in an Vnity in matters of Faith so that they are truly Schismaticks that are divided from the External Communion of the true Church viz that do not own all the Ordinances of the true Church or if they own them do not live in the Exercise of them these are the Persons that are guilty of Schism Now how deeply guilty of Schism you are who charge us with it I shall leave all honest Men to judge Now if you cannot prove that we own any thing in point of Doctrine or Discipline in our Church that is not according to the word of God how can you have the face to accuse us of Schism If you have any thing to Accuse us of in point of Doctrine or Discipline let us have it and I doubt not but we shall be able to clear our selves of all your false Accusations REPLY Schism he knows not well what to make of he gives me the 〈◊〉 signification of the Word it is true but when he comes to apply it he says 't is a Division in the Church of Christ consisting in an Vanity in matters of Faith either as if the Vnity of the Church consisted only in an Vnity in matters of Faith or that Schism were a Separation from the true Church in matters of Faith But besides Vnity in matters of Faith there is an Unity and Communion of Saints in Worship and whether he knew it or no if he separates from the true Church in Matters of Faith he is an Heretick more properly than a Schismatick for a Man may be a Schismatick and yet be right as to the main Articles of Faith If he is divided from the external Communion of the true Church he is a Schismatick or to explain it in other words if he does not own all the Ordinances of the true Church or if he does own them does not however live in the exercise of them viz in the external Communion of the true Church this person is guilty of Schism Now I leave all men that have sence as well as honesty to Judge whether you or we are divided from the External Communion of the true Church and consequently which are Schismaticks We own all the Ordinances of the true Church and live in the Exercise of them We are in Communion with all the sound parts of Christ's Church all the world over They own our Church as their Sister and give her the right hand of Fellowship and highly condemn you for your separation The Church of Rome only accuses us of Schism and the Charge would be good against ours with respect to her if we had no better reasons for separating from her than the Dissenters in England give for their Separation from Vs Our Separation from the Church of Rome has been sufficiently cleared from the Charge of Schism and when you have brought as good Arguments in defence of your dividing from External Communion with us we shall then pronounce you not guilty of it neither But till then till you prove that ours is not the National Establisht Church with which you lie under an Obligation to Communicate that this established Church is not a sound part of the Church of Christ and that she imposes sinful Terms of Communion till I say you have done all this I shall continue my Accusation of Schism as long as you continue in your Separation and put as good a Face upon it as the Godly Learned of old did who say That every unjust and rash Separation from a true Church i. e. when there is no just or at least no sufficient cause of the Separation is a Schism and that there is a Negative and a Positive Schism The former is when Men do peaceably and quietly draw from Communion with a Church not making head against that Church from which they are departed The other is when Persons so withdrawing do consociate and withdraw themselves into a distinct opposite Body setting up Church against Church which Camero calls a Schism by way of Eminency and farther 〈◊〉 there are four Causes that makes a Separation from a Church 〈◊〉 First when they that separate are grievously and intollerably persecuted Secondly when the Church they separate from is Heretical Thirdly when it is idolatrous Fourthly when 't is the Seat of Anti-Christ And where none of these four are found there the Separation is insufficient and Schism Now we are fully assured that none of these Four Causes can be justly charged upon our Congregations therefore you must not be displeased with us but with your selves if we blame you as guilty of positive Schism This was the Presbyterian Doctrine in those Blessed Days of 49 to those who stood in divided Congregations from them And if it was good Doctrine then I am sure it is much more so now as coming from Vs to You. In what sence you call your separate Meetings a Church I know not but if you think that they deserve that Name more than the Quakers or Anabaptists or Independants who all assume that Title to themselves then I must tell you that I take your Church to be a Schismatical Church for let your Faith be as right as that of the 3 Creeds and your Discipline if you have any as free from fault as you would have the world think you to be yet if you are divided from the external Communion of the true