Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	ancient_a	church_n	true_a	2,421	5	5.1957	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20163	An ansvvere to one question Wherevpon dependet[h] the resolution of all controuersies, doubts, and questions, which are, or can be made about matters of faith[.] Wherefore it is dilige[n]tly, & carefully reade, and duely pondered, after prayer made to God for the light of his grace, without which it cannot be rightly vnderstood in such sort as is fit. Permissu superiorum.		1628 (1628)	STC 660; ESTC S115860	8,090	24

as appeareth by the Texts afore-cited Therefore the Authority of Doctours and Pastours of the Visible Church in all ages is Infallible in all points with vnanime consent or by their full Aucthoritie they teach to be deuine Truth whether the poynt be great or littell Fundamentall or not Fundamentall or whether they bring proofe for that they teach out of Scripture or not For in the afoure said text there is no such Limitation of great or little Fundamentall or not Fundamentall points of Truth Nor any such reflrictiue Condition of proouing what they teach out of Scripture Seendly I prooue the same by Sentences of ancient Fathers First S. Irenaeus S. Iren. l. 3. cap. 4. who liued in the next age to the Apostles sayth We ought not to seeke Truth from others which we may easily receaue from the Church Sith the Apostles haue layd vp in it as in a rich tresury or storehouse most fully those things which are of Truth c. And a litle after to shew that this is not meant with onely Limitatiō of Fundamentall points he addeth saying and if controuersie arise euen about some small questiōs should we not haue recourse to the most ancient Church in which the Apostles did Cōuerse and take from them what is certaine and cleare in this question And further to shew that it is not necessary that this Church must prooue euery thing she doth teach out of Scripture he presently addeth What if the Apostles had left vs no Scripture ought wee not to haue followed the Order of Tradition 2. Tert. lib. de Praesiript Tereullian saith The order of things doth require that this Question should first be propounded to whome doth faith belonge as if he should say which is the true Church Whose are the Scriptures from whome by whome when and to whome was the Discipline deliuered by which we are made Christians for where the trueth of Christian Discipline and Faith shall appeare to be there shal be the Trueth of Scriptures and expositions and all Christian Traditions By which we may learne that although to one who doth beleeue Scriptures we may out of them prooue which is the true Church yet to proceed according to right order of things the true ancient alwaies Visible continued Church is to be found first and from the true Church we must finde which be true Scriptures which true Expositions and all true Christian Traditions 3. S. Cyprian saith S. Cyprian lib. 1. c. 3. That from no other roote do Herisies and Schismes springe but from this that men doe not obey the Priest of God neither do consider that in the Church there is on Priest and one Iudge for the time in steed of Christ 4. S. Basill saith S. Basil lib. de Spiritu sancto c. 27. The Doctrines which are in the Church now proposed and Preached we haue partly from the written Doctrine partly from the Traditions of the Apostles brought vnto vs in mistery both which are of like force to piety 5. S. Chrsyost vpō these words 2. Thess 4.14 S. Crysostome vpon those wordes hold the traditions c. saith Hence it is euedent that the Apostles did not Deliuer all in writing but many thinges without writing and that the one and the other are a like worthy of Credit 6. S. August lib. contra epistolam fun damenti cap. 5. S. Augustine attributeth so much to the Authority of the Church that he saith I would not beleeue the Gospell it selfe if the Authority of the Church did not induce me And speaking of a poynt which could not be prooued out of Scripture Lib. 1. cōtra Crescon c. 32. or 33. he saith The Truth of Scripture is holden by vs when we do that which pleaseth the whole Church which the Authority of the same Scriptures doth cōmēd because holy scripture cannot deceiuē whosoeuer is afraid to be deceiued with the obscurity of this Question Let him aske the Iudgment of the Church which without all ambiguity the holy Scripture doth Demonstrate Epist 118. c. 1. And in his Epistle he affirmeth That it is most insolent madnes to dispute against that which the Church doth vniuersally practize See Saint Augustine de vtilitate credendi cap. 10. vsque adsinem libri S. Vincētius Lirinensis in his goulden treatise against he resie c. 1. Lastly S. Vincentius Lirinensis liuing neere to S Augustines time first aduiseth as a Rule to Discerne and to preserue vs from heresy to Ioyne the authority of the Catholick Church her Tradition and Interpretation to the written Word of God in regard the height of Scripture is such as euery man doth not take it in one and the same sense but so many sensuall men so many sensuall senses of it may be made And he assureth that this Church of Christ is so diligent and wary a keeper of Doctrine Deliuered as a sacred Depositunn vnto her that nihil in his permut at nihil minuit nihil addit she neuer chaungeth any thing to wit by