Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	bind_v	church_n	communion_n	1,436	5	9.0889	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B09464	Animadversions on the defence of the answer to a paper, intituled The case of the dissenting Protestants of Ireland, in reference to a bill of indulgence from the exceptions made against it together with an answer to a peaceable & friendly address to the non-conformists written upon their desiring an act of toleration without the sacramental test.	Mac Bride, John.; Pullen, Tobias, 1648-1713. Defence of the ansvver to a paper intituled The case of the dissenting Protestants.	1697 (1697)	Wing M114; ESTC R180238	76,467	116

an establish't Church Answ We tell you that if the inconveniencies are sinless we are willing to suffer in and with an Establish't Church or tho' it were not Established by Law but if the inconveniencies be to our Consciences we must and will Dissent nor will our Charity bear with what is inconsistent with a good Conscience Such as found their separation from your Assemblys upon this that they find themselves more edified in Godliness and Piety by their own Meetings than yours ye confess your inability to find what reason they can ground upon this for a down-right separation and utter refusal of your Communion Answ Tho' our edification in Godliness is the great end of our joyning with any Assembly and where that may be best had Communion is there most eligible yet if we may be really edified in that Assembly whereof we are Members we allow not separation on pre●ence of better elsewhere no more than a Womans leaving her Husband to live with another for more pleasure and conveniency Yet Edification being the end of Church-Communion no wise men should condemn those who choose the best means for that end I suppose you make use of the best meat and medicines for preserving of your life and health and would take it ill 't is possible if Governors of Church or State should confine you to the quantity quality and time of your Diet which experience teaches you to be inconsistent with health and strength and why may not men be as much concern'd for their Souls as Bodies Dr. Stillingfleet Ire● page 109. in answer to a question disputed by Grotius to wit whether it be in a time when Churches are divided it be a Christians duty to communicate with either Party that divides the Church or to Communion from all of them the Dr. says that a Christian by virtue of his general obligation to Communion is bound to adhere to that Church which retains most of Evangelick purity in it Bramhall in his vindication of the Church of England page 7. cites Dr. Holden with approbation When there is a mutual division of two parts or member of the Mystical Body of the Church one from the other yet both retain Communion with the universal Church which for the most part springs from some doubtful opinion or less necessary part of Divine Worship whatsoever part you take you are no Schismatick because the universal Church hath condemn'd no part so that real experience of edification will warrant separation from these Assemblies where it is not found to these where it is found To such as plead for occasional Communion who do not utterly renounce your Communion but sometimes come to your publick Worship and receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper after your form your Question upon this is If occasional Communion be lawful why is constant unlawful Answ Altho I allow of no such amphibious creatures as a Non and Conformist appears to be because as a Neuter in the Common-Wealth nec amicum perit nec inimicum pellit so in Religion he is worse according to Christ's reasoning Luke 11. 23. yet if we distinguish occasional Communion in total and partial total I call a communicating in all Sermons Liturgy and Ceremonies for such I have nothing to say and will not judge other mens Servants but as for those who can and do occasionally hear such as are orthodox in the Faith and sober in their Conversation as they do not despise others so we do not judge them But as for most of us we are of your judgement as to such who communicate with you occasionally in all things according to the form prescribed if they see no sin in such conformity they are but fools to suffer for non conformity Having heard your Doctrine we come now to its Use in which you ingenuously discover your design which is either to perswade us to Conformity or disswade us from thoughts of a legal toleration As for your desire to know our aims and purposes in respest to an Act of Toleration tho we are not obliged to discover our thoughts to you yet finding you a plain-dealing man in telling yours we shall tell you ours by ingenuously answering your Quaeries distinctly To the first to wit Is it only to have the liberty of serving God in that way which you think to be b●st and thereby to be free of persecution and to go the readiest way to Heaven as ye suppose To this 1. We confess we sincerely desire liberty to serve God according to that perfect rule he hath given us which we firmly believe is the best way and safest both for you and us both 2. We desire by this not only to be freed from persecution but that ye may free your selves from the guilt and appearance of that evil 3. Having bodies as well as souls by which we are bound to glorify God and serve our King and Countrey as we shall be called or capable we desire that we be not deprived of or rendred unfit for enjoying our birth-right-privileges as free-born Subjects and persons professing the Reformed Christian Religion by yoking our Consciences to unlawful or suspected practices or insnaring Oaths But ye tell us If liberty to serve God the way we think best be all we desire why are we against the Sacramental Test by which we are made uncapable of any Office or Employment unless we Receive the Sacrament after the form prescribed by the Church of England if we be not content with liberty unless we have share in the Government and be made capable of Employments of Power Trust and Profit 't is apparent we design somewhat else than the Salvation of our souls and freedom from persecution Answ Tho Non-Conformists shou'd aim at more than the saving of their souls and freedom from persecution where is the great fault of it if we be guilty in this you are not innocent who we suppose aim at something more than these things I have already in the Animadversions shewn the inconsistency of the Test with the true interest of Ireland which the Ingenuous Author of the Remarks on the Affairs of Ireland c. hath well done but it seems you have low thoughts of Salvation who rate it lower than Employments of Trust and Profit upon Earth for that you seem to grant us liberty to seek but the other is too good for us and therefore you are either not in earnest in permitting us to seek the best way of Salvation or else you over-value earthly honour and profit while you would monopolize that to your party and deprive others of the ordinary means of subsisting and serving God and their Countrey To the 2d Question if it be our aim to lay a foundation for the overthrow of the Establish't Church and to get into our hands all Civil and Ecclesiastic Power which is already done by those of our perswasion in another Kingdom Ye confess ye were not wise if ye give us not all the opposition ye can

