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A32853 Mr. Chillingworth's judgment of the religion of Protestants, &c.; Religion of Protestants a safe way to salvation. Selections Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644. 1689 (1689) Wing C3887; ESTC R323 9,088 17

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Mr. Chillingworth 's Judgment OF THE RELIGION OF PROTESTANTS c. The PREFACE SInce the Parliament is now upon a Bill of Comprehension and another of Indulgence or Toleration I cannot but think it seasonable to publish these Passages which I have collected out of Mr. Chillingworth's Book intituled The Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation Not but that I suppose there are few Lords or Members of the House of Commons that were so little concern'd in the Controversie between Papists and Protestants as not to have read so famous a Book of that Subject which in order to printing had the high Approbation of the then Vice-Chancellor and both the King 's and Margaret Professors of Divinity in the Vniversity of Oxon and since its publication has had the highest Commendation of most if not all Learned Protestants as the most learned and judicious Book of any that had been publish'd before upon those great Controverted Points yet even to such it will not be unpleasing to be reminded of these few useful Things Here the Reader will find in brief what the Religion of Protestants is what Errors are dangerous what not That differing Protestants agree in all Things necessary to Salvation that it 's Vnchristian to use Force in Matters meerly Religious What is the Fountain of all the Schisms of the Church and the Calamities that have infested Christendom about Opinions of Religion and that Vniversal Liberty well moderated is the way to reduce Christians to Truth and Vnity This Book was first printed in the Year 1637 and dedicated to his Majesty Charles the First and reprinted 1663 and for more common Vse made shorter by leaving out personal Matters printed again Anno 1685. Of the Religion of Protestants CHap. 6. Nom. 56. Know then Sir that when I say the Religion of Protestants is in prudence to be preferred before yours as on the one side I do not understand by your Religion the Doctrine of Bellarmine or Baronius or any other private Man amongst you nor the Doctrine of the Sorbon or of the Jesuits or of the Dominicans or of any other particular Company amongst you but that wherein you all agree or profess to agree The Doctrine of the Council of Trent So accordingly on the other side by The Religion of Protestants I do not understand the Doctrine of Luther or Calvin or Melancton nor the Confession of Augusta or Geneva nor the Catechism of Heidelberg nor the Articles of the Church of England no nor the Harmony of Protestant Confessions but that wherein they all agree and which they all subscribe with a greater Harmony as a perfect Rule of their Faith and Actions that is the Bible the Bible I say the Bible only is the Religion of Protestants Whatsoever else they believe besides it and the plain irrefragable indubitable consequences of it well may they hold it as a matter of Opinion but not as a matter of Faith and Religion neither can they with coherence to their own grounds believe it themselves nor require the belief of it of others without most high and most schismatical Presumption I for my part after a long and as I verily believe and hope impartial search of the true way to eternal Happiness do profess plainly that I cannot find any rest for the sole of my foot but upon this Rock only I see plainly and with mine own eyes that there are Popes against Popes Councils against Councils some Fathers against others the same Fathers against themselves a Consent of Fathers of one Age against a Consent of Fathers of another Age the Church of one Age against the Church of another Age Traditive Interpretations of Scripture are pretended but there are few or none to be found No Tradition but only of Scripture can derive it self from the Fountain but may be plainly proved either to have been brought in in such an Age after Christ or that in such an Age it was not in In a word there is no sufficient certainty but of the Scripture only for any considering Man to build upon This therefore and this only I have reason to believe this I will profess according to this I will live and for this if there be occasion I will not only willingly but even gladly lose my Life though I should be sorry that Christians should take it from me Propose me any thing out of this Book and require whether I believe it or no and seem it never so incomprehensible to Humane Reason I will subscribe it with Hand and Heart as knowing no demonstration can be stronger than this God hath said so therefore it is true In other things I will take no Man's Liberty of Judgment from him neither shall any Man take mine from me I will think no Man the worse Man or the worse Christian I will love no Man the less for differing in Opinion from me and what measure I meet to others I expect from them again I am fully assured that God does not and therefore that Men ought not to require any more of any Man than this To believe the Scripture to be God's Word to endeavour to find the true sence of it and to live according to it N. 57. This is the Religion which I have chosen after a long deliberation and I am verily perswaded that I have chosen wisely much more wisely than if I had guided my self according to your Churches Authority for the Scripture being all true I am secured by believing nothing else that I shall believe no falshood as Matter of Faith And if I mistake the sense of Scripture and so fall into Error yet I am secure from any danger thereby if but your Grounds be true because endeavouring to find the true Sense of Scripture I cannot but hold my Error without pertinacy and be ready to forsake it when a more true and a more probable sense shall appear unto me And then all necessary Truth being as I have proved plainly set down in Scripture I am certain by believing Scripture to believe all necessary Truth and he that does so if his Life be answerable to his Faith how is it possible he should fail of Salvation Scripture the only Rule whereby to judg of Controversies Chap. 2. N. 11. To speak properly as Men should speak when they write of Controversies in Religion the Scripture is not a Judg of Controversies but a Rule only and the only Rule for Christians to judg them by Every Man is to judg for himself with the Judgment of Discretion and to chuse either his Religion first and then his Church as we say or as you his Church first and then his Religion But by the Consent of both sides every Man is to judg and chuse and the Rule whereby he is to direct his choice if he be a natural Man is Reason if he be already a Christian Scripture which we say is the Rule to judg all Controversies by yet not all simply but all the Controversies of