misinterpretation of the sense and meaninge of any point of Faith nor diminisheth any thing to wit by Denying what was once held for a point of Faith nor addeth anie thing to witt by affirming any thing to be a Deuine Truth which was no at first for such Deliuered by Christ his Apostles And a little after he sheweth that although it may seeme that the Church in the Decrees of her Coūsels may haue made some addition or change yet indeede the addition or change is not in substance or in sense but only being excited by nouell Heretiques she setteth downe in writinge what from our Elders shee receiued by only Traditiō and the better to expresse in words what was infoulded in ancient Beleife she somtymes giueth to an old article not a new sense but a new name as for example the Conncell of Nice added the word Consubstansttiall and the Lateran Councell the word Transubstantiation with out any mutation of the Sense of the Article 3 I prooue the same Verity by these ensuing plaine reasons The first Reason If the Authority of the Church be not Infallible but as the Authority of other men onely fallible and such as may erre and hath erred in any one point proposed as a deuine Truth by Vnanimous Consent or ful authority of it It will follow that we neuer haue nor can haue according to the ordinary Course of Gods prouidence anie Infallible certainty of any other Point of our Faith proposed by the Vnanimous Consent or full Authority of the same Church For if it can erre and hath erred in any ponit so Deliured we may iustly feare and haue no assured ground to assure that she teacheth Infallible Truth in any fo the rest As S. Augustin sayth of holy Scrirture if we once admit any vntruth to be in any one parte of it we shall thereby take away all infallible authority and credit from it in all the rest But if we neyther

haue nor can haue Infallible certainty of any point proposed as deuine Truth by vnanimous consent or full authorite of the Church we can haue no Deuine fayth at all Rom. 10. Eph. 4. for sith as S. Paul signifieth Deuine Fayth cometh by heraing the Word of Christ preached by those onely who are lawfully sent as are those Doctours and Pastours lineally desceding from Christ and his Apostles which by Christ his appointment must be allwayes in the Church If we can not haue Infallible assurance by hearing these Doctours and Pastouis in any poynt they teach we can haue noe Deuine Fayth at all for this requireth Infallible assurance Therfore If the Authority of the Church or the Doctours or Pastours thereof be not Infallible in proposing and teaching Deuine Truth in whatsoeuer euen in the least poynt we can haue no Infallible assurance in any other poynt of Deuine Truth nor any Deuine Faith in whatsoeuer point allthough most necessary to saluation The 2. reason IF we that liue now had neuer hard of Christ or his Apostles or their Preaching or writing Deuinely reuailed Truths necessary to Saluation or had onely heard of them one or moe but such as weare cōmonly knowne to tell nothing but fictions and lyes we could not at least according to the ordinary course of deuine Prouidēce beleeue these necessary points at all yea although we had heard of these by some one or moe honest men who sometymes speake true sometymes false the most we could doe were to assent vnto these things by a probable yet weake and fallible opinion or humane faith Therefore to assent vnto these things by an absolute sure and Infallible Iudgment of Deuine Supernaturall faith It is needfull that these Doctours and Pastours of the Church by whose teachinge we are by the ordinarie course of Gods Prouidence to learne them by men not only sent but also Infallibly assisted by God and that partly with naturall or at least with Supernaturall guifts this their Authority may Sufficiently be made knowne to be such as may Iustly moue men to a supernaturall Deuine and Infallible beleefe For although these things be as they are in all the foresaid cases in themselues infallible Deuine Truths yet they do not breede in vs Infallible supernaturall and Deuine beleefe vntill they be applyed to our vnderstanding by a meanes hauinge in it a due Proportion of Deuine supernaturall and Infallible Authority Sith therefore This ordinary meanes which by Gods appointment is to apply these Truths to our vnderstanding is no other besides the teaching of the Doctours and Pastours of the true cōtinually Visible Catholique Church It must be granted that they haue an Infallible Supernaturall and Participatiue Deuine Authority in their teaching so long as they teach with Vnanimous consent and conformable to that which is Authorized Doctrine of the Church The Third Reason IF there be not Infallible Authority in the Pastours of the Church in Proposing deuine Truths by vnanimous Consent or by there full Authority it is at least morally Impossible that Vnity of Faith soe much commended 1. Cor. 1.10 ●phes 4.3.45 ●●●llpi 2.2 Gel. 5.20 and required so much to be amongst Christians should be preserued or that Heresies Schismes so much fpoken against both by Scriptures Antient Fathers could be preuented or taken away For sith words of Scriptures do not expresse all matters pertaining to Faith as namely which Bookes be Canonicall Scripture which Apocriphall which in doubtfull and not euident