Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n
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A63995
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Twenty-one conclusions further demonstrating the schism of the Church of England formerly offer'd in confutation of Dr. Hammond and Bishop Bramhall : to which are added some reasons tender'd to impartial people why Dr. H. Maurice, Chaplain to His Grace of Canterbury, ought not to be traduc'd as the licenser of the pamphlet entituled A plain answer to a popish priest, questioning the orders of the Church of England.
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1688
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Wing T3413; ESTC R26339
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8,446
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16
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TWENTY-ONE Conclusions Further Demonstrating the SCHISM OF THE Church of England c. Formerly Offer'd in Confutation of Dr. Hammond and Bishop Bramhall To which are added Some Reasons Tender'd to impartial people Why Dr. H. Maurice Chaplain to his Grace of Canterbury ought not to be Traduc'd aâ— the Licenser of the Pamphlet entituled A Plain Answer to a Popish Priest Questioning the Orders of the 〈◊〉 of England 〈◊〉 Printed by 〈…〉 One of His Majesty's 〈…〉 Twenty-One CONCLUSIONS Further Demonstrating the SCHISM of the Church of England c. I. THat whatsoever the Extent of the Pope's Authority be or be not yet ' t is clear that all Roman-Catholicks that is all Communicants with the Church of Rome or Papists hold the substance of the Popes Authority that is hold the Pope to be Supreme Ecclesiastical Governor in God's Church This is evident from the very terms since to acknowledg the Papal Authority is to be a Papist oâ— Communicant with the Church of Rome II. The holding or acknowledging this Authority is to all that hold it that is to the whole Church of Rome or to all those particular Church's united with Rome a Principle of Unity in Government This is plain likewise from the terms since an Acknowledgment of one Supreme Governor either in Secular or Spiritual affairs is the Ground which establishes those Acknowledgers in submission to that one Government that is 't is to them a Principle of Unity in Government III. ' T is evident That all those Churches in Communion with the Church of Rome hold firmly that whatsoever the Living Voice of the present Church i. e. of Pastors and Fathers of Families directed by those Pastors shall unanimously conspire to teach and deliver to Learners and Children to have been received from their immediate Pastors and Fathers as taught by Christ and his Apostles is to be undoubtedly held as taught by them i. e. that this delivery from immediate Forefathers as from theirs as from Christ is an infallible and certain Rule of Faith that is a Principle of Unity in Faith This to be the Tenet of all particular Churches in Communion with Rome both sides acknowledg and it is hence evident that the Body made up of such Churches ever cast out from its Communion all those that did innovate against this Tenet IV. 'T is manifest that all the Churches in Communion with Rome equally held at the time of the Protestant Reformation in K. Henry's days these two Principles as they do now i. e. 1. The substance of the Pope's Authority or that he is Supreme in God's Church 2. That the Living Voice of the present Church delivering as abovesaid is the infallible Rule of Faith This is manifested by our Adversaries impugning those Churches as holding Tradition and the Popes Headship nor was it ever pretended that either those Churches held not these Tenets then or that they have renounc'd them since V. The Church of England immediately before the Reformation was one of those Churches which held Communion with Rome as all the world grant and consequently held with the rest the two foremention'd Tenets prov'd to have been the Principles of Unity both in Faith and Government VI. That Body of Christians or that Christian Common-wealth consisting of the then-then-Church of England and other Churches in Communion with Rome holding Christ's Law upon the said tenure of immediate Tradition and submitting to the Ecclesiastical Supremacy of the Pope was a true and real Church This is manifest by our very Adversaries acknowledgment who grant the now Church of Rome even without their Church to be a true and real one tho holding the same Principles of Unity both in Faith and Government which she held when the Reformers revolted from her VII That Body consisting of the then Church of England and her other Fellow-communicants with Rome was united or made one by means of these two Principles of Unity For the undoubted acknowledgment of one common Rule of Faith to be certain is in it's own nature apt to unite those Acknowledgers in Faith that is to unite them as Faithful and consequently in all other