Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
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B20784
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An essay for the conversion of the Irish shewing that 'tis their duty and interest to become Protestants : in a letter to themselves.
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Cox, Richard, Sir, 1650-1733.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing C6721
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30,538
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48
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like Faith in the Church Sect 101. Nevertheless I allow an Orthodox Church to be a great Help and good Guide in Explaining Scripture but how will you choose this Church but by the Notes and Characters of it in Scripture wherein the Church till you are of it can give you no Assistance To what purpose do you publish Notes of the Church and Arguments for it but to convince our Judgments You may as well propose them to a Horse as to a Man if he may not use his Understanding to distinguish If then we must trust our Iudgments in choosing what Church we will be of we may as well trust them in Points less material Sect. 102. I said An Orthodox Church is a good Guide But how shall we find it Even by this Mark That its Doctrine is consonant to the Holy Scriptures and its main design is the Glory of GOD and the Salvation of Souls It does not countenance Unjustifiable Means of gaining Proselytes nor Encourage Evil that Good may come of it On the contrary the Church of Rome uses a Thousand Artifices and Pious Frauds Sometimes frightning you with Superstitious Bugbears otherwhiles raising your Hopes upon false Notions and groundless Expectations and where her Subtilty fails her Cruelty supplies a Merciless Inquisition to force Those she cannot otherwise perswade to submit to her Tyranny and promote her Grandeur Sect 103. Let 's try her Sincerity in the Topicks made use of to deceive you and keep you in her Communion 1st They say you are an Irishman and ought manfully to support a National Quarrel 2dly That your Interest and Hopes of Recovering your lost Estate should render you inseparable from Popery 3dly That your Loyalty to K. James should oblige you 4thly That Popery is the Ancient Religion 5thly That 't is the Religion of your Forefathers 6thly That there is but One Faith and One Church which is that of Rome 7thly That Popery is the Safer Religion And 8thly That 't is not Honourable to change your Religion All which I shall endeavour to prove Fallacious or False Sect 104. The First is partly Answered Sect. 32. where it appears you are of English Extraction but 't will be a full Answer to say That we have no National Quarrel against you most of us having been born in this Nation nor do we look upon you when you come over to the English Interest and Religion to be other than Englishmen as you may see in the Noble Families of the Earls of Thomond and Insiquine and many others as Macguire Coughlan c. Between whom and those of English Extraction no manner of difference â—s made Sect 105. To the second I say It does not conâ—ern such of you as are Restor'd or in Possession â—or the Bulk of the common People who would get nothing but more Tyrannical Masters if the Old Irish were Restor'd nor the Merchants Lawyers Physicians and Gentlemen that lost no Estates why then should Tâ—ese suffer themselves â—o be us'd as the Cat 's Paw was by the Monkey â—n the Fable and let their own Fingers be burnt to â—ull Nuts out of the Fire of Rebellion for the Priest and the old Proprietor to eat 'T is certainâ—y therefore the Interest of all these to live in Peace and see Themselves and their Country prosper and flourish and to contribute to it by their Conformity to the Excellent Laws and Pure Religion therein Established Nay the Old Proprietor if he has any Grace Honesty or Bowels will rather delight to see his Country United and Settled in Peace and True Religion and seek for New Purchases by his Industry than endeavour to put it in a flame and hazard himself and his Friends upon vain and imaginary Hopes But as for the Priests I know them so well and their love of Gain that I have no hopes to convert them without a Pension Sect 106. As to the Third Loyalty to the late King James it has been partly touch'd upon before but I must add That Ireland was at first Conquer'd by the Blood and Treasure of England and thereby and by the repeated Oaths and Submissions of the Irish became part of the Dominions of England and and a Subordinate Kingdom to that Crown and since that by several Acts of Parliament Ireland has been Inseparably Vnited and Annexed to the Imperial Crown of England from whence it will follow That whosoever is King of England is ipso facto King of Ireland as much as he is of Berwick or the Isle of Wight and the consequence of that will be That when King James Abdicated England he deserted all its Dominions and among the rest Ireland And as soon as his Present Majesty was Declar'd King and had the Crown of England the same instant he became Lawful Rightful for I see no difference since Law is the Rule of Right King of Ireland and to conspire against him thenceforward was and is Treason and to levy War against him is open and actual Rebellion Sect 107. And this is proved not only by Reason and Constant Practice in all Ages but also by the greatest Authority the Law is Conusant of and that is the Opinion and Judgment of all the Judges in both Kingdoms and the Supream Authority of both Parliaments this is the Legislative Power for the King and Parliament cannot only Interpret but also Make Laws And they have both Authoritatively and Declaratively settled this Point so as to make it Binding both to the Iudgment and Consciences of all His Majesties Subjects From whence it follows That the pretended Loyalty your Priests encourage in you towards K. James is in Truth Notorious Disloyalty Undoubted Treason and Manifest Perjury and Breach of the Oath of Fidelity you have taken to King William But what care your Spiritual Guides for that if you would but help them to recover their Jurisdiction their Tythes and their Abby and Church-Lands Sect 108. As to the Fourth Antiquity 'T is no Constant Note of the Church for it had a Beginning the Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch are more Antient than that of Rome and yet have Apostatiz'd and the Greek Church is altogether as old and has had a constant Succession of Bishops But to give this a full Answer The Church of Rome has nothing Antient I mean Primitive but what we agree in Her New Creed shews that she has a New Religion as to the Points in difference which are already shewn to be Novelties introduced one after another as she had occasion and opportunity And therefore she declines to be tried by Scripture well knowing that is the Old Religion which was Revealed at first and is recorded in the holy Scriptures where Popery is not to be found Sect 109. As to the Fifth It follows from what has been said That Popery as now practis'd was not the Religion of your Forefathers Besides your Ancestors Renounced the Supremacy of the Pope by Indenture Anno 32 Heb. VIII And long before that by