Vindication of Baptizing Believers Infants, Chapter 20
CHAP. XX.
NExt we come to M. T. his tenth Argument which is this.Exercitat. § 23. That in the midſt of the darkneſſe under the papacie, the ſame men oppoſed Infant-baptiſme, who oppoſed inv…cation of Saints, prayer for the dead, adoration of the croſſe, &c. This is manifeſt.
1 Out of the 66 Sermon of Bernard on the Canticles, whereof the Hereticks (as he calls them) who he ſaid boaſted themſelves to be ſucceſſors of the Apoſtles; and named themſelves Apoſtolick, He hath theſe words, They deride us becauſe we baptiſe infants. becauſe we pray for the dead, &c. And in his 140 Epiſtle to Hildefonſus he complains of Henricus the Heritick that he took away Holi-days, &c. and denied the grace of baptiſme to infants.
2 From the Epiſtle of P-Abbat-Cluniacenſis, to three Biſhops of France againſt Peter de Bruis, and Henricus holding errors digeſted into five heads.
1 That little ones are not to be baptized.
2 That Churches or Altars ought not to be made.
3 That the Croſſe of our Lord is not to be adored, &c.
3 From Lucas Oſiander his Epitom of the Eccleſiaſticall Hiſtorie, Cent. 13. l. 1. c. 4. at the year, 1207 where he accuſeth the Albigenſis, as conſenting with the Anabaptiſts.
4 To which I add, That in the ages neere the Apoſtles, Tertulian in his book of Bapriſme cap. 18. Greg. Nazianzen in his 40 Oration of holy baptiſme, diſſwade the baptiſme of infants, unleſſe the danger of death happen. Thus far M. T.
Animad.Note as an introduction to our Anſwer, That Bernard, and Cluniacenſis lived about the ſame time. That the very ſame Henricus, alias Heinricus, mentioned by Bernard for an Heretick, is the ſame man (in all probability) that Clunia…enſis mentioneth. And in both Authors he is called, as by himſelfe pretended to be, an Apoſtle. Now for Anſwer, we ſay to M. T. his particular,
1 That the ſame man that oppoſed Infant baptiſme, oppoſed the authority of the Old Teſtament. So did Henricus at this time. So ſayth Cluniacenſis of Henricus alias Heinricus, in the place M.T. quotes out ofeSee more before of Cluniacenſis touching Henricus and de Bruis abundantly, Chap. 14 of our Animad. pag. 160, 161, &c. Cluniacenſis. So have the oppoſers of Infant-baptiſme ſince. See Cloppenburgius in his book called, The Gang…en of Anabaptiſticall Divinity. Some particulars we have tranſlated afore in the Catalogues of the errors of the Anabaptiſts. Yea, the ſaid Henricus and De Bruis, doubted of the authority of Pauls Epiſtles in the New Teſtament. So M.T. his Cluniacenſis.
2 That formerly thoſe ſame men that oppoſed Infant baptiſme, held all thoſe dreadfull errors we numbred up a little afore. Cap. 15.
3 That many of the ſame men that oppoſed Infant baptiſm, were either Arians or Pelagians, or Socinians, or Arminiaus, as we have formerly ſhewed out of Epiphanius, Auguſtin, M. Phillips, and M. Ainſworth. And experience at this day ſhews us in them that together with Anabaptiſme, hold univerſall redemption and free-will,
4 That Bernard did juſtly call Henricus Heretick, he holding that the Old Teſtament and Pauls Epiſtles were of doubtfull authority, as Cluniacenſis tells us out of their own writings.
5 On the contrary part, the ſame men, that have held Infant-baptiſme were
1 G…eat lights to the Church, As Juſtin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Gregory Nazianzen, Tertullian, Hierom, Auguſtine, &c.
2 Glorious Inſtruments in Reformation, Luther, Melancthon, Bullinger, Calvin.
3 Were renowned Martyrs dying for Chriſt. Some ancient, as Peter Martyr, Irenaeus, &c. Some later, as Maſter Philpot, ſee his Letter in the Book of Martyrs, againſt Anabaptiſme.
