Rejoinder to Bristows Reply, Part 2 · Book 1 · Chapter 3
CAP. III.
The state of the question betweene the Lutherans, Zuinglians, Sander.Caluini…es, & Catholikes, concerning the Sacrament of the altar.
This Chapter containeth no proofe of any thing, but onelyonly setteth downe the bare assertions of Sander, …ulke.vponupon eueryevery matter, which if they be false, it shall be as easy for me to deny, as for him to affirme them, referring the tryall of eueryevery cause as he doth, vntounto the treatise folowing. First it is false, which he affirmeth, that from the beginning of the Christian Church, vntounto the yere of our Lord 1517. All the Church both Greeke and Latine openly professed the carnall presence of Christes body and blood vnderunder the formes of bread and wine. For the Greek church neuer receiued transubstantiation, nor yet taught so grossely of the real presence, as the Papists: nor held the same opinion of consecration which the papists doe. For after the wordes of Christ vttered in their liturgye, they pray thus vntounto God: Fac panem quidem hunc, honorabile corpus Christi tui, quod autem in calice est, honorabilem sang… Christi tui, ea sancto tuo spiritu transmutante. And make this breade, the honorable body of thy Christe, and that which is in the cuppe, the honorable bloud of thy Christe, thy holy spirite changing them. This was obiected vntounto them in the late Councell of Florence. It is also false, that he sayeth, no man in open pulpet, with the auctority or toleration of any spirituall pastor, did preach the contrary: for Wickleef whom he nameth a corner whisperer, in open pulpet preached the same, as his homilies remayning in writing, are a playne testimonye, as in Hom. 5. Sept. quad. in. 6. Ioan. Here it is needfull for men to wite, that there ben two manner of meates, ghostly and bodily: but bodily is well knowne. But nede were here to knowe how men should ghostlye eate Christ. For no man that hath witte dreadeth, that Christ speaketh not here of bodily eating and drinking of his flesh and his blode. For els no man should be saued: for no man is an etene, to seede him thus bodily of Christ, and therefore it were to witte, how men should ghostly feede them thus. For Christ telleth in his words, how men should eate him ghostly, and to this, wite saith Christ here, that the wordes that he speaketh to them, be spirite and life, for such is witte of his wordes. These wordes in their owne kinde ben such as were his other wordes, but wite of these wordes there is spiritual and mannes life. Also Christ saieth there soothly, that each man that shall be saued, shal bee fed of Christ thus. But this may not be vnderstonden of fleshly food of Christs body: And so it mote be vnderstonden algatys of gostly foode, for of bodily foode of Christ may not two be fed together, and so Christ speaketh of ghostly food, by which many bee fed farre and neere. Also the sermon of Aelsri… in the Saxon tongue, apoynted to be sayed in all churches of England teacheth the same doctrine. But I breake promise to stand in con…tation of so impudent lyes. And where he sayth a belee…e which had continued 600. yeares could not hauehave bene sodenly changed, it is very true, for the doctrine of Antichrist concerning the carnal presence, was not come vntounto full ripenes, before the Councell of Laterane, which was more then 600. yeres after the first age of 600. yeres. And although the efficacy of error. preuayled by Gods iust iudgment ouer a great part of the world, yet had Christ alwayes his two witnesses, to protest against it, as Berengarius, Scotus, Waldo, Hen…icus de Gauduno, Wickliefe, &c. which although they were condemned by Antichrist for heretikes, yet seing they taught nothing but the ancient Catholike faith, of the primitiue church, grounded on gods worde, their condemnation in an hundreth councels, can be no preiudice to the trueth.
The meane that maketh present that blessed body (sayeth Sander) is transubstantiation, which being made present thereby, who can deny, but that it is a sacrifice aboue all other external kindes of worshipping, syth at the time of the consecration, it is giuen for vsus vnbloodily, as the wordes of Christ sound, Luke 22. which is geuen for you. But seing S. Paule in exposition of the same wordes, sayth: which is broken for you, who is either so ignorant, or so blasphemous to deny, that the giuing in S. Luke, is to be referred vntounto his death and bloudy sacrifice, which was his only sacrifice of himself offered once for all. Agayne, when al ye three Euangelists, speaking of the sacrament of his bloud, saye, foreign, which is shed for many and for you, sith at the time of the consecration it is shed for vsus, as well as his body is giuen for vsus; who is so shameles, to saye, that it is giuen for vsus vnbloudily inye sacrament? Or if the word of shedding being of ye pre…nt temps or preterimperfect temps, must be referred to the passion which was afterwarde; who is so madde as D. S. to referre the word foreign which is, giuen▪ to a present giuing or sacrifising?
