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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27030	A search for the English schismatick by the case and characters I. of the diocesan canoneers, II. of the present meer nonconformists : not as an accusation of the former, but a necessary defence of the later, so far as they are wrongfully accused and persecuted by them / by Richard Baxter ...	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1681 (1681)	Wing B1399; ESTC R6862	28,132	47

differ we became not herein Accusers of the Conformists but disavowed it leaving them to their proper judg and medling with no mens mattters but our own 67. And lest it should seem to reflect on them as guilty or exasperate our afflicters we have mostly forborn these 17 or 18 years so much as to open the matters and reasons of our Nonconformity and silently undergone reproach 68. Yea when great Bishops have told our Superiors that we judged nothing but renouncing the Covenant unlawful and have called to us and set Parliament-men to call out What it is that we would have and never would give us leave to tell them we have patiently been silent And when great Bishops have told me that our Rulers took us as not sincere for not giving our reasons and that they would Petition that we might no longer be suffered to keep up a Schism and give no reason for it I have offered them to beg it on my knees if there were any hope to obtain liberty but once to render our reasons of not conforming 69. And when the Act ceased which restrained the Press we still forbore till they gave out That now it was clear that for our baffled cause we had no defence but went on to sin against our consciences which constrained me at last to open somewhat of our case at which yet they are displeased 70. Though multitudes of Books have been written against us charging us with Schism and calling for execution of the Law against us yea perswading King and People as the Plotters do that we are cherishing principles of rebellion we thought it best to imitate Christ and silently to bear all and let our Lives and Works rather than our Apologies answer for us till constrained I published a full account of our Principles of Government and Obedience lest continued silence pass for guilt 71. Their constant last accusation is about the late Wars When-as 1. not one of very many of the present Nonconformists ever medled with them 2. And we offer them thanks to silence only the guilty 3. And many Conformists and one Archbishop were in Arms for the Parliament 4. And we have not requited them till of late with telling them that it was the Conformists here that began the War 72. When some say that they requite us for casting out the Conformists heretofore we offer them a thousand thanks if they will cast out none but those that cast out them I confess I took it for a great mercy to have grosly ignorant drunken Readers and Priests cast out of what opinion soever and better put in But I and others wrote against putting out any worthy and tolerable man for being against the Parliament or for Prelacy 73. Whereas some cheat the ignorant by telling them that We would have every Minister be a Pope in his own Parish 1. A Pope is one that arrogateth the Government over all other Pastors even of the whole world Whereas we would govern no Pastors at all nor any people but our particular flocks 2. And these we would have only to be Volunteers And is not he liker to a Tyrant that will be a Pastor to thousands against their wills than he that will take charge of none but Consenters 3. Specially the Independents who are accused as giving the power to the people and depending on their charity do not like tyrants compel any to obey them 74. Some are taught to make the Presbyterians odious by the rigor of their Discipline and the stool of Repentance which the licentious fear But 1. our judgment is that none but willing Consenters should be Church-members and as such come under Discipline 2. And that none be excommunicate for any sins ordinarily unless after due warning and patience he refuse to repent 3. And God hath made Repentance necessary to comforting-absolution pardon and salvation 4. And it 's a thousand pities that any should be so mad in sin as to think Repentance too dear for pardon 75. Some say that we are for Excommunicating Kings What other men have been is nothing to us We take not our judgments on trust from any party but the Scripture is our Rule and the Primitive Church our pattern Some of us have written against the lawfulness of dishonouring Princes and Rulers by proper excommunications as being against the fifth Command and Rituals