Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	faith_n	true_a	12,025	5	5.5435	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86352	A breif [sic] enquiry into the ground, authority, and rights, of ecclesiastical synods; upon the principles of Scripture and right reason occasion'd by a late book, intitul'd, Municipium ecclesiasticum: &c.	Hill, Samuel, 1648-1716.; Hill, Samuel, 1648-1716. Municipium ecclesiasticum, or, The rights, liberties, and authorities of the Christian church.	1699 (1699)	Wing H2005B; ESTC R178160	16,608	46

they justly claim or Exercise this Authority but only in such a measure or degreé as it is Actually Communicated to them Which being premised And the truth thereof I take to be so evident as neither to need nor be capable of any proof I shall from thence draw some very plain Corollaries in Answer to the Two Questions but just now proposed 18. And First if it be demanded In what things may an Ecclesiastical Synod have Authority From the Proposition now laid down I answer First That the Authority of an Ecclesiastical Synod cannot possibly be so great as to make that Doctrine which is false become true or that to become Lawful which is against God's Law For this would be to alter the very Nature of things or Laws of God which Power is not in the Church nor in all mankind taken together Nor yet Secondly can they have any Authority to make that a part of Religion which Almighty God has not alreadly made so For altho' the Modes and Circumstances of Worship and Religion may be settled and determined by the Church Yet to make any thing become a part of Religion that is to say essential to it and thereby immutably and perpetually necessary to Salvation is a Prerogative that belongs to God alone But Thirdly in doubts or Controversies concerning matters of Faith or Points of Doctrine an Ecclesiastical Synod may have Power to consult and debate the things in dispute and to declare their Sense and Opinion concerning them For this is no more than what may Lawfully be done not only by the whole Church but even by any prudential Assembly of wise and good Men there being no Law of God which forbids or any way hinders them so to do But Fourthly when an Ecclesiastical Synod has thus determined any Point of Faith or Doctrine Their Authority cannot extend so far as to oblige any man either to believe the Truth of what they have so determined if it be against his perswasion or to profess it if he does not believe it to be true The former of these being impossible and contrary to the Nature of things and the later Unlawful as being forbidden by God And therefore both of them excluded by the first of those Corollaries which I have laid down in this present Section Fifthly But if an Ecclesiastical Synod shall determine any thing in favour of an Errour and even directly contrary to the truth Yet if the Error be an Innocent one that is to say contains nothing which is any way contrary either to the necessary Articles of Faith or the Rules of a good life altho' a man cannot be oblig'd to believe or profess such an errour contrary to the convictions of his own mind yet still he may be bound in Conscience to be quiet and not to give any publick opposition to such a determination for fear of disturbing the Peace or breaking the Unity of the Church thereby For altho' every Christian is required according to his ability earnestly to contend for that Faith i. e. that Religion which was once delivered to the Saints Yet for such truths as have no necessary influence either upon Faith or Practice we are no where Commanded to contend And if we cannot stand up for such a truth without the hazard of Confusion or disturbance in the Church we ought to be quiet and permit other men to abound in their own Sense untill such time as God shall think fit to bring their understandings to a better disposition and not to Sacrifice Peace and Unity which the Laws of God require us carefully to maintain unto such a truth as we are not Commanded to teach to others or zealously our selves to contend for And Lastly if an Ecclesiastical Synod duly empowered shall make any Decree to determine our Practice in any thing which is indifferent in it self and no way determined by the Law of God from thence I do conceive will arise an undoubted obligation to Obedience and Conformity to be paid unto such a Decree which is so made For if the Church by a voluntary Agreement might Lawfully lay a restraint upon themselves in such things as are indifferent which no man I presume will doubt what can hinder but that they may give a power unto a Synod to lay the like restraint upon them For whatever Obligation People of their own accord may Lawfully lay themselves under The very same Obligation to all intents and purposes may certainly be laid upon them by their Representatives duly chosen and Authorized 19. Secondly if it be demanded Over what Persons may an Ecclesiastical Synod have Authority From that Fundamental Proposition which I have laid down § 17. together with the Third Proposition which I have laid down § 15. these following Conollaries will evidently arise which will make up a full Answer to it viz. First that an Ecclesiastical Synod can have no more Authority than what is vested in the Body of that Church by which they are empowered to Sit and Act. For the Church can give no more Authority than what it first has in it self Nor can a Synod which is but a part of the Church have any greater Power than what the whole is Originally endowed with Secondly But whatsoever Authority is Lawfully vested in the Collective Body of the Church the same may by them be delegated to an Ecclesiastical Synod For neither is there any thing which should hinder such a delegation as this And where a Society is very numerous as the Church is it is morally impossible for it to exert and exercise that Power and Authority which is Originally diffused throughout the whole Body otherwise than by appointing and delegating their Representatives to do it for them As the legislative Power which in a Common-wealth is Originally founded in the Body of the People could never be brought to any useful effect if there were not appointed Parliaments or Assemblies of the Estates on purpose to represent and Act for them Thirdly therefore it will follow That an Oecumenical Synod may have Authority over the whole Church but a National Provincial or Diocesan One can extend its Authority no farther than the People Province or Diocess for and from which it is appointed and chosen Because one such Limited or particular Church is not vested with any Power or Superiority over another And Fourthly that the Authority of any Synod is greater or less according as it is given them by the Church which chuses and appoints them Provided that the Church does not pretend to Communicate greater Power to them than what is Originally vested in its self 20. To conclude this point As the Bishops and Pastors of the Church who derive their Succession down from the Apostles have thereby a divine Authority communicated to them to perform their respective Offices and to teach and Govern their respective Flocks according to the Rules prescribed by God's Law From which no variation must upon any account be allowed of or admitted So is