Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	faith_n	pope_n	3,103	5	6.3417	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26887	The certainty of Christianity without popery, or, Whether the Catholick-Protestant or the papist have the surer faith being an answer to one of the oft canted questions and challenges of the papists, sent to one who desired this : published to direct the unskilful, how to defend their faith against papists and infidels, but especially against the temptations of the Devil, that by saving their faith, they may save their holiness, their comfort and their souls / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1672 (1672)	Wing B1213; ESTC R5291	42,876	122

and not to resist § 5. Even so it is with Pastors in the Church who have power to try particular mens cases and judge them according to Gods word and that only in order to the ends of their Society which is holy Communion in Love § 6. But this much power as it supposeth the sense of the Law and declareth it only as far as the decision of the particular case requireth and not an Universal Regulating determination which hath the nature of an Universal Law it self so it belongeth to none but true Pastors of the Church and that only within their proper charge And if any one will do as the Pope who will be Ruler in all Churches of the world his usurpation maketh him a sinner but not an obliging determiner § 7. And thus you have our Answer to all his Questions which he thrust into one as plainly and distinctly as I can well speak And because his snare lieth in putting you on the deciding of all these cases while he doth nothing to it himself that so he may destroy where he cannot build and so would make the world believe that they have a greater Certainty in all the cases propounded than we have I will next try their Certainty compared with ours and shew you the difference And withal I will tell you why we use not their Medium and take it not for any Certification at all § 8. But withall professing that if I knew where to find that Man or company of men that I could be sure could Infallibly certifie me of all the doubts and difficulties in the matters of faith it would save me such abundance of labour in my long studies and so gratifie my love of ease and my earnest desires of the greatest Certainty in these greatest things that I would spare no possible labour and cost to find out such an Oracle And I wonder not that slothful men had rather conceit that others by number or prerogative are Certain and so to trust upon a common faith than to search and pray till they have a Certainty of their own CHAP. XIII What the Papists ascertaining Medium is and why we reject it § 1. THough I will not intitle my Answer as Mr. Pool doth his book The Nullity of the Romish faith yet you might be ashamed if you have any modesty lest to go about still with confident challenges with the same case whilest neither that book of his nor his Dialogue nor the many in which I fully answer this very Question have any reply And indeed I have said so much to this point already that without repeating the same things I scarce know what is yet to say Almost the whole book called The Safe Religion is of it But most directly all the third part Where pag. 186 187. I briefly and plainly give you the grounds and resolution of the Protestants faith And pag. 189. and forward I shew you the lamentable difference among the Papists about the Resolution of their faith And pag. 195. and forward I give you abundance of unresistible Arguments to prove 1. That It belongeth not to the Pope and Roman Church to be the Judge of Scriptures to all the world 2. That they are not Infallible 3. That our faith must not be resolved into their Infallible Judgement And in my Reasons for the Christian Religion and in my more Reasons for it and in my Life of Faith I have fully opened and desended the reasons resolution and certainty of our faith But seeing their Impudency and Designs are such as that nothing of this must be considered though they are referred to it but they must lay snares for souls by canting over the same things and calling out for that Answer which they will not take notice of when it is before them some more they shall have for the sake of those whom they would deceive But in great brevity lest I tire the Reader by repetitions of things that have been so often said § 2. Though the Papists are disagreed greatly among themselves in this matter yet the most prevailing opinion is that it is upon the Authoritative Determination of the Bishop of Rome and a General Council if he approve it that all Christians in the world must have the Certainty what is indeed the word of God And men must take all for Certain which is so determined of and no more even because this Authority hath so determined And that this is to believe by the common certain faith of the Church when otherwise men must have but an uncertain private faith of their own And consequently that he that will convince an Infidel and convert he world must first make them believe that the Pope and Council are Authorised