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truth_n	age_n	church_n	time_n	2,142	5	3.6322	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16643	A plaine confutation of a treatise of Brovvnisme, published by some of that faction, entituled: A description of the visible Church In the confutation wherof, is shewed, that the author hath neither described a true gouerment of the Church, nor yet proued, that outward discipline is the life of the Church. Whereunto is annexed an ansvvere vnto two other pamphlets, by the said factioners latelie dispersed, of certaine conferences had with some of them in prison. Wherein is made knowen the inconstancie of this sect, what the articles are which they still maintaine: as also a short confutation of them. There is also added a short ansvvere vnto such argumentes as they haue vsed to proue the Church of England not to be the Church of God.	Alison, Richard, controversialist.	1590 (1590)	STC 355; ESTC S100153	67,007	148

vaine repetitions are not vsed by the Apostle But to go forward Brownist Their releeuers or widowes must bee women of sixtie yeeres of age at the least for auoiding of inconueniences they must be wel reported of for good workes such as haue nourished their children such as haue bene harberous to strangers diligēt seruiceable to the saincts compassionate and helpfull to them in aduersitie giuen to euerie good worke continuing in praiers and supplications night and day These must first be truelie proued then if they be found blamelesse administer c. Answere As concerning widowes we grant that they may be helpfull to the sicke but yet so burdensome vnto the rest that the reliefe of the poore whiles they are to bce maintained thereby shall be diminished so that they may more truly be called the relieued then relieuers Now for the necessitie of such in the church it is not proued out of Tim. 3. 10. nor yet out of anie place of Scripture else why For the L. knoweth the impossibility in hauing such in euery congregation in maintaining them the most that can be granted is that were the church possessed of such therwithall able to maintaine both them and these whome they were to attend vpon then would it be a great comfort to them all I spare to speake further of these only it may be obserued that the place cited to proue such an office in the church 1. Tim. 5. maketh nothing for it For Paule as the circumstanstances of the place doe shew speaketh of such as are to be succored by the church Honor widdows which are widdowes indeed that is which haue nede of helpe and so procedeth in shewing what they are which especially are to haue the relief of the church vz. such as by reson of their age and want of frends are not able to help themselues althogh in a godly affection they hate idlenesse but as for the yonger widdowes they are not to liue by the maintenance of the church least that idlenesse be maintained the mouthes of the enemies be opened against the truth the church be abused whiles the goods of the church be spent vppon those who make protestation that they haue no other comfort for to such only is the relief of the church to be giuen yet through the lust of youth do betake themselues to mariage again which thogh it be a matter lawfull in it self yet is it vnlawful to those that before God his church haue vowed the contrary and thus is this place expounded by Theophilact Ambrose Bullinger Claudius Guilliaud and others Thus haue we at the last the offices officers of a reformed church described so wel as our autor could of whom togither with his cōplices we may truly say as Adrianus spake on his death bed of his phisitions that they brought him to his end these reformers in their platforme here prescribed haue offred vs such a medicin that if the Church shoulde bee voide of sense and receiue it shee might in short time complaine that these her Phisitions had brought her to her end yet we must beleeue vpon paine of damnation that it is a good receit wherein they deale like vnskilful and vnconscionable Phisitions who promise a wonderfull cure rauishing the senses to conceiue much more to beholde what then to inioy so blessed a comfort and yet will minister that which will bee the bane of the patient Christ indeede hath shewed an outwarde gouernment vnto his church whereof although we are not capable partly by reason of mens insufficiencie to order it partly by meanes of the crookednes of the common sort who will not abide to be ordered by it but especially for that a whole nation cannot so easily be brought to that vniforme order as some one priuate congregation yet assuredly the neerer we come to this his ordinance the more heauenly is that harmonie and consent of ours And herein I will not staie in shewing how the laws of our Church of Englande haue prouided that in the congregations we should haue Pastors In the Vniuersities such as execute the office of doctors in bringing vp those in the knoledge of Gods word which may supplie the places that are void of teachers in the Churches in all places some to obserue the behauiors of men others to collect the reliefe of the poore c. because that I write not an Apologie for the Church of England onely I woulde haue men to see the gouernment of Brownisme what it is viz so far disagreing from the discipline