Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	authority_n	church_n	infallible_a	2,260	5	9.5871	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07935	The Bishop of London his legacy. Or certaine motiues of D. King, late Bishop of London, for his change of religion, and dying in the Catholike, and Roman Church VVith a conclusion to his bretheren, the LL. Bishops of England.	Musket, George, 1583-1645.	1623 (1623)	STC 18305; ESTC S102862	100,153	188

the second Amussis Regula or the Propounder of the articles of fayth Now from hence it proceedeth that whosoeuer denyeth any one Truth propounded by the Church to whom God reuealeth it doth not beleiue any other Article with a true fayth Since the authority of the Church doth indifferently and alyke propound all Articles to be beleiued Therefore who beleiueth the Article of the Trinity or the Resurrection of the body through the Authority of the Church propounding them to be beleiued will also beleiue Freewill Prayer to Saints c. and any other poynt seeing these are no lesse propounded by the Church to be beleiued as reuealed by God then the former are Thus it is euident that who beleiueth one article of true Christian fayth and beleiueth not another this Man beleiueth not any one article by reason of the authority of Gods Church and consequently hath no true supernaturall fayth at all which is auaileable to Saluation but beleiueth it in regard only of the probability of the point in his Iudgment and thus it is not Beleife but Opinion only in such a Man For seeing the same credit and affiance is euer to be giuen in all things to the same authority whosoeuer doth not beleiue the said authority in any one poynt doth not as is said beleiue it in any other from whence it followeth that the authority of God his Church is equally contemned in the denyall of the smallest articles as of praying to Saints Purgatory c. as in the greatest articles of the Trinity Incarnation or any other sublime and high mystery The second Reason It is peculiar to Vertues Theologicall and Infused to be obliterated and extinguished by one only contrary Act. Thus for example one mortall Sinne wholy taketh away Charity and Grace One act of desperation the vertue of Hope the same may be exemplifyed in the vertues of Pēnance Religion and others Now heere by the same reason I inferre that one Heresy I meane an obstinate mātayning of any one errour in fayth how small soeuer against the authority of Gods Church depriueth a man of true fayth which as other Vertues aboue are is supernaturall theologicall and infused In this next place we will see how the iudgments of auncient Fathers do approue the former doctryne Two or three for instance shall serue And first that light of the Latin Church I meane S. Augustine (y) Lib. 18. de ciuil Dei c. 91. doth thus pensill forth an Heretyke Qui in Ecclesia Christi aliquid prauuns sapiunt si correpti vt sanum rectumque sapiant resistant contu naciter Haeretici fiunt foras exeuntes habentur in exercentibus Haereticis That is Who beleiueth any wronge or false thing in the Church of God and being admonished to beleiue the truth do resist contumaciously they become Heretyks and departing out of the Church they are reputed for open and willfull Heretyks S. Ambrose thus answerably wryteth (z0 Lib. ● in Luc. 〈◊〉 9. Negat Christū qui non omnia quae Christi sunt cōfitetur he denyeth Christ who beleiueth not all poynts or articles concerning Christ. Thus who denyeth Lymbus Patrum denieth that Christ descended therinto and consequenly he denyeth Christ Finally S. Gregory (a) Orat. ●7 Nazianzene thus elegantly conspireth heerto Vnum vnicohaeret ex ijs quaedam verè aurea salutaris fit catena ideo si vel vnum dogma auferatur aut reddatur incertum tota catena disrumpetur That is One Article of fayth is so cohering with another that of them all there is made a goalden and healthfull chayne of fayth so as if but one article be taken away or made but doubtfull the whole chayne becommeth broken See the lyke agreeing testimonyes in (b) Apud Theod. l. 4. hist. c. 19. Basil (c) Lib. ● Apolog. contr Ruf. Ierome (d) Lib. 1. epist 6. ad Magnum Cyprian and (e) In Sym. Athanasius The auncient Fathers mynd in this poynt is manifested besydes by their particular Sentences from the practize of the Primitiue Church against Heretikes I meane from the perusall of the Catalogues of heeresyes written by them as is euident out of the Catalogues of heresyes and other such wrytings composed by Irenaeus Hierome Epiphanius Augustine Theodoret Philastrius and others in all which we shall find diuers condemned and branded for expresse Heretickes for their willfull maintayning in our iudgments but small errours though otherwise they belieued al the chiefe points of Christian fayth as the Trinity the Incarnation and the like For proofe wherof I will heere alleadg the wordes of S. Austine against the Pelagians whom he absolutly resolutly condemneth for Heretikes for their belieuing that man could keep the law of God only by force of nature without the force of Gods grace His words are these Nec (f) Epist 120. c. 37. tales sunt Pelagiani c. Neither are the Pelagians such men as thou shouldest easily contemne them