then 't is most evident that their Church was a most excellent keeper of Scripture for Fifteen hundred years together that had not all that time defin'd what was Scripture and what was not but if the Papists say they had then we demand Was that set forth by Pope Sixtus Quintus or was it set forth by Pope Clement or if by a third different from them both why do they not name him if it were that set forth by Pope Sixtus then 't is now condemn'd by Pope Clement if that of Clement 't was condemned by that of Sixtus So that error must necessarily be betwixt them let them chuse which side they please And for the Book of Maccabees I hope they will allow it defin'd Canonical before St. Gregorie's time though he would not allow it Canonical but only for the Edification of the Church We further desire to be satisfied of the Papists if the Books of Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom and the Epistle to St. James were by the holy Apostles approved Canonical or not if they were approved by the Apostles Canonical sure the Papists cannot deny but they had a sufficient difinition and authority not to question them and therefore err'd in doing so And if they were not approved Canonical by the Apostles with what impudence dare the Roman Church now approve them as Canonical and yet pretend that all their Doctrine is Apostolical And if they say these Books were not questioned they should do well to tell which Books they mean which were not always known to be Canonical but have afterwards been receiveed by the Roman Church to be such so that this Argument reaches those as well as these And further we are to consider that there is not the same reasons for the Churches absolute Infallibility as for the Apostles and Scriptures for if the Church falls into an error it may be reformed by comparing it with the Rules of the Apostles Doctrine in Scripture but if the Apostles have err'd in delivering the Doctrine of Christianity in Scripture then the Roman Church cannot be infallible For Apostles Prophets and Canonical Writers and the foundation of the Church as St. Paul says 't is built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets And now to conclude this part of my discourse in very few words let the Papists answer if they can but these five words All Scripture is Divinely inspired Let them shew us so much for the Roman Church and shew us if they can where 't is written in Scripture that all the decrees of the Popish Church are Divinely inspired and all our Controversies will be at an end but I believe they can never do that without another Transubstantiation-Miracle of words The Papists desire us to shew them an exact Catalogue of our fundamentals to which we answer That God may be sufficiently known to one and not sufficiently declared to another and consequently that may be fundamental and necessary to one which is not to another which variety of circumstances renders it impossible to set down an exact Catalogue of Fundamentals for God requires more of them to whom he gives more and less of those to whom he gives less more of a commander of a Kingdom than a poor simple Turnspit 'T is a plain revelation of God to us Protestants that the Sacrament of the Eucharist should be administred in both kinds 1 Cor. 11. 28. that the publick Hymns and Prayers of the Church should be in such a Language as is most for Edification 1 Cor. 14. 15 16. yet the Church of Rome not seeing this by reason of the vail would be very angry if we told them 't would prejudice their supposed Infallibility We read in St. Matthew that the Gospel was to be Preacht to all Nations and this was a truth revealed before our Saviours Ascention yet if the Church had been asked before the conversion of Cornelius they would have certainly told you it had not been necessary to teach all Nations for 't is most apparent out of Acts 11. they all believed so until St. Peter was better informed by a vision from Heaven and the conversion of Cornelius and then they turn'd quite of a differing belief and esteemed it necessary to teach all Nations and yet were still a Church The Papists are pleased to say the Protestants differ in Fundamentals which indeed appears to us very irrational For if they say We Protestants differ in Fundamentals how then can they say We are members of the same Church one with another more than they are with ours or ours with theirs and why do they object our difference more with one another than with themselves and if we do not differ in Fundamentals why do they upbraid us with Fundamental differences amongst our selves We believe the Catholick Church cannot perish yet we believe she may and did err as I prov'd just before but thus much we Protestants declare in general That we esteem it sufficient for any mans salvation to believe God's Word the Scripture and that it contains all things necessary to our salvation and that we do our utmost endeavours to find believe and follow the true sense of it and being we are sure that all that is any way necessary is there believing all that is there we are sure we believe all that is necessary And therefore 't is but reasonable to say that any private person who truly believes the Scriptures and heartily endeavours to know the Will of God and to do it is as secure nay securer from the danger of erring in Fundamentals than the Roman Church for 't is impossible any man so qualified should fall into an error that can prove damnable to him for God requires no more of any man to his salvation but only his true and best endeavours to be saved And for the Papists Sacrament of Confession which they hold is so absolute and nenessary and so much upbraid us for the want of it we answer We know no such absolute necessity of it but yet we hold we must not only confess our sins but forsake them or we shall not find mercy And we Protestants farther believe that they that confess their sins shall find mercy though they only confess them to God and not to Man And more that they who confess them both to God and Man and do not in time forsake them shall not find mercy And so for the Papists Sacrament of Repentance for Remission of sins tho we Protestants know no such yet we allow observe the same Duty but publick before the Church which was the constant practice of the primitive Church and Rhenanus himself though so great a Champion for the Papists writes That the confession then used was before the Church and that Auricular confession was not then in the World. The Papists will tell you that our Bishops have not the true power of Ordination but that has been so clearly answered and so truly proved at large by so many already as I
witnesâ—… Pope against Pope Councils against Councils some of their Fathers against others and rather then fail some against themselves new Traditions inrolled and old ones Cashiered in a word one Church against another and if â—…hat be not enough the Church of one Age against the Church of another whereas the Scripture being true and â—…nalterable and containing all things necessary to our Salvation I am secure that by believing nothing else I shall â—…elieve no falshood in matter of Faith and if I mistake the â—…rue sense of Scripture and so fall into error yet I am secured â—…rom any dangerous error because whilst I am truly endeaâ—…ouring to find the true ground of Scripture I cannot but â—…old my error without obstinacy and be ready to forsake â—…t when more probable and true sense shall appear unto me and then being assur'd that all necessary truths are plainly â—…et down in Scripture I am certain by believing the Scripture â—…o believe all necessary truth and he that does so if his life be â—…nswerable to his Faith how is it possible he should fail of Salvation And tho the Roman Church pretend to be a perfect guide of Faith and teacher of all Divine Truths yet sure that â—…itle might much better and more justly be given to the â—…cirptures as their Teacher and Master The Roman Church brags how ancient their Church is but doubtless they cannot deny but the Scripture is more ancient â—…f they will but allow the Mother to be older than the Child The Papists say their Church is a means of keeping Chriâ—…tians at unity so are also the Scriptures to those that be â—…ieve them in unity of belief in matters necessary The Papists say their Church is Catholick certainly the Scripture is more Catholick for all true Christians in the universal world do now and ever did believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God so much at least as to contain all things necessary to salvation whereas the Papists say They only are the true Church and all other Christians tho more than they give them the lye for saying so By following the Scriptures I follow that whereby the Papists prove their Churches Infallibility For were it not for Scripture what pretence could the Papists have for it or what true Notion could they receive of it So that by so dong the Papists must plainly confess That they themselves are surer of the Truth of Scripture than of their Churches Authority for we must be surer of the proof than of the thing proved or else 't is