Selected quad for the lemma: tradition_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
tradition_n	faith_n	word_n	write_a	1,918	5	10.7958	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02563	The olde religion a treatise, wherin is laid downe the true state of the difference betwixt the reformed, and Romane Church; and the blame of this schisme is cast vpon the true authors. Seruing for the vindication of our innocence, for the setling of wauering minds for a preseruatiue against Popish insinuations. By Ios. Hall, B. of Exon.	Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.	1628 (1628)	STC 12690; ESTC S117610	79,903	246

yeelded that no man hath power to set to a seale but he whose the writing is Sacraments then being the seales of Gods gracious euidences whereby hee hath conueyed to vs eternall life can bee instituted by no other then the same power that can assure and performe life to his creature In euerie Sacrament therefore must bee a diuine institution and command of an element that signifies of a grace that is signified of a word adioyned to that element of an holy act adioyned to that Word Where these concurre not there can bee no true Sacrament and they are palpably missing in these fiue Adiections of the Church of Rome Lastly The Sacraments of the new Law as Saint Austen often flowed out of the side of Christ None flowed thence but the Sacrament of water which is Baptisme and the Sacrament of bloud in the Supper Whereof the Author saith This cup is the new Testament in my bloud which is shed for you The rest neuer flowing either from the side or from the lips of Christ are as new and mis-named Sacraments iustly reiected by vs and we thereupon as vniustly censured CHAP. XVI The newnesse of the Doctrine of Traditions THe chiefe ground of these and all other errours in the Church of Rome is the ouer-valuing of Traditions which the Tridentine Synode professeth to receiue and reuerence with no lesse pious affection then the Bookes of the Old and New Testament and that not in matter of Rite and Historie only but of faith and manners also Wherein as they are not vn willing to cast a kind of imputation of imperfection vpon the written Word so they make vp the defects of it by the supply of vnwritten Traditions to which indeed they are more beholden for the warrant of the greater part of their super-added Articles then to the Scriptures of God Both which are points so dangerously enuious as that Antiquitie would haue abhorred their mention Neither is any thing more common with the holy Fathers of the Church then the magnifying the complete perfection of Scripture in all things needfull either to be beleeued or done What can be more ful and cleere then that of Saint Austen In his quae apertè c. In these things which are openly laid forth in Scripture are found all matters that containe either faith or manners Cardinall Bellarmines elusion is not a little preiudiciall to his owne cause He tels vs that Saint Austen speakes of those points which are simply necessary to saluation for all men All which hee acknowledges to be written by the Apostles But besides these there are many other things saith hee which wee haue only by Tradition Will it not therfore hence follow that the common sort of Christians need not looke at his Traditions That commonly men may be saued without them that Heauen may bee attained though there were no Traditions Who will not now say Let mee come to Heauen by Scripture goe you whither you will by Traditions To which adde that a great yea the greater part if wee may beleeue some of their owne of that which they call religion is grounded vpon only Tradition if then Tradition bee only of such things as are not simply unnecessary to saluation then the greater part of their mis-named Religion must needs be yielded for simply vnnecessary to all men And if wee may bee saued without them and bee made Citizens of Heauen how much more may we without them be members of the true Church on Earth As for this place Saint Augustines words are full and comprehensiue expressing all those things which containe either faith or manners whether concerning Gouernours or people If now they can finde out any thing that belongs not either to beleefe or action wee doe willingly giue it vp to their Traditions but all things which pertaine to either of those are openly comprized in Scripture What can bee more direct then that of holy Athanasius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The holy Scriptures inspired by God are in themselues all-sufficient to the instruction of truth and if Chemnitius construe it All truth this needs not raise a cauill The word signifies no lesse for if they bee all-sufficient to instruction they must needs be sufficient to all instruction in the truth intended Tertullian professes openly Adoro Scripturae pleni●udinem c. I adore the fulnesse of Scripture Let the skill of Hermogenes show where it is written if it bee not written let him feare that woe which is pronounced against those that adde or detract Thus he Who can but feare that the Cardinall shifts this euidence against his owne heart For saith he Tertullian speakes of that one point That God created all things of nothing and not of a pre-existent matter as Hermogenes dreamed now because this truth is clearely expressed in Scripture therefore the fulnesse of Scripture as concerning this point is adored by Tertullian And for that Hermogenes held an opinion contrarie to Scripture he is said to adde vnto Scripture and to incurre that malediction Now let any reader of common sense iudge whether the words of Tertullian be not generall without any limitation and if the first clause could bee restrained the second cannot Scriptum esse doceat c. Whatsoeuer therefore is not written by this rule may not be oberuded to our beleefe Neither doth he say If it be written against but If it be not written and his challenge is nusquam legi that the words are no where read as if this were quarrell enough without a flat contradiction to what is read So as the Cardinals glosse meerely corrupts the Text How easie were it for me to tire my reader with the full suffrages of Origen Cyprian Chrysostome Basil Cyrill Epiphanius Hierome Ambrose Theodoret Hilarie Vincentius Lirinensis and in a word with the whole streame of Antiquitie which though they giue a meet place to Traditions of Ceremony of historie of interpretation of some immateriall verities yet reserue the due honour to the sacred monuments of Diuine Scriptures Our learned Chemnitius hath freely yeelded seuen sorts of Traditions such as haue a correspondence with or an attestation from the written word the rest we do iustly together with him disclaime as vnworthy to appeare vpon that awfull Bench amongst the inspired Pen-men of God SECT II. Traditions against Scripture IT is not to be imagined that the same word of God which speakes for all other truths should not speake for it selfe how fully doth it display it 's owne sufficiencie and perfection All Scripture saith the Chosen Vessell is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproofe for correction for instruction in righteousnesse Profitable saith the Cardinall but not sufficient Many things may auaile to that end whereto they suffice not So meat is profitable to nourish but without naturall heat it nourisheth not Thus hee Heare yet what followeth That the man of God may bee perfited and thorowly

