there must be a living speaking Judge always ready to guide the Church and to decide Controversies they say this cannot be in the diffusive Body of Christians for these cannot meet to judge Nor can it â—e in a General Council the meeting of which depends upon so many accidents and on the consent of so many Princes that the Infallibility will lie dormant for some Ages if the General Council is the Seat of it Therefore they conclude That since it is certainly in the Church and can be no where else but in the Pope therefore it is lodged in the See of Rome Whereas we on the other hand think this is a strong Argument against the Infallibility in general That it does not appear in whom it is vested And we think that every side does so effectually Confute the other that we believe them all as to that and think they argue much stronger when they prove where it cannot be than when they pretend to prove where it must be This in the Point now in hand concerning the Pope seems as evident 〈◊〉 thing can possibly be It not appearing That after the words of Christ 〈…〉 the other Apostles thought the Point was thereby decided Who 〈…〉 should be the greatest For that Debâ—â—e was still on foot and was 〈◊〉 among them in the very Night in which our Saviour was betrayâ—d Nor does it appear That after the Effusion of the Holy Ghost which certainly Inspired them with the full understanding of Christ's words that thâ—y thought there was any thing peculiarly given to S. Peter beyond the â—â—st He was questioned upon his Baptizing Cornelius He was not singly appealed to in the great Question of Subjecting the Gentiles to the Yoke of the Mosaical Law he delivered his Opinion as one of the Apostles After which St. Iames summed up the Matter and setled the Decision of it He was charged by St. Paul as guilty of dissimulation in that matter for which St. Paul withstood him to his Face And he justifies that in an Epistle confessed to be writ by Divine Inspiration St. Paul does also in the same Epistle plainly assert the equality of his own Authority with his And that he received no Authority from him and owed him no Dependance Nor was he ever Appealed to in any of the Points that appear to have been Disputed in the times that the Epistles were written So that we see no Characters of any special Infallibility that was in him besides that which was the effect of the Inspiration that was in the other Apostles as well as in him Nor is there a Tittle in the Scripture not so much as by a remote Intimation that he was to derive that Authority whatsoever it was to any Successor or to lodge it in any particular City or See The Silence of the Scripture in this Point seems to be a full proof that no such thing was intended by God Otherwise we have all reason to believe that it would have been clearly expressed St. Peter himself ought to have declared this And since both Alexandria and Antioch as well as Rome pretend to derive from him and that the Succession to those Sees began in him this makes a decision in this Point so much the more necessary When St. Peter writ his 2d Epistle in which he mentions a Revelation that he had from Christ of his approaching dissolution though that was a very proper occasion for declaring such an important Matter 2 Pet. 1 1â— he says nothing that relates to it but gives only a new Attestation of the truth of Christ's Divine Mission and of what he himself had been a witness to in the Mount when he saw the excellent glory and heard the voice out of it He leaves a Provision in Writing for the following Ages but says nothing of any Succession or See So that here the greatest of all Privileges is pretâ—nded to be lodged in a Succession of Bishops without any one Passage in Scripture importing it Another set of difficulties arise concerning the Persons who have a right to chuse these Popes in whom this Right is Vested and what number is necessary for a Canonical Election How far Simony voids it and who is the competent Judge of that or who shall judge in the Case of two different Elections which has often happened We must also have a certain Rule to know when the Popes judge as private Persons and when they judge Infallibly With whom they must consult and what Solemnities are necessary to make them speak ex Cathedra or Infallibly For if this Infallibility comes as a Privilege from a Grant made by Christ we ought to expect that all those necessary Circumstances to direct us in order to the receiving and submitting to it should be fixed by the same Authority that made the Grant Here then are very great difficulties Let us now see what is offered to make out this great and important Claim The chief Proof is brought from these Words of our Saviour when upon St. Peter's confessing That he was the Christ the Son of the living God Mat. 16. 16 17 18 19. He said to him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven This begins with an Allusion to his Name and Discourses built upon such Allusions are not to be understood strictly or Grammatically By the Rock upon which Christ promises to build his Church many of the Fathers have understood the Person of Christ others have understood the Confession of him or Faith in him which indeed is but a different way of expressing the same thing And it is certain that strictly speaking the Church can only be said to be founded upon Christ and upon his Doctrine But in a Secondary sense it may be said to be founded upon the Apostles and upon St. Peter as the first in order which is not to be Disputed Now though this is a Sense which was not put on these Words for many Ages yet when it should be allowed to be their true sense it will not prove any thing to have been granted to St. Peter but what was common to the other Apostles who are all called the Foundations upon which the Church is built That which follows of the gates of hell not being able to prevail against the Church may be either understood of Death Eph. 2.20 Rev. 21.2 14. which is often called the gate to the grave Which is the sense of the Word that is rendred Hell And then the meaning of these Words will be That the Church which Christ was to raise should never be extinguished nor die or come to a period as the Iewish Religion then did Or according to the Custom of the Iews of holding their
