been, and is still, mere diabolical actions and institutions, (excepting that which concerns political government, in which God, even through a tyrant and a knave, permits much good to be effected for a people,) to the perdition of the holy, universal, Christian church, (so far as it depended on him,) and to the destruction of the first chief article concerning the redemption secured by Jesus Christ.

For all his bulls and books are extant, in which he roars like a lion, (as the angel, Rev. 12, describes,) exclaiming that no Christian can be saved, unless he be obedient and subject to the pope in all things that he wishes, says, or does. All of which is nothing else but asserting, that if even you believe in Christ, and are in possession of all things in him that are essential to salvation, it avails nothing, and all is vain, if you do not hold me as your god, and are not subject and obedient to me. When at the same time it is evident, that the holy Christian church was without a pope, at least upwards of five hundred years; and even to this day the Greek church and those of many other languages, have never been, and are not now, under the pope. Consequently it is, as has been frequently said, a human device, unadvised, useless, and ineffectual; for the holy Christian church can exist without such head, and it might have existed in better circumstances, if such head had not been reared up by the devil. Nor is popery of any use in the church; for it exercises no Christian office, and thus the Christian church must continue and stand without the pope.

And I will suppose, that the pope would admit that he is not supreme jure divino, or according to the command of God, but in order that the union of Christians might be the more effectually preserved against sectarians and heretics, there should be a head to which all the others adhere. Such head then would be elected by men, and it would lie within human choice and power, to change or to remove that head. The council at Constance adopted nearly this same method with the popes, removing three, and electing the fourth. I would suppose then, I say, that the pope and the see at Rome, would admit and accept this, which however is impossible; for he would be compelled to permit his whole government and ecclesiastical establishment to be subverted and destroyed, with all his rites and books. In short, he cannot do it. Even then the condition of Christianity would not be amended by it, and there would be more sectarians than before.

If then, we are not compelled according to the command of God to be subject to such head, but only according to the good will of men, it would readily and in a short time be rejected, and finally not retain a single member. It would likewise not have to be

always at Rome, or at any other particular place, but where and in whatever church God would give a man who might be qualified for this purpose. This indeed would constitute an unlimited, perplexed, and confused state of affairs!

Therefore, the church can never be better governed and pres served, than by us all living under one head,—Christ,—the bishops be ing all equal with respect to their office, though unequal with respect to their endowments, and diligently adhering together in conformity of doctrine, faith, sacraments, prayer, and works of love, &c., as St. Jerome writes, that the priests at Alexandria ruled the church in one collective body; and so did the Apostles, and all bishops in the whole circle of Christianity, until the pope elevated his head above all.

This fact proves forcibly that he is opposed to Christ, or is the true Antichrist, who has set himself against, and elevated himself above Christ, since he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power; nothing of which, however, is either ordered or commanded of God. This may with propriety be termed setting ones self above and against God, as Paul, 2 Thess. 2, 4, says. Neither the Turk nor the Tartar act in this way, as atrocious enemies as they are to Christians; but they allow those to believe in Christ who wish to do so, and they accept tribute and corporeal obedience from Christians.

But the pope prohibits this faith, and says that men must be obedient to him, if they wish to be saved. This we are unwilling to do, but will rather die on account of it, in the name of God. All this has resulted from the compulsion of calling him the supreme ruler, (jure divino,) over the Christian church.. Therefore, he had to set himself equal with Christ, and above him, declaring himself the head, afterwards lord of the church, finally of the whole world; boasting himself purely a terrestrial god, till he even undertook to command the angels in heaven. And when a line of distinction is drawn between the doctrine of the pope, and that of the holy Scripture, or when they are held in comparison, it will appear that the pope's doctrine, even in its best features, is taken from imperial, pagan rights; and it teaches political affairs and jurisdiction, as his decretals prove. Accordingly, it teaches ceremonies concerning churches, vestments, meats, persons, and puerile plays of visors and foolish works without measure; but in all this there is nothing about Christ, faith, and the commandments of God.

Finally, it is nothing but the devil himself, when the pope in opposition to God, urges and disseminates his falsehoods concerning

masses, purgatory, monastic life, self-devised works, and services to God,-which constitute true popery, and tortures and puts to death all Christians, who will not regard and honor this abomination of his above all things. Therefore, as little as we can adore the devil as a lord or God, so little can we tolerate his apostle, the pope or antichrist, in his kingdom as head and lord. For falsehood and murder, a destruction of body and soul eternally, is his papal government chiefly,—this I have shown in many of my books.

In these four articles they will have enough to condemn at the council; for they cannot and will not concede to us the least member of a single one of these articles. For this we must be prepared, and animate ourselves with the hope that Christ our Lord has assailed his adversaries, and will pursue them with his Spirit and with his judgment. Amen.

For at the council we shall not, as at Augsburg, stand before the Emperor, or temporal authority, who published a very gracious summons, and permitted matters to be investigated in kindness; but we shall stand before the pope and the devil himself, who does not intend to listen, but merely to condemn, to murder, and force us into idolatry. Therefore we dare not here kiss his feet, or say: You are my gracious lord; but as the angel in Zechariah, Zech. 3, 2, said: God rebuke thee, Satan.

