Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A31765
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The Charitable Samaritan, or, A short and impartial account of that eminent and publick-spirited citizen Mr. Tho. Firmin who departed this life on Monday Dec. 20, 1697 / by a gentleman of his acquaintance.
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Gentleman of his acquaintance.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing C2067; ESTC R25982
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20,066
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27
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Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are One and there are three that bear Witness in Earth the Spirit the Water and the Blood and these three agree in one The Alexandrine Manuscript has only these Words There are three that bear Witness the Spirit c. so have all the Ancient Greek Copies as also the Syriac the Arabic the Aethiopic and Latin Interpreters in the oldest Manuscripts that if the Words according as we find them in our Editions are extant in any of the Ancient Books they are Written in the Margin and not in the Text and generally in a later Hand That as several learned Annotators have observed 't is plain that many of the Fathers did not read the above mentioned Passage about the Witnesses in Heaven as now we do because they never make use of it in their Disputes with the Arians although they cite the other about the Witnesses in Earth as is evident from the case of Gregory Nazianzen that tho' in answer to this it may be objected that St. Cyprian read this passage as our Bibles now have it because in his Book de Vnitate Eccles he has these words De Patre Filio Spiritu Sancto scriptuâ—… est hi Tres unum sunt Yet F. Simon in his Critical History of the New Testament c. 18. has well observed it is not probable St. Cyprian read the Words so and yet St. Austin should never employ them against the Arians of his Time and therefore that learned Critick not without good grounds supposes that St. Cyprian adapted the Words of the 8th Verse Et hi tres unum sunt for so the Vulgar Latin reads it to the Father Son and holy Ghost and 't is certain that St. Cyprian frequently cites several Passages out of the Bible with the same assurance as if he had cited the very express Words That however it came about the same variety of Reading is to be found in several other Texts as for example the third Verse in the first Epistle of St. John c. 4. which the Greek Copies as likewise the Syriac and Arabic Versions read with us Every Spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh is not of God the Vulgar Translation as also Irenaeus l. 3. c. 18. Tertullian l. 5. contra Marcionem c. 16. and Socrates l. 7. Hist Eccles c. 32. read it Omnis Spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non est That thus in the fourth Verse of St. Jude the Word God is not in the Alexandrine MS. nor in two of Beza nor in five others mention'd in the Oxon. Edition nor in the Latin Interpreter That in the Epistle to the the Romans c. 9. v. 5. Christ is called God blessed for ever whereas St. Cyprian l. 2. adversus Judaeos and Hilary upon the Second Psalm omit the Word Deus and St. Chrysostom seems to have read it so That likewise in the first Epistle to Timothy c 3. 16. where we read it God made manifest in the Flesh the same Word is left out in the Latin and Syriac Version which Lection is confirm'd by the Clermont MS. and by another cited in the Oxford Edition upon which Place Erasmus supposes it to have been added by the Orthodox to stop the mouths of the Arians but Beza that it was designedly omitted by those that denied the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour That thus in Acts Ch. 20. v. 28. where our Bibles read it the Church of God the Alex. the Greek and Latin Interpreter and three Oxford MSS. read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Lord others in the same sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Arabic following the latter the Syriac the former reading and this being one of those Places which the Nestorians and Eutyçhians made use of in their Controversies it is not so much to be ascribed to the negligence of the Copier as to the Design of some Persons that endeavoured to make St. Paul of their Party That not to insist upon the Variety and Corruption of the several Texts which the Orthodox and Unorthodox equally cite for themselves the Ancient Divines and principally the Schoolmen sometimes out of necessity but oftner out of design seldom keep to the received definitions of Words from whence proceeds the great obscurity of their Writings and endless Contentions about Terms while speaking the same things in other Words they don't or will not understand one another That the old Controversies between the Eutychians and Nestorians seem to have arose from this defect for while Eutyches call'd that Nature which others call'd Person and on the other hand Nestorius meant that by the Word Personae which others did by Naturâ—… the whole Eastern world was set in a Flame by those People who as far as we can guess by their Writings at this Interval of Time meant the very same thing That St. Austin himself in his Book De Trin. c. 9. where he wou'd perswade the Reader that the thing thô incomprehensible may be understood but that the Divines want Words to express what they understand fairly owns that nothing is said all this while by the Words they use Dictum est tamen tres persona non ut aliquid diceretur sed ne taceretur That the Citations which Rittangel and others bring out of the Jewish Authors to prove the belief of this Mystery amongst that People seem to be as suspicious as the Testimonies alledg'd by Galatinus a Minorite of the Church of Rome out of Rabbi Cahana Rabbi Judas and Rabbi Simeon and lately by that Turn-coat of Putney Mr. Sclater to prove the monstrous Doctrine of Transubstantiation or if they are true they may probably be supposed to be borrowed out of Platonic Writings with which 't is certain the Jews from the time of the Lagidae and Seleucidae were not unacquainted That what has been urg'd of the Nations most renown'd for Antiquity and deep Speculation that they fell upon the same Doctrine of a Trinity of Hypostases in one Divine Essence either comes not up to the matter in hand as what is said of the Persians who as Plutarch affirms believ'd a good and a bad Being together with one of a middle Nature or else is utterly false as what has been pretended out of Porphyry and Jamblious of the old Aegyptians That long before the Coming of our Saviour Plato asserted three Principles the first of which he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Cause of all things the second 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word and Governour of things present and to come the third 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Soul or Spirit of the World and that he held the second Principle to be begotten or created by the first and the third by the second That 't is a Matter of great difficulty to know whether St. John used the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same sence as Plato and his Disciples used it for if we