A moſt pious,☞ Note. learned and brave letter, which may ſuffice for a Treatiſe upon the point, penned by ſuch a gracious ſpirit, that ſoone after poured out his bloud for Chriſt. See his Letter at the year 1555 in the book of Martyrs, Volume 3. pag. 606. colum. 2. of the laſt Edition, in the reign of Queen Mary, among M. Philpots Letters.
Animad.To M. T. his ſecond particular, in this argument, we anſwer that M. T. reckons out of Cluniacenſis, five errors that Henricus and De Bruis held againſt, but leaves out the great error they held for, which was that the Authority of the Old Teſtament, and of the Epiſtles of Paul in the New were of doubtfull authority, as we touched afore.
To M.T. his fourth particular touching the ALBIGENSES, as they are called in his book.
We anſwer. That it is true, that in M. T. his forequoted place,Exercit. there is mention of the ALBINGENSES (for I ſuppoſe he means them) but not a word there of their conſenting with the Anab…ptiſts. For the naked words are theſe: Ablegabat Innocentius papa cum Petro quod am ſuo legato, duod…cim Ciſterciencis Sectae Abbates in Albingenſium terram ut. in. viam …oſdem ſuâ praedicatione redu…ment, &c. That is, Pope Innocent with One Peter his Legat, ſent away twelve Abb…ts of the Ciſtercian Sect or Order, into the land of the Albingenſes, to the intent they might by their preaching, bring them back into the way. And then tells how they called a Councill of the Arch-biſhops, Biſhops, and others to conſult which would be the beſt way to enter upon that deſign, which the Biſhop of Oxford adviſed to be, not by externall pomp as they were honourable Biſhops, but by the preaching of the word, and integrity of life. And to give them an example, he himſelfe ſent home his glorious retinnue, with all the horſes, coaches, and ſumpters, and went with a few Clergie men on foot, and performed the buſineſſe of preaching ſtrenuouſly. And ſo the ſtory goes off from the Albingenſes.
But being not willing to ſhift off the buſineſſe, we looked afore in that Oſiander his Epitome in the year before, namely Anno 1206, but in the ſame Chapter M.T. quotes, and there wee found the neſt, which is little for M.T. his advantage, or for the credit of the Anubaptiſts. The infer…ing here of the bare ſtory is anſwer enough. In engliſh it is this (The Latine as a witneſſe of our faithfulneſſe in tranſlating you have in the margin.)
EXorta eſt, & progreſſu temporis vires acquiſivit, haereſis Albingenſium, ſive Albienſium, ſive Albianorum, in Gallia: quos alii ab autore, allii à loco Galliae, ſic dictos putant: ea Romae primò coepiſſe, poſtea verò in comitatu Toloſato (etiam intra viros illuſtres) longè lateque ſparſa dicitur: quin etiam in Angliam penetraſſe ſcribitur. Dogmata haec illis attribuuntur.
Duo eſſe Principia, Deum videlicet, bonum: & Deum malum, hoc eſt, Diabolum, qui omnia corpora crëet: Bonum autem Deum creare animas.
Chriſti corpus non aliter eſſe in pane, quàm in aliis rebus.
Baptiſmum abjiciunt.
Ire in Eccleſias, vel in eis orare, nihil prodeſſe.
Epiſcopos Papales coetum ſceleratorum, & Eccleſiam Pontificiam, coetum infernorum eſſe. (In hac propoſitione non multum à vero aberraverunt.)
Matrimonia damnabant: promiſcuos concubitus, coſquenefarios, ſanctos ducebant. (Hic eſt furor Satanicus.)
Corporum reſurrectionem negant.
Mortuos vivorum beneficiis non… juvari. (Haec propoſitio non eſt haeretica.)
Animas defunctorum hominum tranſire per diverſa corpora, etiam animalium & ſerpentum, ſi malè vixerint: ſin benè, in Principis, aut alterìus illuſtris perſonae corpus.
Carnem comedi prohibent.
Tribuitur illis à quibuſdam, quòd Evangelion urina conſperſum, de muro in hoſtes, multis additis convitiis, projecerint.
Chriſtum non eſſe Deum, nec aſſumpſiſſe carnem de Virgine, ſed è Coelo carnem… duxiſſe.
Quòd Chriſtus non fuerit verus homo, nec verè comederit: quòd non verè paſſus ſit in cruce, nec reſurrexerit, nec in coelum aſcenderit.
