The Abatement of Popish Brags Pretending Scripture to be Theirs, Title page – Dedication
THE ABATEMENT OF POPISH BRAGGS, PRETENDING SCRIPTVRE TO BE THEIRS.
RETORTED BY THE HAND OF ALEXANDER COOKE.
LONDON, Printed by WILLIAM IONES dwelling in Red-Croſſe-streete. 1625.
TO ALL LAY PAPISTS IN THIS KINGDOME.
DEare Countreymen and ſeduced brethren, I religiouſly proteſt, I honour ſome of you; and louelove all of you. Grieuing in my very ſoule: that you, and I, acknowledging one and the ſelfe ſame true God, cannot hit vponupon the worſhiping of him after one and the ſelfe ſame true manner: Oh that I might liue to ſee the day wherein we might agree in one! But I hauehave ſmall hope to ſee it, as long as you ſuffer your Prieſt, to bring you in bondage, to deuoure you, to take your goods: as the a2. Cor. 11. 20Corinthians ſuffered the falſe Apoſtles to ferue them.—Por, as the bEſay. 9. 16.leaders of the people cauſed Iſrael to erre: and their cIe…. …0. 6…ſhepheards cauſed them to goe aſtray, & turned them away to the mountaines: ſo it is your Prieſts that hauehave miſled you; and that they may make merchandize of you, as the falſe Prophets (who in d2. Pat. 2. 1▪ 2▪ 3St. Peters dayes taught damnable hereſies) made of them, who followed their deſtruction, it is your Prieſts who doe hinder your returne into the right way. To alienate your affections from vsus, they tell you: That we teach, eCampi…n. rat. 8All ſinnes are equall. fRhem. Annot at. marg. in Luk 6. 1. & 1. Pet. 3. 19All Scripture is very eaſie. That we maintaine the hereſie of the gBell. de n…t. i.c. chlib. 4. c. 9.Simonians, which was: that men might bee ſaued by the grace of Simon Magus: and the hereſie of the hibid.Eunomians, which was: iAuſtin lib. de hareſ…. 54.That whoſoeuer beleeued one eſpeciall point of doctrine which they beleeusd, viz. That the Son of God is altogether vnlike the Father: and the Holy-Ghoſt vnlike the Sonne: could not posſibly be damned, how damnably ſoeuer hee liued. They report wee maintaine the her eſy of the kibid.Repuſians, which was: That women might be Prieſted: and one of the hereſiesof libid.Iouinian, which was: That a man truely baptized could ſinne no more: and another of the ſame mans, which was: mibid.That the Virgin Mary at the time of her child-birth loſt her virginitie. They report wee maintaine, that hereſie of Vigilantius, which was: nibid.That Clergy men ought of neceſſity to be married. and that of the Pelagtans, viz: oibid.That the children of the faithfull are not tainted with originall ſin: and that of the Graecians, viz: pIdem lib. 1. de funct beatit. Cap. 2. ct 4.That iuſt men ſhall not ſee the face of god before the day of dome: and that of the Pſeudo apoſtoli, which was qN. D. in his 2. part of 3. conuerſ chapt. 2. ſect. 14.That onelyonly faith is ſufficient to ſaluation without workes: and that of the rchapt. 3. ſect. 6. 1 ibid.Nouatians, which conſiſted in dening the Churches power to forgiue ſinnes: and that of the Aérians, to wit, That ſolemne faſts are not to be appointed by the Church. They would make you beleeue, tRehm. Annot. Heb. 7. 17.we plainely deny Melchizedech to hauehave ben a Prieſt, That we teach, uAnnot. in Mat. 19. 16.God can doe no more then he hath done, or will doe. That xAnnot. in Mark 1. 8.water in Baptiſme is not neceſſary. That yAnnot. in 2. Pet. 1. 15.we abhorre the prayers of the Saints. That zAnnot. in 2. Pet. 2. 18.we take away pennance, faſting, chaſtity, keeping of vowes, neceſſity of good workes, obedience to Eccleſiaſticall perſons. aGagge of the new Goſpel. Nu. 16.That it is not in our power to chooſe euill. bIdem. Nu. 26.That the Angels cannot helpe vsus. cIdem. Nu. 27.That no ſaint deceaſed hath afterward appeared to any in earth. dIdem Nu. 40.That faſting is not grounded vponupon ſcripture: no eIdem Nu 46.nor bleſſing. and in briefe (to paſse by many other) ſome of them are not aſhamed to ſay, we beleeue fRoſſaus lib. de iuſta Reip. Chriſt in reges impias …t haret authoritate cap. 4. Nu. 6.the ſoules of men are mortall: gibid.and that there is no reſurection: and hCope deal 6. c. 21.that Chriſt Ieſus is not come in the fleſh, from all which errors, hereſies and blaſphemies we are as farre as they