Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	church_n	doctrine_n	2,019	5	6.0761	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A78422	The depths of Satan discovered: or, the Jesuits last design to ruine religion. Being, some observations upon a pamphlet, called, The swords abuse asserted: by John Vernon. Presented to the consideration of the Armie. Citie. Kingdome. / By Philopatrius Philalethes.	Cawdrey, Daniel, 1588-1664.	1649 (1649)	Wing C1625; Thomason E539_1; ESTC R205694	19,373	34

Lord of their Faith to coine new Articles of Faith without command from Christ Say the same of the prescribed Worship Nor is this to consent to the dethroning of Jesus Christ nor to take upon them to Sway the Conscience For wee suppose the Rule of Worship prescribed and the Magistrate to have power only upon the externall man to preserve from the violation of that worship not to Compell or Sway Consciences or Hearts to worship God aright with internall worship Therefore this Disputer whether ignorantly or fallaciously I know not deceives his disciples with a double false supposition First That there is no certaine * He cannot expect a concurrence of any partie considerable in the Nation in Principles of Christianitie pag. 8. determin'd cleare Rule of Faith or Worship in the Scriptures but all is doubtfull and uncertaine without Revelation Secondly That the Magistrate by this Restriction intends Compulsion and that of Conscience to beleeve or practise what it doth not beleeve to be the Rule of Faith or Worship And withall that those that grant him this power of Restraint give him a Power to Sway Conscience so to beleeve or practise which wee disclaime as much as himselfe Nor doth the Magistrate by this Restraint of Seducers or Idolaters take upon him to convert Soules the worke of Jesus Christ alone but to keepe them from infecting others by false Doctrine or false Worship and in the end to reduce the E●roneous to the right wayes of God 3. The instance of Pauls Restrictive Power on Mars-hill in quite beside the question He was a Minister not a Magistrate and the worke being Conversion of Heathens to the Faith for the Constitution of a Church not in a Church Constituted For I demand If after Paul had setled a Church and given them the Rule of Faith and Worship any Professour thereof should have Apostated from both or either whether he would not by his Apostolicall power have restrained him by Church censures If so his Texts and proofes falls as heavily upon the Ecclesiasticall power as upon the Civill and all his absurdities pretended here fall upon S. Paul He makes himselfe a Judge of Christianitie and consents to the dethroning of Christ takes upon him to Sway the Conscience and convert hearts which is peculiar to the Scepter of Christ c. But this Doctrine tends evidently to nothing but Skepticisme and Prophanesse that every man may not onely beleeve but publish and practise Errours and Idolatry without controle either of Magistrate or Minister And thither wee see it inclines apace and there wee feare it will end if not betimes prevented But further He gives a caution That if Christ send a Servant saying What I have revealed to you in secret preach you on the house tops Goe to the publique Synagoge in this Season of their assembling which otherwise you cannot procure Goe I say and reason with them for they are in all things too Superstitious Doe not you runne the hazard of restraining in this case under pretence of disturbance If their publique way be according to the way of Christ the priviledge of Disputing is according to the Directory of Christ 1 Cor. 14 22. It not c. To this wee say First This man seemes to be a meere Skeptick and as was said afore to suppose there is no Rule of Truth or Worship prescribed and the times to be as in the Apostles dayes before the New Testament was written And withall he seemes to be a Familist expecting Revelations which he insinuates in those words What I have revealed to you in secert And yet afore he calls the Armie to direct themselves by Christs proclaimed Law as their Line at least for the worke of his owne worsh●p and Temple pag. 3. and to measure their proceedings herein by the pattern of his Scriptures But it is no new thing for Errours to intersere and contradict themselves For if there be any certaine Rule of Truth or Wo●ship what reason is there that any man under pretence of New Light should have libertie to dispute it Is not this a plaine disturbance of the Church Suppose the publique way be the Way of Christ why should any man dispute it over and over againe What need he goe and reason with them who are in nothing Erroneous or Superstitious but observant of the