The Confutation of the Misshapen Answer to a Wicked Ballad, Part 11 – Part 13
¶The Confutacion,
You go about to make the matter playne by a similitude, It is wonderfull (you saye) to a pagane) howe a vyrgyne shoulde bringe forth a childe: but to a christian it is no wonder at all, hys fayeth you saye, putteth awaye all wonder. So if thys man (saye you) would captiuate hys reasone, he woulde beleue (as you do) that the hostes can speake.
Fyrst I wyl examayne your similitude and tri how it serueth for your purpose. The whol meaneynge of your similitude is no more but this. In like maner as achristian wyl not wonder howe a virgine can bringe forth a chyld…: so wyll he not wonder howe the hostes in the pyxe shoulde speake. Or for the fyrste parte.
As it is a poynte of a pagane to wonder how a virgyne shoulde brynge forth a chylde: so is it to beleue that the hostes in the pyxe be dombe. But I praye you syr wyth your pa…nce. Are not you a Christian man? Yes mary s…ye you I woulde you shoulde knowe it. And I praye you sir, if your daughter shoulde bring forth a childe, would you thynke she wer a virgyn? It were not lyke sure. Well, if you wer… certayne that sh… were a virgyn woulde you not wonder how she should be conceyued? Yes verily. For it to contrarye to the course of nature, and therefore to be wondred at. Howe say you …o your similitude thē. Apply it to you purpose, and se howe it a greeth. As it is to be wondered how a vyrgin shoulde bee conceiued wyth childe, so is it howe the hostes in the pyx shoulde speake. Ah syr, this maketh somewhat for our purpose. But here you wyl say, that by your …ayth you wil captiuate your reasōe & beleue it to be done because you se it to be so. But howe it shoulde come to passe, you wyll aske no questiō. Then you beleue it because you se it and so youre fayth is grounded vppon the knowledge of the senses. All thys maketh agaynst you Wel yet once agayn let vsus asaye another way. Graunt your doughter be wyth child & you know not wheth…re she be a virgin or not. What wyll you saye than? Wyll you strayght waye captiuate your reason and sence… because you are a christian and beleue that your daughter is a virgyn? Tushe saye you al thys is nothynge to the purpose, all my meanyng is of the virgyn Mary of whose virginitie al christians are certay…. But I pray you Howe are christe… men certified of Maries virginitie? By▪ the wordes of the prophet saye you, which wer spoken longe before. Behold a virgine shal conceiue and bring furth a sonne, and …is name shalbe called Emanuel. A ha, thē y…u doo not captiuate reasonne but reasonne leadeth you to beleue i…, because the Prophete of … had spoken it long before that it shuld come to pa…e. Howe know you that thys prophecie was fulifilled in Marie?
I knowe that (saye you) by the testemonies that I fynd in the scripture, wher by Christ (whoe was the firste borne of the same Ma…ie) was declared to be that sonne that shoulde be borne of a virgy…e. And the testimonies he these.Luk…. …. The wordes of the angell spoken to the virgine in the tyme of hyr conception. Fera…e not Mari… (sayed the angell) for thou haste founde fauour wyth God, Behold, thou shalt conceyue in the wombe & bringe forth a sonne, and thou shalt cal hys name Iesus. Thys shal be greate a…d shalbe called the son of y• highest and the Lorde God shall geue hym the …eate of Dauid hys father and he shall reigne in the house of Iacobe for euer & his king…dome shal hauehave none ende, An other testimonie, y• wordes of the angel vntounto Ioseph when he had thought to hauehave put awaye his despoused wyfe priuilie because he perceyued hir to be wyth chylde, knoweynge that he neuer compayned wyth hyr. Ioseph (said the angel) thou son of Dauid feare not to take to y• Mary thy wyfe. For the thing that is bourne in hyr is of y• holy gost she shall brynge forth asonne and thou shalte call hys name Iesus, for he shall make salfe hys people frome theyr sinnes. Agayne the angell of the Lorde sayed vntounto the herd men in thys wise. F…are ye not, for lo I preache vntounto you great ioye which shal chaūce vntounto al the people For this day is borne