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A71074 A second letter to Mr. G. in answer to two letters lately published concerning the conference at the D. of P. Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.; Godden, Thomas, 1624-1688. 1687 (1687) Wing S5635; ESTC R14280 27,300 46

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Faith into the Infallibility of Oral Tradition For if this were the Christian Method of Resolving Faith there would have been very little Use or Necessity of Scripture and the Fathers were extremely mistaken in the mighty Characters which on all Occasions they give of it not onely of the excellency of the matter contained in it but as a Rule of Faith for all Christians as I might easily shew if there were occasion But I desire to see any thing like the consent of the Christian Church from the Apostles times downwards for resolving Faith into mere Oral Tradition and certainly if the Church had used this way it must have understood it and expressed it And it is a just Prescription against a method of resolving Faith that the ancient Christian Church which consisted I hope of true believers never knew any thing concerning it and yet I suppose they had absolute Certainty of their Faith though they had different Translations of the Bible among them 2. As to the Number of Books I do not deny that there was in the first Ages a difference in several Churches about the Number of Canonical Books but this doth not hinder that Vniversal Testimony I mentioned For 1. It adds weight to the Churches Testimony that where there was any Controversie about any Canonical Book of the New Testament the matter was examined and debated and at last after a through discussion the Book was received as happened about the Epistle to the Hebrews Which was not received by the Authority of one Church imposing upon another but by a fair Examination of Evidence produced for its Apostolical authority which being allow'd it hath been received by the unanimous Consent of the Christian Church 2. There hath been ever since an uncontradicted Consent of the Christian Church as to the Canonical Books of the New Testament No one Church disputing the Authority of any of them And even the Council of Trent agrees with us herein although it endeavours to obtrude some Books for Canonical in the old Testament which never had the Universal Consent of the Jewish or Christian Church for them 3. He desires to know how I understand that all the Divine Revelations are contained in the New Testament viz. whether all necessary Articles of Faith are contained in the New Testament virtually and implicitly or clearly and explicitly the former will doe me little service the latter is contradicted by the Church of Rome and therefore I can plead no Vniversal Testimony of the Christian Church and so my Plea for absolute Certainty is groundless To this I answer 1. If it be agreed that all Doctrines of Faith necessary to Salvation are contained in Scripture either explicitly or implicitly which Mr. M. denies not it is sufficient for my purpose For the Ground of my Faith is absolutely Certain viz. that all necessary Articles of Faith are contained in Scripture and if they be explicit I am bound to give a distinct Assent to them if they be not then no more is required of me than to believe them when they do appear to be there which is no more than a general preparation of Mind to yield my assent to whatsoever doth appear to me to be the Word of God. So that my Faith rests on the Word of God as its absolute ground of Certainty but the particular Certainty as to this or that Doctrine depends upon the Evidence that it is contained in Scripture And it is the general Ground of Faith we are now upon and not the particular Acts of it 2. The Church of Romes assuming to it self the Power of making implicit Articles to become explicit by its declaring the sense of them doth not overthrow the Certainty of our Faith. For as long as it is granted that all necessary Articles of Faith are there explicitely or implicitely by an Universal Consent of the Christian Church it signifies nothing to the shaking of my Faith that a particular Part of the Church doth assume such a Power to it self For this must come among the particular Points of Faith and not the general Grounds It must be looked on as an Article of Faith and so it must be contained in Scripture either explicitely or implicitely If explicitely we desire to see it in express terms which I suppose you will not pretend to if only implicitely I pray tell me how I can be explicitely bound to believe such a Power in the Church of Rome which is only implicitely there And by what Power this implicite Article comes to be made explicite For the Power of the Church it self being the Article in question it is impossible that while it is only implicitely there it should make it self Explicit If it be said that it will become explicit to any sober Enquirer then every such Person may without the Churches help find out all Necessary Points of Faith which is a Doctrine I am so far from being ashamed of that I think it most agreeable to the Goodness of God the Nature of the Christi●n Faith and the Unanimous Consent of the Christian Church for many Ages But this is beyond our present business 3. The Church of Rome hath no-where declared in Council that it hath any such Power of making implicit Articles of Faith contained in Scripture to become explicit by its explaining the Sense of them For the Church of Rome doth not pretend to make new Articles of Faith but to make an implicit Doctrine to become explicit is really to make a new Article of Faith. It doth not indeed make a new Divine Revelation but it makes that which was not necessary to be believed to become necessary and what is not necessary to be believed is no Article of Faith. What is only believed implicitely is not actually believed but there is only a preparation of mind to believe it supposing it to be made appear to be a matter of Faith. Besides the Church of Rome declares that it receives its Doctrines by Tradition and although I have often heard of an implicit Faith I know not what to make of an implicit Tradition I had thought whatever is delivered by way of Tradition must be explicit or else the Father and Son might easily be mistaken And so for all that I can see Mr. M. and you must dispute it out for you say That the Infallibility of Faith depends on Oral Tradition and the Infallibility of Oral Tradition on this that the Traditionary Christians hold the same Doctrine to day that was delivered yesterday in Faith and so up to the time of our B. Saviour But what think you now of Mr. M.'s assertion That the Church hath power to interpret and make known implicit Doctrines contained in Scripture so as to make it necessary to believe them explicitely For he saith That all the Churches in Communion with Rome do hold there are Divine Revelations in Scripture which are contained there virtually and implicitely so as they need the Churches Interpretation and Authority for being
