1 Or, pedigree.
40. And thus Reuben begets, of his father's concubine the churches, a company of bastards, proud, stately, boasting, covetous people, which defile the poor mother of the humility and simplicity of JESUS CHRIST, viz. the line of Christ which lies hid in this concubine, and shall be generated and manifested, and cast the whoredom upon her. And thus God's concubine, viz. the Church, is made to be a whore; and so very much deflowered that her reproach is come before Israel, viz. before the eyes of all the children of God; who cry fie upon her, and account her for an unclean deflowered whore, wherein such whoredom, as also pomp, pride and pageantry is exercised, that the devil, with the imagination and false lust, does more teach and govern in such lust, than the spirit of Christ; and it is more a proud whore and a dark valley [and dungeon] than a temple of JESUS CHRIST.
41. And that which is yet more abominable: many very vain affectations, scornings and derisions are therein managed and taught, where, for an opinion's sake, which everyone frames to himself, they disgrace and persecute one another, and cry out against one another for heretics, and sow abroad such poison and venom in this concubine the Church; whereby simplicity is seduced, and such poison of defamation rises up and grows in their hearts, that in the churches nothing but contention, disputation, scorn and blasphemy is exercised and taught, that one brother despises the other, calls him heretic, and damns him to hell fire for an opinion's sake, whereby all love, truth, unity and concord is vanished.
42. The grossest impudence, at which the heavens and the elements at present stand amazed, which is practised in this concubine, is this: That men take the writings of the holy children of God, viz. of the Prophets and Apostles, and their successors, and make use of them falsely, putting them on for a cloak to cover such whoredom, corrupting and embittering them, and making mere sects and swarms of schisms of them; and thereby reproach, slander and persecute one another, giving thereby cause of wars and bloodshed; and so they make a mere impudent whore of the Bible, wherewith everyone exercises and manages their whoredom, and sucks opinions out of it, and therewith despise the opinion of another, and scorns and condemns it, and yet take all their matters out of the Bible. Thus they make their father's concubine, viz. the holy Prophets and Apostles all whores, and falsely commit whoredom with them, practise impudence, unchastity and pride with their writings, and teach the lay people their unchastity and scorn; so that one Christian learns to scorn another out of the Holy Scripture, and trim their scorn with the writings of the saints. 1 Of this it is rightly said, Reuben, you are my first strength, but you have climbed up upon
1 Or, pedigree.
40. And thus Reuben begets, of his father's concubine the churches, a company of bastards, proud, stately, boasting, covetous people, which defile the poor mother of the humility and simplicity of JESUS CHRIST, viz. the line of Christ which lies hid in this concubine, and shall be generated and manifested, and cast the whoredom upon her. And thus God's concubine, viz. the Church, is made to be a whore; and so very much deflowered that her reproach is come before Israel, viz. before the eyes of all the children of God; who cry fie upon her, and account her for an unclean deflowered whore, wherein such whoredom, as also pomp, pride and pageantry is exercised, that the devil, with the imagination and false lust, does more teach and govern in such lust, than the spirit of Christ; and it is more a proud whore and a dark valley [and dungeon] than a temple of JESUS CHRIST.
41. And that which is yet more abominable: many very vain affectations, scornings and derisions are therein managed and taught, where, for an opinion's sake, which everyone frames to himself, they disgrace and persecute one another, and cry out against one another for heretics, and sow abroad such poison and venom in this concubine the Church; whereby simplicity is seduced, and such poison of defamation rises up and grows in their hearts, that in the churches nothing but contention, disputation, scorn and blasphemy is exercised and taught, that one brother despises the other, calls him heretic, and damns him to hell fire for an opinion's sake, whereby all love, truth, unity and concord is vanished.
42. The grossest impudence, at which the heavens and the elements at present stand amazed, which is practised in this concubine, is this: That men take the writings of the holy children of God, viz. of the Prophets and Apostles, and their successors, and make use of them falsely, putting them on for a cloak to cover such whoredom, corrupting and embittering them, and making mere sects and swarms of schisms of them; and thereby reproach, slander and persecute one another, giving thereby cause of wars and bloodshed; and so they make a mere impudent whore of the Bible, wherewith everyone exercises and manages their whoredom, and sucks opinions out of it, and therewith despise the opinion of another, and scorns and condemns it, and yet take all their matters out of the Bible. Thus they make their father's concubine, viz. the holy Prophets and Apostles all whores, and falsely commit whoredom with them, practise impudence, unchastity and pride with their writings, and teach the lay people their unchastity and scorn; so that one Christian learns to scorn another out of the Holy Scripture, and trim their scorn with the writings of the saints. 1 Of this it is rightly said, Reuben, you are my first strength, but you have climbed up upon
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