of Christ that neither the frame of their building nor the builders themselues haue the approbation of Gods worde whereof they spake but in this their dealing are like vnto the Cuthits the rest who inhabiting Samaria falsely bragged that they were the children of Iacob and blindly deceiued thēselues with a false worship as may appeare by one of them I meane the woman of Samaria Iohn 4. For as the Lord had established his worship vppon mount Sion so one Manasses to aduance himselfe erected a temple vppon mount Gerazin the Iewes according to Gods appointment worshipped at Sion the Samaritans at Gerazin A cōtrouersie rose between them which of these people did best Christ sayth to the Samaritanes Yee worship ye wot not what yet they had a tēple a Priesthood and other ordinances which were kept at Ierusalem But who gaue Manasses authoritie to erect a temple assemble a people ordain c. These men came not so neere the discipline of Christ as the Samaritans did resemble the discipline at Ierusalem and Manasses being the sonne of the high Priest had as good a warrant for his proceedings as a priuate man might haue and yet his dealings were accursed Nowe when these mē faile both in this that they haue not authoritie to erect discipline and also if this were graunted in that they haue described a false gouernement we may not pronounce a blessing vppon them Brownist Now as the persons giftes conditions manners life and proofe of these officers is set downe by the holie Ghost so are their offices limited seuered and diuerse Answere VVee haue alreadie hearde both of the giftes and of the offices also of these seuerall callings for so our author doth confesse afterwardes Concerning which it is apparant that the Pastor and Doctor are so described as if there were no difference betweene them The Elder indeede is seuered from them both as if gouernment were peculiar vnto him alone and his commission is sette downe so large as if it were not limited The Deacons office may be diuerse from the rest but as yet we cannot finde it in that which he hath hetherto set downe VVe will therefore consider that which followeth For either to make his volume greater or to amende that which hath bene sayde hee fetcheth the matter about againe and notwithstanding hee hath told vs as he acknowledgeth what these offices are yet a good lesson cannot

A PLAINE CONFVTATION OF A TREATISE OF BROVVNISME Published by some of that Faction Entituled A description of the visible Church In the confutation whereof is shewed that the Author hath neither described a true gouernment of the Church nor yet proued that outward discipline is the life of the Church Whereunto is annexed an answere vnto two other Pamphlets by the said Factioners latelie dispersed of certaine conferences had with some of them in prison Wherein is made knowen the inconstancie of this Sect what the Articles are which they still maintaine as also a short confutation of them There is also added a short ansvvere vnto such argumentes as they haue vsed to proue the Church of England not to be the Church of God LONDON Printed by Thomas Scarlet for William Wright 1590. TO THE RIGHT HONOrable Sir Thomas Henedge Knight Vize Chamberlaine to her Highnes Treasurer of her Maiesties chamber Chanceller of the Dutchie of Lancaster and one of her Highnes most honorable priuie Councell the comforts of this life and of the life to come COnsidring that right Honorable the making of many bookes doth breeda wearisomnesse with smal profit the councell of Salomon is to bee regarded who willeth vs to receiue admonition by his holie writings In regard whereof though hereticall pamphlets are dailie dispersed yet the wise are loth to answer thē as also lest that in answring the fole according to his follies they might seem like vnto him yet when silence hath hardned the factious and emboldned them to adde new supplies we learne that the foole is to be answered vnto his follies lest he seeme wise in his own conceit This burden I haue taken vpon me perhaps presumptuouslie but finding on the one side the learned vnwilling to deale with so sottish a schisme and on the other side that small learning wil be sufficient to ouerthrow so ignorāt a sect I haue bin the more bold in this mine attēpt for I preiudice not the wise herein who refuse this labor nor yet giue cause of discontētment to the simple for whose sake onely I haue done it if those with whom I deale find themselues grieued I regard it not onely if I may escape the censure of rash presumptiō in publishing this rude treatise vnder your honorable title I shall obtaine my desire I haue presumed to present it to your H. not for that I am able to bring forth anie thing worthie your H. acceptation but that I might obtain a defence for my self your H. might be moued to go on in furthering the Lordes building So shall God by your meanes be glorified his church comforted and euerie member thereof shall haue iust cause to continue their heartie praiers vnto God for your H. prosperitie with the increase of all heauenlie giftes graces of his spirit in this life for the assurance of your euerlasting ioy in the life to come Your Honors most humble in the Lord to command R. Alison TO THE READER HOwsoeuer earthly kingdoms do prosper best when peace is had yet the church