Selected quad for the lemma: blood_n
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A26885
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Catholick vnity, or, The only way to bring us all to be of one religion by Rich. Baxter.
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1660
(1660)
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Wing B1210; ESTC R14402
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121,941
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420
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the world that our Religion is not changed at all Our worship is the same whether within Book or without Our Prayers are the same for matter with those in the Common Prayer Book And if I should one day use the Common Prayer Book and another day forbear it I should not change the worship of God To pray is part of his worship but whether it be on a Book or off it is no part at all but only a mode or circumstance which may be altered as occasion serveth I doubt not but a Book is fittest for some but not for all And do they think that we know not what adding and chopping and changing they have made with their Mass Book Who is it then that hath changed their worship Is it like the same Book that it was before the changes made by Gregory the great It was so ordinary a thing to change the manner and forms of worshp that private Bishops did it without any Synods whence else had the world the forms that are now in use Tell us how many of those in the Biblioth Patrum were made by Apostle or General Council if you can When Basil the great had set up a new way of singing to God and made some other changes in worship the Clergy of Neocesarea were offended with him for the novelty and told him that none of that was used in Gregory's dayes To whom he answers that neither was their own Letany known in Gregory's dayes who yet had lived not 140 years before and was the famous founder of their Church by miracles Basil Epist. 63. And Basil added to the Clergie of Neocesara But how can you tell that these things were not in use in Gregories daies when you have kept nothing unchanged which he was used to And that you may see his mind in this he adds But I pardon all these things though God will examine all Only let the principal things be kept safe If we had changed the Sacraments as the Papists have done viz. a Commemorative Sacrifice into a Real Sacrifice of Christ himself the Sacramental Body and blood of Christ into the Real Body and blood the administration of it in both kinds into one kind alone defrauding the people of the cup the Communion into a private Mass the people only looking on the Priest when he receiveth alone himself c. I say had we made such changes as these they might have called us changelings indeed and have told us of novelties in the worship of God 18. Moreover this laying so much upon lower or unnecessary things doth impoverish the soul and make it low and empty and formal according to the matter that it hath to work upon As the great unquestionable Truths of God are they that sanctifie and elevate the soul and leave their Image on it so will contending about private opinions or laying out our zeal in ceremonies and shaddows depress the soul and famish it and turn our Religion into a shaddow We find by sad experience that people are so prone to turn all Religion into meer words and shews and customary formalityes that when we have done our best we cannot cure them of this mortal sin God is a Spirit and will have such worshippers as worship him in spirit and in truth John 4.23 We have little need to cherish this disease of hypocrisie seeming histrionical outside Religiousness when we see so many perish by it after all that we can do for their deliverance 19. And this making a Religion of unnecessary things or laying the Churches Unity thereon is a dangerous snare to delude the Ignorant and ungodly and make them believe that they are godly people and in the way to Heaven as well as others I use not this or any Argument against the profitable use of any forms in order to the understanding of the matter nor against the due circumstantiating of the worship of God But if profitable forms and Gods own Ordinances are somwhat lyable to this abuse we cannot devise how to increase the danger and quite enthral these miserable souls more certainly then by multiplying unnecessary formalityes and placing Religion and Unity in them For they that are most ignorant and empty of the Love and fear of God and the bitterest enemies to a Heavenly life will presently set in with these formalities and make themselves a Religion of these and then they will take themselves as godly as the best You shall never make them believe that they are ungodly They think the difference lyeth but in the way and manner of serving God You serve him one way and they another but yet they serve him as well as you Yea they will overdo in these Indifferent things that they may make up that which is wanting in true godliness and then they will think that they are better and righter then you Thus did the Heathens cry out against the ancient Christians with a Tollite impios away with the ungodly and killed them and cast them to wild beast to be torn by them because they would not worship their Idols And so many ungodly wretches now that will not be perswaded to a Holy life will yet cry dow others as impious because they observe not all the Ceremonies which they observe When we have used all the means we can to bring them to the study of the Scripture and to meditate in the Law of the Lord and to holy conference and servent prayer to hatred of sin the contempt of the world the mortifying of the flesh to the Love of God above all to a thankful admiration of the Love of Christ and the great mystery of Redemption to the believing delightful forethoughts of everlasting life and preparation for it c. I say when we have done all to bring them to this which is godlyness indeed we lose our labour and leave them as we find them They cannot away with so precise a life But yet a Religion they will have instead of it to deceive their souls and quiet them in the way to Hell For instance I must speak it with grief of heart that I meet with no small number among us that know not who Christ is some say he is God and not man some say he is man and not God some say he was made both God and man at once some say he is neither God nor man but a Spirit some say he is not God but the Son of God and hath the power of God given him Abundance say that he is God only and not man now he is in Heaven though he was both on earth and very many know not what Christianity is nor wherein the Christian Religion doth consist And yet all these persons that are Heathens rather then Christians are the most zealous Keepers of Christmass as it is called and the bitterest condemners of those that do not and so do make themselves believe that they are Christians as well as others The same persons that know not