Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A58090
|
Religio laici, or, A lay-mans faith touching the supream head and infallible guide of the church : in two letters to a friend in the country / by J. R. a convert of Mr. Bays's.
|
J. R., Convert of Mr. Bays's.
|
1688
(1688)
|
Wing R30; ESTC R16164
|
20,013
|
32
|
but Asses would venture so much as to chaw them by reason of their pricking and choaking quality But to give the Devil his due I must needs own Mr. Bays has a most powerful and luxurious hand at Satyr and may challenge all Christendom to match him for indeed I never in my slender Province met with any that was to compare with him unless that unknown but supposed worthy Author that writ to him upon his at last turning Roman Catholiâ—k for Bays like the Vicar of Bray in Henry the 8th Edward the 6th Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth's days was resolved to keep his Place and the quoting an Author to the purpose is the same thing the Learned say as if it was his own and that will I hope excuse my putting them down here Thou Mercenary Runnegade thou Slave Thou ever Changing still to be a Knave What Sect what Error wilt thou next disgrace Thou art so lude so scandilâ—â—sly Base That Antichristian Popery may be Asham'd of such a Proselite as thee Not all thy Rancor or Felonious spite Which animates thy lumpish Soul to write Could ha' contriv'd a Satyr more severe Or more disgrace the Cause thou wouldst prefer Yet in thy favour this must be confest It suits with thy Poetick Genius best There thou To Truths disus'd mayst entertain Thy self with Stories more fanciful and vain Then e're thy Poetry could ever fain Or sing the Lives of thy own fellow Saints 'T is a large Field and thy assistance wants Thence Copy out new Opera's for the Stage And with their Miracles direct the Age. Such is thy Faith if Faith thou hast indeed For well we may suspect the Poets Creed Rebel to God Blasphemer o' thy King Ah tell whence cou'd this strange Complyance spring So mayst thou prove to thy new Gods as true As thy old Friend the Devil has been to you Yet Conscience and Religion 's your pretence But Food and Drink the Methologick Sence Ah how perswasive is the want of Bread Not Reasons from strong Box more strongly plead A Convert thou 't is past all believing 'T is a damn'd scandal of thy Foes contriving A Jest of that malicious monstrous Fame The Honest Lay-man's Faith is still the same And so much for Mr. Bays for he has already detain'd me a little too long from what I chiefly intended but since his Arguments were so strong and pertinent to my purpose I judg'd it not amiss to have my Opinion favour'd by so Eminent an Author of their own which I made use of only as an Introduction to the more serious and useful part namely what I promis'd in the beginning of the Letter viz. the Examining those Places of Scripture which the Papists do most insist on for proving their Church or the Pope no matter which Infallible But I fear I have already transgress'd the Bounds of a Letter and therefore I shall reserve the rest till another opportunity in the mean time I shall Subscribe my self Sir Yours to Command so far As in the power lyes of your oblig'd J. R. THE SECOND LETTER SIR I Have Receiv'd yours and am not a little proud at your gracious Acceptance of my last which gives me no small Encouragement of giving you the trouble of a second which I hope will give you a full satisfaction of what my poor Sentiments are touching the Doctrine of Infallibility which indeed is the second Part to the same Tune only with this difference Neither Mr. Bays nor his Banter Of his Milk white Hind and Panther is at all concern'd in this for though Bays's Reasons and Arguments are strong and to the purpose yet with those of our Saviours and the Apostles I did not judg it necessary they should be Transcrib'd in one Letter no more than I thought them fit to be nam'd in the same day and that was the Reason Sir of my giving you a double trouble but without any more Preamble I will endeavour to make good my Promise in my last viz. the examining those Places of Scripture which are made use of for the proving the Doctrine of Infallibility and likewise those Places which all Honest and sincere Protestants ought to consider that plainly prove the contrary I will begin first with those Places or rather that Place for I can find but one that seems so much as to favour the Point in Hand which is Matthew the 16. and the 17 18 and 19. Verses Then Jesus answer'd and said unto Peter blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven And I say unto thee thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it and I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven In which words the Romanist do believe St. Peter to be made the Infallible Head of the Church c. as sure as the Wafer after Consecration is transubstantiated into the Corporeal substance of our Blessed Lords Body and upon that account it is the pretended Successors of St. Peter has Lorded it over not only their Fellow Bishops but all Christian Princes and Crown'd Heads but upon what Grounds this more than Sovereign Authority has been set up and practised I shall now inquire and I do not question but to make it appear from our Saviours own words that he neither meant or intended any such Power and Authority to be set up by his Disciples and Followers as is at this day exercised by some body in the World c. and that will plainly appear if we consider the occasion of those words of our Saviour to St. Peter which was the Question our Saviour ask'd not St. Peter but all the Disciples Matt. the 16. and 13. ver When Jesus came into the Coasts of Cesarea Philippi he asked his Disciples saying Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am Now it is not to be supposed that our Saviour asked them because he did not know as well as they what the Peoples thoughts were concerning him but in all probability it was to draw a Confession of their own Opinion of him for in the 15. ver He saith unto Them but whom say Ye that I am then we find ver the 16th And Simon Peter answer'd and said thou art Christ the Son of the living God upon which account it was that our Saviour in the next verse said Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church c. so that it is plain our Saviours words had Relation to all the rest of the Disciples whose Answer it was though St. Peter like a Foreman of a Jury deliver'd it as the Belief and Sentiments of them all for we find as I before observ'd the question was put to them all but it would be
