believe with the heart but confess with the mouth to salvation as the Apostle Paul speaks Rom. 10. v. 10. But these real Saints do not make up one distinct external society by themselves but as mixt with a crowd of Hypocrites who joyn with them in the same external profession of Christianity Nor are they exactly distinguishable from Hypocrites in our Judgment which cannot pierce into the hearts of men and only looks at the credibility of their external profession If therefore it be enquir'd what is the true Catholick Church We must answer All sincere Christians who are one body or society by their belief of and subjection to Jesus Christ their common Head and center of Unity If it be enquir'd whom should we in charity judge to be members of the Catholick Church the Answer is obvious All that make a credible profession of that Faith and that subjection If it be askt further what is a credible profession 't is answer'd A profession not contradicted by notorious ignorance of the essentials of Christianity by fundamental Errors or by notorious wickedness And he that would prove any particular Church or Churches that call themselves Christian to be no parts of the Catholick Church must prove that they deny or at least do not profess some essential Article of the Christian Faith or are notoriously ungodly I add notoriously ungodly because subjection to the laws of Christ is as necessary to our being the true members of his Church as belief of his Doctrine and consequently a credible profession of that subjection as requisite to our being esteemed such And therefore D. M. has very little reason to value himself upon this Question And the Church of Rome has so little reason to arrogate to her self the Title of the Church Catholick that a man must be very charitable to allow her to be a part of it but no wise man will allow her to be any other than the most corrupt and unsound part of it For that Church has gone so near towards the subverting the essential truths and laws of Christianity by their dangerous corruptions in Doctrine Worship and Practice that it wou'd be the best service D. M. can do her to demonstrate clearly that there is a credible profession of Christianity left amongst those that practically hold all the Decisions of the Council of Trent exagr To reconcile that Doctrine of their Council that imperfect Contrition or Attrition is sufficient to dispose a man for Absolution in the Sacrament of Penance Council of Trent Sess 4. cap. 4. with that necessary Doctrine of the Gospel Wihout Repentance there is no Remission of Sins To reconcile the worship of the Church of Rome with the second Commandment is a task well worthy of D. M's pains But I hope in many that live in the communion of the Church of Rome the common principles of Christianity which they retain prevail against the poysonous additions of Popery and all the Doctrines of that and other Councils are not practically held by them But their claim to be a part of the Church Catholick is not near so clear and indisputable as that of the Reformed Churches whose Doctrine and Worship compar'd with the holy Scriptures evidence them to be an incomparably sounder part of it tho even all the Reformed Churches are not equal in their soundness and purity This Catholick Church hath only one universal Head Jesus Christ and is one Body only on the account of its union with and subjection to him Nor is there any Vicarious universal Head under Christ to which the Government of the Church Catholick is committed whether Pope General Council or Colledge of Prelates Nor can any such humane Head make Laws obligatory to the universal Church For any to pretend to it is an usurpation of Christ's Legislative power and 't is chiefly on the account of that Vsurpation and employing that usurped power to deprave the Church and destroy its soundest members that the Protestants have call'd the Pope Antichrist Particular Churches are the chief integrating parts of the Church Catholick I speak of it here as measur'd by the judgment of charity As to any of these particular Churches if the Quest be Are they a part of the Catholick Church It must be resolâ—'d by the credibility of their Christian Profession If thâ— Question be Are they Churches regularly constituted or organiz'd 'T is in the resoâ—ution of this Quest We must consider whether they be a society of Christians united under one or more such Pastors as Christ has appointed for personal communion in Faith Worship and holy living and whether their Pastors were in a regular manner set over them And here the dispute about lawful spiritual Governors must come in Fâ—r that a particular Church have a lawful Pastor is not absolutely necessary to its being a true Church and consequently a true part of the Catholick Church as Mr. K. himself acknowledges in the fore-quoted place p. 90. tho how he will reconcile that Concession with his description of the Catholick Church I do not understand 'T is only necessary to its being a Church regularly constituted And who are such lawful Pastors there will be occasion to discuss in answer to the 4th Quest The sâ—cond Quest is Whether by the Church Catholick be meant the Church of England alone or the Church of England in communion with other Churches Mr. K. well replys The Church of England is no more the Catholick Church than the British Seas are the whole Ocean But he does ill to found its being a part of the Catholick Church on its subjection to Catholick Bishops I suppose he means Diocesan Bishops For it wou'd not cease to be a part of the catholick Church if it shou'd disown Diocesan Prelacy And if Mr. K. think otherwise he has these two difficult Propositions to prove First that Jesus Christ has instituted the Office of Diocesan Prelates in his church and secondly that he has made such Prelates the center of catholick Unity and subjection to them necessary to our being members of the catholick church Now if Mr. K. will undertake the defence of these two Propositions he not only unchurches all the Reformed Churches that want Diocesan Prelacy but even the Catholick Church it self for a Century or two at least as I offer to evince if Mr. K. please to demand it For communion with other Churches it must be understood in the essentials of Christian Religion for it can scarce be expected in all its integrals in this imperfect state but much less in unnecessary humane additions to Christianity And we must not confound communion with subjection the former may be due where the latter is not The third Quest is With what other Church does the Church of England communicate in Sacraments and Liturgy Mr. K. well answers That Vnity in Liturgy is no part of communion of Churches and that the Church of England and had his charity been wide enough he might safely have added
them their Office. Many of them try'd his remedy they represented these things to their Ecclesiastical Superiors as Luther to the Archbishop of Mentz and the Bishop of Brandenburg and the Pope himself But they soon learnt by dear experience how averse the Court of Rome was to any Reformation and how little it was to be expected from the Prelates who either had no will or no courage to attempt a Reformation against the will of the Pope Luther and all his followers in stead of prevailing with those that had the conduct of the Church were excommunicated as Hereticks Now according to Mr. K's principle these Reformers being censured and suspended by the Prelates to whom they were subject were discharged from the execution of their Office and should no more have made a Schism in the Church to regain it than one must make a Rebellion in the State to regain a Civil Office. And since they did not desert their Office but went on to preach against the Constitution of the Romish Church and the will of their Superiors the Popish Prelates they were no better than Schismaticks and Church-Rebels Nay if his Notion of the Catholick Church be true the people that separated from the Popish Prelates and adher'd to their excommunicated Pastors ceast to be members of the body of Christ And how great a part of the Reformed Churches and their Pastors fall under this heavy charge And will Mr. K. own all these unavoidable consequences upon mature deliberation What if we should once more have a Popish Convocation in England and these should restore the Romish Religion and suspend aâ—l the present Parish-Ministers whom Mr. K. thinks now lawful Pastors According to his Principle they being but Presbyters and the Bishops Subjects must not preach against the Constitution of the Church of England declaring her judgment by a Convocation in whom the supreme Government of the Church is lodg'd they must therefore cease their Ministry and no more make a Schism by the exercise of it than they must make a Rebellion in the State to regain a Civil Office. Nay to separate from such Governors of the Church of England will prove those that do it no Catholick members of the Church The same principles may be apply'd to the Arrians who got Imperial Councils and consequently the Government of the Imperial Church into their hands and for such Pastors as Athanasius to preach against Arrianism which was then the Doctrine of the Church was Schism and Church-Rebellion In a word According to these Principles 'T is in the power of a Convocation to damn many thousand souls by suspending an Orthodox and substituting a corrupt Ministry and for those Orthodox Pastors when suspended to endeavour their salvation by the exercise of their Ministry is to be Schismaticks and Church-Rebels And what is this less than to set up the will of such Church-Governors above the will and laws of Christ above the Salvation of Souls and above the Interest of Truth and Holiness Therefore 3. Let us examine the Grounds of this strange Assertion viz. Because there is a regular way for reforming abuses And for particular Presbyters to do it against the will of the Bishops whose Subjects they are is like reforming abuses in the state in spight of the King a remedy generally worse then the disease c. Answ 1. All that these reasons prove is that Reformation shou'd be first sought by humble addressing to our Superiors But Mr. K. plainly leaves it impossible if they refuse 2. They are founded on this wretched mistake that the Authority of Bishops in the Church does resemble that of a King in the State and so to reform abuses in the Church against their will is like reforming abuses in the State in spight of the King. Whereas t is Christ's Authority in the Church that does resemble the King 's in the State. And therefore if he wou'd rightly state the comparison it runs thus Christ the King of his Church requires all his Officers to preach the pure Doctrine and administer the pure institutions deliver'd in his Gospel which is his universal law Let us suppose there are in this or that particular part of the Church dangerous corruptions crept in The law of Christ obliges these his officers to disown them and reform them but the Major part of these will not but presume to silence those that do it according to his command Now the Quest is whether those that obey the command of Christ be the Rebells against him or those that neither will obey his commands themselves nor allow others to do so One wou'd think that such as refuse to reform and silence all that in their own place attempt it according to the tenour of their Commission are like to prove the Church Rebells But no doubt the Pastors of a Church may disown and excommunicate one that abuses his office to the perverting the Church and for him to continue to p rvert the Church by such male-administration is to Rebell against Christ and his laws The charge of Rebellion therefore must arise from the vioâ—ation of Christ's Authority not mens which the Major part of Pastors may be guilty of in a Nation as well as the lesser 3 He seems to confound a private and a publick Reformation 4. The Reason given why a Bishop or Presbyter when censur'd is discharg'd from his Office viz. Because to regain it is like making a Rebellion to regain a Civil Office does suppose two great mistakes 1. That the Ordainers give a Spiritual office in the Church as the King gives a Civil office in the State And this is no less a mistake then to set the Ordainers in the place of Christ T is his Charter gives the sacred office as the King 's does the Civil and the Ordainers do but for orders sake approve and ceremonially invest the person as the Recorder does the Mayor of a Town whom the Burghesses choose And herein Mr. K. seems to own that very error which is the ground of all Mr. M's impertinent Questions 2. He supposes that the Bishops who ordain Presbyters have equal power to depose them from their Ministerial office as the King has to take away a Civill Commission And thus p 27. he teâ—ls us That the present Dissenters were the Bishops subject accountable to them as their Superiors and liable to be discharg'd from their office and the benefits of the Communion of the Church by their Censure Whereas T is plain that it is the Charter of Christ gives the sacred office as the King 's does the Civil And as none can take a Civil Commission given by the King to any Subject but by the King's orders and Command So none can take away that spiritual Commission Christ has given any officer in his Church but by his orders But now he has given none leave or Authority to depose his officers but for evident Male-administration as preaching Heresie gross scandal c. And if in any part
