is impossible say they what perfection can be had if all our Actions be Sins Are Sins and perfections Synonima's Can I command my self to think that that man who is confessedly acknowledged to be composed of iniquity and to do nothing but abomination from Morning till Evening lives innocently like an Anchoret an Austere and Godly Life How can Protestant Doctrine give them a deeper fear of Hell if in that same that they fear Hell they believe and see clearly that they cannot be saved Because who fears has not assurance which is the portionâ— of every just Man since he is not just unless he believe that his Sins are remitted by the Merits of Christ And must every man to whom the Gospel is Preached believe this How many then believe a lye Or what reason have you to believe it more then any other to whom the Gospel is Preached Because you find your self to walk more Cautiously then Romanists But how do you walk more cautiously then we Since if you avoid one damnable Sin you necessarily fall into another seeing you cannot do any thing with all the assistance of the Grace of Christ which is not an abomination in the sight of God This is a cold comfort to Protestants and all this sad Doctrine comes from that great Protestant Principle Baptism does not take away Original sin So that as a poysoned Fountain runs nothing but poysonous Water the Soul of Man still remaining corrupted with Original Sin brings forth nothing but corruption How will Souls so foul enter Heaven Protestants smile if from this passage Matth. 12. v. 33. Some Sins shall neither be forgiven in this World nor in the World to come we silly Romanists infer that since no Sin is forgiven in Hell or Heaven there must be a third place in the other World call 't as you please in the which some Sins may be forgiven But may not we rather laughout at the fancy of Men who acknowledging themselves to be all broken out with the runing sores of Original Actual Sin think with an imaginary cloaking of themselves with the Justice of Christ above all is hidden filth they shall enter Heaven as 〈◊〉 as a Plague Person under a disguise enters a 〈◊〉 Hospital â—â—e Master of the Hospital may be deceived I 〈◊〉 but God who hath said that nothing which â—â—s shall enter Heaven Rev. cap. 21. v. 27. â—ot be deluded SECT V. â—he Churches not permitting all Parts of the Scripture indifferently to be read by all is Justified And her high sentiment of this word of God declared MAny stumble at the Churches not permitting indifferently all those who only understand the holy Scriptures in a vulgar Tongue to read them But without reason this is first the great veneration the Church has for the Word of God not to submit his high Mysteries to the Interpretation of every Ignorant Creature while upon all occasions they read it with as little respect as if it were a Romance or a play Book and give their verdict of its meaning the Prophet Malachy in the mean time cap. 2. v. 7. sayes the lips of the Priest shall keep knowledge and the Law they shall require of his Mouth Secondly The Church deals with her Children as Christ dealt with his Apostles John 16. v. 12. and St. Paul with the Corinthians 1 Cor. 3 v. 2. Christ did not propose to them all the strong truths while they were week in Vertue I have said he many other things to tell you which you are not able to bear at present Iohn 16.12 And St. Paul gave the Corinthians Milk not then stronger Food saying to them that they were not yet able 1 Cor. 3. v. 2. Wise Parents at a great Table do not let their Children take what they please but give them of Meats presented what they know to be fit for their weak Stomach So the Church allows the learned to feed themselves with the Holy Scripture she gives of the same Table to the unlearned by their Pastors and Teachers what is fittest for them lest having the whole Bible in their hands especially without the Notes for the better understanding of it they wrong themselves as those who as St. Peter 2 Pet. 3. v. 16. speaks wrested some passages of St. Paul as also the other Scriptures to their own destruction Destruction Implyes more then mistakes in Indifferent matters Would it not startle an Ignorant to hear afore the Passage is explained what God said to the Prophet Isaiah cap. 6. v. 10. Blind the heart of the People c. Lest perhaps they may see with their Eyes and be converted Would an Infinite Goodness says an Ignorant command a Prophet to do so Would it not amaze the same to read in the first of Hosea v. 1. That God commanded him to take a Whore and take to himself Children of Whoredom Is it possible sayes the Ignorant that Sanctity it self should speak so With what surprizing passages will an Ignorant Carnal Man meet with in the Canticles Respect then the Holy Ghost in the Conduct of the Church and do not think that her Children who do not nor cannot read the Scriptures live in ignorance Lukewarmness Indifferency without relishing Heavenly things without true Devotion more then Abraham Isaac and Iacob who had the same want but were Instructed to the Piety we read of by the Tradition from others as our unlearn'd are by the Labours of our Pastors and Preachers who not being diverted from their Book and Prayer by the necessary care of providing for Wife and Children Meditate at leasure the Holy Bible and study how they may best deliver to the People the Truths they find there both necessary to Salvation and conducing to Persection And this aboundantly suffices unless you will exclude also among Protestants all those who cannot read from Devotion as if God had design'd only great Wits for Heaven Add to all this that if the Scripture put into every private Mans hand and being understood by him according to his best Judgement be to him a sufficient Rule of Faith which without doubt would breed as much confusion in the Church as the Law Book Interpreted by every private Man without Obligation to submit to the Kings Judges would do in the Kingdom what need have you of Ministers more then Quakers If every one be thus capable to understand the Word why is he not capable to Preach it And if he be capable to Preach it to others or stirr them up to the Faith of Justifying Grace why is he not capable to give also the Sacrament or the Sign of it receiv'd If you say that God has ordained Bishops or Presbyters to Govern the Church I answer 't is not Civily but in Doctrine what will this Government in our case serve for but to make them Hypocrites since they must then believe outwardly what the Minister Teaches and inwardly what their own light perswades them often contrary to the Ministers perswasion When we
owed to God to a Creature Mindfull of this wonder no more that a Man who leaves God may become as void of Reason as a Calf To return then to our Foolish Israelits was that way of speaking these are thy Gods in the plural number a representation of one God in one Essence and Nature From the Golden Calf let us come to our Images they are called the Books of Ignorants but in our Adversaries Judgement ought rather to be term'd the Books of Ignorance because they are the occasion of many Errors sayes he For Example the Picture of an Old Man representing God the Father a Dove the Holy Ghost are apt to make the Ignorant sort believe they have indeed some such shape Answer VVe must then blot out of the Holy Scripture all these expressions and ways of speaking by which God is said to Heare to See to repent Gen c. 6. v. 6. Lest the Ignorant People think that God has Ears and Eyes and sorrow in his Hart as we have Now reflect that these Pictures are not representatives of God the Father or of the Holy Ghost immediatly but of an old Man and a Dove which are the Symbols of God the Father and the Holy Ghost in as much as they in some sort represent to us the destinctive perfections of those Divine Persons As the old Man is the Principle of his son and not mutualy principal'd by him so God the Father is the principle of God the Son and God the Holy Ghost and is not principal'd by them Also the puritie and fecundity of the Dove makes us more sensible of the Sanctity we are said to receave particularly from the Holy Ghost as a fountain of purity and of the fecundity of his grace brought forth in us The occasion then of Deception if there be any is not in the Images but in the things Immediatly represented by Them I hope the Zeal of our Antagonist will not be so blind on this account as to study the Extirpation of Doves and ridding the World of old Men since it is not to be thought that Christians are easily to be found of so gross an imagination as to think that the Nature or Essence of God or the Holy Ghost can be Painted out to our Eyes altho ' they may be Painted in that Figure it pleased them to appear as God appeared to Daniel with the Hairs of his Head as pure Wool Daniel 7. v. 9. And the Holy Ghost in Form of a Dove Luke 3. v. 22. SECT II. The Protestants do not Adore God in Spirit and Truth nor the R. Catholick the Cross as GOD. ALtho' our Adversary think it undeniable that Protestants Adore more than R. Catholicks in Spirit and Truth because they Adore God immediatly sayes he without having recourse to Images Yet I think I reasonably deny both parts of his proposition the first because as a Protestant to make me believe that he has Faith must prove it by his Works according to St. Iames 2. v. 18. so to perswade me that he Adores God in Spirit he must manifest it to me by his outward respect to him Shall I say that Mans Heart Adores God whose Hand does not do his duty to him Protestants do not give to God the chief Adoration which is due to him as he is above all Creatures I mean a proper Sacrifice which was ever esteemed by all and is the great Act of Religion and how shall I believe that their Spirit Adores him Self-denyals and Mortifications of the Flesh instituted and practised by the Antient Church out of a respect to God they retrench and how shall I know that in Spirit they Adore him He requires as an Homage from Men to keep his Commands saying my Yoke is easie and my Burden is light and Protestants tell him flatly they can't do it Is this to submit their Judgment to his and so in Spirit Adore him Neither do they Adore him in Truth Who knew which way God was to be truly Ador'd or according to his will before he reveal'd it Now that he has reveal'd it in the Holy Scriptures and addrest us to the Church for the understanding of this way of Adoring in these Words Matth. 18. v. 17. Who will not hear the Church let him be to the c. Since Protestants will not hear Her shall I say that doing contray to his Command they Honour him truly or in Truth Adore him When Saul sent to destroy Amalek spared the best of the spoil 1 Sam. 15. as he excus'd himself to Samuel to Sacrifice to God did he in that truly Adore God No but his own will transgressing the Command of God so Protestants taking a way of their own to serve God contrary to his Command in his Holy Word they do not truly serve him nor in Truth Adore him When our Adversary condemns our serving of God by the help of Images he condemns himself For he can't Adore God without thinking of him this thought a good will cherishes drives away others which hinder or weaken it strives to conserve it and beggs of God to continue it and so shows by all this a great respect for it And why so much respect for it Because it helps the will to move more frequently and attentively to GOD. And at last this good thought is found to be an Image for it is an Act of the understanding and every Act of the understanding is a representation of its Object and this representation is an Inâ—ge presupposing another Image more material in the Imagination And this same is all the use Romanists make of Images O but you Adore sayes he confessedly the Cross cultu latriae with that Soveraign cult belonging to God only and what can we instance in defence of our Innocency Answer This assertion is false I instance First the second Council of Nice Act. 7. Where it saies that Pictures are to be Worshiped but not with the cult of Latry which is the Worship we give to God And speaking particularly of the Cross saies our Adoration of it is only a Salutation Aspasmos and brings a number of Examples of it as Iacob is said to have Ador'd Esau Gen. 33. v. 3. And Abraham the Sons of Heth for the Field he received from them for the Burying place of Sara his Wise Gen. 23. v. 7. I instance secondly for our Innocency of this Crime the Council of Trents Words Ses 25. de Invoc Vener reliquiarum S. S. Sa. Imag. mandat Sancta Synodus c. Imagines Christi Deiparae Virginis aliorum Sanctorum in Templis presertim habendas retinendas eisque debitum honorem venerationem impertiendam non quod credatur inesse aliqua in iis divinitas vel virtus propter quam sint colendae vel quod ab eis sit aliquid petendum Vel quod fiducia in Imaginibus sit figenda vel uti olim fiebat a gentibus quae in Idolis spem suam collocabant sed quoniam honos qui eis
