The.vii. chapyter

BUt nowe to retorne to the poynt whych thys precher wold couertly colour in hys sayde wordes, & wolde make it seme that thapostles and euangelystes had wryten all thynges that god byndeth vs to bylyefe, where he sayth, But good lorde yf yt hadde not ben wryten by theuangelistes in those dayes, how sholde we do in these dayes the whyche brynge forthe the scrypture for theym in dede / and yet they wylt bere them in hand yt is no scrypture and yf yt hadde not ben wryten in bokes then▪

These wordes seme to be myswriten, eyther in the pryncypall booke or in the copye.

For I thynke it wold be, yf it hadde not bene wryten by the euangelystes in those dayes, how sholde we do in these dayes, in whyche we brynge forth the scrypture for vs in dede, and yet they beare vs in ha[…]de that it is no scrypture. How be it how so euer hys wordes were in dede / he meneth by them (as ye se) to shew y• there was a necessyte wherfore god caused all necessary thinges to be put in writyng. But vnto that poynte as I haue all redy made answere vnto Tyndale in the confutacyon / all the thynges that the chyrche techeth for necessare, and saye they were goddes wordes, all those I mene whyche these heretykes saye be not specyfyed in scrypture, and that therfore they be not goddes wordes nor any necessary treuthes, but false inuencyōs of Sathan (as Tindale sayth) & dāpnable dremys of men (as Barns sayeth) this precher yet can not denye, but kepte haue such thynges ben in remēbraunce and obserued this thousand yere, ye twelue or thyrtene hundred amonge chrysten people, ye & as longe as the gospels of Cryste hath bene wryten, & happely somewhat before to, as may be gathered of olde auncyent wrytynges.

How be it though it were somwhat lesse shall lytle force for the mater. For if they may abyde by any meane in remē braunce a thousande yere / by the selfe same meanes maye they abyde in remembraunce another thousande to. Than sych these folkes saye that these thynges beyng so longe preserued and kepte in remē braunce, be out of the scrypture: now wolde I wytte of thys preacher, whyther they haue bene so […]onge kepte and preserued by god, or by man, or by the deuyll. If he saye by god / than be they of likelyhed good thynges, & not falsedes but treuthes. And yf he saye that they be false, and that yet god hath kepte them / than foloweth it at the leste that he could haue kept them as well all thys longe whyle though they had bene […]rewe, and that wythout the scrypture, as he hath kepte theym hytherto.

And thereof foloweth it also that he hadde no necessyte to cause […]uery necessary trouth that he wolde haue kepte in remembraunce to be putte in y• scrypture, as thys precher wol[…]e haue it seme.

But now yf thys preacher wyll saye on the tother syde, that these thynges haue not ben preserued by god among chrysten people / but be false thynges, and haue all thys longe whyle bene kept eyther by man or deuyll: yet syth god is as strong & as mighty as man and deuyll bothe, it foloweth ye se well that the thyng whych they haue done in kepynge of false thynges, god coulde as well do in the kepynge of trewe thynges, & neded to the kepyng no more scrypture then they.

And thus good readers euery way ye se that this reason of thys precher▪ whyche Tyndale layed agaynste me before hym, y• god dyd cause all necessary thynges to be wryten in scrypture, bycause that els they coulde not haue contynued in remembraūce / thys reason I saye ye se can not holde. For those thynges haue contynued as longe in remembraunce, whych thynges theym selfe saye be not in the scrypture.

For where this precher protesteth the necessyte of y• puttynge of all thynge in scrypture, wyth a fygure of apostrophe and turnynge his tale to god / cryenge oute, O good lorde, yf yt had not ben writen by the euā gelystes in those dayes, howe sholde we do in these dayes, the whych bryng forth the scripture for thē in dede / & yet they wil bere them in hand that yt is no scrypture.

These wordes lo proue playnely for my parte, that there is as great suerty in the worde of god vnwryten and taught vnto the chyrch by the spyryt without the scrypture, as in his word wryten in the scrypture. For who so byleue the chyrch, wyll graunt both / & who so byleue not y• chirch, wyll deny both, as this preacher here sayth hym selfe. For he knoweth not whych is the scrypture but by the chyrche And therfore where he saith y• men now a days yf we lay thē forth y• scrypture in dede, they wyll bere them in hande yt is no scrip[…]ure / veryly yf yt hap (as yt happeth often) that the preachers of these new sectes do lay forth for them very scripture in dede, whyche scrypture maketh not for theym in dede, but som fals gloses that they geue the scrypture in dede / there wyll the trewe catholyque preachers say, that they abuse the scrypture in dede. But they wyl neuer say that the scrypture whych they brought forth, is no scripture in dede. For y• way doth none vse but these heretikes onely / nor they can not all saye that there is any lefe or lyne, tha[…] euer them self haue taken for scrypture hytherto, but the catholyque chyrche of whome they lerned yt dothe afferme the same. But on the tother syde there are some partes of scrypture, whyche the whole catholyque chyrche affermeth for scrypture / whyche partes yet these heretyques afferme for none. As for ensample the selfe same pystle of saynt Iames, which this precher made that sermon vppon / whyche pystle frere Luther and frere Barns both, lette not boldely to deny for scrypture, bycause in many places yt destroyeth theyr heresyes. And yet is there neuer an heretyque of them for all that, but where yt may serue to seme to proue hys purpose, there wyll he brynge yt forth for saynt Iames owne, and fynd no faute therwyth.

And thus good crysten readers here haue I somewhat shewed you howe lytle cause the brethern haue to bost that pyece of that sermon, and say that it hath well defēded Tindales sayde chapiter, and clerely cōfoded meū in that part of my con[…]utacyon. And thys haue I shewed you somwhat the more at length, because yt toucheth a poynte that is eyther for the maynteynynge or cōfoūdyng of many great he resyes a very specyall kay.