Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	bishop_n	church_n	succession_n	2,569	5	10.4652	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15509	Christianity maintained. Or a discouery of sundry doctrines tending to the ouerthrovve of Christian religion: contayned in the answere to a booke entituled, mercy and truth, or, charity maintayned by Catholiques	Knott, Edward, 1582-1656.	1638 (1638)	STC 25775; ESTC S102198	45,884	90

CHRISTIANITY MAINTAINED OR A Discouery of sundry Doctrines tending to the Ouerthrovve of Christian Religion Contayned in the Answere to a Booke entituled Mercy and Truth or Charity maintayned by Catholiques Bringing into captiuity all Vnderstanding vnto the Obedience of Christ 2. Cor. 10.5 What is more contrary to Fayth then not to belieue any thing to which Reason cannot reach S. Bernard Epist 190. Permissu Superiorum 1638. TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES King of Great-Brittaine France and Ireland c. May it please your Most Excellent Maiesty MY Presumption vvere not easily excusable Most gracious Soueraigne in flying to the Sanctuary of your Maiesty for the protection of this poore Treatise if the great importance of the Cause vvherof I vvrite did not change my Feare into Hope and raise vp my Hope as high as Confidence that Christianity Maintayned by vvhat pen soeuer it be performed needeth not feare to find benigne acceptance from so Gracious and Great a King as you are vvho glory more in that most Sacred name of being a Christian then in that most ancient Stocke of Royall Progenitours vvhich so gloriously adornes the Diademe of your Sacred Maiesty For I do not in this occasion pretend to act either the Offensiue or Defensiue part of any one particular Religion honoured vvith the Name of Christianity but I only come in the generall Name of a Christian Church vvithout treating vvhether it be Latin or Greeke East or VVest of England or of Rome and therefore I cannot despayre of being graciously admitted by your Maiesty My Scope and VVorke as I am saying is only to maintaine the authority of Holy Scripture the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity the Deity of our Blessed Sauiour the infallibility of his Apostles the povver of his Miracles the necessity of his Grace and of the absolute Certainty of Christian Fayth against an Aduersary vvho seeketh to turne the diuine beliefe of Christians into humane Opinion (a) Pag. 36. 37. pag. 112. n. 154. Who teacheth that our assurance of holy Scripture of all the verityes contained therein is but (b) Ibid. probable and credible and consequently such as may vvell be false Who continually vrgeth (c) Pag. 112. lin 3. that God as sure as he is good neither doth nor can require of Christians an infallible and certainly vn-erring Beliefe of his vvord That men neither are bound nor can belieue diuine Reuelations (d) Pag. 330. lin 13.25.33 further then they are made apparent euident to them and that it sufficeth vnto Saluation to belieue the Gospell (e) Pag. 37. lin 20. s●qu as vve do other Stories as much as vve do (f) Pag. 327 n. 5. lin 28. Cesars Commentaries or the Hi story of Salust Who proclaimes (g) Pag. 144. n. 31. the Apostles vvith the vvhole Church of their time to haue erred in matters of fayth euen after they had receiued the Holy Ghost That after their Deaths (h) Pag. 292. infine 293. Initio the vvhole Church vvas presently infected vvith vniuersall Errour and that the vvhole Church of the (i) Pag. 338. lin 5. Gentils may fall avvay into Infidelity Who shutteth (k) Pag. 292. 393. the gates of Mercy against penitent sinners Finally vvho openeth an easy vvay for the deniall of all those maine points of Christianity aboue mentioned as it vvill appeare in this ensuing Treatise Vouchsafe therefore Most gracious Soueraigne to consider hovv Christianity is impugned by some euen in this your Kingdome and the incoueniences and dangers thereof and preuent both them and such others of the selfe same kind as may grovv greater if they be not preuented by your Zeale and Care I cannot doubt but that your Maiesty vvill do it euen for the Piety of the thing it selfe though my Aduersary vvho yet pretends that he is vvholy of your Maiesties Religion giues you a more particular offence by departing from the very doctrines vvhich you belieue For besides diuers other single differēces he neither allovves the Nine and thirty Articles vvhich your Maiesty in your Royall Declaration affirmes to containe the true Doctrine of the Church of England nor holds he the Succession of Bishops to be necessary in Gods Church Pag. 356. sequ vvhich experience teaches to tend expresly to the confusion of the said Church and destruction of Monarchy And though God hath made your Maiesty most happy both in a Royall Consort of singular and rare endovvments both of Body and Mind vvith a plentifull and most hopefull Issue vvhich vvith my hart I begge may euen last to the very end of the vvorld and vvith an Obedient Loyall People and vvith povver both at land and sea and vvith times both of Plenty and Peace vvhilst almost all your Neighbours are in vvarre and vvant yet nothing vvill euer be more able to establish You in all these Felicityes nor to auert all disasters from your Maiesty then not to permit that there be any conniuence at such enormous Errours as these vvhich partly openly partly couertly are vented against Christ our Lord and all Christian Fayth The God of Heauen preserue your Maiesty in all Health and Happinesse to his greatest Glory your Maiestyes ovvne Felicity and to the ioy comfort of all your Kingdomes Your Maiesties most humble and most obedient loyall subiect I. H. To the Christian Reader WONDER not Christian Reader That I entitle this Little Treatise Christianity Maintained I giue it that Name because that is the thing which I endeauour heer to make good against one who ouerthrows Christianity not by remote Principles or strained Inferences but by direct assertions cleere deductiōs naturally flowing from diuers of his doctrines which if it be made appeare I cannot but hope that all who take comfort in the glorious and most happy name of Christian will giue me the right hands of fellowship in this Common Cause Ancient Pacianus sayes (a) Epist ad Semprou of euery orthodoxe belieuer that Christian is his name Catholicke his Surname Catholicke cannot be conceiued without Christian But Christianity so long as it is maintained wil afford some common Principles of beliefe which may direct men to find that one Catholicke Church of Christians by meanes whereof our Lord hath decreed to giue Grace and Glory Let therfore neither preiudice auert nor priuat respects diuert the good Readers vnderstanding from weighing in an equal ballance that which is herce layd before it God forbid any Christian should exceed the desper are folly of the Iewes who would not depose their priuat quarells euen while they were circled with a hostile army of Romans or be losse aduised then the Romans who tooke occasion to make peace at home by the pronocations of the Enemy abroad indging it wifedome to be swayed with feare of greater euill especially when they could do it vnder the honourable title of a Common (c) Liu. lib. 2. good In which