Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n
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A68951
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A reformation of a Catholike deformed: by M. W. Perkins Wherein the chiefe controuersies in religion, are methodically, and learnedly handled. Made by D. B. p. The former part.; Reformation of a Catholike deformed: by M. W. Perkins. Part 1
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Bishop, William, 1554?-1624.
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1604
(1604)
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STC 3096; ESTC S120947
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193,183
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196
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this wee must beleeue that there is nothing else which wee may beleeue ANSWERE By the Gospell there is vnderstood all our Christian doctrine written and vnwritten and not onelie the written worde of the foure Euangelists else wee should not beleeue the Actes of the Apostles or their Epistles no more than Traditions which Christian doctrine written and vnwritten we onely beleeue by diuine faith to all other Authors we giue such credit as their writings do deserue If anie man desire to see TERTVLLIANS judgement of Traditions let him read his booke of prescriptions against Heretikes where he auerreth that Traditions serue better than the Scriptures themselues to confute all Heresies Heretikes alwaies either not allowing all the bookes of Scripture or else peruerting the sense and meaning of the Scriptures And in his booke De Corona militis he formallie proposeth this question Whether Traditions vnwritten are to be admitted or no and answereth by manie instances that they must be receiued concluding thus For these and the like poynts if thou require law out of the Scriptures thou shalt finde none but Tradition is alleadged to be the Author of them Custome the confirmer and Faith the obseruer So that nothing is more certaine than that TERTVLLIAN thought vnwritten Traditions necessarie to be beleeued Come we now vnto his second testimonie out of S. IEROM * In cap. 23 Mat. who writing as he saith of an opinion that S. IOHN Baptist was killed because he foretold the comming of Christ the good-man would saye ZACHARIE S. IOHNS Father for the Scripture sheweth plainely why S. IOHN lost his head * Mat. 14 But S. IEROM there sayeth this Because it hath not authoritie from Scriptures may as easelie be contemned as approoued But of which particular M. P. shewing himselfe a doughtie Logician would inforce an vniuersall that sorsooth all may be contemned that is not proued by Scripture As if you would prooue no Protestant to bee skilfull in the art of true reasoning because M. P. behaues himselfe in it so vnskilfully But S. IEROM in the same place declareth why that might be as easely reprooued as allowed not hauing anie ground in the Scripture because saith he It is taken out of the dreames of some Apocryphall writings opposing Scripture to other improoued writings and not to approoued Traditions to which hee saith in his Dialogues against the Luciferians before the middle That the Church of God doth attribute the like authoritie as it doth vnto the written Law M. P. His third Author is S. AVGVSTINE * Lib. 2. de doct Chri. cap. 9. In those things which are plainely set downe in Scriptures are found all those poynts which containe faith and maners of liuing well ANSWERE All things necessarie to be beleeued of euerie simple Christian vnder paine of damnation that is the Articles of our Beleefe are contayned in the Scriptures but not the resolution of harder matters much lesse of all difficulties which the more learned must expressely beleeue if they will be saued which distinction S. AVGVSTINE else-where doth signifie * De peccatorū meritis cap. vlt. And is gathered out of manie other places of his workes as in that matter of rebaptizing them who became Catholikes after they had bene baptized by Heretikes He saith * Lib. 5. de bapt contra Donat. cap. 23. The Apostles truely haue commanded nothing hereof in their writings but that custome which was layed against S. CYPRIAN is to bee beleeued to haue flowed from an Apostolicall tradition as there be many things which the vniuersall Church holdeth and therefore are to be beleeued The same saith he of the custome of the Church in Baptizing infants * De genes ad litra lib. 10. cap. 23. And in his Epist 174. of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is not in the holy Scripture and yet neuerthelesse is defended to be vsed in the assertion of faith As also saieth he we neuer read in those bookes that the Father is vnbegotten and yet