Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	church_n	doctrine_n	scripture_n	6,830	5	6.3395	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58627	A sermon preached at White-Hall before His Late Majesty / by John Tillotson.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.	1686 (1686)	Wing S1250A; ESTC R25649	14,978	33

as many e●●rors as they please to bring in is their Doctri●● of Infallibility And this they are very st●● and peremptory in tho they are not agree● among themselves where this Infallibility ● seated whether in the Pope alone or a Cou●●cil alone or in both together or in the diffusi●● body of Christians But they are sure they hav● it tho they know not where it is And is this no prejudice against it can an● man think that this priviledg was at fir●● conferred upon the Church of Rome and tha● Christians in all Ages did believe it and ha●● constant recourse to it for determining thei● differences and yet that that very Churc● which hath enjoyed and used it so long shoul● now be at a loss where to find it Nothing could have fallen out more unluckily tha● that there should be such differences among them about that which they pretend to be th● onely means of ending all differences There is not the least intimation in Scripture of this priviledg conferr'd upon the Roman Church nor do the Apostes in all thei● Epistles ever so much as give the least direction to Christians to appeal to the Bishop o● Rome for a determination of the many differences which even in those times happen'd among them And it is strange they should be so silent in this matter when there were so many occasions to speak of it if our Saviour had plainly appointed such an infallible Judge of controversies for this very end to decide the differences that should happen among Christians It is strange that the ancient Fathers in their disputes with Hereticks should never appeal to this Judg nay it is strange they should not constantly do it in all cases it being so short and expedite a way for the ending of controversies And this very consideration to a wise man is instead of a thousand arguments to satisfie him that in those times no such thing was believed in the world Now this Doctrine of infallibility if it be not true is of so much the more pernicious consequence to Christianity because the conceit of it does confirm them that think they have it in all their other errors and gives them a pretence of assuming an Authority to themselves to impose their own fancies and mistakes upon the whole Christian world 2. Their Doctrine about Repentance which consists in confessing their sins to the Priest which if it be but accompanied with any degree of contrition does upon absolution received from the Priest put them into a state of salvation tho they have lived the most lewd and debauched lives that can be imagin'd than which nothing can be more plainly destructive of a good life For if this be true all the hazard that the most wicked man runs of his salvation is only the danger of so sudden a death as gives him no space for confession and absolution A case that happens so rarely that any man that is strongly addicted to his lusts will be content to venture his salvation upon this hazard and all the arguments to a good life will be very insignificant to a man that hath a mind to be wicked when remission of sins may be had upon such cheap terms 3. The Doctrine of Purgatory By which they mean an estate of temporary punishments after this life from which men may be released and translated into Heaven by the prayers of the living and the sacrifice of the Mass That this Doctrine was not known in the primitive Church nor can be proved from Scripture we have the free acknowledgment of as learned and eminent men as any of that Church which is to acknowledg that it is a superstructure upon the Christian Religion And though in one sense it be indeed a buildding of Gold and Silver upon the foundation of Christianity considering the vast revenues which this Doctrine and that of Indulgences which depends upon it brings into that Church yet I doubt not but in the Apostles sense it will be found to be hay and stubble But how groundless soever it be it is too gainful a Doctrine to be easily parted withall 4. The Doctrine of Transubstantiation A hard word but I would to God that were the worst of it the thing is much more difficult I have taken some pains to consider other Re●igions that have been in the world and I must freely declare that I never yet in any of them met with any Article or Proposition imposed upon the belief of men half so unreasonable and hard to be believed as this is And yet this in the Romish Church is esteemed one of the most principal Articles of the Christian Faith though there is no more certain foundation for it in Scripture than for our Saviour's being substantially changed into all those things which are said of him as that he is a rock a vine a door and a hundred other things But this is not all This Doctrine hath not onely no certain Foundation in Scripture but I have a far heavier charge against it namely that it undermines the very foundation of Christianity it self And surely nothing ought to be admitted to be a part of the Christian Doctrine which destroys the reason of our belief of the whole And that this Doctrine does so will appear evidently if we consider what was the main argument which the Apostles used to convince the world of the truth of Christianity and that was this That our blessed Saviour the Author of this Doctrine wrought such and such miracles and particularly that he rose again from the dead And this they proved because they were eye-witnesses of his miracles and had seen him and co●●versed with him after he was risen from t●● dead But what if their senses did decei● them in this matter then it cannot be d●●nied but that the main proof of Christiani●● falls to the ground Well! We will now suppose as t●● Church of Rome does Transubstantiation 〈◊〉 have been one principal part of the Christi●● Doctrine which the Apostles preached B● if this Doctrine be true then all mens sen●● are deceived in a plain sensible matter wher● in 't is as hard for them to be deceived as 〈◊〉 any thing in the world For two things ca● hardly be imagin'd more different than little bit of wafer and the whole body of man So that the Apostles perswading men to b●●lieve this Doctrine perswaded them not 〈◊〉 trust their senses and yet the argument whic● they used to perswade them to this was bui●● upon the direct contrary principle that me● senses are to be trusted For if they be no● then notwithstanding all the evidence the A●postles offer'd for the resurrection of our Sa●viour he might not be risen and so the fait● of Christians was vain So that they repre●sent the Apostles as absurd as is possible vi● going about to perswade men out of the●● senses by virtue of an argument the who● strength whereof depends upon the certain●ty of sense And now the matter is brought

