TYNDALE.] THOMAS MORE'S DIALOGUE. visions, distinctions, and sorts of grace; gratis data, gra pists may to have 23 their jug gling terms. tum faciens, preveniens, and subsequens. And with con- The pafession they juggled, and so made the people, as oft as they not forbear spake of it, understand shrift in the ear. Whereof the Scripture maketh no mention: no, it is clean against the Scripture as they use it and preach it, and unto God an abomination, and a foul stinking sacrifice unto the filthy idol Priapus. The loss of those juggling terms is the matter whereof all these bots breed, that gnaw them by the bellies and make them so unquiet. Penance was profitpapists. able to the True pen ance what it is. And in like manner, by this word penance, they make Penance. the people understand holy deeds of their enjoining, with which they must make satisfaction unto Godward for their sins. When all the Scripture preacheth that Christ hath made full satisfaction for our sins to Godward, and we must now be thankful to God again, and kill the lusts of our flesh with holy works of God's enjoining, and to take patiently all that God layeth on my back. And if I have hurt my neighbour, I am bound to shrine myself unto him and to make him amends, if I have wherewith, and if not, then to ask him forgiveness, and he is bound to forgive me. And as for their penance, the Scripture knoweth not of. The Greek hath Metanoia and Metanoite, repentance and repent, or forethinking and forethink. As we say in English It forethinketh me, or I forethink; and I repent, or It repenteth me, and I am sorry that I did it. So now the Scripture saith, Repent, or let it forethink you, and come and believe the gospel or glad tidings that is brought you in Christ, and so shall all be forgiven you, and henceforth live a new life. And it will follow if I repent in the heart that I shall do no more so, willingly, and of purpose. And if I believed the gospel, what God hath done for me in Christ, I should surely love him again, and of love prepare myself unto his commandments. These things to be even so M. More knoweth well enough. For he understandeth the Greek, and he knew them long ere I. But so blind is covetousness and drunken Faith in bringeth Balaam. desire of honour. Gifts blind the eyes of the seeing, and Deut. xvii. pervert the words of the righteous. (Deut. xvii.) When covetousness findeth vantage in serving falsehood, it riseth up into an obstinate malice against the truth, and seeketh all means to resist it and to quench it. As Balaam the false prophet, though he wist that God loved Israel, and had blessed them, and promised them great things, and that he would fulfil his promises, yet for covetousness and desire of honour, he fell into such malice against the truth of God, that he sought how to resist it and to curse the people. Which when God would not let him do, he turned himself another way and gave pestilent counsel to make the people sin against God; whereby the wrath of God fell upon them and many thousands perished. Notwithstanding God's truth abode fast and was fulfilled in the rest. And Baalam, as he was the cause that many perished, so escaped he not himself. No more did any that maliciously resisted the open truth against his own conscience, since the world began, that ever I read. For it is sin against the Holy Ghost, which Christ saith shall neither be forgiven here nor in the world to come: which text may thiswise be understood, that as that sin shall be punished with everlasting damnation in the life to come, even so shall it not escape vengeance here. As thou seest in Judas, in Pharaoh, in Balaam, and in all other tyrants which against their consciences resisted the open truth of God. The sin against the Holy Ghost. 2 Pet. ii. So now the cause why our prelates thus rage, and that moveth them to call M. More to help, is, not that they find just causes in the translation, but because they have lost their juggling and feigned terms wherewith Peter prophesied they should make merchandise of the people. TYNDALE.] THOMAS MORE'S DIALOGUE. WHETHER THE CHURCH WERE BEFORE THE 25 The church before the gospel, or the gospel before the church. Rom. ix. The word gospel, was before the which is the ANOTHER doubt there is, whether the church or congregation be before the gospel or the gospel before the church. Which question is as hard to solve, as whether the father be elder than the son, or the son elder than his father. For the whole Scripture and all believing hearts testify that we are begotten through the word. Wherefore, if the word beget the congregation, and he that begetteth is before him that is begotten, then is the gospel before