A Retentive to Stay Good Christians, Chapter 9
The ninthe Chapter.
THat Saincte Peter passeth farre the other Aposlles in Sander.some kinde of ecclesiasticall dignitie.
THat S. Peter had some excellent gieftes, peraduenture more then some of the Apostles, that he had greate dignity among the Apostles, may easely be graū ted, but that he had auctority ouer them, such as the Pope claymeth ouer all Bishops, is of vsus vtterly denyed.
Neitherd oeth any one, nor all together, of M. Sāders 34. argumentes, proue that he had one iote of auctority ouer his brethren.
1 He was first in order of nombring of the twelue Apostles.
2 He was promised to be called Cephas, before the twelue were chosen.
3. He was named Peter at the time of the choise, ergo he hadde the Popes auctoritie ouer them. Who would graunt the consequence of these arguments? Let vsus see what the other be.
4 It was sayd to him alone, thou art Peter, & vppon this rocke I will build my Church. I deny that it was said to him alone, for all the Apostles were likewise rockes, vppon which he would build his Church. The like I say of the 5. that the keyes of the kingdome of heauen were promised to him alone, for eueryevery one of the Apostles receiued thē aswel as he, being or dained with equal power of binding & losing, of remit ing & retayning sinnes. Mat. 18. 18, Ioan. 20. 23. Notwithstanding the wordes at one time were spoken to Peter alone, yet did they giuegive him no singular auctority.
The 6 Christ payed tribute for Peter, as vnderunder head of his family. ergo he was greater then the rest, A fond argument. This Didrachma was payd for eueryevery man in the City where he dwelt, & because Peter had a house and a family in the Cytie, Christ payed for him with whom he lodged, and him selse. But if you drawe it into an allegorie. These absurdities will follow.
First, that Christ maketh his Church and splrituall kingedome subiect to tribute, yea, to Moses lawe, by which that kind of tribute was due.
Secondly you deuide Christes church into two householdes, Didrachma was to be payde, for the heade or firste borne of eueryevery house. And you shewe your ignoraunce in referring this payment to Num. 3. which was only for the firste borne, wheras this was for all men. And for the firste borne was dewe fiue siccles, whereof eueryevery one was halfe an Vnee of Siluer at the leaste, whereas Didrachma contayning but two Drachmaes. whereof eueryevery one was equall with the Romane pennie coulde be but xvj. pence at the moste of our monie.
It is a strong argument, that the payment of trybute which argueth subiection, should make Peter so greate a Lorde, that he should be out of all subiection, which if Chrysostome had considered, hee woulde not hauehave grounded Peters primacie vppon so friuolus an Argument.
The seuenth, Christe preached out of Saincte Peters Bote, to shew that in his Chaire, his doctrine should alwayes be stedfastly professed. An Argument to be answeared either with laughing or hissing.
The 8. Though all the Apostles were to be sifted, yet Peters Fayth alone is prayed for. This is vtterly false, for Christe prayed for all his Apostles fayth. Ioh. 17. if specially for Peter, it was in respecte of his greater daunger, and not in respect of his greater dignitie.
The 9. Peter firste entred into the Sepulchre, ergo he was made pope. He entred for farther confirmation of his Fayth concerning Christes resurrection, this maye be imputed to diligence but not to dignitie.
10, The Angell sayth, Tel his Disciples and Peter, naming him seuerally because of his shamefull fall, he had more neede of comforte.
The 11. Ambrese thinketh Peter was the first man that saw him. Nay rather the Souldiors which kept the graue saw him before Peter, & the women also, which would geue them dignity aboue Peter, if firste seeing were a matter to argue dignity. or auctority of the seer.
The 12. onelyonly S. Peter walked on the Sea, that signifieth the worlde to be his iurisdiction. As he walked by Fayth, so by weakenesse of fayth he beganne to sinke. And the Sea that he walked on, was but a lake or meere, & therfore cannot well signifie the whole worlde, beside, the argument is as sure as if it were bound with a strawe.
13 S. Peter is shewed to hauehave loued Christe more then the reste, and is alone commaunded to feede his sheepe. He had good cause to louelove him more, because greater sinnes were forgiuen him, but it is false, that he onelyonly was commaunded to feed Christes sheepe, for all the Apostles were likewise commaunded.
14 It is saido to Peter, thou shalte stretch foorth thy hands and followe thou mee, by which a particular kinde of death on the crosse is prophecied. A violent death, but no particular kinde of death is shewed by these wordes. And although it were, yet Peter in beeing Crucifyed, was made no greater then Andrewe, who was crucifyed also, if the storyes of both be true,
15 Peter aunsweared alwayes for the Apostles, ergo hee was chiefe. No more then the foreman of the Iewrye, although it is not true, that he alwayes aunsweared for the rest, for sometime Thomas, sometime Philip, sometime Iudas aunsweared. Iohn. 14.
16 Peter pronounced, Iudas Iscariot deposed. That was by speciall instinct of the holy Ghoste, and by no ordinary authoritie.
17 After the sending of the holy Ghost, Peter aboue all the rest, firste taught the fayth. Chrysostome and Cyrill sayth, he did it by the consent of all the rest, who all stoode vp togither with him, although one spake to auoyde confusion, when the Apologie was made to answere the slaunderous scoffers. But before that, they taught eueryevery one a like.
