Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	new_a	old_a	testament_n	3,965	5	8.0680	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67886	The perfection, authority, and credibility of the Holy Scriptures. Discoursed in a sermon before the University of Cambridge, at the commencement, July 4. 1658. / By Nathanael Ingelo D.D. and Fellow of Eton Coll.	Ingelo, Nathaniel, 1621?-1683.	1658 (1658)	Wing I185; ESTC R202593	49,263	216

Apostolos scisse sed non omnia omnibus tradidisse in utroque Christum reprehensioni subjicientes qui aut minus instructos aut parum simplices Apostolos miserit They use to say that the Apostles knew not all things and being acted by the same madnesse they confesse that the Apostles might know all things but that they did not deliver them in both reproaching Christ as one that sent messengers which either knew not their errand or were not so honest as to deliver it What did they not know how could they but know they were the Disciples of Christ or such as conversed with them Quis integrae mentis credere potest eos aliquid ignorasse quos Dominus individuos habuit in comitatu in discipulatu in convictu c. They were such as walkt with Christ eat with him or were scarce ever out of his company or such as wrote from the mouthes of these therefore they knew and that they should not relate truly what they knew what can make any wise man think What would they lose their present fortunes and capacity to all worldly advantages and expose themselves to all contempt and cruelty for what they knew to be a lie and this too only to please themselves in writing Christian Religion which of all things doth abominate a lie 2. There is no sufficient Counter-witnesse against them none ought to be esteemed such but the first age and that affords none for they saw the things done and many wrote them and their pens did but bear witnesse with their eyes and the rest saw them or might see them {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Art thou only that one of all that sojourne in Jerusalem that knowest not these things or though thou dost but sojourn there how canst thou be ignorant of them for they were not done in a corner as Saint Paul said to Agrippa They were of a publick cognizance and notoriously known which had almost perswaded him to become a Christian which how was it possible if they had not been perfectly void of all suspicion of falshood For the next age who can imagine but they would have hissed them off the Stage if they had acted any thing but true stories Could the second age which saw not the things themselves be seduced to believe them when they were against their worldly interest and such things as they which related them could not prove to be true in an ordinary way but that they had good assurance that they came from God So that what any raile afterward is of too late a date to signifie any thing to wise and good men Who ever of any credit nay who at all wrote against Christ as the Apostles wrote for him What they saw with their eyes or heard with their eares as Saint Iohn or {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as Saint Luke Even as they delivered them unto us which from the beginning were eye-witnesses and Ministers of the word Christ had three famous Ranks of enemies and they gave their testimony for him Iews Devils and Heathen Philosophers 1. The Iewes were his sworne enemies and when they brought Christ or his followers before Magistrates they accused them of civil sedition or for speaking that which they then owned but not for forgery as we read in the accusation of Christ at Ierusalem by the High Priest and by Tertullus Oration before Festus The Magistrates though most of them had a mind to please the Jewes and were few of them such as they should be yet they onely commanded them to preach no more in that name but not reproved them for lying which to have done would have been as vain an attempt as the former proved For they were no sooner gone forth but they preached Christ and confirmed the truth with miracles as we read in the Acts of the Apostles Besides this the Iewes in their books say so much for him that they are a proof against themselves of falshood in what they spake against Christ They confesse him to have been a great Prophet and to have wrought miracles i.e. in their opinion he had Gods witnesse {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} And what can any man unlesse malice hath made him mad say against him in whose behalf he confesseth that God hath borne Testimony But see whither malice will carry one A man will fall rather then be supported by one whom he causelesly hates If there be not a New Testament what will become of the Old Christian Religion and the Verity thereof is the only proof that Moses and the rest were true Prophets 2. The Devills were notorious enemies and pretended that Christ tormented them before their time with his appearance and spoyled their Devillish sport {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} yet they confessed him to be the Son of God though he slighted their witnesse if their witnesse was worth any thing he had it if they thought to lessen him by their testimony the malice of their design was a confirmation of his goodnesse But why should he own their testimony whom he knew to be lyars from the beginning so the Lacedaemonians would not have a good saying sullied with a wicked mouth But as the Devils durst not but give Christ his due so the heathen world had reason to believe their testimony for they took the Devils sayings for divine Oracles and as they saw them silenc'd Delphis oracula cessant so the Oracle told them who did it as it was breathing some of its last gasps {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} The Hebrew child commands me to hold my tongue and be gone Porphyrie the enemy of Christ doth not only confesse the former {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} O me my Tripodes are over-thrown The true Sun puts out the false one Buth doth also plainly confesse who that Sun was {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Since Christ was worshipped we lost the publick benefit of the Gods The Oracle which Iulian also consulted could not speak being choaked with the bones of a Christian Martyr Babylas who was buried hard by Had Plutarch but minded this it would have saved him a great deal of labour vvhich he spent in vain to assign to many foolish causes of the defect of Oracles Neither vvould he have so perverted the story vvhich he reports concerning the hovvling of the Devils upon Thamus his proclaiming {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} The news of great Pan's death as he failed by the Palodes it vvas but a contradiction to himself to think any great Devill vvas dead and that the rest hovvl'd for him for the esteemed them immortal spirits But if by that great Pan the God of Shepherds vvas fignified Christ the Shepherd of the Sheep {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} great in his

