Well, Most Reverend Gentlemen, you see your scriptural Church, has now hurled the whole of Christendom, into the vortex of universal, abominable, and damnable idolatry, and either involved herself, in this sweeping deluge of abominations, or committed suicidical destruction on herself; but, strange to say, she has charitably saved us benighted Papists, from these abominable, and universal waters of idolatry, as Pharo's daughter, kindly saved Moses from the waters of the Nile. Now, how your scriptural Church as by law established will contrive to gather together again, and unite all the various parts of this universal, spiritual edifice, just destroyed by her hands, I am at a loss to determine. If she really can collect, unite, and form these various spiritual parts, into a more perfect, and durable edifice, than God Himself had made it, I shall then begin to think, that she is invested with powers, which even God Himself does not possess. But by what spiritual art of chemistry, is she to perform this wonderful, and superhuman operation? If she has recourse to the Scriptures, she will there learn, that God had built this spiritual edifice on an imperishable, infallible, and incorruptible foundation. And surely, for her sake, God will not contradict Himself; and if she has recourse to her thirty-nine articles, they have already annihilated her. O poor scriptural Church! thou hast often made sad work with other Churches; but at last, alas! thou art in sad straits thyself. O! how thou remindest me of the man, who
"Halting on crutches of unequal size,—
One leg by truth supported, one by lies,
Thus saddled to the goal, with awkward pace,
Secure of nothing but to lose the race."
Well, but you will say, this immense spiritual edifice must for the sake of the salvation of mankind, be re-built. Should I offer my officious services, to assist in this pious work of reconstruction, your scriptural Church might perhaps say, I destroyed more than I built. Well, she could not, even then, justly complain of this; for she has just cut into pieces, demolished, and annihilated the whole of Christendom, with her destructive weapons of universal, abominable, and damnable idolatry.
In all material edifices, it is considered of the greatest importance that the foundation should be firm, safe, and substantial. Of course, we have reason to expect these requisites in the foundation of all spiritual edifices; and of course, we may naturally expect them, in the new erection of God's work which your Church has just destroyed, but which she is now going to re-construct into a more perfect and durable form than God had made it. Now, upon what foundation will your Church reconstruct this demolished spiritual edifice? In her twenty-first article of her thirty-nine articles, (and mind, she has sworn to these articles as God's truth,) I find the following words: "General councils may not be gathered together without the commandment, and will of princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed by the Spirit, and word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God."
Now, please tell me, Most Reverend Gentlemen, of what is your new spiritual Church to be built? Surely not of brick and mortar! but of course, it is to be erected, on the testimony of man, or of some body of men. But your article says, men may err, and have erred, even in things pertaining to God. Therefore, your council, or councils, of your new Church may err, and therefore, how will you build upon these fallible men an infallible foundation?
But you will indignantly reply, the article intimates, that they may err unless governed by the Spirit, and word of God. Well, Most Reverend Gentlemen, is it likely God will give them his Spirit, and unerring word to reconstruct a new Church, when they have just destroyed the infallible, and beautiful work of God's own hands? Is it in the nature of things, that God should contradict Himself, to second the BABEL ideas, of your scriptural Church, yet to be formed?
Really, Sir, some of you Reverends will exclaim, how you are garbling that twenty-first article! Why have you slyly omitted to quote the last part of that article?—Well, as you have called, for the last part of this article, I will now quote it; and as your Church (first, indeed, unfortunately destroying herself) has just so charitably saved us, benighted papists, from the waters of idolatry, I do sincerely hope this last part of your article, may enable you, to rebuild a godly and spiritual edifice. Well, then, now for the last part of this twenty-first article, which you say, I have slyly omitted. It runs thus verbatim: "Wherefore, things ordained by them, as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared, that they be taken out of Holy Scripture." Now, Most Reverend Gentlemen, as you have just asked me a question, allow me to ask you another. If any of you, were wishful to purchase an estate, would you not first, have the title deeds of that estate, carefully examined by some eminent and respectable lawyers, to be sure that the title deeds, were perfectly good, and satisfactory, before you advanced the money? Now we have just learnt, from the last part of your twenty-first article, that the Scriptures, properly speaking, are the deeds of a Christian, by which he is to obtain a good title to salvation. Of course, therefore, we may naturally suppose, that your scriptural Church would hand down to her followers the Scriptures, in the most perfect and unmutilated state.
Well, we will now see whether she has done this, and then we shall be able to determine, if she can rebuild her godly, and spiritual edifice on so heavenly a foundation. We will now consider how she got the sacred Scriptures, after her shipwreck amid the perils of idolatry, and whether, after she got them, she handed them down to her followers in the perfect and unmutilated state, in which she first received them from the Catholic Church. Luther, the father of the Reformation, even after he had left the Catholic Church, candidly says, in his Commentary on the 16th chapter of St. John's Gospel: "We are obliged to yield many things to the Papists, that with them is the word of God, which we received from them, otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it." And, in his book against the Anabaptists, he makes the following confession: "Under Papacy are many good things, yea, everything that is good in Christianity. I say moreover," continues he, "under Papacy is true Christianity, even the very kernel of Christianity." From these two passages of Luther, it is evident, that your scriptural Church, first received the Scriptures from the hand of the Catholic Church, and that she received them, in a perfect and unmutilated state; otherwise, how could Luther's words be true, (and mind, he uttered these words after he had left the Catholic Church) when he assures us, that under Papacy is "true Christianity, yea, everything that is good in Christianity, nay, the very kernel of Christianity."
Now let us see how your scriptural Church, corrupted and mutilated the sacred volumes which she had received from the Catholic Church in a perfect and unmutilated state.
Luther was the first, after the Reformation, who put out a Protestant translation of the Scriptures, which was immediately condemned by Osiander, Rickerman, and Zuinglius. Of this translation of Luther, Zuinglius says, (Lib. de Sacra.) "Luther was a foul corrupter, and horrible falsifier of God's word. One, who followed the Marcionites and Arians, that razed out such places of Holy Writ, as were against him. Thou dost," says he to Luther, "corrupt the word of God. Thou art seen to be a manifest, and common corrupter, and perverter of the holy Scriptures. How much are we ashamed of thee, who have hitherto esteemed thee!" But Luther not only falsified, but he also added, to the texts of the Scripture. "I know well," says Luther, "that this word, alone, (which he added to St. Paul's words, Rom. iii.) is not found in the text of St. Paul, but should a Papist, annoy you upon it, tell him at once, without hesitation, that Dr. Martin Luther, would have it so, and that a papist, and an ass, are synonymous." (Tom. 5, Jena Edit. p. 141, 144.)