Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n
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A20688
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Innovations unjustly charged upon the present church and state. Or An ansvver to the most materiall passages of a libellous pamphlet made by Mr. Henry Burton, and intituled An apologie of an appeale, &c. By Christopher Dow, B.D.
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Dow, Christopher, B.D.
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1637
(1637)
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STC 7090; ESTC S110117
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134,547
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244
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charge these things upon the Bishops for clayming the same power over the inferiour Clergie and people which himselfe as a Priest hath over the people committed to him is more than wonderfull Well but for all that here is a strange piece of Poperie which hee addes uttered by the Chiefest Prelate of England in the High Commission p. 152. viz. That in matters of Divinitie wee are not tyed to the Scriptures but to the Vniversall Catholicke Church in all ages for how said hee so Master Burton affirmes shall wee know the Scriptures but by the Church But that this man hath set his faith to sale for popular breath so that his testimony is of no value I should here runne aground and miscarry in my undertakings How not tyed in matters of Divinity to the Scriptures surely His Grace did much forget himselfe and what himselfe hath both subscribed and publickly maintayned against the Romanists Or rather Master Burtons zeale hath farre over-reached in imputing so grosse an error so insulsly expressed to so learned and every way accomplisht a Divine Yet somewhat perhaps there was said which might minister occasion to malevolence thus to traduce him Perhaps if occasion were offered Hee might make the consentient testimonie of the Catholicke Church in all ages the best interpreter the best rule to follow for the setling of the understanding in the true meaning of holy Scripture Yea he might perhaps say in all matters in Divinity taking it to include Doctor Field of the Church l. 4. c. 20. matters of ceremony and other things in which consist not the substance of faith or manners necessarily required to salvation we are not tyed Perkins refor Cath. to the Scriptures It is no innovation to admit traditions which was ever granted in our Church and never denyed by any learned Protestant We baptise infants Chemnit exam Concil Trid Sess 1. 4. receive the Apostles Creed acknowledge the number names and authors of the Bookes of Canonicall Scripture that I mention not for feare of displeasing Master B. the observation of the Lords day all which besides a number of rites ceremonies and observations whereof we have neither irrefragable precept nor example in the Scriptures onely wee doe not admit any traditions contrary to the Scriptures nor doe wee as the Councell of Trent receive them with the same reverence and pious affection or advance them to an equality of authority with Scriptures but as subservient unto them Further though Master B. startle at it it is no innovation neither to make the Churches testimonie to bee the meanes of our knowledge the Scripture to bee the Scripture which is no more than our Articles allow calling Artic. 20. the Church a witnesse and a keeper of holy writ I wish Master B. would have given us his answer to the question and have told us how hee came to know the Scriptures seeing he will not seeme to bee beholding to the Church for that peece of learning surely hee had it by revelation or received that booke as Saint Iohn did from the hand of some Angel for I will not bee perswaded hee brought that knowledge into the world with him Revel 10. 9. But whatsoever hee shall perswade himselfe and others it is an undoubted truth that we come to know the Scriptures by the Testimony of the Church and that secluding that wee cannot ordinarily bee perswaded that they are the word of God But withall we must know that it is one thing to suspend the authority of the Scriptures upon the Church and to make the Churches testimonie the foundation of our beliefe of those things which are conteyned in the Scripture and another to make the Churches proposall and testimony a necessary meanes and condition without which ordinarily men cannot know them to be those divine oracles whereon our faith is to be builded And because Master B. may thinke the better of this tenet if it be delivered by others he shall heare the same from the late learned Deane of Glocester whom I know he will not count any D. Field Appendix l. 2. sect 8 Popish Innovator who answering a Popish Treatisor that would needs fasten a Popish absurd doctrine upon this assertion writes thus If Protestants receive the number names of the Authors and integrity of the parts of bookes divine and Canonicall as delivered by Tradition as I say they doe and if without tradition we cannot know such divine bookes he The Popish Treatisor thinketh it consequent that tradition is the ground of our faith But indeed there is no such consequence as he imagineth For it is one thing to require the Tradition of the Church as a necessary meanes whereby the Scriptures may be delivered unto us and made knowne and another to make the same Tradition the ground of our faith c. Thus that judicious Doctor with much more to that purpose evidently proveth his assertion Briefely the authority of the holy Scriptures depends onely upon the author God himselfe the Church receiving them as delivered by God and so approving publishing preaching interpreting and discerning them from other writings doth not adde any thing to the authority of them which by her meanes beeing made knowne of themselves they are able to perswade and to yeeld sufficient satisfaction to all men of their divine truth And this authority thus made knowne is that into which as into their highest and utmost cause and end our faith and obedience is resolved And this may serve for answere to this false and groundlesse crimination CHAP. XIX Of the jurisdiction of Bishops how farre of Divine right given by Christ to his Apostles and from them derived by succession The power given to the Apostles divided into severall orders What power Ecclesiasticall belongs to the King and the intent of the Statutes which annex all Ecclesiasticall jurisdiction to the Crowne Of Master Burtons Quotation of the Iesuites Direction to be observed by N. N. Master B. and the Iesuite confederates in detraction and ignorance BVt there are two things here which I am unwilling to passe over The first is that here he saith that the words which he ascribes to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury were by him spoken at the censure of Doctor Bastwick for oppugning the jurisdiction of Bishops Iure Divino as being no where found in the Scripture c. This is one thing which though here brought in upon the by I cannot passe because I finde him else where much harping upon the same string Hee will not have the Bishops derive their succession from the Apostles cryes out upon Dr. Pocklington for delivering pag. 41. Ips Newes pag. 4. Appeal p. 7. 1. that doctrine affirmes their authority and jurisdiction to be onely from the King that not to derive it thence is against the law of the Land and I know not what danger besides and that Doctor Bastwick is imprisoned for defending his Majesties Ips N. p. vult See pag. 67
