Against Symbolizing with Antichrist in Ceremonies, Part 2 · Chapter 6 · Section 18
#Sect. 18. The 4. ſcandall of the Cerem. is that they offende all ſortes of men among the people.
A Fourth ſcandall giuegive the ceremonies in that they offende all ſortes of men among the people. The firſt ſorte is of them, who as yet cleaue to their olde mumpſimus. where their auncient croſſe moſt deare, how doth it confirme them? The Iſraelites muſt needes hauehave a calfe, for a ſigne of Gods preſence, it is becauſe of the oldeaIoſ. Simler. in Exod. 32. Ioh. Caluin. in Act. 7.1. Cronic. 17.6. 1. King. 22 44. twange of Egyptes idolatrie, which yet ſticketh in their ſtomackes. Iehoſaphat forbiddeth the high places, yet the people will vſe them ſtill: which incorrigiblenes of theirs muſt be greater in a croſſe, then in a calfe or high place, becauſe it hath the commendation of antiquitie aſwell as it, & the Magiſtrates commaund too boote. Becauſe thebHoſpin. de origin. templor. c. 1. viſcus of an old Oke, was among the Heathens of old accounted ſignum à Deo electae arboris, therefore the converted Chriſtians could not be wayned, no not from buying with their money this priſca ſtultitia. ſo that the croſſe counted of old ſignum à Deo electum, yea ſanctified with Chriſtes owne bloud, and being commaunded by lawe beſides, how madd will men bee vponupon it? The Gnostickes, hauehave they images like the Heathen? then will they grow at laſt tocEpiphan. …reſ. 27. perficere Gentium mysteria about them. The papiſtes, hauehave they images after the manner of the Gentiles? then will the Gentiles ſuperſtition be ſound in them. as one of their owne,dLudoui…. Viues in Auguſt. de ciuita. Dei. l. 8. c. vlt. non video in multis quod ſit diſcrimen inter corum opinionem de ſanctis & id quod Gentiles putabant de ſuis dijs. In like maner, hauehave the people a popiſh croſſe in vſe amongſt them? they will vſe it no otherwiſe, then papiſtes vſe it many of them, Quicquid lex praetexat (as one ofeBeza. Epi…. 8. our writers ſpeaketh) or what diverſe vſe ſoever it preſcribeth. what meaneth elſe their decking of croſſes in gang-weeke? their feaſting and revelling every holly-roode day? and their keeping of that day holy to the honour of the croſſe? their ſewing of redd croſſes over right the hartes of the dead vnderunder their ſhrowdes, their open proclayming the childe wanteth his chriſtendome when he is not croſſed? their putting off thoſe children out of their wills & out of their reverſions, who were not croſſed whē they were baptized, as if they were no better then pagans? their making of a croſſe in their owne foreheades, when now the childe is to be croſſed, and their making of a lowe curteſie at the Fonte while he is a croſſing, with the like pranckes many? To theſe it is firſt replied, that we are to iudge the beſt of the mindes and of the meanings of the people: which being the ſame thatfMort of the croſſe art 10. Martiall pretendeth when the people doe adore the croſſe, it deſerveth the ſame anſwer which Doct. Fulke giveth him, Let me then not iudge amiſſe (neither) whē I ſee a Prieſt kiſsing an barlot. but as the Canon lawe commaundeth me, let me thinke he doth it to bleſſe her. Secondly, it is replied, that this being but an euent of the ceremonies not intended, bringeth on vsus no guilt of ſinne: as when Auguſtine thus,hAuguſt. in epiſt. 154. ad Publi …. non reus eſt mortis aliena qui ſuae poſſeſsioni murum circumduxerit ſi aliquis ex ipſius ruinis percuſſus intereat: neque reus eſt chriſtianus ſi bos eius aliquem feriendo & equus caleem iaciendo aliquem occidat: & ideo non debent chriſtiani boues habere cornua, aut equi vngulas, aut dentes canes. Firſt, this excuſeth, when it is good, and when it is neceſſary that which we doe, not otherwiſe, as it appeareth in the wordes following: Abſit vt ea qua propter vſus noſtros facimus & habemus ſi quid per haec praeter noſtram voluntatem cuique mali acciderit nobis imputetur: whereas the croſſe & the reſt of the ceremonies are vnneceſſarie, yea evill, as hath been ſaid. Secondly, this holdeth in events, nō praecogitatis, not otherwiſe, ſi lTho. Aquin. 