The Diseases of the Time, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Of the small health and great vnhealthinesse of the Romish Church, wherein most conspicuous is a Wenne growen to the likenesse of a Head.
WHosoeuer doth consideratly behold the mayne body of the Romish Church, may finde therein three sorts of Religion. The first may bee called Religio Curialis, the Religion of the Court, which is indeed nothing else but Pollicy, paraphrasing Diuinity, and an vnkindly & froward Alchymie, by which grosse things are drawne out of pure things, the flesh is limbecked out of the Spirit, and worldly pompe and supremacie is extracted out of a doctrine that preacheth sufferings, patience, and humility. An inconsequent conclusion, and farre vasutable to the premisses; and like (though contrary) to the ancient Centones, wherein out of the Heathen workes of Virgill, is gathered the Christian story of our Sauiours incarnation and passion. But these, contrarily, though in the same way out of the Christian and Spirituall Doctrine of the Gospell, draw a Heathen, Secular and Carnall Empire, euen a perfect story of a Man of sinne, and of one that sitteth as God in the Temple of God. The Pope hath gotten a Monopoly of of heauen and earth, and none may trade in eyther without some tribute to his supremacie. Thus is the Scripture brought to speake the Language of Babell; by a most cruell racke it is forced to deny it selfe, Christ is set on worke to set vp Antichrist. And whereas it is openly sayd, Vos autem non sic, by distinctions, metaphors, and inferences as loudly though not so truly it shall say, Vos autem sic. You shall not be as the kings of the Nations sayth one Text, yet other Texts with their glosses will bring it so about, that the Kings of the Nations shall be but your Vassals, and shall be metamorphosed into Brutes, euen Aspes and Basiliskes for Popes to tread on. And hither tend the mayn endeuors of diuers later Popes, euen to settle a principality by the Gospell. Yea, and when the Gospell would not helpe them (for it will not) they striue to establish it by warres, by tumults, by treasons, things meerly repugnant and forbidden by the Gospell. So necessary it is that the Pope must bee the Head of the World, that he had rather kill the body then not be the Head; So is hee a true and liuely Antichrist, euen an opposite to Christ; For Christ being the true Head of the Church, gaue himselfe to death for the life of his body. But this Man being (as his owne say) but a Ministeriall head, giueth the body of Christ to distraction, for the life of this imaginary Head.
On this Theme are spent the huge labours of Baronius. And to this end is the Popes authoritie ouer Princes maintayned by Bellarmine and others: and to this end is the doctrine of Treasons against excommunicated Princes taught, & printed by many of the Popes Parisites, so that eueryevery Protestant Prince may truly be called a Confessor, for he confesseth the Christian Religion with the danger of his life. Which transcendence both of pride and sinne, though the Court of Rome maintayne, yet because some members of the same Church hauehave confuted and disclaymed it, I may the more truely call it a different kind of Religion.
Another sort shall bee termed Religio Theologorum, the Religion of the Diuines, or that doctrine which is ordinarily taught or acknowledged for the sauing of learned souls: of this also there are three degrees. The first is Crassa doctrina, the grosser or lesse refined doctrine, which was both more common & more grosse before Luther, and yet hath large entertaynment among …hem: such is the doctrine of Merits, of condignity; of Predestination, ex praeuisis operibus; of worshipping of Images with the worship due to the sampler, &c. which assertions if any would farther learne, he shall finde them in the confutation of their owne …eater Writers, who among the Heretic…es confute also their fellows grosser opinions. And those confuters are those which teach the second degree of Doctrine, which is Doctrina limita, a refined kind of Doctrine conceiued by the genuine interpretation of Scriptures; yea, inforced by the euident light of the Word, and approcheth very neere to that of the Reformed, so that though not out of one, yet out of all, our Doctrine may bee proued and deduced. And this is that which yeelds the matter of such workes as the Catholick Apologie, Papa non Papa, and such other, which by the Romanists hauehave confuted the Romane Religion. A third degree is Doctrina Spiritus aut Conscientia, the Doctrine of the Spirit or Conscience, which is, when Men taught by the Spirit of God, or enforced by the Light of their own Conscience, confesse their owne vnworthinesse, and wholly extoll as the surest Refuge the mercy of God in the merits of Christ. This former is frequently seen in Barnard, Thomas Campensis and others, that liued in that Church; Men as I hope sanctified and taught by the Spirit. Others also, by the terror or conuiction of their Conscience, hauehave acknowledged the same as Stephan Gardiner at his end, and Bellarmine when after disputation of merits, he confesseth this affiance in Gods mercy to bee the safest rest of the soule. And no doubt when men are approching by death to the barre of a supreme Iustice; before a perfect God with pure eyes, if they hauehave any portion of the Spirit, they abhorre themselues with Iob, and doe so see and feare their own corruption, that they cannot find rest but in perfect merits, and a perfect satisfaction. So that I doubt not but of these there is a reserued number, euen a number reserued by Gods election, which is truly Ecclesia Electorum; hauing washed their robes white in the bloud of the Lambe.
