Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A25329
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The Anatomy of popery, or, A catalogue of popish errours in doctrine, and corruptions in worship together with the agreement between paganism, pharisaism, and popery.
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1673
(1673)
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Wing A3058A; ESTC R9334
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77,450
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240
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THE ANATOMY OF POPERY OR A Catalogue of Popish Errours in Doctrine and Corruptions in Worship Together with The AGREEMENT between Paganism Pharisaism and Popery Nostrae Regulae noster sunt Decalogus imò Decalogo praestantiores quoniam illic mandata hîc consilia Jac. Crusius Jesuita in Hossem ca 5. LONDON Printed by Tho. Milbouâ—â— for Tho. Passenger at the Tâ—â—ee Bibles on London-Bridge 1673. To the much honoured Sir FRANCIS POPHAM of Littlecott in the County of Wilts Knight of the Honourable Order of the Bath To Sr. Thomas Dolman of Shaw in the County of Berks Knight and and to William Ashe of Heitesbury in the County of Wilts Esquire the Author wisheth an encrease of all Heavenly blessings Honoured Sirs GRreat was the goodness of God after our Saviours Resurrection and Ascension that he sent down cloven Tongues from Heaven like as fire upon his Apostles which was a visible sign of those invisible â—ifts of the Spirit poured down abundantly upon them for the service of the Church and the enlightening of the World with the knowledg of Salvation by Jesus Christ and that even after the Nations of the Earth had so many Ages sate in darkness and in the shadow of death a dark Cloud of Barbarous Heathenish errours and superstitions having over-spread the face of the whole Earth insomuch that wicked Men and Women Adulterers and Adulteresses Stocks Stones and other Creatures were mistaken for Gods and Goddesses The times of this Ignorance as the Apostle calls them Act. 17.30 were woful but then let us see the goodness of the Lord who restored the light in so plentiful a manner that as that Cloud which Elijah's Servant saw at the first rise up like a man's hand had in short time over-spread the Heavens so that little Lamp which at first being put into the hand of Adam gave light to his House and Family became now like the Sun in the Firmament and shined to all Nations the knowledg of God being plentifully dispersed all abroad as the Sun-beams diffused through the whole body of the ayr But then again that evil Angel of the bottomless pit sent out a smoak in the Ages following which darkened the face of the Heavens and the light of the Church The Devil raised up divers Instruments not only open and notorious Hereticks but those of all others most dangerous who closely promoted the mystery of Iniquity never ceasing their secret workings until they had lifted up Antichrist into his Chair of Pestilence and by degrees corrupted the simplicity of the Truth darkning the knowledg of Christ with corrupt traditions errours contrary to the Faith defaceing the glory of Christ his full satisfaction and perfect merit with their own merit and works of supererogation and pretended Treasury of the Church joyning with Christ other Mediators and finding other ways to Heaven which the Holy Ghost never taught the Gospel of Christ never mentioned So that we may as truly say of them as of the Heathens Professing themselves Wise they became Fools Foolishly bragging of an infallibility nailed to their Popes Chair that it was impossible for him to erre or be deceived they fell into gross and monstrous errours and led many thousands away by their strong delusions to destruction who had pleasure in Vnrighteousness and received not the love of the truth that they might be saved The Romanists have used abundance of lyes and cunningly devised fables for the maintenance of their Tenets and the defence of their supposed truths as also for the defacing and blemishing of the undoubted truth of God They used not only fabulous specches but also fabulous actions too viz. lying wonders How many false miracles have they hatched for the defence of their Religion their Purgatory Praying for the Dead Invocation of Saints Transubstantiation Worshipping of Images c Would not these much trouble many weak minds had not the spirit of God expresly foretold that this should be the practice of Antichrist that man of sin whose coming should be with signes and lying wonders and all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that perish 2 Thes 2. So that that which they make use of to prove their