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church_n	heathen_a	let_v	publican_n	2,742	5	10.9981	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17191	A most godly and learned discourse of the woorthynesse, authoritie, and sufficiencie of the holy scripture also of the cleerenesse, and plainnesse of the same, and of the true vse thereof. Wherin is discussed this famous question: whether the canonical scriptures haue authoritie from the church, or rather the church receiue authoritie from the Scriptures. By occasion wherof are touched the dignities and duties of the church, touching traditions, with aunswere to all obiections. Translated out of Latine into English, by Iohn Tomkys: and dedicated to the right honorable Sir Richarde Pipe, knight, lorde maior of the citie of London.; De scripturae sanctae praestantia. English.	Tomkys, John.; Bullinger, Heinrich, 1504-1575.	1579 (1579)	STC 4067; ESTC S112817	96,469	260

will is to bee celebrated both heree in the euerlasting life Therfore it is godlinesse diligently to collect with thankful minde to cōsider all the giftes all the riches wherewith the Church is adorned enriched Shee hath the sōne of God for her head spouse and sauiour vnto whom she is maried in faith shee hath the ioyfull newes of the Gospel she hath the holy Ghost for her gouernour shee hath the ministerie prolonged by the Fathers the Prophetes Christ the Apostles which haue most plentifully bestowed vpon her as vpon a riche treasure house as saith Irenaeus all things apperteyning to trueth that euerie one which will may drawe forth of her the drinke of life shee hath Pastours authoritie to call Ministers for the setting forth and conseruing of the gospel of whom it is writtē How beautiful are the feete of thē which bring good tidings of peace bring good tidings of good things Shee hath excellent gifts vnderstanding the inerpretation of doctrine giuen by diuine inspiration shee hath also the administration of Sacramentes a certaine iurisdiction of her own lawes of her owne The holy Scripture adorning her with marueilous prayses calleth her thoroughly ●re The paradise of the great worke●n The citie of the holy king cleare as ●e dawning of the daye bright as the ●orning beautifull as the Moone elect the Sūne who smelleth of ointments ●tandeth at the right hande of the king ●cked with imbrodered gardes of diuers ●●lours who hath no obscure thing and 〈◊〉 through Christ altogither most white Therefore because the sweete name of the Church is ful of worthinesse re●erence herevpon it cōmeth to passe that ●anie eloquent learned men doe with ●ately plentiful gorgious speache ex●ll amplifie exaggerate the maiestie ●reheminence authoritie dignitie ther●f so that they doe affirme that she hath ●orce and power aboue the written word ●f God thinke that Christians ought ●o giue place to her in all thinges For ●herevpon the aduersaries of the trueth gather that the Church is more ancient than the Scripture that the Scripture hath her authoritie from the Church that the Church of the Fathers continued 2449. yeares before anie thing was written touching religion Also that the Church of the new Testament was gathered togither many yeres with the liuely voyce of the Gospell before any thing was written by the Apostles And because the Church receiued the Scripture allowed it by her owne iudgement that the authoritie of the Church which receiued and allowed is greater than the authoritie of the Scriptures which were receiued and allowed And therefore that the authoritie of the Church is not only not inferiour not only equall but rather superiour and better knowen than the authoritie of the scripture For the Church hath approued the chiefest scriptures to be Canonical whiche approbation they neither had of thēselues nor of their authours Otherwise what cause is there why wee should receiue the Gospell of S. Marke whiche sawe not Christ and yet not receiue the Gospell of Nicodemus which nowe also is extant who notwithstanding both saw Christ and was his schollar Moreouer why is the Gospell of Luke the disciple admitted the gospel of Bartholomewe the Apostle reiected Truelie they haue ●r authoritie not from the authours ●n whome they come but from the ●●urch No holy Scripture doth shewe 〈◊〉 the rest of the Scriptures which we ●e are canonical and worthie credite 〈◊〉 cōsent of the Church hath made them ●benticall So that Augustine saieth ●ll I would not beleeue the Gospell ●re it not that the authoritie of the ●tholicall Church doeth moue mee ●o And especially because there were ●e in times past which both reiected ●o written gospels the Euangelistes ●o which wrote them sticking forsooth ●ought false religion to Christ only who ●ither wrote him self neither comman●●d to be written but to be preached and ●●lled his doctrine not scripture that is 〈◊〉 say writing but the Gospell that is to ●y ioyfull newes But if wee giue place ●rein to the Church as by right wee ●●ght al to giue place vnto her why then ●ould we not also giue place vnto her in ●e matter of the holy Sacramentes in ●●her pointes That the Apostles did ●rite certaine things not that their wri●●ngs shold rule our faith religion but ●at their writings should rather serue our faith and religion And that it is not to be thought that the Apostles were able to comprehend in their Epistles al