Answer to a Jesuit, Part 6 – Part 7

Answer to a Jesuit · Part 6 – Part 7

ANSWER.

OF this part of the wryters letter, & of that w^t is past befoir it is easie to cō sider, that he wil acknawledge no Kirk to be the trew Kirk of Iesus Christ, onles y^• it can shaw the dew succession therof, frō the dayes of Iesus Christ. And farther, y^• the teachers of it, do so aggre in doctrine, that in no point they be found to differ one from an other. We answerAnswer. if the immaculate spous of Iesus Christ wer, boūd to these two extremities, The bondage thereof wer moste miserable: but becaus we find our maister Iesus Christ, is moir fauourable to his pure Kirk, then Maister Tyrie craues, we are decreed to stand in that fredome and libertie, whereunto our head, and only souerane Lord, hes called vsus. We find y^t he sendes not his afflicted Kirk to seak a lineal successiō of any persones, befoir that he wil receaue thē: but he with all gentilnes calleth his sheap vntounto him self, saying: cum vntounto me all ye y^t laubour and are laden, & I will ease yow.Math. 11.Matt 11 And agane, all that the Father giueth me, shall come to me:Io. 6.John 6 and him that cometh to me I cast not away.

O golden and moste comfortable sentence, pronunced of him who can not lie. Heir is no mention of any succession that we should clame to, befoir that we be receaued of him, who is the head of y^• Kirk: but only it is said: that that which the father giueth, and that the sone receaueth, shall not be cast away: nether yet will he lose any that cūmeth to him, but that he will saue them and rase them vp at y^e last day. And the Apostle speaking of the vocation of the Gentiles sendes them not to seak a succession: but in the persone of y^• Ephesianes pronunceth this sentence in fauoures of all that beleue in Iesus Christ.

Now therefore ye ar no moir strangers and foraners, but Cietizens with y^• sanct…s and of the houshold of God.Eph…s. 2. And ar builded vponupon the fundatioun of the Apostles and Prophetes. Iesus Christ him self being th… cheaf corner stone: in whome all the buylding coupled together groweth vntounto an holy Tēple in the Lord. Heir we find men who befoir wer strangers maid Cietizenes with the sainctes and of the houshold of God, we find them buyded vponupon the …undation of the Apostles and Prophetes: we find Iesus Christ to be the cheaf corner stone: but we find no mention of any sic successiō as maister Tyrie seameth rigorously and without Godes commandement to craue. And there…oir we cā not but wonder why that mortall man shall craue of vsus that, which nether God y^• Father his sone Ch…ist Iesus nether yet th… holy Apostles in their Ministerie craued of any Realme or Nation. And therefoir let Maister Tyrie tak this for an answer.

That an iniust requeast may iustly be denyed.

And yet least that the wryter or any other should think thē selues rather mocked then answered.Nota. We ade to the premisses, that we are able to shaw the succession of our Kirk directly, & laughfully to hauehave flowed from the Apostles. And our reason is,Direct answer. becaus that in our Kirkis we nether admit doctrine, ryte, nor ceremonie, which be their wrytingis we …ind not authorised. And albeit that this shall not satisfie the new start vp Iesuites: yet our consciences are at rest, becaus we are assured to be auowed of the supreame iudge.

