of Honesty insomuch that whatever Miracles tend to the Damage of Mankind or the Corruption of Manners they cannot be from God nor can they authorize any Doctrin as Divine that is inconsistent with the forementioned Standard of Justice and Reason And this makes a real Distinction and sensible Difference betwixt the Miracles wrought by Christ or his Apostles and those by Heathen Magicians On the one hand the Miracles always tended to good and were such as might invite Love as well as Admiration On the other hand they were for the most part hurtful to Mens Persons and Estates unless it was sometimes that the Devils cured the Diseases they had caused but it was still to establish a greater Tyranny When the Jews taxed our Saviour with casting out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils he answers to this effect That the Devil was too Wise a Creature to destroy his own Kingdom by casting out Devils especially when sometimes they were made to own themselves to be Devils and to confess Christ to be the Son of God But says he if I cast out Devils by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God is come unto you And this was frequent in the Primitive Church that the Christians by a Divine Power overruled all the Powers of Darkness imployed by the Magicians of those times For as to do Works above Nature speaks a Power above her so when those Works tend to the good of Men by promoting Vertue and establishing true Piety they must reasonably be concluded to be from a Divine Author Let this then be the first Step or the Ground of all That whatsoever Doctrin or pretended Revelation destroys Justice or contradicts Reason cannot come from Heaven and ought not to be Believed In the next place when once a Law is established as Divine upon a sufficient Testimony of Miracles no other Revelation that is contrary to it may be allowed until it be repealed and no repeal can be but from the same Authority that enacted it And therefore the repeal cannot be of force till the Authority upon which it stands makes it self manifest by as great if not greater Miracles than were wrought at the Promulgation In this Point was the Prophets Miscarriage that went to cry against the Altar in Bethel who suffered himself to be overcome by the pretence of the old Prophet contrary to his own Commission But without pursuing this farther at present it is manifest and by all Christians acknowledged as such That the Gospel which our Saviour and his Apostles published to the World is neither contradictious to Reason nor destructive of Vertue or good Manners or inconsistent with former Revelations but that on the contrary it proposes the noblest End viz. Eternal Life and directs to the fittest and most agreeable Method for attaining it and therefore must be accounted Divine This being granted it follows That no Doctrin or Revelation which is not reconcilable to this Gospel can be from Heaven or have Power to bind us If an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel let him be accursed Gal. 1. 8. My present Business being not with Heathens but with Christians I will take it for granted till I see more occasion to prove it That the Apostles and Evangelists who were Divinely Inspired committed to Writing that Gospel which they had received that is as much of the Will of God as might be necessary for Men to Know and Believe in order to their Salvation The late Representers of Popery seem to allow as much when they own the Scripture to be the Word of God of the greatest Authority upon Earth and capable of leading a Man to all Truth It must also be granted That these Scriptures are no otherwise the Word of God than they are rightly Understood and Interpreted And here the Controversie begins about the Sense of Scripture For the Gentlemen of the Communion of the Church of Rome tell us we must receive the Canon of the Scripture and the Sense and Interpretation of Scripture upon the Authority of the Church for so the matter is stated even by their late Writers And this being of great Importance we will consider it Carefully and proceed with as much Clearness as may be a sufficient though short discussion of the Point If we are to receive the Canon and Sense of the Scripture upon the Churches Authority then the Churches Authority is the Ground upon which the Canon and Sense of Scripture depends as to us and if the Canon and Sense of Scripture depends as to us upon the Church then the Church has Authority to ingage and determine our Faith in these two Questions 1. What Books are Canonical and 2. What the Sense of them must be For if I know not the Sense of them I know not the Will of God without which it signifies nothing to have the Books although they had been written with God's own Finger And If the Church has Authority to declare what Books and what Sense of those Books is Divine then the Church has a Power to make me Believe its Declaration I say the Church must have a Power if it