way of Christ Will Christ send men to disturbe his Setled Truths and Worship And yet if every man that will pretend a new Revelation may have liberty to dispute the old wayes of Christ and by a subtile wrangling Jesuiticall wit puzzle weake Christians with new Skepticismes nothing will more disturbe the Peace of the Church as was evident once in the Church of Galatia and is in Ours at this day I would they were cut off that thus Trouble it The priviledge of Disputing which he pleads from 1 Cor. 14. was before the Rule was written when there was an extraordinarie gift of Prophesying and new Revelations were discovered concerning the Truths of the Gospell But the same Apostle censures this libertie after the Truth and Rule thereof was clearly delivered 1 Tim. 6.3 4 5. If any man teach otherwise and consent not to the wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Doctrine which is according to Godlinesse He is proud knowing nothing doting about questions and strifes of words whereof commeth Envie Strife Raylings evill Surmisings and mark that perverse Disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the Truth from such withdraw thy selfe Where the Apostle meets just with the practises of our Times Supposing that when once the Forme of sound words as i● a called 2 Tim. 1.13 is delivered to the Church and the Doctrine according 〈◊〉 Godlinesse is once Setled no man may have the libertie to Dispute them And if he doe he is proud doting or sick and disturbes the Peace of the Church He that thus troubles the Church shall beare his judgement who ever be he Gal. 5.9 But wee proceed Thirdly The conviction of the understanding being the foundation of Conversion and that a facultie that cannot be forced nor satisfied without an over-comming Reason A powerfull Argument would soone subdue that noble part when civill Restraint would encrease prejudice and confirme obscuritie Therefore the way of God is rather Come let us reason together c. But this man dreames of such a Restraint as never came into any rationall mans head Was ever Restraint used as an argument to convince or convert men to make a man beleeve this or that without reason No The man shall be informed by the strength of Scripture-Reason and Light held forth to him if he be able or willing to receive it And if after all the best information he cannot or will not see that Light he shall not be forced to beleeve or practise what he understands not to be the way of Christ Onely if he be in an Errour in Doctrine or Worship as wee

mixture of good and bad in the Church to the end of the world Not to shew what censures are to be inflicted or what persons are to be censured or tolerated 2. Our Saviour himselfe tells us who the t●●es are vers 38. The children of the wicked and vers 41. All things that offend and doe iniquitie So that its apparently meant of ill livers as well as of ill opinioners 3. Of evill-livers it cannot be meant of open wicked men that they should be tolerated for that would destroy not onely Civill Government but the State it selfe and Common-wealth but of secret Hypocrites who are so like the Wheat that wee may easily mistake and root up one for another 4. It cannot be meant of all offenders in re intellectuali in opinion for some Heretiques are so grosse and so destructive of Religion Pietie and Government that the Doctor himselfe elsewhere grants yea proves they may and must be rooted up yet if his reason be of any force it pleads for toleration of all Heresies For the Text doth not so nicely distinguish as he does but speakes indefinitely if not universally of all tares ever clearly discovered so to be as our Author sayes and yet bids the servant not pluck them up nor restraine them but let them grow Therefore one of their glasses if not both is false and corrupts the Text instead of interpreting it 5. His second Reason from the Revolution of humane affaires revolves upon his owne head For he grants yea affirmes That those Heresies which destroyes Fundamentals or undermine Pietie or overthrow Government may be prosecuted prosecuted he sayes improperly Now if those Heretiques of those destructive opinions get into the Throne or Chaire no doubt but they will persecute the Orthodox as the Arrian● did and Papists doe Therefore by this reason the most grosse and ●eterodox Heresies must be tolerated lea● wee pluck up the Wheat that is give them occasion when Times turne to persecute the Orthodox This is new Divinity which the Jesuits themselves will scarcely owne I am sure where they have powe● they do not practise And now I re urn to my Author first observe his Logick who would conclude a Theologicall Proposition from a Parable not