The co[n]futacyon of Tyndales answere made by syr Thomas More knyght lorde chau[n]cellour of Englonde

More.

Iudge here good reader whyther that Tyndale playe y^e parte of an honest man, when the power & authoryte whiche the chyrche ascrybeth vnto god and hys holy spyryte / Tyn∣dale wolde make you byleue that they do take and ascrybe it vnto them selfe.

For no man sayth that any man is aboue the worde of god / but we saye boldely that hys worde vnwryten is egall and as stronge as hys worde wryten / and that he is aswell to be byleued wythout wrytynge as wyth wrytynge / & that hym selfe and hys holy spyryte, vnderstondeth hys owne [ C] wrytynge better then all the creatures of the hole worlde. And then we say also that god by the mouth of our sauyour hath promysed that hymselfe wyth hys holy spyryte shall euer be assystent with hys ••hyrch / & that he shall alwaye in∣structe hys chyrche and lede it in to euery trouth.* 1.1 And we say that he kepeth, and ••uer hath kepte, and euer shall kepe that promyse. And therfore we say y^t he teacheth hys chyrch all trewth / I meane all trewth necessary as hym self meant for theyr saluacyon, that is to wytte all suche thynge as he wyll vppon payne of damnacyon haue them bounden to byleue. I say also that vppon thys it muste nedys folow, y^t all be it our lord doeth suffer his chyrche to erre in the know¦ledge of a ••••••te or dede done among men: yet wyll he neuer suffer yt to erre and be deceyued in the knowledge of hys

lawe, to whych he wyll haue it bounden, and in the tyme in [ A] whyche he wyll haue it bounden therto. And therfore wyll he neuer suffer hys chyrche to take, repute, & iudge a thynge for synfull and damnable, that is of trouthe good & plea∣synge to god. For then sholde he therby cause hys chyrche to leue good vertuose thynges vndone them selfe, and also to forebede it other folke as thynges vycyouse and dysplea¦saunt to god / and then were hys promyse broken, syth that the holy goost had not then tawght them the trouthe neces¦sary, but had suffred them to be ledde in to dampuable vn∣trowth.

Then saye I ferder that yt consequently foloweth also, that god shall mych lesse suffer his chyrche to take for good and pleasynge to god the thynge that is very nought and odyouse vnto god and damnable to yt selfe. For then shold [ B] his chyrche by such errour not onely leue the good vndone, but also do the euyll, and not know whych way to mende it. And of these thynges I saye y^t yt foloweth necessaryly, that though the chyrch be not aboue the scripture and holy wryt: yet yt is so taught by the spyryte of god and his holy secrete in warde worde vnwrytten, that yt can not be dampnably de¦ceyued in the vnderstandynge of his holy scrypture wryten. And theruppon yet farther foloweth, that all such as so con¦ster the scrypture that they wolde make the scrypture seme to be contrarye to the fayth of Cristes chyrch: do damnably conster yt contrary to the teachynge of god and his holy spi¦ryte. whyche by his owne promyse dothe alwaye teache his chyrche, and alwaye ledeth yt and alway shall lede yt, in to euery necessary trouth / and that vnto thende of the worlde [ C] accordynge to the wordes of our sauyour Cryste hym selfe.

Of these poyntes Tyndale denyeth vs thre. One is that any thynge is certaynly to be byleued, excepte onely the scri¦pture, and yet that muste be as Luther sayth euydent open and playne / of whych y^e cōtrary hath ben so often proued vn¦to hym, so euydent, open, and playne, that if Tyndale were not euydent, open, and playne shamelesse, his herte wold ne¦uer serue hym for very shame to speke any more of y^t poynt. The t••ther poynte is, that he denyeth the catholyke knowē chyrch to be the chyrch of Cryste, and putteth yt in question whych is the chyrch / and fynally putteth for the chyrche of Criste here militaunt in erth the onely secret vnknowē folke that are predestynate. The Thyrde is that he putteth also

[ A] in questyon, whyther the chyrche maye fall in to dampnable errour. And thereto he sayth that the chyrche of electes doth erre, but yet it doth not erre. And for asmych as these thyn∣ges be the chyefe thynges wherof hys boke treateth, lyke wyse as they that haue wyt and lernynge do all redy fynde hys handelyng of these maters full of malyce & very voyde of trewth: so I trust when we come hereafter to the places, to make ryght meane lerned folke and meane wytted to perceyue that all hys hygh inuencyon that he wolde haue seme so sothe, is in very dede a very madde mannys dreme.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Matth. 28. Iohn̄. 16