Vindiciae Calvinisticae OR SOME IMPARTIAL REFLECTIONS ON THE DEAN of LONDONDEREYS CONSIDERATIONS That Obliged him to come over to the Communion OF THE Church of Rome AND Mr. Chancellor KING's Answer thereto IN WHICH He no less Unjustly than Impertinently Reflects on the Protestant Dissenters In a Letter to a Friend By W.B. D.D. 3 Ep. Joh. 9 10. But Diotrephes who loveth to have the Preeminence among them receives us not Neither doth he himsâ—lf receive the Brethren and forbiddeth them that would and casteth them out of the Church DVBLIN Printed by A. Crook and S. Helsham Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty on Ormond-Key and sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1688. TO THE READER THOV wilt find the worthy Author of this ensuing Tract opposing two persons of a very different Character M M. whose scruâ—les are so mean and so often answered that as they could have little influence in his Change so they deserved no new Consideration The most material of his Questions may be reduced to this Being that the Church of Rome by her usurping shifts propagated her Apostacy to her neighbour Churches how can any of those belong to the Catholick Church if they ceas that Apostacy and regain their former state The answer is easie unl sâ— infection do for ever subject a Church to that Church which infected it Can any man doubt whether the British Churches had equal authority to reform themselves for Christ's sake as they had to admit these corruptions for the Popes sake The other Person is M K who hath needlesly yea to the apparent dammage of his cause bitterly censured the whole body af Nonconformists Whether his novel notions or the unseasonable publication of matters of debates among us be most culpable it 's hard determining The sad consequences were so obvious that great importunity fail'd to encline my undertaking our vindication though the charge against us is great and the proof attempted from mistaken principles But seeing the Author with others judged a reply needful and represented our silence as turned to our reproach I am perswaded to preface the ensuing Book wherin thou wilt find both evidence and candor I shall only hint at what the Book is concerned in and insist on some Criminations the Author overlooks Mr K's excluding us from the Catholick Church can harm us little when he gives us a discription of this Church so entirely Popish and opposite to the joynt testimony of Protestants S. 68 of the Church in a controversy betwixt the Romanists and us The Articles of the Church of Ireland define the Catholick Church in the Creed 4. Bell de Eccl milit lib 3 Cap 2. to be the invisible body of Elected Saints in heaven and earth But all of M K ' s. description is Bellarmines own who strangely confounds a particular Church with the Catholick Church visible out of which particular Churches are formed unless you admit Infidels for Members and into which they are resolved unlâ—ss they cease to be Catholick Members when their Pastors dy or remove Wheras M K. might have known that the Catholick visible Church as entitive is made up of professing Christians and particular Churches are but secondary members of this body as Organical by Aggregation But the Dissenters will deny his charge by further proving that they are subjects to their lawfull Pastors that such are not their Pastors whom he chargeth them with separation from And they can justify their Seperation to be a duty and so no bar to their Catholick priviledg if they had some times been subject to such Yea it 's manifest the Church of England account us within the Pale of the Church by her calling us Brethren departed in the Faith when dead and too oft Excommunicating us when alive His charge of Ecclesiastical Rebellion cannot yet affect us when we think that we justly deny the Convocation to be a fit Representative of all the Pastors in England and not a supreme power over all our Churches yea and suspect a definition of the Catholick Church by such regent Officers as what favours the Vniversal Headship and may well end in the Pope as principium unitatis His positiveness in our duty to be silent when suspended without regard to justice of the ground of it imports he hath forgotten that Casuists generally determin that an unjust sentence bindes not before God or the Church and that Pastors power in the church is not of the same extent as a Kings in the State but under the limits of many more instituted laws But these matters being debated in the book I proceed M K 's Sarcasm against our cant from M M ' s. allusion to a plain scripture p. 13 may call him to suspect what spirit himself is of Luke 9 55. and others of his sort who redicule scripture passages though used in the sence of the spirit that inspired the writers of the scriptures and condemn in us those principles which were the common sence of Protestant Bishops but yet these must be the only Protestant Successors because they keep up the ceremonies tho they despise many important doctrines which they more vallued themselves by Reader thou maist wonder how M K. that affirmeth no ministers may reform no nor preach against the Establisht Church can publish these thoughts of his so repugnant to the sence of the Church and undertake to reform the very Catholick Church by a definition of it so opposite to that his Church hath published He Reproacheth us with the favours we new recieve from men of M M 's perswasion M K. P 39. Reply We thankfully own the Kings Favours without ungrateful enquiries into the grounds of it nor yet doubting but we shall take care not to forfeit what he thinks meet to grant But why should you that dislike an Inquisition grudg us a little ease I believe you are not for blaming the Magistrate when the Rods and Axes are disused Are not the miseries great enough which we have endured at your hands for refusing to sin in doing things which you had nothing but the bare authority of the imposer to plead for But I heartily wish all our hardships so forgoten by us as that they neither abate charity nor prevent union on Christian Catholick terms I confess it 's no small amazement to hear the Prelatists reflect on the present liberty of Dissenters Are we blameable for meeting now we do it with safty when we suffered so much rather than forbear it Can they that have refused Preferments endured prisons reproach and loss of estates for their principles be suspected apt to renounce or betray them for a smile How can these men that t' other day resolved all law into the Kings meer will now brand our meetings as unlawful But this will convince the world that that party will allways Skrew up the point of Loyalty whose Interest the Government pâ—omotes and yet may challenge their own sentiments when the Throne is
less auspicious Finally why will these persons thus clamor as if they bewailed they had lost an opportunity to inflict the same evils by the interposal of a power we might well have expected less kindness from Have we any thing but immunity from punishment Do we enjoy your preferments or places Is it no favour you reap whilst you enjoy your Revenues and publick opportunities of service you will esteem it so and more pitty others if ever you come to endure the penury hazard and contempt of other faithful Ministers which tho I suggest in order to a more sober judgment yet I desire never to behold M K p 72. Reply M K. Brands us as friends to the Popish Party Through the weakness of the Clergy this silly reproach is propagated among the people the faâ—shood wherof time may discover more than a present flash of heat for low interests can do But whâ—rin â—yeth this friendship unless thâ—t you will not suffer us to be friends with you and therfore you conclude we must needs be one with them â— heartily wish all could acquit themselves of culpabâ—e friendship with them as we can I am sure we agree not in principles with them in any thing wâ—erin we differ from you and we blame you for nothing but wherin you agree with them Let us reform your Church and We promise we wi l remove nothing but what is Popish Let them reform your Church and I 'le engage they 'l take away nothing but what is Presbyterian Do you condemn us for any thing but that which Popery would relieve us in is it we that bow to the East and to the Altar do we use vain pageantry in Consecrating of Churches and utensiâ—s baptiseing them with saints names Do we frisk from place to place in reading our Service use the sign of the Cross kneel at the Sacrament which never obtained in the Church before Transubstantiation Have we Absolution of sins to the uncensured Is private Communion our manner Have we Organs Singing-boys unscriptural Confirmation preaching Deacons Reading over the Dead Holy days Surpluses Responsa's and twenty more appendants to worship The Romish Church hath all these wheras we worship God without all this stuff added to Gospel institutions and are content with that that for decency the contrary wherto is indecent by natural light or common usage Further whether most countenanceth the universal Headship your Diocessans or our plain Presbyter Have we Deans and Chapters Chancellors of Bishops-Courts the prime managers of Discipline Pluralities c. What common interest can we have with them unless as subjects to the same King how little some of the N. Conformists befriended their interest these very men lately reproacht us with and its Christian and Generous in his Majesty to overlook Few considering men will think that we who have endured so much under you for dislike to the remains of Popery will espouse that Church Form where we must meet with all your fauâ—t and much greater Nor is it probable we should do any thing unbecoming sinceer and discerning Protestants though we profess due Loyalty both from Conscience and from Grateful Resentments What then can be the matter that whiles the Hind commends you as next of kin your worship practices Costitutions yea Doctrines of late do so exceed in Harmony with the Popish party abovâ— Us while Mr M. tells you their Flowers are your ornament yea the world knoweth they love most of you your wayes better than us and many of your own proclaim they would be Papists rather than Presbyterians that yet we must sti l in taâ—k Sermons and Print have this character of great friendship fastned on us It seemeth to have its rise from this you had cast us out of all places and possessed them your selves whereby you apprehend us now less envied and so less exposed to the first attack of Covetousness or ambition in your rivals But is it fair in you first to set us below envy and then fret that we are not made a sacrifice to preserve your grandure I shall conclude these remarks I have made on M. K's unseasonable provocations with my hearty prayers to God that he would discover to the Church of England and to us whatever our mistakes have been that by his present dealings he would dispose us to true repentance for our foolish as well as sinful heats and our valuing any interest above Christs and that he would give all a more truly Catholick spirit which will be found the serviceable as well as Christian temper and is so needful to revive the bleeding interest of Religion among us That I may contribute my mite to this and the peace which would result therefrom permit me to hint 1. The terms imposed on the Nonconformists were amazingly severe and certain to make the number of the scrupulous considerable No Church under heaven except the popish ever imposed assent and Consent to so many disputable things We must solemnly assent to many Doctrines we cannot own and to many practices which we always scrupled and much more their revival after they were once removed We must be reordained we must solemnly declare the covenant bound no man when as a vow it must bind to all that was lawful in it and we know some who were sui juris when they took it we must swear never to endeavour alteration in the Church as established whereas it owns in its preface to the curses in the liturgy that its Discipline is defective and we believe the same of many other things to say nothing of the many disorders apparent in it The Presbyterians on the Kings return proposed to use the Liturgy with some amendments and to submit to the Model of Episcopacy drawen up by the peaceable Bishop Vsher but availed not 2. The Consequences of the divisions produced by these severe terms have been dismal How much of mens Ministry hath been wasted on these matters which might have been employed to more edifying purposes the prophane have had an engine to exert their inbred emnity against the serious Was it not come to that pass that one was jeered as a Phanatick if he dared not to be prophane Yea under the shaddow of zeal against Nonconformists men became light in their gravest employs Heterodox in their notions and too many did ridicule all Religion in the most probable evidences of it as Cant and Hypocrisy What need I enlarge any more Were the things contended for by the imposer valuable so as to countervail the least of these mischiefs 3. It is necessary for Church and State that the union of Ministers and communion of Sts. be provided for on more comprehensive terms All our study and prayers back'd with sore hardships have not nor ever can bring us to comply with these the Churches strongest arguments for them be that they are indifferent and surely the Churches necessity will at last convince her that 's a poor Plea Religion must decay and the
