A SEARCH FOR THE English Schismatick By the CASE and CHARACTERS I. Of the Diocesan Canoneers II. Of the Present Meer Nonconformists Not as an Accusation of the former but a Necessary Defence of the later so far as they are wrongfully Accused and Persecuted by them By Richard Baxter One of the Accused LONDON Printed for Nevil Simmons at the Sign of the Three Golden Cocks at the West-end of St. Pau ls Church-Yard 1681. POSTSCRIPT THE strivings of Parliaments since Archbishop Laud's Government against Innovations Popery and Arbitrary over-topping Law and their jealousies of the designs and progress while they themselves were of the Old Church of England do call us to think what the difference was between the Old and New HE that would know what the Old Church of England is let him read I. The 39 Articles II. The Homilies III. The Apology with Jewels defence IV. Nowell's Catechism V. Deus Rex all owned by the Church VI. Hookers Ecclesiastical Polity in 8 Books VII Bishop Bilson of Christian Subjection VIII Bishop Downham de Antichristo IX The great Writers against Popery as Dr. Whitaker Dr. Reynolds Dr. Willet Dr. Sutliff Dr. White Dr. Airy Dr. Humphrey Dr. Fulk Dr. Prideaux Dr. R. Abbot Dr. Crakenthorp Dr. Challoner Dr. Hall Bishop Usher Dr. Davenant Bishop Carlton Chillingworth Bishop Morton c. X. The Writings against Bishop Laud viz. Bishop Hall ' s Epistle to D. L. Archbishop G. Abbots and Bishop R. Abbot ' s judgment of him and his Tryal with what was there charged against him XI The Harmony of Confessions and the Synod of Dort XII King James ' s Works HE that would know what is the New Church of England since Bishop Laud differs from the Old let him read I. Dr. Heylin ' s Writings Dr. Pocklingtons Mr. Dows Sybthorps and Mainwarings II. Heylin ' s Life of B. Laud particularly his description of the designed reconciliation with the Papists III. Mr. Thorndike's Just weights and measures and forbearance of Penalties IV. Archbishop Bramhall ' s book against me explaining the new way in these particulars 1. To abhor Popery 2. That we all come under a Foreign Jurisdiction obeying the Pope as the Western Patriarch and also as the Principium unitatis to the universal Church Governing by the Canons 3. That Dissenters from this be accounted Schismaticks 4. That we yield to what the Greeks have yielded and be of their Religion 5. That Grotius was a Protestant for the Church of England V. Dr. Parkers Preface to that book and Dr. Pierce's defence of Grotius VI. Grotius his Volume and Notes on Cassander specially his Discussio Apologetici Riveliani in which he professeth 1. That Rome is the Mistris-Church 2. Sound in faith 3. That he finds Protestants can never unite but by uniting with Rome 4. He owns the Doctrine of the Councils even that of Trent 5. The Pope to govern by the Canons of the Councils and not arbitrarily 6. Nor must invade the rights of Kings or Bishops 7. That if the curiosities of the School-men and the ill lives of the Clergy be disowned and amended this much is enough to sober men 8. And he saith that the English Bishops were many of his mind tho' the Separatists were not VII The Earl of Clarendon ' s Defence of Dr. Stillingfleet laying the nature of Popery in their injury to Princes VIII Guil. Forbes Bishop of Edenborough his Irenicon IX Mr. Dodwell ' s book against Schism and the same doctrine maintained by others who nullifie Ministry and Churches whose Episcopal Ordination hath not come down from the Apostles uninterrupted X. The Bishops endeavours since 1660 to silence fine imprison banish and drive five miles from all Corporations c. all such as receive not the Impositions Together with the rest of the true History of these last Twenty years The particulars are not now to be recited A SEARCH FOR THE ENGLISH SCHISMATICK OR The True Characters of the several Accused Parties by which they may be discerned CHAP. I. The Parties Accused The Parties questioned are I. The Papists II. The Diocesan-Militants or Canoneers III. The Passive peaceable Conformists IV. The Meer Nonconformists V. The Sectarian Church-Appropriators and Causeless Separatists and Dividers I. THERE is no Sect of Christians which maketh so great use of their pretence to Unity and crying down Heresie Schism and Separation as the Papists do and yet are the greatest Schismaticks and Dividers as thus appeareth 1. They have a self-made humane universal Church feigning the Pope to be the rightful Head of all the Christian World 2. They exclude all from Christs Chuch who are not the Popes Subjects though at the Antipodes where he never came nor sent 3. They presume to make universal Laws for all the World 4. They Curse men from Christ by Excommunications who refuse such subjection and obedience to these Laws 5. They have introduced many new Articles of Faith on pretence of declaring and expounding Faith 6. They have multiplied corrupting additions in the Christian Worship 7. Their regular objective Religion now consisteth in so great a number of the Decrees of Councils as no Christians can well understand while they accuse Gods Laws as unintelligible 