for they liue continently are laudable in good works they beleiue not in a false Christ as the Manichees do c. yet because they are ignorant of the iustice of God endeauouring to make it their owne they are Heretyks and cast out of the Church And thus far for a touch of the practize of the ancient Church and the Fathers lyke conspyring testimonyes heerein where I may remit the Reader to what hath beene aboue alleadged touching the condeminatiō by the Primitiue Fathers of our Protestant doctrynes Which auncient Fathers as being learned and vertuous neither would nor durst register any for Heretyks but those who by the whole Church of God were reputed for Heretyks as afore I haue ●●ted which point is made more euident in that we do not fynd any one of the said Fathers among so many to be contradicted by any other orthodoxall Father for such his proceeding But to leaue humane authority and to come to diuyne if we looke into Gods sacred Word it is cleare that who maintayneth any one Heresy the same hath no more true hope of his saluation then a Heathen or a Publican for we fynd our Sauiour to vse this commination Qui (g) Matt. 18. Ecclesiam non audi●●it c. He that will not heare the Church let him be to thee as a Heathen or Publican Where we may obserue that Christ said not Who will not heare the Church in all things but absolutely pronounced Who will not heare the Church If then a Sectary or Heretyke will not heare the authority of the Church proposing such and such poynts for example of Freewill Indulgences Prayer for the dead c. to be beleiued how shall he escape the Anathema heere threatned And though these wordes immediatly be intended of fraternall correction yet à fortiori they are to be vnderstood of him who reiects the authority of the Church in matters of fayth Since this mans contēpt towards the Church is farre greater lesse pardonable For who refuset● to

Vocation and Mission and yet withall most vncertaine in it selfe since euery Heretyke stamping any new blasphemyes whatsoeuer may with the lyke indifferency and freedome assume to himself this extraordinary Calling or Mission to preach his said blasphemyes And thus far heerof where we see that without any example since the Apostles tymes till the dayes of Luther we reduce the warrātablenes of our owne Callinge to the Ministery to our owne bate and naked iustifying of it as at other tymes we presume to recall the authority of the Scripture the exposition of confessed Scripture the testimonyes of the Fathers and the continuall practise of the whole Church to the ballance and examination of our owne priuate Spirit Such a Fastus Magistrality we do take to our selues in laying the first fundamentall stones of Protestancy But in the last place when all other shews of answers are wanting rhen we flatly peremptorily reiect their authorityes pronouncing them to be absolute mātayners of Papistry Touching our sharp seuere condemnations passed vpon them both in particular and in generall I referre the Reader to the former chapter concerning our reiecting of the Fathers But euen heer we show our selues not impoliticke and thus we varnish ouer our bad cause with this borrowed colour When our Aduersaryes charge vs for reiecting the Fathers testimonyes in proofe of the present Roman Religion our accustomed shift is to turne the question controuerted from the authority of the Father alleadged to the authority of the Scripture saying in such and such a doctrine the Papists relye vpon the Fathers men subiect to errour whereas we (a) Answerabey heereto Beza thus sayth If any shal oppose against me the authority of the encient Fathers I do appeale to the word of God So related by D. Bancroft in his Suruey p. 219. Protestants in the same poynts rest vpon Scripture thus subtilly making an Antithesis opposition between the Scripture and the Fathers And we appeale to all learned men say they whether the Scripture is not to be preferred before the Fathers This reason in a cleare eye is transparent for the Question heere is not whether the Scripture is to be preferred before the Fathers since the Catholyks grant that the Scripture as being most diuyne certaine and infallible is to ouerballance by infinite degrees all other wrytings whatsoeuer but the touch of the point heere controuerted is whether the auncient Fathers vrging the Scripture are to be preferred before the Protestants vrging the Scripture that is whether the expositions of the Fathers giuen vpon places of scripture in proofe of the Papists religion as we call them are to ouersway the contrary expositions of the same texts giuen by our nouellizing Brethren And heere the question resteth But I will close this poynt touching the Fathers with a cautelous and pregnant obseruation of our Brethren Whereas we reiect the Fathers for maintayning the Papists religion the articles of the same religion as they are beleiued by our Aduersaryes we (b) This different ap●ellation is precisely obserued by Illyri●us and the other Century wryters by D. VVhitak and by diuers other Protestāts vsually tearme Heresyes Idolatry blasphemyes c. therby to show that the Papists are no members of Christs Church the which very articles being taught by the