Heathers Heathens Ibid put out Math. 28. P. 63. Captiuite Captiuate Ibid. Madmes Madnesse THE CONTENTS THE cause of vvriting this manifest pag. 1. The reall Motiues of making his Search into matters of Religion p. 2. A fitt disposition for the finding out the truth of Religion p. 4. The false deating of Protestant vvriters acknovvledged by themselues p. 6. The blasphemous absurdities of Protestants auouching the Church to haue perished p. 7 The vnion of Sectaries vvhich principally consistes in their common conspiracy against the Romane and Catholique Church VVhat it argues p. 8. The reason vvhy none vvith à safe conscience can adheare to the English Church p 9. The guile full deceipt of Heritickes pretending to flie to the Scripture p. 10. VVhether Protestants haue infallibly any true Scripture to dispute out of or to build their faith on from the 10. to the 13. Theire falsifying the Scriptures and vnconscionable dealing in commending them to the people for the pure vvord of God p. 14. That Protestants can not proue any thing assuredly out of Scripture p. 16. The cunning of Heretickes in affirming the Church can erre that they take avvay all meanes of ending controuersies in Religion p. 17. The manifold old heresies Protestants haue renevved p. 18. to the 20. Their contempt of the Churches authority makes them guilty of Antichristian pride p. 20. VVhat effect the consideration of the Prementioned absurdities vvrought p. 21. The perpetuall visibility or succession of Pastours as the marke of Christes Church vvhich is but one established p. 22. of vvhich also p. 66. c. That the Fathers fled therevnto to confute heretikes p. 23. to 26. proued The Argument demonstrating that only the Romane Church is Christs true Church founded on the inseparable marks therof p. 26. Protestants Confessions that their Church vvas not in the ages before Luther but that truth was vnknovvne an vniuersall Apostacy ouer spreading the vvorld till his coming p. 27. to 31. The consequence dravvn from their style of Reformed Church incompatible in points of faith vvith Christs true Church p. 30. Their euasions of the Argument confuted p. 31. A triall by expresse Scripture of the controuerted points of Religion p. 32. to 38. Protestants impious dealing vvith Scriptures p. 39. to 43. A Triall by the auncient Fathers according to Protestants ovvne Confessions p. 44. The deepe hypocrisy of Ievvel the English Protestants grand champion in Appealing to the Fathers p. 47. The vanity also of Witthaker therin p. 48. Also VVillets diabolicall dissimulation in that point p. 49. The exeerable blasphemy vvhich folovveth from Protestāts pretēded Reformation of the Church p. 51. A Further prosecution of the Argument against other Sectes p. 53. Protestants Confessions in behalfe of the Romane Church that she vvas the true Church and that she never fell p. 55. to 61. The issue or result of the former discourse and the Authours Resolution p. 61. 62. c. An Ansvver to the obiection of differring his Conuersion to the Romane Church p. 72. The Fathers testimonies of her p. 68. c. The Conclusion and reason vvhy he so much vseth the Protestants confessions and testimonies p. 75. M. W. P. MANIFESTE TO HIS FRIENDS IN IVSTIFICATION Of his abandoning the English Church and becoming Catholique BEINGE not ignorant but very sensible how falsely my brother is voyced to haue seduced me such is theire phrase they please to vse to become Catholique and againe how temerariously noe lesse vniustly my selfe is accused of Levitie and inconstancy for abandoninge the Protestant reformed Congregation I haue therfore thought it à very behouefull part to declare my selfe breifly by this ensueinge manifest as well to clere my brother as to render your selfe an dmy other best freinds some satisfactory accoumpt in iustification of myne owne Action First then although my brother doe much ioy with the Angells for my Conversion as I doubt not but all godly people doe and might much more haue gloryed had he been the Instrument or Agent therof yet vpon my resolution I assure yow he was soe great à stranger unto it as that he knew me not to be otherwise then à Protestāt before that some weeks after my reconsiliation to the Church of Christ I tould him I was à Catholique Yea soe farr was he from conceavinge any hopes that way as that he ingeniously and playnly tould me that I was one of the prophanest Spiritts that ever he heard speake against his Religion How then was he an Actor in my Conversion to the Catholique Church that was not onely such à stranger to it but allso in à manner dispayringe therof As