Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
tradition_n	church_n	law_n	scripture_n	2,211	5	6.0049	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42139	Pax vobis, or Ghospell and libertie against ancient and modern papists. By E.G. preacher of the word. Dedicated to the right honble the Lord Halyfax	Griffith, Evan, A.M., Minister of Alderly.	1679 (1679)	Wing G1990; ESTC R215168	69,211	191

commonly believed by the Protestans and Popish Church we believe in Jesus Christ the son of God of one and the same substance and nature with the Father they believe in a Jesus Christ son of God but of a distinct and different nature and substance from the Father Isaac Pish that 's but a nicetie believe what you please and what you vndestand by Scripture to be true and have charitie Ismael I confess you have puzzled but yet not wholy convinced me were I but perswaded that what you have discoursed is truly the Doctrin of the reformation J would cheerfully embrace it and J will be better informed by your self but not tyre your patience we will meet again and pursue our Discours vpon this subject II. DIALOGUE ISMAEL Reflecting in my solitude vpon your last discours J find it bottom'd vpon a fals principle for you suppose that what euer Doctrin is of Luther Calvin or any of our Learned Drs Synods Parliaments or Congregations is the Doctrin of the Reformation and may without any more proof or scruple be believed by any Reformed Child who but sees this is ridiculous to fasten the Doctrin and absurd opinions of each particular Dr or Congregation vpon the whole body this is the vncharitable and vnreasonable art of the Papists who keep a great coyl with som exorbitāt opinions of Luther and Calvin and would perswade their Proselyts they are the Tenets of the Reformation wheras the Reformation disclaims those opinions as much as the Pope does and they do not poore people observe how many absurd and scandalous Doctrins we meet in their Casuists and Divins which when we reproach them with they answer it s not the Doctrin of their Church but of som particular Drs as if we might not with as much justice as they answer the same Isaac Your reflection is good and my discours will fall to ground if I do not prove that principle which will be no hard task Let vs imagin we are heere a full synod of Protestants Presbyterians Hugonots Lutherans Antitrinitarians Anabaptists Quakers and of all and each of our Congregations our Reformation is not any of these Congregations with an exclusion of the rest but all of them ioyntly for whatsoeuer Congregation would say it self alone is the Reformation and no other would be hiss'd at by the rest and iustly because that our Reformation imports two points essential●y first a Profession of Christianitie according the Rule of the Word of God and a detestation or abjuration of Popish Errors and none of these Congregations but does both Ismael I know som of these Pharisee like despise others and Looke upon them not as Ref●rmed but as putrid members but the Lord forbid I should be so deuoid of charitie I see no just challenge any can have to the Title of Reformation which all haue not Isaac Let vs ask this synod by what Rule of faith does the Reformation walk what must a man believe for to be a true Reformed Protestants will say that Scripture and Apostolical Tradition but Protestants say of Papists and Presbyterians and Anabaptists say of Protestants that many human inventions are obtruded upon vs as Apostolical Traditions that we have no way to discern the one from the other and con●●quently Tradition as being an vnknown thing vnto vs cannot be our Rule others will say that Scripture and the indubitable consequences out of it is our Rule all will grant this but then enters the Controversie if the consequences of Lutherans be such and if the consequences of Presbyterians be indubitable out of Scripture and each Congregation will say that their peculiar Tenets are indubitable consequences out of Scripture and the rest must allow it to be true or deny such a Congregation to be of the Reformation Others will say that Scripture and the four first General Councils with the Apostles and Athanasius's Creeds are our Rule of faith but most of the assembly will no more admit the four first than the subsequent Councils nor Athanasius his Creed more than that of Trent nor will the Quakers Socinians and others value the Apostles Creed But there is none of all the Assembly who will not admit Scripture that 's the pure written word of God to be a sacred and full Rule of faith because it s replenisht with Divin light and all Heavenly instruction necessarie for our saluation and such as ad as a part of our Rule of faith the Apostles or Athanasius his Creeds or the four first General Councils they will confess that all they containe is expressed in Gods written word and are but a plainer or more distinct expression or declaration of the Contents of Scripture Ismael Truly I must grant you this that I have been often present at severall discourses of Protestants with Papists and never yet could I heare a Protestant make Councils Tradition or any thing els the Test of their discours but onely scripture not but that I could heare them say and pretend in their discourses that Apostolical Tradition and the four first Councils were for them against Popery but still their main strength and vltimat refuge was Scripture for when ever they harp vpon that string of Tradition and Councils the Papists are visibly too hard for them and then they run to Scripture than which there is no plus vltra I have been also often at severall discourses betwixt Protestans Presbyterians and our brethren of other Congregations and have observed that the Protestant for to defend his lyturgie Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England and her Episcopacy against the others could never defend himself by scripture alone and placed his main strength against them in Tradition Primitive Councils and ancient Fathers all which the others rejected and reproached the Protestant with Popery for making vse of that weapon that if thy would stick to those Principles as their Rule of faith they must admit many Tenets of Popery which they disavow that nothing but scripture is a sufficient warrant and Rule of faith And I find by all I could ever well vnderstand that its the General apprehension and belief of all the Reformation that Scripture abundantly contains all we are obliged to believe and is our sole and adequat Rule of faith and that our recours to Tradition Councils Fathers c. are but shifts of some of our Drs. who being Non plust in their particular engagements and Sophistries patch the incoherencie of their discours with these raggs of Popery Isaac I commend your ingenuity but not that heate which transports you to check our Drs for their glosses and particular Doctrins vpon Scripture which as the Manna relisht of all sorts of Victuals which the Eater● fancied admits several senses according the different spirits and measure of light that God gives to the Reader and it is vndoubtedly the the Spirit of the Reformation to follow what sense of it he likes best and not to check others for following this or that as

