Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	christian_a	church_n	profess_v	3,448	5	8.0722	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48238	A letter to the three absolvers, Mr. Cook, Mr. Collier and Mr. Snett being reflections on the papers delivered by Sir John Friend, and Sir William Parkyns, to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex, at Tyburn, the place of execution, April 3, 1696, which said papers are printed at length, and answered paragraph by paragraph.	Friend, John, Sir, d. 1696.; Parkyns, William, Sir, 1649?-1696.	1696 (1696)	Wing L1751; ESTC R4716	20,332	16

of the thing and to be plain with you Gentlemen there's-no body so much concerned to say Amen to Sir Johns Prayer that God would forgive those who had been Instrumental or Accessary to the taking away of his Life as your selves and those of your kidney who inspir'd him with such Principles as brought him to this hard fate PAPER I profess my self and I thank God I am so a Member of the Church of England tho God knows a most unworthy and profitable part of it of that Church which suffers so much at present for a strict adherence to Loyalty the Laws and Christian Principles For this I suffer and for this I die ANSWER Gentlemen I do verily believe that there 's no Christian Church of what Denomination soever that would be fond of such a Member as you have made Sir John appear to be and in the mean time you have done that which you call your Church the greatest Injury in the World for some people were apt to be Charitable to the Nonjurant party as thinking that they might have really scrupled the taking the Oaths from a principle of Conscience but if it be true as you make Sir John say that it is your Church he suffered and died for then its plain that your Church is engaged in a Rebellious design to Dethrone his Majesty and to invade his Dominions with a French Popish Army so that by Consequence all true Protestants must look upon you as a Synagogue of Satan and no Christian Church because you are actually in a Confederacy with the Turk and French King the Sworn Enemies of the Christian and Protestant Religion and endeavour to assist the latter at least as much as in you lies to overthrow the Protestant Interest in Europe for so much and no less is the Language of your practice whatever you may pretend otherwise in your ordinary Cant. As to that Arrogant part of your Martyrs Paper that your Church suffers so much at present for a strict adherence to Loyalty the Laws and Christian Principles It is truely Extraordinary that such an handful of Men as your party is should take upon them to determine Loyalty Laws and Christian Principles contrary to the sense of the Legislative power of the Nation the National Church and indeed the greatest part of Christians in the World methinks that the very consideration of this should have obliged you to suspend your Judgment at least till you had fairly examin'd what the far greater part of your Protestant Brethren have to say in defence of their Loyalty and Christianity certainly if their practise be compair'd with the practise of your selves and your adherents you will find that they have as fair a Title to Piety Loyalty and every thing else that is good as you can possibly have and would be as loath to offend God and their own Consciences as you would be and therefore you cannot be the only party with whom Loyalty and Christianity is to be found Do but cast an Eye on the practise of your followers and you will find that they are generally the worst and most Immoral people of both Sexes and then if you consider your fellows and associates you will find them to be Turks and either English or French Catholicks who are the very worst of Papists and that their design is the subversion of our Laws and Religion And seeing you pretend to be Men of Conscience examine the matter seriously betwixt God and your own Souls whether or not the Voice of his word and providence does not call on you to come out of Babylon and not to joyn Issue and Interest with her If you have any sense of the Religion which you profess or any Remembrance of things past do but reflect upon the Danger which all the Protestants in Europe and particularly those of Britain and Ireland did apprehend their Religion to be in when Lewis XIV was swallowing up his Neighbouring Princes and States without Controll and when James the Second sat upon the English Throne supported by a Numerous Army under the Conduct of Popish Officers Look back upon the Language of the Church of England then when her Bishops were Imprisoned her Universities in danger of being filled with Papists and the Laws which Defended her overturned by an Illegal Dispensing Power and Answer from your Consciences whether you think a Design to Reinthrone K. James who will certainly pursue the same Measures can be the Cause of God and Religion Or in short take it into your serious Consideration whether a Question of State and meer Politicks such as this is Whether the Parliament or People of England can set another Prince upon the Throne instead of one who did actually leave it because he could not be suffered peaceably to overturn our Laws and Religion can properly be called the Cause of God and Religion and whether you or the Convention and Parliament are the best Judges of our Civil Constitution or because you are high Pretenders to Religion Answer Bona Fide How you can Reconcile your Principles and Practice with the Injunction of the Apostle who Commands Subjection to the Powers that be Rom. 13. 1. and Submission to every Ordinance of Man for the Lords Sake whether it be unto the King as Supream or unto Governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well 1 Pet. 2. 13 Call your Consciences to an account before God and Examine Whether the Sufferings of that which you call your Church be not as busie Bodies in other Mens matters and whether it be yours or the Parliaments Business to determine whether the late K. James did Abdicate or not and whether His present Majesty has a good Title to the Crown by our Laws or not and don 't entitle your particular Notions about Civil Government which is none of your Province the Cause of God and Religion to ensnare silly weak People and bring them to the Gallows and to Embroil Nations in Foreign and Intestine Wars as you would not be answerable for all the Blood that has been or may be shed on that account Magistracy is God's Appointment but the Species as well as Persons intrusted are Ordinances of Men else it were unlawful for any Christian to be subject to a Republick or a King chosen by the People as in Poland c. and the Apostles Rule to submit our selves unto the King as Supream or unto Governors should be false which no Man in his right Wits will assert And considering the Instability of the Roman Government at the time when this Injunction was given viz. when Emperors were set up and cast down as the Army and the Senate or sometimes as the one and sometimes as the other thought fit we shall find that it s none of our part as private Christians to meddle with the Decision of those Affairs but to submit unto that which the Nation thinks fit to