Two Treatises Against the Papists, Article rebutted 4
The fourth article conteyneth 3. demandes.
1 I demand, what Church hath mightely gonne through, borne downe, and fully vanquished, all heresies in times past, aswell against the blessed Trinitie, as other Articles of our religion?
I Aunswere, the true Catholike Church, hath alwayes resisted all false opinions, contrary to the worde of God, as her duty was, and fought against them with the sworde of the spirite, which is the worde of God, and by the aide of God obteyned the victorie, and triumphed ouer them. So did Paule ouercome the Iewes Act. 18. So did the fathers of the primitiue Church, from time to time, confute heresies, by the scriptures, and declare in their writinges, that by them they are to be confuted, for examples sake of a great number, I will alleage a few. Hylarius, writing of the blessed Trinitie against heretikes Lib. 4. sayeth: Cessent ita que propriae hominum opiniones, ne que se vltrà Diuinam constitutionem, humanae iudicia extendant: Sequamur ergo aduersus irreligiosas, & impias de Deo institutiones, ipsas illas diuinorūm dictorum authoritates, & vnumquod que eorum ipso de quo quaeritur auctore tractabimus. Wherefore let opinions propre to men geue place, and let not mens iudgements stretche them selues further than God his constitution. Therefore against these vnreligious and vngodly opinions of God, let vsus follow the very authority of God his sayings, and handle eueryevery one of them, by the aide of him, about whome the question is: Thus Hylarius, woulde hauehave heresies against the Trinitie, to be confuted, not by mens iudgement, but by God his word. Basilius magnus, very often testifieth, that he woulde hauehave all good thinges, proued by the scripture, and all euill thinges confuted by the same, In his moralles Dist. 26. EueryEvery worde or deede, must be confirmed by the testimonie of holy Scripture, for the perswasion of good men, and the confusion of wicked men: And in his treatise of Faith: we know, that we must now, and alwayes, auoide eueryevery voice or opinion, that is differing from the doctrine of our Lorde. And in his short definitions to the first interrogation: whether it be lawefull or profitable for a man to permit vntounto him selfe, to do or say any thinge, which he thinketh to be good, without the testimonie of the holy Scripture? he aunswereth: forasmuch as our Sauiour Christ sayeth: that the holy Ghost shall not speake of him selfe, what madnes is it, that any man shoulde presume to beleue any thing, without the authoritie of God his worde. By these, and many other places, it is manifest, that Basilius, woulde hauehave heresies and false opinions, confuted by the holy Scriptures.
Chrysostome, vponupon Luke cap. 16. sayeth, that the ignorance of the scriptures, hath bred heresies, and brought in corrupt life, yea it hath turned all things vpsidown, by which it appeareth, by what meanes he would hauehave heresies kept away, namely by knowledge of the scriptures. It were to long to reherse all the places of S. Augustine, by which his minde appeareth, that he would hauehave the Church, sought onelyonly in the scriptures, and heretikes confuted, onelyonly by the scriptures, to whose onelyonly authoritie in many places, he professeth that he him selfe will be bounde, as Epist. 19. ad Hieronymum. Epist. 48. Vincentio. Epist. 111. Fortunatiano. Epist. 112. to Paulina, contra Faustum. lib. 11. cap. 5. Contra Cresconium Grammaticum, lib. 2. cap. 31. & 32. de Baptismo contra Donatistas lib. 2. cap. 2. De meritis & remissione peccatorum, contra Pelagianos lib. 3. cap. 7. De naturae & gratia cap. 61. De gratia Christi contra Pelagium cap. 43. De nuptijs & concupiscentia lib. 2. c. 29. In these places, S. Augustine preferreth the authority of the Canonicall scripture, before all writinges of Catholike Doctors, of Byshops, of Councells, before all customes, and traditions. But that he would hauehave the true Church sought onelyonly in the scriptures, it is manifest, by these places, first in his 48. Epistle to Vincentius. Nos autem ideo certi sumus, neminem se a communione omnium gentium iustè separare potuisse, quia non quis quam nostrum in iustitia sua, sed in scripturis Diuines quaerit Ecclesiam. speaking of the Donatistes, he sayeth. We are suer, that no man could iustly separate him selfe from the communion of all Nations, because none of vsus seeketh the Church in his owne righteousnesse, but in the holy Scriptures. So if the Papistes woulde not presume of their owne righteousnesse, but seeke the Church of Christ in the scriptures, they would not separate them