the time of the Law where a Doctrine and Worship prevailed which was not according to Gods word but mans will and where Judaism and Heathenism were mingled together into one mungrel Religion most odious and abominable to God and his People And so the Vniversities in the time of the Gospel are only answerable to the High Places in the time of the Law but not at all to the Schools of the Prophets as Mr. Simpson pretends And now for the Conclusion of this matter which I reckon to be of great concernment for the true Church to be thorowly instructed in I shall bring forth the Testimony of some Godly men of whom some shew how the Schools and Vniversities of Christians came first to be corrupted to wit by departing from the plain word of the Gospel and bringing in Philosophy And another foretels the Reformation of the Schools of Christians to wit by rejecting Philosophy again and bringing in the word of faith all which will serve as a Confirmation of what hath been already spoken Matthias Parisiensis a Bohemian by Nation who lived about the year 1380. wrote a large book against Antichrist whrein he affirms That Antichrist had seduced all Vniversities and Colledges of learned men so that now they teach no sincere Doctrine neither give any true light to Christians through their teaching to wit they being all corrupted through Philosophy and having through that corrupted all Divinity And John Hus that humble and faithfull servant of Jesus Christ and blessed Martyr saith That Antichrist hath seduced all carnal Christians from Divine wisdom which is full of Salvation and the Holy Spirit to the wisdom and Science of men and of the Princes of this world which wisdom and Science he hath exceedingly inlarged and increased and made Authentical and very gainfull of Riches and Honors in this world that so by this means Divine wisdom and science might be neglected of Christians and grow old and be covered over and be accounted as vile and unprofitable by them And that only that which is high with men to wit Humane Learning might be reckoned glorious and excellent and of great Authority with Christian people The same Hus saith That this Humane Learning Wisdom and Knowledge Antichrist doth perfectly subject to himself and his Service he being more mighty and subtil through the Operation of Satan then all worldly men whom with all their Learning Disciplines and Abilities he strongly subâ—ugates to himself and doth especially serve himself of these wherefore saith Job chap. 41. sub ipso erunt radii solis the heams of the Sun shall be under him that is the holy Scripture and the chief Doctors and Teachers of it and he shall prepare gold as dirt that is he shall have all the wisdom and learning of men at his pleasure and in great readiness and with much ease shall gain it to himself And Antichrist by such men saith I. Hus doth make his body or Church strong against the Saints of God and welfavoured and glorious that it may appear very taking to the world and may win in all men to it that are not taught of God and renewed by his Spirit And thus Antichrist serves himself of all Learning and Learned men whereas Divine Learning and the Teaching of God he could never in any measure subject to himself but is alwaies rejected discovered and overcome by it Martin Luther saith That whosoever it was whether Alexander of Hales or Thomas of Aquine who first instituted Vniversities he was a Star fallen from heaven to earth who received the key of the bottomless pit and opened it and brought forth into the Church Philosophy long ago dead and damned by the Doctrine of the Apostles and from the smoak of the bottomless pit that is Philosophy came forth Locusts on the earth that is saith he populus Vniversitatum è Philosophia natus the people of the Vniversities born and bred of Philosophy c. thus Luther Abbas Joachim Calaber who was long before these and flourished about the year 1230 in his Commentary on Jeremy the Prophet speaks to this purpose That the sixt Angel mentioned Revel. opens the bottomless pit and brings out Philosophy into the Church and out of the smoak of this Doctrine Locusts proceeded and are spread over all the Church into every fruitfull place and these Locusts he saith are Scholastici Magistri qui nunc facietenus blandiuntur ut decipiant nunc caudetenus feriunt unsubvertant simplices incautos that is the Locusts are Scholars and Masters according to the Academical degrees who sometimes flatter with their countenances to deceive and sometimes strike with their tails that they may subvert the simple and unadvised And to these Scholars and Masters the ignorant and common people resort and they open to them the old Cisterns of heathenish Learning and Disciplines long ago stopt up by the Doctrine of the Apostles and these Cisterns they open by teaching Philosophy to the people But they shut up the living fountain of saving water that is the word of faith But the spirit of the Lord saith he in the following Prophets whom the Lord shall raise up idola studiorum carnalium visitabit shall visit the Idols of carnal studies maintained and kept up by secular Stipends Further he saith that as Antichrist brings forth his mark which is Philosopical Doctrine in the Church of Christ and by this mark all his Teachers and People are known so there shall rise up against these such as have the mark of Christ or the sign of Thau in their foreheads that is the open and manifest Doctrine of Christ crucified And as the signs of Moses destroyed the signs of the Magicians so shall the word or preaching of the Cross destroy all Philosophical Doctrine and Humane and secular Learning out of the Church And then the children and youth and men of all ages sorts and conditions shall be taught no other Doctrine in the Church of Christ then that which is found in the