Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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B02310
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An answer, to a little book call'd Protestancy to be embrac'd or, A new and infallible method to reduce Romanists from popery to Protestancy
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Con, Alexander.
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1686
(1686)
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Wing C5682; ESTC R171481
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80,364
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170
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Arians but not the Doctrine of Transubstantiation no more than the Doctrine of the Son's Consubstantiality with the Eternal Father Which is Spirit and Life imparting to the worthy Receiver of the Eucharist the Spirit of God or an increase of his Grace which leads to Eternal Life It gives no occasion of Idolatry or Hypocrisie by teaching that the Accidents are not to be Ador'd but the Body of Christ under them And that we ought not to come to it upon the account of pleasing Men but moved by our Faith of Christ's Real Presence there by a Love of him and a hope of Happiness from him 7. We rely on Saints not as Mediators of Redemption yet Moses Act. 7. is called a Redeemer Lytrootees but of Intercession that the Merits of Christ may be applyed to us We rely not on any thing we add our selves to them it being so small as the Church witnesses in Her Prayer for the Sunday of Sexagesime O God who sees we confide in no Action of our own grant mercifully c. acknowledging when we have done all we can we are but useless Servants to God tho' enabled by the Grace of Christ not useless to our selves 8. Our Divine Worship is pure without any vain Devotion or Honouring of that which should not be Honoured but not without many Sacred Ceremonies which serve to make us we being sensible Creatures sensible of inward Graces for warrant of which we have upon Record Ceremonies used by Christ and since he is the chief Agent in our Sacrifice why may not he use Ceremonies by his Vice-Gerents as well as by himself 9. We Adore God in Spirit and Truth endeavouring to make our minds joyn with our outward Sacrifice to the true God moved often by the Picture of Christ Bleeding on a Cross to morn with him and rue our by past Actions which were cause of so excessive a Torment and grief to him But not so Foolish as to think there is any Divinity in the Picture or Vertue in it to do us good Also Conscious to our selves of our own unworthiness by our hainous offences we go often to God by the Meditation of the most Blessed Virgin and other Saints in Credit with him warranted sufficiently by Eliphas Iob. 42. and the Centurion's Example Luke 7. v. 7. The one being Commanded by God to do so and the other praised by CHRIST for so doing If you ask me how the Saints in Heaven know I am praying them I ask how do they know the conversion of a Sinner upon Earth Luke 16 v. 7. if they know when I convert my self to God can't they as well know when I am praying Again how did Samuel know the thoughts of Saul Sam. 1. c 9. v. 20. and how knew the Prophet Ahijah the wife of Ieroboam 1 Reg. 14 They knew by Gods Revelation to them and so does God reveal to Saints in Heaven things which regard them upon Earth and this belongs to the felicity of their state to hear our Prayers present them to God and obtain from him favours to us Because he will this way Glorifie them for Glorifying him upon Earth according to his promise 1 Sam. 2. v. 30. Thus we Read Apocal. 5. v. 8. That the 24 Elders had Golden Vials full of Odours which are the Prayers of Saints To wit of Holy People upon Earth which the 24 Elders presented to God as the Angel offerd up the like having a Golden Censer upon the Golden Altar which was before the Throne Apoc. 8. v. 3. 