to you a sauiour whiche is Christ the anoynted Lord in y• Citie of Dauid. Simeō An y• prophetes, y• wismē y• of …ast the witnes of Iohn Baptist & the voice o… y• father frome heauē: do declare this same son of Marye to be the sonne of the virgyne spoken of before by the prophet. Wherfore I beleue that Marie brought forth a childe without los of virginitie because Iesus the firste borne of hir bodie was by these testimonies declared to be the some seede that was promised to be borne of a virgyne. Wel, by al thys it is plaine that in thys poynte reasonne is not captiuated, but driueth vsus to beleue because the spiri…e of trueth hath prophecied it and so many wytnessed wyth one assent confirmed it. Ryght so do I saye of the sacrament. If you can fynde me but one of the prophetes that hath sayed that any thynge that semeth not to hauehave lyfe shoulde speake, and that the hostes in the pyxe be, by the testimonies of the scriptures, proued to be the same: then wyll I not captiuate reasone, but wylbe led by reasone to beleue that the same hostes (as you cal them) be not dombe other wyse you must pardone me though I beleue not that they can speake, …yll suche tyme …o I do either heare them speake my selfe or else learne it by the reporte of some credible persone that hath hearde them speake.
Thys hauehave I spoken to con…ent your expectacion for the dombnesse of your goddes: because I perceyue by your similitude that you are altogether …leshely and perceiue not the spirite that is in the authour of the ballad
Dombe he calleth them, because (as you vse them) they be taken for gods, and are but dōbe ceremonies or signes, That is to saye, haueynge no lyu…lye signification, wherby the people that shoulde receyue them myght be edified Theyr naturall propritie is, to preache and declare vntounto vsus the vnitie of christians in the bodie and bloude of Christ by fayth more plainely then can be declared with wordes. For wha… …onge can be able to declare the misterie of the misticall bodye of Christe (his churche and congregacion) so playnely wyth wordes: as it is declared by the breade beinge but one breade made of many graynes, and the wyne beynge but one cup of wyne made of manye grapes? Take a waye these liuely signifi…acions therfore and what other thynge shall remayne but dombe ceremonies and signes declareinge nothynge to the edificacion of the receiuers, but holdeynge them styll in supersticion vnderunder the name of gods? Trulye and iustly therfore hath he called them dombe gods, for that they are wythout significacion, and beare the name of gods beynge in dede neither gods nor goddes ordinaunces, as you and your miscreaūt fayth felowes do vse them.
Then conclude you vponupon an inconuenience saying. If Christ might …e sen in the sacramēt as he walked here: then coulde not oure fayeth merite any thynge in beleueinge that we se not.
Graciousely considered. You are loeth we shoulde losse the merite of oure fayeth, You woulde rather we shoulde beleue that good is iuell & iuil good, blacke white, & white blacke, that lyghte is darkenes and darkensse lyghte yea that god is breade and breade God. But nowe it were wysedome to make a distinction of meriteinge and then to knowe howe thys faith of yours meriteth that we may be bolde to cal for our reward whē the vniuersal iudge shall geue to eche one accordeynge to his merites. Ther be .ii. kyndes of meritinge therfore, y• is to saye of good and of iuel. The good kynde of meriteynge, is by Christe, thorowe Christe for Christe, and in Christe. That is by casteing all oure … vponupon him o…elye, … continually beaten and crucified before our e…es and crucifiynge our selues to the worlde haueinge o… or trust in oure …elfe, anye, worcke that we can do, or any other for vsus, settyng vp anye in heauen erth or hell to be equalle or partener wyth hym: but beleueings and confesseing him …o be all in all thyng…s, the on…lye creatour and maker the onelye and tree geuer of all goodnes, and the onelyonly peac… maker betwene God and vsus. The other kynde of meriting…, is by Sathan, the worlde and the fleshe, contrarie in all poyntes to this.