Concerninge the obiected Levity I sincerly protest it was the due Consideration of the vanityes of these transitory affayrs the vncertaynty of this present life the Innumerable daingers that therin occurre the Dreadfull Iudgement that I was to vndergoe and the fynall sentence of eternall Ioye or misery never dyeing but everlastinge wich I was to receive These important poynts I say seriously pondered and not levity occasioned my search into matters of Religion on the verity or falsety wherof accordingly depends the salvation or damnation of every mans soule which is the Vnum necessarium to vse the Gospell phrase that aboue all affaires is to be regarded What exchange will à man make for his soule Verily by the irrefragable testimony of our Sauiour If he gaynes the whole world he profitts nothinge if he suffer damage therof Vnderstand yee these things that forgett God whilst peradvēture ther will not be any to redeeme yow Ps. 49. Oh all yee who are enthraled by the loue of perissinge riches temporall honnors Carnall freinds and wordly respects who by their actions and deeds deny God nothinge fearinge the fynall sentence of eternall woe or wellfare Oh all yee I say tymely consider and take to hart this most Consequent affaire least hereafter when it will be too late ther wil be none to releive or succor you and therfore lett vs while wee haue tyme worke good for our soules Let vs now I say while it is A nunc acceptabile seeke our Lorde while he may be fownd and be prepared to ascertayne our selues in the knowledge and embracement of the one Catholique Church out of which ther is noe salvation least when wee little thinke of it the Sonne of man will come to call vs to à dreadfull accoumpt and finde vs Et minus habentes ad recte credendum tardos And forasmuch as that in the Inquest after soe weightye an argument ther can be noe worse preparatiue disposition and more disadvantagious to the findinge out of the soule savinge truth then to haue aforehand an over wayueringe conceipt of the one syde and to be prepossest by preiudicate opinion of the other part I was resolued vtterly to divest my selfe of the passions of loue or hatred towards eyther syde and dilligently with the impartiall eye of Charity to looke into the principales of both Catholique and
vrge I saye That if the Catholick Romane Church had departed from any other extant Church that enioyeth à succession of Pastors vp to the Apostles time that they would name the time when she fell away from that Church name the Companie of Christians of more Auncient and of different fayth from whence she is departed Tell where this Christian companie more Auncient is extant Rehearse the succession of their Pastors out of Ecclesiasticall records For seing it is à prophesie drawne from aknowledged Scriptures on all sides and from the acknowledged sence on all sides That Christ Church shall forever enioy continewally Pastors and Doctors for the worke of the Ministrie that is for preaching the worde and administringe the Sacraments The verification of this prophesie can be drawne from noe other testimonie then the evidence of Ecclesiasticall history And truly it is à strange incredible thinge That seeinge Christ Church is soe visible as she is compared to à Tabernacle placed in the sonne to à light not hidd vnder à bushell but placed on à Candlesticke and finally to à Citty of everlastinge foundation builded vpon à mountaine which was in such manner without anie limit of tyme to shine to the world to witt Cheiffly by her Pastors and Teachers the lights therof soe that it cannot be hidd How is it possible that if there were extant any such Auncient Compaine of Christians but that some historie would give some testimonie of her succession of Pastors and Apostolicall Acts and certainlie if men were voide of reason or sence perad venture they might be perswaded that for nine hundred yeares together men had noe eyes noe eares and noe tongues as easilie as that there was à more Aūcient Church which had Pastors that had noe tongues to preach with had such members as had neither eyes nor eares to see and heare their Pastors to administer the worde and Sacraments and yeld anie testimonie that they eyther sawe or heard such Pastors and Doctors and questionles some historians that lived in those dayes would mention the departure of the Romane Church soe renowued for her fayth through the world if she had made anie deperture from such à more Auncient Christian Companie professing à different fayth Wher were the watchmen God placed vpon the walles of his Church that should not hold their peace neither night nor daye Esay 62. were they asleepe and silent when soe notorious à breach was made were the Pastors and Doctors which Christ had given to his Church for the worke of the Ministrie vnto the consummation of the number of the elect and vntill wee mett all in the vnitie of fayth Ephes. 