by the foresayd words God commandeth Protestants to goe out of Protestancy For Protestancy may well be called Babylon because it is a Masse and confusion of opposite heresies where almost euery one hath a fayth of his owne and speaketh a peculiar language nor vnderstandeth the tongue or doctrine of another And Protestants may be called the people of God in that they are baptised and therein dedicated to his seruice and pretend the fayth of Christ as did Israel euen after it had foresaken the Synagogue De prouid art 22. And as Caluin sayth that God calleth euen the disobedient his seruants as Nabuchodonozor in Hieremy and as God hath both good and faythfull seruants and naughty and vnfaythfull so hath he good naughty people 3. Secondly I answere that the argument which can be framed out of this place to proue that which the Protestants write of their churches being in Popery before Luther arose to wit Goe you my people out of Babylon Therefore before Luthers tyme the church was in Popery and so secret as for many ages she was not seene either of her own or of others is a meere Sophisme First because
would and ought to deuide themselues from the Roman Church Behold how their consciences were tossed as with a storme for that they had forsaken the Roman Church Lobechius also disput 10. pag. 224. sayth Our Ancestours did well that they went out of the Roman Babylon SacrameÌ„taryes in generall 8. Of Sacramentaryes also in general thus writeth Zuinglius in Praefat. lib. de ver tals relig fol. 159. VVe were alas long tyme so besieged with the iuglings of men And Caluin in confess Fidel pag. 111. VVe dissemble not that we also were of the number of them who honour Masses vntill the abuses of Masse were discouered And 4. Instit cap. 6. § 6. VVe departed from the Roman church cap. 15. § 16. VVe were christened in the Popes kingdome Respons ad Versipel pag. 360. Of our owne accord we went from the rable of Popery Resp ad Sadoler pag. 122 That I may not make any long role this I say there was none of those who were beginners of this cause but might haue beene in better estate and condition among you then that he needed therefore to thinke of any new kâ—nd of life Peter Martyr in locis col 1459. proposeth this question VVhether the Ghospellers be Schismatikes because they separated themselues from the Papists And col 1465. concludeth thus Seeing there were so many and so iust causes of our departure from Popery our separation seemeth to be very laudable not to be disliked Zanchius tract de Eccles cap. 18. It is manifest that we departed from the Church or rather from the sect of the Pope And this we willingly confesse Bullenger tom 1. decad 5. serm 2. fol. 282. VVe willingly confesse that we went from the Roman Church Musculus in locis tit de Schismate p. 620. VVe are termed Apostataes of the Romanists as many haue forsaken the Communion of the Roman Church This we are so farre from denying as we thinke that we should rather glory theereof Plessie de Eccles cap 11. pag. 361. writeth that Luther Zuinglius Oecolampadius Bucer Capito Martyr and others out of whose schoole sayth he the Ministers who gathered the Church from Antichrist did come were Priests Curats Doctours of diuinity c To whome Beza lib. de Notis pag. 8. adioyneth Pellican and Haller and others more D. Whitaker lib. 9. cont Duraeum sayth Luther was a Priest according to your order and such were Zuinglius Bucer Oecolampadious and others without number M. Perkins in cap. 4. Galat. v. 26 All the first renewers of the Ghospell were either Priests or teachers of Schooles Paraeus lib. cit Are we worthy of blame or heretikes because we left the Popes Church And in the end of his booke de Iusticatione Our Ancestours 97. yeares ago had necessary cause for to forsake Popery And Scultet in concione saeculari pag. 4. This is the hundreth yeare since God pluckt our Ancestors out of Popish darknes Finally Polanus in praefat Thes de Eccles VVe haue separated our selues from the false Catholike Synagogue 9. The same also is manifest of the English Protestants by their owne wordes For thus they speake in their Apology part 5. cap. 12. diuis 1. English ProtestaÌ„ts It is true we haue departed from them Item True it is we were brought vp with these men in darknesse and in the lacke of the knowledge of God And part 6. cap. 20. diuis 2. As for vs truly we haue fallen from the Bishop of Rome Causabon also Epist ad Card. Peron cap. 16. The king confesseth that his church hath forsaken no few points of that fayth and discipline which at this day the Roman Church doth professe And pag. 17. The English haue gone from that Church