A LETTER TO THE Misrepresenter of Papists BEING A Vindication of that part of the Protestant Preface to the Wholesome Advices from the Blessed Virgin c. which concerns the Protestants Charity to Papists and a Layman's writing it IN Answer to what is Objected against it in the 4th Chapter of the Second Part of the Papist Misrepresented c. By the same LAYMAN who translated the Wholesome Advices c. and made the Preface to them IMPRIMATUR Guil. Needham Jan. 14. 1686. London Printed by J. D. for J. Robinson at the Golden Lion and Thomas Newborough at the Star in St. Paul's Church-yard 1687. A LETTER to the Misrepresenter of PAPISTS SIR I Find that the Translation of the Wholsom Advices from the Blessed Virgin c. which may have help'd to settle the Minds of others has something discompos'd yours For tho you are not I dare say pleas'd with the Protestant Preface to it yet however you dissemble your pain Wise-men say that you bite that Preface for grief of the Translation I cannot but admire the Art of you Gentlemen of the Church of Rome in running down Books with bold Contempt which you know not otherwise how to deal with This Translation and Preface for some Reasons is an Eye-sore to you and chiefly for helping to spoil the new Fashion of maintaining Popery by Representing it Something therefore must be done with it and so a little part of the Preface which did not belong neither to the main design of the Book must be singled out and be made an Example As for all the rest 't is sufficiently answer'd by saying Must I set up for Reader of Anatomy upon all the Pamphlets that come into the World I am highly obliged to you for the Kindness but I think the Scavenger has much the better Office who his nothing but Dirt and Sinks to deal with much less offensive than to be always raking into filthy Calumnies fulsome Incongruities and noysom Impertinencies Which kind of Language one would hardly use but out of a great desire to be unanswerable one way or other After this touch upon the whole you come to touch at some particulars which seem to fall within your Province of Representing or rather to touch at something which you were the better provided to touch because you had in the very same manner touch it before in your fourth Vindication of the First Part. The particular is That Papists allow no less a possibility of Salvation to Protestants than Protestants do to Papists Now altho this is all that I am concern'd to oppose yet I shall offer a few words to your Preparatory Discourse in which you pretend to shew what good reason you have to pronounce against the Possibility of Salvation amongst us or rather in the new fashion'd Phrase that we as Protestants are guilty of Sins inconsistent with Salvation inasmuch as we are separated from your Communion The short of what you say is That after most serious considerations and the weighing of all reasons the Papist believes the Roman Church in which he is to be that one only holy Catholick Church and therefore he does not question but what is truly affirm'd of the Church of the Apostles and succeeding Ages and those that fell from it is most true of the same Church now in being of which he is a Member and of all those who separate from it upon what pretext soever Now it had been much more to the purpose to have produced those serious Considerations than to have spent so much time as you did to prove what none of us make the least question of viz. That Christ Establish'd a Catholick Church that he committed the Care of it to the Apostles that they were inspir'd with the knowledg of Truth that they left Pastors to govern and feed the Flock after their decease and that the Promise of Salvation is made to Believers exclusively to Unbelievers This I say is all very true but not to your purpose unless you had prov'd also what you do but insinuate That we have separated our selves from the Doctrine and Government of the Church of Christ Which words I wonder that you were not afraid to use when they lay so fair to be turn'd upon your selves For we are no less sure that many of your Doctrines are no parts of the Doctrine of that Church and that Rome's being the Mother and Mistress of all Churches was not the Government of that Church over which the Apostles were c. Overseers for their time than we are that such a Church was established in the World. And therefore if they who separate themselves from the Doctrine and Government of the Church of Christ as it was first establish'd cannot hope for Salvation Pray look to your selves as to that Point instead of contending that you are the only Catholick Church out of which there is no hope of Salvation As to what you would insinuate that there must be in the Church a Succession of Pastors to the Worlds end who should no more err in teaching than the Apostles themselves did and that your Church has that Succession I must tell you as to the first that it is by no means prov'd from John 14. v. 16. since what is there promis'd to the Apostles is not promis'd to the Church of all Ages so as it was to the Apostles The Spirit of God abode with the Apostles for ever that is so long as they liv'd to guide them into the knowledg of Truth and by them to guide the Church in all after-Ages There are many things in this Discourse of our Saviour to his Apostles which cannot be apply'd to any Age of the Church after theirs And therefore what is and what is not limited to them must be argued out from the Nature of the things themselves which are said And lastly tho you will not have this Promise limited to the Persons of the Apostles but annext to their Function as in some sense I grant it may be yet you ought to have taken notice that the Promise is however limited by a Condition even in the words foregoing and following the Promise If ye love me keep my Commandments and there the Condition is once exprest For it follows And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of Truth And now mark once again what follows Whom the World cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him Where if by the World be meant worldly and wicked Men as I believe you will grant you see here is no absolute promise of such a Guidance to a Succession of Pastors as shall make it at any time of the Church Heresy to contradict whatsoever they teach or Schism to withdraw from their Obedience As to the last If you had prov'd such a Succession of Infallible Teachers as you speak of yet I tell you once more that the hardest part of
