Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	bishop_n	roman_a	rome_n	2,365	5	6.7055	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28474	Essays on several subjects written by Sir Tho. Pope Blount.; Essays. Selections	Blount, Thomas Pope, Sir, 1649-1697.	1692 (1692)	Wing B3349; ESTC R202032	58,794	183

my own defence make a short Digression by desiring the Reader to observe that the Sacrifices I mention are the Heathen Sacrifices And therefore if any one shall be so disingenuous as to say that by an Innuendo I mean the Jewish Sacrifices I have this to say in answer to such That their want of Charity in judging that to be my meaning which I never intended is I am sure a much greater Crime than any thing I have offer'd in the said Discourse But since I have this Oportunity I will now declare my thoughts as to the Jewish Sacrifices This therefore I take to be the true and only reason why Almighty God commanded his People the Jews the use of Sacrifices not because he himself had any delight in them but because the Jews had been us'd to this kind of Worship while they were in Egypt which had made a deep root in their minds and that they were such an obstinate sort of People that if they had not been comply'd with in this point of Sacrifices which was a Religion somewhat agreeable to their Idolatrous temper they could never have been brought off from their Idolatry and Heathenish Religion And therefore Almighty God allow'd the Jews the use of Sacrifices as a thing rather agreeable to their Genius and Complexion than any way suitable to his own pure Divine Nature He did not prescribe these things because they were best saith the Reverend Dr. Tillotson but because the Temper of that People would then admit of nothing better But I beg pardon for this Digression and do now proceed Was it not also from the same root I mean the Covetous temper of the Heathen Priests from whence sprung up the first Idolatry that ever was in the World Those crafty Covetous Priests knew well enough that the celebrating many Gods and the introducing several Worships of them would turn much more to their profit and advantage than the single Worship of the Supreme God And therefore rather than want Gods they took care to Coin a sufficient number of them there being no less according to Varro than thirty thousand Heathen Deities And that the Priests let them pretend to what they would consulted not herein the good of the People so much as their own particular Interests does most manifestly appear by the choice they made of their Gods most of which we know were renowned for nothing so much as for their Vices Mars a bloody God Bacchus a drunken God Mercury a cheating God and so proportionably in the several kinds all the rest Nay even their great capital God Jupiter was guilty of almost all the Capital Vices And therefore no wonder we find such gross and extravagant things in the old Heathenish Religion when the very Gods whom they Worshipp'd gave such Encouragement thereunto by their lewd Example And where the Gods are naught who can expect the Religion should be good for 't is the nature of all Religions to encline Men to imitate him whom they worship Another Artifice whereby the Heathen Priests us'd to make themselves esteem'd and valued was that Invention of theirs the setting up of Oracles 'T is hard to say who were guilty of the greater folly the Ignorant Heathen who believ'd those Predictions to come from Heaven or those Superstitious Christians who thought they came from the Devil since they were both under a gross mistake For certainly to any Man who is unbiass'd in opinion and who dares suffer himself to think beyond the narrow Rules of his Education they cannot appear to be any thing but the meer juggling and Imposture of the Heathen Priests who upon all occasions were ready to flatter the Prince and to insinuate to the People the absolute necessity of complying with the Ambitious Designs of their present Rulers Hence then whenever there was any extraordinary occasion for making use of the People as in time of War it was always contriv'd that the Oracle should be Consulted which never fail'd to Pronounce in favour of the Present Government And therefore no wonder the Priests were such Favourites at Court since they were so useful to the Prince in the managing and steering of the common People Thus it plainly appears That Interest was the Principle of those Heathen Priests Let us now see whether when Popery came upon the Stage the World was any thing mended or whether the Popish Priests were Men more abstracted from Worldly Interest or no. In after times when Rome Pagan became Rome Christian then sprung there up a new Set of Men who for Craft and Subtilty did many degrees outgo their Predecessors the Heathen Priests These appeared but meer Bunglers compared to this new Brood whose very Religion was nothing else but Sacerdotal Interest For whoever examines the whole Fabrick of Popery shall find that the Corner-stone of that Building is Interest And were is not for the Profitable part I question not but the Foolish part of Popery would soon be laught out of doors But since the true nature of Things is best to be learnt in their Minute Parts we will lay aside Generals and descend to Particulars To begin therefore with the very Original of Popery which you will find to be thus As on the one hand it must be confess'd that the Primitive Christians who were generally Subjects of the Roman Empire had a very great deference and respect for the Bishops of Rome because t●at was the Imperial City so on the other hand Church-History plainly shews That notwithstanding this great deference the Bishops of Rome had no Authority or Jurisdiction out of their own Province that is beyond the Suburbicary Region of Italy till after the Division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western It was not long after that Division and chiefly upon the weakness of the Western Empire that that Power which we now call the Papacy grew up As the Empire decay'd so by degrees this encreased and gather'd Strength the design being at first not to set up a new Religion but a new Monarchy in the place of the old then expiring Thus while the Roman Empire was gasping for Life did the Bishops of Rome force it to make what Will and Testament they pleas'd Being thus Establish'd and making Rome whose name was still Venerable the Seat of their Dominion they soon obtain'd a Supremacy over the Western World In this manner and with these Steps did the Papacy first advance it self their Designs being apparently Secular tending not to the Salvation of Mens Souls but the Support of their own grandure And therefore these Spiritual Machiavillians according to the old Policy are for preserving their Empire after the same way and manner as it was at first acquired No wonder then that the chief Topick of Popery is Argumentum ab Utili which of all Arguments carries the greatest force in the Church of Rome And this will more plainly appear if we do but draw up the Curtain and present you with Popery in its full