Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	apostle_n	church_n	primitive_a	4,139	5	9.1134	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26854	Richard Baxter his account to his dearly beloved, the inhabitants of Kidderminster, of the causes of his being forbidden by the Bishop of Worcester to preach within his diocess with the Bishop of Worcester's letter in answer thereunto : and some short animadversions upon the said bishops letter.; Account to his dearly beloved, the inhabitants of Kidderminster, of the causes of his being forbidden by the Bishop of Worcester to preach within his diocess	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.; Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699. Letter to a friend for vindication of himself from Mr. Baxter's calumny.	1662 (1662)	Wing B1179; ESTC R1412	40,242	54

of the Lord or as if the Church must needs sink and perish if it wanted such Pillars as they are to uphold it But thanks be to GOD for it the CHURCH of England is not yet notwithstamding all their endeavours to that purpose reduced to so very ill a condition that she cannot subsist without them as long as they can continue to be what they have been the sowers and fomenters of Schism in the Church and sedition in the State and as long as they continue to do as they have done in humouring and hardning and confirming the people in their obstinate standing out against the lawful commands of their Superiours which they would never have done at all if these men had not at first infused into them these scruples And therefore as God asked Adam and Eve How came you to know that you are naked so if I should ask those poor souls whom those sly and subtle Serpents have beguiled and seduced How came you to know that you shall sin against God if you obey the Orders of the Church in Generall or particularly how came you to know That it is against the Canons of the Generall Councels and many hundred years practise of the Church to Kneel in the Act of receiving Did you or can you your selves read those General Councels Did you or can you examine so many hundred years practise of the Church as Mr. Baxter speaks of What answer can they make to these demands but that which Eve made unto God The Serpent beguiled me and I did eat Mr. Baxter or some such Godly and Learned men as Mr. Baxter is did tell us so and we believed them But what if Mr. Baxter do not believe that himself which he would have you believe For first he would have you believe that there is great reverence and respect to be given as indeed there is to the Canons of Generall Gouncels and to the Catholick practise of the Primitive Church but doth he himself believe this if he do why did he so furiously oppose that which all General Councels approve of and confirm I mean the Government of the Church by Bishops in the sense wherein it is asserted and practised in one Church Or why did he perswade Subjects to take up Arms against their Soveraign which he knows to be contrary to the Doctrine and practise of the Primitive Christians for many hundred years more then he speaks of Secondly Mr. Baxter would have you believe that Kneeling at the receiving of the Sacrament is forbidden by Generall Councels and contrary to the custome and practise of the Antient Church which I am afraid he doth not belive himself I am sure there is no convincing reason to make him believe it for it is not the Ancient Churches injunction to stand when they prayed betwixt Easter and Whitsontide that will prove they were forbidden to Kneel when they received especially if the Presbyterian opinion be true that we are not to be in the Act of praying when we are in the Act of receiving but if we may pray as no doubt we may and ought to pray in the Act of Receiving then supposing the Ancient Injunction of the Church to stand at Prayer upon Sundaies betwixt Easter and Whitsontide to be still in force yet all the rest of the year we are to kneel when we Pray and consequently when we Receive though there were no particular command of our own Church for it Besides Mr. Baxter knows not the aforesaid Injunction of the Church was but Temporary till the people were sufficiently confirmed in the Doctrine and Belief of the Resurrection for if it had been of perpetual obligation and were still in force Mr. Baxter must needs condemn the whole present Church of God for kneeling when they pray betwixt Easter and Whitsontide and particularly he must most of all condemn himself and the Presbyterians of England for not standing when they receive if at least that Injunction be to be understood of Receiving as well as Praying which if it be not then it is urged by Mr. Baxter against us to no purpose as indeed it is And therefore no doubt Mr. Baxter doth not believe himselfe what he would have others believe when he presseth that occasional temporary injunction of the Church for standing against kneeling which if it be of force must needs condemn his own practice of sitting as well as ours of kneeling The like may be said of Christs example alledged by him also for would he or would he not have his Disciples believe that they are obliged to doe as Christ did if he would not have them believe so why doth he presse them with Christs example if he would have them believe so I demand again whether he doth believe it himself or no if he do not it is plain he is a seducer of the peeple but if he do believe it he must needs condemn the French Presbyterians for standing as well as the English Protestants for kneeling nay he must needs condemn himself and all other Christians in the world for not doing as Christ did in point of time I mean for not giving and receiving the Sacrament in the Evening as Christ did as well as he condemns us for not doing as Christ did in point of gesture unless he can prove which I think he cannot that we are of necessity to follow Christs example in one circumstance of the same action and not in another and in that circumstance which is lesse but not in that which is more material for certainly that circumstance which denominates the action as the circumstance of time doth the Lords supper is most material and yet that circumstance by the consent of all Christendome is altered from the Evening to the Morning and so was the gesture or posture of receiving also and that upon most just and weighty reasons till those that delight in change would needs have it otherwise and that perhaps for no other reason but because they found it setled in the Church This is not to follow Christs example who in things indifferent in their own nature conform'd his practise to that of the Church in which he lived though varying in some circumstances from the Primitive Institution and particularly in this very action from which they press us with Christs example For it is certain that Christ and his Disciples sate at the Passeover though it be uncertain whether he or they sate at the giving and receiving the Sacrament or no for it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after he had supped saith the Text Luke 22. 20. Howsoever it is certain I say that Christ and his Disciples sate when they eat the Passeover and this no doubt was according to the custome of the Jewish Church at that time but it is as certain that this was not the manner according to the first institution of it which was to eat it standing as you may read Exod. 12. 11. So that to urge Christs example against us is

