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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

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47432	An answer to the considerations which obliged Peter Manby, late Dean of London-Derry in Ireland, as he pretends, to embrace what he calls, the Catholick religion by William King ...	King, William, 1650-1729.	1687 (1687)	Wing K523; ESTC R966	76,003	113

Examine what Submission Mr M. has paid her When we talk of Submission to the Church by the Church may be meant either the Universal Church or the Particular Church wherein we were Born Baptized and Educated and to both these we profess and pay due Submission Witness of the Doctrine of Christ and we receive her Testimony The onely Question with us is What Doctrine Christ and his Apostles Taught And this we believe contained in the Scriptures Concerning the Sence of any Word in them we receive likewise the Testimony of the Catholick Church Every Doctor approved by her is a Witness and every Council received by her is as the Deposition of Witnesses By this means we know her Sence in former Ages as well as in this Age and are able to compare them together Where these agree we have no reason to doubt her Veracity but where one Age of her says one thing and another Age says another thing we count our selves under no obligation to believe either of their Testimonies to be a necessary part of the Doctrine of Christ. 'T is therefore the Church of all Ages and places that we reckon the Ground and Pillar of Truth Whereas Mr M. con●ines us to the Visible Church and pretends we are to take the Sence of all former Ages from the present But pray why may not I as well understand the Sence of the Church of the fourth Age from the Council of Nice as I can understand the Sence of the last Age from the Council of Trent It was therefore by this Rule and with Submission to his Church that our Reformers proceeded in their Reformation and except Mr M. can shew which he has not so much as endeavoured to do that they deviated from this Rule he has done nothing to prove that they had not a due Deference and Submission to the Catholick Church And as she thus submitted to the Sence of the Universal Church so she requires all her Subjects to submit to her to receive the Faith to which she with the Catholick Church bears Testimony to own her Laws of Discipline submit to her Censures and conform to her Constitutions But she pretends to no Dominion over mens Faith or to oblige them to believe any thing because she has decreed it Her Authority is to propose as a Witness not to define as a Judge If any one dissent from her he must not make a Schism or turn Preacher in contradiction to her Authority If any one be otherwise minded he must follow the Apostle's Rule Phil. 3. 15. he must conform as far as he can and yield a Passive Obedience to her Censures where he cannot give an Active to her Commands While he walks by this Rule he can neither be a Schismatick nor Heretick and may expect if he use due means that God will either reveal to him what he wants or pardon his Errour if he mistake § 23. This Submission is coherent even with Calvin's Principles And though I am not concerned for any private Divine yet since Mr M. has troubled us with so few Quotations I will pay him so much Respect as to take notice of this and the Reader may from it learn how faithfully he Transcribes and Englisheth his Quotations The Quotation as in Calvin As Transcribed by Mr M. Non alius est in vitam ingressus nisi nos ipsa concipiat in utero nisi pariat nisi nos a●at suis uberibus Adde quod extra ejus gremium nulla speranda est peccatorum remissio nec ulla salus Lib. 4. Cap. 1. Sect. 4. Extra Ecclesiae gremium nulla speranda Salus nec Remissio peccatorum quia non est alius in vitam ingressus Thus in English literally Thus render'd into English by Him. There is no other Passage into Life except the Visible Church conceive us in her Womb bring us forth and nourish us with her Breasts Add to this That out of her Bosom there is no Remission of Sins to be expected nor any Salvation He that will enter into Life let him mortifie the Pride of his own Reason and humbly cast himself at the Feet of the Catholick Church Both Calvin and we own that Pride and all other Passions ought to be Mortified And except Mr M. can shew that we have used our Reason proudly that is not yielded out of some design Passion or Prejudice when our Reason was convinced we have just reason to reckon all his Accusations effects of his own Passion and Petulancy against his Mother Church He confesses that many of us are Cathol●ks by Inclination I hope we are really so but the Tyranny of Prejudice or Interest keeps us Protestants But for Prejudice l●t the World judge whether our People are more liable to Prejudice who are allowed to Read and Examine and Judge for themselves or the Members of his Church that are taught to submit without Examination As for Intérest I think it is the Interest of every man to continue Protestant if he value his Soul but for Worldly Interest the Scales are hardly equal I find not one of their Converts who has lost by it yet But whatever our Interest is our Loyalty is unquestionable if he know divers Loyal Persons of the Church of England I know none else § 24. Let us now take a view of his Submission to the Church 1. For the Catholick Church he has taken the liberty to cut off from her what Members he thought fit and has reduced her to a fourth part of Christians He has obtruded Articles of Faith on her to which she never gave Testimony and has subjected her to a Head at Rome to whom God never subjected her that is He has created a Catholick Church out of his own head and rejected that of Christ's Planting 2. As for the Particular Church which made him a Member of Christ by Baptism this his spiritual Mother he has pronounced a Harlot and her Children By-blows He has condemned her Sacraments degraded her Bishops to whom he sware Obedience renounced her Orders and given her the Title of an unsanctified Nation In short as far as lay in his Power he has exposed the Nackedness of his Mother Behold the Petulancy and Contradiction of an undutiful Son. But thanks be to God notwithstanding his feeble Attempts Her Bow abides in strength and the Arms of her Hands are made strong by the Hands of the Mighty God of Jacob Gen. 49. 24. CHAP. VI. ALthough Mr. M. hath nothing new in his Latine Addition but only repeats what he said first in his Preface and then in his Book yet I did not think it fit to let what he has said in this Language be without some Animadversions in the same Ad dubia quae proponuntur super Reformatione Anglicana sic respondetur Ad 1. An Ecclesia Anglicana sit tota Ecclesia Resp. Quàm absurdum sit ut una particularis Ecclesia ●e esse totam Catholicam Christi Ecclesiam extra quam non est salus

