MORE. THE SECOND CHAPTER. A friar's living that hath married a nun, maketh it easy to know that his doctrine is not good. TYNDALE. The profession of either other is plain idolatry, and deceiving of a man's soul and robbing him of his good, and taken upon them ignorantly thereto. Wherefore when they be come unto the knowledge of the truth, they ought no longer therein to abide; but the pope's forbidding matrimony; and to eat of meats created of God for man's use, which is devilish doctrine by Paul's prophecy; his giving licence to hold whores; his continual occupying of princes in shedding of christian blood; his robbing of the poor throughout Christendom of all that was given to maintain them; his setting up in Rome a stews, not of women only, but of the male kind against nature, and a thousand abominations too gross for a Turk, are tokens good enough that he is the right antichrist and his doctrine sprung of the devil. MORE. In penance Martin saith there needeth no contrition nor satisfaction. TYNDALE. Call it repentance and then it is contrition of itself. And as for mends-making with worldly things, that do to thy brother whom thou hast offended, and unto God offer the repentance of thine heart, and the satisfaction of Christ's blood. MORE. Tyndale saith that the confessor uttereth the confessions of them that be rich. But yet we see that both rich and poor keep whores openly without paying penny. TYNDALE. If they be very rich they be suffered because they may be good defenders of the spiritualty, and if they be very poor, because they have no money to pay, or else they find with one or other secretly. MORE. Upon that lie Tyndale buildeth the destruction of the sacrament of penance. TYNDALE. Sacrament is a sign signifying what I should do, or believe, or both. As baptism is the sign of repentance, signifying that I must repent of evil, and believe to be saved therefrom by the blood of Christ. Now, sir, in your penance describe us which is the sign and the outward sacrament, and what is the thing that I must do or believe, and then we will ensearch whether it may be a sacrament or no. Allsacra ments teach us what to do, or what to believe. MORE. Tyndale saith that confession is the worst in- More... vention that ever was. TYNDALE. As ye fashion it, mean I, and of that filthy Priapish confession which ye spew in the ear, wherewith ye exclude the forgiveness that is in Christ's blood for all that repent and believe therein; and make the people be lieve that their sins be never forgiven until they be shriven unto the priest, and then for no other cause save that they have there told them, and for the holy deeds to come, which the confessor hath enjoined them, more profitable oftimes for himself than any man else. Tyndale. Ear confession destroyeth the benefit of Christ's blood. MORE. Never man had grace to spy that before Tyn- More. dale. TYNDALE. Yes, very many. For many nations never Tyndale. received it. And the Greeks when they had proved it, and saw the bawdery that followed of it, put it down again. For which cause and to know all secrets, and to lead the consciences captive, the pope falsely maintaineth it. MORE. What fruit would then come of penance? More. ance. TYNDALE. Of your juggling term penance I cannot Tyndale. affirm. But of repentance would come this fruit, that no Repentman that had it should sin willingly, but every man should continually fight against his flesh. MORE. He teacheth that the sacrament hath no virtue More. at all, but by faith only. TYNDALE. The faith of a repenting soul in Christ's Tyndale. blood doth justify only. And the sacrament standeth in Sacrament. as good stead as a lively preacher. And as the preacher justifieth me not, but my faith in the doctrine: even so More. Faith. Tyndale. the sign justifieth not, but the faith in the promise which the sacrament signifieth and preacheth. And to preach is all the virtue of the sacrament. And where the sacraments preach not, there they have no virtue at all. And, sir, we teach not as ye do, to believe in the sacrament or in holy church, but to believe the sacrament and holy church. MORE. He teacheth that faith sufficeth unto salvation without good works. TYNDALE. The Scripture saith, that as soon as a man repenteth of evil, and believeth in Christ's blood, he obtaineth mercy immediately; because he should love God, and of that love do good works, and that he tarrieth not in sin still till he have done good works, and then is first forgiven for his works' sake, as the pope beareth his in The papists hand, excluding the virtue of Christ's blood. For a man must be first reconciled unto God by Christ and in God's favour, ere his works can be good and pleasant in the sight of God. But we say not as some damnably lie on us, that we should do evil to be justified by faith, as thou mayest see Rom. iii. how they said of the apostles for like preaching. are slander ers of the gospel. More. Works. More. Tyndale. We can do no good work except we believe that MORE. He calleth it sacrilege to