But proceeding in his vaine purpose, he sheweth, that the faultes of the popish clergy aduanced by transubstantiation, caused them to bee contemned of the people, which contempt by Gods iustice stirred vp Martin Luther, like a proude king of Babylon, to come out of the North, to fight against Ierusalē. Can you forbeare laugh ing? They that were carnal in the Popish Church, priests bishops to holde their liuings, Abats and Monkes for good pensions receiued this doctrine and gaue vp their abbies to the Prince. But this good hath Luther done, that he separated the good from the badde, especially from the Popish votary, the maried Monke and vowed Preist, which sayeth, No man ought to vowe chastity, condemning therby, not only an infinit number of virgins, but also the blessed mother of God. To this I answer, that first of all he slaundereth them, which denye the vow of chastity, or rather celebrate (for eueryevery man is bound to liue chastly) to be lawfull, for they denye it, to be lawfull only to those which are not certeine, that they hauehave the gift of continency to continue with them long as they liue. And as for ye vow of the virgin Mary, I pray you how proueth he that she made any? Because (saith he) she wondered how she might hauehave a child, seing she knew not any man. Wherunto her own reason might hauehave replyed that hereafter shee might knowe a man, except shee had vowed her selfe not to knowe at all any man. I answere, that though her reason might hauehave so replied, for hauing a child, yet for hauing such a child, as should be the sonne of ye highest, reason could not satisfie her, and therfore shee desired to be instructed by the angel, by what meanes it should be, without that any vow of virginity, can be concluded in any lawfull forme of argument, out of this place, by any Logician in the world. But contrariwise, that she was betrothed vntounto a man, it is an vndoubted argument, that she vowed not virginitie. For if she should hauehave made any vow before her mariage, she would not hauehave deluded her husband, to promise her body to him, when she had determined the contrarie. If they say, she vowed after mariage: it is plaine by the Gospel, she did it without her husbandes knowledge, and therefore her vowe could not be lawfull. For before Ioseph was instructed by the Angel of her case, his purpose was to hauehave taken her home to him, and vsed her as his wife, vntill she was perceiued to be with child, and then he would hauehave priuily forsaken her.
After this he sheweth what were ye opinions of Luther, Zwinglius and Caluine, which he maketh to be three, in number, when by the consent of ye Churches of Heluetia & Sabandia it is manifest, that the iudgement of Zwinglius and Caluine, concerninge the manner of eating and drinking of Christes bodye and bloud in the sacrament of his supper, was all one. Now concerning that Caluine willeth vsus to goe into heauen by faith, there to feede of Christ spiritually: Sander liketh it not, because our nature not beeing able to climme vp to the seate of God in heauen, the sonne of God came downe to vsus, to life vsus vp into heauen, in taking vponupon him our humaine nature. So when our faith called for Christ to come from heauen to helpe vsus, he let downe the corde of his humanitie, and of his flesh and bloud. And shall wee nowe, when it is let downe to be fastened in our bodies, and in the bottome of our heartes, by eating it really, shall wee nowe refuse it, and say, wee will goe into heauen by faith our selues, and there take holde of Christ, whereby we may be deliuered out of the deepe vale of miserie? As though the corde shoulde hauehave needed to hauehave beene let downe, if wee coulde hauehave fastened our bodyes to anything in heauen, and ye… our bodies are they which weigh downe our soules chiefely. In deede, if the sonne of God, had not come downe vntounto vsus, and ioyned our nature vntounto his, the anchor of our faith, could hauehave had no hould in heauen. But seing the sonne of God did not only come downe vntounto vsus, but also is ascended from the earth, and hath caried vsus vp into heauen with him, Eph. 2. ver. 6. he letteth no more downe vntounto vsus the corde of his humanitye, but we cast vp the sure anchor of our soules, which is fayth, entring into the inward parte of yt spirituall tabernacle, which is heauen, whither our forerunner Iesus is entred, being an high preist for euer after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 6. ver. 19. And vntounto this ascension by fayth, the Apostle exhorteth vsus Coll. 3. 1. If you be risen againe with Christ, seeke those things that are aboue, where Christ is sitting at the right hande of God, set your minde vponupon things that are aboue, & not vpō things that are vponupon the earth. These authorities proue sufficiently, that we must goe into heauen by fayth our selues, for the sonne of God after his dispensation fully accomplished in this world, cōmeth no more downe to vsus in his humaine nature, vntil he come againe to receiue vsus actually into the participation of his glory, according to his promise. Iohn. 14. 3. But now let vsus see, what wholesome doctrine Sander teacheth in those his wordes euen nowe set downe. First, that fayth perteineth onelyonly to the fathers before Christ, and in them called for Christ to come downe vntounto vsus, which when he is come, & dayly letteth down the cord of his humanity, we hauehave no neede of faith to fasten it in our bodyes and hartes, but of our hands. For fayth he compareth to the tongue, by meanes whereof, helpe is called for, but when a corde is lett downe, the vse of the tonge is needeles, and the handes must be occupied. Therfore he saith: It is not sufficient for a man to vse his tongue still, and to let his handes alone. So that by this kind of reasoning, eating it really, being let downe, is the hand, that without the tongue of faith fasteneth it to our bodies & hearts. Thirdly he holdeth, that Christ neded not to hauehave ben incarnat, if men could hauehave fastened their bodies to any thing in heauen. Whereby he denieth, that the fathers of the olde Testament by fayth, were fastened in heauen, before the incarnatiō of Christ, restreining the vertue thereof, not onelyonly vntounto the time, since the same was actually perfourmed, but also to the actuall and carnall manner of coniunction of the body of Christ with our bodies, which they imagine to be in eating the flesh of Christ really.
To conclude, professing that hee intendeth not to speake against the persons, but against the opinions of the Sacramentaries, specially against Zwinglius & Caluine, his purpose is, to proue out of the worde of God: That Christ giueth in his last supper, the true substance of his flesh and bloud, not onelyonly to our soules, by wordes of promise, but also to our bodyes vnderunder the formes of bread and wine. Note here, that the giuing, wherein is the controuersie, perteineth to our bodies, and not to our soules. Also that the giuing of Christes fleshe and bloud to our soules, if I vnderstand this saying, is not really, but by wordes of promise: whereof it ensueth that they, which hauehave not eaten the flesh and bloud of Christ with their bodies, from the beginning of the worlde, are all perished, because none can hauehave life in them, but they that hauehave eaten his flesh and bloud, which Sander holdeth cannot be eaten, really and in deede, but vnderunder the formes of bread and wine in the sacrament.