Selected quad for the lemma: act_n
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A51624
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A Review of Mr. M.H.'s new notion of schism, and the vindication of it
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Murrey, Robert, fl. 1692-1715.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing M3105; ESTC R5709
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75,948
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74
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Tartary or as T. W. advis'd them the grand Signior if he pleases if the sanctity of the Preachers the Spirituality and simplicity of Doctrine and Worship after the Congregational way If zeal against Ceremonies without adoring any sort of Religion will do the business We shall soon see whether the Independent or the Jesuit are more successful for there lies the controversie the Divines of the Church of England are no way concern'd having not been much accustomed to travel upon that errand It seems he never heard that the Apostles did actually preach the Gospel to all nations neither do I believe they did to all Countries and to every person in every Nation But if he will give us leave to expound it of some persons out of all Nations which I suppose was all that T. W. meant and the thing is true for St. Peter we read preach'd Acts 2. and his Congregation consisted of people in all probability out of every nation under heaven Acts 2.5 That the primitive Bishops had the power of ordination and government whereby their authority did exceed that of meer Presbyters and that the Churches of several Presbyters were united under the government and care of one Bishop has been sufficiently evinc'd by divers learned Pens particularly that of Ephesus one of the famous Seven in Asia has been again and again prov'd to be so govern'd And this is all that we need to contend for but if nothing less will satisfie him than having every Diocese acred that he may know exactly the extent which he so briskly calls for p. 13. let him be at the charge of it himself we for our parts are well contented with less ado unless it were to more purpose The primitive Dioceses being never suppos'd to be all equal but some greater and some less as well as the modern Neither is it necessary to shew that their modes of worship were exactly the same with ours the Vindicator himself assures us that they did not agree among themselves about the circumstances of worship and then how can he expect that they should all agree with us That they us'd and impos'd things of the same nature with what he calls our modes and that our Governors are warranted in doing the like by their example and Authority is all we need to shew and that has been done often enough already by divers hands We confess that Bishop and Angel are not convertible terms and yet suppose St. John had said Angels of each Church in the plural number instead of Angel in the Singular I would know how any man could prove Episcopacy from those texts And surely where an Argument may be made from the number in which a word is us'd he is not far amiss that should say such a thing is plain from that word He triumphs in the next paragraph p. 14.15 as if he had found the Independent notion in one of T. W's assertions Nay he cannot see how there should be a multiplication or plurality of Churches till the increase of believers according to the Episcopal model If the Gentleman will be pleased to put on his spectacles I will endeavour to shew him how Suppose then that one parcel of converts were made at Jerusalem another at Corinth another at Ephesus another at Antioch and another at Rome and a Bishop and Presbyters constituted over each particular Church I desire him to consider whether this will not be the thing which T. W. spoke of viz. A multiplication or plurality of Churches by the increase of believers without any necessity of supposing that Churches must multiply like Bees only by sending out a Colony when the Hive is too full And suppose a Colony were sent out under the conduct of a Presbyter and he still under the government of the same or another Bishop I suppose this would do the business without any great service to the Congregational way But why did not the Vindicator give us some Scriptue-instances of this famous notion For if a Colony must needs be sent out under independent Officers when ever believers grow too numerous for one Assembly it may surely be proved that some time or other it was so And therefore I must call upon Mr. Vindicator for matter of fact which unless he can produce and I am pretty sure he cannot he must not expect that much credit should be given to him It being a little too much for him to impose his notions upon us as if they were all according to Scripture and yet not one Text to be found for them I would fain know how many Congregations there were in the Church of Jerusalem when the believers increased to so vast a number in so short a time Three thousand you meet with converted Acts 2.41 More daily added v. 47. Five thousand you find mentioned Acts 4.4 Multitudes both of men and women added c. 5.14 And yet still the word of God increased and the number of the Disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great company of the Priests were obedient to the faith c. 6.7 Now I desire him to give me his Answer to these following Queries Whether all this number of Believers did make one Congregation or more Whether or no they were under the Government of only one Bishop Whether each of them was known to his Bishop and to one another Whether they could not be Members of the same Church till they were all personally acquainted Did they all ordinarily meet in one place to worship God And if so where was it Were the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so capacious Or did the Jews lend the Temple for an ordinary Meeting-place to the Christians How the Preacher could be heard by all this Multitude at once Whether the vigor and strength of his Lungs or the thinness of Jerusalem air did enable and qualifie him for that loud Performance Or whether he had the Conqueror's Engine or Sir Samuel Morland's Speaking Trumpet Or a peculiar sort of voice like Mr. Baxters Friend who preach'd to a Congregation of ten thousand men so that they could all hear him and yet his voice was none of the loudest I desire his information in these particulars that we may see whether it be likely that the Church of Jerusalem did increase and multiply in the Congregational way but we hope he will not stir a syllable from the sacred Text that being no way proper for a man that receives nothing but express Scripture In the next Paragraph he falls foul upon one of his own blunders And because T. W. affirms that all other Churches were one with that of Jerusalem all united in one body under one head Christ Jesus thinks he confounds him mightily by proving a variety in circumstances of worship as if to say that those Churches were united in one body and that all Members agreed in every circumstance of worship were the same thing and he that confutes the latter confutes the former also He might have consider'd that even in that variety
