A PILL TO PVRGE OVT POPERIE OR A Catechisme for Romish Catholikes Shewing that Popery is contrarie to the grounds of the Catholike RELIGION and that therefore Papists cannot be good CATHOLIKES LONDON â—rinted for Beniamin Fisher and are to be sold at his shop in Pater-noster Row at the Signe of the Talbot 1623. A PILL TO PVRGE OVT POPERIE OR A Catechisme for Romish Catholikes Shewing that Popery is contrarie to the grounds of the Catholike Religion and that therefore Papists cannot be good CATHOLIKES The Speakers A weake Christian A Minister DIALOGVE I. Christian AMong the diuersities of opinions that are in the world how may I know which is the truth whereto J must cleaue and who are the true Church and true Catholikes Minister a 1. Ioh. 4.1 Beleeue not euery spirit that is euery doctrine which men bragging of the Spirit doe teach but try them whether they be of God or no b 1. Thes 5.21 Examine all things hold fast that which is good C. Whereby shall I try them M. By the Scriptures Ioh. 5.39 Act. 17.11 C. I am vnlearned and the Scriptures are hard to be vnderstood M. There are indeed many things in them hard to bee vnderstood 2. Pet. 3.16 but such things as are necessarie to be knowne of all to saluation are plainely set downe Prou. 8.9 The meaning of which place is this The Word of God in points necessarie to saluation is easie vnto all that haue a desire vnto it Turne to the places of Scripture added to euery answere of the Catechisme and you shall finde this to be most true C. Is there no other way and meanes whereby to try and know the truth and the true professors thereof M. Yes it may be done euen by the aforesaid grounds of Religion Whatsoeuer doctrine is agreeable thereunto is true and to be receiued but whatsoeuer is contrary to the same is false and to be reiected As many as do sincerely and soundly imbrace professe and practise the same they are the Catholike Church that is parts and members of the Catholike Church and true Catholikes indeed But such as teach professe and practise things contrary thereunto are not the true Church nor true Catholikes C. The Papists say that they onely are the true Church and true Catholikes and that we are not M. So the Iewes cryed a Ieremy 7.4 The Temple of the Lord b Ioh. 8.33 41. We are the seed of Abraham the children of God But Christ told them they were the children of the diuell Joh. 8.44 C. Are not the Papists then good Catholikes M. No but rather grosse Heretikes C. What is an Hereticke M. One that doth erre in any fundamentall point of Christian Religion and doth obstinately teach maintaine and defend the same C. Doe the Papists erre in the fundamentall points of Religion M. They doe teach and maintaine many false opinion against the very grounds of Religion as by and by shall be shewed in many particulars C. Are all Papists then Hereticks M. No for there are no doubt many of them that doe erre of simplicitie and ignorance and which would bee brought from their errours if they had the meanes namely the Scriptures in their owne language preaching catechizing and the like We doe not therefore account them all Hereticks but onely those before mentioned C. How doe you proue that they are not good Catholicks M. I proue it thus They are good Catholicks which are of sound faith and good life Aug. lib. quaest in Mat. Chap. 11. but Papists are neither of sound faith nor good life therefore they are no good Catholikes C. How doe you proue that they are not of sound faith M. Euen by the Apostles Creed which may serue in stead of a rule whereunto the faith of all men ought to agree contrary whereunto they teach many things C. Shew me wherein M. The Creed is a confession of faith containing the summe of the Gospell and of such things as are necessary to be beleeued of all that will be saued They haue deuised many other new Articles of faith besides and contrary to the Articles of the Apostles Creed which they hold necessarily to be beleeued of all that will be saued As namely Indulgences and a treasurie of Saints merits the reall presence the Popes Supremacie Purgatorie and such like In the Councell of Trent the curse Anathema is pronounced vpon all such as deny these or any of them Master Perkins first Vol. page 621. The Creed teacheth what euery one in particular is to know and beleeue and a true faith cannot stand without certaine knowledge The Papists maintaine an implitite or an ignorant faith namely that it is enough to beleeue as the Church beleeueth though they know not what the Church is nor what the Church beleeueth And â—hey commend this faith by the example of an old deuout â—ther a Colliar who being tempted of the Diuell and asked how he beleeued answered That hee beleeued as the Church beleeued being asked againe how the Church beleeued he answered As I beleeue whereupon the Diuell as they say was faine to depart C. It should seeme it was but a simple Diuell for if hee had beene wise he would haue asked him this