The secund which he requyreth is, that we shall aggre the manifest contradiction that is amonges the principall Doctoures of our new doctrine, and late inuented Euangell. His blaspheamie we remit be Godes hand to be punished, and yet we wold knowe what doctrine is that which he tearmes new. Our Euangell (as befoir is said) is that same which Iesus Christ be him selfe and be his Apostles manifested vntounto the world,Answer to Tyr…i… vnr…asonable …. as all sic as heare y^• form… of our doctrine cā witnes. Where he desyres vsus to aggre all controuersies amōge… our teacheris: we answer, bona fide, that we know no controuersie in doctrine, especially of that which concernes mannes saluation within the Realme of Scotland: but that all the Preacheours within our Kirkis vniformely aggre in doctrine and iudgemēt, notwithstanding the diuersitie of giftes. If Maister Tyrie wolde send vsus to consiliate all controuersies that are in Germanie and ellis where his secund petition hes no greater reason, then had the former. For of God we hauehave no farther charge, but to watche ouer that flocke w^t is subiect vntounto vsus. God hes reased and appointed vsus Preacheours to the Realme of Scotland: In the boundis whereof if we plant not trew doctrine according to the talent committed to our Charge, and oppone our selues to all kynde of erroures y^• may infect the flock, we shalbe criminall befoir God. But y^• we ar precisedly boūd to ryn from coūtrie to countrie, to aggr… all controuersies, albeit it wer euin in the maters of Religion: we find no expres cō mandement geuin to vsus in that behalf of our God. And therefoir we must desyre y^• inspection of Maister Tyrie his power, be vertew whereof he may charge vsus to that paneful trauel, befoir that we can promise obedience. But Maister Tyrie we knowe will alledge, that in wryting of his letter, there was no such thing in his mynd: but that his meaning was, that becaus we did not aggre fully amonges our selues in all heades, therefoir he wold not be of our Kirk. For that in plane wordes he declareth. &c. Now all contention laid asyde, we will desyre Maister Tyrie, and the rest of his factiō deaply to cōsidder, if they be buylded vponupon a sure fundatioun: whill y^• they hauehave none other caus why they appone them selues to the treuth of God, now of his mercy reuealed to the world, but becaus that such as profes that treuth aggre not in all heades amōges thē selues. We demand then what if they had leued in the dayis of the Apostles,Not…. when y^• preaching of Christ Iesus was no les odious to the visi…le Kirk: To wit, to the posteritie of Arahon and Leui, who then rewled in Ierusalem, then hes the light of the Euangell bene, of late yeares, to that Romane Antechrist, and vntounto suche as liue be his Merchandice. Wold Maister Tyrie (we ask) and his factiō, hauehave refused the Euā gell, bec…us that in the bosome of y^• Kirk there arose great controuersie, and that in the especiall heades of Religion? For did not some boldely affirme in the Kirk of Antiochia,…. that onles the Gentiles wer circumcised, according to the law of Moses, they culd not be saued. Which doctrine and affirmation was moir, dangerous and moir sclanderous in those dayes, then all the controuersies that yet ar rissen amonges such, as hauehave refused the dampnable wayes of the Papistrie: for it concerneth the cheaf head of Iustification. And will any yet say that therefore the Euangell was not the glade tydinges of Saluatioun? And they that imbrased it …rewly wer not the trew members of Iesus Christ? We looke that men will be moir moderat, thē some shaw them selues to be: who for certane controuersies of far les importance then that was, dare boldly dāpne y^• treuth and the professoures of the same, becaus say they, Proprium est hereticorum a se inuicem dissentire. That is, it is proper to Heretykes to disagre amonges thē selues whiche sentence how ancient that euer it be, if it should be so vnderstand as the Papist doeth: that is, whosoeuer disagreis amonges them selues in materis of Religiō they are Heretykes. If the former sentēce (we say) should be so vnderstand, then shall we accuse mo of Heresie then cā be excused in any on… age from Christ Iesus to this day. For did not Paule disagre frō Peter? Yea,Gal. …. he did so disagre from him, y^• he did resist him planly to his face, becaus that he walked not according to the right way of the treuth of the Gospell. These wer two prēcipall pillers: the one appointed to the Iewes and the other to the Gē tiles:A…. 15. what shall we say of the hote contē tion which fell betuix Barnabas & Paule, which separated thē that befoir wer ioyned, in as strate coniunction, as euer wer two mortall men vponupon the earth. If Maister Tyrie and his Iesuites will alledge y^• t…ese wer but suddane passiones, and did not concerne any cheaf head of doctrine: The holy Ghost will proue the cont…e. For the one tuiched the cōscience of mē, concerning the fredome of meates, & the other the admission of Ministeris, after y^• they had ones fallen back from that function: which heades wer of greater weght in those dayes (as heirtofoir we hauehave said) then any controuersie which the Papistes ar able to shaw, to be, or yet to hauehave bene, betuix vsus that professes the Euangell, and do abhorre their abhominationes. Farther reasoning of this head for this present we omit, and will procead with Maister Tyries letter.

TYRIES LETTER.

QVhair…oir Schir considdering that in that Kirk in the quhilk I am be the grace of God thair is continuall successiō of doctrine, and that same self quhilk is preachit now hes bene teichit in all ages, as it is manifest till o…y man that hes red all ancient wryteris afoir our tymes. And mairouer I find it spred throw all y^• warld as in lyke maner it is manifest and the experience dois teich zow, for ze will cū to na place quhair Christis doctrine is ressauit, bot ze will find the Religion at leist in mony personis. Quhairfoir gifze can not schaw in na vther Religion the samin. It followis euidently that na vther Religioū is the trew Religioun.