wee hold that he is so to be called * Lib. 3. cap 3. cont max Arianum And S. AVGVSTINE holdes that the holie Ghost is to be adored though it be not written in the word The like of the perpetuall Virginitie of our B. Ladie * Haeresi 4. out of which and many more such like we gather most manifestlie that S. AVGVSTINE thought many matters of faith not to be contayned in the written worde but to be taken out of the Churches treasurie of Traditions M. P. His last testimonie is taken out of Vincentius Lirinensis who sayth as he reporteth that the Canon of the Scripture is perfecte and fullie sufficient for all things ANSWERE I thinke that there is no such sentence to be found in him he saies by way of objection What neede we make recourse vnto the authoritie of the Ecclesiasticall vnderstanding if the Canon of the Scripture be perfect Hee affirmeth not that they be fullie sufficient to determine all controuersies in religion but throughout all his booke he prooues the cleane contrarie that no heresie can be certainelie confuted and suppressed by only Scriptures without we take with it the sense and interpretation of the Catholike Church Thus M. P. hauing ended with the Law Testimonie addeth in a postscript two other slender reasons vnto his former The first that Christ and his Apostles vsed alwaies to confirme their doctrine with the testimonies of Scriptures and not with Tradition ANSWERE Fist for our Sauiour CHRIST IESVS he out of his diuine wisdome deliuered his doctrine most commonly in his owne name But I saye vnto you And verie seldome confirmeth it with any testimonie out of the Law The Euangelists do often note how CHRIST fulfilled the old prophecies but neuer or very seldome seeke to confirme his doctrine by testimonies their owne they doe sometimes but to saye they neuer wrote any thinge out of Tradition proceedes of most grosse ignorance Where had Saint MATHEVV the adoring of the Sages S. IOHN Baptists preaching briefelie that was done before his owne conuersion but by Tradition S. MARK wrote the most part of his Gospell out of Tradition receiued from S. PETER as witnesseth EVSEBIVS * Lib. 2. hist cap. 14. S. LVLE testifyeth of himselfe that he wrote his whole Gospell * Cap. 1. as he had receiued it by Tradition from them who were eye-witnesses What desperate carelesnesse was it then to affirme that the Apostles neuer vsed Tradition to confirme any doctrine when some of them built not onely parcels but their whole Gospels vpon Traditions His other reason is that if we beleeue vnwritten Traditions were necessarie to saluation then we must aswell beleeue the writings of the auncient Fathers as the writings of the Apostles because Apostolicall Traditions are not else-where to be sound but in their bookes but that were absurde for they might erre ANSWERE That doth not follow for three causes First Apostolicall Traditions are aswel kept in
had and giue it to the poore and come and follow him and then should haue a treasure in heauen These words are so expresse and euident that there can be but one way to shift from them which M. P. flyeth vnto Pag. 244. to witt that these wordes were onely meant vnto that yong man and not to be applyed vnto any others no more than those wordes to ABRAHAM of sacrificing his sonne ISAAC But this seely shift of our poore Protestants is confuted manifestly in the same chapter of Sainte MATTHEVV where a little after S. PETER sayeth Lord behold we haue left all things and haue followed thee what rewarde shall we therefore haue We haue done as S. HIEROM expoundeth it and the verie sequele of the text doth plainely require that which thou commaundest in the wordes before to that yong man What answere made our Sauiour That his commandement was onely meant vnto that young man and that they had done foolishlie in so doing nothing lesse but promiseth that they shall therefore sit with him in twelue seates iudging the twelue tribes of Israel And that who-so-euer would forsake Father Mother Landes goodes c. for his sake should receiue an hundreth fold and possesse life euerlasting Can any thing be more plaine out of the word of God it selfe than that not this or that man but whosoeuer shall forsake all for Christ doeth verie blessedlie And if neede were I could cite most of the auncient Fathers teaching those wordes of Christ Goe and sell all to be an heauenly counsell giuen generallie vnto all S. ANTONY tooke them spoken to him In vita eius apud Athanas S. AVGVSTINE to him ad Hilarium * Epist 89. to omit latter Religious men I will onely cite S. HIEROM who doeth briefely both declare our Catholike doctrine and shewes also who was the Author of the Protestants opinion * Lib. cont vigilant saying thus To that which thou affirmest that they