or Pretorian Authority to forgive sins which is not compatible to any Creature For what can any man desire more han to be put into a state of Pardon and Forgiveness in this World and to be finally acquitted and absolved in the next But if the Priest have no such Judicial Authority to forgive Sins what a fatal Mistake is it for men to rely on such an ineffectual Absolution What a miserable surprize will it be for those who thought themselves pardoned by the Priest to be condemned by Christ Though we deny such a place as Purgatory is not the fear of Hell as good an Argument to bring men to Repentance Or does it lessen the Mercies of God or the hope of Sinners to say That God remits all future Punishments when he remits the Sin But if the hopes of expiating their Sins in Purgatory and of being prayed out of it should embolden any man in sin what a disappointment would it be to find their Purgatory to be Hell This is sufficient to shew That we can suffer nothing by denying such Doctrines as these unless the causless Anathema's of the Church of Rome can damn us but the hazard is so vastly great on the other side the Mistake will prove so fatal if they be in a mistake that nothing less than an infallible Certainty can justifie the Prudence of such a Choice and therefore it is not fit for such fallible Creatures as we own our selves to be to venture on them We are safe as we are and we think it best to keep our selves so though we had no other Reason for it but that it is good to be safe Thirdly Safe I say we are in rejecting these Doctrines unless they can prove that by rejecting them we want something necessary to Salvation There are two things especially wherein the Romanists think they have the advantage of us and for the sake of which some Protestants are perswaded to forsake the Communion of the Church of England for that of Rome That they eat the natural Flesh of Christ in the Sacrament and receive a Judicial Pardon of all their Sins by the Absolution of the Priest which we confess we do not Now suppose it were necessary to Salvation to eat the Natural Flesh of Christ and that Christ would not forgive any man who was not before forgiven by the Priest yet if these be the Institutions of Christ we have them as well as they and no man need go out of the Church of England for them If the words of Consecration This is my Body do by the Institution of Christ transubstantiate the Bread into the Natural Flesh of Christ these words must have the same effect when pronounced by a Priest of the Church of England as of the Church of Rome And therefore if this were the Intention of our Saviour to give us his Natural Flesh to eat we do eat it as much as they for we eat the consecrated Elements which are whatever Christ intended to make them by the words of Consecration For our not believing Transubstantiation cannot hinder the virtue of Consecration if Christ have so appointed it for the Institutions of our Saviour do not change their Nature with mens Opinions about them Thus Penitents in the Church of England may confess their Sins to a Priest if they please and receive Absolution and if by the Institution of our Saviour this is a Judicial Absolution then they have it and need not go to the Church of Rome for it There are but two Objections that I know of that can be made against this either that we have no true Priests and Bishops in the Church of England and therefore we have no Consecration of the Elements or that the Intention of the Priest is necessary to Consecration and nothing more is done than what the Priest intends to do and therefore no Priest can Transubstantiate but he who intends to Transubstantiate 1. As for the first of these If there be no true Priests and Bishops in the Church of England there are none in the Church of Rome for our Bishops and Priests derive their Succession from those Bishops who received Orders in the Communion of the Church of Rome and therefore have as good Orders as they could give and as they themselves had and if we have as true Bishops and Priests as the Church of Rome we must have as perfect Sacraments as they also 2. As for the Intention of the Priest That in the Church of Rome signifies no more than to intend to do what the Church does and why is not intending to do what Christ does as good and perfect an Intention as this And thus we all intend to do what Christ did which is all the Intention that can be necessary to Consecration unless the private Opinion of the Priest can alter the nature of the Institution But the Truth is If the Church of Rome depends upon the Intention of the Priest for Consecration no Papist can ever be sure that the Bread is consecrated and then to be sure it is not transubstantiated and therefore I think they may compound this business and allow us Transubstantiation if we will allow it them We want it not indeed and care not for it but those who lay so much stress upon it need not forsake the Communion of the Church of England for that Reason at least have no Reason to say That we want any thing necessary to Salvation Let us but observe the Institution of our Saviour and we need not fear but we shall receive all the Spiritual Blessings which Christ intended to convey to us in that Sacrament which those can never be sure of who do not observe the Institution but receive only a part of the Lord's Supper instead of the whole Were these things well considered I perswade my self no man would see any cause to forsake the Communion of the Church of England where he has all things necessary to Salvation without oppressing his Faith with Doctrines hard to be believed or endangering his Soul by doubtful and suspicious Practices at best THE INDEX THE Authority