causes is true and Infallible translation and which is the Infallible sence of the wordes of the holy text and which taxts those be which containe points of doctrine Fundamentall or necessary for all sorts to know Beleeue expressely Sith also about seeming plaine words of Scripture euē cōtaining points necessary to be knowne and beleeued expresely there haue bin and daily doe or may arise questions or Coutrouersies euen amongst learned men about the sence Some houlding it necessary to saluation to take the words in this others in a contrary sence If there be not an Infallible Aucthority in the Church to instruct men Infallibly in the right sence and to deside controuersies arising about the sence How it is possible that men should submitt these there different opinions to some other mans Iudgment in matters of such moment as is eternall Saluation or Damnation when each man is by nature apt to apprehend that to be truest which seemeth so to his owne witt and vnderstanding and that to be securest which being sutable to his owne apprehention seemeth to be confirmed by to-him-seeming-plaine words of deuine Scripture as euery sensuall sect maister apprehendeth his opnion to be confirmed by some or otheir to-him-seeming-plaine wordes of deuine Scripture Other Reasons might be added But by these it is playne enough that the Authority of the perpetuall Visible Church is not onely such as is of other priuat men who do not Ordinarily erre in points of Faith Fundamentall and necessary to be knowne of all sorts or in such points which they can euidently prooue out of Sripture but that it is obsolutly Infallible and neuer did doth or shall erre at least with Vnanimous consent or when it teacheth by her full Authority in whatsoeuer point Fundamentall or not Fundamentall prooued or not prooued by Scripture Which being so you may plainly see supposing there cannot as there cannot be assigned anie other True Visible Church in all Ages since Christ different from the Roman which can doth shew it felfe to haue beene (✚) See 〈…〉 … bula 〈…〉 al●o S. 〈…〉 Cata … in the A●p●●dix to th● Antido●● Visible and teaching without change the Faith of Christ in all Ages You may see I say First how safely you may rely vpon the Authority of the Roman Church and noe other in whatsoeuer point pertaining to Christian Faith and Religion espcially when euen best learned Protestāts do grant that (†) See Protestants Apology Tract 1. Sect. 6. Saluation may be had in it 2 How vniustly Protestants pretēd cause of there seperation frō her to haue bene that she hath changed her first faith ether by Addition Detraction or Misinterpretation of any point of Faith especially necessary to saluation Thirdly how needfull it is for those who either for one reason or other remaine seperate from the Faith Vnity and obedience of the Roman Church to returne with speed into the Vnity of the Roman Church as the doue into Noe his Arke in regard there is noe other place whereupon they may safely rest the feete of their Faith Conscience or where in they can abide with out danger of being drowned in eternall Damnation For out of the true infallible all wayes Visible Catholicke which is onely the Roman Church There is noe communion of Saints no remission of Sinnes no saluation of Soule to be hoped for And what 〈◊〉 it profit a man to gayne all the wo●●● with losse or hasard of the losse of Eternall Saluation of his Soule I will therefore conclude with t●●… Dilemma drawne out of a discourse S. Augustine If there be no Prouider of God in human matters then a m●● neede not indeuour to be of a right Religion nor care whether he be of this or that or any Religion at all But i● there be a deuine Prouidence as all but Atheists do confesse and these also may be cōuinced to beleeue by the greatnes multitude beauty variety and order which is seene in the whole world and by the secret instinct ingrauen in the hartes of all euen most barberous people and felt somtimes especially in daunger of death euen by Atheists them selues Then it is not to be doubted but that there is by deuine prouidence ordained some on or other certaine and Infallible Authority vpon which as vpon a sure Step we may rely for finding out that one Infallible and entire true Faith and Religion in which God is Pleased to be serued of men and without which it is Impossible that God should be pleased or men doe to him that duty for which they were created or attaine that happy End vnto which they were ordained But among all Authorities ordained by Almighty God for this purpose there is none greater and more worthy to be credited then the Authority of the Catholicke Romane Church which euen by Confession or acknowledgmēt of Makind hath beene esteemed to haue highest Authority from the Apostolicall Seate by successiō of Bishops while Heretiques haue in vaine barcked round about it haue ben condemned partly by the Iudgment of the people partly by the grauity of Counsels partly by the Maiesty of Miracles To which Authority not to yeald principality is huge impiety or headlong arrogancy Therefore it is not to be doubted but the Authority of the Catholicke Roman Church is Infallible and that vpon it as vpon a sure stepp we may rely or finding out that One Infallible entire Faith and Religion which is necessary to Saluation FINIS