Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
knowledge_n believe_v faith_n implicit_a 1,688 5 13.6300 5 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A41623 Pulpit-sayings, or, The characters of the pulpit-papist examined in answer to the Apology for the pulpits and in vindication of the representer against the stater of the controversie. Gother, John, d. 1704. 1688 (1688) Wing G1347; ESTC R18623 55,138 78

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

of it he 's no True Son of the Church of England So that tho' the Teachers of this Communion as Establish'd by Law are very industrious to dissuade their Hearers from all Implicit Faith in assenting to Divine Mysteries deliver'd by the Church but that they must be sure not to move one Step beyond their own Sense and Reason otherwise they 'll ●ot believe like Men but pin their Faith on other Mens Sleeves and blindly be led by the Nose Yet when they turn on the other S●●● and ●●e to hear what Popery and the Papists are here they may run o● as blindly as they please an Implicit Faith is now more to the purpose Upon this Implicit Faith they may Hate them on this they may Rail against them 'T is not now here Search and Examin and then Believe and Speak as far as by your own knowledge you find to be True But a Genuine Son of the Church of England is to have a good Stock of this Implicit Faith by him and to Believe and Speak tho' he knows nothing at all And this it is I have often observ'd that Those who are the greatest Begots and rail most bitterly against the Papists are They that know the least of them not so much as my Country-man above not Two Families But why this Vneven kind of Dealing in Men that pretend to so much Conscience and Reason If a Member of the Church of England must not assent to any Mystery of Christianity upon an Implicit Faith for fear of Vnmanning himself forsooth why should he so unworthily betray his own Reason in taking up Calumnies upon Trust for the ruining his Neighbor As if the believing rashly of God or of our Neighbor were not both destructive and to be avoided by every good Christian For my part all that I pretend to here is that all Good Protestant would observe the Rule so often prescrib'd from the Pulpits of Search and Examin That they would Try and see what the Papists are before they condemn them But 't is not in the Pamphlets Books and Sermons of Protestants I would have them seek for this Information for all these I look on only as so many Painted Cloths or Popular Harangues design'd for the making of Crowds and encreasing the number of Admirers No what need of taking it thus upon Trust when at this time there are none but who have opportunity enough of seeing and knowing the Papists themselves and letting their own Eyes their own Ears tell them what the Papists are instead of going to a Lecture and receiving it upon Trust from those who at the same time they are telling what the Papists are are informing their Auditory how silly and unreasonable a thing it is to take things upon Trust and to be contented with an Implicit Faith when they may with much more Security follow their own Sense and Reason their own Eyes and their Ears 'T is thus then I desire Papists should be try'd after the Protestant Way I would have every one examin and see what the Papists are with whom they Converse with whom they Trade or have any Dealing such as are of their Acquaintance or Neighborhood consider and reflect on those who are in any Public Post let them use all their Senses and Reason and strictly look into their Way of Living and Dying their Conversation the Care and Pains they take in order to Salvation and then let them speak freely upon their own knowledge whether the Papists are generally the worst of their Neighborhood whether they are less Conscientious less Humble less Charitable c. than others of any other Persuasion But especially let them have a particular regard to such as are Converts to the Catholic Communion and observe them with a watchful Eye 't is certain if Popery be as Black as 't is Painted and so many Degrees worse than Protestantism 't will be impossible for a Man of Protestant to become Papist but 't will soon be discover'd in the Immorality of his Life and Actions Let these Converts therefore be rigorously observ'd to see whether with the change of Religion they change their Lives too for the worst and appear under all those Foul Colours that are pretended to belong to Popery Let them see in particular whether upon being Papists and going to Confession they are now less scrupulous of offending God and more Debauch'd than they were before as 't is said of the Papists in Protestant Sermons viz. That Confession tends Good Advice to Pulp p. 53. Answer to it p. 21 25. to the Debauching both Laity and Clergy and that the Papists make no other use of Confession than what profess'd Drunkards do of Vomiting Let 'em see whether they take less care of Repenting than they did before or Sin now more confidently presuming upon Popes Pardons and Compounding with Heaven for Money Whether they are less Attentive at their Prayers Dumb and Sensless like Idols at their Devotions in the Church Whether they are so stupid as to Pray to Images To change Scripture into Legends To neglect Repentance because of Purgatory To esteem every thing Meritorious that is for the Church's Interest c. Let all Converts be strictly observ'd as to these and such like Points which are the common Pulpit-Characters of Popery If it be true what is thus solemnly asserted with the Bible in Hand the Truth of it must necessarily appear for these are not meer Speculations confin'd within the Heart and Head but they are such Principles as influence the outward Man and must indispensably regulate the Actions of ones Life so that if this be the common Doctrine of Popery 't will be impossible for so many Professors of that Religion every where to be found and not to discover such an abominable Belief of their Heart in the common Practice of their Lives Since therefore we are come to things of Practice and Fact of which every Man 's own Eyes and Ears may be Judge I challenge Protestants in their own Way I appeal from the Pulpits to the Pews and instead of Implicit Faith pinn'd on the Pulpits require the People to make use of their own Senses To these we are contented to stand and to their Arbitration to refer all the Debate of Misrepresenting If our Lives and Actions our Conversation Living and Dying are so much worse than all the rest of our Neighbors answerable to what we are accus'd of from the Pulpits We are deservedly evil spoken of and for my part I shall willingly receive the Sentence of having my Hands ty'd from ever Penning any thing for the future in favor of a People of such pernicious Principles and detestable Practices and the Church of England I 'll own acquitted from the Charge of Misrepresenting Now in this Appeal I cannot expect that there shall be none Wicked or Scandalous found in our Communion 't is well known that the Perfectest of Creatures the very Angels in Heaven could not pretend to this while