Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A75279
|
A vindication of the Church of England from the foul aspersions of schism and heresie unjustly cast upon her by the Church of Rome. In two parts
|
Altham, Michael, 1633-1705.
|
1687
(1687)
|
Wing A2935A; ESTC R229441
|
47,990
|
70
|
not rather to be commended for it But it is far otherwise in the Body Politique which is the aggregation of all particular Persons and all particular lawfull Societies If any one shall separate himself therefrom and thereby break the Unity and disturb the Peace thereof he will by all Men be judged guilty of Sedition and Treason And the reason is evident because in the two former Cases men have a greater liberty of judging and acting than they have in this For those at best are but the Ordinances of Men but Government is the Ordinance of God and therefore though upon just ground we may separate from them though it be to the hazard of their Peace and Unity yet can we have no just ground of Separation from this For though the Governours may sometimes happen to be wicked and ungodly Men yet the Government still is sacred and it is not for Subjects to call their Sovereigns to account It is our duty to study and pray for the peace and safety and to acquiesce in the rules and determinations thereof chusing rather to suffer under it than disturb the Peace of it And if either through the ignorance or inadvertency of those in Authority there happen any Male-administration in the Government it is not the governed but the Governours that stand accountable to God for it And thus it is in the Church Let us suppose a number of Schismaticks and Hereticks who have banded themselves together and formed themselves into a Society under the strictest Rules and Laws they could devise as the Donatists and Novatians of old did If any one should separate himself from their Communion and return into the bosome of the Church This certainly would never be imputed to him as a Crime Or suppose a particular Church though lawfully constituted and established under lawfull Governours should make the terms of her Communion such as that her Neighbour Churches could not without sin and danger hold Communion with her would a Separation in this case be adjudged a Schism Or would it not rather be look'd upon as their duty and interest to withdraw from her But it is far otherwise in the One Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church for though there may be some reasons to warrant a Separation from those yet can there be no reason why we should separate from Her. And the reason is evident because she being founded by God and having his promise for her preservation can never give any occasion thereof Whosoever therefore separateth from Her puts himself out of the ordinary ways and means of Salvation and becomes guilty of the greatest and most dangerous Schism By this time I hope 't is evident that though every Schism import a Separation yet every Separation doth not make a Schism Nor is it every Unity that we are to be so tender of but onely the Catholick Unity of God's Church And now let us apply this to our present Case We are charged with Schism by the Church of Rome because we have separated from her Communion Though this might safely be denied and it might perhaps upon better grounds be said that she hath separated from us not we from Her yet for the present we 'll admit of it and give her this reason for it We have separated from Her because she hath made the terms of her Communion such as till they are reformed we cannot without sin and danger joyn with Her. The Church of Rome being only a particular Church and not the Catholick Church as some of her Parasites would fain persuade us hath no more security from Errour and Mistakes than the rest of Her Neighbours And therefore if this reason be true she cannot deny if she will be ingenuous but that we have a just ground of Separation and consequently are no Schismaticks And that it is true as it hath often been demonstrated so we are ready still to doe the same again whenever we shall be called to it But that being no part of my design at this time I shall proceed SECT IV. II. Schism is a Separation from a Christian Church AS Separation is the Act so a Christian Church is the Subject of Schism i. e. As it is a body compacted and united together by the Bands and Ligaments of our common Christianity For where there is no Union or Conjunction there can be no Schism And therefore between Christians and Jews or Mahometans there can be no Schism because they are not joyned together in any Religious Society Now the Christian Church may be considered either as it is Catholick or Universal or as it is Particular 1. If we consider it as Catholick and Universal there are three several Notions of it Sometimes it is taken for the Catholick Church diffusive i. e. for the whole body of Christians dispersed upon the face of the whole Earth and so it comprehends all Persons and all particular Churches professing Christianity And this I take to be the true and genuine notion of the one holy Catholick and Apostolick Church mentioned in our Creed And whosoever shall make a Defection or Separation from this Church will be found guilty of a manifest dangerous and most abominable Schism Sometimes it is taken for the Catholick Church Representative i. e. for the Prelates and Pastors of the Universal Church delegated by their several particular Churches and Assembled in a Counsel truly free and general And whereever we meet with such an one we pay all deference and regard that is due to the Decisions and Determinations of it And if