Saluation is worth to looke most carefully that the cause of his separation be iust and necessary And pag. 200. lin 25. I willingly confesse the iudgment of a Councell though not infallible yet is so far directiue and obliging that without apparent reason of the contrary it may be sinne to reiect it at least not to afford it an outward submission But D. Potter more cleerly and fully affirmeth That Generall Councels are the highest Tribunals which the Church hath vpon earth that their authority is immediatly deriued delegated from Christ that no Christian is exempted from their censures and iurisdiction that their decrees bind all persons to externall obedience and may not be questioned but vpon euident reasons That the belieuers of the Roman Church cannot erre but through Ignorance inuincible §. 2. 3. FOr the title of this Section I argue thus Those errours are vnauoydable and inuincible which cannot be auoyded without damnable sinne But Roman Catholiques cannot auoyd the errous of the Roman Church if she haue any without damnable sinne Therfore their errours if they do erre must of necessity be ignorances inuincible and vnauoydable such as they cannot shake of without damning themselues The Minor or assumption of this argument I proue because Roman Catholiques that be sincere and cordiall belieuers of the doctrine of the Roman Church cannot haue necessary forcing reasons nor euident demonstrations that the Roman Church is in errour This is cleere For if they haue necessary and inforcing reasons and euident demonstrations whereby they are conuicted in conscience that the Roman Church erreth they be now no more Roman Catholiques nor belieuers of the Roman Church but Protestants and her Aduersaries in their iudgment It is therefore impossible that Roman Catholiques so longe as they be sincere and Cordiall belieuers of the Roman Doctrine should haue euident demonstrations that the Roman Church erreth And if the◠haue not euident demonstrations it were damnable for them to forsake her doctrines which Protestants account erroneous nor can they do it without damning their soules Who then doth not see that their erring if they erre is enforced vn auoydable proceeding from ignorance inuincible for which sort of ignorance it is impossible they should be damned 4. You to auoyde the force of this Argument contend that though your reasons are necessary enforcing as cleere as the light at noone yet we are not conuicted by them in conscience not that they want euidence but that we are obstinately peruerse This your shift cauill is easily shewed to be friuolous and false Friuolous because you only say without any proofe that we are obstinately peruerse and if to say it without proofe be inough then the same answere will serue and doth de facto serue euery Heretique euery Sect-maister euery forger of new Monsters for when he findeth himselfe in straytes and not able to bring so much as a probable reason for his new deuised impieties he falleth presently to cry that his Texts of Scripture are as cleere as the sunne his Arguments euident demonstrations that the reason Catholiques neglect and reiect him is not want of euidence in his arguing but that we are wilfully blind obstinately peruerse men that haue eyes to see and will not see giuen ouer to stronge delusions and vnto a reprobate sense And what is this but to change schollership into scolding reasoning into rayling disputing into clamorous and contumelious wrangling wherin he getteth the victory who is the stoufest Stentor and can crye loudest against his Aduersaries You are willfully blind you are obstinately peruerse In which kind of arguing you are very eloquent according to the stile of heretiques quorum doctrina sayth S. Hierome non in sensu sed in multiloquio elamore consistit 5. Secondly it is false because necessary and enforcing reasons or euident demonstrations presented vnto the vnderstanding necessitate the said Vnderstanding and compell the Conscience to assent let the Will be neuer so peruerse The peruersity of Will may make a man deny with his mouth what in Conscience he knoweth to be true it may make him hate impugne knowne truth but it cannot possibly make him not see what by the light of euident demonstration is made cleere to his vnderstanding This I proue by your owne sayings as pag. 370. n. 50. Apparent arguments necessitate the vnderstanding to assent and Pag. 371. n. 81. You contend that Protestants hold not that it is euidently certaine that these bookes in particular are the word of God For say you they are not eyther so fond as to be ignorant nor so vaine as to pretend that all men do assent to it which they would if they were euidently certain or so ridiculous as to imagine that an Indian that had neuer heard of Christ or Christianity reading the Bible in his owne language would without miracle belieue it to be the word of God which yet he could NOT CHOOSE but do if it were euidently certaine Heere you affirme that all men in the world would belieue the Christian Bible to be the word of God yea they could not choose but assent