doe better who vse their goods and do by little and litle distribute to the poore the profites of their possessions then others who selling them giue all at once not I but our Lord shall answere If thou wilt bee perfect goe and sell all thou hast and giue it to the poore CHRIST speaketh to him that will be perfect not to the young man onely who with the Apostles forsooke both father shippe and nettes That which thou VIGILANTIVS commendest obtayneth the second and third degree so that the first which is to sell all at once bee preferred before the seconde and thirde Which is to giue by little and little the fruite of our reuenues to the poore I might confirme this former argument with the example of the foresaide best Christians * Act 4. who hauing possessions and landes solde all and brought the price of them and layde it at the Apostles feete and more yet enforce it by the fact of ANANIAS and SAPHIRA his wife who hauing sold all theirs presented but part of the money vnto the Apostles and reserued the rest vnto them selues Be-like they were of M. P. his minde that it is better to giue then to receiue and therefore kept part to that purpose but they therefore were both punished with present death Which prooueth invincibly both how laudable it is to sell all and howe dangerous to halte in such holy workes But to auoyde prolixitie I doe but poynt at the places And that ANANIAS as the rest had promised this to God which is a Vowe it appeareth in the text where it is saide that hee lyed not vnto men but vnto God in not performing his promise And here we deduce verie cleerelie that such a Vowe is much pleasing vnto God thus That which is commended by our Sauiours owne both example and doctrine and was practized by the Apostles and most holy Christians that may be Vowed very laudablie but to sell all and giue it to the poore is such Nowe one worde of obedience before wee ende this question This Vowe sayeth M. P. is against Christian libertie whereby we haue granted vs a free vse of all things indifferent and therefore to bee bounde to certaine meates and apparrell is intollerable but this reason hath bene reprooued alreadie * Gal. 5.10 he addeth stand fast in the libertie wherein Christ hath made you free Doeth your breath or heart fayle you Sir that you stop thus in the middest of a sentence the rest belike discouereth the fraud of it And wrap not your selues againe in the yoke of bondage to wit bynde not yor selues to the obseruation of MOSES Law as yee shall doe if ye be Circumcised All this is good but doeth it followe hereof that in the Law of grace wee should not obey our superiours nor obserue such good orders as Holie Church hath approoued nothing lesse but happie is that necessitie as S. AVGVSTINE witnesseth which holdeth vs close to those things which be better to doe than to leaue vndone otherwise our weaknesse would quickly shrinke backe And againe if Christs sufferings without his obedience as M. P. himselfe testifyeth Pag. 61. had not bene avayleable for our justifycation No doubt but those workes which are garnished with the vertue of obedience are more acceptable in Gods sight Finally M. P. sayeth that we magnifie these three Vowes of Chastitie pouertie and obedience And good reason haue wee so to do as hath bene shewed but sayeth he for the Vowe of Baptisme we hath made no such account of it as they do which is not so We holde indeed that the couenant which we make in Baptisme is no Vow but a full and assured promise to beleeue in God to renounce the deuill and all his workes and to keepe all Gods commandements which we keepe or do our best indeuour to keepe at least wee teach not as the Protestants doe that they are impossible to be kept for that is enough to discourage any man from endeuouring to keepe them And as touching the Vowe which he saith wee made in our Creation we remember nothing of it nor neuer heard speake of it by any good author not that we make or meane we any Vowes when we receiue the B. Sacrament These be but nouelties of words and the ravening of some decayed wits FIRST OF IMAGES M. PERK pag. 170. OVR CONSENTS WEE Acknowledge the ciuill vse of Images as freelie and truelie as the Church of Rome doeth By ciuill vse I vnderstande that which is made of them in the common societie of men out of the appoynted places of the solemne worshippe of GOD And this to bee lawfull appeareth because the arts of paynting and grauing are the Ordinances of GOD and to be skilfull in them is the gift of GOD as the example of BEZALEEL and AHOLIAB declare * Exod. 35. This vse of Images may be in sundrie things First in adoring and setting forth of buyldings so the Lord commaunded his Temple to bee adorned with Images of Palme-trees and Pomegranates of