any Man or any Society of Men shall set up his or their private Judgments against the publick Judgment of the Church declared in a Council truly free and general and shall be so tenacious of their own opinions as upon that account to break Communion with the Church I do not see how they can be excused from the sin of Schism Sometimes it is taken for the Catholick Church virtual and so it is generally understood by our Adversaries though they do not agree among themselves For some of them would confine the notion of the Church virtual to the Pope alone others to the Pope in Conclave some to the Pope in Council but these differ among themselves some telling us that the Pope is above the Council others that the Council is above the Pope others there are who to put a better Face upon the matter do by the Catholick Church virtual understand the Church of Rome and all those other Churches which are in Communion with Her. I shall not undertake to arbitrate this difference but leaving these several Parties to compromise the matter among themselves as well as they can I shall call in an unexceptionable Witness to testifie that this is the notion which the Church of Rome now hath of the Catholick Church and that is Monsieur de Meaux the late Bishop of Condom who in his exposition of the Catholick Faith c. tells us he will say nothing but what shall
which we resolve by God's grace to hold fast This is that which hath been always held and taught by the One Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church This is the foundation upon which our Religion is built viz. upon the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone And therefore unless they can shake this Foundation unless they will impeach Christ and his Apostles unless they will charge the whole Church of God with the guilt of Heresie all their attempts and batteries levelled against us will be vain and fruitless The Church of England will still stand like a Rock against which those waves may break themselves whilst she remains unbroken by them Thus you see how impossible it is for our Adversaries to make good their charge against the Church of England and if they cannot doe it we may safely conclude they have not done it and if they neither have nor can doe it then is it a foul aspersion by them unjustly cast upon us For which their unjust uncharitable and unchristian censure I pray God forgive them Having thus secured that Post which was most likely to be attacqued by the Enemy I shall now take the boldness to make a short Sally upon them and take an account of their strength by considering some of the most material Arguments which have been offered by their Champions to make good their charge Arg. 1. Pope Nicholas as I find him cited by Bishop Jewel in the defence of his Apology p. 2. makes short work of it and very magisterially doth at once determine the whole matter For saith he Whoso denieth the privilege and supremacy of the See of Rome hath renounced the Faith and is an Heretick De Major Obed. unam Sanctam Dist 22. Omnes Ans To this I answer 1. If the privilege and supremacy of the See of Rome be an Article of Faith we desire to know in which of the three Creeds or in what part of the Bible we may find it for we would not willingly be wanting in our compliance with any Article of Faith. 2. If this be so then the Council of Chalcedon consisting of 630 Bishops and Reverend Fathers gathered together from all parts of the world was a pack of Hereticks for they gave equal privileges to the See of Constantinople with that of Rome 3. If this be so then Pope Gregory the great and I take him to be altogether as infallible as Pope Nicholas was an Heretick for he calleth him who usurps such an arrogant style the forerunner of Antichrist 4. If subjection to the see of Rome be a necessary part in the Definition of Heresie then all the Christians in the world except those of the Roman Communion are Hereticks for all of them as well as we do unanimously oppose the Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome Arg. 2. Their Angelical Doctour and Canonized Saint S. Tho. Aquinas thus argueth 22. q. 11.2.3 When a matter is once determined by the Authority of the Catholick Church if any one shall obstinately gainsay such Determination he is to be reputed an Heretick which Authority saith he doth principally reside in the Pope Ans This Argument is founded upon several false Suppositions viz. 1. That the Church of Rome is the Catholick Church which we cannot consent to because we cannot believe that a part is the whole 2. That the Determinations of that Church are obligatory to all other Churches This we cannot agree with him in because Par in parem non habet imperium Equals have no authority over one another 3. That the Authority of the Catholick Church is principally lodged in the Bishop of Rome This we cannot believe because we have no warrant for it either from the Holy Scriptures or from the four first General Councils or from any authentick Antiquity Arg. 3. Protestants are Hereticks because they oppose divers Truths propounded for divine by the visible Church Ans This Argument is also supported by these false Suppositions 1. That to oppose any Truth propounded by the Church is Heresie This we deny We grant indeed that to oppose any Truth howsoever or by whomsoever propounded is an Errour but it cannot be called an Heresie unless it be such a Truth as is an Essential part of the Gospel of Christ 2. That the Doctrines of the Church of Rome which are opposed by Protestants are divine-Truths This we take to be a false Supposition for we do not oppose any Truth much less any divine Truth that is held by them but only such false and new invented Articles as are by them superadded to the Catholick Faith. 