hereticks they confess that they have now no other means to save their visible succession but by acknowledging that they succeed to the Church of Rome and other Churches joyning with her against them in all the points of difference betwixt them and her and so are enforced to acknowledge her and all those who are united to her to be true Churches of Christ and consequently to hold no fundamentall errour at all consequent to this to acknowledge that their first Authours Churches both in England and other countries wronged the Church of Rome and those others insufferably first in condemning them of Superstition Idolatrie Antichristianisme c. which are fundamentall errours in Religion and destructive of Salvation Secondly upon this pretext in destroying burning and alienating to secular uses so many thousands of their Churches Monasteries Towns Citties Castles Villages Thirdly in massacring and putting to cruell torments and death so many Priests and Professours of the Roman religion Fourthly in depriving their Bishops and Clergie-men of their respective Church-governments dignities Seas Benefices and Churches and setting up others they yet living in their places Fifthly in making it no less then high Treason which is yet in force either to be Priests or to communicate with them in many spirituall Church offices and Sacraments Sixthly in continuing to this day in a violent detaining of their Churches benefices dignities and spirituall functions from all those of the Roman Profession and holding them in their own hands and all this because they maintain certain pretended errours which they now confess not to be fundamentall nor destructive of Salvation consequently that those of the Roman Church have suffered and still suffer all these intollerable injuries for that which even these modern Authors acknowledge to be no more then a veniall or small sin for if it were mortall it would destroy Salvation so long as one willfully continues in it which they affirm it does not Further by this acknowledgement these modern Protestant Authours must confess that their former writers who were of a contrarie mind in charging the Church of Rome and the rest with her of superstition and Idolatrie c. and all those who then joyned with them and all their modern Churches and Protesters both without and within England who at this day hold it as a point of their faith to accuse the Church of Rome in the same manner erre damnably against Christian Truth and consequently are no true Churches of Christ For it cannot be lesse then a damnable errour to make it a point of their faith and religion to condemne any one much more all the visible Churches of the West nay and of the East too and so of whole Christendom for nine hundred years together of grievous superstition when upon better examination the Doctours of the same Protestant Church are compelled by force of Truth to confess that those Churches neither are nor ever were guilty of any of those horrid errours and at the most erre only venially and lightly which hinder them not either to be 1 a true Church of Christ or to obtain Salvation even while they most constantly and immoveably maintain them and accurse all who willfully contradict them or condemne them as erroneous And hence also it follows that seing those modern Protestant Authours and their partie communicate in prayer and Sacraments with the Presbyterians and Calvinists who accuse the Church of Rome of Idolatrie c. and so put it in fundamentall errour and acknowledge themselves to make one Church with them must be guilty of deadly schisme by that communion and acknowledgement and consequently so long as they continue in that communion are uncapable of Salvation Quest 12. Whether it be not a great argument of securitie to those who either are of the Roman Church or convert themselves to it that her very adversaries after so many condemnations of her to hold most grievous and damnable errours dare not now accuse her to hold any errour destructive of salvation so that the belief of her doctrine in every point their obedience to all her commands the exercise of all her practises their praying to Saints reverencing of holy Images adoring of Christ as really and naturally present in the Sacrament c. consist with salvation And though some say though they destroy not salvation yet they are dangerous points and practises weakning the foundation and endangering the destruction of it in continuance of time yet who sees not that it is more secure to hold a religion which makes the foundation only weak by their adversaries confession then to hold theirs which the contrarie party most constantly affirms to destroy quite raise the foundation of religion and to make salvation not only hard in danger but utterly impossible till it be deserted Quest 13. Whither it be a likely thing that the chiefest of the pretended errours in the Roman religion contain any danger of loosing salvation in maintaining them seeing for this thousand years by the common confession of Protestants themselves they have been universally believed and practised as matters belonging to Christian faith and dutie both by the Latin and Greek Church and so the belief and practise of them was the common way wherein Christians were saved which if it were dangerous what other safe way was there wherein Christians might be saved yet certainlie there was alwayes a safe way to Heaven And what likelyhood is there that the safe way should be wholly unknown and unpractised for so many hundred years together and the common known way according to the full