Series 5 > Religious Controversy in Scotland 1625-1639

RUTHERFORD & SYDSERFF/CANNONS AND CEREMONIES’
97
I make myself a transgessour.’30 The Gallatians knew circumcision could not
adumbrat Christ to come for they knew he was alreadie come, Galatians 1:19,31
and so their circumcision could not have an Jewish respect, [e]very way. Yet he
saith, if they were circumcised, they should againe intangle themselves with the
yoak of bondage, Galatians 5:1. Ergo there is a Jewish yoak of ceremonies and
dayes, howbeit they want a Jewish opinion. And ye knew the dispute betwixt
Augustine and Jerome in this same poynt, and how the Jesuit Vazquez32 and
others learned papists of note, as I could prove, holdeth with Augustine who
blamed Jerome for mentaining men might use Jewish rites, laying asside Jewish
oppinion, to gaine the Jews to Christ.33 Yea, saith Augustine, use also the rites of
Turks and paganis without the heathenish oppinion to gaine Turks and pagans.
I think your distinction of arbitrarie and necessarie might licence our church to
bring in all the rites ofjews and Turks and papists, all the fables of Nicodemus his
evangell34 not contrair expresshe to scripture, but as yet writters doe say, beside
scripture, for these all might be tryed as indifferent.
Answer
I grant rulers should be wise in what they command in a church, and I wish
our ceremonies had xx never come in our church, but now they are in and have
no ill in them, and are not to be urged as worship commanded of God, it’s our
part to obey authoritie, and practise them, and ye know no kirk out of heaven
can be perfyte, and we must tolerait some things in a church, else we should be
members of no church at all. As one of your side D. G. who can walk with no
church, and could not live with the Church of [343] England, France, as it is
knowne, because all those kirks agreed not to his minde.
Opponent
We are no Brownists, to think a church can be perfyte in this life and must be
deserted for faults, but it is sine to be coagents with the errours of a church.
Howbeit we ly in one bed with our mother kirk and touch her wholl skinne,yet
it is a sinfull societie to lay our skine to her boyles and scabs. 2. It is not enough
that our ceremonies be not commanded as pairts of God’s worshippe. Pharisees
urged their traditions as the traditions of elders and not as God’s comandements.
Yea, they differenced those two, yet their traditions are condemned of Christ by
30 AV
31 Actually Galatians 3:19.
32 Gabriel Vazquez (1549-1604),Spanish Jesuit theologian. See article byJ.M.Dalmau in New Catholic
Encyclopedia, 18 vols. (New York, 1967-88), xiv, 581-2.
33 Augustine, Epistle xl, in Works, vi, 132.
34 An apocryphal gospel about the passion, known also as the Acts of Pilate.