of Christ which is his throne receiueth good euen by dissention Inde crescit Ecclesia vnde mundus deficit Therfore although a good agreement in al affaires ought to be regarded yet a dissent in religion doth sometime profit inasmuch as therby the faith of some is exercised the inconstancie of others is made manifest and the diligence of all those whom deep securitie hath not ouerwhelmed is much quickned vnto the serching of the truth The rent that is made by some hath confirmed this vnto vs by experience whiles that the constancie of such as are wise hearted is made manifest the vanitie of those that are vnstedfastly minded is laide open the godly are made acquainted with those ancient heresies whereof in times past they were both ignorant and carelesse The disturbances of our Church are many proceeding from one fountaine though they bee not all of one nature Satan hath sent them they are like vnto him disagreeing one with another and at iarre in themselues and yet are all opposite vnto the truth For the Atheists and Papists are at as great defiance one with another as euer was Herod and Pilate And the Anabaptists and Donatists condemne each the other for matters of religion as much as the Pharesies did the Saduces and yet as they could bee reconciled rather then the Church should inioy her peace so these will sooner iustifie one another than they will submit themselues vnto the truth But the bush which Msoses sawe perished not though it was compassed with a flame and the Church of God through his gracious prouidence doth stand fast though the securitie of Atheists the Idolatrie of Papists and the impietie of the rest haue threatned an ouerthrow yea it is now come to passe that although no heresie is without some fauourers yet the deuises euen of the most skilfull deceiuers haue bene so laid vpon that not one of those is thought vpon of sober mindes but with detestation I grant that men voide of reason may thinke reuerently of them because wee see the Donatist condemning Donatisme a schisme which hee himselfe vpholdeth which is a verie dronkennes though it bee without wine but wisedome is iustified of her children The Donatists in the yeere of our Lorde 290. or as some write 353. by their preposterous dealings disturbed the churches in all those partes where they remained With vaine impudencie they condemned all the Churches of God and affirmed that the Church was in the partes of Donatus onely Also in vpholding that the Church of Christ is without spot or wrinkle or grosse pollution they did falsely charge Coecilianus the Bishop of Carthage with certaine crimes taking occasion therevpon to separate themselues from the Church They did account the Sacraments to be no Sacraments if they were deliuered by one that approued not their schisme And therevpon though Donatus did not institute rebaptization yet his successors rebaptised those that came vnto them They taught that it was vnlawfull to seeke vnto the magistrate for aide in causes of the church because they were the Lords free people To be short that men are not to be compelled vnto good duties that they are to vow a constancie in their schisme that they were ready to prouoke the sword of the magistrate against themselues that they might brag of sufferings these and such like were the fruites of Donatisme Now Donatus the first author of this schisme was condemned for an heretique and his doctrine for hereticall in the daies of Constantine by the councel of Carthage and from time to time euer since it hath ben so accounted of not onely of the Church of God but also of such as abhorre the name but maintaine the doctrine of this schisme This is it that the malcontents of our age do greedilie hunt after the annoiance of our church condemne it and all other Churches that are not partakers of their

then blotted out Cain Esau Corah yea and Israel it selfe Againe is it true that all those which are not vnder this gouernement are dogs c. I will not aske what shall become of these men themselues but what is become of Peter and the rest that remained with Christ and of all the churches of Ierusalem Ephesus Corinth and the rest which had not this gouernement and all these offices at any time among them for some wanted Deacons some widows some vnministring Elders some Doctors To draw to an end The scriptures that are alledged to proue these matters are either promises of that full redemption which is obtained and shall be perfited vnto the church in the day of Christs appearing as Esa. 52. 1. and 35. 8. and Reuelation 28. 27. or else are they types thereof as Eze. 44. and the ninth verse and Zacharie 14. 21. VVherefore they cannot proue the truth hereof in the visible church of God Also Reuel 22. 15. sheweth the estate of the vngodly which in the day of that generall search shall be thrust out of the presence of God VVhich matter Paul doth plainly shew Rom. 2. 