AN ANSWER To a little Book call'd PROTESTANCY To be Embrac'd OR A New and infallible Method to reduce ROMANISTS FROM POPERY to PROTESTANCY Printed in the Year 1686. TO THE READER AT this time in which all that comes from Pen or Pulpit against Popery is of so good Coyn with PROTESTANTS that they have Re-printed a late in Scotland to amuse more the Ignorant People a little Book bearing for the Title A New Method c. I have resolved to put an Answer of it to the Press Altho' it pleases the Author to call it New I scarce find any New thing in it it containing hardly any thing which has not been Objected and Answered His turn indeed from the R. Catholick Religion to the Protestant was then New but it and all its Circumstances being of small or no importance to the publick I take no notice of it For the Dogmatical part of his Book since he runs through allmost all our Articles endeavouring so to blemish every one with his Pen that his Book seems more to be a Slanderous Libel then a Confutation of our Religion I have thought it was not amiss to give it such an Answer as might be both a Solution to what is Objected and an Explanation of our Tenets in that manner that it may appear how much they wrong us when the R. Catholick Religion is represented to the Common People as groundless and full of Superstition And for this latter Reason Courteous Reader you will excuse me if I am a little longer then seem'd to require the Answer of so small a matter To make my Work less tedious to those who will do me the Honour to Read it I have divided the whole into several Chapters Sections and Subsections with Titles relating to their different Subjects Fare-well Unto the Right Honourable JAMES EARL OF PERTH c. Lord High Chancellour of SCOTLAND Sir GEORGE LOCKHART Lord President of the Session GEORGE Viscount of Tarbet Lord Clerk-Register Sir James Foulis of Collingtoun Lord Justice-Clerk Sir John Lockhart of Cassle-Hill Sir David Balfour of Forret Sir James Foulis of Reidfoord Sir Roger Hogg of Hearease Sir Andrew Birnie of Saline Sir Patrick Ogilvie of Boyn Sir John Murray of Drumcairn Sir George Nicolson of Kemnay John Wauchop of Edmistoun Sir Thomas Stewart of Balcasky Sir Patrick Lyon of Carse Senators of the Colledge of Justice and Ordinar Lords of Council and Session JOHN Marquess of ATHOL c. Lord Privy Seal WILLIAM Duke of Hamiltoun c. ALEXANDER Earl of Murray c. Secretary of State for the Kingdom of Scotland PATRICK Earl of Strathmore c. Extraordinar Lords of the Council and Session MY LORDS YOu are the Great Reasoners of this Nation our Wise Kings have judiciously set you on your Seats with Power to bring other Men to Reason Wherefore I hope you will not take it ill I beg your Patronage and favourable Look upon a Book which defends it self not so much by Authority as by Reason Passages from the Holy Fathers it backs by Reason to Passages of the Holy Scripture it submits with Reason for Faith is Superior to Reason and Reason it self tells us that to Faith we must submit our Reason Would we think that Man reasonable who would doubt to submit his Reason to God the Principle of Reason God will and ought to be Worshiped our Nature and Reason tells us but how we know not unless he himself reveal it Some thought the Deity they acknowledged was to be Worshiped with the Sacrifice of themselves or the Burning of their Children as some Pagans In the Old Law they thought God was to be Ador'd by the Sacrifice of Beasts But in the New we abhor such Sacrifices Roman Catholicks among Christians offer him daily the Sacrifice of his Son Incarnate Protestants condemn this Sacrifice and content themselves to Honour him with the improper Sacrifice of their Prayers and of sorrow for their Sins From this Variety of Judgement in Men as to the Worship of God Let us Reason My Lords certainly God is not at present content to be Worshiped by any of these waies I please for one disallows the other Judging it abominable If the Spirit of God moves me to one of these in particular the same Spirit cannot move another to abhor my way of Worship and condemn it and if it be the true Spirit that moves him who condemns me 't is not the true Spirit by which I am moved so that its impossible for Man to know by which way he ought to turn himself to God without a Revelation You see then 't is but Natural to expect it from him and that we would be all at a stand without it We find in our selves a violent inclination to Lust Intemperance and other Evils lay aside the Revelation of Original Sin the cause of these Disorders to whom shall we ascribe it Shall we say that God who made our Nature and all that is in it implanted in us these vitious inclinations No. They are Motions contrary to the Motions of his Spirit a Law contrary to the Law of God they formally oppose his Sanctity and contradict him speaking to us by Reason Rom. 7.23 They cannot be then from God but from whom else we had not known had we not had a Divine Revelation When we following our Appetites have worked against Reason Reason tells us we have offended the Author or Giver of our Reason but again in what manner we ought to make amends we know not without a Revelation We Christians then unanimously conceive that God has revealed both what he would have us Believe of him and what he would have us do to serve him And hold that all those Divine Truths are shut up in a Book we call the Bible We all run to this Book earnest to know what is our Duty to God which is indeed as the wise Man saies omnis Homo and without which in Truth nihil est omnis Homo But who shall Interpret this Book to us We see our greatest Divines cannot agree among themselves in the sense of it how shall meaner Capacities hope to understand it When we are at variance in our understanding of a Passage and which misunderstood is our Destruction 2 Petr. 3.16 Who shall be our Judge to set him who is wrong right and so compose our difference The Scripture it self by a conference of Passages My LORDS I appeal to your Wisdom and your Knowledge of the Duty of a Judge or a Man in your Station Is it not the part of a Judge so to give Sentence that all present may know who of the two Dissenting Parties is in the right or who is in the wrong according to the Judges Sentence But after the Scripture has said all it can to our learndest Men after they have conferred Passage with Passage in the Vulgar and Original Tongues Prayed used what other means you please excepting their submission to an Infallible Church Neither of them will avow
that he is condemned by Scripture then Scripture alone cannot be our Judge nor does God himself by Scripture alone decide our differences In the mean time without a Judge we are all loose in our Opinions Hence Confusion Fire Sword Church against Church and Dissention among the People to the Destruction of the Nation And what is the business What is the Quarrel They won't submit their Judgment to mine To yours And why should they submit their Judgment more to yours than you to theirs Who thinks himself to be void of wit or not to abound in Judgment quisquis in suo sensu abundat and if it be true that there is no Infallible Visible Judge why may not I hope that God gives me as much of his Divine assistance as to you since I use as much diligence as you to obtain it My LORDS do you see where we are What would the Law Book do in Scotland if your Lordships Wisdoms were not impowered and authorized by his Majesty to determine Causes What Cause does not find an Advocate to make the Law look favourably upon his Clyant Will we make God less wise to keep an Vnion in his Church than Kings to keep an Vnion in their Kingdom A Holy King most earnest to have Justice administred to his People if it were in his Power and he could with his ease enlighten his Judges with Truth in giving their Sentence would he not do it Does not God as earnestly desire as that Holy King that all Men come to the Knowledge of the Truth in matters of Faith if we may believe St. Paul 1 Tim. 2. v. 4. And cannot he if he please without any difficulty enlighten his Church and influence Her with an Infallible assistance in Her Decisions Why then shall we not think he has done so Since he has established Her to Govern us Act 20.28 and subjected us to Her Obedience Matth. 18.17 What do I say shall we not think he has done so Can a Christian rationally doubt yet of it after Christ's saying to Her Who hears you hears me Luc. 10 and after St. Paul's assuring us Eph. 4. that Christ made some Teachers in his Church that we might not waver And who can but waver and be ready to hearken to others who speak with more applause if he Judge his Fore Teachers Fallible in the great and last concern of his Eternity Grant this My LORDS which is evident enough that the Teaching Church of Christ wheresomever She be is Infallible in Her Decisions of Religion and the main Work is done for we will as easily find Her out by Her Marks set down in the Holy Scriptures as the Sun among the Planets in Sole posuit Tabernaculum suum Psal 18. he has made Her as Visible as the Sun What is unreasonable in all this Discourse But if the great Reason of looking strange on us be the imagined difformity of our Religion from the Word of GOD be pleas'd to cast your Wiser Eyes upon this little Book and with your Reason examine impartially the Reasons we bring for the R. Catholick Religion If here and there our Reasons seem to contradict your senses 't is to obey Faith to Her according to St. Paul Rom. 1. v. 5. We owe Obedience and such that we must sometimes captivate our understanding for this performance 2 Corin. 10. v. 5. 'T is true Reason is the Light of Man but Faith is the Light of a Christian To be a Man I must be Rational but moreover I must Believe to have the Title of a Christian God has given us both our Will and our Vnderstanding He will and with all Reason be Honoured by the one aswell as by the other I Honour him with my Will when I Obey his Law I Honour him with my Vnderstanding when I submit to Faith and seek no other evidence than his Word for all I Believe in order to my Salvation As my doing what otherwaies pleases not my Nature because God commands it is a perfect submission of my Will to his command so my Believing what God reveals to me by his Church which otherwaies I don't understand is a perfect submission of my Vnderstanding to his Word A Word worthy of our Adoration God by the force of his Word Created us by the bounty of his Word Redeemed us and by the Submission of our Judgment to his Word revealed to us by his Church expects to Save us Otherwaies not He that Believes not viz. all that he has revealed shall be Damned undoubtedly Mark 16.16 I know My Lords that if a Man find himself convinced to become a Catholick at this time the very fear of being thought to turn upon the account of Gaining or continuing in Favour is no small Stumbling-Block to Persons of Honour But if you have strong Reason on your side what Reasonable Man can wonder Should not they rather wonder to see you Men before in their Opinion so Reasonable now fail and fall from Reason or of so little resolution as to leave an infinite Good for a Good that is so finite so small I mean a conservation of esteem among the Vulgar Of this last I thought good to mind your Lordships in my great Zeal for your Souls and high respect for your Persons coveting to be in Christ MY LORDS Your Lordships most Humble Servant A TABLE Of the CONTENTS Of this BOOK A Preamble Pag. 1 Answer to what is Objected against the R. Catholicks Speculative Divinity p. 2 Answer to what is Objected against R. Catholicks Practical or Moral Divinity p. 4 Protestants cannot be Sav'd even in the Opinion of our Adversary because they don't fulfill what is requir'd by him to Salvation p. 6 Protestants are in a worse condition than those who never heard of Christ p. 9 It is not Lawfull to follow a probable Opinion in matter of Belief p. 11 'T is not a probable Opinion that a Protestant may be Sav'd p. 13 The formal Protestant cannot be Sav'd p. 16 Formal Protestants are Schismaticks p. 22 Other Proofs that we agree in Faith with those of the first three Ages p. 26 Formal Protestants are Hereticks p. 29 St. Augustin 's saying of the mending of a former Council by a posterior sully answered p. 31 Another Objection solv'd p. 35 'T is an Article of Faith that General approved Councils are Infallible p. 36 The Infallibility of a General approv'd Council proven by some other passages of Scripture and our Adversary's explication of them exploded p. 39 'T is not necessary the Infallibility of the Church be defin'd in a General Council yet it is in General Councils defin'd by a practical Definition p. 42 We are sure that the Major Part of an approv'd General Council is Baptiz'd p. 46 The Infallibility of the Church deny'd underminds Christianity p. 47 A Word by way of entry into this matter p. 50 The Intention of the Minister required by the Church in Baptism explained makes appear the nullity of our Adversaries