of a visible Judge of no use in converting Jews or Pagans 2 Faith not resolved into the Authority of a visible Judge in the time of Christ and his Apostles 3 Though some passages in Scripture are difficult others are plain 4 In what Sense the Scripture is plain 5 Whether the Doctrine of the Trinity be plainly revealed in Scripture 6 Whether General Councils have a power to determine Matters of Faith without Appeal to every mans reason 8 9 What Authority we allow to Councils 10 11 The use of Antiquity in expounding Scripture 12 The Church of Englands way of resolving of Faith 14 15 Hereticks pretences to Scripture no Argument of the uncertainty of this way 15 16 The Church of Romes pretences to Antiquity 16 17 What course People must take who are not able to judge of the Controversies in Religion 19. c. The ignorance of Common People only a pretence not a Reason for a Judge of Controversies 26 27 A visible Succession from the Apostles no mark of an infallible Church 29 Arguments against an infallible Judge 32 33 Proofs that Christ never intended to set up such a Judge 39 Certainty in Religion may be had without an infallible Judge 42 What Evidence required in Faith 43 Concerning the Unity of the Church 46 An Inquiry what Certainty a Papist can have 5â— Whether the Church of Rome be guilty of damnable Errors 60 Whether the Church of England had Authority to reform Errors which are not damnable 62 What is meant by the Gates of Hell not prevailing against the Church 63 Whether we cannot know what Books of Scripture are Canonical without a visible Judge 64 In what sense the Church is one 65 The Apostolick Churches the Standard of Catholick Unity and Communion 67 What Catholick Communion is 69 70 In what sense the Church is called Holy 72 The Church of England not Guilty of Schism 73 That there is greater safety in Communion with the Church of England than of the Church of Rome 75 to the end THE END
obstinately refuse to consult that living Oracle and infallible Judge whom God hath placed in his Church to decide all Controversies in Faith and Worship Protest Sir I thank you for your Charity and though I do not find my self so uncertain as I perceive you think I am yet I should be glad of such an infallible Guide as you talk of if I knew where to find him Pap. He is to be found in the Church of Rome for that is the Church which is the Pillar and Ground of Truth there is St. Peter's Chair whom Christ made the Supream Governour of his Church whom he commanded to feed his Lambs and his Sheep that Rock on whom Christ promised to build his Church and that the Gates of Hell should not prevail against it and therefore in Communion with this Church and in obedience to the Supream Pastor of it you cannot err Prot. But pray how shall I be sure of this Pap. Do you ask that now when I have referred you to such plain Texts of Scripture for the proof of it Prot. Will you allow me then to interpret these Texts according to my own private Judgment and why then may I not use my judgment in other matters for I think all the Articles of my Creed are as plain in Scripture as that the Pope or Church of Rome is the Supream infallible Judge and indeed if I must stand to my own judgment in this matter I can find no such thing in these Texts you have alledged Pap. Your own judgment no by no means this causes all the Heresies in the World that men will presume to judge for themselves Prot. What course must I take then Pap. You must stand to the judgment of the Church which cannot err and whatever Hereticks say she will tell you that these Texts prove the Churches Infallibility Prot. Hold Sir what is it we are to prove Pap. That the Church is Infallible Prot. And this I must prove from Scripture Pap. Yes Prot. And must not rely on my own judgment neither for the sense of Scripture but on the interpretation of the Church Pap. Right This is the true Catholick Way Prot. That is I must take the Churches word that she is Infallible Pap. No you must believe the Scripture which says so Prot. But I must believe the Scripture not because I understand this to be the sense of it but because the Church so expounds it Pap. Right for Hereticks expound it otherwise Prot. And what is this then but to take the Churches word for her own Infallibility What difference is there between taking the Churches word at the first or second rebound To believe it because she says it her self or to believe it because she makes the Scripture say it And therefore if this be all you have to say I must e'en keep where I am and rather content my self without an infallible Judge than please my self with a meer imagination of Infallibility without any Foundation to rely on Thirdly And therefore the most learned Advocates of the Church of Rome are forced to grant that we have no infallible Assurance of Infallibility for we cannot be infallibly certain which the true Church is The only way they pretend to find out the true Church is by Marks and Notes of a Church which they say indeed have a Moral certainty though they are not infallible For according to their Principles they must not allow of any Infallibility without the sentence and definition of an infallible Judge for then Protestants may set up for Infallibility without a Judge of Controversies and therefore since there can be no infallible Judge to determine who is the Judge of Controversies they must content themselves in this matter with Moral certainty and this brings them to an even level with poor fallible Protestants They deal very hardly with us if they will not allow that we may have at least as much certainty of the Authority of Scripture and the true Sense and Interpretation of it as they can have of the Notes