Against Human Ceremonies in Gods Worship, Part 1 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Concerning a nationall Church answ. to the 60.61.62. of the Preface.
OF the faythfull congregations, wherein we were borne, baptized, and nourished up in fayth, there is no quaestion made, but they are our loving and beloved mothers: Yet much quaestion ariseth concerning that which the Rej. teacheth viz.Pag. …0 6…. That all those churches together, have one mother, and so we have a grandmother, that is the Church of England, considered as one church: and that by way of representation, as the convocation house, 2. by way of association and combination into one profession, worship, and discipline, which includeth the orders and officers, that is, the Hierarchye, pertaining therunto, but not by any other collective consideration.
1. I never read either in Scripture, or in any orthodoxe writer, of a visible particular Church, either grandmother of Christians, or mother of other Churches, if the Rej. hath, he should do well to informe us, where we may fynd this doctrine explained. 2. I would willingly know, whether Christians & Christian churches also, were not in England, before this great grandmother? I think, the Rej. will not denye it, nor yet flye for succour to his phisitians, who have found out an herb, which is called of them, Sonne before the Father, Filius ant… Patrem.to justifye his intention of Daughter before the Mother: Filia ant… Matrem.He must confesse, that this Grand-mothe…, is onelyonly a mother in law,The nature of a representative church. and that law also to be mans, not Gods. 3. All the churches of England, may as well be considered as one in unity of profession, without any new motherhood, as all the Latine Scholes of England one, in the unity of the same Grammar, or all Gallenicall, or Platonicall Scholes, one in their kynd. 4. A Representative mother is the image of a mother, and an image, with commaunding authority in religion, without Gods commaund,Quod ecclesia si…is repraesentativa libē ter cred…mus, vera enim non estu: Sed …sten a…te q…aso …de …or… …ec nomen? Qui▪ hoc nomint… …? Quis …acund… & ce…spirandi …obis potestatem dedit? Q…is cō de…di Canones & decreta verbo Des dis…mi…i…. vobi…tus fecit? Qui… ut ista hume…is hominum impe…eretiu, permis…t? Q…is consitentia▪ ut si… gravareit… vebis persw. sit? Vt dic…etis b…num malum, malum benum qu… iussit … …clesia …, q…a nihil … al et, sed picta & ce…i…la …mnia, Scan…n est… ecclesia ri…a s…sa Christo …r…ua, qua se…a ve…it. … & … Dei …. is an Idoll: It was well therfore, to this purpose, sayd of Zwinglius Explan. arti. 8. That you be a representative church, we willingly beleeve, for you are not the true church: But show I beseech you, whence you had this name: who styled you with this title? who gave you power of meeting, and combyning together? who graunted you authority of coyning decrees and Canons, differing from the word of God? who suffered you to impose these upon men? who perswaded you thus to burden Consciences? who enjoyned you to call evill good, and good evill? You are therfore an hypocriticall church, which hath nothing sound in it, and substantiall, but all things fayned and paynted, But you are not that true church, that bride beseeming our Saviour, who stayes her self, upon the truth alone, and the Spirit of God. He speaketh these things of th…se, which under the name of Representative churches, imposed their inventions, upon true churches, without Scripture, which is a true representation of our representative convocation. 5. The Rej. confesseth, that this Hierarchicall convocation is humaine and not divine, and he will not denye, but Christians, and Christian congr…gations are Divine. Now what a monstrous, and preposterous generation, then doth he make (as it were in a Chymaericall dreame) of Divine Children, proceeding from humaine mothers and grandmothers: Our Saviour was of another mynd; when he made these two opposite, from earth, and from heaven: The Rej. hath found out so great consent betweene these two, that earth may be the mother, and grandmother of heaven: Besyde the humaine mother of Divine children, is not of their heavenly fathers choise, nor by him appointed, to beare the person of their true mother: But she was first putt into this office, by the presumption of men, and afterward authorised, by the Archmother of Rome, continuing her profession, by sleight & might, to represent those, from whom she can show no other letters of credence, for the power she usurpeth, then she maketh her self, or hath gotten by stealth from civill power.
6. This representative mother, is very seldome exstant viz, when ther is a Parliament, which now we have not had these diverse yeares: And when she appeareth, she can give no milk to her children, further then she hath commission from man: None of her children can have accesse unto her, only she appointed many yeares since, certaine servants of hers, with restraint of their fathers allowance, to dyet them, with drye ceremonies, and scourge them, with silencing, deprivation, excommunication, if they fynd fault with that provision, which is very pap, with a hatchet; Is not such a mother worthy grand titles and honor?
7. The examples of such motherhood, which the Rej. fetcheth, from the assemblyes of Israell, Scotland, and our Parliament, have no agreement. For 1. we read of no assemblyes of Elders (by office in Israell) from whence all other were excluded, stiled either Mothers of Israell, or all Israell: Neither was there in any such assemblyes, this motherly authority exercised, of appointing humaine sacred Ceremo. unto Israell. 2. The assemblyes of Scotland, before Perth, had no such state, as our convocation, nor power of commaunding, but only advized of, and directed those things which God had appointed, and the churches were knowen to desire, yet might their judgment be well called, the judgment of the church of Scotland, because they pronounced nothing, but that which all the churches of Scotland, did publikely professe, even in their solemne confession. 3. Our Parliament is not stiled, the Mother common wealth of England, yet in civill affaires, more liberty is left for stile, and power, unto publike assemblies, then in religious: But if the lower house of Parliament, were not more freely chosen, and of greater power, then the poore lower house of Convocation, a quaere might be made, whether the state or common wealth of England were there or no.