give place to Morals And some of the greatest Church-men that have cast us ou●●●ve been for Rulers Excommunication We are not insensible what Treasons and Domination not only the Pope but the Councils of Bishops even without the Pope as in the case of Ludovicus Pius and others have exercised over Princes and Kingdoms by excommunications and cursed cursing men from Christ 76. We find that when in the contentions between the Popes and the Emperours the Clergy familiarly swore on both sides as interest moved them and as Abbas Urspergensus saith Perjury was the common brand of Priest and people it was far from proving a cure of Schism though it was pretended for that use 77. As the Law forbiddeth us so we profess to intend nothing here written as an accusation of the Government Laws Liturgy or Conformists but only as a description of the reasons of our own Nonconformity But if it should prove true that Cities Corporations Bishops and Priests are guilty but of half the evil against God Truth Conscience the Gospel the Church the souls of men the good of the King and Subjects which we fear we should be guilty of if we did conform I had rather be a slave than that Clergy-man that should encourage them in it 78. And if it should prove that any of them are under such guilt in the end it will prove but an uneffectual defence to accuse the innocent and reprove and so to divert them by keeping them on the defensive part while they are accused of odious sin for not sinning and called intollerable for refusing to concur in wickedness 79. Ever since we were cast out and silenced we have thankfully accepted all motions and overtures for concord We have been several times since the first Treaty called to new Treaties in one Dr. Manton and others offered thankfully to accept leave to preach for nothing in the Parish Churches where the Ministers desire it and when the Common-Prayer is used Another time being called by the Lord Keeper Bridgman we agreed with Bishop Wilkins and Dr. Burton and it was dra●● up in an Act of Concord by Judg Hale but voted by the Commons not to be brought in Since then we were invited to treat with Dr. Tillotson and Dr. Stillingfleet who seemed to consent to the terms of the form of an healing Act which we offered them but they found that the Bishops would not consent By all which we have still shewed that we have never ceased to seek for peace 80. We have never shunned to read or hear all that can be said to prove that we need not fear all the guilt of

A SEARCH FOR THE English Schismatick By the CASE and CHARACTERS I. Of the Diocesan Canoneers II. Of the Present Meer Nonconformists Not as an Accusation of the former but a Necessary Defence of the later so far as they are wrongfully Accused and Persecuted by them By Richard Baxter One of the Accused LONDON Printed for Nevil Simmons at the Sign of the Three Golden Cocks at the West-end of St. Pau ls Church-Yard 1681. POSTSCRIPT THE strivings of Parliaments since Archbishop Laud's Government against Innovations Popery and Arbitrary over-topping Law and their jealousies of the designs and progress while they themselves were of the Old Church of England do call us to think what the difference was between the Old and New HE that would know what the Old Church of England is let him read I. The 39 Articles II. The Homilies III. The Apology with Jewels defence IV. Nowell's Catechism V. Deus Rex all owned by the Church VI. Hookers Ecclesiastical Polity in 8 Books VII Bishop Bilson of Christian Subjection VIII Bishop Downham de Antichristo IX The great Writers against Popery as Dr. Whitaker Dr. Reynolds Dr. Willet Dr. Sutliff Dr. White Dr. Airy Dr. Humphrey Dr. Fulk Dr. Prideaux Dr. R. Abbot Dr. Crakenthorp Dr. Challoner Dr. Hall Bishop Usher Dr. Davenant Bishop Carlton Chillingworth Bishop Morton c. X. The Writings against Bishop Laud viz. Bishop Hall ' s Epistle to D. L. Archbishop G. Abbots and Bishop R. Abbot ' s judgment of him and his Tryal with what was there charged against him XI The Harmony of Confessions and the Synod of Dort XII King James ' s Works HE that would know what is the New Church of England since Bishop Laud differs from the Old let him read I. Dr. Heylin ' s Writings Dr. Pocklingtons Mr. Dows Sybthorps and Mainwarings II. Heylin ' s Life of B. Laud particularly his description of the designed reconciliation with the Papists III. Mr. Thorndike's Just weights and measures and forbearance of Penalties IV. Archbishop Bramhall ' s book against me explaining the new way in these particulars 1. To abhor Popery 2. That we all come under a Foreign Jurisdiction obeying the Pope as the Western Patriarch and also