Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	authority_n	church_n	infallible_a	2,088	5	9.4927	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15510	A direction to be observed by N.N. if hee meane to proceede in answering the booke intituled Mercy and truth, or charity maintained by Catholiks &c.	Knott, Edward, 1582-1656.	1636 (1636)	STC 25777; ESTC S101801	13,980	42

man is giuen ouer to his owne wit and discourse And talke not here of holy Scripture For if the true Church may erte in defining what Scriptures be Canonicall or in deliuering the sense and meaning thereof we are still deuolued either vpon the prinate spirit a foolerie now exploded out of England which finally leauing euery man to his owne conceits ends in Socinianisme orels vpon naturall wit and iudgement for examining and determining what Scriptures containe true or false doctrine and in that respect ought to bee receaued or reiected And indeed take away the authority of Gods Church no man can bee assured that any one Booke or parcell of Scripture was written by diuine inspiration or that all the contents are infallibly true which are the direct errours of Socinians If it were but for this reason alone no man who regardes the eternall saluation of his soule would liue or dye in Protestancie from which so vaste absurdities as these of the Socinians must ineuitably follow And it ought to be an vnspeakable comfort to all vs Catholicks while we consider that none can denie the infallible authoritie of our Church but ioyntly he must be left to his owne wit and waies and must abandon all infused Faith and true Religion if he doe but vnderstand himselfe aright The second reason drawne from the proceeding of the Church of England I vnderstand to be that their ayme and industrie tendes only to procure an exteriour conformitie to the Lawes of the Realme In so much that if a Catholicke for example would resort to their Church Seruice and Sermons take Oath of Supremacie receaue their Communion and abiure the Catholicke Faith though withall he protest to doe it only for feare and against his Conscience yea and that he dislikes their Seruice Sermons Faith and Communion In this case they are and must be satisfied with the forced actions of such a miserable man though euen his owne toung beare witnesses that all is donne against his conscience And what is this but to neglect the Soule vpon condition to receaue some kinde of violent tribute from the Bodie This then being the spirit of the English Church on the one side and Socinians on the other making no scruple with what honestie I leaue to be considered to sorte themselues for the exteriour with what Religion soeuer no wonder if by this meanes they haue a large scope to instill their Doctrine and yet walke with as much freedome as any Protestant can doe The third reason taken from the qualitie of Protestant Diuines is this Socinians destroying all supernaturall beliefe or infallible assent to any Obiect surpassing the reach of Humane Reason haue as manie and as strong obiections readie at hand against the Articles of our Faith as the weake vnderstanding of man doth finde difficulties in the knowledge of Diuines things Now the learning of Protestant Diuines consisting onely in some superficiall talent of Preaching languages or elocution not in any deep knowledge of Philosophie especially of Metaphisicke and much lesse of that most solide profitable subtile and succinct method which wee call Schoole Diuinitie when they come to be pressed by Socinians are vnable to satisfie their doubts but either are caught themselues as I know it hapneth not seldome or giue occasion for the Socinians to be more setled in their errours and for others to be drawne into the same infidelitie And the Diuell aymed at no lesse then this totall ruine of all Faith and Religion when he first moued Hereticks to deride Schoole Diuinitie and to nickname the Professours thereof dunses The fourth reason that casts so manie especially of the best wits vpon Socinianisme both Diuines and other among Protestants is because they will not be Catholicks in these times they cannot bring their vnderstanding to be Protestants and so they take the large and easie way of helieuing what they list And to speake the truth what learned iudicious man can after vnpartiall examination imbrace Protestantisme which waxeth euen wearie of it self and this is an infallible marke of Sects and Heresies for where the Holy Ghost Directeth there can bee no contrarietie or mutabilitie its Professours they especially of greatest worth learning and authoritie declare themselues to loue temper and moderation allowe of manie things which some yeares agoe were vsually condemned as