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B01471 An address presented to the reverend and learned ministers of the Church of England by one sincerely desirous of finding out the truth in behalf of himself and others equally concern'd, as well for their own as the general satisfaction. 1688 (1688) Wing A560; ESTC R170063 3,312 16

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An Address Presented to the Reverend and Learned Ministers of the Church of England by one sincerely desireous of finding out the Truth in behalf of himself and others equally concern'd as well for their own as the general Satisfaction THERE can be no doubt but that the main Concern of Man in this Vale of Tears is the Salvation of his Soul. If this be lost he loses all if this be gained he gains all and both for an Eternity No body then can blame me if being solicitous to save my Soul I have recourse to those whose Learning must needs enable them and whose Charity cannot but incline them to instruct me in this weighty Affair I therefore humbly beseech you most Reverend and Learned Doctors of the Church of England to afford me a clear and satifactory Solution of these following Doubts First I desire to know whether all things necessary to Salvation are contained in Scripture If not where must I seek them If they be then they are either clearly contained in it so that there is no need of an Interpreter for the meaning of the words or not If there be no need of any such Interpreter then I humbly ask what these necessaries to Salvation are and in what Chapter and Verse of Scripture each of them may be found For Example Is the Belief of a Trinity One God and Three Persons necessary to Salvation If it be as the Creed of St. Athanasius assures us it is in what Chapter and Verse of Scripture is it clearly expressed If you send me to the 1 Epist of St. John Chap. 5. Vers 7. where we read There are Three who give Testimony in Heaven the Father the Word and Holy Ghost and these Three are One or to the Gospel of St. John Chap. 10. Ver 30. I and my Father are One I desire you to shew clearly out of Scripture that the Word One here signifies a strict Identity or Union of Substance as the Church of England holds not a meer moral Union as many Learned Arians and others will have it and as we all confess the same word signifies in St. John Chap 17. Ver. 2. where our Lord prays that all Believers may be One as he and his Father are One where certainly he cannot be supposed to mean One in Substance In what Verse then and Chapter in Scripture have we these or the like Words The Word One in the 1 Epist of St. John Item in St. John's Gospel signifies a strict Identity which notwithstanding I conceive ought to be if all Necessaries to Salvation be clearly contained in Scripture Now if the Belief of a Trinity be not necessary to Salvation I desire it may be clearly owned in these or the like words 'T is not necessary for Salvation to believe Three Persons and One God notwithstanding the Creed of St. Athanasius and Definition of the First Council of Nice when the Church was in her Purity not the least corrupted Again Is the Belief of the Incarnation necessary for Salvation Where is it clearly expressed in Scripture You refer me to St. John Chap. 1 The Word is made Flesh But you know that many Learned Men Nestorius and others denyed that Word to signifie a strict Incarnation but either a Moral Union or a meer external appearance of a Man as those who held Christ not to have a real but a phantastick Body Now be pleased to shew me in what Verse or Chapter it is clearly expressed that the said words signifie a strict Incarnation But if you deny the Belief of this Mystery to be necessary to Salvation own it for our satisfaction in these or the like words It is not necessary for Salvation to believe that the Second Person of the blessed Trinity was made true Man. And if the Belief of neither Trinity nor Incarnation are necessary shew me what is and where expressed in Scripture Then in order to Practice I desire to know whether it be necessary to Salvation to keep holy the Lord's-Day that is Sunday and not Saturday If it be I desire to know in what Chapter and Verse it is clearly contained in Scripture as also where the Abrogation of the Saturday is clearly expressed If it be not necessary for Salvation to keep holy the Lord's-Day I desire your warrant for it in these or the like terms It is not necessary to keep holy the Lord's-Day that is Sunday If you say that every one is only bound to believe what is clear to him in Scripture reading it with sincerity and humility then I must desire to know What if I reading Scripture fincerely and with humility cannot find clearly expressed either the Trinity or Incarnation will it not be necessary for the Salvation of my Soul to believe these two Mysteries Put the Case I have recourse as by these I have to Church Guides and they tell me I must believe those Mysteries is it necessary I believe these Guides If it be then Scripture alone is not clear in Necessaries to Salvation for here I am obliged to believe what is not clear to me in Scripture Again am I bound to keep holy Sunday tho I find no Precept for it in Scripture and not Saturday tho I find an express Command for it no where Abrogated in Scripture because my Guides tell me I must do so If I must then Guides are necessary to Salvation and Scripture alone without them is not sufficient Be pleased to own this Proposition Scripture alone is not sufficient without Guides to Interpret it If notwithstanding my Guides I am not bound to believe either Trinity or Incarnation or observe Sunday then I must beg of you to warrant with your Authority these words I am not bound to keep holy the Lord's Day or Sunday tho the Guides of the Church tell me I must if I cannot find it clearly in Scripture But you 'l tell me That Necessaries to Salvation are either clear in Scripture or evidently deduced out of Scripture Very well Assign then these Necessaries and deduce them out of Scripture shew the Verse and Chapter from whence is evidently deduced an Obligation to keep holy Sunday and not Saturday Again the Evidence of that Deduction is either had immediately from the meer reading of Scripture without help of Guides and then I desire to see the places from whence these Necessaries are evidently inferr'd or it cannot be had but by the help of Guides and then the Scripture alone is not sufficient Secondly But if all Necessaries to Salvation be not clear enough in Scripture to be understood without any Interpreter then it will be necessary to know who and where the Interpreter is If you remit me to the Decision of the true Church it will be necessary to know which is that Church If you tell me all Christian Churches joyned together then it follows that I am bound to believe nothing but what all Christians agree in for what they disagree in cannot be the Sentiment or Decision of the whole Church but only of a part of it I am not then obliged to believe the Trinity for the Arians tho' Christians deny it I am not obliged to believe the Incarnation for many Christians deny that Christ was God made Man by a strict Incarnation but only by a Moral Union that is he was a Man who had the Authority of God as his Plenipotentiary and the like Now then let me know on what all Christians agree and let me have your Warrant that I am bound to believe neither the Trinity nor Incarnation nor any thing wherein all Christians do not agree Now if you tell me I am obliged to stand to the Determination of one particular Church or some and nor all tell me which and why that or those more than others What Church for example were particular Persons bound to follow Two hundred years ago before the Reformation I conceive an Answer to these Doubts absolutely necessary for the Salvation of my Soul. For how can I be Saved if I know not what is necessary thereunto I need not say a satisfactory one for no other can flow from your Learned and Vertuous Pens I only fear that some Pin feather'd Divine out of an itch to appear in Print may prevent yours and put me off with a Flim-flam or an uncharitable Jeer or Railing against some particular Church he may fancy me to be of which is nothing to my purpose who seek where I may find securely Necessaries to Salvation not where I cannot find them This would be also prejudicial to the Church of England for when Men see Doubts so sincerely and submissively Proposed Answered only with Jeers Railing and Invictives or omitted and let pass as not deserving an Answer they must needs doubt of the Learning as well as of the Vertue and Charity of their Leaders Now were the Satisfaction I here desire Intended for my self alone it might have seemed more proper to have made my Address in particular to some one of your Reverend and Learned Body but torafmuch as it concerns so many others and as I persuade my selt will prove extremely beneficial to Religion it being the surest nay only way to end the many Controversies of this Age. I am forced to desire of you whose high Character obliges you to a Zeal 〈◊〉 a publick and withal a speedy Answer by which you will highly oblige SIRS Yours ever Re-printed at Holy-Rood-House 1688.