Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	authority_n	church_n	key_n	4,079	5	9.8284	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42255	An answer to Mr. Lowth's letter to Dr. Stillingfleet in another letter to a friend.	Grove, Robert, 1634-1696.	1687 (1687)	Wing G2147; ESTC R31522	34,417	38

this Letter and which does sufficiently signisie how different their apprehensions were from His. But an extraordinary Good-will is extreamly sagacious and by the help of this Mr. Lowth has been inabled to spy out more than any man before him could do After a diligent search in that large Volume he has happened upon a little piece of a sentence which he conceits has a very ill Aspect upon Church-Power And it is this The being of a Chureh supposes this antecedent belief or assent to the Doctrine of Christ in Christians This is Pag. 66. no such Paradox but that 't is likely a far meaner man than the Dean might be able to defend it But he when he has been at some pains to misunderstand it loads it with no less than five and twenty of the most monstrous Consequences that he could think of and at the same rate a man of such a fruitful Imagination as He is might have easily increased the number to five and forty more and after all he gives up the Cause by yielding that Believers in some sense are antecedent to the Church Pag. 69. Which is a Proposition so very like that for which he quarrels the Dean that the most if not all the Objections that are made against the one may be returned with equal force upon the other and as he explains himself not without the Addition of some peculiar Difficulties upon Him. But I will not insist upon them because I cannot perceive how either of the Opinions can be destructive of Church-Power since it is a part of the Antecedent Belief which is granced on both sides that there is a Church and that it is the duty of every one to unite himself unto it and to be obedient to the Governours of it The Dean in his Answer to sever al Treatises has reduced the Authority Answer to several Treat p. 267 c. of the Governours of the Church to these three Heads 1. An Authority of inflicting Censures upon Offenders which is commonly called the Power of the Keys or of receiving into and excluding out of the Communion of the Church 2. An Authority of making Rules and Canons about matters of Order and Decency in the Church 3. An Authority of proposing matters of Faith and directing Men in Religion If you please you may see in that place how every one of these is farther explained the passage is so express and so very apposite to the matter in dispute that Mr. Lowth could by no means wholly avoid it But he strives to hide the Evidence of it as much as may be he only refers to the Pages where it is but dares not trust the Reader with the sight of one word of it for fear he should be convinced by so clear a Testimony that the Dean's opinion of the Authority of the Church was sound and Orthodox Therefore without mentioning what had been said he puts in a blind exception to the whole in gross and affirms considently that notwithstanding all the Dean had spoken in this place yet he Has left the Church without Power to make her Declarations Law. But this he Pag. 76. does not so much as attempt to prove I wish he had for it is plain that here is an Authority to Command attributed to the Church and a Power to inforce her Commands by inflicting of Censures upon all those that will not obey and if this be not enough to make a Law I should be glad to be informed what is But the Authority of making Rules and Canons about matters of Order and Decency was so plainly asserted that there was no denying of it yet he tryes to shift it off by saying that it is no more in effect than what had been said before in Pag. 77. the Irenicum and suppose it be what then That does not any way lessen what is said here but only shew that the very Irenicum it self by his own confession is nothing so bad a Book nor such an irreconcileable Enemy to Church Power as he would make it Upon this he starts out of the way if he were ever in and runs into a Digression full of nothing but vain surmises little to the purpose and never returns to the business in hand till he comes to the Treatise of the unreasonableness of Separation and that he allows to be Competently well done so far as it reaches as I have told you before but then least Pag. 78. any thing of the Dean's should escape without a mark of his displeasure he thinks that All is left still as matter of Dispute c. But that I have shewed already is not so and that there is an obligation to Obedience laid upon the Subject And whosoever shall peruse that whole Discourse without Prejudice must certainly be convinced that the Dean has given abundant satisfaction for any former Mistakes about Church-Power The last thing is Episcopacy and here the Charge is but short but it is very vehement and pathetical You have made no satisfaction at all to the Church of God for that Irenicum Doctrine which equals the Presbyter Pag. 83. with the Bishop What None at all No There is not any thing like amends for it in all your Writings that I have met with Then I guess there may be some which have not yet fallen into his hands But let us see what he has met with It is true you often speak of Episcopacy as the most Antient Government deriveable from the Apostles Sure this too is Competently well done so far something like amends at least But what should there be wanting to make it compleat why this You have not any where asserted it in the number of those Institutions and Practices Pag. 84. Apostolical which are perpetual and immutable And until you say this all you can say besides is to no purpose Well since it is resolved that nothing else shall serve the turn pray do but look into the Discourse of the unreasonableness of Separation and consider whether there be not enough said in that Book to make it appear than it was really the Dean's Opinion that the Episcopal Government was unalterable Or if this will not suffice I think there is something in the Two-penny Paper that may For in that the Dean tells us that He does now think much more is to be said for the Apostolical Institution of Episcopacy than he at that time apprehended when he wrote the Irenicum Here Episcopacy is acknowledged to be of Apostolical Institution and that implies it to be perpetual and immutable For though some things of meer Apostolical Practice may those that are of Apostolical Institution cannot be changed whatever they appointed to be observed in the Church no Power upon Earth has Authority to alter But if this be not enough yet then I desire you to consult the Four-penny Sermons in which Mr. Lowth cannot deny some Errors which he imputes to the Dean to have been Retracted and in