M. Hooker lib. 4. de Polit. Eccles pag. 181. VVe were a part of them M. Powel lib. 1. de Antichristo cap 21. VVe confesse we haue separated our selues from the Bishop of Rome and his Synagogue M. Perkins in cap. 5. Galat. vers 21. VVe haue separated our selues from the Roman Church D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 6. cap. 3. sayth The Roman Church was iustly lest of vs. And D. Morton part 2. Apol. lib. 2. cap. 10. The former booke tould a iust cause of our separation from you In like manner those of Zurich in Sleidan lib. 4. histor say After the rising of the Gospell we haue cast of that burden which the Pope had put vpoÌ„ vs idiots And adde withal that before they had heard nothing of Protestancy Suitzers And the Suitzers in their confess cap. 17. confesse that their Churches had parted themselues from the Roman Church And the Scots in their confess write that the truth was lately borne amongst them Polonians And the Polonians in their consent that God hath deliuered their Churches out of the grosse darcknes of Popery 10. Furthermore of the whole Protestants church or of Protestants in general The whole Protest Church thus they write Lobechius disp 12. pag. 254. Our confession of Ausburg was the beliefe of the whole orthodoxall Church gone out of Roman Babylon And in like sort speaketh Daneus de Antichristo cap. 17. Pareus Proaem l. de Iustificat The Euangelicall Church was compelled aboue 96. yeares ago to make a diuisions from the Popish Church The like he hath lib. 2. cap. 1. lib. 3. cap. 8. Schusselburg tom 8. catal pag. 727. Our Church departed from the Church of the malignant Polanus part 2. Epist ad Bezam The reformed Churches did well that they did separate themselues from the Popish Church Aretius in loc part 2. fol. 10. Our reformed Churches departed from Popery D. Andrewes respons ad Apoll. Bellarm. cap. 14. boasteth that almost halfe of the Christian world is gone out of the Roman Babylon And D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 3. cap. 3. sayth England Germany Scotland long agoe haue fallen from the Pope And the English Apology glorieth in this sort part 1. cap. 1. diuis 3. For they be not all made at this day so many free citties so many Kings so many Princes which haue fallen away from the seat of Rome Daneus cont 4. lib. 4. cap. 12. All Scotland England Saxony Denmarke a great part of Germany all Suitzerland the greater part of the Grisons haue fallen from the Church of Rome D. Sutliue lib. 2. de Eccles cap. 2. p. 251. Our Church hauing shaken off the filth of the Roman church is returned to the Catholike fayth And pag. 254. England Scotland Ireland Denmarke Norwey Saxony Pomerania the chiefest parts of Germany France Flandres Poland haue fallen from the Pope Moalins lib. de fug Arnoldi cap. 2. Our Churches be called reformed because they be Christian Churches purged from Popery D. Rainolds amongst his conclusions putteth this for the sixt That the reformed Churches in England Scotland France Germany and other kingdomes and Common wealths haue iustly separated themselues from the Roman And addeth with all that All reformed Churches haue departed from the Roman Church
renewer of Euangelicall truth and doctrine Bucer Resp ad Episc Abrincen pag. 613. writeth that God by Luther hath merueilously and happily restored the summe of the Ghospell in our age Restored the summ of the Ghospell Restored Religion D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 5. cap. 12. pag. 528 Luther only tooke vpon him to restore religion corrupted and to renew the ancient and true doctrine And ad Rat. 10. Campiani calleth him the Renewer of the old sayth or as the English Apology termeth him the promulgator of this doctrine D. Humphrey in Prolegomenis pag. 82. saith VVe reuerence Luther as a great renewer of Religion And what is it to be a renewer Restorer Setler of a thing corrupted especially if he restore the summe thereof as Bucer sayd that Luther restored the summe of Religion but to be an Author or maker of it according to the very substance thereof 5. Finally they plainly graunt that Luther was the first to whom Protestancy was reuealed that he layd the first foundation of Protestant Religion and that he was the captaine Luther first to whome Protestats was reuealed Author and Begetter therof Luther himselfe in sermone Quid sit homini Christiano praestandum tom 7. fol. 274. speaketh thus to Protestants I was the first whome God set in these lists I was also the first to whome God vouchsafed to reueale these thinges which are now preached vnto you Behould Christian Reader a new (a) Theod. l. 2. c. 18. Aetius