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	very_a	1,876	5	5.4751	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00664	An ansvvere to VVilliam Alablaster [sic] his motiues. By Roger Fenton preacher of Grayes Inne	Fenton, Roger, 1565-1616.; Alabaster, William, 1567-1640.	1599 (1599)	STC 10799; ESTC S101956	37,337	52

inferre vndoubted positions from weake and false premisses infallible conclusions Omnipotent power that makes the conclusion stronger then the premisses whereupon it is grounded But I will spare this sore because Doctor Stapleton saith it is a sinne to touch it Thus it is quoth hee but we must not enquire the maner how it is that were curiositie Happily it is a mysterie and it were safe for your Church it were not looked into The consequence of your argument if any impotencie of erring in one then in all is too too weake there is a meane betwixt all and none at all you run altogether vpon extremities all errours be not at once disclosed nor all truthes alike necessarie to be knowne What say you to your Doctor Stapleton who limits the Church with a condition of determining such points onely as be necessary to be beleeued or belong to the verie substance of faith else she may erre both in discourse and definitiue sentence a condition which would be looked vnto if not quite put out of his workes for it shaketh many a decree Nay what say you to Bellarmine who acknowledgeth there be some true catholikes which hold that the Pope in a general counsel may erre when he giueth not all diligence Which generall condition if it be truly obserued in assembling the synod without partialitie in selecting points of moment and necessitie in consulting with all simplicitie with such like included vnder all diligence doubtlesse Gods spirit for his part will neuer be wanting See now if you would be reasonable we might happily shake hands in this point but you presently runne backe to an absolute omnipotencie of not erring in any one point and so shall we neuer meet I aduise you though doe not take it for an article of your creed but remember Bellarmine his rule That is not to be held as a point of faith against which some catholikes do hold being reputed catholikes of the Church and not condemned for heretiks But some catholikes hold the Church may erre quando non adhibet omnem diligentiam therefore resolue not all your faith vpon this point but alas we haue your resolution MOTIVE COntrarie the Catholikes auouching the inflexible truth of the Church as the voice of Christ and direction of the spirit doe stay the mindes of the faithfull from doubt and wauering But the other making an head from the bodie of the Church are rightly punished both with beleefe in errours and vnbeleefe in truth ANSVVERE SEe now your conclusion which buildeth not vpon that point alone we haue alreadie sifted but assumeth with all a farre more slipperie ground that that Church you haue lately plunged your selfe into is the onely Church we haue talked of all this while the onely true vniuersall visible Church vpon the earth Which two vncertainties wel examined and laid together will I feare me make but a sandie foundation to build vpon and an vnstable principle to stand vpon it owne ground and vphold all religion Yet this is your only sanctuary wherin you secure your soules of all sound beliefe which standeth vpon these two main pillers first that the Catholike Church cannot erre which is not so dangerous if rightly conceiued as hath been said Secondly that this Romish Church whereof you professe your selfe a member is that Catholicke Church Which second branch must be yet further resolued into other vncertainties presupposed by you as vndoubted truthes whereupon the frame of your religion doth rest it selfe to wit first that this present Romish Church doth not degenerate from the ancient Catholike but soundly and sincerely professeth that same faith which was established in the primitiue by the Apostles continued in the ancient Romane Church in the time of the Fathers for the space of 600 yeares Secondly this being proued and made manifest you must adde further that this Church of Rome is not so Catholike as was the Church of Corinth Galatia c. that is not as a member communicating in the faith of the whole Catholike but that it selfe is the whole entire Catholike Church thereby excluding all other Churches in Christendome as hereticall which doe not acknowledge themselues subiect to the Bishop of that Sea Which thing you must defend not against protestants onely who proue you rather to be an Italian faction then the Catholike Church which Iohn Hart doth ingenuously acknowledge to be more probable then he was aware of but euen against your owne Doctors and Cardinals must you arme your selues in this point who complaine there is nothing decreed in counsels but what the Italian Nation liketh of as Ludouicus Cardinall of Arle complained at the Councell of Basil and Claudius Espencaeus a Doctor of your owne in Paris witnesseth for Trent Haec est illa Helena qua tridenti nuper obtinuit c. speaking of the Italian Nation Now if any of these pointes faile you which me thinkes be verie tickle then is not the voice of your Church euermore the inflexible truth of Christ and direction of his spirit which you presume to be the first ground of Christian Religion that doth stay the minds of the faithfull from doubt and wauering in all the rest THE THIRD MOTIVE THe infinite waies of errours draw themselues in their originall into two heads opinion and affection which as two cankers breed the one in the vnderstanding the other in the will for our iudgement is easiest deceiued by those things we esteeme truest and our inclination by what we loue best There is nothing of more manifest presumption then the truth of the Scriptures nor fuller of desire then securitie of happinesse therefore these two being left vnlimited the one of Canonitall exposition the other with necessitie of meanes are a direct method of indirect consequence Such is the practise of the later religion they teach that nothing is to be credited but what is warranted in holy bookes and giue not infallible rules of interpretation but such as at last must be ouerruled by priuat opinion for conference of places propriety of phrase acceptations of wordes can make no other conclusion then euery ones conceit will aforde So that of an infallible proposition and arbitrary assumption must needes insue a dangerous conclusion though not euer in the matter which is concluded yet alwaies in the manner of concluding ANSVVERE TO let slip your philosophicall introduction sparing in this short discourse to catch at by matters you haue pitched your motiue vpon the two maine partes of a christian soule The vnderstanding of diuine truth and the desire of true happines assuming to your selues and denying wholly to vs both sound iudgment for the triall of the one and necessarie meanes for the enioying of the other Our iudgment is impeached for resting it selfe wholly vpon the written word being depriued also of the infallible interpretation of the same For the first point we doe indeede maintaine the written word as the most perfect worke of God to

