Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	catholic_a	church_n	faith_n	4,551	5	5.8936	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A72940	A declaration of the recantation of Iohn Nichols (for the space almost of two yeeres the Popes scholer in the English Seminarie or Colledge at Rome) which desireth to be reconciled and receiued as a member into the true Church of Christ in England.	Nicholls, John, 1555-1584?	1581 (1581)	STC 18533; STC 18533.5; ESTC S113205	57,669	199

praedicare quae saluti animarum cōuenire videantur non pauca praedicant quae ad perennem animarum perniciem ducūt Whiles that the Romish priests endeuor as much as they may to preache many thinges which seeme to agree to the saluation of soules then teach they not few things which tende to the perpetuall destructiō therof The first point of their deuilish doctrine in seducing the blinde and ignorant people is this To tell vs that we leaue this article of our Creede vnbeleeued Credo sanctam Catholicam Ecclesiam I beleeue in the holy Catholike Church if we acknowledge not the Romane church to be the holy catholique Church As though that were true In the iudgemēt of all the learned and godly the Catholique Church is dispersed ouer the face of the earth not tied or vnited to any proper place as Rome or person as the Pope The Councill of Nice in tyme past committed the charge of the Catholique Church to three principall Patriarkes Rome Alexandria and Antioch which afterwards came to Constantinople Nilius in his booke de primatu Romani Pontificis of the supremacie of the Bishop of Rome sayth Quandoquidem quaedā prouinciae spectant ad ecclesiam Romanam aliquae ad Episcopum Alexandriae aliquae ad Episcopum Constantinapolaeos iam non magis subditae sunt Romano Episcopo quam Romanus Episcopus subditus sit illis Primacie by lymitatiō Forasmuch as certayne countries are limited to the church of Rome certeine to the Bishop of Alexandria and certeine to the Bishop of Constantinople they are now no more vnder him then he vnder them I gather by this Councill of Nice which all Papists of Rome do allowe that the Church of Rome was not onely accompted Catholique but also the Church of Alexandria was taken to be Catholique in like maner the Church of Antioch I am certeine you wil not deny the Bishop of Rome euer heretofore to haue bene as yet to be Pope therefore I inferre the Bishop of Alexandria and the Bishoppe of Antioch to be Popes Christes Vicars and so consequently to be three Popes and three Christes Vicars Haue you taught our English men so that there be three Popes three Catholique churches and are you put in prison therefore No no I know it is otherwise I take you to be hirelings Pope Gregory the xiii Greg. 13. of that name or rather by his right name Hugo Bon compaignion Hugh goodfellowe hath brybed you with his money that you should preach him to be Pope alone and none other Is this pretie stuffe vt amor nummi esset casus multorum that the loue of money should be the fall of many I will speake a litle more touching your Catholique church Athanasius saith Roma est metropolis Romanae ditio nis Rome is the mother church not of the whole worlde but of the prouince of Rome I wil not speake of Englād Ireland Scotland Frāce Dēmarke Polonia Suetia Bohoemia of Germanie Heluetia Prussia Russia Lituania Pomerania Austria Rhetia Vallis Tellina c. where the Gospel florisheth But is your church the mother church and hath your Pope gouernmēt and iurisdiction ouer the churches in Asia and Affricke It is well knowen that there is Christianitie in Asia Affricke Armenia Aethiopia Cyprus Constantinople and other places where the Pope dareth not once peepe for all his pontificalitie at Rome And in respect of all Christian assemblies faithfull members wheresoeuer the church is called Catholique that is meant vniuersall So that your church and all churches are to bee tried and knowen not by your erring councils canons constitutions decrees and glosses but by the word of God which is the touchstone of trueth Ireneus saith Lib. 3. cap. 11. Columna firmamentum ecclesiae est Euangelium spiritus vitae The pillar and buttresse of the church is the Gospell and spirit of life August de vnitate Eccle lib. 3. cap. 3. Augustine vnto the Donatistes saith Sunt certe libri dominici quorum authoritati vtrique consentimus vtrique credimus vtrique seruimus ibi quaeramus ecclesiā ibi discutiamus causam nostram There are verely bookes of our Lorde vnto the authoritie whereof eche part agreeth eche part beleeueth and eche part