the preceptes and mysteries of our faith and of christian doctrine that Christ and his Apostles in so many yeres preached much more than could be cōprehended within the narow roome of the bokes of the new testament And that therefore so short an abridgemēt of the gospell was put in writing that the greatest part thereof as a rich treasure might be left to the traditions fastened in the inward bowels of the church That therefore many things are to be beleeued which are not written that the constant sentence of the church ought to be accepted as the gospel that therefore in matter of doubt in anie raised cōtrouersie the authoritie of the traditiō of the church is more effectuall to cause credit to be giuen to proue certainly then the scriptures because the tradition is more euident and plaine altogether vnflexible when as contrarilie the Scriptures be oftentimes very obscure and do suffer them selues to be wrested applied to a diuers meaning yea to that meaning which any shall presume with him selfe ●efore hand easily to be shifted of with 〈◊〉 craftie exposition And that therefore the common sentence of the tradition of the church is the certaine and inflexible ●●le of the Scriptures And to be briefe ●hat the exactest squier paterne rule of ●●ith is not the scripture but the iudgement of the Church That the saying of Christe is If hee will not heare the church let him be to thee as an heathē man a Publicane That the church is the piller ground of trueth and that ●he can not erre because Christ promised to her the holy Ghost which shoulde leade her into al truth S. Paul exhorteth vs saying Brethren stand fast holde the ordinances which yee haue bene taught c. To be brief they go about to proue by the testimonie of the Prophete Hieremie that this is the propertie of the doctrine of the newe testamēt which first was published by Christ and afterward by the instruction of the holy ghost was preached by the Apostles spread abroad throughout the whole world wherby God would haue it to be knowen frō the doctrine of the olde testament that it should neither bee ingraued in tables of stone nor written with inke and paper That the Apostles were commāded by Christ to preach not to write Finally they dispute much of the briefnesse insufficiencie flexiblenesse ambiguitie and

shall not be so But they woulde haue vs to departe from the most manifest meaning of the place and to receiue I knowe not what maner of interpretations The Lawe of God forbiddeth the setting vp of Images to be woorshipped but they will haue Images to be and to be woorshipped in Temples and in Oratories Paule sayth Let no man iudge you in meate or in drinke And yet they brought in the superstitious choyse of meates so that they accompt it an offence more haynous than adulterie to eate fleshe on the Friday or in Lent. The Scripture decreeth that wee are iustified by fayth without woorkes but they by their exposition contende that wee are iustified by woorkes I beseech you is this to in●erprete the Scriptures or to shift them of What man is there so blinde which seeth and perceiueth not that ●heir gloses be altogether cleane con●rary to the text They haue adiudged his power of interpreting the Scriptures ●o be as it were their owne of right and ●o them onely appertaining that they ●ay at theire pleasure bring into the Church strange iudgementes and vnknowen doctrines and that they may as shall seeme best vnto them fight against the woord of god For their right of authenticall interpretation will take awaie all scruple Neither can there be anie testimonie obiected to the contrarie be it neuer so cleare be it neuer so strong but they will by one meanes or by an other shift it of For they will verie easely escape by one cauill or an other because against all contrarie reasons this shal be a brasen walle Thus the church iudgeth If anie man haue say they the interpretation of the Church of Rome touching any place of Scripture although he neither knowe nor vnderstande whether it doe or how it may agree with the words of Scripture yet hath he the verie word of god Nowe the interpretation of the Church of Rome shal be Behold heere are two swoordes that is to say the Bishoppe of Rome hath the administration of either swoorde both of the spirituall and politique Elizeus by a miracle made bitter waters sweet by casting salt into them that is there must be in the Churche exorcised water and hallowed salte whose efficacie we must beleeue to be of great force against the Diuell and against sinnes This doe in the remembrance of me That is Priests must offer in the Masse the body and blood of the Lord for the quicke and the dead If thou reclaime that these be corruptions not interpretations thou shalt heare them say The Church so vnderstādeth these places And wilt thou reiect the interpretation of the Church Therefore no man maie presume to gainesay this Dictatourlike Pretorlike power of interpreting which doubteth not thus to peruert the wordes of Scripture according to their owne opinions The Priests Scribes Pharisies of the Iewes in times past dealt none otherwise but Christ that true Priest hath confuted their wicked and peruerse interpretations God commāded in the Law Honour thy father and thy mother but the Priests moued through couetousnesse set this commandement at large and weakned it by absoluing