Declaration of general corruption of Religion, Scripture and all learning; wrought by D. Bilson.  
While he breedeth a new opinion, that our Lord went from Paradise to Gehenna, to triumph ever the Devils.  
To the most reverend Father in God jonn W●. Doct. in Divinity, and Metropolitan of England.  
By HUGH BROUGHTON▪  
1603.   

DECLARATION OF General corruption, of Religion, Scripture, and all learning; wrought by D. Bilson. etc.  
DOCTOR Bilson, inventing a new opinion that our Lord descended from Paradise to Gehenna, to triumph over the devils, troubled all Religion and learned writers. In religion thus he miss. We believe that Devils are yet in 
Religion troubled.  this world; and the scriptures assure us of that, Wherefore it where most ridiculous to feign a journey to Devils thither, where they were not. If some were, as carriers of souls, yet not as tormented, and dwellers there before the time.  
Again, Gehenna were an holy place, if the altar which sanctifieth all that it toucheth went thither. But none may so think. And Devils in this world knew Christ to be the holy one of God, and tremble. And no need know we why he should go to Gehenna for them, and God telleth all that we may know. Besides, souls in Hades holy and contrary know all the others case, as men here that have but a great ditch betwixt them: and they are much deceived who think Hell to be in this world, low in the earth. Before God's throne the wicked are tormented for ever and ever. So both sides know one the others case: that without coming to them, they see what is done. And our Lord would not have taught us, (Luc. 16.) that none can pass from one sort to the other, if he had been to take that journey. The Bible taught no such dream. Therefore it is but a dream. And thus religion is disturbed. Scriptures D. Bilson brings three, as having no more; 
Scriptures marred, Psa. ●6. in the right meaning by all jew.  the 16. Psal. Which is thus: Thou wilt not leave my vital soul to death, and, by a consequent, neither my body in air, or grave: nor my soul among souls till the body see corruption.  
So the general consent of Ebrews sake the words. Yet he would thus translate all: Thou wilt not forsake my soul in Hell. 
4. Faults most gross in D. Bilson in 4. words  The nipper of others, as arrogant in Hebrew studies, shallbe told that he hath miss four times in four words. Hebrews shall judge; and for the 70. all greeks, the rare Fathers.  
The second scripture that he durst adventure upon, is this: Him God raised up losing the sores of death. Saint Peter spoke to Sadduces, 
Act. a perverted to blasphemy.  that would not hear of soul, spirit, and Hell. And that the sores that made the soul leave the body were by God's power disannulled, and it received the soul and life: And therein Christ broke for us the bands of death. D. Bilson would have death the second death, and that our lords soul had the second death. You know full well that his soul shall have the second death for ever and ever, unless he revoke this blasphemy. It is great pity that D. Bilson consulted not with others before such words fled through the hedge of his teeth. Higher blasphemies never were uttered. The third and last text of all that he durst trust, is clean 
The third & last text most bright.  contrary to his purpose, showing the plain effect of the Gospel. Say not in thy heart who can go up to heaven, to bring Christ down? Or who can go to the Deep to bring Christ from the dead? But if thou believe that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised him from death, thou salted be saved.  
The incarnation and resurrection, both made plain, are by. St. Paul the heads of doubt among jewës. But D. Bilson dreameth of 
A monstrous dream.  a Hell here. chrysostom and Oecumenius would have taught him better. And these most Holy scriptures, the joy of our souls, hath he most grievously corrupted.  
Endless be the faults in this marring of scripture, and no time 
Moses made unperfect.  would serve to write them. Moses now by him, hath not all Religion. For he could not father upon him this doctrine of going from Paradise to Hell. So neither all the Prophet's volumes.  
And David once only (and in a sense never known, till Doctor 
Danger feigned by D. Bilson after triumph.  bilson's days) teacheth that our Lord going a victor, and triumpher over the powers of darkness from Paradise, as unto greater danger by millions of degrees then before, doth praise God that he did not forsake his soul in Hell, but loosed the sores of the second death before him: and to that deep our minds must descend, by D. Bilson, if we will be saved.  
Thus vile for wisdom he maketh the rock of salvation. By D. Bilson our Lord having passed his danger here, where he prayed unto him that could save him from danger, and being made perfect and gone through the veil of his flesh into heaven, after all this was in greater danger than before, which needed a miracle of the God head to lose before him the sorrows of Hell. Otherwise the Humanity had not by itself gone through all, but had perished in the world invisible, saving that God did not forsake his soul in Hell.  
