Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A30368
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An enquiry into the reasons for abrogating the test imposed on all members of Parliament offered by Sa. Oxon.
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Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing B5813; ESTC R4008
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13,002
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8
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Popery even under a Prince of that Religion but as he would turn the matter it amounts to this That that Law might be of good use in that season to lay the Jealousies of the Nation till there were a Prince on the Throne of that Communion and then when the turn is served it must be thrown away to open the only door that is now shut upon the Re-Establishment of that Religion This is but one Hint among a great many more of the state of Affairs at the time that this Act of the TEST was made shew that the Evidence given by the Witnesses had no other share in that matter but that it gave a rise to the other Discoveries and a fair Opportunity to those who knew the Secret of the Late King's Religion and the Negotiation at Dover to provide such an effectual Security as might both save the Crown and secure the Religion and this I am sure some of the Bishops knew who to their Honour were faithful to both The Third Reason he gives for Repealing the Act is the incompetent Authority of those who Enacted it for iâ— was of an Ecclesiastical nature and here He stretches out His Wings to a Top fligâ—t and charges it with nothing less than the Deposing of Christ from His Throne the disowning neglecting and aâ—fronting his Commission to his Catholick Church and entrenching upon this Sacred Prerogative of his Holy Catholick Church and then that He might have occasion to feed his Spleen with railing at the whole Order he makes a ridiculous Objection of the Bishops being present in the House of Lords that He might shew His respect to them by telling in a Parenthesis that to their Shame they had consented to it But has this Scaramuchio no Shame left him Did the Parliament pretend by this Act to make any Decision in those two Points of Transubstantiation and Idolatry Had not the Convocation defined them both for above an Age before In the 28 th Article of our Church these words are to be found Transubstantiatien or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved by Holy Writ but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture overthrows the nature of a Sacrament and hath given occasion to many Superstitions and for the Idolatry of the Church of Rome that was also declared very expresly in the same Body of Articles since in the Article 35 the Homiliys are declared to contain a godly and wholesome Doctrine necessary for those times and upon that it is judged that they should be read in the Churches by the Ministers diligently and distinctly that they may be understood of the People And the Second of these which is against the Peril of Idolatry aggravates the Idolatry of that Church in so many particulars and with such severe Expressions that those who at first made those Articles and all those who do now sign them or oblige others to sign 'em must either believe the Church of Rome to be guilty of Idolatry or that the Church of England is the Impudentest Society that ever assumed the Name of a Church if she proposes such Homilies to the People in which this Charge is given so home and yet does not believe it Her Self A man must be of Bays's pitch to rise up to this degree of Impudence Upon the whole matter then these points had been already determined and were a part of our Doctrine enacted by Law all that the Parliament did was only to take these out of a great many more that by this Test it might appear whether they who came into either House were of that Religion or not and now let our Reasoner try what he â—an make out of this or how he can justifie the Scandal that he so boldly throws upon his Order as if they had as much as in them lay destroyed the very being of a Christian Church and had profanely pawned the Bishop to the Lord and betraied the Rights of the Church of England as by Law established in particular as well as of the Church Catholick in general p. 8.9 All this shews to whom he was pawned both the Bishop and the Lord and something else too which is both Conscience and Honour if he has any left When one reflects on two of the Bishops that were of that Venerable Body while this Act passed whose Memory will be blessed in the present and following Ages those two great and good Men that filled the Sees of Chester and Oxford he must conclude that as the World was not worthy of them so certainly their Sees were not worthy of them since they have been plagued with such Successors that because Bays delights in Figures taken from the Roman Empire I must tell him that since Commodus suceeded to Marcus Aurelius I do not find a more incongrous Succession in History With what sensible regret must those who were so often edified with the Gravity the Piety the Generosity and Charity of the late Bishop of Oxford look look on when they see such a Harleguin in his room His fourth Reason is taken from the uncertainty and falsehood of the matters contained in the Declaration it self pag. 9. for our Comedian maintains his Character still and scorns to speak of Establish'd Laws with any Decency here he puts in a paragraph as was formerly marked which belonged to his Second Reason but it seems some of those to whom he has pawn'd himself thought he had not said enough on that head and therefore to save blottings he put it in here After that he tells the Genty that Transubstantiation was a Notion belonging to the School-men and Metaphysitians and that he may bespeak their Favour he tells them in very soft words That their Learning was more polite and practicable in the Civil Affairs of Human Life to understand the Rules of Honour and the Laws of their Countrey the practice of Martial Discipline and the Examples of Great Men in former Ages and by them to square their Actions in their reâ—â—â—â—tive Stationâ— and the life But â—ine the Bishop is here without his Fiocco yet at least for Decencys sake he should have named Religion and Virtue among the pâ—oper Studies of the Gentry and if he dares not trust them with the reading the Scriptures yet at least they might read the Articles of our Church and hearken to the Homilies for tho it has been long one of the first Maxims that he has infused into all the Clergy that come near him that the People ought to be brought into an 〈…〉 ance in matters of Religion that Preaâ—â—ing ought to be laid aside for a Preaching Church could not stand that in Sermons no points of Doctrine ought to be explained and that only the Rules of Human Life ought to be told the People yet after all they may read the short Articles and tho they were as blindly Implicit as he would wish them to be yet they would without more Enquiry find