Actions springing from Faith And the undoubted acknowledgment of one Supreme Ecclesiastical Governor gave these Acknowledgers an Ecclesiastical Unity or Church-communion under the notion of Governed or Subjects of an Ecclesiastical Commonwealth Now nothing can more nearly concern a Church than the Rules of Faith and Government especially if the Government be of Faith and receiv'd upon its Rule Seeing then these two Principles gave them some Unity and Communion as Faithful and as belonging to an Ecclesiastical Commonwealth it must necessarily be Church-Unity and Communion which these two Principles gave them VIII The Protestant Reformers renounced both these Principles This is undeniably evident since they left off to hold the Pope's Supreme power to act in Ecclesiastical affairs and also to hold divers points which the former Church immediately before the breach had receiv'd from immediate Pastors and Fathers as from Christ IX Hence follows That those Reformers in renouncing these two Principles did commit the horrid fact of breaking Church-Communion or Schismatizing This is demonstrably consequent from the two last Paragraphs where 't is proved that those two Principles made Church-Communion that is caused Unity in that Body which themselves acknowledg a true Church as also that they renounc'd or broke those Principles therefore they broke that which United the Church And so broke the Unity of the Church or Schismatiz'd X. This renouncing those two Principles of Ecclesiastical Communion prov'd to have been an actual breach of Church-Unity was antecedent to the Pope's Excommunicating the Protestants and his commanding Catholicks to abstain from their Communion This is known and acknowledg'd by all the world nor till they were Protestants by renouncing those Principles could they be Excommunicated as Protestants XI This actual breach of Church-Unity in King Henry's Edward the Sixth's and the beginning of Queen Elizabeth ' s Reign could not be imputable to the subsequent Excommunication as to its cause 'T is plain since the Effect cannot be before the Cause XII Those subsequent Excommunications caused not the actual Breach or Scâ—â—sm between us For the antecedent renouncing those two points shew'n to have been the Principles of Ecclesiastical Unity had already caused the breach dis-union or division between us But those between whom an actual division is made are not still divisible that is thâ—â—… who are already divided are not now to be divided Wherefore however it may be pretended that those Excommunications made those Congregations who were antecedently thus divided stand at further distance from one another yet 't is most sensless and unworthy a man of reason to affirm that they divided those who were already divided e're those Excommunications came Especially since the Rule of Faith and the substance of the Pope's Authority consist in an indivisible and are points of that nature that the renouncing tâ—ese is a Principle
of renouncing all Faith and Government For whoever renounces any Rule may nay ought if he act consequently renounce all he holds upon that Rule whether points of Faith or of Government nay even the Letter of God's Written Word it self that is all that Christ left us or that can concern a Church XIII The renouncing those two Principles of the former Church-Unity as it evidently disunited men's minds in order to Faith and Government so if reduced into practice it must necessarily dis-unite or divide them likewise in External Church-carriage This is clear since our Tenets are the Principles of our Actions and so contrary Tenets of contrary carriage XIV Those tenets contrary to the two Principles of Church-Unity were de facto put in practice by the Reforming Party and consequently they divided the Church both internally and externally This is most undeniably evident since they wrote preach'd and acted against the Tradition or Delivery of the immediately foregoing Church as erroneous in many points which she deliver'd to them as from immediate Fathers and so upwards as from Christ and proceeded now to interpret Scripture by another Rule than by the Tenets and Practice of that immediately foregoing Church And as for the former Government they absolutely renounc'd its influence in England preach'd and wrote against it Naâ—â—kept Congregations apart before they had got the power in their hands and after they had the power in their hands punisht and put to Death and that upon account of Religion many of the maintainers of those two Principles of Church-Unity XV. Hence follows That the Protestant Breach was a perfect and compleat Fact of Schism For it divided the former Ecclesiastical Body both internally and externally and that as it was an Ecclesiastical Body since it violated those two Principles which concern'd Ecclesiastical Unity XVI The subsequent Excommunication of our Church was therefore due fitting and necessary Due for it is as due a