Objection p. 52 We have security for the Salvation of a Child dying immediatly after Baptism Protestants have none p 57 Our Adversary's Exception against our Doctrine of Purgatory retorted upon Protestants p. 59 The Churches not permiting all Parts of the Scripture indefferently to be Read by all is justified And Her high Sentiment of this Word of God declared p. 61 The Scripture is not known to us to be the Word of God without the Tradition of the Church and therefore is not our sole Rule of Faith p. 65 This passage search the Scriptures John chap. 5. makes nothing for Protestants p. 65 The Reason why the Mass is not said in the Valgar Tongue p. 70 The Roman Doctrine of Transubstantiation does not destroy experimental knowledge nor deceive our Senses p. 74 In the Eucharist our Senses are not deceiv'd in their proper Object p. 77 Transubstantiation neither inclines us to Idolatry nor Hypocrisie with some questions about the Protestants Communion p. 80 Roman Catholicks do not agree with Heathens in their Veneration and use of Images p. 85 The Protestants do not Adore GOD in Spirit and Truth nor the Roman Catholicks the Cross as GOD. p. 88 Invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary does not withdraw us from God nor dishonour Christ p. 93 Protestants live in Spiritual Slavery not Catholicks The Decree of Innocent the Third in the third Cap. of the General Council of Lateran is not a Decree of Faith p. 96 St. Pauls saying whatsomever is Sold in the Shambles c. 1 Cor. 10. v. 24 25 27. makes nothing against our abstinence from Flesh upon forbidden dayes p. 103 The Proofs our Adversary brings out of Scripture for the Marrying of Church-Men are willfull or Ignorant mistakes of the Word of God p. 107 Religious Vows are allowable p. 111 The three Religious Vows of Poverty Chastity and Obedience are Evangelical Counsels p. 113 Vows put not a Man in a worse condition more then the Law of God p. 118 What is the Fruit of these Vows well observed p. 119 Answers the rest of this matter of Vows p. 122 A Recapitulation or short Repetition of the Contents in this Book p. 127 Answer to the Poscript p. 137 A Reason to prove the necessity of an Infallible Visible Guide p. 13â— ERRATA Pag. 5. Lin. 15. apponent R. opponent P. 7. L. 36. the first of R. the first part of P. 8. L. 3 after least add L. 4. after faction add P. 10. L. 4. can't R. can't L. 10. you R. you Ibid. L. 33. meet R. met P. 11. L. 2. a Infidel R. an Infidel P. 14. L. 26. Augustin R. Augustin L. 4. Conf. c. 5. P. 23. L. 10. one R. on L. 36. before R. before P. 24. L. 17. of the world blot out after the P. 24. L. 24. after Her add L. 3. c. 3. P. 37. L. 20. a possibiliiy R. a possibility P 39. L. 17. for all R. for since all L. 28. runs R run P. 40. L. 26 full out R. fall out P. 58. L. 23. to a R. to be a P. 59. L. 8. canses R. causes P. 72. L. 29. a vulgar R. an unknown P. 79. L. 31. indentification R. identification P. 82. L. 5. splear R. sphear P. 83. L. 22. is not R. and it is not P. 86. L. 36. oscuratus R. obscuratum P. 92. L. 22. Ghost R. Host P. 93. L. 19. Intercessors R. Intercessors P. 95. L. 15. stahding R. standing P. 99. L. 11. ascent R. assent L. 12. ascented R. assented to P. 112. L. 3. tates R. States P. 128. L. 18. that is say R. that is to say P. 129. L. 27. we distinguish R. our distinguishing P. 130. L. 4. the disformity R. difformity P. 133. L. 28. meditation R. mediation P. 140. L. 23. ascent R. assent AN ANSWER To A little Book call'd PROTESTANCY To be Embrac'd OR An infallible Method to reduce ROMANISTS FROM POPERY to PROTESTANCY A Preamble THIS Rare Method so taking in the Fancy of its Author may have some Vanity in it but sure no Verity being found to be Compos'd Chymera-like of two Qualities which destroy each other It is said to be Infallible and New If Infallible it must be according to Protestants the Word of God or at least contained in it and by consequence Ancient and so not new If new it is not the Word of God nor contained in it and so not Infallible Again if new it is a meer Work of Reason and so not a Way to lead Men Infallibly to Truth in matter of Religion CHAP. I. Of our Speculative and Moral or Practical Divinity SECT I. Answer to what is Objected against the R. Catholicks Speculative Divinity I Find our School Divinity is tax'd by our Adversary of a double Sacriledge which is that it both hinders Devotion and enervats Faith But this is a false surmise for how can it be possible that She which alone among all our Sciences makes it Her task to propose to us explain and confirm the Object of Faith and Devotion I mean first God and his Divine Attributs and next how we should Honour Him and behave our selves with his Majesty in our Worship to him should not promote but hinder Faith and Devotion Is it credible say I that this Science with all the endeavour and afforded Light should not help but rather remove us from our end If some short-fighted People think She moves more doubts then She satisfies with Her Solutions The fault is in their weak sight or tainted understanding not in Divinity As when in some the Ill affected Pallate loaths Meats which otherwaies are most wholesome Many things altho' most certain to R. Catholicks are discussed in this Science and brought by Reason to a rigid Tryal by which means doubts which do or may arise to the Enemies of our Faith find a clear Solution Thus Reason then overâ—ome by the very Arms of Reason does not only captivate Her self to obey Faith but moreover freely yields and joynes with Her against the Enemies of our Religion So against the Iews we demand if it was possible that God should become Man Against those who deny the veracity of Scripture if God can lie Against those who hold the Decree of Reprobation in God afore any foreseen Demerit either of Adam or his Posterity This Question is moved whether a Soul alltogether Innocent may be by an infinite Goodness designed to the Eternal Pains of Hell Against Athiests this Querie is made whether or no by the light of Nature one may demonstrate the existence of a God Thus different Questions are made concerning the possibility of different things Be cause the Enemies of our Faith as they easily pass from the denyal of the possible to the denyal of the actual existance of a thing so from the conviction of a possibility they are more easily drawn to avow the actual existence of a reveal'd Object Neither is this the work as our Adversary deems of idle Men unless he thinks them to do nothing
Scripturae Neither am I bound to the Council of Nice nor you to that of Arimini neither ought you to stand to the Authority of this nor I to the Authority of that Let us set matter to matter cause to cause reason to reason the thing is to be examin'd by the Authority of Scripture How ever I explain the passage without difficulty Thus St. Agustin seeing that the Authority of the Council of Nice was of no force with the Arian who rely'd upon no other Council but that of Arimini To draw him out of his hole he provok'd to an Authority common to both viz. to that of the Holy Scripture And this is common in the Schools for Men to lay aside their private priaciples and argue from one which is agree'd on by both parties The sense then of St. Augustin if this passage be his may be this neither am I so tyed to the Council of Nice nor you to that of Arimini that we may not make use of another principle which is common to both SECT II. 'T is an Article of Faith that General approv'd Councils are Infallible AN Article of Faith saies our Adversary must either be clearly contained in Scripture or defin'd by some General Council But that the Decisions of General Conneils are Infallible is neither clearly contained in Scripture nor defin'd by a General Council Therefore 't is not an Act of Faith sayes he that the Decisions of General Councils are Infallible He demands in what Book Chapter and Verse of Scripture or in what General Council this Article is contained Answer First either he Argues out of Protestant or Catholick Principles If out of Protestant Principles then he added ill the second part of his disjunctive since 't is of no weight with them If out of Catholick Principles he oversaw himself in bringing the first part of his disjunctive because 't is deny'd by Catholicks For we deny that it is requir'd that an Act of Faith be clearly set down in Scripture nay that all our Articles be contain'd there or in General Councils either since these two are not our adequat and total Rule of Faith but are compleated in the being of our Rule by Apostolical Tradition which enters in and assures us with equal Authority Wherefore I first deny the Major which failing the whole Argument concludes nothing 2. Giving not granting the Major I deny the Minor and say that Article of Faith is clearly contained in the same Scriptures in which its clearly contained according to Protestants that their General Synods do not Err in the Decision of Controversies arising among them for if as they think it is elearly proven by those passages that their Synods do not Err because they are directed by the Holy Ghost I say it s clearly proven by the same that our General Councils cannot Err because they are directed by the Holy Ghost a possibiliiy of Erring being as repugnant to the Holy Ghost as an Actual Error And by this their acknowledging that their General Synod may Err tho it does not Err they discard their Synod of Authority and disown themselves to be that Body of Pastors which CHRIST conserv's in his Church that hearing them we may not waver like Children and be carried away with every Wind of Doctrine Ephes 4. v. 11. and 14. For if I believe the Body of my Teachers to be fallible I fear and waver in my believe of what they have said and taught me For possibili posito in actu nullum sequitur impossibile There 's no impossibility or absurdity if that which is possible be brought to an Actual Being and so CHRIST would be disappointed in the aim he had when Ephes 4. He made some Pastors in his Church that we might not waver 3. I prove our assertion thus 'T is an Article of Faith to believe the Mystery of the most Blessed Trinity because it s clearly set down in Scripture according to Protestants as all other things necessary to Salvation But that a General approved Council or the teaching Church is Infallible is as clearly set down in Scripture as appears by many passages of the same for Math. 18. v. 17. God sends us to the Church for instruction and threatens us there with Damnation or the punishment of an Ethnick if we do not harken to Her and consequently tells us that she is Infallible for his Goodness woul dnot oblidge me under pain of Damnation to hear a Church which might lead me wrong Who hears you hears me saies CHRIST to his Disciples going to preach Luc. 10. but who hears CHRIST is infallibly sure to be well instructed then also he is infallibly sure who is instructed by the Church St. Paul saies that Christ made some Pastors as I said above Ephes 4. v. 1. Why That now we be not Children wavering and carried about with every wind of Doctrine Hence we inferr that they are Infallible in what they teach us in matter of Faith for if I thought them fallible I might still waver which would make void the aim of CHRIST in giving us those Pastors and Teachers that we might not waver Then 't is an Article of Faith to believe that a General approv'd Council or the Teaching Church is Infallible If our Adversary still deny this I desire him to quote to me as clear passages out of Scripture to prove the most Blessed Trinity as I have brought for the Infallibility of a General Council or the Teaching Church And since I am confident he cannot he has as much Reason to believe the Infallibility of the Church as an Article of Faith as he has to believe the Mystery of the most B. Trinity to be one SECT III. The Infallibility of a General approv'd Council proven by some other passages of Scripture and our Adversary's explication of them exploded I Ask in the case of General approv'd Councils Erring would not the Gates of Hell prevail against the Church contrary to CHRISTS promise Math. 16. v. 18. For all are not Doctors according to St. Paul 1 Cor. 12. v. 29. The Teachable Church is bound to hear the Teaching Church otherways how are these bound to teach them or feed them with Doctrine as CHRIST commanded the Church when he said to Peter Feed my Sheep Iohn 21. v. 15 16 17. if they are not bound to receive the Food they give them Now if they hearken to them teaching by their fallibility Erronious Doctrine the Blind leads the Blind and so both fall in the Ditch Math. 15. v. 14. or runs Headlong to Hell And does not thus Hell prevail against them And what an Interpretation The Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it is this of our Adversary That the Church of CHRIST will remain altho' Invisible notwithstanding the Persecution of Tyrants as in the primitive Church after the Death of CHRIST 1. Who saies the primitive Church after the Death of CHRIST was Invisible Did not the Faithfull then know one another and where
