Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	appear_v	common_a	great_a	350	4	2.1119	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15509	Christianity maintained. Or a discouery of sundry doctrines tending to the ouerthrovve of Christian religion: contayned in the answere to a booke entituled, mercy and truth, or, charity maintayned by Catholiques	Knott, Edward, 1582-1656.	1638 (1638)	STC 25775; ESTC S102198	45,884	90

CHRISTIANITY MAINTAINED OR A Discouery of sundry Doctrines tending to the Ouerthrovve of Christian Religion Contayned in the Answere to a Booke entituled Mercy and Truth or Charity maintayned by Catholiques Bringing into captiuity all Vnderstanding vnto the Obedience of Christ 2. Cor. 10.5 What is more contrary to Fayth then not to belieue any thing to which Reason cannot reach S. Bernard Epist 190. Permissu Superiorum 1638. TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES King of Great-Brittaine France and Ireland c. May it please your Most Excellent Maiesty MY Presumption vvere not easily excusable Most gracious Soueraigne in flying to the Sanctuary of your Maiesty for the protection of this poore Treatise if the great importance of the Cause vvherof I vvrite did not change my Feare into Hope and raise vp my Hope as high as Confidence that Christianity Maintayned by vvhat pen soeuer it be performed needeth not feare to find benigne acceptance from so Gracious and Great a King as you are vvho glory more in that most Sacred name of being a Christian then in that most ancient Stocke of Royall Progenitours vvhich so gloriously adornes the Diademe of your Sacred Maiesty For I do not in this occasion pretend to act either the Offensiue or Defensiue part of any one particular Religion honoured vvith the Name of Christianity but I only come in the generall Name of a Christian Church vvithout treating vvhether it be Latin or Greeke East or VVest of England or of Rome and therefore I cannot despayre of being graciously admitted by your Maiesty My Scope and VVorke as I am saying is only to maintaine the authority of Holy Scripture the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity the Deity of our Blessed Sauiour the infallibility of his Apostles the povver of his Miracles the necessity of his Grace and of the absolute Certainty of Christian Fayth against an Aduersary vvho seeketh to turne the diuine beliefe of Christians into humane Opinion (a) Pag. 36. 37. pag. 112. n. 154. Who teacheth that our assurance of holy Scripture of all the verityes contained therein is but (b) Ibid. probable and credible and consequently such as may vvell be false Who continually vrgeth (c) Pag. 112. lin 3. that God as sure as he is good neither doth nor can require of Christians an infallible and certainly vn-erring Beliefe of his vvord That men neither are bound nor can belieue diuine Reuelations (d) Pag. 330. lin 13.25.33 further then they are made apparent euident to them and that it sufficeth vnto Saluation to belieue the Gospell (e) Pag. 37. lin 20. s●qu as vve do other Stories as much as vve do (f) Pag. 327 n. 5. lin 28. Cesars Commentaries or the Hi story of Salust Who proclaimes (g) Pag. 144. n. 31. the Apostles vvith the vvhole Church of their time to haue erred in matters of fayth euen after they had receiued the Holy Ghost That after their Deaths (h) Pag. 292. infine 293. Initio the vvhole Church vvas presently infected vvith vniuersall Errour and that the vvhole Church of the (i) Pag. 338. lin 5. Gentils may fall avvay into Infidelity Who shutteth (k) Pag. 292. 393. the gates of Mercy against penitent sinners Finally vvho openeth an easy vvay for the deniall of all those maine points of Christianity aboue mentioned as it vvill appeare in this ensuing Treatise Vouchsafe therefore Most gracious Soueraigne to consider hovv Christianity is impugned by some euen in this your Kingdome and the incoueniences and dangers thereof and preuent both them and such others of the selfe same kind as may grovv greater if they be not preuented by your Zeale and Care I cannot doubt but that your Maiesty vvill do it euen for the Piety of the thing it selfe though my Aduersary vvho yet pretends that he is vvholy of your Maiesties Religion giues you a more particular offence by departing from the very doctrines vvhich you belieue For besides diuers other single differēces he neither allovves the Nine and thirty Articles vvhich your Maiesty in your Royall Declaration affirmes to containe the true Doctrine of the Church of England nor holds he the Succession of Bishops to be necessary in Gods Church Pag. 356. sequ vvhich experience teaches to tend expresly to the confusion of the said Church and destruction of Monarchy And though God hath made your Maiesty most happy both in a Royall Consort of singular and rare endovvments both of Body and Mind vvith a