1.2. q. 21. art. 5eventus ſit praecogitatus manifeſtum est quod addit ad malitiam actus. cum. n. aliquis cogitans quod ex opere ſuo multa mala poſsint ſequi nec propter hoc dimittit ex hoc apparet voluntatē eius eſſe magis inordinata. For example, a man hath a wall that is likely to fall, & he amēdeth it not, nay he compelleth men to goe vnderunder it: or a beaſt doeth vſe to gore, and he doeth not tye him vp, nay he cōſtrayneth men to goe vntounto him, this man is guiltie of what hurt followeth by his wall and by his beaſt: ſeeing (then) our governours cannot but ſee, that hurt followeth of theſe ceremonies, and they not onelyonly ſuffer them to ſtande, or permit them to goe abroad but alſo compell men to vndergoe them, and to goe to them, can they be guiltleſſe? eſpecially conſidering, thatmDecret. Hormiſ. Pap. ap. Cōcil. tom. 2. p. 365. ipſa est fidei innocentia vt provideat, ne vol caſu poſsit errare. Thirdly, the event maketh none guiltie, that is per accidens or when it followeth in rariſsimis only the eventnThe. Aquin. ibid. cuius virtus praeexiſtebat in eo quod agitur. and which followeth, vt in pluribus, this doeth make guilty. Now this event followeth the croſſe, and the reſt of the ceremonies in men, addicted to their old cuſtomes, vt in pluribus. and the croſſe hath a vertue in it: for it is a monument of idolatrie, and therefore is a ſnare (ſaith God) to infect the heart. It is alſo a laye mans booke, and the ſame evill, Deut. 7.25.and ill bookes muſt be burnt, Act. 19.19. ſee Rhem. annotat. ibidif they doe but contayne foreign much more if they containe ſuperſtitious doctrineoSynod. Cō ſtantinop. 5. collat. 5. p. 530. per hoc. n. radix impietatis amputabitur ne in poſterum erroris ſemina generentur, ad errorem ſimplicium qui facile ad illius laqueos collabātur. Our Oppoſites hold the ceremonies to be teachers of good things, we hauehave proued them to be teachers of badde, ſo that the eventes that followe of them muſt be eventes per ſe, even as the events of good writing and teaching, are eventspTho. Aquin. ibid. in reſponſ. ad. 2. 1. Theſs. 2.15.16. per ſe redownding to the reward of the writer and the teacher. Theſe ceremonies drive out good Preachers, therefore they come within the cenſure of the Apoſtle: with whom though they that drave Preachers away, intended not that the Gentiles ſhould not be ſaved, yet becauſe of this their facte it followeth that they are not ſaved, therefore this event is imputed to them, as if they had intended it. The harlot intendeth not, that her lovers ſhall dye by her adulterie, Pro. 6.26.yet becauſe death is an event that moſt vſually followed of it, therefore it is imputed to her, that ſhe hunteth after his pretious ſoule: ſo that it is nothing that our governours intende not the death of any by the harlot the croſſe, as long as death doth follow from the ſcandall of it. Once more. A man may aske (ſaith aqRibera i… Amos. c. 2. …m. 19. Ieſuit) why the Prophet Amos ſaith, they went in to a mayde to defile myne holy name. ſeeing they went not in to her with a minde to violate Gods name, but to hauehave pleaſure. Touching this thing (ſaith he) the canon is out of the words of Chryſoſtome, Homil. 66. and 80. in Iohan, that the ſcriptures phraſe putteth the event for the cauſe. Thirdly, it is replied, that if it be thus with the people, then the ceremonies are the more to be tollerated and let alone, by Aaguſtines example,rAuguſt. Epiſt. 119. ad Ianu… multa buiuſmodi propter nonnullarum vel piarum vel turbulentarum perſonarum ſcandala devitanda liberius improbare non audeo. We ſay not it is thus with the people, but with the popiſhly minded: about whom we need not Auguſtines feare or care: beſides the ceremonies are ſuch as may not be ſuffered ad evitādum ſcandalum, by the doctrine aboue deliuered; we muſt rather imitateſIoſta… Simler. in exod. 32. Hur; who choſe rather to be ſtoned by the people, then to yeeld to them in the calfe. we muſt not be as Aaron was, who yeelded to the multitude, which yeelding a verytCanus. loc. Theologic. lib. 11. c. 6. 1. Cor. 8.12. Papiſt him ſelfe condemneth in Auguſtine and others, when he ſaith their ſcriptae are not perfecta, for that they did indulgere vulgo. This for the ſcandall of the popiſhlie affected. The ſecond ranke of the people contayneth ſuch as be zealous, & theſe we ſcandalize through greefe in the vſe of the ceremonies foreign and hindering their zeale. By this latter we bring on our ſelues Peters fault in his conformitie, which wasuIoh. Reynol. de Idolat l. 1 cap. 4. ſect. 18. retardare zelum of the late couverted Gentiles: and ſo to incurre the reproofe of them who doewGualt. in Act. 21. Gal. 5.7. remoras obijeere ardentioribus by their retayning of popiſh ceremonies, if not alſo the Apoſtles curſe, our brethren ranne well, who are theſe that hauehave hindered them? By the former we incurre the cenſure of the Councill of Eliberis, which forbiddeth to conforme to the pagan ceremonie of lighting tapers at the monumentes of Martyrs vponupon this reaſon,xConcil. Elibetin. can. 39. ſanctorum ſpiritus non ſunt inquietandi. doth not our conformitie to popiſh ceremonies diſquiet now the heartes of the ſainctes, as much as that conformitie of theirs vntounto the Gentiles? For this is the diſquieting which the Councill there forbiddeth in the iudgement of the moſtyVaſq. de adorat. lib. 3. diſput 3. cap. 7. Durant de rit. &c. learned, among the verie papiſtes them ſelues. The third ranke of the people contayneth