furnished vnto all good workes Loe it is so profitable to all these seruices that thereby it perfects a Diuine much more an ordiarie Christian That which is so profitable as to cause perfection is abundantly sufficient and must needs haue full perfection in it selfe That which can perfit the teacher is sufficient for the learner The Scriptures can perfit the man of God both for his calling in the instruction of others and for his owne glorie Thou hast knowne the Scriptures from a childe saith Saint Paul to his Timothy which are able not profitable only to make thee wise vnto saluation through faith which is in Christ Iesus It is the charge therefore of the Apostle not to bee wise aboue that which is written The same with wise Salonons The whole word of God is pure Adde thou not vnto his words lest he reproue thee and thou be found a lier Loe hee saith not Oppose not his words but Adde not to them Euen addition detracts from the maiestie of that Word For the Law of the Lord is perfect conuerting the soule the testimonie of the Lord is sure making wise the simple The statutes of the Lord are right reioycing the heart the Commandement of the Lord is pure enlightning the eyes As for those Traditions which they doe thus lift vp to an vniust competition with the written Word our Sauiour hath before hand humbled them into the dust In vaine doe they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandements of men Making this a sufficient cause of abhorring both the persons and the seruices of those Iewes that they thrust humane Traditions into Gods chaire and respected them equally with the institutions of God Cardinall Bellarmine would shift it off with a distinction of Traditions These were such saith hee quas acceperant à recentioribus c. as they had receiued from some later hands whereof some were vaine some others pernicious not such as they receiued from Moses and the Prophets And the Authors of these reiected Traditions hee cites from Epiphanius to be R. Akiba R. Iuda and the Asamoneans from Hierome to bee Sammai Hillel Akiba But this is to cast mists before the eyes of the simple For who sees not that our Sauiours challenge is generall to Traditions thus aduanced not to these or those Traditions And where he speakes of some later hands he had forgotten that our Sauiour vpon the mount tells him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That these faulted Traditions were of old And that he may not cast these vpon his Sammai and Hiliel let him remember that our Sauiour cites this out of Esay though with some more cleernesse of expression who farre ouerlooked the times of those pretended Fathers of mis-traditions That I may not say how much it would trouble him to shew any dogmaticall Traditions that were deriued from Moses and the Prophets in parallel whereof let them be able to deduce any Euangelicall Tradition from the Apostles and we are ready to imbrace it with all obseruance Shortly it is cleere that our Sauiour neuer meant to compare one Tradition with another as approuing some reiecting others but with indignation complaines that Traditions were obtruded to Gods people in a corriualitie with the written word which is the verie point now questioned SECT III. Traditions against reason EVen the verie light of reason showes vs that as there is a God so that he is a most wise most iust God needs therefore must it follow that if this most iust and wise God will giue a Word whereby to reueale himselfe and his wil to mankinde it must bee a perfect Word for as his wisdome knowes what is fit for his creature to know of himselfe so his iustice will require nothing of the creature but what hee hath enabled him to know and doe Now then since hee requires vs to know him to obey him it must needs follow that hee hath left vs so exquisite a rule of this knowledge and obedience as cannot admit of any defect or any supplement This rule can bee no other then his written Word therefore written that it might be preserued entire for this purpose to the last date of time As for orall Traditions what certaintie can there be in them What foundation of truth can be layd vpon the breath of man How doe wee see the reports varie of those things which our eyes haue seene done How doe they multiply in their passage and either grow or dye vpon hazards Lastly we thinke him not an honest man whose tongue goes against his owne hand How hainous an imputation then doe they cast vpon the God of truth which plead Traditions deriued from him contrarie to his written Word Such apparently are the worship of Images the mutilation of the Sacrament Purgatorie Indulgences and the rest which haue passed our agitation Since therefore the authoritie of Romish Traditions is besides noueltie erroneous against Scripture and reason we haue iustly abandoned it and are thereupon vniustly condemned As for those other dangerous and important innouations concerning Scriptures their Canon inlarged their faultie version made authenticall their fountaines pretended to be corrupted their mis-pleaded obscuritie their restraint from the Laitie we haue already largely displaid them in another place CHAP. XVII The newnesse of the vniuersall Head-ship of the Bishop of Rome THose transcendent Titles of Head-ship and Vniuersalitie which are challenged to the Bishop and Sea of Rome are knowne to bee the vpstart brood of noted ambition Simple and holy Antiquitie was too modest either to require or tolerate them Who knowes not the profession of that holy Martyr in the Councell of Carthage Neque enim c. There is none of vs that makes himselfe a Bishop of Bishops or by a tyrannous feare compels his Vnderlings to a necessitie of obedience But perhaps at Rome it was otherwise Heare then with what zeale their owne Pope Gregorie the Great inueighs against the arrogance of Iohn Bishop of Constantinople for giuing way to this proud stile His Epistles are extant in all hands so cleare and conuictiue as no art of Sophistrie can elude them wherein hee calls this title affected by the said Iohn and Cyriacus after him a new name a wicked profane insolent name the generall plague of the Church a corruption of the Faith against Canons against the Apostle Peter against God himselfe as if he could neuer haue branded it enough And least any man should cauill that this stile is only cryed downe in the Bishops of Constantinople which yet might bee iustly claymed by the Bishops of Rome Gregorie himselfe meetes with this thought and answers beforehand Nunquam pium virum c. that neuer any godly man neuer any of his Predecessors vsed those Titles and more then so that whosoeuer shall vse this proud stile hee is the very fore-runner of Antichrist If in a fore-sight of this vsurpation Gregorie should haue beene hired to haue spoken