Courts and Councils about their Gates by the Gates of Hell may be understood the Designs and Contrivances of the Powers of Darkness which should never prevail over the Church to root it out and destroy it for the Word rendred prevail does signify an intire Victory This only imports That the Church should be still preserved against all the Attempts of Hell but does not intimate that no Error was ever to get into it Mat. 3.2 Mat. 4.17 By the words Kingdom of Heaven generally through the whole Gospel the Dispensation of the Messias is understood This appears evidently from the words with which both St. Iohn Baptist and our Saviour begun their Preaching Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand And the many Parables and Comparisons that Christ gave of the Kingdom of Heaven can only be understood of the Preaching of the Gospel This being then agreed to the most natural and the least forced Exposition of those words must be that St. Peter was to open the Dispensation of the Gospel The proper use of a Key is to open a Door And as this agrees with these words He that hath the Key of the House of David that openeth and no man shutteth Rev. 3.7 Luk. 11.51 and shutteth and no man openeth and with the Phrase of the Key of Knowledge by which the Lawyers are described for they had a Key with Writing-Tables given them as the Badges of their Profession So it agrees with the accomplishment of this promise in St. Peter who first opened the Gospel to the Iews after the wonderful Effusion of the Holy Ghost And more eminently when he first opened the Door to the Gentiles preaching to Cornelius and Baptizing him and his Houshold to which the Phrase of the Kingdom of Heaven seems to have a more particular relation This Dispensation was committed to St. Peter and seems to be claimed by him as his peculiar Privilege in the Council at Ierusalem This is a clear and plain sense of these words For those who would carry them further and understand by the Kingdom of Heaven our Eternal Happiness must use many distinctions otherwise if they Expound them literally they will ascribe to St. Peter that which certainly could only belong to our Saviour himsâ—lf Though at the same time it is not to be denied but that under the figure of Keys the power of Discipline and the Conduct and Management of Christians may be understood But as to this all the Pastors of the Church have their share in it nor can it be appropriated to any one Person As for that of binding and loosing and the confirming in Heaven what he should do in Earth whatever it may signify it is no special Grant to St. Peter For the same words are spoken by our Saviour elsewhere to all the Apostles So this is given equally to them all The words binding and loosing are used by the Iewish Writers in the sense of affirming or denying the Obligation of any Precept of the Law that might be in dispute So according to this common Form of Speech and the sense formerly given to the words Kingdom of Heaven the meaning of these words must be That Christ committed to the Apostles the Dispensing his Gospel to the World by which he Authorized them to dissolve the Obligation of the Mosaical Laws and to give other Laws to the Christian Church which they should do under such visible Characters of a Divine Authority impowering and conducting them in it that it should be very evident that what they did on Earth was also ratifyed in Heaven These words thus understood carry in them a clear sense which agrees with the whole Design of the Gospel But whatsoever their sense may be it is plain that there was nothing given peculiarly to St. Peter by them which was not likewise given to the rest of the Apostles Nor do these words of our Saviour to St. Peter import any thing of a Successive Infallibility that was to be derived from him with any distinction beyond the other Apostles Unless 〈◊〉 were a Priority of Order and Dignity and whatever that was there is 〈◊〉 so much as a hint given that it was to descend from him to any See or Succession of Bishops As for our Saviour's praying that St. Peter's Faith might not fail And his restoring him to his Apostolical Function by a thrice repeated charge Feed my sheep feed my lambs that has such a visible Relation to his fall Luk. 22.31 John 21.15 16 17. and to his denying him that it does not seem necessary to enlarge further on the making it out or on shewing that these words are capable of no other Signification and cannot be carried further The Importance of this Argument rather than the Difficulty of it has made it necessary to dwell fully upon it So much depends upon it and the Missionaries of the Church of Rome are so well Instructed in it that it ought to be well considered for how little strength soever there may be in the Arguments brought to prove this Infallibility yet the colours are specious and they are commonly managed both with much Art and with great Confidence ARTICLE XX. Of the Authority of the Church The Church hath Power to decree Rights or Ceremonies and Authority in Matters of Faith And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another Wherefore although the Church be a Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ yet as it ought not to decree any thing against the same so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of Salvation THIS Article consists of Two parts The first asserts a Power in the Church both to decree Rites and Ceremonies and to judge in matters of Faith The second limits this Power over matters of Faith to the Scriptures so that it must neither contradict them nor add any Articles as necessary to Salvation to those contained in them This is suitable to some Words that were once in the Fifth Article but were afterwards left out instead of which the first words of this Article were put in this place according to the Printed Editions tho they are not in the Original of the Articles signed by both Houses of Convocation that are yet extant As to the first part of the Article concerning the Power of the Church either with relation to Ceremonies or Points of Faith the dispute lies only with those who deny all Church-Power and think that Churches ought to be in all things limited by the Rules set in Scripture and that where the Scriptures are silent there ought to be no Rules made but that all Men should be left to their Liberty And in particular That the appointing new Ceremonies looks like a reproaching of the Apostles as if their Constitutions had been so defective that those defects