surnamed Atheist who sayd that those thinges were now reuealed to him by God which hitherto he would haue to be hidden vnto all A new (b) Basil l. cont Eun. Eunomius who sayd that he had seund a new way to God and vnheard of which none before had perceaued A new (c) Vinc. c. 42. Nestorius who gloried that he first vnderstood the Scripture A new Cataphryge (d) Athan. de Synod who sayd VVe haue the first reuelation of vs beginneth the Christian sayth For of thee Luther began the Protestant fayth and thou wert the first to whom the God of this world as the Apostle speaketh vouchsafed to reueueale those thinges which haue beene preached to Protestants Praescrip cap. 34. To thee alone that I may vse Tertullians wordes hath truth been reuealed Forsooth thou hast found greater fauour and more plentifull grace at the Diuells hands Againe in exposit Papaselli tom 2. Laid the first foundation of Protestācy fol. 398. Luther hath these words VVhen I layd the first foundation of this cause as Bullinger Praefat. Comment in Ioan. writeth of Zuinglius saying VVhen Zuinglius layd the first foundation of Euangelicall doctrine Moreouer Luther tom 1. fol. 206. writeth thus to his most inward fellow Melancthon The citty is full of the noyse of my name An Herostratus and all men desire to see the man the Herostratus of so great a fire Ye see how in a letter to his most assured friend he confesseth himselfe to be the Herostratus that is the Author of that fire wherewith not the temple of Diana but the temple of God burneth Melancthon also acknowledged the like as it appeareth by these words of Luther in a letter to him tom 9. Wittemberg Germ. fol. 416. Thou writest Author leader that for my authorityes sake thou didst follow me as the author and leader or captaine in this matter Behould how Melancthon accounted Luther the Author And what suspicion is there that Melancthon should in this matter write otherwise to him then he thought Schusselburg tom 8. Catal. pag. 363. defineth true Lutherans or Protestants to be those who imbrace the doctrin of the Gospell amending Popish abuses of which amendement sayth he Luther was the Author And the same meane they who call Luther the Author of the Protestant reformation For they protest amendment or reformation is indeed as hath beene shewed before a substantiall mutation or change of religion and therefore the Authour of such an amendment or reformation is indeed the Author of a new Church and religion D. Sutcliue lib. 2. de Eccles cap. 3. pag. 237. writeth in this manner VVho were the first Authors of raysing the Church fallen downe Author as Cranmer and other our Bishops also Luther Zuinglius c. And cap. 7. pag. 328. The Princes who first followed the Authours of restoring religion Osiander in Sleidan fol. 22. sayd that Luther Melancthon had made a certaine diuinity which sauoured more the flesh then the spirit Maker Lobechius disput 1. pag. 26. calleth Luther the first deuiser of the Confession of Auspurg Deuiser And Melchior Neofanius Pastour of the Church of Brunswich in loc Kemnitij part 2. sayth How much doth all Duch-land owe to worthy Luther for his great deserts who was the Author of pure Religion Authour D. Couel also in his defens of Hooker art 19. pag. 130. plainely confesseth that some Protestants make Luther and Caluin Authours of the religion which they hold And M. Horne in his harbour maketh England speake in this manner Begetter I am thy Country England which brought forth blessed man Iohn VViclise who begot Hus who begot Luther who begot truth And heereupon it ariseth that as Rescius in his Ministromachia p. 15. reporteth the Lutherans call Islebium where Luther was borne their new Bethleem A new Bethleem Forsooth because there was borne their new Messias the begetter Author and founder of their religion Mark now Reader how Luther by his owne and other Protestants confession was the first to whome Protestant doctrine was reuealed layd the first foundation of the Protestant cause was the Authour of the Protestant amendment or reformation was the deuiser of the first Protestant Confession was the Herostratus of the Protestant fire finally was the leader maker begetter and Authour of the Protestant Church and Religion Which is in plaine termes the very same which in all this booke I endeauour to proue Iustly therefore may Protestants sing to Luther as Lucretius did to his Epicure the Author beginner of Epicurisme Lib. 3. Those also of Basse were not ashamed in the Epitaph of his tombe to call Oecolampadius the first author of Euangelicall doctrine in that citty as report Hospin and Lauather in their Hostories an 1531. and Iunius lib. 4. de Eccles cap. 8. Neither was it peculiar to Luther to spread deuises vnder the name of religiō For thus writeth Iezler de bello Euchar. fol. 26. of Ministers Matters deuised of some few we thrust vpon the whole world And King Henry 8. when he began to encline to Protestancie set forth articles with this title Articles deuised of his Maiesty 6. And from this euidēce acknowledgement that Luther was the Author of Protestant religion it proceedeth First that Luther oftentimes calleth it his doctrine his gospell his word his cause his part For so he speaketh tom 1. fol. 138. tom 2. fol. 23. Protestancy is Luthers doctrine 29.