Religion by when they want proofs in the Word of God we are taught by the word to make use of as a proof that their Pope is the very Antichrist and they the followers of the Beast What shameful lyes do they bring also to prove their Tenets that are in Controversie How do they abuse Scripture and as much as in them lyeth put lies into the mouth of the holy spirit of truth for the maintenance of their false doctrine for what is it else when men will wickedly go about to make the Scripture speak that which the Spirit who endited it never meant wilfully perverting plain Texts of the Word to serve their base ends and to confirm those falshoods which they have learned from the Father of lyes On the other side how many wicked Tales have they devised to suppress deface the Truth That edious lye concerning Luthers death and that of Beza's death and falling from the Truth to Popery cast abroad in his life-time which himself lived to confute to their shame what doth it but shew by what Spirit they are led what shameful lyes have they devised against many other special Instruments of God's Glory They hope it seemeth that some will be found so foolish as to believe their loudest lies yea do not many of them maintain lying as lawful for defence of Religion that Faith is not to be kept with those whom they call Hereticks and that Equivocation a more cleanly kind of lying is lawful insomuch that when Tresham one of the Powder-Traitors in articulo mortis lying on his Death-bed in the Tower denied by solemn Oath what he knew to be most true to save the life and credit of Garnet the Superiour of the English Jesuits and a man of great account among them and when the thing was proved manifestly and Garnet was asked what he thought of his case he said he knew not unless Equivocation might excuse him But if their doctrine be true it cannot want truth to defend it if false as it is all the lyes in Hell will not hold it up against the power of Truth no more than the darkness which silleth the ayr at night can resist the Sun-beams at his rising for as darkness is but a shadow and so cannot withstand the light so lyes are but shadows and fancies there is nothing selid in them and they are not able to resist the power of truth which is divine and cometh down from the Father of Lights and God of Truth Worthy Sirs P It is lamentable to consider what the Pope of Rome and his Clergy in this Land did heretofore practise upon the Nobility and Gentry of this Nation suffering them to live in Ignorance whereby they might not boggle at any looseness or wickedness of life that so the Clergy might afterward
multitude of people that have received the Romish Faith and their Church say they hath replenished the greatest part of the world They would prove this by the Propagation of the Church in the Apostles time in Tertullian Irenaeus Hierom Augustine yea and afterward in Gregories days yea and now also besides many great Countries in Europe they have their Church in India America and the unknown parts of the world saith Bellarmine But the truth is not always to be measured by the judgment or opinion of the multitude The greatest part is not the best Christ calleth his Flock a little Flock Besides the Papists have nothing to do with the Church that was propagated in the Apostles time nor for the space of five or six hundred years after Christ and the most of their Errours are more lately sprung up than so The Popes Jurisdiction in Europe is much diminished And for the Indians and Americans it is well known what cruelty the Spaniards used to win that simple people to Christ as Benzo the Italian hath related it and there are few or none of their Popish Catholicks in those Countries but of their own brood that have been sent thither Universality unless it be joyned with verity is no sufficient note of the Church saith Mr. Fox Of Succession THey boast much of the long and perpetual Succession of their Popes from the Apostles for the space of these 1500 years and more condemning all Churches which cannot shew the like order of Succession But the Bishops of the Churches of Antioch and Rome and Alexandria boast themselves to be Successors of Saint Peter and yet are dissenting and separate in Communion The Bishops of Constantinople fetch their Succession from the Apostle Saint Andrew as Nicephorus goeth about to prove in the eighth Book of his Chronology Chapter 6. yet these Bishops by the Judgment of the Roman Church are Schismaticks and Hereticks Whence it appears that the Succession of Chairs cannot be a fit mark for the true Church since it is found in Heretical Churches In the Papal See some Schisms have been and divers times many Popes together excommunicating one