The Papists Reasons of State and Religion, Reason of religion 10
Reaſon of Religion. 10 10. REASON OF RELIGION.
A Religion, that from the firſt floure of her infancie ever had, and ſtill hath to her beleeueres, infinite multitudes of either ſexe, aThis prof. ſufficiently declareth that their Religion is not Apoſtolicall.profeſſing Poverty, Chaſtity, and Obedience, the three (a)Mat. 19.21 Mark. 19.12. 1. Cor. 7.25. Matth. 16 24.chiefe Evangelicall bFalſe.counſelles cFalſe againe thoſe places of Scripture doe not proue it.obſerued of the (b)Mat. 19.27 Auguſt. de Civit. lib. 17. ca. 4. Hieron. li. 1. cō tra Jovinia.Apoſtles, practiſed by thoſe (c)Saint Anthony, Hilarion, Benedict, Francis, Dominike, Bernard, and thouſands moe.who were counted of greateſt holynes, moſt highly commended by dA lying Hyperbole.all (d)Hieron. epiſtola prima ad Heliod. cap. 6. item in cap. 19. Matth. & ad Demetria. de ſervanda virginitat. epiſt. 8. ca. 7. Quaeſt. ad Hedib epiſt. 150. & ad Pammachum ſuper obitu Paulinae epiſt. 26. cap. 3. & 4 Baſil. quaeſt. 9. in regulis fuſius diſputat. Damaſcen. in hiſtor. Barlaam & Joſaph c. 15. Chryſ. in illud Pauli: Salutate Priſcam & Aquilam.Antiquity, not only as divine helps to perfectiō, but alſo as beautifull ornamēts in Chriſts Church, raiſing the profeſſors to ſupreame degree of grace and glory.
¶4The Supplyants hauehave muſtered the bare names of the ancient Fathers, very providētly, leaving their Readers to the examining of their quotatiōs amongſt whom not one of a hūdred, they knew, either for lacke of skill or will, leaſure or books, could & would turne to the places in the auctors thēſelues: They thought belike, their credit to be ſuch, that every man muſt needs beleve, that they cite them truely & faithfully & that becauſe they hauehave ſo roundly hudled them vp togither, that therefore out of all queſtion they ſpake & wrote fully for them But what ſmall …auſe there is either for the Suppliant… to looke to be thus trusted, or for any to yeeld thē ſuch credit herein appeareth manifeſtly in the citation of their wordes, which quite makes againſt Popiſh religiō, and Monkiſh profeſſion. Of Pover…ie.
¶ Of Chaſtitie.
Hieron. in cap. 9. Matth. & lib. 1. adverſ. Jovin. cap. 7. Baſil. de virginitat.
Epiphan. hareſi. 58 contra Valeſios. Aug. de virginitat. cap 14 24 & ſequentibus. Greg. in tertia parte Curae paſtora. adwonit. 29. Ambroſ & Theodoretus in 1. Cor. 7. & Amb. in epiſt, 83. ad Siricium Papam & 82. ad Vercellenſer. & in tribus libris de Virginib. & alibi Damaſc. lib. 4 orthodoxae fid. ca. 25. Athanaſius, Baſilius, Nazianzenus de Virgint Fulgent epist. 3. ad Probam. cap. 9. & 10. Jgnatius ad Philadelph. Cipri. de bono Pudicit. Jſodor li. 2. de ſum. bono. cap. 40. Caſſian. coll. 12. ca. 4 & 7.
¶ Of Obedience.
Aug. lib. 14 de Civit. ca. 12. Hieron epiſt, 8. ad Demetriad. ca. 10. Greg l. 35, moral. ca. 12 & in 1. Reg. li 2. ca. 4. li. 4. ca 5. & li 6. cap. 2. Caſſian. li 4 c. 10. Collat. 2. ca. 11. & Coll. 4. ca. 20. Bernard. in ſerm. de 3. ordinib. eccle. item ad milites templi cap. 13. & in ſerm. de virtut. obed. Baſil. de Conſtit monaſt. cap. 23. Philo in lib. de vita contemplat. Joſephus lib. 18 antiquit. c 2 Epiphan. haereſi. 29. Dioniſius de Eccleſiaſt. Hierarchia. ca. 6 Euſeb. li. 1 de demonſtrat. Evang. ca 8. Nazianzenus orat. 20. Athanaſ. in vita Anthonij. Sulpitius in vita Martini. Iſodor. lib. 2 de eccleſ. officij… ca. 15 Sozomenus lib. 1. hiſt, cap. 12. Chryſoſt. adverſ. Vituperatores monast. vitae, & Hom. 5. ad pop▪ cum ſequentibus; & infiniti alij.
