Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A33070
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A remonstrance by way of address from the Church of England to both houses of Parliament upon the account of religion together with some remarks upon Dr. Sherlock's sermon preached the 24th May, 1685.
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Church of England.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing C4189; ESTC R36018
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7,867
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5
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of the Calumniator Wherefore I cannot but condemn those Accusations with which that otherwise Ingenious and Loyal Discourse made to You my Children of the Lower House was finished viz. I deny not but some who are Papists in some Junctures of Affairs may and have been very Loyal but I am sure the Popish Religion is not the Englishman may be Loyal Dr. Sherlocks Sermon May 29 1685. but not the Papist and yet there can be no Security of those mens Loyalty whose Religion in any case teaches them to Rebel For what reason has any man to say their Religion teaches them to Rebel when they who are so jealous of their Religion that they voluntarily suffer the loss of their Estates their Liberties and their Lives rather than renounce the least Tittle of it do both in their publick Writings and private Discourses Declare and Maintain that their Religion teaches no such Doctrine and that they are ready to maintain and practice True Loyalty with the hazard of their Lives and Fortunes 'T is true some persons in Communion with Rome Mariana have broched Tenents inconsistent with Loyalty but 't is true likewise their Books have been Condemned and Burnt as they often tell us by the Publick Executioner Seeing therefore the Roman Catholicks do frequently declare That it is an Article of Faith in their Church and expresly declared in the Council of Constance that the King-killing-Doctrine Roman-Cath Principles 3 Edit 1680. or Murder of Princes Excommunicated for Hereresie is Damnable and Heretical as being contrary to the known Laws of God and Nature As also that no Cacholicks as Catholicks believe that the Pope hath any direct or Indirect Authority over the Temporal Power and Jurisdiction of Princes So that if the Pope should pretend to Absolve or Dispence with His Majesties Subjects from their Allegiance upon account of Heresy or Schism such Dispensation would be vain and null and all Catholick Subjects notwithstanding such Dispensation and Absolution would be still bound in Conscience to Defend their King and Country at the hazard of their Lives and Fortunes even against the Pope himself in case he should invade the Nation I say seeing Roman Catholicks do thus generally declare their Loyalty I think they ought no more in justice to be charged with Disloyal Principles for the Extravigance of some few of that vast Body and those Censur'd and Condemn'd too by them than I am to be charg'd with Principles of the like Disloyalty and Injustice because some of my Children have been for the Bill of Exclusion and others who Communicated with me have written Scandalous Pamphlets Narratives c. tending to Treason and Rebellion But what in one word seems to Me a convincing Argument that the Papists do not hold such Pernicious Doctrines is that I see so many Kings and Princes in other Countries no less jealous of their Lives and Authorities than others who yet profess and maintain that Religion and think themselves secure by her Principles when they dare not trust the Calvinist And if we may descend to particulars can we imagine that His present Majesty who could not but know that the Roman Church was frequently taxed with Disloyal Principles would embrace her Faith without examining so necessary a Tenent Or can we imagine after such an examination that He who has promised to maintain Me as I may say only because He knew I was for Monarchy and Loyalty would himself embrace a Religion which teaches the contrary Principles So that to condemn the Roman Catholick Religion of Principles of Disloyalty is either to condemn the King of Ignorance in his own Religion or of carelessness of his own Security These things thus considered I cannot but say it was a reasonable Complaint of one of them in these words Preface to Roman Catholick Principles Is it not strange and severe that Principles and those pretended of Faith too should be Imposed upon men which they themselves Renounce and detest If the Turk's Alcaron should in like manner be urged upon us and we hanged up for Mahumetans all we could do or say in such a case would be to die Patiently with Protestations of our own Innocence And this is the posture of our Condition continues he we Abhor we Renounce we Abominate such Principles we protest against them and Seal our Protestations with our Dying Breaths What shall we say What can we do more To Accuse men as Guilty in Matters of Faith which they never own'd is the same thing as to condemn them for Matters of Fact which they never did It is sufficiently known to all the Ingenious who have either read or observ'd any thing that in King Charles the First 's reign when so great a number of Englishmen Rebelled against their Prince not one Papist was observed who was not ready or actually did not hazard his Life and Fortune for the support of Monarchy How many of them in that wicked Rebellion Sealed their Loyalty with their last Blood And after the Martyrdom of that Glorious King were not They as well as My Dutiful Children forced to seek a Refuge in Foreign Countries where if I may eye their other Virtues they maintain'd a mutual Friendship with My Children as being tyed with the common bands of Fellow Subjects Soldiers or Sufferers And after His late Majesties Happy Restoration How long did we live together in Peace and Tranquility till those wicked Emissaries of Hell animated us against our Brethren by Narratives and Informations of I know not what Plots and Conspiracies of which now at last we find them Innocent During which very time with what Patience did the Romanists suffer all those Injurious and Contumelious Proceedings even to the very loss of their Estates their Liberties and their Lives when we saw them go like Sheep to the slaughter who scarce Bleated all the time unless it were to declare their Innocence to Pray for the King and Kingdom and to fore-warn us of our Approaching ruine In which certainly they were our best Friends if we could have been Friends to our selves and hearkned to their Advice which we found to be good and Solid tho' it was almost too late before we would believe it Let us likewise reflect how they behave themselves at present now we look upon them to enjoy the greatest Advantages they have had this many years and we shall find it to be with unexpected Moderation We who were formerly almost frighted into Bedlam for fear of a Popish Successor find under JAMES the GREAT and the JVST our Liberties our Properties our Rights and our Religion secured and may expect to see our Kingdom become Glorious and the old English Bravery once more Flourish under so GREAT an ENGLISH KING if His Subjects will but show themselves True English-men As His Majesty was pleas'd to express it to some of You. You see my Dearest Children that our Fears were vain and our Jealousies without grounds This very Stone which was
