A Brief Confession Of Faith, And Part Of The Disputation Which I, Lauwerens Van Der Leyen, Had On The Fourth Of July, 1559, With The Lords Of The Law, At Antwerp, And The Dean Of Ronse.

One of the judges said to me: “If Christ is not of Mary’s flesh, then the promise is not fulfilled yet.” I said: “It is not written that Christ is of Mary’s flesh.” This Dean said to me: “It is written; you lie, for it is written: That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Again: A virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son. Again: That he was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.” I said: “My lords, it is true; but it is not written as you have said. Hear, my lords, I call you to witness, he has brutally called me a liar; nevertheless, it is not written thus.” Again he said: “You lie.” I replied: “If I were disposed to call you a liar, I would say that you lie yourself.” I said: “My lords, listen: Luke 1:26, etc. The Angel was sent from God to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary, and she was a pure virgin. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Mary said: How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? The angel said unto her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born shall be called the Son of God. That which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. Matt. 1:20. It does not say there, that he is of Mary’s flesh.” One of the judges again said: “The promise is not fulfilled yet.” I replied: “It is fulfilled; if you will listen to me, I will tell you.” I then told him that the Savior and Redeemer came, and suffered much here for our sakes, even as is written that Christ the Savior himself said: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. And thus he came into the world. And he left us an example, that we should follow his steps. 1 Peter 2:21.

Again Zachariah truly said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.” Luke 1:68–75. Thus we find indeed, that the promise is fulfilled; but that Christ is of Mary’s flesh, this we find nowhere written. The Dean of Ronse asked me: “How then did he become flesh?” I told them that he who was from everlasting with his Father, by whom all things were created and made, that are in heaven and upon earth, visible and invisible, yea, the living Word of the Father, who was with the Father, came from his kingdom on high, and became man, and thus came into the world, and saved us with his own blood. Rev. 1:5. The Dean asked: “Did he then become changed?” I told him as is written: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. The Dean said to me: “You are the vilest sect that ever was upon earth.” I told him that he was a rotten sect, in presence of all the judges, or the court; and (said I) I will prove to you that you are a sect; for your people cannot prove a single point of all that you observe, with the word of the Lord; and Christ says: “Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” Matt. 15:13. I then asked him, where he found anything written concerning the institutions observed by them, such as the christening of bells, tonsure, the consecrating of water, that one wears shoes with holes, and another stockings without toes, each in his own way, all of which is certainly not sanctioned by the word of God.” I further said: “My lords, I have offered to dispute from the Holy Bible, publicly, before the whole court.” The Dean said to me: “You will be thrust into a bag, and suffocated with a ball in your mouth.” I said: “You hypocrite, do you not fear the word of the Lord, which says that with the breath of his lips shall he slay the unmerciful? Isaiah 11:4. Again: A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. Prov. 28:17. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Matt. 23:33. Repent ye, and believe the gospel; for your days may be brief.” Mark 1:15.