question What if the Church beleeue that thou art a foole what would the Colliar thinke you haue answered then M. I thinke he would haue said nothing for if he should haue said I beleeue so too the diuell might then haue begged him for a foole indeed And yet such fooles are the simple and ignorant Papists which content themselues with this kinde of faith for thus one may reason with them You are to beleeue as the Church beleeueth but the Church beleeues that you are fooles therefore you are to beleeue so too This their implicite faith euery one of himselfe may haue The diuels in some sence may bee said to haue a better faith then this for they know what is contained in the Scriptures and beleeue it to be true Mat. 4.6 Jam. 2.19 This fond and ridiculous kind of faith is a notable meanes to muzzle people in blindnesse superstition and perpetuall ignorance Againe faith is a certaine and true perswasion of the heart whereby wee are perswaded and in some measure assured of the forgiuenesse of our sinnes and eternall saluation The Papists say It is presumption to bee assured of saluation and will haue men to doubt thereof the which is contrary to the nature of true faith They call the certaintie of remission of sinnes a faithlesse perswasion and the faith of diuels not of Apostles Concil Trid. Sess 6. cap. 9.12 13. Rhemists Annot. 1. Cor. 9. Sect. 9. DIALOGVE 2. C. Shew me I pray you what things in particular they teach câ—â—rary to any Article of the Creed M. I could shew you many but I feare that then I should be tedious to you I will therefore set downe onely the chiefest In the second third Article is described and set forth vnto vs
this meanes it came to passe that Christ was free from all spot Concil Trid. Sess 5. Cap. 1. â—peccato originali And so herein they do altogether ouerthroâ— this Article of Christs conception by the Holy Ghost 〈◊〉 whose onely power the Scripture doth impute Christs holinesse and not the Virgin Marie which was no lesse then all others conceiued and borne in sinne did need Christ to be her Mediator as wel as the rest of mankind There was a long time a foule stirre in the Church of Rome betweene the Dominicans and the Franciscans about this point Acts and Monuments pa. 732. It was the common opinion of Fathers and Writers vntill Lumbards time which was about the yeere 1150. that she was conceiued in Original sinne Perkins 2. Vol. 596. In the fourth Article wee professe that Christ suffered c. by which he hath made a full and perfect satisfaction for the sinnes of his elect and for the whole punishment thereof both eternall and temporall The Papists teach that Christ hath satisfied for sinnes going before Baptisme but concerning sinnes following Baptisme the fault is remitted by the Passion of Christ and the punishment which of infinite is made finite is to be satisfied for by men themselues either heere or in Purgatorie that is men themselues must satisfie the iustice of God for the temporall punishment of their offences either on earth or in Purgatorie There is say they a certaine infernall place in the earth called Purgatory in the which as in a prison-house the soules which were not fully purged in this life are there clensed and purged by fire before they can be receiued into heauen Bell. de Purgat lib. 1. cap. 1. and cap. 3. lib. 2. cap. 6. Rhem. on 1. Cor. 3. Sect. 4. They say also that it is an Article of faith to beleeue that there is a Purgatorie and that he which beleeues it not is â—â—re to goe to hell Bellar. ibid. l. 1. c. 15. But this is so farre from â—eing an Article of faith as that it is a meere fable and conâ—rarie to an Article of faith The bloud of Christ is the Purâ—atory of our sinnes 1. Ioh. 1.7 Afflictions are called the fieâ— tryall 1. Pet. 1.7.4.12 whereby wee are clensed from our â—orruption as gold is froÌ„ the drosse by fire No other Purgaâ—â—rie is to be found in Scriptures The Scriptures mentioÌ„ but two sorts of men beleeuers and vnbeleeuers and but two places after this for them heauen for the one and hell for the other Luke 16.25 26. Iohn 3.36 Reuelation 20.14 15.21.7 8. They that dye in the Lord rest from their labours which cannot be true if any of them goe to Purgatorie Their workes follow them that is the reward of their workes Reuel 14.13 If any man should haue gone to Purgatorie then the thiefe vpon the Crosse had gone thither who repenting at his end wanted time to make satisfaction for the temporall punishment of his sinnes but Christ said to him To day shalt thou bee with me in Paradise The doctrine of Purgatorie came into the Church out of the Heathen writers for the Philosophers and Poets were the first that euer wrote of it and Popish Purgatorie was vnknowne to the Fathers many hundred yeeres after Christ Perkins 2. Vol 568.569 C. If Purgatorie be but a fable contrary to an Article of faith then what is the cause that the Church of Rome so stifty maintaines it M. There is great cause why they