an Usurpation as that of the Popes was And the main Point in order to a Reformation was casting off the Popes Power as an encroachment upon the Ancient and Canonical Priviledges of the Western Churches which was done here by a General consent even of those Bishops who held in Communion with the Roman Church as far as those could do who rejected the Head of it And this is the Fundamental Point as to the matter of Schism If the Pope as Head of the Church doth influâ—â—ce Catholick Communion so far that it is necessary to Salvation to live in subjection to him it will be very hard to justify separation from that Body whereof he is the visible Head. But if there be no Scripture no Councils no Universal Tradition for this as the Roman Catholick Bishops here declared in the time of H. 8. then there can be no Schism in acting without Authority from him or against his Authority And whether any other Church joyned with ours or not is no more material to the justification of the Reformation than the lawfulness of any one Counties Acting for the Royal Family in the late times of Usurpation did depend upon the concurrence of others with it What more commonly talked of and magnified in the Church of Rome than the Reformation of the Mâ—nastick Orders And some of the personâ— have been Canonized who have done it But in this Case the Governour of a Monastick Order proceeding according to the Rules of his Order doth a very justifiable thing tho never another Monastry joyn with him in it because he only doth his duty and proceeds by the Rules which are receiv'd by the whole Order This I say was the Case of the Church of England in Reforming according to Scripture and the sense of the Primitive Church and if others joyned so much the better if not the Act justifies it self and needs not the concurrence of others to make it good 2. The 2d Answer was That there is a difference between voluntary Separation and that which is unavoidable in case unreasonable conditions of Communion be required The Defender pretends He can by no means understand this unavoidable Separation because tho Men be separated from the Communion of a Church yet they may continue of the same Faith if they please but if they have another Faith they separate themselves even supposing Usurpation or whatever I would have Now this seems very strange to me from a person who knows the Terms of Communion with the Roman Church Can any Man be a true Member thereof who doth not own and profess to believe the Popes Supremacy Transubstantiation c. Is he not by the constitution of that Church required to believe all that the Roman Church believes But suppose men do not and cannot for their hearts believe as that Church believes can they notwithstanding be Members of it No he confesses a different Faith unavoidably casts them out But then to believe otherwise than the Roman Church believes casts them out unavoidably The Question now is who is the cause of this casting out those who cannot believe those Doctrines or those who require the belief of them in order to communion If these Doctrines be evident in Scripture or were defined by the four General Councils or are contained in the ancient Creeds or can be clearly proved by Universal Tradition then we confess the blame falls on those who refuse but if none of those can be made appear to the satisfaction of a mans mind who desires to search out Truth then their separation is unavoidable and there is no reason to make it their voluntary act But saith the Defender a mans faith is his own voluntary act I grant that but not a voluntary cause of Separation which two ought to be distinguished in this case As in the case of Usurpation the owning the lawful King is a voluntary act but if an Usurper threatens to banish him if he doth not abjâ—re him upon whom must the blame be laid upon the mans voluntary act or the Usurpers voluntary imposing such a penalty on those who do nothing but what is just The Defender did not consider that the making such terms of communion was a voluntary act too and being a thing unreasonable and unjust it leaves the blame upon the imposers But he denies any such thing as Usurpation in the Pâ—pe because he hath shewed by his reiterated Approbation of the Bishop of Meaux's Book that he is content with that submission and obedience which the Holy Councils and Fathers have always taâ—ght the Faithful These are very fine words to deceive the unwary But I pray tell us who is to declare what the Councils and Fathers have always taught the Faithful Who is to be Judg Is not the Pope himself For no Council will be allowed without his Approbation and Confirmation And is not this then a very pretty Artifice to draw weak persons into a snare For my part I do not wonder at the Popes Approbation of the Bishop of Meaux's Book no more than I would at a Gentlemans approbation of a fine spun Net when he goes a fishing which is not so easily discerned and yet doth as effectually catch the Game Some there are still who love to be deceived and some have more arts of deceiving than others and those who gain most by it will be sure to give them the greatest approbation The Defender proceeds Suppose there were Usurpation must people therefore believe otherwise than they did before as that there is no change of Substance no Purgatory no more than two Sacraments and the rest The Question about Faith is one thing and about Separation is another We are now upon the latter of these and in this case we are most concerned about the Popes Authority since he is look'd on by you as the Head of the Catholick Church and the Center of Communion If there were no such Usurpation yet we should never decline giving an account of the Reasons of our Faith as to Sacraments Purgatory or what you please of the Points in difference between us Which I neither desire to make greater or lesser than really they are For there may be deceit both ways As to his renewing the Question by what authority we separate I answer by the same authority which makes it unlawful for us to profess what we do not believe and to practise what we believe God hath forbidden This is just as if one should ask by what authority men are bound to be honest and sincere and to prefer Gods Laws before mens For the Church of Rome requires from the Members of her Communion besides matters of Faith such acts of Worship which whatever they be to those who believe as they do must be Idolatrous to those that believe as we do For example suppose in China where they believe God to be the same with the World that honour of the Chineses who on that account think they may
