Answer to John De Albines, Answer to discourse · Chapter 10
The X. Chapter.
NOw to turne vntounto the taking of your accompts, maie it pleaſe you to ſhew vsus, how you hauehave followed the ſteps of the flocke of Chriſt, according to the counſel, that we gaue to his reaſonable ſheepe, as we hauehave ſaied before; who hath taught you the way that you doe follow? what doctours were your firſt tutors? who hath taught you, that the precious body of our Sauiour is not really in the Sacrament of the Altar? who hath taught the doctrine (or, if it be not griefe vntounto you, hereſie) which you would hauehave vsus to receiue as a Goſpell? I know before hand, that you will alleadge me Ieſus Chriſt, and his holie Apoſtles, whoſe ſteppes you doe profeſſe to follow, preaching eueryevery where, that there is no difference betweene your Church (or, to ſay trueth, Synagogue) & the church of the Apoſtles. But I pray, let me vnderſtand by what means you can ioine your ſelues vntounto the Church of the Apoſtles, ſeing thataThis is an impudent vntruth you condemne & cut off all the Chriſtians that hauehave beene & are betweene you & them. For to verifie this, I will alleage no other but your owne workes: for Caluin in his Inſtitutions at the Treatiſe of the Supper of the Lord, ſpeaking of the oblation of the bodie of our Sauiour Chriſt, as it was offered in olde time, he doeth write punctuallie theſe wordes: Caluinus, in ſuâ inſtitutione traditâ de Coenâ Domini. I finde (ſaieth he) that thoſe of old time hauehave changed this faſhion, otherwiſe then the Inſtitution of our Sauiour did require, ſeeing that their ſupper did repreſēt a certaine ſpectacle of a ſtrange inuention, or at the leaſt, of a new maner. There is nothing more ſure vntounto the faithful, thē for thē to holde themſelues vntounto the pure ordinance of the Lord, by whō it was called a ſupper, to the ende, that onelyonly his authority may be our rule. Yet it is true, that when I conſider their good meaning, and that their intent was, neuer to derogate frō the onelyonly ſacrifice of Chriſt, I dare not condēne thē of folly, and yet I thinke, that one cannot excuſe thē, that they hauehave not ſomewhat failed in the exteriour forme: for they hauehave followed more the Ceremonies of the Iews, thē the order of Ieſus Chriſt did permit. And this is the point, in which they ought to be reſiſted: for they hauehave conformed to much vntounto the old Teſtamēt, not contenting thēſelues with the ſimple inſtitution of Chriſt, they hauehave to much inclined themſelues vntounto the ſhadowed Ceremonies of the Iewes law.
Theſe are Caluins words. The Reader may by them ſee well, how this noble Reformer of the Goſpel, doeth correct al ages and Churches, bee they of Martyrs, Cōfeſſours, Doctours, Interpreters, Preachers, or any others, from the Apoſtles time vntounto our age, yet doeth he not denie, but that hauing ſome regard of their ſimple ignorāce, he is content to be ſo good to thē, as for this time not to condemne their errour or impietie, becauſe that which they did, was with a good intent: but yet fearing, that the bearing them to much fauour would trouble his conſcience, he giueth ſentence againſt them, ſaying, thataYet this proue…h not that, for the which you alleadged him. they ought to be reſiſted, becauſe they were not content with the onelyonly inſtitution of Chriſt, but rather, that in this caſe they hauehave followed the ſhadowes of the Iewes. Now, for my part, I thinke Caluin & his fellowes ſo ſcrupulous, that they would not ioine themſelues vntounto perſons, that are ſpotted with Iewiſh Ceremonies.bAre you not aſhamed thus to bely him, is it not euid…nt in his words, that hee ſpeaketh, but onelyonly of ſome in olde time? And becauſe that all maner of people, how wiſe ſoeuer they were, from the Apoſtles time vntill our daies, hauehave fallen into this errour, he doeth counſel, my maſters, his deformed followers (according to his ſentence) to follow none of them at al, but only the pure word of the Lord, preached by Ieſus Chriſt, and by his aboue mentioned Apoſtles.
The X. Chapter.