93. 238. 488. 493. 493. tom 3. fol. 555 tom 5. fol. 290. tom 6. fol. 79. and other where often Secondly it ariseth that true Protestancie is called Lutherans doctrine the Lutheran cause the Lutheran religion ProtestaÌ„ts terme themselue LutheraÌ„s the Lutheran businesse and Lutheranisme Of Luther himselfe tom 2. fol. 37. and 497. Of Frederick the Electour tom 1 Lutheri fol. 237. Of his Counsailers tom 2. fol. 116. Of the deuines of Mansfeld in Schusselburg tom 8. pag. 270. Of Schusselburg himselfe Epist dedicat tom 4. Of Melancthon tom 2. Lutheri fol. 193. 197. Of Kemmice Epist dedicat lib. de duabus naturis Of Hutter in Analysi Confess August pag. 595. Of Brunsfelse Respons ad Spongiam Erasmi Or Lobeenâ—us in Epist dedicat Disput Oâ— George Fabritius l b. 1 8. Orig. Saxon. and of other Lutherans And in like manner of Sacramenttaries also as of Bucer in Matth. 26. lib. de Cura animorum pag. 261. Of Hospin Prefat part 2 Histor Of Scultere Con. saecular Of D. Morton 1. part Apol. lib. 1. cap. 45. and others Thirdly therof proceedeth that the true and proper Protestants are called Lutherans both of themselues and of others For thus speaketh Luther in psalm 118. tom 7. fol. 551 I graunt my selfe to be a Lutheran And in like manner speaketh he ibidem fol. 79. 242. 233. 361. 400. And tom 2. fol. 473. and in Hospin part 2. fol. 134. So also speaketh Melancthon in dominicam 8. Trinit tom 1. and in Hospin lib. cit fol. 72. and Brentius also ibid. fol. 107. So speaketh the Confession of Saxonie in the Preface and the Saxon Ministers in the Conference of Aldburg pag. 60. Vrban Regius in Iudicio de Conuentu Norimberg pag. 9. Amsdorse in Bucer in Scriptis Anglicis p. 635. Matheus Index in Edicto aeterni Dei Iames Andrewes in Colloq Montisbel pag. 179. Yea Grauer in the Preface of his Caluinisticall absurdities dedicateth his booke Vnto the proper Lutherans and pag. 61. affirmeth that their men are called Lutherans that they may be distinguished from Papists and Caluinists Scusselburg tom 17. Catal. pag. 866. sayth The Deuines of our part call themselues and the Defenders of their opinion Lutherans Which also affirmeth Reineccius tom 1. Armat cap. vlt. Hutten in Expostulat cum Erasm sayth I acknowledge the name of Lutheran And Hailbruner VVe are not ashamed of the name And Andrew Schafman in Prodromo bringeth many reasons to proue that they did well in calling themselues Lutherans And those of Berga as Hospin reporteth in Concord Discord c. 20. say that All the sincere doctours of the Church call themselues Lutherans of Luther The same also testifie the Sacramentaries For those of New stade against the booke of Concord cap 6. pag. 213. say they account none a sincere disciple of Christ vnlesse he wil be called as well a Lutheran as a Christian The author of the orthodoxe Consent in Prefat Apologet. They take to themselues factions names vpon a preposterous and too great esteme of their masters Parcus in cap 2. Galat. sect 24 They doe not only call themselues Lutherans of Luther but also will be so called of all Beza in Conspicil pag. 8 Ye all will be named and called LutheraÌ„s And pag. 56 Not content with the name of Christians they call themselues Lutherans and reioyce to be so called Danaeus Apol. cont Iac. Andrâ—ae saith that He glorieth in Luther as in another Christ of whome euery where be thundereth calleth himselfe a Lutheran a Lutheran c. And Resp ad Selnecer he saith that Selnecer Freely confesseth that the Ducth Churches terme themselues Lutherans Vrsin in Catechism pag 494. saith This is the opinion of them who call themselues Lutherans Zauchius Epist dedicat Miscellan Many are not ashamed euen in printed bookes to all themselues Lutherans And Iezler de bello Euchar. fol. 115 Some haue no shame euen in pulpit to say VVe wil be Lutherans constantly And at some times euen the sacrameÌ„taries seeme to be desirous of the surname of Lutherans For those of Newstade in Admonit de lib Concordiae pag. 106. compliane that some would