of the true Church which must be owned for the infallible Judge and if they be modest and understand the weakness of their own Cause they ought to be very thankful to us if we will allow them as much and may not we then be as infallible as they For indeed it is impossible that any Moral certainty should grow up into Infallibility As for instance No man can be more certain of the Decisions of an infallible Judge than he is of his Infallibility and therefore if he have not an infallible certainty of the Infallibility of the Judge he can't have an infallible certainty that he defines infallibly And thus the whole Faith of a Papist after all their brags of Infallibility is resolved into Moral certainty just as the Faith of a Protestant is only not with so much reason Let us take any one Article of our Faith wherein Papists and Protestants agree and see how much greater assurance Papists have of it than Protestants As suppose that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God A Protestant believes this because he has all the Evidence that we can have for any thing of that nature that the Scriptures of the New Testament were writ by inspired men and that the words of Scripture in their most plain and obvious acceptation signifie this and therefore that this is the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles who were infallible Teachers So that the last Resolution of our Faith is into the Infallibility of Christ and his Apostles which we have all the Evidence of which Sense and Reason can give us On the other hand a Papist believes that Christ is the Eternal Son of God because the Church which is infallible teaches so and he finds out the true Church by some Notes and Marks of a Church which he thinks morally certain and when he has found the true Church concludes her to be infallible without more ado Now if the Infallibility of Christ and his Apostles be as good a Reason of Faith as the Infallibility of the Church or Pope of Rome and if we have as good Evidence that the Gospel was writ by inspired men and that such words are contained in the Gospel as prove Christ to be the Son of God as they have of their Marks and Notes whereby they find out the true Church then we have to the full as much certainty and Infallibility as they have They have but a Moral Evidence at best of the Infallibility of their Church and therefore are but morally certain what their Church teaches right and therefore if we have as much certainty as they have and God forbid we should have no more our Faith is built upon as sure a Foundation as theirs without making a noise with Infallibility which at last dwindles into some Arbitrary Notes and Marks of a Church And yet Fourthly not to trouble our selves at present with all the Notes and Marks which Cardinal Bellarmine and
be the meaning of some particular Phrases in this obscure Text so much is very plain in it that men who build hay and stubble upon the Foundation i. e. who believe in Christ though with a mixture of many vain and hurtful Superstitions shall yet if their lives be holy and vertuous be saved by the Faith of Christ though with some loss and hazard which makes the case of honest men who live in very corrupt Communions not perfectly hopeless And in this sense it is that we grant That Salvation may be had in the Church of Rome though this is no reason for any man to choose the Communion of a corrupt Church because there is a possibility of Salvation in it However this shews what a great mistake this Paper is guilty of where it is said That the best Christians in the Church of Rome which believe such damnable Doctrines can be saved only by Ignorance which most Protestant Divines believe the Pagans themselves may be For though invincible Ignorance is an equal excuse for Pagans and Christians yet when this excuse is allowed Pagans have not such a right to Salvation as Christians have Ignorance may excuse but cannot save It is only Faith in Christ saves us which corrupt Christians have and Pagans have not which is an essential difference Secondly Suppose the Errors of the Church were not damnable why might not the Church of England reform such Errors as are not damnable Suppose they only obscure the Glory of Christ's Mediation and are dangerous temptations to sin or hinder the Edification of the Church or betray men to false Notions of God and of Religion though they are not in themselves damnable why may not such Errors as these be reformed If the Church of Rome were convinced that she were guilty of such Errors ought she not to reform her self And is not every Church in duty bound to preserve her Faith and Worship as pure and uncorrupt as she can And why then is not the Church of England bound to do so If indeed the Church of Rome had a Supream Power over the Church of England that nothing could be done without her Approbation and Order then we would grant that in case of tolerable Errors such a dependent Church could not reform it self without the consent of its Superiour as no private Christian can reform the Church wherein he lives without the consent of the Governours of it But we say that every National Church has the Supream Independent Power within herself and therefore may correct any abuses and corruptions which are crept into her Communion without asking leave of the Bishop of Rome or any other Church in the World and this justifies the Reformation of the Church of England if she reformed nothing but what was erroneous though the Errors were not damnable for all Errors ought to be reformed when they are known if the Reformers have just Authority to do it and such Errors as are damnable will justifie any man to reform himself and all that he can convince