to the advantage of Religion and the Kingdom and I do not find that either have lost by it as it is As for his Hanging up the Abbots this is one of Sanders's lyes transcribed by Heylin in his History who tells us of the Executing of some Abbots and other Religious Persons for their stiffness if I may not call it perverseness in opposing the Kings desires but this is confuted by Burnet Who shews that the Abbots were attainted neither for stiffness nor perverseness but downright actual Rebellion that is taking Arms against their Sovereign or sending Money to those that did § 17. Sixthly His setting People a madding after new Lights that is he allowed People the use of their Eyes and Ears and did not think Ignorance the Mother of Devotion or that Peoples Devotion or Religion was more acceptable to God because they did not understand it of any other setting People a madding after New Lights Cranmer never was Guilty And thus Christianity set the World near 1700 years ago a madding and was accused by the Heathen for it § 18 But he objects lastly That Cromwel and Cranmer were the Ringle●ders of all that Confusion and Mischief which has since broke out on the Stage of Britain This is to charge them home would do their work in earnest if true but the best of it is that it wants proof Truth for the Times since the Reformation have been as signal for Piety and Justice as any like tract of time before and blessed with the longest and most flourishing Peace that perhaps ever was seen in England for the space of at least 80 years in which it was carried to the highest pitch of Glory that ever it reached And besides all this many Confusions and Mischiefs that happened since in these Kingdoms proceeded clearly from other hands Pray were Cranm●r and Cromwel the Ring-leaders of Tyrone's Wars and of the Massacre of the Protestants in 1641 which were the greatest Confusions in Ireland since the Reformation Were they the Ringleaders of four Rebellions in Henry the Eighth's time of the Four in Edward the Sixth's or the Rebellion and Plots in Queen Elizabeths These were nevertheless some of the Confusions since on the Stage of Britain But a great many Sects have risen since of which the Reformation was the occasion if we believe Mr. M. I answer Christianity was the cause of as many and the Grace of God it self was abused But it is to be observed that the first Sect that opened the Gap and introduced all the rest was POPERY planted among us by the Emissaries of Rome These broke the Hedge and shewed the way of Separation others only imitated them and transcribed their Practices and Principles thinking they might as well teach men by their own Authority as by a Foreign Commission and it is like that such as favour them now set them on at first purposely to make them a ●log and Objection to the Reformation Two means we do own Papists have to prevent Sects that we want Ignorance and the Inquisition in a profound Ignorance as in a dark night all things are silent but there will be a bustle and stir among men while the Sun shines And for the Inquisition it is the true Ram to beat down Heresie and defend the Apostolick See if we believe Paul the Fourth But we beg his Holiness's Pardon we had rather suffer all our Sects if they were more than admit these Remedies which after all are not effectual as we may see from the new Sects in Italy and we cannot think those the only fit means to prevent Divisions in Christianity which may as well be applied to keep it out and preserve Union amongst Infidels CHAP. III. § 1. AND now I come to the second Point wherein Mr. M. was dissatisfied which he tells us was the Want of Confession to a Priest. There is so little looks like Reason on this Head that it is harder to find out what he intends for Argument in it than to answer it I will do him Justice and consider even that little he has said And that in this method 1. I will lay down the Doctrine of our Church concerning Confession How far she declares it necessary and how far expedient only from whence it will appear that Confession is not wanting in her 2. I will consider what he has produced in favour of its necessity or expediency The first of these seems necessary to be handled because he tells us that he divers times discoursed with Protestant Ministers and some Protestant Bishops about this matter and was sorry to find no Harmony in their Opinions p. 6. Now let us suppose it were true that private men differ'd in their Opinions about some matters relating to Confession yet it were nothing to the purpose at least it could be no reasonable motive to go from us to the Church of Rome since her private Doctors differ as much about it Some of which say that the Priest ought to take the Penitents word and grant him Absolution although he do not believe his Profession of Repentance to be sincere Others hold that the Confessor ought to be satisfied of the Penitents sincerity before he absolve him Some say Attrition with Absolution is sufficient ●o obtain Remission of Sins others say Contrition is necessary which is as material a difference as almost can be Many such differences there are amongst them and the one party accuses the other of Heresie for their dissering Opinions and yet it seems this want of Harmony amongst the Roman Doctors and Bishops did not hinder Mr. M. ●rom embracing their Religion It was therefore very partially done to leave Our Church for a pretended difference amongst our Doctors For let us take the Difference as he represents it and it is really no more Some said'twas a thing allowed by the Church of England as very expedient in some Cases but no matter of necessity others thought it but a Picklock of Secrets and a matter of ill consequence Methinks there is a very good Harmony between these and that the same Men might have said both at least the Opinions are easily reconciled since both agree that in all cases it is no matter of necessity and neither deny that in some cases it is very expedient Notwithstanding which it may be in other cases but a Pick-lock of Secrets and matter of ill consequence Where is the disagreement or contradiction between these two To give Mr. M. back one of his own Arguments for my part I do not understand it § 2. I have read a great many Protestant Books and consulted both Divines and Bishops and do profess that I have found them very well agreed in these things First That every Sinner ought to be heartily sensible of every Sin he has committed and acknowledge it before God with shame and sorrow and that he can expect no Pardon from God till he actually abhor and forsake the Sin. Wherever