Catholic Church This is very intelligible Let us then go on But how come the Promises made to the Catholic Church to belong to the Roman-Catholic How comes the Roman-Catholic to be the One Church of Christ on Eaâ—th But this is running forwards and backwards And 〈◊〉 gâ—od is to be done without supposing Roman and Cathoâ—â—â— to be terms equivalent He tells me I am over-hasty in removing the Power of working Miracles out of the Church For he saith God still works Miracles in the Roman Church and if I would put the whole issue on Miracles he would undertake the Proof There is nothing in this Case like working of Miracles among us for our satisfaction For Miracles are a sign to unbelievers But it is a pleasant thing that they should go about to convince us by those things which they laugh at one another for pretending to I will give them an Instance past contradiction Did not the Iansenists pretend to a Miracle at Port-Royal by one of the Thorns of our Saviours Crown And did not the Iesuits expose the very pretence as idle and ridiculous as appears by F. Annat's Book on that Occasion The late Author of the Prejudices against the Jansenists upon occasion of that Miracle lays down some good Rules for discerning true Miracles and false 1. That such Miracles are not sufficient to convince which may be effected by a created Power unless they be attested by such Miracles which can only be effected by a Divine Power such as Resurrection from the dead 2. We must not only attend to the Nature but to the End of Miracles which he saith is the true worship of God and the love of Vertue And by these Rules I shall be content to examine all his Miracles when ever he produces them The Assistance which Christ promised he tells us was to all his Doctrine and to all time But what a sad thing is it that we have nothing but his bare saying for the Proof of it Never Man more needed Infallibility than this Defender does when he undertakes to prove it What! Can Christ afford no Assistance to his Church without Infallibility What thinks he of the Assistance of Divine Grace Doth that make all Infallible that have it And is not that Assistance by vertue of Divine Promises Is this to ask which of the parts of his Promise he will not perform We doubt not he will perform all he hath promised but we desire to see where he hath made the Promise We ask nothing unreasonable and therefore out of pity to our weakness shew these Promises of standing Infallibility to us and do not take it still for granted without proving it But the Replier saith The Promises of Christ imply whatever is necessary to the Church for the support and government of her self to the Worlds end Is Infallibility then necessary for the Support and Government of the Catholic Church If not then the Promises of Support and Government â—elate not to the matter But no less a Man than S. Augustine frequently affirms That the Promises made by Christ to the Church are only made to good and not to bad Men in it and that the case of wicked Men in the Church and of Hereticks and Schismaticks out of it is alike i. e. that both have true Sacraments but neither any right to the Promises And this he doth not assert by chance but it is the very Foundation of his Answer to the Donatists in the Answer which himself valued the most And he concludes with saying That some are in the House of God so as to be that House of God which was built upon a Rock and had th Promises made to it and these are the Saints dispersed over the World and joyned together in the Communion of the same Sacraments others are so in the House as not to belong to the Frame of it but are as the Chaff among the Wheat and are rather of the House than any part of it If this be good Doctrine in S. Augustin what becomes of all the Promiâ—es made to the Church with respect to the External Government and Support of it I might name multitudes of Places more wherein he argues That wicked â—en do not belong to the One Church and are not the Spâ—se of Christ for Christ saith to them I know you nâ—t and Herâ—â—ticks he saith are but one sort of bad Men. If therefore the Promises of the Catholic Church do not belong to one neither can 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 other I had therefore Reason â—o ask where God hath ever promised to keep Men more from Error than Sin And how it comes to pass that very bad Men are allow'd in the Church of Rome to have this Prâ—â—â—ise of Infallibility The Defender slides off from this to a matter he was better prepared to Answer But the Replier tells us of some of the Prophâ—ts who were great Sinners I suppose he means Balaam and Caiaphas But however this doth not reach to the matter of the New Testament wherein doing the Will of God is laid down as the best means of knowing the Truth But he offers at a Reason why impeccability is not so necessary as Infallibility because without this