plentifull and most hopefull Issue vvhich vvith my hart I begge may euen last to the very end of the vvorld and vvith an Obedient Loyall People and vvith povver both at land and sea and vvith times both of Plenty and Peace vvhilst almost all your Neighbours are in vvarre and vvant yet nothing vvill euer be more able to establish You in all these Felicityes nor to auert all disasters from your Maiesty then not to permit that there be any conniuence at such enormous Errours as these vvhich partly openly partly couertly are vented against Christ our Lord and all Christian Fayth The God of Heauen preserue your Maiesty in all Health and Happinesse to his greatest Glory your Maiestyes ovvne Felicity and to the ioy comfort of all your Kingdomes Your Maiesties most humble and most obedient loyall subiect I. H. To the Christian Reader WONDER not Christian Reader That I entitle this Little Treatise Christianity Maintained I giue it that Name because that is the thing which I endeauour heer to make good against one who ouerthrows Christianity not by remote Principles or strained Inferences but by direct assertions cleere deductiōs naturally flowing from diuers of his doctrines which if it be made appeare I cannot but hope that all who take comfort in the glorious and most happy name of Christian will giue me the right hands of fellowship in this Common Cause Ancient Pacianus sayes (a) Epist ad Semprou of euery orthodoxe belieuer that Christian is his name Catholicke his Surname Catholicke cannot be conceiued without Christian But Christianity so long as it is maintained wil afford some common Principles of beliefe which may direct men to find that one Catholicke Church of Christians by meanes whereof our Lord hath decreed to giue Grace and Glory Let therfore neither preiudice auert nor priuat respects diuert the good Readers vnderstanding from weighing in an equal ballance that which is herce layd before it God forbid any Christian should exceed the desper are folly of the Iewes who would not depose their priuat quarells euen while they were circled with a hostile army of Romans or be losse aduised then the Romans who tooke occasion to make peace at home by the pronocations of the Enemy abroad indging it wifedome to be swayed with feare of greater euill especially when they could do it vnder the honourable title of a Common (c) Liu. lib. 2. good In which

of no other Happines but the preseruation of their owne fortunes in this world for hauing punished Heretiques euen with death I leaue to be considered by higher Powers 2. Chap. 11. I grant he would seeme to mitigate his doctrine and confine it within certaine limits but such that his exception is worse then his generall Rule vnlesse I mistake his meaning therefore present his words as they lye to the Readers iudgment There is saith he no daunger to any State from any mans opinion vnlesse it be such an opinion by which disobedience to Authority or impiety is taught or licenced which sort I confesse may iustly be punished as well as other faults or vnlesse this sanguinary doctrine be ioyned with it That its lawful for him by human violence to enforce others to it Thus he As for his first limitation it either destroyes all that he said before or els it is but a verball glosse for his owne security For if he grant that euery Heresy is impiety and brings with it disobedience to Authority as certainly it does if it be professed against the lawes of the Kingdome or Decrees and Commaunds of the Church State Prelats where the contrary is maintained If I say his meaning be this then his former generall Doctrine vanisheth into nothing it will still remaine true that men may be punished for their opinions heresyes But if his meaning be that no opinion is to be punished except such as implyes disobedience to Authority or licenseth Impiety in things which belong meerely to Temporall affayres and concerne only the ciuill comportment of one man to another as theft murther and the like then he still leaues a freedome for men to belieue and professe what they please for matters of Religion And so if they iudge a thing to be vnlawfull which their Superiours affirme to be indifferent yet they may hold their opinion and disobey their Prelates and may be able to tel them from this mans doctrine that to enforce any man in points of this kind is vnlawfull Machiauillian Policy 3. His second limitation seemes to goe further telling vs that a mās opinion may be punished if this sanguinary doctrine be ioyned with it That it is lawfull for him by human violence to enforce others to it Frō whence for ought I can perceiue it cleerly followes that if any Church prescribe some forme of Beliefe and punish others for belieuing and professing the contrary the Prelats or others of that Church who cōcurre to enforce by punishment such contrary belieuers may