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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

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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
suffered so miserably in Q. Maries time did end with her Reign which was but short And after that the Protestants never suffered more from the Papists But upon the death of Q. Mary the Crown coming to Q. Elizabeth and she thereupon declaring her self a firm a zealous and to all intents religiously a Protestant the Edge was turned against the Papists before any differences were discerned to be among the Protestants Several of the Popish Clergy suffered Persecution some even unto Death in several parts of the Kingdom And new Laws were from time to time framed and multiplyed for those purposes And if now we ask the Opinion of the Papists as to Penal Laws either Sanguinary or others and Persecutions for meer matter of Religion they will tell you and they continue in that protestation even unto this day That all such Laws and Persecutions are unlawful and against the Principles of the Gospel And though the Protestants under several changes have been in the possession of those Laws and have at times more or less Executed them yet so far as I can find they do not own Persecution for matters meerly of Religion to be their Principle or so much as lawful After the Papists had some time continued the alone-Persecuted Party for Matters of Religion several Differences in Matters meerly of Religion happened to divide the Protestants into distinct and separate Parties during some part of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth and also during the several and successive Reigns of King James and King Charles the First And about the beginning of the Reign of King James some few desperate Male-contents professedly of the Popish Religion being found Guilty of a wicked Plot whereby they had designed the Destruction both of that King and of his Parliament by Gun-Powder for which they were deservedly Executed several new and more severe Laws were then and at several times after made against the Papists in general by which several Punishments were Inflicted on them for Matters of meer Religion and several Penal Laws were also made by which the then Governing Protestant Party then and still distinguished by the Name of the Church of England or the Episcopal Party persecuted Them. The Dissenting Protestants of all sorts were Prosecuted under the general Name of Non-conformists who cryed aloud for Liberty of Conscience and declared it absolutely Unlawful to Punish any for Matters of meer Religion The refusal of which bred bad Blood in the Kingdom and we all know what followed During the continuance of the War and after King Charles the First was not able to make Head against the Non-conformists the Non-conformists Retaliated the Church of England and not a little crusht the Popish Party both having engaged on t'other side and being of other Religions esteemed themselves Persecuted for matter of Religion That War being ended with the Death of King Charles the First and the expelling of our late King out of his Dominions and the Ruine of Episcopacy and the Suppression of the Papists and the total Change of the Government the Non-conformists under the several Forms took upon them and kept the Government until the late King was by the Divine Hand of Providence restored to his Crown During all which time the Episcopal Party and the Papists Suffered more or less for matters at least in their Apprehension meerly of Religion But these two Parties were not alone in their Sufferings for during those Bloody contests there appeared another Party which from its very first rise in this Kingdom hath been severely Persecuted and that only for Matters of Religion This Party was the People called Quakers They did at their first shewing themselves in the World go under the name of the Children of Light because they assert as their main and first Principle That Christ is the True Light that Enlightens every Man and Woman with a measure of saving Light which all ough● to obey on pain of Damna●ion but by one Bennit an Officer in 1650. were nick named Quakers They Professed themselves to adhere to the plain Principles of the first Christians and particularly to hold it as their Principle That all Persecution whatsoever against any Party People or Person whatsoever for matters meerly of Religion is absolutely Vnlawful Vnrighteous and against the Spirit and Will of God and Doctrine of true Christianity And to give them their due they have been true Contenders for their Principle both by their frequent Apologies and Remonstrances on the one hand and Invincible Patience in Suffering on the other hand Upon the Restauration of the King the Episcopal Party was also Restored The Presbyterians Independants and Anabaptists expected a general Toleration in matters of Religion according to some of the King 's Gracious Letters as a Reward for their helping or not opposing His Restauration The Papists also expected the same thing as a reward for their Loyalty in adhering to the Crown The Quakers now a great People grew confident of the like Freedom because of their Inoffensiveness to Government But instead of this expected Liberty all the former Penal Laws made in the time of Q. Elizabeth K. James and K Charles the First were Revived and ordered to be put in Execution as well against all Non-conformists who were Protestants as against the Papists And new and more severe Laws were made against them all And by these respective Practices we see what all these Parties have done when they had Power I think such as understand the Transactions of our Country will clear me from having made any mistake as to matters of Fact in any thing that I have here said touching past Persecutions though I believe there will not want some who will either think me mistaken in the point of Charity when I profess to believe that I do not think there is any one Party now in England who holds it as a Principle of their Religion That it is Lawful to Persecute or to make or Execute Laws for the Inflicting of Pains or Penalties for any matters of meer Religion Or else they will supect I do not in Truth believe what I here profess to believe in this point since even what I have said as to matters of Fact before urged by my self it plainly appears that there is not one Party now in England the People called Quakers only excepted who profess themselves Christians but have been notoriously Guilty more or less of the very Fact or at least of a publick allowing if not abetting of it And every Party will be apt to censure me of Singularity at least since each Party thinks that they have Arguments drawn from Facts sufficient to six this ugly Doctrine as a Principle upon that Religion which they hate most O that the Man could prevail against the Beast and that we would permit our Passions to give way to our Reason to consider things nakedly and as they truly are Si satis est accusasse Quis erit Innocens If to accuse be a sufficient
