Justification of Separation from the Church of England, Treatise · Section 2
2 The blessing of God assisting vsus walking in our way with the reformed Mr B.Churches hath from Luthers time made prosperous our way by him, and other glorious instruments, and in few yeares spread the truth to many nations, &c.
He that would not in the words before going work vponupon theAnswer. labours of other men, will now make boast of them: but in stead of proving his likelyhoods by this dealing, he is iustly to be reproved of two falshoods.
The one is, that he wil bear the world in hand that his way, & the way of the reformed Churches are one, whereas the wayes of the Church of England wherein we forsake her, do directly and ex diametro, crosse and thwart the wayes of the reformed Churches: as appeares in these three mayne heads.
1. The reformed Churches are gathered of a free people ioyned together by voluntary profession without compulsion of humane lawes. On the contrary the Church of England consists of a people forced together violently by the lawes of men into their Provinciall, Diocesan and Parishionall Churches (as their houses stād) be they never so vnwilling or unfit.
2. The reformed Churches do renounce the Ministery of the Church of Engl: as she doth theirs: not admitting of any by vertue of it to charge of soules: (as they speak) where on the cōtrary all the masse-preists made in Queen Maryes dayes, which would say their book-service in English, were cōtinued Ministers by the same ordination which they received from the Popish Prelates.
3. The government by Archbishops, Lord Bishops, and their substitutes in the Church of England is abhor…ed and disclaymed in the reformed Churches as Antichristian: as is on the contrary the Presbyterian government (in use there) by the Church of England refused, as Anabaptisticall, and seditious.
Now if Mr B. can at once walk in so many & so contrary wayes, he had need have as many feet as the Polypus hath.
Secondly, understanding by his Churches way such doctrines & ordinances as wherein we oppose it it is an empty boast to affirm that the same is spread into other nations. Which are the nations, or what may be their names, which eyther do reteyn or have received the Prelacy, Ministery, service book, canons and confused cōmixture of all sorts now in vse in the Church of England?
But Mr B. having (as he boasts) God, Angels, and men on his side proceeds in the next place to plead agaynst vsus Gods iudgments, who seemeth (as he sayth) from the first beginning to be offended with our course.
And intending principally in this whol discourse to oppresse vsus with contumelyes, & by them to alienate all mens affections frō vsus, he ra…eth together into this place, as into a dung-hil of sla…der and misreport whatsoever he thinks may make vsus and our cause stink in the nostrels of the reader. And so forging some things in his own brayne, and enforcing other things (true in themselves) with most odious aggrevations, he presents vsus to the view of the world, with such personall infirmities, and humayn fraylties written in our foreheads, as the Lord hath le…t vponupon the sonnes of men for their humbling. And the world wanting spirituall eyes & beholding the Church of Christ with the eyes of flesh & blood, & seing it compassed about with so many infirmities, & falling into so many & manyfold tryals and temptations, is greatly offended, & passeth vnrighteous judgement vponupon the servants of God, and blasphemeth their most holy profession.
But let all men learn not to behould the Church of Christ with carnall eyes, which like fearfull spyes will discourage the people, but with the eyes of fayth and good conscience, which like Ioshua and Caleb will speak good of the promised Land, the spirituall Canaan, the Church of God. But to the poynt.
That Mr B. may make sure work he strikes at the head, and whetteth his toung like a sword, and shooteth bitter words like arrowes at such principall men, as God hath raysed vp in this cause, whereof some have persevered, and stood fast vntounto death, others have fallen away in the day of temptation, whose end hath been worse …hen theyr beginning.