Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	faith_n	infallible_a	3,589	5	9.5501	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42517	Observations on a journy to Naples wherein the frauds of romish monks and priests are farther discover'd / by the author of a late book entituled The frauds of romish monks and priests.	Gabin, Antonio, fl. 1726.	1691 (1691)	Wing G393; ESTC R25455	167,384	354

and had been Secretary to several Cardinals And forasmuch as I had already conceived a sufficient aversion for the Romish Religion the Corruption whereof I had a fair occasion to discover during my long abode in Italy I was very desirous to understand the Sentiments of a Person of so great Age and Experience Wherefore after having discoursed him about indifferent Matters I insensibly put him upon the Point of the Capacity and Learning of the Clergy of Rome He sufficiently satisfied me on that Subject and in the Account he gave me he observed something of a Method For in the first place he spoke to me of the Head of that Church viz. the POPE and from him passed to the Principal Members thereof which are the CARDINALS the ARCHBISHOPS and ABBOTS and concluded his Discourse with the Common PRIESTS and MONKS As for the first of these I mean the Pope he told me That it was a lamentable thing to see in what gross Ignorance many Popes lived of the most important Truths of the Christian Religion and that he himself had been fain to inform Pope Innocent the Xth of the true sense of this Passage of the Creed Qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto who was conceived by the Holy Ghost for he instead of understanding them of the Temporal Conception in the Mystery of the Incarnation did attribute them to the Eternal Generation of the Word and according to his Apprehension these Words Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary afforded this meaning Jesus Christ who was Conceived from all Eternity by the Holy Spirit was Born in time of the Virgin Mary So that if this Pope should have undertaken to have determin'd the Sense of them according to his Notion he would have given us a fine Instance of his Infallibility His Successor wish'd the same Abbot to Explain to him the Nature of Original Sin and how the Blessed Virgin came to be exempt from it Now it is worth our Observation that they were just these very Popes the most Ignorant that of a long time had appeared in the Church of Rome who undertook to decide the most important Controversie which ever was determin'd in the Church since the Council of Trent the Propugnators of the Efficacious Grace of S. Austin being of one side and the Defenders of Sufficient Grace on the other I mean the Dispute was maintain'd between the Augustinians or Jansenists and the Jesuits otherwise call'd Molinists The former of these two Popes had at the first no great mind to determine any thing concerning those Points For he declared one day to Luke of Holstein his Library-Keeper That the Solicitations he had from France to pronounce his decision concerning the Propositions of Jansenius drawn from S. Austin gave him a great deal of Trouble because the Question was concerning Points that he did not understand neither had he ever studied them Luke of Holstein answer'd him That his Holiness would do well not to begin at the Age he was of to trouble himself about the understanding and much less about the deciding of them because they were very perplex and intricate of themselves and that they had not only been the occasion of great Disputes amongst the Christians but also amongst the greatest Philosophers of Ancient Times by reason of the difficulty they found to reconcile the Liberty of Mans Will with the Decrees and Fore-knowledge of God whereupon some of them embraced one Opinion Others another as was done still to this day and would so continue as long as there should be Men in the World Whence he inferr'd That forasmuch as it was impossible for him to pronounce a decision that might satisfie both Parties it would be better for him not to meddle with it at all but to leave things in the state he found them till they should drop of themselves as they would without doubt whenever the one or other Party or both of them together should be weary of the Disputing and forcing their Opinions upon their Antagonists 'T is said The Pope was extreamly pleased with this Advice In the mean time it was observ'd that by his frequent Assisting at many Congregations which were held on this Subject he at last took a great deal of pleasure to hear these different Doctrins discust notwithstanding the great Repugnance he had for them at the first and he attributed this change in himself to an extraordinary assistance of the Holy Spirit On a time the Lady Olympia his Sister asked him What Matters were treated of in those Congregations that were so very pleasing to his Holiness The Pope Answer'd That they were certain Subtilties which she did not understand but that probably she might come to comprehend them in case she were present there whilst one of the Consulters Discoursed who explain'd those Points with the greatest clearness and perspicuity In a word All these Consultations were held on purpose to give his Holiness a true Notion of these Points in question But it seems to me that persons who pretend to Infallibility ought to be in possession of the Key of Knowledge or at least do their utmost endeavour to obtain it For can any thing be imagin'd more ridiculous than that a Pope to whom Application is made by the whole Church for the ratification of the Doctrins of Faith should be fain to treat with others and to demand time and opportunity to inform himself by consulting his Doctors and afterwards hear him tell you That the very same Point of Doctrin which a while ago he was ignorant of is an infallible Truth and which he alone hath the Authority to determin I entreated the Abbot to tell me in good earnest Whether he himself who had been witness of so much Weakness and Ignorance in those who are seated in S. Peter's Chair could receive all their Decisions for Infallible To which he Answer'd That he rather believ'd them such by a Faith of his Will than by a Faith of Understanding I requested him to explain this distinction which seem'd to me to be somewhat obsure and in which I saw that he plac'd something of Mystery He told me That the Faith of Understanding carried along with it some kind of Evidence that its Motives were so agreeable with the Principles of Reason or had so close a dependance upon Matters revealed that they could not be resisted without acting contrary to good sense and that by this Intellectual Faith we believe there is a God and that this God must be feared and worshipped That he will reward those that are Good and punish the Wicked That Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World foretold by the Prophets c. But as for the Faith of the Will continued he that is altogether obscure we find nothing in it to satisfie our Reason and we believe it only because we will believe it 'T is by this Faith said he that I believe the Infallibility of the Pope and a vast number