Arragon and made warre against the sayd king of Arragon About the yeere of our Lord 1280. Pope Bonifacius 8. in a great glorie shewed him selfe twice First in his pontificalibus granting large pardons to the people and on the next day in the imperiall robes hauing a naked sworde carried before him And as hée sate in his maiestie hée cried with a lowde voyce saying Ecce duo gladij hic Behold héere are two swords This was about the yeere 1300. A Frier of the Order of the popish preachers did poyson Henry the seuenth Emperor by deliuering vnto him a consecrated hoste as they terme it wherein hee had put a stronge poyson which dispatched him About the yéere 1310. Pope Clement the sixt hauing excommunicated Lewes the Emperor and all the Princes and bishops that tooke parte with him sayd that now th' Empire was fallen vnto him and therefore he placed captaines in the cities of Italy This was about the yeere 1340. Pope Vrbane the sixt in hatred toward Clement the 7. whom the Frenchmen had chosen to be Pope tooke fiue Cardinalles and lapped them in one sacke and drowned them This was doone about the yéere 1380. A singular example of true charitie Yea and a singular example of obedience is to be seene in Alexander the third of whom I spake before in that hee admitting the Emperor Frederike surnamed Barbarossa to the kissing of his foote did set his foote in the Emperors neck pronouncing these woords of the Psalme 91. Super aspidem c. Vpon the Adder and Basiliske shalt thou walk and thou shalt stamp vpon the Lyon the Dragon This was done about the yeere 1170. And Celestinus the fourth when he crowned the Emperor Henry the fift sonne to the foresaid Frederike did set the Emperiall crowne vpon the head of the Emperor with his feete and did topple it of againe with one of his féete in token that as hee had powre to make an Emperor so hée had powre to depose him againe Héere M. Offerer may sée a number of examples of obedience to the higher powers of great grauitie of true charitie euen in such as haue bin the chiefe in his Catholike church if hée can shew mee but one example amongest them that haue bin of the protestants Catholike church like vnto these manifolde examples of commaunding controuling excommunicating persecuting and deposing of the higher powers and triumphing ouer them then will I recant the protestants Catholike religion and professe Poperie as this Offerer dooth and not before But now on the contrarie saith this Offerer if discord in religion licentiousnes in liuing contempt of discipline reiecting of penaunce lothsomnes of fasting lacke of zeale and deuotion disobedience to maiestrates sacryledge Apostacie breaking of vowes vnlawfull lusts and wantonnes in all life and maners doo not agree better more cleere to the protestants then to the Catholique being the plaine signes fraits of a false church then will I recant and not before As touching discord in religion the Offerer may think him selfe to bee sufficiently answered in that which I haue said to the fiftéenth Offer The rest that hée rehearseth as falâ—â— agréeing to the protestantes religion are not at all agréeable to that religion that the Protestants doo professe For wée say as S. Iames hath written Iacob 1. Iacob 1. If any man doo think him selfe to bee religious and yet refraineth not his owne tounge but suffreth his owne heart to go a stray that mans religion is vayne This is the religion that is pure and vndefiled before God and the father for a man to visite the fatherlesse widowes in their trouble to kéepe him selfe vnspotted of the world Yea wee holde as saint Paule teacheth Coloss 3. Coloss 3. that Christians being risen againe togither with Christ should seeke those thinges that are aboue where Christ is at the right hand of God and not things that are héere on earth Yea anâ— as the same S. Paule wrote to the Phillip 3. Philip 3. that Christians should haue their conuersation in heauen not vpon earth so that although our bodies must be heere for a while yet our mindes must be setled in heauen froÌ„ whence wée looke for a Sauiour euen the Lord Iesus who by that mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all thing to him selfe shall transforme alter and change our vile bodies and make them like vnto his owne glorious body Yea and wée doo holde as S. Paule taught the Romaines Cap. 6. Rom. 6 that such as are baptized are baptized to dye and to bee buried with Christ vnto sinne to be risen againe with him vnto righteousnes of life So that as naturally wée are enclined to make all our partes instruments or tooles of vnrighteousnes procéeding from one vnrighteousnes to another euen so being baptized our duetie is to endeuour to make our bodies and all our partes instruments of righteousnes proceeding from one righteousnes to another Yea and as hee writeth in the 12. Chap. we hold that our duety is to make our bodies a sacrifice to God that is as I take it the most acceptable seruice that wee can doo vnto God Rom. 12. Rom. 13. Yea and as he writeth it the 13. Chap. we hold that wee may make no prouision for the flesh to satisfie the lusts thereof But as he writeth 1. Tim. 6. 1. Tim. 6. hauing meats and drink and cloth necessarie house harbor wée be there with contented Yea we doo hold as S. Peter hath taught 1. Pet. 2. 