Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	account_n	alive_a	apostle_n	21	3	5.2114	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A71073	A second discourse in vindication of the Protestant grounds of faith, against the pretence of infallibility in the Roman Church in answer to The guide in controversies by R.H., Protestancy without principles, and Reason and religion, or, The certain rule of faith by E.W. : with a particular enquiry into the miracles of the Roman Church / by Edward Stillingfleet ...	Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.	1673 (1673)	Wing S5634; ESTC R12158	205,095	420

Miracles to convert them b●● withal saith that the conversion of Infidels 〈◊〉 not so necessary now as in the Apostles times and therefore God doth not in this ordinarily bestow this gift on men although he m●● do it in some extraordinary cases Wh●● shall we say now to the Testimony of thi● learned Bishop had he never heard 〈◊〉 St. James of Compostella and the Miracl●● pretended to be wrought there and could 〈◊〉 believe them and write these things Ha● he never heard of St. Vincentius Ferreri●● who lived in some part of the same time wit● him and if he had believed the Miracles reported of him he would neither have p●● the Question nor answered it so as he di● After him I shall produce the Testimony 〈◊〉 Fisher Bishop of Rochester in his Answer t● Luther who to prove the necessity of interpreting Scripture by the continued sense 〈◊〉 the Church and not by the bare Letter offe● to produce such words of Christ in which b●sides the matter of fact and the comman● there is a promise annexed and yet saith he in our dayes no effect of this promise i● seen and then brings the words of Scriptu●● wherein it is said that Christ cured t●● blind and the lame and cast out Devils and he commanded his Disciples to do 〈◊〉 same and makes a promise to them that ●hould believe in Christ. Mark 16. that many ●●gns should follow them and yet this promise saith he hath no effect now for no man ●ow casts out Devils nor heals diseases and yet no one questions but there are many that believe But what then was the promise of Christ of no effect no saith he Christ intended it only for the first Ages of the Church but when the Christian faith was dispersed over the world there was no longer need of miracles Can any Testimony be more plain or weighty in our case than this it being from one who undoubtedly knew all the pretences to miracles that were then made Erasmus expresly saith that the gift of miracles which was necessary to the first Ages of the Church for the conversion of Infidels as speaking with strange Tongues miraculous Cures Prophesying and such like miracles is is now ceased Stella not only saith that the power of miracles is ceased but he saith that the receiving it would do more hurt than good for men would say that the Christian faith was not sufficiently confirmed before Of all cases we might most reasonably suppose that God should if ever renew this gift in the conversion of Infidels and yet Franciscus à Victoria saith that he heard of no miracles or signs that were wrought for the conversion of the Indians Josephus Acost● at large debates this case why God doth n●● now give the power of miracles among those who preach to Infidels as he did of old an● he offers at several reasons for it of which this is the chief That miracles were necessary in the beginning of Christian Religion but not now And if the Church be defective in the power of miracles where it is the most necessary what reasonable ground can there be to think that God should imploy his power not for the satisfaction of Infidels but of the credulous and superstitious As God never works miracles to convince obstinate Atheists so neither doth he to gratifie the curiosity of old Women and Pilgrims but if ever he do●● it it is to lay a sufficient foundation for those to believe who are otherwise destitute of the means of faith But if such persons who are imployed upon the work of converting Infidels do want the Testimony of miracles I know no reason to believe that he imploy●● it for other ends And if these persons had believed that the power of miracles had been any where else in the Church they would have made that considerable objection to themselves why God should give it where there was less need and deny it where there was greatest But what then shall we say to the miracles pretended to be wrought by Xaverius and others in the East-Indies I say that if they were sufficiently attested we might be much more inclined to believe the Truth of those miracles than of the Lady of Loretto or St. James of Compostella or any of the rest which E. W. refers us to For if it were at any time reasonable to expect a power of miracles it would be for the conversion of Infidels and Xaverius and his companions going upon so generous a design might be favoured in it by some extraordinary effects of Divine Power But then in all reason the miracles would be such as were most accommodated to that design as the speaking with the Tongues in which they were to preach the Christian Religion but by the letters of Xaverius himself we find that he was extreamly put to it for want of this gift of Tongues both on the Coast of Commorin and especially in Japan for in one of his Letters he laments his condition very much because the people being willing to learn and he as willing to instruct them for want of the language they conversed with each other like Statues and when they asked him questions he could give them no answer but by degrees he said he learnt to prattle like a Child among them Can any one now imagine that God had bestowed the gift of miracles upon Xaverius for propagating Christianity and yet should deny him that without which all other miracles would be to no purpose if he could not deliver the doctrine those miracles were to confirm so as to be understood by the people But in truth I do not find that Xaverius himself in any of his Epistles did make any pretence to the power of miracles after his death indeed the Jesuits in those parts to increase the glory of their Society and their Brethren in these parts as readily concurring to such a design published some miracles which they said were wrought by him So Melchior Nunezius in his Epistle to Ignatius Loyola where he gives an account of the death of Francis Xaverius saith that many things were discovered since his death that were not known while he was alive and is not this a very probable circumstance that he had a power of miracles Would the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles have converted Infidels if they had not been known while they were living And yet these miracles he reports are very few and delivered on the single testimonies of no very considerable men the rest he faith for brevity's sake he omits which is not very probable considering how long he insists upon the story of the miraculous incorruption of his Body after his decease Which Bellarmin likewise magnifies viz. That his Body being cast into Lime was preserved fifteen months entire and free from corruption What will not these men make miracles of when they have a mind to it When Maffeius saith that the Relicks of St. Thomas at

