of tyme and place chaunge and alter as experience teacheth and not of matters of faith and beliefe which are euer the same without anie chaunge or alteration So that my position hath no other contrarietie with S. Aug. doctrine then heate hath with white or hearinge with seeinge PILK Vniuersalitie is a note to finde out the churche by Attende not those companies that goe the broade way they are manie and who cann number them and fewe goe in the narrowe way bringe forth thy weights weighe them see what a deale of chaffe for a littell corne CHAMP The farther you goe the more your ignoraunce or obstinacie doth appeare Are you not ashamed to make S. Aug. att oddes with the Apostles and Nycen Creede both which make vniuersalitie a note propriety of the true churche Besides are you so shallow brayned that you see not that S. Aug. speaketh here of baddly liuinge Christians which make not diuerse churches but are as Chaffe in the same baâ—ne or flore with the good Corne and not of misbeleeuing heretiks and Sectaries which make theire conuenticles a parte out of the churche and are neuer comparable to the true churche for vniuersalitie either of time or place Againe why doe you charge me in the page followinge with forgeinge this propositioÌ„ and fatheringe it vppon you â—he true churche of christe is not necessarilie Catholicke or vniuersall either in respect of place or tyme if you wil denie vniuersallity to be a note of the true churche You are so busied to make contrarieties betwixt my positions and the fathers doctrine that you runne into euident contradictions with your selfe and that within the space of a litle leafe of paper Either confesse the cause which you would defende to be so badd that it inforceth you to these absurdities or leaue the defence of it to some others of better skill and iudgment PILK The true churche of God is visible and apparant both to the saithfull beleeuers that are in it and also to heretickes and others that are out of it What churche nowe freelie serueth Christ For if it be godlie it is exposed to daungers if there be in anie place faithfull seruants of Christ as in all places there are manie they like vnto the great prophett Elias are secret and hide themselues in dennes and caues of the earth or wandringe vppe and downe remayne in the wildernes CHAMP If you woulde haue proued the truth of my position and the conformitie thereof with the doctrine of S. Athanasius you could not easilie haue donne it more effectuallie then by the testimonie you bringe out of him to prooue the contrarie so deuoyde of iudgment are you in all your sayinges For the churche that is exposed to daungers that is in all places and is persecuted is doubtles visible both to the faithfull and to the heretikes Yea those seruantes of Christ that like vnto Elias hide themselueâ— in dennes and remaine in the wildernes are not inuisible more then the catholickes nowe are in Englande whereof some parte is in prison others are in woodes and wildernesses as these were of whom S. Athanasius speaketh And if you could shewe such a visible churche of protestants before Martin Luther you would not vse the shamelesse shift of an inuisible churche whereunto you are driuen by meere necessitie PILK S. Peter was by our Sauiour Christe constituted supreame heade or soueraigne Bishop or pastour ouer his whole churche militant Christe gaue to all his Apostles equall power after his resurrection and sayde as my Father sent me so send I you receiue the holy ghoste whose sinnes you remitt they are remitted and a litle after the rest of the Apostles were the same that Peeter was endued with like fellowshippe both of honour and power CHAMP The equalitie of power to remitt sinnes or as the diuines terme it power of order of which equalitie S. Cyprian speaketh in all the Apostles doth stande well with the supremacie of the power of iurisdiction and gouernment which S. Cyprian geueth to S. Peeter Againe all the Apostles were of equall power in respect of the rest of the churche but not in respect of themselues For one head was chosen saith S. Hierome that the occasion of schisme might be taken away Where you are also to note that if you will still persist to vrge the equalitie of power in all the Apostles out of this testimonie of S. Cyprian you must also in like manner conclude the equalitie of honour in them all which notwithstandinge none of you dare to doe in regarde of so manie prerogatiues clearly geuen to S. Peter both in holy scriptures and by all antiquitie For which reason Spalatensis who hath strugled more peruersly against S. Peter his supremacie then anie other hereticke hitherto doth graunte vnto him a supremacie in diuerse respects thinkinge thereby as 〈◊〉 hee is malicious and peruerse by grauntinge him some parte of his due more easilie to depriue him of the rest Either cease therefore to impugne S. Peter his supreamacie out of this testimonie of S. Cyprian or if you will continue still to doe it take his whole wordes and sence and so shall you make him opposite to your selues PILK The Bishop of Rome is the lawfull and lineall successour of S. Peter in that charge and office which our Sauiour gaue vnto S. Peter ouer his churche militant Lett none of vs make him selfe bishop of bishops or by tyrannicall feare force his fellowes to necessitie of obedience seeinge euerie bishop hath free libertie and licence of his owne power and may not iudge another no more then another may iudge him but lett vs expect the iudgment of our Lord Iesus Christ who onlie and alone hath power to prefer vs in the gouernmeÌ„t of the churche and to iudge of our acts CHAMP I knowe not whether I shoulde ascribe it to ignorance or peruersitie that you produce this Testimonie as opposite to my position For no man of common sence that readeth in S. Aug. whence you cite it but will iudge it most impertinentlie alleadged for your purpose S. Cyprian there speakinge to his fellowe Bishopps of Affricke willinge them to giue their opinions of the matter proposed which was touchinge the Baptisme of heretickes professinge to keepe vnion and communion with them that should iudge other waies then he did And this without mention or intention to include in his speach the Bishope of Rome but directeth his wordes to the Bishops present for that particular matter which there he proposed vnto them PILK To holy Saincts and Angells in heauen is due more then ciuill honour and reuerence We honour the Angells with loue not seruice we builde them no temples c our religion teacheth vs not to worshippe dead men CAMP Your ignorance or peruersitie if not both lieth so open to all men that nothinge else appeareth hitherto in you If you had read S. Aug and but halfe
