know whether there were any Scripture or no chap. 2. pag. 65 66. I thought it had beene necessary to have received those materiall objects or Articles of our Faith upon the authority of God speaking in the Scriptures I thought it had beene Anabaptisticall to have expected any Revelation but in the Word of God for a Revelation nay a supernaturall revelation is necessary to help naturall reason as the same Mr. Chillingworth acknowledges Knot had very unhappily branded Mr. Chillingworth for a Socinian because he maintaineth That nothing ought or can bee certainly believed farther then it may be proved by evidence of naturall reason where I conceive saith Mr. Chillingworth naturall reason is opposed to supernaturall revelation and whosoever holds so let him be Anathema Sect. 28. in his Answer to Knots Direction to N. N. Now let Mr. Chillingworth say that either there is a Revelation to be expected out of the Word as the Enthyfiasts do or else let him acknowledge that God hath ordained the Scriptures as the meanes and instruments to reveale saving truths and let him teach men to depend upon the Ordinances of God and not make men stand at a gaze to expect a Revelation in an extraordinary way Or else let him speake plaine and say there is truth enough written in the hearts of every man by nature to save him or that it may be learnt from Philosophers writings let him say as Socinus doth that the substance of the promises is eternall life that the maine thing God lookes after is practise that Heathens and Christians have the same practicall rules written in their heart and so if a man doe but hope for eternall life by observing these practicall rules as many Heathens did witnesse that verse of Phocylides {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and the Discourses of Socrates Plato Hermes c. hee may be eternally saved and then we shall know how free he is from Socinidnisme Or else let him confesse that naturall Reason being helped by a supernaturall Revelation in the Word is not able to discerne saving truths so as to beleeve them after a saving manner without the speciall assistance of the holy Ghost such assistance as is vouchsafed to none but the Elect of God and then I will acknowledge that he is no Socinian But otherwise if either he thinke as he seemes to thinke that all the materiall objects which are necessary to salvation may be knowne out of some other booke then Scripture or by some other meanes and that if a man beleeve them meerely as truths probable by reason and doe not receive those truths as the Oracles of God but dictates of Reason then sure he may be a Socinian still nay if he hold a supernaturall Revelation by the Word to be necessary it being the meanes which God hath ordained and so is made necessary to us by Gods ordinance yet if hee thinke this outward revelation to be sufficient without the inward and speciall revelation of the Spirit he may be a Socinian still But this by the way I shall say the lesse of Mr. Chillingworth when I come to touch upon his Booke sure I am such dangerous principles as these will beate greene heads from the study of the Scriptures if they be not censured upon every occasion I know Master Chillingworth protests that he is willing to stand to the judgement of the Catholique Church of this and former ages to the consent of Protestants the Church of England but if he put in the Papists into the Catholicke Church as I beleeve he will then he will say the Papists doe not agree and therefore the Catholick Church of this age is not against the Socinians nay the Fathers doe not all agree and so there is not a Catholick consent of the Ancients as Mr. Chillingworth I beeleeve did purposely shew at large in the eighteenth Section of his Answer to N. N. that so he might winde himselfe out the better in this 28. Section Nay peradventure he will put the Socinians in for to give a vote if you aske for the consent of the Catholique Church of this Age for hee cals them a company of Christians in the 29. Section and though he saith They are erroneous in explicating he doth not say in denying the mysteries of Religion allowing greater liberty in speculative matters so the Socinians call the Articles of the Christian faith then any other company of Christians doth or they should doe yet for their honour he saith they explicate the Lawes of Christ with more rigour and lesse indulgence to the flesh then the Papists doe and that is true but not much for their commendation because they thereby disgrace the Morall Law of God and say it was imperfect till Christ gave new Lawes but Mr. Chillingworth was willing to take any occasion to commend them Moreover if Mr. Chillingworth by the Church of England meane the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and his faction then indeed there will not be a generall consent of the Church of England against the Socinians Once more if he take in all the Arminians and some Iesuited Papists