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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A40077 A discourse of offences delivered in two sermons Aug. 19, and Sept. 2, 1683 in the Cathedral church of Gloucester / by Edward Fowler. Fowler, Edward, 1632-1714. 1683 (1683) Wing F1702; ESTC R6859 22,108 40

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Scandals to come by professed Protestants Viz. 1. To make a discrimination between those who are well Grounded in our Religion and those that are not so Those who are well Grounded in our Religion and embrace it like Wise and Understanding men viz. because of the excellency of its Principles will not be tempted to think one jot the worse of it in regard of these Offences Such will consider that if these can make a reasonable objection against the truth of the Protestant Religion the same objection lies every whit as strong against the truth of Christianity For even in the First and Purest Ages of Christianity there were as wicked people found among the Professors of it and men that did as wicked things as ever were before or since to be found in the World Such will consider too that the Protestant Religion is no more to be charged with Rebellions or any other Licentious Principles than is Christianity For this Religion is nothing else but Pure and Uncorrupted Christianity Nay they will consider that Rebellion and Treason and whatsoever hath any tendency that way and all kinds of immorality whatsoever are expresly forbidden by our Religion under pain of Damnation They being so forbidden as by the Precepts of the Gospel and the Doctrine of all the Reformed Churches so especially by the Doctrine of the Church of England as by Law established derived from the Gospel And therefore these Offences are no objection to Understanding and well Grounded Protestants against the truth of their Religion whilst those that have embraced it onely because it is the Religion of their Countrey or on such like weak and sleight Grounds do often find this Objection too strong for them and it frequently occasions their Apostasie And then especially are such in danger of Apostatizing by means of this Scandal of Treasons and Rebellions particularly as often as these sins are found among Protestants when the Adversaries of our Religion do assault them with the Sophistical Argument drawn from this Scandal with all the Advantage of their Sophistry Obj. But you may say If the Popish Treasons and Conspiracies are used by us as an Argument against that Religion why should not the Papists make use of the Treasons and Conspiracies of Protestants as an Argument against our Religion This seems to be Fair Play Sol. I answer that Popish Treasons and Conspiracies may not be used by us as an Argument against the Popish Religion nor are they so used by any wise man that I know of because for the reason already given this is a fallacious Argument But our Argument against them is that their Treasons and Conspiracies are suitable and agreeable to the allowed Principles of Popery provided at least that they be levelled against Heretical Princes And if those committed among us can be shewed to be suited to the Protestant Principles and by them encouraged then will not I for my part ever more open my mouth for the Protestant Religion But this can never be shewed but the perfectly contrary who cannot shew And as for the Principles that some Protestants have imbibed they are not Protestants in imbibing them nay they are Papists in so doing For 't is very well known they at least Originally received them from their Books Particularly from the Books as I can shew of these Jesuits Suarez Lessius Mariana Father Parsons with divers others Again Secondly God also permits these grievous Offences to come by Protestants as for the making the forementioned discrimination between Protestants and Protestants so for the farther hardening in his just judgment of wicked people For the farther hardening of irreligious people against all Religion and of obstinate Papists against our Religion In Rom. 2. 21 22 c. the Apostle saith Thou that teachest another teachest thou not thy self thou that preachest a man should not steal dost thou steal thou that sayest a man should not commit Adultery dost thou commit Adultery thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacrilege thou that makest thy boast of the Law through breaking the Law dishonourest thou God then it follows For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you To keep to the instances of Rebellion and Treason the Papists when they see such doings among Protestants willingly overlooking the innumerable instances of this nature which themselves are so infamous for throughout the world And seeming not to know what Principles they have to encourage them in such Practices they immediately cry out These are your Protestants and this is their Religion 't is good for nothing but to make men Rebels and Traytors Princes can have no security from these Protestants And they urge the same Argument for the utter destruction of the Protestant Religion that was used by Bishlam and his Company to King Artaxerxes against the Rebuilding of Ierusalem viz. This City is a Rebellious City and hurtfull unto Kings and Provinces And no doubt of it our Adversaries will not be wanting in improving this Argument to the utmost at this time Though there are no sort of men in the world but might with a better face doe it And so by this means they more harden themselves if they can be more hardened in their Enmity to our Religion and more harden others And as I said for this reason no doubt God permitteth in his just judgment this sort of Offences as well as others to come by Protestants I mean still by Professors of the Protestant Religion for the Authors of such Offences cannot be more than in Profession Protestants Nay considered as guilty of such Offences they are truly Papists so far forth they deserve that name I may apply to this discourse those words of our Saviour Iohn 9. 39. For judgment am I come into this world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blind That those which sit in darkness may have the light and that those who have the light but wilfully shut their eyes against it as one would think those Papists do who live among us and will not be convinced by the strongest and most powerfull Arguments may be made blind And Offences or Scandals are great instruments in the hand of the Divine Justice for this purpose III. I come to shew that Offences are of woefull consequence We learn from our Text that they are so to the world or to men in general Woe unto the world because of Offences And likewise to those particular persons by whom they come but woe to that man by whom the Offence cometh Now First As to their being of woefull consequence to the world or to the generality of men It hath been intimated already that such is the Folly and Wickedness of the Generality that when these Snares are laid before them they occasion their falling into Sin and also Multitudes in all places are mightily hardened in sin by the means of them 1. They occasion their falling into sin to the great endangering of