seeme to be the only disciples of Luther Musculus in locis tit de haeresi pag 604. saith No man condemneth true Lutherans vnlesse he be ignorant of the truth or very naughty And the Protestant Princes of Germanie in Thuan. lib. 79. Histor pag. 595. relate that the King of Nauarre wrote to them that if the French Protestants were to be termed of any man they ouâ—ht most of all to be called Lutherans Because when this name was odious in France for almost therscore years many by fire by rack be death sealed with their bloud the testimonie of that doctrin which they receiued first of Luther Scultete also in Concionâ— saeculari coÌ„pareth Luther with the Apostolicall men Besides the Sacramentaries call Luthers true follwers LutheraÌ„s as Zuinglius tom 1. fol. 420. 436. 470. Oecolampadius ibidem fol. 479. and in Hospin part 2. fol. 84. 112. 126. Tigurini ibidem fol 88. Bucer in cap Rom. in Scriptis Angl. pag. 669. Martyr tom 2. loc Epist ad Caluin Hospin lib. cit fol. 91. Caluin in Zancius lib. 2. Epist pag. 78. Daneus ibidem pag. 401. Zanchius himselfe pag. 394. Pareus lib. 5. de Amiss grat cap. 1. 2. lib 4. cap. 17 lib. 6 cap. 1. Vorstius in Antibellarm pag. 561. D. Whitaker cont 1. quest 2. cap. 3. and quest 5. c. 8. and quest 6. cap. 9. cont 4. quest 5. cap. 3. lib. 3. de Concupisc cap. 9. lib. 3. de Scrip. cap. 2 sect 3. D. Fulke de Success pag. 321. M. Perkins in Explicat Symboly col 781. 790. Yea Iezler loc cit fol. 39. Vorstius in Collat. cum Piscatore write that properly and vulgarly they are called LutheraÌ„s Wherupon D. Humfrey ad Rat. 2. Campian pag. 128. sayth Lutherans vulgarly called 7. Hereby we see first that the Lutherans glory of the name of Luther as the Donatists which S. Augustin reporteth did of the name of Donatus Secondly that they glory of a schismaticall name for such is the name of Lutherans as Luther himselfe confesseth in D. Morton part 1. Apol. lib. 1. cap. 8. And Hospin Praefat. part 2. Histor Vorstius in Antibellarm pag. 149 Yea D. Whitaker cont 2. quest 5. cap. 2. sayth that to take the name of any man at all is Hereticall and schismaticall and that heretikes carry the names of their masters and willingly acknowledge such names Thirdly it appeareth that the English Apologie vntruly sayd that Luthers disciples are called Lutherans in disgtace or derision For Grauer lib. cit sayth they are termed so for distinction sake Lauatherus and Hospin Praefat. Histor say they call them so for doctrine sake that it may be knowne whome they meaÌ„e And Scul eie so termeth them for honours sake And surely sith both Sacramentaries the common people and themselues also terme them Lutherans and glory
also in that name it cannot be sayd that they are called so in disgrace or contemp Fourthly it appeareth to be false that D. Morton lib. cit and D. Sutliue lib. de Eccles cap. 2. say It is rather to be attributed to a lye then to Luthers desert that Protestants call themselues Lutherans For as we see Luther himselfe called them so and therin they follow his example Neither skilleth it that Luther did once dislike this name because he did oftentimes vse it it was vsuall to Luther to allow and disallow the same thing Fiftly we see it to be false which D. Whitaker writeth cont 2 quest 5. cap. 2 pag. 494 None of vs euer called himselfe a Lutheran we acknowledge not these names nor are we delighted with them This name our aduersaries haue fastened vpon vs only vpon malice and enuie Neither are we called Lutherans but of the Papists False also is that which D. Fulke sayth de Success pag. 188. that they acknowledge no other name proper to their religion but the name of Christians and Catholiques These I say are false for Luther whome D. Whitaker accounteth his father and the Lutherans whome he termeth his brethren in Christ doe call themselues so and are well pleased with that name Besides they are so termed of the Sacramentaries and common people and therfore not of Papists only nor vpon malice and enuie but as Grauer sayd truly for distinction sake and that most iustly For as S. Athanase sayth VVho deriue the origen of their saith from other then Christ iustly carry the surnames of their Authors But Protestants as we haue shewed confesse that they deriue the origen of their faith from Luther Therfore iustly they beare his name 8. Out of all which hath bin rehearsed in this chapter I thus frame my ninth demonstration of this Matter If Luther and many other famous Protestants sometimes indeed some times in plaine words do confesse that Luther was the Author of their Church and religion he ought to be so taken and esteemed But they do soe confesse Ergo. The