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	true_a	visible_a	7,129	5	9.3865	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26214	The profit of believing very usefull both for all those that are not yet resolved what religion they ought to embrace, and for them that desire to know whither their religion be true or no / written by S. Augustine.; De utilitate credendi ad Honoratum. English	Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo.; A. P.	1651 (1651)	Wing A4213; ESTC R7850	45,294	156

THE PROFIT OF BELIEVING Very usefull Both for all those that are not yet resolved what Religion they ought to embrace And for them that desire to know whither their Religion be true or no Written by S. Augustine LONDON Printed by ROGER DANIEL In Lovels Court near Pauls Church-yard 1651. The Preface To the well-disposed READER Learned Reader I Know thou art not ignorant that of all the affairs and businesses in this world there is none of that consequence and importance unto thee as the saving of thy soul and that our Blessed Saviour who knew best of all the inestimable value thereof and vouch●●●ed to redeem it at so dear a rate as with his own p●etious bloud plainly declared the importance thereof when he said in the Gospel Mat. 16. 16. What is a man profited if he shall gain the world ●nd loose his own soul Or what shall he give in exchange ther●of Wherefore let me advise thee to seek out and embrace the true Faith and Religion for that without such a Faith according to the Apostle Heb. 11. 6. it is impossible toplease God and without pleasing of him it is impossible to be saved If thou thinkest that thou ha●t found out the truth already and that thou dost embrace it then give me leave to tell thee that the world at this present abounds with an hundred here●ies at least the embracers whereof shall not according to S. Pauls doctrine Gal. 5. 20. inherit the kingdome of God and yet as the same Apostle doth affirm Ephes. 4. 5. there is but one Lord one Faith one Baptisme so that it is an hundred to one but that thy Faith and thy Religion are false and thy salvation is in danger thereby Is there not then great reason that thou shouldest well consider whither the Faith and Religion which thou embracest be true or no when upon this resolution depends thy fr●●tion of unspeakable blisse or intolerable suffering of endlesse pa●ns for all eternity How to find out the true Faith Religion it is a matter of very great difficulty not onely by reason that there are many faiths and religions in the world and of all these there is but one true and all the rest be false but also for that the controversies debated now adayes are so many and so intricate that few have leasure to study them and fewer ability to conceive and understand them yet the zeal of learned Writers hath not been wanting to satisfie men herein But what age since the Apostles dayes hath brought forth any man so able to perform so great a task as was that incomparable Doctor S. Augustine lib. 3. de Eccles. fol. 170. who as Doctour Field asserteth was the greatest and chiefest of the antient Fathers and the most famous of all the Divines which the Church hath had since the Apostles time and as Doctour Covell affirmeth in his answer to Master Burges pag. 3. hath farre excelled all others that have been or are like to be hereafter those onely excepted that were inspired by the Holy Ghost both in Divine and Humane knowledge What man since the Apostles dayes could ever so well discem true doctrine from false truth from errour and true faith from heresie as could that great S. Augustine who did not onely like another David fight against the Goliah of one heresie but like another Joshua fought the battels of the Lord against all the force and power of heresie in his dayes for fourty years together Wherefore if this great Doctour should have left any advises or instructions behinde him unto any of his dear friends that were then hereticks whereby he taught them how to find out the true faith and religion amongst so many heresies● ought not such instructions to be greatly desired and if any such could be found to be highly esteemed and diligently perused Surely thou wilt say that coming from so great a Doctour and being so proper and necessary fot these times without doubt they ought Why then Learned Reader give me leave to pre●ent unto thee a learned Treatise of his which he sent unto his dear and learned friend Honoratus to draw him from the Manichean her●sie to the true Religion I durst not presume to tender it unto thee in this poor English habit were I not confident that thou seekest more after the true Religion and the saving of thy soul then after vain eloquence the entising words of humane wisdome 1 Cor. 2. 4. but I will assure thee under this poore attire thou wilt find a rich and a learned discourse of great S. Augustine not onely very profitable for those that are not yet resolved in point of Religion but also for them that dere to be satisfied whither the faith and Religion which they embrace be true or no If the stile be displeasing and ungratefull unto thee know that very many of the African Fathers have harsh stiles besides consider how hard a matter it is to teach a native African to speak true English In this work first he shews how the old Testament is to be expou●ded and defends the Authority or it against the Manichees that rejected it Secondly he overthrowes that Manichean principle That nothing is to be believed in point of Faith which is not first by reason made manife●t and evident unto the Believer In the third place he adviseth ●ervent and frequent prayer peace and tranquility of mind and a sequestration of affections from terrene things as aids necessary ●or the finding out the truth then declaring that Christ hath raised a very great and a famous Church consisting of all Nations which is to continue very visible and conspicuous even to the worlds end he exhorts Honoratus to addresse himself unto the Pastours and Teachers thereof and to learn of them the true faith and Religion This way of proceeding to find out the truth is far more short and easie then by the examination of all the points of controverted doctrine by their conformity to the holy Scrip●ures for it consists in two points onely first in seeking out which of all the Churches is the Church of Christ and secondly whither this Church can erre or no For the finding out of the Church S. Augustine proposed four marks unto Honoratus Unity Universality Sanctity and Apostolicall Succession the which are set down very plainly in Scripture The Unity of the Church is twofold in body and in faith in regard of the first our Saviour faith his Church is one fold and hath one shepheard Joh. 10. 16. and the Apostle calls it one body 1 Cor. 12. 13. In respect of the second S. Paul earnestly exhorted the Corinthians 1 Cor. 1. 10. to speak the same thing and that there be no division amongst them but that they be perfectly joyned together in the same mind and in the same judg●ment and he beseeched the Ephesians to endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace Ephes. 4● 3 4● 5. affirming that there is