if he should say since you do Read diligently the Scriptures you can't but find my Divinity there since they give clear Testimony of me by the Prophets Our adversary shuts up this matter of Scripture by shuting us up as he Imagins or will seem to Imagin in a circle while we prove the Scripture by the Church and run back saies he to the Scripture to prove the Church Answer To those who admit the Scripture and deny the Church we prove the Church by the Scripture to these who deny a part of Scripture but hold the Infallible Authority of the Church we prove the Scripture by the Church to those who deny both Church and Scripture we prove first the Church by the signal marks of the true Church set down in the old and new Testament of which some alone are of sufficient force to move a Pagan and having Established Her Authority by Her acknowledging the Scripture to be the Word of God we prove it to be the Word of God In this Discourse you see no Circle but in the Imagination of our Adversary Now let us see if he who thought to catch us be not caught himself For therefore with him Scripture is the Word of God because it shows it self and wherefore doth it show it self but because it is seen by those who only disclose as he speaks those Divine Letters And wherefore again is it seen to those who open those Divine Letters but because it shows it self And so while he walks between it is seen and it shows it self neither sees 〈…〉 thing himself nor shows or can show any thing to others who desire to see because he can't show what he sees not nor the Scripture show what it infallibly contains without another infallible Rule of Faith SECT VII The Reason why the Mass is not said in the Vulgar Tongue OUr Adveriary advancing in his Reflexions upon our Religion sayes that our Prayers in an Unknown Tongue is not a small hinderance to Piety and Devotion What Comfort sayes he can the Ignorant sort reap at Mass Answer Either he means our Private Prayers or our Publick If our Private Prayers I attest his own Conscience all English and Scots Protestants who converse Familiarly with us if they do not know that we have our Manuals of Devotion in English If he means our Publick Prayers Then he supposes two things which are false The first that that publick Action which is done in the Sacrifice of the Mass is or ought simply to be called a verbal Prayer The second that that less considerable part of it which consists in Words is in an unknown Tongue The Sacrifice of the Mass being of its Nature and by the Intention of Christ the Instituter of it and chief Officer in it an Action ordain'd to acknowledge his Fathers Supream Dominion over us to give him thanks for his Favours bestowed upon us for a continuation of them and a Satisfaction for our Sins it is a prayer but a real one and is more the object of the Eye then of the Ear Moreover is it not enough that the Mass is Printed in Vulgar Tongues And that the Council of Trent Sess 22. cap 8. Commands the Pastors to explain it to the People altho it be not said but in the Tongues of the Church In the Greek Church in Greek in the Latin in Latin to keep an uniformity among the Faithful of each Church and that the expression of the Churches Liturgy keep its Majestie not subject to the changes of Vulgar Tongues to which those are who speak them under pain of passing sometimes for Ridiculous Neither is that to be call'd an Unknown Tongue which little Boyes are ordinarily taught in the Schools and which they come often to speak Regularly before they can express themselves handsomly in their Mothers Tongue Neither do our Country Clowns speak unknown Tongues because they don't easily understand one another But Grant the Latin Tongue is an unknown Tongue is it not enough that all those prayers are found explained in Books Neither does the Devotion of the Ignorant consist in their hearing or knowing what the Priest says but in knowing what he does And in offering up with him the same Sacrifice which is also theirs sure if they be well disposed to receive great good by it I pray did the People in the entry of the Temple hear what Zacharie said when he was Officiating far from being so much as seen by them Luke 1. cap. v. 10. and the People wondred that he stayed there so long v. 21. But what shall we say of those Extemporary prayers made by some Protestants who being weak in Spirit yet resolved to follow the strain of their Brethren speak a great deal of none-sence Is that a known or an unknown Tongue when the Hearers can't make sence of his words but only knows his meaning is to pray To this he adds a bare Lecture of Scriptures sometimes of a Prophet obscure in his Expression they know not whither it s to be understood in the Literal or Figurative sense yet what a sighing and sobing What a mournful Looks in their Eyes And murgions in their Faces If this Prayer and lecture of Scripture neither of them being understood can move these People to so much Devotion because they know this is said and read to Honour God why may not the Sacrifice of the Mass which Catholicks believe to be the highest Honour that can be given to God upon â—arth move those who are present to Devotion although they don't understand in particular what is said by the Priest to God 'T is enough that the Priest understand it who in his own and in all their Names makes the Sacrifice I end this Section with some Reflections 1. That S. Paul 1 Cor. 14. does not speak of a publick Prayer approved by the Church and consequently not subject to Error But only of a new Prayer of a private Person made to others which might be subject to Error and therefore he would not have it made in a Vulgar Tongue but in a Tongue that others might judge of it as appears by his saying in the 29 v. Let the Prophets speak two or three and let the other judge 2. St. Paul saies v. 29. forbid not to speak with Tongues i. e. in an unknown tongue I say then what Christian dares forbid what the Apostle allows 3. St. Paul saies there v. 15. I will pray with the Spirit i. e. in an unknown Tongue and I will pray with the understanding also i. e. in a known Tongue If he prayed in an unknown Tongue as well as in a known Tongue why may we not also 4. As altho' an Inchanter understands not the words of his Charm the Devil understands them and obeys them so altho the Ignorant understand not the words of his Prayer the Devil understands them and fears them and God understands them and helps him as the King does a Favour to an Idiot who understood not the
of CHARLES the first our Lawful Soveraign I grant the Loyal party now has a Horrour of that deposing Power But it must be confessed the Royal party it self had not that horrour when being of the Church of England they deposed in like manner Queen MARY of Scotland Lawful Heir of that Kingdom Since then the Actions of both the Church of England and Kirk of Scotland or of both the Prelatick and Presbyterian party make our History blush at what they have done in this matter should not either of them be asham'd to cast up so often to the R. Catholick Religion that some of Her Children have Written not with assurance but with a fear that the contrary Opinion was true that there is a deposing Power in the Pope SECT II. Protestants are in a worse condition than those who never heard of CHRIST OUr Antagonist advances an other proof to show that a Protestant can be Sav'd God sayes He illuminates all Men that come into this World Iohn 1. v 8. then he adds are not Protestants Men Answer They are Men and illuminated by God but if they resist this Light which is given them and equivalently tell God as those wicked Men of whom Iob spoke Iob. 21. v. 14. Scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus We will not have the knowledge of thy Wayes They will be found more remote from Heaven then if they had not receiv'd it He urges we R. Catholicks grant that Infidels who have never heard of CHRIST may be Sav'd and inconsequently deny that hope of happiness to Protestants Answer There 's no ill consequence here to deny a capacity of Salvation to him who puts a hinderance to it and to grant it to him who puts none The Infidel who hath never heard of CHRIST doing what lyes in him by living according to the Light of Nature make 's way to Grace But the Protestant who rejects Faith offered to him by God and his Church willingly shuts up the avenue to a further Grace and untill he remove this obstacle by an humble submission of his Judgment to Faith he continues in an impossibility to please GOD. O! but you are uncharitable sayes He to perswade the simple People that a Protestant can't be Sav'd I ask him can a R. Catholick be Sav'd If he saies no where is his Charity for us If he affirms we may then they who according to Protestants are Idolaters may be Sav'd If so whom will you exclude from Heaven But to return to his Objection since he denies Charity to us and we only Faith to him Charity being a greater Vertue then Faith according to St. Paul is not he in this more Uncharitable to us then we to him He goes on do not Protestants believe all Fundamentals contained in the three Creeds and Scripture I Answer First since that there are Fundamentals as condistinguished from Intigrals or not Fundamentals is a Fundamental point with him I ask in what CREED or Book and Chap. of Scripture is this Fundamental contained If he can't find this then that hereafter he speaking with Catholicks may distinguish a Fundamental from an Integral as he calls it Let him take this notion of a Fundamental from us to wit that all things contained in Holy Scripture are Fundamentals in this sense that we are bound to believe them under pain of Damnation when they are sufficiently propos'd to us by the Church as reveal'd by God in the Scripture For to disbelieve God revealing that Christ meâ—t a blind man on the way of Iericho destroyes as much his veracity as to distrust him revealing that his Son became man By this notion of Fundamentals we perfectly distinguish the Faithful foul from a Infidel or Sectarian And therefore it is not given without ground or reason Again when Christ commanded the Gospell to be preached to Men did he command the things only which you call fundamentals to be Preach'd or the whole Gospel if things only you call Fundamentals why were the Apostles so exact to give us the whole Gospel that it 's thought Damnable not only to add but to pair from it If he commanded the whole Gospel to be Preached and consequently to be believ'd how can he be sav'd who refuses to believe the least Integral of it when it 's sufficiently proposd to him as reuealed by God SECT III. It is not Lawfull to follow a probable Opinion in matter of belief NOw I come to his Achiles this dreadful Argument to Romanists this Argument in in his Judgment above the reach of all Rational Solution It runs thus Who Follows a probable Opinion neither sins nor does rashly or Imprudently But who bolds that Protestants may be sav'd followes a probable Opinion Then he neither sins nor does rashly or Imprudently The major saies he is Commonly admitted by Iesuits and others And a probable Opinion is that which Learned Prudent and Pious Men hold But that a Protestant may be sav'd is an Opinion that Learn'd Prudent and Pious Men hold then it is a probable Opinion that Protestants may be sav'd Ans I distinguish the major in matter of Faith on which absolutly depends Salvation he does not Sin who follows a Probable Opinion I deny in other matters I grant If we hold a Priest to Sin and all Judicious Men think we ought to do so in our Principles who makes use in the Baptism of a dying Child of that which is only probably Water having at hand sure Water Because he makes a mortal breach of Charity against his Neighbour exposing the Child's Salvation Am not I damnably Injurious to my self to follow a probable Opinion in matter of Faith without which I cannot be sav'd when I have my choice of taking a sure way am not I bound to be as Charitable to my self in a matter of that consequence as to my Neighbour Again can my understanding tell my Will that she may prudently command him to give a certain and infallible assent super omnia above all that may be said such as the assent of Faith is to an object to command which she is only mov'd by a probable motive what it an Angel come after this assent is made from Heaven and tell me the thing I assented to is false as I fear'd or might have reasonably fear'd 't was having only a probable motive to beleive the contrary Might not he accuse me not only of Imprudence but also of boldness to make my self believe that God said it and so Father upon him as other articles of my Faith this which is found to be false which I might have justly fear'd having only so slender a ground as a probable Opinion is to believe it A Subsect 'T is not a probable Opinion that a Protestant may be sav'd MOreover I deny that it is a probable Opinion that Protestants may be Sav'd First Because the Church has defin'd the contrary which definition excludes all probability from that Opinion Secondly I deny that Learned and Pious Men hold that
