Answer to John De Albines, Answer to discourse · Chapter 14
The XIIII. Chapter.
CAluin doeth alleadge to vsus, that the Apoſtles doe ſaie, that no bodie ought to take vponupon him the honour of the high prieſthoode, except he be called to it as Aaron was, meaning by that to conclude, that of our owne authority we hauehave vſurped the dignitie of Prieſthood.aAnd …et to no purpoſe. We hauehave anſwered him at large of our vocation, by the ſucceſſion of Paſtours ioined with the impoſition of handes. I doe demande of him, or of his, if they can make any true anſwere to the like obiection. You doe laie to our charge the all liues of our Popes and Biſhops, and the naughtineſſe that you pretend to finde in our Preachers: but all thoſe inuectiues ſerue to no other purpoſe, but to ſhew how you keepebNay you ſhall hauehave the bell, both for that, & for prophane iering & ſcoffing. a learned ſchoole of railing, the which preheminence we doe yeeld to you without any debate or proceſſe, for ye maie attribute that vntounto your ſelues as your owne by right, inſteede of the impoſition of hands, which ye want. But in one thing to my iudgment you are greatlie ouerſeene, and that is this:cWhen you obſerue this lawe your ſelues, we wil learn of you. Why doe ye not fill both ſides of your booke, in the one, you ſet forth at large without omitting anie point of their ill doings, al the naughtie lives of our Paſtours and Biſhops: but the other ſides of the leaues are emptie; you ſhould hauehave writen on them the holie liues of your Miniſters, ſucceeding one after an other this thouſand and fiue hundred yeares. When the Popes Bonifacius & Gregorius did gouerne ill their Seats at Rome,dI hauehave ſufficiently anſwered this, cap. 4. which were the good and holie miniſters that did their duetie at Geneua? When our Doctours did preach againſt God in times paſt, in what part or vnderunder what ſign were your Miniſters lodged, that did then preach the pure word of the Lord?eReaſoned like your ſelues, as though the Apoſtles neuer lawfully hid themſelues, from the fury of the perſecuters. if they did hide themſelues, they did not folow the pure word of the Lord, the which you ſay is neceſſarie to know the true & faithful beleeuers. For Chriſt doeth ſaie, Mat. 10. that hee that ſhal deny him before men, him wil he deny before his father in heauē. And S. Paul doth ſaie: Ro. 10. fAnd ſo hauehave ours all wayes in due time and place, though to the loſſe of thouſands of their liues, done.that with the hart one doth beleeue to iuſtice, & with the mouth one muſt cō fes to ſaluatiō. gThis is but your cuckowes ſong, conteining neither trueth, nor honeſty.But to ſaie the truth, your religiō was not thē foūd out, & the Grādfathers, & great Grandfathers of Caluin had neuer dreāpt of the hereſies, that now their reformed childe hath ſet ſo newly abroach. And therefore thinke it not ſtrange, if that thoſe people that are not light headed, ſend you to preach in new found landes, as one that hath here at home, giuen manifeſtlie iudgement againſt himſelfe,hAre you not aſhamed to ly ſo impudently, and to reaſon ſo fooliſhly? confeſsing, as wee hauehave alleadged aboue, that the Church of God hath vſed the impoſition of hands, yours hath not done ſo: and therefore it doeth follow, that it is not of God, & that, that doeth follow conſequentlie, is, that it is of the deuil. For we know, that you allowiNeither would you, but that your belly is your God, and that you mind earthly things: vntounto which purpoſes that doctrine ſerueth you fitly. no purgatorie, I mean, no meane betwene thē both.
The XIIII. Chapter.