vnto it as vnto Diuine truth if it did shew it selfe to be such with euident certainty And yet there be millions in the world that be obstinately peruerse against the Christian Bible Ergo demonstrations which shew a truth to the vnderstanding with euident certainty necessitate the Vnderstanding to assent though the Will be obstinately peruerse But Catholiques though they vnderstand ponder and consider your pretended euident demonstrations and texts of Scripture as cleere as the sunne can dissent from them rest persuaded in their conscience against your conclusions by pious constancy of fayth Wherefore your Arguments be not euident demonstrations and consequently no man can be moued with them to forsake the Roman Church and her Doctrine of Generall Councels without committing damnable sinne yea they are so farre from being irresistable as they are vaine weake contemptible euen those which you pretend to be so cleere as none can possibly be cleerer as I haue shewed in the former Treatise Cap. 6. Conuict 6. n. 29. That Protestants if they erre cannot be saued by ignorance or generall repentance §. 3. 6. THe first part of the Title that they cannot be saued by ignorance I proue thus Either Protestants haue demonstrations euident certainty that the Roman Church erreth that her definitions which they forsake and keep themselues in opposition against them be false and impious or they haue not If they haue they be not ignorant but full of cleere and manifest certainty about all those points wherein they forsake the Roman Church If they haue not they are indeed in ignorance but in such ignorance as will not saue them but rather make them more damnable to wit in the ignorance of Pride For is it not damnable and execrable Pride for a simple and ignorant man to abandon the Roman Church adorned with
THE TOTALL SVMME OR No danger of Damnation vnto Roman Catholiques for any Errour in Faith Nor any hope of Saluation for any Sectary vvhatsoeuer that doth knovvingly oppose the Doctrine of the Roman Church This is proued by the Confessions and Sayings of M. William Chillingvvorth his Booke Summa est quae conficitur ex Confessis Aug. princ dialect cap. 3. Vnum est necessarium Luc. 10. v. 42. Permissu Superiorum 1639. The Preface THIS Discourse was intended at first as the Conclusion and closing vp of the Treatise I termed The Church Conquerant ouer human VVit but being when I wrote it in great doubt that the sayd Treatise was lost in the transporting therof from one place to another which often happens in Countries which are infested with warre I resolued to make this Discourse more large by the discouery of many other Contradictions in this our Aduersary and with the Refutation of such tergiuersations as Cauillers might deuise to stay piously disposed Protestants from yielding prompt and assured assent to this most important Verity And as they who make Bills of Account whē they haue set downe distinctly for their discharge the particular Summes of expences are accustomed in the end in few Cyphers to abbreuiate the Totall Summe so this Treatise comming after the former as the Conclusion thereof I haue giuen it the name of Totall Summe the Argument handled therein being worthy of that stile For what is the finall marke the Totall the All in all of our pious endeauours labours cares sollicitudes in this mortall life but only to find out the true Religion wherein one shall be sure of his Saluation if simply and constantly he belieue the Doctrines and liue according to the lawes thereof Verily this is the pith the marrow the Summe the quintessence of all Controuersies ventilated betwixt Protestants and vs and in particular it was the sole scope of that short substantiall Treatise Charity mistaken by Protetestants which being by D. Potter in his VVant of Charity impugned was defended and confirmed by the learned labours and elucubrations of Charity maintayned For the maine Cōtrouersy debated in these three bookes is whether Roman Catholiques Protestants may both be saued in their seuerall Religions or which comes to the same issue seing Protestants grant we may be saued in our Religion because our Errours are not Fundamentall and damnable whether it is not want of Charity in vs that we will not requite them with the like mild gentle and comfortable doome but constantly maintayne that Saluation cannot be had in any course of Separation and Opposition against Doctrine proposed by the Roman Church as matter of faith And though this our Catholique determination hath beene in the before named Treatise demonstrated especially in the two last Chapters thereof which shew all Sects Diuisioners all Protesters and Opposers against the Church of Rome to be guilty of the two most heynous crimes Schisme Heresy yet I haue thought fit conuenient to hādle this Totall of Controuersies in a particular short Treatise wherin omitting the former two heads of proofe I haue vrged peculiar and proper Arguments grounded vpon euident Truths confessed approued confirmed euen by this our Aduersary whose Booke Protestants so much esteeme as they stand