Church or to yeeld them the name of Christians and of a Church and so to difference them from Turks and Pagans to which the profession of the same Creed and their Baptisme is sufficient And though the errors of Popery as now it stands are grosse and palpable yet to make them such as presently and absolutely to cut off all that professe and beleeve them from the Catholick Church and hope of salvation is an uncharitable groundlesse rigor and strictnesse neither can they who are not thus harshly uncharitable be justly taxed nor is it an absurd distinction as he unreverently and absurdly termed it that a Great Prelate who ever he was for he names him not used in the High Commission at the censure of Dr Bastwick when he said that We the Church of Rome differ not in Fundamētalibus but circa Fundamentalia for there may be and indeed are many intercurrent questions concerning points fundamentall disputed among us in which we and they differ and yet the fundamentalls themselves confessed by both sides For example both sides doe professe their agreement and common beliefe of that grand Fundamentall of Christianity that Iesus Christ the Son of God and Sonne of the B. Virgin is the Saviour of the world and that salvation is obtained onely by vertue of his merits Yet we doe not agree in every thing that concerns this principle or how and in what manner this vertue is efficacious unto our salvation Whether it make the good works of those that beleeve in this common Saviour properly meritorious and fully worthy of everlasting life as they will have it or onely as we contend in regard Rhemist on 2 Tim. 4. See B Andr. Ser. of justificat in Christs name of Gods gracious acceptation and by means of his promise and covenant whereby hee hath bound himselfe to reward them So that the distinction is not absurd but may most truely and fitly be said that wee may and doe differ about and not in fundamentalls That which M. Burton out of the Apostle alledgeth to crosse this is most 1 Tim. 1. 19. frivolous and vaine for he might have knowne that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that place is better turned of or concerning than either in or about and so a Naufragium fidei fecerunt Beza renders it or as b Fide vacuati sunt Tremellius out of the Syriack they lost their faith so that faith is the merchandise lost or cast away and not any thing about it But granting that to erre in faith and about the faith as they may in some sense be all one yet will not that follow which hee would have but for all that there will be ground sufficient to justifie that distinction and to lay the absurdity upon those that quarrell it But this is an old theme upon which M. B. hath long wrangled and he might now doe well to give it over or if he will needs be doing let him goe lend his help to the Jesuite with whom he sides in opposing this distinction to answer Dr Potters learned and Ans to Char. mistaken Sec. 7 judicious discourse wherein it is fully and unansweraby asserted But M. Burton hath another quarrell yet but it is so weake and silly that I would not grace it with an answer but that haply some of his admirers may think it of greater moment because hee affirmes that thereby is made a change of our very Church c. This is a great matter but how is this made good Thus. My L. of Ely affirmes In his Epist to my Lo Grace of Cant. before his discourse of the Sabbath that the Romish adversary fromt he rising up of some schismaticall spirits among us uncharitably concludes that the whole body of our Church is schismaticall But in good earnest is M. Burton so deeply in love with his schismaticall humour that he cannot be content himselfe alone to be a schismatick but that he will have the maine body of our Church schismaticall or must we needs joyn with the Romish Church in their errors unlesse we wil confesse our selves guilty of the crime of schisme So they would have us indeed and M. B. it seemes so he may shew himself to be at enmity with them cares not though he draw that name upon himself and the whole Church of England whereas it hath been the care of discreet and wise men that have dealt in the controversies betweene us and them to wipe off that unjust and infamous aspersion To whom I referre him and others of his See the Ans to Char. mistaken Sect. 3. minde to be better informed and to learn That the Church of England did reform the errors and abuses of Rome without schisme And that though we have separated from thē in those things which they hold not as the Church of Christ but as the Romane and Pontifician yet we remaine still united both in the bond of charity and in those Articles of faith which that Church yet hath from Apostolicall tradition yea and in those acts of Gods worship which they yet practise according to Divine prescript that is wee and they professe one beleefe of the same Apostolike Creed as it is expounded by the foure first Generall Councels Wee approve with them the things which the Ancient Church of Christ decreed against Pelagius We and they worship and invocate the same God in the Name of the same Iesus Christ And what ever some turbulently-uncharitable haply may doe we study to reduce them from their errors and pray for their salvation accounting them not quite cut off but to continue still members though corrupt ones of the same Catholike Church But the man hath not yet done but to shew that there will come in an universall change in all our doctrine reckons up divers particulars as Iustification by works maintained openly not long agoe at the Commencement in Cambridge Iustification by charity in Mr. Shelfords Booke The Pope not Antichrist Pulpits and preaching beaten downe by the same man in his second Treatise The Virgin Mary Deified in a booke intitled The female glory c. For answere to these I say for the first That hee hath shamefully slandered the University The Heads whereof are more judicious and discreet than to suffer any position which doth directly and in terminis crosse the Articles of our Church to bee openly disputed and maintained That which I suppose he aimes at by his quoting of Fr. à S ta Clara was to this purpose That good Bona opera sunt efficaciter necessaria ad salutem Resp Dr. Duncan works are effectively necessary to salvation which position was intended and maintained in opposition to the enemies of good works of whom some deny their necessity others allowing their presence as requisite deny that they conduce any thing to the furtherance of salvation Now this is not to maintaine Iustification by works for the works here meant were such as follow justification