carriage towards those who have actually renounc'd the Principles of Unity both in Faith and Government and so broken Church-Unity to be Excommunicated by that Body from which those Renouncer's thus broke as it is toward Rebels who have renounc'd both Supreme Government and Fundamental Laws of a Commonwealth and so divided the Temporal Body to be denounced and proclaimed Rebels by the same Commonwealth Fitting since the effect of it they most resent which was to keep the true Faithful apart in Ecclesiastical actions from them signified no more than this that they who had broken both internally and externally from the former Body should not be treated with in Ecclesiastical matters as still of it nor be own'd for parts of that Commonwealth of which already they had made themselves no parts Lastly Necessary All Government and good order going to wrack if opposite parties be allow'd to treat together commonly in such actions in which their opposition must necessarily and frequently discover it self which will inevitably disgust the more prudent sort hazard to pervert the weaker and breed disquiet on both sides Thus far to evidence demonstrably that the external fact of Schism was truly theirs which done tho it be needless to add any more to prove them formal Schismaticks themselves confessing that such a fact cannot be justifiable by any reasons or motives whatsoever Sch. c. 1. Yet I shall not depend upon their standing to their own words knowing how easie a thing it is for men who talk loosely and not with strict rigor of Discourse to shuffle off their own sayings I shall therefore prosecute my own method and alledg That XVII The very doing an external fact of so hainous a nature as is breaking Church-Unity concludes a Guilt in the Actors unless they render reasons truly sufficient to excuse their fact This is evident a fortiori by paralleling this to facts of inferior malice For whosoever rises against a long setled and acknowledg'd Temporal Power is concluded by that very fact of rising to be a Rebel unless he render sufficient reasons for it Otherwise till those reasons appear the Good of Peace Order and Unity which he evidently violates by his rising concludes him most irrational and sinful XVIII No reasons can be sufficient to excuse such a fact but such as are able to convince that 't was better to do that fact than not to do it This is most evident XIX In this case where the point is demonstrable and of highest concern no reason meerly probable can convince the Understanding that the contrary was better to be done but only a manifest and rigorous demonstration For tho in the common sort of human actions an high Probability that the thing is in it self better be sufficient for action yet there are some things of a nature so manifest to all Mankind to be universally good that nothing but rigorous Evidence can be pretended a ground sufficient to oppose them For example that Parents are to be honour'd that Government is to be in the World that Unity of Government is to be kept up in God's Church that there ought to be certain Grounds for Faith c. Which since on the one side they are such as are in their own nature demonstrable and indeed self-evident and on the other so universally beneficial and consequently an universal harm or rather a deluge of inconveniences mischief would break in if the Actor against these should happen to be in the wrong He is therefore bound in these cases not to act till he sees the utmost that is to be seen concerning such affairs But affairs of this nature are demonstrable or rather self-evident as is said on the one side therefore he ought not to act unless he could see perfect demonstration that 't is better for him to act otherwise Wherefore it having been manifestly prov'd that this Fact of theirs left neither Certain Ground of Faith nor Unity of Government in God's Church nothing but a perfect and rigorous demonstration could be able to convince the Understanding that 't was better to act XX. The Protestants produce no such demonstration that 't was better to act in this case For they never clos'd with severe demonstration in any of their Writings I have yet seen to evidence rigorously either That the Rule of immediate Delivery was not certain or that the Pope had no Supreme Authority in Ecclesiastical affairs or lastly that the Pope's Authority was to be abolisht for the Abuses sake Which were necessary to be done ere they could demonstrate it better to break Church-Unity Nor does their manner of writing bear the slenderest resemblance of rigorous demonstration Since demonstration is not a connecting of Air and Words but of Notions and Sense and this from self-evident Principles even to the very intended Conclusion Whereas their way of Writing is only to find out the Sence of Words by a kind of Dictionary-manner which sort of Discourse is the most fallible sleight and subject to Equivocation that can be imagin'd To omit that