A third and last sort of Religion, may be called Doctrina Idiotarum, euen that Doctrine which is taught to the common people, apprehended and accordingly practised by them as sufficient to saue their ignorant Soules. This is generally a Religion very neere fitted to brute beasts, for it teacheth them to be saued in ignorance, and by beleeuing as the Church beleeues. Which is vponupon the matter by beleeuing that which they know not, and by not knowing what they beleeue. So is the Soule, which should bee the principall agent in Religion, left out in Religion, and lyes like the first Chaos, voyd and full of darknesse, And the body is principally instructed. Accordingly they are taught by Images & Pictures more then by preaching, as men that hauehave fiue senses without, but no sense within. They must confesse they must doe penance, they must say Creeds and Aue-Maries in Latine, and those they must mistake for prayers, they must worship Images, and adore the Sacrament; They must bring their bodies to the Church; & leaue behind their vnderstandings, for in their Liturgie there is only worke for the eare, and none through the eare for the vnderstāding. And as this teaching of Religion is brutish, so is the practice Mechanical. They worke it out with their limbes, and the poore Soule stands by, and knowes not a iot of the busines. The mouth speakes, the knee bowes, the hand mooues on the beades, or knocks vponupon the breast, the eye lookes vp, the eare heares, and yet the soule and spirit which giuegive the onelyonly life and beeing to the worship, that God a Spirit loues, knowes nothing, vnderstands nothing what the body is doing. And as for the Images, the poore wretches must needs commit flat Idolatry; for I neuer heard that any of their Doctors, did perfectly teach their common people to distinguish between Doulia and Latria, but as one of their owne sayth, If they worship them with all their heart, they thinke they hauehave done it excellently. Surely it cannot be conceiued, that the ignorant Papists who hauehave no Commandement against Images, should in this point doe better then the Iewes who had a plaine Commandement against them. But the Iewes fell to Idolatrie against an euident Commandement, yet these Doctors think that their people shall be held from Idolatrie, onelyonly by a distinction: Surely they little regard the infirmity of miserable Man, fallen into so great an Ignorance and Corruption, that he is apt to learne Lyes of a stock, and to be inflamed with Images vnderunder eueryevery greene …ree. Neither doe they consider the strictnesse of Ielousy, which in the Lord Almightie is as perfect and infinite as himselfe. Now perfect Iealousie cannot abide to hauehave a known Adulterer come neere to his spouse, neither can it indure to hauehave any thing come neer to the worshipper, which hath beene knowne to hauehave drawn the worship aside from God to it selfe. And accordingly God in his Iealousie was very carefull that no Image should bee seene in Horeb, lest what had beene seene, should hauehave been represented, & what had been represented, should hauehave beene worshipped. But these Men presuming beyond their Maker, hauehave apprehended and condemned this his needlesse Iealousie, & abandoning all feare, in their Horebs, euen in the places where the Law is or should be published, hauehave set vp many Images before their ignorant and vntaught people; euen …tumbling blockes before the blind. And all the remedie or satisfaction we can hauehave from them, is this, that they teach the people a distinction whereby they need not bee Idolaters. But to what purpose is this, when this distinction is not so vniuersally taught as the Images are seen: neyther (as before) so vniuersally vnderstood; neyther if vnderstood, so generally followed by reason of Mans corruption, which not being limited heretofore by a Diuine Commandement, will lesse be limited by a humane Distinction. Therefore should these offences bee wholly taken away from the places of worship, yea if they were as vsefull as the brazen Serpent it selfe, which was the Image of Christ; yea for their sakes must let them be taken down, for whom they are most set vp; euen for the Lay and ignorant people, for to these are they intended to giuegive most instruction, and to these being least capable of the distinction, they bring most destruction.
