Bishop John Jewel's "Apology for the Church of Engand," a defense against the charge of schism by Papists. The vigourous defense is profuse with Scriptures as the "Sword of the Spirit" and a profound awareness of history. This is Chapter Five: "Method of Defense," 21-30.
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Regrettably, footnotes have been excluded since they are not amiable to this forum. We refer you to the original.
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The Method of Defense proposed.
Sect. 1. But the more sore and outrageous a crime heresy is, the more it ought to be proved by plain and strong arguments ; especially in this time, when men begin to give less credit to their words, and to make more diligent search of their doctrine than they were wont to do. For the people of God are otherwise instructed now than they were in times past, when all the Bishop of Rome's sayings were allowed for gospel, and when all religion did depend only upon their authority. Now-a-days, the holy Scripture is abroad, the writings of the Apostles and Prophets are in print, whereby all truth and Catholic doctrine may be proved and all heresy may be disproved and confuted.
Since then they bring forth none of these for themselves, and call us nevertheless heretics, which have neither fallen from Christ, nor from the Apostles, nor yet from the Prophets, this is an injurious and a very spiteful dealing.
Sect. 2. With this sword did Christ put off the devil, when he was tempted of him : with these weapons ought all presumption which doth advance itself against God,' to be overthrown and conquered. For " all Scripture," saith St. Paul, " is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Thus did the holy fathers always fight against the heretics with none other force than with the holy Scriptures.
St. Augustine, when he disputed against Pftilian, the Donatist heretic : " Let not these words," quoth he, "be heard between us, I say, or, You say: let us rather speak in this wise: Thus saith the Lord. There
let us seek the Church: there let us boult out the cause."'
Likewise St. Jerome : " All those things," saith he, " which without the testimony of the Scriptures are holden, as delivered from the Apostles, be thoroughly smitten down by the sword of God's word."
Augustine, or, as the name is often abbreviated, Austin, was bishop of Hippo, in Africa, in the early part of the fifth century. After a dissipated youth, he embraced the errors of the Manichees, which he renounced in his 32d year, being converted partly by the preaching of Amrrose, bishop of Milan, partly by the perusal of St. Paul's epistles. He was ordained priest in 388 or 389, and at the request of Valerius, then Bishop of Hippo, consecrated joint bishop of that diocese in 393.
His talents, and ardent disposition, rather than any extraordinary degree of learning, brought him forward prominently in the religious disputes of his day. In those with the Donatist schismatics, with his former associates the Manicheans, and with the Pelagians, he was the acknowledged champion of the Church. His zeal against the Pelagians drove him into the contrary extreme, and, his ignorance of the Greek language probably helping not a little, produced that system which, revived and set in its strongest light by Calvin, has derived its name from that reformer.
Austin is without doubt the most eminent, and perhaps the most useful of the later Latin fathers. His writings gave the tone to Luther's opinions, which afterwards led to his rejection of the entire body of Romish error.
St. Ambrose also, to Gratian the Emperor: " Let the Scripture," saith he, " be asked the question; let the Prophets be asked ; and let Christ be asked."
And had said that the same word afforded a sufficient confutation of those false pretensions. He then adds that other errors, pretending only' apostolical tradition' for their support, were irrefragably destroyed by the same ' sword of the Spirit.' The inference that he regarded pretended apostolical authority, unsupported by the Scriptures, as insufficient, remains as strong as though the reading in the text were correct. Jerome (in Latin Hieronymus) is, of all the Latin fathers, the most renowned for eloquence and learning. He was born at Stridon, a city in Pannonia, (now Hungary,) in 331. After travelling extensively, embracing a recluse life in a desert in Syria, and quitting it in consequence of persecution, he received holy orders, in Jerusalem, about the 45th year of his age, but with a stipulation on his own part, to be confined to the charge of no particular congregation. He subsequently visited Constantmople and Rome, in which last city he received the appointment of secretary to Damasus, then its bishop. At Rome he instructed several ladies of high rank in the languages and the Holy Scriptures. Fancied ill treatment from Siricius, the successor of Damasus, drove him again to Syria, where he resided in a monastery at Bethlehem, until his death in 420.
The works of Jerome are voluminous,, and diversified in their character and subjects. The best are those on Sacred literature, and his Epistles. The Latin translation of the Bible, recognized as the only authentic version by the Church of Rome, and known as the Vulgate, is his production.
Jerome's learning far surpassed both his judgment and his Christian temper. Meekness, and patience under injuries and opposition, formed a very small proportion of his character; and even his regard for truth was not always proof against the keenness of his resentment, or his thirst for victory.
Ambrose, as might be expected from the circumstances of his elevation to the episcopate, was a better moralist than theologian. His writings are full of warmth and practical devotion, but not distinguished for solidity or sound Scriptural knowledge.
For at that time made the Catholic fathers and bishops no doubt but that our religion might be proved out of the holy Scriptures. Neither were they ever so hardy as to take any for a heretic, whose error they could not evidently and apparently reprove by the self-same Scriptures. And we verily do make answer on this wise as St Paul did: " After the way which they call heresy so worship we the God of our fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" or in the Apostles' works."
Sect. 3. Wherefore if we be hereties, and they (as they would fain be called) be Catholics, why do they not as they see the fathers, which were catholic men, have always done ? Why do they not convince and master us by the divine Scriptures ? Why do they not call us again to be tried by them ? Why do they not lay before us how we have gone away from Christ, from the prophets, from the Apostles, and from the holy fathers ? Why are they afraid of it ? It is God's cause : why are they doubtful to commit it to the trial of God's word ? If we be hereties, which refer all our controversies unto the holy Scriptures, and report us to the selfsame words which we know were sealed by God himself, and in comparison of them set little by all other things, whatsoever may be devised by men; how shall we say to these folk, I pray you ? What manner of men be they; and how is it meet to call them, which fear the judgment of the holy Scriptures, that is to say, the judgment of God himself, and do prefer before them.
We deny not the learned fathers' expositions and judgments in doubtful cases of the Scriptures. We read them ourselves. We follow them. We embrace them. And, as I said before, we most humbly thank God for them. But thus we say, The same fathers' opinions and judgments, forasmuch as they are sometimes disagreeable one from another, and sometimes imply contrarieties and contradictions, therefore, alone and of themselves, without further authority and guiding of God's word, are not always sufficient warrants to change our Ikith. And thus the learned catholic fathers themselves have evermore taught us to esteem and to weigh the fathers.
Sect. 4. Men say that Sophocles, the tragic poet, when in his old days he was by his own sons accused before the judges for a doting and sottish man, as one that fondly wasted his own substance, and seemed to need a governor to see to him : to the intent he might clear himself of the fault, he came into the place of judgment, and when he had rehearsed before them his tragedy called Oedipus Colonceus, which he had written at the very time of his accusation, marvellous exactly and cunningly did ask the judges in his own behalf, whether they thought any sottish or doting man could do the like piece of work? In like manner, because these men take us to be mad, and impeach us for hereties, as men which have nothing to do, neither with Christ, nor with the Church of God ; we have judged it should be to good purpose, and not unprofitable, if we do openly and frankly set forth our faith, wherein we stand, and show all that confidence which we have in Christ Jesus, to the intent all men may see what is our judgment of every part of the Christian religion, and may resolve with themselves whether the faith which they shall see confirmed by the words of Christ, by the writings of the Apostles, by the testimonies of the catholic fathers, and by the examples of many ages, be but a certain rage of furious and mad men, and a conspiracy of hereties.
This, therefore, is our belief.
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