has Authority to make me Believe because no Man can Believe more than he can Believe nor help Believing what for the time he does Believe If the Church has a Power to make me Believe it either has it of it self as it were by Nature or it has it from God But of it self the Church can have no such Power because God only has a Dominion over the Minds of Men and is therefore to be Believed by virtue of his own Authority If therefore the Church as it consists of Men who in their private Capacities that is as they are Men may err has no Authority of it self to determine my Faith then the Authority of the Church if it have any to make me Believe must be Supernatural and Divine Which I think is granted by the Author of the Papist Misrepresented and represented when he says he believes no Divine Faith ought to be given to any thing but what is of Divine Revelation 'T is then an established Point That the Churches Authority is not to be believed as Natural but as Supernatural and Divine and if it be Supernatural it cannot be proved out of Natural Principles This the Papists seeing very well lay down Infallibility for the Ground of the Churches Authority So that the Churches Authority arising from its Infallibity no Man can be bound in matters of Faith to submit to the one farther than he can be Convinced of the other and the Church can no longer have a Power over Mens Faith than she is Infallible The Infallibility then of the Church being the Ground of her Authority the Papists expect we should resolve our Faith into it and we will consider how reasonable their expectations are in this Case But first let us remember That all this Authority and Infallability is
A SHORT DISCOURSE Concerning the Churches Authority IN MATTERS of FAITH Shewing that the PRETENSES OF THE Church of Rome ARE WEAK and PRECARIOUS In the Resolution of it LICENSED March 8. 1686. LONDON Printed for Randal Taylor near Stationers-hall 1687. THE PREFACE FInding that in our Modern Controversies with the Church of Rome which are Printed and in Discourses with those of that Communion they make their Retreat almost upon all Accounts to the Churches Authority either as a Point that may be most Colourably defended or which lazy and weak Heads most readily take up with I was induced to examin it Safety and Certainty are things very valuable not only because they carry a delightfull correspondency to our Minds but also for the respect they have to the Time before us which in Prudence we must provide for no Condition being so uneasy and disgracefull as when a Man comes to proclaim his own Folly by saying Who thought of this Such as our Interest at stake is such ought our Care to be that we may not be imposed upon by Pretences It argues a degenerous Mind that rests it self upon that which comes next hand But not to inlarge this Preface I will only say a very few Things concerning Faith for which church-Church-Authority is pretended as a Ground Faith is often in Scripture put to signify Religion and in that Sense it implies not only those Things which a Christian must know and believe but also the applying the Mind to them in all Obedience and Humility not excluding the assistance of Grace which subdues the perversness of our Wills and thus with a particular Propriety it may be styled the Gift of God. But in this following Discourse as sometimes in Scripture Faith more especially means that Act or Operation of the Mind whereby it imbraces those Things which are sufficiently Proposed to it And as Truth is more or less apparent so the Mind is more or less firmly united to it Not that the Object of our Faith has in it any Vncertainty but that our Prejudices and Passions our Interests and Pleasures by which our Wills are warped and made stubborn hinder the Mind from apprehenâ—ing Truth These false Biasses too often â—â—nfound our Reasonâ—ngs and misguide our Minds And heâ—ce it comes to pass as the Scripture observes that Faith in some is Weak in all capable of Increase 'T is manifest the Mind may discern Truth so as to be certain of it but still a Corrupt Will may as it were unhinge the Judgment and make its adherence less firm This was well enough observed by him that lately wrote the History of the Life of Christ That Faith which springs from the Evidence of Sense or from clear Demonstration must needs be of small Esteem and Reward with God. St. Thomas was Checked for not believing without it and the Parable tells us if Moses and the Prophets could not Convince neither would they be perswaded though one rose from the Dead Now if the Churches Authority be that which our Faith may resolve into the Assent of the Mind would in all Points be equally Firm and Clear and so Faith would be Equal in all annd capable of Improvement in none Plain it is that the design of Religion is to bring Men to a right apprehension and belief of God and to ingage them to a holy and vertuous Life in conformity to such an Idea of that pure and