of such Errors for every man has Authority to save his Soul Thirdly If the Church of Rome be guilty of damnable Errors how does Christ perform his Promise to his Church That the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Now the difficulty of this Objection consists only in the sound of those Phrases The Gates of Hell by which some understand That the Devil shall never be able to corrupt the Faith of the Church for if he can do that then say they he prevails against the Church But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie only Destruction for Hades is properly the state of Dead men who are laid under-ground and appear no more in this World and therefore when our Saviour promises That the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against his Church the meaning is that there shall always be a Church in the World professing that Faith which here Peter had professed and whereon Christ promised to build his Church viz. That Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God And such a Church there has been in the World ever since and the Church of Rome it self notwithstanding all the Corruptions that are in it is such a Church But that the Church may be over-run with great and damning Errors is evident from St. Paul's Prediction of the Apostacy of the later days When the Man of Sin shall be revealed the Son of Perdition who as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God 2 Thess. 2. 3 4. For whosoever this Man of Sin is he sits in the Temple of God that is in the true Church of Christ and while the Man of Sin sits in the Church we need not doubt but he brings some damning Errors with him and yet it is the Temple of God even when the Man of Sin sits there Fourthly As for the last thing mentioned it is sufficiently known that there were a great many Christian Churches in the World at the time of the Reformation who did not own the Usurpations of the Church of Rome and though they might have Errors of their own yet not of such fatal consequence But if all the Christian World had been equally corrupted at that time it had been the same thing to us for Corruptions ought to be reformed and we had Authority to reform our selves And as for joyning in Communion with other pure Churches we do so we own all pure Churches nay are ready to communicate with Churches which have some Corruptions in their Constitution if they be tolerable and do not render their Communion sinful which is all the Obligation we have to communicate with any Church For if by Communion they mean that we should have put our selves under the Government and Authority of any other Church which is the Sense of Communion in the Church of Rome which thinks no Church in Communion with her without submitting to her Authority we beg their pardon for that we will communicate with other Churches as Friends and Equals and Brethren but not as Subjects Secondly The next Argument for a visible Judge which the Paper insists on is That without such a Judge we cannot know that every particular Book of Scripture is Canonical And here are a great many Objections started against the Authority and certainty of the Canon which much more become Scepticks and Infidels than Christians of any Communion I do not think them worth transcribing for this Argument may be answered without answering these Objections which the Church of Rome is as much concerned to answer as we For those who originally made these Objections will not be put off with the Authority of a Judge without a rational Solution of these Difficulties and those who grant that there is no other Answer can be given to them but to resolve the credit of the Canon into the Authority of a Judge without any other Reason give up the Cause of Christianity to Infidels who despise the vain
Judges between them and by his Providence prevents or over-rules all those Disorders which may happen either in Church or State in this World and rewards or punishes both Governours and Subjects according to their deserts in the next And this supresedes all farther Disputes about some hard Cases or the sincerity or insincerity of Governours or Subjects for every man must of necessity judge for himself and God will govern and judge us all which there could be no pretence for if we had not the free exercise of our Reason in the government of our selves The Paper But I know'tis urged The Church of England is guided by Antiquity for the Interpretation of Scripture but every one knows that there is great difficulty in that too even for Scholars at least I am told so for no Church admits of all that is ancient for several Heresies are so and since we say Number makes nothing for Truth and that all men may err and that there is no certain mark by visible Succession to find out which are true Believers in this Confusion the Church of England must be very fortunate not to retain too much as the Arians and Macedonians c. say we do or too little as the Romanists say Answer The Church of England indeed has regard to the Doctrine of the Primitive Church in expounding Scripture not that she fetches all her Expositions from ancient Writers but that she takes care not to expound Scripture in contradiction to the ancient Faith of the Church contained in the ancient Creeds and it requires no great skill in Antiquity to know what this Faith is which we repeat every day in the Apostles Creed and this is a good Argument that we expound Scripture right when the Sense we give of it is what the words and reason of the Text import and agrees with the Faith of the first and purest Ages of the Church Had we no ancient Records we could find out the true Sense of Scripture in all necessary Points of Faith but the Traditionary