no proof So that following Scripture I follow that which must be true if the Papists Church be true for their Church allows it's truth Whereas if I follow the Roman Church I must follow that which tho the Scripture be true may be false nay more must be false if the Scripture be true because the Scipture is against it Following the Papists Church I must be a servant to my Saviour and a subject to my King only at the pleasure of the Pope and renounce my Allegiance when the Popes will is to declare him an Heretick nay I must believe Vertue Vice and Vice Vertue if he pleases for he both makes and unmakes Scripture as he thinks convenient witness the Apocripha which hath not past for Canonical but of late years in the Papistâ—… Church who interpret Scripture according to their Doctrine but will not judge their Doctrine according to Scripture for none like to weigh light Mony in true scales In short the Pope adds and lessen and interprets Divine Laws as he pleases and they must stand for Laws and be obeyed as such so that in effect he rules his people by his own Laws and his own Laws by his own Lawyers his Clergy who dare not speak nor uphold them other than just such as the Pope would have them and indeed Cardinal Richelieu gave the reason why more hold the Pope above the Councils than the Councils above the Pope Because the Pope gave Archbishopricks and Bishopricks but the Councils had none to give And tho the Papists say his Holiness cannot err yet let not the Papists forget what God says in the Scripture if not only the Pope but if angel from Heaven shall preach any thing against the Gospel of Christ let him be accursed In following the Scripture we have God's express command and no colour of any prohibition but to believe the Papish Church infallible we have no Scripture-command at all much less an express one Following the Popish Church we must believe many things not only above reason but against reason witness Transubstantiation whereas following the Scripture we shall believe Many mysteries but no impossibilities many things above our reason but nothing against it Nay we need not believe any thing which reason will not convince us we ought to believe for reason will convince any sober Christian that the Scripture is the Word of God and there 's no reason can be greater than this That God says it therefore it must be true In a word we Protestants believe that all things necessary to our salvation are evidently contain'd in Scripture what is not there evidently contained cannot be necessary to be believed and our reason is just and clear Because nothing can challenge our Belief as to salvation but what hath descended to us from our Blessed Saviour Christ Jesus by original and universal Tradition Now nothing but Scripture hath thus descended to us therefore nothing but Scripture can challenge our Belief Now the grand difference between the Papists and us concerning the Scripture is this We hold the Scripture to be the only perfect rule whereby to judge of controversies The Papists say That they acknowledge the Scuriptures to be a perfect rule only they deny that it excludes unwritten Tradition which in effect is this they say 'T is as perfect a Rule as a Writing can be only they deny it to be as perfect a Rule as a Writing may be Either they must revoke their acknowledgment or retract their contradiction of it for both cannot possibly stand together For if they will but stand to what they have granted That Scripture is as perfect a Rule of Faith as a Writing can be they must then grant it so compleat as it needs no addition and so evident that it needs no interpretation for both these properties are requisite to a perfect Rule And that a writing is capable of both these properties and perfections is most plain for he that denies it must say that something may be spoken which cannot be written for if such a compleat evident rule of Faith may be delivered by word of mouth as the Papists pretend may is and whatsoever is delivered by word of mouth may also be written then such a compleat and evident rule of Faith may also be written For the Argument is most plain Whatsoever may be spoken may be written a perfect rule of Faith has been spoken therefore a perfect
rule of Faith may be written If the Papists cannot see this plain Conclusion they had best desire more light to be added to the Sun. The Papists pretend their Church to be the infallible teacher of all Divine Truths and an infallible Interpreter of all obscurities in the Faith But the Papists will I hope give us leave to admire how they can pretend to Teach them in all places without writing them down that is certainly beyond the reach of their power to do as well as our belief that 't is to be done And for the Papists saying there must be a living authority beside the Scripture or else controversies cannot be ended Protestants answer Necessary controversies are and may be decided and if they be not 't is not the defect of the rule in Scripture but the default of men so that if necessary controversies be ended 't is no matter if the unnecessary be not for doubtless if God had required it he would also have provided some means to effect it but sure it does not stand with any reason it should be the Pope because he cannot be a Judge being a party indeed in civil controversies a Judge without being a party may end them but in controversies of Religion a Judge of necessity must be a concerned party and I am sure the Pope to us iâ— the chief and most concerned party being really concerned as much as his Popedom is worth Now we Protestants make the Papists this plain answer that the means of agreeing differences must necessarily be either by the appointment of God or men men sure it cannot be for then rational wise Protestants may do as well as Papists for let the Papists shew us if they can where God hath appointed that the Pope alone or any confirm'd by the Pope or that Society of Christians which adhere to him shall be the infallible Judge of Controversies we desire the Papists if they can to let us see any of those assertions plainly set down in Scripture as in all reason a thing of this nature ought to be or at least delivered with a full consent of Fathers nay let them so much as shew us where 't is in plain terms taught by any one Father in Four hundred years after our blessed Saviour Christ and if the Papists cannot do this as we believe they cannot where I pray is their either Scripture or Reason that the Pope or his Councils should obtrude themselves as Judges over us Protestants Next we would desire to know from the Papists whether they do certainly know or not the sense of those Scriptures by which they are led to the knowledge of their Church for if they do not how come they to know their Church is infallible but if they do then sure they ought to give us leave to have the same means and ability to know other plain places in Scripture which they have to know theirs for if all Scriptures be obscure how come they to know the sense of those places but if some place of it be plain why pray may not Protestants understand them as well as Papists The Papists say That the Scriptures are in themselves true and infallible yet without the direction of the Church we have no certain means to know which Translations be faithful and Canonical or what is the true meaning of Scriptures and this is the common Argument and general Belief of all Papists To which the Protestants answer That yet all these things must first be known before we can know the directions of their Church to be infallible for the Papists cannot pretend any other proof of it but only some Texts of Canonical Scripture truly interpreted therefore either they must be mistaken in thinking there is no other means to know these things but their Churches infallible direction or else we must be excluded from all means of knowing her directions to be infallible for the proof must be surer than the thing to be proved or 't is no proof And upon better consideration I am confident the Papists dare not deny but that 't is most certain Faith hath been given by other means than the Church for sure they will not say that Adam received Faith by the Church nor Abraham nor Job who received Faith by Revelation and also the Holy Apostles who received Faith by the Miracles and Preaching of our Blessed Saviour So that you see and they cannot deny but their general Doctrine is contradictory And to make it yet plainer I desire to know of the Papists if they should meet with a man that believed neither Scripture Church nor God but declares he is both ready and willing to believe them all if the Papist can shew him sufficient grounds to build his Faith upon will the Papist tell such a man there are no certain grounds how he may be converted to their Church or there are if the Papists say there are none they make Religion an uncertain thing but if they say there are then they must necessarily either argue woman-like that their Church is infallible because it is infallible or else shew there are other certain grounds besides saying the Church is infallible to prove its Infallibility