perfect Being He that has not a Mind so disposed will never be influenced by an Infallible Guide and he that has an humble Mind and teachable Spirit will need none However I am sure he that will not be satisfied without one must go farther than Rome to find him But this grows too fast for a Preface therefore I will only tell you that I have purposely avoided a multitude of Citations because they have more or less Authority as People please but I have proceeded by the weights and moments of Reason which are equally valuable to all A SHORT DISCOURSE Concerning the Churches Authority IN MATTERS of FAITH IT is a fundamental Maxim and of unquestionable Authority in Nature That Truth is always and every where one and the same So that among the various Opinions in the World but one of them can be right Upon which account Schism with its ill Consequences is on all sides much lamented whilest every body thinks he has the Truth and Peace and Unity in pretence at least much desired But the misery is all would have them upon their own terms and that frustrates their desires Controversies therefore still depending and the Points under debate being of such importance that the Party which affirms them makes the believing them to be a necessary Condition of Catholick-Communion and damns them that refuse them while the Party that denies says they run a manifest hazard that imbrace them It cannot be thought unfit for any Man to inquire after a method which may bring these Disputes to an issue or that may keep in Peace and Quietness the Minds and Consciences of Christians while Pride Interest or Prejudice shall keep open the Breach or maintain the Quarrel Nothing is more Natural and Congenial to Mankind than Truth and the desire of it is implanted in the hearts of all Men an impartial search after it therefore is what all Men are bound to And as Salvation is the End in Common aimed at by all so it highly concerns-every Christian to examin the way by which he goes toward that End and he ought to inquire the more Cautiously and Diligently for that the ways proposed for attaining Salvation are Many and Different And those that go one Way will hardly allow Safety to them that take another And this at present is the Case between the Papists and the Protestants which invite Men to each others Communion as safer and better for attaining Eternal Happiness Every Man has a Soul to be saved and what must be done to inherit Eternal Life is an Enquiry every one in the World ought and I hope most Christians do make for themselves For since our first Parents by their Disobedience incurred Death to themselves and their Posterity Salvation is what by Nature we could neither Claim nor Expect But that the Devil might not triumph in an absolute Conquest over so glorious a part of the Creation as Mankind God of his infinite Mercy was pleased to enter into a Second Covenant with Men in order to their Salvation but this upon Condition of Faith and Repentance on our parts to answer the Salvation proposed and offered on his Now this Covenant being an Act of meer Grace issuing purely from the good Pleasure of God it is very plain Mankind can know no more of this Covenant nor of the Conditions of it than God himself has been pleased to Reveal and Discover So that all Questions and Disputes about our Common Salvation must be brought to this one as the Standard of all viz. Whether it be the
challenged for the present Church of this Age or else there is no visible Infallible Judg and so the matter comes to nothing For if they were affixed to the Church of any one Age then our Faith when that Age is expired must resolve it self some other way as we shall see anon This hint being given we proceed in search of this Infallibility which is indeed a safe Basis to rest upon whereever it is found In the first place therefore we must enquire what it is or what is to be understood by it Infallibility properly taken is the knowledge of all things He that does not know every thing may be mistaken in some thing and he that may be mistaken in any thing is not Infallible To know all things is to be Omniscient and so God alone who created every thing by virtue of his own Infinity is absolutely Infallible But for created Beings their Knowledge is confined to such things as the wise Creator has placed within their Capacities and so made knowable as it were by Nature Therefore in other things which are Supernatural and of which we can know no more than is revealed to us Infallibility means a being preserved from all Errour and Mistake about them and by Consequence must it self be a Supernatural and Divine quality imparted according to the good Will and Pleasure of God. And now our Business is come to this to know first Whether any body or no has this Infallibility Secondly if any body has it where he or they are to be found And thirdly how others may be assured that they who pretend to have it have it indeed First Whether any