Arguments are not fully solv'd by them many of their Learn'd Men must see this as I was told of a Minister in France when I was among the French who when his Wife startl'd by what he uttered in a Discourse said to him after if that be true why do we live as we live He answered Her Que Diable veut tu que je fasse avec toy mes Enfans that is What the Devil wilt thou have me do with Thee and my Children To wit if he Liv'd according to what he thought Thus they seeing the R. Catholick Truth and Teaching Protestancy are formal Protestants who as long as they remain so cannot be Sav'd Many of the material Protestants are it may be much held in their way by the Physical Arguments they frame to themselves against Transubstantiation And this depends much of the notion of a Body which hath been given them in Philosophy For if they have been taught for example that the nature of a Body consists in an actual extension of its parts and that accidents are not distinct from the substances it presently appears to them impossible that the whole Body of CHRIST can be in every the least particle of the Host and there under the sole Accidents of Bread But we Catholicks when we see such notions cannot stand with what the Holy Scripture saies the Holy Fathers unanimously teach and the whole Church hath believed from the Apostles time down to us we condemn them knowing that Reason must captivate it self to Obey Faith not Faith submit her self to Reason Don't think for what I have said that I acknowledge a material Protestant who has no doubt in his Faith secure as to his Salvation no I do not indeed deny but that he may be Sav'd but I do not absolutely say that he will be Sav'd for he seing so great changes in the Protestant Religion since its rise the R. Catholicks alone remaining alwayes the same seeing Preachers who were thought Learn'd and Good-men and who had stood stiff to the Covenant as conform to the Word of God now solemnly renounce it acknowledging they have got a new Light he can't I say well but doubt whether he ought to follow them in this Light or in the Light for which they said before as much as for this And since they changed from the former it may be hereafter they will change from this to a third there being no more infallibility in this then in the former And if he doubt he is bound to enquire and hearing that the R. Catholick Church believes Her self to be infallible in what She delivers of Faith Infallibility if it were true being as confess'd by all a certain means to settle Men in Conscience and secure them from all doubts in matters of Religion he is bound to enquire and try if Romanists have any solid ground to bring for this their Tenet and if he find it good in Charity to himself he 's bound to embrace it Next tho' a material Protestant have no doubt he is not in an equal condition in order to Salvation because if he fall into grievous Sin he has no other Remedy then an Act of Contrition or of Sorrow for it purely for the Love of God he has offended which is not so easily had Whereas the Catholick has frequent Sacramental Confession and by it pardon from God which is clearly intimated to us in Io. 20. chap. v. 23. The Sins which you remit are remitted to them A Protestant may say I believe from that passage it not ill but Lawful to Confess to a Minister of the Church but not that we are bound But weigh then say I the following Words Whose Sins you retain or do not pardon are retained are not pardon'd this can't be understood of Protestants Excommunication for if you don 't or can't pardon with what Authority do you or can you retain Both parts belonging to the Function of the same Ministers of God Also the Excommunication is not a formal retaining of Sin but a thing destinct and a sign of your retaining it posterior to the retaining of it Moreover how can the Priest know which Sin he may remit and which he must retain if you do not Confess them to him And St. Augustin in Confirmation of this Confession sayes in his 49. Hom. of the 50. Hom. Tom. 10. Do Penance as it is practised in the Church and let no Man say occulte ago apud Deum ago I do it secretly in the â—ottom of my Heart Ergo saies he Sine causa dictum est quaecunque Solveritis c. Matth. 16.19 Frusâ—ramus Evangelium frustramus verba Christi did Christ then say that in vain sayes He to the Ministers of the Church Whose Sins ye remit are remitted to them We frustrate the Gospel and make void the Words of Christ Besides many as some Apostats come to have no doubt in the Protestant Religion by a punishment from God Eo quod charitatem veritatis non receperunt ut salvi fierent ideò mittes iâ—lis Deus operat onem Erroris ut credant mendacio saies St. Paul ad Thess 2. cap. 2. v. 10. Because they have not cherish'd oâ— embrac'd the Truth which God out of Love manifested to them that by it they might be Sav'd therefore â—od will send them the Operation of Error to believe â—â—ing He will send i. e. saies St. Augustin L. 2. de Civit. Dei cap. 19. Will permit the Devil to do those things viz. to bring them to believe lying These People conscious to themselves of their tepid or vicious Life in the Religion they were in ought not to ground themselves upon their want of doubt in the way they have taken but to use much humble Prayer to God to enlighten them Here I add something our Adversary saies to justifie himself in a Letter to a Friend Sure I am saies He that a knowing Man as one may have Reason to think me to be in such matters can never resist a known Truth So if I be in an Error 't is not an Error of Will but Iudgement for which God damns no Man provided this Error be invincible as undoubtedly mine is allowing what your prepossession inclines you to believe that I am really mistaken There being an invincible Error but less reflected on that comes from knowledge as well as an other more talked of in the Schools that proceeds from want of knowledge Answer Did not Origen and Tertullian resist a known Truth If not why were they condemned If they did resist it may not you also Were they less knowing than you Or less Vertuous in their Moral Life then you One fault was found in them to wit that they would not submit their Judgement to the Church And this is found in you Tho' God damns no Man for an Error of Judgement He may damm a Man for the Sin to punish which he withdrew his Grace and for want of which Grace this Man sell into that Error
are That every one may see clearly whither or no what I hold as a Tenet of Religion is not found among them but is a meer superstruction Will you refuse to a considerable Person who thinks certainly he has seen in the Law Book a Law which justifies the Action for which he is condemn'd to Die Will you I say refuse him a publick sight of that Book to justifie your Sentence against him but notwithstanding the murmur of the People upon your refusal of his demand suspecting him Innocent savagely cast him If not do not condemn us who hold for certainty Transubstantiation to be so Fundamental that no Christian of the first three Ages would have deny'd it A Subsect Other Proofs that we agree in Faith with those of the first three Ages I Ask our Adversary did those Christians living then believe as a Fundamental point that they were the true Church planted by CHRIST and continued from the Apostles or not If not then they could not say in their Creed I believe in the Holy Catholick Church If they did believe it I ask again upon what ground was truth warranted to them for three hundred Years and not to the Church till the end of the World Was not Gods promise of Infallibility to his Church made to it as well to the end of the World as for the first three hundred Years Isaiah 59. v. 21. This is my Covenant with them saith the Lord my Spirit which is upon thee to wit the Church and my Words which I have put in thy Mouth shall not depart out of thy Mouth nor out of the Mouth of thy Seed nor out of the Mouth of thy Seeds Seed saith the Lord from henceforth and forever And to the Ephes 4. cap. v. 11 12 13 14. And he gave some Apostles some Prophets and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints c. till we all come in the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God c. That we henceforth be no more Children tost too and fro and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine by the slight of Men. If he avow the Church fail'd not in Fundamental Truths I wonder how he can allow Luther and Calvin's Reforming the Church with so much Fire Sword and Confusion for a matter that did not impede Salvation If they Reform'd Her in Fundamentals then She perish'd which is against the Infallible promise of CHRIST If you say they did not Reform it as it lay pure in the Souls of some chosen tho' unknown to others but in the publick Pastors and Teachers who were reprehensible for their grievous Deviations then say I where was the visible Church to which Men should have recourse for the hearing of the Word and receiving of the Sacraments Isaiah cap. 2. v. 3. A second Proof and Reason is drawn from that it seems morally impossible that in the begining of the fourth Age if he will have the fall of Religion then the Pastors should propose a number of new Tenets to be believ'd and perswade the People that they had heard them from their Fathers of the third Age not one individual Person in the mean time remembring that he heard them from his Is it credible that not only one Parish or Nation but all Countries who liv'd afore in the Union of the Catholick Church should of a sudden have permitted themselves to be cheated into this perswasion or rather bewitch'd since not one was found for many Ages to have gainsaid it or reclaimed against it Since this then is Morally impossible conclude that these Tenets of R. Catholicks which our adversary calls novelties were the old tenets of the three first Centuries A third reason 't is remark'd that God never permitted any notable Error to rise up in his Church but alwayes stirred up at the same time some man or men to speak and write against it and mov'd the whole Church to joyn with them to destroy it So Athanasius rose up against Arius Cyrillus Alexandrinus against Nestorius Augustin against Pelagius All back'd by the whole Church for the total overthrowing of those Errors Now if the Mass be an Error it is a most damnable one an Idolatry insupportable to give Divine Worship to the Host if it be only a piece of Bread Yet after this Error was broach'd in Gregory the Great 's time in the sixth or seventh Age as Protestants imagin what University or private Man spoke against it then or three hundred Years after It s true about four hundred Years after Berengarius inveighed against it but being better inform'd and by a torrent of Arguments for its Truth overwhelm'd he Recanted and Dyed Penitent Consult then Reason and not Passion and you will see that R. Catholicks have made no superstructurs on the Faith of the first three Ages SECT II. Formal Protestants are Hereticks I Advance to his assertion in which he affirms that we cannot say without Ignorance Calumny and Injustice that a Protestant is an Heretick First I agree with him that an Heretick is he who denyes viz. pertinaciously an Article of Faith or a revealed Verity Next I ask him by what principle he proves that a Protestant does not deny an Article of Faith or a reveal'd Truth I suppose he will Answer because a Protestant believes the CREED and the Holy Scripture I ask him further if a Preacher now of their Congregation should vent a Doctrine not Orthodox and should pertinaciously maintain it against his Brethren as a Truth according to his best Judgment reveal'd in Scripture By what principle will he convince him to be an Heretick He 'l tell you he believes the three Creeds and the whole Scripture and therefore he believes this his dogme because the thinks he finds it in Scripture Is he an Heretick because he will not submit his Judgement to his particular Brethren He is known to be as Learn'd as they and of as good a Life as they If you say this Man can't be proven to be an Heretick that is against the Scripture Tit. 3. v. 10. bidding us to shun an Heretick and consequently he may be proven to be one If you say he is an Heretick because he will not submit his Judgement not only to particulars but neither to the whole Congregation or the Church of which he was a Member and therefore is justly condemn'd by Her according to Isai 54. v. 17. Every Tongue that rises up against thee in Iudgment thou shall condemn this is the Inheritance of the Lords Servants I conclude without Ignorance Calumny or Injustice that the Protestant Luther the Protestant Calvin c. were Hereticks because they would not submit their Judgment to the whole Church of which they were Members afore they were Excommunicated for their self Opinions Again this proposition a Protestant is not an Heretick either is an Act of Faith or Science or Opinion If you say it is an Act of Faith 〈◊〉 then say I 't is false
