Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A25510
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The Answer of the new converts of France to a pastoral letter from a Protestant minister done out of the French copy publish'd there with permission.
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1686
(1686)
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Wing A3297; ESTC R12752
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6,346
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20
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the State of the Church but even the Church it self to make use of your own Distinctions was discontinu'd and abrogated for the space of many Ages for that it could not maintain it self within the Communion of the Roman which alone had Churches and publick Worship How can we reconcile this with what the Holy Ghost teaches us That the Church is the Handy-work of the Son of God Ephes 5.25 26 27. That she is his most dear and faithful Spouse that he purchased upon the Cross by the Effusion of his most precious Blood That he himself is the Head 1 Tim. 3.15 That she is the Pillar and Ground of Truth That she is to be our Judge in all our Controversies S. Mat. 18.17 and so Infallible that whosoever do's not submit to her Decisions is to be esteem'd as a Heathen or Publican in short That he will never forsake her and that he will be always with her to the end of the World A Christian instructed in such Lessons drawn out of the Holy Writ can he find any difficulty to incline favourably towards the Roman Church which you your selves confess has stood from Jesus Christ and the Apostles down to this Day either in full Purity or at least with some Alterations that you pretend have crept into it We will not enter into an Examination of the Errors that you impute to it that is not now our Business but we must needs say for our own Justification That among those that gave us the greatest horror there are some of them in which we see you had more Obstinacy on your sides then Reason The Real Presence for Example of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist was always represented to us as a Rock of Scandal in the Roman Church as a Shelve to Shipwrack Salvation and as a Monster in Religion yet this Doctrine detestable as it is was nevertheless receiv'd into your Church and into your Communion with the Lutherans who never doubted of it and Preach'd it publickly It is in vain to tell us The Lutherans 'tis true believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Sacrament but they don't adore him For not only your own Writers as Calvin Beza and others condemn their Practice in this but maintain That if Jesus Christ be in the Bread he ought to be there adored And your own Church has declar'd by the Mouth of Daillé P. 66. That if the Subject matter which is call'd the Sacrament of the Eucharist be in its substance not Bread as she believes but the Body of Christ as those of Rome hold it is evident that it may and ought to be ador'd because the Body of Christ is an adorable Subject Seeing then according to you it is allow'd to believe that Jesus Christ is in the Sacrament it ought likewise to be permitted according to your own Tenets and according to your own Authors those who believe him present are oblig'd to adore him there So that properly speaking the Adoration of the Sacrament is nothing else but a Cavil that you make with the Church of Rome to colour your Division As the Communion under one Species is another much more visible and as ill grounded Every one say you ought indifferently to receive the Cup Dim 53. according to the Command of Jesus Christ against which it is unlawful to attempt any thing By this Article of your Faith we have been always possess'd with a belief of the necessity of Communion in both Kinds and always thought the contrary Practice an overthrowing of the Constitution of the Sacrament nor should we yet have doubted of it had not your own Practice at length open'd our Eyes and disabus'd us But now when we hear you determine in your Discipline That the Bread alone ought to be Administred to such as cannot drink Wine Art 7. c. 12. provided they make a Protestation that it is not through contempt Now when we see this Custom establish'd in your own Temples why do you condemn that in the Church of Rome which you allow and practice in your own If the Command of the Cup be positive it is indispensible if the Communion in both Kinds be of Divine Institution it cannot admit of a Modification But say you are we oblig'd to Impossibilities Without examining this pretended Impossibility which you suppose in the Faithful upon very slight Grounds we will suppose it with you But ought this want of Possibility in any to receive a Sacrament destroy the Sacrament This Infirmity may dispence with a Person from Receiving the Sacrament and justifie his abstaining from it but it can justifie neither Minister nor Church that gives it so divided and separated if God has declar'd it indivisible and inseparable In fine if the retrenchment of one of the Species be a violation of the Sacrament and of the Command of Jesus Christ no Church nor Reason can authorize it What can we then conclude when we see your Church as well as that of Rome practise the same Retrenchment but that the Communion in both Kinds is neither of necessity nor commanded It is much the same concerning the Real Presence A Man that beholds Christianity divided between the Adherents of Rome Luther and Calvin and