of this your assertion woulde assuredlie gett you the victorie in all the rest you contende aboute without all further dispute But the manifest falsitie of your affirmation doth not only make your cause desperate but also deepelie woundeth your creditt hauinge no care to affirme so apparant vntruthes without the slenderest shewe of proofe or probabilitie att all PILK Besides we doe not finde in anie auncient creede either that of the Apostles or of Nice or in anie other of the auncient counsells that the churche was stiled the catholâ—cke Roman Finallie howe canne a parte be the whole Nowe the Roman churche thoughe shee were pure in her farthest extent is but a parte of the vniuersall churche CHAMP Haue you not yett learned howe vaine a thinge it is to argue ab authorita â— neâ—a ua Produce you some aun ient creede where the churche is called the christian churche which thoughe you cannot doe yett I hope you will not denie the catholicke churche to be rightlie so called Neither is the Roman church taken for a parte of the catholike churche as you either falselie or foolishlie surmise but for the whole as the kinge of England is not taken onlie to be kinge of Englande but of the rest of his kingdomes also the whole takinge name of one parte as is ordinarie euen in common speach which you cannot be ignorant of PILK Yett you say this vniuersall particular churche admitteth a larger Canon then the protestants you meane the Apocripha And so it standeth her in hand otherwise shee might bid a dieu to diuerse profitable points that helpe her to vphoulde her Monarchie But the churche of God before Christ receiued them not but the same which the protestants doe embrace Neither read we that Christe or anie of his Apostles did cite anie testimonie out of them to confirme any doctrâ—ne by them which they did out of all the canonicall bookes Besides if we followe S. August iudgment whereby we may discerne suspitious writinge from canonicall then these wil easilie appeare to be conterfaites First saith he they are not such as the churche credited received into canonicall authoritie Secondlie there be manie thinges imbarked in them which Apostolicall rule of faith and sound doctrine doth contradict both these are verified of the Apocripha For neither the churche of God before Christ receiued them to whom were committed the oracles of God Rom. 3. 2. which Christe woulde haue reprooued them for if they had without iust cause reiected them as well as he did reprehend them for the misinterpretinge of the canonicall bookes neither yett longe after Christe did the Christian churche imbrace them And besides in the bookes them selues there are certaine brandes whereby they may be discerned from the canonicall First the addition vnto the booke of Hester saith that Mardocheus had receiued rewardes for the detection of the conspiracie of the kinges Chamberlaynes the true Hester sayth he receiued none The suppositius Hester saith that Haman intended the the destruction of Mardocheus for detectinge the Eunuches Hest. 12. 6. The true Hester saith for denyinge him worshippe Hester 3. 5. The true Hester the kinge looked gratiouslie vppon her the conterfeit he looked angerlie The booke of Baruch saith that the cittie of Hierusalem was taken and burnt at the same tyme Ieremie teacheth the contrarie the bookes of the kinges The additions vnto Daniell say that when Danyell deliuered Susanna he was a childe the true Daniell saith that he with two others made by the kinge were chiefe ouer 120. princes that they might take all the accompts of the kingdome and the kinge might not be troubled But children vse not to be sett ouer such affaires Commentitiues Daniell saith in the storie of Bell that he was fed by Abacucke 14. 36. whereas Abacucke prophesied longe before the captiuitie 1. 6. In the booke of Tobie cap. 12. 15 the Angell calleth himselfe Raphaell the Angell of the Lorde but chapter the 5. 12. he is of the kinred of Ananias and Azarias the greate if he be the Angell of the Lorde he cannot be the sonne of a man As true is that medecine wherwith the deuill is driuen away but corporall creatures vse not to make anie impression into a substance simply intellectuall as deuills be In Iudith the cruell murther committed by Symeon and Leui is propounded to be imitated cap. 8. 23. which Genesis the 49. is reprehended and accursed The booke of wisdome is falselie intituled as it had been composed by Salomon whereas the author of it was Philo the Iewe. Ecclesiasticus craueth pardon if he come shorte in some wordes which the penmen of the holy Ghost vsed not to doe In the bookes of the Maccabies a parricide is commended that layde handes on himselfe which is forbidden by the lawe So your longe Canon hath but certayn inches that are true and perfect the rest are but leaden and crooked yet for all this you say CHAMP That the catholike Romane churche admitteth a larger Canon that is as the Manuall saith moe bookes and parcells of the Bible for holy scripture then the protestants doe is so manifest that you dare not denie it Nowe whether these bookes and parcells of bookes be apocripha or noe is in controuersie you affirminge them so to be and we denyinge it Which question cannot here be disputed or discussed for confoundinge of matters Onlie this I say by the way to your obiections made against them that if you doe stand to S. Aug iudgment in this pointe to whome you make shewe to appeale the cause is lost on your parte and if you will not beleeue me reade his seconde booke de Doctrina Christiana cap 5. 6. and be your owne iudge Againe your exceptions against the bookes in controuersie are such as if they were admitted for sufficient to prooue them Apocripha I dare vndertake to prooue all or the most parte of the bookes in the Bible to be Apocripha And this I will make good whensoeuer you dare vppon equall conditions to chalenge me therunto See therfore I pray what a friende you are to the holy scripture that open such and so wide a gappe to take quite away all scripture And this shall suffice for answere to all your tedious discourse in this section Manuall Catholike position the first That all such articles as by her the Catholike Roman churche and the protestants are beleeued and holden for articles of faith are not so expressely contayned in the holy scriptures as out of them onlie full proofe may be made thereof PILK This position is so doubtfullie sett downe as if of purpose you would walke in a cloude that your reader might not perceiue you For if by expresselie you meane wordes and sillables then it is true that all articles of faith are not contayned in holy scriptures in so manie wordes but if you meane the sence and substance and that which may be deduced by necessarie consequence then it is
be it is manifest that in this case the proofe knowledg of the church must goe before the proofe and knowledge of the scriptures as beinge before it and leadinge vnto it and not the contrarie PILK This is yett more cleare by the verie proposition graunted by Papists that the scripture is the rule whereof the sence is that the sence and doctrine not the letters and characters are this rule Nowe lett our aduersaries iudge whether is more auncient the doctrine of the church which is the seede of the churche or the church which is begotten of it CHAMP You either ignorantlie mistake or wilfullie inuert the question which is not whether the holy scriptures be a rule of faith which noe christian denieth but whether it be the first and most vniuersall rule thereof And this none but heretikes that denie the authoritie of the churche and veritie of traditions both which notwithstandinge are expresselie testified by holy scripture did euer affirme And whether the church be more auncieÌ„t then the scriptures if you doubte as you seeme to doe yea and to affirme the contrarie I shall esteeme you either very senceles or verie wilfull and peâ—uers the scriptures hauinge been written by the churche vnles peraduenture by the scriptures or doctrine of the scriptures you vnderstande the worde of God written in the hearts of men by the immediate reuelation of the holy Ghost and by them deliuered by worde of mouth the one to the other vntill Moises who was the first that euer committed anie thinge to writinge If you take the scriptures in this sence that which you meane is true and if further you acknowledge the authoritie of the churche and veritie of Tradition in deliueringe this doctrine and teachinge it one to another by worde of mouth before it was written our controuersie is at an end The authoritie of the