ſuch as be weak, and theſe this controverſie troubleth now, Act. 15.19.24.as much as the weak were once incumbred, about the ceremonies of Moſes law. While they doubt which ſide they ſhould cōdemne: whether the one for their crueltie in purſuing their brethren for theſe trifles; or the other for their nicenes to ſtande on trifles: for theſe are their cenſures on both. they ende in a loathing of the miniſterie of both: yea of the whole religion. They are alſo hereby inclined towardes Antichriſt both by the reducing it ſelfe of the ceremonies of which Melancthon, though he were a counſellour of cōformitie in the Germane adiaphoriſme,zP. Melanc. in epiſt. ad Chriſtophor. Carlowit…. Nihil tam tenerum eſt, nihil facilius iurbatur quam innovatio in mentibus hominum (he meaneth the innovation of the popiſh traſh reduced) nec maius vllum malum eſt, nec atrior vllus dolor quam innovationis languefactio. and then by the common opinion which is had of this reducing, like to that which was had, to wit, that we are àaLib. concord. ap. Conrard. Schluſſelburg. tom. …3. pa. 599. vera Evangelij doctrina, paulatim receſſuri. The firſt reply to this denyeth there is any ſuch effect wrought by the ceremonies: which, whē it was replyed once in the Germane adiaphoriſme, it was anſwered firſt by Auguſtins authoritie in multitudine ceremoniarum, periclitatur fides, & then by experience, for as the white and pale colour of the inhabitantes is a ſigne ſufficient that the ayre is vnhealthie, ſo the indifferencie of religion, and the lithernes of profeſſion againſt popery, which is found in thoſe places wher theſe ceremonies are in greateſt eſtimate, is a ſigne ſufficient they are vnwholeſome to the ſoule. others thus replie vntounto it: ThebLibel. ſupplicator. Theolog. ann. 1561. apu. Courad. Schluſſel. tom. 13 p. 594. Apocalips teacheth, that after the revealing of the goſpel, there ſhall other Angells followe that ſhall commaund to come out of Babilon, & forbidde to receaue any of her markes or badges. Woe (therefore) to them, that ſhall extenuate the fightes and combates of theſe Angells, or goe about to ſtopp their mouthes. For if the revealing of Antichriſt be an vnſpeakable benefite of Gods, then an Adiaphoriſticall colluſion with him, which is cōtrarie to the ſame, muſt needes include much impietie: Plurimum (enim) Antichriſti patefactionem obſcurat. Sure from hence we hauehave this evill vntounto this day, that many altogether doubt, whether the pope be the Antichriſt or no. The ſecond replyeThe Examim. of the declarat. of the Miniſter… of Lond. throweth the fault on vsus, we ſeed not the weake people with milke, nor condeſcende vntounto their weaknes, as we ought: we ſhould hauehave vſed the ceremonies to pleaſe them, then would they hauehave profited more by our teaching, in which alſo wee might hauehave inſtructed them that theſe ceremonies are not impoſed for the Popes ſake, but for obedience to the civill Magiſtrate. Firſt our forbearance of conformitie is a neceſſary duety, there is (therein) no fault of any ſcandall in vsus, either towards the weake or any ſort of people elſe.dTerrul de veland. virgia. Scandalum (ni fallor) non bonae rei, ſed mali exemplū eſt. Bonae res neminē ſcandalizant, niſi malā mentem. Secondly, by the vſe of the ceremonies we ſhould not feed the people with milke, but with Antichriſts leaven; or if with milke, yet not with milke vnmixte. 1. Pet. 2.1.whereas theſe ceremonies are denyed to be a milke mixt with the leauen of Antichriſt, becauſe they are cō maunded only as things indifferent, & not as any neceſſarie worſhipps of Gods, as Antichriſt commaundeth them, we reply with the Germane Divines,eAp. Conrad. Schluſſelburg. tom. 13. p. 599. ſi quā detalia ſub titulo & praetextu externarum rerum adia phorarum proponuntur, quae licet alius color illis inducatur, revera verbo Dei adverſantur ea nequaquam pro rebus Adiaphoris habenda, ſed tanquam verbo Dei prohibita vitanda ſunt. Thirdly, this obiection ſuppoſeth, that we offend the people, becauſe we diſpleaſe thē, & will not let thē hauehave their deſire, whereas the ſicke crauing and calling for things hurtfull, are thē moſt offended whē they hauehave that they aske for (as none more offēded Iulius the thirde, then they that pleaſed himfOnuphri. in Iulio 3. capis è Caietta advectis, & with other groſſe meates which he deſired) are not the weake ſicke in ſoule? Are not theſe groſſe ceremonies fert from Rome? too groſſe a feeding for them that be ſoule ſicke? Fourthly, where are the people ſtrong, if not where we hauehave laboured? where weake, if not where our Oppoſites hauehave been ouer thē? for we ſee fulfilled with our eyes which Bucer foreſawe, where the Goſpelis preached, theſe ſhadowes of Antichriſt vaniſh away, he meaneth in regard of love and good liking.