and so it may be leading us wrong This thought frustrates and makes void the design of CHRIST who made some Pastors and Doctors a purpose that we might not waver To confirm more this Catholick Tenet of the Infallibility of the Church conceive well that that Religion cannot have true Faith which rejects this Principle of Infallibility by which all Errors in Faith have been condemn'd and admits the Principle of a private Light by which all Errors in Faith have had their rise in the Church and without which Men could not so much as pretend to defend them CHAP. V. Of the Roman Catholick Faith and Doctrine SECT I. A Word by way of entry into this matter OUr Adversary sayes our Faith is so blind that he hath heard many of ours say if a General Council had defin'd white to be black they would believe it Whereby we are seen disposed sayes he to admit of any Error if it be Authoriz'd by a General Council Answer First such Arguments fetch'd from the Testimony of an Antagonist are of no weight since according to the Methode of the School we are bound to credit no more brought by an Adversary then what he proves In the second place I ask him if clear Scripture should tell him that Black is White would he believe it or not Would he not believe it Then he would prefer his private Light to clear Scripture which to do is Impious Would he believe it Then he is found dispos'd say I to admit of any Error if it be set down in clear Scripture He 'll say to me the case is not alike because the Scripture is the Word of God and the Decree of a General Council the Word of Men. But by his Favour we hold that this also is the Word of God tho uttered to us by the Mouth of Men according to that of the Acts cap. 15. and v. 18. It hath seemed Good to the Holy Ghost and us If he say 't is impossible that God should say by the Scripture that Black is White I say 't is also as impossible he should say it by a General Council giving it out as a Decree of Faith But absolutely speaking can't that Assembly of those Men advance such a proposition I Answer Absolutely speaking they can but then we would not believe it because that proposition neither belonging to Faith nor good manners which are the whole and adequat Object to which their Infallibility extends it self as we R. Catholicks hold it layes no Obligation upon us to believe it Moreover to give something to what our Adversary sayes he heard say Since in Aristotles Principles an Accident is really distinguish'd from a Substance what if God by his Almighty Power should put the Colour of White in the Subject in which is the Colour of Black would this imply a Contradiction And in this case would not this proposition be true Black is White or the Subject having the Colour of Black is the Subject which has the Colour of White SECT II. The intention of the Minister required by the Church in Baptism explained makes appear the nullity of our Adversaries Objection TO prove that Protestants may be sav'd more easily and with greater security then Romanists our Adversary sayes we teach that Baptism is absolutely necessary to Salvation and no Baptism a true and real one if the Minister when be pronounces the Words has not an Intention to Baptize which no doubt happens frequently sâ—â—es he since the Intention may be easily diverted to his other designs and affairs Answer First if as Protestants think Baptism is absolutely necessary to none Catholicks are not really less secure as to their Salvation because they think it necessary Secondly If I ask any Minister after he haâ— Christened a Child if he did not Intend to do what CHRIST ordain'd to be done in Baptism and what is ordinarily done by his Church Without doubt he 'l tell me he did And this is all the Intention the Church requires in the Priest Baptizeing If you say the Priest or Minister may be diverted from this Intention by a thought of his other affairs so say I may he be diverted by the same from that Intention which you require to wit of pronouncing the Words and applying the Water and so you have as much to fear you are not Baptiz'd as we But that which hinders us both to fear is this that we do not require an Actual Intention or a Reflection of my understanding that my will Intends which Actual Intention is indeed lost by a Distraction or thought of another thing and this seems to be the mistake of our Adversary by his saying the Priest's Intention may be easily diverted to his other affairs but only a Vertual Intention which stands with an Actual thought of another thing then that I am doing as when a Man playes on the Virginals and speaks to another of something else both at once We say this motion of his Fingers is not of it self but proceeds from a motion of the Will and a direction of the understanding tho' not sensible or preceptible by Reason of the weakness of these two Acts compared to the strength of an Actual Intention This Intention is called Vertual because it is 〈◊〉 were the Vertue or Vicar of the Actual Intention left by it to supply its place in order to do that which was first Actually Intended with a sensible and strong reflection of the understanding upon the Intention of the Will Neither is it destroyed by the explicite thought of another thing so this other thing be not incompatible with the Action to which this Vertual Intention moves and directs For Example my speaking of some other thing suffers at the same time my playing on the Organ which playing is directed by the Vertual while I have an Actual Intention to speak of another thing Now to prove that in Baptizing this Vertual Intention is sufficient not denying but that the Actual is most laudable I desire Men consider we have no other in all our Moral Actions which have a notable duration and succession of parts Would you have a Man who is going a Foot ten miles to a Market talking earnestly with another of Buying or Selling all the Way Actually intend and successively reflect beside all his other Discourse upon every individual step of his Journey This were to make his Head fitter for the Hospital then for the Market when he comes thither Yet to every individual step his Foot is mov'd by the Will intending and the understanding directing not Actually then Vertually as I have explain'd From all this you see the R. Catholick is really as secure in matter of Baptism as the Protestant and has as little Reason as he to fear its nullity But if by a Diabolical malice which is a case more Metaphysical than Moral the Priest or Minister had not a sufficient Intention and the Invalidity of the Baptism were wholly unknown to the Person Baptized then
suffices an efficacious desire of it which without thinking of it is included in an Act of true sorrow for our Sins for having offended God or an Act of the Love of GOD which every Christian being bound often to make is supposed to make and so remains without trouble upon that Head As I have said in Baptism so in the Collation of Priest-hood suffices a Vertual Intention in the Bishop which Morally cannot be wanting without the Malice of a Devil But if it should sall out which is most rare if really 't was ever heard of â—irst it may be Piously believ'd least the Faithful be often deceiv'd in that Adorable Sacrifice of the Altar from which they expect so much that either God gives by his Church the power of Priest-hood to those who are in all appearance ordain'd as the Church gives Jurisdiction in favour of the Faithfull to the very Apostats of administring the Sacrament in a danger of Death or that he will both manifest by his providence over his Church that want of Intention in the Ordainer that it may be supplied by a reordination and move those in Authority whom it concerns to command it to be done So that if such a thing be divulged and come to the hearing of high superiors and they take no notice of it after the case is sufficiently proposed to them t is a sign the rumor is groundless And by this is partly answer'd what our adversary affirmes of a Bishop in France who as he saies before his death confessed that he had ordained many but alwayes without a due Intention Add if it be true that since the Church did not command such Priests ordain'd by him to be re-ordain'd nor suspended them till then from the function it s to be thought that Bishop was look'd upon as a Person troubled with scruples at that time and in the fear of Death to make his Conscience sure not distinguishing sufficiently actual Intention from virtual accus'd himself not to have had a due Intention because he thought he had not an actual or something of that nature not regardable Another story our Adversary relates of a Person in pain for his Baptism being in danger of Death at Sea of which he saies he was an Eye witness I only desire him to call to mind and see if he was not rather an Ear witness of what he heard related by another than of what he saw himself for which I have some Ground and if it be so let him remember that the persons pain was not about the Intention of the Minister but absolutely whither or not he had been Baptiz'd remembering of the conjuncture of circumstances in which he was born viz. a Bastard of a Catholick Father among the Presbyterians who would not Baptize a Bastard unless the Father gave obedience to the Church or Synod However I ask our Adversary if he was an Eye witness whither the doubt seem'd to him rational or not If it seemed rational he being a fit Minister of the Sacrament he should have Baptiz'd him under condition if not he should have pacified him making him remember what we teach to wit that in case our Baptism had not been valid an efficacious desire of Baptism included in an Act of true sorrow for our Sins or pure love of God suffices SECT III. We have security for the Salvation of a Child dying immediately after Baptism Protestants have None HAving retorted the Difficulty of the Intention the R. Church requires in Baptism upon the Intention our Adversaery himself requires and must require of applying the Words and Water for 't is a humane Action And having shown how Catholick Doctors bring both him and us handsomly and solidly off by a Virtual Intention I shall make appear now that we have in this case of Baptism security for our Salvation and they have none we standing to our Tenets and they to theirs Take me a Protestants Child validly Baptiz'd by a Minister as we grant they can let the Child dye afore the use of reason what becomes of him according to the Catholick Tenet we hold it goes straight to Heaven What becomes of him according to the Protestant Tenet They say it may be he 's sav'd viz. if he was one of the Elect and consequently the Parents were of the Faithful and it may be he 's damn'd if the Parents were not of the Faithful to wit Spiritual Children of Abraham or the Child tho' of Faithful Parents was not of the Elect for I hope they will not say that Faithful Parents have never a Wicked or a Reprobat Child And how shall I know Faithful Parents but by their Fruits or Works and how shall I know that their Works are good Since many wicked People have had seeming good Works Nay how shall I know a man to have Faith by Works that are all damnable and worthy of Death as Calvin speaks Inst l. 3. cap. 12. n. 4. Sins as Beza terms them and Works of the Devil v. Bez. Tom. 1. operum pag. 665. and Works of Darkness as Luther calls them Tom 1. operum fol. 196. Edit Wittemb shall abominations in a Man be marks to me of a supernatural gift of kindness given by God to him Next suppose that the Parents be of the Faithful who told you the Child is one of the Elect To us his Baptism is a sure mark of his Election You have no such see you then how in this case we have security and you have none The other Motive he brings to a Protestant is that Protestants are sav'd more easily If he means only that Protestants in their way to Salvation trouble themselves not with taking so much pains as good R. Catholicks do freeing themselves from any Obligations and Mortifications of the Flesh we take upon us grounded in the Holy Scripture I grant 't is so but this easie way is woful since the Word of God warns all to strive to enter by the narrow way Matth. 7.13 Enter by the narrow Gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leads to Perdition SECT IV. Our Adversary's Exception against our Doctrine of Purgatory Retorted upon Protestants FRom our Doctrine of Baptism he passes to our belief of Purgatory and says that it flatters Sinners in their Imperfections causes them to live more loosly and takes from them the fear of Hell If this be true then according to that Maxim of Logick Oppositorum opposita est consequentia the consequence of contraries is â—ontrary the contrary Doctrine which is that of â—otestants must advance perfection cause a more Austere life make Protestants walk more cautiously and fear more God's dreadful Judgment certain if they dye in Sin they shall be lyable to his Wrath for ever as if they dye in the Lord they shall from their Labours But this is evidently false for what perfection 〈◊〉 had but by observing the Law of God 〈◊〉 Domini Immaculata convertans animas Psalm 〈◊〉 2 3 8. But this