churche and traditions being euidentlie prooued to goe before the scriptures and consequentlie to be a more vniuersall rule of faith then the scriptures PILK So that as your first conclusion is a manifest vntruth that there is a more vniuersall rule of faith then the scriptures So the second is a dull and heauie conceipt that the churche shoulde be more auncient and before them CHAMP If either my first conclusion as you tearme it be a manifest vntruth or my second a dull coÌ„ceipt why doe you doombelie denie it without anie proofe or reason att all Especiallie seinge I prooued the first by cleare instance as you may see and the seconde is but a sequell or necessarie deduction of the first If it be enough for you to say that your aduersaries conclusions thoughe prooued by manifest instance are manifest vntruthes you may well hope to carrie away the bucklers from a farr greater clerke then euer I shall pretende to be For you knowe that Aristotles asse is able to denie more then his mayster is able to prooue PILK Peruse the fathers in whose workes you seeme to be conuersant and nominate one that hath taught either that the authoritie of the churche is a more vniuersall rule or that she was before theire doctrine which are the two cheefest stoopes of your religion whereas in them I finde that the scriptures is the rule and they nominate nothinge else CHAMP If you had weighed S. Aug testimonie which the manuall setteth downe in this place and which you vainlie strugle to auoyde with equall iudgment you woulde not haue putte me to further search of the fathers for proofe of that which I say You shall either deliuer your selfe better from S. Aug authoritie then here you haue donne or else you shall be forced to swallowe it downe as a bitter but a wholsome pill against your heresie Neither will I take the taxe at your hande to searche further the fathers for this purpose till I see this one better satisfied And you fight against your owne shaddowe when you labour to prooue by the fathers that the scriptures are a rule of our faith your aduersaries denyinge it not as I toulde you before But you loue to shewe your strength when none resisteth you And that the fathers nominate no other rule is as true as the rest of your sayinges For seeinge they auouch so plainlie and frequentlie traditions and the churches authoritie as you knowe they doe howe canne you say that they name noe other rule PILK The Ecclesiasticall rule is the consent and conspiration of the old and newe testament saith Clemens The holy scripture doth prefixe vnto vs the rule of our faith saith S. Aug. CHAMP I knowe not whether I shoulde attribute the citinge of this authoritie out of Clemens to your ignoraunce or to your fraude and desire to deceiue by it your reader it is so impertinent to your purpose He sayinge onlie that it is the Ecclesiasticall rule of interpretinge scriptures to make the prophetts and lawe to accorde with the testament of our Sauiour Christ Which what it maketh to prooue the scriptures to be the sole rule of faith I cannot conceiue S. Aug. you cite so at large that I knowe not where to look for the place by you alleaged to see whether it be not as pertinentlie alleaged as the other is And seinge the scriptures doe send vs to our pastours to learne our faith and to the churche commandinge vs to heare it it may well be sayde to prefixe vnto vs the rule of our faith and yett exclude not the churches authoritie for the which we nowe contende So that this place is as fitt for your purpose as the other PILK The churche goeth not out of her boundes that is the holy scriptures saith Ierome And least you might thinke it is the rule but not the onlie rule Vincentius addeth the sole rule of the scriptures is sufficient to all thinges CHAMP The churche followinge the authoritie of tradition and the iudgment of the churche in all matters of saith and manners which the scriptures doe expresslie geue testimonie and warrant vnto doth not goe out of the boundes of the scriptures In citinge Vincentius you vse your accustomed fraude leauinge out the wordes goinge before Which are so expresslie against your purpose that had you sett them downe they had been sufficient to confute your errours in this pointe they are these We haue sayde before haâ— this alwayes hath been and is also at this day the custome of Catholikes to prooue the truth of fayth by these two meanes First by the authoritie of diuine Canon then by tradition of the Catholike churche not because the Canon alone is not sufficient of it selfe to all thinges but c. Now lett the iudicious reader iudge whether this holy father make the scriptures the sole rule of faith or noe When he saith the sacred Canon is sufficient to all thinges he meaneth that it is sufficient to al thinges that is necessarie to euerie mans saluation or to euerie man to beleeue For these thinges are not many and sufficientlie
they haue not of themselues but receiue from the interpretation of the churche and traditions which is an impious and blasphemous assertion For the interpretation of a Sinode is but a glosse the scripture is the text the interpretation may err the text cannott erre the interpretation is the worde of man the scriptures the voyce of God to conclude this point whereas the position of the former Roman church was that diuinitie reasoneth from the scriptures necessarilie from other authors and learninge probablie the wheele nowe is turned and men reason from the scriptures coniecturallie but from the interpretation of the churche and tradition firmelie and sullie CHAMP Howe often haue you been tould of your wittinge belying your aduersaries you knowe well if you knowe anie thinge that the catholikes whom you call papists doe teach the scriptures to be the worde of the holy Ghost and to haue theire veritie from him independentlie of the churche And therefore that the churche addeth no strength or veritie to them no more then the witnes or notarie addeth truth or veritie to the will testament of the testatour Neuertheles the authoritie testimonie of the churche is as necessarie for the acceptance and acknowledgment as well of the letter and texte it selfe as of the sence and meaninge of the scriptures as the witnes or notaries hande is to the acknowledgment and proofe of the will and testament or as the sentence of the iudge is necessarie for the true sence and meaninge of the will if at anie tyme it come to be in doubte or in question Neither is the interpretation of the churche vppon the scripture the interpretation or worde of man as you hereticallie tearme it but of the holy Ghost as besides other places you may learne of that Visum est Spitui Sancto nobis But it auaileth like as to teache a wilfull mynde wisdome Your conclusion is yett more childishe ignorant and impertinent For from the scriptures vnderstoode in the sence of the churche which is infalliblie true we say the argument is necessarie and infallible whereas from all humane authours taken seuerallie be they neuer so learned the argument is not certayne but probable But wheÌ„ we speake of humane authors we vnderstande not the churche nor yett her receiued traditions And thus you see your strongest arguments against the position of the manuall are nothinge but froathie calumnies paralogismes and impertinencies dispersed and blowne away with euerie small blast of winde Manuall Catholike position 2. All such articles as are of faith and so holden by the protestants themselues are not contayned so much as indirectlie or implicitlie in the holy scriptures but onlie so farr as the scriptures contayne and testifie the authority of the churche traditions Proofe Take all the bookes of the bible and euerie parte thereof which are acknowledged for canonicall scripture ioyntlie of catholikes and protestants be such indeede That the moste blessed mother of our Sauiour Christe continued perpetuallie a virgin That it is lawfull for christians to eat strangled thinges and blood which were expressely forbidden them Acts 15. 