And here as we passe, let vsus take notice of a great danger in that Mystery of Iniquitie. For the Teachers and Masters of that Art, pretend at first to make good Christians, but they endeuour at last to make ill subiects; so that except there be some stop in the Disciples (which can hardly bee when the eare is open to all that which the Church teacheth, and the Priests are the mouth of the Church) it is very hard to stay themselues within the iust bonds of Religion and subiection. For if the Popes temporall power ouer Princes be both taught & beleeued, as it commonly is, the more zealous he is that beleeues it, the more dangerous hee is to the State where hee liues. And lamentable patternes hereof may bee. seene, since ingenuous and good disposition hauehave bin Instruments in most barbarous Treasons, and particularly in the greatest of all Treasons.
Thus I hauehave somewhat delineated the portrature of the Romish Church, whereby it may be knowne both what a small Church of God is among them, and what a large Synagogue of Satan, what Temple of God, and what false god sits therein. So may wee distinguish betweene the good and the euill, not condemning the good for euill, neyther louing the euill for the good. For such is the craf… of the Romish Circumcellions and Proselite makers, that they goe about to make men euill by that which is good, & by the best of their Religion bring men to the worst. Accordingly they do very much fish for men, to the first sort of Religion by the second, and sometimes by the best degree of the second, though among the vulgar where the third wil serue, they saue the labour of the second. Yea, many good soules seeing such Holinesse in some of the Workes of that Church (as before in the second and third of the second) they hauehave of themselues conueyed themselues into the first, and so while they desired to bee made fellow-members of the Saints by vnion, they hauehave with the same become subiects of the Popes Monarchy, and so warfared at once to Christ and Antichrist, which cannot be but by great losse & danger. We therfore to whom God hath shewed the deceitfulnesse of these strong Delusions, though louing the vertues, truthes and persons of those which among them receiue a iustifying and sanctifying Religion, yet let vsus not for louelove of them cast our selues into a yoke of Tyranny, Errour and Ignorance, neyther for Sions sake thrust our selues into Babylon, but rather flye from it.
It hath pleased Christ the true Head of the Church to set vsus free from the counterfeit head, and the cruell burdens thereof, both spirituall and temporall. Let vsus therefore stand fast in the libertie wherewith Christ hath freed vsus, and not returne willingly into the yoke of bondage. Whatsoeuer vertue and whatsoeuer Holinesse is among them, the same is heere open to vsus, and with a great aduantage of freedome from abundance of Errours, Superstitions and Deceits. Now who would be so foolish, rather to seeke Corne among a heape of Chaffe, then to take it winnowed and clensed? And who would seeke Relgion among a heape of Errours, when hee may hauehave one purged and winnowed by the Fanne of Christ, euen the breath and Word of God? And let this be taken for a certayne truth, That if we goe but by a generall experience, and without an inquiring of this particular case, we may find that in one thousand and fiue hundred yeares, any Church will gather rust, and mosse, and tares. For certayne it is, that in all that time, the Husbandman doth sometimes sleepe, and as certainly as the Husbandman sleepes, so certainly doth the Enemie sow his Tares. The Church of the Iewes before Christ, (if we giuegive Rome her owne asking) was as very a Church, and as infallible a Church, & as only a Church as the Church of Rome. In Iury was God only knowne, to them were only committed the Oracles, and to them were the promises made; yet we see what drosse and Tares grew vponupon that Church, euen in short returnes, and if you will see it, do but marke what scouring and clensing fell to the lot of the two good Kings, Hezekiah and Iosiah, and at last to our Sauiour Christ himselfe, who was fayne to sweepe the Temple with a Whip, and to smite the Doctors of the Temple (euen the Scribes and Pharisies) with the rod of his mouth, Mat. 5. yet this while the Church of Rome is pure and spotlesse, neyther