Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	act_n	church_n	power_n	4,609	5	5.2232	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56271	A defence of the Ansvver to a paper intituled The case of the dissenting Protestants of Ireland in reference to a bill of indulgence, from the exceptions lately made against it.	Pullen, Tobias, 1648-1713.	1695 (1695)	Wing P4194; ESTC R220583	32,654	30

endeavour directly or indirectly the prejudice or Subversion thereof Now from hence we may take an Estimate of the truth of what the Vindicator tells us viz. That in Scotland they are far from exercizing Severities against men for their being Episcopal in their Judgment for I presume all rational and indifferent persons will be fully convinc'd that the Episcopal Clergy of Scotland are very far from being favourably treated by this Act tho perhaps the Vindicator may be of so rigorous a temper and of so wild an opinion as to believe that no Ministers of the Episcopal perswasion can be harshly dealt withall and that the Depriving them of those Benefices which they were formerly possess'd of and the Declaring them uncapable of Enjoying 'em for the future is no hardship or Severity at all Secondly 'T is order'd in this Act that Vniformity of Worship and Administration of all publick Ordinances within the Church of Scotland should be observ'd and Subscribed by all Ministers and Preachers not only as it is at present perform'd but as it shall hereafter be declar'd by the authority of the same Now if it be deservedly counted unreasonable for the Papists to oblige the members of their Communion to Implicit Faith and to believe as the Church believes it must also seem very strange for the Presbytery of Scotland to Impose an Implicit Obedience on all those that shall be Admitted or Continu'd Ministers or Preachers in their Communion and to require their solemn Engagement to Observe that Vniformity of Worship which the Church does now or shall hereafter order to be Observ'd And methinks this new Mode of promising does nearly resemble the old way of sweating to et coetera's Upon the humble Representation of these and other Grievances to his Majesty which the Episcopal Clergy lay under in Scotland his Majesty was pleas'd to write such a Letter in their favour to the Government in that Kingdom as gave Rise to the forming of the Bill that pass'd the 16th of July last whereby the Act of July the 12th 1693 was in part repeal'd in favour of some persons only whose more than ordinary Circumstances gain'd them an Exemption from the severity of that Law Notwithstanding which it is observable they pass'd a very severe Act the 5th of July 1695. against the Episcopal Clergy under the name of Intruders by whom were Chiefly meant those Episcopal Ministers who being thrust by the Rabble from their Churches had repossess'd themselves of them when the popular Fury was abated And by this Act 't is Declar'd first that such Intrusion into Parishes without an orderly Call from the Heretors and Legal Admission from the Presbytery was of dangerous consequence and tending to perpetuate Schism Secondly those persons that have thus Intruded are Declar'd uncapable of any Church or Stipend within the Kingdom for the space of Seaven years Thirdly Sheriffs Stewards c. are requir'd to remove all those that shall hereafter Intrude into Churches Fourthly Letters of Horning and Caption are order'd against 'em to Compel the Intruders upon Ten days warning to remove from their Churches And fifthly they are commanded to cause those Ministers to cease from exercizing any Ministerial Acts within the said Parishes into which they shall hereafter Intrude And sixthly the Privy Council are to take effectual Course to hinder those Ministers that are or shall be hereafter depos'd by Judicatories of the present establisht Church from Preaching or Exercizing any Act of their Ministerial Function And therefore we may undoubtedly conclude that the reason of the Vindicator's not publishing the Act of Parliament of Scotland passed the the 16th of July last was not the Inconvenience of delaying his Reply to my Answer as is alleged to the Letter but a just Apprehension of seting Matters in a true Lighr and of exposing too plainly his Gross and Wilful Misrepresentations of the present state of that Kingdom Now by all the foregoing Remarks I have made on the Vindicator's Letter every intelligent and impartial Reader may easily judg what great reason he had so Triumphantly to say that in this Resolution Scotland has set those of the Established Church a very commendable example of moderation which if they will once come up to and equall the Dissenters will give 'em leave to censure any thing that may yet seem too hard in their Constitution I must indeed acknowledge that we cannot boast of our coming up to and equalling the example which the present Presbyterian Government in Scotland has set us for 1st Our Moderation to Dissenters has not expressed it self in the raising of the Rabble against 'em much less in returning them publick and solemn thanks for the greatness of their Zeal Nor 2dly has our Church of England Parliament in this Kingdom declared that the Nonconformist Ministers in exercising any part of their Ministerial Function have offerd a high Contempt of the Law as tending to perpetuate Schism and of dangerous Consequence Nor 3dly has their Commendable example influenc'd us to make an Act of Parliament in 1695. against Nonconforming Ministers as Intruders tho they be really so into our Parishes Nor 4thly have we forbid any of 'em whom the Calamity of the late times had driven away to return and perform any Ministerial Acts in the places where they formerly held their Conventicles for want of a Legal Call Nor 5thly have we by any Act of Parliament Authorized and required the Mayor of Corporations and Justices of the Peace as in Scotland they have orderd their Stuarts Sheriffs Bailzyes of Balzuries c. to remove all those that shall hereafter intrude not recommended the Removal of those that have already intruded to the Lords of the Privy Council Nor 6thly Are we come up to and equal'd their Example in Ordaining Letters of Horning and Caption Viz. in issuing Writs of Rebellion and Capias's against Dissenting Ministers in order to the Compelling 'em to remove out of the Parishes where they Live and making 'em desist and Cease from exercising any Ministerial Acts. These are some of the many Instances of the Moderation of the present Church Government in Scotland towards those of the Episcopal perswasion which I presume the Vindicator on second thoughts will not be so fond of as to judg 'em fit Patterns for us to imitate much less to equal and come up to but yet 't is highly probable that if such a Revolution of Church Affairs should happen in this Kingdom as we have lately seen in Scotland the Vindicator and his Adherents would be easily inclined to believe the practice of their Presbyterian Brethren there a very considerable Example for them to follow here and would then be very fully persuaded that the Episcopal Clergy in exercising the Acts of their Ministerial Function were guilty of dangerous Schism and would therefore think themselves indispensibly obliged to take some effectual course to make 'em desist and cease from exercising any Ministerial Acts and would judg it a commendable

