Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostolical_a	church_n	tradition_n	4,989	5	9.5918	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43647	An apologetical vindication of the Church of England in answer to those who reproach her with the English heresies and schisms, or suspect her not to be a catholick-church, upon their account.	Hickes, George, 1642-1715.	1687 (1687)	Wing H1840; ESTC R20398	73,683	104

and over-inquisitive men who trusting too much to their own Understanding love as the Apostle speaks to intrude into things which they have not seen and are vainly puffed up with their fleshly Mind † De praescript Haeres § 14. Tertullian in his Tract against the Heresies of his Time complains grievously of these men who were always moving nice and curious Questions about things which it was better to be ignorant of then to know and who as his phrase imports loved to exercise the ‖ Quantumlibet quaer as tractes omnem libidinem curiositatis essundas whole lust of their Curiosity about doubtful and obscure things Their Curiosity as he complains was above their Faith and their vain-glorious affectation of being counted learned and witty above the care of their Souls and therefore they must search the Scriptures to find out new Doctrines and Opinions and if they cannot find them there they will be sure to bring them thither tho' never heard of before and never so contrary to the unanimous Tradition of all the Apostolical Churches These men he complains of for the great Adulterators of Scripture and of such as they were the Apostle is to be understood 1 Tim. 1.4 I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other Doctrine neither give heed to Fables and endless Genealogies which minister Questions rather then godly Edifying which is in the Faith. So in Chap. 6.3 4. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesom words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to Godliness he is conceited knowing nothing but doting about questions and disputes about words whereof cometh envy strife railings and surmisings So in his 2d Ep. 2.23 saith he unto him Avoid foolish and unlearned questions knowing that they gender strife And so in his Ep. to Titus Chap. 2.9 Avoid foolish questions and Genealogies and contentions for these are unprofitable and vain and a man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition reject These over-curious and too inquisitive Wits who hunt after new Discoveries and rack their Inventions as well as the Scriptures to publish some new thing are well disposed by temper for Heresie They think indeed they know something but really they know nothing as they ought to know when they begin to despise the Simplicity of the Christian Religion and the Doctrine and Tradition of the Elders and by the wantonness of their Wits and Understandings give occasion to Satan who observes all mens Tempers to tempt them into Heresie and Schism * Longum est universa ipsus opera commemorare quibus profecto summis Aedificatoribus Ecclestae par esse potuisset nisi profanâ illâ haereticae curlositatis libidine novum nescio quid invenisset quo cunctos labores suos velut cujusdam Leprae admixtione soedaret cap. 16. Vincentius Lirinensis observes that Apollinaris fell into Heresie through this lust of Curiosity and that † Tantus ac talis dum gratiâ dei insolentiûs abatitur dum ingenio suo nimium indulger sibique satis credit cum parvi pendit antiquam Christiane religionis simplicitatem dum se plus cunctis sapere praesumit dum Ecclesiaticas traditiones verterum magisteria contemnens quaedam Scripturarum capitula novo more interpretatur meruit ut de se quoque Ecclesia dei diceret Si surrexerit in medio tui propbeta Origen also through too great a confidence in his own Parts and too much fondness and indulgence for his own Notions of the greatest Doctor the Church ever had became plainly such a one to whom one might justly apply those words of Moses Si surrexerit in medio tui propheta If there arise among you a Prophet saying let us go after other Gods thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet for the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul The next sort of Instruments which the Devil makes use of in inventing and propagating Hercsie and Schism are ambitious and aspiring men who would fain be Governours in the Church and sit in the Thrones of the Apostles and when they cannot compass their Designs then out of Envy and Revenge they strive to turn all things topsie-turvy and bring confusion upon the Church Such as these was Diotrephes who loved to have the preeminence He would fain have had St. John's Chair and to that end raised Sedition against him prating against him with malicious words and perswading the Church not to receive him Such also was Thebuthis the first Heretick and Schismatick in the Church of Jerusalem as I have shewed in the first Chapter Such also were Montanus Novatus Arius Natalis the Confessor and almost all the famous Heresiarchs in the ancient Church Such also was Melitius a Bishop of Aegypt who being deposed from his Bishoprick for denying the Faith and sacrificing unto Daemons in the Dioclesian Persecution became the Head of that which from him took the Name of the Melitian Heresie and Schism He loaded Achilles his Superior who deposed him with all manner of Calumnies and Reproaches as also his Successors Peter and Alexander who ratified the Deprivation of him and conspired with Arius against the latter that he might be revenged on the Church For Pride and Ambition is the Mother of Envy Revenge and Discontent it was the original Sin of the Devil and when he meets with proud men after his own image his work is half done and it will cost him but little trouble to tempt them to break the Peace and divide the Unity of Churches whereof they are Members So an ancient * Respons●ad orthodox quaest 〈…〉 Author in Answer to this Question Whether it is just to damn Hereticks who do their best Endeavours to know the Truth and cannot Saith he It is manifest that all Heresies arise from a vain affectation of Glory and study of opposition in the Authors and Ring leaders of them and therefore the Apostle calls them grievous Wolves And saith St. Chrysostom in his first Homily upon the first Epistle to Timothy Because they do not love their Brethren they envy those that have a good Report and from this Envy proceeds a desire to be above them and to rule and from this desire to rule come Heresies So saith Theophylact on Galat. 5. The desire of Ruling is the Mother of all Heresies And saith another * Isidorus Pelusiota p. 441. ancient Writer From affectation of Government and getting above others which are two domineering Passions I think most Heresies arise for those who do not love to be in the rank of Subjects sow new Doctrines that they may be Chief of a new Sect. And indeed this was the temper of Simon Magus the first Heretick and false Apostle he affected to be a great man and to have the People from

