Answer to a Popish Antichristian Catholic, Offer 7
The ſeauenth Offer.
Offerer.
Seauenth, Let me knowe of the Proteſtantes, what Church hath brought forth for the ſpace of theſe fifteene hundered yeeres paſt, as Children begotten of her owne wombe, ſo many thouſandes of bleſſed Martyrs, of ſtoute and bolde confeſſers, of pure and innocent virgins, and of other holy Saintes of all ſortes, and ſo acknowledged by eyther party. And if it ſhal in fine fall out, that any one of them was of the Proteſtantes congregation, fayth or beleefe, whiles they liued heere, and not of the common knowen fayth and religion of the Catholique Church of Chriſt, or that they were approoued and canonized for Saintes, when they were dead, by the Proteſtantes congregation, & not onelyonly by the Catholique Church of Chriſt, I ſhall then ſubmit, and recant, and not before.
Crowley.
It ſéemeth that M. Offerer hath conceiued a wrong opinion of vsus Proteſtantes. He ſéemeth to be perſwaded that none of vsus hauehave ſeene the Hiſtories of the Church. Otherwiſe he had béene too too madde to make this large Offer. For any Proteſtant that hath reade any thing of the Eccleſiaſticall Hiſtories, may eaſily enforce him, eyther to flie from his promiſſe, or elſe to ſubmitte himſelfe and recant. If any one (ſayth hée) amongſt the thouſandes of the bleſſed Martyrs, &c. Shal be found to hauehave béene of the Proteſtantes fayth and religion, &c. Then he wyll ſubmit hymſelfe and recant.
I am ſure of it, that amongſt the thouſands that ſuffered Martirdome within the ſpace of ye firſt ſix hundereth yeres after Chriſts aſcention, he can not name one, that was not whiles he liued, of the ſame faith & religion yt we be of now. Al we do beleue al ye articles of ye common tréed, & ſo did they we do beléeue, yt as there is but one God, ſo there is but one mediatour betwixt God & man, and yt the ſame is the man Chriſt Ieſus: & euen ſo did they, 1. Ti. 2: 1. Timot. 2.we beléeue yt Chriſt Ieſus hath taken vponupon him ſelfe all our infirmities, & that the correction that was due to our ſins is fallen vponupon him, and yt by thoſe wounds that he ſuffered we are made whole: and ſo did they. Eſ, 53. Eſay, 53.We beléeue that Chriſt Ieſus is that Lambe of God that hath taken aw…y the ſins of the world: and ſo did they Ioh. 1. 1. Iohn, 1.We beléeue, that he is that ſon of the bleſſed virgin Mary, whom the Angel named before he was borne, ſaying to Ioſeph (his ſuppoſed father) thou ſhalt call, his name Ieſus, for he ſhall ſaue his people from their ſins Mat, 1: Math. 1.and ſo did they. We doo beléeue yt it is he that is our high Préeſt, & that he is entred into the holieſt place of the tabernacle (not made with handes) and hath made there a ſacrifice, not of ſtraying blood (as of a Calfe or of a Goate) but of his own heart blood, & hath thereby obtained vsus eternall redemption: Hebr, 9, Heb. 9.and euen ſo dyd they. We doo beléeue, yt Chriſt Ieſus hath by that one oblation, made of him ſelfe once offered, made perfect, as many as be made holy (yt is all the elected people of God) and that he hath thereby ſo ſatiſfied to God for the ſins of all ſuch, yt they ſhall neuer be charged wt their ſins any more: and that where there is remiſſion of ſins, theris no more ſacrifice to be offered for ſin, Heb. 10. Hebr, 10.& euen ſo did they. We know and confeſſe, that our duty is to be as careful as poſſibly we may, to liue with our ſin, and that when by infirmity of our nature we do ſin we hauehave an aduocate wt God ye father, which is Ieſus Chriſt the righteous, and yt he is the propitiation for our ſins. 1, Io, 2: 1, Iohn, 2.and euen ſo did they. To be bréefe: we differ not from thē, neither did they differ from vsus, in any one point of the ſubſtance of faith.
And where as the Offerer ſaith yt thoſe holy Martirs, &c. were not of our religion: I am ſure that we doo hold & profeſſe that religion,Iacob. 1. that S. Iames dooth call pure & vndefiled before God the father: which is to viſite the fatherleſſe and widdowe in their tribulation, & for a man to kéepe himſelf vnſpotted of this world. And I thinke that M. Offerer will not deny that the holy martirs & the reſt that he ſpeketh of, did hold & profeſſe the ſame religion. And how can he then ſay, that they were not of the Proteſtantes religion
If the Offerer will ſay that thoſe Martirs, &c. did obſerue and kéepe ye religion, and did performe in déede that which they did profeſſe, ſo yt they were in déede vnſpotted of thys world, (which none of vsus dooth,) then I muſt ſay, that they all did ſay, as all we doo ſay, as ye Prophet Dauid hath written Pſa. 143. Pſa, 143 Eſay, 64,Lord enter not into iudgement wt thy ſeruant for no fleſh is righteous in thy ſight. And as the Prophet Eſay hath written, Cha. 64. Al our righteouſneſſes,1, Iohn, 1, are euen like vntounto a filthy cloath. And as ye Apoſtle Iohn hath wrytten. 1. Epiſt, 1. If wée ſhall ſay that we hauehave no ſinne, wée ſhall deſceiue our ſelfe, and there is no trueth in vsus.
