History of the Catholic Church from 600 to 1600, Ecclesiastical epoch 1300-1600 · Century 16 · Part 2 · Chapter 4 (1 of 2)
CAP. IV. Of BRITANNE.
1. William tindall is reckoned among the Englishes, to have been next VV. Tindal an English mastyre.unto John wickliff for knowledge of the faith, and innocency of life: he inſtructed the people in true faith toward Chriſt, as his books (yet extant) do shew clearly, and none did reveale Antichriſt more plainly. John Fisher Bishop of Rocheſter did provoke King Henry VIII. againſt him, and called him a rebell and contemner of the Kings lawes. Therefore he wrote a book with this title. The obedience of a Chriſtian man, and how Chriſtian rulers ought to governe, wherein alſo (if thou marke diligently) thou shalt find eyes to perceive the crafty conveyance of all jugglers. In his epiſtle to the reader, he ſaith, The word of God is ever hated of the world, neither was ever without perſecution (as thou mayſt ſee in all the hiſtories of the Bible both of the New and Old Teſtament) neither can be; no more than the ſun can be without his light: And forſomuch as contrarily thou art ſure, that the Popish doctrin what it is.Popes doctrin is not of God, which (as thou ſeeſt) is ſo agreeable unto the world, and is ſo received of the world, or rather which receives the world and the pleaſures of the world, and ſeekes nothing but the poſſeſſions of the world, and autority in the world, and perſecutes the word of God, and with all wilies drives the people of God from it, and with falſe & ſophiſticall reaſons makes them afrayd of it, yea cur…eth them, & excommunicates them, and brings them in belief, that they be damned, if they look on it, and that it is but doctrin to deceive men; and move the blind powers of the world, to ſlay with fire, water and ſword all that cleave unto it. Fol. 6. God promiſed to David a kingdom, and immediatly ſtirred up King Saul againſt him, to perſecute and hunt him, as men do hares with grehounds, and to feret him out of every hole, and that for the ſpace of many years, to tame and meeken him, to kill his luſts, and make him feel other mens diſeaſes, to make him mercifull, and to make him underſtand that he was made King to miniſter and ſerve his brethren, and that he should not think, that his ſubjects were made to ſerve unto his luſts, & that it were lawfull for him to take away from them life & goods at his pleaſure. O that our Kings were ſo nurtured now a dayes, which our holy bb. teach in a far other manner; ſaying your grace shall take his pleaſure: take what pleaſure yee luſt: ſpare nothing: wee shall diſpence with you: wee have power, wee are Gods vicares: and let us alone with the realme; wee shall take pains for you: your Grace shall but defend the faith only. Fol. 13. he ſaith unto the Curates, Wherefore were the holy dayes appointed, but that the people should come and learne? are yee not abominable Schoolmaſters, in that ye take ſo great wages, if ye will not teach? if yee would teach, how can ye do it ſo well and with ſo great profit, as when the lay people have the Scripture before them in their mother tongue? for then they should ſee by order of the text, whether thou jugleſt or not....but alas! the Curates themſelves (for the moſt part) wote no more, what the new or old teſtament meaneth, than the Turks do: neither know they any more than The Bible was unknowen to Curats.that they read at maſſe, matens & eevenſong, which yet they underſtand not: nor care they but even to mumble up ſo much every day, as the pye & popingay ſpeak they wote not what, to fill their bellies. If they will not let the lay man have the word of God in his mothers tongue, yet let the prieſts have it, which for the moſt part of them underſtand no Latine at all....A thouſand things forbid ye, which Chriſt made free, and diſpence with them again for money: neither is there any exception at all, but lacke of money. Yee have a ſecret counſell by yourſelves: All other mens counſel… & ſecrets know ye, and no man yours: ye ſeek but honours, riches, promotion, authority, and reigne over all, and will obey no man...when a parish hyreth a ſchole maſter to teach our children, what reaſon is it, that wee should be compelled to pay this ſchoolmaſter his wages, if he