9. for hee threatneth oppression and anguishe vnto euerie soule that doth euill whether Iew or Greeke that is whether of the visible Church or not In this one thing these men may be commended that seeing their assertions cannot bee warranted by the woorde of of God they will doe the best they can to make their sayings true in themselues For surely they coulde not possiblie giue ouer themselues vnto a doggish disposition as they do if they were not perswaded that in so dooing the conditions of men which haue cast off gouernement should in thē be made manifest vnto the world VVee are therefore to desire for them that discipline may be put in practise if happely they may bee brought to some good order Thus haue we seene how the Author of this Treatise hath failed in the perfourmance of his promise made in the title thereof A MANIFESTATION OF THE INCONSTANCIE of Brownisme grathered out of two Treatises lately dispersed throughout the land AThanasius speaking of the Eusebian hereticke saith that if once he tast the Arrian schisme he will neuer refraine his tongue from vngodlinesse He noteth it also as a common disease in all heretikes that they will be constant in a peeuish wilfulnesse least they should be condemned of those whom they haue seduced yet in all other things inconstant Nunc probantes quod dicunt mox vero vituperātes quod dixerunt ac rursum approbantes quod paulo ante calumniabantur It is no maruell therfore though the factioners of our age hauing auouched their owne dreames to be the truth of God do now cry out y t they are blasphemed abused slādered if the same be laid to their charge yet in discoursing vpon the self-same matters they wil not stick to iustifie their first conceipts al which may appeare to him that readeth the two pamphlets lately by them published the one intituled A collection of certaine slanderous Articles and the other A collection of certaine articles and conferences c. For in these bookes we shall finde the certaintie of doctrine what it is amongst conceited diuines And that the truth may be more euident I wil set downe first their Articles which sometimes they did hold and now are charged with Secondly the sore complaints that they make of being slandered with them by our Bishops Thirdly what small cause they haue to complaine considering that they are now resolute to defend the same Articles vnto the death And lastly the fondnesse of their assertions which for the auoiding of tediousnes shalbe done either by referring the Reader vnto those places where these matters are handled elsewhere or else by plaine and euident proofes The Articles which are so iniuriously imputed vnto them as they themselues haue published are these 1 THat it is not lavvfull to vse the Lords praier publikelie in the church for a set forme of praier 2 Secondlie that all set and stinted praiers are meere babling in the sight of the Lord not to be vsed in publike Christian assemblies 3 Thirdly that the publique praiers and vvorship of God in England as it is by lavv in the church of England established is false superstitious popish and not to be vsed in anie Christian congregation 4 That the Church of England as it is novv established is no entire member of the church of Christ. 5 That the gouernment of the church of England as it is novv established is no lavvfull gouernement nor christian but antichristian and popish 6 That the Sacraments of baptisme the Lords supper as they are administred in the church of England be not true sacraments 7 That infants ought not to be baptised according to the forme of baptisme ministred novv in the church of England but are rather to be kept vnbaptised 8 Manie of them make scruple to affirme that the Queenes maiestie hath supreame authoritie to gouerne the church of England in cases ecclesiasticall and to make lavves ecclesiasticall not contrarie to Christs lavves 9 That the lavves ecclesiasticall alreadie established by the authoritie of the queene realme be not lavvfull 10 That if the Prince or magistrate vnder her do refuse or defer to reforme such faults as are amisse in the church the people maie take the reforming of them into their ovvne hands before or vvithout her authoritie 11 That the presbiterie or eldership maie for some causes after admonition if there ensue not reformation excommunicate the Queene 12 That the Church of England as it novv standeth by lavv established professeth not a true Christ nor true religion that it hath no ministers in deed nor Sacraments in deed Now they complaine that they are much abused in being charged with these matters for the title of one of the Treatises is A collection of certaine slanderous articles giuen out by the bishops against such faithful Christians as they now vniustly detaine in their prisons c. The Epistle saith that there are spersed abroad throughout the land certaine articles of the bishops owne deuising against these men to bring them into hatred vvith the vvhole land The Author in answering the said Articles termeth them forged positions Again God forbid saith he that our Magistrates should be guiltie of our innocent blood by such slanderous reports To be short master Barrow as he himselfe reporteth complained to Doctor Androwes that he hath bene greeuouslie slandred blasphemed and accused by spearsed articles c. therefore a great fault there is in those which offer these persecuted Christians for so they terme themselues this great iniurie or else in them who if the Black-amore could change his hue would deny their owne opinions but if they giue the lie vnto vs without iust cause as it shall appeare that they do by that which followeth and maintaine these things which thus confidētly they haue denied