or Enabled to determine judicially and not only to Teach by Evidence what is Gods word and what not before any thing can be Certainly taken for Gods word § 3. The difference between the Papists opinion and ours for brevity sake shall be included in our Reasons against their pretended Certainty which are these Reason I. We have another Certainty already by notorious Evidence of many things in your present Question And must we quit all that Certainty to take the same things only on trust from your Pope and his Council We cannot do it Because some evidence is Cogent and the Intellect is necessitated by it Must we not know that Thou shalt Love God and thy neighbour is Gods word by its proper Evidence We have the witness within us we see on all true Christians that Holiness wrought by this Gospel which God will not use a lie to effect even to save men from sin and recover the hearts of men to himself and repair his Image on mans soul Must I needs give the lie to this Evidence till the Pope speak He that Loveth God may be sure by inward perception yea Intuition if Ocham say true that he Loveth him and consequently is beloved of him and this Gospel wrought it Must I not know that He that believeth shall be saved is truly translated out of the Original till the Pope determine it Must I believe no Grammar no Lexicon no Antient Author no Jew no Teacher of Greek or Hebrew no vulgar use concerning the sense of words till the Pope determine it Must I not know what the Baptismal Tradition of all Christians in the world doth tell me that we must believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost till I know that the Pope determineth it Must I not receive the Creed Lords-Prayer or Decalogue by all other Evidence till his word cometh in Then I must throw away Certainty for uncertainty II. Your own party do not thus receive all in your Question They teach and learn the Hebrew and Greek Grammars and the Rules of Translating and Criticize upon the Text and search after the Copies to discern the best by intrinsick Characters and by comparing them as any man may see who readeth all your Gramarians Criticks and

all other plain points in which the Translators agree are truly translated Though the knowledge of it in lesser points is not so necessary § 4. And thus and no other way both unlearned Protestants and Papists that cannot read must know that there is a Bible in the world and that the Priests do ordinarily read truly that publickly read it to them and that there are Canons of Councils in the world c. Because it is not possible for so many men of cross interests to agree in feigning it without detection § 5. There are some passages in some Translations so palpably distorted to the Translators interests and ends as that the Text and Context to the Learned and the common agreement of the world to the unlearned may notifie the error § 6. There are many passages or words so difficult about which Translators differ as that few or none are Certain which of them is in the right And this uncertainty is of no danger to the Church or to mens souls CHAP. X. Quest. VII What Certainty have we of the true sense of the Text. § 1. Answ. THis Question is partly the same with the former For to Translate is to give the sense of the original in other words The sense is either 1. The sense of single terms 2. Or the sense of propositions and sentences 3. Or the sense of many sentences conjunct in Method § 2. The first is known to Translators as is aforesaid As you know the sense of all words of all languages by common usage and common Tradition The second is made up of the first by common reason As a sentence is made up of common words He that understandeth what these words Repentance and is and necessary signifie may know without a Pope what this sentence signifieth Repentance is necessary The same is to be said of divers sentences conjunct The sense is known by the way that men learn to talk and to understand one anothers speeches And as you understand Baronius Bellarmine the Councils or any of your Priests even by the common acception of words and reason setting them together as man from his Infancie is taught to reason § 3. But as Infants understand not common talk till they are taught nor children and untaught persons so well as men and Scholars so the plainest things in Scripture require some use and consideration and Teaching to the understanding of them Much more the harder parts And God hath made it the duty of Parents to teach the Scripture to their children at home and abroad lying down and rising up Deut. 6. 