Apology for the Reformed Churches, Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII. That this diſſembling, grievouſly offendeth God, and ſcandalizeth men.
BUt to the end that no man may accuſe the judgement of God of too much rigour againſt fearfull people, Let us briefly conſider the greatneſſe and the weight of their fault. Firſt, they are evidently guilty of a grievous and inexcuſable lie. For by their action they make profeſſion of believing that, which they do not believe in realitie. As for example, he, that through fear proſtrateth himſelf before the Hoſt of the Church of Rome, declareth highly and expreſly, that he taketh it for a Deity, deſerving adoration: ſince in common cuſtome that is the ſenſe of this action. And yet he telleth us privately, that his heart believeth, it is not a Deity, but an inſenſible and inanimate creature. Who diſcerneth not here a manifeſt contrarietie, between the mind and the body? between the heart and the tongue? And though all lying be unpleaſing to God, and unbecoming a man of worth and reputation; yet this is the moſt vilainous and enormous of any other ſort. For if lying be farre more blamable in a ſerious then in a ſlight ſubject, who can deſcribe or imagine how highly deteſtable it is in Religion, the moſt important thing in the world? how abominable in the moſt ſolemn and ſacred act of Religion, where the queſtion is concerning rendring to a Deity that Soveraign ſervice, which we owe him? Is it not …pparently a reproach to the Divine Majeſtie, who hath ſo expreſly proteſted that He hateth nothing upon earth, neare ſo much as a lying ſoul? and to the holy Angels, who are ſpectatours of our actions? and to Men our neighbours, that are aſſembled with us? for Us, in the preſence of them all, to ſay and impudently declare a thing, directly contrary to what we think; to ſwear and proteſt, as it were with the hand lifted up, that we take a thing to be our Creatour and Redeemer, which in reality we eſteem to be as farre below the nature of Him, as earth is below heaven. The moſt deſperate knaves will ſeldome endure to heare of their having ſworn falſly, that the Oxen of another man belong to them; or they come to do it with a ſoul full of remorſe, and a face covered with confuſion. The reaſon is, becauſe the Authoritie of the Judges, the dignity of the Aſſembly, the holineſſe of the Place, the hand which they lift up, and the tongue which they move, cometh into their mind; and privately chaſtizeth them for violating the truth. So deeply hath Nature imprinted in all mens hearts the hatred and horrour of a lie.
Ye then, who before the face of heaven and earth, before the eyes of God, Angels, and Men, have ſworn againſt your conſcience not a ſlight buſineſſe, but the moſt important; that concerneth not this preſent and ſading life, but that other which is eternall; who have ſworn, not with two or three words let ſlip between the teeth, but highly and expreſly, with the geſture and motion of all your perſon; who have affirmed, and as it were ſealed, this lie by the moſt authentick act that is in the Religion of your Countreymen; how can you have the face after ſuch a dreadfull perjury to look again up to Heaven? How can your conſcience chooſe but trouble you and avenge it ſelf, for the horrible outrage, that you have committed on it, for your having ſo violently and wretchedly ſtifled its thoughts? If after this, it do not prick and torment you night and day, I know not how you can make appeare, that it is alive. For beſides the enormitie of the lie, ſuch faults are infinitely contrary to the reſpect which we owe to God, and extremely injurious to His Soveraigntie. For is it not one of the greateſt crimes that a ſubject can poſſibly be guilty of towards his Soveraign, openly to beſtow upon another, beſide Him, the Name and Honour, which is due to Him alone. I know the Romaniſt will ſay, That his intention is far from doing it, but 'Tis enough to make him faulty, either to have ſaid, or to have done the leaſt thing like it: ſo holy and ſacred is the Majeſtie of Soveraigns, that no man may without impietie violate or profane the reſpect, that is due to Them, with any intention, under any pretence whatſoever. Now, to give unto any thing, which you do not believe to have a Divine nature, the ſervices which are given to ſuch and under this notion, by thoſe among whom we live; is clearly to teſtifie, that you give to another beſides God, the honour which belongeth to him alone. As, to bring in our example, for You to proſtrate your ſelves before the Hoſt of the Church of Rome, or to go on Proceſſion after it, on the day of its Feaſt; is to declare that you give it the name and adoration of a Deity. I do not affirm that you really adore it. I preſuppoſe that you know in your heart, that it is but a creature, and that your heart addreſſeth all its ſervice to God onelyonly. But becauſe you make this declaration with your body, you witneſſe and make it appeare that you hold this for your God. Do you not in your conſcience take it to be an horrible crime to commit ſo grievous an offenſe againſt our Soveraign Lord? And here tell not me, I beſeech you, that you do not make ſuch a declaration, in proſtrating your ſelf before the Hoſt. For I have ſufficiently ſhown before, that this is the true cleare and preciſe ſignification of that action, and others like it: and he that will interpret them otherwiſe, muſt overthrow the laws and communion of all civil and Religious Societies among men. And to partake of ſuch actions againſt our conſciences, is not onelyonly an offence againſt God, but likewiſe a moſt cruell outrage and ſcandall againſt our Neighbours.