the Church could not subsist for if once she make shipwrack of her Faith she is no more a Church an effeâ— not so proper to Sin. There is a great difference between absolute impeccability and notorious Offenders the question I put was not concerning perfect Saints but great Sinners why they should believe that Christ would give an infallible Assistance to keep such Men from erring when notwithstanding the Assistance of Grace they run on in a course of wickedness He saith One is necessary for the Church and not the other Then there may be a holy Catholic infallible Church made up of none but great Sinners And was this such a Church as Christ purchased with his own Blood and whom he reâ—â—â—med from all impiety to be a peculiar People zealous of good Works If they say The Grace of God ill never fail to keep some from great Sins why may not the same hold as to great Errors And that be as much as the Promises extend to Bâ—t if the Church once makes Shipwrack of Faith she is no more a Church How comes Faith to be separated from a good Conscience I am sure S. Paul joyns them together Is no Error consistent with the Being of a Church Not an Error about the Seat of Infallibility Not an Error about the Immaculate Conception Nor about the Vision of God before the day of Iudgment Not about the Son 's being of the same substance with the Father Not about Christ's having a will proper to his humane Nature Then there can be no such thing as the Roman-Catholic Church in the opinion of those who are for personal Infallibility of the Pope since the Heads of their Church have erred about these things The true Church can never
All his Demonstrations are out of Scripture and by the meer force of them he overthrows this Heresie And it was nothing but the clear Evidence of Scripture without any Infallible Judgment or Assistance of the Guides of the Church which did at last suppress this Heresie For no Council was called about it but as the Authority of the New Testament prevailed so this Heresie declined and by degrees vanished out of the Christian World. And it is observable That the greatest and worst of Heresies were supprest while no other Authority was made use of against them but that of the holy Scriptures So Theodoret takes notice That before his time these Heresies by Divine Grace were extinct So that the Scriptures were then found an effectual means for putting an end to some of the most dangerous Heresies which ever were in the Christian Church The other great Controversie of the first Age was about the Divinity of Christ which begun with the Ebionites and Cerinthians and was continued down by succession as appears by Theodoret's account of Heresies in his second Book Those who first embraced this Heresie rejected the whole New Testament and received only the Nazarene Gospel But after a while Artemon had the boldness to assert that the Apostles deliver'd the same Doctrine in their Writings and then the Controversie was reduced to the Sense of Scripture Paulus Samosatenus follow'd Artemon as Photinus afterwards follow'd him But Theodoret again observes That all those Heresies against the Divinity of Christ were in his time so extinct that not so much as any remainders of them were left but saith he The true Doctrines of the Gospels prevail and spread themselves over the World. And we may find what course was taken for putting an end to this Controversie by the management of it with Paulus Samosatenus In the fragment of an Epistle of Dionysius of Alexandria we read the Testimonies of Scripture which he produced against him and more at large in the Epistle of the Six Bishops to him who makes use of the very same Places of Scripture which are most applied to that purpose to this day To which they only add That this had been the Doctrine of the Christian Church from the beginning and all Catholic Churches agreed in it But here is no such thing thought of as Iâ—sallibility in the Guides of the Church for there is great difference between the consent of the Christian Church as a means to find out the Sense of Scripture and the Authority of Church Guides declaring the Sense by vertue of an Insallible Assistance the one is but a Moral Argument and the other is a Foundation of Faith. Theodoret further observes That there was another set of Heresies distinct from the two former in the Primitive Church which related chiefly to matters of Discipline and Manners and most of these he saith were so far destroyed tâ—at there were none thâ—n left who were Followers of Nicolas Nepos or Patroclus and very few Novatians or Montanists or Quartodecemans so that Truth had prevailâ—d over the World and the Heresies were either quite rooted out or only some dry and withered Branches remained of them in remote and obscure Places Which being affirmed by a Person of so much Judgment and Learning as Theodoret was gives us a plain and evident Proof that the Sense of Scripture may be so fully clear'd without an Infallible Church as to be effectual for putting an end to Controversies And altho we own a great Esteem and Reverence for the Four General Councils yet we cannot but observe that Controversies were so far from being ended by them that they broke out more violently after them As the Arian Controversy after the Council of Nice the Nestorian after that at Ephâ—sus and these Gentlemen believe that Heresy continues still in the East the Eutychian Controversy gave greater Disturbance after the Council of Chalcedâ—n than before and continued so to do for many Ages Which is an Argument that the Infallibility of Councils or of the Guides of the Church was not a Doctrine then received in the Church But I proceed to shew what means were used in the Primitive Church for putting an end to