to urge Christs example against himself for as we conform our selves to the Churches order and custome of our times in receiving the Communion otherwise in point of gesture then perhaps it was received at the first institution so Christ and his Apostles conforming themselves to the order and practise of the Church of their times did celebrate the Passeover otherwise then according to the first Institution it was to be celebrated in point of gesture also thereby intending to teach us that as long as the Essentials of Doctrine and Worship which are unalteraable are preserved we are not to separate from the Church or quarrel with our Superiours if those things that are in their own nature alterable be not alwaies and in all places just the same that they were at first because there may be very just cause for the alteration of them and whether there be such a cause or no in this and the like particulars it is the Church that is to be the Judge So that there is nothing that can be collected either from the Canons of the Councels or from the practise of the Primitive Church no nor from Christs own example that can prove Kneeling at the Sacrament to be a sin neither doth Mr. Baxter himself believe it to be sinful for if he did he would not say as he does Pag. 4. 11. of his five Disputations that he himself would kneel rather then disturb the Peace of the Church or be deprived of its Communion In which words he confesseth First that Kneeling at the Sacrament is not sinful or unlawful Secondly that not to Kneel when it is imposed is to disturb the Peace of the Church and Thirdly that the imposing of it upon penalty of being deprived of the Communion is an effectual means to make those that otherwise would not kneel to conform to it and consequently that the imposing of it upon such a penalty is prudent and rational and whatsoever is prudent and rational cannot be unlawful so that not only the Act of Kneeling it self but the imposition of it by lawful Authority must needs be lawful Neither indeed would the People scruple at the imposition if they had not been taught that the thing it self were unlawful or if Mr. Baxter would yet teach them to believe what he himself believes namely that it is lawful which with what conscience he can refuse to do I know not for sure he is obliged to teach them obedience not to Divine Authority only but to humane Authority also in all lawful things and not to let them go on in such an erroneous opinion as will disturb the Peace and deprive them of the Communion of the Church and consequently make them sin against God and Man and their own Souls Of which sin of theirs he must needs be a partaker in a great measure if he do not perswade them from it seeing as he himself saith Qui non vetat peccare cum potest jubet And what Power he hath to lead or mislead those kind of men their venturing to kill and be killed in a most unrighteous quarrel upon his perswasion hath more then enough demonstrated during the time of the late troubles unlesse he will say that he hath conjured up a Spirit that he cannot lay Howsoever by how much the more faulty he hath been in misleading them heretofore by so much the more zealous he should be to reduce them into the right way hereafter which if he and the rest of his Brethren can do as I am confident they can if they wil they wil make some amends for the mischief they have done and then there will be no fear or danger of Ministers being Ejected for their tenderness towards the People nor of the Ejecting of any of the People from the communion of the Church for not conforming themselves to the Orders and Commands of it consequently there will be no Schisms or Divisions amongst us when we shall all worship the same God the same way But if they will not do this which by all obligations Humane and Divine they are bound to do for my part I know no better way for undeceiving reducing of the People then by removing such Ministers and then we shall see when the blowing of those boisterous winds ceaseth whether the waves will not be still or no In the mean time I hope the removing of erroneous and seditious will not necessitate the introducing of ignorant and scandalous Ministers though Mr. Baxter ought to remember that as there is no sin more heinous then Rebellion so no teacher ought to be more scandalous I am sure there is none more dangerous then a teacher of Rebellion And now to use Mr. Baxters own words I think there is no man to be found on earth that hath the ordinary reason of a Man but will confess That it is indeed destructive of all Government and Legislative power to Assert as Mr. Baxter did Assert the command of a thing in it self lawful by lawful Authority under no unjust punishment with no evil circumstance which the Commander can foresee or ought to provide against for all these pre-cautions were expresly put in the proposition which Mr. Baxter denied as a sinful Command for a●● other reason but because the Act Commanded may be by Accident a sin Let Mr. Baxter then know and if he have ingenuity enough confess that the words I spoke as to this particular were words of truth and words of charity also as being intended and spoken to no other end but to undeceive that People who by having his person too much in admiration as if he could neither deceive nor be deceived had been so long and so dangerously mislead by him so that it was not I that defamed him then but it is he that hath defamed me now Neither could I expect lesse from the boldnesse of this man and that party who have had the confidence publickly to own the obligation of the Covenant even since it hath been condemn'd to be burnt by the Parliament And truly I see no reason why all those Books and Sermons which have been Preach'd and Printed in defence of the Covenant or to maintain the same or worse principles of Sedition then are in the Covenant should not be burnt also Nay I dare be bold to say that if the Authors of such Books and Sermons were not still of the same opinions and if they be God deliver us from such Preachers if they were not still I say of the same opinions but did truly repent of them and were heartily sorry for the horrible mischief they have done by them they would with those converted Exorcists Act. 16. 19. bring all those Conjuring Books of theirs togethers and to save the Hang-man a labour would publickly burn them all with their own hands that so though by the burning of their works they may perhaps suffer some losse in point of reputation with some of their Disciples yet they themselves may be