A Brief Confutation of a Popish Discourse, Part 1 · Reason 5 – Answer 5
The fift Reason.
THe fyfte reason, wherefore a Catholyke maye not goe to the5. …. churche of those of the contrary relygion, is, for feare leaste his presence maye bee interpreted by GOD to bee consente vntounto their doing: and so hee bee made partaker of theyr punishement. Concerning whiche wee must vnderstande, that of all the enemyes that GOD hath in this worlde, there is none in so heyghe displeasur… with him, as hee who once knoweing the trueth, and beeinge receau… into his house (the catholike churche) runneth out againe, and1. Tim. 3. 2. Cro. 11▪ Eph. 5. 1. Cor. 12. Colos. 1. by newe deuised doctrines, vexeth and molesteth the same, beeing not onelyonly the house (as I hauehave sayde) of Christ, but also his spowse, nay, his owne bodye. Which sorte of men, the scripture calleth, Heretickes: whose curse and reprobation in this life is more grieuous then any other sinne whatsoeuer and the damnation for the time to come more intollerable.How grieuous a … is. For that as S. Peter saieth, It had beene better for them neuer to hauehave knowne the waye of righteousnesse, then after they knewe it, 2▪ Pet. 2.to turne backe againe. And these are those men, of whome Christ said, that one diuell going forth in their first comming to the fayth by Baptisme,Luck. 11. hee afterwardes entred againe with seuen other diuelles worse then hym selfe, and so made the ende of that man, woorse thenTit. 3. his beginning. And Saint Paule geueth a maroeilous seuere iudgment vponupon them, when he saith, That Heretickes, are subuerted, and S. Paules discrip…ion of an Here…ke expounded.doe sinne, and are damned by their owne iudgementes. First he saieth, that they are subuerted, or ouerthrowne, because they are blotted out of the booke of lyfe: Secondlye, that their whole lyfe, is sin vppon sin: because they are vtterly depriued of God his grace, without the which wee can do nothing but sinne. Thirdly he saith, they are damned by their own iudgementes, either for that they chose wittingly to leaue the catholicke church: (out of the which they knewe there was no saluation) or els because the most of them doe knowe that they doe amisse, and yet for pride they will not come backe. So that eueryevery waye, their case is very pitifullUide Aug. inpsal. 54. Cyp. ep. 76. Amb. li. de incar. ca. 2. Rom. 16. Mat. 7. 2. Tim. 2. Aug. in psal. 39. Aug. li. 2. …ont. aduer, cap. 12. and lamentable.
This poynte the holy Fathers of the Churche doe oftentymes handle very seriously and grauelye, prouing, that Heretickes more offende God, and are infarre worse state, then any offendour els in the world: and namely, more then either Iew or Gentyle. For the which cause, they note that the new Testamente byddeth vsus not to beware of Iewes and Gentiles, but of Heretickes in manye places. The reason is, for that they are those wolues, which Christ foretolde vsus should come in sheepe skins: which as S. Augustine saieth, shall pretende to be very good sheepe, and friendes to Christ and to his sheepefolde: and yet with Christ his owne wordes, they shall teache you to denie Christ, to teare the sheepefold in peeces, and to disperse the sheepe. Nay, they shall sleye more soules with the word, then euer Tyrants did with the sword. Againe, S. Austine proueth at large in a… other place, that Heretickes are those Antichristes, of whome S. Iohn spake, when he saide. That many Antichristes are …. Iohn. 2.now gone out: Meaning of Simon Magus, Cerinthus, and other Heretikes of his …yme. Of which Antichristes hee saieth, that S. Paule did pronounce that terrible saying, that they were. The men of sinne, the 2. Thes. 2.Children of destruction. As who would say, that albeit all other noughtie men were in wrapped with the guilte of sinne, and of their owne destruction: yet those men aboue all others, for their eminente wicked…es, were properly to be called the men of sin: & in respecte of their heynous sinne of slayeing of soules, and the heauy sentence abyding them for the same, they were peculiarlye to bee called, the children of perdition and damnation.