be on the uncharitable and the last on the charitable side And this I shall do by shewing that our Charity is so great to the Papists and their want of it so apparent to us that they have abus'd it into an Argument against us And this is so notoriously true that the Papists are not asham'd to boast of it in their Writings and Conversation thinking thereby to draw weak Persons that cannot consider where the Châ—at of the Argument lies to be of their Church And with this deceitful Argument which they have fram'd from our 〈◊〉 of â—â—â—rity to them and their want of it to us I have heard 〈…〉 make a great noise and tell of the miâ—hty Feats it 〈…〉 But certainly it was amongst such 〈◊〉 had thrown away all their Reason and Sense or else if 〈…〉 been no other thing to recommend the Church of England they would have thought that to be the best and safest Church which eminently has the very Beauty and Form of Christian Religion viz. Charity which the Church of England so constantly and largely maintains and practises But the Argument is this You Protestants confess Salvation May be had in the Romish Church but we Papists utterly deny it to yours therefore by the Confession of both sides those that are in our Church are safe but there is great question concerning Protestants remaining such for none but themselves say they can be saved What think you now Sir of the Protestants Charity and the Papists want of it Is here any provision made for poor Protestants by Invincible Ignorance If this does not prove that Pretestants have some Charity for Papists and they none at all for us Protestants I do not know what can And that you could be ignorant of these things and this Argument so commonly us'd by your Men when they would deceive the well meaning People of our Church you must excuse me if I cannot believe it With what Face then Sir could you tell the gaping multitude as you think fit to call the poor honest People That Papists do not advance the Damnation of Protestants one Ace farther against them than the Protestants against Papists and that the Doctrine of Protestants in this affair is the same in reference to each other and the Protestants are as uncharitable Damers of the Papists as they are made to be of the Protestants And now the matter being brought to this issue Pray Sir tell me who are the uncharitable Damners thunderers of Hell and Damnation who imposes upon the People who are the injurious Slanderers And who is it that render the Papists black and odions for their uncharitableness but the Papists themselves Certainly Sir if your Eye-sight had not been horribly indispos'd with the malignant Influence of Rome you would have seen that the unchristian Damners are the Papists only For shame learn tho late to maintain your Cause by Truth and Charity or let it perish But I foresee that you may take it a little ill that our Charity extends not to the Learned and Judicious in the number of which I dare say you reckon your self Now for these Persons we are to consider whether they know or believe such and such things to be false which yet for Worldly Ends they maintain for Truths or after an honest diligent search cannot by any means discover them to be Errors hindred by prepossession Education c. For these last Persons I cannot see why Invincible Ignorance will not comprehend them as well as the ordinary and unlearned People For I cannot tell what Invincible Ignorance is unless it be this That after all our best endeavours according to our utmost ability and means we yet cannot discern which is Error and which is Truth But now for the first sort who maintain known Errors for Truths against their Conscience only for Secular Advantages in the number of which I pray God you be not what would you have us believe or say of them God Almighty Himself has made no Provision that we know of for bold wilful and impenitent Sinners We judg no Man that hath a Master to stand and fall to Charity hopeth all things And I must tell you my Mind freely for I have vow'd to follow Truth and Charity wherever they lead me That I think it had been better and more like Christians if no Member of either Church had medled with the Events of things and leapt into God's Judgment-Seat and pronounc'd final Sentence upon Souls That certainly being a Secret and Prerogative peculiar to God who only is the Searcher of Mens Hearts knows all things and has an absolute Dominion over his Creatures and can do all that his Justice his Goodness and his Mercy Wills. Had the Pastors of each Church done no more but barely and plainly taught the Truths of God or what they sincerely believ'd to be so and left the Judgment of Persons to him that always judgeth right they had doubtless done their Duty But 't is evident the Men of your Church first us'd it to work upon Mens Passions and what they could not persuade their Understandings to for want of Truth and Reason they were resolv'd to do it by frighting of them For 't is too apparent that more are sway'd by Fear than Love more are drawn by their Affections and Passions than by their Reason and some of our Church-men to countermine your Policy found it expedient to imitate you as far as Truth and Christian Charity would permit them And this may suffice also to apologize for my using it in my Preface It now remains Sir that I speak to another thing which seem'd to disturb you which is Whether I am a Lay-man