For firſt, one cannot abuſe a man, or mock him in a ſerious buſineſſe, without deeply violating the holy and reſpective charity, which we owe to a creature, that beareth the image of our Lord, and hath the ſame nature that we are of. And I do not ſee, how one can more apparently mock his neighbours, then by making ſhew of adoring that which they ſerve, and approving their devotion as good and uſefull to ſalvation; and yet to believe nothing leſſe, and in our conſciences to hold that to be a mere creature which they adore; and the honour, which they give it, to be an unlawfull ſervice and unpleaſing to the true God. What greater affront can men poſſibly put upon them, than thus to abuſe and ſport with them? queſtionleſſe did they diſcern through the mask, under which we hide our ſelves, the thoughts of our hearts, and the gullery that we put upon them, when we preſent our ſelves to them in this falſe viſage; they would extremely abhorre us for brazen faced Couſeners. Did we diſguiſe our ſelves thus for their good, or did not our diſſembling doe them a miſchief, they would have leſſe reaſon to complain. But 'tis quite otherwiſe. This our vain diſſimulation, and fond conceit is a very great ſcandall to them; This masking and diſguiſing our ſelves is to aſſaſſinate and deſtroy them. For do you not by exerciſing the acts and ſervices of Superſtition, in their preſence, plainly embolden (or as S. Paul phraſeth it, 1 Cor. viii. 10. edifie) them in it? Is not this to recommend the ſame things to them by your example, and effectually to preach to them the belief and practiſe of them? For example, when you are proſtrate before the Hoſt of the church of Rome, doth not your action authorize their belief? do not you thereby warrant them to be more confident in it? You tell them in a language that is dumbe indeed, but yet more intelligible, cleare, and ſignificative, then all the words which you can uſe in this ſubject, That this Hoſt is not at all a creature; That it is the Creatour, and Redeemer of the world; That we ſhould adore it, and give it the ſame honour, which is due to the Soveraign Deity. This, and ſuch language as this, doth your action ſpeak to your Neighbours: nor can they otherwiſe read or underſtand, what is the ſenſe and meaning of your heart. Seeing then, that in your conſcience you firmly believe that this Hoſt is but a plain creature; do you not ſee, how you perſwade them to adore a creature, which is a pernicious and dangerous errour, as I have ſhewed above? You lay before them that which you eſteem mortall poyſon, and ſeem to take of it your ſelf, that you may make them confidently ſwallow it down; which is the moſt hurtfull and deteſtable treachery in the world.
Now if thoſe, who poyſon the bodies of men, are deſervedly reckoned amongſt the moſt abominable malefactours; conſider how great the horrour of your crime is, who plunge not their bodies onelyonly, but as much as in you lyeth, their ſouls alſo, into that, which is in your judgement, a dangerous and deadly poyſon. And if he, who offendeth the leaſt of Believers, never ſo little, deſerveth a rigorous puniſhment, and one more grievous then to be thrown alive into the bottome of the ſea (as our Lord ſaith expreſly, Matt. xviii. 6.) what thunderbolts and hells ſhall he be thought worthy of, who caſts ſo enormous a ſcandall before all the congregation? And if thoſe, who through errour miſtake a creature for a Deity, are nevertheleſſe inexcuſable (as we have proved before) what pardon can you expect, who, knowing well that this is a creature, ceaſe not to proſtrate your ſelves before it? For the Lord proteſteth that the ſervant who knoweth his Maſters will and doth it not, ſhall be beaten with more ſtripes, than he who doth it not becauſe he knew it not; Luke 11. 47. And common reaſon teacheth us, that it is a very equitable ſentence and determination.
Seeing then, that the fault of thoſe, who outwardly practiſe the ſervices which they hold in their conſciences to be falſe and unlawfull, is ſo many wayes contrary both to our piety toward God, and our charity toward men; let none think it ſtrange, That our Lord condemneth them with an eternall curſe, who are ſo miſchievous as to commit it. For ſhould He do otherwiſe, He would forget his own nature, and rob Himſelf of all thoſe properties, wherewith the H. Scriptures inveſt Him. He would be no longer the Father of truth, if He left a lie unpuniſhed. He would not be zealous of His glory, if He did not avenge ſo evident an affront. Finally, He would not be the Prince & Protectour of mankind, if He did not condemne thoſe to the greateſt puniſhments, who do ſo inſolently and cruelly abuſe poor men.
And now let every equitable perſon judge, whether it be poſſible for Us, in any manner to proſtrate our ſelves before the Hoſt of the Church of Rome, to deck our houſes againſt it paſſe by, and to do other the like actions inſtituted to the honour of it, believing (as, thanks be to God, we do) that it is a plain inanimate creature, and not (as ſome pretend) our Soveraign Lord and God. and whether we are not obliged by all the rules of Chriſts Doctrine, rather to ſuffer moſt grievous extremities, then to comply with what the Church of Rome requireth of us in this particular. Indeed, if it were lawfull to lie ſometimes, and outwardly to witneſſe any thing contrary to what we believe in our hearts; or to make profeſſion of taking from our Lord the glory due to Him alone, to give it to a creature; or finally to abuſe men, and induce them to be confirmed in a belief of that, which we eſteem pernicious and deſtructive to their ſouls; If, I ſay, it were at any time lawfull for us to doe any of theſe things, for fear of ſeparating from our countreymen, I confeſſe, that we ſhould doe amiſſe in refuſing to perform the honour, which Rome commandeth us, to her Sacrament. But if all Laws divine and humane for the moſt part command us under pain of damnation, rather not to fear undergoing all ſorts of miſchiefs, then to fall into any one of theſe faults; 'tis evident that having the belief which we have of the Euchariſt in the Church of Rome, we cannot perform thoſe ſervices thereto which they require of us, without incurring the anger of God, and deſtruction of our own ſouls.
So that if there were no other difference between them and us, but this alone, it were enough to ſhew, that we were not tranſported out of an humour, or frowardneſſe, or other ſmall cauſe; but forced by an extreme and irreſiſtible neceſſitie to ſeparate our ſelves from them. Whence it followeth, that in this caſe our ſeparation was juſt; That which is neceſſary, being not to be blamed as unjuſt.