strength of the Church will abate whilst the number of Dissenters is so great Gross errors will prevail much while Dissenter is the common odious name of all and bad men will influence when the terms of union are so hard as to exclude the good Let the terms of peace be once such that wise and good men need not scruple and separation will grow so odious a name as will expose the guilty were the tolerable entertain'd how would love flourish and aâ—l be usefull to the Churches real interest shall we then provoke God to desert us by our quarrels and loose the very name of Protestant by contending for things that are of no use to us either as protestants or Christians The Kingdoms interest concurr's as an argument to it Where could be the policy of cutting off so considerable a part of the nation from servicableness to the state because they could not agree to some forms Which had no influence to make them good Christians or good Subjects Strange was the impression of the Clergy or some others that the fittest man must not serve the State if he scrupled the Cross in Baptism Tho I am no Errastian yet I cannot but perswade the Magigistrate not to interrupt trade harrase his Subjects keep his Treasures empty give his enemies the advantage of a discontented party tempt them to irregularities and dislikes of his Government and all this for some Oathes and Ceremonies valluable only as the outworks of excessive grandure or a distinguishing mark between them that fear an Oath and them that fear it too little May not we expect the Government to say in due time it can be no sin against God to take away those things which the lovers of them call indifferent and therefore cannot quarrel against the removall of nor seperate if they be removed It is not our interest to keep out so great a body of Dissenters whose compliance it is vain to expect when they suffered so many years testifying against them as sinful Let therefore the peace of the Church and prosperity of the State be provided for by things of more moment and less disputable 4. The terms that would be comprehensive of the most considerable part of Dissenters are neither difficult nor dangerous It was not peaceable or prudent Suggestion that every little change is fatal tho mens interest do not tempt them to make it so Must the body die if the hair or nails be par'd I will not dare to make proposals so unseasonably But I think it easy to demonstrate that no greater a change is needful than will consist with decency in worship restraint of fundamental errors the Churches peace and truest glory the Magistrates tranquil security and the just credit and power of the Clergy It s our temper or selfish respects not our differences which have kept us so long asunder Could we but stoop less than our Lord's example calls us to when he wash'd his Disciples feet the debates would soon be at an end Were we weaned from the love of Dominion which he expresly forbids and inspired with that love he declares so essential to his followers it were impossible for us to unchurch each other who can subscribe all the Articles of the Church of Ireland and all the Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England as we can and will do I might hope a little prudence which God seems about to furnish us all with could not fail to make us one in the mean while as fit means conducive to it let us attend to our more needful work valuing each others as Christian societies tho under some pardonable mistakes That God would shew all of us the pattern of his house and establish us in his truth is the prayer of him who longeth to see peace within the gates of Zion owneth all for Catholick members who are baptized visible Christians tho fixed in no particular Church and so not subject to any stated Pastors blesseth God for our reformation tho instruments might be culpable acknowledgeth all Christian societies to be Churches where the Word is truly preached and Sacraments administred by duly qualified Pastors tho a Canonical right be disputable so that no contradictory thing be added which dissolves their Church-state and dare not exclude from the Catholick Church forreign Protestants who reformed by God's word tho without the consent of the major part of a corrupt Clergy yea will not stake the Reformation in our Lands on a casting Vote in the Convocation but its correspondency to Christ's rules who alone is supreme Ruler in his house and by whose laws the fidelity of his Stewards and their actings is determined SIR I Have according to your desire perus'd D. Manby's Considerations and Mr. King's Answer and shall here give you my thoughts of them For the D's Considerations I never imagined the Protestant Cause in any danger by so weak an Assault If these be the strongest reasons he has to produce he seems to be as yet but a Novice in the Roman School and arriv'd no higher than the young fry of Missionarys whom the Fathers furnish with such Questions as these to accost ignorant people with There is nothing in that Paper but what more learned Champions for the Church of Rome have more plausibly urg'd and our Protestant Divines both at home and abroad as solidly refuted So that it seem'd to me a needless expence of time to repeat the Answers so often given to those Questions because Mr. M. was pleased to ask them over again And I should have been still of that mind if Mr. K's Answer had not alter'd my thoughts 'T is indeed judicious and clear enough wherever he defends the Church of England upon those principles which are common to her with other Reformed Churches but where his narrow affection to a Party has byast his judgment he has unhappily founded the justice of the Reformation on such principles as are only calculated for the vindication of the Church of England and what is much worse such as cast disingenuous Reflections upon the rest of the Reformed Churches I shall therefore in these Remarks suggest such truly Catholick Principles as justify all the Reformed Churches both as to their Reformation and their claim to be a true part of the Catholick Church which if I mistake not Mr. K's as well as Mr. M's Paper wouâ—d exclude some of them from for the Notions of the one as well as the other turn the Catholick Church into a Sect and are injurious to Christian Charity in its due extent tho not both in an equal degree And I undertake this the more willingly because 't is truly Catholick principles must cement the affections of Protestants and dispose them to as near an union in practice as can be expected under the unavoidable dâ—fferences of our Judgment about matters of less importance And in pursuance of this desiâ—n I shall follow the order of Mr. K's Answer who puts D. M's Paper into all the
method 't is capable of and only take notice of those Answers wherein Mr. K's either Judgment or Charity seems to fail him The 1st Quest proposed by D. M. in his Preface is What is meant by the Catholick Church Mr. K's Answer is 'T is the whole body of men professing the Religion of Christ and living under their lawful spiritual Governors p. 4. There is no doubt he intends this for the description of the Catholick Church here on earth as measured by a judgment of charity and comprising all credible professors of the Christian Religion Here are two characters to distinguish the Members of it Professing the Religion of Christ and Living under lawful spiritual Governors Now that which I chiefly dislike in this description is that this latter mark of the Catholick Church Living under lawful spiritual Governors gives us a Notion of it not only very obscure but too narrow Nor does he find any such mark assign'd either in that Text he quotes 4 Eph. 3 4 5. or in that passage he cites out of St. Augustin And 't is the more necessary to insist on this because every Notion of the Catholick Church which is too narrow is so far schismatical for it cuts off those from their relation to the Catholick Church who are members of it and Mr. K. himself does afterwards apply it to that ill purpose That this Notion of the Catholick Church is too narrow on supposition Mr. K. mean no better than he speaks is hence evident because there are many who are true members of the Catholick Church who live under no Pastors or spiritual Governors at all nor indeed have the opportunity to do so What does he think of many Christians that live in some forreign Plantations where they are not furnish'd with them Nay to propose an Instance much more considerable What does Mr. K. think of all the Protestants who are yet in France and because they will not change their Religion are confin'd to Galleys Prisons or Convents Are all these by the banishment of their Ministers excâ—uded from the Catholick Church Has the French King's Edict so malignant an influence as to cut them off from the body of Christ by depriving them of their lawfâ—l Pastors If so Popish Princes have a very formidable power and Protestants may well dread their Edicts upon a Spiritual as well as Temporal account more than all the Thunders of the Vatican But I fear Mr. K. would scarce allow the Reformed Churches in France to be any part of the Catholick Church if they had their Pastors again if we compare this description of it with other passages in his Answer For this description is very obscure and if I conjecture right Mr. K's Notion of lawful spiritual Governors much more narrow What does he mean by Lawful Spiritual Governors Are they to be estimated such by the Law of the Land or by the Laws of the Church or by the Law of Christ Does he mean such spiritual Governors as are establisht in every Nation by the Authority of the Civil Magistrate If so then the Arrian Bishops when establisht by the Emperors of their opinion were the only lawful Pastors and all that part of the people that adher'd to their Orthodox Pastors ceast to be members of the Catholick Church Then the Popish Clergy in France are the only lawful Spiritual Governors and the Protestants there are no part of the Catholick Church because they separate from them And shou'd the Popish Clergy be establisht in these Kingdoms by Law all that shou'd adhere to their Protestant Pastors even those whom Mr. K. now thinks their only lawful ones wou'd cease to be members of the body of Christ So that the supreme Magistrate might make Pastors lawful or unlawful at his pleasure and make those that are this month members of the Catholick Church cease to be so the next But this is a Principle I wou'd hope fitter for Mr. Hobbs than for Mr. K. to defend Is it then the Laws of the Church that must determine who are the lawful Pastors If this be his Notion of them as his following discourse wou'd incline one to think What Church does he mean whose Laws must determine this great debate If the Vniversal Church I know none can make Laws to oblige all the members of it but Christ himself whom Mr. K. grants to be the only Head of it p. 55. And how shou'd we know the sense of the universal Church in this matter when there has been no General Council these many hundred years nay when there never was any such thing at all The largest Councils that Church-History records being summon'd by the Roman Emâ—erors whose Mandates cou'd not reach the extra-Imperial Churches What is this Church then whose Laws or Judgment must determine who are lawful Pastors Is it every National Church If