Controversies Of which we have a remarkable Instance in the Dispute about Rebaptizing Hereticks This was managed between St. Cyprian and other Bishops of Africa and Asia on one side and the Bishop of Rome on the other He pleaded Custom and Tradition the other That Custom without Truth was but ancient Error and that the matter ought to be examined by Scripture and many Reasons they bring from thence because Christ said in his Gospel I am Truth and the only way to prevent Errors is to have recourse to the Head and Fountain of Divine Tradition i. e. to the Holy Scriptures which St. Cyprian calls the Evangelical and Apostolical Tradition So that we have the clear Opinion of the African Bishops that this Controversy ought to be decided by Scripture But here the Replier saith That Right stood for the Bishops of Rome and a General Council determined the Point and the whole Church came to an Acquiescence If the Council was in the Right the Bishop of Rome was not if St. Cyprian represent his Opinion truly and he saith he did it in his own Words which are Si quis a quacunque Haeresi venerit ad nos nihil innovetur nisi quod Traditum est Now no Council ever determin'd so That whatsoever the Heresy was none should â—e Rebaptized For the Councils of Arles and Nice both disallow'd the Baptism of some Hereticks and therefore if the Council put an end to the Controversy it was by deciding against the Bishop of Rome as well as St. Cyprian The Donatists afterwards made use of St. Cyprians Authority in this Controversy which gave occasion to St. Augustin to deliver that noted Sentence concerning Scripture and Fathers and Councils viz That anonical Scripture is to be preferr'd before any other Writings for they are to be believed without Examination but the Writings of Bishops are to be examined and corrected by other Bishops and Councils if they see Cause and lesser Councils by greater and the greatest Councils by such as come after them when Truth comes to be more fully diservered It is hardly possible for a Man to speak plainer against a standâ—ng infallible Judg in Controversies than St. Augustin doth in these Words wherein he neither limits his Words to matters of Fact nor to Manners but he speaks generally as to the Authority of the Guides of the Church compared with Scripture Which are enter'd in the Authentick Body of the Canon Law approved and corrected at Rome only that part which relates to the correcting of Councils is left out But to make amends Gâ—atian in another place hath with admirable Ingenuity put the Popes Decretal Epistles among the Canâ—nical Scriptures and quotes St. Augustin for it too But the Roman Correctors were ashamed of so
one Kind with Christs Institution and Praying in an unknow Tongue with the 14 Chapâ—er of the first Epistle to the Corinthians To this the Replier saith only that these are voluntary assumpti on s without proof and his saying so needs no Answer The Defender shelters himself under the Catholick Church and resolves not to put to Sea with the Answerer about these things But he knows very well we utterly deny any of these to have been the practice of the Universal Church according to Vincentius Lerinensis his Rules by which we are content to be tried And although he seems to wish for such a trial yet I know a reason why they ought to decline it because I am certain they can never make it good in any one of them 2 The second Inconvenience objected was That this would make the wisdom of God fall beneath the discretion of prudent Law-givers who do not make Laws and leave every man to be his own judg as to right or wrong It was answered three ways 1 That there are Inconveniencies on both sides and one ought to be provided against as well as the other sor as the people are not to be their own Judges so it may happen that an Usurper may pretend to the right of Interpreting the Laws only to justifie his Usurpation 2 That the People are allowed in some sense to interpret the Laws or else they could never understand the duty they owe to their lawful King and to justifie his Rights against all the pretences of Usurpers To this the Replier saith nothing and the Defender saith that which is next to nothing to the first and takes no notice of the second Answer and I think I therein tell him plainly enough what I would be at He saith I mean receiving and holding the true faith by Usurpation Nothing was farther from my thoughts But I had thought it were easie enough to know whom I meant viz. such a one as pretends to an Infallible Chair which they cannot deny themselves to be the highest Usurpation if he cannot prove his Title by Scripture as we are sure he cannot 3 That in this Case a Rule is given to direct persons in the way to Heaven and therefore must be capable of being understood by those who are to make use of it for that end Which being the greatest concernment to Mankind they are therefore obliged to search into it for their own Salvation but we exclude not the help of Spiritual Guides and embrace the ancient Creeds of the Church To this the Replier answers two things 1 That an Infallible Guide is necessary to secure persons from wilful Errors which he saith God hath provided From wilful Error this is new Doctrine indeed that God hath provided a remedy for wilful Error Had not our Saviour himself an Infallible Spirit and yet we do not read that ever he secured men from wilful Error or ever designed to do it But suppose an Infallible Judg could do this he doth not tell us where he is to be found who he is and in what manner he doth thus secure men which are very necessary Enquiries and without being satisfied in all these points we are still left to be our own Judges so far as concerns the way to Salvation since at the day of Judgment