The Papists demand of the Protestants If they believe the Apostles wrote all the Scriptures for if they did not how come we to call and believe them Apostolical and not the Writings of those that writ them To which we answer Though all the Scriptures were not written by the Apostles themselves yet they were all confirm'd by them and tho a Clerk writes a Statute and the King Lords and Commons confirm it in Parliament I believe they would esteem it very improper to call it the Statute of such a Clerk tho writ by him but an Act of Parliament because it was confirm'd by all their censents and becomes their Act not the Clerks The Papists desire us to tell them in what Language the Scriptures remained incorrupted and we desire them to satisfie us whether it be necessary to know it or not necessary if it be not I hope we may do well without it but if it be necessary we desire first that they will please to tell us what became of their Church for One thousand five hundred Years together all which time they must confess they had no certainty of Scripture till the time that Pope Clement the 8th set forth their approved Edition of the vulgar Translation and none sure can have the confidence to deny but that there was great variety of Copies currant in divers parts of their Church and read so which Copies might be false in some things but more than one sort of them could not possibly be true in all things And Pope Sixtus Quintus his Bible differ'd from Pope Clement his Bible in a multitude of places which makes us desire to be satisfied of the Papists whether before Pope Sixtus Quintus his time their Church had any defined Canon of Scriptures or not for if they had not
Invocating Saints and Angels in denying the Lay-men the Communion in both kinds as was commanded by our blessed Saviour in celebrating their Church-Service in an unknown Tongue which was condemned by St. Paul in adoring the Sacrament and in all these a rational Papist cannot deny but he is on the more dangerous side as to the committing of sin and the Protestant in the more secure way as to the avoiding it For in all these things if Protestants say true the Papists do that which is impious but on the other side if the Papists were in the right yet the Protestants might be secure enough too for their fault would be only this that they should only not do some things which the Papists themselves confess is not altogether necessary to be done And truly the Protestants are so Charitably civil as only to say of Papists as St. Austin did of the Donatists That Catholicks approved the Doctrine of the Donatists but abhorred their Heresie of Rebaptization So Protestants approve the Fundamental and necessary Truths which the Papists retain by which many good Souls among them may be saved but abhor the many superstitions they use in their Religion And supposing these Errors of the Popish Church were in themselves not damnable to them that believe as they profess yet for us Protestants to profess what we do not believe and esteem those as Divine Truths which we believe not to be either Divine or true would be doubtless damnable as to us for 't is certain Two men may do the same thing and it may be sinful to one and not to the other as suppose a married Woman gives herself out to be a Widow and one knowing her Husband to be alive marries her doubtless his injoyment of her was adulterous but a second man comes and after seeing her pretended Husband buried marries her and dies without the least information of her first Husbands being then alive his ignorance sure protected him from sin and the second Husbands knowledg of the sin he acted condemned him of Adultery tho his fault might be palliated with some excuses yet it can never be defended by any just Apoligy And so tho we read in Scripture that it was St. Paul's Judgment that meat offered to Idols might lawfully be eaten yet he says if any should eat it with a doubtful Conscience he should sin and be condemned for so doing And supposing we Protestants ought not to have forsook the Papists Church for sin and errours if she had not injoyn'd and imposed them on us yet since she does maintain them with such obstinacy and imposes them with such tyranny we ought certainly to say with St. Peter and St. John 'T is better to forsake men than God and leave the Popish Church-Communion rather than commit or profess known errors as Divine Truths for as the Prophet Ezekiel tells us that to say The Lord hath said so when the Lord hath not said so is a high presumption and great sin be the matter never so small and therefore when St. Paul spoke concerning Virgins abstaining from marriage he said He had no commandment of the Lord but I declare my own judgment of it Now if St. Paul had given this as God's command surely we might have justly contradicted him and made a distinction between Divine Revelation and Humane Judgment So that for a Protestant to abide in the Communion of the Roman Church is so far from securing him from errour as that if I or any Protestant should continue in it I am confident I could not be saved by it and the reason is because the Papists will not admit of my Communion without professing the entire Popish Doctrine to be true and profess this I cannot but I must perpetually exulcerate my Conscience tho the errours of the Roman Church were not in themselves damnable yet for me to resist known Truths and to continue in the Profession of known errours and falshoods is certainly a capital sin and of great affinity with the sin which shall never be forgiven In short if the errours of the Roman Church did not warrant our departure yet the tyrannous imposition of them would be our sufficient justification for they force us either to forsake the Papists Communion or profess as Gospel-truths what our Conscience assures us is very little akin to them so that the Protestants were oblig'd to forsake those errours of the Popish Church and not the Church but the errours and we Protestants did and do still continue members of the Church having only left what appeared most plain to us to be superstitious and impious And we separate no more from the Popish Church thant she has separated from the Ancient Church and indeed to speak properly our difference is more against the Court than Church of Rome which has introduced so many new ceremonies and practises in the Popish Church as was never heard nor practised in the Primitive Times as for one instance of a Thousand I might give you Their denying the Cup to the Laity which was never practised in the Church a Thousand years after our Saviour But because the Papists brag so much of and depend so entirely on the Infallibility of their Church I shall pass by their Out-works and search a little into this their Grand Fort the Infallibility of their Church for except they prove that they prove nothing but in proving that they prove all and if the Papists could satisfie me either by Scripture or Reason that their Church is infallible I should not only be of their Church to morrow but repent I was not sooner but really by all that I ever heard or read for their making it good I find cause only to admire their confidence but not at all to esteem their reasons The cheif method they take and degrees they use to prove the Infallibility of their Church are by whole-sale these First that St. Peter was head and cheif amongst the Apostles and there was given to him and his Successors by our Saviour Universal Authority over his Militent Church That the Pope or Bishop of Rome is St. Peter's Successor and has his Authority of Vniversal Bishop and consequently the Roman Church being built upon this Rock is infallible all which I doubt not but to prove to be inconsistent with and contradictory both to Scripture and Reason As to the first point of St. Peter's being Head of the Apostles which the Papists all stile him and say he was called from thence Cephas which is derived from the Greek word Head it is a most gross mistake for Cephas is a Syriack word that signifies Stone but this is only by the by Now we Protestants say tho we allow St. Peter might have primacy of Order yet we cannot grant he had supremacy of power over the other Apostles for sure it cannot stand with the least reason that St. Peter should have authority over all the Apostles and yet never act the least authority over
