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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	canon_n	council_n	nice_a	2,852	5	10.4936	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29834	Kedarminster-stuff, a new piece of print, or, A remnant of Mr. Baxter's piae fravdes unravelled being an appendix to Nonconformists plea for peace impleaded / by J.B. Worcestershire.	J. B. (John Browne); Long, Thomas, 1621-1707. Non-conformists plea for peace impleaded.	1681 (1681)	Wing B5121; ESTC R6607	28,766	44

Papal Vsurpations and imposing of things unnecessary as necessary to Vnion and Communion hath been the great cause of Schisms throughout the Christian world for this thousand years And p. 226. that they who still obey such dividing Imposers do continue Schisms in the Church by encouraging the causes of them Where by dividing Imposers we must understand the King Parliament and Clergy of England for who else can he pretend to say imposes upon them And if no body imposeth on them why doth he clamour and complain of dividing Imposers What mean those black Characters he gives the conforming Clergy of England of deliberately perjured persons and a hundred the like What People fearing God would not abhor such a Ministry and in spite of all lawful Authority fight and die do and suffer any thing rather than hazard their Souls in trusting them to the care and conduct of such Ministers Interpret who will his meaning in suggesting it as the opinion of some Casuists That Humane Laws bind not when they are not for the common good of which good the people must be judge Adding That he had rather say When they are notoriously against the Laws of Christ and the common good intimating the Laws of England to be such for what Laws else are they concern'd with Had Mr. Baxter a mind to preach Sedition what would he say more None that designe Sedition will teach it openly and in terminis that will not take It must be done insinuatingly and disguisedly as c. Yet Mr. Baxter in the name of the rest of the Nonconformists would have Princes forbid and punish all that propagate seditious and disloyal Doctrine and would have the strictest Laws made to punish any Nonconformists that shall be proved guilty of Sedition or Disloyalty SECT X. Kneeling ANother Scruple of the Pleaders which the Impleader hath past by is kneeling at the Sacrament And of all the ugly Pimples that flush in the face of Nonconformist Churches there 's none looks worse than this upon the account of that great breach that of it self it makes in Church-Communion the Word and Sacrament being the two principal materials of Church-Communion And for this he urges nothing but the old Cant in four particulars First Sitting being the Table-gesture Sitting as men do at Meat saith he p. 150. is certainly lawful Answ As though the Lords Supper were a common Feast and the administration of it to be guided by the Rules of common Table-fellowship and if so why do not Dissenters receive it with their Hats on for that is as correspondent to the ordinary Table-gesture as sitting is Secondly He urges the Example of Christ Whereas 1. 'T is not certain what gesture Christ used All that we read of it is Luke 22.14 15 20. John 21.20 that he did eat the Passover with his Disciples in a tricliniary gesture which we now express by sitting Whereas 1. It was the ordinary custom of the Jews to change their gesture Buxt Syn. Judaic cap. 13. even during the Passover it self whereas the Sacrament was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says the Text Luke 22.20 Beside 't is nowhere said that Christ and his Disciples continued in the Table gesture at the blessing of the Holy Supper 2. There 's the same reason for our imitation of Christ in one circumstance as well as another and so if we must imitate Christ at the Sacrament in Gesture why not in Time and Place also and so as Christ did in an upper-room after Supper c. But 3. If we must imitate Christ's practice herein we must receive it kneeling i. e. in conformity to the custom of the Church where we live so did Christ and his Apostles they received the Passover in that Gesture which was then in use in the Jewish Church Thirdly A third thing he urges against kneeling which I believe is as much against his own knowledge is the custom of the Church Catholick and the Canons of general Councils particularly Nice 1 Can. 20. that prohibiteth Adoration on any Lords-day in the year Answ Though Mr. Baxter alledge this to amuse his Followers yet he knows 1. That that same Council which forbad Genuflexion did require standing and not sitting And 2. That that injunction of the Church was onely to signifie their belief and joy concerning their own and Christ's Resurrection and