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	true_a	world_n	4,846	5	4.9933	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61578	Of the nature of superstition a sermon preached at St Dunstans West, March 31, MDCLXXXII / by Edward Stillingfleet ...	Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699.	1682 (1682)	Wing S5614; ESTC R18667	23,089	50

apprehends to be unlawful by vertue of a general command For that is a Moral Duty and obedience to those places of Scripture which bid us abstain from all kind and appearance of evil But yet it is plain here was a Negative Superstition in the forbearance of lawful things And so it was in the dispute between Christ and the Pharisees about healing on the Sabbath Day they thought it unlawful Christ declares it to be lawful to do good on the Sabbath Days Here was no positive observance on the Pharisees part Yet here was Superstition in them and therefore the true notion of Superstition doth extend to the forbearance of things in themselves lawful as displeasing to God But how shall we know when such a forbearance is Superstitious By these Rules 1. If such a forbearance be thought to bring some special honour to God For then even Dr. Ames himself grants it to be Superstition to abstain from lawful things though accounted unlawful by the Persons who abstain when some singular service and honour is by that abstinence intended For then he grants it to be a kind of Ceremonious Worship The question then is when this case happens for our Abstinence from Popish or Mahumetan Superstitions is not any special Act of Service or Honour to God But if we lived where those Acts of Worship were required by lawful Authority and we refused to comply with them that would be a special Act of Honour and Worship to God it being a declaration of our Minds that we thought God dishonoured by such Acts and therefore durst not comply with them It was once a great Question among the Papists whether they might lawfully come to our Churches or not and if not to our Prayers and Sacraments yet to our Sermons to avoid the severe Penalties of the Laws And after great debate both by a Committee of the Council of Trent and afterwards at Rome it was resolved in the Negative upon this Reason because in our Circumstances it was signum distinctivum cultûs a mark of distinction as to Religious Worship and therefore it was an Act of special honour and service to God to forbear To abstain from pouring out Wine and throwing Incense in the fire is in it self no Act of Worship but when the Heathen Emperours commanded the Christians to do it in token of compliance with their Religion their abstaining then from it was a singular Act of Worship to God So in the present Case when men are required by lawful Authority to do things which in themselves are lawful to testifie their union and conjunction with us in Religion their refusal in this Case is a special Act of Worship and being without Ground is nothing else but Superstition 2. When men value and esteem themselves as more holy and more in the favour of God on the account of such forbearance As the Pharisees did on the account of their Traditions who believed that God had no such people upon Earth as they were and despised others who were far nearer to the Kingdom of God than themselves as mere Publicans and Sinners And it is very natural to Mankind to set a great value upon themselves for the sake of their affected singularities in Religion and in a transport of pride and vanity to tell God himself as the Pharisee did That they are not like other Men But this is a certain sign whatfoever they pretend that they look on the forbearance of the things which others do as a part of Holiness and if they do so it is undoubtedly Superstition For on this ground we charge the Papists with Superstition in their Ceremonies because they place holiness in them It is true they say they are the Instruments to convey some degrees of holiness to them but this makes no material difference for those who account themselves more in God's esteem for the sake of such things do attribute some real efficacy to such distinctive Characters of themselves as to the obtaining the favour of God 3. When they forbear necessary Duties of Religion rather than comply with others in lawful things as Communion with the Church they live in in Prayers and Sacraments which cannot be denied to be necessary Duties but if men resolve rather to forbear these than to join in such Ceremonies and Prayers as do accompany the performance of them it is a sign they prefer the following their own imaginations before the joining in Communion with the Church in the most unquestionable Duties of Religion As in the Case of the Encratitae of old who thought it unlawful to taste of Wine and therefore refused to communicate in the Eucharist unless they might have it in Water alone Was not this a great Superstition in them rather to forbear communicating with the Church than not to observe their own fancies in what they thought most pleasing to God as to the manner of doing it Now to apply this to our own Case We are often blamed for laying too great weight on the Ceremonies of this Church But certainly never any Church laid less weight upon its own Orders supposing that it believes them to be just and reasonable It places no holiness no merit no efficacy in them as to the obtaining the Grace and Favour of God It expects obedience only for Order and Peace-sake It hath taken great care by Prefaces and Canons and Rubricks to prevent any misinterpretation of its intention and design But on the other side those who dissent from us lay so great weight on their scruples that they will rather hazard breaking a Church in pieces ruining our Religion by our differences losing all the benefit of Communion with a Church whose Doctrine they approve in all the Duties of religious Worship than they will yield to the allowance of those circumstances of our Communion which our Church requires And now on which side the charge of Superstition more justly lyes let all that are impartial judge So much I thought necessary on this Occasion to speak in vindication of our Church from this common imputation of Superstition by those who so little understand what it means Nothing now remains but to make Application of all to our selves You see how much mischief the shew of Wisdom was like to do in the Apostolical Churches let us all have a care of being deceived by it It was long since observed by Menander That things which were like Truth were more easily believed by the generality of Mankind than Truth it self So I am afraid it is about Religion which is the Wisdomhere spoken of that which makes a great shew of it to the World is more apt to prevail among persons of weak and well disposed Minds than true Wisdom For the shew of Wisdom strikes more upon the fancy and inclination of such Persons than sober calm and well-weighed Religion which seems dull and flat to those who have more warmth and zeal than judgment and discretion And I do not at all