so 't is a difficult matter to know what that is For unless Mr. K wou'd give such a schismatical Notion of it as the Papists give of the Catholick Church it must include all the particular Christians and particular Societies of such within the bounds of that Nation who profess the true Christian Religion in all its essentials for all true Churches do not profess it in equal purity Such a National Church is not of divine Institution and is indeed only a combination of Churches as united under one Civil Sovereign It s true Notion lyes not in any combination purely Ecclesiastical and Intrinsecal but Civil and Extrinsecal As the true National Church of England unless we will confine the name to a Sect or Party denotes all the Churches in England as united under one King that has a civil Supremacy over them But what if in the same Nation there be a division about some disputable Doctrine as betwixt Lutherans and Calvinists in the dominions of several German Princes or about Church-Government and modes of Worship c. as in these Nations What if the several particular Churches according to these differences in their judgment fix under different Pastors Who are the Church whose Laws must decide this debate about lawful Pastors Is it such an Assembly of the Clergy as our Convocation But what if both Parties have such Assemblys Is it that Party of the Clergy which the Civil Magistrate does establish and not the other then the Civil Magistrate may in Germany make both the Lutherans and Calvinists lawful Pastors and here both the Conformists and the Nonconformists nay and unmake them at his pleasure and so make their Churches a part or no part of the Catholick Church Nay if this be true then in France the general Assembly of the Popish Clergy must determine who are lawful Pastors and were the Protestant Ministers there now for the people to adhere to them wou'd not only be unlawful but what is worse such a Sin as would cut them off from the Catholick Church And does Mr. K. really think so What wou'd they cease to be the subjects of Christ
because they prefer those Pastors who teach his Doctrine and administer his Sacraments and discipline according to the Rules of the Gospel before those who grossly corrupt them and impose those corruptions He must have a very odd understanding that can assent to so senseless not to say so wicked an assertion For this were no better than to set up a point of meer human Order in opposition to the interest of Truth and Holiness I might here instance again in the Arrian Bishops who had not only the countenance of the Emperors but got Imperial Councils call'd General as that of Armini and Syrmium on their side and according to this Principle they were the only lawful Pastors and those that separated from them were no part of the Catholick Church I know not how Mr. K. will like these consequences But he cannot avoid them unless he will say That where there are in a Nation two divided parties of Christians fixt under different Pastors those are the only lawful Pastors who are on the side of Truth in the Points controverted betwixt them whether they have the Civil Magistrates countenance or no. And if he say this 't will follow on the other hand that in those Popish Kingdoms where there are any Protestant Ministers they are the only lawful Pastors and the Popish Churches that live not under them no part of the Catholick Church Nay in those parts of Germany where there are Lutherans and Calvinists if the Calvinists be in the right the Lutherans for separating from the Calvinist Ministers forfeit all relation to the Catholick Church And to add no more if the Non-Conformists be in the right in the matters debated betwix them and the Conformists about Church-Government c. they are the only lawful Pastors and the Prelatical Churches no part of the Catholick Church Or lastly Must the Laws of Christ determine who are lawful Pastors then those are the only lawful spiritual Governors in his Church whose Office he has instituted who have all the Qualifications requir'd 1 Tim. 3. ch 1 Tit. Who are ordain'd to their Office by such as he has entrusted the power of Ordination to where such Ordination can be had and who have the consent of that Flock they take the oversight of If these be the laws of Christ as it were easy to prove if that were deny'd then all Diocesan Prelates must be cashier'd from the number of lawful Pastors unless they can prove their Office instituted by Christ and so must all the Parish-Ministers who want the Qualifications mention'd 1 Tim. 3. or who are impos'd on the people without their consent nay too often against it And if Mr. K's Notion of the Catholick Church be true then all the Churches that live under Diocesan Prelates as their spiritual Governors or such unqualifi'd obtruded Parish-Ministers are no part of the Catholick Church So that if he retract not this new description of the Catholick Church 't is like to fall heavy on his own Party and because I would not be so uncharitable to the Church of England as he is to the Churches of Dissenters I advise him the next time he undertakes to define the Catholick Church to leave out this dangerous mark of it At least he ought to apply this mark to the Papists as well as Dissenters whereas among the Latin Questions The 14th is Whether that be a true Church which has not lawful Pastors And Mr. K. thus answers It may be a true Church witness the Church of Rome which has had so many haeretical schismatical simoniacal ones who were not all lawful Pastors But did there therefore cease to be a Chureh at Rome But I perceive this is a true mark when he would vent his spleen against the Presbyterian Churches at home and abroad but a false or uncertain one when it would unchurch the Papists The best of it is if it be a true mark the Papal and Diocesan Churches are most concern'd in the dangerous consequences of it All therefore I shall add on this Head is a brief Answer to Mr. M's Question What that Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church is which we profess to believe in the Creed Answ We need go no farther for the resolution of this Question than the Text quoted by Mr. K. 4 Eph. 3 4 5. Only I must premise that the Catholick Church in its true extent includes the Church Triumphant as well as the Church Militant nay all the Saints that have been are or shall be on earth to the end of the world see Mr. Claud's Reponse au livre de Mon sr l' Evesque de Meaux c. p. 7 8 9 c. But if we speak of the Catholick Church as militant on earth it must be considered either as measured by the judgment of God which discerns the truth of things from all hypocritical disguises or as measur'd by the judgment of humane Charity As measur'd by the judgment of God 't is according to the fore-quoted Text One body or society animated by one holy Spirit having one heavenly hope subjected to one Lord Jesus believing the same revealed Doctrine as to all necessary Articles and devoted by one Baptismal Covenant to one heavenly Father This Body is call'd Invisible or Mystical from that internal Faith and Holiness which are invisible and 't is also Visible by the external profession of that true Faith and Holiness And this is that Church which we profess to believe in the Creed in which alone we can expect to find the true Communion of Saints And to this Church alone all promises of saving Blessings are made in the holy Scriptures * The judgment of several Fathers to this purpose and particularly St Aug see quoted in that forecited discourse of Mr Claud from p 45 to 68 But the Catholick Church as measur'd by the judgment of human Charity comprizes all that make a credible profession of Christian Faith and Holiness For we are incapable to distinguish the true and living members of the Church from those that only appear to be so And therefore the Catholick Church as estimated by our charity is more large and comprehensive than the real Body of Christ For Hypocrites are no true members of his Body tho mixt with them in the same external Society by their external Profession or as St. John distinguishes they are among them but not of them 1 Joh. 2. v. 19. They are but blasted Ears not the true Wheat they are members of the Church Catholick in appearance not in reality The Church Catholick as measur'd by our charitable judgment is I know commonly call'd the Church-Catholickâ— Visible i. e. the Church Catholick as estimated by an external or visible profession But I wou'd choose rather for avoiding confusion to call it the Visible Church Catholick mixt For the Church Catholick in the proper sense as constituted of its living or as the Schools speak its univocal members real Saints is also Visible because its members not only
founded on the supposition of some vicarious Head of Unity to the Catholick Church which we condemn the Church of Rome for setting up and Mr. K. himself seems to disown p. 55. Nor wou'd that Hypothesis it self justify the distinction because if Christ have made any Vicarious Head or center of Unity to the Catholick Church we cou'd not be united to him as his members without union with that Vicarious Head. So that to be Catholick members of the Church and members of the Catholick Church are the same thing And if Mr K. use that expression in this sense let us consider a little the description he gives of those who are Catholick members of the Church Here are three characters to know them by Their embracing the catholick Faith their making no separation from their lawful Governors their living in charity with their neighbour churches The first is Embracing the Catholick Faith and he shou'd have added Professing catholick holiness of life For this character 't is undeniable and I hope Mr. K. will not exclude any of the forementioned Protestant Churches from being Catholick members of the Church on this score The two latter Mr. K. himself will find too dangerous and too schismatical to own upon second thoughts For from the third viz. living in charity with their neighbour churches I infer 1st That this character does exclude all the Papists from being catholick members of the Church for they are so far from living in charity with their neighbour Churches that their Trent-creed does assert its Articles to be that catholick Faith without which no man can be saved and consequently damns all the Churches in the world besides their own 2. On supposition the Reformed Churches abroad which have not Diocesan Bishops be true Churches this character excludes all those of the Church of England from being catholick memâ—ers of the Church who do with Mr. Dodwell unchurch all those Reformed Churches that want Prelatical Ordination For to unchurch them is not to live in charity with them 3. If the Churches of the Presbyt and Indep here be true Churches as I shall in this Paper evince they are then Mr. K. and all that are of his mind are no catholick members of the Church because they live not in charity with their neighbour Churches And I hope there is not the less charity due to them for being of the same countrey or Nation for Mr. K. makes subjection to lawful Pastors a mark of the members of the catholick Church p. 4. and declares the Presbyt c. destitute of that mark p. 6. And consequently denys them to be members of the catholick church which is the highest breach of charity imaginable And what if the Presbyt shou d treat Mr. K. according to his own principle and declare him no catholick member because he lives not in charity with them They would but use his own weapons against himself But however they have been misrepresented they are not of that schismatical humour as some are who have long made a loud outcry against Schism 4. Nay if this character be true then in all those contentions that have happen'd in the Church where the contending Parties have been so uncharitable as to excommunicate one another ' tho sometimes about meer trifles the one Party or both have ceast to be catholick members of the church And so when Pope Victor excommunicated the Eastern churches for not keeping Easter on the same day with him He and all that joyn'd with him ceast to be catholick members of the church And if to be catholick members of the Church and members of the catholick Church be the same what a vast part of the christian worâ—d has been unchurch'd in every age by the uncharitable censures of proud contentious Prelates I suppose Mr. K. never considered these consequences or else he would never have made living in charity with neighbour Churches a necessary mark of the catholick members of the Church As if the legitimate children of the same Father might not in an angry mood call one another Bastards or the subjects of the same King in a pievish humour nickname their fellow subjects Rebells without any just cause I am sure the Presbyterian Churches both at home and abroad are the least concern'd in this character for they have never unchurcht the Prelatical Churches even when they have met with the most harsh and unreasonable treatment from them But Mr. K. has given us another character to distinguish the Catholick members of the Church by which he imagines will exclude all the Presbyterians Independents c from that number viz. That they are such as make no separation from their lawful Governors All this is founded on his schismatical mark of the catholick Church viz. That its members live under their lawful spiritual Governors Here therefore all those difficulties occur about the meaning of lawful spiritual Governors which were propos'd p 3 4 5 6 7. And which sense soever Mr. K. chooses he will find it does oblige him to unchurch a great part of the Catholick Church i. e. to be a schismatick of the worst sort And if the laws of Christ must determine the debate he will give the Dissenters such an Argument against Prelatical Churches being members of the Catholick as he will never be able to answer And Mr. Baxter's Treatise which proves the unlawfulness of Diocesan Prelacy has according to Mr. K. done what that charitable man never intended unchurcht all our Diocesan Churches and cashierd them from being any part of the Church-Catholick There is no doubt but unjust separation from any lawful spiritual Governors is a sinful practice And particular Churches gather'd by such a sinful separation are not gather'd in a regular way And therefore an unjust violation of due Order is all that Mr. K. can justly pretend to charge the Presbyterians and Independents with and perhaps will find it a more difficult task than he imagines to make good that charge And therefore to clear this matter let me premise Particular Churches are the chief integrating parts of the Church Catholick These Churches consist of one or more Pastors and a Christian Flock associated under his or their oversight for personal communion in Faith Worship and holy living These Churches are obliged by the very dictates of the light of nature and general rules of the holy Scripture to endeavour the preservation of all necessary Unity by the amicable consultations of their associated Pastors The judgment of such associated Pastors should be submitted to by the people under their care when 't is not repugnant to the Word of God and contrary to the interest of Religion But the people do not owe them a blind obedience nor have such Pastors any power but for edification Much less can such Bishops pretend to an higher power whose very Office Christ never instituted whose pretended relation to their Diocess is not founded on the peoples consent to it and if such Bishops should claim
Repentance of others If any say the meaning of the Oath is only that they will never endeavour this by any sinful means or beyond their private sphere Why could not these necessary words be put in And that this dangerous sense was never intended by the Convocation is evident from the 7th Canon where they thus speak Whosoever shall hereafter affirm that the Government of the Church of England under his Majesty by Archbishops Bishops Deans Archdeacons and the rest that bear Office in the same is Antichristian or repugnant to the word of God let him be â—xcommunicate ipso facto and so continue till he repent and revoke such his wicked error They that thus suppos'd nothing in their Government repugnant to the word of God did without doubt intend to bind the inferiour Clergy from all attempts to alter it and so contriv'd this Oath that an Allegiance might be in these Nations sworn to the Bishops as well as the King. For the 3d. viz. Reordination The Divines of the Church of England generally own it unlawful and consequently the imposition of it supposes Ordination by Presbyters a Nullity For such therefore as were so ordain'd to consent to Reordination is to own the Nullity of their former Administrations and cast the basest slurr on a great part of the Reformed Ministry And this reminds me of a passage in the Preface to the Book of Ordination which acquaints us with the judgment of those that compos'd it Viz. And to this intent that these Orders be reverently esteem'd No man shall be accounted or taken for a lawful Priest in the Ch. of Engl. or be suffer'd to execute the Function except he be called according to this form or hath had formerly Episcopal Ordination And this we must profess our Assent and Consent to which he that can do and makes conscience of declaring nothing but what he really believes has either a large stock of ignorance or very little charity as will appear by what is said on the Head about Mission The Authors of that Preface cou'd not but foresee that such Declarations would effâ—ctually choke a great part of the Ministers in England and Ireland and 't is hard to imagine what other design they could have in requiring their Assent and Consent to such passages as these For the Oath of Canonical obedience viz. That the Priests or Deacons will reverently obey their Ordinary and other chief Ministers to whom is committed the Charge and Government over them I suppose 'T is meant of obedience to their Ordinary in what he prescribes agreably to the Canons which are the known Rule he governs by And so we should be obliged to read the sentence of excommunication against all that the Bishop or his Chancellor may according to those Canons excommunicate now he may excommunicate all Nonconformists And we that know them to be men of holy and blameless lives must swear to obey the Bishop by publishing his schismatical sentence I might have added several things more on this Head were it necessary I know some have told the world â—reely that in their Declaration of Assent c. they intend no more than to receive those Books as an Instrument of peace so that they will not preach against any thing contain'd in them as some subscribe even the Articles themselves To which I need only answer 1. It us'd to be acknowledg'd by Prot. Casuists as 't is largely asserted by Bishop Sanderson de Juram That to stretch the words of Laws Oaths and Promisâ—s to meanings different from their common use is sinful and a practice fitter for those that own the Doctrine of Equivocations c. than sincere Christians or good subjects Now if to Assent and Consent to all things contain'd in and prescrib'd by a Book be not an Assent to them as true and Consent to them as good or lawful 't is impossible to understand the sense of those two words And what might not a man in this lax sense declare his Assent and Consent to tho never so much against his judgment provided he did not think himself oblig'd to speak publickly against it That the Parliament never intended that lax sense appears hence That when the House of Lords added a Proviso that the Declaration in the Act of Uniformity should be understood but as obliging men to the use of the Book the House of Commons refus'd it at a Conference about it and gave such reasons against that sense and Proviso to the Lords upon which they acquiesc'd and cast it out 2. Whatever meaning be put on the forementioned declarations and oaths None can exercise his Ministry in the Church of England without denying the priviledges of Christianity to those that have a right to them and without quiting an essential part of his office as Pastor of a particular Church or incurring the danger of suspension for doing otherwise And the Ministers of Christ must not put themselves under such a necâ—ssity of acting uncharitably and schismatically towards his true Members nor thus wiâ—fully maim and deprave their Pastoral office I appeal then to the Judgment of all Whether if these conditions of the Ministry be sinful That Law be just that shall enjoyn them and make mens forswearing themselves necessary to the preaching of the Gospel I am very sorry Mr. K. and some of his Coat should so often necessitate their Brethren to harp on this ungrateful string They pay too great a deference to the Laws of the Land to cast any needâ—ess Reflections on them But men ought not to bear silently the charge of Schism and Church Rebellion who are no way guilty of it Especially when their silence and neglect to vindicate themselves may tempt others who are not acquainted with their case to censure and hate them wrongfully as cloth'd with these odious characters I hope the precedent discourse has evidenc'd the charge to be undeserved and false And therefore whatever expressions seem to grate on the Laws must be imputed to the unhappy necessity put upon them to give a true representation of their case by the virulent accusations of their brethren from whom one wou'd think they might rather expect some pitty I doubt not but the moderate and charitable part of the Conforming Clergy have other apprehensions of their brethren and are asham'd of these passages in M. K's Answer But for those that approve the silencing Laws arraign their Brethren as Church-Rebels for not obeying them and condemn those societies that need and embrace their help meerly on that score as no parts of the Catholick Church even when they exclude not the Popish Churches It will appear I think from this Paper that their Arguments are not so strong as their Passion and a little more charity wou'd advance the reputation of their Intellectuals as well as Morals Such men may long exclaim against our divisions but their own principles and temper are the most insuperable obstacle to the healing of them Having considered the Questions
in the Preface I come to examine the first sett of those in the Pamphlet it self which concern the Mission of the first Reformers and they are by Mr K. reduc'd to these five 1. What Priesthood or Holy Orders had the first Reformers but what they receiv'd from the hands of Roman-Catholick Bishops 2 Who authoriz'd the first Reformers to preach their Protestant Doctrine and administer their Protestant Sacraments 3. Whether Cranmer and his Associates could condemn the Church of Rome by pretence of the Mission they received from her Bishops 4. Whether a Presbyterian Minister having received Orders from a Protestant Bishop can by virtue of such Orders pronounce the Church of England a corrupt Church 5. Whether an Act of Parliament in France Spain or Germany be not as good an Authority for Popery there as in England for Protestancy These are Questions one would think too ridiculous to be seriously propos'd But I am heartily sorry Mr. K. can find no better Answer to them than what he has given which in several passages runs too much on the same wretched mistakâ—s that led D. Manby to offer them with so much confidence And therefore I need say little more to expose them than first state the Controversy about Mission and then apply the true Notion of it to these Questions There is a twofold Mission Immediate or Mediate 1. Immediate Which those had whom God sent to deliver some extraordinary message or some new revelation of his will to men Such a Mission had the extraordinary Prophets under the old Testament the Apostles and Evangelists under the new And these brought some Credentials of their Mission to convince men of the truth of it That immediate Mission is now ceas'd the revelation of the Divine Will being compleated in the holy Scriptures and directions given for the continuance of a Ministry in the Church There is therefore 2. A Mediate Mission or Call to the Pastoral Office. For we are not here concern'd with the office of Deacons I mean that office of Bishops or Elders or Ministers for they are but several names to import the same thing so often describ'd in the holy Scriptures The office contains in it many great and laborious works To teach the Flock committed to their charge be their Guides in publick Worship and rule them by Evangelical Discipline A Call to this Office gives the person call'd authority to do those works and lays on him a personal obligation to do them 'T is from Christ alone that power is deriv'd by which men are authoriz'd and oblig'd 'T is his will exprest in the Gospel-Charter constitutes men his Ministers And all that 's further requisite is to know how he signifies his will concerning this or that particular person being one of his Ministers To that purpose we must consider what Christ has done already in the Gospel-Charter and what he has left for men to do Christ has already determined in the Gospel that there shall be a Ministry in his Church to the end of the World He has describ'd their Office and all the particular works of it as what Doctrine they shall preach what Worship they shall celebrate how they shall rule the Church they oversee and what Discipline they shall administer in it He has left them sufficient rules in all matters of