Transubstantiation to be condemned in them Next he Triumphs over the renouncing of it pag. 11. as too bold and too prophane an Affront to Almighty God when men Abjure a thing which it is morally impossible for them to understand And he appeals to the Members of both Houses whom in a fit of Respect he calls Honourable after he had Reproach'd them all he could if they have any distinct Idea or Notion in their minds of the thing they here so Solemnly Renounce I do verily believe none of them have any distinct Notion of Transubstantiation and that it is not only Morally but Phisically impossible for them to understand it But one would think thet this is enough for declaring that they do not Believe it since the TEST contains no declaration concerning Transubstantiation it self whether it is a True or a False Doctrine but only concerning the Belief of him that takes it And if one can have no distinct Notion of it so that it is morally impossible for him to understand it he may very well declare That he does not believe it After a Farâ—e of a â—light Story he concludes that there seems to be nothing but a prophane Levity in the whole matâ—er and a shameless abuse put upon God and Religion to carry on the Wicked Designs of a Rebel-Faction For he cannot for his heart abate an ace of his Insolence even when he makes the King Lords and Commons the subject of his scoâ—â— Certainly whatever his Character is it ought not to be expected that a man who attacks all that is sacred under God and Christ should not be treated as he deserves it were a feeble weakness to have so great a regard to a Character that is so prostituted by him He tells us pag. 47. That all Parties agree in the thing and that they differ only in the word and mâ—nner and here he makes a long excursion to shew his Learning in tacking a great many things together which passes with Ignorant Readers as a mark of his great Reading whereas in this as well as in all his other Books in which any shews of Learning appear those who have searched into the Fountains see that he doeâ— nothing but gather from the Collection of others onlâ— he spoils them with the Levities of his Buâ—â—oâ—n-Stile and which is worse with his Dis-ingenuity I leave all these matters to be exaâ—ined by those who have leisure for it and â—hat think him worth their pains But asfor Traâ—substantiation the words that I have cited from out of our Articles shew plainly that it is rejected in our Church so that he is bound either to renounce it or to renounce our Church therefore all that shew he makes with our History comes to nothing since whatever he may say with relation to Edwarâ— the Sixth's Reign it cannot be denied but they were Enacted by the Convocation in the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's Reign and tâ—ey have been ever since the Doctrine of our Church so that without going further this is now our Doctrine and since Sa. Oxon carries the Authority of the Convocation so high he will find the Original Record of these Artiâ—les in Corpus-Christi College in Cambridge subscribed by the Members of both Houses in which there is a much more Positive Decision then is in the Prints not only against Transubâ—tantiation but against any Corporal or Real Preâ—â—â—ce of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacraâ—â—â—â— And if he will give himself scope to rail at those who suppressed this I leave him to his Liberty But here is the formal decision of this Church and the pretending that there was no Evidence of Cranmer's Opinion but in an unknown Manuscript or a famous Invisible Manuscript p. 49 47. when there are two Books writ on this matter by Cranmeâ— himself and when all the Disputes in Queen Mary's Time besides those that were both in Oxford and Cambridge in King Edward's Time shew so clearly That this was his Doctrine is a strain becoming his Sinceâ—ity that gives this among many other Essays of the Trust that is due to him But it seems he thought that Dr. Tillotson Dr. Stillingfleet and Dr. Burnet besides some others wâ—om he does not Name had not Reputation enough in the World and therefore he intended to raise it by using them ill which is all the effect that his Malice can have He had set on one of his poor under-workmen some years ago to decry the Manuscript which Dr. Stillingfleet had in his keeping for above Twenty Yeaâ—s and which Dâ— Burnet had in his Hands for many months and which â—hey shewed to as many as desired to see it but thâ—t had turned so much to his Shame that first vented the Calumny that it seems he summoned Sa. Oxon to appear his Second in the Slander and he whose Brow is of so peculiar a Composition will needs bring it here tho ever so impertinently But I forgive the Hatred that he bears both to that Manúscript and to those Doctors since nothing could be less to the Satisfâ—ction of those for whom he published his Book then to see the Mature and Regular Methods in which the Reformation was advanced For the Bishops and Divines were appointed to Examine all Points with much Care and to bring every man His Opinion in Writing all which were compared very faithfully and upon these the Decisions were made There are many other Papers yet extant which by comparing the Hands shew these to be Originals and they were in the Salisbury Family probably ever since they were at first brought together Their Ancestor the Lord Burghly who was Secretary of State in Edward the Sixth's time gathered them up and as appears in a Letter â—nder his own Hand yet extant he had 6 or 7 Volâ—mes of them of which Dr. Stilling fleet had only two but Dr. Burnet saw two more of these Volumes The History of the Reformation sells still so well that I do not believe Mr. Chiswell the Printer of it has made any present to this Reasoner to raise its price for to attack it with so much malice and yet not to offer one Reason to lessen its Credit is as effectual a Recommendation as this Author can give it He pretends that Dr. Burnets Design was to make Cranmer appear a meer Sacrameâ—tarian as to Doctrine as he had made him appear an Erastian as to Discipline and he thinks the vain Man was flattered into all the pains he took that he might give Reputatioâ— to the Errours of his Patrons and that those two grand Forgeries are the grand Singularities of his History and the main things that gave it Popular Vogue and Reputation with his Party So that were these two blind Stories and the Reasons depending upon them retrenched it would be like the shaving off Samsons hair and destroy all the strength peculiar to the History But to all this stuff I shall only say 1. That the Charge of Forgery falls back on the Reasoner