VOLUME 3

AN ANSWERE VNTO SIR THOMAS MORES DIALOGE

LOCATION
KEY Commentary Side Textual Bibliographic Scriptural

be in heuen in ioye with christe and god wil that ye praye to them. In token wherof / I doo thys or that miracle.

And when he triumpheth a litle after / as though all were wonne saynge / if oure old holy doctoures were false and their doctrine vntrue and their miracles fayned / let them come forth and doo miracles them selues and proue oures fayned. Sir / ye haue no doctours that did miracles to stablish youre worshepynge of images and so forth. Youre doctrine is but the opinion of faithlesse people / which to confirme the deuel hath wrought moch sotilte. And as for the miracles done at sayntes graues and at the presens of reliques / as longe as true miracles endured and vntyll the scripture was autentickly reaceaued / wher done to confirme the preachinge that soch saintes had preached / whyle they were alyue. And therto the miracles which witches doo / we confounde not with other miracles / But with scripture we proue them not of god / but of the deuel / to stablish a false fayth and to leade from god / as youre doctrine doeth. And likewise where we can confunde youre false doctryne wyth autenticke and manifest scripture / there nede we to doo no miracle. We bringe gods testament confirmed wyth miracles for al that we doo / and ye ought to require no moare of vs.

175/29–30 Pilat ... a boue. Cf. John 19.11.

176/4–6 god is auctor . . . passion. Cf. CWM 6/1.353/6–8.

176/9–16 But . . . poysoned him with. Cf. CWM 8/2.787/15–18. Contrary to More's accusation, Tyndale attributes the corruption in human will to the devil, not to God.

And in like maner do ye firste geue vs autenticke scripture for youre doctrine. If ye haue no scripture come forth and preach youre doctryne and confirme it wyth a myracle. And then if we brynge not autenticke scripture agenst you or confounde youre myracle wyth a greater as Moses dyd the sorserars of Egypte / we wyll beleue you.

176/17–177/4 Matrimonie . . . playne texte. Rejecting the declaration of the Council of Florence in 1439, Luther had contested the sacramental nature of Christian marriage in Babylonian Captivity, 1520 (WA 6.550–53; LW 36.92–96). He granted, however, that it is a figure of Christ's union with the church, according to Eph. 5.31–32. Here Tyndale speaks more generally of a likeness between marriage and the kingdom of heaven (176/17, but cf. 154/10–28n). However, Luther's main point is that a sacrament is a NT rite accompanied by a promise of salvation which evokes faith. Tyndale, too, denies that Matrimony is a sacrament (Obedience M2V). For More's response, cf. CWM 6/1.353/9. (JW)

176/17–19 Matrimonie . . . gospell. Cf. CWM 8/1.86/2–5. More gives a precis of Obedience M2r—v. Among parables drawn from marriage are the wedding garment, cf. Matt. 22.1–14 and the ten bridesmaids, cf. Matt. 25.1–13.