universal constant necessity for performing these works He has describ'd the duties which Christian Flocks owe to such Pastors He has assign'd the qualifications of such Pastors He has made it the duty of people that need the labours of such qualified persons to seek their help and of Ministers to call them out approve and invest them in that Office and of the Civil Magistrate to protect the Worthy It belongs not therefore to any men to appoint any new office in the Church of Christ or maim that Office he has instituted or impose sinful conditions in order to its exercise or impose any other duties on the people than he has done much less does it belong to them to determine whether the Gospel shall be preach'd or the necessities of souls who want such Pastors supply'd All therefore that the Gospel has left to the Ordainers is the Designation of the person to whom Christ's Charter shall convey the power the approbation of his qualifications and the Investiture of him or solemnizing his admittance The Ordainers therefore do not give the power to others as from themselves nor does it pass hrough their hands nor can they diminish it as ex gr should the Ordainers say Receive thou power to preach and admâ—nister the Sacraments but not to rule the Flock Thâ—s restraint or diminution is null as being contrary to the Charter of Christ They are but Instruments of Inauguration as a Recorder that invests a Mayor in that office which the King's Charter gives him And the great design of the Interposition of Pastors in this matter is to secure to the Church a succession of abâ—e and blameless Pastors of which they are supposed most fit to judge Ordination by Pastors is God's ordinary regular way of admittance to prevent the Churches being deprav'd and injur'd by the intrusion of unqualified pâ—rsons And therefore it should not be neglected where-ever it may be had Only it must be added that the law of Christ which determines that the Gospel shall be preach'd by persons so qualified is founded on the necessity of souls and the great law of Charity and therefore is of constant and indispensible necessity in the Church But the command of their being Ordain'd by Pastors is but subservient to the former and relates only to the ordinary regular execution of it and does not oblige where there is a physical or moral impossibility of observing it and yet a necessity of the Ministry For Ordination by Pastors is not of absolute necessity to the being of the Ministry There have been and may be extraordinary cases wherein a man may be obliged to be a Minister without it To instance in two cases What if many Christians should be cast on the shore of some Pagan Nation where they are forc'd to stay a considerable time and one among them be more eminently qualified than the rest to be their Minister the rest entreat his help and will any say that the Providence of God which has given him such abilities does not sufficiently authorise him to exercise them in this case of necessity When the work of the Ministry is of so much greater importance and necessity than that positive precept about the ordering of it Nay to propose a Case far more considerable What if all the preâ—ent Pastors in a Nation should corrupt the Christian Doctrine and Worship and impose those corruptions on the people as terms of Church-Communion What if they refuse to ordain any that will not joyn with them herein The people dare not comply with those terms and because they would not live without the advantages of the publick Ministry and Worship they
strangers to the most of them These are so paâ—pable impossibilities as to an unbyast considerer are instead of a thousand Arguments that the Bishops or Elders which these Texts speak of were not Diocesan Bishops i. e. they were not the Overseers or Rulers of many score or hundreds of Churches as their Flocks to whom they were to perform all these Pastoral works and the Flocks to pay them the forementioned Duties But the Pastors of such a number of people as they could thus personally oversee teach rule watch over visit c. and such a number as could pay them that love submission imitation c. prescrib'd in the forequoted Texts Especially when 't is so expresly asserted Acts 14. v. 23. That such Elders were ordained in every Church which Titus is also appointed to do in every City 1 Tit. 5. And 't is well known every Town equal to our usual Market-Towns in England was then called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or City and but a few comparatively of the inhabitants at first converted to Christianity I grant that soon after the Apostles time the name of Bishop and Presbyter or Elder begun to be distinguisht and that of Bishop apply'd to a stated Praeses or Moderator of a Presbytery or certain number of Elders But 't is as evident That the Bishop and his Presbyters in the Primitive Church were but the Rulers of one Single Congregation capable of personal communion not of many Score or hundred Churches How plain to this purpose is that known passage of Ignatius whose Authority the Defenders of Prelates have so vainly boasted of who in his Epistle to the Philadelphians gives this certain mark of every Churches individuation viz. There is to every Church one Altar and one Bishop together with the Presbytery or Eldership and the Deacons my fellow servants 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c The same Author in his Epistle to Polycarp advises that good Bishop to have frâ—quent Churhc-Assemblies and to enquire after all by name and not to despise servants and maids So in his Epistle to the Smyrnenses Fellow all of you the Bishop as Jesus Christ does the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c and the Presbyteâ—y as the Apostles and reverence the Deacons as the appointment of God. Let none without the Bishop transact the affairs of the Church Let that be accounted a valid communion which is in his presence or by his permission for where the Bâ—shop is there let the multitude be 'T is not lawful without the Bishop to Baptize or make a Love-Feast Nothing can more fully evidence that the Church of Smyrna had their B shop Presbyters and Deacons and 't were ridiculous to apply those passâ—ges to a modern Bishop and his Diocess Justin Martyr's known account of Church = Assembâ—ies evinces the truth of this which the learned Mr. Jos Mede in his Discourse of Churches quotes p. 48 49 50. and from thence acknowledges They had then but one Altar or place of Communion to a Church taken for the company or coporation of the faithful as united under one Bishop Tertullian's account of particular Church-assemblies assures us Apol. cap. that Church-discipline was exercis'd in them and that by the probati seniores or approved Elders among whom we own the Preses was called Bishop Even in Cyprian's time his famous Church of Carthage was not so great but that he frequently professes he would do nothing in Church-affairs without the consent of his Presbyters and all the people especially in the censuring of Offendors As in his Ep. 3.6 10 11 13 14 26 27 28 c. Edit Goul And Ep 68. as he there declares the people have the chiefest power of choosing worthy Priests and refusing the unworthy so when he relates the manner of the Ordination of a Bishop he tells us All the next Bishops of the same Province do come together to that people over whom the Bishop is set and the Bishop is appointed tâ—e people being present who fulliest know the life of every one and have thoroughly seen the Act of every one's conversation Which also we saw done with you in the Ordination of Sabinus our Colleague that the office of a Bishop was given him and hands imposed on him in the place of Basilides by the suffrage of the whole Fraternity and by the judgment of the Bishops that had met together c. We may easily gather what the Bishops Church was when all the people must be present and judge of his life and are supposed to be thoroughly acquainted with it A Diocess of the modâ—rn extent would be hard put to it to meet together for this purpose and pass their judgment concerning the life of their Bishop The Constitutions and Canons called Apostolical assign such duties to the Bishop as plainly imply his relation to a Congregation capable of personal Communion as his Charge or Flock And to give a brief summary of those proofs which it would require a large volume to insist fully on if we consider impartially all the duties which the most ancient Christian Writers describe as belonging to the office of a Bishop viz. To be the ordinary publick Teacher of his Flock a and Baptizer of those that were received into his Church b To confirm the Baptized to reconcile and absolve all penitents to administer the Lords Supper c To receive all oblations c. and distribute them To take care of the poor and sick and strangers as their Overseer and Curator d To try all causes about scandal in his Church with his Presbyters in the presence of his Flock e To Ordain other Bishops and Elders To keep Synods among his neighbour Bishops To grant communicatory Letters f c. And to how great a flock one man is capable to perform them If we consider further that the Bishop and his Presbyters liv'd usually in the same House and in Common at least near the Church and that in the distribution of their maintenance one half of it was destin'd to repair the Fabrick or Temple and maintain the poor the other half to the Bishop and his Clergy or Presbyters g That it was the common custom for the Presbyters to sit in the same Seat with the Bishop in a semicircle and the Deacons below them h That the Deacons are always mentioned as Officers in the same Church with the Bishop i That the Love-feasts were not to be kept without the Bishops permission and he was to have his share sent him if absent k That the way of strangers communicating was by communicatory Letters or Certificates which were to be shewed to the Bishop of the Church where they desir'd to communicate l That a Schism was describ'd by setting up Altar against Altar every communicating Church having its Altar or Table for celebrating the Lords-Supper and Bâ—shop m a Constit Apost c. 26. Just Mart. Apol 2 b Tertull. de Cor Mil. c. 3. c Ignat. Ep. ad Smyrn p 4. Just Mart Apol 2. d
and therefore when any of them embrac'd the Reformation when they begun to preach the Gospel more purely and to celebrate divine Worship more free from the idoâ—atrous and superstitious mixtures that had prevail'd in the Roman Church they restor'd their Ministry to its true use and so far purg'd it from that wretched depravation And in this debate Mr. K need not be asham'd to defend either Luthâ—r or Calvin or Zuinglius For S cinus or hâ—s followers they can produce no Mission to preach against the Divinity and satisfaction of the Son of God no more than D. M. to preach uâ— the worship of Images or Invocation of Angels and Saints or Adoration of the Host c. For the 3d and 4th Qu. I shall joyn them Whether Cranmer and his Associates could condemn the Church of Rome by pretence of the Mission they received from her Bishops If so whether a Presbyterian Minister having â—eceived Orders from a Protestant Bâ—shop can by vertue of such Orders pronounce the Church of England a corrupt Church 'T is evident both these Questions are founded on this ridiculous fancy that the person Ordained is obliged to conform his Ministrations to the judgment or humour of the Ordainers 'T is true indeed if in any Church the Ministers that are Ordained be obliged to subscribe a Confession of Faith or observe any publick Rules in their Worship they ought not to be Ordain'd on these terms if they think any thing in the Doctrine of that Church or the Ruâ—es of its worship contrary to the Doctrine of Christ or the Gospel Rule of Worship Much less should they enter into that obligation with a design to break it afterwards This were odious dissimulation But if any have been Ordain'd in a Church that has obliged them to subscribe certain Articles of Faith and Rules of Worship which at their Ordination they had no scruple against and shall upon deeper study find many of those Articâ—es were gross and dangerous Errors and those Rules of Worship idolatrous or superstitious they are not obliged to preach those Errors or practice those Rules against the dictates of their own conâ—cience Nay if those errors and corruptions endanger the salvation of their Flock they ought to preach against them and warn souls of their danger And not to do this is to betray those souls to desert the cause and testimony of Christ and fail of that fidelity he expects in the discharge of their office They ought to do all in their sphere towards a Reformation and if they should be suspended for the doing that which Christ has made their duty the