Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	according_a	church_n	true_a	3,494	5	4.5949	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45377	Some necessity of reformation of the publick doctrine of the Church of England. Or a modest and brief reply to Dr Pearson's modest and learned, No necessity of reformation of the publick doctrine of the Church of England. Directed to Dr Pearson himself. By William Hamilton gent.	Hamilton, William, gent.	1660 (1660)	Wing H489; ESTC R207963	20,948	32

according as you consider Doctrine to wit abstractedly from the publicknesse of it and from being the Confession of the Church of England that is considering the Doctrine in its self which I humbly conceive you should not have done For though for my part I think you deserve great praise and thanks for being so distinct candid and cleer in the way that you have taken yet I doubt whether that was the way fully to oppose and contradict the Ministers meaning you considering the Doctrine in its self and thereto applying a scholastical Dispute and examination of their reasons as if they were brought against that and they sufficiently disowning both if I understand them rightly Therefore partly your distinguishing where they intended no distinction and partly your not distinguishing where they would most have had distinction have been so farre from removing misconception between you that in my humble opinion this hath fixed a continued misconceiving almost through the whole dispute That this may appear I shall humbly propose my judgement to you and them and leave it to both to be considered of as either or both shall think it deserves in relation to truth and right which I only seek 1. Then I conceive that they speak of the publick Doctrine of the Church of England not as in its self but as aggregated with the due qualifications of it publicknesse and the Church of Englands propriety in it but not of the Doctrine considered in its self and abstractedly from these as you do because they held the Articles of Religion as the publick and national confession of the Religion of the Church of England according to the Stat. 13. Eliz. speaking of the Articles of Religion as they concern the confession of the true Christian faith and the Dactrine of the Sacraments i.e. as they hold forth the publick and national confession of the Church of England and her Doctrine of the Sacraments And as thus considered they held the Articles rather to stand in need of a Reformation for their too much generalnesse wherein alwayes is included doubtfulnesse as to determining of controversies which the Ministers meant according to that Dolus est in generalibus and defectivenesse to make a good and perfect enough confession of Faith for so famous a reformed Church as England was than for any unsoundnesse of them in themselves which they intended not to impugne Secondly they doubted of the establishment of the Articles as a sufficient enough confession of the Church of England and in what notion the Church was to be taken when they are so call'd and accounted her confession which distinction of Church that they desired they have not yet obtained and so the doubtfulnesse of the Articles or at least the defectivenesse of them as the confession of the Church of England in the best and rightest notion of it is not yet removed For a publick confession of a National Church is much concerned in the undoubted establishment it hath from a right and sufficient authority and as much concerned in the right and best notion of the Church whose confession it is said to be and as long as the establishment is doubtfull or defective and insufficient or the authority doubtfull or defective and insufficient so long must the publicknesse of that confession and so farre will it be doubtfull and defective or insufficient And as long as the Church is doubtful or defective and not taken in a right enough notion whose confession it is said to be so long will the confession be subject to much imperfection and but an individuum vagum a vulgivagous thing that can lay no certain claim either to right father or mother here below For these therefore and more particular considerations the Ministers thought it necessary to be reformed or in a state of necessity to be reformed By this time Sir I believe you perceive how I think they have stated the Question in their mind and meaning Their stating of the Question appears to me by their Conclusion which they laid down to be proved and by their manner of proving of it and setting down their main scope and work that they intended Their conclusion which we have set down before we take in their meaning to be equivalent to his It is needfull that the Church of England have and hold forth a more distinct and perfect forme of her truely and rightly so called Nationall confession of faith and of her Doctrine of the Sacraments than the thirty nine Articles amount to Their manner of proving it will appear when we answer your particulars from which for brevities sake and avoiding repetitions we will abstaine here and deferre to set down untill then Their main scope and work that they intended they show not to have been an opposing the Doctrine of the thirty nine Articles as considered in it self seeing 1. They told you That the assembly at Westminer approved that as so considered and thought it fit to be retained but with all to be more fully cleared and explained for exclusion of Arminianisme and other like errors and to have more added to it which it should have had for bearing the reputation of a sufficient Nationall confession with pertinent Scripture-proofs to manifest that the very Articles themselves and all the rest are all evidently grounded upon the Word of God whereas the Articles wanted these there being no Text of Scripture produced in them to make out any one of them This is clear enough evidence that the Ministers intended not to impugne the Doctrine of the thirty nine Articles as in it self considered See pag. 17. of their Book last Impres and 1 2. at the end of each 2. In their Epistle to the Parliament They sufficiently told any that they intended no such opposition to the thirty nine Articles while they professed their work chiefly was out of the Laws which they as Ministers were bound to take speciall notice of and out of the Books said to be by those Laws setled to make good these two things 1. That so farre as they could apprehend nether the Articles of Religion the Books of Common Prayer or Ordination the Jurisdiction of Bishops claimed before 17o Car. 1. nor so much as their being as Bishops sithence nor the Canons so much contended for are indeed established by Law 2. That none of these as they now stand meaning of the Articles in particular as they are commonly held of themselves to be a sufficient summe or Confession publick of the Doctrine of the Church of England ought to be confirmed and setled But all with submission say they And before immediately they seem sufficiently to insinuate that they intended no impugnation of the Doctrine in the Articles as in its self considered because say they We offer no polemicall discourse or theologicall debates proper for a Divinity-Schoole or Synod but only what we humbly conceive more suitable to a Parliament But had that been their drift theologically to impugne the Doctrine of the