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A31348
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Catholicism without popery an essay to render the Church of England a means and a pattern of union to the Christian world.
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Hooke, John, 1655-1712.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing C1497; ESTC R8878
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84,579
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258
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Catholicism WITHOUT POPERY AN ESSAY To Render the Church of ENGLAND A Means and a Pattern of UNION TO THE Christian World LONDON Printed for I. Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry 1699. Advertisement THE Reader is desired to take Notice of Two Things 1. That this Discourse is not Written by the Direction Assistance or Advice of any Person or Party whatsoever nor with the Privity of any in Authority but is the meer and only Result of the Author 's own Thoughts who makes it his Request that the Reader wou'd forget that it has an Author and take it as if it were produc'd by the casual falling together of the Letters of the Alphabet it being too common a thing for Men to slight Truth if they approve not of him that utters it and to indulge Error if recommended by the Author's Name And yet at the same time let the Reader be assur'd that the Author is not afraid that the World should know what he earnestly desires may be conceal'd for the Reason aforesaid 2. That for the same Reason divers Passages are made use of therein without referring to the Books whence they are taken there being in so learned an Age no great danger of Plagearism and in so divided and contentious an Age too much danger of the abovesaid Inconvenience THE PREFACE Christian Reader THE Substance of the following Discourse was Written above eight Years since and Presented in Manuscript to Her Late Majesty of ever Blessed Memory But Wars abroad made it unseasonable to attempt Peace in the Churches while the States of Europe were so hotly engag'd and had the Church of England render'd it self a Pattern of Peace yet the Nations about us were not at leisure to observe that Pattern The Divine Power Wisdom and Goodness assisting the Best of Kings hath Restor'd Peace to the Nations of Christendom among themselves And why may not Peace among the Churches of Christendom be expected by the same Means And because the Design of the following Discourse is to attempt it first at Home yet with an Eye to the Peace of the Christian World I will look back on the Past Age and consider the Cause of our Divisions both in Church and State Two Controversies have miserably divided this Nation for more than one Century I mean the Controversie between the Prerogative of the King and the Liberty of the Subject and the Controversie between a Strict Vniformity in Matters of Religion and a Lawless Liberty of Conscience And our Enemies of the Roman Communion have ever since the Reformation industriously kept alive both these Controversies in order to reduce us to our former Bondage to Rome They took the side of Prerogative and Strict Conformity till they had set these Kingdoms in a flame and broke in pieces the English Government both in Church and State They us'd the Pretence of Loyalty to Murder the Poor Protestants of Ireland and of Vniformity to drive many excellent Men out of the Church And when they had ruin'd Prerogative and the English Church by appearing for them They then fell in for Anarchy in the State and an extravagant Liberty of Conscience in the Church and broke us into Numberless Parties and Sects And while their Emissaries wrought diligently to build a sort of Babel among us they cast the Reproach thereof on the Protestant Religion Again when the Nation grew weary of Anarchy of changing Governments every Moon and springing new Churches almost as often and found a necessity of Restoring the English Constitution they returned to their old Methods of straining the Prerogative and destroying both our Civil and Religious Liberties by Arbitrary Power and on that side of the Controversie they continued till the late Happy Revolution They knew though we were forbid to say that both the late Kings were in their Interest and that the Prerogative would be certainly on their side that the Dispensing Power render'd all Laws already made against them useless and would consequently restore Popery by our Celebrated Magna Charta They knew that Modelling Corporations wou'd destroy Legislation for the time to come by making Parliaments like those in France Tools and Vassals to the Crown as the Council of Trent was to the Pope Thus Humane Wisdom seem'd to Promise them all Imaginable Success for the Church-Party being secur'd by the