Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	ancient_a	father_n	primitive_a	3,741	5	8.1245	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47125	The arraignment of worldly philosophy, or, The false wisdom its being a great hinderance to the Christian faith, and a great enemy to the true divine wisdom / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1694 (1694)	Wing K143; ESTC R1585	27,083	30

3. as if he had said to them Why should ye look after that which is rather falsly called Philosophy among the Gentiles than that which is true Philosophy or Wisdom for granting that they may have some scraps and Fragments of some true Knowledge yet it being mingled and mixed with many hurtful Errors contrary to the Doctrine and Faith of Christ it is better to shun it than to look after it But if ye desire or love true Wisdom and Knowledg seek after it in Christ learn it of him for in him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledg for who would go and eat scraps of Food mixed with Poyson when they can have a plentiful Table well furnish'd with all variety of wholesome meats without any mixture of any hurtful thing It is convenient in this place to take notice that it is only the hurtful and false Opinions of these called Philosophers that the Apostle Paul doth chiefly caution them against and because what things of Truth or true Knowledg they had or taught either by word of mouth or by their books and writings was so greatly mixed with many hurtful Errors it was more advisable for them that were weak to let the whole alone because not only all things of Truth or true Knowledge that the best of them had were not only to be learned from Christ without them but much more even all that was requisite or conducing to true happiness or satisfaction And as things receive their Name and Denomination from their greater part so the Philosophy of the Gentiles containing for the most part more Errors than Truth might well be termed hurtful and erroneous Yet strictly speaking it was not what they had of Truth or true Knowledg either of things divine or natural that the Apostle cautioned them against as fit to be rejected or disowned for whatever is of Truth to be found in any men is to be owned and acknowledged in its place and a good use and improvement may be made of it to convince them of the Errors that they hold for as all the parts of Truth are well coherent and consisting and stand in most excellent Harmony one with another so Truth and Error are very incoherent and break the Harmony and beautiful consistency of things Therefore by what a man holds of Truth in some small measure he may be convinced of his Errors when it is shewed to him in the clear light of divine illumination or even of the true Reason of Man that what Opinions or Perswasions he judgeth to be true are inconsistent with the Truths he doth hold that therefore they must needs be Errors and false and unsound Notions And after this manner Paul dealt with these called Philosophers at Athens Acts 17. citing a most true and excellent saying out of one of their own Authors That men or mankind is the Offspring of God and from this he took occasion whereby to convince them of their Idolatry and Superstition and such a method did the Ancient Fathers so called and Primitive Teachers in the Church after the Apostles days make use of in disputing against the Philosophers in these times who were commonly the greatest Enemies and Opposers of the Christian Faith by which they did mightily confound them and put them to silence and gain'd upon divers of them so that they received the Christian Faith and Doctrine And seeing it was not any thing of Truth or true knowledg that Paul did caution men against in them called Gentile Philosophers whether they had it by vertue of that common divine illumination given to all mankind or by the use of their true Reason as men in subordination to that more excellent principle jointly working together both which are the good gifts of God and are not to be disregarded but duly esteemed and valued in their several places the one to wit the divine illumination as the Master or Mistress the other as the Servant or Handmaid to wit the true Reason or reasonable understanding of man but it was chiefly or rather indeed only their gross Errors that did oppose and impugn the true Christian Faith and Doctrine that these called Philosophers did hold and which made them so great Enemies to the Christian Faith tha● they neither did receive it themselves while they retain'd these Errors nor suffered their Hearers and Followers that believed them to receive it therefore it was that Paul did so warmly and earnestly warn them to whom he wrote this Epistle against that called Philosophy that was then among the Gentiles with whom they conversed and that he saith beware the Greek Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is see as if he had said take nothing upon trust from men neither believe what they say upon their bare credit and authority but see with the Eyes of your understandings that God hath anointed and opened with his heavenly and divine Eye-salve and with these Eyes compare things with thing and by so doing ye will find that the Gentiles Philosophy teacheth many things contrary to the true Faith of Christ and their wisdom is for the most part contrary to the wisdom which Christ teacheth And that he saith beware or see lest any spoil you or make a prey of you or rob you through philosophy and vain deceit The latter words are explanatory as to say the Philosophy I caution you against it is not the true Philosophy or wisdom but vain deceit and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he calleth it a shew or talk of wisdom but not the true divine wisdom And whereas the Apostle Paul doth not enumerate all nor most of their Errors in this place nor any where else but only mentioneth a few in particular and giveth them a warning against the Philosophy profest at that time among the Gentiles in general as being hurtful and opposeth the wisdom of the world to the wisdom of God as 1 Cor. 1. after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe and so doth James set in opposition the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below with the qualities and properties of each calling that from below earthly sensual and Devilish as indeed the greatest part of the Learning or Philophy of them called Greeks at that time was no other It is not to be understood that the Apostle did reject or condemn the true exercise use and improvement of mens rational faculties either in the invention or cultivation of such useful Arts and Sciences as were really useful for the life of man as the skill of Husbandry Navigation Arithmetick or the knowledg of Numbers and use of them in Accounting Geometry Astronomy and other the like useful Arts which were for most part the result and improvement of Mans Nature Reason and Understanding as a Man however it may be allowed that in some cases and things God did teach some men these or the like things