those y â— would bring in a doctrine contrary to the Gospell established condemneth the former noble princes of England y â— Answ speaketh against them therefore the Answ condemneth the former noble princes of England I graunt the second proposition but the first is ful of vntruth For I speake of the present estate and present practises among you what is that to former states and former proceedings I speake of subiectes and the Censurer doeth drawe it to princes I speake of them that dealt contrarie to the setled lawes and he doth bring it as spoken against those that made and mainteined their owne lawes then in force This one proposition being so false ran make no argument but sophisticall for a shewe of trueth when there is nothing in it but falshode Also the Iesuites woordes haue an argument intended for him in this forme what religion former princes from the conuersion of the lande vnto our age haue mainteined that must not be condemned but they haue mainteined Poperie therefore Poperie must not be condemned The first proposition is false for wee must liue by the rule of Gods worde and not by the example of men that may deceiue and be deceiued as appeareth in the storie of the kinges of Israel and Iuda The second proposition is false like the first For since the coÌ„quest as I haue partly shewed in my answere Edward the first Edw. the third Richard the second others did set themselues euen so long ago against y â— tyrannie of Antichrist And which is more our Chronicles shewe that before Pseudoaustens comming our religion was free from many superstitions which he brought in neyther did the Pope chalenge any preeminence of King Lucius nor yet was it yeelded him long after But while you pleade the authoritie and as you account it the Catholike regiment of some of those princes against me you speake against your self secretly opening your heart to discouer what you thinke of other Princes since and namely of her Maiesties authoritie and lawes establishing the Gospel This is sufficient to discouer the counterfeit honour and heartie hate to the present soueraigntie It followeth that I answere your obiections to the second part of my conclusion whether I make all Papistes traytours because they are of contrary religion to that which nowe standeth in force by the grace of God and vnder her Maiesties blessed gouernement What may be sayde of all Papistes generally I leaue it as a question which I haue not vndertaken other men haue if you will looke into their reasons But for all reconciled Papistes employed with Saunders in Irelande or entred to withdrawe the people in Englande such as with Campion and his fellowes helpe forward some of the haynous attemptes that come to light from day to day if I would holde my peace themselues will bewray and confesse treason agaynst her Maiestie and the estate beside open contempt agaynst the Lorde and the free preaching of the Gospell Neyther doeth my zeale ouerrunne my witte in making mention of these matters or my malice ouerlash all reason as you haue tauntingly accused mee without cause My zeale I wish increased according to knowledge and against all your abominable superstitions In malice I haue not dealt but am carefull to detest all corruption in the seruice of God Bishop Tunstall an authenticall witnesse shal acquite mee of this reproche who for like Rome practises vseth more bitter and broade speaches euen against your great Cardinall Cardinall Poole For hauing charged the Pope with his pestilent malice so hee speaketh and Poole as his instrument afterwarde hee calleth the Cardinall an arrant traytour of a deuilish purpose to destroye his natiue countrey also that hee ranne headlongs into hell and was for this Romish matter incomparably woorse then any Pagane And will you call this hote doctrine But to proceede you note that religion standeth with temporall obedience It is truely sayd of true religion but Popish religion doeth take awaye from princes their supreme authoritie making them the Popes vassalles and their people his tributaries It warranteth all men to renounce and leaue their obedience it dispenseth with all rebellion and pardoneth any treason to those that are reconciled for the day of execution He that hath an eye to see or an eare to heare may heare and see this and some fruites thereof both in the land and without Your trayterous bulles your actuall rebellion in the north where D. Morton had the first bull where your Priestes also sayd masse in the tents Stories trayterous shifte chusing him an other king and pleading him selfe no subiect to the Queene whose subiection and protection hee vnnaturally renounced without any cause in the worlde giuen but abusing her Maiesties clemencie your seconde bull and seconde actuall rebellion vnder Saunders in Irelande the alienating mouing of the people