20. are not so much as indirectly contained in holy scriptures otherwise then is mentioned in our position But this being more amply proued in that which followeth of traditions this which we haue sayd alreadie shal suffice for the present PILK The sunne needeth to borrowe no light of other starres nor the scriptures of the churche or of tradition For without helpe of either they sufficientlie prooue all articles of faith CHAMP It is an vsuall tricke of all deceiptfull and verball disputers to inuert change the question in hande that when they can say nothinge to the true questioÌ„ they may finde somethinge to say to the question framed by themselues The controuersie here is not whether the scriptures doe sufficientlie prooue all other articles of faith for that was disputed in the precedent position and the negatiue parte there prooued against you but whether they sufficientlie prooue themselues to be the holy scriptures or noe which was the first proofe of this position lett vs heare howe you answere it PILK But here you trifle in idle Homonomie of articles of faith For strictlie those thinges are called articles of faith which are prescribed in the old and newe testament to be beleeued and are summarilie comprised in the Apostles creed whereby they are both distinguished from the precepts of the lawe that prescribe good workes and from the principles of diuintie from which as from conclusions they are deriued CHAMP I knowe not what you call trifelinge in homonomie but I knowe that you bable in obscuritie It is be like no article of faith with you that God is to be adored his name not to be prophaned or blasphemed that our parents are to be honoured with the rest of gods commaundements because they be precepts commaundinge good workes I maruell where you learned this good diuinitie But lett this passe yett it serueth not your turne For the scriptures whereof the question is nowe are not precepts as you knowe You haue therefore another as good a shifte That is that articles of faith are distinguished not onlie from precepts but also â—roâ— princeples of diuinitie from which as conclusions they are deriued these are your owne wordes but what you meane by them I cannot conceiue They seeme to sounde that the articles of faith as conclusions are deriued from the principles of diuinitie Then which you coulde haue sayd nothinge more contrarie to truthe For all men knowe that the conclusions of diuinitie are deriued from the articles of our faith as from theire principles not the contrarie as you dreame It had been good you had taken one yeere more to haue reuewed your writinges that you might haue made better sence of your ayinges PILK Of which sorte of principles these are That the holy scriptures are diuine inspired from heauen immutabely true CHAMP By what other reason I pray you are these thinges here named by you rather to be called principles of diuinitie then articles of faith more then for your owne bare and ignorant assertion you should haue geuen some reason for your distinction that your reader might haue seene it had not been meerely forged onlie to delude the argument Againe why are these thinges to be tearmed principles and not articles of faith God is one God is omnipotent God is truth it selfe and the first truth that reuealeth misteries of faith you dare not denie these to be principles of the other principles and yett are they most properlie articles of faith as you dare not denie expressed in the creede it selfe You see therefore your distinctions of articles and principles of faith to be vaine foolishe and friuolous inuented onlie to delude your lesse carefull reader PILK Improperlie articles of faith are called whatsoeuer is written as the principles themselues preceptes of the lawe sermons of the prophets histories of both testaments because faith assenteth to euerie
saluation that he be baptized CHAMP It seemeth you haue not yett learned the rudiments of your religion seinge you number this position amoÌ„gst those that you esteeme forged against you See therefore for your better instruction in this point of Catechisme your grande maister in reformation Iohn Caluin in Antidoto Concilij ad Sess cap. 5. and lib. 4. instit cap. 16. § 24. 25. Peter Martyr another of your maysters vppon these wordes of the Apostle Alinqui filij vesiri in mundi essent 1. Cor. Fulke Marci 1. Sect. 5. with the whole crue of Puritans or Caluinistes Or if you will not looke so farr see the first dayes conferrence of Hampton Courte and see what you finde there of this point And either blushe at your ignorance in the principales of your religion or if you like not the doctrine leaue the companie where it is taught and vnite your selfe to the Catholicke Churche where it is abhorred PILK POSITIO VII Matrimonie contracted betweene Christians is but a ciuill contract CHAMP You are soone wearie of honest dealinge and quicklie returne to your accustomed falsifications I doe blushe in your behalfe that I am forced to tell you so often of it in so fewe lines The position in the Manuall addeth to the wordes sett downe by you And not Sacrament properlie Which if you had added you would haue been ashamed to haue saide the position to be forged If you will cauill say that thoughe it be no Sacrament yett is it not a bare ciuill contract I will not stande here to debate that question with you beinge not materiall to my purpose which was to prooue Matrimonie to be a Sacrament accordinge to the catholicke doctrine aboue and besides the ciuill contract therein contayned and if you should be vrged to shewe in the precise nature of matrimonie anie thinge more then a ciuill contract seeinge you denie it to be a SacrameÌ„t you would I knowe be troubled and would not easilie quitte your selfe of that bussines And Caluin whose authoritie is of some weight with you compareth it to the arte of husbandrie barbinge and weauinge lib. 4. Instit cap. 18. § 34. PILK POSITIO VIII Baptisme and the lordes supper are not instruments of Grace but onlie signes of gods good will towardes vs or meanes to stirre vppe faith in vs. CHAMP Heere againe I am constrained to tell you of your false dealinge The position sett downe by me is this Neither Baptisme nor the other Sacraments of the newe lawe geue grace as cause thereof but are onlie signes of gods good will towardes vs or meanes to stirre vppe Fayth in vs. What materiall diuersitie you will finde betwixt this position and the 25. article of your churche I knowe not It saith thus Sacraments be not onlie badges or tokens of christian mens profession but rather they be certaine sure witnesses and effectuall signes of grace and gods good-will towardes vs by which he doth worke inuisiblie in vs and not onlie quicken but also confirme and stregthen our fayth in him And your maister in reformation Caluin speaketh yett more conformablie to the position sett downe by me heare his owne wordes This onlie office is inioyned to the Sacraments to witnes to vs and confirme in vs gods good will And againe The Sacraments are to vs from God as are messengers of gladd bidinge from men or as an ernest pennie in stricking couenants as not geueinge anie grace of themselues but declare and shewe and as they are earnest money or tokens doe ratifie in vs those thinges which by gods