Church in the exercise of the Ordinances of the true Church i. e. if you do not joyn with the true Church in Prayers hearing the Word and receiving the Sacraments your own Paper makes you Schismaticks and I must freely own I do not see how any Man can be acquitted therefrom who being a Member of a particular established Church does upon any pretended Offence taken against such Rites Modes and Ceremonies which are thought convenient by that Church separate himself from the publick Worship when the Substantials and Essentials thereof are so unexceptionable as ours are But forasmuch as your Notions and Discourses about the true Church and about Schism seem to be so confused and extravagant Before I dismiss this point I desire you will give me Liberty to instruct you in the meaning of a Christian Church which I am apt to believe you do not rightly understand Now among the several Acceptations of the word Church one whereof belongs to the place consecrated and set apart for the publick Assemblies of Christians the Church in the Language of the New Testament of Intelligent Writers and indeed of all Men that understand themselves when they talk about it especially with Reference to Communion doth generally signifie the Christian Church either as it is Catholick or as it is Particular The Christian Church considered as Catholick or Universal signifies the whole Body of Christians dispersed upon the Face of the whole Earth and so it comprehends all Persons and all particular Churches professing Christianity And whosoever shall make a Defection or Separation from this Church will be found guilty
of a manifest dangerous most abominable Schism or rather Apostacy This general and Universal Church tho' but one body is yet made up of several particular Members or Churches and by a particular Christian Church we understand a Number of Men of the same Country professing Christianity formed into a Society under lawful Governours and governed by such Laws and Rules as are not different from but agreeable to the Laws and Rules of the Catholick Church And if any Man or number of Men who are Members of that Society shall without just cause separate themselves from the Communion thereof he or they so doing are certainly guilty of Schism Such a Church as this was the Church at Corinth the Church at Jerusalem the Church at Ephesus the Church of the Thessalonians the Church of Laodicea the Church of Smyrna the Church of Pergamus the Church of Thyatira the Church of Sardis the Church of Philadelphia and such a Church as this is the National Establisht Church of England which through a Collection of several Parochial Congregations is yet properly but one particular Church by reason of the same bond of Faith Worship and Government whereby they are all United and so make one true sound and pure part of the Catholick or Universal Church Except then there be a more just cause of Separation than you either have alledged or can alledge it must be a very great sin to erect new Churches and separate in the Acts of Prayer and Sacraments from the Body of a Church and Nation For so at Corinth St. Paul told them whilst one was for Paul and another for Apollos and there were divisions among them they were Carnal and walked as Men 1 Cor. 3.34 And at Rome he bids them mark them who cause Divisions and Offences and not adhere and associate with but avoid them Rom. 16.17 or to enforce this in the words of the Presbyterians whereby they of old pleaded for Unity and Uniformity We are loth to speak any thing that may offend you yet we entreat you to consider that if the Apostle call those Divisions of the Church of Corinth wherein Christians did not separate into diverse formed Congregations of several Communions in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Schism 1 Cor. 1.10 may not your secession from us and professing you cannot joyn with us as Members and setting up Congregations of another Communion be more properly called Schism And I must tell you further that it is never the less so in you upon the Account of the Act of Toleration which cannot nor does not pretend to exempt you from the Duty of Conformity but only from the Penalties of Nonconformity Your Separation is not one Jot the more reasonable or more just than it was before and those that were concerned in the drawing up of this Paper seem to be sensible of this in that they do not urge the Plea of Toleration but put their cause upon another Issue viz. the Merits of it But however Mr. Norris has cleared this case in his Charge of Schism continued notwithstanding the Toleration And now that I may be even with my Gentleman for his Idol-syllogism I shâ—â—â— Sum this whole Matter in a Syllogism all the parts whereof have been sufficiently proved to be as true as that was proved to be false and it runs thus Whoever separate from a Church with which they may lawfully communicate are guilty of Schism But you separate from a Church with which you may lawfully