suspension is unjust and null as being opposite to the laws and interest of Christ and is indeed a Rebellion against him If therefore the Doctrines and Worship of the Roman Church were pernicious and endangered the salvation of souls and our Reformers had just ground to account them such they were bound by the laws of Christ to preach against them and warn the people of them and in their sphere attempt a Reformation Nor would any suspension or excommunication of those Popish Bishops that Ordain'd them justify their deserting their Ministry and betraying the interest of Christ and souls And they might do this without assuming any Authority over the Church of Rome they only refused subjection to her unjust impositions And so may Presbyterian Ministers refuse subjection to the sinful impositions of those Prelates that Ordain'd them and are not obliged to lay down their Office when ever their Ordainers shall unjustly silence them as we proved before But Mr. K. I perceive likes not this Answer and therefore chooses to justify the Church of Engl. upon narrower grounds And therefore in his Reply to these Questions 1. He grants that A Presbyter or Bishop ought not to preach against the Constitution of the Church whereof they are Members 2. He asserts This was not the Reformers Case and therefore he founds the lawfulness of the Reformation entirely upon its being made by the Convocation in whom he supposes the supreme Church-Government lodged in this Nation Had Mr K. only argued that the Reformation in England was not only lawful but effected in the most regular way with the concurrence of the Civil Magistrate upon the advice of so considerable a part of the Clergy none could have blam'd him for taking in all the considerations that prove the Reformation in England to have been the most unexceptionably regular and orderly But that in his eager zeal to defend the Prelates of the Church of England in silencing their brethren he should make such a Concession to the Papists as may be used against the Reformation elsewhere with so great advantage was not ingenuous But we must excuse him that he had rather wound the Reformed Churches abroad than not gratify his spleen against the Presbyterians at home and car'd not whom he made Schismaticks provided he fastned that character on his Brethren Let us therefore examine this Concession of his p. 27. A Presbyter or Bishop ought not to preach against the Constitution of that Church of which they are members The reason he gives is Because there is a regular way wherein they may endeavour a Reformation viz. If they find any thing amiss in her Doctrine or Discipline they may make their application for the redress of it to those that have power to reform it but must not presume being subjects to uâ—urp their Governors power But what if their Governors refuse to reform and silence those that desire or in their own sphere attempt it All the answer is But if such a Bishop or Presbyter be censur'd and suspended he is thereby discharg'd from the execution of his Office and he must no more make a Schism to regain it than one must make a Rebellion in the State to regain a Civil Office. This we urge and I think with reason against the Presbyterians and other Sects among us that either have no Ordination or appointment to their Offices from the Church of England or Ireland or else abuse the power against her which was once given them by her and from which they are again legally suspended And as we urge this against them so likewise against D. M. c. Let us briefly consider the Consequences of this Concession and the grounds of it 1. Its Consequences The first Protestant Pastors in France and most other parts of Europe were before the Reformation members of those Churches where they lived and subject to their Governors they had received Ordination by the hands of Popish Prelates God was pleased so to bless their studies and search after truth that they begun to discover abundance of gross and pernicious errors in the Doctrine and a wretched mixture of Idolatry and Superstition in the worship of the Church they lived in What should they do they were but particular Presbyters and therefore should not according to Mr. K's principle preach against the Constitution of the Church which gave
of his Church The Major number of Pastors shou'd depose the Minor for doing their duty or without a just cause their doing so is a bold and wicked usurpation for which they may expect their Lord will call them to an account as he threatens the evil servant who unmindfull of his Lord 's coming begun to smite his fellow servants 24. Matth. 48 49 But for the innocent Pastors thus wrongfully deposed to disobey their usurping deposers is to obey Christ who never warranted them to desert their office and bâ—tray Souls because they are unjustly forbidden to do what his charter has made their duty 'T is therefore the unjust deposers are the Rebells against Christ and their usurpation is as if the Mayor of a County town shou'd without any orders from the King presume to turn out all the Mayors of the particular Corporations in that County at his own pleasure and I imagine the King wou'd in all probability take him for the Rebell who wou'd thus under pretence of his Authority usurp a power never given him and exercise it to the violation of his Charter and the Laws of the Land. This is the true state of the Case and Mr. K's mistakes about it are so palpable that 't is a wonder how a man of his judgment cou'd fall into them And I must needs add here that as the Dissenters were never the Bishops Subjects as they are any officers of Christ and Mr. K will never prove them to be so So they will be more afraid of submitting to their usurpation if they arrogate to themselves such an unlimited power of deposing his undoubted officers particular Church Bishops and claim a blind obedience to their deposing Sentence be it right or wrong And 't is but fidelity to our Lord to disown such palpable and dangerous usurpation The grounds then of Mr. K's principles being false they will not serve him to condemn the Presbyterian Ministers as either Schismaticks or Church-Rebels and the charge is likelier to faâ—l heavy on those that presum'd to suspend them against the known laws of Christ from whom they received their Commission Mr. K. very gravely takes for granted what he will never prove 1. That the Convocation are by the laws of Christ the Supreme Governours of all the Christians in England 2. That either the Convocation did justly according to the laws of Christ suspend the Nonconfâ—rming Ministers or that an absolute obedience was due to their Censure whether just or unjust 1. He takes it for granted That the Convocation are by the Laws of Christ the supreme Governours of all the Christians in England Does not Mr. K. know that the Divines of his own Church are not agrâ—ed about this matter The Reverend Dr. Stilling when posed by Mr. Baxter about this Quest Who was the Ecclesiastiâ—al governing Head of the Church of England as one body politick Uureas of Seper p 127 128. does very fairly deny that the Church of England has any such Head or Regent part nay denies the necessity of such an Head. So that according to him the Church of England can be no Politicall Church made up of a Governing and a governed part And consequently all the noise of it's Government Constitutions and Laws as such a politicall Church is at an end But now Mr. K. comes and tells us without Scruple That the supreme Government of our Church has always been in a National Councel or convocation of our Clergy If so I wou'd gladly know whether Mr. K does think that the laws or Canons of a Convocation wou'd obâ—ige the Consciences of all the Christians in England tho they were not enacted and ratified by the civill Authority If they wou'd nor 't is evident that the Church of England has no Ecclesiastical Head of Government because none that can make laws obligatory to all the Christians in England And so the Convocation are but the King 's Ecclesiastical Council which is indeed the true Notion of them to advise him what Laws he shall establish by civil Authority relating to Church Government If he say the Canons of the Coâ—vocation wou'd oblige whether the civil Authority ratified them or no I ask Quo jure All obligation to obey any Church-governors as such must arise from the command of Chrisâ— Now where has he commanded that in every Nation such a small part of the Clergy as our Convocation consists of shall be supreme Governours of all the rest When perhaps they are as unfit to represent the judgment of all the Pastors not to mention the people in England as â—he Council of Trent all the Churches in Euroâ—e I am confident besides the 2000 silenced Ministers the far greater part of the Conforming Clergy would never have consented to all the late excommunicating Canons had thâ—ir Vote been requir'd And the chief members of the Convocation are so far from being Christ's Officers that I despâ—ir thâ—ir ever defending the lawfulness and much more the divine r ghâ— of their Office against Mr. Baxter's Arguments in his forâ—said Treatise of Episcopacy Neither the light of nature nor general laws of Scripture wou d suggest such an Assâ—mbly as the governing Head of the Church of England A duly â—l cted Synod of Pastors in a Nation to endeavour the nearest Unity and Concord of the particular Churches as far as 't is to be expected on earth by their amicable consultations we grant to be most desirable and eligible wherever it may be had and the judgment of such a Synod should be comply'd with in all things not râ—pugnant to the word of God. But we cannot say so of an Assembly compos'd chiefly of men whose Office is not only an Usurpation but such as renders true Church-government impossible and whose interest and grandure inclines them to keep up the divisions and corruptions which they have made And to such a Convocation's being entrusted by Christ with the National Church-government which Mr. K. is pleased to assert I oppose the judgment of the truly learned Archbishop Vsher which he often profest to Mr. Baxter viz. That Church-Councils are not for Government but for Vnity Not as being in order of Government over the several Bishops but that by consultation they may know their duty more clearly and by agreement maintain Vnity and to that end they were anciently celebrated 2. Mr. K. takes it for granted also That either the Convocation did justly according to the laws of Christ suspend the Non-conforming Ministers or that those Ministers were bound however to obey their sentence whether right or wrong For the first If he will indeed prove their silencing to have been just i. e. that the Non-conforming Ministers were guilty of such male-administration as forfeited their office and warranted the Prelates by the laws of Christ to depose them I will assure him they will quit their office rather than rebel against Christ or any just deposing sentence of men But I have already prov'd the sentence to be unjust And
