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A19595 The declaration of Mr. Patrik Crawfurd his returne from poperie to the true religion, which is according to the Word of God, in holie Scripture Crawfurd, Patrick. 1627 (1627) STC 6032; ESTC S117118 36,279 66

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absolute obedience to the superiors of that order renuncing both my will and iudgment as their Father Ignatius His Epistle to his Brethren in Lusitania calls it and to follow al their injunctions without asking question to goe or to stay to do or to suffer whatsoeuer they thought good to enjoyne mee for the Catholick cause and good of the Roman Church This oath J saye I could not get digested For therby J should haue bene bound if they had thought it fit to enjoyne mee for the advancement of the Catholick cause to haue beene an instrument of all the mischiefe that they could devise against my natiue Countrie and vnder colour of relieving soules to doe what any hath done or attempted in that blind obedience Skarring therefore at this oath I came home and yet forced my self still to keep the former grounds of Religion whereby I was made obstinat in errour and vntoward to be dealt with by any who wold haue studied to reclaime me Yet it pleased God at last to force in his own truth vpon my conscience that I began to smell sundrie of their errours and specially of the sacrifice of the Masse and transubstantiation that I began to examine these groundes of the Roman Religiō which I had drunk in the beginning if they could beare me out before God or not wherein finding my selfe miserablie mistaken and so long by that meanes abused freelie and of my own accord not beeing dealt with by any J addressed my selfe for conference with the Ministerie of Edinburgh Falkirke and Glasgow who all louingly and learnedly gaue mee solution to all my doubts and furthered this worke of God in helping home a forlorne Sonne to his Fathers house againe Now for all the particular reasons why I call their masse and transubstantiation an errour and the grounds of their Religion vnwarandable and why J haue renunced their particular errours builded thereon it were not convenient to set them all down here partly because it wold accresse to a volume partly because in substance they are the same that are learnedlie set down by these who handles the contrauersies against the Church of Rome Only J will content my selfe to shew some few things of many First concerning their Religion in generall Next concerning their masse adding therto compendiously in the third place some few things of their common absurdities maintained by them CHAP. 5. The Scriptures alledged imperfection the Pope of Romes perfection who can not erre as is alledged because hee sits in the Chaire of Saint Peter are the two rotten Pillars whereon all these errours are builded THis Romish Religion is a mysterie it makes show to hold the common groundes of Christianitie but by her deedes everts them The first principles of the Romish errours doe resolue vpon these two the imperfection of the Scripture and the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome As for the imperfection of the Scripture they alledge that it does not containe all things necessarie for Salvation but place must bee left for traditions that is vnwriten doctrinall poynts and ancient customes long vsed in the Church as also for Ecclesiasticall constitutions and determinations or definitive sentences in matters controverted all which they alledge must haue equall authoritie in mens mindes with the Scriptures Next they alledge that these points necessarie to Saluation which are set down in Scripture are not cleare and plaine in the Scripture but that the Scripture is obscure and doubtsome and therefore is neither necessarie nor expedient that it should bee translated that it is a dangerous thing for laicks to read it wherein to any that will looke narrowlie vpon the matter they bewray a secreet feare if they bee hemde in into the rule of the Scriptures they cannot iustifie with any colour the abundance of their errours Thirdly evidently they show that the reading of the Scriptures by laicks shuld breed moe doubts about their Religion than they could bee able to solve and giue them such insight in this Religion that these whom they keepe now in the chaines of darknesse and blinde beliefe causing them to doe and suffer and beleeue what they please could not but break the yock if they grew acquainted with the Scripture Fourthlie they bewray the Spirit of Antichrist who thus vnder faire pretences sclander Christ Jesus who hauing taken vpon him as the great Prophet and Doctour of his Church to reveale the whole Counsell of God concerning mens Saluation and caused set it downe in Scripture yet hath come short of his purpose as their doctrine importes and neither hath set downe all things needfull nor these clearly which are set downe but obscurely ambiguously and dangerously that it is not safe for common People to read the same and so by these meanes they breed a misregard of the Scripture of Christ in mens hearts and skarres Christs sheepe as long as they can from hearing what the Spirit of Christ sayeth to his Churches As for the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome the first is that she cannot erre If wee aske how this can bee since they cannot name six men liuing of the Romish Religion of whom they either dare or wil avow but they may erre and are subject thereto nor three nor two They will answere that yet there is one who is head of all the rest of that Religiō the Pope who cannot erre all the rest of the Church-men of that profession being gathered together without him or without his minde sent by his Legat or Nuncio to them they grant they may erre only he cannot erre So then in stead of the Church of Rome we haue the Pope whose councill of Cardinals they will ioyne with him for lusters cause but the infallibilitie of doctrine they place in none but the Pope only By vertue of this prerogatiue of the Pope they ascribe great things to the Church of Rome vnder this pretence all her traditions are Apostolicke albeit they bee not in Scripture because they are come down as is alledged through the Apostolicke channell of the Popes infallibilitie Vnder this pretence all her customes and obseruations are Catholicke and Apostolicke and all her Ecclesiasticke constitutions and definitive sentences in matters contraverted are of diuine authoritie as they alledge and doe oblige men to beliefe obedience no lesse than the Scripture Yea vnder this pretence the Scripture hath no authoritie in respect of these who beleeue it wherfore it shuld persuade them or be credited more than the fables of Esope but as much as the Church of Rome allowes vpon it Vnder this pretence when other Churches doechallenge the Roman Church for any fault or errour shee takes vpon her to bee judge in all controuersies betwixt her selfe and others The Greeke Church for example in Asia challenges her of vsurpation aboue other Churches shee will be iudge challenges her of defection from Apostolicke doctrine shee will bee iudge challenges her of not doing as shee ought to doe or