that as Vertumnus Romanus prescribes come to Church and heare our Common prayers and receive the Sacrament in some Congregations in this Kingdome though they bee of Mr. Fisher or Mr. Flued his minde and ranke all these amongst Protestants for we have had strange kinde of Protestants for these twelve yeares last past then I beleeve there will not be a generall consent of such Protestants against the Socinians and so Mr. Chillingworth may oppose Socinianisme when all these agree together to oppose it But indeed hee hath one Argument which makes me beleeve that he and more of that faction who countenance many Socinian errors doe not agree with the Socinians in all points because Socinianisme if it be taken in all its demensions is such a Doctrine by which no man in his right minde can hope for any honour or preferment either in this Church or State or in any other Many men do indeed adventure as farre as they dare this way onely they are afraid of thwarting the great Designe as I shall hereafter shew I dare not excuse Mr. Chillingworths dangerous principles though I account him a very rationall man yet I beleeve him to be the more dangerous I dare not therefore give him that liberty which he gives others and cry Quisque abundet in sensusuo because they are not the words of S. Paul though Mr. Chillingworth father them upon him chap. 2. pag. 92. the words of the Apostle are Let every man be fully perswaded or assured in his own minde Rom. 14. 5. I goe on to shew the danger of Socinianisme It is an Hotch-potch of Gentilisme Turcisme Judaisme and I know not what they have put in some scruples of Christianity to make up the messe The Centuriatours say that Mahomet did compose his Alcoran by the helpe of the Iewes and Iohannes Antiochenus an Arian and
ex quâ infoelici haeresi postmodum Mahumetismus ortus esse perhibetur Others call the Socinians Samosatenians and therefore Thalyaeus calles his booke in which he answers the arguments of Socinus Eniedinus Ostorodius and Smalcius Anatome Samosatenianismi in which he shews that the Socinian glosses are of the same colour with Turkish and Iewish blasphemies the four Professors of the Theologicall Faculty at Leiden have given a large commendation of Thalyaeus in their approbation printed before the book and signed with the hands of all the Professors in which they with one voice vote Socinianisme to be Recoct Samosatenianisme Impiam Pauli Samosateni sententiam melior sanctior Ecclesia sub Cruce adhuc militans ut enata fuit exhorruit eaque mox publico Episcoporum judicio execrata est Scriptum illud conscriptum contra renatum ab infausto illo Socino ejusque asseclis recoctum Samosatenianismum censemus pie docte solide c. The Samosatenians did borrow their name from Paulus Samosatenus Bishop of the Church of Antioch and therefore his practises were the more abominable because he poysoned that Church in which Disciples were first called Christians with Hereticall blasphemies against the Lord Christ as reverend Beza observes I find in Augustine that Artimonius did first broach this heresy and Paulus Samosatenus did revive it but I need say no more of the Samosatenians having said enough already of the Photinians for Photinus did confirm that heresie which Samosatenus did revive and therefore the followers of Paulus Samosatenus were more commonly called Photinians then Paulians or Samosatenians And though Philaster reckon Samosatenus his heresy by it self Photinus his heresie by it self yet to shew that they were not different heresies he saith Photinus did in all things follow Paulus Samosatenus I do not reckon up all the disorderly Heretikes in order take them as it happens Nestorius denyed that the self same person was God and man he would not acknowledge that the Word was made flesh only the Word was with that flesh by an effectuall Presence which was taken of the substance of the Virgin Affirmabat enim {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} illi carni ex Mariâ prognatae nonnisi {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} adfuisse as learned Beza declares it in brief If any man desire to be further acquainted with the opinion and the desputes about it let him reade S. Cyril and peruse the famous and Orthodoxe not the spurious and surreptitious Ephesine Councell and he may receive full satisfaction The Socinians are farre worse then Nestorius for they do not onely deny that the selfe same person who was borne of the Virgin is the second person in the Trinity but they utterly deny that there is any second Person or third Person which is Consubstantiall with the Father Having mentioned Nestorius I must not skippe over Eutyches who in opposition to Nestorius his dividing of the Person of Christ did vainely imagine that the natures of Christ were mingled and so he confounded both natures and their Essentiall properties Yet the Eutychians did grant that there were two natures in Christ which the Socinians