And of this danger David must speak to the profane world, 
Most strange miracles told by D. Bilson o● m●n that refused even plainest matters  before they believed the resurrection and scant the creation of visible things, and of spirits had heard little: and of soul's immortality and Paradise; and never heard where out of this world devils keep. All these things being stepped over, a danger, after all was performed, must be holden from David by words never so before understood; to make the Scripture a nose of wax and all the old Testament unperfect: But for one place drawn beyond all wit. Also the Gospel must be unperfect, omitting part of belief. And all Saint Paul's fourteen Epistles, but for one term Abyssus taken in the Devil's sense, not in Heathen or 70. sense. 
All Ebrews rejected for their own tongue. The strict propriety of Psal. 16.  So all fall. The general consent of hebrews in Baba Bathra was cited that they make this sense, Psal. 16. He dieth not of whom that is so spoken in strict propriety, and Peter addeth but this, to die he was, but not to tarry in death to corruption.  
All hebrews Doctor Bilson rejecteth for their grammar sense of Sheol. None ever rejected all Latins for Latin, or French for the French: yet D. Bilson dareth reject all Hebrews for Hebrew: such an Hebrician is he. By the same doctrine he might teach 
bilson's rejection of all Hebrews would be ruin to all stay of Religion.  never to hope for sound knowledge in any part of the law: no not for one letter: whether it hath the form that God wrought in the two tables or a later invented. And for the very form as Tau in Ezechiel mistaken, and Rempham, much coil is kept. And in our daily Hebrew Bibles, words 848. come in the margin by God's authority, and yet check not the text: & the French of Late translating the margin, Esai. 9 troubled some greatly, gathering a contradiction betwixt the old, and new translation. For all this no D. without Rabbins help can tell what words make the Bible.  
A certain helper of D. Bilson who can assist him to mar all learning and Religion, (one whom you leave though he be your chaplain to answer for himself) he, as his learning and skill, will at once show itself, maketh the eldest Rabbins 300. years later than the Apostles. 
Error of 800. years for Rabbins age.   
So the Massorites, observers of the Letters and short writings, and little particles innumerable, often in one line, with millions of millions of notes, all they were nothing worth.  
For we seek how the Bible stood in ezra's age not how 800. years after and all the jews hold that the Massorites began with Ezra. Neither could we otherwise say we had the Bible. Without 
Without Massorites no Bible can ever be truly printed.  help and knowledge of the Massorites, no printer can ever print the right Bible.  
Rob. Steph. in Ester tenth putting the margin in the text, for Xerxes, committed a great fault: and plantin's heirs will now print after the Massoreth, missing often hitherto. As in Daniel 8. all miss though the Massoreth elsewhere warned of that place: Bombergiana the less mention in the margin a right reading: but not yet printed in the text.  
By the Massoreth all words be past corruption: who if they had not been of ezra's time, Bibles had infinitely disagreed: now they be sure, though copiers miss now & then. So 800. years in Rabbins age are miss to disgrace all certainty of Scripture. But whereas 
Of oth●● Rabbins age.  in the New Testament the Apostles still tell of jews matters, & all their speeches be in the Talmud (as men of one common weal must agree in the same chief heads:) this would never be by jews 300. years tossed from their own tongue and state, that jerusalemy Talmud should be parceled, by later men than the tongue 300. years: and that poor base men void of wealth, leisure and liberty, should search all the law most curiously. Who would think so? They say, that from age to age their Father's left works: 
Rabbins continued throughout all ages.  the chief sayings of all which the jerusalemy Talmud and the Babylonian and Midras Rabath and such like record in the same words.  
And Onkelos by all grants is near the Apostles time: & Vziel of their time, but a compiler of far elder: and Targum jerusalemy in Cyrillis age famous as ancient, called of him Samariticon, upon Genes. 4. And seeing many thousand Levites had learning in their charge and all Israel (saving hand-laborers) frequented divinity schools to hear and speak twice a week; how should they omit to write observations, such as we have now, full of unspeakable labour and long study? All that is in the new Testament is handled here & there in the Talmud; and much largely: where, in known things our Lord would be short. So D. Bilson miss much for Rabbins, to the ruin of all Religion, and to augment Satan's blindness.  
another matter of singular use suffereth disgrace by D. Bilson. The Sadduces noted that Moses never named life eternal, nor resurrection, 
That the Scribes knew no term in Moses for Hell.  nor place of joy or torment: nor any Prophets, but in visions. The Scribes grant this; yet bring matter from Moses for all this, and show that the scoffing world was to be taught as beasts by the belly openly, and closely to life. But when Prophets ceased and open prophesying, and iron-legged Macedones turned judah much to be Sadduces, & schools were but of few: then they enacted terms of better hope, as world of souls, judgement day, Paradise, Gehenna, Resurrection, Feasting in heaven: and such. And this the new Testament alloweth.  
By D. Bilson all this were vain, or he himself. He can find in the law a proper name for Hell. And how would he have vexed the Sadduces if he had been in their days; All the Scribes had been nothing to him.  
