An Answer to Blasphemous Cavillations by an Anabaptist, Section 33
THE ADVERSARIE.
This say you,The 33 sectio with many other manifest testimonies of the Scriptures, ye …osse, and turne vpside doun… seking shiftes to maintein your errors, where by you declare your self to be of the nombre of them, of whom it is written in the same place, which do say tush the way of the Lord is not indifferent ye will not that the Lord iudge according to this way set. furth in his word but of necessitie by an immutable … saue a certē, & of necess…tie to cō dēne all the rest, ye must not so read gods word studying rather to teache the holy Gost, then to learne your duetie of him, seking meanes rather to cō firme your preconceaued error, then to auoid it. what true… can he learne at the word of God, which worshippeth the idoll of his own phantasie, and hath alredie forsaken the mynd of the trueth. Remēbre that the first less… ̄ of wisdom, is to be willing to learne wisdom▪ Cast away therefor the …doles of your heartes, which made you st…mble in your wayes, submit your selues to the word, as humble and meke lābes. for the lambe onelie was found worthie to open the seales of the book. Trust not your error to be thebetter because it hath many fauorers specially of thē, which hauehave the name of learning for such hauehave bene alwaies in all ages, ennemies to the trueth inuenters of sectes & errors, such like as Iannes and …ambres resisted Moises so do they the trueth, as the learned scribes & Pharise…s blasphem…d the word of God and persecuted Christ the trueth it selfe, so do they yet in hu membres. And euen as the pharesies said, do any of the reulers or of the phareseis beleue in him, this comō people which know not the law is cursed, so say they nowdo any of our learned doctors teach so these vnlearned felowes are cursed, for they cā not vnderstād gods word they vnderstād onelyonly the english tōgue, & yet wil they medle with …, as thogh the gifte … & the giftes of prophecying were so boūd together, that God coulde not minister the one without the other. but this is no new… thing, for this was laid to Christ, & his Apostles charge▪ that they were vnlearned▪ But the holie Gost wille… vsus not to iudge so. marke saith Paul, your calling how that not many wyse mē after the fleshe not many migthie not many of hieght degre are called but God ha…h chosen the weake things of the worlde the vile things of the worlde, & thinges which are despised, & of … reputaciō to confound the mightie, & to bring to naught things of reputaciō, how cā such great mē beleue, seing they seke tobe praised one of an other and to be preferred for their knowledge in the tongues, & for the multitude of their bookes which they writ, such learned mē are more mete to be in Herodes hall, thē in Christes stable, the dore is to lowe & …hey … stout, they may not stowpe so lowe for the disgracing of their graui…ie, onelyonly poore shepherds which are accustomed to stables are foūd mete to hauehave Christ reueled to them, not that I disp…se learning or learned men. for I knowe that learning is the good gift of God: ye… as S Paul saith knowledge maketh a man to swel, and many in our tyme as in all ages paste do abuse this good gift of God, yet not all, God forbid, for som I know, I prayse God to whom it hath pleased God to reuele the trueth of this mater, which in perfect knowledge of the sōg…es, are to be compared with any of your Rabbes. Be not deceaued therefore with vaine … of learning, or of worldlie wisdome ifye seke Christ, seke him where he is in the poore stable, and not in Annas and Caiphas pallasses, wi…hout ye will se and heare Christ accused, to such a banket peraduenture Christ may be called of the learned. If you wil hauehave Christ, ye must not go to seke him in …he vniuersities where you may be praised for your sharp wittes and eloquent tongues, but you must go forth vntounto him out of the tentes and suffer rebuke with him▪ knowe ye not that the learned phareseis and lawers coueted to talke somtime with Christ, not to learne but to dispute, and trap him, in his sayinges and so did the learned Philosophers of Grecia with Paul. Awake therefore in time, be no longer deceaued with he…r auctoritie examyn your selues examyn your selues I say how much ye hauehave increased in Christ by his doctrine, what perfection it hath wroght in you, & how much Christ is facioned in you by it. If you wil forsake this error, & embrase the trueth, where by ye are taugh… that God will all men to be saued, ye shall God willing perceaue more increase in godlynes, & that shortly, then euer ye could or durst loke for continuing in your error.
ANSWER.
Whether yt you or we peruert the meaning of ye holie Gost speaking in hisholie scriptures,To the 1 we chiefly remitte iudgement to him, who shall iudge the worlde with equitie, not refusing also in the mean season the iudgement of indifferent readers. To your vniust accusatiōs, cauillations, and malitious reportes, I will answer no thing, till the ende of this worke. And then I purpose to lay before your eyes suche thinges,To the 1. 2. 3. 4 as ye can not denie, to the end that the simple may iudge, which of vsus do worship the Idoll of our own fantasies, and hauehave forsaken ye mynd of the trueth.To the 5 Albeit that ye, and your capteyn Castalio beginne now to dispyse learning, yet be ye neuer able to proue that we hauehave dispised godlines in the most simple of our brethren. howbeit we can not conceale the trueth, affirming, that he who hath faithfully traualed in the tongues, and in the writings of godlie men is, more able to auoid error, and also more apt to teach the trueth and to confute the aduersarie, then he which is altogither ignorant, except in his naturall tongue. for we know that miracles, and the visible giftes of the holie Gost, giuen in the dayes of the Apostles are now ceassed. Therefor I say, we are not so proude, that we dispyse learning, nether yet so malicious, that we contemne the meanest gift that God hath giuen to any of our brethren.To the … If any be that boast or bragge of their knowledge in the tongues, or of ye multitude of ye bookes, wc they write I will cōfesse them worthie of most sharpe rebuke. But as for suche as be principal instrumētes of Christ Iesus, how much they hauehave profited the Church of God, and how litle praise, or cō mendation they hauehave soght or do seke of man, the day when the secretes of all heartes shalbe reueled, will declare and men, who be most familiarly acquainted with them partly can witnes.
As we do not enuie ye perfect knowledge in tongues of such as you praise,T… the 7 so do we vnfeinedly desire God, so to gouerne their heartes, if his good pleasure be, that rather they studie to edifie Christes afflicted Churche, thē to accuse, sclander, and traduce suche, as in the vineyard of the Lord, hauehave labored, and daily do labor much more then they do.To the … That ye will vsus to turn from that we ye call our error promising vsus (if so we will do) more perfection shortly, then euer we durst hauehave loked for we must be first taught that our doctryne is erroneous, and after, for the assurance of our hope, we must hauehave more then the promes of men. Thus ye procede