deny The time would faile me or at least the Readers patience should I shew how the Socinians agree with the Noetians who maintained that there was but one person in the Godhead with Macedonius who denied the Holy Ghost to be a Person with the Pelagians concerning their deniall of the Image of God in Adam before his Fall and their maintaining of Free-will and denyall of originall sinne since the Fall In a word how they agree with the Valentinians Marcionites Cerdonians Manichees Apollinarists Sabellius the Donatists Sadducees Papists Anabaptists Schwenckefeldians Antinomians and I know not how many more of the like stampe hath beene shewen by others already and the manifestation of their errors in the ensuing Treatise will sufficiently declare I will passe over many things very observable because I would willingly discourse at large of some later passages and subtile inventions by which Socinianisme was introduced into forraine parts and in some parts established by the suffrage and subscription of too many eminent wits and great Scholars But I must not in my haste forget Abeilardus or as Platina cals him Baliardus as Bernard Abailardus his name in our English tongue may be Balard he flourished about the yeare 1140. he had a very ready discoursing wit and is by some voiced to be the first founder of Schoole-divinity whether he maintained all those heresies which Bernard layes to his charge I shall not now stand to dispute there is some cause of doubt Abeilard lived to make his Apology and if it was but an honest Recantation he hath made some amends Learned Mr. Gataker in his Post-script to Mr. Wottons Defence pag. 40. 41. will direct you to Authors from whom you may receive better satisfaction then I can for the present give unlesse I were furnished with a better Library I shall not doe Postellus so much honour as to take notice of him as for Servetus I will not staine my paper with his blasphemies Mr. Gataker hath shewen his chiefe assertions in the booke forecited from the 42. to the 47. page it is much questioned whether the Senate of Geneva did not deale too severely with him Samosatenus Arius and Eutyches did all revive in that Cerberus he was both admonished and refuted by three learned Divines of that age Oecolampadius Melanchthon Calvin he had time enough given him to recant hee did stubbornely maintaine his cursed blasphemies for thirty yeares together as Beza shewes Ob triginta annorum blasphemias execrabiles indomitam pervicaciam ex Senatus Genevensis sententiâ justissimo suppliciâ— affectum quis non tandem nisi planè furiosus excors abominetur The Senate of Geneva were in good hope by this exemplary punishment upon Servetus to crush this Cockatrices egge and kill the Viper but for all this some under hand and others more boldly and impudently did seduce the people Bernardine Ochin seemed to be an Academik a meere Sceptik in Religion he questioned all things and determined nothing Lalius Socinus carried the matter with such a cleanly conveyance that he was scarse taken notice of though he received some checks and admonitions yet most men thought charitably of him during his life his black designes were not fully discovered till after his death this is the Grandfather of the Socinians but I will say no more of him yet till I have shewen what praâ—kes were played by those bold fellowes who acted those tragedies openly upon the Stage which Lelius composed behinde the Curtaine Valentinus Gentilis practised at Geneva George Blandrate a Physitian in Poland and Transylvania Give mee leave to make but two or three observations by the way and I shall open the practises of these impudent Hereticks more fully to you First the
which spring from a Licentious and prostituted Presse Let us single out some that have lately studied this weighty controversy and it may be it will appear that they who are said to write against the King have setled established his lawfull Authority upon surer grounds and better principles then those very men who pretend to write for the King Every man is now accounted an Anabaptist if he doe not maintain Monarchy to be Iure Divino heare then what Dr. Ferne saith We confesse that neither Monarchy nor Aristocracy or any other forme is Iure Divino Nay he saith that that Power or sufficiency of Authority to govern which is the ordinance of God is to be found not only in Monarchy but in Aristocracy Sect. 3. Moreover if we consider the qualification of this governing power and the manner ofexecuting it even according to Monarchicall government Dr. Ferne grants that it is the Invention of man and hath not so much as Gods Permissive approbation till that qualification or Forme is orderly agreed upon by Men in the selfe same Sec. Be pleased now to hear Mr. Burroughes However Princes may be exasperated against Puritanicall Preachers sai M. Burroughes yet they are as much beholding to them as to any people in their kingdomes for bringing people out