regardeth Church to be sought in the scripture there let vs seeke for the church and thereby let vs examine and trie our matters This I thought good to note here least that any of this faithfull congregation should at any time be caried away with the bare name of your catholique churche Nowe moreouer you seeke to proue your church by antiquitie multitude succession of person or place none otherwise then false coyners who will not haue their money knowē by the finenesse of golde or by the touchstone but by the waight by the sounde by the coyne and by the colour which they may easely counterfeite Therefore they alledge antiquitie vnto vs following that which was spoken vnto Iob by one of his friendes Iob. cap. 8.8 Consule quaeso priscam aetatem et compara te ad peruestigationem maiorum illorum Aske for the auncient generation and prepare thy selfe to seeke for the fathers Iob. 32.7 Prouecti aetate loquentur et annosi notam facient sapientiam Dayes shall speake the multitude of yeeres shall teach wisedome To whom I could answere by Iob himself euē in the verse next following 9. vers Magistri semper sapientes non sunt neque senes omni tempore intelligunt Iudicium The masters are not alwaies wise neither do the olde men alwayes vnderstād Iudgement Profectò spiritus ille in mortali 8. vers et afflatus omni potentis efficit eos intelligentes It is the spirit of God not yeres that ought to speak in man August ad Pet. Diac. cap. 34. If antiquitie should preuaile why then I pray you is the Church compared to a litle Barke or Ship which the more she is vpon the sea the more shee leaketh vnto a house which with age decayeth falleth to ruine to a Citie and the policie of it which is corrupted from tyme to time if it be not brought backe to the first institution to a mans body whereunto yeeres do bryng all kindes of euill to be short age is euen as sickenesse it selfe to the most healthfull and temperate body in the world I say thē that antiquitie alone ought to make vs thinke that in the Church there is a great sicknes and much filthynes that euen for this cause alone without any longer confutation it is requisite to bring a broome to purge it and to call for a Physition So farre is it off that for these things a man should mainteyne your Churche to bee pure holy as you do Furthermore I demand how you wil answere vnto Saint Augustine entreating vpon the threescore and fourth Psalme who sayth That Ierusalem began by Abel and Babylon by Cain The promise was made by

one man speaketh euill of an other their deuotiō to the church is waxen colde charitie towards the poore is more then frozen c. And whereof say they proceedeth this heape of all mischiefe the ripenes of this impietie what roote hath it springeth it not frō the corrupt doctrine of the newe fangled Preachers Vnto all these supposed cauilles and most manifest slaunders for other are they not but slaunders and those meere supposed I answere whereas they speake of the godly liues of their forefathers if their liues had bene holy these their good works whereof they boast were not vndoubted markes of true religion For reade the hystoryes of the Gentiles let the liues of the olde Philosophers both Greekes and Latines bee perused and it shall not bee able to be gaynesayed that for the ciuill state of their life and the morall vertues they lyued as vprightly as euer your forefathers did yea and that in such excellencie that some of them were euen beautified by the names of the vertues themselues as Socrates the Constant Plato the religious Regulus the promise keeper Cato the sober and such like yet neyther did their liues proue their religion to be true neyther was heauē able to be scaled by so short and weake a ladder As for that they blame the liues of them that professe the Gospell thereupon inferre that they haue no true religion they speake more by their leaues then trueth wil warrant For the imperfections of Gods children and the sinnes of particular men are not auaileable to disherite them of true religion Gen. 9.2 19.33 2. king 11. 