HOw you hauehave anſwered Caluin, and proued your vocation to be of God, by that which now the reader hath heard both parts ſay, let him iudge. Our anſwere to the like demande I hauehave giuē you Chap. 9. when you firſt called for it. But hauing demanded this now againe of vsus, inſteed of purſuing your demād (as one that had ſtreight forgotten what you ſaied) you are in hand againe with our ſaying to your charge, your popes & biſhops il liues, wt twiſe or thriſe you were in hād wtal before, where you hauehave your ful anſwer. Herein (you ſay) in railing you giuegive vsus the preeminēce: but you do ſo, but in words; for indeed & trueth (as al your late books, fraught wt nothing more, then this kinde of Rhetoricke, to bring the ſeruants of God vniuſtly into hatred, doe proue) none cā go beyond you herein. And as for that which we ſay of your Popes & biſhops, your own ſtorie-writers, and manifeſt experience doe iuſtifie to be true, & therfore cānot iuſtly be coūted railing. But you find fault wt vsus, that hauing writē the lewd liues of your biſhops & Popes on the one ſide of the leafe, we ſet not down on the other ſide in the meane time the ſucceſſion of thoſe good ones, that we had. This law you nether hauehave, nor cā alwaies obſerue your ſelfe. For though you hauehave had many good Popes & biſhops, yet a great while your good ones hauehave bene as hard to finde as cole-black ſwans. And yet you pleaſe your ſelfe, and your frends, that take pleaſure in your giving, & ſcoffing, in aſking vsus, when your Popes behaued thēſelues il at Rome, who were the holy doctors at Geneua, & whē your doctors preached againſt God, vnderunder what ſigne our miniſters lodged? al this kind of Rhetorick of yours is groūded vpō a falſe principle, namely, that the Church and miniſters thereof hauehave bene, & alwaies muſt be ſo viſible, as that in al times demonſtration may be made thereof, cōtrary to theſe often alleadged prophecies, 2. Theſſ. 2. Reu. 12. & 17. And the thing that deceiueth you, & nouriſheth in you this errour is, that you expoūd the places of ſcripture, wc are vttered concerning the continuāce & ſpiritual beauty of ye church of the elect, the true heauenly Hieruſalē & ſpouſe of Chriſt: as ſpokē of the cōtinuance of particuler Churches, or of the outward order & ſtate of the Church militant onelyonly: and that you either wilfully, or otherwiſe cannot diſtinguiſh, betwixt the being and continuing of the Church and her paſtors, and the maner of their being and cōtinuing; and ſo you conſtrue thoſe places, that proue her being, and their continuing, as though therupō followed your maner of viſible and apparent being alſo, as though there were no being or continuing of the Church: but in your maner. Whereas in Iſrael in Ahabs time, you hauehave heard, both the Church and miniſters therof ther continued, in that, euen in that kingdōe Obadiah had hid 100 prophets, and God had reſerued vntounto himſelfe 7000. that had not bowed their knees to Baal, & yet not in your maner. For Eliah was not able to make ſuch demonſtration thereof, who they were, and where they were, as you require of vsus, for he thought himſelfe alone. 1. King. 18. & 19.
O but you, very like a diuine, proue out of Mat. 10. & Ro. 10. becauſe Chriſt hath ſaied, him that denieth me before mē, wil I deny before my heauenly father: and Paul requireth aſwel confeſſion wt the mouth to ſaluation, as beleife with the hart to iuſtification; that therefore they could not be faithful beleeuers, becauſe they did hide themſelues. As though eueryevery one were a denier of Chriſt, that hideth himſelfe frō the fury of the perſecutour? Or as though none confeſſe with their mouth to ſaluation, that ſo hide themſelues? What think you then of the 100 prophetes before named? And of Eliah himſelfe, who (as it appeareth in thoſe places) hid themſelues from Ahab and Ieſebels furie? HaueHave you forgotten, that the ſame Chriſt ſaieth in the ſame Chap: to his Apoſtles, If they perſecute you in one City, flie to another? And that the ſame Paul himſelfe did ſundry times by hiding himſelfe from the hands of his perſecutours, ſaue his life? As you may read Act. 17. and elſwhere. Who though he were aſſured in a viſion by reuelation from God, that with ſafety of life hee ſhould come to teſtifie of Chriſt and his Goſpel at Rome, yet refuſed not al good and lawful means to hauehave himſelfe conueied away, and ſo to eſcape the hands of his bloudy perſecutors, the Iewes; which had ſolemnly boūd thēſelues wt an oath, that they would neither eat nor drinke, til they had killed him. Act. 23.11.12. Your diuinity is not ſo ſimple, I thinke, but that you vnderſtand, that as long as a Chriſtian carieth that minde and purpoſe, that whereſoeuer he is, he will be ready boldly to yeeld a ſound confeſſion of his faith, and therefore when he is called thereunto, and iuſtly occaſioned, is ready to perfourme that purpoſe of his, and doeth it indeed; that man cannot bee ſaied to deny Chriſt, or not to confeſſe him with his mouth, though by flying and hiding himſelfe, as long as he may lawfully, he ſeeke to keepe himſelfe for the further good of Gods Church, out of the handes of his perſecutours. And therefore you were much to blame by thus wreſting of theſe places of Scriptures to ſeeke to abuſe your Reader.
But our Religion (you ſay) was not found out then, and Caluins great grandfather had not once dreamed of his Religion: and therefore no maruell, though they could not be found, that were the miniſters of our Church and Religion: and no maruell, that they that are not light headed, ſend vsus to preach in new found landes &c. This in effect you hauehave often ſaied, and (if that will ſerue) you will not ſticke with vsus to ſay it in euerie Chapter. But this being indeede the queſtion, whereupon the determinatiō of the whole controuerſie betwixt you and vsus dependeth, namely, whither our Religion bee not the true ancient Religion, taught by Chriſt and his Apoſtles: for you to paſſe it ouer thus with bare words, and neuer to go about ſoundly to proue, that it is not, is but too too childiſh and ridiculous. Well may you in your owne conceite, and in the opinion of the ſimple ſilly reader, ſeeme herein to hauehave done a great act, but in the iudgement of any of meane witte & capacity, howſoeuer you may bee counted a wordy man, yet you ſhall neuer be accounted a worthie champion, to fight in this greateſt queſtion, onelyonly with bare wordes.