selues from the communion of Christes Church, now by God his grace inlarged farther than the Popish church. Also in his booke De vnitate Ecclesiae. cap. 2. he hath these wordes. Inter nos autem & Donatistas quaestio est, vbi sit Ecclesa. Quid ergo facturi sumus? in verbis nostris …am quaesituri, an in verbis capitis sui Domini nostri Iesu Christi… puto quod in illius potius verbis eam quaerere debemus, qui veritas est, & optimè nouit corpus suum. The question is betwene vsus, and the Donatistes, where the Church shoulde be, what shall we doe then? shall we seeke her in our owne wordes, or in the wordes of her heade our Lorde Iesus Christ? I thinke we ought rather to seeke her in his words which is ye Truth, and best knoweth his owne body. So the question is at this daye, betwen the Papistes and vsus, where the church is, let vsus seeke in God his worde, there we shall easily finde her. To the same intent, he speaketh in the third, fiueth, and sixtenth Chapters of the same treatise. Furthermore, that he woulde hauehave heretikes confuted onelyonly by the scriptures, he sheweth likewise in many places of his workes: for writing against Maximinus the Arian, lib. 3. cap. 14. a place commonly and often cited, he sayeth: but nowe, neither must I preiudicially bring forthe the Councell of Nice, nor then the Councell of Arimine, for neither am I bounden to the authoritie of the one, nor you of ye other, but let matter with matter, cause with cause, reason with reason, contend by authoritie of the scriptures, not proper to any, but ind…fferent witnesses to both partes. If Augustine would not oppresse the Arrians, by the authoritie of the Nicene Councell, which was the first, and the best generall Councell, that euer was, but only by the scriptures, how much lesse woulde he charge them with other authorities, that the Papistes alleage, beside the authoritie of holy scriptures. And in his booke De Vni…ate Ecclesiae against the Donatistes the 16. chapter: Sed vtril ipsi Ecclesiam teneant, non nisi diuinarum scripturarum Canonicis libris oftendant, quia nec nos &c. But whether they holde the church or no: let them shew none other wise, but by the canonicall bookes of holy Scripture, for we our selues doe not say, that men ought to beleue vsus, that we are in the Church, because we holde that Church which Optatus of Mileuitum, or Ambrose of Millayn, or innumerable other Byshops of our communion, hauehave commended to vsus, or because it is set forth by the Councels of our felowe byshops, or because so many myracles of hearing requests, or healinges, are don in the holy places, which our fellowship doth frequent in the whole worlde, so that the bodies of Martyrs, which were hidden so many yeares (which thinge if they will aske they may heare of many) were reuealed vntounto Ambrose, and that at the same bodies, one that had bene many yeares blinde, very well knowen in the citie of Millayn, receyued his eyes, and eye sight, either because this man dreamed, or that man was rauished in the spirite, and hearde a voice, that he should not ioyne himselfe to Donatus, or that he shoulde departe from the faction of Donatu… : for when soeuer such thinges are don in the Catholike Church, they are to be allowed, because they are don in the Catholike church▪ but the church it selfe is not therfore proued to be Catholike, because these thinges are done in it. By this Augustine declareth first that heretikes must be confuted, onelyonly by the scriptures, and secondly that neither Councells, succession of byshops, vniuersality, miracles, visions, dreames, nor reuelations, are the notes to trie the Catholike church, but onelyonly the scriptures. Moreouer in his booke De Pastoribus cap. 14. Quaerit infirmus Ecclesiam &c. A weake person seeketh the Church, he wandreth and seeketh the church▪ what sayest you? The church is of Donatus side. Enquire for the shepheards voice, Reade me this out of some Prophet, reade me this out of some Psalme, rehearse me it out of the lawe, rehearse it out of the Gospell, rehearse it out of the Apostle, out of them do I rehearse the Church dispersed ouer all the worlde. And a litle after: Tu accusas non Euangelium &c. Thou accusest, not the Gospell, thou accusest not the Prophet, not the Apostle of whome this voyce speaketh to me I beleue him other I beleue not. But thou wilt bring forth decrees, I will also bring forth decrees, shoulde I beleue thine? beleue thou mine likewise. I beleue not thine, neither do thou beleue mine, then let mens writings be layd away and let Gods worde sounde betwen vsus: bring me one place of scripture for Donatus side &c. These places maye sufficiently declare by what meanes this doctor thought the Church shoulde ouerthrowe heresies, namely by the worde of God onelyonly, which thing also Leo, the first byshop of Rome, in his Epist. 