And where as the Offerer hath termed his virgins pure and innocent, I thinke he wold hauehave ſayd immaculate, (for that is an Epithiton, méeter for a virgin then innocent is) I am ſure that none of them was either pure or innocent of them ſelfe, neither did they account them ſelfe ſo to be: but being waſhed in the fountaine of water, by the worde of lyfe, they were members of that glorious Church, that in Chriſt is purged and made ſo cleane, that in it is neyther ſpot nor wrincle or any ſuch thing, but in him, al thoſe Martyrs, confeſſours & virgins, and we alſo that doo beléeue as they dyd, are holy and vnblameable, & hauehave in vsus no ſpot of ſin. Ep, 5. Ephe, 5.For Chriſt Ieſus hath waſhed vsus in ye ſope of his owne hart blood, and made vsus as white as the moſt white woole, yea and as ſhining white as the ſnowe. We therfore, with the Martirs, confeſſors and virgins that you ſpeake of: are the virgins that doo and for euer ſhall accompanie the Lambe Chriſt vponupon the Mount Sion, Apo, 14.Apoc, 14.
As for your approouing and cannonizing of theſe Martirs &c. Whereby you hauehave made them ſaintes after they were departed out of this lyfe: it may well be compared to the building and garniſhing of the Tombes of the Prophets, by the Scribes and Phariſeis Math, 23. Math. 23.For although you pretende to hauehave a reuerend care for the kéeping of the worthy and valiant acts of thoſe Martirs in remembrance: yet you doo daily murder as many of that ſorte of men, as God wyll ſuffer you to hauehave power ouer, and ſo you ſhew your ſelues to be the children of thoſe bloody Tyrants that murdered thoſe Martyrs that you ſpeake of.
I thinke you can not but ſee now that all the thouſandes of Martyrs, confeſſors and virgins, that were brought forth in the firſt ſixe hundreth yéeres next after the aſcention of our Sauiour Chriſt: were the children of that Mother (the holy Catholique Church of Chriſt) that hath brought foorth and nouriſhed vp vsus, whome you call Schiſmatickes and Heretickes.
But now I pray you (good M. Offerer) let mee learne of you, the name of one Martir, that your mother, (the Popiſh Catholique Church) hath brought forth ſince the dayes of Boniface the thyrd, which was the time wherein your Apoſtacie beganne. I thinke you can not name me one Martyr that hath béene brought foorth by that mother of yours, in all that time, which is (almoſt) the ſpace of a thouſande yéeres. Not one (I am ſure) of all your Popes that hauehave ſuccéeded that Bonifacius hath béene made a Martyr: excepte you account for martirdome, the poiſoning of ſome of them which hath béene doone by ſome ſuch as themſelues, that hauehave haſted to be in theyr place. And the reſt of the Children of that mother, hauehave béene whelpes of the ſame heare, namely blood thirſtie bloodhoundes, and bloody Butthers Curres.
Yea it appeareth manifeſtly, that the whole ſtate of your Popiſh Catholique Church, hath béene and ſtill is, none other thing, but that which was figured by that two horned Beaſt that roſe out of the earth, of whom mencion is made in the 13. Chap of the Reuelations. So that,Apoc, 13 this mother of yours neither hath nor dooth, bring foorth Martirs: but hath & dooth make Martyrs, whom the holy Catholique Church of Chriſt (our mother) hath and dooth daily bring foorth and nouriſhe vp. For whoſoeuer in all this time hath refuſed to worſhip the image of the Beaſt (which is the eſtate of the Romiſh Papacie) hath dyed for it (if he were caught) or elſe béene enforced to abiure: and ſo goeth it with ſuch at this day, and ſo is it lyke to continue ſo long as your Antechriſtian mother ſhalbe able to doo any thing. The thouſandes which that mother of your hath (in this tyme of the laſt thouſand yéeres,) murdered, in Italie, in Bohemie, in Germany, in Portinggale, in Spaine, in England, in Scotland, and in the late maſſacre in Fraunce: doo all with one voice crie vnderunder our Alter Chriſt ſaying. How long Lord, thou that art holy and true, dooſt thou not iudge and reuenge our bloode vponupon them that that dwell on the earth? Apoc, 6.Apocal. 6.
If you had not altogether loſt your inwarde ſight, you might ſée, that the crie of theſe holy Martyrs is hearkened vntounto: for ſixe of the ſeauen Angelles, to whom were giuen ſeauen Vialles ſull of the wrath of God, hauehave already powred out theyr Vialles at the commaundement of God, and the ſeuenth is ready to power out his Viall: and ſhall ſhortly power it out into the ayre. And then ſhal that great voice procéede out from the temple of Heauen, euen from the throne, ſaying. Factum eſt. It is finiſhed. Apoc, 16. Apoc, 16,This voyce ſhalbe terrible to your Popiſh Catholique mother, and to all you (her children.) But moſt comfortable to the true Catholique Church of Chriſt, our mother, and to all vsus, her children. I ſay therefore vntounto you, as Chriſt Ieſus ſayd to the Angell of the Church of Laodicea. Apoc, 3. annoynt thine eyes with eye ſalue that thou maieſt ſée, &c.
Apoc, 3,Thus I hope I hauehave made it plaine enough, to as many as will ſée, that the Church whereof all right Proteſtantes are members, hath brought foorth all thoſe thouſandes of Martirs that you ſpeake of, when you ſay, that not one of them was of our congregation, fayth or beléefe whiles they liued in this tranſitorie eſtate. And that ſhe hath brought foorth and nouriſhed vp thouſands moe in the tyme of theſ… latter 1000. yéeres: which your mother the Popiſh Catholique Church hath murdered and made Martirs. Wherefore ſubmit your ſelfe now and recant, although you would not before.