Answer unto a Crafy and Sophistical Cavillation, Debate · Confutation of book 3 · Section 13 – Section 14
Caunterbury.
A demurre. whether euill men eat the body of Christ.I Thanke you for this demurre, for I my selfe could hauehave chosen no better for my purpose. And I am content that the trial of the whole matter be iudged hereby, as you desire: You say, that all that be baptised, good and euill, eate the body of Christ: and I say, only the good, and not the euill.
Now must neyther I nor you be iudges in our own causes, therefore let Christ be iudge betwene vsus both, whose iudgemēt it is not reason that you refuse. Christ sayth: Who so euer eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud,Iohn. 6. dwelleth in me and I in him. As the lyuing father hath sent me, and I liue by the father, euen so he that eateth me, shall liue by me. This is the bread which came down from heauen. Not as your fathers did eat Manna and are dead. He that eateth this bread shall liue for euer. Now I aske you this question, whether euil men shal liue for euer? Whether they liue by Christ? Whether they dwell in Christ? and hauehave Christ dwelling in them? If you say nay (as you must needes if you will say the truth) then hauehave I proued my negatiue (wherein stood the demurre) that ill men eat not Christs body nor drinke his bloud, for if they did, then by Christs own words, they should liue for euer, and dwell in Christ, and hauehave Christ dwelling in them. And what proofes will you require more vponupon my part in this demurre? For if Christ be with me, who can be able to stand agaynst me.
But you alleadge for you S. Paule, who speaketh for you nothing at al. For the messenger will not speake against him that sent him. I know that S. Paule in the 11. to the Corinthians,1. Cor. 11. speaketh expressly of the vnworthy eating of the bread, but in no place of the vnworthy eating of the body of Christ. And if he doe, shew the place, or tis the demurre passeth against you and the wholl matter tried with me, by your own pact and couenant. And yet for further proofe of this demure, I refer me to the 1.2.3.4. and 5. chapters of my 4. booke.
August. contra lit. Petil. li. 2. cap 37.And where you bring S. Augustine to be witnesse, his witnesse in that place helpeth nothing your cause. For he speaketh there generally of the vsing of the Sacramentes well or ill, as the dyuersity of men be, rehearsing by name the sacrament of circumcision, of the paschal lamb, and of baptisme. Wherefore if you wil proue any real and corporall presence of Christ by that place, you may aswell proue that he was corporally present iii, circumcisiō, in eating of the paschal lamb, and in baptism, as in the Lords supper.
And here ye vse such a subtilty to deceaue the symple reader, that he hath good cause to suspect your proceedinges, and to take good heed of you in all your writings, who do nothing els, but go about to deceaue him. For you conclude the matter of the substance of the Sacrament, that the reader might thinke that place to speak only of the sacrament of Christs body aud bloud, and to speak of the substaunce thereof, where S. Augustine neither, hath that word, Substaunce, nor speaketh not one word specially of that sacrament, but all his processe goeth chiefely of Baptisme which is alone (sayth S. Augustine against the Donatists, which reproued Baptisme for the vice of the minister) whether the minister be good or ill, and whether he minister it to good or to ill. For the Sacraments is all one, although the effect be diuers to good and to euill.
And as for them whom ye say that in hypocrisy pretend to be truthes frends,Truthes fained frends. all that be learned and hauehave any iudgemēt, know that it is the Papists, which no few yeres passed, by hypocrisy and fained religion, hauehave vttered and solde theyr lyes and fables in sted of Gods eternall truth, and in the place of Christ hauehave set vp idols and Antichrist.
And for the conclusion of this comparison, in this word (Very) you make such a wrangling,Very. (where none occasion is geuen) as neuer was had before this tyme of any learned man. For who heard euer before this tyme, that an adiectiue was referred to a verb, and not to his proper substantiue, of any man that had any learning at all?
And as for the matter of Iudas is answered before. For he receaued not the bread that was the Lord, (as S. Augustine sayth) but the bread of the Lord.August. in Ioh. tra. 59. Nor no man can receaue the body of Christ vnworthely, although he may receaue vnworthely the Sacrament thereof.
And hitherto D. Smyth hath found no fault at all in my comparisons,Smyth. whereby the reader may see, how nature passeth arte, seing here much more captiousnesse in a subtill sophisticall wit, then in hym that hath but learned the Sophisticall art. Now followeth the eyght comparyson.The 8. comparison.
They say, that good men eat the body of Christ and drink his bloud, only at that time when they receaue the Sacramēt. We say that they eat, drink and feed of Christ continually, so long as they be members of his body.
Winchester.
What forehead, I pray you, is so hardened, that can vtter this amōg them, that know any thing of the learning of Christs Church? In which it is a most common distinction, yt there is thrée manner of eatinges of Christes body and bloud:3. Manner of eatinges. one spirituall only: which is here affirmed in the second part of (We say,) wherin the author and his say as the church sayth. Another eating is both sacramentally and spiritually, which is when men worthely communicate in the supper. The thyrd is sacramentally only, which is by men vnworthy, who eat and drink in the holy supper to their condemnatiō only. And the learned mē in Christes church say, that the ignoraunce and want of obseruation of these thrée maner of eatinges, causeth the errour in the vnderstanding of the scriptures and such fathers sayinges,Cause of error. as hauehave written of the sacrament. And when the Church speaketh of these thrée maner of eatinges, what an impudency is it, to say, that the church teacheth good men only to eat the body of Christ and drink his bloud, when they receaue the Sacrament, being the truth otherwise, & yet a diuersity ther is of eatyng spiritually only, & eating spiritually and sacramētally, because in yt supper they receue his very flesh & bloud in deed, wt the effects of al graces & gifts to such as receue it spiritually & worthely: wher as out of the supper, when we eat only spiritually by fayth, God that worketh without his sacramentes, as semeth to him, doth releaue those that beleue and trust in him, and suffereth them not to be destitute of that is necessary for them, whereof we may not presume contemning the sacrament, but ordenaryly seke God, where he hath ordred himself to be sought, and there to assure our selfe of his couenaunts and promyses, which be most certaynly annexed to his sacramentes,Gods promises annexed to his Sacraments. We must in teaching exalt the Sacraments after their dignity. whereunto we ought to geue most certayne trust and confidence, wherfore to teach the spirituall manducation to be equall with the spirituall manducation and sacramentall also: that is to diminish the effect of the institutiō of the Sacrament, which no Christen man ought to doe.