An ansvver to the deuillish detection of Stephane Gardiner Bishoppe of Wynchester published to the intent that such as be desirous of the truth should not be seduced by hys errours nor the blind obstinate excused by ignorance Compiled by A. G. Iudicum vi ¶ Oh let theÌ„ perish from the erth and from vnder the heauen all the Idoles that haue not made the heaueÌ„ the erthe destroye you theyr groues and altares If they be goddes let them reueng them selues ¶ Anno. 1547. the. 24 of Ianuary ¶ In the viii leafe i. page and xiiii line for staine mne reade same mine To the Reader DEarely beloued bought wyth the same bloude and therfore parte takers of the same kyngedome because the Lorde oure God is the God of knowledge and wyll haue suche seruauntes as by knowledge in trueth wythout fleshely fantasies either of fained goddes or any fonde worship of mans madde brayne who alwaies from the beginneinge hath renne after vanities wyll be radie to geue answere of their faieth in him the God of lyfe and of the hope conceiued by his onely worde it becometh all his â—o labour for knowledge that they maye walke vpright in the waie of their Lorde and by no halting ignoraunce to slide furth of the same and so to prouoke his worthi displeasure And as he is the God of loue peace vnitie and concorde and will haue vs al tied together with the bonde of loue and made therby in hym all one bodie so doeth it become vs wyth open hertes wythout all doublenesse one to enstructe an other to the edifiynge of oure brethern that in sure grownded fayth we maye loue together and so enioye the hope of our vocacion Therfore though mi talent bee verie smal and no principall gifte either of eloquence or learninge but onely a loue of the trueth geuen vnto me yet seinge the worlde is so blinded with Idolatrie and so beewitched with popishe sophistrie and euen nowe the spirittes and powers of darcknes worcke the chiefe mysterie of iniquitie and wickednesse to set vp and maintaine the moste weake Idole that euer was in the worlde in the steade of the most mightie and euerliuinge God I coulde thincke it no lesse theÌ„ my most bounden dutie openly to beare wittnesse vnto the truthe And where as the wordes of truth haue bene slandrously and spitfully named the saieinges of the deuil by the spiritual crafte of a souldiour of SathaÌ„ which by painted wordes woulde transform him self into an angel of lyght Whose boke is spred euerie where and receiued in manie places more reuerentlie then the blessed bible the holie worde of God Yet no maÌ„ hath so farre as I know once opened his mouth or taken penne in hand to make answere to this blasphemouse messenger of the proude Senacherib neglectinge the liueinge God for the littel I dole that he maketh God or no God at hys pleasure who suffreth Mise to eate him and the wicked to deuoure him Lette all other men do as they shall thyncke good wyth silence to let suche thynges slip Truly if I coulde saye nothinge thereunto but onely naye denienge Idolatrie and renouncynge all supersticion therin maintained I iudge it my parte to publishe my faith rather then by my silence to seame to consent to suche diuillishe doctrine So also do I esteme it the dutie of the faithful in this perillous tyme plainely to professe the Lord the liueuinge God to be the onely God in heauen a boue and in the erth beneth leste bi our silence for sakinge hys cause here vpon erth we be forsaken in his heauenly palace For lyke as in herte we do beleue to oure rightuousnes so must we necessarily confesse to oure saluacion as Paule teachethe We must beware as Paule warnethe and the bishope taketh the same text first ofal that our senses be not corrupted from the simplicite and sing lenesse that is in Christe as the serpent begiled Eua. We knowe but one God We are maried vnto one We knowe but one Christ made man and none other creature for ourcause This thing as we beleue it in herte so muste we in mouth â—oâ—fesse the same if we wyll walke in the simplicitie and sing linesse that is in Christe as becometh christians For if the hert and mouth go together then is it sing lenesse otherwise it is doublenesse and dissembling But there is one other simplicitie as it hath bene compted as the worde hath bene abused which is verie folishnes This maye we cal the simplicitie that Antichriste woulde haue styl to reigne amonge vs and therefore his champion when he brought in the texte of Paulle lefte out the principall wordes Que est in christo Whyche is in Christe as their olde texte hath it And thorowe out hys whole boke he woulde driue vs to be simple That is to saye to folowe as we be led like blinde men that the proude papisticall prelates still leadeinge vs into the pitte of perdicion abuseing our wines and goodes maye saye in their connentes Let them alone let them offer still vnto Imeages a pice of bread or any thinge else of a good intent all is well done that is done of a good intent They maye worship a stocke or a stone let them folow their auncient fathers They are good simple soules They do as we and oure doctours teach theÌ„ If we let theÌ„ knowe al trueth they wilbe as wise as we and then they wyll smally regarde vs. Thys is their workeinge these are their wordes howe so euer they haue clokâ—d hertofore all the worde nowe seeth it Let vs beware therfore of this thir simplicitie and let vs no longer thynke that this their doctrine is'true that al should he well done that is done for a good intent and that it is well done in all thinges to beleue theyr doctours For this ignorante opinion that thei haue grounded in their hertes hath hitherto stopped the waie to all knowledge and nowe letteth faith to be grounded and causeth men to continew styll in their olde errowres wythout any desire to come out of blindnesse Consider therefore good reader a gaynste their blinde lessons that Saull was caste from hys kyngedome for his good intent euen because he intended to do sacrifice vnto the Lorde of the best and fatteste of the Amalechites And yet maye thys seme a gloriouse intent The bishoppes of the Iewes and the Idolatours of al ages folowed theyr good intent euen when they put Christ and all hys prophetes and Apostles to death The byshop of Norwich when he burned pore Bilney folowed his good intent our other byshopes also burneninge and murtheringe theyr bretherne in prisone and out of prisone folowed theyr good in tentes But God is the iudge of the inteÌ„tes and thoughtes of vs al and sercheth the verie raine and the holes of our hertes Yea the lord our god abhorreth and the prophetes reproue vs alwayes because we wyll do euerie man that semeth good in his owne
killed grat Goliath it is easilie perceiued by coÌ„paring of his bokes with EcolaÌ„padius zwin glius how far vnable he was to defeÌ„de thys cause What mildenes of spirit ouer much care of christian quietnesse caused Bucere in wordes so far as the trueth could any thing yelde to agre with you al men that read his bokes with iudgement may iudge Zwinglius workes who so readeth theÌ„ as he was a man of in comparable eloquence and lerneing are able to coÌ„found all the rabble of the papistes and al his aduersaries that speake againste him But nowe come you into your ruffe againe with your doctours of thousaÌ„d yeres yet maie we proue some of theÌ„ to haue ben scarselie v. hundred yeres other some of small Authoritie and the best smally serueing for your purpose AmoÌ„gest theÌ„ all the most auncieÌ„t is S. Andrewe the apostle you saie whom you alledge not out of the scripture for we haue nothinge of his writeinge there but out of your holy legeÌ„da auria as I suppose or else I praie you whens shall this thing haue his authoritie of the porteous perchanÌ„ce which techeth vs to locke for saluacioÌ„ by the merites of Thomas Beket by setting vp a caÌ„dle or building a chapel in the name of S. Margarete It appeareth that you would faine haue the mattier good wheÌ„ you flie to your popeish portous Thus woulde you craftilie deceine the people Let Paul answere your porteouse maÌ„ which saieth he doth dailie sacrifice Christ on the aulâ—…re of the crosse We lerne in the Epistle of Paule to the Heb. that it is the propre peculiar office of Christ to offer him selfe that with his owne offering he hath made his holy for euer by his own offering once don therfore was he made prieste after the order of Melchisedech without successour Wher for they that go about to sacrifice Christe do rob him of his priesthod For Christ onely was called vnto that office for he ouelie was called as Aaron was and no maÌ„ maye take vnto him that office vnlesse he be caled as Aaron was Not with standinge that we maie please al and offeÌ„d no maÌ„ if it be so possible take the wordes of S. Andre spirituallie as no doubt he was spiritual would speake theÌ„ none otherwaies but spiritually and thaÌ„ make thei nothing against vs. He sacrificed not on the aultare of stone but vpoÌ„ the aultare of the crosse And for the maintenaunce of thys sacrifice he hym selfe was also sacrificed on the crosse What dyd he sacrifice The vnspotted lambe Where he alludeth to the olde figure as is saied whose flesh and bloud beinge spiritually receyued feadeth al the faythfull people Thus maist thou answere gentle reader euen vnto the best of the doctours vnderstandeinge them spirituallye And that they shoulde be so vnderstanded appeareth by the firste wordes that you bring out of Chrisostome we offer sayeth he but for the remembraunce of hys death Again this sacrifice is a resemblanÌ„ce of the other Agayne alludeinge to the olde figure he sayeth We do offer one lambe or else should ther be many Christes Then sheweth he who is the byshop that offereth the sacrifice Not Chrisostom nor Andrewe â–ª but Christe And thys whiche they do is the remembraunce of that whiche is done alredie These olde writtes had muche more libertie to speake such wordes because at that tyme ther wer no suche errours hard of as you do defend nowe by your popeishe prerogatiue But whan you answere that Christe bydeâ—h you pristes sacrifice him because he sayeth Hoc facite I dare saye you finne in wylfull blindenesse And that boeth for that you leaâ—e out thefâ—â—t and principall parte of the sentence whiche moste declareth the purpose of Christ in the remembraunce of me and also because you knowe well inowghe what significacion Hoc facite muste haue boeth in thys place and all other I knowe well that you english bishopes be not so sleÌ„derly learned as the Sorbouistes or doctors of Parise whiche in their determinations do bringe incum faciam vitulam Take the whole seÌ„teÌ„ce together therfore and make of it what you can Hoc facite in mei memoriam do thys in the remembraunce of me Donec veniat tyll he come maketh cleare against you that saye he is heare al redie let Damascene dote as longe as he lusteth If you wreast this playne text do this in the remembraunce of me vntill I come what scripture can be salfe from your gloses Yet by your doctoures by whom you caÌ„ glose forth al thinges I wyl not greatly contende with you as I dyd proteste in the begining First and principally because our fayeth maye be grounded vpon no maÌ„s saings but vpon the worde of God onely whiche is able to teach to reproue and to enstructe a man to euery good worcke Secondly because this contencion shal neuer haue an ende so long as you maye haue authoritie to glose euerie worde of the doctours accordinge to your owne pleasure Thirdely because ther hath ben no â—…ning so lewed but it hath ben proued and is at this daye allowed by the authorite of the doctours Fourthli because the scripture must be the toâ—chston and iâ—dge of all other thynges wordes sayinges and writeynges and may be Iudged by non other Sixtli because we our selues shalbe Iudged and examined whether we haue kept that whyche Christe coÌ„maunded vs and not that which doctours haue written Seuenthly and finally because in the worde of god lyeth al truth and we haue an especiall commaundement frome the father to here Christe the authoure therof the spirite comeynge down from heauen with his open testimonie Thys is my dearly beloued soÌ„ne in whom I delyte heare hym where the doctours contrarie wyfe as they are men and this scripture must nedes be true Omnis homo mendax euerie man is a lyar so do they trie them selues as men contendeynge one with an other eche one coÌ„trarie to his felowe Yea and the selfe same man retracteynge and recanteynge that that he had wrytten before that we may learne to trust in no man nor to put fleshe our arme for feare of the great curse but to stycke vnto the euerlastinge worde of God as a lantern vnto our fete wherof ther shall not one Iote or tytle perishe though the heauen and the earth do melt awaye In thys we shall finde sufficient fode for our soules if we can paciently rest and fead therin Wherfore for this tyme all your doctours set aparte and your dyuell sayeth neglected because your hope is so muche in man and you are not ashamed so often to brinde in the deuil sayeth I praye you here the complaynt of God by his prophetes vpoÌ„ the Idolatours of al ages and do not thinke much to herkeÌ„ what God sayeth of you of this time which caÌ„ non other wayes mayntain your pompe but with the coÌ„tumely of your creatour the plain denial of the only sacrifice of his son
can chaunge the thynge that they doe but once breath vpon Proue it once to be chaunged and I wyll neuer call it breade agayne But because you can proue no chaunge your similitude of the rodde of Moyses which was turned into a serpent strenght waye retorned to a rod agayne is not lyke For the same rodde was afterwarde declared euer in the sight of Pharao and al the Egiptians to be the aduengeing rod of God wherby al the waters of Egipt were turned into bloude and all the wonderfull plages wroughte whiche are terrible vnto vs vnto thys day Worthely therfore was this called a rodde for it was the chastesyng rodde of God and alwayes returned into a rodde agayne so often as Moyses or Aaron dyd take it in their handes Nowe for that you bryng Iacob for your purpose ther was no chaunge of substaunce in hym for he was styl Iacobbe his house was styll called the house of Iacob through out all the prophetes as wel as Israel Micheas sayth I am full of strength to shewe the house of Iacob their wyckednes and the house of Israel their sinne Agayne ye rulers of the house of Iacob and ye iudges of the house of Israell You are far deceiued in the Etimologie and true significacion of this worde Israell For the name was geuen him not of seinge the Lorde neither wyll the Hebrue word Israell serue therunto but as is plainely declared in the text of Genesis it was because he had striued princely wyth God and with men and had preuailed therfore was it sayed vnto hym Thy name shalbe Israell that is to saye one that hath myghtilye preuayled against God and meÌ„ for this is the true Etimologie of the worde Israel All your other exemples make for vs but that we wil not be tediouse in appling them