Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	church_n	true_a	unity_n	1,784	5	9.4467	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76962	A wise and moderate discourse, concerning church-affaires. As it was written, long since, by the famous authour of those considerations, which seem to have some reference to this. Now published for the common good.	Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626.	1641 (1641)	Wing B343; Thomason E205_7; ESTC R212605	16,986	49

A Wise and Moderate Discourse Concerning Church-Affaires As it was written long since by the famous Authour of those Considerations which seem to have some reference to this Now published for the common good Imprinted in the yeere 1641. IT is but ignorance if any man finde it strange that the state of Religion especially in the dayes of peace should be exercised and troubled with controversies for as it is the condition of the Church militant to be ever under trialls so it commeth to passe that when the fiery triall of persecution ceaseth there succeedeth another triall which as it were by contrary blastes of doctrine doth sift and winow mens faith and proveth them whether they know God aright even as the other of afflictions discovereth whether they love him better then the world Accordingly was it foretold by Christ saying That in the latter times it should bee said Loe here loe there is Christ which is to be understood not as if the very person of Christ should bee assumed and counterfeited but his authority and preheminence which ought to bee truth it selfe that should bee chalenged and pretended Thus have we read and seene to bee fulfilled that which followeth Ecce in deserto ecce in penetratio while some have sought the truth in the conventicles and conciliables of Heretickes and Sectaries others in the externe face and representation of the Church and both sorts been seduced Were it then that the controversies of the Church of England were such as did divide the unity of the Spirit and not such as doe unswaddle her of her bands the bands of peace yet could it be no occasion for any pretended Catholicke to judge us or for any irreligious person to despise us or if it be it shall but happen to us all as it hath used to doe to them to bee hardened and to us to endure the good pleasure of God But now that our contentions are such as we need not so much that generall Canon and sentence of Christ Erratis nescientes Scripturas c. as wee need the admonition of Saint Iames Let every man bee swift to heare slow to speake slow to wrath And that the wound is no way dangerous except wee poyson it with our owne remedies As the former sort of men have lesse reason to make themselves musicke in our cord so I have good hope that nothing shall displease our selves which shall bee sincerely and modestly propounded for the appeasing of these dissentions For if any shall bee offended at this voyce Vos estis fratres yee are brethren why strive yee hee shall give great presumption against himselfe that hee is the party that doth his brother wrong The controversies themselves I will not enter into as judging that disease requireth rather rest then any other cure Thus much we all know and confesse that they bee not of the highest nature for they are not touching the high mysteries of faith such as detained the Churches after their first peace for many yeares what time the heretickes moved curious questions and made strange anatomies of the nature and person of Christ and the Catholicke Fathers were compelled to follow them with all subtillity of disputations and determinations to exclude them from their evasions and to take them in their owne Labyrinths so as it is rightly said Illis temporibus ingeniosa res fuit esse Christianum In those dayes it was an ingenious and subtile matter to bee a Christian Neither are they concerning the great parts of the worship of God of which it is true that Non servatur unitas in credendo nisi eadem adsit in colendo There will bee kept no unity in beleeving except it bee intire in worshipping such as were the controversies in the East and West Churches touching Images and such as are many of those which are betweene the Church of Rome and us as about the adoration of the Sacrament and the like But wee contend about Ceremonies and things indifferent about the externe policie and government of the Church In which kinde if wee would but remember that the ancient and true bonds of unity are one Faith one Baptisme and not one Ceremonie one Policie If wee would observe the league among Christians that is penned by our Saviour Christ Hee that is not against us is with us if wee could but comprehend that saying Differentia rituum commendat unitatem doctrinae and that Habet religio quae sunt aeternitatis habet quae sunt temporis Religion hath parts which belong to eternity and parts which belong to time And if wee did but know the vertue of silence and slownesse to speake commended by Saint Iames our controversies would of themselves close up and grow together But most especially if we would leave the overweening and turbulent humours of these times and renue the blessed proceedings of the Apostles and Fathers of the Primitive Church which was in the like and greater cases not to enter into assertions and positions but to d●liver counsels and advices we should need no other remedy at all Si cadem con●ulis frater qua affirmas debetur consulenti reverentia cum non debetur fides affirmanti Brother if that which you set downe by way of assertion you would deliver by way of advice there were reverence due to your counsell where credit is not due to your affirmation Saint Paul was content to speake thus Ego non Dominus I and not the Lord secundum consilium meum ●…ording to my counsell But now men do so lightly say Not I but the Lord yea and binde it with heavie denunciations of his judgements to terrifie the simple which have not sufficiently understood out of Salomon that the causlesse curse shall not come Therefore seeing the accidents are they which breed the perill and not the things themselves in their owne nature it is meet the remedies bee applied unto them by opening what it is on either part that keepeth the wound greene and formaliseth both sides to a further opposition and worketh an indisposition in mens mindes to be reunited wherein no accusation is pretended But I finde in reason that it is best built by repetition of wrongs and in example that the speeches which have been by the wisest men De concordia ordinum have not abstained from reducing to memory the extremities used on both parts So as it is true which was said Qui pacem tractat non repetitis conditionis dissidii is magis animos dulcedine pacis fallit quam aequitate componit And first of all it is more then time that an end were made of this unmodest and deformed kinde of writing lately entertained whereby matters of religion are handled in the stile of the stage Indeed bitter and earnest writing is not hastily to be condemned for men cannot contend coldly and without affection about things they hold deare and pretious A politicke man may write from his braine without touch or sense of his heart as in