1 Peter 2. that our dutie is to abstaine from fleshly lusts that fight against the soule and by honest and good conuersation to stop the mouthes of malicious speakers if it be possible to winne them to ioyne with vs in religion that wee may glorifie God togither Now let the indifferent reader iudge howe those foule vices that you doo charge our religion with doo agrée with this our profession It maye that there be some and I confesse that there bee a great number to many amongst vs which are not of vs but doo only beare the name of protestant Catholiques and are in déede of no religion And these are such as you speake of the vices that you name doo very well agree vnto theÌ„ And I pray you hath your popish Catholike church at any time lacked a good rouÌ„d number of such maner of men When your Pope who is the head of your church was such a one as Platina reporteth Iohn the 12. to be MonstruÌ„ hominis A monster amongst men and as Volateran saith Sceleratum hominem A man giuen ouer to all wickednes that he was slaine being taken in adultery And as the same Platina and Volateran doe say of Syluester the second that be gaue himselfe to the deuill that he might be made Pope and that he was made Pope in déede and did gouerne your church foure yeeres togither And your Pope Benedictus the ninth of
selues to think any thing but our sufficiencie is of God And agayne to the Philippians Chapter first Philip. 2. Sainte Paule saith thus Deus enim est qui operatur in vobis velle perficere pro bona voluntate It is God that worketh in you both the will and the powre to performe the will And againe to the Romaines Chap. 7. Rom. 7. Velle adiacet mihi perficere autem bonum non inuenio c. I haue a will but to performe that which is good I finde not For I doo not that good thing which I am willing to doo but the euill thing which I am vnwilling to doo that doo I. Now it is not I that doo it but sinne that dwelleth in mée By these plaine places of Scripture it appeereth manifestly that the learned Protestants doo teach nothing concerning free will but that which our Sauiour Christ his Apostle Paule haue taught But now to the fourth pointe of doctrine The fourth point of doctrine is the denyall of the reall presence of Christes body in the holie Eucharist It is very true that all learned Protestants doo deny the reall presence of Christes bodie in the holie Eucharist And there is good cause why they should doo so For touching the reall presence of his body our Sauiour Christ him selfe hath sayd as wée reade in the 11. Cha. of S. Iohns gospeâ—l Lazarus is deade and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there that you may beléeue If you will say that Christes body was not then glorified as nowe it is and therefore could not then as nowe it may bee in moe places at once then one then consider the words of S. Peter Act. 3. Act. 3. Repent and bée conuerted that your sinnes may bée blotted out when the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord shall come when hée shall send him that hath beene preached vnto you euen Iesus Christ whom heauen must containe euen till the time of the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holie Prophets from the beginning By these woordes of Saint Peter it appeareth that hee knew nothing of this reall presence of Christs body in the holie Eucharist For hee saith that heauen is the place where the Reall bodie of Christ must bee till that tyme wherein hée shall appeere in iudgement which is the time of the Restitution of all thinges as hee hath spoken by the mouth of his holie Prophets which haue bene since the world began According to this dooth Saint Augustine write to Dardanus Tim 2. Epist 57. Cauendum est enim ne ita diuinitatem adstruamus hominis vt veritatem corporis auferamus Wee must take héede that wée doo not so builde vp the diuinity of the manhoode that wee take away the truth of the bodie For it followeth not that whatsoeuer is in God should bée euery where as GOD is By this it appeereth that Saint Augustine knew nothing of our Offerers reall presence of the bodie of our Sauiour Christ in the holie Eucharist All this notwithstanding wee hold that the body and blood of Christ are in the holy Eucharist present to the faythfull receiuers verily and in deede So that as many as doo with a full assurance of the mercies of God promised in Christ receiue the holy Eucharist doo vndoubtedly by faith receiue into their soules the verie body and blood of Christ to their endlesse comfort The learned Protestants doo not teach as you doo slauÌ„derously report of vs that in the holy Eucharist there is nothing but bread and wine for wee know what S. Paule hath written to the Corinth in the 10. Chapter of the first Epistle Vt prudentibus loquor iudicate vos quod dico 1. Cor. 10. Poculum benedictionis cui benedicimus c. I doo speake as vnto wise men doo you iudge that which I doo speake The Cup of blessing which wee doo blesse is it not the common partaking of the blood of Christ And the bread which wée breake is it not the coÌ„mon partaking of the body of Christ The Lord hath made vs able to iudge of the meaning of the Apostle in these woords wée doo know that as many as doo come worthely to the Lords table and be partakers of the holie Eucharist doo not receiue