are from truth & honeſty. On the other ſide, to win your affections to thē, they iSee the booke pag.beare you in hand, that the Scriptures, the Fathers, the Counſels, are all yours: that kCampian. rat. 10.Heauen: yea Hell: the gates of Cities: the glaſſe-windowes in Churches: res et reculae, giuegive teſtimony to your Religion. Whereas yet they dare not referre the iudgement of ſuch differences asare betweene vsus, either to Scripture, or Fathers, or Counſels: but onelyonly to the lGreg. de valent Analyſ. fid. Cathol. lib. 5. cap. 1. pag. 18.preſent Church, which is all one in effect, as if they referred it vntounto themſelues, or to your Pope: they being, in their opiniō, the Church repreſentatiue: the Pope being the Church virtually, mIdem lib. 7. Aſſertio probanda.who only hath power to iudge of controuerſies. Now doe you not ſmell there is ſome pad in the ſtraw by their diueliſh ſlaundring of vsus: and their cogging with you? I paſſe by their reſtraining you from reading any of ourbookes, eſpecially the Bible of our tranſlation, though nGagge of the new Goſpel. preface to the Catholicke Reader.one of them of late aſſures you, That our condemnation is ſo expreſly ſet downe in our owne Bibles, and is ſo cleere to all the world, that nothing more needs hereto, but onelyonly that you know to reade, and to hauehave your eyes in your heads at the opening of our Bible: which might giuegive you occaſion to ſuſpect ſome falſhood: for if our condemnation bee ſo expreſſely ſet downe in them, why may not you for your greater comfort reade them? OnelyOnly I wiſh you would be pleaſed to conſider ſeriouſly, whether it be likely they had any honeſt meaning in making their Indices Expurgatorios: & forbidding you to reade books writtē by your owne frends, till they had patched ſomething into them, which might make for you▪ and torne out of them, whatſoeuer they thought did make againſt you. Mee thinks (conſidering your many good morall parts) you ſhould not be ſo ſtupid, as not to perceiue: or ſo blinde, as not to ſee there is ſome my ſtery of iniquity in it, that you may neither reade what your friends, or foes hauehave written. Quidam ſenex &c, A certaine old man (as oDiſcip. de Tēp. ſer. 121.one of your owne writers) being aſked by one who had a purpoſe to betake himſelfe into a Monaſtery, how he ſhould carry himſelfe after his admiſſion, anſwered him in good earneſt▪ Tuet Aſinus vnum eſtote. Carry thy ſelfe like an Aſſe, refuſe no burthen that is laid vponupon thy backe. Doe not groane at it. For my part I feare they would make Aſſes of you all. They would hauehave you to receiue hand ouer head whatſoeuer they reach you: to beleeue (without ſearch) whatſoeuer they tel you. But as ſome of you are Noble Gentlemen, others of you good fellows; be not Aſſe▪fied by them. Remember that you are men, men of vnderſtanding, and able to iudge of reaſon when you heare it. Beleeue none of your Prieſts vponupon their bare words, without proofe: but eſpecially take heede how you lightly beleeue your ordinary Maſſe-Prieſts: for in truth, the moſt of them are ignorant Sir Iohns, not much vnlike the pSeo Fox Ac…sBiſhop of Dunkelden, who thanked God, he neuer knew what the old and new Teſtament was. The moſt of them are not & Mon. in Hen. 8. Treatiſe of the perſecution in Scotland.much guiltie of learning. Take hearts vntounto you (beloued Countreymen) and reade our bookes, and our Bibles: my ſoule for yours, you may doe it with good conſciences, and with much profit to your ſelues. But if you cannot be perſwaded thereunto: yet let me intreate this of you, that you will forbeare to cenſure either our bookes, or our perſons, vponupon your Prieſts bare information. For their words are no Goſpel: their tongues no ſlaunder. And that you would remember that of g Tertullian, Quid q Apologet. Cap. 1.iniquius quàm vt oderint homines quod ignorant; etiamſi res mereatur odium. Tuncenim meretur, cum cognoſcitur an mereatur. Vacante autē meriti notitia, vnde odij iuſtitia defenditur, quae non deeventu, ſed de conſcientia probanda eſt? with which I end, wiſhing to you all as to my ſelfe, a comfortable life, and bleſſed death.
Leeds in Yorkſhire May 20. 1625. ALEXANDER COOKE.