Confutation of Unwritten Verities, Chapter 7 – Chapter 8
¶Custome also is of no strēgth in thys case of prouing a religion.
¶The .vii. Chapter.
EXodi .23. Folowe not the multitude to doe euill.
LEuiticus .18. The Lorde cōmmaūdeth the Israelytes not to folowe the custome of the Egipcyans nor the Cananites. Reade the chapter.
EZechyell .20. Walke not in the statutes of youre forefathers / and keepe not their ordinaunces: and defyle not youre selues wyth their Idols.
REgū .4. ca. 17. VntoUnto thys day they kepe their olde customes / they feare not God nor do after hys customes / ordynaunces and lawes.
THe same. They dyd not hearken vntounto the Lorde: but dyd after their olde custome.
I Eremye .9. They folowed thē wickednes of their owne heartes / and serued straunge godes / as their fathers taught them.
TErtullian of virginite or prayses. Custome for the most part / taking his beginning eyther of ignoraunce or simplicite / in processe of tyme waxeth strong by vse: and so it is alledged agaynst the truth. Whatsoeuer smelleth agaynste the trueth / that is heresye / yea though it be olde custome.
CIprian vntounto Cicilie lib. 2. Epistola .3. There is no cause / why (deare brother) that any manne should thynke the custome of some men oughte to be folowed. If any mā hauehave thought that only water ought to be offered in the chalyce: we muste fyrste aske whom they folowed: and that Chryste only ought to bee hearde the father witnesseth from heauen / saieng: this is my wel beloued sonne / heare hym. Wherfore if only Chryste ought to be heard / we ought not to regarde what any mā afore vsus thought to be done / but what Christ / which is before / did first: neyther oughte we to folowe the custome of man / but the trueth of god.
THe same to Iulian. of the baptising of heretykes in vaine do some men / when they be ouercome with the truth / alledge custome agaynste vsus: as though custome wer greater / then the trueth. Sainct Augustine hath the same.
THe same to Pompus agaynste Steuens epistle. Custōe / with out truth / is an olde errour: for the whiche cause / lette vsus leue custome and folowe the trueth.
CHrisostome vponupon Genesis .29. Homilie .59. For if the coūsell be good and profitable / yea though it be not custome / kepe it: but if it bee hurtful and noysome / caste it awaye. For if we wil be wise and care for our saluacion / we may leaue of an euyll custome and bryng in a good custome: and so shall we geue no small occasyō to thē / that come after vsus / to chaunge the same / & hauehave the rewarde of those thyngs / that be done of them.
IErome in his preface to Iob. Olde custome is of such force / that vices / whiche many men them selues cō fesse / please them through it.
THe same the .9. Cap. Neither ar the errours of our fathers / nor out elders / to be folowed: but the authorite of the Scriptures: and the cōmaundementes of god / that teacheth vsus.
AVgustine of one only Baptime lib. 2. Distinc .8. Cap. Vhen the trueth is once knowen / let custome geue place to the trueth. For who doubteth, but custōe ought to geue place to the manifeste trueth?
THe same in the sameplace. Let no man preferre custome aboue trueth & reasō. For truth and reason doe euer exclude custome.
GRegorius to Guelmunde the Byshoppe .2. Distinct. Siconsuetudo. If thou chaunce to lay custome agaynst me / thou must take heede what the lorde sayeth: I am the way / the truth and the lyfe. He did not say: I am custome / but the trueth.
NIcolas the Pope to Ignatyus the reuereute Byshoppe .8. Distinc. An euil custome is no les to be auoyded / then an hurtefull corrupcyon: whiche excepte it be plucked vp the soner by the rootes: it wyl bee taken of the vngodly for a lawe.
¶Reasons agaynste vnwritten verites.
¶The .viii. Chapter.
THe olde testamente was sufficient for the Iewes: and why shall not bothe the newe and olde suffice vsus?
CHriste and the Apostles proued al their doctrynes / by the law and Prophetes. What an arrogancye is it then in vsus / to teache anyethynge / whiche we can neyther proue by the law / the Prophetes / the Apostles / nor the Euangelistes.
THe deuill / when he tempted Chryst / was not so farre past al shame to perswade any thynge wythout the testimonye of the scriptures: althought he dyd (as hys deare children / the papistes / do) falsely alledge them / wrest them from theyr true meanyng to a contrarye sense / and also cut of that / whiche shoulde make against him / or declare the true meaning of the scriptures.
THis word (vnwritten verites) is a new terme lateli inuēted / & now here heard or red amōg the olde wryters: of which thei could not hauehave bene ignoraunt / if ther had bene any such thing / nedefull to saluacyon.
AL contēcion / which the olde fathers had with heretikes / was for the scriptures: whiche heretikes partly denied / as Marciō / Mālcheus & Faustus: partly they wrongly expunded: but for thyngs / whych are not conteined in the scriptures / they neuer accused any man of heresye.
IF there were any worde of god besyde the scripture / we coulde neuer be certeine of gods word: and if we be incertayne of gods word / the deuill myghte brynge in amonge vsus a newe worde / a newe doctryne / a newe fayth / a new churche / a newe god / yea himselfe to be god / as he hath already done in the popysh kyngdōe. For thys is the foundacyon of Antichristes kyngdome / to settle hymselfe in gods temple / whyche is the hearte and conscience of man: of hym to be feared and worshypped / as thoughe he were god himselfe.
If the churche and the Christyan fayth did not staie it selfe vponupon thē worde of god certayne / as vponupon a suer and strong foundacion: no man coulde know whether he had a ryght faith / and whether he wer in the true churche of Chryste / or in the synagog of Sathan.
IF we be bounde to beleue certaīe thinges / delyuered from the Apostles by word of mouth only / wythout writyng / as thei wold make vsus beleue (but what those thynges bee no man can tel): It shold hereof folow / that we are bound to beleue we wote not what
WYthout fayth it is not possible to please god: and fayth cōmeth by hearyng of gods word. Ergo where gods worde lacketh / ther can be no fayth.
ALmightie god / a fore he gaue to Moses the law writtē of the .x commaundements) wherin he fully taught the true worshippinge of him) as it wer a preservatyue agaīst a plage or a poisō to cōe: gaue thē this no table lessō, worthy alway to be had in memory: you shall adde nothīg to the words &c. and agaīe he oftē times repeteth the same sētēce both in the law and the Prophetes / in the gospels / & the Epistles of the Apostles. And because his people shold neuer forget it Saynct Iohn cōmaundeth the same in the last wordes of all the new testament / threatning terrible plages (that is) the losse of his euerlastyng Ioies of heauen / and the payne of eternal fier of hell / to al them / that eyther put to or take aughte from the worde of God.