we must answer for our selves than which there can be no greater obligation to care and sincerity in judging Suppose a mans life depends upon the benefit of his Clergy and one comes to him and tells him You are an ignorant man and liable to great mistakes in reading therefore I advise you by no means to trust to your own skill in Reading for it is a horrible dark Letter and many have been mistaken that were more Book learned than you therefore take my counsel there is Mr. Ordinary who understands Book-learning a thousand times better than you or I trust him for the Reading and no doubt you will escape Ay Sir saith the man all that is very true that you say but my life lies at stake and how if Mr. Ordinary's Reading will not be allow'd by the Judg for mine then I am a lost man past recovery therefore I am resolved to learn to read my self and to that end I will make the best use of his skill to instruct me before-hand that I may be able to answer for my self This needs no Application But I do not see how an Infâ—â—lible 〈◊〉 should be necessary to particular persons in order to 〈◊〉 Salvation upon the â—rinciples owned and receiv'd by the greatest Divines in the Roman Church For Aquinas determines that every one that hath saving Grace hath likewise a gift of understanding whereby hâ— is â—ussiciently instructed in all things necessary to Salvation and that it is never withdrawn from them as to those things If this Doctrine hold good I do not see any such necessity for persons to look after an Infallible Guide as there is to look after saving Grace Gulielmus Parisiensis saith That mens not looking after the way of Salvation themselves is that which will dâ—mn them And in case of difference among Guides if a man sincerely makes application to God to know the Truth he doth not question but such is the mercy of God to keep such a one from dangerous Error or if he doth suffer him to fall into Error with a good mind it shall not be imputed to him It is a Doctrine generally receiv'd in the Schools That where ever God doth bestow his Grace there goes along with it such a gift of understanding as keeps them from being deceived in the matters they believe in order to Salvation Henricus a Gandavo thus expresses it That as Faith makes the mind to rest on the Authority of the Scripture so this gift of understanding makes them perceive the Truth of what they are to believe And what need then such an Infallible Guide 2 He saith That ancient Creeds will not serve unless there be a power in the Church to make nâ—w decisions in matters of Faith. This ought to have been a little proved For in truth we are apt to think the Faith once delivered to the Saints as suffiâ—ient to carry us to Heaven as it was in the Apostles times A man is heir to a good Estate which by many Generations is derived down from his Ancestors and he hath the Original Deeds in his hands one comes to him and tells him â—t is a very fine Estate you are heir to and it is a thousand pities you should want a good Title to it I will put you into a way to get it if you will give up your musty old Deeds and put your self into the hands of such persons as I shall name to you they shall make you a new Settlement and add several Parcels to your Estate which you had not before I am content saith the Heir with my Ancestors Estate and I will never part with my old Deeds for
a man such St. Augustins opinion is reported by Aquinus as the Reason of his Judgment that is adopted into the Body of the Canon-law and therefore that ought to be the Standard according to which they are to pronounce a Person obstinate If Men do not wiâ—h Diligence and Caution seek after Truth and are not willing to embrace it when they find it then they are to be accounted Hereticks for being obstinate But St. Augustin goes no further however Suarez would seem to agree with him But it is worth the while to consider his Doctrine about it 1. He affirms That it is not enough for one to be ready to submit to Gods Word either written or unwritten but the Submission must be with respect to the Church as proposing both to us 2. That those who believe any Doctrine because their Judgment tells them it is the sense of Scripture if they therein follow their own Judgment and not the sense of the Church they are guilty of such an Oâ—stinacy as makes Hereticks 3 That it doth not excuse â—f he be willing to believe the Church if he â—â—es Reasons and Arguments to move him for this he saith is not to believe the Churches Authority as Divine but after a human manner which may consist with Obstinacy against the Church as a Rule of Faith. 4 That it is not yet necessary in order to this Obstinacy to believe the Church to have Infallible Authority for then those must be excused from heretical Obstinacy who denied it but it is sufficient that the Church is proposed as a true Church whose Authority he is bound to submit to The short of all this matter is If a Man resolve to believe as the Church believes a very small thing will excuse him from Heresy but if not nothing according to Suarez will do it unless it be Ignorance as to the Churches proposing And this is the modern notion of Heresy which appears to me to be very unreasonable on these accounts 1. Suppose a Person have a general Disposition of mind to believe whatever is sufficiently proposed to him as revealed by God and believes sincerely whatever he knows to be contained in Scripture I would sain know whether this Disposition of mind do not really excuse him from heretical Obstinacy And yet this is very consistent with doubting whether the Church be accounted as the Proponent of matters of Faith. 