the children from the burden of nourishing their Parentes perswading them to offer daintie and fatte oblations which might profite their parentes more than foode The Lorde hath gainsayde them and witnessed that the commaundement of GOD is corrupted and made of none effect by this craftie interpretation They did also dispense with oathes and taught that some oathes were strong some weake and here the Lorde opposed himselfe also against their false expositions and confuted their interpretations They taught also that the Lawe of God is fulfilled by outward discipline if men doe conforme them selues therevnto by outwarde woorkes onely But Christ laying away their peeuish gloses hath declared that the Lawe doeth not onelie require outwarde workes but also godly and holy motions of the minde Therefore let the Lawe of proouing interpretations remaine inuiolated neither muste wee yeelde to all maner interpretations without iudgement For the Church hath the right and libertie to iudge as sayeth Paule Let the other iudge My purpose was saith Ierome not to drawe the Scriptures to my wil but to saye that which I vnderstoode the Scriptures would For it is the duetie of a Commentatour to expound not what hee will him selfe but what he meaneth whome hee doeth interprete Otherwise if he shall speake contrarie things he shall not be an interpreter but his aduersarie whome hee taketh vpon him to expounde Truely wheresoeuer I doe not interprete the Scriptures but speake freely of mine owne iudgement let him reprooue me that will. Thus much hath Ierome Certainly you shall neuer finde in the Fathers that the Scriptures are hereby to be vnderstoode because this or that Councell did thus or thus interprete them And Augustine in his bookes of Christian doctrine doeth sette foorth verie manie wayes of interpreting the Scriptures and yet doeth he neuer bind vs either to Councels or to the Churche The .xviij. Chapter Of the saying of Christ If he will not heare the Church let him be vnto thee as an heathen man and a Publicane THey which seeke a certaine Lord-like gouernment of all religion vnder the counterfeit colour of the Church because they see little aide or none in the Scripture holde forth before vs the masking visard of the Church as a Gorgons heade that wee being amased therewith might rashly imbrace all manner of decrees all kinde of traditions and interpretations which please them onelye without examination without inquisition and without doubt Therefore that they may call vs backe from the Scripture to the constitutions of the Church they saye That Christ sayde If he will not heare the Church let him be vnto thee as an heathen man and a Publicane Although Christ in that place intreated not of the exposition of Scriptures but onelie of brotherly correction yet wee graunt that the Church is to be heard so farre foorth as she iudgeth answereth and speaketh foorth of GOD his woorde But if she vtter the deuises of men and traditions onely we ought to passe by her with deafe eares especially when shee proposeth thinges contrarie to GOD his worde For this saying of Paule standeth fast Though an Angel from Heauē preach anie other Gospel let him be accursed And the saying of Ierome is That is the doctrine of the holie Ghost which is set foorth in the Canonicall Scriptures against the which if Councels decree anie thing I count it wickednesse To be briefe we doe inclose the Church in the worde of the Lord which ought to bee set before her eyes as a sure and certain rule Neither can the church in so greate varietie and multitude of sectes and Heresies condemning one an other be declared by any other meanes because men are euerie where because euerie one will sweare that the Church is with them as lately

holy profitable and necessarie argument I began foorthwith to read the Booke with great affection and easily perceiued that the authour being indued with singular humanitie and modestie did of purpose conceale his name not regarding to make it knowen For hee woulde not seeke to gette any praise of the worlde which manie foolishly doe by setting foorth Bookes but was rather willing to further extolle and sette foorth the glorie of GOD onely and of his woorde I sawe also in the man a feruent desire to bringe the syncerenesse of pure Religion to knowledge and to further the manifest profite of the louers of godlinesse To bee briefe I acknowledged the giftes of God to appeare in this man I meane his dexteritie and happinesse in handeling this famous argument hauing beene long in controuersie among the learned and diuersly expounded For whatsoeuer may be spoken thereof necessarily and profitably hee hath wholy conteined it in this booke yea and that briefely euidently plainly and in verie good order For hee hath distinguished the whole matter being otherwise copious into Chapters then hath ●ee placed before euery Chapter the Argument so that euen by these briefe Chapters thou mayest easily perceiue the scope and ende of the whole Booke the summe and maner of the handeling of the ●ame Wherevpon I haue prefixed before this woorke the Title of the Booke fra●ed of the matter handeled therein that thou mayest euen with one viewe and foorthwith in the beginning beholde all thinges in a verie briefe summe whiche are conteined in this Booke He setteth foorth plainely and confirmeth