or a Clergy-man For I find you wavering about it and therefore I 'll endeavour to fix you tho in a doubtful case Why should not Charity have inclin'd you that brag of so much to believe me when I profess my self a Lay-man Well but I speak so like a Clergy-man so almost in the very Words and Phrases of a Doctor of my Church and another Doctor mention'd in your Last Reply that you cannot but take what I say for Church-Sence dropping through a Lay-Pen Sir I must needs thank you for the Honour you do me in taking me to speak like such great Men but I have not Vanity enough to believe that I do Yet thus much I 'll confess that I desire to live no longer than I can if not speak yet love and admire the Church-of England Sence But is it impossible for a Lay-man to speak like a Clergy-man Does Holy Orders make such a difference Or do you imagine I have never read any of our Churches Writers Why may not then my Mind be tinctured by them And so what I speak or write bear some resemblance to them Is there not many a Son like his Father And how do you know but I am the Son of a Clergy-man and so by Blood derive something of their way of Writing But to make
an end I fancy Sir that you or whoever was the Author of the First Part of the Papist Misrepresented c. and some others of your Church have found to your grief and shame that either of these Doctors you speak of could if they had pleas'd to have undertaken so mean a work have writ another sort of a Preface than I have done to the disadvantage of the French Popery now imitated in England Let the meanness of the performance prevail over you to believe that neither of them made it But indeed you are Injurious to them to fancy they would be guilty of such indirect dealing No No Sir the Divines of the Church of England have a better Cause they need use no Arts or Tricks no feign'd Miracles no bold Untruths no malicious Whispers and Slanders to support and defend it nor put Shams upon the World. This practice is none of theirs and if you please that may be added as a mark to prove ours a true Church And indeed I could easily persuade my self to believe that your own practice that of your Party was in your Thoughts when this Fancy entred into your Brain But in a Word and to put you out of pain about these two Doctors for I cannot blame you for dreading them I do assure you that neither of them made that Preface and once more that I who now write this Letter to you am a Lay-man and writ that Preface such as ' t is And if I could but be infallibly certain that the old Popery was alter'd in the point of Malice Revenge and seeking occasion against those who never so little oppose or hinder the designs of Rome I would give you entire satisfaction in this Particular and not only tell you my Name but where I live But because I cannot get out of my Thoughts some late Actions and that hard usage of the brave Author of Wholsome Advices c. I fear lest Old Popery may be practis'd upon me too and therefore think it but common Prudence to conceal my self For to tell you true I am not yet weary of that little Happiness I enjoy But Sir you make your Misrepresenter tell the World that I am dabling out of my Element by which one would think that after all you believ'd I am a Layman Well but how out of my Element May not a Layman tell Truth and do good to his Neighbour's Soul Is God's Spirit is all Knowledg limited to Holy Orders Because there are some Functions appropriated to Clergy-men such as Administring the Sacraments c. does it therefore follow that a Layman may neither write nor discourse of any Matters of Religion Pray Sir does that Command Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self oblige Laymen as well as Clergymen If it does and since I may edify my self why I beseech you not another And can a Man express his Charity to his Neighbour in a higher manner than in Spiritual Things But the Arguments are infinite which might be us'd in this Case And therefore I shall only ask you whether Tertullian and Origen and many other of the Ancient Fathers writ not about Religion when they were Laymen Nay more did not Pope Adrian and Pope Nicholas admit Laymen into Councils And pray what was Picus Mirandula but an Earl and meer Layman and Sir Thomas More Lord Chancellor of England But above all what was that Prince who wrote against Luther for which the Pope thought fit to bestow the Title of Defender of the Faith upon him But indeed why should it seem strange that you and your Church should find fault with Laymen's medling in Controversies of Religion especially against you when you dare totally barr Laymens reading the Holy Scriptures for which they have a Command from God Search the Scriptures and perswade them to put out their Eyes and throw away their Reason which God and Nature has given them to be their Guide through this deceitful World. And yet I dare say that if a Layman would undertake so knotty a piece of Work as to write in Defence of your Church that you would not tell him that he was dâ—â—â—ling out of his Element tho he were no better than a profligate Poet. I pass over your unhandsom Language and 't is below me to return it But I cannot but stand amaz'd to find a Member of the Church of Rome and a maintainer of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation make his Misrepresenter say That the Protestant Teachers know the People they have to deal with that their discerning Faculties are stupified that they 'l pass over fifty Contradictions without once stumbling and that there 's no fear of enquiring How can this be No Sir the Teachers of the Church of England are not guilty of this Tyranny We are Members of a Church that invites all her Children to the highest attainment of Knowledg and teaches them that a reasonable Service is the most acceptable to God and imposes nothing upon them that either destroys or contradicts their Reason and Senses that not only allows her Children