take licence to go where he will, and to dwell in another countrey, and leave our children untaught? Doeth not the Pope ſo; have we not given up our tyths of courteſy unto one to teach us Gods word, and comes not the Pope and compelleth us to pay it violently to them that never teach? makes he not a Parſon, which comes never at us? yea one shall have 5. or 6. or as many as he can get, and woteth oftymes where never one of them ſtands. Another is made Vicar, to whom he gives a diſpenſation, to go where he will, and to ſet in a parish-prieſt, which can but miniſter a ſort of dumb ceremonies: and becauſe he hath moſt labour, and leaſt profite, he polleth on his part, and fetcheth here a maſſe-penny, there a trentall, yonder dirige-money, and for his bead-role with a confeſſion peny, and ſuch lyke. Fol. 31. he ſaith. Why did not David ſlay Saul, ſeing he was None may judge a King.ſo wicked, not in perſecuting David only, but in diſobeying Gods commandements, and in that he had ſlayn 85. of Gods prieſts wrongfully? verily becauſe it was not lawfull: for if he had done it, he muſt have ſinned againſt God: for God hath made the King in every realm judge over all, and over him is no judge: he that judgeth the King, judgeth God: and he that layth hands on the King, layth hands on God; and he that reſiſtes the King, reſiſts God, and damneth Gods law & ordinance. If the ſubjects ſin, they muſt be brought to the Kings judgement. If the King ſinne, he muſt be reſerved unto the judgement, wrath and vengeance of God. And as it is, to reſiſt the King, ſo it is to reſiſt his officer, which is ſent or ſet to execute the Kings commandement.....they asked Chriſt Mat. 22, whether it were lawfull to give tribute unto Coeſar? for they thought, it was not ſin to reſiſt an heathen Prince; as few of us would think (if we were under the Turk) that it were ſin to riſe againſt him, and to rid ourſelves from under his dominion: ſo ſore have our bishops robbed us of the true doctrine of Chriſt. But Chriſt condemned their deeds and alſo the ſecret thoughts of all other, that conſented thereunto, ſaying, Except ye repent, ye shall lykewiſe perish, as if he had ſaid, I know that ye are within your hearts ſuch as they were in their deeds, and ye are under the ſame damnation: except therefore ye repent betimes, ye shall break out at the laſt into the like deeds, and likewiſe perish; as it came afterward to paſſe....Another concluſion is, No perſon nor any degree may be exempt from this ordinance of God. Neither can the profeſſion of monks or friers, or any thing that the Pope or bb. can ſay for themſelves except them from the ſword of the Emperour ot kings, if they break the law: for it is written, Let every ſoul ſubmitt himſelf unto the authority of the higher powers. The higher powers are the temporal kings & Princes, unto whom God hath given the ſword to punish whoſoever ſinneth. God hath not given the ſword to punish one, and to let another go free, and to ſin unpunished. Moreover with what face durſt the ſpiritualty which ought to have been the light & example of good living unto all others, deſire to ſin unpunished? Fol. 41, They have robbed all realmes The bb. have univerſall intelligence.not of Gods word only, but of all wealth and proſperity. and have driven peace out of all landes, and withdrawen themſelves from all obedience to princes, and have ſ…parated themſelves from lay men, counting them viler than dogs, and have ſet up that great idole the whore of Babylon, Antichriſt of Rome, whom they call Pope, and have conſpired againſt all commonwealths, and have made them a ſeverall kingdom, wherein it is lawfull and unpunished to work all abomination: in every parish they have ſpies, and in every great mans houſe, and in every tavern and ailhouſe: and by confeſſions they know all ſecrets, ſo that no man may open his mouth to rebuke whatſoever they do, but he shall be shortly made an heretick. In all Counſels is one of them: yea the moſt part and chief rulers of the Counſels are of them: but of their Counſell is no man. Fol. 55, Let Kings Bb. should not be Stats men.rule their realmes themſelves with the help of lay men that are ſage, wiſe, learned & expert. Is it not a shame above all shames, and a monſtrous thing, that