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A67649 Dr. Stillingfleet's principles of Protestancy cleared, confuted, and retorted And the infallibility of the Roman-Catholick Church asserted; and that the same church alone is the whole Catholick church. In a letter from a Catholick gentleman to a Protestant knight. Warner, John, 1628-1692. 1673 (1673) Wing W911; ESTC R219411 19,248 38

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performed by Antichrist or by any other that the devil hath a kindness for without any concurrence or real existence of the Object you fancy to see hear smell touch or taste and of this we have sufficient proofs and examples in visions and apparitions both of good and bad spirits both in sacred and prophane History We ought not therefore to attribute so much to the evidence of sense in its most proper Object it cannot have evidence in any other as to wrest the words of Scripture from their literal and plain sence in the Mystery of Transubstantiation seeing we must confess that Antichrists false Miracles will have no other colour of truth but what will be grounded upon the Evidence of sense in its most proper Object and if this Evidence ought not to prevail in favour of Antichrists Miracles I see no reason why it ought to prevail against Christs words This is my body As for matters of faith that suppose matters of fact the certainty of their belief doth not depend so much upon the sences evidence of the fact as D. Stillingfleet imagines pag. 469. For we do not beleeve that any of the Apostles or others did see Christ in the very act or instant of his Resurrection though they did see him a little after but they did not see the Resurrection it self and though they had seen it the assurance of their faith must have been grounded upon divine Revelation not upon that sight So that not only succeeding ages but the Apostles themselves believed Christs Resurrection with Christian faith not because they did see him revived but because he told them he was the very same Christ that had been dead and this his assertion is confirmed by the same signes and testimonies whereby the other mysteries of Faith are Conclusion SEeing therefore the whole Catholick Church cannot be composed of many or any two dissenting Congregations in any point of Faith whether fundamental or not fundamental and that the same Catholick Church must have supernatural signes and Miracles whereby it may be discerned from all Heretical Congregations and that no other * D. Do● ham in 〈◊〉 Treatise● Antichr● l. 1. c. 7. p● 111. sait● Neither Turks n● Jews no● any other Church of Christian but only th● Pope and Church of Rome do vaunt of Miracles Christian Congregation but the Roman-Catholick doth as much as pretend to supernatural signes and Miracles and that this pretence of Miracles in the Roman-Catholick Church is so well grounded that the wisest and wariest men of the world for many ages and in this also did take it to be good and sufficient evidence to build thereupon their hopes of salvation and that such as deny the sufficiency of this evidence cannot dispute it otherwise then by saying contrary to universal Tradition and to the Testimony of all Histories that they who believed and wrought our Miracles were cheats or mad-men and that there can be no greater madness then so rash an assertion seeing I say all this hath been made out in my Propositions I hope it may be evidently concluded that the Roman-Catholick Church and only the Roman-Catholick Church is the whole Catholick and true Church of God From whence must follow the quite contrary of D. Stillingfleets Principles and Conclusions This Sir is my Opinion of a Book so much applauded by those that understand not its Principles nor the inconveniencies it may draw upon the Religion and Revenues of the Church of England by making that Church as useless for saving souls as its Revenues are thought by Statesmen necessary for supporting the State I am March 17. 1671. Yours J.W. FINIS Errata In the Page on the back-side the Title line 3. for Principles of Christianity reade Principles of Protestancy page 6. line 14. reade confirmed p. 10. l. 10. r. which the Church then and for p. 12. l. 5. r. S. Xavier
Dr. STILLINGFLEETS PRINCIPLES OF PROTESTANCY Cleared Confuted and Retorted AND THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE ROMAN-CATHOLICK CHURCH Asserted And that the same Church alone is the whole CATHOLICK CHURCH IN A Letter from a Catholick Gentleman to a Protestant Knight Printed in the Year 1673. THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER NOtwithstanding the Multiplicity of Learned and solid Answers to Dr. Stillingfleets Principles of Christianity I thought fit also to publish this Short and Substantial Peece though neglected by the Author as more particularly suited for men endowed with strength of Reason and Judgement yet not much versed in Book-Learning SIR ACcording to your desire I have perused Dr. Stillingfleet's Discourse of Idolatry and his Principles of Protestancy To deliver my Opinion of either seemeth to be superfluous it being credible both are answered in England ere now But because you press me to it and the Answer may be as long expected here as the Book hath been I will venture to give my Judgement of Dr. Stillingfleet and do confesse ingeniously that of all Protestant Writers I ever read I take him to be not only the wittiest but the wisest especially where he rallies and endeavours to make the Roman Religion ridiculous For to imagine that rational men can