occasion of its first rise could not be assigned Did not a considerable part of Christendom with all their might oppose the Turkish Invasion and if all had been quiet would not Vienna have been surprised and pilledged Was all England ignorant of the Restauration of our Gracious Monarch and were there none to be found to witness his coming in were not the Tares as soon as they sprung up seen and discovered But no body except Heretics ever opposed Transubstantiation No body but Rebels rofe against the right Prerogative of their Prince And what has the Parable of the Tares to do with the Blessed Sacrament The same confidence is sufficient to extend the same Comparison to the rest of our Christian Mysteries and proves just as much that is nothing at all except Christianity be nothing else but Tares SECT III. Of the Infallible Authority of the Present Church for this Doctrin YOU say the Roman Church made and obtruded upon the World this Article merely by vertue of her Authority Seeing not any sufficient reason either from Scripture or Tradition for the belief of it The Roman Catholic Church never taught any of her Children that She had Power from God to make an Article of Faith. But She teaches us that two Conditions are required for the constitution of an Article of Faith. First Revelation from God. Secondly The Declaration of an Oecumenical Council Where these two agree that we are taught is part of our Belief And I shall desire you will only peruse these words of the Council of Trent which intimate the Reason why the Church of God declared for Transubstantiation and I am persuaded you 'l believe She did not define this Doctrin neither warranted with Scripture nor Tradition For the Council says Because Christ our Saviour truly said that was his Body which under the Species of Bread he offered therefore the Church of God was always persuaded and this Holy Council declares again the same that by the consecration of Bread and Wine the whole substance of Bread is changed into the substance of the Body of our Lord and the whole substance of the Wine into the substance of the Blood which Conversion is conveniently and properly called by the Council Transubstantiation SECT IV. Of the Necessity of such a Change for the benefit of the Receiver THE Spiritual Efficacy of the Sacrament depends upon receiving the thing which our Lord instituted and a right preparation and disposition of mind which makes it effectual to those Spiritual Ends for which it was appointed As God might without any Baptismal Water without any visible Elements have washed away the Stains of Original Sin and given Spiritual Regeneration So could he have made the worthy Receivers true Partakers of the Spiritual Comfort and Benefit design'd to us in the Lord's Supper without any substantial change made in the nature of Bread and Wine But as we cannot say the Water in Baptism and Symbols are unprofitable as things are instituted by God and useless for the cleansing of Original Sin so likewise ought we not to pretend that the Flesh of Christ is useless and profiteth nothing to the worthy Receiver of the Sacrament because Christ without this may give us the benefit or fruit of the Sacrament God might have pardon'd the World if his only begotten Son had not undergon so many griefs and anguishes so much pain and that ignominious death of the Cross Yet who dare say this Flesh was not true Flesh or profited nothing which redeemed all the World If it profited on the Cross why does it not profit in the Sacrament And if it profit not without Faith how can it profit those who believe not The very thought of our Saviour's Substantial Presence in the Sacrament strikes much a deeper impression of Devotion in my Soul than if I reflected on bare Symbols or Signs weakly exciting Faith in me And even when a Terrene Prince visits Prisons or in a Solemn Pomp enters the Capital City his Corporal Presence customarily frees many Criminals from Chains Fetters and Imprisonments which the Law would otherwise not have granted nor the King consented too And yet one word of command is sufficient to do greater execution SECT V. Of the Power of the Priest WE acknowledge a Power in the Priest which is not in the People All were not constituted Apostles all were not Doctors But we do not acknowledge a Power in the Priest to make God as you calumniate us we acknowledge a Power in God to change one Substance into another Bread into his Body Till you prove this impossible which is impossible to be done you 'll give us leave to believe God is in the right possession of his Omnipotency and loses nothing of his Power by your Detraction And if you count this Miraculous change no Miracle give it what Title you please we will not dispute the Name if you contradict not the thing And thus I have dispatched the first part of my Answer which was to vindicate the real Grounds and Reasons of the Church of Rome for this Doctrin PART I MY Second Part was designed to answer your Objections which are of so much the less force because I have already shewn this Doctrin sufficiently warranted with Divine Authority and this easily weighs down and overthrows whatever