man's hands, according unto the prophet's saying, Hea- Isa. lxxvi. ven is my seat, and the earth is my footstool. What 2 Kings vii. house will you build for me? saith the Lord; which is the place of my rest? did not my hands make all these things? The Pope and his adherents say, that he dwelleth in this place and that place; the friars say, We have him, you must buy him of us; the monks say, He is with us, be good to our monastery, and ye shall be sure to have him and so run the silly fools from Herod to Pilate. But they find not Christ, for he dwelleth in no place, but in the heart of a faithful man, which is the very temple of God. 77. Christ's apostle Paul saith, We ought not to think that God is like gold, silver, carved stones, or any such thing as man imagineth. 1 Cor. iii. Acts xvii. The Pope and his adherents say, that he is like a Exod. xx. stock and a stone, and causeth men to make images of him, though God commanded contrary, saying, Thou shalt make no graven image, neither any manner of similitude of those things which are in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, neither of those things which are in the water, or under the earth, neither shalt thou honour or worship them. Good Christian, beware of these idols, as St. John counselleth thee. Truly I think John v. it be one of the greatest causes of this excæcation which God hath sent into the world for sin. 78. Christ said unto Peter, Thou art Simon the son John i. of Jonah, thou shalt be called Cephas, which, if it be interpreted, signifieth a stone: as St. John saith in his gospel. The Pope saith, that Cephas signifieth the head, Dist. xxii. ca. Sacrosancta; and of that gathereth he to be head of all the bishops. Here doth he plainly contrary to gospel, which expoundeth Cephas to be a stone. What impudency is this! I think he would say also, that an ass were a man, if he thought to get any advantage through it. Matt. x. There are infinite other things wherein he contrarieth Christ, inasmuch that, if it be diligently examined, I think there is no word that Christ spake, but the other hath taught or made a law against it. Howbeit, for to avoid tediousness, we shall leave them unto your own judgment, for they are soon searched out and espied. Judge, Christian Reader, all these things with a simple eye; be not partially addict to the one nor to the other, but judge them by the Scripture, and acknowledge that to be the truth which God's word doth allow, avoiding all other doctrine, for it springeth of Satan. Be not ashamed to confess poor Christ, and to take him for thy head, before these ravenous wolves; for then shall he confess thee again before his Father, and the angels in heaven. Then shalt thou be inheritor with Jesus Christ, and the faithful son of thy Father which is in heaven, to whom be all glory eternally. Amen. Here endeth the Antithesis between Christ and the Pope. A BOOK MADE BY JOHN FRITH, PRISONER IN THE TOWER OF LONDON, ANSWERING UNTO M. MORE'S LETTER, WHICH HE WROTE AGAINST THE FIRST LITTLE TREATISE THAT JOHN FRITH MADE CONCERNING THE SACRAMENT OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. UNTO WHICH BOOK ARE ADDED IN THE END THE ARTICLES OF HIS EXAMINATION BEFORE THE BISHOPS OF LONDON, WINCHESTER, AND LINCOLN, IN PAUL'S CHURCH, AT LONDON, FOR WHICH JOHN FRITH WAS CONDEMNED, AND AFTER BURNED IN SMITHFIELD, WITHOUT NEWGATE, THE FOURTH DAY OF JULY, ANNO 1533. "Dead men shall rise again." PREFACE. GRACE and increase of knowledge from God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, be with the Christian reader, and with all them that love the Lord unfeignedly. Amen. I chanced, being in these parts, to be in company with a Christian brother, which for his commendable conversation, and sober behaviour, might better be a bishop than many that wear mitres, if the rule of St. Paul were regarded in their elec- 1 Tim. iii. tion. This brother, after much communication, Tit. i. desired to know my mind, as touching the sacrament of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ. Which thing I opened unto him, according to the gift that God had given me. First, I proved unto him that it was no article of our faith necessary to be believed under pain of damnation. declared, that Christ had a natural body, mine is, (saving sin,) and that it could no more Then I The order Frith keepshowing that John eth in his mind even as be in two places at once than mine can. Thirdly, I showed him that it was not necessary that the words should so be understood as they sound, but that it might be a phrase of Scripture, as there are innumerable. After that, I showed him in the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. |