liberalitie are geuen vnto vs. And for more cleare explication of his meaninge he vseth in the 18. Section follwinge the examples of the raynbowe and of Gedions fleece And this shall suffice for this present to cleare me of forgerie and to prooue you ignorant in the principales of your owne erroneous doctrine vnles peraduenture you be ashamed of it and therefore denie it to be yours PILK POSITIO IX Iustification is onlie remission of sinnes CHAMP You are as obstinate in false dealinge as if you had sworne neuer to deale truelie The position in the manuall is sett downe in these wordes Iustification is onlie the remission of sinnes without renmation of spirit or interiour Sanctification which position if you dare to denie to be trulie protestanticall all those of your sect that haue written of Iustification will condemne you of ignorance in theire doctrine PILK POSITIO X. By Iustification sinne is onlie couered and not quite taken away CHAMP Why did you omitte to say as I said seeing the position sett downe by me is so breife in these wordes By Iustification sinne is onlie couered or not imputed and not washed or quite taken away Surelie for noe other cause I thinke but to keepe your selfe in custome with clippinge and gueldinge as he did that did steale strawes to keepe his fingers in we with filchinge but peraduenture you feared the worde not imputed so often abused by your maysters and the worde washed vsed in the holy Scriptures Howsoeuer your errour in imputinge to me sorgerie in this position is not pardonable Cannot you vtter one position but with manifest falsification or palpable ignorance or both Reade onlie the seconde article of Luther for I will trouble you with no moe referrences att this tyme and see his doctrine in this point His wordes are these It is another thinge that al sinnes are remitted and another that all sinnes are taken away Baptisme doth remitte all but it taketh none quite away but beginneth onlie to take them away Againe your knowne doctrine of imputatiue and not inherent iustice doth it not necessarilie inforce you to say that our sinnes are only couered or not imputed but not washed and quite taken away PILK POSITIO XI Man thoughe holpen by Gods grace hath not free will either to fly ame euill or to doe good auaylinge to his Saluation but in both is forced to doe that which God hath ordayned he shoulde doe CHAMP This position haue you trulie sett downe But why doe you say that it is forged The sole title of your first maister Luther his booke de seruo arburio might haue taught you that it is his professed doctrine Reade further his 36. article where besides manie other thinges to this purpose he hath these expresse wordes I said ill that freewill before grace is a meere rule But I shoulde haue sayde that frewill is a fiction or a title without the thinge Because it is in no mans power to thinke either good or badd but all thinges as Wicleffe his article condemned at Constance ri helie teacheth doe happen by absolute necessitie And thus you see Sir your Catalogue of antithesis and roll of forged posiâ—ions which you muster in the beginninge of your booke to deceiue your lâ—sse warie reader and disgrace your aduersarie is blowne away more easilie then a Cop-webb is broken with the winde to your owne irrecouerable disgrace and
breaketh all your batteries like as if they were balls of sande caste against a brasen wall And therefore the conclusions built vppon it will neither of themselues nor yett by all your forces fall to the grounde but will stande firme and stronge PILK First that the scriptures are not the vniuersall rule of faith a position so derogatorie to the testament of Christ and so contrarie to the doctrine of the auncient churche that I wounder howe you durst venture vppon it For the rule whereunto nothinge must be added nothinge detracted is an vniuersall and persecte rule such is the scripture which is Aquinas collection â— Tim. 6. For if anie addition or detraction might be made in the scriptures they could not be the rule att all As in a rule saith Photicus if yee adde or diminishe any thinge yee corrupte the whole And a rule saith Theophilact neither hath augmentation nor diminution soe is it in the scriptures which Chrisostome termeth the most experte rule Canon and Gnomon that can be if it admitte anie supplie it coulde not be the rule at all And if we must not be wise in matters diuine aboue that which is written then that which is written is the rule of our wisdome and faith But S. Paule forbiddeth that ranknes of witt to enquire further then that which is written This S. Aug. collecteth out of this place The holy scripture doth prefixe vnto vs the rule of our faith least we shoulde presume to be more wise then behoueth but as he saith let vs be wise vnto sobrietie as God hath diuided vnto euerie one the measure of faith Finallie if our faith doth lastlie resolue it selfe into the scriptures onlie then they alone are the rule and nothinge can be founde more vniuersall but this is graunted by your best diuines CHAMP Till it be prooued by expresse scripture that the scriptures are the vniuersall rule of our saith or that nothinge is to be beleeued but that which is prooued by scripture you cannot trulie say that my position is derogatorie to the Testament of Christ And because it can neuer be prooued by scripture that nothinge is to be beleeued but that which is prooued by expresse scripture your position is hereticall the contrarie thereof beinge clearelie testified by the scripture as shall appeare in the first and seconde controuersie vnto which places I will referr you for answere to your arguments which you there repeate as the more proper place Onlie I will not omitte to tell you here that you loose your creditt with al men by vtteringe such knowne vntruthes as that the best of our diuines doe graunte the â—ast resolution of our faith to â—ee into the scriptures onlie You shoulde haue named some one author att least to haue geuen creditt to your assertion PILK What then is the rule that is more vniuersall The authoritie of the churche say you Traditions saith Bellarmine the faith of the churche that is written in the heartes of the faithfull saith Stapleton soe friendlie doe the patrons of this errour accorde as if that curse wherewith God threatned the EgiptiaÌ„s had falleÌ„ vpon them I wil sett Egiptians against EgiptiaÌ„s they shal fight euerie one against his neighbour For if the authoritie of the churche doth make vppe the rule traditioÌ„s doe not beinge two thinges as different as the fountaine the streame the fruite and the tree For traditions flowe from the authoritie of the churche saith Stapleton Authoritie of the churche is the churches testimonie tradition is doctrine not a testimonie onlie This therefore is neither a more vniuersall rule nor yet before it which is your seconde conclusion and which if it were true the churche shoulde be summa prima veritas for that for which we must beleeue the Ghospell and it for it selfe is the highest and first truth but you papists say so of the churche therefore you haue deiâ—yed and changed it into the deitie and so made it of Bethâ—â—â—â— and house of God to be Bethanan the house of iniquitie CHAMP There is as much diuersitie or discorde betweene all these sayinges of ours as a goode Logician would finde betweene viuens â—enâ—â—â—ns 〈◊〉 inâ—eâ—â—â—â—ns which being â—ubalterna are not in anie mans brayne disparaâ—a or opposita vnles in yours which is often contrarie to it selfe Both tradtions therefore and the authority of the churche are more vniuersal rules theÌ„ the scriptures And thoughe the one of them is more