Fathers we gently style them in the Fathers naeuos naeniae and at the most e●rores sears blemishes and errours to the end to intimate that we do not separate our selues from that Church in which the Fathers are Deceitfully and withall vnlearnedly either Heresyes in all or but blemishes and errours in all since it is the doctryne which denominates and giues appellation to the Man not the Man to the doctryne Hitherto we haue taken in part a view of the seuerall sleights practized in our answeres to the Catholyks authorityes Next we will call to mynde our lyke carriage houlden by vs in impugning our Aduersaryes and their doctryne And first touching Councells or Definitions of the Pope When we make show to produce either of these authorityes against the Catholykes we commonly vrge some Prouinciall or Nationall Councell vnder the name of a generall Councell the difference wherein an ignorant Reader doth not easily discouer Or els we produce some one or other Councell which for number of Bishops assembled may be tearmed Generall yet Schismaticall that is a Councell not celebrated and allowed by the cheife Pastours of Gods Church and thus we vrge the Councell of Constantinople assembled against the doctrine touching Images Anno Dom. 730. it being very numerous but celebrated without the authority of the Pope or any Patriarch the Patriarch of Constantinople only excepted who for assenting to the Councell was depriued of his Patriarchship Sometymes againe we insist in the authority of a lawfull generall Councell to proue the beginning of som poynt of our Aduersaryes doctrin but then our vrging of it is commonly attended on with a wilfull mistaking for the Councell doth but only first impose the name of the article the doctryne it self being beleiued many ages before Thus doth D. (c) Lib 7. contra Duraeum pag 480. Whitaker besyds diuers others of vs alleadg the Councell of Lateran for bringing first in the doctrine of Transubstantion Whereas this Councell only imposed the name of Transubtantiation as the Councell of Nice did the name of Tr●nity the doctryne being receaued longe afore the doctryne of Transubstantiation being generally many ages afore beleiued and taught by Cyrill (d) Peter Martyr contra Gardiner part 4. p. 724. Cyprian (e) The treatise attributed to Vrsinus called Commonefactio cui●sdā Theologi de sancta Coena p. 2.1 Eusebius (f) Centurists Ceut 4. col 10. pag. 980. Emissenus (g) Centurists Cent. 5. col 517. Chrysostome (h) D. Humfrey Iesuit sm part 2 ●at 5. Gregory the great euen by our owne Confessions When we obiect the Decree of any Pope thereby to shew the first Institution of such a Catholyke poynt we often make choyce of some Catholyke articles where the Decree of the Pope toucheth only the execution or practise of the doctrine afore partly intermitted through negligence and not the doctryne it self In this sort we fynd D Whitaker who hath much dishonored his good parts by these vnworthy proceedings to alledge Innocentius the third Pope of that name saying (i) Contr● Duraeum l. 7. p. 490. Innocentius the third was the first that instituted an●icular Confession for necessary Whereunto our Aduersaryes doe answere that this Innocentius commanded that the practise of Confession should be better and more often obserued they further prouing euen by the confession of our owne Centurists that Tertullian and Cyprian who liued longe before Innocentius the third did teach to vse the Centurists (k) Cent. 3. c. 6. c. 27. words Confession euen of thoughts and lesser Sinnes With the same fraud doth e D. Whitaker charge Pope Calixius (l) Lib 7. centra

and vertually only others which is the more sound opinion that he descended in soule and really But all of them belieue that there was a true Lymbus Patrum which is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or conclusion it selfe from whence Christ deliuered the soules of the Patriarks And I referre to any schollers iudgment this inference Some Papists do teach belieue that Christ did descend into Lymbus Patrum only vertually or efficaciously others and this with farre greater consent that he descended in soule and really Ergo some of them doe belieue there was not a Lymbus Patrum exorbitantly concluded To this Head may also be referred how our Protestant (y) D. Iewell in his Apology of the Church of England p. 96. D. Fulke in his answere to a counterfeit Catholike pag. 65. D. VVillet in his Synops p. 60. Doctours they are not ashamed to vrge it and yet I am halfe ashamed but to relate it for proofe of disagreements in Catholyke Religion haue obiected the diuers Religious Orders in the Church of Rome to wit that some are Bernardins other Franciscans and the lyke some goe in blacke other in graye or whyte these doe eate flesh those do not c. These argumentes as discouering our extreme penury of better stuff were far more conueniently forborne then insisted vpon fince they proue no contrariety at all in matters of fayth for they all beleiue the same articles of Catholyke Religion but only do show who were the first beginners of those Orders and that some members of the Catholyke Church do liue in a more gentle and remisse others in a more strict and seuere degree of