2. Is it necessary in order to heretical Obstinacy that the Person believes the Proponent to be Infallible or not If it be then none can be convinced of heretical Obstinacy but such as reject the Churches Authority when they believe it Infallible and then none of us can be charged with it for we do not believe the Churches Infallibility If it be not necessary then the Churches Infallibility is not necessary to Faith for iâ— order to Heretical Obstinacy he must be convinced of resisting that which was necessary in order to Faâ—â—h from whence it will follow that the Churches Infallibility is noâ— equired as the Ground of Faith. 3 Suppose a Person thinks himself bound in Conscience to believe those Guides which God by his Providence hath set over him and he believes to be sincere and honest and these tell him there is no ground to believe on the Churches Authority as being sounded neither in Scripture nor Antiquity nor Reason is not he excused hereby from Heretical Obstinacy 4. Suppose he declares himself ready to believe the Churches Authority if it be sufficiently proposed to him i. e. with such Reasons and Arguments as are proper to convince him but after all he declares that he cannot see any such And yet Aquinas affirms No man can believe unless he sees Reason why he should 〈◊〉 How then can a man be liable to Heretical Obstinacy because he only refuses to believe when he sees no Reason to believe 5. Suppose he doth believe that which the Church proposes not meerly upon its Authority but upon the Reasons which the Church offers why must this man be liable to Heretical Obstinacy for believing upon the Churches Reasons What a wonderful nice thing is Heresie made It seems by this rare Doctrine it doth not excuse from Heresie to believe even Truth it self if it be upon grounds of Reason which the Church it self gives But it must be taken meerly from the Churches Authority and yet that very Authority must be believed on the grounds of Reason or the Motives of Gredibility 6. Suppose a Person hath used the best means he could to find out his Obligation to believe on the Churches Authority and after all he cannot find any such thing what Obligation is he under to enquire farther and from whence doth it arise And if he be not under any how can he be guilty of Herecial Obstinacy who is under no Obligation to search any farther For Obstinacy must suppose resisting some Obligation 7. Suppose he be willing to believe on the Churches Authority if that Church be made appear to him to be the One Catholick Church of Christ but when he comes to examine this he finds that he must exclude very great and considerable Parts of the Catholick Church to reduce the Authority of the Catholick Church to that of the Roman Communion how can it then be Heretical Obstinacy not to suppose a Part to be the Whole 8. Suppose he hath overcome this yet if he should mistake about the Seat of Infallibility is he not still as liable to the charge of Heretical Obstinacy because the true Reason of it is that such a Person rejects that which God hath chosen as the proper means to propound matters of Faith to us But if he should be mistaken in the true Proponent he is in as much danger of Heretical Obstinacy still As suppose a man takes a General Council as representing the Catholick Church to be the only true Proponent of Faith and therefore rejects the Authority of the Pope in this matter I desire to know whether this be Heretical Obstinacy or not If not then rejecting the true Proponent doth not make any liable to it If it doth then there is Heretical Obstinacy in the Church of Rome as well as out of it And so much in Answer to the Repliers Charge of Heresie on the Church of England 3. The next Charge relates to the Insufficient Authority of the Church of England and that on these Accounts 1. In that it leaves every man to judge for himself 2. Because she dares not use the true Arguments against Sects for fear of their being turned upon her self 3. Because she denies an Appeal to an higher Judicature 1. It is urged in the Papers That among us every man thinks himself as competent a Judg of Scripture as the very Apostles It was answer'd That every man among us doth not pretend to an Infallible Spirit but all yield the Apostles had it And by being a Judg of Scripture if no more be meant than that
reform abuses and to declare Articles of Religion so as to oblige its Members to Conformity especially since it proceeds by such excellent Rules as the Holy Scriptures the ancient Councils and Universal Tradition And I hope this may pass for a direct Answer The Replier takes another course besides this for he makes use of these two Topicks against the Church of England 1. That the Church of Rome was in possâ—ssion of all those Truths we rejected 2. That we ought to bring positive Texts for our Negative Articles 1. As to the Plea of Possession of all those Truths now question'd by us This were a pleasant thing for us to question them if we owned they were Truths but he means only that he thinks them so Well then how is it their Church was in possession of those Truths Do they become Truths by their possession or only that they were Truths they were then possessed of If so he must first prove them to be Truths or the Possession signifies nothing And that is the point I went upon that no Possession gives a right to Truth but the Church of England had just reason to examine whether these were Truths or not and upon examination finding them to be otherwise it had reason to reject them But to inforce this he saith afterwards That their Church had a thousand years prescription here and that their Religion came into this Nation with Christianity Although according to St. Cyprian's Rule all this prâ—ves no more than the Antiquity of Error unless the proof be made from Scripture yet because this goes a great way with some people I do not only deny the truth of it but shall give evident proof to the contrary For I suppose it will not be questioned that the Religion brought in here by Augustin and his Companions was the Religion of Gregory the Great I shall therefore compare the Doctrine of the Council of Trent with that of Gregory in some remarkable Paticulars and shew the great Difference between them as to these things 1. Scripture and Tradition Council of Trent Gregory the Great DEclares That it receives Traditions with an equal Veneration with Holy Scriptures Sess. 4. AFfirms That all things which edifie and instruct are contained in the Volume of Scriptures in Ezek. Hom. l. 1. cap. 8.  