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. Vid. Dodw. in Irenae Dis 1. Sect. XVII and that there were no Subordinate Presbyters to do the same thing by the Bishops Order in other Congregations within his Diocess And that there were more Congregations than one under the Bishop of Smyrna is evident from that Passâ—…ge of Ignatius in his Epistle to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ig. ad Smyrn Let no man perform any of those things which belong to Publick Assemblies without the Bishop That Eucharist is to be thought valid which is either under him or at least which he allowed What had he to do to allow the Eucharist in Congregations Independent upon him and to talk of giving allowance to himself in his own is to great a Blunder for Ignatius to be charged with So that all the distinction here made is betwixt a Congregation under the Bishop viz. that where he was Personally present and another Congregation Assembled by his permission and allowance and must consequently imply that in the Church of Smyrna there were several Congregations under one Bishop what relates to Servants is nothing to this purpose in Ignatius whatever it was in our Authors Head Nor is the Second Alligation more regular or just than the former Antistitis manu in Tertullian for thence it came Originally by way of Mr. Baxter to our Author referring not to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Aquam adituri ibidem sed aliquanto prius in Ecclesia sub Antistitâ—… manu contestamur nos Renunciare Diaibolo c. Eucharistiae Sacramentum in Tempore victus Omnibus mandatum a Domino etiam antelucanis Caetizbus nec de Aliorum manu quam praesidentium sumimus Tert. De Cor. Milit. c. 3. but to the Form of Renouncing the Devil c. which was preparatory to Baptism and the persons to be Baptized did it sub Antistitis manu for ex as this Man quotes it would have made it Non-sence Tertullian does indeed speak of the Lords Supper not to be Received nisi de Praesidentium manu But this will do our Author no Service The word Praesidentium including the Bench of Presbyters as well as the Bishop in Cathedra Vid. Pears Vind. Ignat. p. 2. c. 13. Assert 2. Dod. in Iren. Dis 1. Sect. VII Nor will the Passage out of Irenaeus which he so hastily misapplies if fully cited and understood afford any advantage to his cause Presbyters in that Father oftentimes denoting the Age rather than the Office of those Persons meant by it as divers Learned Men have already observed And in that Sence not only Presbyters but likewise Bishops Deacons and Laymen might be comprehended under that Title And accordingly Irenaeus distinguishes by divers Characters telling them what sort of Elders they were to hearken to Qua propter eis qui in Eccles sunt Pres obaudire oportet hiis qui Successionem habent ab Apostolis sicut ostendimus qui cum Episc Successione charisma veritatis Certum secundum placitum Patris acceperunt Iren. l. 4. c. 4 3. Iren. l. 4. c. 43 viz. First Eis qui in Ecclesia sunt those who are within the Pale of the Church Secondly Hiis qui Successionem habent ab Apostolis c. those who had the Succession from the Apostles and who together with the Succession in their Episcopal Charge did receive the sure Gift of Truth according to the Will of the Father Whence it is plain that Irenaeus in this place means Bishops only when he talks of the Apostles Successors And therefore our Authors Inference in behalf of Presbyters having their Succession from the Apostles as well as Bishops is out of Doors Irenaeus reckons up the Bishops of Rome in order as they Succeeded to Eleutherius then Bishop who was the Twelfth from the Apostles concluding Hac Ordinaâ—…ione Successione c. by this Ordination and Succession that Tradition which is in the Church from the Apostlâ—…s and the Preaching of the Truth is handed down to us From which it is plain that Succession in their days was more than bare Conformity to the Apostles Model in Government and Worship For they Succeedded the Apostles First In Power and Authority So Irenaeus quibus etiam ipsas Ecclesias Committebant quos Successores relinquebant suum ipsorum Locum Magisterii tradentes Secondly In Place So Linus was constituted the Successor of St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome and Irenaeus tells us further that they made him Bishop And therefore if his Successors afterwards mentioned kept up to the Apostles Model they must likewise derive their Office as he did from Persons invested wâ—…th the same Character and Consequently as Linus was Ordained by the Apostles who had that Episcopal Authority in themselves which they conferred upon him So the rest down to Eleutherius must be Ordained by Bishops And if so let our Author consider with himself whether his Notion or ours is nearer in all Points to the sense of those Times When I consider how nice and strict this Gentleman was in the Notion of Succession P. 19. 20 that he could not allow Two Bishops to Succeed One Apostle nor One to Succeed Two I cannot but wonder that in the Writing of 16 Pages his Head should grow so loose as to make it no more than Conformity to the Apostles Model in Government and Worship Surely if this be the truest Sence as the Gentleman affirms One Bishop may Succeed Two Apostles or One Apostle be Succeeded by Twenty Bishops without any such absurdity or Blunder as our Author cries out against in the fore-quoted Pages We all grant that for Persons wilfully to withdraw themselves from such particular Churches as are framed according to Scripture Rules and impose no new or needless Terms is to Act Schismatically because such willfull Separation when nâ—… cause is giuen cannot be without breach of Charity with our fellow Christians Page 37. Yes it may through the prejudices of Education or for want of understanding People may take that to be New which is very Old and that which is very Decent and Fit to be Imposed to be altogether Needless and withdraw themselves from particular Churches fram'd according to Scripture Rules when purely out of mistake they think them otherwise They may be led by Interest or won over by perswasion to a new Communion and yet have no hard thoughts of that Church or its Members which they left I cannot believe that every Dissenter at his first going off from the Church of England does immediately hate us I find several of 'em very Kind aâ—…d Affable Persons And yet if our Author has granted Right all their Charity though a very good and commendable thing cannot excuse 'em from the Guilt of acting schismatically And because our Author has granted this I shall grant likewise That Schism is frequently the Effect of Uncharitableness which perhaps was all that honest Mr. H. meant when he call d it formalis ratio People