should so doe for it keepes in the fire in the Popes Kitchin for if the fire of Purgatorie were not great the fire in the Popes Kitchin would be but small for by this meanes they haue store of money for Pardons Masses Diriges and other such like trumperies DIALOGVE 5. C. Doe they teach any thing else contrary to the Creede M. Yes The sixth Article saith that Christ ascended into Heauen c. and the Scriptures say that the Heauens must containe him c. Acts. 1.11.3.21 They teach contrarie hereunto namely that Christ is corporally present in thâ— Sacrament and that in many places at once The which 〈◊〉 contrary to the nature of a true body and contrarie to thâ— nature of the Sacrament which is a remembrance 〈◊〉 Christ Virgilius against Eutyches lib. 4. saith thus When 〈◊〉 that is the flesh of Christ was on earth it was not in heâ—uen and because it is now in Heauen it is not on eartâ— This is the Catholike faith and confession It is an Artiâ— of faith to beleeue the Catholike Church and faith is the euidence of things not seene Heb. 11.1 Therefore the Catholike Church is alwaies vnto the world inuisible and not to be espied but by the eyes of faith because things seene are not beleeued The Papists teach that the Catholike Church is and hath bin alwaies visible Rhem. on Mat. 5. Sect. 3. The Church is said to be Catholike that is vniuersall because it is not tyed to any one speciall place but is spred abroad ouer the face of the earth They tye it to Rome alone which can be but a particular Church not vniuersall In the Church there is a Communion of Saints and these are they that are sanctified by the bloud and Spirit of Christ hauing the perfect holines of Christ put vpon them by imputation of faith and the quality of imperfect holines powred into their heart by the Spirit of sanctification And such are the Faithfull here on earth 1. Cor. 1.2 Psal 16.2 The Papists acknowledge none to bee Saints but such as are in heauen They teach that the Pope can canonize Saints whereas to make one a Saint is onely the worke of God 1. Cor. 11. The Pope hath canonized many that indeede were neuer true Saints of God but wicked men and ranke Traitours to their Princes as Becket with many others This canonizing of Saints was neuer heard of with the Fathers vntill the yeere 880. and then Adrian tooke vp this authoritie And Alexander the Third after him confirmed it in his decrees In the Creede we professe to beleeue the forgiuenesse of sinnes that is I beleeue that God for Christ his sake doth freely forgiue the sinnes of his Elect and my sinnes also And herein consisteth our iustification namely in the free forgiuenes of our sinnes and the imputation of Christs righteousnes to vs. The Papists teach many things contrary to this Article First that men are to make satisfaction for their sinnes Now satisfaction for sinnes and forgiuenes of sinnes are contraries If we satisfie in our own person wee are not iustified freely if we be iustified freely as most certainely we are Rom. 3.23 then we make no satisfaction at all If a man can satisfie and pay a debt then he needes no forgiuenesse but if the debt bee forgiuen him then it is plaine that there is no satisfaction made The satisfaction for our sinnes was made by Christ and not by vs. C. Did not the ancient Fathers teach men to make
Trent This concupiscence which the Apostle sometime calleth sinne the holy Synod declareth that the Catholike Church did neuer vnderstand to be called sinne because it is truely properly sinne in the regenerate but because it commeth of sinne and inclineth vnto sinne If any man thinke the contrarie let him be accursed Sess 5. cap. 1. de pecc orig Wherein they both decree against the Apostle himselfe Rom. 7.23 and also they gaine say themselues for if this concupiscence boile out of originall sinne as out of a fountaine and that is damnable it followeth that concupiscence or lust is also sinne before God and doth deserue condemnation They say that in the regenerate it is veniall But this is an vndoubted principle that all sinnes in themselues and their owne nature are mortall And concerning this veniall sinne it was not knowne among the Fathers for 700. yeeres after Christ And thus you see what grosse things they both teach and practise contrary to the Commandements of God whereby it plainely appeareth that Popery cannot bee of God for thus I reason Whatsoeuer religion doth teach things contrary to the Commandements of God is not of God but Poperie doth so and therefore it is not of GOD and so by good consequence Papists cannot be good Catholikes DIALOGVE 13. C. Hitherto you haue shewed that the Papists teach many things contrary to the Creede the Sacraments and the ten Commandements now tell me I pray you whether they teach any thing contrary to the Lords Prayer M. They doe likewise teach practise many things contrarie thereunto I will but onely name some of them The Lords Prayer teacheth vs to call vpon God only They