The Protestant Religion Truly State and Justified, Part 3
The Fifth accuſed Point.
That a Man by his own underſtanding and private Spirit, may rightly judge and interpret Scripture.
Anſ. Can any Man unriddle what this Deceiver meaneth?
1. Can a Man judge without his own underſtanding?
2. What meaneth he by a private Spirit? Little know I. If he mean God's Spirit, it is no contemptible nor private Spirit, even in a private Man: If he mean a Man's own Spirit, Soul or Intellect, it is the ſame as [his own underſtanding.] If he mean any Evil Spirit, or fancy and Erroneous ſelf-conceit, we defie ſuch Spirits, and Deceivers that uſe them.
To underſtand without our own underſtandings, is a Myſtery fit for Rome; Why may not a Dog, or a Sheep, be ſaid ſo to underſtand the Scripture, if it may be underſtood without our own underſtandings? What a Curſe is on the ignorant Nations, that will be led by ſuch words as theſe!
But if he will ſay that he meant, [By his own underſtanding alone without a Teacher,] why did he not ſay ſo, but ſay one thing and do another. But that had been too groſs a Lye, to have been believed, by them that ſee that we ſet up Teachers in all our Congregations.
3. Therefore I can imagine nothing but abſurdity in his words, unleſs he mean, that we hold that a Man may rightly Interpret Scripture by his own underſtanding immediately, inſtructed by his Teacher and God's Spirit, without taking the Sence only at the rebound, on the belief of the Pope and his Clergy. For we never thought that a Man's own natural Wit without a Teacher, and the help of God's Spirit, can ſavingly underſtand and apply the Scripture.
And yet we would fain tell Papiſts a better way to Convert a Philoſopher, or a Turk, than to Preach to them thus: God hath written his Law and Goſpel to the World, but you cannot tell what is the meaning of it, till you take that ſence on truſt from our Pope and Clergy, and know that Chriſt authorized him to be Judge; and that before you believe in Chriſt, or underſtand the word that ſo authorizeth him. Were not corrupted Nature very blind in things Spiritual, Plow-men, and Tinkers, and Coblers, would be able to confute ſuch Fopperies, and much more Prieſts, and Popes, and Prelates.
4. But I pray you tell me, whether the Pope and his Prelates, do not interpret Scripture by their own underſtandings? Whoſe underſtandings elſe do they judge by, in Conclaves or Councils?
5. And tell me, whether he that judgeth that the Pope is Chriſts Vice-Chriſt and Ruler, at the Antipodes, and is infallible, tho' he be by Councils condemned for a Simoniſt, and Infidel, an Atheiſt, a Seducer, or an ignorant Sot? Doth not this Man judge all this by his own underſtanding? If a Man take an ignorant ſottiſh Prieſt for the Mouth of the Catholick Church, tho' he know no more what he talks againſt, than this Roman Deceiver, doth he not judge this by his own underſtanding? If a Sot will believe you, that your Sect is the whole Church, and all are Damned, tho' they love God, and believe in Chriſt, if they will not be ruled by the Pope and every Maſs-Prieſt, doth he not judge thus by his own underſtanding? Do you Preach to Men, or Beaſts, that have no underſtanding of God's Law and Will? If a Man muſt believe all the Canons of Popes and Councils, in Baronius, Binnius, Surius, Nicolinus, Caranza, &c. doth he not do it by his own underſtanding?
6. Oh! But the meaning is, You are all private ignorant Men, and we are the Clergy; Kings chooſe ſome of us, and Popes chooſe others, and whether we are Wiſe or Fools, Learned or Ʋnlearned, Infidels or Chriſtians, you are all Damned if you will not follow us, and if we be Damned, you muſt be content to be Damned with us. And is it ſo? Hath God made Man for no ſafer and better a Condition, than to be Damned when ever Sottiſh Drunken Prieſts will tell him, [You muſt believe us that are the Mouth of the Pope, and the Pope, tho' you think that the Word of God is againſt it?] Speak out Deceiver; would you have all Men be of their Rulers Religion, or not? Should the Jews have believed the Church, that Chriſt was a Blaſphemer, Deceiver and Traytor, and the Apoſtles Seditious Fellows? Muſt we be Mahometans under Turks, Perſians, and Indians, and Papiſts under Papiſts? And why not Lutherans under Lutherans alſo? And ſo our King ſhall be our God, and our Religion humane. Or muſt Men judge what is true or falſe, good or bad, by their own underſtandings? Do Kings and Prelates Rule Men, or Dogs, and Brutes? If Cromwell ſay, He is Supream, and King Charles ſay, He is Supream, tell us whether we muſt not uſe our own underſtandings, to know which of them to believe and obey? And muſt we not do ſo, if the World, the Fleſh, and the Devil, ſay one thing, and Chriſt another?
And I pray you tell us, whether that be Religion that is not Divine, and whether it be not our own underſtanding, that muſt diſtinguiſh between God and Man? Did not Vulgar Folly fit ſlothful Fools for Hell, they would eaſily perceive that Popery engaging them to renounce their own underſtandings, maketh us all Voluntary Brutes, to gratify the ambition of Men, and puts down God from being our Governour, and Man from being a Voluntary Subject, and turns the Kingdom of Chriſt into the Kingdom of Beaſts.