Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	christian_a	church_n	know_v	3,308	5	4.1095	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57286	A Rowland for an Oliver: or, a sharp rebuke to a sawcy levite In answer to a sermon preach'd by Edward Oliver, M.A. before Sir Humphry Edwin late Lord Mayor of London, at St. Paul's Cathedral, on Sunday October 22. 1698. By a lover of unity.	Ridpath, George, d. 1726.	1699 (1699)	Wing R1462A; ESTC R219686	15,209	25

of the Primitive Church in the Times of the Apostles that there were no other Ceremonies then to be found in her but the Celebration of Baptism by washing of Water and of the Holy Supper a●cording to the Lord's Institution in taking the Bread and Wine and distributing them after thanksgiving and the Imposition of Hands upon those who extraordinarily received the Holy Ghost and for a 〈…〉 the Sick I would pray then this Youngster to consider whether the Judgment of those Great Men of his own side or that or such an Upstart as he is most to be valued and whether we have not reason to reject those Ceremonies when Camero a Friend of their own says in the same place The Superstition the Mother of Cere●onies 〈…〉 and prodigal Spiritual Whoredam 〈◊〉 it is 〈…〉 with the Bodily both of 'em most have their Pa●●●ings their Trinket● and Inv●aglements I could give him more Quotations of this sort but these are enough to 〈◊〉 the World that it were fitter for him to go home to Corpus Christi● College and read a little more than thus to endeavour to perpetuate a Schism in the body of Christ by Preaching up those Ceremonies which the Greatest Men of the Church have complained they were forc'd to comply with out or Necessity and not out of choice If he did but ●dve●t to his own Concession that the Romanists take both from the Truth and Spirituality of the Christian Religion by confounding their Will-Worship and Idolatry with the Essentials of Christianity it were enough to cure him of his Fondness for Ceremonies and I would fain know of him whether enjoining the Sign of the Cross in Baptism and kneeling at the Communion which he cannot pretend have any other Foundation but the Will of Man don't fall under the same Charge he brings against Popish Will-Worship so that our Author has been as unhappy i● stumbling upon this Parallel as the E. of Roscommon a noted Papist was to translate that part of Horace into English Verse Olim truncus era● ficulnus inutile lignum c. where the Poet brings in the Clown debating with himself what use he should put a Log of Wood to and at last he resolv'd to make a God on 't Then his malicious Charge against Dissenters in general as derogating from the Essentials of Religion by Enthusiastical Notions serves only to discover the Confusedness of his own Brain or the Rancour of his Breast He many know if he pleases that the main Body of Dissenters allow no other Rule of Faith and Practice but the Sacred Text tho' some who perhaps go under that Name may be tainted with Enthusiasm and how those that bring every thing to the Touchstone of the Law and the Testimony and make no Account of pretended Revelations or Impulses can be call'd Enthusiasts let him determine In looks Ten times more Enthusiastical in him to trump up the Authority of what he calls the Church above that of the Scripture which enjoins a mutual Forbearance in Things indifferent and expressly forbids ●nd ●●ning one another for Meats Drinks and Days 1 Cor. 8. Rom. 14.5 c. than any thing he can charge upon the Presbyterians He must or at least ought to know that the man Pl●a which these of 〈◊〉 Party make use of to defend that wherein they differ from us ●s Succession 〈◊〉 and Tradition which he himself own Page 〈…〉 strangely mistaken and that Tradition deserves ●ut little Credit 〈…〉 borrowed from the Pre●byterian Heap to 〈…〉 Papists and to be qu●● with us 〈…〉 from the Popish Heap that is the Authority of the Church and Primitive Practice to throw at the Presbyterians as we shall see afterwards Mr. Oliver 〈…〉 Page 〈◊〉 That ●he 〈◊〉 and Samaritans differed chiefly in the Place of 〈◊〉 Sacrificed ●ut why did not he take Notice that this is als● one Point of the Difference 〈◊〉 his Party and the Dissenters which is clearly determin'd 〈◊〉 by the Gods of Truth himself for the 〈…〉 He knows that those of his ●action ascribe a Sanctity to the very Places of VVorship even whilst there is no VVorship perform'd in them and therefore at all times uncover themselves in Cathedrals and many of them in 〈…〉 Ch●rches especially in the Cha●●els for which they cannot shew one 〈◊〉 of Scripture but on the contrary our Saviour here informs us that the Day shall come when Men shall Worship him in Spirit and Truth without regard to any particular Places and we ●●nd that ●he himse●● and his Apostles practic'd accordingly and worship'd either in private Houses Mountain Ships Sea-coasts or any where as Providence offer'd an Opportunity without a formal Consecration of any particular Place which he knows is contrary to the Pract●●e● of the Church of England I come here to consider his Explanation of what is meant by Worshipping God in Spirit which he tells us is when we are ●osses'd with a true and lively Sense of his d●vine Majesty Power and Rule over as humbly ●●knowledge hi● unspeakeable Goodness ●o 〈◊〉 his infinite Wisdome which searches our Hearts that we in all things submit to his all-wise Will when we love him with all our Hearts and all our Souls and yet Fear and Reverence him as a Father 〈◊〉 with the greatest Cheerfulness obey whatsoever he has 〈◊〉 pleas'd to command us wh●n we not only give up our Souls pure and spotless but keep our Bodies fit Temples too for the Holy Ghost and thus join'd offer up our selves one reasonable Service There 's scarcely any thing in this Definition but what is comprehended in this one Distich of Cato Si Deus est animus nobis ut carmina dicunt Hic tibi praecipuè sit pu●a mente colendus or what a meer Dei●t who owns no Revelation will grant but methinks one who pretends to be a Minister of Jesus Christ should not have been guilty of such a gross Omission as never once to have mentioned his Name in the Explanation of Spiritual Worship when nothing is more expressly enjoin'd in the Scripture than that all Gospel-Worship should be perform'd in his Name without which none of our Devotion is acceptable I would therefore advise this upstart Divine first to read and understand the Gospel better before he pretend to preach it and to know his own Duty before he offer to teach other Men theirs and out of pity to his Ignorance or to chastise him for his faulty Definition would refer him to John 14.13 where we are taught to offer up our Prayers in the Name of Jesus to Matthew 18.20 and other Places where we are taught to assemble in his Name to Matthew 28.19 c. where Ministers are commanded to preach and baptise in his Name to 1 John 3.23 where we are commanded to believe in his Name and to Heb. 13.15 where we are enjoin'd to offer Praises to God by him Now these being all Acts of Spiritual Worship is it not strange that this Novice in Divinity should