4. were not I saye these Pastors and Doctors able to confirme in sownd doctrine and stoutlie and corragiously even with importunitie to reprehended and argue the Romane Catholiques for the introduction of such grosse errors as Protestants accuse the Romane Church to haue been possessed with for soe maine ages Could they take notice of the least chinkes of the Churches walles that is of the few errors of fayth in comparison of those the Romane Church is accused of by Protestants which eyther Arians Pelagians Marchionists Manicheans c. attempted to haue made And onely were they vnable to argue the Romane Church Or were they partiall or corrupted to be silent and dombe vntill Papistrie over-ran and possessed the whole Christian world And did the Holie Ghost which by Christ infalliblie was promised to abyde forever with these Pastors to teach them all truth forsake them soe maine ages and at last take their flight to à Sacrilegious Luxurious Apostata Martin Luther and à branded Sodomite Iohn Calvin who at last should discover the Romane Churches deperture from the more Auncient Christian Church God knowes in what imaginarie spaces extant to be fownd Credite posteri Noe noe soe farr is the Romane Church from havinge departed from any other more Auncient extant compagny of Christians professinge à different fayth as that her greatest enemyes witnesse the contrarie D. Feild l. 3. de Eccle. C. 13. sayth the Romane Church allwayes had Communion with those Churches which never fell into error D. Sutcliffe allsoe pressed with the truth doth acknowledge in his answere to à Masse Preists petition That the Romane Church never departed from anie visible companie of Christians Bunny in his Treatis of pacification sayth that she allwayes communicated with the true Church and never went from the Christian cōpanie Yea Cassander much magnified by Protestants sayth that the Romane Church is to be reverenced as beinge the true Church of God And Somes in his defence against Penrie sayth that by the Iudgment of all learned men and of all the reformed Churches the true Church is the Papistrie Iohn White in his defence C. 41. in the name of his fellowes sayth wee professe the Romane Church in all ages to haue been the visible Church of God wee never doubt sayth Feild li 3. de Eccl. But that the Churches wherin those holie men S. Bernarde S. Dominike c. did liue and die were the true Churches of God and held the savinge profession of heavenlie truth yea Luther whom with tytle of Father of Protestants M. Whitakers honoreth sayes in his Epist. against the Anabaptist wee confesse that all Christian good is in the Papacie and that from thence it came downe to vs And in the selfe some place he sayth I saye farther that in the Papasie is the true Christianitie yea and the true curnell of Christianitie And Anthonie Saddell in his booke de rebus graniss controversis c. titulo de legitima vocatione Pastorum Ecclesiae reformatae affirmes that sundrie Protestants Confesse that the Ministers with them to be destitute of Lawfull callinge as not havinge à contineual visible succession from the Apostles time which they doe attribute only to the Papists And M. Fu'ke allsoe accordinglie sayth Yow can name the notable persons in all ages in their government and ministrie and especially the succession of the Popes yow can rehearse in order vpon your fingers soe he in his auswere to à Counterfett Catholique It beinge then made manifest by the Text of Canonicall Scriptures the testimonies of the approved auncient Fathers yea and from the plaine Confession of the Learned Protest so powerfull is truth as she extorts weapons from her adversaries in her owne defence that it is an insepable true marke of Christ his Church his spowse which is but one that she shall allwayes enioy Pastors and Doctors rightly to administer the word and Sacraments Insomuch as wher there is à cessatiō or want of these Pastors given for the worke of the Ministrie vntill wee all meet in the vnity of fayth There can be noe Church and consequently noe salvation And seeing alsoe this Marke agreeth not with Protest or any other congregation saue only the Romane Church as hath aboundontly bin declared it followeth by à necessary sequell that the Romane Church is the onely Church to which