Probabilities Sense can suggest or Reason invent These Probabilities you reduce to these two Heads First The infinite Scandal of this Doctrin to the Christian Religion And Secondly The monstrous and insupportable Absurdity of it CHAP. I. Of the infinite Scandal of this Doctrin to the Christian Religion AND this upon four accounts First by reason of the Stupidity of this Doctrin Secondly The real barbarousness of it Thirdly The Bloody consequences of it Fourthly The danger of Idolatry Article I. Of the Stupidity of this Doctrin TUlly the Roman Orator says When we call the Fruits of the Earth Ceres and Wine Bacchus we use but the common Language but do you think any man so mad as to believe what he eats to be God I am of Cicero's Opinion And all reasonable People look upon Poetical Fancies as Extravagant Reveries But I hope the Law of Christ is neither Poetical nor Fabulous I remember the Poets sing how Minerva the Goddess of Wisdom was born of Jupiter's Understanding Harken says Tertullian a Fable but a true one like to this The Word of God proceeding from the Thought of his Eternal Father This Likeness or Similitude of Poetical invention diminishes not in the least the truth of the Son's Divinity Nor ought the Stupidity of eating God in Tully's Opinion ridicule our Saviour's own Words Take eat this is my Body Averröes the Arabian Philosopher acknowledging in his time this Doctrin to be the Profession of all Christians ought to make not what you say the Church of Rome the Church of England blush objecting that the whole Society of Christians then every where admitted Transubstantiation I have
AN ANSWER TO A DISCOURSE AGAINST Transubstantiation Hic est Filius meus dilectus Ipsum audite This is my beloved Son Hear ye Him Matth. 17. 5. Permissu Superiorum LONDON Printed by Henry Hills Printer to the King 's Most Excellent Majesty for His Houshold and Chapel 1687. Introduction IF public Applause and popular Acclamations of your own Party are to be believed your Discourse against Transubstantiation has sufficiently shewed that the Scriptures cannot clearly demonstrate this miraculous Change nor the perpetual belief thereof in the Christian Church illustrate it and that there are all the reasons in the World against it Yet if a serious consideration and weighing of your Arguments in the Scale of Justice be the Deciders of the present Debate we shall find neither Scripture nor belief of the Primitive Church nor any reason in the World against Transubstantiation And therefore in Christian Duty I think my self obliged to endeavor after my poor manner a discovery of your winning Artifices and a removal of your plausible Appearances dividing this following Answer into two Parts In my first I 'll examin whether there be any tolerable ground for Transubstantiation And my second is designed to counterpoise as you think your Invincible Objections PART I. I Sub-divide my First Part into five Sections comprehending the five pretended grounds one or more of which you suppose the Church of Rome builds this Doctrin on First The Authority of Scripture Or Secondly the perpetual belief of this Doctrin in the Christian Church Or Thirdly the Authority of the Church to make or declare an Article of Faith. Or Fourthly the absolute Necessity of such a Change for the benefit of those who receive this Sacrament Or Fifthly to magnify the Power of the Priest SECT I. Whether Scripture authorise Transubstantiation BEfore I begin to discuss whether Scripture authorise Transubstantiation I think it convenient to premise two Reflections upon two considerable Circumstances delivered in your Introduction First Reflection upon the word Transubstantiation In the very first entrance of your Discourse you complain it is a hard word and afterwards increase your complaint with this unparallel'd exaggeration It was almost 300 years before this mishapen Monster of Transubstantiation could be lick'd into that Form in which it is now setled and established in the Church of Rome Bold Assertions ought to be supported with great Proofs And Monstrous Vilifications of the Divine Goodness expiated with more than ordinary Repentance Heaven forbid that our Blessed Saviour should ever prove a mishapen Monster even to those who most oppose revealed Truth expressed in Transubstantiation A hard word and who can endure it a new word and who will admit it St. Hilary answers you in this Reply to the Arian Heretics importuning the primitive Church of Christ with the like expressions Say rather if you speak wisely will you not wage new Wars against new Enemies or take fresh Counsels against new Treasons or drink Counterpoison against venomous Infections Nor was St. Athanasius's Interrogation of less force Are you offended at the newness of the Name or affraid of the verity of the Mystery The sentiment of these two great Ornaments of the Church is the common Practice of whole Sacred Antiquity according to the Golden Sentence of Vincentius Lyrinensis The Church ordinarily appropriates some new term to signifie more pathetically the true Sense of Faith. Thus did the first Oecumenical Council write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Consubstantial