communicate Therefore you are guilty of Schism Or if you would rather that I should put the Argument into form in your own Words it stands thus Whoever are divided from the external Communion of the true Church are Schismatiks But you are divided from the external Communion of the true Church Therefore you are Schismaticks The Major or first of these Propositions is your own The Minor or second Proposition is true also because it is undeniable that the Church of England is a true Church and too sadly apparent that you separate from external Communion with her in the Exercise of Prayers and Sacraments the Ordinances of the true Church whence the Conclusion necessarily follows that you are Schismaticks And if so then I beseech you lay to Heart the words of Mr. Ball one of the most learned and judicious Non-conformists before the Wars as Dr. Stilling fleet stiles him in his Mischief of Separaton where he quotes him for them speaking of Separation he calls it a Renting the Church the Disgrace of Religion the Advancement of Pride Schism and Contention the Offence of the Weak the Grief of the Godly who be better setled the Hardning of the Wicked and Recovery or Rising again of Anti-Christianism nay even persecuting the Lord Jesus in his Host which they revile in his Ordinances which they dishonour and in his Servants whose Footsteps they slander whose Graces they Despise whose Office they Trample upon with Disdain ANSWER And I hope God will so direct us in Choosing our Minister that we shall make choice of such a one as will eandeavour to keep with in the Bounds and Limits of the Laws of God and Man and in particular the Act of Toleration and one I hope that will give no Disturbance in the Parish unless you will be disturbed as I fear you are and have been for the Preaching of the Gospel you know such Men there were in the Apostles days these Men say they do exceedingly trouble our City you know who they were that were accused those who were the Faithful Ambassadours of Jesus Christ REPLY I did not desire you to take care in the choice of a Minister there is no Room for that as long as I live and I am not legally dispossessed But if you must have another Preacher who in your Judgements is better qualified than I am I wish still that he may be a Man of Prudence and Temper one that will strictly confine himself within the Bounds and Limits of the Act of Toleration which restrains him wholly to the Meeting-House where he is licenced in the Exercise of his Talent of preaching gives him no Indulgence to perform any other Ministerial Office either there or in any other place nor to Rail and Revile or speak against the Church and Common Prayer either in his Sermons or elsewhere nor to go about to seduce People from the Established Service and their own Proper Minister There is no Toleration that I know of for these and the like Practises to either him or any other and therefore I think it is good and kind Advice both to you and him to keep within the Bounds of that Act for fear an Enquiry should be made whether all such who do not observe the Conditions of the Indulgence be not as liable to the Law as if they had none But let him be as cautious as he will not to transgress that particular Law he must not pretend that he observes all the Laws of God and
is all Mens Worship of God and that he that will not communicate with faulty Worship must renounce Communion with all the World and all with him Mr. Calvin assigns two Marks of the visible Church the Word of God truly preached and Sacraments administred according to Christ's Institution and saith That altho' there be many Faults and Corruptions in such a Church yet as long as it retains those Marks Separation from it is not justifiable nay altho' some of those Faults be about Preaching the Word and Administrations of Sacraments for saith he all Truths are not of equal Moment but as long as the Doctrine according to Godliness and the true Vse of the Sacraments is kept up Men ought not to separate upon lesser Differences but they ought to seek the amending what is amiss continuing in the Communion of the Church and without disturbing the Peace and Order of it I had not I own the Opportunity of consulting every one of these Authors but I have given you their sence and very words upon the unquestionable Authority of those two Reverend Bishops of our Church the present Bishop of Worcester and the Bishop of Chichester The former whereof in his Vnreasonableness of Separation hath with great Evidence proved that all the Old Non-conformists did think themselves bound in Conscience to communicate with the Church of England and did look upon Separation from it to be a sin notwithstanding the Corruptions they supposed to be in it And the latter in his Case of Lay-Communion produces the concurrent Testimony of the most eminent Non-conformists that there is nothing required in the Parochial Communion of the Church of England that can be a sufficient reason for