superstitious and Antichristian and are at this time more vnresolued where to fasten then at the infancie of their Church Thus Truth the Center of our vnderstanding maugre neuer so long or strong opposition worketh powerfully though patiently and by insensible degrees calls men backe from fiercenesse to doubtfulnesse from doubtfulnesse to certaintie that at length they may ioy in a setled constancie And in this it is very apparent that the Holy Ghost directs the Church of Rome which proceeding alwayes vpon the same grounds and belieuing that Christ our Lord is still present with his Spouse ascribes as much infallibilitie to the present Church as to that of the first fine hundred yeares and reuerenceth the late Councell of Trent no lesse then the ancient Councell of Nice For the promises of our deare Sauiour were not limited for any Age without the assistance of whose holy Spirit no times or persons are exempted from errours and with it all are sure not to erre And this is the true reason why the Roman Church is still the same without opposition to it selfe in any least Doctrine whereas all other Sects and Sectaries are notoriously knowne to contradict both their Affociats and themselues as now I was saying of the Protestant Church in England For doe not their Churches beginne to looke with another face their walles to speake a new language their Preachers to vse a sweeter tone their annuall publicke Tenets in their Vniuersities to be of another stile matter their bookes to appeare with titles and arguments which once would haue caused a mightie scandall among the Brethren their Doctrine to be altered in manie things (a) For example the Pope not Antichrist Prayer for the Dead Limbus Patrum Pictures that the Church hath authoritie to determine Controuersies in Faith and to interpret the Scripture about Free-will and Predestination Vniuersall Grace that al our works are not sins morit of good works inherent Iustice Faith alone doth not iustifie Charitie is to be preferred before knowledge Traditions Commandements possible to bee kept c. and euen in those verie points for which their Progenitours forsooke the then visible Church of Christ Their 39. Articles that is the summe the Confession almost the Creede of their Faith are patient patient they are ambitious of some sense wherein they may seeme to be Catholick To alledge the necessitie of wife and children in these dayes is but a weake plea for a married Minister to compasse a Benefice Firie Caluinisme once a darling in England is at lenght accounted Herefie yea and little lesse then Treason men in word and writing vse willingly the once

Baptisme of young Children is not to bee retained in the Church as most agreable to the instieution of Christ Cont. Art 27. 11. That the offering of Christ upon the Crosse is not a perfect propitiation and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world Cont. Art 31. 12. That the true Body and Blood of Christ is not in the Blessed Sacrament neither in a Reall nor Spirituall manner and that it is only a signe or token of his Body Cont. Art 28. 13. That Faith containes no infallible certaintie of the things belieued 14. That the reasonable Soule is not immortall naturall and perse but only per accidens as it is added to some Soules by way of punishment or reward to be immortall 15. That this immortality of wicked Soules is not to bee extended neither to all eternity and that it were vniust in God to punish finite offences with infinite torments 16. That no point of Christian Religion is to be belieued aboue Reason For an Epilogue to these grosse errors I could adde an Apologue of his owne and lay in his dish a couple of Frogs He vnderstands my meaning (a) If the Answerer publish his Booke and yet will not declare his opinion concerning cucrie one of these wieked Positions by omitting to plead not guiltie in that occasion euery iudicious c realous Christian will hold him to bee guiltie of them all Tell mee now Christian Reader what manner of man this Socinian is and what it is to be a Socinian or Protestant or any other Sectary denying the infallibility of Gods Church in all her definitions concerning matters of Faith For as I haue said already whosoeuer refuseth to relie on such Authoritie must resolue the truth of his Faith into the strength of his owne wit or to speake more truely of his will which is to take away all infallible supernaturall Faith without which as the (b) Heb. c. 11. v. 6. Apostle auoucheth it is impossible to please God And thus hauing shewed what Socinianisme is and vpon what ground it goes I may now oportunely deliuer the Answerer his direction least hee chance to mistake and in lieu of maintaining Protestancie hiddenly