the left So as it is truely said Transeunt ab ignorantia ad prejudicium They leap from ignorance to a prejudicate opinion and never take a good judgement in their way But as it is wel noted Inter juvenile judicium senile prejudicium omnis veritas corrumpitur When men are indifferent and not partiall then their judgement is weake and unripe through want of yeares and when it groweth to strength and ripenesse by that time it is forestalled with such a number of prejudicate opinions as it is made unprofitable so as between these two all truth is corrupted while the honourable names of sincerity and reformation and discipline are put in the forward so as contentions and evill zeales cannot be touched except these holy thinges are first thought to be violated But howsoever they shall inferre the solicitation for the peace of the Church not to proceed from carnall sinnes yet will I ever conclude with the Apostle Paul Cum sit inter vos zelus contentio nonne carnales estis While there is amongst you zeale and contention are ye not carnall And howsoever they esteem the compounding of controversies to savour of mens wisedome and humane policie I thinke themselves led with the wisedome which is from above yet I say with Saint Iames Non est ista sapientia de sursum descendens sed terrena animalis diabolica Ibi zelus contentio ibi inconstantia omne opus pravum Of this inconstancy it is said by a learned Father Procedere non ad perfectionem sed ad permutationem They seeke to goe forward still not to perfection but to change The third occasion of controversies I observe to be an extreame and unlimited detestation of some former heresie or corruption of the Church acknowledged convicted This was the cause that produced the heresie of Arrius grounded chiefly upon detestation of Gentilisme lest the Christians should seeme by assertion of the coequall divinity of our Saviour Christ to approach to the acknowledgement of more Gods then one The detestation of Arrius heresie produced that of Sabellius who holding for execrable the dissimilitude which Arri us pretended in the trinity fled so farre from him that he fell into the other extreame to deny the distinction of persons and to say they were but onely names of severall offices and dispensations yea most of the heresies of the Church have sprung up of this root while men have made it their scale to measure the bounds of their religion taking it by the farthest distance from the errour last condemned These be Posthumi haeresium filii heresies that arise of the ashes of other heresies that are extinct and amortised This manner of apprehension doth in some degree possesse many of our time they thinke it the true touch stone to try what is good and holy by measuring what is more and lesse opposite to the institutions of the Church of Rome be it ceremony be it policie or government yea be it other institution of greater weight that is ever most perfect which is removed most degrees from that Church and that is ever polluted and blemished which participateth in any appearance with it this is a subtile and dangerous conceit for men to entertaine apt to delude themselves more apt to delude the people and most apt of all to calumniate their adversaries This surely but that a notorious condemnation of that position was laid before our eyes had long since brought us to the rebaptizing of children baptized according to the pretended Catholicke religion For I see that which is a matter of much like reason which is the reordaining of Priests is a matter very resolutely maintained It is very meet that men beware how they be abused by this opinion and that they know it is a consideration of much greater wisedome to be well advised whether in the generall demolition of the institutions of the Church of Rome there were not as mens actions are unperfect some good purged with the bad rather then to purge the Church as they pretend every day anew which is the way to make a wound in her bowels as it is already begun The fourth and last occasion of these controversies a thing which did also trouble the Church in former time is the partiall affectation and imitation of forraigne Churches for many of our men during the time of persecution and since having been conversant in Churches abroad and received a great impression of the government there ordained have violently sought to intrude the same upon our Church But I answer Conveniamus in eo quod convenit non in eo quod receptum est let us agree in this with every Church to doe that which is convenient for the estate of it selfe and not in particular customes Although their Churches had received the better forme yet many times it is to be sought Non quid optimum sed è bonis quid proximum Not what is best but of good things what is next and readiest to be had Our Church is not now to place it is setled and established It may be in civill States a republique is better then a kingdome yet God forbid that lawfull kingdomes should be tied to inovate and make alterations Qui mala introducit voluntatem Dei oppugnat revelatam in verbo Qui nova introducit voluntatem Dei oppugnat revelatam in rebus He that bringeth in ill customes resisteth the will of God revealed in his word He that bringeth in new things resisteth the will of God revealed in the things themselves Consule providentiam Dei cum verbo Dei Take counsaile of the providence of God as well as of his word Neither yet doe I admit that their forme although it were possible and convenient is better then ours if some abuses were taken away The party and equality is a thing of wonderfull great confusion and so is an ordinary government by Synods which do necessarily ensue upon the other It is hard in all causes especially in matters of religion when voyces shall bee numbred and not weighed Equidem saith a wise Father ut verè quod res est scribam prorsus decrevi fugere omnem conventum Episcoporū nullius enim consilii bonum exitum unquā vidi consilia enim non minuunt mala sed augent potius To say the truth I am utterly determined never to come to any Councell of Bishops for I never yet saw good end of any Councell for Councels abate not ill things but rather increase them which is not so much to bee understood of generall Councels as for Synods gathered for the ordinary government of the Church as for deprivation of Bishops or such like cases which mischiefe hath taught us the use of Archbishops and Patriarkes and Primates as the abuse of them since hath caused men to mislike them But it will bee said Looke to the fruits of the Churches abroad and ours To which I say I beseech the Lord to multiply his blessings