Doctrines of Passive-Obedience and Non-Resistance misunderstood the Dissenters Caress'd with an Illegal Toleration and the Papists among us Vnited to destroy us we were like Isaac bound and laid on the Altar had not our good Angel in the very Act of Sacrificing staid the Knife I do but touch these things as being Foreign to the Design of the Following Discourse yet I can't pass them without observing that Solid and Lasting Settlement both of Religion and Civil Liberty which we owe to His Majesty Two things the Nation had learn'd by sad Experience 1. By the Confusions and Distractions of the late Times they learn'd that a Common-Wealth would never do in England for though for a season that Government made a Figure in the World it soon dwindled into a single Person under another Name and at his Death consum'd away in Anarchy 2. By the late Reigns the Nation had learn'd that Arbitrary Power would never do in England though affected and attempted with all possible Application in both those Reigns What then could Humane Wisdom think fit to be done upon the Late Revolution but to settle and establish the English Government on its Ancient and Solid Foundations The most Renowned Politician observes That those Kingdoms and Governments stand longest that are oft renewed and brought back to their first Beginnings And though in the last Age we could not attain it we are now blest with the Old English Constitution The English Government exceeds all others in the World being a just Mixture of the Three Forms of Government Monarchy Aristocracy and Democracy Monarchy justly boasts its Vnion Aristocracy its Grandeur and Democracy its Liberty Now the English Government has all the Advantages of these Governments without the Disadvantages of any it has Monarchy without Arbitrary Power Aristocracy without Faction and Democracy without Anarchy and hence we are blest with King Lords and Commons The Just Prerogative is Establish d the Invaded Liberties of the Kingdom are restor'd and the Incroachments of the Late Reigns condemn'd by Act of Parliament So that there is an end of the Controversie between the Prerogative of the King and the Liberty of the Subject and nothing but the most incurable Infidelity can be Proof against that Evidence of His Majesty's Love to the English Liberty which He hath given by permitting an Election for Parliament during his Absence and passing the Bill for Disbanding the Army The Controversie between a strict Settlement and a Boundless Liberty in Matters of Religion is also in some good measure compromised we have now no Spanish Inquisition to force Mens Faith and Consciences into the same Mould which is
Ordination by laying on of Paul's Hands 1 Tim. 4.14 2 Tim. 1.6 and also of Ordination by laying on the Hands of the Presbytery The Primitive Church joined together the Bishops and Presbyters in Ordination and that will Please and Unite the Episcopal and Presbyterian And I don't know whether if any Independent or Antipoedobaptist be fond thereof it should be any Difficulty to the Church of England to let them Admit their Pastor with what Ceremonies they please so as he be willing to submit thereto perhaps they will have the better Opinion of him and he have advantage of doing more good And as for Reordination 't is but Confirming Ordinations made by Presbyters by Act of Parliament which is no new thing and that Affair will be settled without determining that difficult Point of Controversie Many of the Incumbrances on Conformity are removed particularly that which related to the Illegally Imposed Covenant and the Oxford Oath and if Subscription to the Terms of Union by all that shall receive Imployment in the Established Church together with fit Qualifications and a Sober Religious and Godly Life were accepted instead of all other Subscriptions and Oaths how happy should we see the Church of England Lastly These things would Answer the Objections and Remove the Antipathies and Prejudices of the Dissenters And as for the Indecencies justly complain'd of amongst some of them by those of the Established Part of the Church they do already sensibly Decay and would soon vanish away Good Manners is certainly as agreeable in Church as out of it and there is no necessity of being Guilty of Irreverence to avoid Superstition The Apostle advised the Women in the Church to have a covering on their heads 1 Cor. 11.10 because of the Angels And if the Angels gather the Devotion of our Souls from the Posture of our Bodies were it for no other Reason Men would neither Sleep nor Loll nor put on their Hats in Publick or Allow'd Assemblies especially they who keep them off all the Week besides The Service of the Body as well as the Soul is owing to him from whom the Glory of both is expected And the Apostle as if he had fore-seen the Folly