Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A31347
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A Catholick pill to purge popery with a preparatory preface, obviating the growing malignity of popery against Catholick Christianity / by a true son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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True son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing C1495; ESTC R15262
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39,661
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102
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A CATHOLICK PILL To Purge POPERY WITH A Preparatory Preface OBVIATING The growing Malignity OF POPERY AGAINST Catholick Christianity By a true Son of the Catholick Apostolick Church Useful for all private Families Imprimatur G. Jane LONDON Printed for J. Coles in Vine-street near Hatton-garden and Will. Miller at the Gilded Acorn in S. Paul's Church-yard near the Little North Door 1677. A CATHOLICK PILL TO PURGE POPERY THere is no Subject for these few years last past that hath more exercised the Pen and the Press than the Controversies between the Protestants and Papists And he that hath taken the pains seriously to examine both their Arguments and hath had competent abilities to weigh the strength of their Allegations must needs without flattery give the glory of the conquest to the renowned and victorious writings of the late famous assertors of the Protestant Religion professed in the Church of England Never was such strength of Reason brought to convince Never such sound Arguments from Scripture Fathers and Councils never such pure discovery of the Falseness Novelty Idolatry of that vain idle false worship practised in the Roman perswasion as hath of late been published among us to the Immortal Honor of those Famous Authors 'T is impossible for the wit and learning of man to add any thing de Novo to what hath been said proved and wrote upon that voluminous Subject Yet because many of those writings may be above the Vulgar capacity many likewise so dear that a poor Mans purse cannot purchase them unless the sixpeny book published as I take it By that Reverend Divine D. Floyd of Reading called the book with the Blew Cover whose Title is A Seasonable Discourse shewing the necessity of maintaining The established Religion in opposition to Popery Unless I say those discourses I find none of that worth or Cheapness of that condescension to the meanest Capacities as this Pill to purge out Popery put forth with general approbation and cum privilegio in the year One thousand six hundred twenty four What need every one hath to furnish himself with good preservatives against the Poyson and Infection of that Soul and Body destroying Religion none will question but such as care for neither Debauch'd and loose Creatures who live as if there were no God and die as if they should become like the beast that perish 'T is upon such as these the Popish Priests do prey And where these Carcasses are thither the Roman Eagles do resort But to men of reason and understanding to persons of civility learning and good manners there they are shie how they make their approaches There they tremble and quake for fear of a Bastle to such as these they only insinuate plausible stories And tell them there is no difference between us in Fundamentals they believe the same Creeds with us and Worship the same God and the Lord Jesus Christ as we do The matter is only in some circumstantial things which the Church hath power from Christ to enjoyn the performance of Wherein they say we differ But who doth not see the vanity of this Allegation For if the difference between us indeed were only in things Circumstantial and Ceremonial we might be blame worthy to have withdrawn our selves from their Communion for surely it cannot be lawful to separate from the Church for enjoyning some Ceremonies though perhaps they seem to us but useless and vain Were there nothing but that to hinder us from their Communion We should not refuse to be Roman Catholicks to morrow But if we make it appear that the things we differ in are of the substance and foundation of Religion which to comply with themin is not only to deny the Faith but incur to our selves Everlasting Damnation Then we hope we have reason and Religion on our side to continue in that way we are in And utterly detest the damnable Doctrines of the Romish perswasion And that I may make it appear as plain as the light of the Sun Do but consider with me these few instances And I will detain you no longer from the Romish Catholick Catechism First They say indeed that they believe the holy Scripture to be the Word of God and that they have not taken away any Institution of the Gospel But is it not apparent that they esteem Humane Traditions not only equally with But many time above whatsoever is written either in the Old or New Testament under the pretence of an unwritten Word which increases every age and changeth it's face every day and is made to speak whatsoever they will have it They introduce into Religion whatsoever their Popes and his Creatures have a mind to And all must pass as currant Coyn that comes from their fingers But our Lord Jesus Christ doth not condemn those only who reject the Commandments of God but those who make them of none effect by their Traditions And he professeth that