reason as ever auy Sect for if these plaintiffes that accuse the Roman Church of Error superstition Noveltye and Idolatrie be vrged to produce any playne place of holy writt to proue their accusation for example sake wher in holy writt it is syad That Gods Commaundements are impossible to be kept or where in holy writt ther is any prohibition to craue the assistance of the heavenly Saints to ioyne their prayers with ours to our Lorde Iesus Christ that wee may be made worthie of this promises c. the whole pack of them are not able to produce not soe much as one expresse text to that purpose but givinge slipp to the demaund in question they fly to bye difficultyes fabulous or impertinent narrations relatinge many tales of Cockes and Bulles of this Pope and that Pope of this Bissopp or that Fryer Soe destitute are they of the ayde of holy writt which vaynely and frequently they pretend soe that the sayeinge of the holy Prophet is well verifyed in them The vngodly haue tould me their fables but not as thy Lawe Ps. 118. But wheter haue these frivolous impertinences of Protestants wrested my discourse To retorne then to the Byble on which solye they pretend to build all their fayth although it be not controuerted betuene Catholiques and Protestants or any other nomynated Christians whether God hath any worde written which is infallable vsually called the holy Scripture As it is one thinge to question whether ther be à Kinge of Spayne and another thing wether Phillip or Ferdinando be the Kinge therof For that though the first to witt that ther is à Kinge of Spayne be most Certayne yet the latter may be debated which is the Lawfull true Kinge vzt Ferdinando or Phillip Soe though it be most Certayne that there is à written worde of God infallable yet iustly may it be questioned whether that booke which Protestants haue and call the Byble be the holy Scripture or noe For as the Learned doe obserue in the Scriptures three thinges are to be consydered First the Cannon or Catologue of divyne bookes Secondly the translation And thirdly the sence which is the soule of the Letter Now then I demaund of Protestants what Infallible assurance they haue that the bookes which be in their Cannon be onely divyne And those which they reiect as Apocripha be really such Will yow saye with Luther and with other Protestants as Whitakre and Doue that yow received them from the Roman Catholique Church Then it followeth if her authoritye who yow Credit therin be infallible yow are allsoe bound to stande to her worde in other poynts of Religion For if she be infallible as she must if yow haue any infallible assurance that the Scriptures yow received from her be really divyne in à matter soe fundamentell much more is she to be Credited in other poynts as namely concerninge the true interpretation therof c. Secondly out of this answer it followeth that the Roman Church cannot be Antichristian as some Protestants vaynly pretend For it cannot stand that they should preserue the Scriptures for soe many ages wherin yow pretend your Church was vnknowne and latent For then may Israell be fownd in Babilon and participation bebetwene Christ and Belial And she who is falsehood it selfe be by your owne inference the pillar and foundation of truth To be shorte then must the whore of the Apochalips Thus is Antichrist become Christ Servante and best supporter Keep safe those Recordes wherby those many hundred Thowsonds of Christ virgins make their Clayme to the inestimable reward alloted for their vowe of Chastitye As easily wee may beleiue that the Arke and the Idoll Dagon may be placed together But indeed though yow haue the Roman Churches warrant that those bookes that yow admitt as Canonicall to be divyne yet never did the Roman Church warrant or assure yow that onely those bookes placed in your Cannon be divyne and the rest which yow reiect to be Apochripha It resteth then that the greatest assurance yow haue is the authority of your owne Church which Confessedly is lyable to Error what infallible assurance haue Protestants of the purity and incorruption of their translation especially seeinge many of their brethren hardly Censure it How shall I approue sayth M. Burges vnder my hand à translation which hath many omissions many additions which sometymes obscureth sometymes perverteth the sence beinge sometymes senceles sometymes Contrarye M. Bronghton the great Hebritian thus sayth The publique translation of the Scripture in English is such as it perverteth the Text of the old Testament in eight hundred forty and eight places and it causeth Millions of Millions to reiect the new Testament and to runne into