11. without asking the Pope the sense of it And God hath appointed the elder and wiser to teach the younger and more ignorant and especially Pastors and Teachers to teach the world and instruct their flocks to understand the word of God Not barely to rest in their opinion and words but to shew men the same Evidence which doth convince themselves Which Teaching is not a final Iudging § 4. But yet where the Teacher knoweth what the Learner doth not the Learner must have the humility of a Disciple and not set his untaught wit conceitedly against his Teacher and wrangle before he understandeth but must judge his Teacher whether it be Grammar Logick or Theologie words or sense that he Teacheth him to be wiser than himself Else why will he be his Scholar And so he must believe him as a fallible man with a humane faith in order to his attaining of a proper Certainty § 5. But there are in Scripture many passages so exceeding difficult that we have no Certainty of the sense And some that only a few extraordinary Students have a Certaintainty of neither Protestants nor Papists further understanding them And this is no disparagement to the Scripture nor hazard or injury to us CHAP. XI Quest. VIII What Unity of faith may be expected to be conserved by our foresaid Certainties § 1. HEre are two Questions for haste included I. What Unity in faith may be expected II. What Certainties are necessary thereto § 2. I. To the first 1. A Unity in all the Essentials of the Christian faith is already existent among all Christians in the world For they were not Christians if they agree not in all Essentials of Christianity § 3. 2. A Vnity of faith in the Integrals of Christianity is desireable and so far hopeful as that the wiser all Christians are in the more of the Integrals they will agree But here will never be an universal Concord or Unity any more than in mens age strength Stature and complexions This Paul openeth at large 1 Cor. 12. Rom. 14. 15 c. § 4. 3. A perfect Vnity in the common knowledge of all things in Scripture or all the revealed Accidentals of Religion will never be found between any two persons in this life because that no ones knowledge is perfect § 5. II. From hence the other Question is easily answered 1. To a Unity of Christians as Christians or the body of Christ and Church Universal and of necessity to Salvation no Certainty is necessary but of the Essentials of the Christian Religion 2. To the more Comfortable progress and the melius esse of Christians and the Churches as great a Concord and Certainty in the Integrals of Christianity is needful as the degree of melius esse doth require 3. To mens peaceable and comfortable Communion in Christian Societies an Unity and consequently knowledge of the points of Christian Love and holy communion is necessary 4. To our Heavenly Union Heavenly perfection is necessary § 6. But to insinuate that a Certainty of the sense of all the Scripture or all that God hath revealed to us Objectively or of all that Popes and Councils determine is necessary to that unity of faith which maketh all Christians to be Christians and one body of Christ is but a cheating trick which is against Scripture reason and their own Doctors CHAP. XII Quest. IX What Determination is necessary to this Certainty and Unity § 1. Answ. 1. GOds Determination of the Object by Verity and Evidence and his helping the faculty in determining it self in act is necessary § 2. 2. The inward true Determination of every mans own perceiving faculty sense and Intellect is necessary to his true perception § 3. 3. A Parent Schoolmaster Senior and Pastor must tell the Scholar their own Judgement and then open to him the Evidence of truth § 4. A Magistrate or other Superiour Parent Master c. hath a determining Judgement under God and his Laws in order to the ends of their proper Government and no further That is They are the only publick Judges in their Society who shall be punished or not punished by the sword restrained or encouraged as teaching false Doctrine or true But this is not an absolute and unregulated power If they determine contrary to Gods word they sin and bind not me to obey them though I am bound to continue my subjection

Binnius Surius or any others the subscribed Names to all the Councils and then peruse the Maps and Topography of the Roman Empire and the notitias Episcopatuum even Aub. Myraeus famed for a feigner and you will see that all the Councils were made up of the subjects of the Empire alone or such as had been thereto accustomed while they were their subjects and but few of them unless some odd Bishop that no man knows what he was Indeed when Scythia and Persia wanted help they placed a Bishop in an Imperial City neer Scythia as Tomis and Persia and gave him leave to help the Country as far as he could and called him Bishop of Scythia or Persia. But what is this to a true General Council representing all the Churches in the world on the terms as Dr. Holden honestly requireth If you have a mind to laugh at the mans Ignorance in Cosmographie you may read Mr. Iohnson alias Terrets Reply to me which I am not so idle yet as to answer confuting me by instances out of Thracia and such like But the thing is most Evident in History that as the Scots call the meeting of their Ministers a General Assembly meaning of that Kingdom and not of all the world so the Councils in the Empire were called General only as to that Empire and not to all the world which I am ready to make good to any man that can understand History The Pope was by one Prince made the chief Patriarch of that Imperial Church as the Kings of England