and the Arians could not digest the hardness of the Word Thus did the Ephesian Prelates stile the B. Virgin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mother of God which was no softer to the Nestorians And thus did the Lateran Bishops subcribe to Transubstantiation and the Berengarians and Modern opposers of the Roman truth expostulate with us for this Word and modestly term it a Mishapen Monster Second Reflection upon the Evidence of Sense Here you bring in Aristotle who long since hath pronounced There ought to be no dispute of the matter of Sense I beg Pardon if I am not at leisure to digress with you towards Paganism Neither can I think you serious when you quote the Philosopher's determination for the Mystery of the Lords Supper who never professed a revealed Religion and died many Hundred years before Christianity was Promulgated and Established Nor do I apprehend the least danger to be overburden'd with the heavy matter of Sense when my way leads to the Sublime matter of Revelation You cannot deny Sense Reason and Faith are three various Perfections so likewise are their Objects distinguished The Stagyrite never pretended Sense should reach farther than to the Accidents and Appearance of things And Reasons employ was the contemplation of Essence Nature and Substance How could Aristotle pronounce the matter of Sense was never to be disputed when 't was always to be pry'd into and regulated by Reason Yet we do not dispute with you the Prerogative of Sense in the Mystery of the Sacrament For we see the outward shape and appearance of Bread and Wine nor is Tast wanting All this is granted Unless then you perplex and embroil the Question Sense reposes without violation quiet and contented in its own Objects Nor ought you to believe that Reason can securely without Error always determin in Natural Sciences according to the received impression from the visible Sign or Object of Sense This Maxim is given to Novices entring the list of Dialecticks and admitted by the Sect of Peripateticks So Reason enlarges the greatness of the Sun and assures us it far exceeds in bigness the Terrestrial Orb tho' Sense inclose it in the small circumference of a Ball. Sense indeed and Reason combining together and following the prescript of Logick are the proper deciders of Philosophical contestations Sense pleads for no more and if the Reason of Aristotle surviv'd it would be abundantly satisfi'd with this voluntary concession If for all this you resolve to seat Reason in the Chair of Judicature even where Revelation intervenes Divine Authority will easily rescue Christian Religion from the information of Sense Reason following the Dictamen of outward existence told Abraham what appeared were Men Revelation corrected the mistake and assured him they were Angels Reason affirmed what descended in the shape of a Dove was that Innocent Creature Revelation reformed the Judgment and intimated it was the Holy Ghost Reason regards the Species of Bread as inherent to the proper Substance Revelation changes that Substance into the Body of Christ Abraham saw the figure and shape of Men and yet the Substance of Man was wanting The Feathers in appearance exhibited a Dove the real Substance was supply'd with the presence of the Holy Ghost Again it was a Maxim of Philosophy what is was from something And this Evidence vanishes at the sight of Revelation which teaches the whole Universe was Created of nothing 'T was a Principle There 's no return from
in Testimonies they give one of another and to despise God in those he speaks of himself St. Chrysostom adds We speak of God and you ask how this can be do you not tremble at the excess of your Temerity Our Blessed Saviour himself reprehended his Disciples following what Sense suggested at the proposal of the Sacrament in these words doth this offend you Finally The pious Christian guides his unruly Sense in the journey towards Heaven by the steady Reyns of true Faith. Thus the Apostles overcoming their own stubborness became supple and obedient to God's Promise and Power infinitely active beyond Human Imagination and they all joyned in St. Peter's confession And we believe and are sure thou art Christ the Son of the living God. Thus Divine Faith another time prevailed with St. Peter when Sense Reason and the fury of the Sea contradicted to press the Waves with his Feet and hardned the watry Element into a solid Passage The way to Heaven is still by Faith. From all which it must needs be very evident to any Man who will piously search into Truth how little reason there is to understand our Saviour's Words otherwise than in the sense of Transubstantiation SECT II. Of the perpetual belief of this Doctrin in the Christian Church I Have already manifested how the Roman Catholic Church rightly pretends as an evidence that the Fathers of the Primitive Ages interpreted our Saviour's Words in the sense of Transubstantiation But what Authors have been so fortunate in their Writings that the contrived endeavours of others have not cull'd out some places not so dark in themselves as they are shaded with smothered Representations