Scriptures even in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles and that not according to any humane and Philosophical understanding but according to the teaching and mind of the Spirit And God by all his true servants shall destroy the studies of carnal Doctors and Masters in Divinity and shall dissipate all secular and Philosophical Learning by the word of Truth in their mouths And so shall the Church be reformed aright when the Doctrine of Christ only shall be received and esteemed of and shall live and flourish among Christians And thus as Antichrist hath laid aside the Scriptures and all true spiritual and divine Learning out of his Schools and Vniversities and hath brought into them instead thereof Philosophy and Humane Learning and so these Schools are most unlike to the Schools of the Prophets so in due time when God shall undertake to reform his Church all this sort of Learning shall be cast out again
the world by wisdom that is its Philosophy knew not God how can it by that wisdom reveal God and his things which it never knew Nay the Apostle doth clearly testifie against this carnal and corrupt Doctrine in 1 Cor. 2.7 8. saying We speak the wisdom of God in a mysterie even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory which none of the Princes of this world knew and by Princes of this world he means not only wordly Powers as Chrysostome affirms but also Philosophers and Orators who often obtained the chief Government among the nations God hath wrapped up his Gospel saith Paul into such hidden wisdom that they are never able to search into it or to discover the least part of it seeing God contrived it all and appointed it before the world unto our glory and all their knowledge is but from the world Yea he adds Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have ever entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him In which words God hath shut out the natural man for ever with all his study knowledge abilities and attainments from the having any right understanding of his Kingdom or the things of it For the eye of man hath not seen them at any time nor his eare heard them nor hath any knowledge of them entered into his heart so far is this Doctrine from truth that the Knowledg of heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth But the Apostle shews how the faithfull come to know these high holy spiritual and eternal things which lie infinitely beyond the knowledge and discovery of all men to wit by the Spirit saying But God hath revealed them to us by the Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things yea the deep things of God So that the people of God know the things of the Gospel not by earthly things as Mr. Simpson affirms nor by Philosophy and outward wisdom which only reaches to earthly things but by the Spirit Farther if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then I do affirm that all such Divinity hath no great Depth seeing the bottom of Humane Learning is easily fathomed But can any Christian Heart think that all true Divinity which comprehends in it the heighth and breadth and length and depth of the love of God which passeth knowledge and all the unsearchable riches of Christ and all the infinite and incomprehensible Treasures of his wisdom power and righteousness of his love goodness truth faithfulness and of all the fulness of the Godhead wherewith he is filled can be contained and wrapped up in the narrow and scant bounds of Humane Learning How much truer Doctrine had it been to have taught that all true Divinity is contained in God and his word and that we can know nothing of God aright but by his word which holy men have spoken by the Spirit and believers do receive by faith and out of this word All the Learning in the world doth not contain in it self neither can it reveal to us aright the least thing of God or of his Mind and Will But I conceive he might speak thus that all Divinity is wrapped up in Humane Learning to deterr the common people from the study and enquiry after it and to cause them still to expect all Divinity from the Clergy who by their education have attained to that Humane Learning which the plain people are destitute of For it is the old and new design of Antichrist to make the People depend on the Clergy for all Divinity though the people have the Scriptures as near them and the Grace of God usually nearer to them then they seeing God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble Again if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then must it sadly follow that all who want Humane Learning must needs also want Divinity And then how shall poor plain people who live in lawfull callings and have not the leisure to attain Humane Learning how shall they do to be saved Or what help must they have to teach them Divinity who have not opportunity to gain Humane Learning And yet farther if all Divinity be swadled in Humane Learning then Christ and his Apostles had no true Divinity for they had no Humane Learning to swaddle it in nor would have none Shall we say now according to Mr. Simpsons Doctrine that they had no Divinity I do with all boldness affirm that this Doctrine is contrary to the Christian faith 4. ERROR That Paul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel and God took him so fitted to wit with Humane Learning and made him an able Instrument in his Church Answer Not so But God took Paul not a good Schollar and so made him an able Preacher but he took him as a Blasphemer and Persecutor and as a cruel and inraged enemy against Christ and his Truth and People and magnified the riches of his mercy by converting such an one and Paul having much forgiven him loved much and through his great love was the fitter to preach the Gospel according to that of Christ to Peter Peter dost thou