Tratado de la verdad de la ley de Moseh y Providencia de Dios con su pueblo (Treatise on the Truth of the Law of Moses and the Providence of God with His People)

Chapter 1

So relentless and obstinate are today’s wars among men that it often happens that after having exerted every effort and diligence to avoid being vanquished, reaching the limits of their endurance and finding no other recourse, they will seek to do away with themselves and others before, rather than being subjugated. How often do we see this in naval battles, where once a ship has been subdued, the crew sets fire to the powder, preferring to be consumed [in the flames] and put an end to their lives rather than be vanquished and turned into slaves.

In my opinion, warfare has reached such a state of obstinacy and spiritual contention in matters of religion with those adherents of the so-called reform churches who, after having fought valiantly and defended their consciences, rejecting the abuses [of these churches], their cruel enemies, such as the tremendous idolatry lavished on the Host, the adoration of the cross and other images, so repugnant to the word of God, or believing that this is pleasing to His divine majesty, or abstaining from holy matrimony, it being, to the contrary, expressly forbidden for His priests to marry, and other grave errors; and while still not stopping the strife which, with their continuous onslaughts that, night and day, other enemies of their devout beliefs have brought upon them, so that they cannot find peace, after much repugnance and contention they bravely beat them off and drove them away, placing them beneath their feet, ridding themselves of their tyranny: denying all manner of prurient attraction to imagery that is essentially divine in nature, not recognizing or confessing that God the Creator is the prime cause of all things, without exception, and everything else was fashioned by Him in excellence and sovereignty as they imagine it to be, devoid of all material and corporality, birth, passion, or death of this unique first cause. That all these points are illustrious victories or liberties that the reformed of our time have attained anew in defense of their consciences and beliefs, availing themselves in this not only of the weapons provided by the holy scriptures, so sharp and cutting that they leave neither root nor branch, but also of the words of the gospel which destroy them, with clear and evident arguments. So that they attained victory and liberty from such deleterious foes who were reduced to such a state whereby they were not the chosen seed of Israel (to whom alone by everlasting obligation was the law of Moses conferred, as the verse states: He revealed his words to Jacob, his statutes and judgments to Israel; he did not do so for any other people nor did they recognize [His] judgments, hallelujah (Psalms 147:19–20), by observing the seven natural precepts, named after the sons of Noah, they can be saved in the same way that the good of this world saved themselves before the Blessed God gave the law to His people on Mount Sinai.

Thus, reaching this state, having achieved such great and remarkable victories and trophies over the great wrongdoings that vexed their scruples, they wished that the divinity of the gospel be conceded peacefully without question or dispute to serve as proof of the sovereignty and excellence that they wish to attribute to the man they call Messiah, whose prodigious birth, doctrine, and miracles are recorded therein. However, seeing as everything is denied them, both by dint of argument, as is recorded in a large treatise which I have penned concerning this matter, and because we have not received such a doctrine from our forefathers who were present at the event, and could have attested to the divinity of such books, but rather they have left us a written account stating the opposite, and since there are doctrines that are contrary to divine law and the holy prophets, they warned us, saying that we should reject the gospels, that they deny the law of Moses—an argument obviously born out of obstinacy and desperation, for this manner of speaking is no different from those that, after having fought valiantly and routed various foes, seeing themselves vanquished, say that if their ship is not left in peace, they will set fire to the powder and burn themselves and their opponents, because by denying the law of Moses, the gospel itself, which is based on said law, stands rejected. And it necessarily follows from this proposition that if they are not granted that which they desire, they themselves will reject it. Nevertheless, an experienced captain, knowing this method of combat, knows methods by which, protecting oneself from harm, he can forcibly bring about the opposite result, so that he acknowledges the dominion of He to whom he owes allegiance and that the truth be clear and manifest.

Here we are presented with the judgment and celebrated sentence of King Solomon, delivered based on knowledge instilled from God Almighty, who ascertained such a concealed truth regarding who was the mother of the living child and who of the dead one, by so cruel and desperate a proposition which the mother of the dead child accepted, saying: “Neither I nor you shall have him; split him in two,” whereupon it was clear that she was not the mother of the living child. For desperation often leads to the proposition that if a person cannot achieve something, then his fellow should not achieve it either. And thus the sentence was given that that woman was not the mother of the living child, since she consented to his death, and the living child remained alive and the dead child remained dead, because one of the women proposed that both children be equally dead.