please God with good works. TYNDALE. To refer the work unto the person of God to buy out thy sin therewith, is to make an idol of God or a creature. But if thou refer thy work unto thy neighbour's profit or taming of thine own flesh, then thou pleasest God therewith. MORE. Item that a man can do no good work. TYNDALE. It is false. But he saith a man can do no good work till he believe that his sins be forgiven him in Christ, and till he love God's law, and have obtained grace to work with. And then, saith he, that we cannot do our works so perfectly, by the reason of our corrupt flesh, forgiven in but that there is some imperfectness therein, as in the works of them that be not their crafts-master. Which is our sins are Christ. yet not reckoned, because they do their good wills, and be scholars and go to school to learn to do better. MORE. Item, that the good and righteous man sinneth More. alway in doing well. Sin. TYNDALE. In all his works there lacketh somewhat, Tyndale. and is a fault, until he do them with as great love unto his neighbour as Christ did for him, and as long as there is more resistance in his flesh than was in Christ's, or less hope in God; and then no longer. MORE. Item, that no sin damneth a man save unbe- More. lief. Unbelief. TYNDALE. Whatsoever a man hath done, if he repent Tyndale. and believe in Christ, it is forgiven him. And so it followeth, that no sin damneth save there where there is no belief. Free will. MORE. Item, that we have no free will to do aught More. therewith, though the grace of God be joined thereto, and that God doth all in us both good and bad, and we do but suffer as wax doth of the workman. TYNDALE. First, where he affirmeth that we say, our Tyndale. will is not free to do good and to help to compel the members, when God hath given us grace to love his laws, is false. But we say that we have no freewill to captivate our wits and understanding for to believe the pope in whatsoever he saith without reason giving, when we find in the Scripture contrary testimony, and see in him so great falsehood and deeds so abominable, and thereto all the signs by which the Scripture teacheth us to know antichrist. freewill to prevent grace and prepare And we affirm that we have no freewill to prevent God We have no and his grace, and before grace prepare ourselves thereto, neither can we consent unto God before grace be come. For until God hath prevented us, and poured the spirit of ourselves. his grace into our souls, to love his laws, and hath graven them in our hearts by the outward ministration of his true preacher and inward working of his Spirit, or by inspiration only, we know not God as he is to be known, nor feel Matt. xii. John v. 1 Cor. vi. The hearing of God's word causeth repent ance. John xix. There can be no repentance but God doth first work in us by his grace. More. Tyndale. All power that we have to good or evil is of God; but the goodness or any sweetness in his law. How then can we consent thereto? Saith not the text, that we can do no good while we be evil, and they which seek glory and to climb in honour above their brethren, cannot believe the truth, and that whores, thieves, murderers, extortioners, and such like, have no part in the kingdom of God and Christ, nor any feeling thereof? And who shall take those diseases from them? God only, through his mercy, for they cannot put off that complexion of themselves, until they be taught to believe, and to feel, that it is damnable, and to consent unto the contrary living. And unto the second part I answer, that in respect of God we do but suffer only, and receive power to do all our deeds whether we do good or bad; as Christ answered Pilate, that he could have no power against him except it were given him from above, and no more could Judas neither. But in respect of the thing wherein or wherewith we work and shed out again the power that we have received, we work actually. As the axe doth nothing in respect of the hand that heweth, save receive; but in respect of the tree that is cut, it worketh actually, and poureth out again the power that it hath received. MORE. Item, that God is author of good and evil, as well of the evil will of Judas in betraying Christ, as of the good will of Christ in suffering his passion. TYNDALE. The power wherewith we do good and evil is of God, and the will is of God. As the power which the murderer abuseth, and wherewith he killeth a man unrighteously, is of God, and the will wherewith he willeth it. But the wickedness of his will, and crookedness or the crooked frowardness wherewith he slayeth unrighteously, to avenge and naughhimself, and to satisfy his own lusts, and the cause why he knoweth not the law of God and consenteth not to it, which law should have informed his will, and corrected the crookedness thereof, and have taught him to use his will and his power right, is his blindness' fault only, and not God's. Which blindness the devil hath poisoned him with. ty usage of the same is of our own cankered and corrupt nature. |