Separation from it and though he has collected the sence of a great many yet you may believe him when he tells you that for One Hundred he could easily have produced Two if the Cause were to go by the Poll. These Reverend Authors do not put their Readers off with only telling 'em that the Learned observe and some Authors say so and so but they quote Book and Page and which therefore if you have a Mind to be further satisfied you your Selves may consult Those Non-conforming Ministers might probably be under such Prior Engagements or dislike some things so far that they could not satisfie themselves in making the Declarations and Subscrpitions which are required of Ministers in order to preserve the Peace of the Church and the unity of Christians which does so much depend upon that of its Officers and Teachers But there being no Declarations or Subscriptions required of the People nor any thing more than to attend upon and joyn in the Worship practised and allowed in the Church they according to the Doctrine of those Gentlemen ought not to separate To which I shall not need to add any more than that remarkable Annotation of the Reverend Mr. Pool upon Luke 2.41 One thing says He there is observable The Pharisees and Scribes and Priests had in those days much corrupted the Worship of God by their Traditions yet they retained the Substance of Gods Institution We find both our Saviour and his Disciples and other people of God not wholly forsaking the Jewish Church because of its Corruptions Yet we cannot think they joyned with them in any thing of their Will-Worship from whence we may learn a tenderness as to a total Separation from a Church and the Lawfulness of attending divine Ministrations though attended with Vsages which we approve not provided there be no Idolatry in the Service And the Truth of it is if Separation be justifiable upon the Score of some small whether real or fancied Errors which may be in any Church then Communion must not be held with any part of Christ's Church if not with ours for she is certainly as free from Error as any Church in the whole World and the living in her Communion like Members of so Holy an Institution as safe a way to Salvation as any I know in the world And I so firmly believe what I say in this matter that I challenge all her Adversaries to Compare ours and other Churches with the word of God and the Primitive Church and if they cannot produce one that is freer from Error in Doctrine and Worship than she is or comes nearer to the Primitive Pattern nay if amongst all Competitions and contending Sects among us there is not one to be found that delivers the Truths of the Gospel with greater purity and sincerity That doth teach a Religion more holy and useful that lays greater stress upon a pure Mind and a blameless and undefiled Life that doth give more forcible Arguments for Vertue or more powerful Disswasives from Vice theâ— I hope you will have better thoughts both of her and my Invitation of you into her Communion and be convinced that you have no just grounds to continue in your Separation upon Pretences of Impurity in her or greater Purity elsewhere But I would have you speak out Is Communion with us sinful or is it not If you say it is you say it without Proof you therein contradict the Opinion of the most eminent of the old Presbyterians you oppose your selves to the Opinion and Practice of the most candid and most honest among those now alive who do not wholly separate themselves from our Communion and if your own Teaches will be true to their real Sentiments I dare be confident they will not say so nay you do herein condemn your own Practice of occasionally joyning with us now and unless you will declare you were then mistaken in your Judgments you make your selves guilty of base Hypocrisie in constantly joyning with us when the Penalties of the Law were inflicted upon those that refused it If you say that Communion with us is not sinful and that therefore you may occasionally joyn with us then let the Assembly of Divines draw the Consequence who say that to separate from those Churches ordinarily and visibly with whom occasionally you may joyn without sin seemeth to be a most unjust Separation That which you quote for One I have shewed to be no Command for you to leave our Church nor can you make it any way applicable thereto till you have proved that there is something taught or practised in our Church which is as bad as the unclean thing there spoken of But did I or ever any Man else say that it was Schism to obey God rather than Man And therefore what need he put me to prove it But that is not your Case my Brethren you causelessly and willfully separate from a sound part of Christ's Church and if that is not Schism I will yield up the cause for ever But let us more particularly examine this mans Notion of Schism and see whether even according thereto you be not guilty of it ANSWER I know Schism properly signifies a Cutting in two a disagreeing in Mâ—â—â—â— a Division in the Church of Christ consisting