8. They can give us no certainty which of these Councils are obligatory to us while they contradict each other 9. They agree not of the Essence of Christianity or necessary truths but resolve all into the uncertainty of sufficient Proposals 10. They damn men as Hereticks that deny not all humane sense believing there is no Bread and Wine when they see and taste them 11. They burn such as Hereticks and are for tormenting Inquisitions to destroy them 12. They bind Temporal Lords to exterminate all such and to swear to do it and this on pain of Excommunication Deposition and Damnation So that a Protestant Kingdom under a true Papist King hath a King that is thus bound to exterminate his Subjects if he be able and professeth to do it on these three penalties his Salvation lying on it 13. They decree the giving of his Dominions to another and absolving his Subjects from their Oaths of Fidelity if he obey not 14. They decree that it's Heresie to hold that a King hath the power of Investing Bishops and that he is not thus subject to the Pope 15. They tolerate their chief Doctors to write that a Heretick is no King at least if Excommunicate and may lawfully be killed 16. Their Canons exempt the Clergy from being Governed and Taxed by Kings 17. They forbid the reading of the Scriptures translated without a License 18. They say that we cannot well believe the Gospel but on the credit of their Church As if we must first know that the Pope and Council are authorized by Christ before we believe in Christ himself 19. They renounce Repentance by pretending to Infallibility 20. They cherish a numerous Clergy and Sects to carry on all this in the World and perswade high and low that to promote
cruelty And reckon the death of K. Edw. 6. for a mercy Insomuch that out of Dr. Heylin and some others a Papist hath gathered in terminis the most odious description of our Reformation called Historical Collections 12. They disagree about the points called Arminian Whitgift the Mawl of the Nonconformists with others drawing up the high Lambeth-Articles for absolute Reprobation c. and others with Laud as hot against them 13. These censure K. James for being against Arminianism and sending men to that end to the Synod of Dort though they were all moderating-men 14. Though we had there six excellent Divines some think we are not obliged by that Synod and some that we are when we had not so many in most General Councils 15. Those that followed Laud being few durst not long commit their Cause to a Convocation And Heylin tells us that the Convocations of England and Ireland were against them and the Convocations are called The Representative-Church 16. These divided from the rest strove who should prevail in Power A. B. Grindall first and A. B. Abbot next being cast out and both reproached by Dr. Heylin Laud's Pen-man as the Heads of one Party in England and B. Usher in Ireland and Bishop Laud is praised as the Leader of the other side Reforming the spoiled Reformation which the Universities and Bishops had spoiled by Calvinism 17. These two Parties differed in their Zeal against the Nonconformists Grindall being for Love and Lenity and Lecture-Exercises to breed up Preachers and Abbot by Heylin made a Mischief to the Church for being popular but Laud's Party being for more severity against them which was exercised accordingly 18. These two Parties also differed in their way and designs towards the Papists A. B. G. Abbot B. Rob. Abbot Hall and others suspecting Laud as Popish and being themselves against Toleration of Popery But B. Laud saith Dr. Heylin attempting by alterations and abatements and reconciling means to open our Church-door so wide that we might again all joyn together as in the beginning of Queen Elizabeths Reign 19. These two Parties differed about Prerogative Laws and Property A. B. Abbot writeth that he was cast down for denying to License Sybthrop's Book for the Kings Power to raise money and the peoples obligation to pay it And his Narrative which you may read in Rushworth intimateth that B. Laud was the chief means of this Imposition on him to License Sybthrop's Book and so of his Sufferings The two greatest Writers for Prelacy and Conformity are Bishop Bilson and Hooker to the reading of whom B. Morley referred me for instruction when he forbid me Preaching in Worcester Diocess and whom we are usually challenged to answer Bishop Bilson saith Chris Subject pag. 520. If a Prince should go about to subject his Kingdom to a Forreign Realm or change the form of the Common Wealth from Impery to Tyranny or neglect the Laws established by common consent of Prince and People to execute his own pleasure In these and other such cases which might be named if the Nobles and Commons joyn together to defend their ancient and accustomed Liberty Regiment and Laws they may not well be counted Rebels See more pag. 381 382. Grotius de jure Belli goeth much farther Ri. Hooker saith That it is no better than Tyranny for any Prince or Potentate of what kind soever to exercise Law-making of himself and not either by express Commission received