the church. Paul also (Rom. ix.) saith, How shall they call on him whom they believe not? And how shall they believe without a preacher? That is, Christ must first be preached ere men can believe in him. And then it followeth, that the word of the preacher must be before the faith of the believer. And therefore, inasmuch as the word is before the faith, and faith maketh the congregation, therefore is the word or gospel before the congregation. And again, as the air is dark of itself, and receiveth all her light of the sun; even so, are all men's hearts of themselves dark with lies, and receive all their truth of God's word, in that they consent thereto. And, moreover, as the dark air giveth the sun no light, but contrariwise the light of the sun in respect of the air is of itself, and lighteneth the air, and purgeth it from darkness: even so, the lying heart of man can give the word of God no truth; but contrariwise, the truth of God's word is of herself, and lighteneth the hearts of the believers, and maketh them true, and cleanseth them from lies, as thou readest, John xv. Ye be clean by reason of the word. John xv. Which is to be understood, in that the word had purged their hearts from lies, from false opinions, and from thinking evil good, and therefore from consenting to church. ANSWER TO SIR [TYNDALE. T sin. And (John. xvii.) Sanctify them, O father, through WHETHER THE APOSTLES LEFT OUGHT UN- W tes be bo BUT did not the apostles teach ought by mouth, that they wrote not? I answer, because that many taught one thing, and every man the same in divers places, and unto divers people, and confirmed every sermon with a sundry miracle; therefore, Christ and his apostles preached an hundred thousand sermons, and did as many miracles, which had been superfluous to have been all written. But the pith and substance in general of every thing necessary unto our souls' health, both of what we ought to believe, and what we ought to do, was written; and of the miracles done to confirm it, as many as were needful. So that whatsoever we ought to believe or do, that same is written expressly, or drawn out of that which is written. For if I were bound to do or believe, under pain of the loss of my soul, any thing that were written, nor depended of that which is written, what holp me the Scripture that is written? And thereto, inasmuch as Christ and all his apostles warned us that false prophets should come with false miracles, even to deceive the elect if it were possible, wherewith should the true preacher confound the false, F S TYNDALE] THOMAS MORE'S DIALOGUE. except he brought true miracles to confound the false, or else authentic Scripture of full authority already among the people? Some man would ask, How did God continue his congregation from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to Abraham, and so to Moses, without writing, but with teaching from mouth to mouth? I answer, first, that there was no Scripture all the while, they shall prove, when our God taught Adam greater things than to write. And that there was writing in the world long ere Abraham, yea, and ere Noah, do stories testify. lady hath a new son. Notwithstanding, though there had been no writing, the preachers were even prophets glorious in doing of miracles, wherewith they confirmed their preaching. And beyond that, God wrote his Testament unto them alway, both what to do, and to believe, even in the Sacraments. For the sacrifices which God gave Adam's sons, were no dumb popery or superstitious Mahometry, but signs of the Testament of God. And in them they read the word of God, as we do in books, and as we should do in our Sacraments, if the wicked pope had not taken the significations away from us, as he hath robbed us of the true sense of all the Scripture. The testament which God made with Noah, that he would no more drown the world with water, he wrote in the Sacrament of the rainbow. And the appointment made between him and Abraham, he wrote in the sacrament of circumcision. And therefore, said Stephen (Acts vii.) He gave them the testament of circumcision. Not that the outward circumcision was the whole testament, but the sacrament or sign there. For circumcision preached God's word unto them, as I have in other places declared. But in the time of Moses, when the congregation was increased, that they must have many preachers, and also rulers temporal, then all was received in Scripture, insomuch, that Christ and his apostles might not have been 2* Writing from the beginning. hath been God from the beginning hath written his will in the hearts of his elect. The pope hath taken significa from us the tions of the Sacraments Acts vii. |