by your opeÌ„ Masses in LaÌ„keshire elswhere your other attemptes which came so neere the quicke procured by your Iesuiticall Masses of reconcilemeÌ„t finally Saunders booke allowing and extolling these rebellions and enterprises canonizing the Captaines therof with the title of notable Martyrdome what are they but open and actuall proofes that there is in you a resolution to doe any thing you dare do for the ouerthrowe of the present estate It is openly layde to your charge that your malice is so great to some aliue that you will be auenged of them as you were in Cambridge of M. Bucer and Paulus Fagius fiue yeeres after their death Your example of the Apostles obedience to Magistrates of contrarie religion proueth nothing for you that holde not that doctrine neyther yet followe their example They and the faythfull in the primatiue Church yeelded obedience to princes that beleeued not and you doe it not to them that beleeue and mayntaine the Gospell as it is proued agaynst you The like examples followe for the blessed Martyrs of late times did al patiently yeeld them selues to death according to the doctrine which they professed and witnessed their obedience aswell to the Prince as to GOD in their greeuous persecutions In all my booke there is no such generall question propounded as you charge me with that euery one of a contrarie religion must needes be an enemie to the State I haue alreadie answered that true religion teacheth and yeldeth obedience to magistrates but your religion bringeth euen Emperours vnder the subiection of the Pope to giue their attendance at his gate and at his stirrup wherein you withdraw from Cesar that that is Cesars aswell as otherwise you withholde from God that that is Gods The maliciâ—us report which foloweth against some of our chiefe Prelates as you speake cannot bee prooued nor your repeated taunt against our spirites which if they were as euill as you make them being compared with your there would bee I graunt no great difference Touching those godly and learned men Wickliffe Luther and Caluine whome you charge with daungerous doctrine
A REPLIE to a Censure written against the two answers to a Iesuites seditious Pamphlet By William Charke 1. Reg. 20. 11. Let not him that gurdeth on his armour boast as he that putteth it off ⧠Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker Printer to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie ANNO. DOM. 1581. To the Christian Reader AS there haue risen vp in the Church from time to time false Prophets teachers which oppose them selues to the holye Prophets of God and true teachers of his worde so among the people where such contrarietie of doctrines hath bene deliuered like contrarietie of hearers hath alwayes followed not onely in iudgement but also in their affection For as some through the mercie of God and the sincere preaching of the Gospel haue yeelded obedience to his worde so many caried away with corrupt teachers haue for want of iudgement embraced errour in place of trueth and carnall worshippings in steade of the pure worship of God which euermore consisteth in spirit and trueth Against this so dangerous infection of false teachers the holy Apostle Saint Iohn hath giuen vs a most wholesome counterpoyson willing vs not to beleeue euery spirit but to trie and examin the spirits whether they be of God But to speake of our times this examination and trial may seeme very hard seeing the teachers on both sides are thought learned and al pretend to teach the trueth For it is not denyed but both sides haue had their education in schooles of learning they haue also laboured in the liberall artes to furnish them selues to greater matters wherupō they al bring very good words some shewe of reason seeme to haue no small force of perswasion Howe then shall the simple people iudge howe shal they discerne whose iudgement and discretion should be framed by their teachers and setled by their sownd and plaine doctrine To this I answere S. Iohn in that place maketh the matter more easy then it appeareth at the first shewe For exhorting vs not to beleeue euery spirit he doeth drawe our consideration to the spirit and doctrine of the teachers and not to these outwarde giftes of an eloquent stile or a sweete sownde of pleasing wordes which may be common to good and euil yea wherein the euil for want of a good cause labour to excell and from which the godly absteine for the sufficiencie of their cause without it are also restrayned lest our faith should stande in the wisedome of men and not in the power of God But Saint Iohn to make this his trial of spirits yet more ful plaine addeth that euery spirit which confesseth Christ Iesus to haue come in the fleshe is of God and euery spirit which confesseth otherwise is of Antichrist Now therefore let vs see bowe the