thereon against the cleere demonstrations for the Catholique Church brought by Charity maintayned If in this very Booke in which they so much confide which beareth the title The Religion of Protestants a safe way to Saluation the happy security of Roman Catholiques and togeather the vnauoydable danger of their Opposers be proued and proclamed if no safe path to Saluation for English Protestants be shewed in his Treatise but they be forced to goe the broad way wherein the most damned Heretiques that liue vnder the cope of Heauen not onely Anabaptists and Arians but also the new Samosatenians or Socinians may be saued aswell as they this being shewed our Protestants will be compassed about on euery side with the light and euidence of this eternally importing Truth No hope of saluation out of the Catholique Roman Church And then God forbid they should not yield vnto so cleere Euictions but fall into the extreme misery of peeuish obstinacy whereof S. Augustine sayth Nihil infelicius homine qui non vult cedere veritati quâ ita concluditur vt exitum inuenire non possit Nothing more vnhappy and wretched then the man that will not yield vnto that truth wherwith he is so concluded and inclosed as he knowes not which way to get out THE TOTALL SVMME OR The assured Saluation of Roman Catholiques c. An Aduertisement IN this treatise as in the other I haue beene exact and euen scrupulous to rehearse fully and largely our Aduersaries formall words many times also though they were cited before repeating them agayne for the Readers greater ease and to make this poynt whereon the Totall of our Eternity doth so much depend cleere and plaine In the text I cite the Page Number and Line or whē there is no number in the page or when the place cited comes before any number only page and line I haue also in the margent quoted the Chapter and number whereby the Reader may find the wordes in the second edition of London The first Conuiction 1. THis is drawne from the concession of Protestants that Roman Catholiques may be saued in their Religion because their errours are but litle on s not Fundamentall or in themselues damnable wheras Roman Catholiques neyther do nor can by the principles of their Religion grant the same warrant to any whatsoeuer that continues vnto death an opposer of the Church of Rome An argument often vrged by Charity maintayned grounded on a testimony of D. Potter which you say he buildeth on in almost fourty yea more then in an hundred places of his booke and you as often at least striue and struggle with this Argument labouring to remoue the pressing difficulties thereof with the same progresse successe as Sifiphus is said to make who to aduance a huge stone vp-hill striueth eternally in vaine Your euasions and shiftes I will particularly refute and lay open their falshood and vanity wherby it shal be made apparent that both the booke of Charity maintayned resteth hitherto vnanswered and that this Argument drawne from the confession of Protestants is altogether vnanswerable I shall first propose our Argument strenthened with D. Potters suffrage Secondly discouer how impudently you deny D. Potters text Thirdly how at last you acknowledge it giue an explication therof full of grosse ignorance Fourthly how weakly and in vayne you would seeme to contemne this Argument as poore and seely Fiftly I will declare the force of this Argument and shew the reason why Protestants that be wise and not distempered with furious zeale dare not condemne the Roman Religion Communion as damnable of it selfe Finally that not only Roman Catholikes but that you your selues dare not
and Turkes may be saued in eyther of these wayes their errours according to your principles not being remedilessely damnable The fifth Conuiction THis Conuiction ouer throweth the chiefe cause for which you charge our Religion to be damnable sheweth first that the thing for which you would send vs to Hell is the necessary duty of a constant Christian Fayth Secondly that your contrary mutability and leuity is Apostaticall and impious You damne vs to Hell for being faythfull and constant Christians §. 1. 1. YOu often proclame vs to be men wilfully blind sure to fall into the ditch of damnatiō For this your censure of vs you giue this reason because we will not enter into any triall of our Religion with indifference with liberty of iudgement with are solution to doubt of it if vpon examination the grounds of it proue vncertaine or to leaue it if they proue apparantly false my owne experience assures me that herein I do you no wronge but it is very apparent to all men from your ranking doubting of any part of your doctrine among mortall sinnes Thus you And we willingly grant and openly professe that we hold it a mortall sinne to doubt deliberately of any poynt of our fayth But must we be damned in this respect O how doth malignancy against our saluation confound your memory and wit For against doubting in matters of Religion you write most earnestly pag. 195. n. 11. lin 20. which of vs euer taught it was not damnable to deny or doubt of the