Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	catholic_n	church_n	particular_a	3,316	5	8.1839	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52706	A letter from a gentleman in the city to a gentleman in the country, about the odiousness of persecution wherein the rise and end of the penal laws for religion in this kingdom, are consider'd : occasioned by the late rigorous proceedings against sober dissenters, by certain angry justices in the country.	A. N.; Penn, William, 1644-1718.	1687 (1687)	Wing N3; Wing L1388A_CANCELLED; ESTC R9450	23,013	34

for Matters meerly of Religion and in particular For meeting together meerly for matter of Religion Doubtless their Answer would have been given with one general Voice That it was not Lawful and that it was against the Rule of Christ and the Law of Nature Quod Tibi non vis fieri Alteri non feceris Do not unto another what thou wouldst not have done unto thy self And that true it is the Jews who Persecuted the Lord of Life and put him to Death for matter of meer Religion did alledge for their Justification That they had a Law and that by their Law he ought to Dye But that that Law and all Laws of that Nature were against the Law of God And that the Christians had no such custom nor the Churches of Christ is I think a most undeniable thing These Ages by the Agreement of all were esteemed the purest Ages of Christianity Religion being then most Pure when the Professors of it were most Poor And if any one shall conceive that the Christians of those Ages would have given any other Answer contrary to what I have here framed for them and shall give a convincing Reason for such his Apprehension I shall confess my mistake In the mean time I must say That I cannot see what other answer they could have given but what must have justified the Persecutions against themselves to have been innocent on the part of the Persecutors who believed those first Christians to Err in Religion and to be Disturbers of the Peace and Government of their Countries and their Meetings to be unlawful Assemblies And much more Innocent on the part of the inferiour Magistrates who took care to put those Laws in Execution they being as much obliged in all civil Respects to put in Execution the Laws of their Superiours as our Inferiour Magistrates are obliged to the Execution of our Laws and they gave the same Reasons And the same is to be said in the Case of the Persecution of our Lord Christ as seems very clear from that Prayer which he offered for his Persecutors Father forgive them they know not what they do here then is a Principle of Christianity undivided In the next place We are to consider Christianity in England when divided only into two distinct Parties viz. Protestants and Papists and when the Protestants had made a Sub division amongst themselves here This I take to be in the times of K. Hen. 8. K. Edw. 6. Q. Mary and part of the Reign of Q. Elizabeth for though there were diversities of Opinions amongst Protestants as well here as in other Countries even in the first beginnings yet they were not divided into Parties being every-where upon the Defensive In the time of K. Hen. 8. which I intend to instance in both Parties were persecuted The Case stands thus That King at his coming to the Crown found the whole Nation in a quiet possession of Popery and holding it as an Article of their Faith and the Principle whereon they believed the Unity of their Faith depended that The Pope was the Supream Pastor and visible Head of Government next under Christ of the Catholick Church of Christ of which the then national-National-Church of England was a Member The King had defended this Article by Writing so vigorously against M. Luther that the Pope had for that very work conferred upon him the Title of Defender of the Faith to be enjoyed and used by him and his Successors for ever After this by Act of Parliament this Supream Pastor this Visible Head was thrown off and this King put in his place so far as concerned the Church of England by the Title of Supream Head of the Church of England annexed to the Crown and this by a Law 26 Hen. 8. C. 1. And then by another Law 26 Hen. 8. C. 13. it was Enacted That if any by Word or Writing should attempt to Deprive the King of the Title of His Royal Estate he should be adjudged a Traytor This change of the Headship of the Church was and is truly at least in England a Protestant Doctrine and undoubtedly there is no Protestant whatsoever but approves the casting off the Popes Headship as conformable with the Doctrine of Protestants And upon the latter of these two Laws divers suffered Death for their denying the Kings Supremacy This was the first step made in England from Popery towards Protestancy And the Vigorous Execution of this latter Law encouraged several Protestants from Forreign parts to come into England not doubting but to have a Liberty to Exercise their Religion here and it gave confidence to many of the Subjects of England to receive and to others to entertain good thoughts of Protestancy being perswaded that after the shedding of so much Blood as had been shed here upon that Occasion England would never any more admit of the Article of the Popes Supremacy and consequently would every day make greater steps from that Church of which the Pope was owned to be the Supream Pastor And certain it is that Protestancy upon this Occasion also made its entrance into England and gained Ground here and such if not by open application to the King for that purpose yet at least in their Hearts desired a Toleration and to be admitted to Preach and Exercise their Religion here without being Persecuted for their so doing so that their Principle was at that time at least against Persecution for meer Religion But Protestancy being now taken notice of to grow another Law was made 31 Hen. 8. for setling unity of Opinion in the six Articles therein named by which the denyal of Transubstantiation and several other Doctrines therein named are Enacted to be punished with Death And now Persecution in England for matters of meer Religion grew sharp and high so that it is observed by our Historians that upon one and the same day some who were Professed Papists were put to Death for denying the Kings Supremacy which was a Protestant Article And some who were professed Protestants were put to death for denying Transubstantiation which was an Article of the Papists So that at this time the Government could neither be said to be Popish nor Protestant but both Parties were Persecuted most severely for matters of meer Religion And he who should then have said to either Party in justification of the Proceedings of the Magistrate in the Execution of either of those Laws That that Party did not then suffer for any matter of meer Religion but for breaking of the Peace in breaking of the King's Laws would certainly have been taken not to have understood those Laws or the cause of their then Suffering And now suppose each of these Parties separately interrogated when thus under Persecution for Afflictio dat intellectum Is it lawful to Persecute and to make and Execute Laws for the Inflicting of Pains and Penalties upon quiet and peaceable People for matters of meer Religion for it seemed a time to teach both Parties an