love me feed my Sheep Yea Paul himself ascribes his painful and profitable preaching not to his Learning and Education under Gamaliel which also was or ought to have been only in the Law and Prophets as hath been proved but to the free Grace of God bestowed on him saying I laboured more abundantly then they all yet not I but the Grace of God in me So that Paul became so excellent a Preacher not by his fitting through Humane Learning but through the Grace of God And here I shall mind Mr. Simpson of a passage which I have read in Chrysostome which comes home to this matter in hand it is in the third Homily on the first Epistle to the Corinthians where he saith That God had no need at the beginning of the Gospel of Learned men and Sophisters to preach the Gospel and to convince the world with Syllogisms but did only use the word of faith in the mouths of plain Handicrafts men and Artificers Wherefore saith he when the Greeks shall accuse the Disciples of Christ as ignorant of Letters and unlearned let us our selves who are Christians accuse them more Neither let any one say that Paul was wise and learned but let us say Their men were wise and learned but ours were rude and ignorant For in thus doing according to the truth we shall have the greater advantage against them For if Paul were unlearned and yet overcame learned Plato his Victory was the greater and the Grace of God the more glorious * Now this I say saith he because the other day I heard a certain Christian discoursing ridiculously with a Greek each of them in their Discourse prejudicing their own cause For the Greek spake that which the Christian should have said and the Christian spake that
A Plain and Necessary CONFVTATION Of divers gross and Antichristian Errors DELIVERED To the Vniversity Congregation The last Commencement Anno. 1653. By Mr. Sydrach Simpson Master of Pembroke HALL in CAMBRIDGE Potentior est veritas quam eloquentia potior spiritus quam ingenium major fides quam eruditio ut Paulus ait Stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus Luther Epist. ad Caspar Bornerum Profes Lipsens Non est istud temeritas sed fides neque inconsideratio sed ratio neque furor sed fiducia Hilarius lib. contr. Constantium Augustum LONDON Printed by Robert White for Giles Calvert and are to be sold at the Sign of the Black-spread-Eagle near the West-end of Pauls 1654. An Apologie to the Reader touching the following Reply to Mr. Sydrach Simpsons Sermon IF it shall seem grievous to any that I have dealt thus freely and plainly with Mr. Sydrach Simpson one of the first pastors of an independent Congregation in England let them consider how Paul dealt with those Brethren Gal. 2. to whom according to his Zeal and the present occasion he gave no place by subjection no not for an hour that the Truth of the Gospel might continue with the Galatians and though those brethren seemed to be somewhat yet saith Paul what ever they are it makes no matter to me seeing God accepteth no mans Person And so notwithstanding their Reputation he did not spare them Yea let them consider how Paul at Antioch withstood Peter to the face for dissembling with the Jews in the case of the Gentiles and for not walking uprightly according to the Truth of the Gospel wherefore Paul did publikely and sharply reprove him before them all For no true believer is to keep silence when the Doctrine of the Gospel is corrupted by the Doctrines of men or to be modest in this matter Wherefore I was compelled to speak thus plainly to him for his gross prevarication in the things of God and I am well satisfied in my conscience in the discharge of my duty whatever shall be the censure of carnal Christians who have no true sense of the Glory of Christs Gospel or of the profit of his People whom yet Christ so loved as to lay down his life and to be Crucified for them Again if it shall offend any that I deal thus roundly against Humane Learning Let them know that I am not against Humane Learning upon all accounts but do allow Humane Learning so it be sober and serious in its own place and Sphear as well as other Humane things But I do oppose it as it is made another John Baptist to prepare the way of Christ into the world or to pepare the worlds way to Christ And also as men make it necessary for the true knowledge of the Scriptures Yea the very Unction for the Ministry And herein according to the grace of Christ I both do and will contend against it for ever Seeing Humane Learning mingled with Divinity or the Gospel of Christ understood according to Aristotle hath begun continued and perfected the Mâ—sterâ—e of Iniquity in the outward Church Wherefore I do in all boldness appear for Christ the wâ—â—dom of God against Humane Learning the wisdom of thâ—world knowing assuredly that he is as very Antichrist who opposes Christ as the Wisdom oâ—God as â—e that opposes Him as the Power and Righâ—ousness of God and men may as well bring into the Church of God another Righteousness then Christ and another Power then Christ as another Wisdom then Christ Wherefore as they who bring in Humane Righteousness that is civil or moral Righteousness or any Works or Duties of men for Righteousness into the Church of Christ they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Righteousness of God And as they who bring in Humane Power or the Secular Arm into the Church of Christ to do or leave undone to reward or Punish to promise or threaten to encourage or discourage by that they are true Antichrists in so doing seeing herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Power of God So also they that bring in Humane Wisdom or the Learning and Philosophy of men into the Church of Christ they also are true Antichrists in so doing for herein they are contrary to and do oppose Christ the Wisdom of God For Christ is and