Doctrine of the Church where the Tradition is plain and clear and therefore easie to be known is a great confirmation of those Interpretations we give of Scripture in conformity to the ancient Belief and confutes all the Evasions and Criticisms of Hereticks For when the words of Scripture may with some Art be expounded to different Senses either to justifie some new or ancient Heresies or the Catholick Faith we need not doubt but that is the true Sense which agrees with the uniform Belief of the Primitive Church who were the best Judges what the Faith of the Apostles was by whom the Scriptures were written and though there were indeed very ancient Heresies yet nothing is plainer in Ecclesiastical History than the distinction between those ancient Heresies and the Catholick Faith and therefore Scholars cannot easily mistake them and as for those who are unlearned that short and ancient Summary of the Catholick Faith contained in the Apostles Creed and expounded by the Nicene Fathers in their Creed which is in every bodies hands and part of our daily or weekly Service is Security enough against all Fundamental Mistakes The Christians of the Church of England have a very plain and easie Resolution of their Faith As for the positive Articles of Faith we have the ancient Creeds which have been received in all Ages of the Christian Church from the times of the Apostles and which the most perverse Hereticks cannot deny to have been the Catholick Faith and yet we do not believe these meerly upon the Authority of Tradition but because we find all these Doctrines plainly taught in Scripture and for this the meanest Christian need not depend wholly upon the Authority of his Guides but has liberty to examine their Expositions and the Reasons of them which are so plain and convincing in the great and Fundamental Articles of our Faith that an honest man who meets with a skilful Guide may satisfie himself about it and see with his own Eyes Now what greater assurance can we have in this case than the harmony and consent of Scripture and Tradition which confirm and justifie each other The Apostles no doubt preached and writ the same things and it is a good Argument That is an uncorrupt Tradition which agrees with the Doctrine of the Scripture and that that is a true exposition of Scripture which agrees with the ancient Formularies of Faith delivered down to us by an unquestionable Tradition from the first Ages of the Church As for negative Articles about which is our only controversie with the Church of Rome since nothing can be an Article of Faith but what Christ or his Apostles have taught we think it sufficient to reject all such Doctrines as are not plainly and expresly taught in Scripture and this the meanest Christian with the help of a Guide may understand For as in Reason it must be when men will prove that to be in the Scripture which is not the Scripture Proofs which are urged by the most learned Doctors of the Roman Communion for their peculiar Doctrines which we reject are so apparently unconcluding that it requires very little skill to confute them And though this were reason enough of it self to reject any Doctrine which arrogates the authority and necessity of an Article of Faith that the Scripture does not teach it yet in most cases we can shew and that to the conviction of the meanest understanding which is honest and unprejudiced that such Doctrines are either in express words or by plain and necessary consequence rejected and condemned in Scripture which is somewhat more than not to be taught there because it is certain no Church can have Authority to teach what the Scripture condemns And then as for Authority we appeal to the best Authority of the Christian Church the three first Ages after the Apostles who are the most credible Witnesses which is all the Authority they can have of the Apostolick Doctrine and Practice and can plainly prove from those venerable Records that the Doctrines and Practices in dispute between us and the Church of Rome were either never taught or actually condemned by those Primitive Fathers And though in other cases it is a hard thing to prove a Negative it is not so here because the proof lies all on the positive side For those who will teach such Doctrines and Practices ought to prove them for without such a Proof they are to be rejected on course and therefore if we can confute their Proofs we need do no more and this is a very easie Task especially with reference to the first three Centuries for since they themselves are now ashamed of the counterfeit Dionysius their Decretal Epistles and such like spurious Writings the wisest of them pretend to very few Testimonies from the first Writers and those which they do alledge are such lame ones as need very little confutation These are the Protestant Grounds of Faith as it is
any other way to prove the lawfulness or usefulness of them especially if besides the want of such a positive Institution we have plain Evidence against them and such as every man may understand When the Scripture tells us That Christ has by one Offering perfected for ever them that are sanctified Hebr. 9. 25 26. 10. 