Apostle frameth vs to a spirit of discretion to discerne the spirits of true and false teachers If any man shall teach and consesse that Christ was made man and ordeyned of God the Father a Prophet alone to teach a King alone to rule and a Priest alone to sanctifie vs and to reconcile vs to his Father by the obedience of faith this confession and doctrine is of the holy spirit of God and to be receiued what spirit soeuer shall mightily or cunningly perswade the contrary On the other side if any spirit shall teach that Christ is not our only teacher by his holy Gospel but that we must admit vnwritten beleefe and traditions from we know not whom to be of like authoritie with the written worde secondly if any spirit make not Christ alone our King and head to rule vs by his holy spirit but teache that a mortall and sinfull man must sit in our consciences and for hatred or gaine which is his practise bynde or loose at his pleasure lastly if any spirit impeach the alsufficiencie and entier vertue of Christs sacrifice offered vp once for euer teach that themselues must renforce it from day to day by the continuance of their dayly sacrifice of the Masse offered for the quick dead it appeareth manifestly that such spirits are not of God nor their doctrine to be receiued though it be deliuered with neuer so much perswasion of eloquent speach or offered to vs with neuer so much expectation of worldly honour For to denie the most absolute vertue and effects of Christes offices is in effect to denie the authoritie of his person and to lose the benefite of all his graces because they withdrawe a part To this examination of spirits without regard of persons the godly Reader is to be exhorted For the doctrine that giueth al glorie to God is of God the doctrine that attributeth some glory and ascribeth some merites to man is of men the religion also that is agreeable to flesh and blood making an acceptable sounde and shewe to the outward senses is carnall and vayne finally what religion so euer is not ioyned with the knowledge and exercises of the worde of God that is no true religion but a disguised and blinde maske full of deuilish superstition The aduersaries take a contrary course in making triall of their doctrine for they woulde haue this examination of spirits vtterly suppressed and vnder one title of that falsly named Catholique Church of Rome they would bind all men to receiue for vndoubted true religion what corruptions so euer they teach without any further question Which being graunted them the examination of spirits neede not for if Rome affirme it the matter is sufficient and must not be denied Also these enemies of the trueth leaue the touchstone which tryeth al metalles namely the doctrine and for it they drawe the teachers into examination supposing that if they can discredit or disgrace the men they shall easily vndermine and ouerthrowe their doctrine For triall of this long practise there are so many bookes that I neede not alleadge any but this late Censure written as in defence of popish religion but the authour shifting his hands very cunningly of the direct and plaine maintenance of the questions in controuersie doth but offer at them or giue some false fire his leauell and batterie is against their persons and credit that maynteining the trueth cannot but assaile the doctrines and put in hazarde the authoritie of the popish Church Therefore I am in the name of the trueth to craue it of the good Reader to lay aside respect of men the regard of those giftes that may please him much and deceiue him more and if it be his desire not so much to see the fight as to beholde the issue enioy the victory then let him imbrace that doctrine most that attributeth least to the broken arme or blinde iudgement of man that in the Church al the power and wisedome of our saluation may be ascribed to God alone through Christ Iesus our Lorde Amen W. Ch. A Replie to a Censure written against the two answers to a Iesuites seditious Pamphlet IT
Although the sentence were true yet woulde you not censure him that should giue sentence against your vnholie father according to Martin Luthers testimonie Why then doe you thinke that we will any more admitte Lindan and his fellowes against Martin Luther then you will admit him against the Pope Therefore in alledging Lindan Cochleus Hosius and Xaintes with some others you commit many faultes without any gayne to your cause First you abase your selfe more then needeth in not thinking your owne credit as sufficient with vs to proue any thing against vs as their credit is For although these witnesses are dashed in to make a shewe in the margent and to deceyue the ignorant readers that knowe neyther their names nor their weake authoritie yet the Censurer if his name were well knowen hath against vs as much credit in his owne