Against Symbolizing with Antichrist in Ceremonies, Part 2 · Chapter 5 · Section 5
#Sect. 5. Second ſuit, that Ceremonies may neither be iudged good or indifferent in regard of circumstances being hurtfull.
OVr ſecond ſuite is, that if they muſt needes hauehave a tente amongſt vsus, that then it be pight without the hoaſt amongſt the leapers, I meane amongſt things acknowledged evill, that ſo they may be no longer approoued either for good or for indifferent, but be in policie tollerated only for the hardnes of mens heartes, like Moſes divorce. For what though the Croſſe and Surplice [per ſe] be things indifferent, ratione circumſtantiarum, they are certainly evill. If any here renewe the tenent of the auncient Adiaphoriſtes, Mat. 19.8.aLibellus ſupplicato. Theolog-German. ann. 1561 Rom. 14.14 … Flac. Illirc. in lib. de Adiaphor. 2 Cor. 10.23.Quod per ſe malum non eſt, id ratione circumſtantiarum, malum fieri non potest, we make our appeale to Scriptures, Fathers, Schole-divines, new Writers, or whomſoeuer. Paule affirmeth of meates foreign per ſe they are good, or as Chriſoſtome, Theophylact, Eraſmus, render foreign natura, when by reaſon of a circumſtance, by him there mentioned, they become vncleane and evill. Neither hath Paule the wordes onelyonly of the former diſtinction, but alſo the doctrine, which "one deliuereth in theſe termes, ſaepè accidit, vt ea quae ſua natura licita ſunt, vel etiam aeliquatenus piae, tamen ob circumſtantias aliquas, fiant illicita in quam ſententiam Paulus inquit, bTertul. de coron. miliOmnia mihi licent; ſed non omnia expediunt. Thus the ſcriptures. Now what the Fathers? Subſtantia munda, vt Dei reseſt, ſaith Tertul. & hac ſua conditione communis vſui, ſed ipſius vſus adminiſtratio intereſt. cAuguſt. epiſt. 86. ad Caſulan.Auguſt. holdeth a faſte on the Sabboth, a thing per ſe indifferent, which yet becauſe of this circumſtance that it is ſcandalous, by reaſon of the Manichees faſting, he holdeth to be vnlawful. What now the Schoole-divines? as actions (ſaydThom. Aquin. 1.2. q 18 art. 3. they) are qualified to be good or evill, formaliter by their obiectes & their endes. ſo accidentaliter they are qualified to be good or to be evill by the circumſtances, that do attende them. Thus the Schoole-divines. What nowe the Canoniſtes? TheyeGratian. decret. p. 2. c. 22. q. 4. cap 23. teach a thing is lawfull or vnlawfull, not only natura ſui, but alſo ex cauſa extravenienti. And what our owne writers? They make CeremoniesfConrad. Schulſſelb. catalog. haereti. tom 13. p. 466. vel per ſe, vel per accidens ſuperstitioſas. and the doctrine in generall which they deliuer touching things that are indifferent, runneth thus:gIoh. Brentius in lib. de Adiaph. Adiaphora neque bona ſunt neque mala, reſpectu ſui, ex conditionibus ergo ſuis iudicanda ſunt. hZanch. co ment. in Epheſ ca. 5. loc. de bapZanchius ſpeaking of ſalt, ſpittle, and the reſt of the Croſſes fellowes in baptiſme, theſe are not per ſe mala (ſaith he) yet by reaſon of the circumſtance of ſuperſtition, they muſt be aboliſhed. Our Oppoſites buſilie obiect againſt vsus,lPet. Martyr in epiſt ad Hooper Gloceſt. that Peter Martyr holdeth the ceremonies that are in cōtrouerſie, to be indifferent. and that Maiſter Beza ſaith,mTheod. Beza epiſt. 