Invitation to you is Answered not by an humble and modest Excuse of your selves but by a Paper which is stuffed with false Accusations of our Church and uncharitable Censures of those in Her Communion I think it will become me to endeavour not only your Conviction by shewing you how ill a Defence you have made and how weak those Arguments are which are here brought in Defence of your Separation from us but also to Vindicate our Church from the ill-grounded Charges there layd against Her of Idolatry Judaism Popery Schism Vnlawful Impositions Superstitions and Traditions Heavy Charges these are and yet they are all either expressed or clearly implyed in this Paper and the Sentence of Damnation passed upon us into the bargain I shall not stand to Examine into the Charity of the Man that writ it but into the Arguments he produces to prove all these things and if they do appear to have no solid Foundation but on the contrary to be weak and sallacious or rather no Arguments at all you must either Renounce the Separation and come to Church or bring better Reasons for your Refusal so to do which I believe your Cause will not admit of or that however none of you can do it I am not much concerned to know who my Answerer is only I shall say that if he had thought fit to have sent his Paper to me alone with his Name subscribed to it I should have contented my self that the Matters in Controversie should have been amicably debated either in private Letters or in private Conversation betwixt him and me alone But since he has sent it abroad and put it into your hands to harden you in your Separation and widen the Breach between us I cannot think that I have discharged my Duty towards you till I have shewed you the weakness of those Arguments by which those that call themselves the Authorized Ambassadors of Christ pursue those Vnchristian Ends. Whether the Answer I have returned be sufficient I must leave to your Judgments to determine but that you may better apprehend the Force of what is said on both sides I have faithfully transcribed the Answer to my Paper according to the Copy I met with and replyed to it Paragraph by Paragraph Read both then without Prejudice and God Almighty enable you to Judge righteous Judgment and give you Grace sincerely to Act according thereto ANSWER Sir I have lately received a Paper with your Name subscribed to it which makes me think that it is of your own inditing and were all in it according to the Rule we ought to walk by the Word of God I should have been silent without making any Reply against it but when you tell us our Parish is not through God's Blessing deprived of a Minister who will be ready to the utmost of his power to serve every Member thereof in the great and concerning Interest of their Souls For my part I should most readily accept of your Offer were you but duly qualifyed for so great a Work REPLY I should not have known what he meant by his telling me he believes it to be of my own inditing had I not heard that some of the Party questioned it and endeavoured to blast the success of it by denying me the Reputation of composing a few Lines so easie for any body to have done and wherein the main thing commendable is the honesty of the design and that it is better English than the Answer to it But what if in consideration of the great Abilities of the Persons I sent it to and the severe Examination I might justly presume it would fall under by the Learned Ambassadors I had called in the Assistance of my Brethren what Fault had I been guilty of Or What just Ground of Exception was That against the Matter of it And suppose a Number of us should be in Consult for two Months together how to Reply to their Answer to a poor Paper that was as it easily might be drawn up transcribed into several Copies and dispersed abroad in two or three days time could those quick Gentlemen handsomely find fault with us Or would this be any thing to the Merits of the Cause No this could not be for he himself says That if all in my Paper were according to the Word of God he would have made no Reply But then he should not have Replyed without shewing wherein 't was contrary which he has not directly offered at as to any one Line thereof Nor should he or any of the Party reject the Offer of my Service upon the account of my being Vnqualified without shewing wherein it is that I am so If he mean Personal Qualifications I will only say with St. Paul Who is sufficient for these things But be my Defects never so great yet if I am ready to the utmost of my power to promote the Salvation of every Soul in my Parish I doubt not but to come off well at the Last Day and that whether you will or no God will graciously accept my sincere though weak Endeavours But Mr. Baxter tells you That if the Minister of the Parish be tolerable tho' weak and cold if you cannot remove your dwelling then publick Order and your Souls