That Gods Mind is to be found in his Words Regist. Epist. l. 4. Ep. 40.  That the Scripture is the Glass of the Elect in Reg. l. 4. c. 10. in Job l. 2. c. 1.  That to be born of God is to love his Will revealed in Scripture in 1 Reg. c. 14  That Preachers are to instruct their People in what they learn out of the Holy Scriptures Greg Sacram in Consecr Episcopi  That the Staves being in the Rings on the sides of the Ark do shew that Teachers should have the holy Scriptures in their hearts that from thence they may presently teach whatever is needful de Cura Pastor l. 2. c. 11. 2. Apochryphal Books The Council of Trent Gregory the Great REckons the Maccabees among the Canonical Books Sess. 4. PLainly rejects them from being Canonical for he excuses taking an Example out of them not being Canonical Moral in Job l. 19. c. 13. 3. Merit of Good Works The Council of Trent Gregory the Great ANathematizes those who deny good Works to be truly meritorious of Grace and Eternal Life Sess. 6. Can. 32. DEnies the most sanctified Persons to procure Divine Wisdom by their Graces in Job l. 18. c. 26.  Affirms that the best Men will find no Merit in their best Actions Moral l. 9. c. 2.  That all human Righteousness will be found unrighteousness if strictly judged Ib. l. 9. c. 11.  That if he should attain to the highest Virture he should obtain eternal Life not by Merits but by Pardon Ib. 4. Auricular Confession The Council of Trent Gregory the Great DEclares secret Confâ—ssion of all sins to be necessary in order to Remission and Absolution by the Priest Sess. 14. c. 6 7 8. SPeaks of no other Confession than what was required in order to the Reconciliation of those who had undergone publick Penance the Custom whereof at Rome is set down in Golasius his Sacramentary p. 63. And Gregory refers to the Custom then used in his Sacramentary p. 225. And there is no Form of Absolution in either of them but by way of Prayer to God which is different from a Sacramental judicial Absolution required by the Council of Trent  He makes no Absolution true but that which follows the judgment of God which he parallels with the loosing of Lazarus after Christ had raised him from the Grave Hom. 26. in Evangel 5. Solitary Masses The Council of Trent Gregory the Great ANathematizes those who say such Masses wherein the Priest only communicates are unlawful and to be abrogated Sess. 22. Can. 8. FOrbids the Priest to ce ebrate alone and saith expresly it ought not to he celebrated by one because the People are to bear their share Greg lib. Capital c. 7. apud Cassandr Liturg. c. 33. Transubstantiation The Council of Trent Gregory the Great DEclares the Body of Christ to be in the Eucharist under the Species of Bread Sess. 13. Cap 1. ASserts the Body of Christ after â—is Resurrection to be palpable i. e. That it may be seen and felt where it is and that he proved this against Eutychius of Constantinople Moral l. 14. c. 31. That asserts only the Species to remain after Consecration ib. c. 4. He frequently declares That our Bodies as well as our Souls are nourished by the Eucharist which cannot be done by more species for no Accidents can produce a Substance Greg. Sacram. 16. Kal. Mart. in Sexages Hebd 3. in Quadrag Fr. 4. 7. Communion in one Kind Council of Trent Gregory the Great DEclares against the necessity of Communion in both kinds Sess. 13. Cap 13. AFfirms it to be the constant practise for the People to receive in both  Sacram. in Quadrag Fr. 3. 6 Kal. Julii ad Compleâ—d Hebd 3. in Quadr. Sabbato Miss Temp. Belli Sexages ad Complend Domin in Ramis Palm VI. Non. Julii ad Complend VIII Kal. Aug. ad Compl. Kalend. Aug. ad Compl.  The like may be observed in Gelasius his Sacramentary who declared it Sacriledg to do otherwise as appears by the known Canon Comperimus De Consecr Dist. 2. who was one of Gregory's Predecessors and not long before him 8. Purgatory Council of Trent Gregory the Great DEclares that there is a Purgatory after this Life out of which Souls may be helped by the Prayers of the faithful Sess. 25. AFfirms That at the time of Death either the good or evil Spirit seizeth upon the Soul and keeps it with it for ever without any change Moral in Job l. 8. c. 8. ed. Basil. c. 9. ed Novae That in the day of death the just goes to Joy and the wicked with the Apostate Angel is