belief setled perswasion of all the visible Churches of Christendom should be dangerous and unsafe or what reason can be given that the Professours of the doctrine of the Roman Church should be in an unsafe or dangerous way before Protestants begun seeing they had none in those times to shew them that they were in danger Quest 14 Whither it have any shew of probabilitie that the said pretended errours though they raise not the foundation of Christian faith as the late Protestants confess yet they may in time endanger the raising and destruction of it as they argue seeing that after the universall belief of them for a thousand years together the foundation remains yet undestroyed and entire For if a thousand years continuance of them hath stood with the integritie of the foundation what appearance is there that they will ever cause or induce the destruction of it Quest 15. Further concerning this Protestant distinction of errours in faith fundamentall and not fundamentall I demand first what they understand by fundamentall errours for if they mean any nicetie in speculation or Theologicall discourse it belongs not to the knowledge of the unlearned either therefore they must understand by a fundamentall errour such an errour in faith as destroyes salvation howsoever that comes to pass or they say nothing to the present purpose This therefore supposed to be
Questions propounded for Resolution of unlearned PROTESTANTS In matter of Religion to the Doctours of the Prelaticall pretended Reformed Church of England Printed at Paris 1657. Questions propounded for Resolution of unlearned PROTESTANTS In matter of Religion to the Doctours of the Prelaticall pretended reformed Church of England 1. Quest WHither every Christian is not obliged to chuse the safest way all things considered to Salvation 2. Quest Whither that way wherein both parties acknowledge that unlearned men may have possibility of Salvation 1 though one of them say it be with difficulty and danger if they look not well to the foundation be not prudently to be judged more safe for the unlearned then that which is esteemed safe by one only party and that incomparably less in number but by the other incomparably greater party which equalizes the less in all respects requisite to gain credit and authority is constantly held to be utterly void of all possibility of Salvation even for unlearned persons 3. Quest Whither this be not the present case betwixt Protestants and those of the Roman Church according to the acknowledgement of the latest and learnedst of Protestant Authours they acknowledging the 2 said possibility of Salvation for unlearned persons in the Romane and the Romane Doctours denying all possibility to unlearned Protestants so long as they remain willfully in the Protestant Religion 4. Quest Whither all unlearned Protestants who are sufficiently informed of what is here said are not quilty of a damnable neglect of their Salvation so long as they remain Protestants and refuse to be of the Roman Church 5. Quest Whither a person who is in quiet possession of any Goods Titles Rights or Dignities c. retain not the right to all such Goods and is wrongfully deprived of them so long as he neither confesses that he hath no right to them nor is condemned by the clear sentence of any lawfull and competent judge of sufficient authority to define against him but still maintaineâ— his cause against his Adversary and gives at least probable answers to all that he alledges against him and pleads to be restored to his ancient possession taken from him by force and violence And whither he who thus violently took the possession from him be not obliged in conscience to restore it to him again and whither he proceeds not unjustly so long as he retains it from him 6. Quest Whither this hath not been within the last hundred and fifty years and still is the proceeding of Protestants against the Romane Church violently excluding her Bishops Pastours and people from the quiet possession of many hundred years continuance of their Doctrine Dignities Titles Governments Benefices Churches Possessions and still retayning them and refusing to restore them those of the Romane Church still claiming their right and never having been condemned by any competent and lawfull judge nor acknowledging themselves convinced to have obtained that possession wrongfully 7. Quest Whither the quiet possession of many ages both of the Eastern and Western Churches in their unanimous consent of Doctrine and practise in most points of controversie betwixt them and Protestants be not a sufficient proof to justifie the said doctrine and practise till it be convinced clearly evidently and undeniably by reason or authority or lawfully condemned of errour So that it belongs to Protestants who are the Aggressours to convince their adversaries of errour and not to those of the Roman or Grecian Churches to prove their Tenents by any other argument then that of their quiet ancient and universall possession though Catholicks be upon the affirmative and Protestants upon the negative as he who quietly possesses the name title armes and lands of such or such a familie hath sufficiently proved that he has right to them and that they are truly his till he either confesse that the contrary is sufficiently proved or that it be lawfully determined against him 8. Quest Whither it is not a most insolent madness as St. Augustin terms it or an insufferable height of pride for any Christian whatsoever to call in question much more to censure and condemne as erroneous that which all the visible