truth of any thing whereof we eyther know or belieue that God hath reuealed it Thus you Now if it be damnable to doubt of the truth of any thing we belieue to be reuealed of God what an obliuious Creature are you who will haue vs damned for not yielding to do that very thing which you proclame damnable to be done you will haue vs sent to Hell because we ranke doubting of any part of our fayth which we hold reuealed of God among deadly and damnable sinnes and yet your selfe ranke this doubting among deadly and damnable crimes with an earnest tacite detestation of the contrary Doctrine which of vs euer taught it is not damnable 2. Haue you so soone forgot your selfe Are your sayings no sooner out of your pen then out of your memory and head which of vs say you euer taught it is not damnable Euen your selfe good Sir you William Chilling worth teach it is not damnable yea you hold it damnable for any man to ranke doubting of the Religion which he holdes reuealed of God among mortall sinnes which you proue because seing euery man must resolue neuer to commit mortall sinne it followes that he must neuer examine the grounds of his Religion for feare of doubting or if he doe he must resolue that no motiues be they neuer so strong shall moue him to doubt This is your argument vpon which you conclude we are a company of blind inconsidering men louers of the darkenesse and not of light And yet your selfe are so blind so inconsidering and your wits are so dulled and darkened as you do not perceaue that this very argument proueth you all your Biblists to be in the same case we are to wit obstinately blind for you grant that all of you ranke doubting of your Religion among mortall sinnes that is you all teach that it is damnable to doubt of the truth of any thing you belieue to be reuealed of God Hence it followes that seing you must resolue neuer to commit damnable sinne that you must neuer examine the grounds of it at all for feare you should be moued to doubt or if you do you must resolue that no motiues be they neuer so strong shall moue you to doubt You see your argument agaynst vs turneth vpon your selues and proueth you are obstinate and blind and in danger of the Ditch as much as we are 3. And do not you further teach and contend that it is damnable for you to doubt of the Doctrine of Diuels if you belieue it to be Diuine Reuelation Pag. 99. n. 122. l. 22. If by the discourse of the Diuel I be I wil not say conuinced but persuaded though falsely that it is a Diuine Reuelation and shall deny to belieue it I shall be a formal though not a material Heretique For he that belieues any thinge to be a Diuine Reuelation and yet will not belieue it to be true must of necessity belieue that God is false which according to your doctrine is the Formality of an Heretique You who teach that he who will not belieue and he that will doubt will not belieue that thing to be truth which falsely by the persuasion of the Diuel he belieues to be Diuine Reuelation is a formal Heretique and a blasphemous wretch you I say that teach this who will not wonder how you could be so inconsiderate as to make vs damnable because we resolue not to doubt of that doctrine which by the Tradition of so many Christian Ages by our Pastours and Ancestours men renowned for Learning Sanctity Miracles for expelling of Diuels for conuerting of nations hath been deliuered persuaded vnto vs to be reuealed of God That your Protestant VVay to be firme to no Religiō but still in motion and change is damnable §. 2. 4. ABout your selfe and your being vngrounded and vnsetled in matters of Religion thus you write and sincerely professe pag. 278. lin 29. I truly for my part if I did not find in my selfe a loue and desire of all profitable truth if I did not put away idlenesse preiudice and worldly affections and so examine to the bottome all my opinions of Diuine matters being prepared in mind to follow God and God only which way so euer he shall lead me If I did not hope that I eyther do or endeauour to do these thinges certainly I should haue litle hope of obtayning Saluation Here you professe that neither Christian Religion nor any truth thereof hath been as yet firmely rooted or deepely by the fingar of God printed in your heart You declare your soule to be a Blanke noted with no Religion but prepared for any which to you shall seeme of God to wit you are ready to belieue not absolutly but as most probable for the present but resolued neuer to belieue God so firmely as to ranke doubting of what you haue receaued as his word among mortall sinnes 5. That this your practise implyeth doubting of all Christian Religion I proue because you professe to question and examine all your opinions of Diuine matters to make an if or a doubt of the certainty and truth of them all that is you examine them prepared in mind to leaue them all and euery one if vpon trial they seeme to you false But among your opinions of Diuine matters your persuasion that our Christian Scriptures and doctrines are Diuine oracles and Gods word is one for you hold the Diuinity of Scriptures