That is to saye, takynge all care vponupon oureselues sekeing… waye… to cru…i…ie and offer vp Christ agayn…, and refu…eynge to crucifie oure …, haueynge all …ruste in oure owne work… and other creatur…s merites, makeing the deabe saync…es opteiners of merciemercy throughe theyr praiers and merites Yea makinge them mediatou…s & peace makers betwene god & vsus.
Now let the godly learned iudge by whiche of these …ow wayes thys fayth of yours meriteth. You captiuate reasone, you saye, & beleue that in the sacramentes of the bodie and bloud of Christ: remayneth neither breade nor wyne, but the verie bodye and bloude of Christe. yea whole Christe god and man, bodie and soule And then I dou…te not (your rea…one this captiuated) you wyll (wyth your forefathers the founders of thys your opinion) make it a sacrific… propicia…orye for the quicke and deade for plage, penurie and all kyndes of deseases▪ For hauei…ge the inmaculate and vnspotted lambe (as you saye) euen the sonne of the lyueyng God conceiued and borne of the immaculate virgyne: what shoulde let you to …effr him … God hys father … placable sacrifice for … these thynges, to content the ineuitable wrat… of God bent towardes vsus for the iniquitie tha… reigneth in the worlde? And so doeth thys fayth of yours dryue you to seke other way…s of saluacion then by the onelye Sacri…ice of Christe once offered for all. You wyllbe styl offeryng of hym whome none can offer but hym selfe. And al because you hauehave cap…iuated your rea…one, to beleue that you hauehave hym here vppon yearth in suche maner that you may Sacrifice hym.
Nowe tell me what thys fayeth of yours meriteth. It leadeth you from the sure tru…te in the onelyonly sacrifice that Christe made once for al. It driueth you to open blasphemie, causing you to take vponupon you the office of Christe that is to say, to take a way synne by sacrifice yea and to sacrifice hym whom none can sacrifice but him selfe.
What merite is it then that thys fayeth shall hauehave? Forso…h the merite of vnbelefe because it is not assertayned that the sonne of God is comen in the flesh, and hath performed the ende of h…s comeinge, that is, hath by hys death and passion, satisfied for the synnes of all the worlde, makynge perfec…e for euer, as many as beleue in hym. Yea it shall be rewarded among those blasphemous lym…nes of Antichrist, that take vpō them to be the forg…uers of … (whyche is the office of God onelye) makeynge them selues, goddes. Delyuer your reasonne out of prisonne therfore, and lette hyr consider howe your supersticiouse fayeth hath merited.
Put away this fōd perswaciō of yours wher by you are led to thinke that onlesse you captyuate reasone and become a brute beaste, you can not beleue the chiefe poynt of your religiō Consider that Christ bade not his Apostles captiuate reasonne and so beleue that he was risen when he appeared vntounto them, but sayed …ele and se, For spirits hauehave not sleshe and …ones as you see that I hauehave, He bade them not go preache vntounto men wylynge them to captiuate theyr reasone and then belieue, for then he myght hauehave sayed go preache to the brut beastes for they hauehave no resone to refuse your doctrine. For what other thing is it to captiuat reasone then to debar hir of hyr office and to kepe hir Idle so that to be altogether without reasone were better, then to be troubled wyth the capti…ua…inge of hyr that she let not belyefe Let reasone therfore leade you to confer y• scriptures togither and trye that doctryn of yours whether it be of God or not.
The ballade.
Frō sinners seperate, Gods son is, saith Paul
Hygher then heauen seate, Aboue y• powers al
How wt sinful hand make, His body then you shall
Syr prists tell me thys
The answere.
Truth it is that christe is vp ascended
How can sinful hands then make him say you
Who euer so sayde or that defended
Truely none, nor at thys tyme doth nowe
But thys trueth all christen men doeth auowe
That after the wordes of God ther spoken
Christes …eshe is ther that for vsus was broken