Churches in the world taught and practised and a manifest foolery to follow any teachers and give eare and belief to them who contradict the universall practise and doctrine of the whole Christian world 9. Quest Whither the first was not done by the first Authors of Protestant Religion and the second done and still continued by their followers or if the first Authours of Protestant Religion received those points of their doctrine from any visible Church in the whole world which existed immediately before their relinquishing the Roman doctrine let that Church be produced and named 10. Quest Seeing Protestants affirme that the Roman Church is infected with errours in Faith which they pretend to have purged in their Reformation I demand that it be evidenced when any of these pretended errours begun to be publickly taught practised out of some approved Authours of any age who affirm that the publick profession of the said errours begun in or about their time For seeing they were publickly practised through all Christendom if that publick practise had ever begun in any age since the Apostles it must have been taken notice of whereby their instances of consumption in the Lungs of a beard growing white c. are shewed to be nothing to the purpose because they are either wholly secret or insensible and no way publick and notorious as these were And seeing Faith by S. Paul Ephes. 4. v. 1. 2. is said to be one and reckoned up with the unity of God and Christ and so must be perfectly one how Protestants and those of the Roman Church can properly be said to have one Faith when the the one believes what the other disbelieves And as opinions contradicting one another cannot be said to be one opinion how can Faiths contradicting one another be said to be one Faith neither is it enough to say that they are one in that wherein they agree for so they will be one only in part or partially and not absolutely and entirely and as the least difference destroyes the perfect unitie of God Christ so will it do that of faith and though my opinion agree with that of another in many things but disagrees in many others from his we can never be said absolutely as it must be in faith to be of the same or one opinion Quest 11. Whither it be not a great argument to induce any rationall indifferent man to judge that the Protestant Authours are put to great Straits and to desperate acknowledgements when being ashamed of the first refuge of their beginners in flying for the defence of their Succession to an invisible Church and no less of the second in alleadging for their predecessours and continuance of the visibilitie of their Church Berengarius the Waldenses Albigenses Wicleffests Hussites and other publickly condemned
any errour or seduce them by any wâ—nd of doctrine whatsoever Seeing also that S. Paul in the same place Ephesians the 4. v. 10. tells us that the said Pastours are to consummate the Saints and to build up the mysticall Body of Christ I demand whither the Apostle by these words make not those Pastours able to secure Christian people from errour not only in the foundation as Protestants term it but in superstructures also for otherwise they would have been instituted by our Saviour only to found his mysticall Body the Church but not to build it up and to ground or initiate the Saints but not to consummate them Quest 22. If it should be answered that these and such like promises or institutions of Christ are only conditionall that is truly intended on his part but yet may be frustrated by the malice of such as corrrespond not to his intention and therefore though he intended that these Pastours should performe the said offices in the Church yet that it involved this condition if they were not wanting on their parts but by their failing the institution of Christ is made frustrate and of no effect I answer to this prophane and unchristian objection first that if Christs promises and institutions be thus inefficacious and conditionall that notwithstanding all the promises that Christ hath made for the preservation of his Church yet by the malice of Christians or others the whole Christian Church may utterly faile and come to nothing Secondly that it may erre even in fundamentall points contrarie to the doctrine of Protestants and so become a Synagogue of Satan Thirdly that the ancient promises of the coming of the Messias of the redemption of mankind of the saving of some at the last judgement c. have no absolute certainty in them and so by the malice of men might have been or may be frustrated Fourthly that by this there is no certain credit to be given to any promise or institution of God or Christ in the whole old or new Testament For a thousand different conditions may be invented which not being performed or put the prediction fails thus one may say upon the like grounds that as the promises of benefits or blessings might be hindred by the malice and demerits of wicked persons so the Threats and Thundrings of punishments upon sinners may be hindred by the vertues and good works of Saints and because we have no rule to know what proportion of goodness or malice is sufficient to frustrate such predictions we remain wholly uncertain whither they shall be absolutely verified or no unless therefore this principle be setled that all divine institutions and predictions are to be held absolute and never to be frustrated whensoever it is not evidently apparent that they are conditionall and may be hindred there can be no certainty that any institution or prediction in the whole Scripture shall be absolutely