The orthodox faith and vvay to the Church explaned and iustified in answer to a popish treatise, entituled, White died blacke; wherein T.W. p. in his triple accusation of D. White for impostures, vntruths, and absurd illations, is proued a trifler: and the present controuersies betweene vs and the Romanists are more fully deliuered and cleared. By Francis White Bachelour in Diuinitie, and elder brother of Doctor Iohn White.

Paragr. 10. Maister White challenged for abusing the Rhemists, concerning the authoritie of the Church.

T. W. Our fraudulent Doctor laboureth much to induce his credulous Readers to beleeue, that we hold, that the church can at her pleasure make that Scripture which is not, and vn∣make that which once is Scripture.

Answ. You are a traueller, and comming out of the Ile of Candie, Tit. 1.12. cannot proceede in your enten∣ded voyage of defacing your Aduersarie, vnlesse falshood be your foundation.

Doctor White laboureth neither much nor little, to induce his Reader to beleeue that you teach, the Church can at her pleasure make or vnmake Scripture: but his words areg; The Papists haue a principle among them, that the Scriptures receiue all their authoritie from the Church, meaning thereby, they are not knowne to be true, neither are Christians bound to receiue them without the attestation of the Church.

At this you quarrell, saying:

T.W. He curtaileth their sentence, concealing such their words as do limit the Churches authority therein. And where∣in they doe acknowledge an infallible truth of the Scripture, before any approbation of the Church.

Answ. The question was onely concerning the exter∣nall authority of the Scriptures, and not about their se∣cret

and intrinsecal verity, and therefore my Brother was to produce so much as concerned this question, and not the r••st, being impertinent vnto the matter in hand.

T. W. The Rhemists onely say, that the truth of the Scrip∣tures cannot be made knowne vnto vs, without the attestati∣on of the Church, and this is all which Maister White can collect from this testimonie, which we willingly grant.

Answ. You do not onely teach that the Scriptures must be made knowne vnto vs, by the attestation of the Church, (which being rightly expounded we freely acknow∣ledge:) but you affirmeh, that people are not bound either at the first to receiue thē as diuine, or afterwards to reue∣rence and beleeue them as the word of God, but for the attestation of the Church.

The Prophets themselues (saith Stapletoni) being now taken away, we are not to beleeue their prophesies left vnto vs in writing to be of God, vnlesse the Church doe confirme it.

Where first of all by the Church, you vnderstand the present Romane Churchk.

Secondly, by attestation of the Church, you meane that the same, as an immediate diuine witnesl, by it owne testimony, without any proofe taken from the Scriptures themselues or primitiue Church, imparteth and confer∣reth externall authority to the Scripture, and makes the same Canonicall in respect of men.

For example: euen as the two Gospels of Mark & Luke, although they were endited by diuine inspiration, and thereupon in themselues were alwaies diuine, in actu pri∣mo, 2. Tim. 3.16. yet they became not Canonicall, and

of sacred authority, in actu secundo, vntill the Apostles had approued and giuen testimony vnto themm: The same kind of authorisingn and attestation concerning all the Scriptures, doe the Papists giue to thei•• present Pope and Romane Church.

And yet further then this, you also hold that the Church, to wit, the Romane Pope, affirming and teach∣ing that God is one in essence, and three in person, and that Christ is God and man, or any other article of faith, is simply to bee beleeued, for himselfe, and not because he demonstrates these Articles from the holy Scrip∣tureo.

And euen as the faithfull in the daies of the Apostles, beleeued the doctrine they preached and wrote, for their owne authoritie meerly, and as they were the witnesses of Christ; euen so God hath made the Pope an authentical witnesse of diuine truthp, whom all persons must beleeue, because of his owne word. And euen as the Romanes and other Churches beleeued Paul, teaching them, that Christ maketh intercession at the right hand of God, and whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne, &c. although he pro∣duced no former Scripture to confirme the same: euen so the faithfull in our daies, must with the same assurance of faith, beleeue the Pope and Trent Councell, teaching, Purgatorie, transubstantiation, adoration of Images, or any other such like doctrine. And thus your Churches attestation in pretext of words, importeth no danger but in reality, is like a Snake in a faire medow, and as insensi∣ble poison in a potion, a most pernitious doctrine: the summe whereof is; that with the same assurance of faith, one beleeueth the Creation of the world, and Resurrecti∣on of the dead, because of the authority of the scriptures;

euen so with like assurance for the testimony of the Pope, and second Nicene Councell, hee is to be∣leeue the adoration of Images, or any other mat∣ter the Pope shall define, if it be neuer so absurd and wicked.

Notes

• g

  Digress. 19.
• h

  Bellar de Sa∣crā l. 2. c. 25. To∣•••• fides Christia¦na, & omnium dogmatum fi••∣micas, pendet ab authoritate prae••entis eccle∣siae.
• Espenc. com. 2. Tim. 3. Gre∣mium mater∣num prima fuit schola sacrarum literarum.
• i

  Stapl. def. Eccl. auth. cont. Whi∣taker. l. 1. c 1••. § 12.
• k

  Bellar. de Sa∣cram l. ••. c. 25.
• l

  Gres. def. Bel∣lar. de verb. Dei, tract. de agnosc. Script. Can. Te∣stificatio eccle∣siae est immedi∣ate à Christo. Stapl. dupl. l. 1. c. 9. §. 13. Deus per ecclesiam loquens, non aliter loquitur quam si immediate per visiones, aut somnia, aut quouis alio supernaturali modo nobis loqueretur. Stapl. prompt. Cath. p. ••. in die Ascens. Princip. doctrin. l. 8. c. 8. & 10.
• m

  Euseb. hist. l 2. c. 15. Hieron. catal. script. in Marco.
• n

  Stapl. def. auth eccles. contra Whitak. l 1. c. 4. Apostolorum successores, ean∣dem testificandi potestatem ha∣bere, Scriptura docet. Gret def. Bellar. de verbo Dei, l. 3. c. 2. Quemad∣modum si quis viuente Paulo, &c.
• o

  Stapl Rel. c 4. q. 1. ar. 1. Neque ecclesiae propter verbum Dei creditur, &c. Ib. Ecclesiae Dei absolute & sim∣pliciter non sub conditione cre∣dimus. Stapl. prompt. Cath. p. 2. in die Ascensi∣onis, pag. 60. & p. 1. Dom. 6. post Pascha.
• p

  Tom. 4 Con∣cil. Surij. Papae authoritas Petro non minor. Horant. loc. Ca∣thol. l 2. c. 7. Ta∣lis est persuasio ecclesiae quae rationes non requitit, &c.