11. the Croſſe and Surplice hauehave nihil impium per ſe. we anſwer: though Peter Martyr held the Surplice indifferent per ſe, yet for ſome circumſtance he helde it vnlawfull. witnes this, he neuernPet Mart. in epiſt. amie. …uidā in Angl. wore it, though his Canons place at Oxon did require it. Mr Beza, though he holde the ſigne of the Croſſe to be indifferent per ſe, yet ratione circumſtantiarum he ſaieth of it,oBeza epi. 8 multo minus velim Crucem inter Adiaphora numerare, quam aeneum illum ſerpentem Hezechias. Thus another of our Writers,pCalfhill. cont. Mart art. 5. fol. 125 Certaine proviſoes had, the order of the Church muſt be kept in things indifferent, but in this number ye can not iuſtly compriſe the Croſſe. and although of ſome of the Fathers it hath been accoūted ſuch, yet muſt you remember they did not alwayes builde gold and ſiluer but ſometimes hay & ſtubble on Chriſt. Now the circumſtances which make theſe ceremonies to be vnlawfull being generall, and ſuch as alwayes cleaue to their religious vſe, as their Idolatrie, ſuperſtition, and hipocriſie, whereof before with the reſt that muſt followe, we cannot heare them, who would hauehave vsus, for the teſtifying of our obedience now & then, to vſe them: euen as theqConrad. Schluſſelb. tom 13. p. 641. Divines of Germanie could not allow of thoſe Paſtors of Miſnia, which one day performed the ceremonies of the Interim, but an other day omitted them. Our owne doctrine makethrHomil. tom … ag. peril. of Idolat pa. 1. pag 43. Images of thēſelues indifferent, whereas their circūſtance of ſtanding in churches maketh them evil & no longersIbid. pa. 3 p…. 96. 97. indifferent. So it is with the ceremonies, the circūſtance of their religious vſe is totally vnlawfull: And this for their firſt error, who deny vsus this ſecond petition, which is, that things indifferent per ſe, do not become by reaſon of circumſtance to be indifferent no longer. A ſecond error they runne into, like the Adiaphoristes oncetLibellus ſ…o…li…o. Theolog. German. 1561. ſemper perinde licet ceremonijs vti, as if the things were the ſame in particular action which they are in their kinde, and ſo aſwell in the one, as in the other indifferent alike. For thus one,uexamin. of the declar. of the M. of Londō. there may be a good vſe of theſe ceremonies, therefore the Magiſtrate may call for the executiō of them: meaning ſuch an execution as is exact and abſolute. For the breaking of this ſpeare, we tender a ſecond ſchoole-poſition,wTho. Aquin. 1.2.18 art. 9. Indifferencie resteth only in the generall kinde, when we come to the particular execution, eueryevery action is good or euill. So that in actu exercito nullum datur indifferens. To this our Writers do agree, Atque de his rebus, &c. about things indifferent, this muſt be receaued for a ſure rule (ſaithxP. Matyr in comm… ̄. in 1. cor. 6.12. Peter Martyr) that they hauehave their indifferencie ſeated in their kinde & nature only, but when we come downe to election, there nothing is indifferent, becauſe our election muſt of neceſſite be either good or evill.yIoh Brent. in lib. de Adiaphor. Si bona eſt conditio. &c. A thing indifferent becommeth good, when the condition of his practiſe is good; and then his obſeruation is commaunded: but he becōmeth evill, when the condition of his practiſe is evill, and then his obſervation is forbidden. Maiſt.zThomas Morton. Apolog. p. 1. li. 1. c. 47 Morton citing this ſentence of Vaſquez, Nulla eſt individua actio, humana quae eſt indifferens, ſed propter circumſtantias neceſſario vel bona vel mala, ſi Thomae & omnibus Thomaſtis credimus, addeth of his own for his iudgement herein, credendum eſt omnino. what a looſe reaſoning (then) is this, there may be a good vſe of theſe ceremonies, therefore the Magiſtrate may call for an exact execution