Now after Ebrews let us search Greek affairs. God advanced Greek with daily increase, first when judah went to Babel, than Pisistratus tyrant of Athens brought Homer into high use & glory. 
Of greeks in all sorts.   
And many Poets for sentences, comedies, and tragedies, flourish daily. So Physicians, Philosophers, Orators and Historiques' for two hundred years pains, that the Greek tongue came to an unspeakable perfection of elegancy.  
And the jews (taught by Daniel that soon Grecia should reign) before hand studied Greek. And God showed the use of their labour. For when the iron legged Macedonians began to reign, they required, and had the Hebrew holy books all turned into Greek, wherein the translator showed wit in applying most divinely heathen greek to divinity. And they showed excellent skill in all Greek kinds. 
The Sepruagint:   
And when the Macedonians by 300 years government, had carried Greek from the West over all, & jews with Greek Bible: then our Lord cometh and his Apostles to show Greekes in their 
The Apostles have all the jewels of greek elegancy.  own language and meaning all the mysteries of salvation: and gather all brave terms from heathen plainly to divine use, 4000 several words into one little book, that the most part of words are used but once, which is not so in the old Testament. The 70. did the like, who to one Hebrew words gave eleven Greek now & 
The greek fathers compared heathen most narrowly with Apostolic greeks.  then, to show Heathen all eloquence in their kind.  
To apply heathen Greeks to the Prophets and Apostles, the Greek Fathers laboured another 300. years, to show how they had the same speeches still, though in matter not well carried. justine Martyr to heathen is much herein, and Clemens Alexandrinus hath contrived all heathen hither, being a store like Alexandrian Library.  
Eusebius also is not a little in this sort, and infinite others specially for the main, the eternal state in Hades; for good, as Abraham Luke 16. and joseph Gen. 37. and for wicked as Dives, Luk. 16. And as heathen 3000. years made Haden the lodge of all souls and the Philosophers held it an happy thing to go soon thither. So in the Creed heathen would say that by to katelthein eye hadou, we meant a most happy passage from this world to God. And so all the Father's place the happy Fathers in Hades, and meant no worse lodge. To dash all four, thus ariseth Bilson.  
Bilson leaveth heathen to their alleagers, and saith for josephes' Hades, that the Greek Fathers that placed his soul there as in Paradise, understood not the 70. and that St. Luke. 16. teacheth 
D. Bilson teacheth greek to all greeks.  to understand Haden for Hell, because the rich man is in it: as though Abraham were not there also. And to conclude for heathen greek, the 70. the Apostles, the Fathers, he disannulleth all common agreement for their Greek, as though he had made a vow to root out all learning, with Religion. Wit also cometh in question. Our subscribing to Zuricke sayeth: Per inferos intelligimus paradisum, etc. most faithfully and learnedly. Yet Doct. Bilson being told that Hades to the good is Paradise would needs prove that Christ went to Hell because he went to Hades. Yet when all Greek Doctors place all the Fathers in Hades (and they place Christ no lower) he will not have them in Hell. And thus with strange dealing, he hath by preaching, and great sale of his errors, sought the destruction of Religion, of Scripture, of Hebrew tongue and learning, of all kinds of Greek elegancy, and all proceeding in disputing; by taking that for all his argument, that is truly affirmed to be clean contrary.  
To your G by order complaint was to be made, that you should with all your learning and might bring D. B. into the right way. It is a pitiful thing that Bishops should be found infinitely fulle● of error for the grounds of faith, and learned studies, than any other in all the Kingdom.  
A mind that loved the truth and heard that the Greek in the Creed for 3000. years use, in our lords souls passage, is no more than to go hence to God, would make no more stir, but wisely confess that by Heathen Greek the Creed penned for Heathen must be expounded. And that clear plainness beseemeth a public arbridgment of faith, such as to all the simple folk ought to be expounded. Your heart and confession by Master King at Franckfurt knoweth who hath cleared the truth. And how can you suffer D. Bilson to deceive the people?  
And D. Bilson being in high place should seem flexible unto the truth: as his blame for stubbornness in heresy would be notorious. And if he would plainly & absolutely confess that he hath been deceived, and that the Greek in the Creed teacheth most certainly that our lords soul ascended unto Paradise from the cross, and never descended into Hell, this humility would be his high commendation, & cut of an infinite company of his errors.  
As you are holy Fathers and partakers of the heavenly calling, kick nor against the spur. But say: let him be Anathema Maran Atha, that loveth not the truth of Redemption. It is a most high injury against God and the King, that the Church is led amiss by Bishop's errors.  
God give all us understanding in all things, and guard our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of our Lord and Saviour: that in all parts of holy doctrine we may nourish peace and truth.