The children of love that springeth out of the mercy that God hath given us in Christ; which same, though they be Turks, if they break the worldly laws, he rebuketh them, as the Ninevites, and punisheth them diversly. And if they knowledge their sin and mend, he healeth them again. But, and if they harden and sin as beasts, and will not amend, he destroyeth them utterly as the Sodomites. And yet all such have no part in the life to come. But with his children in whose hearts he writeth the faith of his Son Jesus and the love of his laws, he obedient to goeth otherwise to work his laws in their will: and their God are his laws. Images. Jerom. petitions are his honour and their neighbour's wealth: and that he will provide them of all things necessary unto this life, and govern them that their hearts be not overcome of evil. And he heareth them unto his honour and their everlasting salvation, and purgeth them and teacheth them things whereof the popish and all they whose hearts the god of this world hath blinded, to serve God with works, hath no feeling. And when he saith, that the emperor and that council which decreed that images for the abuse should be put out of the church, were heretics. It is much easier so to say, than so to prove. Understand therefore, that images were not yet received in the church in the time of St. Jerom, at the leastway generally, whether in some one place or no, I cannot tell. For St. Jerom rehearseth of one Epiphanius a bishop in the country of Cyprus, and that the most perfect of all the bishops of his time, how that the said Epiphanius and the bishop of Jerusalem went together to Bethel, and by the way they entered into a church for to pray, and there found a veil hanging before tive church. the door, and an image painted thereon, as it had been of Christ or some saint. For the bishop was so moved Epiphanius therewith, because saith St. Jerom, that it was contrary to the Scripture, that he cut [it,] and counselled to bury some dead therein, and sent another cloth to hang in the stead. And afterward when they were crept in a little and little, Images were not allowed in the primi cut the Image. there was no worshipping of them, at the leastway generally until the time of St. Gregory. Cirenus. A council gathered in Greece did put down Insomuch that when Cirenus the bishop of Massilia, offended with the superstitiousness of the people, burnt them, St. Gregory wrote that he should not destroy the Gregory images, but teach only that the people should not worship them. But when it it was so far come that the people worshipped them with a false faith (as we now know no other use) and were no longer memorials only, then the bishops of Greece and the emperors gathered them together, to provide a remedy against that mischief; and concluded that they should be put down for the abuse, thinking it so expedient; having for them, first, the example of God, whom a man may boldly follow, which commanded in the beginning of all his precepts, that there should be no image used to worship or pray before, not for the image itself, but for the weakness of his people and having again before their eyes, that the people were fallen unto idolatry and image-serving by the reason of them. all images. Now answer me, by what reason canst thou make an heretic of him, that concludeth nought against God, but worketh with God and putteth that block out of the way, whereat his brother, the price of Christ's blood, stumbleth and looseth his soul? They put not down the images for hate of God and of his saints, no more than Hezekiah Hezekiab. brake the brazen serpent for envy of the great miracle that was wrought by it, or in spite of God that commanded it to be kept for a memorial. people in the true faith only. Now, all without images, and to put them God's commandment, but with it; abused, to the dishonour of God and hurt of our neighbours; where is charity, if thou which knowest the truth and canst use thine image well, wilt not yet forbear thine image and suffer it to be put out of the way, for thy weak brother's sake whom thou seest perish therethrough? But to keep the seeing we may be down is not against namely, if they be Images are not to be had in churches. Morc. More. Salve Re gina. Tyndale. More. Tyndale. Matt. xii. Luke ii. The prayers of all good wo men are as well accepted of God as the prayers of our lady. Yea, and what thing maketh both the Turk and the Jew abhor our faith so much as our image-service? But the pope was then glad to find an occasion to pick a quarrel with the emperor, to get the empire into his own hands, which thing be brought to pass with the sword of France, and climbed so high that ever since he hath put his own authority instead of God's word in every general council, and hath concluded what him list, as against all God's word, and against