their Priest tells them as Men do Wives for better for worse and must marry their Faith to their Churches infallibility which allows that only to be Gospel which their Church says shall be not what the Apostles write is so for the Papists must obey the Pope though no where commanded in the Gospel but must not read the Gospel though they are commanded there to do it Nay when once the Papist can but touch the small Needle of any ones reason with the great Loadstone of the Harmonious Doctrine of a necessary Obedience to their infallible Church then they make such follow it to every point of the Compass be it good bad or indifferent and so they fail all their life in a Trade-wind of ignorance and superstition and must believe their Priests words before their own senses in the plainest objects of them as in the Miracle of Transubstantiation where you must have eyes and see not and hands and feel not but must believe in a moment real Bread and Wine to be turned into perfect Flesh and Blood though you cannot see the least change whatsoever yet they are bound to believe their Priest before their eyes smell tast nor dare their Priest say that the Consecrated Bread which they esteem the real Body of Christ will be less mouldy or more uncertain of corruption after Consecration than before and the jest of it is that at the same time the Papists believe that Miracle they also believe this Scripture That God will not suffer his Holy One to see corruption And tho for these and many other reasons I cannot believe this Transubstantiation-Miracle yet I cannot but admire this Miracle that belongs to Transubstantiation which is how the Pope can bring so many that have sense and reason to believe it But I shall pass by their adoring this Sacrament their praying to Saints and a multitude of their superstitious observances never used in the Primative Church shall only desire you Madam to observe in general that the Papists follow the Gospel just as they read Hebrew that 's backward for God plainly commands that all should search the Scripture And our Blessed Saviour ordered the Sacrament to be administred in both kinds 1 Cor. 11. 28. And St. Paul forbids publick Prayers in an unknown Language but that which is most for Edification 1 Cor. 14. 15 16. But these plain positive commands do not hinder the Church of Rome from declaring that unlearned men shall not read and search the Scriptures but if we believe St. Paul before the Pope we may read in the 17th of the Acts 11. how he commended the noble Bereans for searching the Scriptures and therefore if searching the Scriptures had not been not only lawful but a commendable act certainly St. Paul would never have commended them for so doing So that the Popish Clergy forbids the reading the Scriptures under pretence that their Laity might not truly understand them Next the Church of Rome allows only their Clergy except free Princes for they are excepters of Persons though God is not to receive the Communion but in one kind tho our Saviour commands that all drink of the Cup and the Papists cannot deny but that the Communion was taken in both kinds in all Christian Churches for above a Thousand Years after Christ And lastly for the poor vulgar sort they shall only hear their publick Prayers in an unknown Tongue viz. Latine which a Tenth part of them do not understand and therefore how that can be most for Edification let the Papists tell if they can I am sure we cannot nor do we believe they can without the help of another Transubstantiation-Miracle and making an unknown Language to most to be chang'd at the same time into a common known Language to all And now Madam I shall humbly desire you to consider in general that tho the Papists do out-noise us as shallow Rivers do still the deepest with the high and mighty Rodomontades of their Churches Infallibility yet such high Rants without true proof are but like School-boys paper-Kites which soar high and lofty but have nothing else worth taking notice of They will have the confidence to tell you that their Popish Church â—…s the Roman Catholick and only true Christian Church â—…n the whole World But the Protestants Answer to this their boasting is that all the Christian Churches in the whole World besides the Popish Churches tho more in number than they declare quite contrary They will ask you where your Protestant Church was before Luther which was wittily answered by one where the Papist Church never was in the Bible The Papists do divert themselves very much at our stiling our King Head of the Church as we do for their doing so for we esteem our King Head only in his own Dominions without the Popes title of infallible and sure 't is more rational that those of a Kingdom should allow their King to be Head of the Church in his own Kingdoms than that a few Cardinals should make the Head of the Church over all Kingdoms And for all their jeasting I am sure we can shew in sober earnest Scripture-presidents for Kings being Heads of Churches in their own Dominions which is more than the Papists can shew for their Pope or his Churches infallibility For sure they cannot object against it as new Doctrine though Doctrine that 's new is their greatest Trade that the Kings of Judah and the first Christian Emperors were Heads of the Jewish Churches and in their own Dominions And Solomon tells us That a Divine Sentence is in the lips of the King and his mouth transgresseth not in Judgment which I am sure Popes have not witness Liberius and Solomon gives the reason because the Heart of the King is in the Hand of the Lord. If the Papists will pretend so much Scripture for their Pope I shall only answer 'T is more than ever Protestants read or the Apostles writ The Papists will tell you with a great deal of confidence though we say the Bible is the Religion of Protestants yet there is no Protestant Religion or Church mentioned in the whole Creed which are the Articles of the Christian Faith And they will tell you that their Church is the Catholick Church and to believe the Catholick Church was an Article of the Christian Faith from the very infancy of the Church in the beginning of the Apostles time Now let the Papists tell us if they bring this as an Argument against the Protestant Religion in the Bible or not if not what cause have they to name it or what need have we to answer it but iâ—… it be one we make this reply That the Roman Church iâ—… no more named in the Apostles Creed than the Protestanâ—… Church is for the Apostles Creed was made before thâ—… Roman Church was a Church and this I am sure they cannot deny so that since the Catholick Church waâ—… then in being and the Roman Church not in being
iâ—… must necessarily follow that the Roman Church cannoâ—… be the Catholick Church mentioned in the Apostles Creed and consequently is not the Mother-Church as the Papistâ—… would have her to be Thus the Papists have so overcharg'd this Argument to shoot at us as it recoils anâ—… flyes in their own faces And of kin to this is their grand Battering-piece oâ—… all which so thunders in the ears of all Papists and makes the Popes power so absolute and the poor credulous Papist so obedient and that is the power given by our Saviour to St. Peter in the 16th of St. Matthew beginning the 18th Verse Thou art Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church and give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whomsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whomsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven and these words the Papists understand literally that St. Peter's person is the Rock that Christ builds his Church on which cannot possibly be by the verses just following For there when our Saviour tells his Disciples of his going to Jerusalem where he must suffer many things and be killed and raised again the Third day Peter took him and rebuke him Be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee But our Saviour turned and said unto Peter Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence to me for thou savourest not the things that he of God but those that be of men By which words 'tis most clear and evident that our Saviour did not mean Peters person could be the Rock of the Christian Church For if Peter's person had been that Rock meant sure our Saviour would never have removed it behind him and it would be not only irrational but impious to believe that Christ would build his Church on Satan for so he calls St. Peter's person and it were as unreasonable to believe that the Rock of Christ's Church could be an offence to him as St. Peter's person was and as improbable again as all this that Christ's Church the Foundation of all Christianity should savour not of the things that be of God but those that are of Men as Peter's person did Therefore if you but please to read the words of our Saviour carefully you shall find they are most plain for Verse 13th When Jesus came into the Coast of Caesarea He ask'd his Disciples Whom do men say that I am and they said Some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremias or one of the Prophets but whom say ye that I am and Simon Peter answered and said Thou art Christ-the Son of the Living God And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this Rock not this person I will build my Church that is upon this Rock of Faith that I am Christ the Son of the Living God I build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Now this must necessarily relate to his faith not his person for the gates of Hell that 's the power of evil did prevail against Peter's person or he had not deny'd and forsworn his Lord and Master again and again and been afterwards proved blame-worthy by St. Paul to his face and indeed as blame-worthy as any of his Disciples So that 't is most plain that Christ's words of making him the Rock of the Christian Church related not to his person but his faith of Christ's