Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	act_n	henry_n	king_n	2,829	5	3.8707	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26887	The certainty of Christianity without popery, or, Whether the Catholick-Protestant or the papist have the surer faith being an answer to one of the oft canted questions and challenges of the papists, sent to one who desired this : published to direct the unskilful, how to defend their faith against papists and infidels, but especially against the temptations of the Devil, that by saving their faith, they may save their holiness, their comfort and their souls / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1672 (1672)	Wing B1213; ESTC R5291	42,876	122

know that this Gospel and these Books are true And all these are not to be confounded by the simple pretence of calling for a fixed medium or principle § 7. VI. Determining signifieth either the private decision or determining of doubts in the minds of particular persons or else the publick decision of doubts as they are managed in the Church by a publick Judge And this either as binding mens Consciences or Minds what to believe or only as ruling their tongues and actions in teaching and conversation § 8. VII By Vnity in faith is meant either unity in a general faith which they call Implicite or in a particular explicite faith And that is either a unity in all the essentials of Christianity or also in all the Integrals or also in all the accidentals which are revealed by God And it is either a secret unity of minds or a publick unity for communion that is meant If he think any of these distinctions needless let him prove it and then cast them by I am sure confusion is fit to deceive but not to edifie CHAP. III. The rude and summary answer to the confused Question § 1. LEst the Querist should pretend that by distinguishing I avoid a plain and direct answer to his Question I will here first suppose him to be as rude and confused as his Question would imply and give him such an answer as it will bear But so as that it cannot be satisfactory to a distinguishing understanding for whom therefore I shall afterward answer more distinctly § 2. I cannot answer with common sense in a narrower compass than by distinguishing these Questions 1. How know I the words and Bible 2. How know I that this Doctrine and Book is the same which was delivered by the Apostles to the Churches 3. How know I the meaning of the words 4. How know I that this Doctrine and these words are of God or a Divine Revelation 5. How know I that they are true § 3. I. To the first Question I answer that I know that I hear and read the words and that this Bible containeth in it all its visible contents by my sense my sight and hearing and my intellective perception of things sensible And though this be a principle in which the Papists agree not with us I am never the more in doubt whether I see and hear the words § 4. II. To the second I know that this Doctrine and Book is the same which by the Apostles were delivered to the Churches by Infallible History not such as dependeth on the honesty of the speakers only and so begetteth but a humane faith much less such as depends on the bare Authority of the King of Rome and his narrow selfish sect or party and Kingdom but by such History as hath a certainty in it from natural principles by which we prove it impossible that there should be deceit there being so full a concurrence of all sorts of Christians and enemies also and infallible circumstantial evidence Even as I know that there was such a man at Rome as Gregory 1. and Gregory 7. and such persons in England as Henry 8. King Edward 6. Queen Mary Queen Elizabeth c. And as I know that our Statute Books are not counterfeit And as your Doctors know that the Acts and Decrees of Councils the Works of Bellarmine Baronius c. are not counterfeit which is not because the Pope or a General Council saith so but by rational evidence of certain History which leaveth not mens minds in doubt § 5. But I am not equally certain of some questioned Books or Readings no nor of the sense of some difficult words as I am of all the rest which being more evident are more past controversie § 6. III. I know the meaning of the words spoken or written as you know the meaning of a man that talketh with you or of any other writings as of your Councils Decretals Mass-book Bellarmine c. that is by the significance of such words by humane usage from those daies till now which Lexicons Books and successive practice fully prove § 7. But there are plain passages in Scripture which I understand certainly not because the Pope saith This is the meaning Such are all the essentials of Christianity and abundance more And there are difficult passages which I am not certain of the sense of § 8. IV. I know that this Doctrine and the Bible containing it as such are of God or are his word by the spirit attesting and fealing it not in the fanatick sense as they think they have an inward impulse perswading them that so it is as some Papists think the Pope and Councils know that to be of God which they decree by Prophetical Inspiration But 1. As to the Gospel the spirit attested it by antecedent Prophesie 2. The image of Gods Power Wisdom and Goodness imprinted on the Scripture is its essential constitutive evidence being unimitable by meer man and that which is its intrinsick self evidencing light so that a spiritual well disposed soul may from a sensibleness tast that it is Gods word if a Bible had come to them by chance and they had never heard of it before I say that they may do so if you can suppose them spiritually disposed before But if not yet they may strongly suspect that it is Gods word when they read that it affirmeth it self to be so and that the image of God upon it is so clear 3. But the Concomitant Evidence of the spirit maketh up the proof in the miracles of Christs Life Resurrection and ascension and in the miracles of Apostles and primitive Christians abroad the world by which the Gospel was fully sealed 4. And the effected subsequent evidence of the spirit compleateth all the evidence which is the spirit of holiness given by the means of this same word to all true serious Believers in the world in all ages and nations which Holiness is the Image of God himself and is such a gift as none but God can give and as God would not give by a Doctrine which he abhorreth as a lie Therefore 1. It witnesseth objectively as an evidence 2. And it witnesseth effectively by inclining the heart to tast and close with and receive the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the innaturalized word as life and health cause a man to know suitable food by a gust which proceedeth from a suitable nature so is it in the new nature and the sincere milk of the word And indeed though the intellect be the proper apprehender of Truth as such suo modo yet the will is quaedam natura and hath a natural propensity to Good as Good which is natural to it and is the pondus motuum in the rational soul And it is not an universal notion or nothing under the name of good which it thus inclineth to but existent good in some being that is Vnum Verum Bonum as Rada and other Scotists well prove And therefore it hath

