Reply Against Gilbert Brown, Section 45
Maister Gilbert Browne.
But that Maiſter Iohn ſhall not thinke that we ſlander him and his with olde condemned hereſies, let him read S. Auguſtine, Epiphanius, and others noted on the margent as of theſe, and many the like.
1 Nouatus forſooke the Pope of Rome Cornelius, and cauſed others doe the like, as a)Hiſto. l. 6. c. 33.Euſebius and b)lib. 6 c. 30.Nicephorus reports.
2 Aerius the heretick denied that offering or prayers ſhould be done for the dead, & that faſting ſhould be free, as c)Hereſ. 55. wrong cited is ſuld be 75.S. Auguſtine & Epiph declares.
3 Eunoninus and Aerius held that only Faith juſtifieth, as d)Hereſ. 55 & lib de ſide & operibus.Auguſtine and e)Hereſ. 76.Epiphanius writes.
Maiſter Iohn Welſche his Reply.
Now are we, by Gods grace, come vntounto your laſt calumnie, in affirming that wee renew olde condemned hereſies. This is indeede (Maiſter Gilbert) a heauie challenge, if it were true: but it is but like the reſt of your calumnies: yea, it hes leſſe appearance of trueth, nor any thing whilk ye hauehave ſpoken againſt vsus. Alyar, Maiſter Gilbert, ſhall not enter in that heauenly cietie, Pſal 15 Reuel. 19 & 2….but his portion ſhall be in that lake that burnes with fire and brimſtone, and he that ſlandereth his neighbour (much more then be who ſlandereth the trueth of God) ſhall not reſt in the Lords holy mountaine. But to come to the firſt, Nouatus intruded himſelfe in another mans charge, and cauſed ſet vp himſelfe againſt Cornelius the lawfull Paſtor in the Kirk in Rome then, & that craftilie: and withdrew many of his flock from him, whilk is as contrarie to our doctrine, as black to white. For we teach that eueryevery paſtor ſhould hauehave his owne particular flock, as Cornelius had then in Rome, and no man ſhould intrude himſelf in another mans charge, as he did. So this is a calumny, Maiſter Gilbert. But your Popes are like Nouatus, who not only hes diſturbed al the Chriſtian congregations in Europe almoſte, by ſetting vp and thruſting downe ſik Paſtors as he would, but alſo all the kingdomes in Europe. As for this doctrine of Aerius, I anſwere you, as ye did me: I contend not whether he taught this doctrine or not, for the ſcriptures hes taught the ſame. But our contention is, whether they be hereſie or not, whilk you hauehave not prooued, nor euer will be able to proue by the Scripture. It is true Epiphamus, & Auguſtine following him, reckons him amongſt heretickes, but Theodoretus in his booke de fabulis Iudaerum, and the Eccleſiaſtical hiſtorie reckons him not amongſt hereticks: and he was not condemned for an heretick in any Councell: that therefore whilk he taught according to the Scripture we imbrace. But as for the errors of the Acrians, whilk are errors in deede, and whilk are aſcriued vntounto them, as the damning of marriage, vrging of continencie, requyring them whome they receaue to their fellowſhip to forſake their owne proper things: theſe hereſies, I ſay, your Kirk hes renewed, who damnes marriage, and vrges continencie in your Cleargie, and receaues none to your religious orders, but ſik as refuſes their owne proper things. As to the third, the Aetian and Eunomian hereſies, they ſecluded holineſſe of life from that faith of theirs, and taught ſik a faith that might ſtand with whatſoeuer ſinnes, and with perſeuerance in them. Will you ſtand to this (Maiſter Gilbert) before the Lord, that we teach ſik doctrine? Is not this our doctrine, that only liuing faith whilk works by louelove, & brings forth good fruits doth iuſtifie? But you are like to them that knowes no other iuſtifying faith, but ſik a faith, as both the reprobates and the Diuels may hauehave. So this is your third calumnie.