of Illiricus Latimer and Lossius Also Lurher most impiously affirms that not only the human nature of Christ dyed for vs but also his Divin nature see Luther's words quoted at large by Zuinglius and Hospinian If you say such scandalous blasphemies may be safely believed you will render you● Christianitie suspected and if yo● say that they are the Doctrin of th● Reformation or that they may be believed according the Principles ● the Reformation you will make th● Reformation and its Principles t● be hated by any good Christian Isaac If I walk by the Rule o● faith of the Reformation I 'l prove my self a true Reformed Child and if I prove my self to be a Reformed Child my Christianity cannot be justly suspected What Tenet have you related of all those which you call blasphemies and scandals but has been judged by those Eminent Drs. of our Reformation to be express Scripture or conformable to Scripture and since our Rule of faith is Scripture as each person of sound judgment vnderstands it and since the Doctrin of our Reformation is but whatever any such Person of sound judgment judges to be expressed in or proved by Scripture its evident that all those Tenets are vndeniably the Doctrin of the Reformation I say then and will say without any offence to my Christianity or blemish to our Reformed Church that those Tenets are the Doctrin of the Reformation and may be as safely believed by any Child of it as Figurative Presence supremacy or Two Sacraments and let not any Bigot pretend to freghten me from this Doctrin by calling it blasphemy and impiety No its Scripture as interpreted by our renowned Reformed Doctors therefore it s no blasphemy let any man convince me that our Rule of faith must not be Scripture as each Person of sound judgment vnderstands it and he will convince that this cannot be justly called the Doctrin of the Reformation but whylst that Principle and Rule of faith stands vnshaken nothing that is taught by any Person of sound judgment to be the Doctrin of Scripture but is to be called our Doctrin and may be safely believed You say that whoeuer has any loue for Christianity will hate the Reformation and its Principles if they give libertie for to believe such blasphemies but can any mother be more indulgent to her Child than the Reformation is to vs such as think those Tenets to be blasphemies the Reformation gives them leave not to believe them and if any judges by Scripture that they are not blasphemies but pure Doctrin as Luther Calvin and others did they have liberty for to believe them He who denyes them cannot in charity check them who believe them nor can they who believe them check those who deny them wheras each follow our Rule of faith and believe what they judge by Scripture to be true And if you or your Church of England cry out Blasphemy Blasphemy against all that you judge to be fals why do not you cry blasphemie against Presbyterians Lutherans and other Congregations from whom you dissent and what difference betwixt you and the Church of Rome the folly of this is to call Heresy and blasphemy all that is not her own Doctrin and all that your Church of England mystikes must be fanaticism blasphemy and impiety must our Rule of faith be Scripture as the Church of England vnderstands it and not otherwise Presbyterians and Lutherans will neuer allow it if therefore our Rule of faith be Scripture as each Person vnderstands it any Person of sound judgment in the Reformation may without scrupule believe what he vnderstands to be the Doctrine of Scripture IV. DIALOGUE ISMAEL You still insist vpon that Principle that our Rule of faith is Scripture as each Person of sound judgment vnderstands it and from that Principle will follow many absurd consequences destructive of piety and Religion Isaac That Principle is not invented by me it s of our holy Reformation if J did discourse with a Papist J would prove the Principle to be true and Gods express Word but since J discourse with a Reformed Child J suppose and not spend my time in proving it this Principle then being an vnquestionable truth in our Reformation no Reformed Child must be so irreverent and bold as to say that any Doctrin which cleerly and vnauoidably follows out of it is blasphemous or impious for that would be to condemn our Principle by which we walk Ex vero non sequitur nisi verum from a true Principle nothing can follow but true Doctrin can you deny but this was the Rule of faith and Principle of our first blessed Reformers and of the Church of England mentioned in her 39. Articles if therefore they judged and if any other judges by that Rule and Principle that those Tenets which you call impious and blasphemous be true Doctrin they cannot be blamed for believing them Ismael I confess our first Reformers did speake so but J say such Errors and impious Doctrins cannot without irreverence be called the Doctrin of the Reformation and cannot without impiety be belieued because our Reformation at present condemns and detests those blasphemies for we must grant that our Reformation in its beginning was not in its full perfection of Doctrin God began it by Luther Caluin Zuinglius and others those great men ha their fraylties they did ouerlash in som things and what they said amiss Gods heavenly spirit inspired to the Church from time to time to correct it and has at length brought our Church to that purity of Doctrin and fullness of perfection which now it enjoyes Nothing is to be called now the Doctrin of the Reformation but what is now believed by our Congregations and none of them believes those execrable Tenets you related Isaac you wrong the Reformation very much in saying it had not its full perfection in the beginning it s rather to be thought that that polishing and refining of it in ensuing years with new perfections and correcting the first draught of it by our first Reformers has been a corruption of it with som mixture o● Popish errors and superstitions for all religious Congregations and Pretenders to piety are at the first beginning in the height of their perfection and in progress of years they decline and decay from their primitive Spirit into errors and corruption of manners Religious Congregations are not like Arts and Sciences wihich by tyme and experience receive new perfefections but like chimnies which grow dayly blacker by continual smoke and fire witness the Jewish Church and law in its beginning florishing and holy but corrupted in progress of time by Traditions of men and superstitions of Pharisees witness also the law of the Ghospell in those happy tymes of the Apostles holy and pure but corrupted after som years by errors of Popery Jf wee be to seek for the pure and Orthodox Doctrin of the primitive Church ought not we to be said by the