cause as Lindan hath or Hosius albeit hee was your great president in the Councill of Trent Secondly in citing your owne partiall men more carryed I thinke with malice against Luther and these causes then your self their sentence can haue no more authoritie then when a man doth stande out to beare witnesse in his owne cause or when one thiefe giueth in euidence to acquite an other Wee goe not about to ouerbeare you in the like causes with the bare authoritie or reportes of Martin Luther of Iohn Caluin of Peter Martyr or other like men for these are all parties and the law alloweth no such for sufficient witnesses in their owne causes Therefore howe vnequall is your measure how insufficient is your trial in bringing such testimonies against vs as your selues would hisse at if the lyke or better were brought against you 〈…〉 Lastly in alleadging such partiall and forsworne witnesses you bewray an euill cause that can not otherwise bee maintayned then by such vnlawfull insufficient proofes But seeing there can be had nothing from you and your witnesses but slauÌ„ders let vs examine how small cause you haue so bitterly to slaunder those that are gone before and for so wicked purposes to infect the iudgement of such as shal come after Entring into the slaunders of Martin Luther you giue a note that he was the beginner of the newe Gospel Doe you not still bewray Campions spirit in charging the religion nowe established in this lande with nouelties and most scornefully calling the Gospel of Iesus Christ which we preache a newe doctrine This is not vpon good grounde to speake against a fewe Fryers but in a blasphemous spirite to speake against God But before I answere the particular slaunders layde downe against Martin Luther I must againe adde that which you haue left out namely howe Luther was begotteÌ„ of a deuil Surely this is as true as the rest and Proteolus as much to be beleeued as the others Therefore the same sparke of modestie which made your paper blush to receiue this as a thing incredible as offensiue to euery mans eares and as bewraying your vnsatiable malice myght also haue refused to tell the other slaunders of lyke bitternesse and no lesse vntrueth Nowe that Martin Luther was stroken with a thunderbolt in a medow though you easily dare report it from an enemie yet you shall hardly â—â—nde a wise man that will beleeue you the matter being of it selfe so incredible A thunderbolt woulde haue taken awaye lyfe or lefte a marke behinde it for a manifest and sure note of that which otherwise can not bee proued I will no more beleeue Lindan in this then in his large and wonderfull tale of a madde dogge pursued with a multitude of armed men whose venemous teeth Lindan himself escaped by the helpe of Saint Hubert as they call him for the which deliuerie he and all his house were afterwarde dedicated to the worshippe of the same Hubert I will beleeue him no more against Martin Luther then agaynst our owne countrey men of whom he writeth that they of the religion in Englande whom he calleth Caluinists doe worship the image of y e deuil Of like credit is your other tale of y e deuil horribly crying out of Martin Luthers mouth and as much to be beleeued from Cochleus alone as froÌ„ him and a thousand such making no conscience to cast out in their writings so malitious and so intollerable libels You adde these wordes that vpon a certaine emulation contention betweene him and the Fryers of Dominiks order hee left his religion cast away his habit broke his vowes maried a Nunne and by litle and litle began to preache strange newe doctrines especially tending to all libertie and carnalitie Howe roundlye are these things written and howe calme doth the floud of malicious wordes seeme to flowe partly to disgrace that y t was lawfully done partly to charge him with that euill which he neuer thought For when the Lord did open his eyes to see as many before haue seene the abhominable hypocrisie and superstition of your religion and orders no otherwise then for hatred thereof he left his former superstition which you call religion he cast away also his superstitious order the pharisaicall habit thereof and thinking him selfe no longer tyed to his vnaduised and superstitious vowe he maried in the Lorde and all this was lawfull That by litle and litle he began to preach straÌ„ge and newe doctrines especially tending to all libertie and carnalitie it shalbe founde an vntrueth deliuered against the man and a malice agaynst the doctrine which hee taught your owne examples shall make the proofe First therfore you charge him to teach there is no sinne but incredulitie neither can a man damne himselfe doe what mischiefe he can except he will refuse to beleeue I will not here measure vnto you as you haue measured vnto me I wil not disgrace you first and then examine the