the silencing such a number of Ministers on such grounds was a crime of that nature that I would in charity to Mr. K. warn him to draw the guilt of it no further on his own head by undertaking to justify or defend it For the Second That these Ministers tho unjustly suspended were bound to obey the sentence is to give the suspendeâ—s the same absolute Authority câ—aim'd by Popish Prelates and Councils and on the same grounds all the Protestant Ministers in France and other Reformed Churches were bound to cease their Ministry when first suspended by Popish Prelates and so their Reformation was only founded on Church-Rebellion Nay if this be true it will be in the power of a Convocation in England by imposing such sinful terms of Church-Communion as few of the people dare submit to and silencing all the Pastors that will not approve of them to oblige the greatest part of the Nation to live without the publick worship of God as the Popes did sometimes thus interdict a whole Kingdom And he that can believe this may next be perswaded that Christ has put the power of damning men into the hands of a Convocation and the people must not endeavour their own salvation against the will of such a Convocation tho even the Apostles themselves had no power but for Edification 4 Quest Whether an Act of Parliament be not as good in France Spain or Germany for the Popish Religion as in England for Protestancy Answ Mr. K. justly saith that 't is not sufficient the Power which establishes a Religion be competent and the methods of settling it regular but 't is likewise necessary the Religion it self be true p. 33. No humane laws can justly establish a false Religion because God has given no man power to contradict his Revelation and Laws And tho subjectâ—on be due to the Magistrate yet his Authority cannot oblige us to formal obedience when he commands us to profess Error or practice false Worship or forbids us to confess with the mouth what we believe with the heart to salvation The only Quest here is Whether the Popish or the Protestant Religion be the more agreeable to the holy Scriptures the only infallible Test of all revealed Religion Which Quest D Manby shou'd have attempted to resolve by coming to the merits of the Cause and entring into a particuâ—ar discussion of the Controversies betwixt the Church of Rome and those that have embrac'd the Reformation Had he done this he might have spar'd all these impertinent Questions about Mâ—ssion which are but as Mr. K. calls them meer Banter and contriv'd only to divert people from a necessary enquiry into the principles of the Popish Religion Only there is one passage that occasionally drops from Mr. K's Pen in answer to this last Quest which I would take notice of p. 33. 'T is one principle of the Christian Religion that the Professors thereof ought to associate into a body and that Christ the Author thereof has appointed Governors who are to descend by succession and that to these regularly appointed due obedience is to be paid as men value the rewards and punishments of another life 'T is strange to me that Mr. K. should think any man able to know what he meant by these words If he means that all the Christians throughout the world must associate in a General Council to set up some universal Officers that shall govern the Church-Catholick as as one political society subject to them or that the Church-Catholick must become one body by a subjection to any humane Head Pope Council or Colledge of Prelates this is plainly to set up a Vice-Christ and to make a humane center of Unity to the Catholick Church which he seems honestly to disclaim p. 55. If he mean not thus why does he talk of Governors appointed to this Catholick body So for these Governors descending by succession if he mean that none are lawful Governors but such as can plead an uninterrupted successiâ—n of Prelatical Ordination as Mr. Dodwell seems to dream it will hence follow that 't is a meer uncertainty whether there be any lawful Governors in the Church at all and if such Prelates were not known in the primitive Church either they or the succeeding Ages had no lawful Governors So when he makes obedience due to these Governors as men value the rewards or punishments of another life I hope he means obedience to them so far as they deliver those laws of Christ which he enforces with that solemn sanction and not obedience to every unnecessary or sinful injunction of their own And I hope he will not think that Christ has appointed such our Governors whose very office he never instituted And if the meaning of this fine Principle be no more than this that all Christians must unite in Christ as their Head and all endeavour to live under such Pastors as he has instituted and the Pastors endeavour all necessary Concord by their mutual consultations and be careful to provide such as shall succeed them in the same office and that to disobey such Pastors when they urge the necessary Doctrines and Laws of Christ is to forfeit the rewards and incurr the punishments of another life then indeed I see no danger in this Principle But without all this allowance and explication it has a very dangerous sound and Mr. K. was not aware what use D. Manby might make of it For the 2d and 3d Points of Mr. M's Paper about Auricular Confession and the Catholick Church Mr. K's Answer is so judicious and clear bating a passage or two that relate to his schismâ—tical Notion of the Catholick Church that I shall not needlesly undertake what he has so well perform'd The same I may say concerning his Answer to that wild discourse of the Dean's in vindication of the Church of Rome and accusation of the Reformed except what Mr. K. has p. 79 80 81 82. which runs on the mistakes I have already animadverted or And 't is strange Mr. K. should p. 82. quote Phil. 3.15 to that purpose he there does which may be applied to the quite contrary with far greater advantage as the Answerers of Dr. Stillingfleet's Sermon have at large evinc'd The Rule the Apostle there speaks of is what God has prescrâ—b'd to hâ—s Church not the unnecessary and much less the sinful Canons of men And for those that are otherwise minded he leaves them to God's instruction and does not immediately go about to open their eyes by an excommunication ipso facto much less by a Writ de Excom capiendo And if other Church-governors had used the same forbearance there had been fewer Schisms and Divisions in the Christian world For Mr. K's Answer to the Latin Questions there occurrs nothing in them disagreeable to the common Protestant Doctrine which does not refer to the forementioned mistakes Having Honoured Sir offered you my sense of these passages in Mr. K's Answer wherein I thought his immoderate
these debates with deep regret that I am put on so unhappy necessity not only of opposing Mr. K. but saying so much against the present Church-Goverment in order to the Vindication of the Reformed Churches both at home and abroad and the Truth it self But as these principles I have here reflected on have been the fatal Engines of Church Tyranny and divisions these many Ages and belong to the Roman Arsenall so t is the necessary work of a Peacemaker who proposes a Catholick Unity and Love as his great aim to batter them down I had not so long delay'd the sending this paper but that I still hoped some abler pen would have undertaken what mine is so unfit for However I hope I have asserted nothing contrary either to Truth or Peace or if I have I am willing to receive better Information I am Sir. Your most humble c. A POSTSCRIPT THe person to whom the Letter was address'd desiring me to publish it I thought it requisite upon a review of it to add a few things relating to some passages in it The opposition of Mr. K's Notion of the Catholick Church to the Articles of the Church of Ireland and the agreeableness of mine to them is observ'd in the Preface To what is said about Mr. K's mark of the Catholick Church viz. living under lawful spiritual Governors I add that this renders the relation of all true Christians to our blessed Lord as his members as questionable as the title of the Pastor under whom they live and consequently exposes their right to all the benefits of the Gospel even to the Kingdom of Heaven it self to the same uncertainties and doubts as the regularity of his Admission to his Office. And if those ancient Canons repeated in so many Councils be of any force which declare all Elections of the Clergy by Magistrates or without the consent of the people void what a desperate case has almost all the Christian world been in ever since the old way of Elections was alter'd Nay the Church of England it self where the Bishops are chosen by the King and Parsons by Patrons is in a miserable plight So severe is this mark of the Catholick Church on those for whose secular interest Mr. K. seems to have calculated it and so over-favourable to those whom he design'd to exclude from the Catholick Church by it For what is said on behalf of all the Reformed Churches p. 11 c. It is not intended to include the Socinians who deny an essential Article of the Christian Faith the Deity of Christ and all the Doctrines of his Satisfaction c. that depend on it Against Mr. K's Notion of the Supreme Government over all the Christians in England being lodg'd in the Convocation touch'd on p. 57th I add this Argument ad hominem The General-Assembly in Scotland have equal pretensions to the Supreme Government of all Christians in that Nation as the Convocation has in England Now if the laws of the Convocation would oblige the Consciences of all the Christians in England as the laws of the Church whether ratified by the Civil Authority or no then the Acts of the General Assembly in Scotland have the same force there Now that General Assembly which sat there in the year 1639. whose Acts were also ratified afterwards by King Ch. the First in person present in his Parliament there abolisht Prelacy and set up the Presbyterian Government there The Prelates were according to Mr. K's Principles discharg'd from their Office and since they regain'd it not only without the allowance of any General Assembly but against the Acts or Laws of all that sat there since they were therein guilty of Schism or Church Rebellion Mr. K's Notions are as unmerciful to the Bishops there as to Presbyters here So little does he regard where those envenom'd darts may fall which he levels against his Dissenting Brethren The Contents of the Letter MR. M's 1 Quest in the Preface What is meant by the Catholick Church Mr. K's Answer consider'd and evidenc'd to be obscure narrow and consequently schismatical and dangerous from p. 2 to p. 7. The true Answer to that Question p. 7 8 9 10. Mr. M's 2d and 3d Questions Mr. K's Answer enlarg'd to make it more Catholick and comprehensive p. 10 11. Mr. M's 4th Quest Whether by the Catholick Church be meant the variety of all Protestants since they deny her essential mark Vnity The true Catholick Answer proposed p. 11 12 13. Mr. K's Answer to that Question consider'd His three marks of the Catholick members of the Church examin'd His first Embracing the Catholick Faith allow'd His second Living in Charity with their neighbour Churches excludes the Papists Mr. Dodwel and himself and a great part of the Christian world in the present and former Ages His third mark Making no separation from their lawful Governors founded on his schismatical Notion of the Catholick Church Two Questions propos'd on that Head. 1. Whether the separation of the Presbyterians c. supposing it to be sinful will exclude them from being Catholick members of the Church That it does not prov'd from the nature of their separation being only a breach of humane Vnity The contrary Assertion excludes the English Convocation the Papists and the greatest part of the Christian Church in every Age from being Catholick members c from p. 16. to p. 20 2 Vpon what grounds does Mr K assert that the Presbyterians have made a sinful separation from their lawful Governors Some difficulties propos'd on that Head That the Presbyt Ministers are lawful Pastors to the Churches under their oversight prov'd from p 21 to p. 30 The Q's in the Pamphlet about Mission The true Notion of Mission stated The Authority and Obligation of Pastors to the duties of their Office derived from Christ's Charter The use of Pastoral Ordination It s absolute necessity to the being of the Ministry disprov'd The power of Ordination belongs to scriptural Bishops Such Bishops prov'd to be the Pastors of single Congregations not Diocesses from Scripture and Antiquity The Ordination of Presbyt Ministers at home and abroad hence vindicated from p. 38. to p 48 These promis'd Mr. M's 1 Qu. What Priesthood or holy Orders had the first Reformers but what they received from Rom. Cath. Bishops Answered p 48 49 His 2 Q. Who authorized the first Reformers to Preach their Protestant Doctrine and administer their Protestant Sacraments Answered and retorted on the Church of Rome p. 49 His 3d and 4th Q's Whether Cranmer and his Associates could condemn the Church of Rome by vertue of the Mission derived from her Bishops If so whether a Presbyt Minister having received Orders from a Protestant Bishop can by vertue of such Orders pronounce the Church of England a corrupt Church Answered p 50 51 Mr. K's Answer examined His Concession to D. M. That a Bishop or Presbyter ought not to preach against the Constitution of the Church he is a member of and if he be censured or suspended he is discharg'd c. consider'd The consequences of it pernicious to a great part of the Reformed Churches and to our own had we a Popish Convocation The grounds of it absurd and false The silenc'd NC Ministers not chargeable with Schism or Church-Rebellion the charge more likely to fall heavy on the unjust silencers unless Mr K. can prove both the divine right of the Convocation to be the Ecclesiastical Head of the Church of England and the equity of their silencing sentence from p 51 to p. 59 5 Q Whether an Act of Parl c Answered p 59 60 Some general Remarks on the rest of Mr K's Answer p. 60 61 62 Reflections on the whole from p 62 to the end A Postscript FINIS ERRATA PAge 7 l 21 r Arimini To line 24 add And not the Catholick Church as visible or as measur'd by a Judgment of Charity as the Papists assert and Mr K with them contrary to the stream of protestant writers on that Controversie p 9 l 15 after commandment add an c p 23 l 30 r 7th v p 40 l ult r prelacy p 59 l 28 r 5th Q p 63 l 17 blot out a