Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	pope_n	power_n	2,953	5	5.2766	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A23667	The mystery of iniquity unfolded, or, The false apostles and the authors of popery compared in their secular design and means of accomplishing it by corrupting the Christian religion under pretence of promoting it	Allen, William, d. 1686.	1675 (1675)	Wing A1066; ESTC R10549	54,027	163

ditch it is not their saying they were led thither will help them out S. 20.5 Furthermore although Christ upon occasion of the two disciples desiring of him that they might sit the one on his right hand and the other on his left in that temporal Kingdom they fancied he was to have said to Peter and all the Apostles Ye know that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise Authority upon them but it shall not be so among you I say though this be so express as you see yet notwithstanding the Pope as pretended successour to St. Peter claims a Supremacy over Kings and a priviledge to be appealed to as the last and highest Tribunal upon earth And in case any Kings turn hereticks to him in denying his Claim and casting off his yoke he takes upon him a power to chastise them to excommunicate them and then to depose and dethrone them and to dispose of their Kingdomes and to absolve their subjects from the duty of their allegiance to their natural Prince And for what reason is this swelling power of overtopping Kings assumed The pretence is that the Pope as head of the Church being Superiour to all Christian Kings as being but members of that body whereof he is head they upon that account are under his conduct and government in using their secular power for the interest of the Christian Religion and Catholick cause and for the chastising of such as are heretical or undutiful and disobedient This is the Pretence But the true design is to render the Pope the more magnificent and venerable the more awful and terrible in the eyes of all and to lift him up to the highest pinnacle of worldly Pomp and greatness attainable in this world and to use the power and interest of such Kings to support and secure him in his Pontifical Chair of State and as executioners of his wrath and displeasure against all that shall but peep and mutter any thing against him or any of his decrees or orders or give him the least disturbance That this is the design tho' the other be pretended appears in that the Pope is well enough contented that these Kings should tolerate or connive at any wickedness in their Dominions though never so dishonourable to Christ and Christianity and destructive to his Religion in the power of it provided they be but tender of his Interest and will not connive at any Affronts put upon his Government as Papal Men may do what they will provided they meddle not with the Popes Crown or the Monks bellies was the saying of Erasmus S. 21.6 Again as the Popes do claim a supremacy over Temporal Princes for themselves so they do a priviledge and exemption for their subordinate Clergie from the Temporal power Concil Trid. Sess 25. as holding immediately under their Ecclesiastical Head the Pope which is another device to strengthen their Interest For hereby all his Clergy are the faster tied and engaged to their grand Master the Pope and at the greater liberty act securely in abetting his Interest and serving his designs as occasion and opportunity serves S. 22. 7. As the false Apostles broached Doctrines tending to Licentiousness to increase their party and strengthen their Interest so the Authors and Founders of Popery have set on foot certain corrupt doctrines good for nothing but to increase their party and wealth thereby and to strengthen their Interest Such is that of a pretended power vested in the Pope and from him derived to every Priest of absolving men and forgiving their sins upon such easie terms as the confessing them to the Priest and doing such slight Penances as he out of his Indulgence to them if they please him is pleased to appoint And which is yet worse if worse can be viz. the Doctrine of the Popes power not only of granting Indulgences for Sins past but also Dispensations to commit them for time to come And that such a power is pretended to we learn from Authors of their own Espenseus hath told us that They allow not only the Laity but also their very Clergie-men to dwell with Whores and Harlots and to beget Bastards for a certain Tax Comment on Tit. p. 478 479. Also De Continentia Lib. 2. Cap. 7. And the Princes of the Roman Empire assembled at Noremberg in the years 1522 1523. complained that the Popes sucked the marrow of the peoples Estates by Indulgences and that they heightened the imposture by their hireling Cryers and Preachers and that Christian piety was banished while to advance their Market they cried up their Wares for the granting of wonderful peremptory pardons not only of Sins already committed but of Sins that shall be committed So that by the Sale of these Wares as they said together with being spoiled of their money Christian Piety is extinguished while any one may promise himself impunity upon paying the rate that is set upon the Sin he hath a mind to commit Fasciculus rerum experendarum fol. 177 178. And if the people can believe that the Pope hath power by his Dispensations to bear them out for money in such Immoralities they may as well believe also that he hath power to dispense with their taking of such Oaths and entering into such Obligations which they never intend to keep or to do any other thing as bad especially if it any way tend to the advancing of the Catholick Cause And if so by what Test can they be discovered to be really what they are when they have a mind to conceal it or what security can such Oaths or other Obligations be to Protestant Princes of their true allegiance to them And what is said in this is the more considerable it we add thereto those other two loose Doctrines of theirs the one touching the lawfulness of their breaking Faith with Hereticks such as they esteem Protestants to be and the other the Jesuitical Doctrine of Equivocation with mental Reserves Wherein also they exactly follow their Leaders the false Apostles For they as I have shewed thought or at least taught that in some cases they might deny Christ in word so they did but retain a belief in him in their hearts and partake with Idolaters in their Idol Sacrifices so they did but retain in their minds a belief that there were no other Gods but one and intended not any honour to the Idol The very complexion of these and such like Doctrines shews them to be calculated not to promote Religion and Virtue but to hook in filthy lucre to gratifie any that will but be for them in giving scope to their Lusts and to set men free from all ties of Religion and Conscience when they stand in the way of their Cause and Interest That which the Prophet of Old from the Lord charged upon the Priests then when he said They eat up the sin of my people and set their heart on their Iniquity Hos 4 8. falls upon