matter for therein you haue offered me great wrong as shall appeare when I come to answere those places But I may plainely pronounce that in this place you doe in wordes and matter report an opeÌ„ vntruth For Martin Luther hath no such doctrine First it was farre from him to thinke there was no sinne but incredulitie and therfore he woulde neuer write so manifest an vntruth He is vehement in condemning many other sinnes as beside infinite other places it appeareth in his expounding the xv Psalme and more largely in his briefe exposition vpon the tenne commaundementes This it is that you haue wonderfully peruerted Martin Luther saith Incredulitie y t is not to beleeue the promise of God doth argue the promise of God to be a lying promise which is a most high sinne of all other Againe he doth not saye as you report a man can not damne him selfe for that is against all knowledge either of mans iniquitie or of Gods iust iudgementes but he speaketh of the baptised which beleeue of the trueth of Gods promise who cannot denie himself Wherin he sheweth that it doth woÌ„derfully comforte a mans
Lent If this be not hudling and confounding of things together of vnlike sort I knowe not what may be called confusion For what order is it to repeate vpoÌ„ the Censurers occasion y â— which was noted in the fourth article to match the baptisme of children with the fast of Lent The one being by plaine argument gathered out of the worde as namely out of the wordes of the conenant I will bee thy God and the God of thy seede and thy children after thee for euer This couenaunt dyd appertayne to both a like to Abraham and his seede whereunto the seale and practise was adioyned in circumcising infantes of eyght dayes as well as Abraham of great age and that by expresse commaundement of God Thus the doctrine is so prooued out of the written worde as that no doubt remayneth Nowe circumcision was the sacrament or seale of that righteousnesse which is by fayth as Saint Paul teacheth wherein it is equall our baptisme But this is your great learning when you are not able for your ignorance to prooue a doctrine out of the written worde to say we haue it by tradition and by worde of mouth from the Apostles Now your Lent fast as you vse it hath not onely no grounde out of the worde but is agaynst the worde as I prooued before If this bee your methode and discretion I maruell not if good order be huddling and confounding in your accompt For the number of the bookes and for the Lordes day I myght likewise make proofe out of the worde so that if you can bring vs nothing by worde of mouth from the Apostles but your Lent fast your letters of credence will not serue you to be deleeued The seconde Censure is that the place alleadged by me to confuce the aucthoritie of traditions should be impertinent This the Censurer woulde shewe by three differences betweene it and this purpose First of the diuers cause of those traditions which our Sauiour Christ inueyeth against whereof they had beene authors to them selues and of these which he affirmeth to descende from Christ and his Apostles But as in deede the difference woulde be great if this were true so being false and vntrue as it is it can make no difference at all Theirs were in deede such as they affirme and though you deny it so are yours also For which of all your traditions came eyther froÌ„ Christ or from his Apostles wheÌ„ you proue them froÌ„ either of them your difference shall be allowed Secondly you say Christ reprehendeth not al obseruation of meÌ„s traditioÌ„s but the naughtie obseruing of theÌ„ which was as you affirme in that y â— Pharises esteemed them more then Gods word brake it for the keeping of them which you condemne This also if it were true were a sufficient difference but it is vntrue that our Sauiour Christ reproued onely the esteeming of them more then Gods commaundementes It can not bee denied but he reprooued this in them in the same chapter before but in the woordes alleadged You worshippe mee in vaine teaching doctrines that are but traditions of men which are no wordes of comparison our Sauiour simplie rebuketh them for esteeming the keeping of mens traditions to be any seruice of GOD to which â—ude the sentence had bene first vttered by the Prophet The thirde note is double first that these traditions were idle foolish of which sort are yours and whatsoeuer the idle brayne of man deuiseth to serue â—od withall the second that some of them were impious direct contrary to the word of God such as were certayne corrupt expositions of the lawe where you are as like to them as the sonne may be to the father For neuer were there more false gloses vpon the word of God violently thrust and by litle and litle secretly conueyed into the Church peruerting the true meaning of the Scriptures and corrupting the simple