vniuersall and before the other yet neither of them is summa or prima veritas as you most ignorantlie affirme in the precedent section of the scriptures for the which intollerable ignorance you are iustlie reprehended there nor either of them is beleeued for it selfe but for the testimonie of God reuelinge theire veritie who onlie is beleeued for himselfe and his owne essentiall truth and veritie And therefore your childishe inference of changinge Bethell into Bethanan is a ridiculous conclusion of your owne ignorant premisses or a dreame of your owne idle and emptie braine But you will bringe more solid stuffe hereafter lett vs heare the rest PILK Besides if it be demaunded from whence the churche hath anâ—e such authoritie it is answered from the scriptures for which are produced sundrie testimonies He that heareth you heareth me Goe teach all nations If then the life of this authoritie be maintayned and supported by the scriptures they are the rule and measure of her and so before her and not reciprocalliâ— measured by her CHAMP When it is demanded by such as pretend to beleeue the scriptures as you make shewe to doe and yett deny the churches Authoritie as you heretically doe what proofe there is of the churches authority the scriptures are rightlie produced for the proofe thereof not that thee hath her authoritie from the scriptures as you either ignorantlie or negligentlie say for her authoritie she hath from God The authour of all power and authoritie but that this authoritie iâ— testified by the scripture And maruell it is to me that you your selfe findinge and feelinge such testimonie of holy scripture for the churches authoritie as you cite in this place doe not yett cease to impugne it But the truth is you beleeue and follow the scriptures so farr as your selfe list onlie and noe farther On the other side when it is demaunded by such as belieue neither scriptures nor the churche but yett seeke some groundes of christian beliefe it woulde be a ridiculous thinge to prooue the church by the scriptures seinge they are written taught and preached by the ministrie of meÌ„ whereof the church consisteth and did consist many hundreds of yeeres before there were anie scriptures att all In this case therefor it is cleare that the church hath other proofe then from the scriptures and before the scriptures which in that case must be prooued by the churche But what this proofe is and whence it is taken pertayneth not to this place to say Yet whatsoeuer it
the other is a mere denyall or negation of faith of a positiue article and is as well in horses or asses as in men onlie with this difference that men are capable and may haue the contrarie positiue act but horses and asses cannot If your faith therefore of the negatiue articles which you houlde be of the first kinde you are bounde to prooue it by positiue testimonie of holy scripture If it be onlie of the second kinde then haue you no more faith in these articles then haue horses asses or other brute beastes Nowe to the fathers testimonies so farr as they may seeme to make anie thinge against the catholicke doctrine of traditions or the churches authoritie I answere supposinge they sounde as you sett them downe which I will not stande to examine here that whatsoeuer is prooued by traditions or the churches iudgment is warranted by the scripture which geueth testimonie to the churche and traditions Which answere is S. August lib. 1. cont Crescon cap. 33. PILK Therefore concerninge the profe of our faith in the negatiue points of purgatorie Reall presence Sacrifice of the Masse sith there is noe footinge for them in the worde of God we answere with Basill that it is not faith but a manifest defection from faith to denie that which is written or to bringe in anie thinge that is not written where as Christ IESVS our Lorde saith my sheepe heare my voice CHAMP The iudicious reader shal be iudge whether these catholike articles haue not much faster footinge in the holy scriptures then your contiarie negatiues Neither doth S. Basill anie wayes fauour you For he confirminge his sayinge with these wordes of our Sauiour my sheepe heare my voyce excludeth not that worde of our Sauiour which is more properlie his worde then the scripture For he sayth not my scriptures but my sheepe heare my voyce therfore he speaketh of the voyce as it is deliuered by worde and not as it is written PILK And yett to satisfy you we shall finde sufficient weapons out of the scriptures to lay these Anekims on the grounde Nowe as the Roman Emperour that meant to subdue Germanie brought out his armie and put them in aray vppon the sea shoore and presentlie charged them to gather shelles tellinge them that they were spoyles of the Ocean due to the capitoll So you hauinge marshalled your forces and putt them in order tell your reader that the whole body of them is but a Scheleton bare bones tyed together with drye Sinewes and then without question you will attaine a glorious victorie and bringe spoyles fitt for the vaticane Yet you doubt not but your treatise will please some mens appetite and I am of your minde for like lippes like lettuce Thus from your prolusion I come to your mayne battaille which thus you beginne CHAMP What sharpe weapons you wil finde in the scriptures for your negatiue faith or no beleefe I will with patience expect and hauinge with all indifferencie pondered them I will tell you with all sinceritie what weight they are of in my iudgment In the meane tyme I must tel you that your conclusion seemeth to me as litle wittie as all the rest of your discourse is learned and therfore findinge by the litle experience I haue of you that such lettuce sute well with your lippes I leaue them wholy to your selfe Manuall The first controuersie It is knowne that the catholike Roman churche doth admitte more bookes and parcelles of holy Bible for scripture then the protestants doe and consâ—quently acknowledge a larger Canon then they and yett notwithstandinge shee teacheth PILK The Grecians are euer children rightlie fitteth you Romanists that still lispe like littell children and excellentlie speake without sence For to say the catholike Romane church is as good sence as the vniuersall particular churche CHAMP It is your dull vnderstandinge and not our lisping language that maketh these wordes the Catholicke Roman â—hurâ—h without sence to you For the attribute Romane doth not restraine anie whit the amplitude of the signification of that worde catholicke or vniuersall either in reâ—pect of tyme or place as you ignorantlie imagine but doth onlie distinguish it from all such sects as falselie and presumptuously terme themselues catholike but dare not call themselues RomaÌ„s or Roman Catholickes As in former ages the worde catholike was added to the name christian for the same purpose as auncient Pacianus signifieth Therefore when we say a Roman Catholike we woulde say no more but a true and not a falsely termed catholike And because you are a member of one of those sects which are discried by this worde Romane you hate it as theeues hate the light whereby they are discouered PILK For who can conceiue the catholike churche to be Roman which was in the worlde before Rome it selfe was for it is the generall assembly of the Saints Heb. 12. â—3 from Abell the first iust vnto the last that shall beleeue in Christe as S. Aug speaketh Moreouer all the nations in the worlde not the Romans were promised to Christ psal 2. Aske of me and I will geue thee the gentiles for thine inheritance and the vttermost partes of the earth for thy possession and so S. Aug writeth that God promised to the seede of Abraham not