Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	believe_v	church_n	doctrine_n	1,773	5	6.7675	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39119	A vindication of the letter out of the north concerning Bishop Lake's declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience, &c. : in answer to a late pamphlet, called, The defence of the profession, &c. of the said Bishop : as far as it concerns the person of quality.	Eyre, William, 1612 or 13-1670.	1690 (1690)	Wing E3946; ESTC R6258	27,474	36

as the Person of Quality is mightily if he would have told him the Inference that he is to make from this extraordinary Comparison For all that I can make of it is this In Polycarp's Days other People besides himself lived to be 86 Years old Ergo Bishop Lake's being bred and born in the Doctrine of Passive Obedience is an undeniable Proof of the Truth of it And in his next Paragraph he brings another Evidence for the Antiquity of it that I think is not much short of this as to the end it was designed for for he tells us The Bishop had lived to hear it affirmed that Passive Obedience was a Doctrine of but 40 or 50 Years standing But his Testimony alone being sufficient to confute that Error it was most proper and requisite for him to aver that he was educated in that Doctrine and that it was not only as old as he could remember who was now 65 Years of Age but that it was taught him as an ancient Doctrine And this Sir says he was the way of maintaining the Truth of old by pleading against Hereticks What by bringing a Youth of 15 Years old for Bishop Lake was no more 50 Years ago to depose for the Antiquity of a Doctrine and by the single Instance of his being brought up in it prove the Universality of it And if this be such convincing Evidence of his side and if he would please to give us leave to bring in our Witnesses 't is possible we might produce as ancient and authentick Persons who would tell us another Story Although truly for my own part I can easily believe the Doctrine to be of a much ancienter date than fifty Years and 't is possible might be taught by some from the Reformation For there was some reason to cajole Henry the Eighth and so to make him more favourable to them they might tell him what good Passive Subjects they were like to make which was a thing he liked very well and therefore it might be a prevalent Argument with him to encourage them as much as he could but for all that I am very far from believing it was the Faith of the whole Clergy either then or at any time since but yet believe it gained more ground since King Charles's Restauration and was more generally received than ever it was before but yet for all that Sir I am sure that both you and I know some of the eminent Fathers of our Church who never owned it in that Latitude that Bishop Lake and some others preach'd it up at But after all the Truth is no Doctrine ought to be valued for the Antiquity but the Truth of it For at that rate Heathenism might claim the Preference to Christianity because 't is certain it had the Precedence of it but Truth is Truth though reveal'd but yesterday and Error not the less Error but the more to be avoided for being of some hundred of Years standing But for all those weighty Reasons for the Bishop's making this Profession I cannot say that I yet see any Reason to change my Opinion For I do still believe that his submitting to a Suspension was a more convincing Proof of his Opinion than a thousand Volumns nay I will say than a thousand such Protestations For I dare appeal to the Author himself whether if Bishop Lake had not submitted to Suspension he would have believed this or any other Protestation of that Nature that he could have made so that it still seems very evident to me that though he made it to please himself yet there was no Necessity on the Bishop's Account to make it publick the World being as much satisfied of his Opinion as they could be But although the Author does not think fit to tell us what were the Designs of publishing it yet he is pleased to quarrel with the Inferences I make from it but how justly you shall see presently For I thank him instead of confuting he has confirm'd my first Inference so that truly I have no Reason to be offended although he says he has now found out the Cause why I am so But at this time the Person of Quality is not a Community but speaks only for himself in his private Capacity so that I dare not undertake for others to whom perhaps he has given Provocation enough but they being to be Judges in that Matter I have nothing more to say to that only to observe that instead of denying what I charged the Profession with the cutting off the Clergy in Queen Elizabeth's Days he does now absolutely cut off the greatest part of our Clergy now that is I am sure the major part of the Bishops of this Kingdom from being true Sons of the Church of England for which if you please you may read his own Words where repeating my first Inference which was to suppose that the Protestation did insinuate that from the beginning of the Reformation ever since the Church of England was restored to its Purity Passive Obedience was the Corner-stone of it for 't is call'd though he omits that Clause which perhaps is the Reason he does not understand the Epithite the distinguishing Character of the Church of England To which he replies That whatever my meaning may be in calling it the Corner-Stone he must tell me plainly That Passive Obedience has been ever the Doctrine of the Church of England And when I say afterwards So that it seems none were accounted her true Sons that did not hold it if he means that none besides were accounted to hold her Doctrines whole and entire or to hold all the Truth which she teaches the Design of the Paper is to assert it too But here I must admire the Author's Cunning extreamly though I cannot much commend either his Ingenuity or good Nature for although he does very peremptorily in his own Name tell the Person of Quality plainly That Passive Obedience has been ever the Doctrine of the Church of England yet he is so kind to Bishop Lake as to allow him the Honour of condemning all that did not receive it For he owns it was the Design of the Paper to assert they were not true Sons that did not But first I would know by what particular Priviledg it is that Bishop does take upon him to censure so many of his Brethren and in the next Place I would be willing to be informed what Authority the Author had to pronounce such a Sentence against so many of his Superiours But whether he will think fit to answer these two Queries or no we have got a good Experiment by the by for although at first he pretended Ignorance as to the Design of publishing the Paper he now owns it with a Witness by which it seems the Person of Quality was not so very much out in his Guess but however he did very wisely to lay all the Blame on the poor Bishop But by the Treatment the Living Clergy receive from him you

