Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	catholic_a	church_n	tradition_n	2,528	5	9.2068	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19595	The declaration of Mr. Patrik Crawfurd his returne from poperie to the true religion, which is according to the Word of God, in holie Scripture	Crawfurd, Patrick.	1627 (1627)	STC 6032; ESTC S117118	36,279	66

parts and by the space of foure yeares what by trauells what by conference what by studying in the Colledges of Jesuites made my selfe as able as I could to defend Poperie and oppose true Religion and when I returned home did what I could to pervert others and to confirme them that were seduced and convoyed Jesuits oftentimes where their purpose was to further their designes sometimes beeing disaguised with them for feare of discouerie to the hurt of many Souls the Lord forgiue mee for whose cause I doe write this my declaration if possiblie it comming to their handes might bee a meane to cause them considder their wayes and repent and forsake their Idols and turne to seeke the Lord Jesus who will teach all them James 1. 5 John 14 16. the true way who seekes the same by prayer of God through Christ alone and so the woundes might bee healed in Gods mercie which I helped to giue these Souls in my blind zeale the recouerie againe of whose Souls without any detriment to their bodilie estate worldly is and shall bee euer my desire only the Lord giue them Repentance and make my Repentance dayly more fruitfull that J may bee as truelie zealous for the trueth as euer I was blinde forward against the same CHAP 2. The Iustice of God giuing those ouer to beleeue lyes who will not learne the trueth TO show then the whole matter from the beginning to the glory of God and edification of all who pleases to peruse these presentes without prejudice J was brought vp in the Colledge of Glasgow and did passe my course vnder learned godly Masters who did their diligence to instruct both me and others in human Learning and Religion as time wold suffer but I in my youthlinesse did not lay Religion to heart and therfore was justly punished thereafter for within halfe an yeere after I ended my course in the Colledge I was infected with the errours of Poperie so iust a thing it is with God to punishe the neglect of trueth with giuing ouer to errour that they may belieue lyes who will not take paines to vnderstand the trueth for an Papist of my acquaintance who had beene out of the Countrie a Scholler sharpe enough began to deale with mee and put mee in question and doubt concerning the Religion professed in Scotland so much the more easilie as I vnderstood it not at that time Then when J should haue sought satisfaction of my doubts at those who vnderstood the trueth before J had giuen any more eare to him that seduced mee J lent my eare still and gaue credite to all that hee spake without examination according to the Scriptures so dangerous a matter is it to admit any grounds of Religion without trying them by the rule of Gods Word whether they bee divine or not and so he possessed mee what by himselfe what by Books what by conference with Priests and others of these erroneous positions following First that the Romane Church was the mother Church only true Catholicke and Apostolicke 2. That the Scriptures did not containe all things needfull for Saluation but was an vnperfect rule of Religion 3. And that traditions must bee ioyned therewith which were of equall authoritie with the Scripture 4. That the Scripture was obscure and dangerous to be read by laickes 5. That to the Church of Rome belonged to giue the sense of it and that their exposition was as good as Scripture 6. That the Church of Rome was iudge of all contraversies of Religion 7. That the Church of Rome could not erre 8. That Saint Peter was Pope of Rome 9. And that all the Popes since were his lawfull successours Christs Vicars heads of the Church and had authoritie aboue the Scriptures and that he bare the Keyes of Heauen and could not erre in doctrine and no Saluation without the Roman Church for any Soule and such like Those grounds I drunke in supposing them all to bee true wherevpon my minde was casten open to belieue euery thing which they commanded mee to belieue and whatsoeuer the Church did belieue without any further examination So J was receiued amongst Papists and admitted to their Masse heere at home Then beeing desirous to haue further insight in the Romish Religion J went ouer to France and stayed there a season conversing with Jesuits in their Colledges Therafter J went to Rome to the head spring of that Religion and stayed there some eight Monthes but was forced to leaue it through sicknesse and retiering to West-Flanders J stayed in a seminarie and studied in a Colledge of Jesuites some two yeares all which time I remained obedient to all their injunctions giuen vnto mee and albeit many things occurred in my trauells which perplexed my minde making me doubt of the course I was entered into yet I smothred all downe by the weight of these groundes which J had laid downe in the beginning and namelie of this that the Church of Rome could not erre CHAP. 3. The power of Delusion I Obserued their Church-men of greatest account and Wisedome among them to lay heauie burthens and grieuous to bee borne vpon others but they themselues tooke litle paines in the businesse They professed for the most parte voluntarie pouertie one by one but the yearely Rents and common Purse whereof euery man was furnished as he had to doe was verie rich I saw some of their Orders liue by begging and Almes who would shortly haue forsaken the craft if there had beene any danger in that course either of hunger or cold more than they pleased to take vpon themselues and make show of Yet I thought their Church coulde not erre They professed to bee so retired from the Worlde as they could thinke of nothing but Heauen and yet tooke the most wittie courses that could bee to vnderstand all mens effaires designes and disposition and then made use of them all as best serued their owne ends They professed humilitie but laboured in effect to bee in honour and estimation by all and were as impatient to bee despysed as any man their speciall paines beeing imployed to bring moe and moe vnder their subiection vnder pretence of making them religious Yet J thought still their Church could not erre I saw the Pope who calls himselfe Peters successour and his Cardinals busked in the greatest riches and worldly honour that can bee in the Earth and in the meane time casting the glory of the Apostles the preaching of the Gospell at their heeles as vnbeseeming their Grandour When the Pope came abroad hee was carried in a gorgeous Chaire vpon foure mens shoulders and all men as he went by kneeled direct to the ground in effect adored him as one invested with Christs power and preheminence in the earth and owner of Christs honour in the World as his Legat and Lieutenant and so I honoured him amongs others my selfe And yet I thought all well for this presumption that the Church could not erre I saw the Church