may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil for we wrestle not against flesh and bloud but against principalities and powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickednesses or wicked spirits in high places All these are several expressions for that society of apostate Spirits which make up the kingdom of darkness as is plain from the 1 st and 2d Verses of the 11 th Chapter of the same Epistle where he saith Ye were dead in trespasses and sins wherein you walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience who cannot be perswaded to believe the Gospel Wherefore the Combates for which Christians are to fortifie themselves are not only against humane Enemies but the powers of darkness the whole society of Devils who were the Gods of the Gentile World. They are always plotting and contriving against the Church and when they cannot hurt it with Idolatry Polytheism or Persecutions then they strive to get Altar set up against Altar in it and distract it with Heresie and Schism Accordingly St. Ignatius in his Ep. to the Ephesians calls Heresies and false Doctrines Herbs or Plants of the Devil 's planting and tells them in the same Epistle That to meet often together and receive the holy Eucharist in peace and concord was the only way to weaken the powers of Satan and prevent the ruine and destruction he would otherwise bring upon them by Division and to convince them how malicious and vigilant an enemy he is to the Church he tells them That there were three Mysteries of the Christian Religion which were kept from his knowledge The Virginity of Mary her bringing forth or the Nativity of her Son and the Death of our Lord. Had Satan come to the knowledge of these Mysteries unless God had chained him and his evil angels up they would have made ill use of them against the great design of man's Redemption and accordingly many learned men have given his for one Reason of the obscurity of the Prophecies and why God was pleased so artificially to conceal many things in them lest Satan coming to the knowledge of them should endeavour to prevent or obstruct the fulfilling of them or enervate the certainty and demonstration of them after they were fulfilled Thus Justin Martyr in his first commonly called the second Apology observes That he did before-hand to the best of his skill teach and institute many things among the Pagans which had some semblance with the future Mysteries of the Christian Religion that so when they came to pass they might not seem such divine and wonderful Mysteries as indeed they are The like is observed by * Tert●ll dep●●● script Haeres 〈◊〉 40. Tertullian after him and made out by many particular Instances to which I remit the curious Reader which shews That he hath a great and active spite against the Church of God more especially against such parts of it as are pure in Doctrine or Worship to sow Heresies and Schisms among them and divide the unity of their Communion And therefore the same St. Ignatius in his Ep. to the Trallesians bids them beware of Separations and Divisions as of the Snares of the Devil and in his Ep. to the Philadelphians he prays them in his wonted phrase to abstain from the evil Herbs which Christ never cultivated because they were not of his heavenly Father's planting meaning the Weeds of false Doctrines which Satan had sowed among them and which he saith did not only cause different Parties among them but a perfect separation of many from the Church So Justin * P. 403. Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho ascribes all the impious and blasphemous Doctrines which were then taught in the Name of Christ to the Inspirations of the unclean spirit of the Devil and accordingly when St. Polycarp met Marcion the Heretick he told him He knew him to be the eldest Son of the Devil as being a man who was acted with diabolical Impulse and Inspirations and Tertullian in the Book above-cited saith expresly That the Devil is the Author of Heresie as well as Idolatry The like is observed by St. Cyprian and Theodoret who ascribe all Heresies to the invention and artifice of the Devil and all the Histories of Heresies and Schisms in Ecclesiastical Writers are still ushered in with prefatory Complaints of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the envious and wicked Devil whose business hath been from the beginning to deceive and molest the Church of God. Nay the purer any Church is in Doctrine and Worship the more we may be sure he will stickle against it and endeavour to weaken and disgrace it by intestine Divisions and perswade the dividing Parties to form themselves into opposite Schisms Indeed where Churches are already corrupted in Doctrine and Worship and firmly adhere to those Corruptions 't is his interest to let them alone and not to hazard the Reformation of them by stirring up Contentions and Divisions in them but in Churches where the Doctrine and Worship are kept pure and Apostolical by the care and vigilance of the Pastors in Churches where the Scriptures are openly taught and read and the whole Worship of God but more especially the holy Sacraments are duly administred by lawful Ministers and the Communion of Saints carefully maintained In such pure and Apostolical Churches as these he hath no other game to play but to get them as far as he can extirpated by Persecutions or where that fails to make Mutinies and Divisions and Schisms in them and so to weaken the common Interest of the whole by dividing it into parts Where he cannot unite the Members of a Church in pernicious Doctrines and Practices he will labour hard to dissolve them by pernicious Schisms where he cannot unite them against Truth he will strive to divide them against Charity and where they will not agree he will make them if he can differ to their own destruction And therefore considering him as the principal Cause of Divisions all that can be concluded upon that Consideration against any particular Church is only this That the Members of it are subject like the Members of all other Churches to be deceived and drawn away by the Devil and if upon special enquiry it be found that she is pure and Apostolical in her Doctrine Worship and Discipline all that can then be concluded is no more then this That the Devil is become her particular Enemy and hath a particular spite against her upon the account of her Excellence and Worth. This is the worst Consequence that can be drawn from Divisions and Separations against such a Church as ours and we are willing to admit it we are willing to acknowledge that the Devil hates the Church of England more then many Churches and if those that object our Divisions to us