Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	catholic_n	church_n	tradition_n	2,180	5	9.3701	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19595	The declaration of Mr. Patrik Crawfurd his returne from poperie to the true religion, which is according to the Word of God, in holie Scripture	Crawfurd, Patrick.	1627 (1627)	STC 6032; ESTC S117118	36,279	66

absolute obedience to the superiors of that order renuncing both my will and iudgment as their Father Ignatius His Epistle to his Brethren in Lusitania calls it and to follow al their injunctions without asking question to goe or to stay to do or to suffer whatsoeuer they thought good to enjoyne mee for the Catholick cause and good of the Roman Church This oath J saye I could not get digested For therby J should haue bene bound if they had thought it fit to enjoyne mee for the advancement of the Catholick cause to haue beene an instrument of all the mischiefe that they could devise against my natiue Countrie and vnder colour of relieving soules to doe what any hath done or attempted in that blind obedience Skarring therefore at this oath I came home and yet forced my self still to keep the former grounds of Religion whereby I was made obstinat in errour and vntoward to be dealt with by any who wold haue studied to reclaime me Yet it pleased God at last to force in his own truth vpon my conscience that I began to smell sundrie of their errours and specially of the sacrifice of the Masse and transubstantiation that I began to examine these groundes of the Roman Religiō which I had drunk in the beginning if they could beare me out before God or not wherein finding my selfe miserablie mistaken and so long by that meanes abused freelie and of my own accord not beeing dealt with by any J addressed my selfe for conference with the Ministerie of Edinburgh Falkirke and Glasgow who all louingly and learnedly gaue mee solution to all my doubts and furthered this worke of God in helping home a forlorne Sonne to his Fathers house againe Now for all the particular reasons why I call their masse and transubstantiation an errour and the grounds of their Religion vnwarandable and why J haue renunced their particular errours builded thereon it were not convenient to set them all down here partly because it wold accresse to a volume partly because in substance they are the same that are learnedlie set down by these who handles the contrauersies against the Church of Rome Only J will content my selfe to shew some few things of many First concerning their Religion in generall Next concerning their masse adding therto compendiously in the third place some few things of their common absurdities maintained by them CHAP. 5. The Scriptures alledged imperfection the Pope of Romes perfection who can not erre as is alledged because hee sits in the Chaire of Saint Peter are the two rotten Pillars whereon all these errours are builded THis Romish Religion is a mysterie it makes show to hold the common groundes of Christianitie but by her deedes everts them The first principles of the Romish errours doe resolue vpon these two the imperfection of the Scripture and the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome As for the imperfection of the Scripture they alledge that it does not containe all things necessarie for Salvation but place must bee left for traditions that is vnwriten doctrinall poynts and ancient customes long vsed in the Church as also for Ecclesiasticall constitutions and determinations or definitive sentences in matters controverted all which they alledge must haue equall authoritie in mens mindes with the Scriptures Next they alledge that these points necessarie to Saluation which are set down in Scripture are not cleare and plaine in the Scripture but that the Scripture is obscure and doubtsome and therefore is neither necessarie nor expedient that it should bee translated that it is a dangerous thing for laicks to read it wherein to any that will looke narrowlie vpon the matter they bewray a secreet feare if they bee hemde in into the rule of the Scriptures they cannot iustifie with any colour the abundance of their errours Thirdly evidently they show that the reading of the Scriptures by laicks shuld breed moe doubts about their Religion than they could bee able to solve and giue them such insight in this Religion that these whom they keepe now in the chaines of darknesse and blinde beliefe causing them to doe and suffer and beleeue what they please could not but break the yock if they grew acquainted with the Scripture Fourthlie they bewray the Spirit of Antichrist who thus vnder faire pretences sclander Christ Jesus who hauing taken vpon him as the great Prophet and Doctour of his Church to reveale the whole Counsell of God concerning mens Saluation and caused set it downe in Scripture yet hath come short of his purpose as their doctrine importes and neither hath set downe all things needfull nor these clearly which are set downe but obscurely ambiguously and dangerously that it is not safe for common People to read the same and so by these meanes they breed a misregard of the Scripture of Christ in mens hearts and skarres Christs sheepe as long as they can from hearing what the Spirit of Christ sayeth to his Churches As for the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome the first is that she cannot erre If wee aske how this can bee since they cannot name six men liuing of the Romish Religion of whom they either dare or wil avow but they may erre and are subject thereto nor three nor two They will answere that yet there is one who is head of all the rest of that Religiō the Pope who cannot erre all the rest of the Church-men of that profession being gathered together without him or without his minde sent by his Legat or Nuncio to them they grant they may erre only he cannot erre So then in stead of the Church of Rome we haue the Pope whose councill of Cardinals they will ioyne with him for lusters cause but the infallibilitie of doctrine they place in none but the Pope only By vertue of this prerogatiue of the Pope they ascribe great things to the Church of Rome vnder this pretence all her traditions are Apostolicke albeit they bee not in Scripture because they are come down as is alledged through the Apostolicke channell of the Popes infallibilitie Vnder this pretence all her customes and obseruations are Catholicke and Apostolicke and all her Ecclesiasticke constitutions and definitive sentences in matters contraverted are of diuine authoritie as they alledge and doe oblige men to beliefe obedience no lesse than the Scripture Yea vnder this pretence the Scripture hath no authoritie in respect of these who beleeue it wherfore it shuld persuade them or be credited more than the fables of Esope but as much as the Church of Rome allowes vpon it Vnder this pretence when other Churches doechallenge the Roman Church for any fault or errour shee takes vpon her to bee judge in all controuersies betwixt her selfe and others The Greeke Church for example in Asia challenges her of vsurpation aboue other Churches shee will be iudge challenges her of defection from Apostolicke doctrine shee will bee iudge challenges her of not doing as shee ought to doe or