another and reciprocally calling one another Antichrist and of those Antichrists the worst commonly overcame So according to the very Canons of the Roman Church factions and corruptions in the creation of Popes have frequently made their election void and therefore have broken the thread of that Succession Of Unity THe Papists boast much of Unity Flac. Ilyric but it is without ground of truth and yet they have many Dissentions Illyricus hath written a Book to the purpose concerning the several Sects and Divisions amongst them The Scotists and Thomists differ about meritum condigni congrui about Original sin in the Virgin Mary about a solemn Vow and a single life Great Differences there are between their Canonists and School-men Albertus Pius dissented from Cajetan Thomas from Lombard Scotus from Aquinas Occam from Scotu Alliancenses from Occam The first Nicene Council allowed Priests Marriage and the Communion in both kinds The Councils of Basil and Constance forbad the Laity the use of the Cup the same Councils decreed likewise that the Pope should be subject to General Councils Many Antipopes have there been at one and the same time Much also might be said of the great Diversity of their Monks and Friers in their Food Habits Shaving and the like Various are their Opinions likewise touching the Controversie of the Sacrament The Papists are very Schismatical engrossing the Title of Catholicks whereby they would imply both truth of Doctrine and universality of Consent to be found only with them but as one well observeth upon no better grounds than the Turks arrogate the Title of Mussulmannâ— that is Crocks Hypâ—â—â— Orthodox and Iâ—annâ— that is at Unity It is not their number that excuseth them from Schism no more than the revolt of the ten Tribes from the house of David could make the two Tribes that clave to it guilty of that rent and themselves to be innocent Unity must be in the truth else the saying of Nazianzen will take place Better is Discord bringing Light Greg. Nazianz Orat 1. de â—â—ace Than Vnity without all right Though Popery appear to have in it Unity yet the same is Vanity and Antichristianity and not in Christs Faith and Verity Of the Power of working Miracles BEllarmine doth greatly upbraid our Church for the defect of Miracles saying Hereticos non potuisse extorquere Miracula neque à Deo neque à Diabolo that Hereticks meaning the Protestants do neither extort Miracles from God nor from the Devil But do they take a pride that the Devil is forward in advancing their Cause and so backward to do us any kindness we will rest content with such Miracles as our Saviour and the Apostles wrought at the propagating of the Gospel but when we dissent from Christs Doctrine we will cast about for new Miracles I. A Miracle is a marvelous The pretended Miracles of Saint Francis reported by Vincentius Antâ—rine Bâ—naventure and Suâ—ius are more than marvelous sensible real Work above the vertue of natural causes wrought for good ends especially for the promoting of Gods Glory and Mans Salvation It is a work of wonder Act. 2.22 Luk. 8.25 Act. 7.30 31. So it is said of Simon Magus he continued with Philip and wondered beholding the Miracles and Signs which were done Îξίστατο he was transported beyond himself with admiration It is true many things may cause wonder which are not miraculous as 1. Other great Works 2. False and seeming Miracles wrought by the power and subtilty of Satan But here I speak of such Works as afford just cause of wonder such Works as deserve admiration from the wisest of men false Miracles are wonders in shew only II. True Miracles are sensible Works apparent to some or other of the Senses and therefore that pretended Popish Miracle of Transubstantiation is but an absurd fancy a thing denied by the Senses the Smell the Taste the Eye all with one consent say it is Bread and Wine and not Flesh and Blood When our Saviour turned Water into Wine there was a sensible change it had the colour and taste of Wine and that so evident that the Governour of the Feast preferred it above any they had drunk before When Melancton was a young Scholar at the University he heard one Lempus a Popish Doctor who would take upon him to draw a Picture of Transubstantiation and so to present a shadow of it to the Eye though it were invisible yea and impossible in it self but Melancton though he was then but a youth instead of wondering at the supposed Miracle admired the dotage and sottishness of the Doctor III. A Miracle is a true and real Work false Miracles are deceitful appearances many Popish Miracles are meer cheats of some lewd persons couzening tricks of deceitful men or wonders of lying spirits IV. True Miracles are above