10. Our Ecclesiastical Discipline is conform to that of primative times not because we say so for Protestants say as much for theirs but because R. Catholicks speak now as they spoke then and do now as they did then St. Ambrose L. 5. Epist 33. ad Marcellam his Sister saies at a certain occasion I begun to say Mass caepi Missam facere St. Augustin L. 9. Confes chap. XI sayes his Dying Mother desired him to be mindful of Her at the Altar and in the 12. chap. he sayes He did not Weep in his Prayers while the Sacrifice of our Redemption viz. of the Mass was offered for his Dead Mother Her Corps being set down beside the Grave If a Protestant Bishop should Write thus to his Sister at ten a Clock I begun to say Mass what would she say Certainly my Brother 's not well he is raving and if another should relate that his Protestant Mother desired him to Pray for Her after her Death you would fay without doubt she had lost her Judgment Why Because we do not Pray for People after their Death By this you see Protestants do not speak nor do as they spoke and did in primative times then their Religion and Ecclesiastical Discipline is not conform to that of primative times 11. Our Vows against which our Adversary so eagerly inveighs altho St. Augustin thinks our Vows should be kept by those Words of his Ser. 10. de Diversis If it displeased God sayes he speaking of the Sacriledge of Ananias and Saphira to withdraw of the Money which they had Vowed to God how is he angry when Chastity is Vowed and is not performed for to such may be said that which St. Peter said of the Money Thy Virginity remaining did it not remain to thee and before thou didst Vow was it not in thy own Power For whosoever have Vowed such things and have not payed them let them not think to be condemned to Coporal Death but to Everlasting Fire are the great helps our Church-men have to serve God in all freedom of Spirit for not owing the use of their Body to a Consort their Spirit is not drawn from Heaven in that violent way to the Earth nor have they their mind entangled with those cares which must needs attend Wise and Children Here I leave my Adversary wishing him most happy and for a Fare-well I mind him of these Words of our Saviour to St. Paul Act. 9. v. 5. Durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare FINIS ANSWER TO THE POSTSCRIPT I Reduce the substance of what our Adversary in his second Edition saies to the Reader and in his Post-Script to 6. Propositions and add to every one its Answer 1. He has changed his Title and calls now his Book Protestancy proved safer than Popery Answer Then Popery is safe for the quality which is found in the comparative is also in the positive tho' in a meaner Degree Hence in his Opinion to Live and Dye in Idotry as he thinks we Catholicks do is a safe way to Salvation Let the Reader consider to what absurdity our Adversary brings himself 2. He saies his Book is a new Method because the Methods hitherto made use of by Learned Protestants for the Establishment of Protestancy have been for the most part negative Answer All those Learned Protestants who have endeavoured to prove that the Protestant Religion is conform to the Word of GOD did not they endeavour to prove
Nice nor you the Council of Arimini as to prejudge one another to wit because Austin was cast by the Council of Arimini as Maximinus was cast or condemned by the Council of Nice Nec ego hujus Authoritate nec tu illius detineris that is neither am I taken convinced by the Authority of this of Arimini or you by the Authority of that of the Council of Nice viz. because as I reject the Authority of the Council of Arimini so you reject the Authority of the Council of Nice Scripturarum Authoritatibus non quorumcumque propriis sed utriusque communibus testibus res cum re causa cum causa ratio cum ratione concertet Let mater contend with matter cause with cause and reason with reason by the Aurthorities of Scriptures which are not proper to each of us as the Nicene Council is to me and that of Arimini to you but common witnesses to both 2. Now see how he has falsified this passage to make appear that St. Augustin did not stand to the Authority of an approved General Council Where he saies neither am I bound to the Council of Nice nor you to that of Arimini St. Austin saies Neither ought I to alledge the Council of Nice nor you the Council of Arimini Is this the same in Words or Sense He goes on Neither ought you to stand to the Authority of this i. e. of the Council of Arimini nor I to the Authority of that i. e. of the Council of Nice St. Austin has the quite contrary saying neither am I taken convinc'd by the Authority of the Council of Arimini nor you by the Authority of Nice Now be pleased to look back to pag. 35. and there you will find my Explication of the passage and how it does not hurt us at all or imply any apprehension in St. Augustin of Fallibility in a General approved Council 2. That Romanists are subject to be tortured with doubts of their Baptism 3. That we have an inticement to Sin by relying on Purgatory 4. That one distinguish Venial from Mortal Sin opens a