death as the Authour to the Hebrevves calls him though our Translation perverts the sence of the place who died about this time They had great reason to howle for by death he destroyed him that had {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the Kingdom or Dominion of death i. e. the Devill for so {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} He killed death tormented Hell and slew the murderer For as Christ had before told us that he would so now he did bind the strong man the Devill and spoyled his goods those Tripodes Images and the rest of the Idolatrous Luggage were his chief houshold-stuff which he took up went his way as Plutarch witnesseth {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} 3. The Heathen Philosophers bore witnesse to him many of which being convinced with the demonstration of his truth became Christians Dionysius the Areopagite Polycarp Iustin Irenaeus Athenagoras c. They were acknowledged Philosophers and whether they were true converts or no they shewed for divers of them became Martyrs I may adde to those named before Origen who when the deluge of Idolatry had overspread the learned world was that holy Ark in which Philosophy was preserved for the service of Christian Religion a sufficient proof of this he gave in the confutation of that railer Celsus for he took off the danger of his blafphemies and chastised the bold wit of his lying pen and spoyled the heathenish hopes by undoing that foolish objection to wit that none but the rude multitude became disciples of Christ they saw it was not want of learning that made them Christians for Origen had so much that the most learned Plotinus seeing him amongst his Auditors blusht and after a few words abruptly brake off his Lecture But why should I go about to reckon those starres which gave light to this truth and whereas 't is said that there were many others which darkned all those that misled Converts could say we may easily make answer to this Amongst these Celsus must have the disgrace to be named first for he was the first that wrote against Christian Religion He denied not the miracles of Christ but would needs perswade the world that they were Magical But as he might learn this of the Iewes for he read the New Testament though to a most hellish end so there he might have learned an answer When Christ cast out Devills they said it was by Beelzebub a Prince among them but Christ does convince them of folly for thinking that a Prince would assist to destroy his own kingdom and condemns them by their owne Disciples whom they acknowledged to do it by divine power by which meanes they were convinced of saying nothing to the purpose or else more then they wist against themselves Celsus his design was not onely overthrown in words by Origen as appears in his most excellent books but whilest he disputed against motion Origen walked up and down i.e. whilst one cavil'd at Christs miracles the other and his contemporaries did them by his Name and Prayers So the Disciples of Christ long before by speciall Miracles {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} coverted the {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} those which used Magical Arts and they burnt their Conjuring books It 's most unreasonable to think that the Devils had a finger in this work for the Gospel which these miracles confirmed was their extirpapation where-ever it came So Origen having in word and deed made a just vindication of our Saviours honour to cut off all further objections at one blow in the second of his books against Celsus sets him this impossible task {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} i.e. Let him shew us not many but a few nay but one such as Christ was who with the divine glory of his Miracles and powerful wisdom of his holy doctrine did so much good unto mankind mended the world which lay in wickednesse and of the worst of men made so many thousands good Arnobius seeing them gravel'd with this made them a great abatement and put the challenge with this variation Potestis aliquem nobis monstrare ex omnibus illis magis qui unquam fuere per secula consimile aliquid Christo millesima ex parte qui fecerit qui sine ulla vi carminum c. i.e. Can you shew us any of the Magicians in any age which performed but the thousand part of what Christ did who without any inchantments juices of herbs observations of sacrifices or times did such things by the power of his great Name Nothing hurtfull nothing destructive but things worthy of God full of goodnesse and help to men c. Unto these demands Porphyry could give no satisfaction though he took up the Cudgells vvhich vvere beaten out of the hands of Celsus moved probably vvith indignation to see the blood of one of his ovvn party run dovvn so fresh vvhose head vvas justly not long before broken by Origen But he resolved to expresse his hatred of the Christian Religion though he had nothing to stuffe his books withall but such railing as Celsus had before him used as Hierom witnesseth in his preface to his Commentaries upon the Epistle to the Galatians A little after Hierocles thinking the matter but imperfectly done tried once more to mend it he went so far in the way of the former that as Eusebius reports he wrote again the very selfe-same things which they had wrote before him {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} He stole impudently out of their writings not only the sence but the very words and syllables only he attempted to answer the question of Origen by naming Apollonius Tyanaeus whom he would needs put as a great Antichrist in comparison of our Saviour as equalled and excelled by his works But the answer to him is not hard for as the things which he opposes are no way comparable so the evidence of of them is very insufficient viz. the book of one single Fabler The things were slight for though he tells strange stories they go far short of his purpose being some grossly wicked sundry of them Magicall devices many pitifully insignificant and ridiculous all of them of contemptible quotation to frame a comparison against Christ Some are grossely wicked as his offering sacrifice to appease the Ghost of Palamedes and his making prayers to him to lay aside his anger against the Greeks which it seems remained still with him in the other world that he would give leave that many of them might grow wise and good and yet he himself durst not teach Antisthenes who desired to learn of him because the Ghost of Achilles forbad him Antisthenes being forsooth one that used to speak well of his enemy Hector Also at the command of this envious soul he went an Ambassodor to the Thessalians to perswade them to renew their sacrifices at the grave of Achilles