may not till we are willing to part with the latter both the Author and I may have Reason to say as Hezekiah does Isaiah 39. Good is the Word of the Lord for Peace and Truth shall be in my Days But although 't is a very true Rule that we must not do Evil that Good may come of it yet when Evil is done especially if without our Consent it is certainly very lawful both to enjoy and rejoice in that Good which God Almighty by his infinite Wisdom shall bring out of it and if our Author is so tender conscienced that he is of another Mind and will not receive Advantage from any thing which springs from other Peoples Sins he must not only deny the Priviledges of his Birth-Right as an English-Man but even his Christianity also For was there ever so horrid a Sin as crucifying the Son of God And yet what a lost undone World has this been if that had not happened And although for ten thousand Worlds I would not be the Traytor Judas nor any of the impenitent Jews yet with what Hallelujahs ought we to celebrate that Divine Goodness that from Man's greatest Sin and the Devil 's highest Malice could thus work out Mans Salvation And indeed Events of this Nature seem to be the great Abyss of God's Wisdom as well as Goodness which Man 's shallow Reason must never pretend to sound but however we may adore what we cannot comprehend and with the Apostle cry out O Altitudo Rom. 11. 33. Oh the Height and the Depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledg of God! How unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out And perhaps this might be a better Employment for all our Thoughts than to censure and quarrel with our Brethren because they are not of our Sentiments in all Points and if they think themselves so much in the Right yet pray let them remember the Apostle's Rules That they which are strong ought to bear with the Infirmities of the weak and not to please themselves Rom. 15. 1. And he also commands the Galatians that they bear one anothers Burdens and so to fulfil the Law of Christ But alas instead of following this Method we rather chuse to imitate the Scribes and Pharisees who by laying heavy Burdens on other Mens Shoulders thought to discharge their own Duty But for all they sat in Moses's Seat yet all their Comments on the Law were not true nor were all Conjectures false that contradicted their received Opinions and Infallibility which being no more intailed on the Chair now than it was then it would be very happy if all sides would remember and observe Gamaliel's Advice to the Jews who said very well when he told them Acts 5. 38. If this Counsel and Work be of Men it will come to nought but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it lest happily ye be found to fight against God Therefore it would be Piety as well as Discretion for both sides to attend a little and not divide from much less fall foul upon one another till they are sure that by so doing they shall not oppose God also Although I must confess I have some Temptation to believe from what has already happened that it is the Lords Doing and that upon this Consideration that all the ways of returning to King James are guarded by the blackest and foulest Sins that a Nation can possibly be guilty of and you must break thorow that is commit all of them before you can open any one Door for his Return For 1st There would be the greatest Falseness and highest Ingratitude in the World against a Prince that put his Life in his Hand and exposed his own Person to the greatest Hazard to rescue a perishing Church and sinking Nation 2dly No Person can so much as treat of such a thing without incurring the Guilt of Treason for by the ancient Laws of the Land 't is Treason to conspire against the King de facto Then 3dly There would be the same Guilt of Perjury in breaking an Oath to him as to King James 4thly They must betray God's Church and the true Religion and give up their Country to Ruin and Devastation and consequently have all the Blood to answer for that should be shed in such an unhappy Revolution So that were King James's Return a good Worth projecting for on other Accounts yet that standing Rule of St. Paul's That you must not do Evil that Good may come of it ought to deter any body from attempting it but when the thing it self if compass'd would be the greatest Mischief it would then be the greatest Height of Madness as well as Sin to go about it For can any body think that the destroying a Church and Nation nay extirpating the true Faith out of the World that is as far as we can go towards it is so meritorious a thing that it will legitimate the use of those means which it was not lawful to use no not for the planting of the Gospel and if any Man can think this but a Jesuit for a good honest moral Papist I believe will not I should indeed think it a great Infatuation but however that would not alter the Nature of things but my Rule would still remain unshaken for the way to Duty always lies plain and open so that he that runs may read And although sometimes it may be attended with Sufferings yet I am confident never any Person had the fatal Necessity of sining laid on him to enable him to discharge any Part of his Duty to God or Man But I beg Pardon for this Digression which proved longer than I at first designed it but yet I shall not think it impertinent if it proves useful to the undeceiving of any that have been carried out of the way by the specious Pretence of Loyalty But to return to my Author And the next thing we are to consider is the Epithet of the distinguishing Character of the Church of England and you may remember that I ask'd you whether you thought it necessary for particular Churches to have particular distinguishing Doctrines for that to me it appear'd so far from necessary that I thought it very inconvenient But he tells us as to that Whether distinguishing Doctrines be convenient or inconvenient it is according as the Doctrines are good or bad No doubt it is inconvenient to have bad distinguishing Doctrines but it is as certain that it is very convenient for a Church to have distinguishing Doctrines provided they be good ones unless a Church can be obliged to err for Company and to avoid Distinction But I would be very glad to know upon what Thesis it is he grounds this dogmatical Conclusion That a Church must needs err that holds only the Catholick Faith and has not some particular Doctrine of its own to distinguish it from other Churches by This did not seem to be the Rule of the Apostles who when they were to