18 The multitude conuerted, said to Peter and to the other Apostles, but to Peter by name: VVhat shall we doe. If this proue any thing, it proueth the equallitie of the Apostles, that hauing heard one man preach they demand not of him alone, but of all the rest with him, what they shall doe?
19 Peter made aunswere for all, that they should repent & be baptised. It was good reason seeing he made the apologie for all.
20 Peter did the first miracle after the comming of the holy Ghost and by healing the lames feete shewed mystically, that he was the rocke to establishe the feete of other. I aunswere, Iohn healed him as muche as Peter, by Peters owne confession Act. 3. 12. and the lame mans acknowledging the benefit to be receiued equally from both, in holding Peter and Iohn.
21 Peter cōfessed Christ first not only before priuate mē, but at the seate of iudgement. Act. 4. It is false that Peter cōfessed Christ first before priuate men, and at the seate of iudgement, he confesseth equally with Ihon.
22 Peter alone gaue sentence with fullnesse of power vponupon Ananias and Saphyra. Not by ordinarie power, but by speciall reuelation, and direction of the holie Ghost, whatsoeuer Gregorie a partiall iudge in this case doth gather.
23 Peter was so famous aboue the rest, that his shadow was sought, to heale the diseased. This was a singular and personall gift, which the Pope hath not, therefore it perteineth nothing to him.
24 Peter did excommunicate & enioyne penance to Symon Magus the first heretike. Peter denounced Gods iudgement against him, but not by way of excōmunication, & yet the argumēt is naught, as all the rest are, though the antecedents were graunted.
25 Peter was the first that raised a deade body to life, namely Tabitha after Christs ascētiō. This is neither proued to be true, neither if it were, should Peter thereby hauehave greater auctoritie, then his fellow Apostles which likewise raised the dead and peraduenture before Peter, although S. Luke make no mention of them.
26 Peter had first by vision that the Gentiles were called to beleue in Christ. This is false for Paule had that in vision before him. Act. 9. &. 26. 17.
27 God chose that the Gentiles shoulde first of all heare the worde of the Gospell by Peters mouth, and shoulde belecue. Actes. 15. This is false, for Peter sayeth not, first of all, but of olde tyme. And the Eunuche of AEthiopia, was baptised by Philippe before Cornclius of Peter.
28 Prayer was made for Peter, by the churche, which was not so earnestly made for any other Apostle that we read of. Their earnest prayer for Peter, is set forth to shewe that God at their prayer deliuered Peter, not that Peter was thereby shewed to be greater in auctoritie.
29 Paule and Barnabas came to Ierusalem to the Apostles to fitch a solution from Peter. Act. 15. as Theodoret noteth. But S. Luke noteth, that they came to all the Apostes and Elders at Ierusalem, and not to Peter onelyonly, nor for his solution, but for the solution of the councell.
30 In the councell Act. 15. Peter did not onelyonly speake first but also gaue the determinate sentence. Both the partes of this proposition are false, for Sainct Luke testifieth, there was greate disputation before Saincte Peter spake, also Sayncte Iames as President of the councell, gaue the definitiue sentence, accordinge to whose wordes, the synodicall Epistle, was written in the name of all the Apostles and Elders at Ierusalem.
31 Sainct Paule came to Ierusalem to see Peter as Chrysostome sayeth because he was primus first or chiefe? But Sainct Paule him selfe affirmeth in the same place, and diuerse other, that he was equall with Peter, and the highest Apostles. Galathians 2. 8. 2. Corinthians 12. 11.
32 Peter was either alone or first & chiefest in the greatest affaires of the church. The greatest affaire of the church was the preaching vntounto the Gentils in which Peter was neither alone, nor first, nor chiefest. But Paule chiefest. Gal. 2.
33 Peter was sent to Rome to occupie with his chaire the mother church of the Romane prouince and chiefe citie of the worlde, and there vanquished Symon Magus the head of heretikes. &c. All this is vncerteyne being not founde in the Scriptures, but those stories which reporte it, conuinced by Scriptures, to be false in diuerse circumstaunces.
34 Peters chaire and succession hath bene acknowledged of all auncient fathers &c. Although the see of Rome appoynted for the scate of Antechrist, hath of olde bene verie ambitious, yet it is a fable, that hath bene acknowledged by all auncient fathers to hauehave the auctoritie, which the Bishoppes thereof, hauehave claymed. For Irenaeus rebuked Victor, for vsurping. All the Bishops of Africa in councel, withstoode Innocentius, Zozimus, Bonifacius, and Caebastinus, alleaging for their auctoritie a counterfaite decree of the councell of Nic…, as we hauehave shewed before in the first treatise, the like may be sayed of the councells of Chalcedon, of Constantinople, the 5. &c. which withstoode the Bishoppe of Romes auctoritie in such cases as he pretended prerogatiue.
To cōclude, neither any one, nor altogether of these 34. reasons, proue Peter to be greater in auctority, then the rest of the Apostles, and much lesse the Bishoppe of Rome to be greater then Bishops of other seates.