teach and practise prayer to Saints In the first Petition we pray for the hallowing of Gods Name They giue vnto Saints departed that which is proper to God and so dishonour Gods Name In the second petition we pray for the erecting of Gods Kingdome of grace in our hearts and also for the meanes thereof namely the preaching hearing of Gods Word They hinder the comming of Gods Kingdome in reiecting the Word of God and in persecuting such as will preach heare and reade it Contrary to the third petition is their doctrine of free-will Contrary to the fifth petition is their doctrine of satisfaction for sin In the sixth petition we pray for strength to withstand Satan his temptations They teach people to driue away the Diuell with holy-water and such like childish toyes These and other such like things they teach and practise contrary to the Lords Prayâ—r DIALOGVE 14. C. If Popery be so contrary to the grounds of Religion then we may â—ot ioyne with the Papists in their profession M. It is true indeede we must therefore doe as the Lord â—â—de Ieremy Chap. 15.19 Let them returne to thee but reâ—urne not thou to them We may ioyne with them in respect â—f ciuill societie but not in respect of Religion and yet eâ—en then we are to take heed left we be corrupted by them â—r he that toucheth Pitch shall be defiled therewith Some thinke that our Religion and the religion of the present Church of Rome are all one for substance and that they may be vnited but they are grosely deceiued for an vnion of these two Religions can neuer be made more then the vnion of light and darknesse and that because the Church of Rome as hath at large bin shewed hath strooke at the very foundation C. If Poperie bee so contrary to the very grounds of Religion then what is the cause that so many yea of the more wise and learned sort do embrace and cleaue to it M. One speciall cause of it is that because men will not receiue the loue of the Trueth therefore God will send them strong delusion that they should beleeue a lie 2. Thes 2.10 11. A second cause is ignorance of the Scriptures and of the grounds of Religion for if men would well acquaint themselues herewith they should easily see the grossenesse of Poperie A third cause is that Popery is very agreeable and pleasing to mans corrupt nature As for example to be iustified by our good works to haue images to worship God in to liue in ignorance to haue pardons for our sinnes to serue God in outward ceremonies as in choice of meate difference of dayes c. these are things very agreeable pleasing to our corrupt nature and therefore one especiall cause why so many embrace Popery A fourth cause is the tyranny of the Church of Rome whose chiefe meanes to vphold her religion is fire sword for were it not for this many thousands in a few yeers would vtterly renounce Popery A fifth cause why so many especially of the Learned dâ— embrace it is pompe and profit that is ambition and couetousnesse This was that which made the Scribes and Pharises eueâ— against their owne knowledge to withstand Christ and 〈◊〉 Gospell And this makes many learned Papists ro do the like They know no doubt that in some things they erre as it doth appeare by the words of Stephen Gardiner on his death bed The Bishop of Chichester seeing him to be in a desperate case comforteth him with the hope of remission of sinnes by the merits of Christ Gardiner hereunto answereth thus What will you open that gappe now you may speake it to me and to such as are in my case but if you teach it to the people then farewell all meaning our authority pompe and profit by absolutions Masses c. These are the speciall causes why so many embrace Popery C. There is one thing more that I would gladly know concerning the Papists and that is whether a Papist may be saued seeing that Popeâ—ie is so contrary to the grounds of Religion M. You are then to marke what a Papist is A Papist as the Rhemists on Acts 11. Sect. 4. doe describe him is one that cleaueth to the Pope in Religion and is obedient to him in all things Euery one now that is vnder the iurisdictioÌ„ of the Pope is not to be counted a Papist for there are some euen in Italy â—paine c. that hold the Grounds of Religion doe sigh and â—rone vnder the Romish yoke and desire to be free'd from 〈◊〉 yea would reioyce to see it Againe there may be some that for want of knowledge â—nd the meanes thereof are entangled with some points of â—opery but yet they hold the foundation which is CHRIST â—ESVS and looke to be saued by his merits and not by their â—wne or any others Such we account not Papists but the â—â—e Church and children of GOD. But by Papists wee meane such as cleaue fast to the Pope in Religion are in all â—â—ings obedient to him will not be reclaimed from their erâ—â—urs refuse to heare the Word of God to read the Scripâ—â—res or any other good bookes Of such we may boldly say â—â—t if they thus continue to the end they cannot be saued DIALOGVE 15. C. I