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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27015	The safe religion, or, Three disputations for the reformed catholike religion against popery proving that popery is against the Holy Scriptures, the unity of the catholike church, the consent of the antient doctors, the plainest reason, and common judgment of sense it self / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1657 (1657)	Wing B1381; ESTC R16189	289,769	704

or the greater part of them are true Bishops and lawfully called If as Bellarmine saith de Concil l. 2. c. 9. That the contrary be not manifest be enough then mans error can make Gods promise of Infallibility belong to those that it was never made to or else God hath promised infallibility to all that may be Popes or Bishops for ought we know and then it belongs not to the Pope and Bishops but to all that seem such 25. Yea that all those Bishops or most descend by uninterrupted succession from the Apostles which is made necessary If they plead onely the Bishop of Romes succession to warrant all the rest before the forementioned particulars be well answered it will appear that Romes succession hath been frequently interrupted 26. How shall men at a distance be sure that the Councils are indeed confirmed by the Pope 27. How shall we be sure when all is done that we have the right sence of the Canons or Decrees of such Councils when they speak as ambiguously as the Scripture and the Papists think they can have no certainty of the right sence of that without a living judge And if there be a living judge still of the sence of Councils either he is as infallible as they or not If not then he cannot make us infallibly certain by his Authoritative determination If he be then what need of a Council when he is infallible alone 28. When several Popes and Councils contradict one another how shall we know which of them to believe And this is no rare matter among them 29. When the Pope and Council contradict each other how shall the people know which is infallible 30. When both Pope and Council contradict the express Scripture must we take them for infallible and believe that Scripture only on their words These or most of these must be known by all Christians before they can believe the Articles of their Creed or that Scripture is Gods word according to the Romish grounds When as it is impossible for any man to know them as true they being either false or not evident and demonstrable So that it s now apparent that according to the Popish grounds the People can have no certainty of the truth of their Religion and that they shake the foundation of Christianity it self 2. And lastly not onely so but they build on a foundation certainly false that is the Popes infallibility or a Councils as I shall prove in the next dispute where their fallibility will be further manifested Arg. 3. If the Papists are not agreed among themselves either Clergy or Laity about the very fundamentals of their faith or matters which they make of necessity to salvation then Popery is no safe way to salvation But the Antecedent is true Therefore c. We need to go no further for the proof of the Antecedent then to what is said already They commonly maintain that we must receive our faith and the Scriptures upon the Authority of the infallible Church and they are not yet agreed among themselves nor ever like to be what that infallible Church is And the difference is not with a few inconsiderable dissenters but in their main body The Papists of France maintain that it is a General Council that is infallible and that the Pope is fallible The Italians maintain that a General Council is fallible and the Pope is infallible Some others think that both of them are fallible separated but both infallible when they concur And some think that they are both infallible though separated If the Church be the foundation and all must be received upon its infallible authority then no man can be saved that knows not which this infallible Church is either therefore the French or Italians one part or the other of them do erre in their very fundamentals when one saith This is the subject of infallibility and the other say This is it And if a Pope or General Councel differ to whom must the people hearken One part of them saith that the Pope is above the Council and others of them say the Council is above the Pope and of this mind have been General Councils themselves as the Council of Basil and Constance and of this mind Bellarmine names Cardinal Cameracensis Cardinal Cusanus Joh. Gerson Iac. Almain Card. Florentin Panormitan c. What a strange impudency then is it of these men to make the silly deluded people among us believe that they are all of one mind and it s we that are divided when as they are never likely to agree in their very principles and great fundamental Who it is that is the infallible Judge And till men know Who it is what the better are they know that such a judge there is seeing that the species existeth only in the individual and no man can believe him or apply himself to him as the infallible judge till he know that it is he indeed that is such Seeing then according to their own principles either the French Papists or the Italian and Spanish Papists must be in the way to damnation how shall we know which it is and which to joyn our selves to with any safety Were it not for weakening the Popes interest they would burn the French Papists as Hereticks as well as us Arg. 4. If Popery be a new devised way to heaven such as the Apostles never knew nor the Church after them for many a hundred year in the main parts of Popery then is it no safe way to salvation But the Antecedent is true therefore so is the consequent The consequence they will not deny that which the Apostles the Primitive Churches went in is only the safe way to heaven for there are not many safe ways But that which the Papists as Papists go in is not that which the Apostles and Primitive Church went in therefore it is not the safe way And that the Apostles and first Churches knew not Popery but it is a new Religion or new corruption of Religion appeareth by comparing the particular points with Scripture and Antiquity For Scripture which is the truest Antiquity it may give any indifferent man just cause of suspicion that the Papists do so obstinately refuse to be tryed by it which plainly shewes that they take it not to be on their side And for the Councils and Fathers for the first three hundred years or much more they ordinarily scorn us for mentioning them to this end because they say they wrote not of the points now in controversie and therefore are unfit to determine them But did not those ages take up their faith on the same grounds as we should do now And can they be all silent about the onely ground of faith If the Pope of Romes infallible authority had been the ground would they not have told us so How could they convert the infidels and confirm believers without acquainting them with the grounds of their Faith And what they took for the grounds their writings

shew Nay he that shall faithfully and impartially peruse the Writers of the first three-or four or seven hundred years is blind if he see not the novelty of Popery and in particular of the Popes infallibility universal headship and Episcopacy and his pretended authoriry to be the Judge of controversies with the rest of his usurpations Our Divines Chamier Jewel Vsher Field and many others have manifested this so largely that it would be superfluous for me to do it after them and somewhat will necessary fall in with the next dispute I do not deny but that many ceremonies and many controverted doctrines were very ancient as the use of Chrisme and a white garment and milke and honey to the newly baptized exorcisme confirmation by imposition of hands the Memories of the Martyrs with prayers and praises at their graves or places of suffering the oft use of the signe of the Cross the observation of Lent as well as Easter and Whitsontide not to kneel on the Lords day not to eat things strangled or bloody so the doctrines of the power of Free-will and predestination upon foreseen faith and the misuse of the terms Merit and Justification the denyal of the perseverance of all Saints c. were too early and commonly entertained But these be not the things that we call Popery nor wherein the great difference between us and the Romanists doth consist But as for the great points in difference between the Papists and us it is so evident in all antiquity that Popery is a novelty and that they have devised a new way to heaven which the Apostles and the Churches for many hundred years did never know that onely gross ignorance of the Churches records or a willingness to be deceived can keep men from the knowledge of it And here I might easily prove what is said of the novelty of Popery even from the confessions of their own most learned writers that so they may not say it is concluded from our own misunderstanding of Antiquity But that it would swell this disputation beyond the intended bulk and bounds I shall onely give a brief touch in a few points of moment which may shew you what to think of their charging us with novelty and of their general pretences to Antiquity Of the humane Ordination of Papacy and its late increase beyond its ancient bounds and the limitation of Ecclesiastical Power I shall desire you to see what in the following Disputation is cited out of their Cardinal Nicol. Cusanus a man so violent for the Eugenian faction that Aenaenas Sylvius afterward Pope Pius the second lamenteth that so learned a man should be the pillar of that Popes cause and a man so close to Papal interest and so addicted himself to domineering that he opposed his Prince Sigismund Duke of Austria and caused the same Pope Pius the second to take his part and excommunicate Sigismund and all his Counsailors and his subjects for taking this Cardinal prisoner by force of Armes of which see the story in Goldastus with Gregor Hemburg's one of the Princes excommunicated Counsailors his Defence against the Pope and Cardinal Yet this man himself in his books de concordia hath confessed enough to destroy the Popes cause and take down the Romane tyranny if they would stand to the principles of that confession Others also in the next disputation are mentioned as to that subject which I shall therefore now pretermit Polidore Virgil a Learned writer of theirs in his lib. 8. de Invent. R●● cap. 5. pag. 475.476 Saith Item ut nullum conventum indici nullumque a quibusvis actum haberi ratum liceret sine Romani Pontificis authoritate Marcellus primus omnium sanxit deinde Julius Damasus Gregorius illud idem statuere i. e. Also that no Assembly or Council should be called nor any act of whomsoever be esteemed ratified without the Authority of the Pope of Rome this Marcellus was the first that did ordain and afterward Julius and Damasus and Gregory did ordain the same thing And though this sufficiently proveth the novelty yet Polidore is mistaken in taking this part of Papal Usurpation to be so ancient For he took it on the authority of the decretals which are meer fictions Of which I refer the Reader to Blondellus de Decretal The sum of whose censure on Marcellus Epistles is this As the frequent Barbarisme shew the Author so the following oft the version of Hiereme the excribing of divers instances out of Innocent Leo Hilary Gregory Adrian 1. and Acacius shew that he was many ages later then Marcellus See also the full evidence that he giveth in his censures against the Epistle of S. Julius and Damasus and for Gregory his Epistles to the contrary purpose are well known So that by Polidorus confession this Papal usurpation is a novelty but indeed many hundred years neerer then he imagined And what good this usurpation did himself confesseth in the following words Though it first broke the conventicles of Hereticks Ita deinceps nihil attulit commodi cum per id jam pene desitum sit a concilis habendis in quibus cuncta ex aequo traictarentur Pontifice Romano ejusmodi negotium non magnopere curante i. e. Afterwards it did no good when by reason of this Councils are almost ceased in which all things should be equally handled the Pope of Rome not much rega●ding any such matter Where he addeth That therefore Pope Martin the fifth in the Council of Constance decreed that a Council should be called every tenth year which hitherto hath not been kept and therefore Religion grows daily worse Where by the way we may see what power the Laws of the Pope and General Councils have and what a Religion Popery is which sweareth men to believe and obey the Decrees of such Councils which no man ever obeyed since they were made For there hath been never since a Decennial Council And the Pope himself by confirming that Council which decreed that a Council is above the Pope did shew himself obliged to obey it and so to have called a Council accordingly But all others must swear to that as Gods Word and infallible which themselves contemne But to proceed The same Polidore Virgil. lib. 8. cap. 1. g. 456. shews that the beginning of Indulgences was not till Gregory appointed his stations and made them a reward And shewing that thy were grounded on the Doctrine of Purgatory he bringeth in Bishop Fisher of Rochester to witness 1. That Indulgences are lately brought in 2. And that even of Purgatory Apud priscos nulla vel quam rarissima fiebat mentio sed Grecis ad hunc usque diem non est creditum esse quan diu enim nulla fuerat de purgatorio cura nemo quesivit indulgentias nam ex illo pe●det omnis indulgentiarum existimatio Si tollas purgatorium quorsum indulgentiarum opus erit Caeperunt igitur Indulgentiae post quam ad purgatorii