Edification must both be joyned as well as you can ANSWER I confess you tell us you are placed here according to the Laws of God and that your Church is the Primitive Apostolical Church but I am well-satisfied that you are not able by Scripture to prove either of your Assertions REPLY And so I tell you still and tho' confident Assertions of Christs Authorized Ambassadors may go a great way with poor ignorant People who are deluded into that Opinion of them yet I am well satisfied he cannot disprove me by Scripture And this is what he ought to have attempted for since as to my Orders without which I hope he does not think I act I am upon the same bottom with all the Clergy of England till he sheweth wherein our Church deviates from the Ancient Church I shall esteem it a sufficient Proof equivalent to an express Text of Scripture that I am placed here according to the Laws of God because I was Ordained and placed here by those with whom Christ hath left the Power to send forth Labourers into his Vineyard and that our Church is Primitive and Apostolical because its Faith Worship Government and Discipline are such ANSWER As to your being inseparably tyed by Reason and Conscience and all manner of sacred and solemn Obligations Sir I am heartily sorry for you and look upon it as your great Vnhappiness that you are so confined REPLY If this Person had any real occasion to be sorry for me upon this score I should heartily thank him for his Pity but undoubtedly it is the great Duty and the great Happiness of every Man sincerely to follow the Dictates of his Reason and Conscience and strictly to keep the sacred and solemn
a regard for the everlasting Salvation of our own Souls that we shall endeavour to make choice of such a Minister as may be able to divide the Word of Truth aright and give to every one their Portion in due season REPLY I have observed but very little Coherence in any part of this Paper but I see none at all in this Clause on the contrary the very design of chusing another Minister is a Proof beyond denial of your Desire of Separation Your Reformation was the drift of my Paper and 't is Nonsense for you to retort it upon us till you have given some better Proofs that there are really such Faults in the Constitution of our Church as ought to be amended But if the Reformation you desire be as to Matters which you either have proved or can prove to be really evil I doubt not but the next Convocation that sits will readily gratifie you herein nay I verily think that they would take away some of those Ceremonies you scruple or however leave the Use of them to every ones liberty as the Canons of 40 have done Bowing towards the East if you could secure them against the evil Consequences of unnecessary Alterations or give them sufficient Grounds to believe that the Dissenters of this Kingdom would then Vnite in the Communion of the Church or that the major part of you who are distinguish'd from the other Sects by the Name of Presbyterians would thereupon come over thereto or indeed that such a Method of proceeding would not drive more out of the Church than it would bring in But if the Reformation you talk of be such as would maim and wound at least if not Vnchurch us or however lay us open to all manner of Confusion it is unreasonable you should be complied with and you do thereby plainly shew your Desires to be either after Ascendency over us or Separation from us Of which another Evidence is that you use no Endeavours to get your selves satisfied of the Lawfulness of joyning in our Worship You only read Books and hear Persons of one side You are full of Prejudice against us and are glad of any Pretence to separate from us You cry out against the Common-prayer but pray let me ask you and answer it to your Consciences Have you ever seriously and impartially read and examin'd that Book Have you a desire to hold Communion with us if you could perswade your selves that you might lawfully do it Have you proposed your Scruples to the Divines of our Church or Have you read what they have written in order to your satisfaction If you have done all these things then you have acted fairly But then let me ask again Have you met with any of your own Teachers that are able to give a sufficient Answer to their Arguments They may possibly put you off with Noise and Clamour instead of true Reason but certain it is they have none of them yet answer'd those excellent things that have been writ in the defence of our Church If they think their Cause so good and themselves able to defend it let them try their Skill at Mr. Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity and the several Treatises writ by our Divines in the Reign of King Charles the Second not above two of which were ever answer'd but those Answers were Replied to without ever a Rejoinder some or all of which I would have those among you that have Time and Capacities for it to peruse particularly those that I have already had or shall have occasion to mention or refer to as also a Perswasive to Communion with the Church of England by the late Bishop of Chichester and The Case of Indifferent Things by the present Bishop of that Diocess The Discourses about Conscience and a Scrupulous Conscience by the present Archbishop of York and Dr. Calamy wherein you will be inform'd how far that Pretence will and will not bear you out in your Separation Our Church is freed from the Imputation of Popery by Dr. Hooper and all your Objections against the Common-Prayer answer'd by Dr. Claggett and Dr. Comber which latter has largely and devoutly Explain'd and Paraphras'd upon every part of it Mr. Evans has in two parts stated and resolved for you the Case of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament And several more Discourses there are all writ with that Candour and Calmness which if you have leisure is sufficient to invite you to peruse and consider them And indeed one would wonder that after so many excellent Tracts writ in vindication of our Church there should be such a Person as a Dissenter in England I have all or most of these things by me and the Use of them is at the service of any of you that will desire and accept of it but you must put in practise the Advice of Epictetus which is to seek after Truth with the indifference of Travellers who matter not whether their way be to the right or left or forward so that it lead them to their Journeys end ANSWER Sir as for your accusing us of Schism the keeping it up in the Church of God and rending and dividing the Body of Christ and all for separating from those Errors the Church is guilty of from which we have a Commandment to separate our selves Come out from amongst them saith the Lord and touch not the Unclean thing and I will receive you now whether it be right to obey GOD or Man judge ye Now if you can make it appear that it is Schism to obey GOD rather than Man and that it 's a rending and dividing the Body of Christ when we contend but for the pure Administration of his Ordinances according to his own Appointment Now if you can prove this I will yield you the Cause REPLY Your saying that I accused you of Schism the keeping it up in the Church of God and rending and dividing the Body of Christ is false I did not positively charge you therewith I signified to you the Guilt and Danger of that Crime that you might take care not to incurr either by separating upon Humor or Prejudice without just Grounds and Reasons And I was purposely thus cautions in expressing my self that I might not baffle my own Design by saying any thing that might disoblige or exasperate Persons whom I had some Grounds to suspect were self will'd and too inclinable to be soon angry but since you will force me to speak out I 'll tell you my Mind freely and because this Man seems to exult in vindicating you from that Charge and says it wholly upon us I will endeavour to make it appear that notwithstanding any thing he has said you are Schismaticks still That therefore which I do say and for which I have both good Reason and good Authority is this that forasmuch as you withdraw your Communion from that Church that I mean to which I invited you with which you lawfully may and with which therefore you ought to
Man if he sets up Altar against Altar Church against Church and Heads a Separation from the external Communion of the true Church of Christ and be he who he will and let his Pretence be what it will if he sets himself here in Opposition to me and that true Church of which I am a lawful Minister I must say of him that he does exceedingly trouble our City and that too by Teaching Customs which are not lawful for us to Receive neither to observe being Members of the Church of England for if any Man seem to be contentious we have no such Custom nor the Churches of God from whence we may by the way observe that the Apostle disputing concerning an Ecclesiastick Ceremony with the Corinthian Church appeals to the Custom of the Churches of God as sufficient to confute even the most contentious without any express Determination of the word of God in matters of that Nature I know very well who they were that said these men do exceedingly trouble our City and of whom they spake it and upon what Principle they spake it and I know that your Application of it to me is not Parallel in any of these but I am sure that the Expression as applied by me is as to the matter of Fact true and I know further that they were the Children of Edom that cryed out upon Jerusalem Down with it Down with it even to the Ground It is I do own a daring and provoking piece of Impudence to have a Company of Vzziah's unto whom it appertaineth not to burn Incense unto the Lord but to the Priests the Sons of Aaron that are consecrated to burn Incense compared with the Holy Apostles of our Blessed Saviour who gave such undeniable Proof of the Divinity of their Commission And a good Man cannot but be troubled at the