Answer to the Letter of John Fox, in the Year 1575

Reverend and well beloved Sir Doctor Fox: We have read your letter, and from it we learn what efforts you have made on our behalf, both with her royal majesty and with her wise council, for which we thank you greatly. We thank you as well for your good admonition; and although it seems to us to be written somewhat severely, we are nevertheless sure that it comes from love, and from the good zeal you have for the truth and for the welfare of your neighbor; so we cannot help but take it in a good sense. However, we are very sorry that you, not understanding our position better, have an opinion of us different from what we would wish; since you think that by our singularity and obstinacy we not only give offense to the church of God, but also greatly offend God, and overthrow our salvation.

What cause you have to think this of us, we do not know; but we can assure you of this, that we seek with all our heart to serve the only God and Christ with a good conscience, and to build up our neighbor as far as we are able.

So we willingly accept whatever the holy Scriptures declare to us, and we wish that we might be left to hold to the simplicity of the Word of God, and not be driven by subtle questions further than we, with our feeble understanding, can grasp or answer from the Scriptures. We confess (just as you say) that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, when the time was fulfilled, was born of woman and became truly man.

We confess that the flesh of Christ is not a phantasm, nor something ethereal, but true human flesh, like us in all things except sin; that He is the promised seed of the woman, David's son, and the fruit of Mary's body. Finally, we believe everything else that the holy Scriptures testify of Him; and whether we live or die, we do not place our salvation in our works or holiness, but only in His death and resurrection. So we cannot wonder enough what more could be required of a Christian, since you yourself quote from the apostle: "Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet from now on we know him no more. Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature." Second Corinthians 5, verses 16 and 17.

By this the apostle shows us plainly enough that we ought rather to observe the fruits of the incarnation and the sufferings of Christ, and make them our own, than to dispute arrogantly about the origin of His flesh; which we still confess as far as the Scriptures tell us about it, contenting ourselves with what you ask of us, that He has come in the flesh. If only people were satisfied with that, and would not compel us to confess that Christ has His origin from the substance of Mary's flesh. Because we cannot grasp or believe this, for the reason that the word substance is not mentioned in the holy Scriptures, it is therefore concluded against us that we believe Christ is not true man, and, in short, that we deny our salvation; whereas, on the contrary, according to what love requires, it ought to be concluded that when we say Christ had flesh just as true and human as our first father Adam had before the fall, we at once confess Him to be true man and our Savior, especially when we confess this in express words. If you reply to this that you find little or no difference between your faith and ours, except in the expression substance of the woman, and that we ought not therefore to reject it obstinately, we answer, on the other hand, that we ought not to be forced to it, but that our weakness in this matter ought to be borne with, since in our conscience we cannot believe otherwise, and would sin greatly against God if we were to speak contrary to the testimony of our conscience.

So if we are put to death (which we do not expect of her royal grace), we testify before God that we do not die for this or that article, which, if we could be brought by arguments to believe it, we would accept with all our heart, but for the sake of our conscience; for if we act contrary to it, then even though we did well, we nevertheless do wrong, and testify against ourselves, as you with your learning can understand far better than we simple and unlearned people.

Finally, we are men, and what is more, unlearned men, who are liable to err; and so we will always show ourselves teachable toward all those who can show us something better from the Scriptures. But that they want to force us to it with fire or sword seems to us a useless undertaking, and contrary to reason; for it is indeed possible that through fear of death we might be made to speak differently from what we understand; but that we should understand otherwise than we believe, you know to be impossible.

Therefore those who would deal with us in this way offer us this choice: either temporal or eternal death; temporal, if we hold to what our conscience declares to be right, or the truth; eternal, if we act and speak contrary to our conscience. But we have a better hope of her royal grace, which until now has not thought it good to put [anyone] to death in the matter of religion; knowing well that the true faith is a special gift of God, planted in a person not by fire and sword, but through the Holy Ghost and the preaching of the eternal word of God. And we ought to consider well that formerly we were all heretics here, and if we had been put to death in that condition, we would all have had to suffer the death of both body and soul. But we will conclude this matter here, thanking you for the trouble you have been pleased to take for us, and asking you to do the best you can in our cause with the council, and especially before her royal majesty, who, if our position were well known to her, we do not doubt would, according to her excellent wisdom and usual grace, deal mercifully with us; since we willingly show her majesty all reverence and submission, praying for her long life and prosperous reign. Amen.

Signed by:

GERRIT VAN BYLER,

HENDRICK TERWOORT,

HANS VAN STRATEN,

JAN PIETERSS,

CHRISTIAEN KEMELS.