Door to loosness 5. That we don't allow every one to read the Scripture 6. The Novelty of Transubstantiation the occasion of Idolatry and Hypocrisie in it 7. Our relying on the Mediations of Saints and our own Merits 8 Our mixing Superstition and Idolatry in our Divine Worship 9. Our not Adoring God in Spirit and Truth but under corporal shapes and having our recourse to the help of Saints 10. The diâ—â—ormity of our Ecclesiastical Discipline from primative times 11 Câ—r not serving God with freedom of Spirit but indangering our Souls by Vows Answer First our Faith does not believe the Decrees of Errable but of general approved and consequently infallible Councils as I have shown Chap. 4. in 3. Sections After all this I avow our Faith is an obscure knowledge and as St. Paul speak Hebâ— â—â— v â— a perswasion of things not appearing Buâ— 't is not so weak as that of Protestants that it needs the evidence of sense to support it 2. We have no reason to be tortured with doubts of our Baptism as may be seen in what I said Chap. â— in the 2. and 3 sect But Protestants have when they read in the Gospel Io. 3. v. 3. unless one be born over again by Water he can not see the Kingdom of Heaven Because they know their Church doth not look upon it as a thing necessary to Salvation and that many are wilfully at least among the Presbiterians permitted to Dye without it 3. We have no incitment to Sin by our belief of Purgatory because we believe the Pains of that place are greater than any Torment we can suffer in this World And who would willingly purchase to himself the pleasure he may enjoy by his Venial Adhesion to a Creature by the pains of the Stone Colick Gout Of Fire Rack Wheele and all that ever was suffered in this Life by a Malefactor But the less Godly of Protestants may have some encouragement to slight Sin believing that an Act of Faith at their Death will do the turn and if they be of the Elect they are sure to have it 4. We admit the destinction between Mortal and Venial Sin strongly grounded on Scripture a just Man falls seven times or often and rises up again Prov. 24.16 who remains just in his fall does not incur Damnation by it And Luke 1. v. 6. If Zachary and Elizabeth did not keep the Commandements of God perfectly in the Protestants sense At least their breaches of the Law were not Damnable bereaving them of their Justice and of the Friendship of God From Matth. 5. v. 23. You see there are some Sins Guilty of Hell others not Guilty of Heil Fire and such Sins we call Venial call them as you please so you distinguish them from failings depriving Men of the Friendship of GOD. But this does not open the Door to loosness for the reason I brought in my third Answer but the denying of this distinction opens the Door to a perpetual disturbance of mind dread and fear in a Protestant of Dying suddenly as many Dye after he has spoken an idle Word for this idle Word according to our Adversary is a Damnable breach of the Law of GOD and deserves his Eternal Wrath as being of an illimated Malice as he speaks and can't be forgiven in the other World but must be repented here under pain of Damnation Luke 13. v. 5. I suppose he won't say that Protestants have a Priviledge to repent afore hand for Sins to come 5. The Church does not indeed allow every Ignorant Person to read indifferently the whole Bible least by their misunderstanding some hard passages they find Death where others find Life As the Manicheans from that passage of Io. 8. v. 12. I am the Light of the World held that Christ was the Sun as St. Austin relates Trac 34. in Io. And the Seleutians misunderstanding that passage Math. 3. v. 11. he will Baptize you in the Holy Ghost and Fire made use of Fire instead of Water in Baptism witness the same St. Aug. Heresi 59. But she orders the Pastors to give out of it as St. Paul did not all to all but Milk to some and stronger Food to others See out of the following passage of St. Augustin that 't is not necessary that every one read the Holy Scripture Homo saies he fide spe charitate subnixus eaque inconcusse retinens non indiget Scripturis nisi ad alios instruendos Itaque multi per haec tria etiam in solitudine sine codicibus vivunt Aug. L. 1. de Doctr. Christi c. 19. A Man born up by Faith Hope and Charity and immoveably retaining them has no need of the Scripture unless it were to teach others So many by these three live in the Desert without the Scriptures 6. The Term Transubstantiation is new as the Term Omousios of the same substance against the