absolute obedience to the superiors of that order renuncing both my will and iudgment as their Father Ignatius His Epistle to his Brethren in Lusitania calls it and to follow al their injunctions without asking question to goe or to stay to do or to suffer whatsoeuer they thought good to enjoyne mee for the Catholick cause and good of the Roman Church This oath J saye I could not get digested For therby J should haue bene bound if they had thought it fit to enjoyne mee for the advancement of the Catholick cause to haue beene an instrument of all the mischiefe that they could devise against my natiue Countrie and vnder colour of relieving soules to doe what any hath done or attempted in that blind obedience Skarring therefore at this oath I came home and yet forced my self still to keep the former grounds of Religion whereby I was made obstinat in errour and vntoward to be dealt with by any who wold haue studied to reclaime me Yet it pleased God at last to force in his own truth vpon my conscience that I began to smell sundrie of their errours and specially of the sacrifice of the Masse and transubstantiation that I began to examine these groundes of the Roman Religiō which I had drunk in the beginning if they could beare me out before God or not wherein finding my selfe miserablie mistaken and so long by that meanes abused freelie and of my own accord not beeing dealt with by any J addressed my selfe for conference with the Ministerie of Edinburgh Falkirke and Glasgow who all louingly and learnedly gaue mee solution to all my doubts and furthered this worke of God in helping home a forlorne Sonne to his Fathers house againe Now for all the particular reasons why I call their masse and transubstantiation an errour and the grounds of their Religion vnwarandable and why J haue renunced their particular errours builded thereon it were not convenient to set them all down here partly because it wold accresse to a volume partly because in substance they are the same that are learnedlie set down by these who handles the contrauersies against the Church of Rome Only J will content my selfe to shew some few things of many First concerning their Religion in generall Next concerning their masse adding therto compendiously in the third place some few things of their common absurdities maintained by them CHAP. 5. The Scriptures alledged imperfection the Pope of Romes perfection who can not erre as is alledged because hee sits in the Chaire of Saint Peter are the two rotten Pillars whereon all these errours are builded THis Romish Religion is a mysterie it makes show to hold the common groundes of Christianitie but by her deedes everts them The first principles of the Romish errours doe resolue vpon these two the imperfection of the Scripture and the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome As for the imperfection of the Scripture they alledge that it does not containe all things necessarie for Salvation but place must bee left for traditions that is vnwriten doctrinall poynts and ancient customes long vsed in the Church as also for Ecclesiasticall constitutions and determinations or definitive sentences in matters controverted all which they alledge must haue equall authoritie in mens mindes with the Scriptures Next they alledge that these points necessarie to Saluation which are set down in Scripture are not cleare and plaine in the Scripture but that the Scripture is obscure and doubtsome and therefore is neither necessarie nor expedient that it should bee translated that it is a dangerous thing for laicks to read it wherein to any that will looke narrowlie vpon the matter they bewray a secreet feare if they bee hemde in into the rule of the Scriptures they cannot iustifie with any colour the abundance of their errours Thirdly evidently they show that the reading of the Scriptures by laicks shuld breed moe doubts about their Religion than they could bee able to solve and giue them such insight in this Religion that these whom they keepe now in the chaines of darknesse and blinde beliefe causing them to doe and suffer and beleeue what they please could not but break the yock if they grew acquainted with the Scripture Fourthlie they bewray the Spirit of Antichrist who thus vnder faire pretences sclander Christ Jesus who hauing taken vpon him as the great Prophet and Doctour of his Church to reveale the whole Counsell of God concerning mens Saluation and caused set it downe in Scripture yet hath come short of his purpose as their doctrine importes and neither hath set downe all things needfull nor these clearly which are set downe but obscurely ambiguously and dangerously that it is not safe for common People to read the same and so by these meanes they breed a misregard of the Scripture of Christ in mens hearts and skarres Christs sheepe as long as they can from hearing what the Spirit of Christ sayeth to his Churches As for the peerelesse prerogatiue of the Church of Rome the first is that she cannot erre If wee aske how this can bee since they cannot name six men liuing of the Romish Religion of whom they either dare or wil avow but they may erre and are subject thereto nor three nor two They will answere that yet there is one who is head of all the rest of that Religiō the Pope who cannot erre all the rest of the Church-men of that profession being gathered together without him or without his minde sent by his Legat or Nuncio to them they grant they may erre only he cannot erre So then in stead of the Church of Rome we haue the Pope whose councill of Cardinals they will ioyne with him for lusters cause but the infallibilitie of doctrine they place in none but the Pope only By vertue of this prerogatiue of the Pope they ascribe great things to the Church of Rome vnder this pretence all her traditions are Apostolicke albeit they bee not in Scripture because they are come down as is alledged through the Apostolicke channell of the Popes infallibilitie Vnder this pretence all her customes and obseruations are Catholicke and Apostolicke and all her Ecclesiasticke constitutions and definitive sentences in matters contraverted are of diuine authoritie as they alledge and doe oblige men to beliefe obedience no lesse than the Scripture Yea vnder this pretence the Scripture hath no authoritie in respect of these who beleeue it wherfore it shuld persuade them or be credited more than the fables of Esope but as much as the Church of Rome allowes vpon it Vnder this pretence when other Churches doechallenge the Roman Church for any fault or errour shee takes vpon her to bee judge in all controuersies betwixt her selfe and others The Greeke Church for example in Asia challenges her of vsurpation aboue other Churches shee will be iudge challenges her of defection from Apostolicke doctrine shee will bee iudge challenges her of not doing as shee ought to doe or