fullfilled Seeing therefore it is not evident that this institution Ephesians the 4. c. and others of the same nature concerning the Church are conditionall they are to be supposed to be absolute and not to be frustrated by any malice of men whatsoever Fifthly no Protestant who holds the whole visible Church cannot perish nor all her Pastours prove willfull Seducers can apply this answer to the Text now cited viz. Ephesians 4. c. for if it be hindred by the malice of the said Pastours they must with joint consent maliciously and wittingly teach false doctrine to be the doctrine of Christ which were to teach fundamentall errours and to fall of from Christ If this solution may pass for current who can be certainly assured that there is any true Church of Christ visible or invisible existent now in the world for all the promises concerning the continuance of it to the worlds end may be as well said to be as well conditionall frustrable by the malice of men as this Ephesians the 4. c. and who knows that the said malice is not already grown to that height that it hath deserved that God should take his true Church quite out of the world and so that there is now no true Church at all existent in the whole world Quest 23. Whither it be not evident that unlearned Protestants who cannot determine differences in religion either by force of argument or places of Scripture but must wholly depend in the choice of their faith upon the authority and credit of Christian Teachers are not obliged in conscience to preferre that authority and credibility of Doctours before all others which all circumstances confidered is absolutely and unquestionably the greater authority Quest 24. Whither that authority of Doctours where those of one side are equall at least if not exceeding them of the contrarie party in learning wisedome zeal sincerity vertue sanctitie and all other qualities and perfections which conferre to the accomplishment of compleat authority in a Christian Teacher and with this equality incomparably exceed the Doctours of the other party in number is not in all prudence to be judged absolutely unquestionably the greater authority Quest 25. Whither this equality at least in all the said perfections is not to be found in the Roman Doctours compared with those of Protestants Quest 26. Whither with this forementioned equalizing the Protestant Doctours those of the Roman Church the many years of their continuance and universall extent of their religion considered exceed not incomparably in number those of the Protestant profession Quest 27. Whither this equality in perfections incomparable excess in number considered all unlearned Protestants are not obliged both in prudence and conscience to preferre the authority of the Roman Doctours before that of Protestants and consequently to follow the Roman and desert the Protestant doctrine Quest 28. Whither upon the foresaid considerations the authority of the Protestant Doctours in all things wherein they contradict the Roman is not contemptibile and unable to sway the judgement of any prudent Christian to frame any morall esteem of it for though in matters wherein they are either seconded or not contradicted by an authority incomparably greater then their own they may deservedly be esteemed for their naturall abilities and morall qualities worthy of credit yet in all things where in they stand in opposition and contradiction against an authority incomparably exceeding theirs they deserve nothing but to be slighted contemned by all those who are to be led by the sole force of authority Thus when Protestant Doctours affirm that either Scriptures or Fathers are for them and against the Roman Church what they say in this is not to be regarded seeing the authoritie of the Roman Doctours absolutely greater then theirs unanimously affirms the quite contrary Thus when they affirm that the Roman Church is full of errours and superstitions crept in they know neither when nor how their accusation is to be slighted being clearly and constantly contradicted by a far greater authority Thus they
say that Protestants may be saved living and dying willfully in their religion they deserve no credit at all for the quite contrary is most constantly defended by the incomparably stronger authoritie of the Roman Doctours and the like is to be affirmed in all the points of difference betwixt the two Religions So that a Protestant is not to consider the abilities authority of his Doctours absolutely or in matters out of controversie but as contradicting an authority â—comparably exceeding theirs in which contradiction they deserve neither credit nor esteem Quest 29. I demand further that if the authoritie of all the Doctours of the whole body of Protestants be so inconsiderable in comparison with that of the Roman Doctours how much less will be the authoritie of any one sect or party of them and then how minute and scarce perceptible will be the authoritie of a Lawd an Hammond a Chillingworth a Fern a Bramhall a Taylor c. which now obtain so powerfull an Ascendant upon the hearts of our modern lay Protestants seeing they are in a manner nothing in respect of the authoritie of the Roman Doctours Quest 30. All this is demanded supposing that the Roman Doctours were only equall to those of Protestants in all the forenamed qualities conducing to the perfect authoritie of a Master in Christianity But now I demand whether those who have authoritie of Teaching in the Roman Church generally speaking in so much as can be prudently deduced by experience from them are not much excelling