being the Son of the Living God. And for the other part whereas the Papists believe a particular favour and power given by our Saviour to St. Peter of the Keys of Heaven that was given as much to the Eleven Disciples as to him as you may read in the 18th of St. Matthew and in the 20th of St. John's Gospel Vers 23 24. As my Father hath sent me even so send I you and when he had said this he breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained So that you see this power is general to the Disciples and not in particular to St. Peter more than to any of the rest as the Papists misbelieve The Papists have many such Questions which I am sure Madam you have neither the patience to read nor I the time to write but those that are most material of them you will find I have here presented you truly answer'd by pure Scripture clear reasons plain arguments and all in few words fit for the weakest memory or smallest pocket to carry about them For true reason doth not consist in large Volumes long Gowns or gray Beards for many live to One and twenty without attaining to years of discretion the degrees of Age being not still the measures of Wisdom For the World will never be without old Fools and young Philosophers And truly Madam for my part I cannot so much as think of the Papists Religion without wonder that so many rational men of them should rather fasten their faith of salvation on the pretended infallibility of their Church which is deny'd by most Christians than on the Holy Scripture which is granted by all to be the will and word of God and the very Foundation of their Churches Foundation as containing in it all things necessary to our salvation And we Protestants have at least this satisfaction and advantage that not only the Papists but all sorts of Christians that are in the circumference of the whole World meet and joyn with us in this center of Faith That the Scriptures contain all things necessary to our salvation which being a general granted Truth I confess I admire how any Papist can make the least scruple which is the safest Heavenly Guide the Pope or the Gospel If there be any rational man so extravagant as to put them in the same ballance and to commit a rape upon his Reason I shall only desire him to consider this plain Question If he were to go a Journey in an unknown way would he not think it more rational and safe to follow a certain true Guide that all the Christians in the World declare is certainly able and ready to shew him the right way than to follow a pretended Guide which the greatest part of the Christians in the World assures him will lead him out of it And this being the real difference between the Papist and Protestant in gross concerning the Heavenly Guide the Bible and the Pope I think I need now say no more because so many have already said so much and I am sure enough to satisfie any except such who will believe a crooked Rule is better to draw a straight line by than a right one And now Madam I shall only beg so much of your patience as to let me tell you that the plot and Heads of this following discourse I have Extracted out of the worthy Collingworth Before I begin
the discourse it self I know in writing a Play to have Rank'd the plot in the Front of it and to make the whole design of the Prologue to be the Key to uncipher the plot of the Play though anciently in use had been now not only out of fashion but beside reason For the design of Plays aiming chiefly to please the senses they ought to be compounded and mixt with hopes and fears certainties and uncertainties expectations and delays of the event of the plot which being all so interwoven together creates the agreeableness of the Play for when once the whole plot is discovered the pleasure of the Play is ended like Hare-Hunting the sport lies not in presently taking the Hare but in following him in all his Rings and Doubles And those that love Plays and such Huntings resemble jealous men who eagerly pursue what they apprehend to overtake or as old Age which we all pray to attain but fear to approach But now I come to soar my discourse to a much higher pitch and a more Elevated Subject and to treat of the most noble part of man the Soul and of true Religion the only way to Heavenly felicity For without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. We must therefore now Madam change the Scene of sense for a spiritual one and climb where earthly nature can never follow us to the pure and high Region of Heaven which will inform us that the earlier discovering our plot of attaining Heaven will but better the play and the more speed the better success For the joys of Heaven are everlasting and admit of no increase or diminution not like the divertisements of Stage-plays or Hunting or any earthly delights which cannot last but for a season and decay in our very injoying them and must soon leave us or we them But Heavenly thoughts the more and longer we practice them the better we shall like them Heavenly joys so far exceeding all we can here leave as they are all we can ever aspire to have This we all know but few of us practice and we all love God but few love to keep his Commandments I shall therefore now Madam tell you as the Prologue to my insuing discourse that the grand Plot and whole design of it moves chiefly on these two hinges First in confirming you that the foundation of the Protestant Religion is built on God's holy Word the Scriptures which we Protestants esteem to be a perfect Rule of Faith and guide to our actions and true Touch-stone to try all matters by that relate to the good of our Souls as certainly containing in it all â—…hings necessary to our salvation The second thing I â—…hiefly design to prove is that neither the Pope or the Popish Church are infallible and these two shall make â—…p the principle stories in the little Model of this small â—…uilding The pretended infallibility of the Church of Rome is the grand perswasive Argument and lure to inâ—…ite men to it and the strongest commanding Garrison 〈…〉 all the Popes power and all other Arguments and â—…erswasions are but like the small open Villages about â—…his Garrison which must be servants to them that are â—…asters of it and if a Papist can be but once convinc'd â—…hat neither the Pope nor the Popish Church are inâ—…llible they will soon be brought to reason and our reâ—…aining differences will not be very considerable I â—…hall therefore only lightly discourse on them and shall â—…o further trouble you Madam than briefly to answer â—…hem in my own defence as I meet them or as they â—…ollow me and shall only do as the Wolf does when â—…ursued snap and bite in his own defence against all â—…pposers without altering his pace or changing his â—…oad I shall neither meddle with the Papists but as 〈…〉 meet them in the way or towards making of my way â—…o my two designed points which are as I said before â—…o prove the Scripture to be a perfect Rule of Faith and â—…uide to our actions and to answer as I go the Papists â—…ain Arguments and Objections against it Next that 't is against all Scripture and Reason that eiâ—…her the Pope or the Popish Church should be infallible which is the main design of this discourse and if I can by God's assistance make but the Papists believe reason when â—…gainst their own Church I doubt not but by this little Pigmie-discourse as very dwarfish as 't is not only to â—…inder many tottering Protestants from turning Papists â—…ut to bring some stubborn Papists to turn Protestants or â—…t least not to have such an infallible good opinion of their Church and so damnable a bad one of ours And now Madam 't is requisite that this my discourse â—…hould be ended as soon as your Patience and therefore â—…ll that I shall add either to the excusing my self or justifying Mr. Chillingworth is that thus far of this discourse being my own writing I confess deserves only my Apology and scarce your perusal but the following discourse being extracted out of Mr. Chillingworth deserves your reading but needs not any Apology And because I find the word Protestant is so badly and over-largely interpreted I shall first acquaint you that wâ—… are not to understand by the word Protestant the Doctrinâ—… of Luther or Calvin or Geneva or only the Articles oâ—… the Church of England but that wherein they all agreâ—… with perfect Harmony That the Bible is a perfect Rulâ—… of our Faith and guide to our Actions and this afteâ—… having made the most diligent and impartial search of thâ—… true way to Eternal happiness I fully believe and thaâ—… we can never find any convincing satisfaction but on thiâ—… Rock of God's word the Bible which I conceive to bâ—… the only true Religion of Protestants If the Pope were indeed what he unjustly says he is and the Papists unreasonably believe him to be an infallible guide then there needed no Bible but if the Bible be then there needs no Pope For if I were to go a Journey anâ—… had a guide that could not err what need I be taught thâ—… way and having such a guide what need I apply mâ—… self to another So that in a word let us inform ouâ—…selves the best we can and consider as much as we please 〈…〉 the more consideration we take the more confirmation we shall find that there is no other foundation foâ—… a considering Christian to build an assured dependency onâ—… than the Scriptures For I am fully assur'd that God doeâ—… not and therefore man ought not to require of anâ—… more than this to believe the Scripture to be the word 〈…〉 God to use our best indeavours to find the true sensâ—… of it and to live to our utmost according to it This I am sure in reason we ought to believe a wiser choice than if I should guide my self by the Romaâ—… Churches Authority and Infallibility when really they have nothing of certainty but their uncertainty
