Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	apostle_n	church_n	tradition_n	3,170	5	9.1818	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26959	More proofs of infants church-membership and consequently their right to baptism, or, A second defence of our infant rights and mercies in three parts ... / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1675 (1675)	Wing B1312; ESTC R17239	210,005	430

quae dicimus esse in Catholica Baptismum illic tantum recte accipi Item alia duo dicimus esse apud Donatistas baptismum non autem recte accipi Harum sententiarum tres nostrae tantum sunt unam vero utrique dicimus That is Two things we say that there is Baptism in the Catholick Church and that there only it is rightly received Also two things more we say that there is Baptism with the Donatists but that with them it is not rightly received of these sentences three are only ours and one is common to us both Austin held it a sin to be baptized among Schismaticks to joyn with their Sect but not a nullity § 12. Hereupon he addresseth himself to evince the sinfulness of their Schism and unchristianing all the Churches And indeed he seems to think that though Baptism was among them yet hardly Salvation And his argument though I think we must abate for mens passions and temptations is worth the Separatists consideration that baptism that destroyeth remitteth he calls it not sin is not saving that which is without love remitteth not sin But Schismaticks saith he have not love For Nulli Schismata facerent si fraterno odio non excaecarentur Annon est in Schismate odium fraternum Quis hoc dixerit Cum origo pertinacia Schismatis nulla sit alia nisi odium fraternum That is None would make schisms if they were not blinded by the hatred of their brethren Is there not the hatred of brethren in Schism What man will say so Whenas both the Rise and the Pertinacie of Schism is no other than the hatred of brethren But blind zeal will not let men know their own hatred when yet they defame their brethren as no brethren and endeavour to have all others think them so bad as not to be communicated with and separate from them on that account § 13. The main subject of all the rest of these seven Books of Austin is to answer the Donatists claim of Cyprian and his Carthage Council as on their side and to answer all the sayings of him and the several Bishops of that Council The plain truth is this In the first age the Churches were so sober and charitable as not to account every erring brother and party Hereticks but such as subverted the Essentials of Religion And some of these corrupted the very form of Baptism The baptism of these the Church took for null and baptized such as they pretended to have baptized Cyprian and the other African Bishops knowing this and being much troubled with heretical Churches about them stretched this too far and rebaptized them that such Hereticks baptized as did not change the form of Baptism but incorporated men into their corrupt societies The Donatists took advantage by this example and all the Reasons of the Council to go so much further as to take the Catholicks for Hereticks or unlawful Churches and rebaptize those that they baptized Austin answereth all the Councils reasons but praiseth Cyprian as a holy Martyr and no Heretick though mistaken § 14. And it is not enough for me to say that all these Books of Austin have not a word of what he speaketh as controverting Infant-Baptism with the Donatists but moreover he bringeth the Donatists agreement with the Catholicks in the point of Infant-Baptism as a medium in his arguing against them Lib. 4. c. 23. shewing how much baptism availeth in that Christ himself would be baptized by a servant and Infants that cannot themselves believe are baptized Quod traditum tenet universitas Ecclesiae cum parvuli Infantes baptizantur qui nondum possunt corde credere ad justitiam ore confiteri ad salutem quod latro potuit Quinetiam flendo vagiendo cum in eis mysterium celebratur ipsis mysticis vocibus obstrepunt tamen Nullus Christianus dixerit eos inaniter baptizari That is Which all the Church holdeth when little Infants are baptized who certainly cannot yet with the heart believe to righteousness and with the mouth confess to Salvation And yet no Christian will say that they are baptized in vain Thus he argueth against the Donatists If the whole Church hold Infant-Baptism and no Christian will say that it is in vain though they themselves believe not and confess not then you should not say all baptism is vain because we Catholicks administer it or because it is received in our Churches The whole tenor of Austins charitable language to the Donatists and the scope of this place sheweth that he here pleaded universal consent and by all the Church and no Christian includeth the Donatists And so he oft argueth against the Pelagians who though they denied original sin durst not differ from the whole Christian world by denying Infant-baptism but pretended that it was for the conveyance of Grace though not for remitting sin § 15. And Austin next addeth Et si quisquam in hac re authoritatem divinam quaerat Quanquam quod universa tenet Ecclesia nec Conciliis institutum sed semper retentum est non nisi authoritate Apostolica traditum rectissime creditur tamen veraciter conjicere possumus c. That is And if any one in this case of Infant-baptism ask for Divine authority Though that which the universal or whole Church doth hold and was not instituted by Councils but was ever held is most rightly believed to be delivered by the Apostles authority yet we may truly conjecture c. and so he passeth to the Scripture argument from Circumcision § 16. Here note 1. That this was no controversie with the Donatists 2. Nor with any other Sect but hold by all the Church 3. That he only saith as in a Parenthesis that that which all the whole Church holdeth and did ever hold not instituted by any Council is justly taken for an Apostolical tradition which I think few Protestants or sober Christians will deny Who can imagine that Timothy Titus Silas and all the whole Church in the Apostles daies and ever since should hold and agree in any thing as a part of Christian Doctrine or Worship which they had not from the Apostles Had the Apostles so little charity as not to endeavour to rectifie any of their errors 4. Note here that the Donatists never denied this that Infant-baptism was ever held by the whole Church to that day and not instituted by any Council And were not Austin the Donatists and the whole Church liker to know the universality and Antiquity of the thing than the Holland or English Anabaptists about fourteen hundred years after them 5. Note that he bringeth Scripture for it also § 17. Indeed I find some that before those times had been above Ordinances and against all baptism but none against Infant-baptism as unlawful Therefore Augustine saith elsewhere that it is easier to find Hereticks that deny all baptism than any that change the form of baptizing so sure hath the Tradition of universal practice