of the World What Man saw the Nothing out of which all was made and upon that account was moved to say the Being of the World was a Miracle Let him know then that God has made two sorts of Miracles the one of necessity Visible because they are motives to us of Credibility or to move us to believe Such were the Miracles by which CHRIST proved his Divinity Moses that he was sent by God such were and are the Miracles by which the R. Catholick Church proves that she is the true Church of CHRIST Other Miracles God has made which are meer Objects of Faith and matters to us of submiting our understandings to his Word as our will to his Command These matters on one side must not be Visible for what submission is there of my understanding to assent to what I see on the otherside they must be strange and above Nature to give worthily to my Faith the Name of a Soveraign and pure Submission such as is due to the veracity of God Of this Nature are the Mysteries of the Incarnation in CHRIST and Transubstantiation in the Eucharist He ends his Battery against Transubstantion in the Eucharist with this Argument these Words This is my Body c. are not a true and real Testament for he sayes not I leave you my Body which is the usual manner of uttering our selves in Testaments therefore they may be taken in a Figurative sense Answer First CHRIST calls his last Supper the New Testament shall I believe him or our Adversary This Cup the New Testament in my Blood which shall be poured out for you and for many 〈◊〉 Is not the Testament of any other then 't is Christ's Legacy to his Apostles and others of the Faithful Secondly No Testator ever made his Testament more clearly and expresly Other Testators ordinarily make their Testament only by Words CHRIST by Words and deed By deed in as much as being to depart he gave them with his own hands By Word saying Take eat this is my Body When they took did not he give And to give to them and give it to be given to others is not that the same as to leave When a Souldier dying in the Camp gives his Sword to his Companion is not that as much as to say I leave it you St. Augustin sayes in the Old Testament the New lyes hidden and in the New the Old lyes open Was not then the Old Testament a true Testament and a Figure of the New the Law having a shadow of good things to come Heb. 10. v. 1. and is the Figure more a true Testament then the Testament figured After I have answered the difficulties our Adverversary finds in Transubstantion I would willingly ask him some Questions about their Tenet in the same matter First if the Symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ be but Bread and Wine and at the most have nothing more than the Ministers Blessing above Common Bread and Wine is it not as much Superstition to give them that respect they receive from Protestants as it is in us to respect Agnus Dei's and Holy-Water Secondly They can't increase or improve in the Justice they are supposed to have applyed to themselves before by believing that all their Sins are forgiven by the Merits of Christ what is then the effect of their Communion Thirdly Since according to Protestants the Body of CHRIST cannot be Eaten but by Faith and again since this Faith must be not a Faith of Miracles nor an Historical Faith but a saving Faith or a fiducia a confidence that their Sins are forgiven them by the Merits of CHRIST I infer then they cannot Eat the Body of Christ unworthily for by Eating CHRIST's Body with a saving Faith I save my self by Eating it unworthily I damn my self but I can't save and damn my self both at once then I can't Eat the Body of CHRIST unworthily But this contradicts St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. cap. v. 27. If you say with Dr. Taylor that Christ's true Body is there viz. in the Sacrament really but yet that the reallity and verity of his Body cannot be there since Protestants believe that Christ does not come from Heaven to the Sacrament Is not this to shut up a Chymera between these two Words He 's there as a nothing between two Dishes CHAP. VI. Of the R. Catholicks Divine Worship SECT I. Roman Catholicks do not agree with Heathens in their Veneration and use of Images OUr Divine Worship sayes our Adversary is not unlike that of the Antient Heathens we adore God in Pictures as he was ador'd by Heathens in the Sun we Worship those Images as representations of that Invisible and Soveraign being we â—all God Answer That 〈◊〉 may make Catholicks Idolaters he makes Idolaters Worshipers of the true God For if they adore God in Creatures they had then the Faith of 〈◊〉 true God and all their Worship and Religion was directed as to its last End to the true and invisible God Wherefore then are they said by St. Paul 1 Cor. 10. cap. v. 20 to have Sacrificed to Devils and not to God All the Gods of the Gentils are Devils sayes David Psalm 95. then those to whom they directed their Worship was not God then they and Romanists do not agree in their Religious Worship He sayes again that relative Worship was severely punish'd in the Israelites For he can't imagine they adored the Calf as a true God unless we suppose them as void of Reason as the Calf it self Answer They believed the Calf to be a God able to bring them out of Egypt if we may believe the Scripture Exod. 32. These are thy Gods Israel who have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt And 1 of the Kings according to Protestants cap. 12. v. 28. Jeroboam made two Golden Calves and said to them go up no more to Jerusalem behold thy Gods Israel Tho our Adversary can't imagin this Who could have imagin'd that those great Philosophers of whom St. Paul speaks 1 Romans v. 23. to whom God had given great Lights by which they came to the knowledge of him should have chang'd the Glory of an incorruptible God into the Adoration of Men Birds four-footed Beasts and Serpents Does not St. Paul speak plain here I grant then they were as void of Reason in that as the Calf they Ador'd What is a Man left by God But what was the Reason of this their fall from Reason Hear it from the same Apostle v. 21. having known God they did not Glorifie him as God nor thanked him for so great a benefit but proudly vanish'd in their thoughts for which ill behavior and ingratitude how did he punish them By a with-drawing of his Light obscuratumest insipiens cor cor eorum and as a Man in the dark runs his Head against a Wall they wanting the Light of Grace run themselves into the shameful passions of corrupted Nature exchanged Truth with Lyes and gave the Honour they
for them 't is not the Churches fault tho' it may be the fault of some particular Pastor neglecting the Instruction of his Flock CHAP. VII Of our Ecclesiastical Discipline SECT I. Protestants live in Spiritual Slavery not Catholicks The Decree of Innocent the third in the third Cap. of the General Council of Lateran is not a Decree of Faith TO his saying the R. Church imposes besides the written Law so many Obligations on her Subjects that Popery is justly call'd a meer Slavery I Answer She imposes none not contained in the Law of God explicitly or Implicitly Since God has bid Bishops or the Teaching Church Govern the Church viz. the directed Church and Commanded us to hear Her or them 't is no more Slavery to us to Obey Her in Spiritual matters then for the Subjects of a Kingdom to Obey in Civil matters the Commands of a Vice-Roy or a Commissioner The Protestants indeed live in a Spiritual slavery according to their Principles because when they have Grace they are necessitated by it and when they want it they are necessitated by their concupiscence and so are ever without Liberty in Slavery The business our Adversary drives at in this Objection is this that the Church incroaches upon the Temporal Dominions of Princes by deposing Kings untying their Subjects from their Allegiance to them and giving their Lands to such as can Conquer them As may be seen in the third Chap. of the fourth General Lateran Council under Innocent the Third Answer Let our Adversary Read that Decree with the Eyes of a Divine and he 'l find that that Decree is not of Faith and therefore does not oblidge us to believe it The Decrees of Faith in that Council being gathered into the first Chap. Intituled de Fide Catholica The Tenets of the Catholick Faith Let him then learn to distinguish another time a Decree of Faith from a Decree of Precept The first oblidges always and every where the other not always nor every where but may be chang'd the circumstances changing As I said when I told how a General Council may be mended And this I show in this present Precept of the fourth Council of Lateran under Innocent the Third now ceasing For are R. Catholicks in France Germany England Scotland c. admonish'd to take that Oath of Ridding their Lands of Hereticks Or are they thought by the R. Church not good Catholicks because they do not do it Then you see this Oath may be omitted with a safe Conscience and Princes be without fear of having their Subjects free from their Obedience Moreover I say that under the general notion of Potentats Soveraigns are not comprehended no more then Abbots under the General Name of Monks tho' really they are Monks In fine if you will not be satisfied with these solid solutions remember that the Embassadours of Kings were present at the Council so that if they knew 't was mean'd also of their Masters and they did not oppose the Decree afore it was passed volenti non sit Injuria no Injury is done to him who is willing This Decree I know is a common place for Protestants not considering that they hit themselves on the Heel when they bring it against us giving us an occasion to reflect not by a mistake but with Truth upon them since the chief Principle supposed by the first Beginers of their Reformation was that it was Lawful not only to refuse all Obedience but to take Arms against their own Natural Soveraign for the Reformation of Religion If they deny this Principle as never supposed by their Predecessors then they must grant that the first Broachers and Abettors of their Reformation were all Traytors and Rebels since they begun it by Sedition and Rebellion against their Lawful Soveraigns in Germany France Geneva Holland and Scotland What was the great ground of the Bloody Scots Covenant Have we not seen of late a number of Clowns and Crafts-Men by their private Interpretation of the Bible free themselves from all due Obedience to their King and in their Conventicles endeavour to take from him all Royal Power by their seditious Sermons and Declarations as in those who were published at Sanchir and Rouglin Many of which remain so obstinate in their ridiculous perswasions that they will rather Dye then give any acknowledgment of submission to a most Gracious and Loving Prince You 'l say they are not true Protestants Answer I pray in what Fundamentals do they differ from you What a Childish Discourse is this which follows when he says that the Romish Church forbids Her Followers the use of their Rational faculty to find out the true Church Why then does She propose to our Rational Faculty to move it to Assent or to be confirmed in that we have Assented to marks out of Scripture of Her being the true Church Telling us first that we see in Her as was foretold Ephes 4. A perpetual and visible Succession of Pastors since the Apostles time Is it credible that God by a special Providence notwithstanding so many Persecutions would have Conserv'd that perpetual Succession of Pastors to teach Superstition and Idolatry And not Conserv'd a Succession of Pastors among Protestants to teach the true Religion As we then have the same Spiritual Power ever Descending and continued from the Apostles time so have we also with it the same True and Apostolical Doctrine Descending from Father to Son since the Apostles time to us Secondly That there is no Doctrine or Faith now Preach'd to all Nations according to the Command of Christ Matth. 28. v. 19. given to his Apostles but that of the Roman Church It s altogether amazing if the Protestant Doctrine be true and Evangelical Doctrine that GOD has never stirred up any of the Protestant Preachers to go with an Apostolical Spirit through Poverty Afflictions Persecutions c. as the Apostles did to instruct many Barbarous Nations in Africa Asia America but makes use only to give the knowledge of his Holy Name to them of Idolaters and Superstitious Romanists the true Preachers staying at Home with their Wives and Children Thirdly That moreover this Faith and Doctrine altho so Universal yet all the Believers thereof have such an Unity and Agreement among themselves in matters of Faith and such a subordination to the visible Head of the Church that they make as Christ said of his Sheep Iohn 10. v. 16. one Flock and one visible Pastor they both receiving all Spiritual Light Grace and Direction from their invisible Head and Pastor Iesus Christ Fourthly That the Doctrine of the R. Church leads evidently to a Sanctity of Life and Worship of God Almighty by a Sacramental Confession of Sins Fasting Praying Self-denyal Mortifications of the Flesh Good Works keeping GODS Commandements by Vows the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and many Ceremonies by which outward show we make appear our inward respect to God From hence it comes that in all Ages among the Believers of