shall not need here so much as to name it only let me in a word remember the Papists that they cannot well deny but that the Donatists themselves whom the Papists esteemed as bad as us as being Hereticks and Schismaticks yet St. Austin and Optatus Bishop of Rome did both acknowledge that they had the same Baptism Creed and Sacrament and that these Donatist Fathers tho Schismaticks and Hereticks gave true Ordination or else some of these were not then esteemed Sacraments therefore let them take which they please there must be error of one side The Papists pretend they have an unanswerable Objection against Protestants which is That we have discords in matters of Faith without any means of agreement To which we answer That the Scripture does not let us want solid means of agreement in matters nessary to salvation and for our agreement in all controversies of Religion either they must say we have means to agree about them or we have not if they say we have why did they before deny it if they say we have no means why are they so unjust to find fault with us for not agreeing when they themselves say we have no means to agree But for a Plaister to this Saor they are so extraordinary civil as to tell us we may come to their Church and they agree in matters of faith But the plain truth of it is that they define all matters of faith to be those wherein they agree so that to say the Roman Church does agree in matters of faith is but to say they do agree in those things they do agree in and sure they cannot deny but we Protestants do the same But we must desire the Papists to give us leave to tell them that they most grosly mistake if they say they agree in matters of Faith as for proof some of them hold it against Faith to take the Oath of Allegiance others 't is against Faith to refuse that Oath Some hold it of Faith that the Pope is Head of the Church by Divine Law others the contrary some hold it of Faith that the blessed Virgin was free from actual sin others the contrary some that the Popes power over Princes in Temporalities is de fide others the contrary some that 't is universal Tradition that the Virgin Mary was conceived in actual sin others the contrary And how the Jesuits and Franciscans and other Orders differ to this day I am sure needs no memorandum and the best Jest of all is the Papists have not so much as yet agreed in their very pretended means of agreement and yet have the confidency to pretended an Vnity more than the Protestants for some of them say The Pope with a Council may determine all Controversies others deny it Some hold That a general Council without a Pope may do so others deny this Others say Both in conjunction are infallible Determiners others deny this And some among the Papists hold The acceptation of the Decrees of Councils by the Universal Church is the only way to decide Controversies which others deny by denying their Church to be infallible and yet every part pretends to be part of the Church In a word can the Papish deny but that there has been Popes against Popes Councils against Councils Nay Councils confirmed by Popes against Popes confirmed by Councils And lastly the Church of some Ages against the Church of other Ages And since every part of the Body is so out of order methinks they should not brag of so perfect a health as they do The Papists say and do but say it that their Doctrine is held Catholick and therefore they esteem it an insolent madness of us Protestants to dispute against the practice of the whole Church First That their Doctrine is Catholick we answer That the greatest number of Christians in the world deny it so that they cannot truly say we dispute against the practice of the whole Church And farther we say Supposing we should in Complement to them grant that their Church is Catholick and Vniversal yet we say That is no sufficient proof it came Originally from the Apostles witness the Doctrine of the Millenaries and the necessity of the Eucharist for Infants which was generally taught by the Vniversal Church believed as an Apostolical Tradition but yet contradicted by the Vniversal Church afterwards This I am sure the Papists dare not deny so that we unavoidably cast the Papists upon this Rock That they must either conclude the Apostles were Fountains of contradictory Doctrines or that the Universal Doctrine of the present Church is no sufficient proof that it came originally from the Apostles because the Church Vniversal of one time and the Church Vniversal of another time did differ Next for their saying 't is insolent madness to dispute against the practice of the whole Church First we are sure we can bring more Christian witnesses that deny they are the whole Church than they can bring to prove it but supposing we were as mad as they say we are and would have us to be to dispute against the whole practice of the Church yet I hope we may desire to know of the Papists if they can deny but that 't was the practice of the whole Church in St. Austin's time and esteemed then an Apostolical Tradition even by St. Austin himself that the Eucharist should be administred to Infants And then let them tell us Whether it be insolent madness to dispute against the practice of the whole Church or is it not If it be not why do they accuse us for it But if it be insolent madness how mad and insolent is the Papists Church not only to dispute against this practice of the Vniversal Church of administring the Eucharist to Infants but utterly abolishing the practice of it So that the very worst the Papists can say of us allowing what they say to be true is that we but do what they themselves own already to have done And tho the Papists are pleased to say that the Holy Scriptures and ancient Fathers assign separation from the visible Church as a mark of Heresie yet they cannot shew one plain Text of Scripture to confirm it And for the Papists bragging of the Antiquity and Vniversality of their Churches Doctrine tho we allow it very ancient bating the primitive times we answer first as to its Antiquity we desire to see what Antiquity they can shew for their giving the Communion but in one kind when they know that the administring it in both kinds was the practice of the Church for a Thousand years after Christ what Antiquity for the lawfulness and expediency of the Latine Service for the present use of Indulgences for the Popes power in Temporalities over Princes for the Picturing the Trinity for the lawfulness of worshipping Pictures and Images for their Beads for their whole worship of the blessed Virgin for their Oblations in the notion of Sacrifices to her and other Saints for
any one of them Nor is it reasonable to believe that St. Peter having authority over all the Apostles for above 25 years together should never shew the least power over any of them all that time nor so much as receive the lest subjection from them sure any one must think this as strange unreasonable as if a King of England for 25 years together should not do one act of Regality among his Subjects nor receive any one acknowledgment from them Nor sure is it less strange unreasonable that the Papists should so many Ages after know this so certainly as they pretend they do and yet that the Apostles themselves after that these words were spoak in their hearing by vertue whereof St. Peter is pretended to be made their head should still be so ignorant of it as to question our Saviour which of them should be the greatest By which sure we may rationally conclude they did not then know for if they did their question had been needless and superfluous in desiring to be taught what they already knew And what yet appears more strange than all is that our Saviour should not have helped them out of their error by telling them St. Peter was the man but rather confirmed them in the contrary by saying The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Authority over them but it should not be so among them And again it is as strange and unreasonable that St. Paul should so far forget both St. Peter and himself as in mentioning so often St. Peter he should still do it without ascribing him any title of Honour Nor does it stand with reason that St. Paul speaking of the several degrees of men in the Church should omit giving St. Peter the highest if it had been his due but place him in the same rank and equipage with the rest of the Apostles for St. Paul says God hath appointed not first St. Peter then