Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	church_n	faith_n	true_a	15,470	5	5.2366	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59231	The method to arrive at satisfaction in religion.	Sergeant, John, 1622-1707.; N. N.	1671 (1671)	Wing S2578; ESTC R214763	9,307	46

THE METHOD To arrive at SATISFACTION IN RELIGION TO THE TRULY VIRTUOUS the Lady T. E. THAT a Discourse of this nature should be addrest to Your Ladyship if it seems extraordinary it ought to argue a Judgment more than common in Her who is chiefly entitled to the perusal of it The Generality of your Sex through the unlucky disadvantage of their Education use to rellish nothing of a harder digestion than are the Delicacies of a Romance or at best a piece of History Nay many of the more knowing Sex who wear the repute of Learned do hardly even in this improoving Age so advance above the Sophister and the Pedant as to fancy any thing exceeds a pretty Probability trick't up with flowers of Rhetorick and gay Language And many of the greatest Wits if those may be justly called so who profess they know nothing have so unmann'd themselves by Scepticism that the solidest Principles in matters of this kind seem to them meer Air and the closest Consequences only worth answering by loose Drollery As if the Author of Nature I fear I do these Men too much right in thinking they hold any such had intended indeed to permit us the exercise of our Man-hood in Lines and Numbers but in things of infinitely high●r Concern had ordered us to be 〈…〉 that is as if Christ had erected a 〈◊〉 to educate and dispose Mankind towards Eternal Happiness and 〈…〉 done would not so much as 〈…〉 know the way to it Now 〈…〉 Your self should be held 〈◊〉 to penetrate and comprehend Discourses which pretend to a severity of Reason rescuing thus your own Sex from the imputation of inability for such performances and condemning the greatest part of ours is indeed a wonder if we consider the Generality of the world but none at all if we consider Your self Blush not Madam You are not singular in this Many other excellent Heroinae begin to get above their dull circumstances and the vogue of the World and own the glorious reproach of entertaining their best faculty Reason about the most noble and most profitable Subjects The high value you have for the sacred inviolableness of Catholick Faith Your earnest desire to render Faith lively and efficacious in your self by making out more and more to your thoughts how absolutely certain the Grounds of it are the Confidence You have in Gods Goodness not to deny us a clear easie and short way to make manifest this Certainty to our selves and others These good dispositions of Your Will give Your excellent Understanding such an attentiveness to the Proofs Faith stands under that I had fail'd your expectation and writ in a way much below You had I taken any other than I have here done that is to begin with the bottom-Principles and derive thence by a continued line of consequences my main Conclusion Had I produc'd Scripture-proofs or Quotations from any Authority of Fathers or Councils to evince the Point in hand Your piercing wit would have made this smart demand in behalf of my Readers that since none of those is a First Principle and so evident to all that heat them alledg'd I ought for their satisfaction make out by evident Reason that my Interpretation of Scripture could not fail to hit upon the right sence or those Authorities possibly mistake or mislead since no Authority deserves any Assent farther than Reason gives it to deserve So that still I was forc'd if I would appear before You to take this very Method I have here pursued that is to suppose nothing but prove all things that can possibly be questioned in this affair As for the following Discourse I only say that I could heartily wish Learned Writers of what Judgement soever would think fit to take the same short concluding Method and go about to settle some other Ground or Rule of Faith and thence by shewing who adhere to who reject that Rule conclude evidently who are truly Faithful who not The very attempting this would perhaps more readily discover on whose side Truth stands than many Books writ controver sially by way of mutual opposition where an obstinate Adversary may at pleasure still mistake wilfully every passage to make his impugnation the easier The maintainers of all Errors are as Experience teaches very free of opposition but only they who have certain Truth on their side will think fit to settle It will be wonder'd at Madam that I make no farther discovery of Your Person and Quality but You have will'd the contrary The Obedience to which Command obliges me by consequence to conceal my own Name and only to put instead of It the Title of my being Madam Your Ladiships most Devoted Honourer N. N. THE METHOD To arrive at SATISFACTION IN RELIGION 1. SInce all Superstructures must needs be weak whose foundation is not surely laid He who desires to be satisfy'd in Religion ought to begin with searching out and establishing the Ground on which Religion is built that is the First Principle into which the several Points of Faith are resolv'd and on which their Certainty as to us depends 2. To do this 't is to be consider'd that a Church is a Congregation of Faithful and Faithful are those who have true Faith Wherefore till it be known which is the true Faith it cannot be known which is the true Church Again A Council is a Representative A Father an Eminent Member of the Church and a witness of her Doctrine Wherefore till it be known which is the true Church it cannot be known which is a Council or who a Father Lastly Since we cannot know which is Scripture but by the testimony of those who recommend it And of Hereticks we can have no security that they have not corrupted it in favour of their false Tenets Neither can we be secure which is Scripture till we be satisfy'd who are the truly Faithful on whose Testimony we may safely relie in this affair 3. Wherefore he who sincerely aims at Satisfaction in Religion ought first of all to find out and establish some assured Means or Rule by which he may be secured which is true Faith For till this be done He cannot be secure either of Scripture Church Council or Father but having once done this is in a ready way to judge certainly of all Whereas if he begin with any of the other orindeed argue from them at all till the Rule of Faith be first settled he takes a wrong Method and breaks the Laws of Discourse by beginning with what is less certain and indeed to him as yet uncertain and in effect puts the Conclusion before the Premises unless he argue Ad Hominem or against the personal Tenets of his Adversary which is a good way to Confute but not to Satisfie 4. And because the Rule of faith must be known before Faith can be known and Faith before Scripture Church Councils and Fathers it appears that to the finding out this Rule no assistance of Books will be requisite for