of them? For as there may be a good vſe of thē, ſo may ther be an ill: elſe are they not indifferent. For what is the meaning of the word, but this,aBenedic. Aret. Problem lo 58 Adiaphora ſunt indiſtincta, dubia, vtro que vergentia. What is the definitiō of a thing indifferent, but this,bP. Martyr commenta. in 1. Sam, cap. 14. Adiaphora ſunt quibus benè aut malè vti poſſumus? So Hierom. cHieron. cont lo…iman li. 2. cap. 29.Indifferentia nec bona, nec mala ſunt, ſed velut in meditullio poſita, vſu & evētu, vel bona vel mala fiunt. Again,dIdem in Iſay ca. 55. Indifferentia ſunt nec bona nec mala, & pro vtentium qualitate variantur. Auguſt. eAuguſt. epiſt 19.cōſidering a Saterdayes faſte in generall, calleth it [medium] when he cōſideres it done expediently, he calleth it acceptabile. By all this it is apparent, that the vſe of a thing indifferēt, may be ill aſwell as good: what reaſon to the cōtrarie? ForfCa…tan. in Thom. Aquin. vb. ſub. non eſt in re indifferenti pa…ticipatio boni ſed abnegatio tantum. Let the Magiſtrate then commaund an exact execution of a thing indifferent, & let it alſo be lawfull for him, ſometimes to command a ſinne. I truſt I neede not feare here that any oppoſite will affirme, that the evill vſe of a thing indifferent becometh good when the Magiſtrat doth commaund it, ſeeing one of the moſt learned of thē hath given vsus a quietus eſto frō this obiection, when he ſaith,gD. Bilſ. ag. the Apolo. p. 2. p. 338. Good & euil are to be meaſured by Gods lawes, not by man…: for as no mā is good but only God, ſo no mans lawe is the rule of good & evill, but only Gods. And tēporall things are neither good nor evil but altogither indifferent, ergo Princes were not ordained of God for temporal things, but the goods, bodies and liues of their ſubiects be cōmitted to them for the preſervation of faith and good manners. In the margent hereof we finde theſe wordes: Worldly things be neither good nor evill, Rom. 13.4. 1 Pet 2.14.for which two cauſes Princes beare the ſworde. I marvell what thoſe Oppoſites of ours will ſay to this, who hauehave nothing in their mouthes againſt vsus, but this, that if we leaue not an abſolute power in things indifferent to the Magiſtrat, that thē we leaue him no power at all. For what hauehave we here affirmed? Princes are not ordayned for worldly things, becauſe they are indifferent. Princes are ordained for good and evil, to further the one, and reſiſt the other: worldly things are not ſuch, & indifferent things are not ſuch: therefore the power of the Prince doeth not conſiſte in worldly things, quatenus worldly. nor in things that are indifferent, quatenus they bee indifferent. This out of our Oppoſites owne confeſſion: to ſhewe that the Magiſtrate hath no other power, but that which the Apoſtle had, to wit, a power to edification, and not to deſtruction: which in things that are indifferent, furthereth the good vſe thereof, becauſe it doth edifie, but correcteth the evill vſe, becauſe it doth deſtroye. But what if it were graunted, that the Magiſtrate had abſolute power in a thing indifferent? know they not, that when an il circumſtance cleaueth to their vſe, that thenhBenedict. Arct. Proble. loc. 58. deſinunt eſſe adiaphora? lMagdebu. centur. 1. li 2. cap. 10.Adiaphororum naturam exuunt? mHarmon. confeſſ. ſect 17. ex Helvet poſterior.libera eſſe deſinunt? nIbid. confeſſ. Auguſta. art. 7Non iam ſunt medio. oIoſias Simler. in Exod. 20. mandat. 2. fol. 85.Iam non ſunt libera. pZaueh. de Imag. c. 15. pag. 357.Iam eſt ab illis abſtinendum.