Truth and Falsehood, Book · Chapter 9
Of the markes of the Church, or how wee may know the true Church. CHAP. 9.
THE PROTESTANTS
WE muſt iudge of the tree of the church, by the fruits that ſhe bringeth foorth, that is, by the faith or religion that ſhee teacheth, the confeſsion or profeſsion of the ſame that ſhe maketh, the exerciſe of the ſame that ſhe vſeth, but we cānot iudge truely of theſe her fruits, but only by the ſcriptures as in the fiue firſt chapters hath beene ſhewed: therfore the true and infallible tokens or markes of the true church, are to be had out of the word of God, or the Scriptures.
THE PAPISTS
NOwe the Papistes will hauehave their church to bee the true church, becauſe ſhee hath (by vniust claime) a good name to bee called Catholike,Name catholike. Antiquity. Continuance. Greatneſſe Succeſſion becauſe ſhee is ancient, and hath laſted long, ſhe is great, and hath alwayes borne fruit, ſuch as it was: for theſe are the firſt fiue notes reckoned vp by Bellarmine, Lib. 4. de notis eccleſ.and indeede their chiefeſt, which eſpecially they reſt vppon. And may not an euill tree hauehave all theſe properties? Yes verely. And as for the reſt of his marks, in the iudgement of an indifferent Reader, they will neuer be accounted true markes of the Church, excepting thoſe notes wherein he ſeemeth to conſent with vsus, to try the church by the word, namely, by holineſſe of doctrine.
Becauſe I hauehave in another treatiſe ſhewed (I truſt) ſufficiently, that thoſe markes of the church which they make greateſt account of, neither are any true markes, and that we may make as good claime to them as they can: it ſhall now be ſufficient briefly to paſſe ouer this point, and with one or two arguments to anſwer this queſtion.
The ſcripture the true note of the true church.Thoſe markes of the church, whereby wee may truely know the church, and not be deceiued, thoſe I ſay onelyonly are the true markes of the church:
But the ſcriptures onelyonly are ſuch: Therefore they onelyonly are the infallible markes.
The maior or firſt propoſition no man will deny. And that the Scriptures are ſuch may appeare by infinite teſtimonies.De pec. merit. & remiſſ. lib. 1. cap. 22. Saint Auguſtine ſaith, it can not deceiue, nor be deceiued. And againſt the Donatiſts de bapt. lib. 2. cap. 6. calleth the Scriptures, the holy wey-ſcales or ballances. Cap. 1.And in his booke de bono viduitatis, he ſaith, that the holy ſcripture doth ſet him his rule how to teach. And to be ſhort, writing vponupon ſaint Iohns Epiſtle he ſaith, that Againſt deceitfull errours, In Ioh. epiſt. tractatu 2.God would ſet a ſtrength or ſtay in the ſcriptures. And Chryſoſtome ſaith vponupon Geneſis,Hom. 12. in Geneſ. that the Scripture wil not ſuffer him to erre or go aſtray, that heareth it. And therefore Gregory Nazianzene ſometimes calleth the Scriptures, The Kings high way. Matth. 24.And our ſauior Chriſt, although he foretold the danger of error a litle before he ſuffered, yet doeth hee not giuegive the Diſciples any ſuch markes whereby they ſhould know the true Chriſt or true church, as the Papiſtes ſpeake of, but he earneſtly commendeth his word vntounto them, Ioh. 14.15, 23. & 15.7. And feruently prayeth vntounto his father to ſanctifie them with his trueth,Ioh. 17.3, 17 namely, with his word: for he knew that to be the way to keepe them from errour. By all which it appeareth, that the ſcriptures onelyonly are accounted that perfect rule, not only by the iudgement of the fathers, but alſo by the practiſe of our ſauiour Chriſt. But moſt plainly S. Chryſoſt. ſaith,Opere imperf. hom. 49 That the true Church can be knowen only by the Scriptures. I know that Bellarmine anſwereth this place in his 4. booke de verbo Dei, ca. 11. after two ſorts. Firſt, that the booke ſauoureth ſomwhat of Arianiſme. But in theſe words, what Arianiſme can Bellarmine finde. Yea Bellarmine himſelfe doth in other places alleage this booke. But his ſecond anſwer I confeſſe is very forcible. For he telleth vsus, that in a booke printed of late that place is left out. HaueHave they not (thinke you) anſwered the place ſtrongly, when they hauehave thruſt it quite out of the booke? If they had vſed Chryſoſtome onelyonly in this, ſort yet were it too bad dealing, but it may appeare by Franciſcus Iunius his preface before the booke called Index Expurgatorius, that they hauehave left few of the Fathers vncorrupted. I would to God therefore that this and ſuch other gelding and falſifying of the fathers, by that deceiuing church of Rome, which ſeekes to make them al ſay as ſhe doth, could ſtir vp the chriſtiā princes that profeſſe religion in a godly care, to prouide for the ſafetie and maintenaunce of religion, and the trueth thereof in time to come. Which in my iudgement can not well be perfourmed, except that, to preuent the credite of thoſe falſified copies, which within ſhort time are almoſt onelyonly like to remaine, becauſe the ancient, which are the trueſt, wil be worne out, the godly Princes by common conſent woulde take ſome ſpeedy order for printing of al the fathers, according to the ancienteſt and moſt pure copies that might be found. The ſecond argument is this. Whatſoeuer notes do not teach it to be euidently true, that the church whereof they are the notes, is the true church of God, may deceiue, and therefore are not certaine notes of the true church: But ſuch are the notes that the Papiſts would hauehave vsus to beleeue, therefore they are but deceitfull notes.De verbo de… . lib. 1. cap. 2. The maior or firſt propoſition is moſt true, and may well bee prooued out of that axiome or rule that Bellarmine ſetteth downe, ſaying,De notis eccleſ. li. 3. ca. 3. That the rule of the catholike faith muſt bee ſure or certaine. The minor or ſecond propoſition, is Bellarmines owne confeſſion, euen in the ſelfe ſame words that I hauehave ſet downe. Therefore it followeth neceſſarily, that we muſt not truſt the notes of the catholike church ſet downe by them.