all charity, he condemned that blessed deed of that council and emperor. MORE. They blaspheme our lady and all saints. TYNDALE. That is untrue. We honour our blessed lady and all holy saints, and follow their faith and living unto the uttermost of our power, and submit ourselves to be scholars of the same school. MORE. They may not abide Salve regina. TYNDALE. For therein is much blasphemy unto our blessed lady, because Christ is our hope and life only, and not she. And ye, in ascribing unto her that she is not, dishonour God and worship her not. MORE. They say if a woman being alive believe in God and love him as much as our lady, she may help with her prayers as much as our lady. TYNDALE. Tell, why not? Christ when it was told him that his mother and brethren sought him, answered, that his mother, his sisters, and his brethren, were all they that did his Father's will. And unto the woman that said to Christ, Blessed be the womb that bear thee, and paps that gave thee suck, Christ answered, Nay, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. As Paul saith, (1 Cor. ix.) I have nought to rejoice though I preach, for necessity lieth upon me, and woe is me if I preach not. If I do it unwillingly, an office is committed unto me, but, and if I do it with a good will, then I have a reward. So now carnal bearing of Christ, and carnal giving him suck, make not our lady great. But our blessed lady's greatness is her faith and love wherein she exceeded other. Wherefore if God gave his mercy that another woman were in those two points equal with her, why were she not like great, and her prayers as much heard? MORE. Item that men should not worship the holy More. cross. Cross. TYNDALE. With no false worship and superstitious Tyndale. faith, but as I have said, to have it in reverence for the memorial of Him that died thereon. MORE. Item, Luther hateth the feasts of the cross, More. and of Corpus Christi. TYNDALE. Not for envy of the cross, which sinned not in the death of Christ, nor of malice toward the blessed body of Christ, but for the idolatry used in those feasts. Tyndale. MORE. Item, that no man or woman is bound to keep More. any vow. Vow. TYNDALE. Lawful vows are to be kept until neces- Tyndale. sity break them. But unlawful vows are to be broken immediately. MORE. Martin appealed unto the next general coun- More. cil that should be gathered in the Holy Ghost, to seek a Martin. long delay. TYNDALE. Of a truth that were a long delay. For Tyndale. should Martin live till the pope gather a council in the Martin. Holy Ghost, or for any godly purpose, he were like to be for every hair of his head a thousand years old. Then bringeth he in the inconstancy of Martin, because he saith in his latter book, how that he seeth farther than in his first. Peradventure, he is kin to our doctors which when with preaching against pluralities they have got them three or four benefices, allege the same excuse. But yet, to say the truth, the very apostles of Christ learned not all truth in one day. For long after the Ascension they wist not that the heathen should be received unto the faith. How then could Martin (brought up in the blindness of your sect above forty years) spy out all your falsehood in one day? VOL. IIT. All falsc hood is not espied out in one day. More. Tyndale. More. Martin. Tyndale. MORE. Martin offered at Worms before the emperor and all the lords of Germany, to abide by his book and to dispute, which he might well do, sithens he had his safe conduct that he should have no bodily harm. TYNDALE. O merciful God, how foam ye out your own shame! ye cannot dispute except ye have a man in your own danger to do him bodily harm, to diet him after your fashion, to torment him and to murder him. If ye might have had him at your pleasure, ye would have disputed with him: first, with sophistry and corrupting the Scripture: then with offering him promotions: then with the sword. So that ye would have been sure, to have overcome him with one argument or other. MORE. He would agree on no judges. TYNDALE. What judges offered ye him, save blind bishops and cardinals, enemies of all truth, whose promotions and dignities they fear to be plucked from them, if the truth came to light, or such Judases as they had corrupt with money to maintain their sect? The apostles might have admitted as well the heathen bishops of idols to have been their judges, as he them. But he offered you authentic Scripture and the hearts of the whole world. Which two judges, if ye had good consciences and trust in God, ye would not have refused. THE FOURTH CHAPTER. THE fourth chapter is not the first poetry that he hath feigned. THE FIFTH CHAPTER. In the end of the fifth he untruly reporteth, that Martin saith, no man is bound to keep any vow. Lawful pro mises are to be kept, and unlawful to be broken. |