Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	ancient_a	church_n	father_n	2,767	4	4.9407	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A52291	An answer to an heretical book called The naked Gospel which was condemned and ordered to be publickly burnt by the convocation of the University of Oxford, Aug. 19, 1690 : with some reflections on Dr. Bury's new edition of that book : to which is added a short history of Socinianism / by William Nicholls.	Nicholls, William, 1664-1712.; Bury, Arthur, 1624-1713. Naked Gospel.	1691 (1691)	Wing N1091; ESTC R28145	124,983	144

three Individuums of a Species but then they must be carried no further than it was meant this illustration should go for to expect an universal similitude is rather to expect a sameness than a likeness And now if Men should take the boldness to rack and tenter and sport themselves with the Similes and Parables in the New Testament of our Saviour's Church Doctrines Kingdom and the like as our late Socinian Pamphlets have done these of the ancient Fathers I dare say they might with as great ease ridicule the whole Christian Religion as they do this Doctrine of the Trinity As to what the Authour says of the word Mystery which he calls an impregnable Fort and the Papists Cock-Argument for Transubstantiation and his saying the contradictions are no less in Transubstantiation than the Trinity this is all bold and impudent Assertion without proof and therefore requires no Answer but if any one has a mind to see all these Objections for ever silenced let him read the two incomparable Dialogues printed in the time of the late Popish Controversy and Entituled the Doctrine of the Trinity and Transubstantiation compared Well but the Authour says if the Trinity be a Mystery why should we dispute any longer about it To dispute concerning a Mystery says he and at the same time acknowledge it a Mystery is a contradiction as great as any in the greatest Mystery I see our Authour is all for contradictions and will have no Mystery without them I thought a Mystery had been an unintelligible Truth and not a contradictious falsity But however why should we not dispute concerning a Mystery If the Mysterious Truth be denied it is to be defended as well as other truths it is not the less a Truth because it is mysterious any more than a Conclusion in Algebra is not true because I do not understand it But besides such a truth has more reason to be contended for as it is of greater importance and such we have proved this Doctrine of the holy Trinity to be Indeed if Men did dispute about a Mystery as a Mystery there would be something in the Authour's Objection for then Men would pretend to understand something by their Disputes whose name imported it was not to be understood But there is no such thing in the Arguments of the Orthodox for the defence of the Trinity they do not dispute this Doctrine as a Mystery but as a Truth which in some measure may be understood they do not dispute about the modus of the Trinity which is unintelligible but about the existence of it which is a Truth can be understood they do not pretend to shew how they are Three in One but that they are Three in One. There is a vast difference between understanding how things are and that they are for a Man may understand there is such an Arts as Algebra by seeing Oughtred or Diophantus and yet understand nothing of the way of Reduction of Equation nor one tittle of the Rules of that Art But still the Authour will have this Doctrine a Mystery in his sense that is a falsity full of contradictions from the contrary determinations of Councils and the various expositions of others and by the wavering as he calls it of the Council of Sirmium which changed their Opinion and would have called in the Copies of one of their Creeds As to the contrary determinations of Councils that to the grief of the Christian Church is but too true if we may call the Arian Synods by that name for the Arian Heresy by God's Permission did so much prevail that by the Countenance of an Arian Emperour the World almost became Arian and then 't was an easy matter for the Bishops of that perswasion to form themselves into Assemblies and to declare what ever Orthodox Opinions they pleased for Heresy The Authour if he had said any thing to his purpose should have proved that the determinations of Orthodox Councils had been contrary one to another but what are the contradictions of the Hereticks to them Truth can be but one and the same though errour may be infinite and therefore the Conformity of the Orthodox Doctrines to one another shew their verity whilst the disagreement and clashing of the Heretical Creeds are an infallible proof of their falsity The Orthodox always very fairly stick to their old Test the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the Hereticks are soon for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and soon for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and sometimes for neither Well but the Council of Sirmium has contradicted it self 'T is very true and 't is the misfortune or many Heretical Opiniators to do the same But by the way I am afraid the Arian Cause has but a very poor Patron of this Authour for when ever he has a mind to charge any slip or misdemeanour upon a Council he always singles out an Arian one for it He lately blamed the Arian Council at Seleucia for Tumult and now he charges one of the same stamp at Sirmium for Contradictions Now the matter at Sirmium stands thus The Arian Heresy about the year 357. had gotten large footing in the World and they began now to disdain the name of a Sect or Heresy and to affect the name of Catholicks and to this end would congregate in Councils not only to defend their own particular Tenets but also to condemn Heresies And upon this account 't was that they met at Sirmium in the foresaid year to condemn the Heresy of the Photinians who following Sabellius and Samosatenus would have Christ to have no being before the Conception of the Blessed Virgin This Heresy therefore they condemn and frame a Creed in opposition to it where are these words Those that shall say that the Son was from a no being before and from another substance and not from God or that there was a time when he was not those the holy and the Catholick Church doth esteem Aliens from her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this Creed Socrates says was drawn up by Marcus Arethusius who was a notorious Arian Now these words 't is true were very pat against the Photinians and served to excellent good purpose for the condemnation of this Heresy But when they came to renew their quarrel against the Orthodox they found too late that they had in a manner given up their cause for here at one dash they had confounded all that Arius had been contending with his Bishop Alexander about Christ's being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from a no being and that there was a time when he was not which though it served to silence Photinianism yet it totally would ruin the Cause of the Arians Therefore they set themselves to work anew to frame another Creed that might be more Arian which they publish in Latin in which every thing relating to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. is left out and in which they declare they are ignorant what our Saviour