10. ad Fabianum contra Eutychen plainely confesseth saying: Sed in hanc insipientiam cadunt, qui cum ad cognoscendam veritatem &c. But those men fal into this foly, which when they are hindred by any doubt to knowe the trueth, hauehave not recourse to the voyces of the Prophets, not to the writings of the Apostles, not to the authoritie of the Gospell, but to them selues. And therefore they become, maisters of error, because they hauehave not bene schollers of trueth. Of the same iudgement was the whole Councell of Constantinople the sixt, as appeare Actione 18. Si igitur omnes simpliciter &c. Therefore if all men from the beginning woulde hauehave simply and without subtiltie taken vponupon them the preaching of the Gospell, and hauehave bene content with the constitutions of the Apostles, suerly matters shoulde hauehave bene well, and in good case, neither shoulde painefull contention, hauehave bene exercised against the authors of heresies, nor against the fauorers of priests. Here the Councell confesseth, that the heretikes and schismatikes grow so fast, because they were not beaten downe, by preaching of the Gospell and authority of the scriptures. Thus I hauehave declared by example, and authority of these Fathers, that the true Church of Christ, hath conuicted all heretikes, onelyonly by the scripture.
2 And what Church it was, that hath alwayes stande still, and stedfast, whilest all other Congregations, as well of Arrians, as Anabaptistes, Aerians, Nouatians, Vigilantians, Iouinians, and the rest hauehave decaied.
THe true Church of Christ, hath alwayes stoode stedfast, and vnseparable, from Christ her heade, when all heretikes hauehave bene, and shal be confounded. But the true Church hath not alwaies florished in wordly peace and tranquilitie: for vntill the tyme of Constantine the great, which was Anno Dom. 339. the Church had small rest from cruell persecution in most places: and soone after againe vnderunder the Emperors Constantius, Constans, and Valens, it was greatly infected with the heresie of Arius, what time also Tiberius Bishop of Rome, was infected with the same heresie. After that when Iulianus the Apostata, was Emperor, the temples of Idolls were opened, and gentilitie againe restored, so that the Church suffered great detriment. To be short, when the barbarous Goathes, Vandales, Alanes, and other Idolatrous or heretical nations destroyed the Empire, the Church of God suffered a great Ecclipse. But when Mahomet, in the East, & Antichrist the Pope, in the West, seduced the world with most detestable heresie, then was fulfilled that which was reuealed to S. Iohn in the 12. of the Apocalyps, the woman clothed with the Sonne, which you your self confesse to be the Church, was so persecuted by the Dragon, that she fled into the wildernes, there to remaine a long season. Where she hath not decayed, but ben always preserued, vntil God should reueale Antichrist, and bring her againe into open light, which (his holy name be praysed) is now brought to passe in our dayes, to our inestimable comfort, and his euerlasting glory.
3 And if it can be proued that either the Protestants Church or any other Church but ours, hath mightely ouerthrowne these foresayd sectes, and other of all sortes, I recant.
IT hath bene already proued sufficiently, that the true Catholike Church which is ledde onelyonly, by the worde of God, as a most infallible rule, hath ouerthrowne heresies of all sortes. But the popish church which refuseth the only weapon, by which heresies are cut downe, to be sufficient for that purpose, neuer was nor shall be strong enough to encounter with heretikes, therefore she practiseth to vanquish those whom she counteth for heretikes, not by authoritie of the Scriptures, but by fire and sworde, and cruell warre, as appeareth by her dealing with the Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemians, and in our dayes with the true Christians. But where her power of fire and sword could not preuayle, there hath she not ouerthrowne such as she condemneth for heretikes, namely the Grecians church, & all other churches of Asia, and Aphrica, which vntounto this day will not acknowledge her doctrine to be Catholike, nor her authoritie to be lawefull. Wherefore seeing the Popish church neither hath confuted those that are heretikes in deed, nor subdued those whom she counteth to be heretikes, if you be a good as your worde, you recant.