Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	age_n	church_n	time_n	2,142	5	3.6322	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19658	A deliberat answere made to a rash offer, which a popish Antichristian catholique, made to a learned protestant (as he saieth) and caused to be publyshed in printe: Anno. Do[mini] 1575 Wherein the Protestant hath plainly [and] substantially prooued, that the papists that doo nowe call themselues Catholiques are in deed antichristian schismatiks; and that the religious protestants, are in deed the right Catholiques: VVriten by Robert Crowley: in the yeere, 1587.	Crowley, Robert, 1518?-1588.	1588 (1588)	STC 6084; ESTC S110998	131,595	191

assisted mee but all men left mee alone God graunt it bee not layde to their charge c. If this Offerer his fellowes haue any eyes to sée they may sée that when the Apostle Paule being in prison in Rome did write this Epistle to Timoth. the Bishops and priests that then were in Rome were scarce worthy the name of Christians bicause they durst not stand to the profession of Christian Religion as S. Paule did but left him all alone betraying the Christian cause as much as in them lay Yea and hereof it may bée probably gathered that Peter was not then at Rome and consequently that hee was not Bishop of Rome for the space of xxv yéeres togither as the Romish Catholiques doo affirme that hee was Yea rather it may bée thought that hee neuer was Bishop of Rome for this Epistle was written in Rome the 13. yeere of the raigne of Nero which was the 35. yeere after saint Paule was conuerted to Christ But if hee were then Bishop of Rome hée was at that time either fled from Rome fearing the persecution or els being in that Citie hée durst not shew him selfe to bée of one minde with Paule and so by his example the rest that then were Christians in Rome withdrew them selues from Paule and left him all alone Thirteene yeeres before this the Apostle Paule had written to the Romaines being then at Corinth in the last yeere of the raigne of Claudius the Emperour And as it appeareth in the first Chapter of that Epistle the fame of that Church was such at that time that saint Paule wrote thus Primum quidem gratias ago Deo meo Rom. 1 per Iesum Christum pro omnibus vobis quia fides vestra annuntiatur in vniuerso mundo First of all I giue thankes to my God thorough Iesus Christ on the behalfe of you all for that your faith is declared through out the whole world The Church therefore or Congregation of Christians that then were in Rome were of the best sort of Christians And bicause that Citie was then the chiefe City that then was in the world therefore the fame of their faith was spred ouer all the world But yet as appeareth by that which is before alleaged they had their faults and infirmities which were seene in them more at one time then at another At the first when they receiued the doctrine of the gospell they were earnest professors and followers of the same as commonly men haue bin in our daies and are still but when persecution began to arise for the professing thereof they began to shew them selues to bee like that seede that being sowne fell in stony ground and yet being againe moystened with that dew of Gods grace which fell from aboue they tooke déepe roote and so became more fruitfull in the ende For many of that age gaue their liues for the testimony of the truth and were Martirs or witnesses of Iesus Christ as in the Church Histories dooth appeere But that these were the writers of the Scriptures appeareth not in any Histories for they were written before some by the Prophets and some by the Apostles and such bookes as were written after the time wherein the other Apostles liued were written by the Apostle Iohn which liued after all the rest As touching the especiall care that you say the Catholique Church hath from time to time had not only of preaching the word but also of preseruing the same c all learned Protestants doo know that no man could haue greater care to preach the woord to discerne the bookes of holy scripture from prophane writings and to preserue them from the corruption of the aduersaries then they that in the time of the tenne first persecutions professed the Catholique religion And amongst those Catholiques none were more forwarde therein then were they which then were dwelling in the City of Rome But what maketh this for proofe that the Romish Church hath alwaies bin and is still the keeper and preseruer of the scriptures The first Romish Church which was Catholique preached the gospell as the Apostles and Disciples of Christ had doone but that Romish church that now is and hath bin for the space of these last thousand yéeres almost being Antichristian dooth and hath all this while preached mens traditions is to bee noted with that saying that the Prophet Esay vsed in reprehending the Leuiticall Priestes of his time Esay 29. Esay 29. Cited by our sauiour Christ Math. 15. Math. 15. Populus hic labijs me honorat c. This people honour mee with their lips they draw nighe vnto mée with their mouth but their heart is farre from mée In vaine doo they worship mée in teaching the doctrines and commaundements of men c. The first Romish Church vsed the Sacraments that Christ had instituted religiously and to that end that our sauiour Christ had instituted them for but that Romishe Church which you call Catholique hath for the space of these 1000. yeeres almost and dooth still abuse those Sacraments namely Baptisme and the Supper of the Lord commonly called the Sacrament of the body and blood of our sauiour Christ For that Church dooth minister that sacrament to Churches to Belles and to Ships that saile on the seas and of the other sacrament they make an Idole lifting it vp ouer their heads to bee worshipped setting it vpon their high alter or hanging it ouer the same burning incense before it and vsing iestures of diuine honour before it and carying it abroade in pompous maner compelling the people to doo diuine honour to it Yea they offer it vp to God as a sacrifice for the sinnes both of the quick the dead and in tempests of weather and in coniurations they make it a bug to feare the diuell withall The first Catholique Church in their exercise of Religion did vse as few Ceremonies as might bee for they knew that our sauiour Christ had broken downe that midle walle or particion which was the lawe of Ceremonies contayned in the lawe written and had through the flesh bin the occasion that discord whereby the nations of the worlde were so seuered from the people of Israell that they could neuer ioyne with them in one religion till our sauiour Christ had made it voyde and made of both the people 's but one new man making peace that he might reconcile both in one body And Ephe. 2. Ephe. 2. But your Romish Catholique Church hath reedified a new middle walle or particion of a law of Ceremonies not contayned in the law written but diuised by men And that particion they doo still maintaine and vphold enforcing all men that will beare the name of Christ and bée called Christians to allow of and to vse those Ceremonies and all such as doo refuse those Ceremonies they doo excommunicate and deliuer to the secular powre to bée consumed to ashes with fire or otherwise to bée tormented onely bicause they refuse to vse