the R. Church there has appeared publickly and visibly to whole Nations Men of such Sanctity of Life with the Gifts of Miracles that after their decease their Lives and Miracles done both afore and after their Death having been first severely examin'd and discus'd and then approv'd they were after this Examination declared Saints and as such are for the present Honour'd by the whole Catholick Church If you say what is said of those Saints and their Miracles is but Fabulous Then I ask you if a Iew would say the same to you of our Saviours Miracles How would you convince him For as he denyes the Divinity of CHRIST so he denyes also the New Testament to be the Word of God Laying then aside Divine Revelation had Men at that time more Humane Authority to believe CHRIST's Miracles then we have now to believe the approv'd Miracles of our Saints From all I have said I infer First If the R. Church notwithstanding all these marks be not the true Church of CHRIST he has no true Visible Church upon Earth since there cannot be more clear and Visible Marks of the true Church then these I have brought Secondly I infer that if the Iews seeing some Prophet's Sanctity of Life and Miracles were most reasonably perswaded and convinc'd that GOD directed them by his Spirit and spoke by their Mouths to others We must of necessity believe that the Roman Church is directed by the Spirit of GOD and that He speaks by Her to us Since whatsomever motif you 'l find for that perswasion in a single Prophet you will find it in an higher Degree in the whole Body of the Church Now to make use of our rational faculty in order to see if you have any appearance of a Church among you 't is not enough for you to say that the Protestant Church has the true Worship of God You must bring such proofs as I have brought for the R. Church to prove it This you have never done nor will ever do But to come nigher to you I ask by what motive you can perswade me that Luther and Calvin your first Reformers were mov'd and directed by the Spirit of God in all their oppositions to the Roman Church Can it be imagined that God would have taken from a whole visible Church which had those marks I spoke of the true sense and meaning of the word and given it to Men who leaving the Altar and their Vow of Chastity prostituted themselves becoming the slaves of a shamful and Sacrilegious Passion As to that our Adversary saies the Roman Church Imposes many weighty burdens on her Children beyond what God Commands he is mightily deceiv'd for God commanding us to Worship and obey him he Commands us implicitly to make use of the means most convenient to perform these two duties Now the Church by her Commands does also but show us the fittest means to perform the perfect observation of Gods explicit Command and oblidges us to make use of them and consequently properly speaking there is no new burden impos'd upon us SECT II. Saint Pauls saying whatsomever is Sold in the Shambles c. 1 Cor. 10. v. 24.25.27 makes nothing against our abstinence from Flesh upon forbidden dayes OUr great Defender of the rights and dues of the senses having told us in the Eucharist what the sight claims to now he will not have the Taste depriv'd of its satisfaction Telling us Pag. 107. 't was a liberty and priviledge of the primitive Church as St. Paul witnesses to the Corinthians 1 Cor. 10. that whatsoever is Sold in the Shambless c. we may Eat Answer St. Paul 1 Cor. 10. Having terrified the Christians from Eating with the Gentils in their Solemnities a part of what was offer'd to the Idol because by this Eating they seem'd to approve the Oblation of that Flesh made to the Devil he told them nevertheless that they should not be scrupulous to Buy what they found in the Shambles nor to Eat what was set down before them to Eat at Common Tables out of those Solemnities altho' perchance those Meats had been offer'd to Idols viz. because they being Ignorant of it did not give occasion to think they approv'd that Oblation to the Idol in which onely the Sin was But if it fell out that one should tell them that such a Meat had been offerd to the Idol then he forbid them to Eat of it v. 28. for fear of scandalizing that Person Is not here something refused to Eat altho' it be set down afore me to be Eaten and altho' the thing be good in it self ond belonging to God Was not the forbidden fruit good in it self and yet was it Lawful for Adam to Eat it then with Thanks-giving when God had forbidden it no more is it Lawful to us to Eat Flesh which is good in it self on Fasting dayes because it is then forbidden by the Church of God which God will have us hear as himself Luke 10. v. 16. Who hears you hears me Has not the Church of England taken away that priveledge too when she commands to abstain from Flesh in Lent or at least from Eating a sull Meal till after noon or towards the Evening on their dayes of Humiliation When there is no Danger then of offending God neither by my approbation of an offering to the Devil or Scandalizing my Neighbour St. Paul sayes I may Eat Flesh tho' offer'd to the Devil From that antecedent is this a good Inference then when I know I offend God by Transgressing the Command of his Church and by Scandal of my Neighbour I may Eat Flesh because it is good in it self and at another time may be Eaten with Thanks-giving St. Paul then bids Christians not to scruple to buy or Eat Meat upon a fear that it may be 't was offer'd to Idols because that reason did not make it unlawful to Eat so I was not told of it But he bids not Eat it if it be unlawful upon an other accompt viz. because forbidden on certain dayes by the Church Now to show how pleasing a thing to God and advantageous to our Souls our Fasting is remember that Moses having fasted forty Dayes and forty Nights in the Mountain obtain'd the Favour to see God Face to Face Exod. 24. chap. did not Achab make use of Sack-Cloath and Fasting for the expiation of his Sins 1 Regum 28. did not David after he heard from Nathan that God had Forgiving him his Sin say that his knees were weak through Fasting 2 Sam. 12. chap. Were not Divine Mysteries reveal'd to Daniel after he had Fasted and was he not Favour'd with a Miraculons Dinner by the means of an Angel Daniel 14. In the New Testament did not Christ Fast forty Dayes and forty Nights and so teach us how to overcome the Temptations of the Devil Matth. 4. did not he tell his Disciples that a certain kind of Devils was not cast out but by Prayer and Fasting Math. 17. Our
Heavenly Father is perfect sayes our Saviour Matth. 5. v. 48. Not that we may hope to arrive to his Perfection but that we may never rest in the way of Perfection but alwise strive to draw nearer and nearer to him Our Adversary needs not ask in what pain and trouble Religious who are of a timerous Conscience live under the burden of some Rules because they believe that with the Grace of God they can keep them all and feel so much ease in keeping them that many undertake far more than the Rule prescribes Facile equitat quem Gratia Dei portat he Rides at ease who is carried by the Grace of God saies the following of CHRIST But he should ask in what pain Protestants are who think the least Deviation from the Law by an idle word is a grievous Sin and worthy Hell Fire and who believe that with all the Grace of CHRIST they cannot keep themselves from making Damnable breaches of the Law of God In what pain and anxiety of mind ought they to live Those who told our Adversary that their Yoke was bitter had not merited by their negligence to feel that inward Unction of which St. Bernard speaks nor tasted of that Water of which our Saviour to the Samaritan Woman but living in Religion and breathing still after the World as some wicked Israelites not tasting with the Good the sweetness of the Manna Hungred after the Flesh-Pots of Aegypt So suffering within themselves a perpetual Combat between Nature and Grace the one drawing to God and the other to the World no wonder their Burden was not like that of CHRIST Sweet and Light but heavy and unpleasant by their own Fault If the Devel thought to insnare Men by giving way to their inclination of making Vows he may now leave of as being deceived by a sad experience to himself seeing thousands by the daily observation of their Vow gain signal Victories over him especially if he be more gal'd by the eminent Sanctity and Elevation of one far inferiour in nature to him than pleased in the fall of many who despoiled of Grace are not considerable in respect of him But deceiv'd he is not in giving way to the Ministers common Exhortations to the People to keep the Commandement of God by a practical horror of Sin and embracing of Vertue For when on one side the Minister threatens them with a heavy Judgement if they don't live a good Life and on the other tells them 't is impossible to live so and walk in the Commandements of God is not this to distract a Man or cast him loose and after he was wearied himself striving against the Tyde of his corrupted Nature make him yield to the Stream of Sin impossible to bear up against it and so go down-wards Which was in our Adversaries own Words the Enemies sole aim and main design Roman Catholicks have a more rational and worthy thought of the goodness of God Who Wills the end sais the maxime in moral philosophy affords means to attain it God Wills we keep his Commands will he not afford us Grace with which we may and without which we cannot keep them If Men who are wicked give good things to their Children will he refuse the good Spirit to those who ask it of him Luke 11. v. 13. will he leave Men without Grace who have left all for the pure love of him No Roman Catholicks find the Truth of St. Paul's saying God is Faithful and will not suffer us to be Tempted beyond our force 1 Cor. 10. but will make us find advantage in the Temptation and that they can do all in him who comforts them ad Philip. 4. no there is no Sin or Temptation that Grace can not overcome nor Grace necessary for our Salvation which Prayer can not obtain and a Gift of this in some measure is given to all Men need not fear to undertake prudently to do for God he will still out do them By the same proportion that they go out of themselves for his sake he comes upon 'em by his Grace filling their understanding with surprising Lights and their Wills with Flaming Affections so that seing him now in a fairer day and burning with more Affection towards him they covet to do still more and more for the love of him far from thinking it hard to keep their Vows by which it has been favourably given to them to tye themselves more straitly to him But you who are so secure in your wide way of living and make it your study to diminish the Gospel Obligations be pleased to remember that Christ said Math. 7. v. 14. the way that leads to life is narrow and they are but few who find it CHAP. IX A Recapitulation or short Repetion of the Contents in this Book OUr Adversary out of his foregoing discourse imagining or willing seem to imagin that all his weak Fancies are as many Perswasions telling us he will prove this to Perswasion and he has proven that to Conviction concludes Protestants to be most happy because they do not meet with the Obstacles found in Popery to Eternal Salvation And what are those Obstacles Here he makes a kind of Recapitulation of what he had said 1. The R. Faith is so blind sayes he that it believes Decrees of Errable Councils In this place I will set to your view and consideration the passage he brings to prove that our general approved Councils are Errable in St. Austin's Opinion I had not seen it in St. Austin by reason of his wrong Quotation when I answered it pag. 35. by my knowledge of St. Augustins mind from else where St. Austin contra Epist Fundam c. 5. saies for me I would not believe the Gospel if the Authority of the Church did not move me to it to wit the Authority of the then existing R. Church which moved him to believe that Manicheus was not an Apostle of CHRIST as is clear out of his Words in that place Again Epist 118. he saies to controvert or question that which is held by the whole Church a General approved Council is insolent madness and Epist 162. he saies that a General Council is the last Iudgment of the Church Would St. Augustin or any Reasonable Person think that Man insolently mad who in the weighty matter of his Salvation would question and appeal from a Judgment that might be Erronious St. Austin having spoken of the Council of Nice and Arimini disputing with Maximinus an Arian Bishop L. 3. c. 14. Whether CHRIST were of the Substance of GOD the Father He sayes sed nunc nec ego Nicenum neâ— tu debes Ariminense tanquam praejudicaturus proferre concilium Nec ego hujus Authoritate nec iu illius decineris Scripturarum Authoritatibus non quorum cumque propriis sed utriusque communibus testibus res cum re causa cum causa ratio cum ratione concertet That is say But now neither ought I to alledge the Council of