worshippe of GOD then haue beene brought in by your Rabbines that haue obtayned the highest seates and the most honourable names more then euer did any among the Iewes You speake of the Talmud as dyd bastarde Denis of the orders in heauen but this florish of your skill in those bookes because it hurteth not the cause let it serue you and your frendes for as much credit as it may Lastly the Iesuites are reported to teach that we must worship y e image of Christ with like honour that wee doe the holy bookes of the Gospell In this article the doctrine is graunted without any word of contradiction your Censure onely toucheth the second to the Corinthes the sixt chapter as not alledged to the purpose In deede if you list not to vnderstand to what end it is vouched you may well complaine against the alledging thereof as from the matter You take it as brought to proue that we may worship the image of Christ with greater honour then the bookes of the Gospell but you mistake the matter and wilfully as it shoulde seeme to haue some what against the cause for how could you think that he which detesteth al idols would alledge a place to prooue that the image of Christ is worthy honour more then Gospels Or howe may not any maâ— note you of open contradiction against the word of God that being deuoutly madde vpon idols would for their loue prophane the temple of God and therefore dare to say there is more agreemeÌ„t betweene them which yet the Apostle maketh most contrarie then there is betweene the place of Saint Paul the matter which the same place doth fitly disprooue But if you liâ—â— to vnderstand the place serueth to prooue that no image at all is to be worshipped for which the wordes are so pertinent and is strong as all the wisedome of your Censureship and of the rest will neuer bee able to answere them Therefore you lost your labour in framing arguments to prooue why the material booke of Gospels should be no lesse worshipped then the image of Christ for neither of bath are to bee worshipped nor any other creatures whatsoeuer according to that which was before alledged to this purpose Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serue You can not escape for saying you giue no diuine honour vnto them for this bowing downe before them which is one of the least deuotions you vse is chalenged as diuine honour and expressely forbidden in any respect of religion or deuotion to images or any other creature as hath beene often declared But here saying the honour done to the image of Christ and to the letter of the Bible is not done to them selues you dissemble your owne idolatrous doctrine which alloweth the same honour to the image that is due to the paterne and namely the same most honourable and diuine worship of Latria to the Crucifix which is due to the Lord Iesus Christ himself Your bookes that teach this are many and not vnknowen So
but because he hath it according to a trueth and the trueth according to the word Hierome is a notable father of singular giftes but to passe ouer other places I verely thinke you woulde censure him for his interpretations vpon the eleuenth verse of the seconde chapter to the Galathians and vpon the sixt verse of the thirde chapter I write them not downe because I am desirous to couer such blemishes among other excellent gifts Whether the visible Catholike Church may erre or no which must be considered in the particular members and doctrine thereof I will for a triall admitte the example of your Church but not the presēt testimonie Their example doeth testifie y ◠Apostasie which their testimonie will not acknowledge though they should do it to iustifie the prophecies that were deliuered of it before and are nowe made so cleere as nothing may be more To your manifold examples brought to proue that heretiques cleaue to the scripture I answere first y ◠heretiques also cleaue to traditions ordinances receiued by word of mouth as appeareth by the complaint of Ireneus against them Secondly the Scripture is the worde of God in his manifest sense and construction of trueth and life and not according to the naked letter whereunto I graunt the heretiques did peeuishly sticke as you also doe where it maketh for your purpose The philosophicall proofes which some haue made asyou say for the wonderfull mysterie of Christes two natures and willes proue not so much for philosophie as you woulde inferre therby for without philosophie the scripture hath sufficient proofes for that necessarie doctrine as hath beene declared But by the way where is your iudgement in this assertion debate the matter with your selfe and you shall finde howe vnpossible it is for natural philosophy to determin the supernaturall misteries of the vnitie of God and man of two natures and willes in one person Iesus Christe which was a worke of God as great as