they Honor God in vain who teach for Doctrines necessary to be believed upon pain of Damnation the Traditions of Men c. Secondly They adore God I confess And who would not adore the Creator of the World but do they not adore divers Creatures likewise Not only those which they suppose to be changed into the Substance of the Body of our Creator as the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament but also divers others Which they confess to be but meer Creatures as Saints Reliques Images and the Cross which as many of their Doctors say positively ought to be adored with the worship of Latria that is to say with the Sovereign Adoration wherewith they adore God but God Almighty commands us not only to adore and serve him with all possible Reverence and Veneration But worship him only and solely Matth. 4.10 And the Scripture doth expresly condemn those who adore worship such as by nature are no Gods Gal. 4.8 And we know and you may know too if you will that the Angel not only exhorts Saint John in the Revel 19.21 To adore God but he refused the adoration which that holy Man being as it were surprised would have given him fee saith he thou do it not Worship God Thirdly You pray unto God I confess and who would not pray unto so good a Father and so gracious and merciful a God but you pray also to the Saints departed though the Scripture afford neither command promise or example Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel knows us not And you worship Angels likewise as Gabriel Michael c. contrary to the command of S. Paul Coll. 2.18 Let no man beguile you in a voluntary humility of worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen Fourthly You say you put your trust and affiance in God but do not you trust also in Creatures what else mean those prayers so frequently in your books O glorious Saint in whom I put my trust And it is very ordinary with the devoutest person among you to call the
with all other sound Protestants in Christendom In other things there have been are and will be diversities of opinions and differences to the worlds end They should first pluck out the beam of their own eyes for we can truly charge them with greater differences As namely with that sharp and bloody contention between the Franciscans and the Dominicans and with the late bitter contention between the Jesuites and the secular Priests wherein the Priests did write as bitterly against the Jesuites and namely against Parsons as ever did any Protestant nay there was never any Protestant writer that did lay such foul and odious crimes to their charg as the Priests did And herein they verified the old proverb When thieves fâ—ll by the ears true men come to have their goods For one dissention that is among us they have at least ten among themselves D. Willet in his fourth Pillar of Papistry hath set down at large First the contradictions and divers opinions of old Papists and new Secondly The contradictions of the Jesuites amongst themselves Thirdly that their stoutest Champion Bellarmine is at variance with himself shamefully forgetting himself saying and unsaying now of one opinion by and by of another And no marvel Oportet enim mendacem esse memorem A lyer had need to have a good memory Fourthly he sheweth the repugnances inconveniences and inconsequent opinions which Popish Religion hath in it self And thus you see how they charge us with that wherein themselves are most faulty DIALOGUE 16. C. Are there none among us that maintain any strange and new opinions contrary to the grounds of Religion M. If there be any such our Church doth not approve of them but rather censure and punish them C. There be some that profess the former grounds of Religion as we do and yet say that there is no true Church among us and therefore will not joyn with us in prayers hearing the Word and in the use of the Sacraments but separate themselves from us what say you of such M. I say that they are possessed with the spirit of pride and singularity and that in so doing they do even deny these Articles of Faith the Catholick Church and the Communion of Saints and are such as the Apostle speaks of Rom. 16.17 Heb. 10.25 39. Master Perkins in his first Vol. pag. 409. calls them a schismatical and undiscreet company and saith that they are full of pride thinking themselves to be full when they are empty to have all knowledg when they are ignorant and have need to be catechised Another saith thus of them The error of those men is full of evil yea of blasphemy who do in such manner make a departure from this Church as if Christ were quite banished from hence and that there could be no hope of salvation to those that abide here And further he saith that if they cannot find Christ here they shall find him no where The errors of these men you may see in a little Treatise set forth by M. Barnard called The Separatists Schism C. I pray shew me some example that they ought not to separate themselves from us and that they do sin in so doing M. In the Church of Corinth the incestuous man was not punished fornication was lightly regarded yea there were some that even denied the Resurrection yet S. Paul doth account and call them the Church and Saints he doth not perswade any to make a separation but doth plainly rebuke them and sheweth how they should punish the evil doer I speak not this to excuse any gross sin that reigneth amongst us for I wish