Minor is euident by all that is sayd in this Chapter And the Maior by what we sayd in the Preface For so many and such principall Protestants knew well the origen of their religion and willingly would not lye to the disgrace and ouerthrow therof That Protestants cannot proue their Church to haue bin before Luthers time by any probable argument or sufficent testimonie CHAP. XV. THE tenth and last demonstration for to proue that Luther was the first Author of the Protestants Church and religioÌ„ I will take from hence that albeit Protestants doe sometimes boldly affirme their Church and religioÌ„ to haue bin before Luthers time Yet they can neuer proue it by any reasonable argument or sufficent testimony Which thing alone would suffice to shew that as I sayd before it is a fable vainely feigned falsely affirmed and fondly beleiued It hath bin alwayes the fashion of heretiques boldly to auouch any thing but few things to proue euen in shew This S. Augustin doth often obserue in the Manichees and Donatists and some of his sayings we haue alleadged before Of Eunomius S. (a) Lib. 2. cont Eunom Basil noteth the same and S. (b) Serm. 6. in psal 118. Ambrose of all heretikes saying Heretiques are wolues they can howle but proue nothing And this doe Protestants confesse For thus D. Whitaker cont 2 quest 5. cap 18 Heretikes are wont to boast and promise truth In Diatrib but not to proue it Of Luther thus writeth Zuinglius tom 2. fol. 473. and 509 One argument he hath in all these matters He sayd it And fol. 447 Luther relyeth only vpon his â—oyes and deuises Fol. 395 Thou puttest forth whatsoeuer the motion of thy affections do appoint and when a reason of thy saying is exacted of thee thou standest naked vnarmed And of the Lutherans thus writeth Erasmus They say it and for that alone they will be belieued Of the Sacramentaryes in like manner Luther writeth in defens verb. Coenae tom 7. fol. 384. One word not easily ouerturneth all these thinges for if you deny them then as butter melteth in the sun so they quaile And the same is euident to all that read the bookes either of Lutherans or Sacramentaryes In the meane tyme they cry to vs that that Pythagoricall word He sayd it hath no other place but in (c) VVhit lib. 2. de script cap. 10. sect 5. Bullenger in comp l. 1. c. 3. Christ and the Scripture that in other it is the proper argument of (d) Vorstius Antibel p. 468. fooles that to affirme any thing beside scripture is to (e) Powel l. 1. de Antic c. 19. trifle that til we proue our affirmatiue they will stand in their (f) Luth. tom 2. fol. 437. negatiue and exact (g) Vorstius l. cit Fulke de success p. 74. demonstrations that is either expresse testimonies of scripture or forcible reason deduced from thence Now we say the same to them They affirme their Church to haue bin before Luthers time We deny it vntil they proue it Neither let them affirme it only which is the proofe of fooles wilfull men but if they cannot bring demonstrations therof at least let them produce some credible testimonie or some effectuall reason and argument Otherwise their beliefe in this matter Scorp c. 11. is as sayth Tertullian a peruerse beliefe which will not belieue thinges proued and belieueth thinges which cannot be proued 2. That in this matter they be destitute of all credible testimonie appeareth sufficently by what hath heretofore bin rehearsed of their owne confessions and now we will shew that they want also all probable reason or argument For all their arguments herein be reduced to this one Our doctrine is the doctrine of Christ Therfore our Church was alwayes since Christ For thus agreeth D. Whitaker cont 2. q. 5. c. 3. p. 498 I vse this argument VVhat Church soeuer keepeth the doctrine preaching of the Apostls she is the Apostolical Church But our Church doth so Therefore c. Of the Maior sayth he no controuersy can be made And cap. 5. p. 505 It was our Church which was in the tyme of the Apostles and afterward vnto the Apostasie But how doe we proue this By this reason that our Church keepeth the same faith and doctrine which the Church in the Apostles time and afterward kept And cont Dureum sect 1 If thou holdest Christs doctrine thou art a Catholike And sect 2 It must needs be the true Church of Christ which keepeth conserueth Christs doctrine deliuered in his word Dancus cont 3. pag. 388. VVith vs is the true Church of God because we restore the true doctrine of Christ Lubbertus lib. 5 de Eccles cap. 1 If the doctrine which our Church professeth be the same which Christ deliuered then our Church is that which Christ instituted D. Fulke lib. de Success pag. 27 Seeing we are