Jones on Article XXII: Of Purgatory

” There be some when they cry ’ forgive us our trespasses,’ they think that God will forgive culpam only, sed non pcenara, guiltiness and not the pain ; and therefore they believe they shall go into purgatory, and there to be cleansed from their sins ; which thing is not so : they be liars which teach such doctrine. For God forgivcth us both the pain and the guilti- ness of sins, like as it appeared in David when he repented ; Nathan said unto him, ‘The Lord hath taken away thy wicked- ness.’ ” — Sermon on Lord’s Prayer.

” For you must understand that there are but two places appointed of Almighty God for all mankind ; that is heaven and hell. And in what state soever a man dieth in, in the same he shall rise again ; for there shall be no alteration or

change For when a man dieth in that faith in Christ, all

the masses in the world are not able to relieve him ; and to conclude, all the travails that we have had in time past, by seeking of remedy by purgatory, and all the great costs and expenses that may be bestowed upon any soul lying in the state of damnation, it can avail nothing, neither can it do any good.” — Ser. Fifth Sun. after Epiphany.

” Images of saints are called saints, and inhabiters of heaven are called saints. Now by honoring of saints is meant praying

to saints Dead images are not to be prayed unto, for they

have neither ears to hear withal, nor tongue to speak withal,

nor heart to think withal, &c As touching the saints in

heaven, I said, they be not our mediators by way of redemption,

for so Christ alone is our mediator and theirs both Scripture

doth set saints that be departed before our eyes for ensamples ; so that the chiefest and most principal worship and honouring of them is to know their holy living, and to follow them as they followed Christ.” — Articles imputed to Latimer.

” Here I may dilate the matter as touching praying to saints. Here we may learn not to pray to saints. Christ bids us ’ pray to thy Father that is in heaven.’ To the Creator, and not to any creature.” — Ser. on Rom. xv. 4.

To whom shall we call, not unto the saints. Poscentibus ilium, saith he. Those that call upon him shall be heard. Therefore we ought to come to him only and not unto his saints.” — Ser. Matt. vi. 9-

” Let us run to him,” (Christ) ” and pray unto God for his sake. Allege him ; put him before thee ; and beware that thou call not upon any creature or saint ; for that is a great wicked- ness before God, in praying to saints ; for with the saints we have nothing to do but to keep in memory and follow their godly life and righteous living. But our prayer must be made

unto Christ only, like as this man doth here in this gospel Ser.

on Matt. viii. 1, 2, 3.

” That none maintain purgatory, invocation of saints, the six articles, beadrolls, images, reliques, rubrick primars, with invocation of […] Injunctions.

” St. John says, ’ My little children beware of images ;’ but to set them in churches, which are places dedicated to the

service and invocation of God is not to beware of them, nor

to flee from them, but rather to embrace and receive them

Images in the Church either serve to edify or to destroy. If

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they edify, then is there a kind of edification which the scrip- tures neither teach nor command, but always disallow : if they destroy, they are not to be used ; for in the church of God all

things ought to be done to edify The use of images is to the

learned and confirmed in knowledge, neither necessary nor profitable. To the superstitious, it is a confirmation in error. To the simple and weak an occasion to fall, and very offensive and wounding to their consciences ; and therefore very danger- ous.”— Treatise concerning Images.

” The opinion of purgatory, I suppose, is taken out of the books and writings of the heathen ; forasmuch as in the holy scripture of the Old and New Testament we have no manner of

record for the . confirmation of any such thing We read in

the book of the Maccabees, Judas sent to Jerusalem, twelve

thousand pieces of silver to offer for the sins of the dead

(2 Mac. xii.) The same words do not I so esteem that they ought to be taken for a certain ; forasmuch as the author of the same book is unknown, and the book itself not approved with

any testimony of holy scripture The invocation of saints

hath even such a foundation as purgatory hath, namely, none at all.” — Defence of a Certain Poor Christian Man.

” The ignorancy of this true doctrine to teach men to live and die well, hath brought in that false and untrue opinion of

feigned purgatory It abolisheth one of the chief articles of

our belief, which is, ’ I believe the remission of sin.’ And

here St. John sheweth the cause why the souls that die be not drawn through purgatory, nor passeth through no pains to come to heaven, ’ because,’ saith he, ’ they may rest from their labours,’ that is to say, from the pains due for sin, and from all other miseries of right, annexed and laid upon men for sin.” — Funeral Sermon.