3. That whatsoever is propounded by the Church of Rome is propounded by the visible Church This we cannot allow because we know that the Church of Rome is but a part and God knows a corrupted part too of the visible Church Arg. 4. The visible Church is Judge of Controversies and therefore Infallible To oppose her therefore is to oppose God. This Protestants doe and therefore are guilty of Heresie Ans It is here taken for granted 1. That the visible Church is Judge of Controversies 2. That she is Infallible 3. That the Roman Church is this visible Church 4. That to oppose her is to oppose God. All which Suppositions are matters of Dispute between us and yet undetermined and therefore very insufficient grounds to build such a charge upon Arg. 5. Want of Succession of Bishops and Pastours holding always the same Doctrine and of the Forms of Ordaining Bishops and Priests which are in use in the Roman Church is a certain mark of Heresie But Protestants want all these things Therefore c. Ans We deny the Major For 1. Nothing but want of Truth and holding Errour can make or prove a Man or Church to be Heretical 2. Because it is not a Succession of Persons but of Doctrine that can secure a Church from Heresie And to such a Succession there are two things necessary 1. That there be an agreement with the Apostles Doctrine 2. That there be an uninterrupted conveyance of it down to them who challenge it Both which we have Arg. 6. Protestants have forsaken a Church confessedly very ancient and besides which there could be demonstrated no other visible Church of Christ upon earth Therefore c. Ans To this I answer 1. That against God and Truth there lies no prescription and therefore it is great wisedom to forsake ancient Errours for more ancient Truths 2. That there are many other visible Churches of Christ upon earth besides the Roman These are the most material Arguments I have yet met with by which our Adversaries have attempted to make good their charge of Heresie against us and how rotten a foundation these are to build such a mighty Superstructure upon I shall now leave to the impartial Reader to judge And because I design brevity and am unwilling to draw out this discourse to too great a length I shall now hasten to a conclusion The CONCLUSION IN this Discourse I have laid down such a Notion of Heresie as is generally received and owned by our Adversaries themselves and by that have strictly examined the Charge which they bring against us and I hope have made it very plain and manifest That the imputation of Heresie to the Church of England is a soul aspersion and cannot without great injustice be cast upon Her. Which is the only thing I have undertaken to make good in this short Treatise I am heartily sorry that there should be any occasion for a Discourse of this nature I am a great lover of Peace and Truth and do greatly abhor both Schism and Heresie by the former of which the Church's peace is disturbed and her Members crumbled into parties and factions and by the latter of which her Truth is fullied her Doctrine perverted and the whole frame of Religion put out of order And therefore I do earnestly pray as my dear Mother the Church of England hath taught me that all those who have erred and are deceived may be brought into the way of truth and that Unity Peace and Concord may flourish in all Nations I have no pleasure in strife and debates and if I were not commanded to contend earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints should be very unwillingly drawn to engage in them But when I meet with a loud and ungrounded clamour branding those who embrace and endeavour to hold fast the holy Catholick Faith with the odious names of Schismaticks and Hereticks I cannot forbear according to my poor ability to stand up in the defence of injured Innocency and abused Truth This is that which I did design and have attempted to doe in both the Parts of this discourse and if our Adversaries be angry with me for it I cannot help it nor am I much concerned at it But if through weakness or inadvertency I have failed in my design or not defended the Church of England so well as I ought and as one more able might have done from those foul Aspersions which have been so unjustly cast upon her I humbly beg her pardon and do freely submit both my self and undertaking to her censure well knowing that she is an indulgent Mother and will put a favourable construction upon what was well meant I shall conclude all with a passionate intreaty and earnest request both to those of the Roman and those of our own Communion that they would all devoutly joyn with me in this humble and hearty prayer to Almighty God From all Sedition privy Conspiracy and Rebellion from all false Doctrine Heresie and Schism from hardness of Heart and contempt of thy Word and Commandment Good Lord deliver us FINIS ADVERTISEMENTS SOme Queries to Protestants Answered And an Explanation of Roman Catholick's Belief in Four Great Points considered 1. Concerning their Church 2. Their Worship 3. Justification 4. Civil Government Also lately printed A Seasonable Prospect for the View and Consideration of Christians Being a brief Representation of the Lives and Conversations of Infidels and Heathens as to Religion and Morality in our Age. Together with some Reflexions thereupon in Relation to us who profess Christianity Written by a Gentleman Both Printed for Luke Meredith at the King 's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard