Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A31347
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A Catholick pill to purge popery with a preparatory preface, obviating the growing malignity of popery against Catholick Christianity / by a true son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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True son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing C1495; ESTC R15262
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39,661
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102
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that is every doctrine which men bragging of the Spirit do teach but trie them whether they be of God no a Examine all things hold fast that which is good a 1 John 4.1 b 1 Thes 5.21 C. Whereby shall I try them M. By the Scriptures John 5.39 Acts 17.11 C. I am unlearned and the Scriptures are hard to be understood M. There are indeed many things in them hard to be understood 2 Pet. 3.16 but such things as are necessary to be known of all to salvation are plainly set down Prov. 8.9 The meaning of which place is this The Word of God in points necessary to salvation is easie unto all that have a desire unto it Turn to the places of Scripture added to every answer of the Catechism and you shall find this to be most true C. Is there no other way and means whereby to try and know the truth and the true professors M. Yes it may be done even by the aforesaid grounds of Religion Whatsoever Doctrine is agreeable thereunto is true and to be received but whatsoever is contrary to the same is false and to be rejected but whatsoever is contrary to the same is false and to be rejected As many as do sincerely and soundly imbrace profess and practise the same they are the Catholick Church that is parts and members of the Catholick Church and true Catholicks indeed But such as teach profess and practise things contrary thereunto are not the Church nor true Catholicks C. The Papists say that they only are the true Church and true Catholicks and that we are not M. So the Jews cried a The Temple of the Lord b We are the seed of Abraham the children of God a Jerem. 7.4 b John 8.33 41. But Christ told them they were the children of the Devil John 8.44 C. Are not the Papists then good Catholicks M. No but rather gross Hereticks C. What is an Heretick M. One that doth erre in any fundamental point of Christian Religion and doth obstinately teach maintain and defend the same C. Do the Papists erre in the fundamental points of Religion M. They do teach and maintain many false opinions against the very grounds of Religion as by and by shall be shewed in many particulars C. Are all Papists then Hereticks M. No for there are no doubt many of them that do erre of simplicitie and ignorance and which would be brought from their errors if they had the means namely the Scriptures in their own language preaching catechizing and the like We do not therefore account them all Hereticks but onely those before mentioned C. How do you prove that they are not good Catholicks M. I prove it thus They are good Catholicks which are of sound faith and good life Aug. lib. quaest in Mat. cap. 11. but Papists are neither of sound faith nor good life therefore they are no good Catholicks C. How do you prove that they are not of sound faith M. Even by the Apostles Creed which may serve instead of a rule whereunto the faith of all men ought to agree contrary whereunto they teach many things C. Shew me wherein M. The Creed is a confession of faith containing the sum of the Gospell and of such things as are necessary to be believed of all that will be saved They have devised many other new Articles of Faith besides and contrarie to the Articles of the Apostles Creed which they hold necessarily to be believed of all that will be saved As namely Indulgences and a treasurie of Saints merits the reall presence the Popes Supremacie Purgatorie and such like In the Council of Trent the curse Anathema is pronounced upon all such as deny these or any of them Master Perkins first vol. Page 621. The Creed teacheth what every one in particular is to know and believe and a true faith cannot stand without certain knowledge The Papists maintain an implicite or an ignorant faith namely that it is enough to believe as the Church beleiveth though they know not what the Church is nor what the Church believeth And they commend this faith by the example of an old devout father a Colliar who being tempted of the Devil and asked how he believed answered That he believed as the Church believed being asked again how the Church believed he answered As I believe whereupon the Devil as they say was fain to depart C. It should seem it was but a simple Devil for if he had been wise he would have asked him this question What if the Church believe that thou art a fool what would the Colliar think you have answered then M. I think he would have said nothing for if he should have said I believe so too the Devil might then have begged him for a food indeed And yet such fools are the simple and ignorant Papists which content themselves with this kind of faith for thus one may reason with them You are to believe as the Church believeth but the Church believes that you are fools therefore you are to believe so too This their implicite faith every one of himself may have The Devils in some fence may be said to have a better saith then this for they know what is contained in the Scriptures and believe it to be true Mat. 4.6 Iam. 2.19 This fond and ridiculous kind of saith is a notable means to nuzzle people in blindnesse superstition and perpetuall ignorance Again Faith is a certain and true perswasion of the heart whereby we are perswaded and in some measure assured of the forgivenesse of our sins and eternall salvation The Papists say it is presumption to be assured of salvation and will have men to doubt thereof the which is contrary to tht nature of true faith They call the certainty of remission of sins a faithless perswasion and the faith of Devils not of Apostles Concil Trid. Sess 6. cap. 9.12 13. Rhem. Annot. 1. Cor. 9. Sect. 9. DIALOGUE 2. C. Shew me I pray you what things in particular they teach contrary to any Article of the Creed M. I could shew you many but I fear that then I should be tedious to you I will therefore set down onely the chiefest In the second and third Article is described and set forth unto us both the person and office of our Mediator namely that he is both God and man a Prophet Priest and King Concerning his Person although in words they confess him to be God and man yet in deed they deny it for they ascribe to him a body invisible and infinite they teach that he is corporally present in infinite places at once which is proper onely to God and contrary to the nature of a true body And so in effect they do even deny his Manhood The Son of God is called Jesus because he is a Saviour yea the onely and perfect Saviour which saveth us from our sins That is hath delivered us not only from the blame or guiltiâ—ses but fully also from the punishment due to our
vertues of the heathen but splendida peccata glittering dross and beautiful deformities C. Do they teach any thing contrary to the moral Law and to the Doctrine of good works M. They do both teach and practise many things directly contrary to Gods Commandments They teach for good works such things as are not commanded but rather forbidden in the Law of God as namely to go on Pilgrimage to vow single life to fast forty days and forty nights c. First concerning set Pilgrimages unto certain Images there was none of the Fathers did so much as dream of them for Six Six hundred years after Christ at the least Perkins 2 Vol. pag. 541 542. Secondly the necessity of the vow of continency was established first and annexed unto Orders about Three hundred and eighty years after Christ and that by Pope Siricius But it had no universal admission until the time of Pope Hildebrand in the year 1070. Perk. 1 Vol. 583. to 587. 2 Vol. 575 576. Acts and Monuments 1151. Thirdly their Doctrine of single life was never commanded of God nor known in the Primitive Church but hath sprung up since and is indeed the very Doctrine of Devils 1 Tim. 4.13 So as is also the forbidding of meats for Religions sake They teach also that a man may fulfil the Law yea do works of supererogation that is more than the Law doth require and that men of their abundance may allot to others such works of supererogation Rhem. on 1 Cor. 9. sect 6. 2 Cor. 8 sect 3. This Doctrine of theirs makes the Law of God to be unperfect and is directly contrary to the words of Christ Luke 17.10 And it was not know of the Ancient Fathers They spake indeed sometimes of Sepererogation but in a far other senâ—e then Papists do There are no such works to be found in the person of any meer man or Angel but only in the person of Christ God and man Perk. 1 Vol. 598 599. 2 Vol. 540 541. DIALOGUE 8. C. Shew me I pray you in particular what things they teach contrary to the Commandments M. I could plainly prove unto you that they do both teach and practise many things contrary to every one of the Commandments but I will only set down the chiefest and such as most men know to be true The first Commandment concerns the inward worship of God the ground of which worship is the true knowledge of God and without which none can truly worship and serve him for such as our knowledge is such is our worship 1 Chron. 28 9. Psal 9.20 Jer. 9.24 The Papists teach that Ignorance is the mother of devotion but the truth is it is the mother of superstition and Idolatry Gal. 4.8 The Papists therefore being ignorant and without the true knowledg of God cannot truly worship him but must needs be Idolaters worshipping they know not what The first Commandment requireth that we have the true Jehova for our only God They make Christs body to be God because they hold that it may be in many places at once which thing is proper only to God They make the Pope to be God and that in plain words Christopher Marcellus said to the Pope Thou art another God upon earth and the Pope took it to himself Concil Later Sess 4. They give the power to the Pope which is proper to God and so make him to be God As that he can make holy that which is unholy pardon sins c. Perkins 1 Vol. 400. 1. and they give Divine Worship to creatures and so make them their Gods The second Commandment concerneth the outward worship of God or the form and manner of his worship This Commandment they have clean put out of the Decalogue and to fill up the number they divide the last into two The scope of this Commandment is that no Image is to be made of God nor any worship performed to him him in an Image Deut. 4.15 16. But they teach it lawful to make Images of the true God and to worship him in them and that there is a Religious worship due to them Belarm de imag sanct lib. 2. cap. 21. And in the second Nicen Council it was decreed that the Image of God should be worshipped with the same worship that is due unto God Their practice is answerable to their Doctrine for they worship the Images of God of Christ the Saints the wooden Cross yea a piece of bread C. They say that they do not worship the images but God Christ and the Saints in the image M. Suppose that this were true yet in so doing they commit gross Idolatry and the same that the people of Israel did for which God plagued them greatly Exod. 32.5 28. I think there is none so very a Calf as to think that they did worship the Calf it self The Calf was but a representation of God and yet they sinned greatly in making it and worshipping God in it The Heathen in times past could say as much for themselves concerning their worshipping of Images as the Papists now do and yet as they were Idolaters so are the Papists for as touching their superstition and Idolatry blood cannot be more like to blood or an egg to an egg then the one of them is to another The Heathen had for every Nation and Province some peculiar god Among them the Elements had their several gods to rule over them The Heathen had a certain god assigned to their cattel The Heathen had peculiar gods for learning and learned men and for handy-crafts men And all these have the Papists likewise The Heathen erected Altars ordained Priests to offer Sacrifices fell down before their Idols c. So the Papists deck and adorn their Images go on Pilgrimage to them fall down upon their knees before them and make their prayers unto them And what is all this but to worship the very images themselves the which is most gross Idolatry Musculus on Psal 16. verse 4. pag. 139 140. Virels grounds pag. 87. to 92. Attersol on Philemon pag. 63 64. C. They say that there be degrees of Religious Worship the highest is Latria and this is due unto God the lowest is Dulia proper to Saints c. Bellar. de imag Sanct. lib. 2. cap. 25. The Scripture acknowledgeth one only kind of Religious Worship and that due only to GOD Matth. 4.10 Revel 22.9 And this distinction of theirs was not known and received into the Church till Four hundred years after Christ Perk. 1 Vol. pag. 696. 2 Vol. 530. C. Was not the making and worshipping of Images approved of by the Ancient Fathers M. There was no use of Images among Christians especially in their Churches for Three hundred seventy years after Christ Adoration of Images was never publickly authorized till Seven hundred eighty eight years after Christ in the second Council of Nice Perk. 1 Vol. page 696. 2 Vol. 421. If you be disposed to see more at large when Images first came up how they