preferred the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury And four others they joined with him of which one claimed Primacy when the Imperial seat was removed thither never dreaming of a Divine right else he could never have laid that claim And the Councils were only as our Convocations and seldom extended to half the Empire And little did those Emperours think that thence their subject Popes and Councils would claim Supremacy at the Antipodes and turn the orbis Romanus to orbis terrarum XVIII There never will be nor must be nor can be a true General Council in the world I have fully proved it in the second part of my Key for Catholicks Read it there or Choose XIX Your Popes and Councils have made no determination at all of many of the matters in your Question Where have they determined which are the true Copies of the Hebrew and Greek Text Do you call us for our only Certainty to a Determination that was never made to this day O for Modesty and Conscience Where have they determined which are the right among all the various Readings What need Lucas Brugensis Alba and so many others search after this with so much industry if the Pope have determined it Where have they determined which are the only Currant or true Translations however they have extolled the Vulgar Latine Is Montanus and other such Condemned Where are all the Translators differences reconciled by the decision of Pope or Council When did they determine the Controversies of Commentators of the sence of a thousand Texts of Scripture I must confess that a just indignation ariseth in me at the reading of such soul-cheating snares where men have the Impudence to perswade us that we can be sure of none of our faith unless we be sure of Copies Translations c. by that Authority that never durst nor did determine of the many remaining Controversies thereabout And where hath the Pope or Council given us a Grammar or Lexicon to know the true sense of words by for the future Fathers differ Papists differ the world is disagreed of the sense of words and many Texts The Pope hath an infallible skill and power with his Council to decide all and will not Was there ever a crueller wickeder wight in flesh To see all this difference and darkness and not vouchsafe to speak a few words or write one Infallible Commentary to end them Just as if the plague or feaver were common and one Physicion would say all men shall die that will not believe that I can cure all men when in the mean time he will not cure those that do believe it What is it that your Pope and Councils are to determine Is it the great Essentials of Religion We thank them for notthing Cannot we know that there is a God and a Christ till the Pope judge it Have we not the Sacramental Covenant of Grace the Creed Lords Prayer and Decalogue surely delivered before any Pope or Council judged of them Or is it of the hard controverted points Do it then and let us see that you can do it XX. Hath the Pope power to judge in utramque partem either way or only one way May he judge that there is a God or no God a Christ or no Christ a Heaven or no Heaven a Scripture or none at his pleasure If so must we believe him if he be for the Negative Take you that Certainty we will have none of it Or is he only to Iudge truly and then only to be believed that there is a God a Christ a Scripture c. So may and must every Teacher yea and every Christian Judge If you say that he cannot go besides the truth General Councils and Pope Adrian himself said otherwise XXI The Pope and his Council differ from the Council of Laodicea and the ancient Church upon this very Question What is the word of God even of the Canon of the Scripture For full proof whereof I refer you to Bishop Cousins Book which bringeth full testimony from antiquity XXII The use of Authority is not to disclose all Verities but to Govern Societies in the management of them If the King of Rome could prove himself King of all the world that would but enable him to Govern the world When one man that is at his footstool that is more Wise and Learned may know better than he and his Council too what 's true or false XXIII Your very foundation is a Contradiction in its self What do you make a Pope to be but the Vicar of Christ And mark Reader can any man be sure that he speaks true as Pope or Christs Vicar that never knew that he was Pope or Christs Vicar Or can any man believe that Christ hath an Infallible Vicar before he believe in Christ himself and that he is Infallible It 's a contradiction to believe the Pope as his Vicar or Pope before we believe Christ. If you believe that the Pope hath Power or Infallibility you must believe that Christ gave it him And if you believe that he gave it him it must be by some Revelation that he gave it and that you must believe it And can you believe that Revelation that made him Pope or Infallible before you believe any Revelation XXIV The same contradiction there is in believing a Council or the Church before you believe Divine Revelation For you cannot know till you believe Divine Revelation that Council or Church have any such