Mundum ſemper fuiſſe, ſemper futurum.
Quòd Moſes fuerit malus.
Quòd Adam non fuerit à Deo.
Eccleſiam non poſſe aliquid poſſidere, niſi incommuni, nec debere perſequi malos,
Uſuram non eſſe prohibitam necablata reſtituenda, &c.
Hae propoſitiones cù partim ſint abſurdae, impiae, & haereticae: partim etiam in Politia tolerari non poſſent: praeſertim promiſcuae libidines, & abolitio matrimonii, cùm Albingenſes admonitiones non admitterent, ſed in erroribus & ſceleribus perſiſterent, adhortante Pontifice Romano, Magiſtratus politicus, collecto exercitu, duabus vicibus aliquot millia Albin genſium trucidarunt: multi etiam capitibus truncati, & cremati leguntur, qui hinc inde ſunt deprehenſi: fuit enim Albingenſis, furor Anabaptiſticus, qualis Anno 1534. noſtro ſeculo, Anabaptiſtarum Monaſterienſium crat.
THere aroſe, and in progreſſe of time gat ſtrength the hereſie of the Albingenſes, or Albienſes, or Albians in France; whom ſome think to be ſo called from their Author, others, from a place in France. That hereſie is ſaid to take begining firſt at Rome, then it was diſperſed far & wide in the county of Tholouſe (and that among men of rank) & more over, they write, that it entred England. The opinions attributed to them are theſe.
That there are two Principles, or beginnings, namely the good God; and the Evill, that is the Devill who createth all bodies: The good God creates ſouls.
That the body of Chriſt is no otherwiſe in the bread then in other things.
They throw away Baptiſme.
That it profits nothing to go into Churches or to pray in them.
That the Papall Biſhops were a company of infernall ſpirits. (In this propoſition they did not much erre from the truth.)
They condemned all matrimony, or mariages. Promiſcuous or mingled, and wicked copulations, they accounted holy. (This is a Satanicall fury.)
They deny the Reſurrection of the dead.
They ſay that the dead are not helped by any kindneſſes from the living. (This Propoſition is not hereticall.)
The ſouls of the dead if they lived wickedly paſſe through divers bodies, even of Animals, Serpents. If they lived well, then they paſſe into the body of ſome Prince, or ſome ſuch noble perſon.
They forbid the eating of ſleſh.
It is attributed to them by ſome, that they threw down the books of the Goſpel, ſprinkled with piſſe from the wall, upon the enemies, with addition of many reproches.
That Chriſt is not God, neither took hee fleſh of the Virgin, but brought downe his fleſh with him from heaven.
That Chriſt was not true man, nor did he truly eat: that hee did not truly ſuffer on the croſſe, nor aſcend into heaven.
That the world hath been, and ſhall be eternall.
That Moſes was wicked.
That Adam was not from God.
That the Church can poſſeſſe nothing but in common, Neither ought it to perſecute the wicked.
That uſury is not forbidden, nor are things taken away to be reſtored, &c.
Theſe propoſitions being partly abſurd, wicked, and hereticall; partly intolerable in a Commonwealth, eſpecially promiſcuous luſts, and the aboliſhing of matrimony, when the Albingenſes would receive no admonition, but perſiſted in their impieties, the civill Magiſtrate, the Biſhop of Rome exhorting him thereunto, having gathered an Army, two ſeverall times ſlew ſome thouſands of them; many alſo were beheaded, and many burnt (as we read) being taken here and there. For Albingenſis was an Anabaptisticall fury, ſuch as was that in the yeer 1534 in our age, Of the Monaſterian. Anabaptiſts.
Thus far out of the Chapter M. Tombes quoted out of Oſiander, alleaging the Albingenſes againſt us, for an inſtance, that the ſame men that oppoſed Infant-baptiſme, oppoſed Popiſh ſuperſtitions: How, you have heard out of Maſter Tombes his quoted Authour.
To M. T. his fourth particular of thoſe places of Tertullian and Gregory Nazianzen, Tertull. p. 120. Greg. Nazian. p. 139.I have abundantly anſwered ſeverall times afore, Chap. 13 and 14 of our Animadverſions, and elſwhere.