the Protestant ministrie in all the said qualities What Councells have they worth the mentioning in comparison with the generall Councells consenting with the present Roman Church even according to their own confession as the second of Nice the great Councell of Lateran the Councell of Constance Florence Trent wherein such multitudes of learned men Holy Patriarchs Metropolitanes Archbishops Bishops Doctours Prelates both of the Eastern and Western Churches unanimously confirmed the Romane and condemned the Protestant doctrine What proofs of learning have the Protestant ministry comparable to those of the Roman Doctours whereof many have written one no small number two others three and four others six eight ten twelve and some twenty four and twenty great Tomes in Folio and those replenished in the generall repute of Christendom even amongst Protestants also with profound and high learning Who amongst their ministrie have they who have obtained the universall esteem of sanctitie as hath our Gregorie Beda Thomas Bonaventure Antonine Dominicke and diverse others Where find they amongst theirs that zeal to pass into the heart of so many barbarous and heathen Nations to plant the Gospell even with the undergoing of unheard-of torments and suffering most cruell Martyrdoms as many of the Roman Clergie have done within these late years let them name but one sole Minister who hath suffered Martyrdom for preaching Christian faith to the Pagans What means have the Protestant Ministry with their wives goods and families to apply themselves to study and devotion comparable to our single Clergie and retired religious Where is that unanimous consent in all points of faith seeing they are perpetually jarring not onely one with another but the same Ministers dissenting notoriously now from what they taught twenty years ago amongst them compared to the constancy and agreement of our Doctours What Miracles have any of their Ministry ever done in confirmation either of their doctrine against the Roman Church or of the Christian faith against heathens as unless all humane faith be infringed many of ours have done both against them and heathens I could instance in many more particulars but these may suffice for these short demands Whence appears evidently that whosoever professes to be led by the sole authority of Christian Doctours and Pastours must either deserve the esteem I say not only of an unchristian but even of an imprudent man if he adhere to so undeserving and contemptible an authority as is that of the Protestant Ministry in comparison of the Roman Doctours who so incomparably outstrip them not only in multitude but in all the motives and perfections which give credit to the authority of a Christian Teacher Quest 31. Whether hence be not evidently discovered not only the insufferable pride of Luther and the other originall beginners of any Sect in Protestancy in preferring their sole authority before that of the Prelates and Doctours of all the visible Churches in Christendom existent when they begun first to preach their doctrine but the extream madnesse of all the ignorant laity who followed them upon their sole authority and preferred one single person upon his bare word without any extraordinary signes or manifest proofs from heaven attesting his authority before all the Doctours Prelates Councells Churches within the precincts of Christendom both of that present time and for nine hundred years before and if those were infested with so deep a frenesie how can any man be judged deservedly discreet and prudent who approves of their proceedings in this particular and sides with them at least in some article or other in the opposition of the whole Christian world as all Protestants do even to this day Quest 32. Hence I farther demand that seeing on one side the true Christian religion having the divine wisdome for its authour cannot admit of any thing imprudent as properly belonging to it in the choice of it and on the other that the Protestant religion or any sect whatsoever sprung from it or existent in it cannot be prudently chosen by any unlearned person who is sufficiently informed of the nullity of that authority which propounds it compared with the authority propounding the Roman religion whether I say those particulars considered the Protestant religion in any sect of it whatsoever can be esteemed the true Christian religion Quest 33. Hence I presse farther whether the proving that Protestant religion cannot be prudently chosen or retayned by any unlearned persons who are sufficiently informed of the eminent authority propounding the Roman religion is not a sufficient argument to them that no sect amongst them in any point wherein it differs from the Roman hath either any solid ground in the holy Scriptures or true relation to Gods holy Spirit or coherence with true reason seeing a religion which cannot by them be chosen prudently cannot possibly proceed from any of these three whatsoever fair show Protestants each respectively to his severall sect make vainly of them Quest 34. And upon this I demand yet farther whether the Roman Doctours have any obligation to urge any other argument then this either from Scripture Fathers or reason against Protestants till they have cleared their religion from the impeachment of imprudence committed by their followers in the election of it or persisting in it as is afore declared Quest 35. On the contrary side I demand whether the Roman Doctours have any obligation in rigour of dispute to use any other argument for perswading unlearned persons to