A briefe treatise of diuers plaine and sure waies to finde out the truth in this doubtfull and dangerous time of heresie Conteyning sundrie worthy motiues vnto the Catholike faith, or considerations to moue a man to beleeue the Catholikes, and not the heretikes. Set out by Richard Bristow priest, licentiat in diuinitie.

The Parlament Church.

[ XLII] VVHEREVPON you may con∣sider againe, by the sequele of most foule absurdities following there∣of, vvhat Church that is, where lawes be made to charge Peter him-selfe, if he there were liuing, to giue vp his com∣mission

receaued of Christ, and take a∣nother of the King or Queen: to ch••rge both him and all his fellowes the other Apostles of God our Sauiour, to change that true seruice of God which they had receaued, & to minister of another sort, which the King, or Queen, or Parlamēt, or law of the countrie should prescribe vnto them: to put S. Augustine to fine to the Queene one hundred Markes for saying Masse for his Mothers soule: to leese his Bishopricke, to liue and dye in prison for the same, and for calling & counting Aerius an Heretike for hold∣ing against it: and for many other points of their faith, both hee and all the other Holy Fathers, fayne to leese all, and to giue place to certaine new Maisters that had bene from hence at the Apostles, going so long a iourney without any foo∣ting in the way, and as the Philosophers spake, transeuntes de termino in terminum si∣ne medio, and from thence fetched vs a nevv Religion that they neuer knevv. Yea a Religion, that should compel their Maister and ours, Christ himselfe, God aboue all to be blessed for euer, if he had

chosen this time and our Countrey for to teach, and worke in it mans saluation, to haue held his peace and leaft his med∣ling like a Foreiner as hee was, and in no wise to haue behaued him-selfe like the Head of his owne Church, vnlesse hee would haue also saied, that he had bene the natural king of England, and dis∣placed the lawfull heires of the Kings a∣fore-time, and chaunged his talke to Pilate, when he saied: Regnum meum non est ae hoc mundo,* 1.1 my kingdome is not of this world: to haue sayed: My King∣dome is of this world, and thy Maister Cesar doth me wrong. This must hee needes haue done (I say) by our nevv mens doctrine, or not haue bin Head of his Church, because by their saying that Headship cannot be seperated from the Kingship, being (as they say) a real na∣turall, and an essentiall part thereof.

Which their own saying, themselues yet againe destroy by another saying of their own contrary to the former: whiles that they professe (as truth is) our Prince to be King of France as well as of Eng∣land and of Ireland: and yet say not,

that he is Head of the Church of France, but only of the Church of England and Ireland, as euery man doth see in the King or Queenes vsuall Style. Where∣fore if any man thinke, that Company, vvhich breedeth and nourisheth such monsters, such absurdities, to haue any resemblance of Christes Church, horrib∣ly blinded in his sight, and his vnderstā∣ding fouly darkened.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ioan. 28.