Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A61594
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A reply to Mr. J.S. his 3d. appendix containing some animadversions on the book entituled, A rational account of the grounds of Protestant religion. By Ed. Stillingfleet B.D.
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Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.
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1666
(1666)
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Wing S5630; ESTC R34612
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48,337
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128
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no age of the Church conspire to deceive another Either then Mr. S. must say there never were any private opinators or speculators in the Church as distinct from testifiers and then he unavoidably contradicts himself or he must deny that posterity is bound to believe what their fore-fathers delivered them as matters of faith which destroyes the force of his whole demonstration Perhaps he will answer that Children are not bound to believe what barely their Parents or aâ—other number of persons might deliver matters of faith but what the whole â—hurch of every age delivers This â—ough the only thing to be said in â—e case yet is most unreasonable beâ—â—use it runs men upon inextricable difâ—culties in the way of their resolving â—ith For suppose any Children â—ught by their Parents what they are â— believe Mr. S. must say they are â—ot bound to believe them presently â—ut to enquire whether they agree â—ith the whole Church of that Ageâ—rst â—rst before they can be obliged to asâ—nt Which being an impossible task â—ther for Children or men of age â— find out in the way of oral tradiâ—on this way of resolving faith â—oth but offer a fairer pretence for â—fidelity For we see how impossiâ—le it is for Mr. S. to make it appear â—hat their Church is agreed about the â—ule of faith for by his own confession â—he far greater number as speculatorsâ—ppose â—ppose the way asserted by him how â—uch more difficult then must it needs â—e to find out what the sense of the whole essential Church is in all matters which Parents may teach their Children for doctrines of faith So that if Chrildren are not bound to believe what their Parents teach them till they know they teach nothing but what the whole Church teaches it is the most compendious way to teach them they are not bound to believe at all But if this distinction be admitted as Mr. S. makes much use of it then it appears how errors may come into the Church at sirst under the notion of speculations and by degrees to be delivered as points of faith by which means those things may be received in the Church for such which were never delivered by Christ or his Apostles and yet no age conspire to deceive the next which was the thing to be shewed This is one way of shewing how errors may come into the Church without one ages conspiring to deceive the next but besides this there are several others I might insist upon but I shall mention only two more 1. Misinterpreting the sence of Scripure 2. Supposing it in the power oâ— some part of the Church to oblige the whole in matters of faith For the first we are to consider that no imaginable account can be given either of the writing or universal reception of the books of the New Testament if they were not designed for the preservation of the doctrine of Christ. And â—lthough it should be granted possible â—or the main and fundamental articles of Christian faith such as the Apostles Creed gives a summary account of â—o have been preserved by the help of â—radition yet unless we be extreamâ—y ungrateful we cannot but acknowledge that God hath infinitely â—etter provided for us in not leaving â—he grounds of our Religion to the â—eer breath of the people or the care â—f mothers instructing their Children â—ut hath given us the certain records â—fall the doctrines and motives of faith â—reserved inviolably from the first ages â—f the Church And when the Churchâ—w â—w with what care God had provided â—r the means of faith traditionâ—as â—as little minded thence the memory â—f those other things not recorded in â—cripture is wholly lost all the care â—as imployed in searching preserving and delivering these sacred books tâ— posterity To these the primitivâ— Church still appeals these they pleaâ— for against all adversaries defendinâ— their authority explaining their sense vindicating them from all corruptionâ— Tradition they rely not on any fuâ—ther then as a Testimony of the trutâ— of these records or to clear the senâ— of them from the perverse interprâ— tation of those Hereticks who pretenâ— ed another kind of tradition thâ— what was in Scripture And when theâ— were silenced all the disputes thâ— arose in the Church concerning matteâ— of faith was about the sense of the books as is evident by the proceeâ—ings in the case of Arius and Pelagiâ— Wherein Tradition was only used a means to clear the sense of the Sâ—ptures but not at all as that which tâ— faith of all was to be resolved intâ— But when any thing was pleaded frâ— tradition for which there was ground in Scripture it was reject with the same ease it was offered aâ— such persons were plainly told tâ— was not the Churches way if they bâ— plain Scripture with the concurrâ— sense of Antiquity they might produce â—t and rely upon it So that the whole â—se of Tradition in the primitive Church besides attesting the books was to shew the unreasonableness of â—mposing senses on Scripture against the universal sense of the Church from the Apostles