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.

Parag. 2. Bellarmine concerning ignorance, and implicite faith.

T. W. Maister White alledgeth Bellarmineh 1.1, saying; Faith is better defined by ignorance, then by knowledge; to proue, that among vs the lay people are not bound to know what the matters of faith be. But Bellarmine speaketh of such knowledge as proceedeth from the demonstrable euidence of the thing known, and is incompatible with faith; and not of Christian vnderstanding, going with faith, and proceeding from diuine reuelation▪ for shame Maister White forbeare to seduce any longer the ignorant, &c. making them beleeue, that Bellarmine doth support a supine, and affected ignorance of the articles of faith.

Answ. 1. Bellarmine in the Chapter whence these words are taken, disputeth against Caluini 1.2, and exclu∣deth from faith such knowledge as he affirmed to be ne∣cessarie thereunto. But the knowledge which Caluin re∣quired vnto Faith, was not the knowledge of demon∣stration, such as the Manichees would haue;* 1.3 but onely the knowledge of reuelation, that is, the conceiuing by vnderstanding, the obiect beleeued, as the same is pro∣pounded in the Scripture.

2. Bellarmine giues instance in children, women, ru∣rall

and vnlettered persons, who (saith hek 1.4) are numbred among the faithfull, and beleeue the articles of the Trini∣tie and other points of Faith, although they scarce con∣ceiue any thing in their minds besides the sound of the words. Hence it followeth, that Bellarmine excludeth from faith as a thing generally necessarie thereunto, all distinct knowledge of the matters beleeued: and then saying in the conclusion of the Chapter: That Faith is better defined by ignorance then by knowledge, he can meane no otherwise, but that grosse ignorance in diuers persons may stand with faith; and by the word noticia, he vnderstandeth both the science of demonstration which the Manicheesl 1.5 required in faith, and also the knowledge of reuelation which Caluin requires.

Notes

• h 1.1

  Bellarm. de iustif. l. 1. c. 7.
• i 1.2

  Nunc aduersus Caluinum, &c.
• * 1.3

  Bonauen. 3. d. 24 exposit. textus.
• k 1.4

  Bellar. de in∣stif l. 1. c 7. Cum maxima a pars fi¦delium vel prop¦ter aetatem pue∣rilē, vel propter serum mulie∣brem, &c Vide Stapl. Rel. c. 5. q. 3. ar. 4. ad. 8. Espenc. com. 2. Pim. 3. De∣cantata hodie per Catholicos Carbonarij fi∣des, qui quic∣quid crederet interrogatus, responderit, cre∣dere se quod credit ecclesia, & ecclesiam itidem credere, quod ipse crederet.
• l 1.5

  Aug. de vtil. cred ca. 1. Greg Val. to. 3. d. 1. qu. 2. p. 2. Manichaei contendebant, nihil esse amplius credendum, quam quod possit euidenti ratione demonstrari.