of conscience to obey Authority You see here the people are pressed to obey the lawfull Authority of the King out of Conscience by such as are counted Puritanicall Preachers In the answer to the observations printed at Oxford by his Majesties command I find that Monarchy is not much younger then man himselfe that Regall Power sprang first from Paternall a Regall power belonged to the Pater-familias pag. 3. as if he meant onely to conclude the subjection of the Kings children and family the Patriarchs were Patres Patriae without a Metaphor they begat their own Subjects But how came divers families to be subjected to one King or common Father why reason saith he did direct the people to choose one common Father p. 6. Monarchy then is grounded upon the peoples Reason and yet quite thorowout his book he talkes as if the people had no Reason for he tells them that there may be reasonable motives why a people should consent to slavery as the Turkes and French peasants have done he teaches them how to perish with a great deale of discretion or else how to be safe by the benefit of slavery p. 10 11. The Observatour saith that Regall dignity was erected to preserve the Commonalty It was so saith the Answerer p. 8. and when Routs became Societies they placed an head over them to whom they paid the Tribute of Reverence for the benefit of Protection What if the people be not protected must they pay no tribute God send his Majesty better Protectours then this Champion Dr. Fern discourses just as wisely when he propounds Davids rewarding of false Ziba as a pattern to our King he would perswade the King to trust Papists as false as Ziba to seise upon the estates of his good Subjects and bestow their estates upon arrant Ziba's men that abuse his Majesty and seek their own ends when the innocency of the Subject and treachery of these Ziba's Papists or Pickthankes is discovered yet the King must not reverse his sentence pronounced in favour of the Papists though to the ruine of good Subjects and their posterity all this Divinity is closely involved by this conscientious Doctour in the 7. Section How farre the Divines of this time differ from the doctrine of Papists is clearly shewen by Mr. Burroughes Mr. Bridge and therefore it is strange the Papists should be counted the better Subjects Mr. Burroughes doth acknowledge the Kings Supremacy The King saith he is Supreme but not Absolute because his Authority is limited both by the Law of God and of the Land For we may and ought saith Doctour Ferne to deny obedience to such commands of the Prince as are unlawfull by the Law of God yea by the established lawes of the Land for in these we have his will and consent given upon goood advice and to obey him against the lawes were to obey him against himselfe his suddain will against his deliberate will Sect. 1. For instance it is the Kings deliberate wil that this Parliament shall not be dissolved or any forces levyed without consent of both houses of Parliament as appeares by two severall Acts made this Parliament If then any take up armes either without consent of Parliament or on purpose to dissolve this present Parliament they doe certainly take up armes against the King himselfe as Dr. Ferne says because against the deliberate will of the King If any Commissions then should be issued out in the Kings name to any persons to encourage them to take up Armes without the consent of the Parliament or against the Parliament such Commissions must be interpreted to proceed from the Kings suddaine will which is not to be obeyed saith Dr. Ferne against the Kings Deliberate Will They are not the Kings friends who advise him to send forth any Illegallcommands There is another answer to Dr. Ferne intitled a fuller answer in which there is much Law and Logick viz that in a Mixt Monarchy there is a Co-ordinate Supremacy and Coordinata invicem supplent and a great many things which the common people understand not This Respondent saith as Dr. Fern doth that Monarchy is not Gods ordinance but then he tells the people their duty in plaine English namely that it is Gods ordinance that men should submit without Resistance to that kind of government which they have by consent established and therefore they must submit to this Coordinate Supremacy though it be the Ordinance of man for the Lords sake as Saint Peter saith pag. 17. Here is Submission out of Conscience for the Lords sake to all Legall Supremacy what can be desired more unlesse they would make the King an Absolute Monarch and so give him an absolute Supremacy which the King himselfe doth utterly disclaime in his answer to the 19. Propositions The zealous Divines of this very time doe abhorre the seditious practises and opinions of all Anabaptists who because the Church had not Christian Kings at first cry out with open mouth a that the Church cannot be safe if there be any King or Magistrate in the Church nay they adde that if a King turn Christian he must cease to be a King because Christianity it selfe is repugnant to Magistracy and no b Magistrate ought to look after any thing that concernes Religion They maintain that Christians ought not to have any Judiciall tryalls before Magistrates that no Christians ought to punish offendors with death or imprisonment but with Excommunication only They would not have Heretikes punished by the Magistrate c but every man should be left to his liberty to beleeve what he thinks fit just as the Arminians and Socinians dreame I