to the death of Christ and my Question will not only hold of the Apostles but of any common Jews among them who might not believe Christ infallible any more than the Sanhedrin I ask whether such might not have seen sufficient ground to believe that the Prophesies came not in old time by the will of man but by the Will of God if such persons had reason sufficient for their faith without any infallible Testimony the same I say may all Christians have of the Divine Authority of the New Testament For if the concurrent Testimony of the dispersed Jews firmly believing the divine Authority of the Old Testament were a sufficient ground for a person then to believe the Divinity of those Books why may not the concurrent Testimony of all Christians afford as sufficient a ground to believe the Authority of the Books of the New though no Ecclesiastical Senate among Christians be supposed any more infallible than the Jewish Sanhedrin was at the death of Christ and by this I hope E. W. may a little better perceive what this objection aims at But saith he hence it follows not that then there was no Jewish Church which believed the divine verities of the old Scripture O the monstrous subtilty of Jesuits who is able to stand before their terrible wits What have we to do with a Churches believing the divine verities of the Old Scripture we only enquire for the Testimony of a Church as necessary in order to others believing it If they firmly believed and yet had no infallible Testimony of a Church at that time what can be more to our advantage than this seeing it hence follows that there may be a firm faith without any Churches infallible Testimony Well but he verily thinks I mistook one objection for another perhaps I would have said that the Apostles lost faith of our Saviours Resurrection at the time of his Passion but this difficulty is solved over and over And then falls unmercifully to work with this man of clouts he throws him first down and tramples upon him then sets him up again to make him capable of more valour being shown upon him then he kicks him afresh beats him of one side and then of the other and so terribly triumphs over him that the poor man of clouts blesseth himself that he is not made of flesh and bones for if he had it might have cost him some aches and wounds But I assure him I meant no such thing yet if I had I do not see but after all his batteries the argument such as it is would have stood firm enough for supposing the Infallible Testimony of the Church to rest in the Apostles after our Saviours death it must have prejudiced the faith of others who were to believe that article upon their Authority if they lost the faith of Christs Resurrection 2. I instanced in those who believed in Christ and yet were not personally present at the miracles which our Saviour wrought but had them conveyed to them by such reports as the womans of Samaria was to the Samaritans Of these I ask what infallible Testimony their faith was built upon And if those persons might have a Divine Faith meerly upon rational evidence may not we much more who have evidence of the same nature but much more extensive universal and convincing than that was To this he answers by distinguishing between the Motive or the natural Proposition of faith which comes by hearing and the infallible Oracle whereupon it relies and he thinks it strange I did not see the distinction It is far easier to see the distinction than the pertinency of it to his purpose for our Question is not about the necessity of an Infallible Oracle in order to Faith but of an infallible Proposition we still yield that which our faith relies upon to be an infallible Oracle of God but if a natural Proposition of that be sufficient for faith we have all we contend for But to what purpose the Legend of S. Photina and the dispute whether she were the Samaritan woman is here inserted is very hard to understand unless he thought it the best way by any means to escape from the business in hand Next he tells us what he might answer i● these instances by saying with good Divin● that all immediate Propounders or Conveyer● of Divine Revelation in such particular case● need not to be infallible I am glad to hear of such good Divines among them only I would know why in these particular cases an infallible proposition was unnecessary to faith if in the general case of all Christians it be now become necessary But he saith although infallibility be not necessary for young beginners seldom molested with difficulties against saith yet it is not only convenient but absolutely necessary for others more learned who often struggle to captivate their understanding when the high mysteries of Christianity are proposed Never was there certainly a more senseless answer for who are molested with difficulties against faith if those who are to be converted to Christianity are not who have none of the advantages of education to recommend the doctrines of Christianity to their minds and are filled and prepossessed with contrary prejudices Never were there such happy Converters of Infidels as the Jesuits are if they meet with such Converts who are never molested with difficulties against faith only as they grow up they begin to grow Infidels again and then it is necessary to choke them with an Infallible Church I do not at all wonder that the more learned in the Church of Rome seeing the weakness of the grounds of Faith among them do struggle with themselves about believing the mysteries of their faith but I very much wonder if so unreasonable a pretence as that of Infallibility can ever satisfie them I desire to know of these more learned believers whether they believed the Churches Infallibility before those strugglings or not if they did not how came they to be believers since there can be no divine faith without an infallible testimony if they did how came they to question whether they were to believe the particular mysteries of faith if they did believe the Church Infallible which proposed them But I suppose these learned believers were such as questioned the Infallibility of the Church and Christ and his Apostles too of which sort I doubt not there are many in Rome it self But yet he hath two other ways to solve these difficulties 1. By Gods special illumination and that I hope may serve all as well as these and then let him shew the necessity of an infallible Proponent 2. That every particular proponent as a member conjoyned with Christs infallible Oracle may be said to teach infallibly A most admirable speculation and so may every one we meet with in the streets be infallible not as considered in himself but as a member conjoyned with truth or every Sectary as a member conjoyned with