is to be the only Power the only Wisdom and the only Righteousness in the Church of God And he that brings in any other Power Wisdom or Righteousness besides Christ Himself that man is in very deed Antichrist And in this matter also it was necessary that I should be bold for Christ against Antichrist 3. Again if any shall be offended that I speak thus freely against the Universities which are of such honorable esteem everywhere in the Nation especially with the Ignorant and Vulgar people and with men of all sorts who have not the right Knowledge of Christ and his Gospel wherein are so contained all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge that no part of this Treasury is left out thereof to enrich Heathenish Philosophy withall which by the Gospel is left as a desolate thing empty and destitute of all true Wisdom and Knowledge I say if any think that I have too deeply censured these Universities let them know that I have done in this matter but as Wickliff Hus Luther and several others holy men of God and happy Instruments in the hand of Christ have done before me As for instance Wickliff terms the Universities Castra Caimitica Cains Castles Synagogas Satanae the Synagogues of Satan and affirms they were never Ordained or Instituted by Christ John Hus or Otho Brunfelsius if he set out the Contents of the Chapters calls them Satrapas Antichristi the Lieutenants of Antichrist Luther in his book Contra Ambrosium Catharinum shewing out of Daniel the Prophet that Antichrist is Rex facierum the King of faces or appearances he affirms that the Universities are one of those faces of Antichrist and that they are very comely or sightly to look on and yet indeed are a very chaos and open gate of Hell and that in these the most choise youth of Christian people are prostituted and are cast into the open throat of Hell And that in these Aristotle is read whereby the wits of Christian youth are possessed busied with Humane Heathenish Learning Yea are quite blinded and oppressed with it He saith also that the Universities are the Woe that the fifth Angel mentioned Revel. 9. brought upon the earth and that who ever it was that did first institute and confirm Universities he was a star fallen from Heaven to Earth to wit from the Gospel of Christ to Humane Learning And in his Exposition on Psal. 22. he calls the Universities the Mothers of Learned men the Gates of Hell and saith they are called Scholae i. e. Ludi Schools that is Plays by a fatall name seeing
diligence and speed to procure fifty Volums of the Scriptures to be written in parchment well and Legibly and in such a bigness or Volume as might be carried with greatest ease for she further teaching and instructing of those that came to attain the knowledge of the Christian Religion Judging it most meet that Christian people should be instructed in the Doctrine of Christ And though afterwards when the suffering times of the Church began to be over Christians became more carâ—â—l and secure and that in the very days of Constantine and so began to decline the word of faith and to seek after Philosophy yet had God in all the ages of his Church some of his servants who did reject it and did cleave only to the word Among which I shall only for the present produce the Testimonies of Berno who lived above six hundred years ago and Zuinglius of latteâ— times Berno who lived about the year 1008 and was a man furnished with all sorts of Learning saith That he had for many years rejected aâ—â—ung the figments of the Poets and the Histories of the Heathens and the study of secular Letters and had converted the whole intention of his mind in the word of God and the Divine things contained therein And accordingly he taught no other Doctrine to any Hularicus Zuinglius also Pastor of Zâ—rich in Helvetâ—ae â—man who had been educated in all kind of Learning and was after through faith and the teaching of God an eminent Instrument in his Church he saith thus of himself When saith he I being yet a youth was exercised in all sorts of Learning I can truly say that I did not profit less then the rest of my equals But when about seven years ago I betook my self to the study of the holy Scriptures then the things that I had before sacked in or learned from Philosophers and Divines did procure me so much trouble that being then moved by the Authority of the Scriptures I judged that all those things were to be cast away and counted as dung and that the true minde of God was only to be received from his pure and simple word And therefore I began humbly to intreat the Lord that he would vouchsafe me his own light By which means it shortly came to pass that the reading of the holy Scripture did much delight and please me and they being nakedly and alone propounded did flow unto me with more ease then if I had read them divided and distracted with variety of Comments And as he rejected Philosophy wholly and entertained the word So did he only teach this word to faithful Câ—ristians who are the only true School of Christ in the world Now by all this it appears that the Schools of the Prophets and Apostles and of Christ himself the Head of them and of the most faithfull Christians that followed Christ in the first and latter ages were in no sort like the Schools in the present Vniversities where humane Learning according to the Statutes of the Vniversities prevails for the first seven years and they think youth cannot be made good Christians except they be first made good Heathens The Schools of the Prophets and Apostles would not meddle with the Philosophy of the Heathen but led the children and youth presently to the word of God and therein to the true Knowledge of God in Christ But these Schools first lead youth from God and his word several years together to the corrupt Reason Wisdom Notions