the rest of the Apostles but first Apostles secondly Prophets now certainly if Apostles were all first that is all equal how could one be in greater power than the other But besides all this though we should grant against all these probabilities and many more that Optatus Bishop of Rome meant that St. Peter was Head of the Apostles yet sure the Papists are still very far from proving the Bishop of Rome was to be so at all much less by Divine right Successor to St. Peter in his Headship and Authority For what incongruity is there if we say that Optatus might succeed St. Peter as his Heir and Successor in that part of his Government of that particular Church of Rome as sure he did even whilst St. Peter was living and yet that neither he nor any man was to succeed him in his Apostleship nor in the Government of the Church Vniversal as tho a Bishop should leave his Son Heir to all he died possessed of I hope you will not conclude therefore he must necessarily succeed him in the Bishoprick he died seized of The Apostles were men all called and Divinely inspired by the Holy Ghost which was the immediate gift of God and therefore could not be left as a Legary by man for though it be in any mans power to leave his Estate yet 't is in no mans power to leave to his Son his acquir'd parts at his death 'T is further worth your observing and special notice that St. Peter himself and the rest of the Apostles by laying the Foundation of the Church were to be themselves the Foundation of it and are accordingly so called in Scripture And therefore as in a building 't is incongruous that foundations should succeed foundations so it may be in the Church that Apostles should succeed Apostles the Church being built upon Apostles and Prophets Nor indeed does the grand argument of the Papists for their Pope extend any further in reallity then the particular See of Rome for thus goes their main argument St. Peter was first Bishop of Rome and the Apostles did not then attribute to themselves each one his particular Chair understand in that City of Rome for in other places others had Chairs besides St. Peter and therefore says the Papists he is a Schismatick who against that one single Chair erects another understand still in the same place and this this the Ground and the Authority the Papists say the Pope has to be Successor to St. Peter and to exercise Authority over the Universal Church But sure the Protestants urge more rationally in arguing thus That St. Peter wrote Two Catholick Epistles in which he mentions his own departure and writes to preserve the Christians in the Faith but yet in neither of these Two Epistles does he commend the Christians to the guidance authority to his pretended Successor the Bishop of Rome which sure if St. Peter had intended he would never have forgot to have named it And since the Papists so reverence and adore the Popes power let us Protestants also admire his way and means of attaining this power For though the Papists say that as soon as he is made Pope he has his authority immediately from Christ yet at the very same time the Papists all know that he cannot be made Pope but by authority and Election of the Cardinals so that I am sure by the very same reason any man that is chosen a Magistrate in any Town under the Pope's Territories may claim his Authority as immediately received from Christ as well as the Pope And further that the proving his being made Pope does not render him infallible I could give a hundred instances out of the History of Popes but that will not suit well with my designed brevity but let 's ask the Papists if Liberius Bishop of Rome after Two years Banishment did not by the sollicitation of Fortunatianus Bishop of Aquileia subscribe to Heresie and consequently could not be infallible And though the Papists rely so much on the Authority of the Fathers to support and justifie the Infallibility of their Church yet upon true Examination we shall find they make no more for their Universal Bishop than St. Peter's Two Catholick Epistles do And for their arguing out of St. Cyprian's 55 Epistles that sure makes rather against than for them for there St. Cyprian writes to Cornelius Bishop of Rome but writes not so much to him as of himself who was Bishop of Carthage against whom a Faction of Schismaticks had set up another Bishop Now though the Papists say reasonably that 't is a mark of the Vniversal Bishop that other Bishops should make their Addresses unto the Bishop of Rome yet sure 't were better Reasoning to conclude thus If the Bishop of Rome had been acknowledged Universal Bishop and his Authority and Supremacy had been believ'd and own'd sure St. Cyprian had not been satisfied with only barely writing him his sad story for he did no more but doubtless would have made his complaint to him and desired and expected redress from
him as Universal Bishop over the whole Catholick Church but his not doing so argued he esteemed him Bishop only of one Church And further St. Cyprian all know did resolutely oppose a Decree of the Roman Bishop and all that adhered â—…o him in that one point of Rebaptizing which the Popish Church at that time delivered as a necessary Tradition and Excommunicated the Bishops of Capadocia Galatia and all that were against that Tradition and would not so much as allow them lodging or entertainment in Rome Now since the Papists affirm that not to Rebaptize those whom Hereticks had Baptized to be a damnable Heresie 'T is well worth asking the Papists when this begun to be so for if they say from the beginning it was so then they must maintain a contradiction for then was St. Cypriaâ—… a Professor of damnable Heresie and yet the Papists esteeâ—… him a Saint and Martyr And on the other side if 't were not so from the beginning then did the Pope wrongfully Excommunicate those other Churches of Cappadocia and Galatia without sufficienâ—… ground of Excommunication and separation which by theiâ—… own Tenents is Schismatical So let them chuse which sidâ—… they please the Pope was in an error And tho Victor Bishop of Rome obtruded the Roman Tradition touching the time of Easter upon the Asian Biships under the pain of Excommunication and Damnation yet we read that Irenaeus and all the other Western Bishops though they did agree with the Bishop of Rome in his Observation of Easter yet they did sharply reprehenâ—… his Excommunicating the Asian Bishops for their disagreeing with him which most plainly argues that the Western Bishops thought that not a sufficient ground of Excommunication which the Bishop of Rome did and therefore it must necessarily follow they did not esteem the Roman Bishop infallible nor the separation from the Church of Rome an Heresie And this I am sure is true and undeniable reason The Popish Story tells us That Optatus Bishop of Rome upbraided the Donatists as Schismaticks because they held no Communion with the Church of Rome by adding afterwards that they were Schismaticks for they held no Communion with the Seven Churches of Asia which occasions this Question of the Papists Whether a separation from these seven Apostolick Churches was a mark of Heresie or not If they say it was not how comes it that the Pope's Authority is a stronger Argument for the Popish Church than the Asian Authority for the Asian Churches And if the Papists say a separation from those seven Asian Churches was a mark of Heresie then they must confesâ—… their Church was for many years Heretical as separating many years from the Asian Churches And Polycrates Bishop of Ephesus and Metropolitan of Asia despised the Pope's Vniversal Supremacy and Authority and kept contrary to the Pope Easter-day the Fourteenth of March. And indeed tho the Papists do so much quote the authority of the Fathers yet I find they as little befriend their Churches Infallibility as the Asian Bishops themselves have done for tho the Papists say St. Hierome conceived it nenessary to conform in matters of Faith to the Church of Rome yet before the Papists brag of that let them answer us this How came it then to pass that St. Hierome chose to believe the Epistle to the Hebrews Canonical upon the authority of the Eastern Church and to reject it from the Canon of the Roman Churches Authority And how comes it also that he dissented from the Roman Church touching the Canon of the Old Testament Let the Papists take heed of losing their Fort by endeavouring to maintain their out-works And now to conclude this point and excuse the Papists mistake concerning their universal Bishop we read in Scripture of the Prophet Elias who thought there was none â—…eft beside himself in the whole Ringdom of Israel who had not revolted from God and yet God himself is pleased to assure us he was deceived And if a Prophet and one of the greatest err'd in his judgment touching his own time Country why may not the Papists subject to the same passions err in their opinion and judgment about the Popes being Vniversal Bishop when plain reason tells them as well as us that there were other Bishops as much Vniversal as the Pope I now come to examine this infallible Pope whether he cannot make