eternall flames And to omitt how Bishopp Tunstall noated two thowsand Corruptions of the Bible in Tindalls translation And allsoe how the Remists noated two hundred and tenn corruptions of the new Testament out of Greeke which Protestants pretended to translate not Chardginge them with an infynite number of their Corruptiōs repugnant to the auncyent authenticke Lattin To omitt I saye these and many other Catholique observations for which they Iustly except against the English Bybles I add this Cōfessiō of the famous Protestant D. Whitakre who though favouringe the Englishe trāslation of the Bible as much as possible he might yet thus he confesseth I haue not sayd otherwise but that somethings in the Englishe translation might be amended Now what infallible assurance I saye haue they to warrant their translation as incorrupt seeinge the greatest warrant they haue for it is the authority of their Church which by their confession may erre And with what Conscience can they Commend vnto the people their English Byble thus Corrupted for the pure word of God Note Againe what infallible assurance haue they of the sence which is the life of the Letter to witt that their expositions be the true meaninge of the holy Ghost but the authority of their Church which by their owne Confession is subiect to Erre On the contrarye what infallible assurance haue they that the Catholiques Cannon translation and exposition of the Byble are not Orthodoxe but the authority of their errable Church Note Now thē if fayth be an infallible Knowledge for by falliable and errable doctrine it is impossible to be saued can anye one with à safe Conscience build all his fayth vpon such à Byble whose Cannon translation and interpretation hath noe infallible assurance And in this I was infinitely confirmed when afterward I read in M. r Shillinghworths booke approued by three Oxford Doctors as conformable to the Doctrine of the Church of England vzt that ther was noe infallible Certaynety to be assured That the Scriptures were really Gods worde Which in effect is to suye That Protestants who pretend to beleiue nothinge but that which is contayned in Scriptures haue noe infallible assurance whether their Congregation be truely faythfull Christiains or no Moreover I demaund what certayne warrant
grosse survay of Poperie is soe bould to nickname antiquitie the alleagtion of the holie Councell vnder S. Silvester aboue thirtene hundred yeares agoe hestilles Thevaine shew of Moath worme Antiquitie and wheras Bellarmin thinketh it à probable opinion that Antichrist shal be of the Tribe of Dan For that manie of the Auncient Fathers probablie soe held namely S. Ireneus Hippolitus Ambrus Augustine Prosper Theodorett S. Gregory c. M. Willett without ever strayninge of Curtesie calleth them playne Hereticks It is à verie fable and Couseninge device of Heretickes quoth he to make men beleive that Antichrist shall come of the Tribe of Dan. Surly D. Parkes in his rejoinder pa. 7. pa. 365. had good reason to tell him lyke à brother of his yow haue committed such faults even in that great worke wherof yow bragg soe much as yow can neyther defend with honestie nor with modestie excuse yea the same D. Parkes his fellow Minister as Willett himselfe recounts in his Lodoromast Chardgeth him with folly Hipocrisie falshood lyeinge Infidelitie Impudencie Machivilisme Athisme c. And iudeed who but à Machauilian Athist if really he had thought that there had been à God after this life to haue punished durst haue made such à protestation And to omitt the lyke vaine cracks of M. Vsher copiously discouered by Mallone in his replie to his answere It is most true that which Zantius à great Protestant ingeniously confesseth of Protestant writers viz Scriptures at our pleasures wee detorte to our dreames wee boast of Fathers when wee will followe nothinge lesse then their doctrine soe he in his Epist. 10. to Sturmius But is not Luther then the author of the Protestant reformation with his brethren to be esteemed for havinge endeavoured to reforme the Church in diverse manie points of Fayth wherin they affirme for manie ages she hath erred Surlie noe except wee should honnor and esteeme those who renew Auncient condemned heresies and hereticall manners wherof Luther and his sectaries are in à heigh degree guiltie But as for reformation in matters of fayth wherin they pretend the Church hath erred They are rather to be avoyded who glories in any such title Note Seinge that herein they destroy the Godhead of Christ and make him an imposture for if the Church of Christ which he promised soe firmely to build