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A66485
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Reflexions upon a pamphlet intituled, An account of the growth of deism in England together with some considerations about the Christian religion.
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Willis, Richard, 1664-1734.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing W2816; ESTC R38311
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32,108
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81
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the Power of the Clergy the other two are about the Homilies and the Book of Consecration of Archbishops and Bishops c. I shall therefore take notice only of those two and wait for the third till he explain his Mind more fully The first Article I believe that he drives at is the Twentieth the Words of which are these The Church hath Power to decree Rites or Ceremonies and Authority in Controversies of Faith And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another Wherefore although the Church be a Witness and a Keeper of Holy Writ yet as it ought not to decree any thing against the same so besides the same it ought not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of Salvation The other Article I believe may be the Thirty Fourth which I shall here repeat at large too It is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one or utterly like for at all times they have been divers and may be changed according to the Diversity of Countries and Mens Manners so that nothing be ordained against God's Word Whosoever through his private Judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break the Traditions and Ceremonies of the Church which be not repugnant to the Word of God and be ordained and approved by Common Authority ought to be rebuked openly that others may fear to do the like as one that offendeth against the Common Order of the Church and burteth the Authority of the Magistrate and woundeth the Conscience of weak Brethren Every particular or National Church hath Authority to ordain change and abolish Ceremonies or Rites of the Church ordained only by Mens Authority so that all things be done to edisying This is not indeed the first time that these Articles have been censured but if rightly understood I cannot see that they Contain any thing more than what all established Churches I ever heard of do either claim expresly or at least in their Practise and no more than what is highly reasonable To begin with the first That the Church has Power to decree Rites and Ceremonies and Authority in Controversies of Faith As for the first part of it the Power of the Church in Rites and Ceremonies it will come in under the other Article and therefore I shall pass it here but as to the other part her Authority in Controversies of Faith I desire to observe first That the Church does not here claim any Infallibility to her self in determining such Controversies she is so far from that that in the very next Article she says Art 21. that even General Councils may err and be deceived 2. I would observe that the Church does not here decree that private Christians are bound to believe any thing as Matter of Faith merely upon her Authority but the Church must bring the Authority of God's Word for what she says when and not before she ought to be believed this she declares in the same Article even of General Councils Art 21. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to Salvation have neither Strength nor Authority unless it may be declared that they be taken out of Holy Scripture And therefore 3. Our Church allows all her Members to examine the Truth of what she teaches by the Holy Scriptures nay more encourages them to do it only advises that this be done with Modesty and Humility To this End the Holy Scriptures are translated into our Mother-Tongue and read in our Churches and every body may have them at home and read them as much as they please and I am sure they are in Our Churches frequently exhorted to do so and that not only as a thing which they may do but as a thing which they ought to do 4. I would observe That tho' our Church has for the Instruction and Edification of her Members drawn up her Opinion of the chief Points of the Christian Religion in the Thirty Nine Articles yet she no where requires the Profession of the Belief of them from the People that joyn in Communion with her neither does she Excommunicate every body that does not believe just as she believes if Men will but be modest and not openly oppose tho' she takes care to instruct them in what is the truth yet they may enjoy a great liberty in their Opinions and still live in her Communion So that the Meaning of the Church in this Article seems to be no more than this That God has given the Bishops and other Ministers of the Word Authority to Preach the Gospel and by this made it their Duty to instruct those under their Care in the true Faith And that if any Controversies happen about the Faith they have by this their Commission Authority and by it God has made it their Duty to declare their Judgment in the Case which may be done either by Preaching or by Writing either single or in a Body as in Discretion they see fittest to be done That when they have thus declared their Judgment especially if this be done by the Whole Body of the Clergy of any place their Determination is to be received with Reverence and Respect by the People under their Care Not that they are for that Reason bound to believe it true but they are to carry themselves modestly and humbly to examine the Matter sedately first whether it be true or no and if they should be convinced in their Conscience that the Determination of the Church is wrong and find such Reasons as put the matter past doubt with them yet even then not to oppose or contradict the Publick Determination with their Private Opinions but to keep their Thoughts to themselves unless they are withall fully convinced that the matter is of such Importance that they ought not to be silent or that the Profession of this Error be required of them as a Term of Communion In short They ought to have as great a Regard as possible to the Peace and Quiet of the Church and the Authority of those whom God has set over them This seems to me to be the Meaning of this Article in which there does not appear any very dreadful Power the Church claims over the People here is no enslaving their Consciences no keeping them in Ignorance to serve any Ends or Designs upon them no locking up the Scriptures from them no usurping Authority above the Word of God or making that useless to them by denying People the use of their own Reason in reading of it In short nothing appears here of that horrible Imputation of Priest-Craft The Authority here claimed is no more than what is absolutely necessary to the Peace and Quiet of the Church no more than what is implied in the Authority God has given Ministers to Preach the Gospel no more than what is plainly supposed in those Names of Teachers
REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND Together with some CONSIDERATIONS About the Christian Religion Qui bonâ fide colit Deos amat Sacerdotes Stat. Epist Dedic in V. Lib. Sylv. LONDON Printed for John Newton at the Three Pigeons over-against the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet 1696. REFLEXIONS Upon a PAMPHLET INTITULED An Account of the Growth of DEISM in ENGLAND IT has now for a great while been the Complaint of Good Men that Atheism and Infidelity grow mightily among us which is indeed a very melancholly Consideration but I am afraid is but too true did not the Profane and Blasphemous Discourse which one is often forced to hear sufficiently shew this The Air and Humour of the Age is so very different from that Seriousness Plainness and Simplicity which a through Belief and Consideration of the Christian Religion would inspire Men with that one who takes notice of the Difference cannot easily imagine that this Religion is so generally believed as 't is professed Add to this the great Corruption of Manners the great Difficulty there is to breed up Young People soberly and vertuously or to find those of Riper Years who are Men of Honesty Integrity and Publick Spirit to be employed in the Service of their Country Now when a Nation is so much corrupted as ours is at present it can hardly proceed but from one of these two Causes either first from a Corruption in their Religion by making that consist in outward Observations or giving Men hopes to please God and get to Heaven by some other Method besides real Holiness and a Care of their Lives by which means the Conscience is left loose in that respect or else secondly from a Disbelief of the Religion it self for tho' some Men make a shift to do it it is an uneasie thing to go against Conscience and therefore a general Corruption of Manners can hardly be without one of these two Causes which leave Men at Liberty to indulge themselves without Disturbance from it As for the first of these the Corruption of our Religion by making that consist in outward Observations or giving Men Hopes of getting to Heaven by any other Method but real Holiness of Life it is what cannot be charged upon the Present Age or Church wherein whatever Zeal may have been shewed upon other Accounts for things in themselves indifferent yet it has always been plainly taught that nothing but inward Piety can recommend us to God or make our Peace with him and that there is no way of getting to Heaven without the real Reformation of our Lives And these things have been shewed so distinctly plainly and clearly both in Opposition to the Superstitious Observations of Popery and to some Popular Errors about Religion among our selves that perhaps no Age can shew the like as may appear to any that has been but a little conversant in the Sermons and Books that have been published by the Divines of the Church of England And I believe one great Reason why so many Loose People have made Infidelity their Resuge is because it has been so clearly shewed them that there is no Hopes for such Persons from our Religion which they would not so easily have left had we had but any Trick to save them and let them enjoy their Sins together And therefore we see that most of our Debauched People take this way contrary to what may be observed in some other Countries where People of as ill Morals as they yet speak with Reverence and Respect about their Religion Of which Difference I can think of no other Reason but this That the one has no Hopes from his Religion and therefore treats it accordingly the other has still some Reserve in his Eye that may stand him in stead after a Wicked Life Absolution and Extreme Unction or at most some Money for Masses when he is dead And upon this Account his ill Morals often increase his Zeal for his Religion and set him upon endeavouring by that to make God what amends he can for those Sins he is resolved to enjoy The Effect I believe is apt to be quite contrary with Serious and Considering Persons who among us cannot but have a Reverence for that Religion which they see so worthy of God which does not consist in little Tricks or outward Observations but in solid and substantial Goodness such as is for the Good of the World for the Advancement of our own Nature and tends to make us pious and holy and as like God as may be Considering Persons will be very apt to have a Reverence for such a Religion as this And on the other side such Persons if they live in Countries where this is degenerated into outward useless Observations where Men may get their Sins pardoned and make their Peace with God by such things as even a Wise Man would have no regard to no wonder if they cannot esteem it and if they have opportunity to know nothing of Christianity but as it is thus practised it is no wonder at all if they do fall into Deism as our Travellers tell us that this is a very common thing among such Persons in Italy and some other Countries There has lately appeared a Pamphlet which pretends to give an Account of the Growth of Deism in England that is indeed the Title of it but I believe not the Author's Design who seems to have had no other Aim but to say as many ugly things as he could against the present Established Church and Clergy Whether the Author be a Christian or no I shall not pretend to determine I would willingly suppose he is since he seems to say so but I believe he himself will not deny that he has more Zeal against the Church of England than he has for the Christian Religion and if he be a Christian I would leave it upon his Conscience how he will be able to answer it to Jesus Christ that he should with such aggravating Circumstances and so much Virulence expose that to the View of the World which he himself says commonly makes Men Deists and yet be at so very little pains to give any Antidote against it It looks as if he were uneasie that such good Arguments against Christianity should lie hid only amongst his Clubs of Atheists and Deists and that he was willing to try how many Proselites they were like to gain by being exposed to publick View Our Author's Design being only to expose Christianity or else expose the Clergy which I rather believe we cannot expect a full Account of the Growth of Deism from him I shall therefore first in short take notice of what I judge to have been the Causes of the Increase of it and then consider those assigned by his Author 1. The great and chief Cause of Deism at present was the general Corruption of Manners