in Answer to the next Question Q. 2. By what certain Rule do you hold it A. 2. By the Divine Revelations contained in the Writings of the New Testament Here was no Subtilty or Learning requisite but to give a plain Answer as to the Rule of our Faith. Which we do assert to be the Written Word and no Oral Tradition Q. 3. Then follow'd By what certain Rule do you know that the New Testament which we now have does contain all the Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles A. 3. By the Vniversal Testimony of the Christian Church from the Apostles time downwards In which Answer I laid down the Grounds of our different Resolution of Faith from that which you contend for and which I at large explained in the Conference it self viz. that our Certainty of Faith is chiefly resolved into the Testimony of the Apostolical Churches which first received the Books of the New Testament from the Divine Writers of them and from these Churches where the Authentick Writings themselves were preserved Copies were dispersed over other Churches which by comparing together the Testimonies of the several Churches did by degrees fix upon the Certain Canon of the New Testament Here a Question was started Whether all the Books of the New Testament were alike received I answer'd not at first but after due Examination those which were at first Controverted came to be universally received And I particularly instanced in the Church of Rome which a long time did not receive the Epistle to the Hebrews when it was received by other Churches but at last did yield to the Testimony of other Churches therein From whence I observed that the Church of Rome was far from being believed then to have the Authority of making the Canon of Scripture or being Infallible in Faith it being then taxed for disbelieving a Part of Scripture and being at last over-ruled by the Testimony of the other Apostolical Churches I remember I asked you how it came about that the Church of Rome in St Ierom's time did err about the Epistle to the Hebrews if there were any Infallibility in it And your Answer was that Rome was at a great distance from Judea Which I thought a strange Answer considering the Communication the Churches then had at greater distance and the frequent Recourse of Iews to Rome but especially if that Church had any Promise of Infallibility made to it Which to be just to you I do not remember that you once asserted in all that two hours Discourse And truly you were not inconsistent with your Principles therein For Infallibility by Promise and by Oral Tradition are as different as Grace and Nature or the Assent of Faith from a Dictate of Reason In Faith a Divine Testimony is supposed in the Infallibility of Oral Tradition nothing but a Natural Principle that men must hold the same Doctrine to day that they did yesterday and so up to the time of our Blessed Saviour Where the different method of our resolving Faith appears you begin at the present time and so run upwards but the force of all lies in the connexion of one link with another inseparably which I say will by no means hold but ours begins with the Apostolical Churches which first received the sacred Books and delivered them down their Testimony is the Authentick instrument of conveying down the Canon of Scripture and the following Tradition of the Church is onely a conveying down that first Testimony upon which we believe the Canon of the New Testament There were many interlocutory passages about this Subject but this is the substance of what I distinctly remember Q. 4. Was that Vniversal Testimony an Infallible Rule to assure us certainly down to our time that the New Testament contained all the Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles A. 4. The Vniversal Testimony of the Christian Church concerning the Book of Scripture and the Doctrine contained therein is a sufficient Ground to make us certain of all matters necessary to our Salvation To make this Answer clear we are to consider that the Scripture being our sole and entire Rule of Faith all matters necessary to Salvation must be supposed to be contained therein and therefore the same Testimony which delivers the Scripture to us doth deliver all the necessary Articles of Faith as contained therein Which are there received as in the Lump and if we receive the Book which contains all we must by the same Authority receive all contained in it As if a Purse be left to a Man by his Father's Will full of Gold and Silver and this by the Executours be declared to contain all the Gold and Silver his Father left him they who deliver this Purse to him from the Executours do certainly deliver to him all the Gold and Silver left him by his Father But if he suspects there was both Gold and Silver left him by his Father which was not in that Purse then he must call in question the Integrity of the Executours who declared that all was contained therein This is now the Case of the Christian Church as to all Divine Truths which respect Mens Salvation the Primitive Church who answer to the Executours in the other Case did unanimously declare that all such Truths were undoubtedly contained in the Written Word Although therefore there may be a real difference in the nature of the Doctrines therein contained as there is between Gold and Silver yet he that receives all must receive the one as well as the other and the matters of Salvation being of greatest moment they that receive the whole Will of God upon grounds of certainty must be assured that therein they receive all matters necessary to our Salvation Against my Answer to this Question Mr. M. suggests several things p. 12. 1. As to difference of Translations Doth Mr. M. think our Faith is to be resolved into the Original Texts What becomes then of the Vulgar Latin For although the Council of Trent declares it to be Authentick yet I take it to be but a Translation But there is a difference of Translations and there is no unanimous consent of the Christian Church for any one And how is it possible there should be since the Christian Church consists of so many bodies of Men of different Countries and Languages But we have the unanimous Consent of all the ancient Christian Churches for the Translation of the Scripture into their own Languages which shews that they thought the People ought to be acquainted with it as the Word of God so translated and that they were to resolve their Faith into it as they were capable of understanding it And it is very hard to conceive how Faith can be resolved into an unknown Tongue but we have the unanimous consent of the Christian Church that Faith must rest upon the Word of God which is contained in the Books of Scripture And therefore we have the Consent of the Christian Church against resolving