Conceptions yea to the Idolatry Blasphemy Atheism Lusts Filthiness and Villanies of the cursed Heathen that thereby in a strange and Antichristian Method they may be the fitter to know and understand the Scriptures The Schools of the Prophets taught only Moses and the Prophets to the Jewish youth and the Schools of the Apostles taught Christ only and his Gospel to the children of Christians But the Vniversities lead men both from Moses and from Christ both from the Law and the Gospel to the Heathen to make men hereby able Christians and Divines The Queen of the South came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon And the Vniversities leave Christ who is Infinitely greater and wiser then Solomon and go to the utmost parts of the earth for wisdom there So that in these Vniversities there hath been the greatest Apostacy and withdrawing from Christ and the greatest dishonour and disparagement offered to him and his Gospel as ever was known For is it not a matter of greatest wonder and amazement that after that Word which was with God and was God and is God blessed for ever hath been manifested in the flesh and that flesh of his hath been justified by the Spirit to have the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in it bodily and that this wonderfull person hath come to his Church in the same common nature with it filled with all the Righteousness Wisdom Truth Power Life Peace and Joy and all the things of God I say is it not strange that He who alone comprehends the fulness of all things and in whom are hid all the Infinite Treasures of Divine and Heavenly wisdom and knowledge that he alone should not be counted sufficient and enough no not by those who pretend his name to make us wise to Salvation which is the only True Excellent and necessary wisdom in the world and to make the man of God perfect and the whole Church of God compleat but to the great dishonor of Christ yea to the very rejection of Christ the children of Christians must be led from the Doctrine of Christ the Son of the living God to the Doctrine and Disciplines of the Wretched Filthy Abominable Wicked and damned Heathen and to spend the prime and flower of their youth in these things Who but Antichrist himself could have brought in and set up such an Abomination of desolation in the Church of God And yet for the better credit of all things must these be them that their Divinity cannot be called the Doctrine of Christ but of Antichrist being wholly contrary to the word of faith And therefore Mr. Simpson was the more to blame to flatter them in their evils and to deceive the world in appropriating to them the glorious Title of the Schools of the Prophets who are in all things so contrary and contradictory to them Now the summe and certainty of this matter is this That the Congregations of Believers where only the word of the Gospel is truly taught according to the Ministration of the Spirit whether to youth or men they under the New Testament are answerable to the Schools of the Prophets under the Old who only taught Moses and the Prophets And the Vniversities wherein Philosophy is first taught the youth and after Divinity and then both are mingled together to the utter perverting and corrupting the Gospel of Christ I say these Vniversities in the time of the Gospel are answerable to the High-Places in
as dirt and dung and the plain word of the Gospel only shall prevail and flourish among the Christian People which time the Lord hasten for his Elects sake 2. ERROR That they who have endeavoured to pull down Schools have alwayes been men who were found Enemies to Religion So Julian the Apostate shut up the doors of the Schools because he would have all Religion to go down Answer True it is that they who have sought the subversion of Christian Schools wherein the Doctrine of the Gospel is purely taught without the mixture of Philosophy and Heathenism they all have been and are very enemies to the true Religion But they that seek to put down Heathenish Schools and to erect Christian or to reform the Schools of Heathen into Christian or to remove Heathenism out of Christian Schools they are not before God and good men enemies to true Religion but the great friends of it Nay they that call Heathenish Schools by the name of Christian that they may still remain with the better credit in their Heathenism without any true Reformation according to the Gospel I rather judge them to be enemies to the true Religion and friends only to their profit preferment and ends Julian indeed did forbid that Christians should be instructed in the Disciplines of the Gentiles but saith Sozomen the Writer of the Ecclesiastical History he did this because he thought that by those Disciplines men might attain to a great faculty to perswade which advantage he would not have the Christians to gaine to the help of their Religion Now certainly this was done as Socrates another Writer of the Ecclesiastical History doth acknowledge by the singular providence of God For seeing then Christians had begun to degenerate from the Gospel and to betake themselves to Heathenish Learning Julian attribuâ—â—d all the glory and excellency of Christianity to that Learning and so thought with Mr. Simpson that if Humane Learning were denyed to Christians Christianity it self would soon be at end Wherefore the Lord stirred up Julian to put down the Doctrine of the Heathen in the Schools of Christians that it might appear to all the World That as the true Christian Religion is not helped by Humane Learning so neither is it hindred by the want of it And that there is more Light Knowledge Truth Wisdom Power Vtterance given to Christians by the Vnction of the Spirit alone which all receive who believe then through all Heathenish Disciplines And also that it might be manifest that true Christianity