PART III.

CONCERNING THE FOLLOWING POINTS OR ARTICLES, WE MAY TREAT WITH LEARNED, SENSIBLE MEN, OR AMONG OURSELVES. THE POPE AND HIS KINGDOM DO NOT CONCERN THEMSELVES MUCH ABOUT THEM. FOR WITH THEM CONSCIENCE IS A TRIFLING MATTER. BUT THE THINGS WHICH THEY ESTEEM ARE GOLD, HONOR, AND POWER.

I. OF SIN.

Here we must confess, as Paul says, Rom. 5, 12, that sin entered by one man, Adam, by whose disobedience all persons became sinners, subject to death and the devil. This is called he reditary, or original sin..

The fruits of this sin are the following evil deeds, forbidden in the decalogue; as, unbelief, false faith, idolatry, want of fear to God, arrogance, desperation, blindness; and in short, ignorance and disesteem of God; finally, falsehood, swearing by the name of God, indevotion, irreverence, disrespect for the word of God,

disobedience to parents, murder, incontinence, theft, fraud, &c. This hereditary sin is a corruption of nature so deep and evil, that it cannot be understood by the reason of any man, but it must be be lieved from the revelation of Scripture, Psalm 51, 7, Rom. 5, 12, Exod. 33, 3, Gen. 3, 7. Therefore, the dogmas of the Schoolmen, are mere errors and blindness contrary to this article, in which it is taught :

"That after the fall of Adam, the natural powers of man remained whole and uncorrupted, and man by nature has right reason and a good will, as philosophy teaches.

"And that man has freedom of will to do good, and to omit evil, and on the contrary, to omit good, and to do evil.

Again, that man by his own natural powers, is able to observe and do all the commandments of God.

"And, that he is able by his own natural powers, to love God above all things, and his neighbor as himself.

"Again, if a person does as much as lies in his power, God will certainly grant him his grace.

"And if he wishes to approach the Eucharist, it is not necessary for him to have a good intention to do good, but it is sufficient for him not to have a bad intention to commit sin; so entirely good is nature, and so efficacious is the sacrament.

"Again, it is not founded in the Scripture, that the Holy Ghost with his grace, is necessarily required to a good work."

These and many other similar points, have originated from a misapprehension and ignorance both of sin and of Christ, our Savior, and they are real pagan doctrines, which we cannot tolerate. For if this doctrine should be right, Christ died in vain, since there is no injury or sin in man, for which he should die; or he would have died only for the body, and not also for the soul, since the soul is sound, and death is pernicious only to the body.

IL OF THE LAW.

-Here we maintain that the law was given of God, first that sin might be prohibited by the menaces and terrors of punishment, and by the promises and annunciations of favors and beneficence. But all this on account of malice, which works sin in man, proved ineffectual. For some became worse on account of it, namely, those who were enemies to the law, because it forbids that which they freely do, and commands that which they do not freely perform. Where fore, unless restrained by punishment, they do more now against the law than before. Those then are the rude, wicked peo

ple, who commit evil, wherever occasion and opportunity pers mit.

Others become blind and arrogant, imagining that they observe, and are able to keep the law by their own powers, as said above in the quotation from the Schoolmen. Hence originate hypocrites and false saints.

But the principal office or energy of the law is, to reveal original sin with all its fruits, and to show unto man how entirely and deeply his nature has fallen, and how utterly and totally depraved it is; so that the law must say, that he has no God, nor regards him, adoring other gods,-things which he would not before, and without the law, have believed. On account of this, he is alarmed and humbled; he despairs and desponds; he anxiously desires help, and knows not from what source; he begins to become at enmity with God, and to murmur. Then, it may be said, the law worketh wrath, Rom. 4, 15; sins become greater through the law, Rom. 5, 13, 20.

III. OF REPENTANCE.

This office of the law the New Testament retains, and enforces, as Paul does, Rom. 1, 18, saying: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Again, chap. 3, verses 19 and 20: "That all the world may become guilty before God." And Christ, John 16, 9, says: "The Holy Ghost will reprove the world of sin."

This is, then, the thunder-bolt of God by which he prostrates both open sinners and pretended saints, and pronounces none of them just, but drives all of them into fear and desperation. This is the hammer, as Jeremiah, Jer. 23, 29, says: "Is not my word like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces." This is not activa contritio, an affected contrition, but passiva contritio, true sorrow of the heart, a passion and feeling of death.

And this is then a commencement of true repentance; and here man must hear such sentence: Your claims are nothing, whether you be notorious sinners, or saints in your opinion; you must all become otherwise and act otherwise than you now are and act, no matter who and how great, how wise, how powerful, and holy you may be, here no one is pious.

But to this office the New Testament instantly subjoins the consolatory promises of grace through the Gospel, which we should believe, as Christ, Mark 1, 15, says: "Repent ye, and believe the Gospel;" that is, become and act otherwise, and believe my promises. And before Christ, John was called a preacher of repentance,