in all these yeares since Christ is there any Errour in their Doctrine. But the truth is, that she is no other then the Church of Iudea, yea, of Laodicea. She is blind, miserable and naked, but only shee saith and will hauehave it said, That shee is rich, and hath need of nothing. She is not without faults, but shee will bee without correction. Hauing faults, she will hauehave them to bee no faults, that where there be no faults, there may be no amendment. Surely this is the top of the misery of that Church (as it is to vsus a chiefe Iustification of our departure from them) that they hauehave left themselues no leaue, or power of amendment. For they hauehave sealed their errors, first vntounto them by a Councel, the seale of the Popes infallibility being set thereto. So are they bound eternally to the louelove and defence of their Errours; and must still erre, that they may not seeme to hauehave erred. But this carnall policie is likely to bee their destruction; for the Church of God seeing her desperatenes, hath nothing left but to cry continually, Come out of her my people, that yee bee not partaker of her plagues; And God himselfe seeing her in the same remedilesse case, that he saw Iuda and Israel, 2. Chron. 36.16. beeing still the same God, will no doubt vse the same Iustice, and according to his owne Word, will send downe that Angell of Power which shall lighten the Earth with his Glory, and cry mightily with a loud voyce, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and become the habitation of Deuils; and this is the reason of her torments, because she faith, I sit as a Queene and am no Widdow, and shall see no sorrow. But if withall some plaine particulars bee desired by which men without labour may see that they hauehave erred, who cannot erre; and therefore erre againe in saying they did not erre before; not to referre them to the large Treatises of these Controuersies) let them consider some few positions which are direct Oppositions to the Word of God. S. Iohn sayth, 1. Ioh. 1.7. The bloud of Christ purgeth vsus from all sin. Bellarmine sayth, Iudic. de lib. concord. That good Workes deserue remission of sinnes. Saint Paul sayth, 1. Cor. 1.15. That when the people vnderstandeth not, he cannot say, Amen, neyther is edified, Vers. 16, 17. and withall commands, That all things should bee done to edifying, and to that end, that when a strange tongue is spoken one should interprete, or otherwise the speaker in an vnknown tongue should hold his peace, Verse 16, 17, 18. But the Councell of Trent sayth, (in the Decree of the Sacrament, cap. 9) That whosoeuer holds that Masse should bee said in the vulgar Tongue, let him be accursed. Againe, the Commandement saith, That no Image shall bee worshipped, but Bellarmine sayes, they may be worshipped; and Azorius sayes, with the worship of the sampler, and so the Crucifixe with the worship of Christ. Christ sayth, That the Apostles shall not bee like the Princes of the Earth in Dominion, but the Papists say, That to the Pope is giuen all power, and the vse of both Swords; yea, they are set aboue Princes. And surely to sum vp these foure points together, Idolatry, magnifying of their owne Merits, staruing of Soules, and intolerable Pride, their Corruption is abominablyeminent, so that it must bee a blinde man that seeth it not, and a Whores fore-head that confesseth it not. And assuredly for foure transgressions and for fiue, if not fiftie, God will certaine punish them, especially for these crying ones, by which God himselfe hath his honor communicated to Stockes, the Son of God hath this honour diuided with the sonnes of men; Those which are called Gods are subiected to the pride of the Man of Sinne, and the Church of God for whom Christ dyed and shed his bloud, hath their bloud spilt by ignorance, and not knowing the Councell of God, Acts 20.27. So by these short patternes we may know what kind of stuffe their Religion is made of; yea, to what a Religion they hauehave tied themselues, by the sacred and fearefull bands of Canons & Curses. Since then they hauehave bound themselues to their diseases, what remaynes to vsus but this? Curauimus Babylonem, & non est sanata abeamus quisque in terram suam: Come out of her, come out of her my people, that ye be not prtakers of her sinnes, and that yee receiue not of her Plagues.