be moved by serious Discourses to believe that God would send Martin Luther John Calvin Martin Bucer Thomas Cranmer c. to reform Christianity their lives having been so scandalous and un-christianlike or that he would oblige the world to credit such vicious men without shewing any Credentials or Miracles to confirm their Testimony and new sense of Scripture is to make God take a new and unreasonable Method Therefore Dr. Stillingfleet had very good Reasons not to insist upon this old and ordinary way of his Protestant Controversers he fixt upon a better for his own purpose which is to rail at the Saints and rally us out of their Religion and Miracles But notwithstanding the judicious choice of his new Method I humbly conceive he hath overshot himself by aiming so high and letting his arrows fly against so ancient a Patriarch as St. Bennet of whose supernatural gifts and Miracles never any one doubted that believed so authentick an Authour and Doctor of Gods Church as * Bishop Godwin in his Catalogue of Bishops c. p. 3. saith That blessed and holy Father S. Gregory was the o●casion of Re-planting the Christian Faith in our Countrey The same saith D. Whitaker contra Durcum lib. 5. p. 394. M. Bell in his Survey of Popery p. 187. termeth him S. Gregory s●rnamed the Great the holy and Learned Bishop of Rome D. Humphrey in his ●esuatism par 2. pag. 624. saith Gregory both in Name and in very Deed Great was ind●ed with many Gifts of divine grace S. Isidore de Scrip● Ecclesiast c. 27. saith Gregory Bishop of the Apostolick See of Rome c. was by the grace of the holy Ghost so greatly indued with light of knowledge as no Doctor of this present Age or in tim●s p●●t was equal to him S. John Damas●en speaking of his Dialogues and the life of S. Bennet which S. Gregory writ saith Let Gregory that wrote the Book of Dialogues Bishop of the elder Rome be brought forth a man as all know that was renowned both for holiness of life and learning c. St. Gregory the Great who writ his Life And truly Dr. Stillingfleet is the first Protestant Doctor I heard of did except against St. Gregories sincerity or sufficiency in relating matters of fact or faith He might think fit to make bold with S. Ignatius because he was Founder of the Jesuites with St. Dominick also because he invented the Inquisition But to think that his Raillery could reach to discredit the Miracles and Sanctity of S. Bennet and the Testimony of S. Gregory the Great is an unpardonable Crime And yet D. Stillingfleets Friends and his Enemies may excuse the heinousness of this Crime by the impossibility of Defending his Cause otherwise then by facing us down that all the Roman-Catholick Prelats and Preachers since the Primitive times were either so witless as to be seduced by foolish Saints and feign'd Miracles or so wicked as to conspire against Gods known Worship and plain Word to damn themselves and posterity And withall were so obstinate in adhering to the Errours of Popery that in whatsoever Age any Preachers began to reform that Doctrine they were suddenly cried down and condemned as notorious Hereticks by the Prelats and Councils of the then visible Church But leaving this to the Answerers of D. Stillingfleets Book I will pass to his Principles Dr. Stillingfleets PRINCIPLES Cleared Confuted and Retorted Of his Six Principles pretended to be agreed upon on both Sides TO his three first Principles I have nothing to say D. Stillingfleets Fourth Principle is That in order to mans obeying the Will of God it is necessary that he Know what it is for which some manifestation of the Will of God is necessary both that man may know what he hath to do and that God may justly punish him if he do it not Principle V. Whatever God reveals to man is infallibly true and being intended for the Rule of mans Obedience may be certainly known to be his Will HIs Fourth Principle must be examined before any Christian can agree with him in it If he means that in order to mans obeying the Will of God it is necessary that he know what it is with clear or undeniable Evidence the Principle is false it is sufficient that he knows what Gods Will is by Credible Testimony or publick authority though the infallible certainty thereof doth not clearly appear So children are bound under pain of damnation to honour their Parents and Subjects to obey their Soveraigns though no infallible certainty appeareth that they are their Parents or Soveraigns In like manner though no undeniable certainty appears to us that God speaketh or declareth his Will by Scripture or by his Church yet we are bound under pain of damnation to beleeve that what is proposed and commanded by them is the Word and Will of God and accordingly we ought to obey The reason of this assertion is that mans understanding being imperfect its assent is more frequently directed by outward signs to the truth than by any immediate sight of the same And therefore even in things of greatest concern we are accustomed and indeed for want of better evidence forc't to rely upon the Tradition Testimony and Information of others and thereupon to ground our judicial decrees and Sentences both in Church and State This Custom being agreeable to reason and the Law of nature it cannot be against either to conform ourselves thereunto in supernatural Mysteries or matters of Faith seeing we understand lesse of these than of any others Therefore not only the Fourth Principle but the Fifth also which Dr. Stillingfleet pretends to be agreed unto on both sides are false inasmuch as they suppose that a clear