deuotion and Vertue lyke the Centurion and Zachaeus who by different wayes honored Christ Neuertheles they all take the three essentiall Vowes I meane of Chastity Pouerty and Obedience necessary to euery Religious Order and by their first Institution do spend much tyme in Prayer which is the Winge of the Soule much tyme in fasting and other corporall chastisements the winges of Prayer good Men still mortifying both body and Soule their Will being indeed to deny their Will and their freedome consisting in restraint of Liberty comforting themselues with that sentence of Augustin Omnia inucnit an De● qui propter Deum ●mnia relinquit And thus far hereof Concerning the Markes of the Church what stratagems of wit do we vse Do we (z) So teacheth D. VVhitguift in his defence of the answer p. 81. Calu. insti c. 1 sect ●● D. VVhitaker cont Campian rat ● pag. 44. and others not mantayne as a Cardinall poynt of our Profession that the true preaching of the Word and administration of the Sacraments are the only signes of the true Church to distinguish it from all false Synagogues and hereticall Conuenticles To what end are these erected by vs for Notes To the end forsooth that our selues alone may be the sole iudges which is the true Church For we reiect all authority of Fathers Councells and practise of Gods Church in teaching when and where the Word is truly preached and the Sacraments duly ministred and in the closure of all we will suffer no other Iudgments then our owne to passe vpon these poyntes though euery registred Heretyke may and will with as great confidence in his owne Opinion challenge these Notes to his Church and Professours as we do And thus by these Meandrian wynding we reduce the knowing which is the true Church vnto the graue Appeale made to our owne Priuate Spirit aboue discouered within the vast Circumference whereof this particuler Collusion besydes many others is contayned I haue beene ouer longe in reuealing our owne blemishes and scarrs so Light discouereth Shame and indeed I greiue as tendring my Brethrens reputation that so vnworthy a subiect should so longe arrest my Pen. Therefore I will close vp in few words diuers other sophistications subtiltyes practized by vs both in impugning and answering our Aduersaryes As how we are accustomed to depraue either by adding to or concealing part of the sentence in the testimonyes of the Authors produced by vs I speake confidently for vpon my owne knowledge we Protestants rest inexcusable heerin As also how after the end of the authority produced in a different letter we begin with some few short words of our owne directly against Catholyke Religion causing them to be printed in the lyke different letter that so the Reader through diuersity of the letter may take them for the words of the for mer alledged Authour And if we be expostulated thereof we then ascrybe it to the Printers ouersight And for the better preuenting of all discouery thereof as also when we vrge some authorityes without corrupting the words yet insisted vpon by vs most differently from the Authours mynd we often all●adg the Authours name only but without any citation of the Booke where such words are to be found and if of the Booke yet without noting the chapter of solio or if with noting the folio yet not shewing what edition when their are diuers we do follow seeing the same sentence or authority in seuerall Editions is to be found in seuerall folios Also I briefly passe ouer how ambitiously and affectedly we fill the margents of our Bookes with numberles citations of Texts of Scripture meerely impertinent for proofe of the poynt questioned but seruing only to cast dust to the eyes of the ignorant How in refuting our Aduersaryes Booke when we seeme to answere to some obiected Authority or argument we often giue slip to the authority or point produced and either by degrees flye to the state of the Question as though afore it were not acknowledged or to the Scripture the accustomed Ocean of Heretyks wherein they may wander vp and downe at large or to some by-circumstance (a) Hier. in epist ad Paulinum Sola Scripturarī● ars est quam sibi passim omnes vendicant● bane garrut● anus hanc destrus Senex hane Sophista verbosus hanc vniuersi praesumūt lacerant docent ●n requam discunt meerely accessory to the doubt there controuerted or vse longe and extrauagant discourses ambages of Words and all this to entertayne the Reader therewith that so vnespyedly we may diuert the Readers eye and memory being thus fixed vpon our digressions from the Authority or Reason alleadged And finally how in our Answering we still set down in our books only such passages of our Aduersaryes wrytings whereunto we are able to giue best colour of answere concealing the most materiall and forcing proofes and arguments of our Aduersaryes said Books Or if pretending integrity we do reprint our Aduersaryes Books at large then we commonly make choyce of a very darke and litle Character or letter for it therby more easily to withdrawe the Readers eye from perusing it at full our owne answere thereto being set downe in a fayre large and pleasing letter or Print So cautelous and subtill we are in our proceedings heerin But inough of this