The Obedience of a Christian Man

For as much now as thou partly seest the falsehood of our prelates / how all their study is to deceive us and to keep us in darkness / to sit as Gods in our con sciences and handle us at their pleasure and to lead us whether the lust: therefore / I red the / get the to Gods word and thereby try all doctrine and against that receive nothing. Nether any exposition contrary unto the ⟨p. cxlvij⟩open texts / nether contrary to the general articles of the faith / nether contrary to the living and practising off Christ and off his Apostles.¹ And when they cry fathers fathers / remember that it were the fathers that both blinded and robbed the whole world and brought us in to this captivity where in these enforce to keep us still. Further more as they off the old time are fathers to us / so shall these foul monsters be fathers to them that come after us / and the hypocrites that follow us will cry of these and of their doings fathers fathers / as these cry fathers / fathers / of them that are past. And as we feel our fathers / so did they that are past feel their fathers: nether were there in the world any other fathers then such as we both see and feel this many hundred years / as there decrees bear record and the stories and chronicles well testify. If Gods word appeared any where they agreed all against it. When they had brought that a sleep / then strove they one with another about their own traditions and one pope condemned a nothers decrees and were some time two / ye three popes at once. And one bishop went to law with another and one cursed another for their own fantasies and such things as they had falsely gotten. And the greatest saints are they that most defended the liberties of ⟨image 148⟩the church (as they call it) which they falsely got with blinding kings / nether had the world any rest this many hundred years for reforming of friars and monks and ceasing of schisms that were among our clergy. And as for the holy doctors as Augustine / Hierom / Cyprian / Chrysostom and Bede / will they not hear. If they wrote any thing negligently (as they were men) that draw they clean contrary to their meaning and thereof triumph they.

FOr as moch now as thou partly seist the falshed of oure prelates / how all theyr study is to disceave vs and to kepe vs in darknes / to sit as Gods in oure cō sciences and handle vs at their pleasure ād to leade vs whether the luste: therfore / I red the / gete the to Gods worde ād therby trye all doctrine and agenst that receave nothinge. Nether any exposicion cōtrary vnto the