Reſolution of the 10. Reaſon.
Popiſh Religion, hath to her beleevers infinite multitudes of either ſexe profeſſing Povertie, Chaſtitie, and Obedience, the three chiefe Evangelicall Councels, obſerved by the Apoſtles, &c.
Ergo:
Poperie is true Religion, and to be tolerated.
ANSWERE.
I To the Antecedent.
1 THe infinite multitudes of both ſexe profeſſing Poverty, Chaſtitie, and Obedience; are thoſe ſwarms of Locuſts come out of the pit of hell, Apoc. 9.3. Which hauehave faces like the faces of men, ſignifying their hypocriſie, faigned humility, and falſhood, and tailes like vntounto Scorpions, and ſtings in their tailes, noting their damnable doctrin, the ſting and butcherie of mens ſoules.
2 The Papiſtes, of divine precepts make Evangelical Councels, which not withſtanding are indeed the expoſition of the morall law.
I Poverty, is not a Councell, but an expreſſe commaundement; hat, when NECESSITY ſo requireth, vvee forſake all the commodities of th…s life, yea and life it ſelfe, for Chriſt his ſake. But what is this to Monkiſh Poverty, which the Papiſtes ſolemnely vow and profeſſe; wherein the ſweate of the browes (decreed vntounto every man in his vocation) is chaunged into yeerely and moſt certaine revenewes, ſtipende, or penſions.
II Chaſtity is expreſly commaunded vntounto ſuch as hauehave receaved that gift. Matth. 19.11.12. But Popiſh Chaſtity, is expreſly contrary vntounto the word of God, which teſtifieth that FEW hauehave the gift of cōtinencie; wheras the Papiſtes hauehave INFINITE MVLTITVDES that vow and profeſſe Chaſtity, that hauehave not the gifte of continencie at all.
III Monkiſh Obedience vnderunder their Founders rule, hath not one ſyllable, in all the Scriptures, for proofe and confirmation thereof.
3 It is abſurd to imagine that the Apoſtles were Popiſh votaries, and obſerved thoſe falſely tearmed Evangelicall Councels. Is this a good Argument in Popiſh Schooles, We hauehave forſaken all, and followed thee. Matth. 19. Ergo: The Apoſtles vowed willfull povertie, as Moonks do.
4 This popiſh profeſſion and vowes, were better never made, then made; & being made, they are of that nature and dangerous conſequence, that the beſt way were firſt to repent of the folly and raſhneſſe in making of thē, and then rather quite to giuegive them over, then with ſuch ſuperſtition and impietie, to ſeeke to keepe them, as is vſed, and thereby breaketh foorth ſhamefully among the Papiſtes.
5 It is manifeſt out of the Scriptures, that ſuch oaths as cannot be performed without ſinne, are vnlawfull, and doe not binde. So alſo ſaith Ambroſ. in 2. Can. 8. Concil. Toleta…. And Gratian, Cauſ. 22. Queſt. 4. produceth manie teſtimonies out of the Fathers to the ſame end, and that namely out of Iſodore, In malis promiſſis reſcinde fidem, in turpi voto muta decretum, quod incaute voviſti ne facias, impia eſt promiſſio quae ſcelere adimpletur.
6 And rather then men that hauehave vovved and profeſſed a ſingle life, through the force of inward concupiſcence ſhould burne and fal either to fornication, adulterie, or any other vncleanneſſe of the fleſh (which as heaven and earth, and all the world knowes ever were, and ſtill are common fruits of the Popiſh vowe of ſingle life) the ancient Fathers, that the Suppliants bragge of here ſo much, would hauehave them to marry, and to repent of their raſh vow: as is evident in Cyrill. lib. 3. & 16. in Levit. Cyprian. lib. 1. Epiſt. 11. Epiphan. Contra Apoſtolicos lib. 3. Auguſt, de bono coniugali, & de ſancta virginitate, cap. 34.
II To the Conſequence.
The Conſequence hath no coherence with the Antecedent: But the Argument is thus rather to bee concluded.
Popiſh Religion hath to her beleevers infinite multituds, profeſſing Monkiſh Povertie, Chaſtitie, and Obedience.
Ergo:
Popiſh Religion is the Religion and doctrine of Antichriſt.