not to continue in the Church after the Resurrection was sufficiently believed for if it were still binding we must receive the Sacrament standing and not sitting or kneeling But 3. Admit that the Primitive Christians did receive the Sacrament kneeling which they did not yet that would not prove kneeling unlawful upon this account because the Church is not bound to observe always the same indifferent Rites and Gestures for though Christ and his Apostles sate when they taught the people Act. 16.13 yet all Ministers are not bound thereby to the same Gesture Fourthly A fourth scruple he has against kneeling is its symbolizing scandalously with idolatrous Papists who signifie thereby Bread-worship or Idolatry Answ This same Argument is as good against sitting for that is as much a symbolizing with Papists Arrians and Heathens Durand rat l. 4. 1. Papists The Pope himself at some Solemnities Alt. Dam. c. 10. receives the Eucharist sitting And the Benedictine Monks the Thursday before Easter receive it sitting 2. Sitting is a symbolizing with Arrians The Arrians in Poland denying the Divinity of Christ Syn. Craco were the first Authors known to those Churches of this sitting gesture 3. 'T is a symbolizing with Pagans Sitting was the ordinary gesture of Worship in the Romish Pagan Idolatry Plutarch affirms That the ancient Laws of their Pagan-worship required ut adoraturi sedeant that they worship sitting Now if symbolizing with Papists be a sufficient Argument against kneeling why is not symbolizing with Papists Arrians and Heathens a good Argument against sitting and so Christ's institution of the Sacrament made void by admitting no gesture to be lawful Yet by this superstitious fear of sin in kneeling do they break Communion with us and scare many wholly from the Sacrament in publick and private both like that good Physician that out of tenderness to his Patient lest he should hurt himself by drinking stole his silver Cup. 'T is enough to shew that this scruple like the rest doth not arise from any tenderness of Conscience but peevishness and obstinacy that the Church of England hath so openly and plainly declared against all adoration of the Sacramental Bread and Wine Rubrick after the Communion or any corporal presence of Christ's natural flesh and bloud therein And is it not shameful obstinacy when men shall be so tempted to contemn that sacred Ordinance which the Primitive Christians so begg'd upon their knees that it shoul'd so superstitiously be made the cause of Strife and Division which was intended to unite us in love to one another That men should chuse to go to Goal rather than to the

KEDARMINSTER-Stuff A new PIECE of Print OR A REMNANT OF Mr. BAXTER'S PIÆ FRAVDES UNRAVELLED BEING AN APPENDIX TO Nonconformists Plea for Peace IMPLEADED By J. B. Worcestershire If I should zealously press my Judgment on others and seek to make a Party for it and disturb the Peace of the Church and separate from my Brethren I should fear lest I should prove a Fire-brand in Hell for being such a Fire-brand in the Church I charge you therefore if God should give me up to any factious Church-rending course that you forsake me and follow me not a step See Baxter 's Saints Rest Epist Dedic to the People of Kedarminster p. 8 9. LONDON Printed for Randal Taylor neer Stationers-hall 1681. A REMNANT OF Mr. BAXTER'S PIÆ FRAVDES UNRAVELLED SECT I. Mr. Baxter's Title-page THere 's a Book of late extant called Nonconformists Plea for Peace 'T is called a Plea though it be indeed meer Magisterial dictating above what any Metropolitan would arrogate or pretend to and is apparently more like a Plot than a Plea meerly to disturb the Churches Peace and embroil the Nation 'T is called a Plea for Peace though it be indeed for Schism and no more a Plea for Peace than the Author 's fighting against the King was a making Peace with him See who will how well 't is fitted to alienate the minds of Ministers and People to seduce the Weak and to confirm the Factious to exasperate Governours and possess the minds of men with hateful and rebellious thoughts against their Government to disturb the Peace of Church and State and to lay the Grounds of a lasting Separation and he shall find that 't is more likely to set three Kingdoms in a Flame than to settle Peace in one it being certain that such Paper-lights as these Pleas for Peace did help to inflame the Kingdom with the late Civil War 'T is well known they were such Outcries against Bishops and Ceremonies that first brought in plea the Kings Prerogative 't was pretence to Reformation and the purity of Religion to tenderness of Conscience and the power of Godliness that brought men first to unjust Sequestering and wresting away Estates then