IN that by the Scriptures we are able to iuſtifie our doctrine, and therfore diuerſe times hauehave called vponupon you to come to that trial, and yet cannot by any means bring you vntounto it, & that we are ſure, that that doctrine therein warranted, hath alwaies by God by the meanes he hath appointed for that purpoſe, beene preſerued and continued in his Church. You returning now againe to take accounts of vsus, how we hauehave followed the flocke of Chriſts ſheep that wēt before vsus, & fed by the tents of his ſhepheards, are anſwered. And yet for your better and more plaine ſatiſfying, who hath taught vsus the way that we follow, & who were the Doctours, that were ou… firſt tutors, we anſwere you, that Chriſt, his Apoſtles, & Euāgeliſts in the new Teſtament were our firſt tutors, & ſince them in the principal points of our religion, the aucient Fathers, whoſe names and monumēts are knowen vntounto the Church, that liued for 1000. years after Chriſt, & thoſe that I named vntounto you before in my anſwer to your 4 Chapter. But particulerly you would know of vsus, who hath taught vsus to deny the reall preſence of Chriſts body in the Sacrament of the altar? Here I ſuppoſe, you meane by real preſence that real preſence, which is in this caſe now taught, and receiued in your Church, vnderunder the formes of bread and wine, to the mouthes of al receiuers, be they faithful or faithleſſe: for otherwiſe none of vsus doe deny a true and moſt certaine preſence of Chriſt to the faith of the right receiuer. This thē being your meaning, we do not onelyonly (as you ſuppoſe) anſwere you, that we hauehave learned of Chriſt & his Apoſtles to deny it, but alſo of al ye anciēt writers of credit, & accoūt in ye Church for 700, or 800, years togither, & ſince we hauehave bene cōtinued in the ſame by Bertrā, and others before named, and their followers, as we hauehave made it moſt euident in many bookes writē to that purpoſe, & namely of late in a great booke called Orthodoxus cōſēſus, the true catholick cōſent of ye holy Scriptures & ancient Church, of ye trueth of ye words of the Lords ſupper, and of al the cōtrouerſie thereabout, printed at Tygure 1578: which booke al ye ſwarme of you wil neuer be ſoūdly able to anſwere & cōfute as long as you liue. And therfore al the reſt of this Chapter is needles, wherein you ſuppoſe, yt betwixt Chriſt and his Apoſtles, and vsus, there is none yt we cā produce of our iudgemēt, or otherwiſe againſt you. But you take vpō you to proue, yt we cut of thē al, that hauehave bene betweene thē & vsus, becauſe Caluin hath writē (hādling this matter of the ſacrament) that he did find, that they of old time had chāged the faſhiō of the adminiſtratiō therof otherwiſe, thē Chriſts inſtitutiō would beare &c. wheru…ō your cōcluſion followeth not, for diuers cauſes. For an argumēt frō one to al holdeth not: as Caluin hath done ſo; ergo it is all out opion, & we al do ſo. For though we accoūt of him as of a rare & ſinguler miniſter of the Lord, yet wee doe not binde our ſelues to doe and ſay whatſoeuer he did, and ſaied. For we know him to hauehave beene a man ſubiect to error and infirmity for al his gifts: neither wil you be cō tented, yt ſuch an argument ſhould hold alwaies drawn frō any one of your greateſt, & moſt famous learned writers, to preſſe al ye reſt. And a ſecond reaſon of ye weaknes of your argumēt is, that there is more in your cōcluſion, then is in ye antecedent giuen you by him. For you would conclude (for thoſe are your words, to the proofe whereof you cite Caluin) yt we condēne & cut of al the Chriſtiās, that hauehave bene & are betwixt Chriſt, his Apoſtles, and vsus: wheras Caluin ſpeaketh not of al, but of ſome of olde time. The 3 reaſon Caluin himſelfe giueth you, in ye euē in the words ſet downe by you, he ſheweth plainly, that though in thē that he ſpake of, he noted ſome aberration frō the ſimplicity of Chriſts inſtitution, yet he did not therfore cut thē of frō the Church, nor cōdēne thē. What? are you ſuch a cutter, yt you ſtraight cut of al thoſe frō cōmuniō wt you, in whō you cā iuſtly finde any fault or errour in opinion, or practiſe of life? Surely then you muſt cut of moſt of your beſt frends. That which we can foundly proue to be a fault in brethren, either ancient or of later time, we may ſafely note, tel them of, and labour to reforme; & yet as long as they ioine togither with vsus in one God, faith, and Baptiſme; otherwiſe, we can, and ought to holde peace & Chriſtian communion wt them: or els where cā there at any time be any true concord or peace kept in the church? For ſome differences of opinions, & vſages, there hauehave alwaies yet beene, and wil be betwixt one particuler Church and another, and betwixt ſome members of the true church, or other. You needed not therfore (I warrant you) one whit hauehave beene afraide, that Caluin & his fellowes were ſo ſcrupulous, that they would not ioine in fellow ſhip wt ſome ſuch as he ſpeaketh of there: and yet ye letteth not, but yt he ſhould coūſel his readers, to prefer Chriſts own ſimple inſtitution before the vſage of them, or any other differing from it.