A Remonstrance by way of Address from the Church of England to both Houses of Parliament upon the Account of Religion Together with some Remarks upon Dr. Sherlock's Sermon Preached the 24th May 1685. HIS Majesty having so often and so solemnly declar'd he would maintain Me as by Law Established I cannot but rely upon His Royal word according to your prudent and generous Vote and think my self sufficiently secured by having the Word of a King who whilst a Subject was never known to break it Yet notwithstanding seeing You My Children here assembled to consult and advise about the most important matters of the Kingdom I hope it may be lawful and seasonable for Me to represent to your wise considerations my serious thoughts concerning the means to establish my own and the Nations future Quiet and Tranquility You cannot be ignorant that ever since my Seperation from the Church of Rome I have been attacqu'd by all sorts of Dissenters So that my Fate in this Encounter may be compared to that of a City besieged by different Armies who Fight both against It and one another where if the Garrison make a Salley to endammage one another presently takes an advantage to make an attacque Thus whilst I set my self vigorously to suppress the Papist the Puritan seeks to undermine Me And whilst I am busied to oppose the Puritan the Papist gains ground upon me If I tell the Church of Rome I did not forsake her but her Errors which I Reformed my Rebellious Subjects tell me the same and that They must make a Thorow Reformation And let me bring what Arguments I please to justify my Dissent they still produce the same against me If on the other hand I plead against the Puritan Dissenter and show that He ought to stand to Church Authority where he is not Infallibly certain it commands a Sin the Papist presently catches at it and tells me I destroy my own Grounds of Reformation unless I will pretend to that Infallibility which I condemn in them Matters standing thus betwixt Me and Them Why would it not be a point of Prudence in Me as I doubt not but you would esteem it in a Governour of that City I lately mention'd to make Peace with one of my Adversaries to the end I may with more ease resist the on-sets of the other I am the easilier induced to believe this may be effected because my Enemies are at Mortal Feudes with one another and would rather joyn with Me than against Me. And what advantages such an Vnion would bring to this Nation need not be offered in detail to your view who cannot but at the very first see them Our next consideration then must be to find out whether of these two Parties may be the sooner induced to sign these Articles of Agreement and will give the best Security for their performance of them In order to which if I cast back my Eye upon the Transactions which have hap'ned in this Kingdom these last 50 years I cannot but observe my Puritan Dissenting Adversaries to be a company of People for the most part without Justice Loyalty Conscience or Religion tho' they pretend them all for a cloak to their Villanies I cannot but look upon them as Implacable Enemies and Tyranical too where they once get the upper-hand And if I admit them into my bosom I may assure my self of being Stung by them when they are once warm and have recover'd strength I need not mention all their Hellish practices against Me and my Loyal Children from 1641 till 1648. nor by what wiles they undermin'd Me first and then never ceased till they had ruined the three Kingdoms and embrued their hands in the Blood of the best of Kings It is apparent enough what favour I may expect from them if once again which God forbid the Power should come into their Hands by the Liberty they denyed Me in the Vsurpers wicked reign Have they not also of late endeavoured to play the same Game over again and to disturb mine and the Kingdoms quiet by Plots hatched in their own Brains What was the Popish Plot but a blind for a Presbyterian one Were not all their endeavours to Trepan us into an Ambush they had laid for us whilst we with blind heat were in pursuit of that Chymerical Phantome Had they not at that time all their Machines at work to involve us in a common ruine Did they not under pretence of securing the King from a Popish Gun and Silver Bullet endeavour to let fly at him with a True Protestant Bluderbuss What did they aim at under pretence of securing the Protestant Religion but to strike at Episcopacy At which time no person that was either Dutiful to Me or Loyal to the King but was presently branded with the Name of Papist Popishly Affected Papist in Masquerade French Pensioner or the like Had they not made a Catalogue of all persons any ways eminent in the Kingdom and ranked them under two Heads of Worthy men and Men Worthy meaning by the later Men Worthy to be made away because true to their King and Country When they were caught in their Villanies did they Repent or did they not rather with their Dying Words testify their Approbation of the intended Conspiracy And which is yet worse are they not still at work to Embroil the Nation and by Rebellion disturb our Quiet and hinder the full enjoyment of that Happiness we have now the greatest prospect of under the reign of a King whose Example discountenances Vice and teaches Virtue whose Justice will not let him abandon His own nor Invade his Subjects Rights whose Courage prompted him at all times to dare any thing for his Countries Good if it were not in it self Evil whose Study is to render His Reign both Easie and Happy to us Kings Speech May 22. And who has A true ENGLISH Heart jealous of the Honour of the Nation and pleases Himself with the Hopes that by Gods Blessing Kings Speech May 30. and Your Assistance He may carry the Reputation of it yet Higher in the World than ever it has been in the time of any of His Ancestors On the other hand if with an Impartial Eye we look upon the Papists we shall find them Honest Just Conscientious and Loyal in their Practices though we are frequently told their Principles are otherwise But this they say is not the only Calumny falsly laid upon them And for my own part as I cannot think a mans Principles good when I see his Practices otherwise So am I easily induced to believe that Good Practices proceed from Good Principles Neither would I have even my greatest Enemies accused of holding Ill Principles when they themselves Renounce them both in Speculation and in practice for tho' it be a hard matter to wash off all the mire with which one has been grievously bespatter'd yet no doubt in time Calumny will appear to the Credit of the Innocent and Disgrace