Grace and his adherents are sufficiently knowne nor a true teaching Church as shall evidently be demonstrated in the next Chapter CHAP. VI The Religion so violently contended for by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his adherents is not the true pure Protestant Religion I Intend not to transcribe overmuch out of Bishop Mountague Shelford Pocklington Dr. Potter Mr. Chillingworth Dr. Dowe Dr. Heylin c. Their Books are commonly sold and I have given a taste already in the third and fourth Chapters of some of these Authors ex ungue leonem as they say there are a great many passages collected and published already by severall men so that I am forestalled and by some happily prevented there is a Booke entituled Ladensium {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} closely penned and never answered in which their Heresies are filled up by dozens There will come forth a Booke very shortly in which the Designe of Reconciling or rather uniting Rome and Canterbury for there was no great quarrell betweene them will be more fully discovered for these reasons I may well shorten my journey Let any man that desires satisfaction but peruse those Bookes which were Printed in England betweene 1630. and 1639. and compare them with the Harmony of Confessions of the Reformed Churches and then hee may easily judge Mr. Chillingworth proves undeniably that the Church of Rome is not Infallible but to what end and purpose why that Rome and Canterbury may shake hands the Pope may abate something in point of Supremacy his Primacy being grounded upon his Infallibility but if the Pope Cardinals c. the Archbishop of Canterbury and his adherents were united the people would be unwilling to part with their Masse why for that if they will but yeild thus farre as to turne their Masse into English the good men are agreed for Mr. Chillingworth tels the Papists that no Godly Lay man that is an ignorant Papist that is well conceited of the Masse who is verily perswaded that there is neither impiety nor superstition in the use of their Latine Service shall be damned as he hopes for being present at it Excellent Divinity A strong perswasion will turne superstition and impiety into godlinesse Yet he saith there is some danger as long as the Service is in Latine because the want of that devotion which the frequent hearing the offices understood might happily beget in them the want of that instruction and edification which it might afford them may very probably hinder the salvation of many which otherwise might have beene saved that is might have beene saved if the Service had beene in English this is plaine dealing the men are likely to agree the Masse in English may beget such devotion afford such instruction and edification as is sufficient for salvation Can the Papists desire fairer quarter or a foller acknowledgement Is not this doctrine sufficient to effect an Accommodation betweene Rome and Canterbury I dare say all the Papists in England will fight for such a Protestant Religion Mr. Chillingworth in his Epistle Dedicatory gives his Majesty to understand That the Papists allow Protestants as much charity as Protestants allow them and therefore such Protestants and true Papists will easily be reconciled or indeed are already reconciled I cannot stand to reckon up Mr. Chillingworths principles consider these that follow 1. God is not offended with us for not doing what hee knowes we cannot doe Whiles we are unregenerate God knowes we cannot repent and beleeve is not God offended with us even then for our impenitence and unbeleefe besides he conceives that unaffected ignorance joyned with Implicite faith and generall repentance is not damnable 2. Mr. Chillingworth is verily perswaded that God will not impute errours to them as sinnes who use such a measure of industry in finding truth as humane prudence and ordinary discretion their abilities and opportunities their distractions and hinderances and all other things considered shall advise them unto in a matter of such consequence Sure God will judge men with more then ordinary discretion and therefore though we may justifie our selves when our opinions and practises are scanned by humane prudence yet God may justly condemne us for not attending upon him without distraction Such loose principles as these will nurse men up in security and ignorance or else betray them to indifferency in religions to that * Arminian Libertinisme which hath been so much admired of late dayes and cryed up as the only way to maintain peace For if a man poysoned with this principle be seduced by a Papist Arminian Socinian he need use but ordinary discretion and therefore take but ordinary care to resist the seducer Alas his abilities are not great his distractions not few and his hinderances many besides if he have time to consider the Arguments propounded yet hee wants opportunity and therefore all things considered he had as good yeeld as stand out for it is in the eye of humane prudence a matter of no great consequence for Mr. Chillingworth saith a Papist may be saved especially if he have the Masse in English and Socinians are a company of Christians which though they are erroneous in explicating mysteries and take too great a liberty in Speculative matters yet they explicate and maintaine the Lawes of Christ with lesse indulgence to the flesh then the Papists 3. Mr. Chillingworth thinkes it sufficient to beleeve all those bookes of Scripture to be Gods Word of whose Authority there was never any doubt made in the Church hee cannot in reason beleeve the * other bookes so undoubtedly as those books which were never questioned and he hath the example of Saints in heaven to justify or excuse his doubting nay his denyall Sect. 38. There is no necessity of conforming our selves to the judgement of any Church concerning the rest that were never questioned for that also he urges the Authority of some Saints in Heaven ancient Fathers whole Churches by their difference about this point shewed that they knew no necessity of conforming themselves herein to the judgement of any Church Sect. 34. and yet of this controversy whether such or such bookes be Canonicall the Church is to judge Sect. 35. And the Churches testimony is though no demonstrative Enforcement yet an highly probable inducement and so a sufficient ground of faith What kind of faith this is like to prove I know not which is grounded upon a probable testimony to which no man need to subseribe or conform 4. It is enough to beleeve by a kind of Implicite faith that the Scripture is true in Gods own sense and meaning though you know not what God meant if you use such industry as ordinary discretion shall advise for the knowing of Gods meaning of which I have said enough already this may suffice for a taste Dr. Potter is very charitable to the Papists because they receive the Apostles Creed but whether they receive it in the Apostles sense
suo superâ—am istam prâ—sationeÌ„ prascripsit The Canterburians Selfe-Conviction shewes 1. Their avowed Arminiâ—nisme 2. Their affection to the Pope and Popery in the grosse cap. 3. 3. The Canterburians joyn with Rome in her grossest 1. dolatries cap. 4. 4. Their embracing of Popish heresies and grossest errors cap. 5. 5. Their Superstitions cap. 6. 6. The Canterburians embrace the Masse it self cap. 7. 7. Their Maxims of tyranny cap. 8. See the third Edition of this Canterb. Self-Conviction with the large Supplement which containes sundry very materiall passages Mr. Chillingworths Answer to the Preface of Charity Maintained which is as it were a second Preface for it followes the Preface joyned with an Answer to the Direction to N. N. p. 9. Sect. 7. The answer to the Preface p. 19. In the same Freface The second Preface p. 19. * Vide Vedelium de Arcâ—nu Arminianismi the foure Professours of Leyden in their approbation of that book declare them to be willfully blind who do not see that it was the scope of the Arminians to introduce Libertinisme Vtnemo deinceps quinon sponte cacutire velit de corum ad Libertinismi Introductionem Scopo dubitare possit Approbatio Facultatu Theologica Leydensis Mr. Chilling first Preface Sect. 29. Cap. 2 pag 64. * The book of Esther Job Ecclesiastes the Epistle of James and Jude the second of Peter the third of John the Epistle to the Hebrews the book of the Revelation We live in a questioning age no man knows how soon all the rest may be questioned You may read more of Mr. Chillingworths principles in a book entitled Christianity maintained the passage about Henry the 8 c. is too famous to be mentioned Nos in diem viviâ— mus quodcunque nostros animos probabilitate percussit illud dicimus It aque soli sumusliberi hoc est Sceptici vide Ciceron. Tusc. quast lib. 5. Answer to the Preface Sect. 26. The Arch-Bishop himselfe is more sound A Church may hold the fundamentall point Literally yet erre damnably in the exposition of it and this is the Church of Romes case it hath in the Exposition both of Creeds Councels quite changed and lost the sense meaning of some of them The Arch Bishops Relat. pag. 320. Vide Vedelium de Deo Synagoga Dr. Kellet his Tricenium The Laick must trust in his Priest the Clergyman in his Church p. 630. The â—uâ—harist to be adored p. 637. and received with our hands framed like a Crosse 655. Altars adored p. 644. The Arch Bishop of Caâ—t his Relat. pag. 147. This is the Protestant Religion which the Papists fight for in thes fighting dayes Behold the Protestant Religion which the Armiminians maintain Mr. Chillingworth might have questioned the salvation of the Iesuites as well as of the Dominicans Ans. to the Preface pag. 20. First Preface with an Answer to the Directions to N. N. Sect. 26. Mr. Wethereld his Sermon at Saint Maries The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury his Relat. Sect. 35. punct. 