immediately and personally from God or else by authority derived at first from their consent upon whose persons they impose it Eccl. Pol. l. 1. § 10. p. 21. And that in Kingdoms of this quality as ours the Highest Governour hath indeed universal Dominion but with dependancy on that whole entire body over the several parts whereof he hath dominion So that it standeth for an axiom in this case The King is Singulis Major universis Minor Lib. 8. p. 193. and p. 194. Neither can any man with Reason think but that the first institution of Kings a sufficient consideration wherefore their power should always depend on the from which it did always flow by original influence of power from the body into the King is the cause of Kings dependency in power on the body By dependancy we mean Subordination and Subjection The Axioms of our Regal Government are these Lex facit Regem Rex nihil potest nisi quod jure potest Pag. 218 221 223 224. Against all equity it were that a man should suffer detriment at the hands of men for not observing that which he never did either by himself or others mediately or immediately agree to What Power the King hath he hath it by Law the bounds and limits of it are known The entire Community giveth order c. as for them that exercise power altogether against order though the kind of power which they have may be of God yet is their exercise thereof against God and therefore not of God otherwise than by permission as all injustice is Page 224. Usurpers of Power whereby we do not mean them that by violence have aspired to places of highest authority but them that use more authority than ever they did receive in form and manner above mentioned such Usurpers thereof as in the exercise of their power do more than they have been authorized to do cannot in conscience bind any to obedience Thus Hooker Hollingshead a Minister maketh Parliaments so mighty as to take down the greatest Kings Bishop Jewel defendeth the defensive arms of the French Protestants as Bilson and others do On the other side some held that it is unlawful on any pretence what soever to take Arms against the King or any Commissioned by him in pursuance of that Commission And thus the Clergy were then divided about such things which prognosticated much that followed 20. The Laity Lords and Commons were divided after these two Parties And the Parliaments still adhered to the then major part against Laud's Party and insisted on Grievances viz. 1. Increase and favour of Popery 2. Arminianism 3. About their Property and Liberty Taxing and Imprisoning c. as Rushworth and Heylin shew at large of divers Parliaments 21. By this unhappy breach Parliaments still harping on the same and the King dissolving them and Abbot and Richard Hooker and the most being for the one side and Bishop Laud Neale Howson Corbet Buckeridge and Montague for the other the Court and Parliaments came to the unhappy jealousies and distrusts which at last broke out into a miserable War In which the A. B. of Canterbury Laud was on one side and was put to death the History and Articles are known and the other A. B. Williams of York was on the other side and became a Commander in North-Wales for the Parliament and their Clergy were accordingly divided one part of the Conformists adhering to the King and the other to the Parliament many of which made up the Westminster-Synod 22. This War thus begun between the
as blasphemy against God and destructive to the piety and peace of man 88. Some of them preach for universal Redemption as a necessary point of faith which others cry down as Arminianism 89. Some of them make Justifying faith to contain Obedience and others cry it down as Popery and Socinianism 90. Some of them say that God hath given to all men sufficient grace to salvation yea say some and efficient which others call Arminianism 91. Some of them say that it is Gods Grace that maketh the faithful to differ from others and others say it is their own Wills And about the parts of Grace and Free-will they preach and write against each other 92. Some of them preach that all the justified persevere And others preach it down as a dangerous errour I have tryed to reconcile all these but they go on 93. Some of them are only for Bidding prayer in the Pulpit as if all other were forbidden by the Canon as Heylin others use prayer there 94. Some there pray in their own words and some only in the words of the Liturgy some use the same words and others vary them 95. Their Cathedral Worship much differeth from the Parochial and some Churches use Organs and others have none 96. One writeth for the Religious use of Lent as Bishop Guning others as Bishop Taylor and Dr. More c. are against their principles and use yea and against many other things of Church-Government and significant Ceremonies which the other party hold See Taylor cited 2d Plea for Peace 97. Some of them are for the Divine right of the Lords Day and the Morality of the fourth Commandment which Heylin and many others vehemently deny 98. One is for Altars and Rails and others against them and others for indifferency 99. In preaching