body has this Infallibility I take it for granted upon the foregoing Proofs that it is a Divine Supernatural Gift and being such that it must issue from the good Pleasure of God. Now any Gift whatsoever which is Arbitrary and Depending upon the Will of any one cannot be pretended to in Reason till he in whose Power it is has made his Will known that the Right and Possession of it pass over to him that Claims it In like manner no Divine Gift which concerns more than them who personally pretend to it can have any weight or force without a Divine Testimony to ensure its own Credit Upon this Point the Papists argue That Christ who was not less able or faithfull than Moses in his house would not leave his Church destitute of sufficient means for Peace and Unity 't is granted But then say they without an Infallible Guide beside the Scripture there can be neither reason for Faith nor ground for Peace among Christians A bold Assumption this Nay farther 't is said That Christ has promised to teach his Church all Truth by special Assistance of the Holy Ghost to the end of the World. This indeed is to the Purpose but that if any thing it proves more than they wish For it does as much prove all Christians to be Infallible as one or more For the Promise being indefinite cannot justly be appropriated to particulars and if it contains perpetual Infallibility let them that can shew from that Promise that the Pastors have more right to it than the People But suppose now there is Infallibility in the Church let us see whereabouts it is Lodged that we may have recourse to it to end the Disputes which have so long disturbed the Peace of Christendom For if it cannot be found we shall hardly be made to grant that there is any such thing or if it cannot be come at we shall value it at the rate of all useless things I ask therefore Where this Infallibility is that has been so much talked of Why some have shewed their good will to fix it to the Popes of Rome And one would at first think the Author who represents a Papist looked that way when he told us he did not doubt but God assists them the Popes with a particular helping Grace such as was given to all the Prophets when they were sent to Preach that was Extraordinary Such as was given to Moses when he was made a God to Pharaoh that was Miraculous Sure he forgot the Lives of some Popes or else some late Pope has divided the Sea or turned a River into Blood and so filled him with Wonder that he never thought to make any Reflexions Lastly with such Grace as was given to Caiaphas when he prophesied that Jesus should dye for that Nation A Truth which he utter'd without any good Design as appears by his Sentence afterwards and this instance indeed might well fit Pope Greg. 7. Yet after all this we are told that it is our Choice Whether we will allow the Pope to be personally Infallible or no And if they do not see reason enough to believe it I am sure I do not and so the Pope's Claim must be dismissed as indefensible But is a Council without him then Infallible If it be what becomes of the Pope's Supremacy For whereever Infallibility goes the Supremacy touching matters of Faith must go with it And they cannot be separated since as we shewed above the one has its whole dependance upon the other This difficulty has been apprehended and so to secure the Pope's Supremacy a Council without him has been judged not Infallible And where any Council has wanted the Pope's Confirmation as we see for matter of fact it has been thought to want Authority to Though for all this the Point of Supremacy of how great importance soever is not well agreed among them for Councils have taken upon them to depose the Pope and the French Roman Catholick Divines allow them in it The only expedient in this Case is what some lay down That a Council assembled by and under the Pope whose Authority must confirm their Decrees is Infallible Being come to this as the last effort we will proceed with a regard due to a Tenet of such moment And here I ask again Whether every Bishop and Devine that Debates and Votes in Council be Infallible No this must not be said because there have beeen great Differences among the Divines and contrary Opinions much urged Besides it would make every Bishop as absolute as the Pope to make him Infallible which would quite undo the pretences of the Church of Rome But then if every Bishop in Council be not Infallible for ought I can see this Infallibility must be given to the Pope And if his approbation be indeed necessary to Authorize their Decrees he has e'en most right to it For if the Authentickness of the Decrees depends upon the Pope 't is plain he must have a Negative vote to the Council and if he has a Negative vote to the Council either he must have this Infallibility or there can be none at all of any use But as to the Pope's being Infallible we were told before it is no Article of Faith and so we are at Liberty from them to believe it or