the creation of the world Notwithstanding I haue acknowledged that philosophie being corrected and sanctified by the woorde may also be some helpe to heauenly wisedome but without it the woorde is sufficient to open all the counsell of God which apperteyneth vnto vs. Thus we take not away as you charge vs y ◠vse of Couneils Fathers other like helpes because of an abuse y ◠may bee but stand against them y ◠vnder some vse thereof woulde bring in and cōfirme the 〈◊〉 Therefore how doth the Censurer both accuse without conscience and giue sentence without iudgement who doth depriue you of these helpes Who doth call you to the bare letter How often am I enforced to repeate one thing to answere the same slaunder As Councils and Doctors or Philosophie may helpe wee allowe them and vse them as Iudges we admit them not and although we answere you to them when they are alleadged yet knowe that it is of that measure that is pressed downe and floweth ouer we are not bound vnto it with any condition But what reasons are these that followe in the Censure Eche man may deny the Scripture to be Scripture or wrangle at pleasure vpon the sense therefore we must admit Councils Doctors and Philosophie This argument is very vnlearned and peremptori◠against the maiestie of Gods worde A wicked man may wickedly take exceptions against it therefore it is not sufficient he◠may deny or wrangle vpon the sense therefore we must leaue the certaine touchstone of God and bee tryed by the vncertaine coniectures of men If the Iesuite had not abandoned all worldly commodities as not caring for the good blessings of God in this behalfe I might easely confute this reason by one drawne from a lesse assurance and lesse importance An enemie may deny the Censurers euidences of land or wrangle vpon the sense of the wordes therefore he must not stand vpon them but seeke other testimonies to mainteine his title But if these helpes or as you meane if the authoritie of men bee taken away it is as much as to saye controuersies in religion shall neuer be ended Wherein againe you make this weake and wicked argument if controuersies in religion be euer ended it must not be by the Scriptures only but by Councils Doctors and Philosophie This is therefore the effect of your Censure and definitiue sentence in this matter that which God cannot doe by his worde men may by their writings that which God cānot determine by his trueth men may ende and conclude by their lyes And further to examine this your bould and daungerous conclusion into what a sea doe you drowe vs calling vs to passe by the examination and iudgement of so many so large so doubtfull and so contrarie writers If the worde be darke are not the Fathers darker If the Scriptures bee doubtfull are not mens writings infinitely more doubtfull If any heretique or wicked man dare wrest the holy scriptures of God withe not much more dare to peruert to denie and to treade vnderfoote the writings of a mortall man It came from the deepest bottom of the Sea to drawe men from the certeintie safetie of Gods word to the daunger and vncerteinty of mens iudgement Concerning the heresies you mention as Trinitaries in Transiluania Anabaptistes in Poland Adamites in Germanie I pray God wheresoeuer these or any other heresies bee taught that they may be vtterly rooted out together with all other weedes that growe vp of their owne accorde wheresoeuer the Plowe is neglected For Hu 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 me for any thing I know in substance of Religion also for Caluinistes in Fraūce I answere they are no heretiques 〈…〉 rie these names but by your 〈…〉 speach that to bring the Gospell of God into cōtempt would make it to be thought the doctrine of those men whom the Lorde raysed vp as notable instruments to publish it in their time and as singular lights to chase away the mist which you had brought in in all places of your darke and sinfull kingdome How farre we differ from Lutherans in some poyntes you are not the fittest man to whome I may make complaint But howsoeuer you haue added your marke in the margent Note this yet the Scripture is no cause of this disagreement Vnder the name of Caluanistes you charge the Estate of this land with heresie for albeit we receiue not the name neither build our faith vpon the doctrine of any mā yet the Estate maynteyneth the doctrine which vnder that name you call heresie But you would onely seeme to lay that reproch vpon France In England you saye there are Puritanes the Familie of loue What an high and deepe slaunder is this to all the godly in this kingdome from the prince to the meanest person professing the religion your Catholikes excepted are all in England either to bee charged with the odious name of Puritanes or with the most execrable abominations of the Familie of loue What would not