they use very different Methods And some Churches of them begin to use new Versions of the singing Psalms 100. Some following Grotius de Jure Belli and Dr. Taylors Ductor Dubitantium are for useful lying which injureth not others and therefore no doubt for doubtful Conformity But others are against it 101. But they no-where more differ than in their Conformity it self one taking the words in one sense and another in another so that their Conformity is not the same thing though the Letters and sound of voice be the same One by his Assent and Consent to all things in the three books meaneth plainly and another meaneth but that he may and will use so much as concerneth him One by Not resisting by Arms any Commissioned by the King meaneth as he speaketh Another limiteth it to Lawfully Commissioned One by on any pretence whatsoever meaneth as he saith Another excepteth as Bilson aforesaid and such cases as King Johns who gave up his Kingdom to the Pope and would have done to the Morocco-Mahometan and many other such instances as Killing the Parliaments City c. One that subscribeth never to endeavour any Alteration of Church-Government meaneth as he speaketh Another excepteth Lay-Chancellours use of the Keys Deans and Chapters Archdeacons c. if the King would change them One by any endeavour meaneth as he saith Another meaneth only unlawful endeavour one by nothing contrary to Gods word in Can. 36. meaneth plainly Another meaneth nothing which maketh Communion unlawful One taketh all the imposed subscriptions to be but a promise of submission and peace which others abhor and are for the Truth of all that they subscribe assent to In a word some are for the common Rule of taking all the words in the usual sense except the Imposers declare a different sense And others are for necessary supposing that the Imposers meant well whatever they said and therefore our Charity and honouring them bindeth us to put no sense on their words which is contrary to Gods Law the Law of the Land or Common Right and supposing them true and good whatever they are who can doubt but they may be sworn or subscribed 102. Dr. Hammond and his party thought that it doth not appear that there were any subject Presbyters in Scripture-times and so that every single Congregation had a Bishop present in worshipping God But Dr. Stillingfleet saith p. 269. While the Apostles lived it is probable there were no fixed Bishops or but few And so the world had but 12 or 13 indefinite Bishops who are not proved to have any peculiar determinate Diocesses 103. Mr. Dodwell and I think most of them take the Church of England to be a Political society and many think we overthrow Church and Order if we deny Churches to be formed by a Constitutive Government But Dr. Stillingfleet not only holdeth that the Church of England is but the Pastors and people consenting by Parliaments to live under the same Laws about Religion without any Constitutive Church-Head one or many but also peremptorily concludeth that to maintain such a Constitutive Supreme Church-power will necessarily infer Popery and so maketh all the Conformists necessarily to lead in Popery who are for such Political Churches and Constitutive Governours 104. Mr. Cheny saith That to make Churches by Covenants confederacies or consent besides baptism is to be guilty of blasphemy impiety irreligiousness infidelity and one should rather die than yield to it But Dr. Stillingfleet saith the Church of England is one Church made by such consent But such Schisms among themselves are too many to be here numbered And no wonder when they differ so much as they do with their own Sentiments in one and the same book saying and unsaying as the argument in hand requireth E. g. Dr. Stillingfleet thinketh that the seven Churches of Asia being Metropolitan prove Diocesan or Metropolitan-Bishops then in being And yet that while the Apostles lived it 's probable there were no fixed Bishops or but few And so either seven Apostles were the Angels of the seven Churches of Asia reproved so much for their sin and backsliding or the Angels signified not the Bishops While we are all Schismaticks for disobeying say some and holding Nonconforming Assemblies say others from the Church of England yet this Church is no proper Political Church and hath no Constitutive chief Government saith Dr. St. and therefore hath no authority to make Canons to command us He no less than threatneth us with damnation not in the retracted Irenicum but in his late book against Popish Idolatry if we chuse not the purest Church and the Papist granteth it and saith as he And yet it is the substance of his unreasonable books to prove us Schismaticks if we depart from their Church or so much as preach to other Assemblies on the account of purer worship and greater edification c. And he had the wit to pass by this citation in the Epistle of a book against him As for Mr. Cheny and divers other such another book openeth their Contradictions They often tell us of the Nullity of the Ministry or Power which is not received from Episcopal Superiors Especially Bishop Gunning and