his infallible Church more infallible than he has made himself and free the Popish Church from error tho he could not the Pope from Heresie Now towards the disproving the pretended Infallibility of the Roman Church I lay this as the foundation of my Discourse That the whole Roman Church can be no better than a Cengregation of Men whereof every particular not one excepted and consequently the generality is nothing but a collection of men and if every one be polluted as who dare say he is free from sin how can the whole but be defiled with error As reasonably may a man brag he is in perfect health and strength and yet at the same time confess he hath not one sound part about him And truly it very much creats my wonder but does not in the least satisfie my reason what the Papists can pretend by the Infallibility of their Church for if they will allow their Pope to be no better than St. Peter was their Church to bâ—… composed of no better men than the Holy Apostles were 〈…〉 shall desire no more and I am sure they can never provâ—… so much for they that pretend to it declare as great aâ—… ignorance as St. Peter did a sin in denying his Lord anâ—… Master and there are many other known circumstances which made St. Paul prove him blame-worthy to hiâ—… face And for the Apostles being in error we have not only the examples of the Apostles themselves who in the time of our Saviours Passion being scandalized lost their Faith in him and I believe the Papists will not say they could lose their faith in our blessed Saviour Christ without error and therefore our Saviour after his Resurrection upbraided them with their Incredulity and called Thomas incredulous for denying the Resurrection in the Twentieth oâ—… St. John. And further 't is most apparent that the very Apostleâ—… themselves even after the sending the Holy Ghost did through Inadvertency or Prejudice continue some time in an error contrary to a revealed Truth And if the Papists will not own to know this Truth they may be fully satisfied of it in the Story of the Acts of the Apostles where they may plainly read that notwithstanding our Saviours express warrant and injunction to the Apostles to go and preach to all Nations Yet notwithstanding till St. Peter was better informed by a Vision from Heaven and by the Conversion of Cornelius both St. Peter and the rest of the Church held it unlawful for them to go and Preach the Gospel to any but the Jews Now since we can prove that St. Peter did err
and that the Church composed partly of the Holy Apostles themselves who were blessed with and inspired by the Holy Ghost could mistake and that there is no man free from sin and yet that the Body of men that make up the Popish Church should be infallible is I confess beside my faith to believe or reason to comprehend For sure if the Roman Church had been esteem'd by the Apostles infallible what needed the Apostles any other â—…reed than this short Creed I believe the Roman Church â—…fallible and that would have been more effectual to â—…eep the Believers of it from Heresie and in the true Faith â—…an this Apostolical Creed we now have And sure the Papists cannot but believe with us that â—…ose Holy Men that wrote the New Testament were not â—…nly Good Men but also Men that were desirous to direct â—…s in the plainest and surest way to Heaven And the Paâ—…ists cannot also but believe with us that they were likewise â—…en very sufficiently instructed by the Spirit of God in all â—…e necessary points of the Christian Faith Therefore cerâ—…inly 't is most rational to believe they could not be igâ—…orant of this unum necessarium that all Faith is no Faith â—…cept we believe the Church of Rome was design'd by God 〈…〉 be the Guide of Faith as the Church of Rome believes â—…d would have us believe so too We also further believe and that with great reason too â—…at the Writers of the New Testament were Wise Men espeâ—…ally being they were assisted by the Spirit of Wisdom and â—…ch that must know that an uncertain Guide was as bad as â—…ne at all and yet after all this is it possible for a Philosoâ—…ical or Contemplative man nay for any man that has reaâ—…n or common sense after all these suppositions to believe â—…at none among these holy Writers of the New Testament â—…ould remember ad rei memoriam to set down plainly â—…is most necessary Doctrine not so much as once That â—…e were to believe the Roman Church infallible Again that none of the Evangelists should so much as â—…ce name this Popish necessary point of Faith if they had â—…teem'd it necessary for us to believe it when St. Paul says â—…e kept not back any thing that was profitable for us and sure â—…e Papists cannot deny but was is necessary to salvation â—…ust be very profitable And St. Luke also plainly tells â—…hristians his intent was to write all things necessary And â—…re it stands also with reason that when St. Paul wrote to â—…e Romans he would have congratulated this their exâ—…aordinary priviledge if he had believ'd it belong'd to â—…em And though the Romans bring it as a great Argument â—…or them that St. Paul tells them Their Faith is spoken all the world over Yet pray let them moderate those thoughtâ—… with this consideration that St. Paul said the very same thing to the Thessalonians And let them further consider this that if the Roman Faith had been the Rule oâ—… Faith for all the World for ever as the Papists hold surâ—… St. Paul would have forborn to put the Romans in fear oâ—… a possibility for though Raillery is much in fashion now 〈…〉 sure 't was not then that they also nay the whole Churcâ—… of the Gentiles if they did not look to their standing might fall into Infidelity as the Jews had done 1 Ephesians 11. And methinks it also stands with great reason that the Apostles writing so often of Hereticks and Antichristâ—… should have given the Christian World this as Papists pretend only sure Preservative from them To be guided bâ—… the infallible Church of Rome and not to separate from it upon the pain of damnation Methinks also St. Peter St. James and St. Jude in their Catholick Epistles would not have forgot giving Christianâ—… this Catholick Direction of following the Roman Church and St. John instead of saying He that believes that Jesus 〈…〉 the Christ is born of God might have said He that adheres to the Doctrine of the Roman Church and lives according to it is a good Christian and by this mark you shall know him In a word can there be any thing more irrational than to believe that none of these holy Men who were so desirous of mens salvation should so much as once remember to write that we were to obey the Roman Church but leave it to be collected from uncertain Principles and by more uncertain Consequences So that upon the whole I cannot without much wonder look on the Pope's Confidence and the Papists Credulity in esteeming the Pope or his Councils to be an infallible Guide sure either they never read what they ought to believe or else they will not believe what they read though it be never so known a Truth and worthy of belief for if they did they could never believe the Infallibility of the Popish Church For indeed if they would read the Popish Story or as I may well call it the Civil Wars of the Popes you shall find as I said before Popes against Popes Councils against Councils some Fathers against others nay some against themselves new Traditions brought in and old ones turn'd out one Church against another nay the Church of one Age against the Church of another In a word the Papists say their Church is infallible and all other Christians besides themselves tho more in number than they absolutely deny it and yet we must for all that believe the Popish Church infallible And to speak the plain Truth and in a word to unravel the real cause of the Grandure of the Church of Rome above all other Churches is only this Rome was the Imperial Town of the Empire and its greatness was given by Men and not God and when afterwards Constantinople was the Imperial City they Decreed that the Church of Constantinople should have equal Priviledges and Dignities with that of Rome And now to end this Discourse I desire you will please to consider this Conclusion which is that after all that the Papists have said be it never so much and mighty to shew the Infallibility of their Church I am verily perswaded they cannot shew more if so much out of the Scriptures for their Church as the smallest Society of Christians met together in prayer can for themselves that when two or three are met together in my name I will be amongst them says the Lord And now I have just done this small Discourse and the Sun is just upon finishing this days visit I can very readily follow that holy advice of not letting it go down in my anger which I thank God I have to none living and therefore am in so much Charity with the Papists as to wish that neither they nor Protestants might waist their precious time in meer speculative controversies about words and ceremonies which of themselves will never carry us to Heaven but that we may spend our time like wise Christians in the ways and fear of God which