Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A31347
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A Catholick pill to purge popery with a preparatory preface, obviating the growing malignity of popery against Catholick Christianity / by a true son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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True son of the Catholick apostolick church.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing C1495; ESTC R15262
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39,661
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102
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the merits of Saints and Martyrs you pray unto God not only through the merits of Jesus Christ but through the merits of Saints whose Reliques are under your Altars your devotoes affirm that the holy Virgin saves us and brings us to heavenly glory not only by her prayers but by her merits and the Roman Divinity saith plainly that there are some Saints and Martyrs that have suffered more then their sins did deserve and that their superabundant satisfactions are put into the Treasury of the Church and distributed by the Popes Indulgence They after cry By the prayers and by the Merits of the holy Virgin Mary of Michael the Archangel of S. John Baptist of the holy Apostles Peter and S. Paul and of all the Saints without making any mention at all of Jesus Christ and his merits And Tenthly and lastly for I should tire you if I should proceed to farther Instances the Papists do profess to believe with us that the blood of Jesus Christ purgeth and cleanseth us from all our sins Why then have they invented the fire of Purgatory If all sins are washed away and purged by the blood of Christ what then remains to be purged in this Imaginary fire They mock the world in calling of it pugatory for according to Romish Doctrine it serves not to purge but to punish souls and to satisfie Gods Justice so that it is not a purging but a pain and a punishment and what resemblance can there be betwixt this subterranean fire and the blood of Jesus Christ Is the grace and pardon of a King applied to a man by breaking him on a Wheel or by burning of him quick But the most torturing Wheels and the most ardent fires are nothing in comparison to this pretended Purgatory if it be true which those of your party say that it is ten times hotter then our fire and that it differs from hell fire in duration only Open then your eyes and see the Sun of truth which shines so bright in the Gospel Jesus Christ hath by himself purged our sins Heb. 1. And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all iniquity 1 John 1. And that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 That they pass from death to life And when they put off this body of flesh they have a house eternal in the heavens 2 Cor. 5. They then are over with the Lord And blessed they are who die in the Lord so saith the Spirit They rest from their labors and their works follow them Rev. 14. But what rest or comfort can there be in such dreadful torments Do they not manifestly contradict the words of Wisdom which say the souls of the righteous are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them I could make the like observations upon all the other controverted points of that Religion And therefore had not our forefathers reason to separate the pure and simple Christian Doctrine from this prodigious medly of so many humane Inventions and Traditions Did they not well in shaking off the yoke of so many Ceremonies and Superstitions borrowed the most part from Paganism Judaism Of which yoke we may truly say as S. Peter did of the Jewish It is a yoke the which neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear In vain do they tell us of the writings of their Fathers and the distinctions of their Doctors we are resolved to hearken to no other proof then what can be alleged out of the word of God or by consequence deduced from it for what concerns our salvation and the service of God We will trust him alone who is our Lord our God he hath merited heaven for us and he alone can shew us the way thither while we follow the light of his word we are sure we shall not go astray Let not then the Papists trouble themselves to force us to their abominable fooleries For the most eloquent discourses imaginable the most plausible humane reasonings the most authentick Authorities of the Fathers The subtilest distinction of the Schools are not sufficient to make us believe either adoration of Creatures the Invocation of Saints the worshipping of Angels the Veneration of Images the power of the Pope the merit of works their most unreasonable Doctrine of Transubstantiation the pretended Sacrifice of the Mass the imaginary fire of Purgatory or the like Nothing is capable to make us acknowledge any other Mediator any other Saviour and Redeemer then Jesus Christ Any other sacrifice then that of his Cross any other Purgatory then his blood nor any other merit then his obedience Nor any other Infallible guide then the holy Scripture And therefore though we are by the uncharitable Papists damned for Hereticks that we have no reason to fear that God Almighty will condemn us because we have trusted to his Divine Word and holy Ordinances we have fashioned our service according to that pattern he hath left us in the Scriptures we have closely adhered to the purity and simplicity of the Christian Doctrine We cannot give that honor and glory to the creatures which is due only to the Creator We content our selves in Worshipping of one only God in Spirit and in truth we put our whole trust and hope in him alone and we put up all our petitions to him in the name only and for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. We cannot believe those false Priests who tell us that Christ is here and there we admit of no other sacrifice then that of the Cross nor any other purgatory than that of his blood we admit of no more Sacraments then those which Christ did Institute and we celebrate them no otherwise then the Apostles have done before us we pray to no Saints worship no Angels nor bow down to any Image Crucifix or Picture and therefore we hope through the infinite merits of God in Christ Jesus because we have been faithful in his service obedient to his commands and observed his Ordinances we shall not be condemned or eternally rejected from his presence But we hope to hear from our Saviours own mouth These words of eternal Consolation Because you have kept the words of my patience been faithful in my service to the death you shall receive the Crown of Life You have been good servants enter you into the joy of your Lord Inherit the Glorious Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the World Which God Almighty grant us for our Lord Jesus Christ his sake Amen A PILL TO PURGE OUT POPERY OR A CATECHISM FOR ROMISH CATHOLICKS Shewing that Popery is contrary to the grounds of the Catholick Religion and that therefore Papists cannot be good Catholicks The Speakers A weak Christian A Minister DIALOGUE I. Christian AMong the diversities of opinion that are in the world how may I know which is the truth whereto I must cleare and who are the true Church and true Catholicks Minister a Believe not every spirit