to plundering and cutting of Throats and at last to the banishment and murder of Princes In a word to that which in times of the late Usurpation robb'd us of our Laws Government and Peace tore and worried our Church and State making it a prey to Tyranny and Sacriledge which stain'd the Protestant Religion with Royal Bloudshed and cover'd Fields with the Carcasses of many thousand Christians I say that which did this was pretence to Reformation and purity of Religion the Bloud-thirsty Zeal of those Puritans who as Bishop Bancroft foretold would never give over their Cry for Reformation till they had ruined us Church and State and whatever specious titles and pretences this Plea for Peace may have 't is certain its duct and tendency is no better what 's most material in it hath had its disquisition by the judicious Impleader I have now to do but with some of the Rubbish and Impertinencies of it which that worthy Author has past by as less worthy of his notice SECT II. Of their Separate Congregations THE Pleader begins with Churches His first undertaking is to shew what Churches are of Divine Institution and what not where he endeavours by dark Definition and nice Division to make the Church like the Multitude many Heads the forking it into Dichotomies meerly to amuse the people representing to them the Notion of a Church as some unintelligible thing to make their Schism the harder to be discerned He tells us p. 8. He doubts not but that a Society of Neighbour-Christians associated with a Pastor for personal Communion in Doctrine Discipline and Worship such as their Meetings are is of Divine Institution His 16th and 17th Sections are to the same purpose which I have found his Followers to take for proof that their Congregations are true Churches and of Divine Institution But I doubt not there are thousands of good Christians in England that will as soon believe these Assemblers Heads to be truly Steeples as those Assemblies to be true Churches especially as now managed 1. To the great contempt of those more publick Assemblies that have the stamp of Authority both from God and man and which are of that which is the onely Church National that ever was reformed from Popery by a Law and not out of Huddles and Tumults as Geneva and most of the Reformed Churches beyond Sea were which Reformed Church or Churches in England as the first Reformers planted with their Sweat so their Successours watered with their Bloud and particularly those Martyrs Cranmer Ridley and others that were the first Compilers of the Common-prayer 2. Their Antichurches are kept up to the begetting of those Schisms and Divisions which the best of Christians in Primitive times have accounted as bad as Heresie as Chrysost Epist ad Eph. Edit secund p. 823. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To divide the Church says he is no less evil or sinful than to fall into Heresie And Aug. Ep. contra Parmen l. 2. 2. Vix crimen aliquod c. There is scarce any thing so bad as Schism not Idolatry said Dyonis ap Euseb l. 6. Not Sacriledge said Optatus l. 1. 'T is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the original of Evils said Ignatius Ep. ad Smyr Mr. Baxter says Plea p. 3. Indeed could they find out the Schismatick he hopes he would be condemned of all But what Quaker Papist or Schismatick whoever could not say as much And if they knew indeed what Schism is says he p. 3. they would avoid it As though all those most learned and best of men in their Ages Ignatius Cyprian Augustine and others that wrote so much against Schism knew not what Schism is but wrote against they knew not what or as though so great a Polygraphus as Mr. Baxter after so many years dabling in their Writings could not find out the definition of Schism But 3. God never instituted Churches to be kept up in disobedience to those Christian Magistrates which he commands us to obey upon pain of damnation i. e. eternal damnation as Mr. Baxter expounds it H. Commonwealth p. 352. telling us further Thes 319. That disobedience to our Rulers is in Ministers says he double treason and wickedness 4. In his same H. Commonwealth Thes 240. he teacheth That 't is necessary to the Churches peace that no private Congregations may be gathered or Antichurches erected without approbation and toleration from the Magistrate Where he means plain enough all Congregations separate or distinct from the Parish-Churches as theirs now are Adding in the same page That if private Assemblies be permitted unlimitedly then 1. it will be impossible to restrain Heresie Infidelity or Impiety yea 2. they may meet saith Mr. Baxter to plot against the Magistrate And no Assemblies whatever says he meaning beside those of the Parish-Church are to be