as the Principium unitatis to the universal Church Governing by the Canons 3. That Dissenters from this be accounted Schismaticks 4. That we yield to what the Greeks have yielded and be of their Religion 5. That Grotius was a Protestant for the Church of England V. Dr. Parkers Preface to that book and Dr. Pierce's defence of Grotius VI. Grotius his Volume and Notes on Cassander specially his Discussio Apologetici Riveliani in which he professeth 1. That Rome is the Mistris-Church 2. Sound in faith 3. That he finds Protestants can never unite but by uniting with Rome 4. He owns the Doctrine of the Councils even that of Trent 5. The Pope to govern by the Canons of the Councils and not arbitrarily 6. Nor must invade the rights of Kings or Bishops 7. That if the curiosities of the School-men and the ill lives of the Clergy be disowned and amended this much is enough to sober men 8. And he saith that the English Bishops were many of his mind tho' the Separatists were not VII The Earl of Clarendon ' s Defence of Dr. Stillingfleet laying the nature of Popery in their injury to Princes VIII Guil. Forbes Bishop of Edenborough his Irenicon IX Mr. Dodwell ' s book against Schism and the same doctrine maintained by others who nullifie Ministry and Churches whose Episcopal Ordination hath not come down from the Apostles uninterrupted X. The Bishops endeavours since 1660 to silence fine imprison banish and drive five miles from all Corporations c. all such as receive not the Impositions Together with the rest of the true History of these last Twenty years The particulars are not now to be recited A SEARCH FOR THE ENGLISH SCHISMATICK OR The True Characters of the several Accused Parties by which they may be discerned CHAP. I. The Parties Accused The Parties questioned are I. The Papists II. The Diocesan-Militants or Canoneers III. The Passive peaceable Conformists IV. The Meer Nonconformists V. The Sectarian Church-Appropriators and Causeless Separatists and Dividers I. THERE is no Sect of Christians which maketh so great use of their pretence to Unity and crying down Heresie Schism and Separation as the Papists do and yet are the greatest Schismaticks and Dividers as thus appeareth 1. They have a self-made humane universal Church feigning the Pope to be the rightful Head of all the Christian World 2. They exclude all from Christs Chuch who are not the Popes Subjects though at the Antipodes where he never came nor sent 3. They presume to make universal Laws for all the World 4. They Curse men from Christ by Excommunications who refuse such subjection and obedience to these Laws 5. They have introduced many new Articles of Faith on pretence of declaring and expounding Faith 6. They have multiplied corrupting additions in the Christian Worship 7. Their regular objective Religion now consisteth in so great a number of the Decrees of Councils as no Christians can well understand while they accuse Gods Laws as unintelligible 8. They can give us no certainty which of these Councils are obligatory to us while they contradict each other 9. They agree not of the Essence of Christianity or necessary truths but resolve all into the uncertainty of sufficient Proposals 10. They damn men as Hereticks that deny not all humane sense believing there is no Bread and Wine when they see and taste them 11. They burn such as Hereticks and are for tormenting Inquisitions to destroy them 12. They bind Temporal Lords to exterminate all such and to swear to do it and this on pain of Excommunication Deposition and Damnation So that a Protestant Kingdom under a true Papist King hath a King that is thus bound to exterminate his Subjects if he be able and professeth to do it on these three penalties his Salvation lying on it 13. They decree the giving of his Dominions to another and absolving his Subjects from their Oaths of Fidelity if he obey not 14. They decree that it's Heresie to hold that a King hath the power of Investing Bishops and that he is not thus subject to the Pope 15. They tolerate their chief Doctors to write that a Heretick is no King at least if Excommunicate and may lawfully be killed 16. Their Canons exempt the Clergy from being Governed and Taxed by Kings 17. They forbid the reading of the Scriptures translated without a License 18. They say that we cannot well believe the Gospel but on the credit of their Church As if we must first know that the Pope and Council are authorized by Christ before we believe in Christ himself 19. They renounce Repentance by pretending to Infallibility 20. They cherish a numerous Clergy and Sects to carry on all this in the World and perswade high and low that to promote