14 this is a direct proof against the Sacrifice of the Mass wherein he is offered ten thousand times every day When Christ is the Priest as well as the Sacrifice and can be offered by none but himself how comes he to be offered by a Mass Priest unless he as well as the Bread and Wine be transubstantiated into Christ It is certain there can be no such thing as the Popish Sacrifice of the Mass unless the Bread and Wine be transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ and we are as certain as our Senses can make us that there is no Transubstantiation As for the half-Communion it is confessed that Christ did institute his last Supper in both kinds and commanded them all to drink of the Cup And this may satisfie any man who does not believe that the Church of Rome has authority to repeal the Institutions of Christ and to forbid what he commanded And when St. Paul assures us That there is but one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus one would think this Evidence enough against the Mediation of Saints and Angels when they cannot shew one word for it For as for their distinction between Mediators of Redemption and pure Intercession they cannot shew it in Scripture where our Redeemer is our only Advocate And when Christ himself enforces and ratifies that Command of the Law Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve this is a plain Argument against the Invocation of Saints since they have nothing for it And when there is no Authority in Scripture for praying in an unknown Tongue one would think that the absurdity of the Practice and the Authority of St. Paul who expresly condemns it were Evidence enough against it So that though men may be at the needless expence of a great deal of Learning in these Controversies yet in truth there is no Learning required to understand them the meanest man may judge for himself for the Controversie turns upon so plain a Point and there is so plain Evidence in the Case that an honest man may have abundant evidence and satisfaction though he do not understand one word of all the Learning which is lost in such Disputes The Paper In short I think there is but Evidence or Authority to move us to believe Answer This is certainly true if it be rightly understood that is if by Evidence is meant the Evidence of Sense and Reason and by Authority the Authority of Scripture which is the Authority of God who spake by Moses and the Prophets in the Old Testament and by Christ and his Apostles in the New and the Authority of the Primitive Church as credible Witnesses of the Apostolick Doctrine and Practice in this sense we grant that our Faith must be founded both upon Evidence and Authority and this is the true Protestant Resolution of Faith and then the only fault of this Proposition is That Evidence and Authority are opposed to each other whereas they must always go together in a true Rational Faith But if by Evidence be meant all the Arguments whereby we can prove the truth of any thing whether from Sense or Reason or Scripture or the Testimony of Antiquity and by Authority be meant the Authority of a visible Judge of Controversies as it is understood in this Paper then at best this is a very precarious Proposition without the least shadow of truth that either Evidence or Authority must move us to believe that is that our Faith must be resolved either into Evidence or the Authority of a visible Judge For how is this proved That when there wants Evidence for our Faith we must believe upon the Authority of a visible Judge It seems to me a more natural Consequence That where there wants Evidence we must not believe at all If it had been first proved that God had appointed a visible Judge to direct those who cannot judge for themselves there had been some pretence for saying that we must believe either upon Evidence or upon the Authority of a Judge but without proving this first I would desire any man to prove to me that I am bound to believe what I have no Evidence for or which is all one no such Evidence as I can understand and if I be not bound to believe without Evidence how can the want of Evidence prove that there must be a visible Judge into whose Authority I must resolve my Faith The Paper Evidence to the generality of People is impossible But I have already proved that this is not impossible but the meanest man with the help of a learned and faithful Guide may understand the Scriptures in all things necessary for a Christian to know But suppose at present that the generality of People cannot do this yet can learned men do it And one would think if there be any Evidence at least learned men may understand it for that which is not evident neither to the learned nor to the unlearned I fear is no Evidence at all unless there be such a kind of Evidence as is evident to no body and yet the Church of Rome has brought things to a fine pass if she must be forced to deny that we have any Evidence for our Religion Now if there be any Evidence for our Religion and learned men may understand it then at least learned men may judge for themselves and not depend upon the Authority of any other Judge and thus there is no need nay there can be no use of a visible Judge for the learned part of the world for to say that learned men have Evidence to ground their Faith on and yet must not believe according to Evidence but Authority is to say that men have eyes but must not use them to see their own way but must follow a Guide blindfold And yet if learned men be allowed to see and judge for themselves a Judge of Controversies will signifie very little for it is learned men who start Difficulties and manage Disputes and are the Authors and Patrons of Heresies and if these learned men who may and must judge for themselves differ from each other and from the Judge of Controversies what remedy is there Nay if learned men must judge for themselves according to the Evidence they have of things and not be over-ruled by Authority without Evidence there can be no visible Judge of Controversies for an Authority which may be contradicted as it may be if learned men must judge for themselves can be no Authority either with the learned or unlearned for the unlearned will have no great Reverence for that Authority which