adviseth quod dubitas aequum an unquum sit ne feceris what you doubt whether it be just or unjust do it not and herein he agreeth with the Apostle whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But which is the safest way to this you say 1. It 's Evident we should promote the Peace and Vnity of the Church 2. Give Obedience to the Commands of Lawful Authority Rom. 13. 1. 1. Pet. 2. 13. But then it 's only doubtful whether he should conform to Ceremonies by Law Establish'd if then he cannot upon solid grounds satisfy himself that such Conformity is Lawful such a doubt ought not to be put in the ballance with the aforesaid Commands Answ By your leave such a doubt may be put in the ballance with the fore-mentioned duties seeing the same God and the same Scripture hath told us that he that doubteth is damned if he cateth for whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin Rom. 14. ult Now if we may not follow peace or obey Superiors except in Faith for whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin then to conform doubtingly either for peace or in obedience to the Magistrate is sinful Conformity as well as praying to God without Faith is Sin Jam. 1 6 7. Now a little more reason and divinity would have taught you 1. That Negative Precepts bind ad semper that is can at no time nor in no case be broken without sin but positive Precepts bind semper that is as Schoolmen say they are still obliging tho' not at all times as it is always a duty to pray but not at all times 2. A Rule against which there is no exception will over-ballance that which is limited by exceptions for this Rule what soever is not of Faith is sin is without exception The other two Precepts are rest●icted by it as Rom. 12. 18. if it be possible as much as in you lyeth live peaceably with all Men Here the Precept is limited as far as is possible with a good Conscience but we must not sell peace with God and our Consciences to purchase it with Men Our Obedience to Superiors is limited by lawfulness possibilty expedience and Edification 3. If your Episcopal Brethren in Scotland should doubt of the lawfulness of submitting to Presbytery now by Law Establish't there it seems by you they are bound to conform for peace and in Obedience to Authority notwithstanding of their doubts why don't you then Preach this Doctrine to them or if a Man in France Spain Italy c. were in doubt and could by no means clear himself of these doubts whether Popery or Protestanism were safest by your Rule he is obliged to be a Papist in obedience to Authority To your Question why may not I say he that doubteth is damn'd if he refuse Conformity rather than if he Conform Ans Why doth not the Apostle say he that doubteth is damned if he refuse to eat rather than if he eateth such a Commentary as you make would destroy the Text for when a doubt is about doing and not about omitting the sin must be in doing and not in omitting so that all this Sophistry will not make v●id that good old Rule Cautissimi cujusque praeceptum quoddubitas ne feceris obey not the Precept of the most prudent if ye do it But by what Authority do you Address these as Non-conformists who so ha●● betwixt two Opinions as neither to follow God nor B●al they are none of ours no more than they are yours for he that gathereth not vith us scattereth To your Non-conformists Objection to wit to impose such things upon us as are in themselves indifferent is an Infringement of our Christian Liberty Gal. 5. 1. Your answer is to impose the belief or practise of any thing as an essential part of Religion and necessary to Salvation which God hath not particularly required such imposing infringeth Christian Liberty and none else Answ As you have not faithfully framed the Nonconformists Objection so you have not fully answered that of your own framing our objection is that imposing things in their own nature indifferent either as parts or means of Worship or conditions of our Communion in it and so to determine our practice as to destroy its indifferency in doing or forbearing things indifferent is at once to destroy indifferency and to infringe that Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and in which we are bound to stand fast for Christ having freed us from all parts and parcels of Worship which are not of his own Institution from all conditions or Communion with him and his Ordinances but those of his own prescribing so he hath allowed us the use of indifferent things indifferently as Christian Prudence and Charity shall determine for any men to impose otherwise is at the same time unjustly to invade Christ's Prerogative and Christians Priviledges both which we judge our selves bound to maintain Your Answer is not sufficient to the Objection even as your self have framed it viz. That only to impose the belief or practice of any thing as an essential part of Religion and necessary to Salvation not particularly required of God is an infringement of Christian Liberty Answ Christian Liberty may be infringed tho the thing be not required as an essential part of Religion for the main violation of Christian Liberty lies in a fix't stated and perpetual compulsion to do what God hath permitted me to omit or a prohibition to do what he hath made lawful for me thus the Apostle teacheth 1 Cor. 6. 12. All things are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the power of any person or thing in matters indifferent for such a resignation of my self to be restrained fixedly is to bind up my self from opportunity of my using my Christian Liberty for the spiritual good of another for if I should be so circumstantial that by forbearing an indifferent thing such as you call the Cross in Baptism I might do good to my Neighbour's Soul I am so tied that I cannot forbear to prevent my Brother's sinning and so we cannot imitate the Apostle 1 Cor. 6. 13 Wherefore if meat make my Brother to offend I will not eat flesh while the world standeth 2 To submit to such predetermination is to alter the very nature of things indifferent by making that sinful which God hath made lawful contrary to your own doctrine page 2. However unnec●ssary or impertinent any thing may be esteemed yet nothing is to be look'● upon as a Sin but what is contrary to the Law of God 3 By such imposing and determining in matters indifferent more is attributed to the positive precepts of men than to the moral Laws of God for obedience to some positive moral Laws of God may be suspended pro hic nunc to give way to a greater good but in this case we must act uniformly without respect to circumstances tho thousands shou'd be offended and wounded in Conscience and prejudiced against Religion thereby