themselues be iustly punished As if for example an Arian be punished with Death in any Kingdome the Prelats or other Persons of authority in that State may according to his doctrine be lawfully punished as holding it lawfull to enforce men against their conscience which he calles a sanguinary Doctrine How daungerous a position this might prooue if Arians or Socinians or any other sect or vnquiet spirit could preuaile in any Kingdome or Commonwealth where Hereticks are punished it is not fit for me to exaggerate being sufficient for my intention to haue made it cleere that the enemy of mankind could neuer haue inuented a more effectual meanes then this freedome of opinion and encouragement by impunity for the enlarging of his infernall Kingdome by Heresy Paganisme Atheisme and in a word by destroying whatsoeuer belongs to Christianity 4. As for punishing Heretiks with Excommunication in words he grants it may be done but I haue reason to suspect what his meaning is indeed whether he speake thus only for some respects For I know that a great Socinian hath printed the contrary Iren. Philal disp de Pace Eccles And if no man can be punished with temporall punishmēt for imbracing that which his Conscience persuades him to be Truth how can he be lawfully punished by Excommunication for doing that which to his vnderstanding he is obliged to do For not acknowledging any authority of Church or Prelats indued with infallibility he is still left to his owne reason Besides one effect of excommunication is to exclude the Person so censured from the ciuill conuersation with others other temporall punishments in all Courts being also consequent to it Seeing then he denyes that men are to be punished for their opinions by Temporall punishments he cannot with coherence affirme that they may lawfully be excommunicated This certainly being a greater enforcement then death it selfe to such as vnderstand the spirituall benefits and aduantages of which men are depriued by that Censure The Conclusion 1. By that which hath been said in these few precedent Chapters it euidently appeares first how fitting it was for the good of our Country in these present circūstances that people should haue learned by some such Treatise as the Direction to beware of impious Doctrines such as were foreseene that this mā would vent vnder colour of defending the Protestant cause and answering Charity maintayned And that although nothing could be intended more disgracefull to Protestant Religion then to see a Champion a way chosen to defend it which openly destroyes all Religion yet Compassion could not but worke in a wel-wishing soule and mooue it to desire and to endeauour that such a way should not be taken which might make people more and more insensible of any Religion by blurring the common principles of Christianity and digging vp the foundation thereof to lay insteed of them the grounds of Atheisme 2. Secondly though this hath not taken the full effect which could haue been wished that notwithstāding the warning giuen he hath interlac●d his whole booke with such stuffe as here you haue seene yet this we haue gotten further that it is discouered cleerly to the world how deeply Socinianisme is rooted in this man and as it is to be feared in many others with whome he must needes haue had much conference since his vndertaking the worke in regard that no timely aduise or Direction no force of reason no feare of shame or punishment no former impressions of Christianity could withdraw him from steeping his thoughts and pen in such vn-Christian inke nor the many Corrections endeauoured by the Approouers of his Booke blot out his errours though in respect of the alterations which haue been by report made in it by them it is quite another thing from the first platforme which he drew and put into their hands and consequently how iust reason the Directour had to suspect that his true intention was not to defend Protestantisme but couertly to vent Socinianisme 3. Now thirdly whether it be not high time that people should now at the least open their eyes vpon this second warning and take that order which may be conuenient to preuent the spreading of so pernicious a Sect I must leaue to the consideration of euery one whome it may concerne I do only for the present wish from my hart that the maintayning of that Blessed Title and State of Christianity of which our Countrey hath been for so many ages possessed may be the effect both of this mans wauering and wandering trauells and of these my labours FINIS Errata PRaesat pag. 10. lin 25. to our nation corrige of our nation Ibid. pag. 11. lin 26. with corrige with Pag. 32. lin 3. is the corrige is so Ibid. lin 4. by so corrige by the Pag. 53. lin 21. Christ is God lege is the Sonne of God In the margent pag. 11. ouer against S. Bernard eited line 3. put Bernard Epist. 87.