the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ onely but they receiue his verie bodie and blood Although not really substancially and bodily as you imagine yet spiritually sacramentally and verily and in deed And this is according to that which saint Augustine hath written in his Sermon De Sacramentis fidelium De Sacramentis fidelium Hoc est ergo manducare illam escam c. This is therefore to eate that meate and to drinke that drink for a man to dwell in Christ and to haue Christ dwelling in him And hereby hee that dwelleth not in Christ and in whom Christ dwelleth not without doubt hee neither eateth his flesh nor drinketh his blood although hée doo eate and drink the Sacrament of so excellent a thing to his owne condemnation This may suffice to certifie any reasonable man that wee denie not that presence of Christes bodie in the holie Eucharist which is taughte in the Scriptures and in the writings of S. Augustine The fift point that the Offerer dooth charge vs with is that wee denie the Sacrifice of the most blessed Mâ—sse You should haue sayd the most abhominâ—ble Mâ—sse For what thing can bee more abhominable then that thing which is directly contrarie to the scriptures and derogatorie to that one sacrifice that Christ Iesus our high Priest made of himself once for all Saint Paule to the Hebrews Chapter 10. Hebre. 10. speaking of our Sauiour Christ sayth thus Hic vero vna pro peccatis oblata victima c. After this man had offered vp one sacrifice for sinne hee sitteth at the right hand of God for euer waighting from hence forth till his enemies may bee made his foote stoole For with one oblation hee hath made perfect for euer such as are made holie And the holie Ghost dooth certifie vs when hee saith thus This is the Testament that I will make vnto them after those daies saith the Lord giuing my lawes in their hearts and in their mindes I will write them and their sinnes iniquities will I not remember any more And where there is forgiuenes of those sinnes and iniquities there is nowe no Sacrifice for sinne This farre Saint Paule What can bee written or spoken more plainely then this is for the proofe of that which wee holâ—e that is that in the Masse there is no sacrifice for sinne Christ our high Priest hauing offered vp one oblation is set downe on the right hand of God for euer and what other thing can bee ment by this then that which followeth which is that by that one oblation he hath made perfect al such as are made holie that
third about the ende of that 600. yéeres They that were in the tyme of the first 600 yéeres were persecuted by the dragan that is by the estate of Roome vnder the tirrannous Emperours And they that haue béene since and are now haue béene and styll are persecuted by the beast that hath two hornes lyke a Lambe that is the estate of Roome vnder the Papacie Apoc. 13. Apoc 13 These Prophets of booth sortes haue béene and are still styrred vp by him that is the giuer of all good giftes at hys pleâ—sure to worke his wyll in such tymes as he hath fore appoynted But there hath not béene at any time any continuall and orderly succession of them such as you require the Protestants to prooue neither dooth it help any thing at all for the proofe of true and right Religion to haue any such continuall and orderly succession except all the successors doo hold the same Religion and doo walke in the same steps that their first Predecessor held and walked in Amongst your Popes very few or none can bée founde that haue held the religion of Peter walked in his steps Your Boniface the third which was the first of your Apostatat Popes shewed him selfe to bée of a far other minde then Peter was otherwise hee would neuer haue sought for and with great contention haue obtained that name of vniuersall Bishop which Gregorie the first refused as a prophane name and a signe of the fore runner of Antichrist This would haue bin a lusty lad if hee might haue continued in the estate of a Pope many yéeres but hée was cut of by death in the ninth moneth after hee was made Pope The rest that haue succeeded euen vntill this day haue in one point walked in the steps of this Bonifacius for they all haue taken vpon them and kept the title of vniuersall Bishop and so dooth hee that dooth now enioy that place And so by good consequence it may bee said that they are all Antichristian But to returne to our purpose That church whereof the Protestants bee members hath had Apostles as longe time as th' office of an Apostle was necessary for hir In like maner shee hath had Prophets of both sortes Euangelists also shee hath had and hath still whose office is to water that which the Apostles haue planted Of this sorte was Timoth. and so was Apollos and others that were when they were and in the first 600. yeeres after Christs ascention And such bee they in these dayes which are able to instruct and doo labour to instruct Christians how to leade a christian life and to bee assured of Saluation onely by the mediation of Christ Iesus that promised Seede through whom all the nations of the world are promised to be happy and blessed Pastors and doctors also our Church hath alwaies had and now hath The Popes catholiques neuer had the like These are they that God hath made able to breake the breade of life to the flocke of Christ and to teach instruct them in all necessary knowledge to saluation And these as the others are made able stirred vp to worke in the Lords Haruest by him that as oft as néede is sendeth forth laborers into his Haruest Hée is not bound to maintaine a coÌ„tinuall orderly succession but when it pleaseth him to punish the vnthankfulnes of his people by taking from them such as hee hath made méete and able to execute these offices amongst them hee may and in iustice hée dooth That so his people may learne to vse such good gifts better when they shall againe enioy them And as for that popish-Catholique church which your sort doo call the knowne Catholique church neuer had such Apostles Prophets Euangelists Pastors and Doctors as S. Paule ment of in his writing to the Ephes For that Church was not hatched before the dayes of Boniface the third And therefore that church neither had nor could haue any such Apostles Prophets or Euangelists as our church had in the six hundreth yeeres next after the ascention of our sauiour I conclude therefore that neither our Church which is the right Catholique church nor yours which is the right Antichristian church hath had any such continuall and orderly succession as you require the Protestant to prooue by the Ecclesiasticall hystories I see no cause therefore why you should not recant and relent although you haue hitherto refused so to doo The ninth Offer Offerer Ninth Where as the Protestants by the drift of reason and Argument are forced of the Catholiques to acknowledge and confesse their Church and Congregations to haue lien hidden vnknowne for the space of one whole thousand yeeres togither without all the foresaid functions and ministrations of Apostles Prophets Euangelists Pastors and Doctors of their gospell faith and religion at the least wise to be openly perceiued knowne if therefore they shall be able for the space of that whole time to prooue by auncient writers of Ecclesiasticall hystories any other word gospell or doctrine to be vniuersally openly taught any other sacraments to be ministred any other discipline or correction to be practised any other iudgements decrees Canons or lawes to be executed then those which were daily practised in the common knowen Catholique Church of Christ I will then recant and not before Crowley This Offerer would beare vs in hand that wée Protestants are by the drift of reason and argument enforced to confesse c. Hée dooth vs great wrong in that hée auoutcheth that wée confesse that for the space of a thousand yéeres togither wée had no maner function or ministration c. As though wée should confesse that wée had no gospel no faith no religion And yet his owne conscience driueth him to say thus At the least wise to be openly perceiued known Well then his owne conscience telleth him that wée had those ministrations and that it was knowne that wée had them but not openly It appéereth that this man vnderstandeth nothing of the mysterie of that woman that the Apostle Iohn saw in his vision Apoc. 12. Apoc. 12. If these Antichristian Catholiques could content them selues to bée taught by such as God hath stirred vp made able to open the meaning of this mystery they should sée that the right Catholique church of Christ hath bin in Wildernesse euer since the Male childe that shee brought foorth was taken vp into heauen Yea although shee bee clad with the sunne and hath the Moone vnder hir feete yet doo not these men so sée hir that they may discerne hir from the congregations of the heathen bicause their sight is such as the sight of Howlets and such other night fowles that cannot endure the brightnes of the sunne Immediately after our sauiour Christ was ascended into heauen the Dragon that olde serpent the deuill Satan being vanquished by Michael and his Angels expelled out of heauen and cast downe to the earth did persecute the
woman that had borne a sonne which is our sauiour Christ and the woman is his Catholique church This Church did the Dragon the diuell persecute by the ministrie of the Romaine Emperors by the space of 294. yéeres vnder Nero Domitian Tâ—aâ—ant Seuerus Commodus Decius and Dioclesian All this while the Dragon did persecute the Catholique church séeke by all meanes possible to roote it out but Almighty God had in mercifull prouidence prouided for his Church two wings of a great Egle whereby shée tooke flight into the wildernes into the place that was prepared for hir where shée was norished all that time out of the sight of the serpent Yea the serpent did cast out of his mouth after the woman as it had bin a riuer of water that shee might haue bin violently borne away of the water But the earth did help the woman and opening hir mouth did swallow vp the Riuer that the Dragon had cast out of his mouth after hir If such as bée of the learned sorte amongst them that be of the Romish Catholique church would with humbled mindes reade this booke of Reuelations séeke for the true fence meaning but of this one vision vndoubtedly they should finde and I hope they would confesse that the true Catholike church of Christ that was figured by the woman had not the glory of the world as the Romish Catholique church hath now but was in this world obscure and after a sorte hid from the presence of such as the serpent had stirred