finds that by the Doctrine taught in the Churches of the two first it is absolutely necessary for his Salvation to believe That Jesus Christ is really and substantially in the Eucharist and hears you your selves saying That this Belief against which you are such declar'd Enemies is no obstacle to Salvation Daillé Apol. p. 43. that it contains nothing contrary either to Piety or Charity or the Honor due to God or the Welfare of Mankind could this Man determine with himself to follow any other Doctrine then that which he is assur'd of on all Sides to be absolutely necessary or at least no way prejudicial to Salvation Believe us Sir these insensible tho' important Steps of yours have had greater power over our Consciences then all the Dragoons so terrible and so barbarous as your Pen has study'd to describe them But suppose the apprehension of them had made some of us reflect upon these things which perhaps we had otherwise never so much as thought of would this conclude any thing but what St. Paul saith That Kings are Gods Ministers for our good Can you blame any Christians for Examining the Causes of a Persecution before it comes upon them since Jesus Christ has promis'd to recompence only such as suffer for his and for Justice sake The Spirit of the Gospel do's it oblige us to meet Death boldly for Error or for Truth or is it the Suffering or the Cause for which they suffer that makes the Martyrs If the Cause then be found to be Man's and not that of God's have you reason to disclaim against those who have only avoided temporal Punishments to preserve themselves from those which are more terrible and eternal 'T is then the proof of this Cause that
deserves your nearer application Do not think to excuse your selves by reason of the too great extent such an Examination appears to have to fill us with greater Confusion and Sorrow for leaving your Church you needed only to convince us of this one Article of your Faith which saith Art 31. That God rais'd up certain Men in an extraordinary manner to Model the Church anew that was fall'n into Ruine and Desolation Convince us we say but of this and we shall always think our selves miserable for being such Rebels against the Order of Divine Providence and endeavouring by our Infidelity to destroy the Work of God But you cry It is in vain seeing we can't believe it to be the Work of God nor have any faith for this extraordinary Mission 'T is true Zuinglius Luther Luth. Tract de Ver. Eccl. Reform Calv. Instit lib. 4. cap. 3. Sect. 4. St. John 5.31 and Calvin have born that Testimony of themselves 'T is true they have given themselves the Titles of Apostles and Evangelists but since Jesus Christ has said speaking of himself If I bear testimony of my self my testimony is not true what credit can that Testimony claim that your Patriarchs have only given of themselves Where then shall we begin to judge for every extraordinary Mission is vain and useless if it brings not its Proof and Evidence to those in favour of whom it is sent Shall we know their Authority by their Miracles by their Works or by their Doctrine Their Miracles were never known the Works of such as are Enemies to Virginity to Vows of Chastity Fasting Abstinence Austerities Penance Confession of Sins and to the Pains requir'd for their Expiation are too opposite to the Spirit of the Gospel either to perswade or edifie Their Doctrine supposes their Mission as St. Paul tells us and therefore proves it not for How shall they Preach saith he Rom. 10.15 unless they be sent Without so much as Examining this Doctrine to the bottom their Divisions and the Contradictions that were between themselves and remain to this Day among their Followers in the chief Mysteries of Faith are they not wholly opposite to Truth and the Unity of the Spirit of God Luther will have it That in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper besides the Bread the Body of Christ is really truly and corporeally contain'd Calvin denies that the Body of Jesus Christ is contain'd in the Sacrament but tells us it is however communicated there and really and substantially receiv'd Zuinglius on the contrary says That Jesus Christ is neither contain'd nor receiv'd nor communicated in or by the Sacrament but only the Figure of Christ's Body and the Effects of his Death and Passion Did the Apostles and Evangelists of Jesus Christ teach after this manner Do we find among them Contradictions in the Mysteries of Faith or in their Doctrine What then Sir would you have us think of these three Apostles and Evangelists of your Reformation Into which of their Countries for every one of them has his own particular would you have us go to live in the Profession of the Truth as you advise us in your Letter For 't is in this Sence we understand the Resolution which you cunningly suppose we have made to stay in the Bosom of Rome only till we have put our Affairs in order It seldom appertains to any but to God to penetrate so deep into the Hearts of Men However Sir make use of what time you have to determine to which of your three Evangelists we ought to submit and which we ought to relie upon Otherwise be not surpris'd that we live and enjoy one another in that City where generally all our Fathers and yours excepting it may be two or three since Jesus Christ and his Apostles have been bred up that we live peaceably in the same Church in which they liv'd and therein seek that Salvation we hope they have found Permitted to be Printed Given this Sixth of February 1686. DE LA REYNIE FINIS