5. p. 307. A probable conjecture of his Graces Reason why he altered the Service-book The difference between the Scotch Liâ—uâ—gy and the English is exactly set down in the Canterburians selfe conviction p. 97. to 113. See M. Newcomen his Sermon preached on the fifth of Novemb. The large supplement of the Canterburian selfe-conviction pag. 19 20. Bishop Mountaguâ— saith that the â—igne of the crosse is the Instrument of divine power and sufficient to drive away Devills it is to be made in the breast or forehead c. Orig. Eccles. Tom. prioris parte poster ' pag. 80. Scripture and Reason c. Set forth by divers Ministers The book called Iesuitica Negotiatio gave Iesuited persons leave to professe the Protestant religion to keep any office to passe sentence of death upon any person according to his office so he was as favourable as possible and gave timely intelligence of any severe sentence pag. 74. Just like the Iesuise Dr Potter speaks of who hoped well of honest Pagans rashly daÌ„ned the best part of Christians sect. 2. p. 45. I say nothing of Dr. Sheldon his Latine Sermon in which he did highly advance the Power of the Priest Dr Potter 2 edit. sect. 3. pag. 68. * Impuritas non in dogmatibus fidei reperitur sed vel in conclusionibus minus certis vel in ritibus alioqui si impuritas ipsum cor medullam occupet actum esse de tali ecclesiâ omnes Orthodo â—i censent Profess Leyd. Censur. Praefat. Remonst Praefix confess sect. 23. That proud and curst Dame of Rome c. saith Dr. Potter p. 11. She doth poyson her own children gives them serpents instead of fishes p. 14. their charity is contrary to the true nature of Charity p 16 they have more Charity for a Iew and a Turk then a Calvinist p. 17. we are persecuted with fire sword and cursed into eternall fire by the Romane Charity as Dr. Potter saith p. 13 * Read the ceÌ„sure of Reverend Dr. Twisse upon this passage of Dr. Potter in his treatise of the morality of the fourth Commandement pag. 34. Damnable iâ— themselves is in both editioâ—s only corrected in the Errata of the second edition damnable in their issue D. Twisse gives the reason See Dr Potter 2d edition p. 254 255. We shall find that in those Propositions which without al controversy are universally received in the whole Christian World so much truth is contained as being joyned with holy obedience may be sufficient to bring a manunto everlasting salvation p. 255. The Arminians say no man is an Herelike who denies a point which is or may be controverted and so they may deny the whole creed De harcticu quaritur non qut ea quâ— in scrip turis aperte decisâ— sunt convellere audent sed qui eâ— quâ— controversa sunt aut controverti pessunt in dubium voâ— cant Exam. Cens. cap. 24. p. 276. The Arch-Bishop of Cant. his Relat. pag. 309 310. Dr. Potter his Prayer
Socinians say that there is not as yet any triumphant Church above nor is it necessary there should bee any militant Church here below It was no errour in the Donatists that they held it possible that the Church might bee contracted from a larger extent to a lesser as Mr. Chillingworth observes but their error was that they held it done de Facto when they had no just ground or reason to doe so chap. 3. p. 162. But the Author of the Tract concerning Schisme doth quite outleape Mr. Chillingworth It is saith he a thing indifferent the Church may be in any number more or lesse it may be in any place Countrey or Nation it may be in all and for ought I know it may be in none pag. 7. Sure the Brownist is more moderate he saith there must be a Church 6. But the great quarrell with the Brownist is that hee would have the Common-prayer Booke taken away To which I answer in a word that they are not all Brownists who desire to have that Law abrogated by which the Common-prayer Booke is established Mr. Chillingworth desires that there might be this triall made betweene us and the Papists That there might be some Forme of Worshipping God propounded which is wholly taken out of the Scripture and herein saith he to the Papists if we refuse to joyne with you then and not till then may you justly say we have utterly and absolutely abandoned your Communion Answer to the Preface Sect. 23. May not some that are not Brownists say the same to us we keepe our distance from you meerely because your Forme of worshipping God is not taken wholly out of Scripture though for the present then wee joyne not with you yet doe not say till that be done that wee doe utterly and