vp to persecute hir which were the mighty Emperors and other that were of great powre within the Romaine Empire And yet was shée still clad with the sunne had the Moone vnder hir féete c. That is shée was still glorious in the sight of God and of all good men For hir garment was Christ the bright shining light of the world Vnder hir feete shée had the Moone still for shée contemned trode vnder foote the vaine pompe glory of this world which shineth gloriously in the sight of the blinde worldlings euen as the Moone dooth in the darknes of the night Yea and shée had hir head crowned with the twelue starres the Patriarches which were Fathers to the twelue kinreds of Israell or those twelue Messengers or Apostles which our sauiour Christ had sent foorth as starres to giue light in the darknes of this world Yea although shee dwelt still in Rome in other Cities that belonged to the Romaine Empire yet shee was as in a wildernes as hauing nothing and yet possessing all things c. 2. Cor. 6. 2 Cor â— So that if this Offerer would but consider this conceiue in his minde the countenance that the Catholique church could beare in this world during the time of persecution vnder the aboue named Emperors surely hee would neuer for shame say that our Church is not the Catholique church bicause we confesse that for the space of one thousand yeeres it was by the two horned beast that is by the papacie kept vnder as that Church which hee him selfe dooth confesse to bée the right Catholique church of Christ was by the seuen headed Dragon which was the Romaine Empire If the Catholique church might haue hir Apostles Prophets Euangelists Pastors and Doctors as vndoubtedly shee had in the time of the first bloody persecutions which continued for the space of 294. yeeres almost continually why might shee not haue so many of those ministers as were necessarie for hir edification during the time of the later persecution which hath continued how almost a thousand yeeres togithers Yea and why might not she haue the ministration of Sacraments and execution of discipline as well in the one time as in the other And so by good consequence Why may not the Protestants Church be the Catholique church of Christ as well as that Church was that differed as much in all points from the knowne Popish Catholique church as our Protestant Catholique church dooth differ now from the same I conclude therefore that it is altogither vnnecessary to prooue any way that any other gospell or doctrine then that which was preached by the Apostles or any other SacrameÌ„ts then the same that Christ Iesus did first institute or any other discipline then that which the Catholique church of Christ hath practized should hée preached ministred and practized vniuersally openly that thereby wée might prooue our Church to be Catholique For it is manifest by the hystories that the right Catholique church hath sildome had such fréedome vpon earth that shee might haue hir doctrine publikely vniuersally preached hir sacraments ministred and hir discipline practized Wherefore except you will shew your selfe wilfull and obstinate you must now recant although heretofore you would not The tenth offer Offerer Tenth For as much as the Protestants doo affirme their congregation faith and Religion to haue bin practized in the Primatiue Church of Christ some of them for the space of the first three huÌ„dreth yeeres as Iohn Caluin some for the space of foure or fiue hundred yeeres as Martin Luther and his complices some for the whole space of the first sixe hundred yeeres as M. Ievvell and the authors of the Apollogie of the Church of England and therein not agreeing amongst themselues as the manner of Heretikes is I require some better staied and certaine tale of them where and when this sodaine change from the Protestants religion to the Papists should bee made as in what yeere of our Lord vnder what Pope and Emperor by what persons of name it was so wrought and brought to passe and vpon what occasion and what Apostles Prophets Euangelists Pastors and Doctors of their congregations did gainesay or withstand the same And who dooth make any mention of this sodaine merueilous change of the Protestants religion to Papistrie what one Ecclesiasticall writer or auncient Father of the whole world and when they shal be able resonably to answere and to satisfie these my demaunds then I will recant and yeelde to them and not before Crowley This Offerer minding vtterly to discredit the Protestants hath with his pen testified for them that they doo al agree in this one point which is that their Congregation Faith and Religion haue bin practized in the Primatiue church of Christ But here hée thinketh to discredit them all Some of them as Iohn Caluin doo affirme that this was for the space of the first thrée hundreth yéeres some other as Martin Luther and his complices for the space of foure or fiue hundreth yéeres and some others as M. Iewell and the authors of the Apologie of the Church of England for the whole space of the first fixe hundreth yéeres c. To this I say That such amongst vs as haue said that the congregation or Church whereof wée bée had continuance for the space of the whole first sixe hundreth yéeres haue sayd truely and they that haue said for the space of thrée foure or