humblest thanks to his Royal Grace for sending you to me, and as far as my strength permits, if God hears my deepest prayers, I will show myself thankful for this favour. Besides, be assured that I will obey no one in the whole world so gladly as you alone. One thing I ask, that my errors be refuted by passages of Holy Scripture, so that I may not be pressed to act contrary to my conscience."[1]
They differed at the very beginning, however, on the use and interpretation of the Scriptures, Faber urging the usual Catholic saying that the Scriptures are infallible only when interpreted by an infallible Church. But Hübmaier contended that any believer, led by the Holy Spirit, can discern the true sense of Scripture, at least so far as all things necessary to salvation are concerned. Obscure passages did not demand an authoritative interpreter, but only that they be compared with other passages less obscure; and thus the meaning of the text might be authoritatively obtained. When they went on to the chief tenets of the Anabaptists, agreement was still less possible. Faber could not convince Hübmaier from the Scriptures that infants should be baptised, nor that there is any change in the elements in the eucharist, nor that the mass is a
- ↑ Quoted by Hoschek, ii., 255.