absolutely abandon your Communion The Author of the Tract of Schisme would have such a Forme of service as Donatists Arians Papists all that call themselves Christians might joyne in p 9 10. You see he dislikes the Common-prayer Booke and sure dislikes the best part of it the Creeds he is farre worse then a Brownist Be pleased to observe that Liturgies were first composed to expell Socinianisme and now this Author would have a Liturgie composed to let in Arianisme or at least to humour the Arians and sooth them up in their Heresie as if the Articles of our Creed were but private fancies and it concerned us more to please Hereticks then preserve our Creed But there is a learned man of a more moderate opinion and sounder judgement then either of the former though they bee both very learned men it is Dr. Featley be pleased to heare him speake There is nothing saith he in the Protestant Liturgie or Service which the Romanists do or by their owne Rules can except at The Confession forme of Absolution Prayers Hymnes Collects c. are either such as the Papists themselves use or at least such as they dislike not in his Annotations on Vertumnus Romanus p. 16 17. Now this is the very reason the Papists bragge so much and why some that are not Brownists take offence at our Liturgy And this learned Doctor tels us that all who love the truth in sincerity should with bended knees humbly desire that his Majesty and the high Court of Parliament would make some more certaine distinctive signe betweene Papists and Protestants then monthly comming to Church and taking the oathes of Allegiance and Supremacy Now how this present Liturgy which the Papists like so well can make any such distinction let the prudent judge I intend not to run out into the large question about the necessity or Antiquity of Liturgies but let men that are so violent in this point consider 1. How corrupt those Liturgies are which are voted for ancient 2. How much Bishop Hall is forced to grant when this question was agitated betweene him and the Smectymnâ—ans 3. To passe by what is said about the lawfulnesse of a Set-forme let them consider what Arguments are produced against the Imposition of a Set-forme 4. If it were granted that a Set-forme may be imposed yet those many cart-loads of Arguments which are produced against this Set-forme are considerable 5. It is confessed that a Minister should be able to pray as well as preach and should give and even devote himselfe to prayer he should meditate and study how to pray 6. It is granted on all sides that wee ought to pray according to the occasion and how we should foresee all the wants and straits of a Church and compose a Set-forme for them before-hand it concernes them to declare When K. Iames was to advise Prince Henry how to pray hee did not thinke it sufficient to leave him to the Church-Liturgy or to any prayers composed by man the onely Rule of Prayer saith he is the Lords Prayer he advised him to study the Psalmes of David because they being composed by a King hee might collect prayers out of them most sutable to his wants and so he should be enabled to pray according to the occasion he disswaded him from following the common ignorant sort that prayes nothing but out of bookes for that would breed an uncouth coldnesse in him towards God hee bids him take heed that hee be not over-homely in his expressions for that would breed a contempt of God nay he counsels him farther to pray as his heart moves him pro re natâ Reade his {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} pag 151. 152. Let these things be well weighed and considered and then our fierce men will not terme every man a Brownist who desires to have that Law abrogated by which this Common Prayer booke is established and enjoyned I need not adde what the Arminians and Socinians think of Liturgies onely observe that though the Arminians beyond Sea were prevailed with to write something for the Archbishops Bishops Archdeacons c. in England yet they write but faintly Exam. Censurae cap. 21. and they could not be prevailed with to write a word in defence of our Liturgy they will not admit no not of the most received Creeds there is they say too much majesty in them they call the Preface to Athanasius his Creed Whosoever will be saved must hold c. a proud Preface for this is say they to give divine Authority to humane Formes and into the assembly of such bold men let not our soule ever enter you see what they think of humane Formes Exam. Censurae Praef. pag. 6. 7. and lastly the Brownists had beene in the right if the Archbishop of Canterbury could have compassed his Designe for his project was to root out all that would not comply which if he had effected he had made good the Brownists opinion for them for then there would have beene no true Church of God in England indeed not a true governing Church for his government would have beene tyranicall not a true practising Church the practises of his