Eternal temperance and moderation most certainly each Party in their then present Circumstances would have answered in the Negative That it was not lawful They would not have fallen into the debate to consider what Religion their Persecutors were of whether of the Popish or Protestant to the end to have fixt the Cruelty and Injustice of Persecuting for a matter of meer Religion upon that Party as a Principle of their Religion which their Fancies should have perswaded them to have been the Religion of their Persecutors The Papists would not have then stood formalizing that because the first Persecution was occasioned upon the denyal of the King's Headship over the Church of England which was a Protestant Doctrine in opposition to the Pope's Headship which was the Popish Doctrine therefore the Protestants were the Aggressors in the Persecution and therefore the Principle of Persecution was a Protestant Principle and the Persecution of the Protestants afterwards was no other than a just Judgment of God drawn upon the Protestants by themselves as a Consequence of that Principle of Persecution which gave them the first occasion of introducing their Religion nationally into England Nor would the Protestants by way of Recrimination have charged the Papists then that because that King and the then Government were of the Popish Religion in every point save only in the Article touching the Supremacy therefore the Principle of Persecution must necessarily be a Popish Principle No they would most certainly each Party have disclaimed the Principle as unwarranted by the Principles of true Christianity which each of them claimed to be theirs and each of them would have agreed that it was their common Principle To do unto others as they desired others should do unto them Here we see the Principle of Christianity in England when divided The Persecutions before mentioned being quieted by the Death of K. Henry the Eighth and the Crown descending unto K. Edward the Sixth an Infant of such tender Years as made him uncapable of Exercising the Government in his own Person not being come to the use of right Reason the Duke of Somerset took upon him the Administration of all things under the Title of Protector and with him the Protestant Party had their sole Interest Several Penal Laws were made in this King's Reign for the Inflicting Pains and Penalties for matters of meer Religion which gave occasion to the Papists to charge upon Protestants the Principle of Persecution for matters of meer Religion as their Principle It is true the Papists were at that time Sufferers and were actually Persecuted by the then Government for matters of meer Religion But true Charity might easily have found other Reasons unto which those Persecutions might warrantably have been Assigned and there was certainly no necessity of Assigning them to any Principle of the Protestants The first Law which was made relating to these matters was 1. Edw. 6. C. 1. touching the Lord's Supper Entituled The Penalties for speaking against the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ or against the receiving thereof in both kinds This seems to have no other tendency than barely to keep both Parties from falling together by the Ears and the Protestants were more likely to fall under the Punishment of this Law than the Papists None could say That it was the effect of Intemperate Spirits for though it directed Communion in both kinds to such as defired to Communicate yet it compelled not any person to communicate And it had a Clause of great Temperance in the very close of it in these words Not condemning hereby the usage of any Church out of the King's Majesties Dominions The next Law of this Nature was made in the same Parliament viz. 1. Edw. 6. C. 12. it is Entituled thus viz. Statutes concerning Treasons c. repealed and this cannot be denyed to be sharp against the Papists It makes it highly Penal to affirm That the King is not or ought not to be Supream Head on Earth of the Church of England and Ireland or any of them immediately under God or that the Bishop of Rome or any other Person or Persons other than the King of England for the time being is or ought to be by the Laws of God Supream Head of the same Churches or any of them But there is no necessity or reason of ascribing this neither to any Protestant Principle though it is supposed to be made in affirmance of a Protestant Principle Another penal Law was made 1. and 3. Edw. 6. Entituled The Penalty for not using Vniformity of Service and Administration of Sacraments And in 3. and 4. Edw. 6. C. 10. was made an Act For the abolishing and putting away of divers Books and Images Both which were severe against the Papists in matters of meer Religion yet do I not find any necessity why the Persecutions which these Statutes occasioned should be imputed to any Protestant Principle During the whole Reign of this Infant King it is clear that the Papists in some degree suffered Persecution from the Hands of the Protestants for matters of meer Religion And without doubt had it been then demanded of the Papists Whether such Persecutions and such Laws Enacting such Persecutions were lawful and agreeable with the Principles of true Christianity which they pretended to maintain their Answer would have been in the Negative And they would then with one accord have readily agreed That Persecution for matters of meer Religion was no more consistent with the Rule of Christ requiring us To do unto others as we would that others should do unto us than Murder and Robbery But the Persecutions Inflicted upon the Papists by the Law made in the time of King Edward the Sixth did not last long they ended with his Life and by the descending of the Crown to Queen Mary the Papists were rescued from all their Sufferings All the Laws made against them in the Times of Hen. 8. and Edw. 6. were Repealed But the case was altered with the poor Protestants whose Sufferings were so great and are so sharply and justly reflected on even to this day that I who love not to aggravate any thing especially that carries its own aggravation with it will say no more of them but beg of our good God to fill us with mercy in place of revenge and to forgive them as we would be forgiven Sure I am had any Protestant been asked his Judgment in that Age touching the Principle of Persecuting for matters of meer Religion he would have disclaimed it as absolutely contrary to the Principles of his Religion which is the point that I am labouring to Evince And after all this shall any one take it ill if upon a Principle of Charity I shall profess that I could never as yet see any thing offered which in my poor apprehension did necessarily Evince That Persecution for meer Religion was even an avowed Principle of either side The Bloody Fury of Persecution under which the Protestants