Now for the second way of one church, by association, and combination of all particular churches into one profession, worship, and discipline: This is good, thus farr, and the very same with that collective consideration, which the Repl. mentioned, and the Rej. termed a new mistie inexplicable nothing, except combination doth mistyly cover under it, the swallowing up of particular congregations, by Nationall, Provinciall, Diocesan churches. But …s for that clause, that this must needs include, such orders and offices as our Hyerarchye: this is either a begging, or a stealing of the mayne quaestion: For 1. this Hierarchye consisteth of officers and orders (by the Rej. owne confession) humaine, not divine: now associa…ion of profession, worship and discipline, may certainly be had by officers and orders divine. 2. The reformed churches of France, have their association, and combina…ion, without any Hierarchye. 3. The Hierarchye doth not associate churches, under it, but subdue all to it self, so that, as the Pope, is sometyme esteemed the Church of Rome, and sometyme, he with his assistants, so is our Hierarchye in England.Beza de ecclesia notis paulo ante finom. Ego Pontifieijs lib…nter relinquo, totum istū Episcopatu… gradum, cuius (aperté dic…) Spiritum Sanctum, non suiss… authorem, sed humanam prudentiam, cui nisi animadvertimus Deum maledixiss…, corte nihil n… nunc quidem videmus, & viperam insinu fovemus, quae tursus matrem ne…abit. Beza in his notes of the church not farr from the end, giveth warning of this: I most willingly leave the wholl frame of Episcopall authority to the Papists: of which (I openly professe) the Holy Spirit of God, was never the author, but humaine policy, which if we do not observe, to be accursed by God, we certainly as yet see nothing at all: and nourish we do a viper in our bosomes which will kill the mother. This prophecy is too true of the Hierarchye, as in other respects, so in this, that it seemeth to devoure, our mother churches title, liberty, right and power, and in a great part hath prevailed.
9. It was added by the Replyer, that the Hyerarchye, is a creature of mans making, and may more lawfully be removed, when it pleaseth man, then ever she was by him erected. To this the Rej. answereth, confessing, that sundry offices and orders in our church are humaine, and not divine: adding, that accidentall formes of discipline, are not determined in the word of God, but left in the churches liberty, to devise, as all but Anabaptists, and such as edge too neare upon them consent.
Which words are worthy of a note or two: For he 1. acknowledgeth our Hierarchye of Archbishops, B… Deanes, Archdeacons, &c. to be creatures of mans making, not divine: Now of these principally consist, our convocated mother church, as its well knowen, a few ministers being added to her, for fashion sake, so that this church is a church of man, not of God, by his owne confession, and this church is sayd to be devised by the church, now it soundeth strangly, A church of the churches devising: Nor know I well, what the devising church of England can be. The Rej. telleth us, that there be, but two wayes of considering, the Church of England, as one, either in the convocation house, or in that combination, which must needs (sayth he) include the orders and officers, pertaining therunto: Now in both of these wayes Hierarchicall orders and officers are supposed and included, so that the Church of England, neither of these wayes could possibly devise these orders and officers. 3. The distinction used betwixt the essentialls of discipline, and the accidentall formes thereof, is o…scure: And if these termes, may be interpreted, by that sense, which is given by the Rej. of Doctrinall and Rituall, substantiall, circumstantiall worship, that must be essentiall, which is commaunded in the word, that is accidentall, which is not commaunded, but permitted. Then the Rej. in affirming essentialls to be determined, and accidentalls not, sayth nothing else, but that which is determined, is determined, and that which is not determined, is not determined. 4. If he meane by accidentall formes, circumstances of …yme, number, place and occasionall course of proceeding, then he accuseth unjustly, not only us, but the Anabaptists themselves of opposing so manifest a truth, by all men confessed. 5. It would be worth a little paines of his to declare, how, and in what sense our Hierarchye is accidentall, to the church, and discipline of England? The Bishops are efficient causes, even in a high ranke, of our Discipline, they are principall members, of our Diocesan churches, they have an Ecclesiasticall rule, and commaund over the par…icular congregations within their Dominion, by them and in their name, the essentialls of ordination, institution, introduction, suspension, deprivation, excommunication, &c. are dispensed and disposed of: who will say, that these things, can agree to accidentall formes. 6. Concerning edging upon Anabaptists, in this point it may with better reason be objected, to those that maintaine Diocesan Bishops, then to those that oppose them, for it is well knowen, that the Anabaptists, in Holland, Zeland, and Frisland, have their Bishops, which have care of many congregations, within a certaine circuit, & in all of them (though ther be others that teach) they only, at their visitations, performe some mayne things belonging to the pastorall office. 7. The position (that our Bishops are humaine creatures of mans making) is not only to us, but to many of themselves, sufficient to condemne their office, some of them having publikely protested, that if it were so, they would not keepe their places one day.