the Romans but all the gentils and sealed it with an oathe by which promise it came to passe that manie nations not contayned vnder the Roman iurisdiction receiued the Gospell and were ioyned vnto the churche CHAMP There is no greater difficultie to conceiue howe the catholike churche may be called Roman then howe the christian churche which denomination began first at Antioch is called Catholike And if you would knowe he reason why it is denominated of Rome rather then of Antioche or Hierusalem it is because S. Peeter who was Bishoppe of Rome receiued promise of our Sauiour Christ that his churche shoulde be builte vppon him as vppon a firme rocke and that hell gates shoulde neuer preuaile against it Which promise our Sauiour Christ hauinge performed it is come to passe that the churche of Christe which was first called christian then Catholike is nowe called Roman and thus much for the name RomaÌ„ Nowe I woulde haue you marke that whatsoeuer you say in proofe of this attribute catholike you say in condemnation of your owne protestanticall assemblies which were neuer hearde of before Martin Luther no more then the Arrians were before Arrius and the rest of the sects and heresies before theire maisters and authours Which one argument had you but anie indifferencie ioyned with anie meane iudgment woulde be sufficient to make you detest the felloweshippe of such newe maisters PILK Besides the moderne Romane churche hath made a defection from that which the primatiue Roman church maintayned in so much that S. Paules Epistles written to the auncient RomaÌ„s may iustlie be called an antilogie of that Religion which nowe is professed in the cittie of Rome CHAMP Some substantiall proofe
taught moe thinges by worde oâ— mouth then he wrote which was my Position it nowe belongeth to you either to graunt my position to be true or to prooue by scriptures that the rest of the Apostles wrote that which he taught by worde of mouth and omitted to write For to say it only without proofe yea and such as you require of your aduersarie is to make your owne affirmation à lawe and rule of your faith Which though it appeareth well to be so to your selfe yett will it not be admitted of others And if I should here againe presse you with your owne rule non eredimus quia non â—egâ—nous you would find ei 〈…〉 your rule too strickt or your assertion here that the other Apostles committed to writinge that which S. Iohn taughte by worde and omitted to write to be false Choose whether parte you will You see therfore that my reasoninge was not loose but that your iudgment thereon was light Your reason followinge is a miserable begginge of that which is in question and which you should prooue and is more easilie and trulie denyed then affirmed And for your better instruction I wish you to marke a litle more diligentlie the wordes of the Apostle and you will as I suppose perceiue the argument to be of more force then you tooke it to be of vnles you dissembled For he giuinge the reason why he would not vse paper and inke to make knowne vnto them to whome he wrote those thinges which he had to teache them he saith not that it is for that either he himselfe or anie of the other Apostles had or woulde sett them downe in writinge but because he hoped to be with them and to speake vnto them mouth to mouth Manuall Proofe 2. And the rest I will dispose when I come Where the Apostle euidently sheweth that he reserued something more to be ordayneth by worde then he wrote PILK This is litle to the purpose for the Apostle doth not there speake of matters of faith which is our question but of such things as belonge to order and comelines as it is playne by the word in greeke which properlie signifieth orderinge of rites and matters of decencie not teachinge of doctrines and matters of faith as appeareth 〈◊〉 the same epist cap. 16. 1. concerninge the gaâ—â—â—â—inge for the Saincts as I haue geuen order to the churches of Galatia euen so doe yee The rest saith Aquinas videlicet these thinges that are not of such danger will I dispose of when I come howe you shall obserue them But lett it be graunted that he meaneth doctrines and matters of faith it is an inference without coherence that because he writte them not then therefore he did omitte them for euer or because he wrot them not therefore the rest were silent and writte them not When you consider of these consequences then you may see that it is as farr from your purpose as Gades is from Ganges CHAMP Your second answere to this testimonie is effectuallie frustrated in my reply to your answere of the precedent testimonie and therefore needeth no further confutation Your former answere admittinge it in your owne sence doth expresselie graunt traditions in matters to be obserued and practised in the churche which seeinge they concerne the vse of the Sacraments and other holy obseruations to be kept by all Christians established and ordayned by the Apostles by the expresse commaundement of our Sauiour Christ Matt. 28. 20. I would knowe of you some reason why you deny the authoritie of traditions in thinges to be beleeued and graunt them in matters to be donne and obserued will you say that they are more fallible in the one then in the other To say this onlie without some ground or reason will haue small grace or force Manuall Proofe 3. The Apostles were commanded to teache all nations to obserue all thinges which our Sauiour had commaÌ„ded Which doubtles they fulfilled but they were not commanded in anie place to write all the same neither doth it appeare by anie scripture that they did write all thinges which they taught men to beleeue and obserue This is a demonstration that they taught more then they wrote if nothinge be to beleeued but that which is contayned in holy scripture PILK That Christe charged the Apostles to teach all nations whatsoeuer he commanded which they fulfilled also but he charged them no where to write all The fathers shall answere We knowe not the dispensinge of our saluation from anie where then from them by whome the gospell came to vs which then they preached and after by the will of God deliuered vnto vs in the holy scriptures to be the foundation and piller of our saith S. Aug. saith that when the Euangelists and Apostles did write what God shewed and sayd we may not say that he writte it not for whatsoeuer he would haue vs to read either coÌ„cerninge his wordes or workes he commandeth them as his owne hands to write it If what the Apostles preached after they writte as Ireneus saith If what God commaunded them so to doe as S. August auoucheth Then it plainlie followeth that they writte as much as they preached and that not onlie by the allowance but by the commandment of our Sauiour Christ For they writte nothinge but that with which they were inspired Nowe inspiration is a commandement as Bellarmine confesseth CHAMP Stande to your grounde and doe not flinche from it you say nothinge is to be beleeued but that which is written If you will therefore that it should be beleeued that the Apostles wrot all things they taught shewe it written or acknowledge your ground to be false The scripture testifieth that the Aposties were commanded to teach all thinges necessarie to be obserued but that they were commaunded to write the same it no where appeareth If therefore they did it either they did it by Christs commaundement and then you must needes confesse something necessarie to be beleeued more then is written for it is no where written that he commaunded them to write all thinges they taught Or they did it without his commaundement And then it was not necessarie they shoulde doe it and consequentlie was it not necessarie there should be anie thinge written at all in the newe testament And thoughe they writte nothinge but that was inspired into them yea that they were inspired to write both which thinges you beleeue thoughe you finde neither of them written yett it no where appeareth that they were inspired to write all they had by inspiration You say the fathers shall answere for you but I receiue not theire answere as sufficient vnles you will stande to the fathers testimonie in all other points You promised scripture for all your positions performe therefore your promise or confesse your position of beleeuinge nothinge but that which is written to be false Notwithstandinge because the testimonie of the fathers is venerable with me I will not