true or spurious c. Whether do you think that the Intrinsick and Extrinsick Evidence with the Consent of all the world that knew them Christians Hereticks Heathens c. be not a more satisfying Evidence of truth than if a Pope of Rome and his Council should say so and so it was as Liberius condemned Athanasius without or against the rest of the world If the Question were whether ever there was such a man as Gregory the first or seventh or such a man as Luther or as Charles the Great or Car. 5. or King Iames in England or such a thing as the French Massacre c. Is not the current uncontroled self-evidencing History of these matters more certain than if the Pope and Council of Trent only had told us of them And we have all your valid testimony in with ours As you are part of the witnesses that received the Scriptures and as you have among you the Teachers and Professors of them or have any other Evidence of their truth besides a pretended Power to Iudge for all the world you are a part and but a part of our Historical witness And cannot the Pope and his Council tell us as credibly whether Homer Virgil Ovid Cicero were ever in the world and their writings be not spurious as they are part of the world that hath credibly received it as if they pretend a power to judge infallibly whether it be so or not XI It is an injury to God for such arrogant fellows to pretend that he hath entailed on them a power to do that which he enableth men by Natural means to do as well and better without them As to pretend that God hath given them a judicial power to tell us whether the Statutes of England are true or spurious Whether ever there were such Kings or Parliaments as made them c. Doth not the Certain Historical Tradition of the world suffice for this without a supernatural power If you say that soul-concernments must have more certainty than bodily I answer 1. The more impudent are you that would give us less 2. The nature of the matter alloweth ordinarily no more As sense told the seers of Christs and the Apostles Miracles that they saw them and the hearers and readers of the Gospel that they heard and read it so all the difference between their way of faith and ours is that what they took by their own sense Immediately that we take by a concatenation of successive senses and Tradition historical by currant proof 3. You your selves find you have no more certainty that the Scripture is not a forged writing than you have that there was such a man as King Iames in England whatever you pretend 4. Do you not know that you must resolve even your pretended Authoritative Certainty into our Rational Historical Certainty He that knoweth not that ever there was a Pope e. g. Greg. 7. Innoc. 9. Clem. 8. or that ever there was a Council e. g. of Trent Lateran knoweth not what they determined But how know you what Popes and Councils you have had but by common Historical proof Do you believe it only by the Iudicial decrees of later Popes and Councils XII If the Pope and his Council know the Certainty of these things it is either by Evidence and History as all men may do or by Inspiration If by Historical Evidence it is extant before If by Inspiration let them prove themselves to be Prophets Either by their Prophesyings Miracles or other Evidences that may satisfie a man that is not mad XIII Alphonsus a Castro tells us some Popes understood not Grammar and common history tells us what lads and ignorant fellows divers of them have been And their own writers and General Councils tell us how horridly wicked many of them have been as Ioh. 22. Eugenius and other damned as hereticks by Councils And Honorius the Monothelite c. And is it probable that God should Inspire to Infallibility Hereticks Ignorant fellows debauched wicked men and work a Miracle to teach them to know that Infallibly which they knew not at all When the Scripture and Nature tell us how he abhorreth such men XIV They give us no Proof of their Infallibility Either from any promise of God antecedently or subsequent effect How then shall we be sure of it XV. It is impossible for us to know who is a true Pope And is every man that will call himself Pope or only the true ones possest with this Infallibility If all then one of our Bishops may have it when he will If not no man can be sure of Gods word for want of being sure who is a true Pope Read but what a plunge poor Mr. Iohnson alias Terret alias c. is put to as to the Questions about what makes a Pope in his answers to me and you will see how they are bewildred Their fourty years Schism in which there were divers pretended Popes and the uncertainty who is the true successor to this day especially since Eugenius was deposed as a Heretick by a General Council hath left this matter unrecoverably uncertain If Electors give the Essence People Priests Princes Prelates Cardinals have been Electors by turns If Consecration be necessary it must be by an Inferiour and no man knoweth by whom and some have been Popes unconsecrated and their power defended If the Churches acceptance be necessary no man knoweth in many schisms which had the greater party but certainly neither had the Church XVI It is impossible to know which have been true General Councils and therefore impossible to know which of their Decrees are Gods word and the Churches faith They are utterly disagreed of this among themselves Bellarmine and the Papalines tell us it is those only that are approved by the Pope and so if all the Christian world had no more wit than to send their Bishops from all parts of the Earth to sit as long as the Council of Trent did divers Popes Reigns it is in the Popes power whether they shall be Approved Councils when all is done But how know we which are Approved Is it by the Decree of other Councils No None hath ventured to determine it It is therefore by Common Historical Evidence And so your faith must be thereinto resolved And yet here History faileth you How many Councils are Controverted Bellarmine will partly tell you What wanted Ephes. 2 What wanted that at Basil And many more such I have elsewhere debated XVII There never was a real General Council in the world unless you will call the twelve Apostles one This is the great cheat of the Papists which I wonder all men that ever read History do not see as plainly as any lie in History can be seen Was it not the Romane Emperours that called the Councils Had they any power out of their own dominions Were not all the Patriarchs only in one Empire Is their Jurisdiction mentioned in the Concil Nicen. any further extended Read in