This therefore being so, that the deepe displeasure of God, and his heauye hande hangeth moreouer the heades of Heretickes and Schismatickes, then ouer any other people in the worlde: it is no small daunger, for a man to ioyne him selfe with them, especially in the acte, wherinHeretik…s off… God most in … seruice. principally they offend God: which is, in their assemblyes, seruices, false teachinges and preachinges: at which times GOD his curse is lykeRom. 1. most abundantly to discende vponupon them, & vponupon thosealso that doe assisteA vaine excuse of … confuted. them. For as S. Paule saieth, They are worthy of death, not onelyonly that doe euill, but they also which do consent vntounto them. And that thou maist not excuse they selfe, and say: I am there in body, but I consent not to Iohn. 2.them in hart: S. Iohn expresseth farther, what it is to consent vntounto them, or to communicate with them in their workes, saying. Hee that saieth as much as God speede them, doeth communicate (or participate) with them in their noughtie workes. Which thing the Prophet Dauid knewPsal. 25. well, and therefore sayde, that hee would not so much as sit downe with …uch men, and obiecteth the contrary fault to a wicked man saying: When Psal. 49.thou sawest a theefe, thou wast content to runne with him: Hee doeth not accuse him, you see for stealing with him, but for going or runninge with him, and for keeping him companye, albe it he consented not to his robberie. And S. Paule commaunded Timothy, not to consent to Alexander2. Tim. 4. Rom. 6. the Hereticke, but to auoyd him. Likewise he commanded the Romaines, not to consent to other such like fellowes, but to decline or turne away from them. Finally, saint Paules wordes are generall and playne ofTit. 3. al such men, when he saith. Hereticum hominem deuita. Auoid an Hereticall man: He saith not (goe to church with him) but beleeue him not, o… consent not to him in thy heart. This is our interpretatiō foisted in, therby to boulster vp our owne dissimulation, wherein wee presume farther, then wee shall bee able one day to iustifie: As that foolishe Prophet did3. Reg. … which being sent to preach in Schismatical Samaria (but not to eate with them) ventred farther then his commission, and by perswasion did eate with one, whoe sayde him selfe to bee as good a Prophete of GOD, as the other (as the Protestantes doe saye them selues to bee good Catholykes) but this venturous Prophet was slaine by God for his labour.
It is verye perillous to bee amongest the enemyes of GOD. If Lot hee had stayed but two houres longer in Sodome, hee had dyed with the rest. The terrible death of al them which were in cōpany with those three rebellyous Schismatiques, Chore, Dathan, and Abyron, ought to moue vsus muche: of which number, it is to bee thought▪ manye were simple and ignoraunt men and had little parte of m…lyce and noughtie meaning,Gen. 19. of their ringeleaders: but yet for companyes sake, all peryshedThe company of Heretiques … it is. together. The which example, S. Cyprian applyeth to our purpose, asking of vsus, if these men so peryshed for beinge onelye in company withCyp. ep. 76. those Schismatiques? Are not wee affrayde to bee much more punished A notable saying against our Sc…ismatiques. S. … afrayde of the▪ company of … heretyque.(saieth hee) assisting and furthering (by our presence) hereticall oblations, prayers, sermons, and errours. S. Iohn the deerely beloued of our Sauiour, had as much cause to presume of his masters fauour, as wee hauehave, and yet hee durst not, soe muche as staye in the bath, to washe together with Cerinthus the heretique. For so hee sayeth.Euseb. lib. 3. cap. 22. Let vsus flee from hence, least the bath fall vppon vsus, in the which Cerinthus the enemie of trueth is. M…rke, how he was not only affrayd least the bath woulde fal but also least that it should fal vponupon him for keeping the other companie. What if anye Prince shoulde hauehave willed S. Iohn to hauehave come to Cerinthus his seruice, prayers, and sermons? If the histories reporte that the Apostles and their Disciples woulde not, so much as talke or reason the matter with anye of the heretiques of their time, but fledde their companie for feare, least some parte of their punishment, shoulde lyght vppon them: what wise man nowe, will dare to… this …. goe to their prayers and assemblies? To conclude, I would wishe euerye man to consider the admonition of the Angell of God to christians,Niceph. li. 3. cap. 30. Ap…. 18. talking of all wicked congregations vnderunder the name of Babylon. And I heard an other voyce from heauen, saying, goe out my people from her, to the ende that you bee not partakers of her sinnes: and to the ende you doe not receaue of her scourges: because her sins are come vp to heauen, and God hath nowe remembred her wickednes. Marke how he saith. To the end that you do not receiue of her scourges. And yet, it is certaine, that the people of God did not consent in heart, to the wickednesse of this place, which they are bidden h…reto flee, but on ly were present there, and yet wee see, how dangerous it was to them to bee partakers … the punishment, … God of his goodnesse had not remo…ed them out.
The fifth Reason.
THe fift reason hée calleth in the Margent, participation, but in the text, hee setteth it downe in these wordes The fif… reason wherefore a catholike may not goe to the churche of those of the contrary religion, is for feare least his presence may bee interpreted of God, to be consent vntounto their doing: and so he be made partaker of their punishmente, If the doings of the Protestantes in their Church were naught, the Papists comming to it, might bée partakers of their deserued punishment, not by interpretation of their presence to bée consent, whiche it is not, but by pretending and dissembling to giuegive consent in outwarde presence, whiche they giuegive not in their inwarde conceit. For it is a prophane and vngodly imagination, … ascribe vntounto God, the interpretation of a fact, to bée other, then the minde of the doer meaneth it: seeing the Lord knoweth the thoughtes of all mens heartes, and n…de not like men to interprete their minds, by their outward appearāce. The reste of this reason, is spent, altogether in shewing howe GOD detesteth Heretikes, and punisheth them that hauehave any societie with them, whiche is all true, but that the Protestantes are those Heretikes, Antichristes, or Babylon, out of whiche the faythfull are commaunded to flée, it is not by one woorde attempted too bee prooued, but standeth wholy vponupon the first necessarie supposition, that trueth is falshoode, and falsehoode is trueth, For they cannot bee those Hereticall Antichristes of whiche Saint Iohn speaketh, because they acknowledge1. Iohn. 2. whole Christe, both in person and office▪ but the Papistes which denie his office, of only Redéemer, high Priest, lawegiuer, head of his Churche, Mediatour, and Aduocate for the same, are they of whom Saint Iohn speaketh. But I doe not a litle muse,2. Thes. 2. why our discourser, … the text of Saint Paule in the plurall number, The men of sinne, the children of destruction. Whereas the Apostle saith, The man of sinne, the childe of destruction, and the rest of the Papists, vrge the singuler number so farre, as that they will not admit the Apostle to speake of a whole succession, or order of many, but of one only singuler man. But hereof, let him make account to his fellowes, why hée discenteth from them. Last of al, concerning the charge, which is giuen to Gods people, To goe out of Babylon, &c. Least they bée partakers of her punishments, which he citeth, Apoc. 18. is diligently to be considered. For if we may finde in the Scripture, what is Babylon, we know from whence to flée. The holy ghost therfore, before he gaue this charge, did first plamely describe the whoore of Babylon, the mother of all abhominations of the earth, to be yt City which hauing seuē kingsIren…. lib. 5 Tertul. aduer Mar. lib. 3. Hier. in prefac. Didym de spiritu. sancto. August de ciuit. Dei. li. 16. cap. 11. li. 18. ca. 2. &c. or states of gouernment in succession, is situated vponupon seuē hilles: to be that great Citie, which in that time of the Reuelation, had the kingdome ouer the kings of the earth, which by all reason and consent of the most auncient writers, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hierome, Augustine, &c. Can be none other, but the Citie of Rome, wherfore the spirite of God commaunding his Saints to goe out of Babylon. doeth not bid the Romanistes to goe from Protestants, but contrariwise the Protestants, to goe from the Romanistes