is founded on faith in Christ and the gift of his Spirit only and not at all on Humane Learning For what Humane Learning had Peter and John and yet in what Wisdom and Authority did they being ignorant and unlearned men Reprove Convince and Silence the greatest and ablest men of the Jews And what Humane Learning had Steven and yet he confuted the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians and all the Philosophers of Cilicia and Asia which disputed with him and they all were not able to resist not the Humane Learning but the Wisdom and Spirit by which he spake And Christ hath promised all his people that when for his Names sake they should be brought before Kings and Rulers who usually have the greatest accomplishment of Humane Learning that then they should not study beforehand what to say for he would give them in that very hour a mouth and wisdom which none of their Adversaries should be able to resist And the power and vertue of the Gospel and the wisdom knowledge and utterance of Gods Spirit is more gloriously manifest in plain men then in learned men For in the one the Grace and Vertues of the Spirit are attributed to Humane Learning But in the other to God only who dwells in them Wherefore that the Wisdom and Knowledge and Light and Power of the word of faith in true Christians might not be attributed to Humane Learning God stirred up an enemy to Christian Religion to be so serviceable to it as to hinder Heathenish Doctrine from being taught in the Schools of Christians that so the Câ—urch might be restored to be as in the dayes of its Youth when there flourished in it only the simple and plain word of faith without any intermingling Philosophy or Humane Doctrine And if Constantine had made such an order in his time Julian had not had such an opportunity to have renounced Christianity and turned Heathen For Julian being instructed in the Philosophy and Disciplines of the Heathen by Libanius his Tutor by this means he came to love Philosophy better then the Gospel and so by degrees turned from Christianity to Heathenisme which may be a fair warning to all Christians that they suffer not their children to be so educated lest at last with Julian they at least in their hearts loath and reject the Gospel and become with him Apostates and Pagans And hence it is most evident that Heathenish Philosophy is so far from being a profitable study for the children of Christians that it is very dangerous for them to be so educated as Socrates is forced to confess where he saith For Christians to be thorowly instructed in the Disciplines of the Gentiles there is none will grant that this is profitable to the Christian Religion For it is not without danger for Christians to be taught in the learning of the Heathens seeing this teacheth that there are many Gods And therefore saith he the Doctrine of the Heathen is not approved by Christ or any of his Apostles or Disciples Wherefore said Luther My counsel is that a youth should shun Philosophy and School Divinity as the death of his soul 3. ERROR That the Knowledge of Heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth and that all Divinity is swadled in Humane Learning Answer I conceive that all Christians at the first reading of this will acknowledge that this Doctrine is not Divine but Philosophical The Philosophers say that nothing is in the understanding but that which is first in the sense which is proportionable to that which Mr. Simpson speaks and yet they know not what they say when they say so But let us consider if this be so That the Knowledge of heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on earth then how shall we know the Mysterie of God even the Father and the Mysterie of Christ who is God manifest in the flesh Or how shall the Mysterie of faith and of our union with Christ through faith into one flesh and Spirit with him be known Or the new birth and new Creature which hath all things new in it and all those new things the things of God Or how shall the free Justification of a sinner through the death of Christ and his Reconciliation to God be known with all the rest of the things of the Gospel seeing nothing on earth can reveal the least part of these things And if
Gods Law to preach it generally against sins in the Realm But wit ye worldly Clerks and feignedly Religious that God both can and may if it liketh him speed simple men out of the Vniversity as much to know the holy Scriptures as Masters in the Vniversity Wherefore he saith it is no great matter though men of good will be not poysoned with Heathen mens error nine or ten years together But let them live well and study the holy Scriptures and preach truly and freely against open sins till death Thus he Whereby he declares that the Scriptures are not to be understood by Humane Learning but by faith and love And that Humane Learning doth not prepare men to the knowledge of the word but rather corrupt them with Heathen mens Errors Tindal also that Apostle of England as Fox calleth him and blessed Martyr speaks thus to this matter They will say yet more shamefully meaning the Clergy that no man can understand the Scriptures without Philautia that is to say Philosophy A man must first be well seen in Aristotle ere he can understand the Scripture say they Now saith he Aristotles Doctrine is that the world was without begining and shall be without end and that the first man never was and the last never shall be And that God doth all of necessity neither careth what we do Without this Doctrine saith he Ironically how could we understand the Scripture that saith God Created the World of nought and God worketh all things of his free will and for a secret purpose and that we shall rise again and God will have accounts of all that we have done in this life Aristotle saith Give a man