on à Rocke as that Hell gates should never prevaile against her and vnto the Pastors wherof he promised that he would assist to the Consummation of the world and give them the spiritt of Truth to abyde with them forever for the teachinge of them all truth If I saye the Church of Christ could or had erred in matters of fayth as the pretended reformers affirme Then doth it follow that they make Christ not ominipotent able to vphold his Church against her enemies and soe destroy his Godhead or an imposteur in not fullfillinge what he promised because the Church for Errors of fayth and want of truth is as much destroyed as à man if he wanteth or is deficient in any one of his essentiall parts to witt if he be not à livinge or à reasonable Creture The defect of any of these destroyes him Soe in lyke manner if the true Church of Christ could Erre in fayth or fayle in truth which is essentiall to the Church it could not subsist possiblie For accordinge to themselues the Church essentiallie is à Congregation of faythfull where truely the worde of God and the Sacraments are administred wherfore if the worde and Sacraments haue erroniously been administred for soe many ages as they pretend then Consequentlie of necessitie hath the Church of Christ perisht and Hell gates prevayled against her And soe by this doctrine it followeth that Christ is not God and that the Iewes may well reiect him and the Gospells anounceinge and speakinge of him as à grande impostour which is most blasphemous And this doctrine of the Churches error in fayth by which Protestants pretend to iustifie their revolte and speration of there reformed congregation from the Catholique Church is the maine motive why I ame averted from their societie and relinquish their Communion And soe much in proffe that the Protestant Congregation wants the insepable marke of Christ his true Church and in confutation of there shufling evasions Secondly the Iewes haue not inioyed in all ages Pastors and Doctors to administer truely the word and Sacraments for their Church at this present is not Christian nor the Arians Pelagians Manicheans Donatists Wicklifians c. for they haue all perished and that in such serte as had not Catholique Doctors impugned them in their wrightings and that these present reformers haue here and there renewed some of their heresies ther had scarcely remained any memory of them Neither also the Graecians for they were in Communion with the Roman Church of and on about one thowsand yeares Soe that for such à space since the Apostles tyme they cannot be sayd to haue bin à distinct Church from the Roman Church from whom the Patriarke of Constantinople was Confirmed and the Bishopp of Rome by himselfe or his legate presided in all lawfull generall Councells Celebrated formerly in Greece although now vnfortunatelie as all knowes they be sepated by reason of the heresie touchinge the Holie Ghost c. Mereouer their successiō hath bin interrupted by the intrusion of maine hereticall and not lawfully ordayned Bishopps as confessedlie is auerred by all Catholiques and cannot be denied by Protestants Neyther the Turkishe Mahometans for they haue not had existance in the world ever since Christ his tyme and soe cannot glorie of their Antiquitie professinge Christian fayth as indeed also not beinge Christians and soe consequentlie comes not into question For here wee treat of the perpetuall existence and Antiquitie of à Church professinge Christian Doctrine accordinge to the Markes which insepablie accōpaine Christ his Church as in the begininge was established Finally the lyke may be demonstrated of any other Christian Church that may be assigned to witt that they want the insepable Marke of Christ his Church that is the enioyinge of à continuall succession of Pastors in all ages to administer the worde and Sacraments On the contrarie by the confession of the Protestants the Romaine Church many hundred yeares was the true Church of Christ and noe Protestant is able by evidence of any Authenticke Ecclesiasticall historie to shew any Christian Companie or Church In rerum natura more Auncient of different fayth from whence the Romane Church departed Therfore as yet she is and ought to be esteemed and consequentlie must enioye in all ages Pastors and Teachers for the administration of the worde and Sacraments beinge the true Church cannot fubsist without them Heer then I vrge that if the Romane Church whose fayth as testifieth the Apostle Ep. ad Rom. c. 1. was published and renowned throughout all the world that is with whom all the Christian world had Communion of fayth here I