doing that may draw others who have not such clear Notions to do it after his Example they being still in doubt as to the Lawfulness of it then he gives Scandal that is he lays a stumbling-block in their way if he does it unless he lies under an Obligation from some of the Laws of God or of the Society to which he belongs to do it In that case he is bound to obey and he must not then consider the Consequences of his Actions of which he is only bound to take care when he is left to himself and is at full liberty to do or not to do as he pleases This explains the Notion of Scandal as it is used in the Epistles For there being several doubts raised at that time concerning the Lawfulness or Obligation of observing the Mosaical Law and concerning the Lawfulness of eating Meats offered to Idols no general Decision was made that went through that matter the Apostles having only decreed that the Mosaical Law was not to be imposed on the Gentiles but not having condemned such as might of their own accord have observed some parts of that Law Scruples arose about this and so here they gave great Caution against the laying a Stumbling-block in the way of their Brethren Ver. 13. But it is visible from this that the fear of giving Scandal does only take place where matters are free and may be done or not done But when Laws are made and an Order is settled the fear of giving Scandal lies all on the side of Obedience For a man of weight and Authority when he does not obey gives Scruples and Jealousies to others who will be apt to collect from his Practice that the thing is unlawful He who does not conform himself to settled Orders gives occasion to others who see and observe him to imitate him in it and thus he lays a Scandal or Stumbling-block in their way and all the sins which they commit through their excessive Respect to him and imitation of him are in a very high degree to be put to his account who gave them such occasion of falling The Second Branch of this Article is against the Unalterableness of Laws made in matters indifferent and it asserts the Right of every National Church to take care of it self That the Laws of any one Age of the Church cannot bind another is very evident from this That all Legislature is still entire in the hands of those who have it The Laws of God do bind all men at all times but the Laws of the Church as well as the Laws of every State are only Provisions made upon the present state of things from the fitness or unfitness that appears to be in them for the great Ends of Religion or for the Good of Mankind All these things are subject to alteration therefore the Power of the Church is in every Age entire and is as great as it was in any one Age since the days in which she was under the Conduct of men immediately Inspired So there can be no unalterable Laws in matters indifferent In this there neither is nor can be any Controversy An obstinate adhering to things only because they are antient when all the ends for which they were at first introduced do cease is the limiting the Church in a point in which she ought still to preserve her Liberty She ought still to pursue those great Rules in all her Orders of doing all things to Edification with Decency and for Peace The only question that can be made in this matter is Whether such general Laws as have been made by greater Bodies by General Councils for instance or by those Synods whose Canons were received into the Body of the Canons of the Catholick Church whether these I say may be altered by National Churches Or whether the Body of Christians is so to be reckoned one Body that all the Parts of it are bound to submit in matters indifferent to the Decrees of the Body in general It is certain that all the Parts of the Catholick Church ought to hold a Communion one with another and mutual Commerce and Correspondence together but this difference is to be observed between the Christian and the Iewish Religion that the one was tied to one Nation and to one place whereas the Christian Religion is universal to be spread to all Nations among People of different Climates and Languages and of different Customs and Tempers and therefore since the Power in indifferent matters is given the Church only in order to Edification every Nation must be the proper Judg of that within it self The Roman Empire though a great Body yet was all under one Government and therefore all the Councils that were held while that Empire stood are to be considered only as National Synods under one Civil Policy The Christians of Persia India or Ethiopia were not subject to the Canons made by them but were at full liberty to make Rules and Canons for themselves And in the Primitive Times we see a vast diversity in their Rules and Rituals They were so far from imposing general Rules on all that they left the Churches at full liberty Even the Council of Nice made very few Rules That of Constantinople and Ephesus made fewer And though the Abuses that were growing in the Fifth Century gave occasion to the Council of Calcedon to make more Canons yet the number of these is but small so that the Tyranny of subjecting particular Churches to Laws that might be inconvenient for them was not then brought into the Church The Corruptions that did afterwards overspread the Church together with the Papal Usurpations and the New Canon Law that the Popes brought in which was totally different from the old one had worn out the remembrance of all the Antient Canons so it is not to be wondred at if they were not much regarded at the Reformation They were quite out of practice and were then scarce known And as for the Subordination of Churches and Sees together with the Privileges and Exemptions of them these did all flow from the Divisions of the Roman Empire into Dioceses and Provinces out of which the Dignity and the Dependances of their Cities did arise But now that the Roman Empire is gone and that all the Laws which they made are at an end with the Authority that made them it is a vain thing to pretend to keep up the Antient Dignities of Sees since the Foundation upon which that was built is sunk and gone Every Empire Kingdom or State is an entire Body within it self The Magistrate has that Authority over all his Subjects that he may keep them all at home and hinder them from entring into any Consultations or Combinations but such as shall be under his Direction He may require the Pastors of the Church under him to consult together about the best methods for carrying on the Ends of Religion but neither he nor they can be bound to stay for