Papists baptism administred and received be nullities and all Papists to be rebaptized and all Protestants that were baptized by Papists are questions which I will not be so vain as to dispute with one that talketh at this mans rate But yet we have not done with the high charges of his Preface He saith Oh! were not those twenty Queries so much against the self-evidencing authority of the Scriptures in his Admon p. 142. in favour of Tradition a heynous provocation to say no more of them Answ It seems they were so to you But really did you read that book and the other to Mr. Bagshaw and yet not fear to follow him and out-do him in notorious untruths after so full a conviction and warning as was given him Think on it and again cry out But alas whereto will not men run left to themselves I there professed and proved to your friend Mr. Bagshaw that I was for and wrote for the self-evidencing authority of the Scripture and it is untrue that those twenty Queries or any one of them is against it· But seeing you think otherwise if indeed you hold the contrary to the assertions implied in those twenty Queries I am not at the end of the Catalogue of your strange Doctrines If you and my revilers own them so will not sober men e. g. XLIII Every Christian must see the Copies of the Scripture written by the Prophets and Apostles own hands Or at least must understand the Transcripts in the Original tongues XLIV God hath promised unerring infallibility to all Scribes in the world that write out the Bible and all Printers that print it Or at least to some of them and we may be certain who those are XLV Though the several Copies have a multitude of differences it is certain none of them are erroneous or mistaken XLVI Those men and women that understand not Hebrew or Greek may be certain only by seeing a Hebrew and Greek Bible without a Translators help that every word in it is the word of God XLVII Either he that will be sure which Copy is without mis-writing must first see all the Copies in the world that differ or else if he never see but one or few he may be certain that it is right in the words in which it differeth from all the rest which he never saw XLVIII No corrupt or mis-written Copy of the Scripture can come to a true Believers hands Or if it do he can infallibly tell us the Errata XLIX A true Believer that never saw the Originals can by seeing a translation judge of all the diverse readings in the Originals L. The Translators are either all infallible in translating or else a true Believer is certain which of them is and which not and which translation among many faulty ones is faultless LI. He that never saw all Translations but perhaps but one can by that one tell that it is truer than all the differing ones which he never saw LII All this of Copies and Translations is known to Believers either by Prophetical Revelation from Heaven or by the self-evidencing demonstration of the Copy and Translation which he seeth LIII Every true Believer without being ever told it by man can tell by the self-evidencing demonstration of the words that the Canticles and the Books of Judges Ruth Chronicles Jonah are Canonical and that the wisdom of Solomon Baruck Pauls Epistle to the Laodiceans Clemens to the Corinthians c. are not Canonical LIV. Either God will give faith to no one that cannot read among all the illiterate Kingdoms of the world where the Gospel is to be preached or else all that cannot read may without ever reading a word be certain by self-evidence which readings in the differing Copies and which Translations are true or false and which books and verses and sentences are Canonical and which not LV. Either God hath promised that every illi●●●●te Christian that cannot read shall hear 〈◊〉 one else read every word of the Bible to him in Originals and Translations or one that he may judge or else by the self-evidence that person that cannot read nor never heard half the Bible read can certainly tell what words are truly or falsly written or Translated without ever hearing them LVI When the greatests Learned Linguists differ about a Lection or Translation as the Septuagint c. such as Lud. Capellus Usher Buxtorf Bootius De Dieu L' Empereur Walton c. or when such as Luther Althamer c. differ about a Canonical Book as James it is because they see not that self-evidence which every Christian may see that cannot read nor was ever told it that one part if not more do herein err while their judgements are contrary None of these fifty six are Articles of my Faith nor Gods Commandments that I can find I say not that these ignorant Revilers hold all these but I say that He and They that will openly exclaim against the contrary assertions as heynous errors or tell about among the receivers of false reports that I hold dangerous errors for saying the contrary to these doth either perswade men that all these are his Opinions or else that he is an impudent Hypocrite in reviling known truth as heynous error or else a rash Calumniator that dare reproach or speak evil of that which he understandeth not nor will not so much as by reading my plain words be at the labour to understand Perhaps some better minded person will say It casteth poor Christians into perplexity to hear such doubts about the Scripture readings and translations were they not better concealed Answ They are not to be talkt of unseasonably to uncapable persons They are not to be told the ignorant instead of a Catechism But they are all publickly known to the learned world long ago and told the ignorant people by the Papists to ill ends And if any one will perswade you to hold the contrary and make you believe that all or any of these absurdities and falshoods are the true Protestant Religion or any part of it and that they that hold the contrary are Popish it is time to vindicate the Protestant Religion and all sober godly Protestants from the scorn of such imputed dotages But this is the unhappy fruit of overdoing There are some men among us so overwise and overrighteous in defending the sufficiency of the Scriptures that they would perswade us that it is sufficient to expound it self without a teaching Expositor and to preach it self without a Preacher and by consequence from their generals to Write and Print it self without a Writer or Printer and to bring it self down from the Apostles to every man without the hand or tongue of man and to preserve it self from corruption without the care of man and to translate it self without a Translator And that all Printed Sermons or books of Divinity all Catechisms all Sermon notes for memory all forms of Prayer yea the dividing the Bible into Chapters and Verses