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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A27341 The belief of the Athanasian Creed not required by the Church of England as necessary to salvation in a letter to a friend. 1693 (1693) Wing B1788; ESTC R14053 3,165 4

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The Belief of the ATHANASIAN CREED not required by the Church of England as necessary to Salvation In a Letter to a Friend My worthy and dear Friend SIR You cannot but remember that when I was lately in your good Company there was a Discourse concerning the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as delivered in the Creed call'd Athanasius's and that there was a Person present who declared his Opinion to be that the Church of England did not require the Belief of that Doctrine as necessary to eternal Salvation and the Reasons he gives for that his Opinion are briefly these viz. 1. Because saith he no Persons are by the Church of England nor I verily think by any Church ever baptized into the Faith as contained in that Creed but in the Apostles Creed 2. As Persons are admitted by the Church of England into her Communion without the Belief of that Creed so in her Office of the Visitation of the Sick they are not examined in it but upon a Declaration of stedfast Faith in all the Articles of the Apostles Creed in which I could never yet find any thing of an Athanasian Trinity Absolution is granted and in the Office for Burial that Person is owned to be a Christian Brother and in the last Clause of the Exhortation immediately preceding the Apostles Creed in that Office of Visitation 't is plain that he that believes the Articles of the Apostles Creed doth believe as a Christian Man should And 3. Because in the Exhortation almost at the End of Office of Publick Baptism he that hath declared his Belief of the Articles of the Apostles Creed is said to believe in God and in the same Exhortation the Child as to Faith is chiefly to be taught the Creed which I presume was never understood of the Athanasian Creed 4. Look upon the third Answer in the Church-Catechism where the Child is taught to answer that his Godfathers and Godmothers did promise that he should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith which Articles the Child being required to rehearse Quest 5. is directed and says the Apostles Creed and it is also evident by the Office of Baptism no other can be understood in the Baptismal Vow 5. In the Office of Confirmation the first Question and Answer the Person to be confirmed doth declare in the Presence of God and the Congregation that he doth renew the solemn Promise and Vow that was made in his Name at Baptism which was to believe the Articles of the Apostles Creed and neither the Church of England nor yet any other ever dared yet to impose the Athanasian Creed as a Condition of Baptism no more than Pius IV. and his Council of Trent dared to impose their novel Faith as a Condition of the same but content themselves as we do with that which bears the Name of the Apostles as containing the Abstract of all Primitive Christianity See Dr. Ford's Sermon before the Lord-Mayor June 5 1692. p. 18. And by such Practice 't is apparent as the Doctor there clearly argues that whatsoever Men may talk yet they do not believe those Articles to be de fide and necessary to Salvation without the Profession of which they admit by Baptism Proselytes into the Church and consequently that Men cannot exclude those from their Church for not believing those Articles that they dare not impose no nor mention to those they admit to be Members of their Church But I find 't is commonly objected that the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as delivered in the Athanasian Creed is contained in the 39 Articles and that every Clergy-man that holds any Place of Profit in the Church is bound to subscribe them and give his unfeigned Assent and Consent to the same To which may be answered 1st That those 39 Articles are not Articles of Faith but Peace as several of her most learned Bishops have plainly declared See Archbish Bromhal's Schism guarded p. 396. Which Passage is both cited and approved by the excellent Bishop Fowler in his Free Discourse And the Bishops Laud Taylor Sanderson have expressed themselves to the same purpose And in a word the Title of the Articles says as much 2dly Because if the 39 Articles were Articles of Faith the Church would baptize into them 3dly If the 39 Articles became Articles of Faith by subscribing them then it would follow that the Clergy would have more Articles of Faith than the Laiety and then further there would be more than one Faith which is contrary to the express Words of Holy Scripture 4thly Because in the sixth Article the Church declares that all things necessary to Salvation are contained in the Holy Scriptures and thereto nothing is to be added nor from it any thing to be diminished the Canonical Books of the Holy Scripture are in that 6th Article named thereby the 39 Articles are excluded otherwise than agreeable with them But I find it 's further objected Object That the 8th Article requires that the Nicene Athanasian and Apostles Creeds be thorowly received and believed and hence it seems evident that the Church imposes the Belief of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as delivered in the Creed called Athanasius's Sol To this it may be answered 1 'T is not said as necessary to Salvation 2 In that very 8th Article the Church doth not absolutely require the Belief of it but for that or supposing it may be proved firmly from the Holy Scripture And that this is the Meaning of the Church of England doth appear 1st By the second Question and Answer in the Form of ordering Priests and consecrating Bishops set forth by Authority where it is apparent that the Person to be ordained Priest is directed by that Form to declare that he is perswaded that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all Doctrines required of Necessity to Salvation and that he hath determined to teach nothing as required of Necessity to eternal Salvation but that which he shall be perswaded may be concluded and proved by the H. Scripture You may see the like in the Form of consecrating Bishops the second Question and Answer and by the fourth Question and Answer in the publick Form of ordering Priests The Priest is to promise to drive away all erronious and strange Doctrines contrary to God's Word Now I presume that every erronious Doctrine is to be look'd upon as strange and that we must not retain an erronious Doctrine because it has been of long standing And further in the fourth Question and Answer in the Form of consecrating Bishops The Bishop to be consecrated doth promise to drive away all erronious and strange Doctrine contrary to God's Word and both privately and publickly to call upon others to do the same But to end supposing but not granting that the Church of England had required the Belief of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as delivered in the Creed call'd the Athanasian 1. She doth not assume the Privilege of Infallibility for then she would be guilty of that which she charges and that justly as a Crime on the Church of Rome 2. In Article 20 the Church of England sets forth what Authority it is she claims in Matters of Faith or rather disclaims what Authority she hath not 1st It 's not an Authority to impose any thing contrary to the written Word of God Nor 2dly An Authority to expound one Place of Scripture that it may be contrary to another plainly that as the Church ought not to decree any thing contrary to the same so besides the same she ought not to decree any thing to be believed for Necessity of Salvation Now from what hath been said it seems to follow that the Church of England doth not require the Belief of the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity as delivered in the Athanasian Creed as necessary to Salvation For If she baptizeth not into that Faith if he is said to believe as a Christian Man ought to believe that declares his Belief of only the Apostles Creed and is thereupon owned as a Christian Brother if thereby he is said to believe in God to believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith if the Person to be confirmed renews only a Promise to believe the Apostles Creed if the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not to be believed by being in the 39 Articles or by their being subscribed to they being no Articles of Faith as by the Title of them and Preface before them is evident no Person being baptized into them And the sixth Article being a Key to all the rest and shewing us very plainly how far they are to be believed and if whatsoever else is before asserted is evidently to be seen it appears for those Reasons that the Doctrine of the Trinity as set down in the Athanasian Creed is not such an Article of Faith in the Opinion of the Church as is necessarily to be believed in order to eternal Salvation Thus Sir according to my mean Ability I have faithfully and conscientiously discharged my Promise and beg the Favour of a Line if this come safe to your Hands I am Sir Yours FINIS