12. Matth 26.72.74 as the drunkennes of Noah the incest of Lot the adultery murther of Dauid the backsliding of S. Peter c do declare of whō to say they sinned therfore they were not in the right way were to conclude very impertinently without all rule of reason Now wheras vpon this weake supposall grounded vpō an vntruth ye misreport of the preachers of England saying that they allow all licentiousnesse of life it is cleane contrary for they diligētly exhort the people to amendement of life they condemne not good workes no they commend them highly herein truely you and they do differ they make workes to followe faith as the fruites according to that S. August August de fide operibus cap. 14 epist 106. sayeth Opera sequūtur iustificatum non praecedunt iustificandum You make workes the grounde and faith the roofe putting the cart before the horse and heate before the fyre The Queene goeth before her handmaydes folow not that she is not able to go without them but that as necessarily to the Maiestie Royal port of a prince such attendance is necessary so is it in faith and works You my brethren say that good workes are necessary thereby to merite heauen and deserue saluation But as the scriptures are flat against you euen so are the doctours also none of thē do beare with you they all beare against you We teach the people trueth you fables Wee preach faith and yet exhorte vnto good workes you seeke more for the huske then for the kernel We are not such as Cardinall Hosius misdeemeth vs to bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 naughtie and euil preachers neither preach wee any thing that Gods worde alloweth not How your Elders and our forefathers liued it standeth you in hande to consider of they put their sonnes into monasteries their daughters vnto Nunneries what they did they haue answered if they did well they are pardoned by mercie in the promise made vnto Abraham if euil no mā shal haue a crowne but hee that fighteth lawfully yet herein ye offer them a great deale of wrong that as blind guides leading them into by-pathes robbing thē of their inheritance spoiling thē of the trueth of Gods worde ye put the sheepe to answere for the blindnesse of the shepheard That they liued in ignorance it can not bee denyed it was not of faith Rom. 10.14 for it was not grounded vpon the writtē word of God They did as they were taught if they had bene taught better better woulde they haue done yet is it not fit that we shoulde condēne any mans seruant whether he stande or fall Neither is their early rising to Mattens to their Complyn at midnight their going barelegged and barefoote their fasting and wilful pouertie their hard lying their whippings their going in sackecloth their lōg praying in the streetes nor all other the like practises able to drawe vs from the trueth nay what wil ye answere when God shall aske you Esa 10.12 Mat. 15.9 Why did ye worship me with mens traditions who hath required this at your handes Reade the booke entituled Hierosolomitanus peregrinus you shal finde that the Turkes liue more austerely in their Monasteries and abroad then euer any of you did It were too long to rehearse their outwarde godlinesse they fast and pray as you doe they build Temples they maintayne hospitals they visit the sicke they pray in the night time more then you doe and the day tyme they spend either in prayer or in some good woorke They clothe the naked feede the hungry harbor the harborlesse they followe you in al points of good woorks yea and they farre surpasse you For proofe hereof I referre you to the reading of their Histories yet will ye not say I thinke that the Turkes for all their good workes are like to bee saued If this were a good argument that by good works men are saued then could I reason thus The Turkes do good works But they which doe good workes shal be saued Ergo the Turkes shal be saued And whereas you say that they did well which make their daughters Nonnes For say you they serue God and our Ladie if their seruice be good commendable seeing that they attribute and apply that vnto our Lady which in Dauids Psalmes is spoken of God the father and the sonne iudge you For when they pray they pray after this maner In te domina speraui miserere mei domina dixit dominus dominae meae sede mater mea a dextris meis c. In thee O Lady haue I trusted O Lady haue mercie vpon mee the Lord said vnto my Ladie sit my mother at my right hand c. In such sort that these blasphemies which they call our Ladies houres were the chiefe deuotion of those that were most deuoute Nowe seeing the blessed virgin was put in Christs place I aske what remayneth for him and if because shee bred hym and bare him and brought him forth she accomplished the saluation of those that cal vpō her what then was there that he should deliuer himselfe to death for vs But let mee I praye you speake a worde or two concerning the doctrine of these false prophets which teacheth a man to be iustified by his good workes If I should iustifie my selfe myne owne mouth shall condemne