that the same might be severely punished but to shew that where the Word is truly preached and the Sacraments rightly administred as in our Church they are none ought for any cause to separate themselves And that such as do it do sin grievously I will shew you by a familiar example A mother conceiveth and bringeth forth a son and that with great travel and pain She traineth him up to mans estate and that not without great care and labor This son at length espying some spot and blemish or some infirmity in his mother forsaketh her and will not acknowledg her to be his mother what would you now think of him C. Surely I should think such a one to be a very wicked and unnatural son M. Even such are they who for some seeming faults in our Church deny it to be a true Church and do separate themselves from it whereas this Church hath conceived them brought them forth and nourished them For if ever they were truly begotten unto Christ and born a new it hath been by our Church and our Ministery by which likewise they have been trained up and brought to that knowledge which they have C. There are many amongst us that make great profession of Religion but I can see no good works come from them nay they are not only barren in good works but also live in some one gross sin or other Are these the true Church and true Catholicks M. Though they live in the Church yet they are not of the Church they are but Hypocrites and shall if they repent not have the reward of Hypocrites yea it shall be easier in the Day of Judgment for many Papists then for them because by their barren and fruitless yea wicked life they have caused the Name of God his Gospel and the true Professors thereof to be evil spoken of Let all therefore that will be accounted the true Church and true Christians he careful to adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things and that by a godly conversation and by doing of good works C. The name of God be blessed for this our conference whereby I find my self much edified There remaineth yet one thing more which I will demand of you and that is How I may come to know and be assured that I am indeed a member of the true Church and that I shall certainly be saved M. Be diligent to hear the Word of God preached Read the Scriptures Receive often the Sacrament Acquaint your self throughly with the aforesaid grounds of Religion Joyn hereunto earnest and hearty prayer Set apart some time for these things specially be careful to spend the Sabbath herein And to all these things joyn an holy conversation indevouring above all things to have always a clear conscience toward God and toward men In doing this you shall at length come to that full assurance whereof S. Paul speaketh namely that you are the Child of God and that nothing shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Rom. 8.38 Babylon is fallen it is fallen Rev. 14.8 Praise honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for evermore Amen Revel 5.13 FINIS Courteous Reader THese Books following are Printed for and sold by William Miller at the Gilded-Acorn in S. Paul's Church-yard where also you may be furnished with most sorts of bound or Stitched Books as Acts of Parliament Proclamations Speeches Declarations Letters Orders Ordinances Remonstrances Commissions Articles As also Books of Divinity Catechisms Church government Sermons on all Occasions and most sorts of Histories Poetry Plays and such like c. Books in Folio ASsemblies Annotations Bakers Chronicle Gesners History of Beasts and Serpents Heylin's Cosmography Josephus History of the Jews Juvenal with Cuts by Sir Robert Stapylton Ambroses works Cradocks Harmony Churchil Divi Britannici Elson on Colossians Knowledge and Practice quar Principles oct Richards Vines Treatise of the Institution Right Administration and Receiving of the Lords Supper in two Sermons oct Quarto Gunters works Barbers Sermon Isa 9.6 J. B. Sermon Survey of Man Job 14.10 Dod on the Lords Prayer Medice Cura Teipsum or the Apothecaries plea against Doctor Christopher Meret William Lord Bishop of Gloucester Entituled a plain and full Exposition of the Catechism of the Church of England Edward Lord Bishop of Norwich Entituled a Sermon preached before the Peers at Westminster the 7. Nov. being a day of solemn Humiliation for the continuing Pestilence Nat. Hardy Dr. Entituled Justice Triumphing c. a Sermon preached the 5. of Novem. Entituled The pilgrims wish a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mrs. Anne Dudson Entituled A loud Call to great Mourning a Sermon preached on the 30. Jan. 1661. before the Parliament Entituled Lamentation Mourning and Wo a Sermon preached the Lords day after the dismal Fire in the City of London Entituled The Royal Common-wealths Man c. a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Sir Thomas Adams Entit Totum Hominis c. a Sermon preached the 15. March at the Assizes in York Marriage of Arts a play Faithful Shepherdess a play Horatius a play Polyencles a play Combate of love and friendship a play Spanish Gipsie a play Fettiplace the souls narrow search for sin oct English Dictionary or Expositor the twelfth Edition Revised and enlarged by S. C. duod Compleat Bone-setter oct Templum Musicum or the Musical Synop oct The famous game of Chess-play oct Shelton's Tachygraphia Lat. oct Clarks Looking-glass for persecutors oct Printed for F. Coles and William Miller FINIS