waigh together the spouse of Christ with Luther Caluin Melancthon aecumenicall counsels with priuate opinions the reuerend and learned fathers with Arius Aetius Vigilantius men alwaies in their time burned for heretikes the harmony of Churches with the iarring of conuenticles of them that are in as great brawle with themselues as with the catholikes The vniforme practise of 1500. yeares with the often change of others The tradition of the Apostles with the dregs of heretikes Now let any man though ouerbalanced by affection consider with himselfe whether of these should be beleeued in expounding the scriptures and consequently in the truth of the controuersies which relyeth vpon the sence ANSVVERE THis is right the wise man of Athens who thought all the shippes his owne which came to hauen Church councels Fathers Apostolicall traditions all yours And we poore soules turned ouer to a few single spirits Luther Caluin Melancthon c. If I might be so bold with you as Sir Thomas More was in like case with a protestant it were time to put you in minde of one Caius who encountring with a scholler would needs haue his first demaunde graunted to wit whatsoeuer had two eares was a foolish beast For els he could not so gallantly haue come vpon him as otherwaies he had ment Your demand is alike reasonable For you assume no more as graunted but the iudgment of the Church the definition of councells the consent of Fathers the harmonie of Churches the practise of all ages the rule of Apostolicall tradition Which if we giue you and leaue our selues a few particular mens expositions indeede I confesse you may conclude at your pleasure But it is wel knowen we doe no further relie vpon those learned mens assertions then they be authorized by the forenamed witnesses Which testimonies so confidently alledged for your parte I hope you are not ignorant how that all along in our apologies defences and answeres they be brought against you by our defenders especially those witnesses of more ancient times vnto whom we are content to appeale as most indifferent iudges and more sincere then any of later times being neerer to Christ and further from these factions To put you out of doubt I will set downe our owne words Quam ea die Iuellus vocem verissimam ac constantissimam emisit quando ad sexcentorum annorum antiquitatem prouocanit vobisque obtulit vt si vel vnicam ex aliquo patre aut consilio claram dilucidam sententiam afferretis non recusaret quin vobis palmam concederet ea est nostrûm omnium professio idem omnes pollicemur fidem non fallemus THE SECOND MOTIVE THe mysteries of religion do so far exceede the narrow straites of our vnderstanding that because they cannot be comprehended by reason God hath therefore appointed faith to entertaine them which faith is built vpon diuine and vnfallible authoritie the minde yeelding obedience in stead of discourse receiuing indifferently the truth of doctrine vpon the credit and affiance of the teacher Therefore that religion which doth not stay the assent of the scholler and hath not irrefragable authoritie in all matters of faith hath neither merit of beliefe in it selfe nor others But such is the discipline of the protestants that they affoord their schollers no other but humane and mutable authoritie whereby to beleeue the number and dignitie of the scriptures with the sense and interpretation of them in which consisteth the summe of all religion ANSVVERE THe mysteries of religion doe far exceede the narrow straites of our vnderstanding for without controuersie great are those mysteries to wit God is manifested in the flesh iustified in the spirit seene of Angels beleeued on in the world and receiued vp into glorie Amongst which the schollers assent to those misteries is accounted one beleeued on in the world which you haue well expressed appointing faith not reason to entertaine them The mind yeelding obedience in steed of discourse receiuing indifferently the truth of doctrine vpon the credit and affiance of the teacher This teacher you haue determined to be the inflexible testimonie of the catholike Church of whome we receiued the forenamed principles of religion yea the scriptures themselues And surely that minde which would not yeeld obedience to the testimonie of this generall voice were in all sound iudgments most vnreasonable For doth not reason her selfe tell vs That which most men and wisest agree vpon is most true doth she not adde further Those men be wisest next God that are most deare vnto him Then that religion which is professed and taught by the most holy and catholike Church which is venerable for antiquitie certaine for succession comely for order admirable for vnitie approued by experience allowed by prouidence confirmed by miracles rooted in so many kingdomes neuer doubted of but by heretikes is in the very eye of reason to be imbraced How thinke you Is not this reasons discourse And a sound discourse You must not deny it for it is your owne If reason then build vpon Church authoritie how place you faith in reasons roome If this be reasons discourse what is that yeelding obedience in stead of discourse Where is that great mysterie of godlines beleeued on in the world which captiuates the vnderstanding to the obedience of faith Let me helpe you out with a schoole distinction that wee may cleere the way before vs. The schollers assent to the Church testimonie is called faith I confesse but such a faith as the schoole termeth Acquisita fides faith gotten by discourse testimonie of the holy men of God a faith caried along by reason grounding vpon sufficient witnes and conuincing the vnderstanding by euidence of demonstration a faith incident not to wicked men only but the diuels themselues But the schoole diuines haue taught a more diuine faith which they call Infusa fides immediatly inspired by the holy Ghost from heauen informing the minde inclining the will to entertaine the principles of christianitie with all perfect obedience in stead of discourse For the begetting of which faith in the hearts of men that former testimonie of the Church and discourse of argument doth wonderfully dispose and prepare the minde but y t which giues the stroke and addeth life vnto it is the celestiall motion of Gods spirit which Saint Iohn calls the witnes within vs opposing it to the Church testimonie without vs. This is that true faith which Aquin affirmes neuer to bee found in diuels which Scotus aueres neuer to be void of christian charitie which Bellarmin proues and Trent defines neuer to be obtained without diuine reuelation and inspiration of Gods spirit vpon which it is built as vpon diuine and vnfallible authoritie the minde yeelding obedience in steede of discourse and receiuing indifferently the truth of doctrine vpon the credit and affiance of this teacher Hereupon doth our religion stay the assent of the scholler and hath irrefragable authoritie in the