by Fayth Theyr Doctrine concerning the worthines of theyr owne workes All these and euery one of these doo yeelde the lyke conclusion for proofe that this offerer and his fellowes be such lyinge masters and false teachers as S. Peter writeth of in those wordes that this offerer aleageth against vs when they be taken wholy togeather as S. Peter wrote them I trust that the indifferent reader will easily sée howe well he may trust this offerer when he alleageth the scriptures for his purpose or matter out of the ancient doctors for the proofe of any thing that he taketh in hand to prooue The trueth of this testimony sayth this offerer is to bée tried by all sectaries and sortes of heretickes that euer haue béene and then he nameth certaine sortes of Heretickes that were troublesome to the Catholique Church in the primitiue time thereof and he affirmeth that the errours heresies that those sortes of men helde were by the generall councels the censures of the Catholique Church condemned ouerthrowne notwithstanding that Emperours and kings did stoutly vphold and maintaine them Here this offerer dealeth as cunningly as before he hath doone in citing his sentence out of S. Peters Epistle His meaning is to make it séeme to the reader that this Roomish Catholique Church hath had Emperours and Kings at commaundement euen these 1500 yéeres togeather and that all the generall councelles that haue béene holden haue béene appointed and called togeather by the Bishops of Roome onely without the authoritie of the Emperours and Kings that haue raigned in all this time Yea he would haue it séeme that the stoute Emperours and Kings which haue béene the maintainers and vpholders of errours and heresies haue béene bridled by decrées made in generall councelles and by the censures of the Roomish Church which haue bene by the holy fathers the Popes executed vpon them Platina De vitis patrū But if this offerer will giue any credite to Platina in his history De vitis patrum he shall finde in the lyfe of Siluester the first of that name in whose time the first generall councell was holden in Nice that the same councell was called together by the commandement of Constantinus then Emperour And if he will beléeue Lawrence Surius that lyued in our dayes and was a Carthusian Frier and gathered al the councels into 4 tomes he shal finde that the Constantinopolitan councel which was the second generall councell holden in the daies of Damasus the first Pope of that name was summoned or called togeather by Theodosius then Emperour And the first Ephesian councell which was the third general councell was holden in the dayes of Caelestinus the first Pope of that name and called togeather by Theodosius the yonger and Valentinian then Emperours And the Chalcedonian councell which was the fourth generall councell was holden in the dayes of Pope Leo the first of that name and was called togeather by the Emperours Valentinianus and Martianus that then raigned And this was 450 yéeres after Christs assencion wherby it appeareth that your account of 1500. yeres must be shorter by 450. yeres For so long time your Popes were at the commaundement of the Emperours as it was méete that they should and as they ought to be at this day as I haue sufficiently prooued in mine aunswer to your first Offer But now you must haue one fling more at the Lutherans and Protestants of our time What should you make mention of them say you sith in this realme the Lutherans haue taken their iust ouerthrowe all ready c. This Offerer and his fellowes building their foundation besid the rocke Christ which is the onely right foundation of right religion doo déeme that wée Protestantes haue none other foundation to build our religion vpon but Luther Oecolampadius Zuinglius and Caluine But they are disceiued For as I haue sayd in mine answer to the 15. Offer we doo not so estéeme of these or of any other men that we would builde our faith vpon them but we doo build vpon the rocke Christ as they did and we know that Dies declarabit in English the day wil declare That is the time of knowledge wherein the mist of darke ignoraunce shal be doon away the bright shining beames of the trueth shall make manifest in the harts of all men that haue eyes to see hartes to vnderstand whose doctrine ours or yours is méet to be called goold siluer and precious stones or on the contrarie timber haie strawe and stubble I know that the auncient fathers hauing occation to write of that godly life and conuersation that is required in Christians do vnderstand by gold siluer and precious stones such good workes as the right christian faith that worketh by looue is accustomed to bring forth and by the hay stubble and timber the contrarie And it is not amisse that in that case they doo so apply the words of the Apostle But in the circumstance of the text it appereth that the apostle meant rather of doctrin then of manners although the place may be applied to both because true christians doo teach both by doctrine and by life But to our purpose This Offerer dreameth that he séeth the Lutherans already ouerthrowen in this realme and al other sectaries for so it pleaseth him to terme all such as be not of his owne sorte yéelding vp the Ghost and ready to tylt vp their héeles For the Precisians and Puritans are in fauour with the common and baser sorte of the people and the magistrates doo so wincke at them that no small number of men of all sortes doo further and fauour them to the great encrease of them As touching the sectes that this Offerer speaketh of here enough hath béene spoken already We are christians we neuer were Lutherans Oecolampadians Zuinglians nor Caluinistes But in very déed many of vs were Papists before it pleased God in mercie to open the eyes of our vnderstanding and to shewe vs our saluation in our onely mediatour Christ Iesus To him alone we do now cleaue as to our onely shéepheard and high Préest His voyce we doo knowe and béeing his shéepe we harken to his voyce and we doo followe him We can not abide to here the voice of straungers Precisians and Puritans we can not mislike of if they bée such as all christians should bee that is precise in obseruing and kéeping of the commandements of God according to that which is written Deut 5 Deu 5 kéepe and doo those thinges that the Lord God hath commaunded you you shall not bowe to the right hand nor to the left but ye shal walke in that way that your Lord God hath commaunded you c. Such Precisians we do like well of and we doo still beg of God in prayer that it may please him in mercie to make vs euery day more precise then other And we are perswaded that no man is or can be so precise that way as all Christians