a Law and he hath power of himself to do or fulfill the Law and becometh righteous with working righteously But Paul and all the Scripture saith That the Law doth but utter sin only and helpeth not Neither hath any man power to do the Law till the Spirit of God be given him through faith in Christ Is it a not madness then to say that we could not understand the Scripture without Aristotle Moreover Aristotles felicity and blessedness standeth in avoiding all tribulations and in riches health honor worship friends and authority which felicity pleaseth our spirituality well Now without these and a thousand such like points couldst thou not understand Scripture which saith that Righteousness cometh by Christ and not of mans will And how that vertues are the fruits and gifts of Gods Spirit and that Christ blesseth us in tribulations persecution and adversity How I say couldst thou understand the Scriptures without Philosophy in as much as Paul Col. 2. warned them to beware lest any man spoyl them that is to say rob them of their faith in Christ through Philosophy and deceitfull Vanities and through the Traditions of men and Ordinances after the world and not after Christ And after But now ye drive them from Gods word and will let no man come thereto untill he have been two years Master of Art First they nuzzel them in Sophistry in bene fundatum And there corrupt they their judgements with apparent arguments and with alleadging to them texts of Logick of Natural Philosophy of Metaphysick and Moral Philosophy and of all manner of books of Aristotle and of all manner of Doctors which yet they never saw c. Again Huldricus Zuinglius speaks thus to this matter VVe must needs be taught of God and not of men to wit in the knowledge of the Gospel For this is the saying of the Eternal Truth which knows not how to lye Joh. 6. But and if you do not firmly believe that you may be taught of God Humane Doctrines being utterly rejected ye are yet destitute of true faith Neither have I my self devised this thing For Hilarie also is of this opinion But there is no need of his Testimony when we hear that both Christ and all the Apostles were of the same mind And here the whole use of School Divinity falls to the ground and whatsoever is drawn out of the Philosophers For all these things do lean on humane Reasons which when they have once possessed a mans mind he then thinks that the heavenly Doctrine is wholly to be directed and framed according to the Rule of Humane Learning which he judges to be most firm and infallible VVhich thing they sufficiently discover in their words saying ubi cessat Philosophus illic incipit Theologus where the Philosopher ceases there the Divine begins whereby they signifie thus much that he is able to judge most rightly in Divine things who comes most furnished with Humane Learning As if so be the light of our will were more excellent and more perspicuous then the Divine Glory when yet we hear Christ saying I receive not Glory of men but I know you that you have not the love of God in you Joh. 5. For they who have the love of God cleave to no word so constantly as to the word of God seeing this is the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world But no man is able to prove that Philosophy is such a light For which of the Philosophers instructed the Apostles Those simple and in the judgement of the world those foolish men unskilfull and unlearned fisherman were elected and instituted of God and then were sent forth to preach that they might become the Masters and Teachers of the whole world to wit that God according to the saying of Paul might make ashamed all the strength of the world and all the wisdom of the world Thus he Luther also saith It is an Error to say that a man cannot be a Divine but through Aristotle Nay saith he A man cannot be a Divine except he become one without Aristotle And again A man becomes a Divine by living yea by dying and by being damned to wit in his own sense not by studying reading or speculating And again In holy things we must not dispute or play the Philosophers but in Divinity we must only hear and believe and resolve in our heart that God is true though the things he speaks in his word seem never so absurd to reason And again We shall then do well if we leaving Logick or Philosophy in their own Sphear do learn to speak with new tongues in the Kingdom of faith without all Sphear For the affection of faith is to be exercised in the Kingdom of faith and not a Philosophical understanding And thus have these Godly men held forth and proved from the word that Humane Learning is rather a hindrance then a help to the Ministry of the Gospel and doth rather unfit then fit men for it and that the Grace and teaching of God only prepares and enables men to this Divine work and no Humane thing at all Wherefore let all true Christians be advised that Humane Learning is so far from fitting men for the Gospel and the Ministry thereof as is suggested