to a fair ●e If the testimony of sense be to be relied on then Transubstantiation is false If it be ●t then no man is sure that Christianity is ●e For the utmost assurance that the A●●stles had of the truth of Christianity was ●e testimony of their own senses concerning ●r Saviour's miracles and this testimony ●ery man hath against Transubstantiation ●om whence it plainly follows that no man ●o not the Apostles themselves had more ●ason to believe Christianity to be true than ●ery man hath to believe Transubstantiation 〈◊〉 be false And we who did not see our Sa●●our's Miracles as the Apostles did and ●●ve only a credible relation of them but do ●e the Sacrament have less evidence of the ●●uth of Christianity than of the falshood of ●ransubstantiation But cannot God impose upon the senses of ●en and represent things to them otherwise ●an they are Yes undoubtedly And if he ●ath revealed that he doth this are we not 〈◊〉 believe him Most certainly But then we ●ight to be assured that he hath made such a ●evelation which Assurance no man can have ●e certainty of sense being taken away I shall press the business a little farther ●upposing the Scripture to be a Divine Revela●ion and that these words This is my Body 〈◊〉 they be in Scripture must necessarily be taken in the strict and literal sense I ask no● What greater evidence any man has th 〈…〉 these words This is my Body are in the 〈…〉 ble than every man has that the Bread 〈…〉 not chang'd in the Sacrament Nay no m 〈…〉 has so much for we have only the eviden 〈…〉 of one sense that these words are in the Bib●● but that the Bread is not chang'd we have t 〈…〉 concurring testimony of several of our sens 〈…〉 In a word if this be once admmitted th 〈…〉 the Senses of all men are deceiv'd in one 〈…〉 the most plain sensible matters that can b 〈…〉 there is no certain means left either to conv 〈…〉 or prove a Divine Revelation to men nor 〈…〉 there any way to confute the grossest imp 〈…〉 stures in the World For if the clear eviden 〈…〉 of all mens senses be not sufficient for this p 〈…〉 pose let any man if he can find a better a 〈…〉 more convincing argument 5. I will instance but in one Doctrine mo 〈…〉 And that shall be their Doctrine of depos 〈…〉 Kings in case of Heresie and absolving th 〈…〉 Subjects from their Allegiance to them A 〈…〉 this is not a meer speculative Doctrine b 〈…〉 hath been put in practice many a time by t 〈…〉 Bishops of Rome as every one knows that 〈…〉 vers'd in History For the troubles and co 〈…〉 fusions which were occasion'd by this ve 〈…〉 thing make up a good part of the History 〈…〉 several Ages I hope no body expects that I should take the pains to shew that this was not the Doctrine of our Saviour and his Apostles nor of the Primitive Christians The Papists are many of them so far from pretending this that in some times and places when it is not seasonable and for their purpose we have much a-do to perswade them that ever it was their Doctrine But if Transubstantiation be their Doctrine this is for they came both out of the same Forge I mean the Council of Lateran under Pope Innocent the Third And if as they tell us Transubstantiation was then establish'd so was this And indeed one would think they were Twins and brought forth at the same time they are so like one another both of them so mostrously unreasonable II. I come now in the second place to consider some Practices of the Church of Rome which I am afraid will prove as bad as her Doctrines I shall instance in these five 1. Their celebrating of their Divine service in an unknown Tongue And that not only contrary to the practice of the Primitive Church and to the great end and design of Religious Worship which is the Edification of those who are concerned in it and it is hard to imagine how men can be edified by what they do not understand but likewise in direct Contradiction to St. Paul who hath no less than a whole Chapter wherein he confutes this Practice as fully and condemns it as plainly as any thing is condemned in the whole Bible And they that can have the face to maintain that this Practice was not condemned by St. Paul or that it was allowed and used in the first Ages of Christianity need not be ashamed to set up for the defence of any Paradox in the World 2. The Communion in one kind And that notwithstanding that even by their own acknowledgment our Saviour instituted it in both kinds and the Primitive Church administred it in both kinds This I must acknowledg is no addition to Christianity but a sacrilegious taking away of an essential part of the Sacrament For the Cup is as essential a part of the Institution as the Bread and they might as well and by the same Authority take away the one as the other and both as well as either 3. Their worshipping of Images Which practice notwithstanding all their Distinctions about it which are no other but what the Heathens used in the same case is as point-blank against the second Commandment as a deliberate and malicious killing of a man is against the sixth But if the case be so plain a man would think that at least the Teachers and Guides of that Church should be sensible of it Why they are so and afraid the people should be so too and therefore in their ordinary Catechisms and Manuals of Devotion they leave out the second Commandment and divide the tenth into two to make up the number lest if the common people should know 〈…〉 t their Consciences should start at the doing of a thing so directly contrary to the plain command of God 4. The worshipping of the bread and wine in the Eucharist out of a false and groundless perswasion that they are substantially changed into the body and blood of Christ Which if it be not true and it hath good fortune if it be for certainly it is one of the most incredible things in the whole World then by the confession of several of their own learned Writers they are guilty of gross Idolatry 5. The worship and invocation of Saints and Angels and particularly of the Virgin Mary which hath now for some Ages been a principal part of their Religion Now a man may justly wonder that so considerable a part of Religion as they make this to be should have no manner of foundation in the Scripture Does our Saviour any where speak one word concerning the worshipping of Her Nay does he not take all occasions to restrain all extravagant apprehensions and imaginations concerning honour due to Her as foreseeing the degeneracy of the Church in this thing When he was told that his Mother and Brethren were without Who says he are