to read the Holy Scriptures but beseeches them to do it provided they do it with a modest dependence on their lawful Teachers for the sense of some Texts which may not be so clear to Persons who are unacquainted with the Proprieties of the Languages in which the Holy Scriptures were writ and the Customs and Manners of the People and Countries where they were pen'd In a word the Church of England allows a private Liberty of examining all things she propounds and does not expect that Men should follow her blindfold She requires indeed Obedience in those few Points which are absolutely necessary to Salvation because they are so plain that it is impossible for an honest and sound Mind to question them But for things of an indifferent Nature she only desires that for the sake of Peace and Vnity Order and Decency that her Children would not dispute about them In line she is very sure that they and they only are her true Children her most sincere Members who are the most obedient to Scripture and most ready to yield to the Evidence of them and Reason and Sense And thus Sir I have endeavour'd to restore Peace to your Mind by shewing that Protestants are not at all uncharitable but that Papists are and that I am a Layman and yet may meddle in Divinity and not be dabling out of my Element And now I hope you 'l be no longer in a fright of those two Doctors you hinted for assure your self that unless there be occasion to defend a poor Layman of their Church as far as the Truth and the Religion of it are concern'd for you may possibly hear from me upon some other Point these two Doctors are better employ'd than to trouble themselves with you But if against this plain Proof that the Papists are the only uncharitable Persons you will yet rub your Forehead and make Protestants as bad What Remedy Truth
will be Truth still And however it fares with us we have over and above this Satisfaction and you know the Testimony of an Enemy proves much that to give us our due you say we are the most gentile and courtly Damners that can possibly be met with Now for the Reward of this frank Acknowledgment I wish with all my Soul Protestants could say so much of Papists But the continual sound of Pestilent Hereticks Damn'd Schismaticks and such rude and unchristian Names every where heard will not possibly permit them To conclude all I shall only desire you for prevention of more trouble than needs be and I have known a great Controversy to arise from a Matter less liable to Mistake to take notice that the very Point in Difference is not Whether the Religion of Protestants or Papists is the Truest or Safest For he that believes the second Commandment was given by God and that it is not lawful to worship any Being but only God who gave being to all Things need not be to seek in that Neither is it whether the Protestants or Papists are the most uncharitable But in Truth the present Question is Whether the Papists are not the only uncharitable Persons And I think I have fully prov'd that that they are so even from the Papists themselves Sir I heartily wish you and your Party would before it be too late shew so much Charity to your selves and others to leave off deceiving the poor Souls and disturbing the Peace of Mankind tho by succeeding in your Enterprize you might arrive to the highest Temporal Felicities and by desisting suffer the greatest of Humane Miseries And I am Your very humble Servant A POSTSCRIPT by the Author of the Answer to the last Reply of the Representer HAving leave to fill up this place I use it to rectify an Error in the 119th Page of the last Answer to the Representer where an c. to Cochleus was omitted without correction and so he is brought in for the Reporter of those Famous Fictions about Luther's Death whereas his part in it is the least the rest being reported by others particularly by Pontacus Lindan and our Countryman W. Reinolds Cochleus himself with the Epistle concerning Luther's latter-end published by him fol. 298 of his History tells the manner of his Death otherwise But Thyraeus a Jesuit was the Man whom I had in my mind for contradicting those with whom he agreed in the general Design of Defamation For he says That day when Luther died those possessed persons in a Town of Brabant where there were very many who expected deliverance by the Patronage of St. Dymna of which for many years many had experience were delivered from the Devils and a little after were again possessed For the Case was this that the cruel Spirits again tormenting those miserable persons being asked where they had bestowed themselves the day before answered That by the Command of their Chief they were called forth to the Funeral of the New Prophet and their faithful Fellow-worker Luther and had been present at it Which matter was confirmed by a Servant of Luther who was with him while he was dying miserably For as he was looking out of the Casement for fresh Air he was greatly affrighted to see more than once I know not how many black ugly Spirits skipping and dancing not far off And this also was confirmed by the Crows which with a fearful noise accompanied the Body of Luther as it was carried to Wittemberg Which wise Tale De Demoniacis par 1. n. 99. is also abetted by Flor. Rainundus de orig Haeres l. 3. p. 40. but does by no means agree with what Reinolds reports in his Calvino-Turcismus lib. 4. p. 957 that Luther after a merry Supper was in the Night suddenly strangled by his Wife This Business as they have severally reported it is a very notable Instance how early they began the Trade of Misrepresenting matters of Fact. But more of this when there is more occasion I shall only add that the Authority I have for saying that they spread such like lewd Stories of Luther's Death before he was dead is indeed the Authority of Protestant Writers and chiefly of Phil. Lonicerus in his Theatrum Historicum nor could it be expected that we should have any other FINIS