no man should be found to governe a worldly kingdom, but Bishops and prelates, that have forſaken the world, and are taken out of the world, and appointed to preach the kingdom of God?......To preach Gods word is too much for half a man: and to miniſter a temporall kingdom is too much for half a man alſo: each of them requires a whole man: therefore one can not well do both. He that avengeth himſelf on every trifle is not meet to preach the patience of Chriſt, that a man should forgive and ſuffer wrongs. He that is overwhelmed with all manner of riches, and doth but ſeek more daily, is not meet to preach poverty. He that will obey no man, it not meet to preach how wee should obey all men.....Paul ſaith, God ſent mee but to preach; A terrible ſaying verily for Popes, Cardinals & Bishops. If he had ſaid, W… unto mee, if I fight not, and move not Princes unto warre, or, If I increaſe not S. Peters patrimony (as they call it) it had been a more eaſie ſaying for them. Chriſt forbidds his diſciples to climbe above Lords, Kings and Emperours in worldly government, but alſo to exalt themſelves one a bove another in the kingdom of God. But in vain: for the Pope would not hear it, though he had commanded it ten thouſand times. Gods word should rule only, and not Bishops decrees, or the Popes pleaſure He hath many ſuch paſſages againſt the governement of the Pope and prelates. And alſo of the doctrine of faith he ſpeakes well; as Fol. 43. he ſaith. Thou wilt ſay, If love fulfill the law, then it juſtifieth. I ſay, That, wherewith a man fulfilleth the law, …declares him juſtified: but that, which gives him, wherewith to fulfill the law, juſtifieth him. By juſtifying underſtand the forgiveneſs of ſin, and the favour of God. Now (ſaith the text Rom. 10.) the end of the law or the cauſe wherefore the law was made, is Chriſt to juſtifie all that believe, that is, the law is given to utter ſin, to kill the conſciences, to damn our deeds, to bring unto repentance, and ſo to drive unto Chriſt, in whom God hath promiſed his favour and forgiveneſs of ſin unto all that repent and conſent to the law, that it is good. If thou believe the promiſes, then doth Gods truth juſtify thee, that is, forgives thee, and receives thee to favour for Chriſts ſake. In aſſurance where of, and to certify thy heart, he ſealeth thee with the Spirit Eph. 1. &. Fol. 54. Peter in Act. 2. practiſeth his keyes, and by preaching the law brought the people to the knowledge of themſelves, and bindeth their conſciences, ſo that they were pricked in their hearts, and ſaid What shall wee do? Then brought he forth the keye of the ſweet promiſes, ſaying, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jeſus Chriſt for the remiſſion of ſinnes......As Chriſt compares the underſtanding of the Scripture unto keyes, ſo compares he it to a nett and unto leaven and many other things for certain properties. I marvell therefore, that they boaſt not of their nett & leaven, aſwell as of their keyes: But as Chriſt biddeth us bewar of the leven of the Phariſees, ſo beware of their counterfited keyes. Fol. 56. The Bishop of Rocheſter would prove by Moſes & Aaron, that Satan and Antichriſt our moſt holy father the Pope is Chriſts Vicar, and head of Chriſts Church: Moſes (ſaith he) ſignifieth Chriſt, and Aaron the Pope. And yet the epiſtle unto the Hebr. proves, that the high prieſt of the old law ſignifieth Chriſt, and his offering and his going once in the year into the inner temple, ſignify the offring wherewith Chriſt offered himſelf, and Chriſts going-in to the Father to be an everlaſting Mediatour or interceſſour for us......If the Pope be ſignified by Aaron, and Chriſt by Moſes; why is not the Pope as well content with Chriſts law & doctrin, as Aaron was with Moſes? why do our bb. preach the Pope and no… Chriſt, ſeing the Apoſtles preached not Peter but Chriſt? Paul ſpeaking of himſelf and of his fellow apoſtles ſaith, Wee preach not ourſelves, but Chriſt Jeſus the Lord, and, Wee preach ourſelves your ſervants for Chriſts ſake, &c. For ſuch doctrin Tindall was perſecuted: and when he eſcaped out of their hands into Germany, they burnt the New Teſtament, that he had tranſlated into English, and they cauſed the Maſters of Lovan to burne his body An. 1535.