of some People in this Matter expresly exhorts us to Present our Bodies a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable to GOD which is our reasonable Service But yet I 'm not so Sanguine as to believe it a Matter probable to be effected to bring the Episcopal Presbyterian Independent and Antipoedobaptist so near together immediately as that they should agree in one Mode of Worship or Form of Divine Service and yet I conceive they may be all United in the Church of England and under the Government of the Bishops without hurting their Consciences on the one side or cutting a Hem off the Surplice on the other And to this purpose I would propose I. That by a New Act of Vniformity Moderate Men may be comprehended and the Tolerable Tolerated II. That an Act of Parliament be pass'd for the more Positive Settling and Limitting the Bishops Courts and give them a Process suitable to their Civil Constitution III. That the Power of Excommunication and Absolution be restor'd to the Parish Pastor for Matter of Immorality or Gross Heresie and the Proof thereof be transmitted to the Court kept for that Diocess IV. That all the Teachers in Dissenting Congregations do make themselves personally known to the Diocesan and own his Civil Jurisdiction within his Diocess according to Law and Enter the Places of their Assemblies with him And that all Dissenters submit to the Conusance of those Courts if they are accus'd of Immoralities who may there have a Civil Punishment V. That because very many of His Majesty's Subjects are and probably will continue under the above-mentioned Denominations it might be advisable that the several distinguish'd Parties choose their Representatives to Assist at a Convocation in Matters of Manners and Good Life and other things which are not in Controversie VI. The Providence of God in the Instance of London-derry did shew us that all Endeavours of Agreement are blest by Miraculous and Extraordinary Appearances of the Divine Goodness And though we are not Besieged in England yet I doubt we are under an equal necessity of Unity and Concord in order to preserve to our selves and Posterity both the Commandments and the Creed And if the Episcopal Party though they will be render'd much more Numerous by such Comprehension reserving to themselves both the Property and Profits of the Church would nevertheless allow the Dissenters the Morning and Evening Hours for their Lectures and Assemblies they Engaging not to meddle with those Matters in Controversie which distinguish Parties amongst us but only to endeavour the Good of Souls which is the Interest and Duty of all Parties they would grow together insensibly and we should be in a short time the Happiest Nation on the Earth FINIS Books Printed for J. Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry MR. Pool's English Annotations in Two Volumes Folio The Works of the Reverend Mr. Stephen Charnock B. D. in Two Volumes Folio The Life of the Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter with the History of the Times he lived in Written by himself Folio A Sermon Preach'd at the Interrment of Mr. Samuel Stephens Quarto A Sermon Preach'd at the Assizes at Buckingbam July 5. 1692. by Mr. John Howard Rector of Marston-Trussel Quarto The Evil of our Days with the Remedy of it A Sermon preach'd at a Visitation at Rothwell in Northamptonshire â—ctob 12 1697. By the same Author A Sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London at St. Mary-le-Bow Jan. 30. 1693. A Thanksgiving Sermon before the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of London at St. Mary-le-Bow April 16. 1696. Both by Will. Stephens B. D. Rector of Sutton in Surrey Quarto Mr. Lorimer's Apology for the Ministers who Subscribed to the Stating of the Truths and Errors in Mr. William's Book in Answer to Mr. Irail's Letter to a Minister in the Country Quarto Mr Lorimer's Remarks on Mr. Goodwin's Discourse of the Gospel Proving that the Gospel-Covenant is a Law of Grace and Answering the Objections to the contrary Quarto An Effort against Bigottry and for Christian Catholicism by Henry Chandler Quarto A Funeral Sermon occasion'd by the Death of the Eminently Pious Mrs Elizabeth Williams late Wife of the Reverend Mr. Daniel Williams Octavo A Practical Discourse concerning Vows with a Special Reference to Baptism and the Lord's-Supper Octavo Dr. Burton's Discourses of Purity Charity Repentance and seeking first the Kingdom of God Published with a Preface by Dr. John Tillotson late Archbishop of Canterbury Octavo Bishop Wilkins's Discourse of the Gift of Prayer and Preaching the Latter much Enlarged by the present Bishops of Norwich and Chichester Octavo A Free Discourse wherein the Doctrines that make for Tyranny are Display'd the Title of our Rightful and Lawful King William