and royal priesthood to show forth the vertues of him that hath called them out of darkness into his marvelous light as Peter testifies and they all speak as they do believe and have experience and their Sonship Unction and Victory over temptation is as sufficient a ground for them to teach as it was for Christ to teach and so they without any regard of the Laws of Antichrist or Orders of the Clergy go forth to teach the everlasting Gospel as Christ did before them and this is the fourth degree of the faithful in the Church 5. Christs fifth and last degree which he took in the Church was this that he having both preached and lived the word whereat the world and worldly Church were wholly offended and inraged did at the last willingly confirme his Doctrine with his death and seal to the truth of it with his blood exposing himself to the most shameful and ignominious death of the cross to confirme his Gospel to his Church and this was the highest and most glorious Degree that Christ took in his Church as Christ testifies when speaking of his suffering he saith Now is the hour come that the Son of man should be glorified And this fifth degree also all the truely faithful do take with Christ either in deed if need require or in preparation and readiness and that whilst they live in outward peace All the blessed Martyrs have taken this highest degree in the Church with Christ and all the rest of his seed have been and are ready to take it also when it is the good will of their heavenly Father seeing they can say in the same faith and spirit with Christ even in this matter Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me yet not my will but thine be done for they are come to do the will of him that sent them even to the laying down their lives Now these are the onely degrees that Christ himself took in the Church and which all the Saints take with him and the true spiritual Church of believers allows and approves no other Degrees but these And what now are the University-Degrees in Divinity to these they are Degrees in Antichrists Church onely and every heathen or humane creature Turke or Infidel may take them aswel as they with a little time and paines and money Wherefore that I may turn my speech a little to the University do thou University lay this to heart how much thou hast departed from the Gospel of Christ in this matter as well as in all the rest and hast received the Doctrine and Laws and Methods and Manners of Antichrist wherewith thou hast deceived thy self aswell as the Nations And thou University hast like thy own mother Babylon Mystery written on thy forehead for thou hast taken to thy self this title ALMA MATER the beautiful mother which onely belongs to Jerusalem from above and though thou hast brought forth a company of prodigious children heathenish foolish vaine vile and abominable yet hast thou called them learned and given them Degrees in Divinity contrary to the Degrees in the Gospel and hast sent them forth into every City County Town and Village as Ministers of Christ yea as Sons of the morning though unbelievers and destitute of the spirit And thus hast thou deceived the Nations and given them a false Ministery in stead of a true and by this false Ministery a false word in stead of the Gospel and the world hath not at any time received a greater wo nor more grievous plague then from thee Wherefore thus saith the word of the Lord The day of thy vengeance is coming and the yeers wherein thou shalt be made desolate and thy dainty and goodly things shall depart from thee and thou shalt finde them no more at all and the voice of Musitians and Pipers shall no more be heard in thee for in thee is found the blood of Prophets and of Saints and of all that have been slaine upon the earth thy humane learning to wit thy Philosophy and School-Divinity the false Ministery that they have set up and the false Christians that have proceeded from that Ministery have devised and executed all these murders and massacres on the true Saints of God FINIS Quis est sapiens intelliget haec The Testimony of Martin Luther upon the whole matter To wit touching Vniversities Humane Learning or Philosophy Vniversity-Degrees c. MArtin Luther in his Answer to Ambrosius Catharinus expounding the Vision concerning Antichrist Dan. 8. speaks thus The twelfth and last face of Antichrist is that Chaos and open gate of Hell yet very comely to behold to wit the Universities into which perjurie and the abuse of Gods Name are the entrance and the progress is a free and most licentious conversation in all manner of wickedness And yet under these sins and destructions Science and Sapience are promised Yea Titles and Degrees are given in stead of rewards But what do they perform at length First the more choice youth of christian people are here prostituted and are cast into the open throat of Hell that I verily think this destruction was figured by the Idol Moloch to whom anciently they made their choice children to pasâ— through the fire Afterwards Aristotle being read to them and not rightly understood the wits of christian youth are exercised with heathenish and humane learning yea are quite blinded and oppressed with it And in stead of the Word of God the doctrine of Antichrist is delivered that it may seem the devil himself could not bring forth a more subtile and effectual Invention and engine Eutterly to extinguish the Gospel then to set up Universities Wherein under the pretence of Christian Doctrine nothing should be taught but that which is most contrary to the Christian Faith And if at any time it seems good to call forth the choicest to the Government of the Churches they call them out of these Stews and Dens And truly to me this last face of Antichrist seems to be the most hurtful of all because this hath the pretence of the Word when all the rest have onely the colour of Example and this is plainly Schola Hidoth the School of Propositions of which anon For it is incomparably the greatest prejudice under the colour of the Word to teach things contrary to the Word seeing the face of Eâ—amples is formed and strengthened by the face of the Word which otherwise would soon come to nothing if the Word should reign in its genuine sense and also seeing the pretence of Examples doth onely deceive the manners but the pretence of the Word overthrows the Word But if by any Grace of God the Universities should receive the Word to wit instead of Philosophy and School-Divinity how soon would the Papacy with all its faces or appearances perish seeing this face to wit the Universities is the prop bones and whole strength of that kingdom of faces This deceitful face seems to