Conviction what Party shall be able to clear it self And who knows not that 't is a Christians part to Suffer but never to Persecute I very well know That the Protestants in general who look upon the Papists as their common Enemies do in their Pulpits in their Writings and in all their Addresses to the People charge them with those Rivers of Blood which streamed in the times of Q. Mary and with the Bloody Intentions which those i●l Men had in their Hearts who were engaged in the wicked powder-Plot That the first was done by Authority and chiefly by the Popish Bishops That the other though the Fact but of private Persons was never condemned by Authority and Silence is an implyed consent and approbation Do we well consider what the Papists offer by way of Extenuation in answer to these Charges they justifie none of these Facts But as to the first they recommend to us to be considered the circumstances that Q. Mary was in when she came to the Crown All the chief Heads of the Protestant Party had set up and Proclaimed the Lady June duly Queen in opposition to Q. Mary their Lawful Soveraign They had raised an Army against her She was compelled to gain her Right by Force She was a Conqueror And if we will believe them she had not given any Articles which might have obliged her to Pardon any who were guilty of this Usurpation and Treason She was told It was a Confedracy of the whole Party of the Protestants which gave her a ground to suspect that the Protestants held it for a principle That it was lawful for them to take up Arms against and Depose their Lawful Soveraign if of a Religion contrary to him She might by the Laws then in being the same which we have to this day in force amongst us have taken away the Lives of all who were any ways Guilty of endeavouring to Depose her She did not make any one new Persecuting Law which is considerable by which any of those were taken off who were put to Death But being put into fears by her Council that without making great Examples of Justice in all parts of the Kingdom she would be in danger of having new Insurrections made by the Protestants against her she was perswaded that the only way to prevent the sheding of more Blood for the Future was to punish considerable numbers of those who had then actually broken the old Laws of her Kingdom Her Bishops and that is the chief and justest ground of the charge had their Fears and Revenge also in particular They were newly restored to their Bishopricks and Religion of which they had been dispossessed in the Time of King Edward the Sixth They were afraid of being again disturbed and these fears and passions made them take wrong measures They perswaded the Queen that she might as well make Examples of Justice and prevent future Insurrections by punishing those for their Religion who had been Guilty of Treason as if she had punished them for Treason And they urged that by this way she should do her self the greater right and give a proof to the World that she was more offended with Treason committed against Heaven for so they esteemed Protestant Religion than with Treason committed against her self which might be interpreted Revenge They had forgotten the Principles of the true Christian Religion which required to leave unto God to Revenge whatsoever Injuries are done to him and to leave it to God to judge what Injuries were done to him They did not now think of doing unto others as they would that others should do unto them They did not remember the wise advice of Gamaliel before mention'd but giving Ear only to their own Fears and preferring Humane Policies before Gospel-Rules they misled the Queen and took away the Lives of vast numbers of such against whom nothing could be charged but what was matter of meer Religion thereby giving a Just occasion to charge upon their own Religion the Principle of Persecution for meer Religion which those who now profess that Religion here do pretend to disown and abominate And as to the business of the Powder-Plot they pray us to observe that it was the Treason not of the Papists of England but of a few particular persons of Desperate Fortunes and worse Consciences and not without suspition of being drawn into the Snare by their Enemies That upon the most severe Scrutiny which could be made into that business it clearly appear'd that the number of the Offenders was not greater than what happens sometimes to be engag'd in a particular Burglary and not so many as make up the fourth part of a Foot Company of Souldiers That the Villany of that design hath been as fully and generally yea and as publickly decry'd condemn'd and reprobated by the whole party of English Papists of that Age and of all succeeding Ages as any thing can be by a Party in Persecution who have not ever had any opportunities or allowances to act in any case otherwise then each person of the party only in his private Capacity might do and they Appeal to the Justice of those who profess to have the greatest Aversion of all others against the Religion of the Papists whether they will admit it as a rule that the Villanies of some private persons who profess themselves to be in Fellowship or Communion with any Church or people calling themselves Christians may in Justice and ought in Reason to be charged as proceeding from the Principles Doctrines or Religion of that Church or people with which private persons profess to be in Communion or Fellowship They cry out God forbid any such Rule should have credit in the World. On the other side I am not ignorant that the Papists who Esteem the Protestants in general as their mortal Enemies by whom they apprehend themselves to have been depriv'd of what is most dear unto them from the time that the Protestant Religion first gain'd a Preheminency in England are as highly Uncharitable towards the Protestants as these are severe in their Censures towards them They have almost look'd upon the Protestants as the Israelites did upon the Egyptians They charg'd upon them the guilt of all Blood that hath been shed of all the Persecutions which have hap'ned for matters of meer Religion since the first Act of Parliament of that nature made by King Henry the VIII unto this hour Insmuating that what was so Cruelly Acted by Q. Mary's Bishops was occasion'd by the Provocations given in the time of King Edward the VI. and warranted as far as ill Acts can be warranted First by the Non-conformists Retaliations towards the Church of England when subdu'd by them upon the Death of King Charles the I. and then by the Retaliation made to the Non-conformists by those of the Church of England since the Restoration of our present Soveraign In short as the Protestants in general to excuse and justifie themselves labour to cast