These your Industry with no small increase has compacted together After this great Task you are pleased to shew when the Doctrin of Transubstantiation first came in And finally you undertake to give a Solution to the pretended Demonstration of Mr. Arnauld a learned man in France These three Subjects shall be the Mattter of so many Chapters CHAP. I. Whether any of the Fathers are against Transubstantiation REflection is the cause of Knowledge Division leads to Reflection I 'll therefore divide your selected Testimonies that they may be the consideration of so many distinct Articles Article I. Upon St. Justin Martyr YOU begin unfortunately with St. Justin whom you make expresly to say that our blood and flesh are nourished by the conversion of that Food which we receive in the Sacrament I find no such thing in the holy Martyr 'T is true I read these words By which Food chang'd in our Bodies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Blood and Flesh are nourished What then Bread and Wine taken out of the Sacrament nourish according to this Passage Flesh and Blood which all the World will allow of And I shall believe St. Justin says no more till you can prove it from the Saint's own Testimonie But why do I say Testimonie when the Passage you cite is nothing but a bare Parenthesis I could heap up a great many such weaknesses collected out of your Discourse if the World were not already too much troubled with such trivial Reflections I 'll take liberty to add one more considerable viz. If natural digestion can change Bread and Wine into the proper Substance of our Bodies how easy will it be to Nature's Author to change one thing into another Bread into the Body of Christ Nor can any moderate Man imagin any thing less when the Devil himself tempted Christ to change one Substance into another Stones into Bread as a Strategem to find out whether he was God. Look likewise into the Book of Genesis and you 'll find that the sole Word of God gave in the beginning of Creation a Being to all Nature and how much more difficult is it to make all things of nothing than to change one thing into another Does not this evidence the possibility of Transubstantiation I thank you for this Objection Article II. Upon St. Irenaeus NOR are you more fortunate in St. Irenaeus who speaking of the Sacrament says The Bread which is from the Earth receiving the Divine Invocation is now no longer common Bread but the Eucharist consisting of two things the one earthly the other heavenly For what is earthly may not unfitly be called the species of Bread and what is heavenly Christ himself Or what if I should attribute this earthly thing to Christ's Humanity and the heavenly thing to Christ's Divinity the Sacrament would be rightly said consisting of two things the one earthly the other heavenly I am sure the Proper Substance of Bread is nothing but Common Bread And yet St. Irenaeus affirms this ceases after Consecration receiving the Divine Invocation 't is no longer Common Bread it is not what it was before You instance and elsewhere he hath this Passage when therefore the Cup that is mixt and the Bread that is broken receives the Word of God it becomes the Eucharist of the Body and Blood of Christ of which the substance of our Flesh is increased and subsists St. Irenaeus discourses not here of a natural but of some spiritual increase of Flesh and Blood. For he says our Flest is increased with the Bread as it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ in which sense precisely 't is only supernatural Food Bread as it is supernatural Food or the true Body of Christ in the Sacrament increases the Soul with Grace and Flesh and Blood with a Legitimacy of Immortality These two great Benefits are neatly delivered as the proper effects of Christ's substantial presence in the Sacrament in these words of the Nyssene Doctor As the dire consequence of Poyson is by Counterpoyson prevented so the wholsome remedy which operates our Salvation entring the Bowels of Man thence every-where diffuses its force and vivification What is this wholsome remedy That Body which Jesus exhibited stronger than Death and which was the beginning of Life What can more evince Christ's substantial Presence to be the productive Cause of Sacramental Grace than to testifie this Adorable Body which died for us is in ours as a wholsome remedy there communicating Virtue and dispensing heavenly Treasures So is the same true Body of Christ present in the Sacrament the cause effective of our future Incorruption in Glory and increases in this sense the substance of Flesh and Blood with a beginning of Immortality as appears from the following Lines of the same Father Jesus according to the dispensation of Grace enters by Flesh into those who believe mixing himself with the Body of the Faithful that Man may become Partaker of Incorruption by the union with this Immortal Body This second benefit in St. Irenaeus's mind increases the Substance of Flesh and Blood giving a beginning of resurrection to the Body Or to use this Saint's Example As a grain of Wheat dissolved in earth rises by the power of God with much increase so Flesh and Blood