instance of their Zeal to order Writts of Rebellion and Capias's to be issued out against all those that should presume to keep any separate Congregations And indeed there is little reason to doubt but that the Dissenters here would if their Power was as great and their Numbers were as considerable as those of their Brethren in Scotland equal and come up to the lenity and moderation that is set 'em by the Presbyterian Government there not only in removing the Episcopal Clergy from their Parishes by Letters of Horning and Caption but also in depriving others of the Episcopal persuasion of their Civil Offices by the imposition of New Tests for not only the Ministers of Parishes but the Masters of Schools and the Professors in the Colleges of Scotland have felt the Rigour of the Presbyterian Visitations as is evident by the Inquisition that was lately practised against the Professors of the Colledge of Edinburgh in August and September 1690 according to an Act passed the 4th of July 1690 by which it is ordered That no Minister or Professor in any Colledge or School shall be allowed to continue in the exercise of his Function but such as do acknowledg and profess and shall subscribe the Confession of Faith rattified by this present Parliament and submitting to the Government of the Church now settled by Law And 't is observable first That in the management of this Inquisition all the Leidges were warned and summoned to come in and make what Objections they could against the Masters Secondly That the Commissioners of the Universities did plainly declare with what tenderness and moderation the Professors might expect to be treated by 'em by their calling all Episcopal Men by the name of Malignants Thirdly 'T is observable That when it was enquired of some of the Commissioners whether by that part of the Test which requires to submit to Presbytery were meant only a quiet and peaceable living under that Government or if it imported any thing farther It was answered that by that clause of the Test was also meant That every Master should thereby declare the Presbyterian Government to be preferrable to any other whotsoever and the only Government left by Christ and his Apostles in the Church and warratned by the Scripture Now by those without making any more Observations every rational and indifferent person may perceive by what spirit the Commissioners were acted and what issue the Professors Dr. Monro and Dr. Strachan might have expected of their Tryal before ' em And now tho I have just occasion to make further Reflections on the unfair representation that has been made by the Vindicator or his Friend of the state of Scotland since the Revolution yet I shall rather choose to end the account I have now given of the Affairs of that Kingdom with a just commendation of the ingenuous temper of the General Assembly there declared in their Act for a solemn National Fast and Humiliation with the Causes thereof at Edinburgh November the 12th 1690. in which we have these remarkable words viz The the Lord has put a stop to the course of Defection and of his great mercy given us some reviving from our Bondage yet we have sad cause to regrate and bemoan that few have a due sence of our Mercy few walk as becometh the Gospel and imitate our holy Lord in Humility Meekness Charity towards Men there is even until now a great want of Piety towards God and Love towards Men viz. as I presume those of the Episcopal perswasion with a woful selfishness every one seeking their own things few the things of Christ or the publick good or one anothers welfare And finally the most part more ready to censure the Sins of others than to repent of their own God grant that as they have been very ingenuous in acknowledging their grievous Offences particularly against their Neighbours so they may be very sincere in repenting of ' em And now the Vindicator's Method leads me to consider the remaining part of his Replyes to my former Answer For having given him several Material Reasons why some Conformists may be unwilling to grant the Dissenters a Legal Toleration the Vindicator replyes that there is no such satisfying mark of tenderness to 'em as this Legal security and that 't is hard to forbear some jealousy of those that will still hold a severe lash in their hand To which I answer that those Gently Penal Laws which he is pleased to term a severe Lash are not designed as the Instruments of an Unreasonable Correction but as the Necessary Means of keeping such Children as are of a Froward and Ungovernable temper within the Bounds of a due Subjection and therefore it ought not to be esteemed an Unkind Severity but a Prudent tenderness in a Parent to deny 'em such Indulgences as in all probability will be abused to the divesting him of his Paternal Authority and to the encouraging them to a total withdrawing of their fillial duty and obedience for the future The next exception that he makes is at my mentioning the Misdemeanours of the Dissenters which I would have in the power of the Government to repress by which he seems to suspect but without any ground that I meant matters of meer Nonconformity but withall tells us that if I meant any other misdemeanors a Legal Indulgence would not disable the Civil Magistrate from repressing them The Answer to which is very obvious that tho a Legal Indulgence would not wholly disable yet would in some degree weaken the Hands of the Governor and besides since the main design of all Government is Obedience and not Punishment it becomes the wisdom of every Governor to take such measures as may rather prevent than repress the Exorbitancies of the Subject His Reply to my Answer to his last Argument on the first head refers to the late and present circumstances of the Episcopal Clergy in Scotland and tells us that no Protestants are persecuted in that Kingdom on the account of Religion either by the Civil or the Ecclesiastical Government and doubts not but that by this time I am satisfied what Reply may be given to the Question I propounded viz. Whether there were any Law to Cover the Episcopal Clergy in Scotland Now to this I presume I have given a full Answer in the preceding account of the Church Affairs in that Kingdom out of several Acts of Parliament that were passed there since the Revolution by which the Reader may be inclined to think that the Vindicator does rather take the liberty of a Traveller come lately from a far Country than to act the part of an impartial Relater of affairs transacted in a neighbouring Nation and surely there is none of so little Intelligence or of so great Credulity in this Kingdom but can certainly know what circumstances the Episcopal Clergy must be in where the very Order of Episcopacy it self has been so lately and so forcibly extirpated In reference to the