plant poison of Socianisme and leaue Charitie maintained not so much as once spoken to in his whole Answer as I noted in the beginning CHAP. IV. What the Answerer is to obserue if he will speake to any purpose FIrst it will be expected that he declare his owne opinion plainely and particularly and not thinke to satisfie by a meere destructiue (a) Sed quae rursum ratio reuocabat ne apud eos Manichaeos penitus haererems nisi quod ipsos quoque animaduertebam plus in refellendis aliis disertos copiosos esse quam in suis probandis firmos certos manere S. Aug. De vtilitat Creden cap. 1. way of obiecting such difficulties against Catholicks as vpon examination tend to the ouer throw of all Religion no lesse then of Catholicke Doctrine Secondly that his arguments destroy not some of his owne Tenets Thirdly that he contradict not D. Potter whome he pretends to defende and who maintaines the infallibilitie of Gods Church in fundamentall Articles the Supernaturalitie of Faith and diuers other points which I know the Answerer laughes at Fourthly that he oppose not the 39. Articles of the Church of England Fiftly that his grounds destroy not the bellefe of the most Blessed Trinitie the Deitie of our deare Lord and Sauiour and of the Holy Ghost Originall sinne and diners other doctrines which all good Christians belieue yea and all verities that cannot be proued by naturall Reason Sxithly that he relle not vpon such Principles as must bring with them the deniall of diuers Bookes of holy Seripture receaued into the Canon both by Catholicks and Protestants And if he asked whether the Epistle of Saint Iames the Apocalyps of Saint Iohn with some other parts of Scripture now receaued by English Protestants though heretofore controuerted be Canonicall let him not still thinke to satisfie by saying These are captious questions Seauenthly that he doe not ouerthrow the infallibility of all Scripture both of the Old and New Testament Eightly that his Arguments tend not to proue an impossibilitie of all Diuine Supernaturall infallible Faith and Religion that either hath been or is or shall be or possibly can be But now the reason why I preuent the Answerer with these Directions is this From Truth no man can by good consequence inferre falshood If then the Answerer produce such Arguments as either proue nothing or els must extend to proue that which is confessedly false it will remaine very cleare that his reasons are but Sophismes and artificiall falsities though they should seeme not easie to be answered especially to such as are either not learned at all or superficially learned and not versed in solid Philosophie or Schoole Diuinitie from whence Socinians are glad to borrow Obiections but either dissemble or vnderstand not the Solutions Wherefore if the Arguments of the Answerer be found to beate vpon some of the foresayd grounds and by that meanes appeare to proue too much euerie one will see they proue nothing at all And if notwithstanding this Direction to the contrarie he will be trenching on the sayd excesses his Booke is already answered euen before it appeare But let him not interpret this my preuention or Direction to proceede from feare that his Booke will be vnanswerable and that therefore I seeke afore hand to disgrace the Authour and forestall the publication For by Gods holie assistance his Booke shall be answered and the latent venome fetcht out though perhaps he will lay wagers to the contrarie and with his much confidence would perswade All Soules to belieue him And in truth what greater aduantage could wee wish against Protestants then that they should trust their Cause and possibilitie to by saued with a Champion who often and euen not very long since hath professed that he will neuer subscribe to their 39. Articles and hath set downe in writing Motiues which induced him to forsake Protestantisme to which indeed he neuer returned and which are extant still to be exhibited if need be vnder his owne hand But how soeuer I presente a copie of them in the next which shall be the last Chapter of my Direction CHAP. V. The Motiues for which the Answerer for sooke Protestantisme 1. BEcause perpetuall visible profession which could neuer be wanting to the Religion of Christ nor any part of it is apparently wanting to Protestant Religion so farre as concernes the points in contestation 2. Because Luther and his followers separating from the Church of Rome separated also from all Churches pure or impure true or false then being in the world vpon which ground I conclude that either Gods promises did faile of performance if there were then no Church in the world which held all things necessarie and nothing repugnant to Saluation or els that Luther and