for us to take all matters of Faith upon trust from her And if there be no Evidence of Credibility there is no sufficient proposal and if there be not there can be no obligation to believe and where that is not there can be no Heresie in not believing according to the judgment of your greatest Divines 3 As to the charge of Heresie there must be obstinacy in the party which they all make necessary to formal Heresie Aquinas quotes the noted passage of St. Augâ—stin to this purpose That although men hold a false opinion without pertinacious animosity especially if they derive it from their Parents and do with diligence and caution seek after the Truth and are ready to lay it down when they have found it they are not to be reckoâ—'d for Hereticks And we do not think a better Plea can be made for us as to this charge than what is contained in these words of St. Augustâ—n But here we must observe the artifice of Aquinas He saw this would never do their business against the enemies of the Church of Rome and therefore he pretends to give the Reason for this because they do not contradict the judgment of the Church and so draws the power of declaring Heresie to the Pope as having the chief Authority in the Church Of whom St. Augustin saith not a word But however Aquinas himself requires Obstinacy even in this case to make a Heretick And the Obstinacy is not placed by him in the meer resisting the Authority of the Church but in the manner of doing it Cajetan there affirms that if there be no pertinacy in the Will there is no Heresie So that if a man holds an opinion contrary to Faith in it self and he thinks he holds right and doth not intend to dissent from the Church he is not guilty of Heresie And so Cajetan defines Pertinacy to be a consent to an error in Faith knowing it so to be Melchior Canus saith It is the general Opinion of Divines and Canonists that there can be no Heresie without Obstinacy And no man is a Heretick he saith who doth not seeing and knowing chuse a Doctrine contrary to Faâ—â—h Suarez saith that all the Doctors are agreed that Obstinacy is required to Heresie and that it is expressed in the Canon Law. So that I need to produce no more to that purpose But the difficulty is to know what they mean by Obstinacy It is not hard to understand what is meant by the word for pertinax is one that is over-tenacious i. e. that holds an opinion when he sees no ground for it or will yield to no Reasonable conviction or that hath not a desire to find out Truth and submit to it And so it is plain St. Augustin understood it in the place before mention'd And in another place he makes it to lye in a mans resisting the Catholick Doctrine made known to him without which he did not judg him a Heretick though he held Heretical Doctrine And again he declares those to be Hereticks that contumaciously resist those that correct and instruct them and will not amend their wicked Doctrines but go on to defend them These passages of St. Augustin are enter'd in the Body of the Canon Law and the Gloss there saith If one bolds Doctrines against Faith and be ready to be better instructed he is no Heretick The same Authorities Ockam insists upon and from them he declares Obstinacy to be so necessary that without it no man can be a Heretick And he concludes from St. Augustin that if a man be ready to yield to Truth when he finds it he is not guilâ—y of Obstinacy And he proves that such are no Hereticks from these Reasons 1 Because Hereticks are to be Excommunicated but such by the Canon Law are not to be â—xcommunicated 2 Because they are ready to be better instructed 3 Because many have erred and were not accounted Hereticks on this account Oâ—kam distinguishes a twofold Obstinacy 1. Internal 2. External Internal may be known he saith by theâ—e Rules 1. If a man be not convinced by Miracles 2. If he will rather question the truth of the Christian Faith than be convinced 3. When he doth not use means for his own Conviction but resolves to persist in his Errors such a neglect argues an obstinate mind External of which he gives many instances of which I shall mention some as 1. If a man willingly saith or doth something whereby he discovers his disbelief of the whole Christian Faith 2 If he demes any part of the old or new Testament 3. If he holds the whole Christian Church to have erred which he by no means understands of any part of it assuming the Titles of Catholick and Infallible to it self for he saith some say that whatsoever Christ hath promised to his Church may be made good if but one Person in it holds the true Faith but he declares that the 〈◊〉 Faith may be preserved in a very few 4. If the contrary Doctrâ—â— known to be universally received among Christians as if one shâ—uld deny that Christ was crucified and on this account he charges 〈◊〉 22. with Heresy for denying that the Souls of the Wicked are in Hell and of the Saints in Heaven before the day of Judgment 5. If he refuses to be informed being reproved by the Learned 6. If he protests he will never alter his Opinion 7. If he forbids reading the Scriptures or preaching Catholick Doctrine 8. If a Pope commands an erroneous Opinion to be believed as matter of Faith. 9. If a man consents to such a Definition of the Pope and imposes it on others Joh. Gerson treats at large about the obstinacy which makes one a Heretick in several Discourses before the Council of Constance and he follows St. Augustins Doctrine in saying That it consists in not seeking after Truth and not obeying it when he hath found it Melchior Canus finds fault with the uncertain Marks of Obstinacy given by others and he resolves it at last into this That a Man holds an Opinion which he knows to be contrary to the Catholick Faith but then he requires 1. That he be certain that it belongs to it and it is not enough that learned Men say so 2. That he must know it by an infallible Authority For otherwise a mans persisting in his Opinion may be great rashness and presumption but it is not Heresy But in case a persons ignorance be such as makes his Errors involuntary it doth excuse him from Heresy because that is not a voluntary Error Suarez and others after him in plain terms make the Obstinacy to lie in not submiting to the Judgment of the Church because while a Man doth yield to the Churches Authority they account him no Heretick â—his is indeed an Argument according to their way of declaring Hereticks but we are now enquiring what that Obstinacy is which doth really make