Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	council_n	trent_n	4,509	5	10.5965	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62636	Several discourses upon the attributes of God viz. Concerning the perfection of God. Concerning our imitation of the divine perfections. The happiness of God. The unchangeableness of God. The knowledge of God. The wisdom, glory, and soveraignty of God. The wisdom of God, in the creation of the world. The wisdom of God, in his providence. The wisdom of God, in the redemption of mankind. The justice of God, in the distribution of rewards and punishments. The truth of God. The holiness of God. To which is annexed a spital sermon, of doing good. By the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. Being the sixth volume; published from the originals, by Raph Barker, D.D. chaplain to his grace.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.	1699 (1699)	Wing T1264; ESTC R219315	169,861	473

our lazy complaints that our Duty is set so high that the endeavours of our whole life cannot reach it when yet we have hardly made one step towards it and are so remiss and unconcern'd about it as if we could do it at any time with the greatest ease and at an hours warning before we leave the world could fulfil this Precept of our Lord of being perfect as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect And yet let me tell you so far as any of us are from resembling our heavenly Father in some good degree and measure so far are we distant from Heaven and the temper of the blessed so far are we utterly unqualified for the blissful sight and enjoyment of God for unless we be first like him we cannot see him as he is Only the pure in heart shall see God and therefore every man that has this hope in him should purifie himself even as he is pure And thus I have as briefly as I could dispatcht the four things I propounded for the Explication of this Text namely how we are to conceive of the Divine Perfections and to give some Rules to regulate and govern our Opinions concerning the Attributes and Perfections of God to explain the extent of this Duty and vindicate the possibility of it All that now remains is to draw some useful Inferences from this Discourse which I have made and they shall be these two I. That the strongest and surest Reasonings in Religion are grounded upon the Essential Perfections of God II. That the truest and most substantial Practice of Religion consists in the imitation of God I. That the strongest and surest Reasonings in Religion are grounded upon the Essential Perfections of God so that even Divine Revelation it self doth suppose these for its Foundation and can signifie nothing to us unless these be first known and believed Unless we be first perswaded of the Providence of God and his particular Care of Mankind why should we believe that he would make any Revelation of himself to Men Unless it be naturally known to us that God is true what foundation is there for the belief of his Word And what signifie the Laws and Promises of God unless natural Light do first assure us of his Soveraign Authority and Faithfulness So that the Principles of Natural Religion are the foundation of that which is Revealed and therefore in Reason nothing can be admitted to be a Revelation from God which plainly contradicts his Essential Perfection and consequently if any pretends Divine Revelation for this Doctrine That God hath from all Eternity absolutely decreed the eternal ruine of the greatest part of Mankind without any respect to the Sins and Demerits of Men I am as certain that this Doctrine cannot be of God as I am sure that God is Good and Just because this grates upon the Notion that Mankind have of Goodness and Justice This is that which no good man would do and therefore cannot be believed of infinite Goodness and therefore if an Apostle or Angel from Heaven teach any Doctrine which plainly overthrows the Goodness and Justice of God let him be accursed For every man hath greater assurance that God is Good and Just than he can have of any subtile Speculations about Predestination and the Decrees of God And for the same Reason I cannot believe upon the pretended Authority or Infallibility of any Man or Church in the world that God would not have Men understand their Publick Prayers and the Lessons of Scripture which are read to them A Lesson not to be understood is nonsense a Lesson is something to be learn'd which how it can be without being understood is hard to comprehend And as little can I believe upon the Authority of any Person or Church whatsoever that God should reveal his Will to Men in the holy Scriptures with a design to have it hid and lock't up from the generality of Mankind in an unknown Tongue And much less can I believe which yet is the express Doctrine of the Council of Trent that the saving Efficacy of the Sacrament depends upon the Intention of the Priest Which is to say that though people believe and live never so well they may be damned by Sholes and whole Parishes together at the pleasure of the Priest and for no other reason but because he is so wicked as not to intend to save them Can any man believe this that hath any tolerable notion of God's Goodness May we not in this case appeal as Abraham did to the Goodness and Justice of God and expostulate with greater Reason than he did much after the same manner wilt thou destroy the righteous for the wicked That be far from Thee to do after this manner to damn the righteous for the wicked and that righteous people should lye at the mercy of a wicked Priest to be damned or saved at his pleasure that be far from Thee Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right And can there be a greater affront to the Goodness and Justice of God than to imagin he should deal with men after this manner If this be to do right there is no possibility of doing wrong And to give but one instance more I can never believe upon the Authority of any Man or Church whatsoever that our Saviour in the Celebration of his last Supper did with his own hands give away his own Natural Body into the hands of his Disciples and give his Blood shed before it was shed That the whole Doctrine of Christianity should mainly rely upon the Evidence of Miracles the assurance of which depends upon the certainty of Sense and yet that an Essential part of that Doctrine should overthrow the certainty of Sense I can never while I live believe these two things that the last thing our Saviour did before his death should be to teach his Disciples not to believe their own Senses as he must do if he taught them Transubstantiation and that the very first thing he did after he was risen from the dead should be to teach them the quite contrary by appealing to the certainty of Sense for the proof of his Resurrection for when they doubted of his Resurrection Luke 24.38 He said unto them why are ye troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts behold my hands and my feet that it is I my self handle me and see for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have If this be a good Argument that it was a real Body which they saw because they saw and felt Flesh and Bones is it not as good an Argument on the other side that what they saw in the Sacrament was not his real and natural Body because they could neither see nor handle Flesh and Bones So that I cannot believe Transubstantiation unless I can believe that Truth it self can contradict and destroy it self You see of what use it is to have right and steady Apprehensions of the