considering that it proves nothing besides the scope of it which is as I have said That these shall be in the purest Churches a mixt●● of bad and good till the great day of Discrimination the day of Judgement The rest is but a● the Lace or Trimmings of the Garment 2. Let him or let the Reader take notice that this Interpretation of his utterly destroy●s all Civill Government and Ecclesiasticall too Civill in that hee acknowledges these Tares to be wicked livers Idola ers children of the Devill visibly discovered and yet allowes neither plucking up nor restraining which besides must needs be the destruction of Common-wealths Ecclesiasticall in as much as the Text hath no destruction of Power Civill or Ecclesiasticall though speaking of the Church intentionally it rather respects the Ecclesiasticall then the Civill and saith ind●●●●●ly That none must pluck them up nor restraine them which not onely destroyes the Censure of Excommunication as the Doctor afore said but the Church it selfe which though Wolves and Foxes over-runne and wast it hath no power so much as ●o restraine them with out trespasse as this man sayes against the expresse command of Christ who hath reserved that worke to his harvest Is not this brave Di●initie 3. To give him or the Reader further satisfaction take the Parable in those particulars an Argumentative wee distinguish of the person● who may challenge the power of Restraining They are either private or publique A private person a servant as he was that a●ked the question whether he might pluck up or restraine the Tares hath not such power to punish or restraine Idolaters or wicked livers But if he say A publique person Civill or Ecclesiasticall hath not such power he begs the question and besides discovers an Anabaptisticall Spirit denying Magistracie and Ministry To which he speake very Suspiciously pag. 7. in prosecution of this in the next argument when he sayes the Magistrate so called marke so called as if there were none 4. One thing more even the letter of the Parable though it allow not plucking up the Tares yet in common practise the Husband-men doe restraine and keepe them downe by weeding Hooks least they over-grow the Wheat So which is our question there is allowed a Restraining of Idolaters and Heretiques from spreading their Infection to the destruction of the Church And now we come to his last Argument 5. It is the most usuall thing for Christians indeed to be plucked up and restrained though under other notions and that perhaps might be the Reason why Christ refused to suffer any restraining president though by a Tare discerning servant Nothing is more common then to put a Christian into a Beares skinne when men intend to bai● him This was in part the Doctors feare and reason If Heretiques get power they will prosecute the Orthodox Ergo the Orthodox having power must not prosecute Heretique● but suffer them to range and ravine and destroy Soules Put it in second Table wickednesses and see the absurdities If Theeves and Traytors get power they will persecute and destroy the just Magistrates Ergo the Magistrate may neither punish nor restraine Theeves c. for freare of Retalitation Againe There is nothing more usuall than for Tyrants and wicked Persecutors to pluck up and destry Godly Christians under other notions then are true Ergo Godly Magistrates may not prosecute persecution is for Truth and the Gospell sake damnable Heretiques under their own true Notions 2. This Doctrine well learn'd and practised would prevent any Persecution at all and so evacuate all those Prophesies of persecution all that will live godly shall suffer persecution c. and all those promises made to the persecuted and all preparations to it by suffering graces c. For if there be no prosecution for the vilest Heresies not so much as a Restraint but a Toleration of all Opinions I hope poore Truth shall have a Toleration granted her as well as others and then there will be no persecution by the publique Magistrate which yet is especially fore-told as the worst piece of persecution Yee shall be brought before Kings and Rulers for my names sake Scourged in Synagogues c. Had his Doctrine beene practised in the Primitive times it might have prevented much of persecution Had the Christians but said Wee will not prosecute you for your Idolatries or damnable Opinions if wee get into place and Power of Government doe not you persecute us Tolerate you us and wee will tolerate you If God call men to suffer under Tyrants and Persecutors under what notion soever he knowes how to deliver support crowne them for all their sufferings And men must not cry downe the Truths of God for feare that if Tyrants get the Throne they