” The church of the Old Testament nor the New never

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taught the people with images As for the praying unto dead

saints, or to have their images in the church, it is not a cere- mony matter, but very plain and manifest idolatry, contrary unto the express word of God, who forbiddeth to make any image.” — Declaration of Christ. §c.

” Doth not the scripture of the New Testament and the Epistles of the apostles condemn all worshipping of images, and command one God only, in mind and in spirit alone, for to

be worshipped, because he is both spirit and mind for if

religion is the worshipping of the true God, and we cannot see God with our eyes but with our mind ; it is not to be doubted that there is no religion wheresoever an image is worshipped.” — Translation of Curio’s Defence.

” Vain, therefore, and dangerous is the opinion of purgatory. Vain, because it hath no foundation at all in God’s word. Moses prescribing all kinds of sacrifices in the old law, maketh no mention either of sacrificing or praying for the dead. Paul instructing the Thessalonians what they ought to do in funerals, neither doth remember unto them sacrifice nor prayer. Just Simeon never dreamed of purgatory when as he said, ’ Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.’ Small peace is there in purgatory as papists report.” — Sermon on Job. xiv. 14.

” To maintain their idolatry beside, yea and contrary also to, the word of God, (as invocation and praying to saints, worship- ping of images and relics, &c and pardons, to deliver dead

men’s souls from purgatory ) they allege revelations of

angels, of our lady, and other saints By the manifest and

plain words of the scriptures and the consent of the most ancient authors before written, it is evident that neither the

visions of angels, apparitions of the dead, nor miracles, nor all these joined in one, are able or sufficient to make any one new article of our faith, or stablish any thing in religion without the express words of God.” — Confution of Unwritten Verities.

” But yet these shameless wretches be not abashed to say that images are necessary, because they be laymen’s books, teaching them, instructing them, and leading them to the true

worship of God God giveth his word written to be every

man’s book, and his pure everlasting and undefiled command- ments, as sufficient instructions for all men to the true worship of him. But these earthly wroters, (the pope, I mean, and his prelates) as though they were wiser than God, will teach men to worship him with images, although the same be utterly for- bidden by God throughout the whole course of his holy […] to Confutation of Unwritten Verities.

For if the honoring of the cross, as creeping and kneeling thereunto be taken away, it shall seem to many that be ignorant that the honor of Christ is taken away, unless some good teaching be set forth withal to instruct them sufficiently therein.” — Letter to Henri/ VIII.

” Can that move unto devotion which itself is without all motion and devotion ? Can the dead corpse of a captain en- courage the soldiers unto the battle ? Can a featherless eagle teach other birds to fly ? Can a waterless whale teach other fishes to swim upon the dry land ? No more can these blockish idols, which are utterly without all senses, affects and motions, move us unto devotion, and unto the true worshipping of God, they themselves also being utterly godless and most estranged

from all that is godly Let them shew by the word of God,

that the beholding of images is no less an ordinary way ap- pointed of God to bring men unto the knowledge of God and unto everlasting salvation, than the preaching of the word is, whereof St. Paul speaketh on this manner ; ’ Faith cometh by

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hearing ; but hearing cometh by the word of God.’ ” — Catechism of the Law.

” The scripture knoweth no such place ” (as purgatory.) ” Hell and heaven are set forth in the word of God : more places than this life the scripture knoweth not.” — Catechism of Rich Men.

” Indeed there is nothing more plain in all the holy scrip- tures, than that the worshipping of images of all sorts is

forbidden We may be bold to say with St. Augustine,

We believe, according to the authority of God, that the king- dom of heaven is the first place appointed for God’s elect, and that hell is the second place, where all the reprobate, and such as be not of the faith of Christ shall suffer eternal punishment. ’ Tertium penitus ignoramus, imo nec esse in scripturis Sanctis invenimus,’ ’ The third place we arc utterly ignorant of, yea, and that it is not, we find in the holy scriptures.’” — Defence of Translations of the Bible.