Dilucida explicatio sanae doctrinae de vera participatione carnis & sanguinis Christi in sacra coena, ad discutiendas Heshusii nebulas

CHRISTI IN COENA.

2 Timothy 2:17

[Satan] generates errors; yet was the world ever more disturbed by perverse and impious dogmas than at His first coming? Yet Christ Himself, the eternal truth of God, will sufficiently absolve Himself without our patronage. Meanwhile, this distinction will abundantly suffice against his rotten accusation: it is wrongly ascribed to the servants of Christ whatever leaven Satan scatters through his own ministers into their pure doctrine. Therefore, if it pleases one to judge this cause rightly, one must always see where the error draws its origin. From the time Luther began to disturb the cesspool of the Papacy, many monsters of men and opinions suddenly appeared. Did the Munzerians, Anabaptists, Adamites, Steblers, Sabbatharians, or Clancularii have anything in common with Luther, so that they should be considered his disciples? Did he ever support them with his approval? Did he subscribe to their most absurd inventions? On the contrary, he opposed them with all the vehemence he could, lest the contagion spread further. He also prudently detected immediately how harmful these plagues were. And will this pig still grunt here that the errors which were defeated by our labor, while the whole Papal clergy rested securely, proceeded from us? But if he has hardened himself in his impudence, he will not deceive even children with his futility hereafter; rather, all will immediately see that the blame for the evils from which we are most alien is falsely and unjustly cast upon us. Now, since it is openly clear to all that those who were carried away by a fanatical spirit and scattered impious and detestable errors were never aided by the support of Luther or any of us, it is certainly no more just that we be burdened by their impiety than Paul once had to endure [the accusations] from Hermogenes and Philetus, who boasted that the resurrection had already taken place, so that no hope might remain.