Injustice and Confusion of breaking in upon sacred Rights and invading Holy Offices But however I do assure you that having as I hope now discharged my Duty to the full in this particular I shall give no farther Disturbance to my self than to lament our Divisions and beseech God to compose them and to take what care I can to secure the Rigths and Priviledges which do yet belong to the Church and Minister of this Parish from being either withheld or encroached upon And this as it is all the Disturbance or indeed Incivility that I have offered you notwithstanding sufficient Provocation during the time that I have been in this place so need you not be apprehensive of any other from me for the future Only forgive me that Wrong and give me leave to maintain my Fidelity to the Church to be firm to my Subscriptions and my Vows of Ordination constantly to use and as well as I am able to defend that Liturgy which I have solemnly testified my Approbation of in the Presence of God and in the face of his congregation Pardon me in these things and excuse me that I am resolutely bent not to speak beneath the Dignity of my Function and the Station I am in and you may depend according to the Opportunities you give me of performing them upon all the good Offices which can reasonably be expected from either a good Neighbour a charitable Christian or an honest Minister ANSWER Sir You charge us with causing Divisions among us by bringing in another Preacher as if the Preaching the Gospel by the Authoriz'd Ambassadors of God were the only Cause whom alas you do not consider it 's the unlawful Impositions Superstitions Traditions that is the principal Cause of those Divisions that we are among us for all those are removed we cannot be united REPLY And notwithstanding this impertinent Cant I say still that the bringing in another Preacher does and will maintain the Divisions among us and further that such Preachers are the main if not the only true Causes of them thro' the just Judgment of God upon a sinful People who have not lived answerably to their holy Profession and that Excellent Church which God in wonderful Mercy and by miraculous Providences hath established and preserved among us And I shall alwaies be of that Opinion till it is proved that those Men are Ambassadors authorized by God to preach the Gospel in this Nation and that there are any unlawful Impositions Superstitions and Traditions in our Church which are a just cause for the People to forsake their own Pastors and give themselves up to the guidance of those Intruders And this is a sufficient Reply to his complemental Conclusion with the false Accusation of Vnlawful Impositions Superstitions and Traditions clamorous Phrases which every ignorant Wretch can make use of when he has a mind to reproach our Church Methinks it would have been but fair dealing to have made good this Charge by shewing what Vnlawful things we impose wherein we are superstitious and by what Traditions we make the Word of God of none effect But he knows that to cry out against any Man of a different Opinion is enough to raise the whole Discontented Party against him If he thinks he has given sufficient Proof of Vnlawful Impositions in our Church I think I have proved he has not and in reference to whatsoever is imposed upon us meerly by the Churches Authority I shall only further say That none of the things imposed are Unlawful in themselves that to abridge Authority is the exercise of their Power in things of a middle nature that are of themselves indifferent and neither simply good or evil is to cancel and make Authority useless because their Power lies mainly in things of that nature since things that are simply and absolutely good are commanded by God himself and things that are in themselves evil forbidden by him that if where some are impower'd to give Orders others are not under an Obligation to observe them Authority is nugatory and ridiculous and that before these latter days there were never any Christians in the World that held themselves bound not to do a lawful thing meerly because it was commanded and imposed upon them which makes Obedience and Observance of those things a Duty in us which before they were clothed with a particular and punctual Command were no ways obligatory What this Man means by Traditions I can hardly guess As for Traditions about Matters of Doctrine we hold none but those which are deliver'd to us in the Writings of the Penmen of Holy Writ and for the proof of the Authority of those Sacred Books we look upon the written Tradition of the Church to be a good Argument If by Traditions he means the Customs and Ceremonies of the Church then they have already been consider'd as far as he gave me occasion to do it And I shall only add that I do believe what the Church of England declares in the 34th Article of her Religion That whosoever thro' his private Judgment willingly and purposely doth openly break the Traditions i. e. Customs and