RELIGIO LAICI OR A Lay-mans Faith Touching the SUPREAM HEAD AND INFALLIBLE GUIDE OF THE CHURCH In Two Letters to a Friend in the Country By J. R. A Convert of Mr. Bays's Licensed June the 1st 1688. LONDON Printed for John Newton at three Pigeons over against the Inner-Tempe Gate in Fleet-street 1688. THE AUTHOR TO THE READER Courteous Reader A Little before the late King of ever Blessed Memory dyed a Poem was Published call'd Religio Laici c. and not long after another by the same Author call'd the Hind and Panther Which Pieces though as opposite to one another as Light and Darkness fell into an intimate Friends hand of mine who knowing me a great Admirer of that Authors Poems writ to me to desire my Judgment touching the Infallibility of his Mother Hind which was the occasion of the following Letters which indeed has been long since writ and the Reasons why they were not Published before are two The first is the same which a late Reverend Author gave in his Reasons for taking away the Test viz. They were design'd for a private use The second was my fear through a knowledge of my own Inability of a good Cause suffering by the weakness of its Advocate but however the Importunity of my Worthy Friend to whom I writ did at last prevail with me to send them thus as we all came Unpollished into the World. And as you have found them without Prejudice if possible read them and if you meet with any thing that makes amends for the pains I have my End if not I am sure you miss Yours J. R. THE FIRST LETTER SIR THE many and never to be forgotten Favours I have receiv'd commands a ready Compliance to your Request of giving you my Opinion touching the Doctrine of Infallibility so universally receiv'd and believ'd in the Church of Rome though at the same time they differ amongst themselves where to fix this Infallible Guide some are for placing it in a General Council others in his Holiness and Council together and a third sort in the defusive Church and a fourth in the Person of the Pope only he being St. Peter's Successor to whom our Saviour gave as they say the power of the Keys c. But however though they differ in the Manner yet they do all agree in the Matter that such a Convenient Doctrine should belong to their Church and truly I cannot blame them for it for it is indeed the only Rock and Foundation on which all their other Rubbish and Fopperies are built and the Removal of it would be like Sampson's pulling down the Pillars or main Prop so that consequently the whole Fabrick would fall to to the Ground But this being a Herculian work more proper for the fam'd Heroes of our Age viz. Men of great Parts and Letters I had not so much as attempted it but only Sir in obedience to your Command in doing which 't is possible I may put a helping hand toward the removal of some trash and trumpery out of the way whereby others of my own mean Rank and Capacity may the better discern the weakness of this Babel Foundation which has made such a Confusion in the Christian World. And amongst all the late Learned Pieces in Vindication of this Sovereign Antidote viz. Infallibility for if swallow'd it would without doubt exspel the Poyson of all the other Pestilential Doctrins of that Church none has made a greater noise in the World than the last though least unlearn'd Piece of the most famous cellebrated Author Mr. Bays the new Adopted Champion of the Roman Catholick Cause by the Name and Title of the Hind and Panther writ in the true Dialect and Language of the Beast J. D. in which he proves the necessity of an Unerring Guide as plain as a Pike-staff or rather as Demonstrable as Transubstantiation is made out in a late Reverend Authors Reasons for taking away the Test Now for an Unletter'd Lay-man to ingage with this Mighty Sampson of an Author is as rash an Undertaking as little Davids fighting with Great Goliah without Armour But we read Ecclesiastes the 9th and 11th The Race is not always to the swift nor the Battel to the strong therefore in hopes of being assisted by him whose Cause it is namely the Lord of Hosts through whom David not only fought but overcame the Champion of the Philistines I enter the Field and if I perish I perish however the attempt of great things is Honourable And the Method I shall take to engage this Potent Adversary shall be first to fight him with his own Weapons and discharge his own Artillery upon him viz. his own Arguments when he was possible of another Opinion I had almost said Religion but I am Inclinable to believe he never had any Secondly I shall examine those Places of Scripture which the Papists do most insist upon for the Proof of their Infallible Doctrine c. but I will begin with the first and Arm my self with Mr. Bays's own Armour of Proof that he has formerly engag'd with against the Asserters of this Doctrine in a Poem of his call'd Religio Laici In the Preface of which he has Page the 4th these words viz. For having laid down as a Foundation that the Scripture is a Rule that in all things needful to Salvation it is clear sufficient and ordain'd by God Almighty for that purpose I have left my self no right to Interpret obscure Places because whatsoever is obscure is concluded not necessary to be known On which as a Rock I shall being of the same Opinion Erect and build my Faith and that it may the better hold out a Siege against the mighty Host of Wild Beasts Commanded by their Infallible Mother Hind I will fortifie it with such strong murdering Morter-peices of his own c. that I 'le defie all his Bears and Boars his Woolves and Tygers his Foxes and Asses and Lyons c. to demolish and pull it down And the first is the Case which he puts between a Socinian and them of his own Church what that was then you will best understand from his own Arguments which are I think as strong and he as much Inspir'd when he writ them as when he writ the Immortal Milk white Hind and Panther but be your own Judge Religio Laici Page the 20. We hold and prove from Scripture plain That Christ is God the bold Socinian From the same Scripture urges he 's but Man. Now what Appeal can end the Important suit Both parts talk lowdly but the Rule is mute Shall I speak plain and in a Nation free Assume an honest Lay-mans Liberty which I hope is as little a fault now by Virtue of his Majesties Gracious Declaration as it was when Bays did it I think According to my little Skill But to my own Mother Church submitting still That many have been sav'd and many may That never heard this question brought in play The Vnletter'd