that is every doctrine which men bragging of the Spirit do teach but trie them whether they be of God no a Examine all things hold fast that which is good a 1 John 4.1 b 1 Thes 5.21 C. Whereby shall I try them M. By the Scriptures John 5.39 Acts 17.11 C. I am unlearned and the Scriptures are hard to be understood M. There are indeed many things in them hard to be understood 2 Pet. 3.16 but such things as are necessary to be known of all to salvation are plainly set down Prov. 8.9 The meaning of which place is this The Word of God in points necessary to salvation is easie unto all that have a desire unto it Turn to the places of Scripture added to every answer of the Catechism and you shall find this to be most true C. Is there no other way and means whereby to try and know the truth and the true professors M. Yes it may be done even by the aforesaid grounds of Religion Whatsoever Doctrine is agreeable thereunto is true and to be received but whatsoever is contrary to the same is false and to be rejected but whatsoever is contrary to the same is false and to be rejected As many as do sincerely and soundly imbrace profess and practise the same they are the Catholick Church that is parts and members of the Catholick Church and true Catholicks indeed But such as teach profess and practise things contrary thereunto are not the Church nor true Catholicks C. The Papists say that they only are the true Church and true Catholicks and that we are not M. So the Jews cried a The Temple of the Lord b We are the seed of Abraham the children of God a Jerem. 7.4 b John 8.33 41. But Christ told them they were the children of the Devil John 8.44 C. Are not the Papists then good Catholicks M. No but rather gross Hereticks C. What is an Heretick M. One that doth erre in any fundamental point of Christian Religion and doth obstinately teach maintain and defend the same C. Do the Papists erre in the fundamental points of Religion M. They do teach and maintain many false opinions against the very grounds of Religion as by and by shall be shewed in many particulars C. Are all Papists then Hereticks M. No for there are no doubt many of them that do erre of simplicitie and ignorance and which would be brought from their errors if they had the means namely the Scriptures in their own language preaching catechizing and the like We do not therefore account them all Hereticks but onely those before mentioned C. How do you prove that they are not good Catholicks M. I prove it thus They are good Catholicks which are of sound faith and good life Aug. lib. quaest in Mat. cap. 11. but Papists are neither of sound faith nor good life therefore they are no good Catholicks C. How do you prove that they are not of sound faith M. Even by the Apostles Creed which may serve instead of a rule whereunto the faith of all men ought to agree contrary whereunto they teach many things C. Shew me wherein M. The Creed is a confession of faith containing the sum of the Gospell and of such things as are necessary to be believed of all that will be saved They have devised many other new Articles of Faith besides and contrarie to the Articles of the Apostles Creed which they hold necessarily to be believed of all that will be saved As namely Indulgences and a treasurie of Saints merits the reall presence the Popes Supremacie Purgatorie and such like In the Council of Trent the curse Anathema is pronounced upon all such as deny these or any of them Master Perkins first vol. Page 621. The Creed teacheth what every one in particular is to know and believe and a true faith cannot stand without certain knowledge The Papists maintain an implicite or an ignorant faith namely that it is enough to believe as the Church beleiveth though they know not what the Church is nor what the Church believeth And they commend this faith by the example of an old devout father a Colliar who being tempted of the Devil and asked how he believed answered That he believed as the Church believed being asked again how the Church believed he answered As I believe whereupon the Devil as they say was fain to depart C. It should seem it was but a simple Devil for if he had been wise he would have asked him this question What if the Church believe that thou art a fool what would the Colliar think you have answered then M. I think he would have said nothing for if he should have said I believe so too the Devil might then have begged him for a food indeed And yet such fools are the simple and ignorant Papists which content themselves with this kind of faith for thus one may reason with them You are to believe as the Church believeth but the Church believes that you are fools therefore you are to believe so too This their implicite faith every one of himself may have The Devils in some fence may be said to have a better saith then this for they know what is contained in the Scriptures and believe it to be true Mat. 4.6 Iam. 2.19 This fond and ridiculous kind of saith is a notable means to nuzzle people in blindnesse superstition and perpetuall ignorance Again Faith is a certain and true perswasion of the heart whereby we are perswaded and in some measure assured of the forgivenesse of our sins and eternall salvation The Papists say it is presumption to be assured of salvation and will have men to doubt thereof the which is contrary to tht nature of true faith They call the certainty of remission of sins a faithless perswasion and the faith of Devils not of Apostles Concil Trid. Sess 6. cap. 9.12 13. Rhem. Annot. 1. Cor. 9. Sect. 9. DIALOGUE 2. C. Shew me I pray you what things in particular they teach contrary to any Article of the Creed M. I could shew you many but I fear that then I should be tedious to you I will therefore set down onely the chiefest In the second and third Article is described and set forth unto us both the person and office of our Mediator namely that he is both God and man a Prophet Priest and King Concerning his Person although in words they confess him to be God and man yet in deed they deny it for they ascribe to him a body invisible and infinite they teach that he is corporally present in infinite places at once which is proper onely to God and contrary to the nature of a true body And so in effect they do even deny his Manhood The Son of God is called Jesus because he is a Saviour yea the onely and perfect Saviour which saveth us from our sins That is hath delivered us not only from the blame or guiltiâ—ses but fully also from the punishment due to our