Christs spouse ought to do shee will be iudge yea shee will giue the sense of the Scripture and the exposition of it as shal best serue to iustifie her owne cause and if any man shall take a sentence of Scripture otherwise than shee allowes them than that sentence so taken shall not bee accounted Scripture These and other such like consequences they draw and deduce from this one fountaine That the Church of Rome can not erre Aske againe of them why cannot your Pope erre seeing he is a sinfull man as well as others as they will not deny and they least of all who are best acquaint with the Popes priuate conuersation seeing it is possible that the Cardinalls who are subiect to errour especially when their head is dead and a new Pope not yet created seeing they may erre in choosing an vnfit man for so great a charge what warrand can they show to giue assurance that such a Pope cannot erre They answere at last albeit they shift possibliea while becaus Saint Peter was head of the whole Catholick Church in his time hauing supreme authoritie and the fulnesse of pastorall power in doctrine and gouernment ouer the rest of the Apostles and all the Churches of the Worlde Saint Peter so qualified say they was Bishop of Rome and there is his Chaire and the Popes are his only lawfull successours inuested lawfully by God in the same Apostolicke authoritie ouer all the sheepe of Christ and all that may bee sheepe in the World and is as infalliblie assisted by the holy Spirit as euer the Apostle Saint Peter was after the descending of the holy Ghost vpon him in the Pentecost This is the key-stone of their whole building this is the Pillar of whole Popedome if this stand the better for them if this fall all goes to the ground and all that is builded thereon for if either they faile in prouing Saint Peters supremacie or his Romish Episcopacie or the Popes lawfullsuccession in Apostolick authoritie and other priuiledges then the Popes infallibilitie and the Roman Churches certaintie with all their traditions customes constitutions and all the rest of that worke of theirs builded thereon shall hurle to the ground together CHAP. 6. No Papist in the Earth can shew one cleare testimonie of Scripture to make good that ever Saint Peter was at Rome or Bishop of Rome or that the Pope is his speciall successour in his Apostolicke office TO examine then these grounds that therby some taste may be giuen briefly of that Cup which Rome propynes to the World and the Princes therof to drinke that they may fall in loue with her J will say nothing to the Apostolicke authoritie of the Lords deare servant Saint Peter nor to his personall prerogatiue in age in time of following Christ in zeale and painfulnesse in his calling Yet let me vindicate him a litle from that iniurie which his pretended successours doe him who father the basphemous titles of their Antichristian vsurpation and tyrannie ouer Gods Church vpon him For this peerelesse power above the whole Apostles headship of the Church which they alledge is a thing which without blasphemie cannot bee ascribed to any mortall man because Christ in his holy Scripture claims this for his owne royall prerogatiue to bee head of his Church and to haue the Church his body and not anothers To bee the husband of his Church and to haue the Church his spouse and not anothers for these belongs to the Sauiour of the Church who is Christ only and not another and therefore these three styles are Ephes 5. 23. joyned together and ascribed to him And this supremacie of Peter ouer the Apostles is a forgerie only of these who would haue some scugge for their vsurpation Math. 28. 19. Matth. 23. 8. 9. Marke 9. 33 34. Luk. 22. 26. 1. Pet. 5. 3. 4. for Christ gaue all his Apostles equall Cōmission equalled them as brethren and discharged any of them to take any maioririe or supremacie one ouer another And when in their infirmitie they strove for it Christ rebuked them and the night before hee suffered discharged the same absolutly among them Next Peter himselfe disclaimes this supremacie and ascribes it only to Iesus Christ and discharges all Dominion and Lordship ouer the Lords inheritance And the Apostle Paul testifies the trueth of this for magnifying his Apostleship he avows he was nothing inferior 2 Corin. 11. 5. Gal. 1. 1. 16. 17. 18. 1. Cor. 3. 21. 22. to the chiefest Apostles And declares that hee receaued his Apostleship from Christ immediatlie and exercised it sundrie yeares before he saw Peter and dischargeth all to glorie in men whether Paul or Cephas that is Peter or Apollos or any other But because this is not the maine matter let vs come to that wherevpon all stands How proue they that Peter was at Rome or Bishop there or that God hath tied his Spirit to whosoeuer should bee Bishop of Rome after him So weightie a matter as the Popes standing or falling so maine an Article of Roman Catholick Faith the only Pillar of the Romish Religion the ground of the remission of so many sinnes of sauing or damning so many Soules hath neede of expresse direct and ample warrand from the divine Scripture or else of need force the weight of Roman Religion is builded upon the sand and hath no warrand from God Let them but show vs one testimonie out of all the holy Scripture that Saint Peter was properly Bishop of Rome and next let them show any testimonie out of the same Scripture that the Popes of Rome are priuiledged from erring more than other men and are indued with as infallible assistance of the holy Spirit as Peter They will produce to vs their owne flatterers and old storie writers who both in those maters and others disagree among themselves But who are these that the Soules of so many thousands should bee grounded vpon their worde to speake nothing of the fables that is found in them and of the small respect that the Church of Rome carries to them when they seeme to make any thing against them Therefore I say againe let them produce divine warrand out of the Scripture or els let me be iustified who after the tryall of their falshood and deceat haue departed from them as seducers who when J followed their grounds to the vttermost could giue mee no warrand for the grounds whereon all their Religion stands but such as are taken from behind the Bible from lying mens words and forged histories supposititous treatises of the fauorites of Rome helpers vp of their monstruous head the Pope aboue the Church either let them proue these prime Pillars of their Religion or else let all Catholickes who in their heart would faine bee at Christ forsake their seducers as J haue done vpon iust grounds But becaus it is impossible for thē to proue S. Peter proper Bishop of Rome from Scripture far lesse that all