times But as long as men were men it was not avoidable but they must fall into different apprehensions of the meaning of the Scripture according to their different judgements prejudices learning and education And since they had all this apprehension that the Scripture contained all doctrines of faith thence as men judged of the sense of it they differed in their apprehension concerning matters of faith And thence errors and mistakes might easily come into the Church without one age conspiring to deceive the next Nay if it be possible for men to rely on tradition without Scripture this may easily be done for by that means they make a new rule of faith not known to the primitive Church and consequently that very assertion is an error in which the former age did not conspire to deceive the next And if these things be possible M. S's demonstration fails him for hereby a reasonable account is given how errors may come into a Church without one age conspiring to deceive another Again let me enquire of Mr. S. whether men may not believe it in the power of the ruling part of the Church to oblige the whole to an assent to the definitions of it To speak plainer is it not possible for men to believe the Pope and Council infallible in their decrees And I hope the Jesuits as little as Mr. S. loves them or they him may be a sufficient evidence of more than the bare possibility of this If they may believe this doth it not necessarily follow that they are bound to believe whatever they declare to be matter of faith supposing then that Transubstantiation Supremacy Invocation of Saints were but private opinions before but are now defined by Pope and Council these men cannot but look on themselves as much obliged to believe them as if they had been delivered as matters of faith in every age since the Apostles times Is it
more openly then this author does For he plainly confesses that his Catholick Gentleman went quite besides his business that he built upon indefensible principles that his theological ratiocination was indeed pretty but too weak to hold And are not we hugely too blame if we do not cry up such mighty Conquerors as these are Truly Sir I expect the very same answer should be returned to your book that Mr. S's argument is a pretty theological ratiocination and that your answer is not unwitty but though that way will not hold another will Thus when they are beaten off Infallibility they run to Tradition and when they are again beaten off Tradition then back again to Infallibility So that the short of all their answers is though such a one cannot defend our faith yet I can though I cannot yet the faiâ—â—s firm and constant still I wonder what their Superiors think of this â—ay of proceeding among them we â—hould imagine if they be so weak â—s they say themselves they had much â—etter keep them from appearing â—broad and exposing their cause so â—idiculously to contempt But it may â—e they think their faith is the betâ—er as well as their devotion for their â—gnorance and that it would be a â—ighty disparagement to their cause â—or such silly people to be able to deâ—end it It is enough for them to â—dmire it themselves and to say as â—heir common people use to do though â—hey cannot defend it yet there are â—ome that can And although it â—ay be no particular person can do â— yet their cause is able to defend â— self But for all that I can see by â—ck kind of answers the intention of â—hem is to intreat us not to triâ—mph over the weakness of their preâ—nt Writers but to wait till the â—ause it self thinks fit to write And when it doth so they may expect further answer but it were a greaâ— piece of cruelty for us to hasten theâ— ruine who fall so fast before us bâ— each others Pens FINIS ERRATA Page 16. l. 16. for that r. than p. 2â— l. 8. for errors r. concerns Books Printed for and Sold by Henry Mortlock at the Sign of the Phoenix in St. Pauls Church-yard near the little North door A Rational Account of the â—rounds of Protestant Religion being a Vindication of the Lord-Achbishop of Canterburyes Relation of a Conference c. from the pretended Answer by T. C. wherein the true Grounds of Faith are cleared and the false discovered the Church of England justified from the imputation of Schism and the most Important particular Controversies between us and those of the Church of Rome thoughly Examined by Edward Stillingfleeâ— B. D. Origines Sacrae or a Rational Account of the Grounds of Christian Faith as to the Truth and Divine Authority of the Scriptures and the matters therein contained by the sam Author The third Edition Correcteâ— and Amended Irenicum A Weapon-Salve for the Churches Wounds by the same Author Shecinah A Demonstration of the Divine Presence in Places of Religious Worship by J. Stillingfleet Rector of Beckingham in Lincolnshire The Moral Philosophy of the Stoicks Bain upon the Ephesians Knowledge and Practice or a plain Discourse of the chief things necessary to be known believed and practised in order to salvation by Saâ— Cradock B. D. The second Edition Corrected and Enlarged c. The Believers Duty towards the Spirit the Sprits Office towards Believers by H. H. B. D. §. 1. p. 236. p. 202. §. 2. p. 203. P. 204. § 3. §. 4. P. 205. §. 1. 5. §. 6. p. 203. §. 7. §. 8. p. 05. p. 206. P. 207. §. 9. p. 208. §. 10. De fide Thâ—ol tract 2 sect 22. p. 158. Ibid. P. 209. Tabul suffrag p. 318. §. 11. p. 210. §. 12. p. 211. p. 212. p. 213. p. 214. §. 13. p. 216. §. 14. p. 236. p. 217. p. 218. p. 223. §. 15. p. 224. Part. 1. chap. ◠§. 16. â— 229. c. p. 231. p. 234. p. 235. p. 236. P. 237. §. 17. p. 238. p. 239. §. 18. p 240. p. 241. p. 242. p. 243. §. 19. p. 244. p. 210. p. 2â—9