all his matters especially as it is meete by the holie Scriptures then also by fitte testimonies of the blessed auncient Fathers Neither hath this his profitable trauaile ●iked mee onelie but also certaine other godlye and learned men vnto whome thou mayest worthilie ascribe more than vnto mee I haue therefore placed this mine Epistle before this Booke least the woorke beeing sette foorth without ●he Authours name shoulde eyther ●ee little regarded or suspected of thee Neither shall this Booke bee namelesse if it meete with anie stoute aduersarie which can assaile it and oppugne it Those thinges which I haue hitherto spoken in praise of this booke thou shalt by experiēce and with admiration witnesse to be true so that thou reade it diligently and with a sincere minde and also weigh it duely Farewell gentle Reader From Zurich the moneth of August 1571. ❧ A briefe summe of the chiefest pointes handeled in this Booke as it is deuided by Chapters THE reasons of those which doe extoll the authoritie of the Church abooue the Scriptures Cap. 1. Fol. 1 The deceitfulnesse of them is reprooued which doe diminish the authothoritie of the Scripture wherevpon the authoritie of the church doeth depend Cap. 2. Fol. 4. That the authoritie of the Scripture is greatest because it containeth the woorde of God which in the begining was deliuered to the church by liuely voice cap. 3. Fol. 8. The place of Hieremie his 31. chapter is discussed also it is shewed that the Apostles wrote the Gospel by the will of god cap. 4. Fol. 14. That all things which concerne faith godlinesse and saluation are fully and sufficiently contained in the Scripture cap. 5. Fol. 26. That the Scripture was giuen by inspiration to correct euill manners to confute heresies that forth of it onely controuersies must be iudged And that it is neither darke nor doubfull cap. 6. Fol. 30. Whervpon the Scripture is called Canonical Also testimonies of the Fathers touching the most excellent authoritie thereof cap. 7. Fol. 42. That the authoritie of the Canonicall Scripture is more excellent then the Councels the Fathers yea then the decrees and ordinaunces of all men Cap. 8. Fol. 44. That the Canonical Scripture hath the chiefe perfection of her authoritie from the holie Ghoste and of her selfe And cōtrarily that the Church receiueth her authoritie from the Scripture cap. 9. Fol. 51. Howe the Canon of the newe Testament was ordained and that it hath authoritie of it selfe and from the Authors thereof and that the authoritie of the Church is maintayned thereby cap. 10. Fol. 55. Howe vngodly and wicked it is to preach without the warrant of holy Scripture cap. 11. Fol. 11. That the true Church is to bee sought in the Scripture to bee included ded therein and to be esteemed by the Scriptures cap. 12. Fol. 65. Of the dueties of the Church about the Scriptures and first of this that she keepeth the holy Bookes of the scripture as a witnesse cap. 13. Fol. 69. That the Church publisheth the word of god cap. 14. Fol. 70. That the Church discerneth the Books of holy Scripture from Apocryphall and counterfaits cap. 15. Fol. 71. Of the saying of Augustine I would not beleeue the Gospel but that the authoritie of the Church mooueth mee also cap. 16. Fol. 74. Of the gift of interpretation Cap. 17. Fol. 77. Of the the saying of Christ If he will not heare the Church let him be vnto thee as an Heathen man and a Pubcan Mat. 18.19 cap. 18. fol. 82. Of the saying of Paule The Church is the piller and grounde of the trueth 1. Tim. 3.15 Chap. 19. Fol. 84. Of the saying of Paule Brethren stand fast and holde the ordinances which ye haue taught whether it be by our preaching or by our Epistle 2. Thes 2.15 Chap. 20. Fol. 86. That the doctrine which the Apostles taught by liuely voyce and which they deliuered in writing is all one and that this is the fourme of the traditions of the Apostles if they agree with the holie Scriptures Chap. 21. Fol. 88. A perfite proofe of those Traditions which are indeede the Apostles foorth of the moste auncient Writers Irenaeus and Tertullianus Chap. 22. Fol. 91. Of the subtiltie and deceitfulnesse of Sophisters which vse guilefully the woorde Tradition which is diuersly taken Chap. 23. Fol. 101. Of the vncertaintie repugnancie and varietie of Traditions Chap. 24. Fol. 104. That the Church hath beene deceiued euen from the Apostles time vnder the pretence of Traditions Chap. 25. Fol. 106. A Catalogue of the Doctors and writers whose testimonies the authour of this Treatise doth alledge in this Booke Ambrose Athanasius Augustine Basil Chrysostome Clemens Cusanus Cyprian Cyril Epiphanius Enagrius Eusebius Gerson Gratian Hillarie Hyperius Ierome Irenaeus Lactantius Nicephorus Origen Panormitanus Philaster Saluianus Sozomenus Tertullian Theodoretus Theophilactus Whether the holie Scripture haue authoritie from the Church Or whether the Church doe rather take authoritie from the holie Scripture The first Chapter The reasons of those which do extoll the authoritie of the Church aboue the Scripture THE chiefest reuerence after God God his woorde is due to the Churche Christe his spouse whiche God so dearelie loued that his will was that his onely begotten sonne should be a sacrifice for the same whome he endueth with his spirit that the sayde Church may be the temple and image of God wherein his