to oure purpose because the tyme is to little for your other mattier ⧠The church and elders NOw doth the foxe renne to his old vsed pathes Stoppe thin eares and be deafe Thou muste belieue the churche and learne to spell 〈◊〉 with a lyttle as we men of the churche teache the The foxe hath small shifâ—e when for feare of espiynge in playne pathes he rennethe to this hedgerowe of eÌ„ est eÌ„ en but we haue answered to this churche before and taught you it hath deceiued vs with false spelles darke gloses And we maye well be contented with this answer that SaÌ„ct Paul calleth it breade and it is called bread also in other places of the scripture how so euer the bishopes men do name it For ther is no word truer or better then the wordes of scripturs are neither any spellinges or speakings more certain then those that be taught by the word of God But you aske vs thys question Hath not the church had and vnderstand these wordes and yet notwithstandinge taught this lesson That the bread is by consecracion turned into the bodie of Christ Yea they haue coÌ„demned and brent all them that woulde saye that bread remayneth Yet did they kepe Paule still as they did Iohn geuinge occasioÌ„ to the Arians To this I answer that the Romeish churche hadde the scriptures but the father of this church did treade them vnder his fete Not onely bodily when he was coniuringe at his masse but also by his powre and the spirites that he sent abrode commaundeinge that no man shoulde otherwise vnderstande them then he and his church determined And therfore he assigned that eueri man that shoulde meddle with the studie of them shoulde first be trayned in the scholes of his doctours and so be sinered with the blacke coles of theyr helly doctrine that theyr soules should neuer be cleare againe as for al other pore men not brought vp in the popeishe learninge of hys scholes and therfore haueing theyr coÌ„sciences lyke a whyte wall redie to receyue all trueth of God his holie worde the scripture was clearlie forboden them like as you haue also with shame inoughe procured in this oure tyme that pore men shall not reade it for feare lest they dispice your shamlesse pompe and pride and vtterly renownce all your wycked erroures For the vnderstandynge of it I can not be leue that the popeishe prelates had the true vnderstandynge therof because they maytened many blinde erroures cleane contrarie to the scriptures which doeth manifestli declare that they were voide of the spirite of trueth which onely openeth the waie to the vnderstaÌ„dinge of the heauenly misteries How blindly haue they taught wythout the worde contrarie to the iudgment of reasoÌ„ or the perceiueynge of the senses that thys bread is chaunged this bitter contencioÌ„ about the matter declareth Surely they haue condemned and brenned men and that ryght many for this mattier wherby they declare theÌ„selfes to be of the cursed seed of Cain and the wicked serpent who was the murtherer euen frome the beginninge Finally they haue kept the gospel and scriptures still we thanke God and not them for god hath caused the phariseis before theÌ„ and our bishopes folowing to kepe these Iewelles for our vse and profite and for theyr own coÌ„fusion that by the sam bokes which they kept and wher vpon they boasted they shoulde be openly conuinced and ouercome Wherfore in that your doctour Damascen and you would haue vs learne of our elders we answer that froÌ„ the elders al iniquitie is sprongen A seniorâ—bus ingressa est iniquitas And the Israelites are alwayes by the threateninges of the prophetes forbidden to folowe the waye of theyr fathers and elders We must therfore crie with Dauid Peccauimus cum patribus nostris iniuste egimus iniquitateÌ„ fecimâ—s We haue sinned with our fathers we haue done vnrighteously we haue done wickednesse Aske your father and myne O bishope aske theyr fathers and grandfathers what they haue beleued and they wyl answer accordinge to the tyme that they were in that they belieue as the churche of Rome doeth belieue For so my father taught me and so dyd the priestes generally teach in all place chargeinge the people vnder the payne of the greate cursse to belieue as theyr holy father of Rome belieued And farther coulde they not teache vs theyr children neyther beinge suffered to haue the scriptures in englyshe neyther heareynge any thynge but the lyes of the Romeishe Antichriste by their popeishe curates In this church you can finde nothinge amisse And this blynde churche is it that you laboure so sore to defend or else woulde you in some one place haue geuen vs warneinge that we folowe not thys Romeishe churche But doutlesse all your boke thorowe you spende all your wittes to brynge vs vnder the captiuitie of thys church that you might worthily triumphe as you haue done makeinge marchandise of our soules Woulde God the kynge oure maister heade ruler and leader woulde searche forth suche Romeishe traytours For they can neuer take hym for they onely heade so longe as they haue an