Further when men knowes God and glorifies him not as God they become vaine in their owne imagination and their foolish hearts are darkened in Gods iustice as is said of the Gentiles If thou will not obey this forsaid command and counsell it is as needlesse to dispute this question further before thee as to dispute what taste the honey or the honey combe hath with them that neuer tasted thereof for feare it poyson them And this much for the first part I promised to speake which was of their Religion in generall CHAP. 9. No certaintie to haue the true Christ or to bee free from Idolatrie of a false Christ in the Masse FOllowes heare the next poynt whereof J promised to speake to wit of the Masse but I shall shall insist most vpon that grosse here sie of transubstantiation For vpholding wherof their special ground is the words of the institution This is my bodie which neuer can inforce transubstantiation for first Bellarmine in his third booke of the Eucharist Secundo dicit chap. 23 c. Declares that Scotus sayes there is no place of Scripture so plaine that compelles euidently to admit transubstantitaion without the declaration of the Church And Bellarmine himselfe acknowledges that not altogether to bee improbable Next they aggrie not them selues vpon the exposition of these words so that they cannot condescend vpon the verie first word HOC this as Bellarmine acknowledges of the Eucharist Where refusing the opinion of other Catholicks hee takes him to this interpretation that HOC This signifieth sub his speciebus contentum contained vnder these speces which indeed is an vncouth acception of the worde such as is not to bee found in any author either diuine or hu mane and yet it makes nothing to the purpose forit may euer bee demanded what is that which is Sub his speciebus vnder these speces for that must bee either the bread or the bodie of Christ if they vnderstand the bodie of Christ then the meaning in their exposition is the bodie of Christ is the bodie of Christ Which neither agries with Christs purpose nor yet proues their purpose for the body of Christ may bee the body of Christ and yet no change made of the bread in the substance of Christs bodie And by This if they vnderstand bread then the force of the words will bee This breadis Christs bodie But neither will this proue their purpose because it is not saide the substance of this Bread is changed in the substance of Christes body as they expone it But only This is my body which no more can inferre the change of substance in substance then these wordes which hee saide I am the true vyne can inferre a substantiall change of himselfe Ioh. 15. 1. 5. 1. Cor. 11. 25. in a vine tree or these words which hee said in the same Supper as the Apostle Paul showes This cup is the new Testament can enforce either the change of the substance of the cup or of the vine in the cup in a Testament So I could finde no warrand out of Christs words for transubstantiation J might well take their worde for it in stead of Christs Next their doctrine could giue mee no infallible certaintie that I should bee free from worshiping an J doll and the fantasie of my owne braine in stead of Christ when J came to the Masse for their doctrine is except the Priest haue a speciall intention to consecrate albeit hee say Masse that no transubstantiation will follow and so all that are present at the Masse are deceiued as they grant Now what can any man haue but a probable conjecture or charitable opinion or strong apprehension of another mans intention infallible certaintie can he not haue And I in speciall who knew certainly some of these Priests who were chosen and sent out by their superiours to propagate the Romish Religion subiect to as grosse faultes in their life for drunkennesse and sundrie other vices as other sinfull Laicks as they call them and yet part of them said Masse many a time both neere hand and further off how could I then but be suspense about their intention and how could J but doubt whether God would bee pleased at such mens intentions to change bread in Christs body and to put Christ in their hands and mouthes and to allow them to bee Priests to offer the Sonne of God his body in a sacrifice to the Father J know what they vse to answere in such cases that the Peoples worshipping of a supposed transubstantiat hostie were but materiall Jdolatrie because their purpose was to worship the true Christ when they worshiped only bread and the Idoll of their owne imagination But alace this is a poore shift and no better than if one should comfort a woman who had lyen with another besides her husband saying to her no matter this adulterie of thine is but materiall only and not formall because thy purpose was to giue thy body to thy husband and no other For the Scripture compares Idolatrie Ieremie 3. 1. 2. and adulterie together verie often Thirdly I found their transubstantiation builded vpon a pretense of making men certaine of their communion and coniunction with Christ which coniunction if it may bee sure without a corporall presence of his body their transubstantiation is a needlesse fiction Now I vnderstand certainly that howsoeuer the Papists doe traduce Ministers as if they fed people with signes and shadowes yet they belieue and teach that they are made sure of Iesus our Lord. First by his couenant and promise as these that are espoused beeing faithfull one to another are made sure one of another before their compleet marriage by mutuall affection of heart consent and couenant and mutuall promise for which cause the spouse in the Canticles many a yeere before Christs incarnation said My beloued is mine and I am Cant. 2. 16. his Next they belieue and teach that they are made sure of Christ by his owne great Seales annexed to his couenant the two Sacraments Baptisme and the Lords Supper which the Lord hath ordained to be the pawns pledges and Seales of himself his gifts and his graces bestowed vpon them and so are made sure of Christ and his grace for their Saluation as men are made sure of the Kings gift when they haue his royall donation and his great Seales annexed thereto for which cause When our Lord had giuen the Sacramentes to his disciples he sayes J dispone or appoynt a Kingdome vnto Luk. 22. 9 you because hee had giuen them the Seales of donation thereof presently before Thirdly they teach that they are made sure of Christ by the Spirite of Christ whom Christ promises and giues to euerie one that beleeues in him in such sort that hee who hath not Rom. 8. 9 the Spirite of Christ is none of his By which Spirite Christ is joyned to them and they to Christ as members of one body are ioyned to