it necessarie to beleeue that they wrote the wordes thereof and then it is not to the purpose to proue your positioÌ„ which is of thinges to be beleeued and not of wordes But if by the creede you vnderstande the matter of it and thinges to be beleeued then it is vntrue that the Apostles writte it not and all thinges contayned therein which thinges haue continued in our churche as the obiect of our faith not for tradition onlie as you ignorantly say but because they are recorded in the holy scripture CHAMP Shewe me then in theire writings I meane the Apostles the discention of our Sauiour into hell and the catholicke churche which Luther loued so little that he turned it the christian churche Thoughe we beleeue not onlie the parcells of the creede but the whole creede together And that the Apostles made it which is no where expressed in scripture And if I say ignorantlie that the creede as it is composed by the Apostles and therefore receiued and beleeued of all christians in al ages hath continued in the church vntill this day by tradition only shewe it me written in the scriptures and I will confesse myne ignorance and correct my wordes But seeinge you cannot performe that I tell you that you impudentlie affirme that it hath other continuance then by tradition opposinge tradition to the canonicall scripture onlie Manuall Proofe 7. They taught Baptisme administred by heretikes to be good and therefore S. Aug. speakinge thereof saith Manie thinges which are not found in the Apostles writinges nor in the latter councells yet because they are obserued by the whole churche are beleeued to be deliuered and recommended by none but by theÌ„ Againe he saith There are manie thinges which the whole church doth hold and therefore are well beleeued to be commaunded by the Apostles albeyt they be not found written PILK That Baptisme ministred by heretikes was preached by the Apostles but not written hath as much truth as the rest For whereas Cyprian hath taught that Baptisme of heretikes was not good and therefore to be reiterated S. Aug. crosseth him and prooueth the contrarie out of the ghospell and out of the wordes of the Apostle Ephe. 4. And this is so frequent with that father that it maketh me thinke you haue not read him of that argument but gleaned out of others that might serue your turne So pâ—lpably are you deceiued to thinke that S. August conceiued this to be an vnwritten tradition without ground of scripture for thus he writeth That I may not seeme to prooue it by humane arguments I will bringe foorth certayne documents out of the scripture And whereas Cyprian had taught that for proofe of this we must haue recourse vnto the fountayne of Apostolicall tradition that is the scriptures S. Aug approoueth it and saith that the Apostles deliuered that there is one God one Christe one baptisme and therefore baptisme of heretikes is firme and not to be repeated When then he saith of this as of other thinges that they are not founde in the Apostles writinges nor in latter councells c. And there be manie thinges which the whole churche doth holde and therfore are well beleeued to be commended by the Apostles albeyt they be not found written Which wordes are in his 2. booke contra Donatistas cap. 7. and not lib. 5. cap. 27. as you cited them His meaninge is they are not written in so manie wordes but the groundes of them are layd in the scriptures and thence necessarilie they may be concluded This is playne out of Aug. for hauinge vttered these wordes vrged by you when he draweth to an ende of this disputation he thus concludeth It might suffice that our reasons beinge so often repeated and diuerselie debated and handled in disputinge and the documents of holy scripture beinge added and so manie testimonies of Cyprian concurringe By this tyme I thinke the weaker sorte of men vnderstande that the baptisme of Christe cannot be violated by the peruersnes of the partie that geueth or receiueth it Loe howe be bringeth documents out of scripture to prooue that the peruersnes of heretikes peruerteth not the baptisme of Christe and therfore baptisme ministred by hereticks is good CHAMP Is it be written by the Apostles that the Baptisme of heretikes is sufficient and not to be reiterated why doe not you shewe the place and confound your aduersarie But you had rather impudeÌ„tlie affirme an vntruth theÌ„ ingeniously acknowledg a cleare veritie As thoughe if it hadd been so clearly fully taught in holy scripture as you are bound to shewe it S. Cyprian who had a much iudgmeÌ„t to discerne it as you att least and noe lesse good will to acknowledge it nor yett lesse industrie and diligence to seeke it could not he haue esped it And howsoeuer here you wilfullie wrangle out of S. Aug as though he acknowledged not the Baptisme of heretikes by tradition yett two pages after you in expresse wordes confesse that he saith neither baptisme of infants nor by heretikes are written in scripture And though you interpret him both here and there to meane that they are not founde written in so manie wordes but that the groundes notwithstandinge from whence they may be necessarilie concluded are layd in the scriptures yett is this your glosse meerelie voluntarie clearlie against S. August meaninge and common sence Or iâ— not why doe not you frame some argument which by necessary consequence may conclude out of the groundes layd in scripture abstractinge from the authoritie of the churche and tradition either of these two articles But it is more easie for you to affirme twentie positions then to prooue one Manuall catholike position 2. The Catholike churche doth and ought to beleeue those thinges which the Apostles deliuered by worde of mouth without writinge in the same degree of faith with those that are written PILK For answere vnto this lett the iudicious reader obserue that it is the vsuall doctrine of Papists to teach that all points of Christian beliefe which are necessarie for all men were publikelie preached by the Apostles to all men and recorded in the register of holy scripture But besides these there were diuers thinges committed to prelats and priests that were more perfect men which they taught them a parte accordinge to that which S. Paule saith we speake wisdome amonge them that are perfect And these be theire traditions which they would haue equallie credited with the scriptures Nowe this was the verie doctrine of the auncient heretikes Valentinians Cerintheans Marcionists c. For abusinge the scripture and aduancinge traditioÌ„s grounded on the same foundation as the fathers tell vs. And these be thinges which the protestants denie to be equall with the scriptures for they graunt that the Apostles in the beginninge of theire embassage write not the whole doctrine which they preached but deliuered parte by worde of mouth and parte by writinge howbeit they consigned the Canon of the scripture and