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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	scripture_n	sense_n	tradition_n	3,138	5	9.4964	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50334	Doubts concerning the Roman infallibility I. whether the Church of Rome believe it, II. whether Jesus Christ or his Apostles ever recommended it, III. whether the primitive church knew or used that way of deciding controversie.	Maurice, Henry, 1648-1691.	1688 (1688)	Wing M1362; ESTC R15937	24,517	44

wary Conduct of the Roman Church towards her own Members seems to confess a distrust of her own Infallibility so the Unreasonable Confidence which she uses towards us begets in us a just Suspicion that she is in the wrong and is not altogether Insensible of it For it is a sign of a very bad Cause when those concern'd to Defend it are unwilling to enter into its Merits and instead of that only bluster and stand upon their Privilege instead of Maintaining it by Law and Reason declare that they are to give Law and not to submit to any and that whatsoever they say that must be Reason This is an Extravagancy in which no Authority upon Earth can bear a Man out For if a Professor when he is press'd by some Untoward Objections against some Opinion he has deliver'd should think fit to answer only with his Brow or else to deliver it again as his positive Judgment out of the Chair declaring That it belonged to him to dictate in that place I am apt to believe that his Beard though never so venerable would scarce be able to preserve him from the Contempt and Derision of his own Disciples Or if a Judge question'd for an Unjust Sentence should instead of Law or Equity produce only his Commission to justifie his Act I am afraid whatever became of his Person his Reputation would be in some danger Especially if all were of Judge * Rustworth's Coll. T. 1. P. 506. Dodridg's mind That it is no more fit for a Judge to decline to give an Account of his Doings than for a Christian of his Faith. Now this is the Case between Us and the Church of Rome We charge Them of Corrupting the Faith of Establishing Superstition and Insufferable Tyranny We produce our Evidence and alledge Scripture and Primitive Antiquity to make out Our Charge On the other side She takes upon her and stands upon her Privilege She defines and proves it with a Curse which is a Spiritual kind of Hectoring and We are Hereticks convict because we are not satisfied with these Demonstrations For my own part I think they are to blame that do not like this Proceeding in an Enemy for the nearest thing to an Acknowledgment that the Roman Cause is Indefensible is this desperate way of maintaining it the less of Argument Men have the more Positive they grow and endeavour to make up their want of Reason by the Boldness and Peremptoriness of their Affirmation And though some may ascribe the Infallibility-shift to the Confidence of the Church of Rome I shall rather impute it to her Desperation And we are the more confirmed in this Suspicion that the Roman Church was brought to this Shift by Distress rather than Choice when we consider the time and the Occasion upon which we find her openly to have declared her self Infallible When the Eastern Church quarrell'd with those of the West about some Points of Doctrin as well as Ecclesiastical Observances among other things they urge That the Catholick Church was on their Side For of the five Patriarchs which Govern'd the Church whom they usually compar'd to the five Senses there were four for the Eastern Opinions And if two to one be accounted odds it will be intolerable Presumption for one to oppose four For so Michael Cerularius urges not intending to confer any Infallibility upon those four Patriarchs but from a Majority pleading a Presumption of Right Pope Leo opposes to this the Dignity of St. Peter and the Privilege which the Roman Church had of being Infallible though she stood alone This appears by the Letters of Michael Patriarch of Constantinople and Peter of Antioch and Leo the Ninth's Reply to their Objections and it is no wonder the Pope took Sanctuary in such a Pretence when Authority did commonly bear down Reason And the Roman Church was too great to depend upon the sole Merit of the Cause and such Reasons as were common to her with every private Christian in the World. But this Pretence of Infallibility was yet rather Insinuated than Defined till Gregory VII condemn'd and depos'd by several German and Italian Councils was forc'd to lift up his See beyond all Human measure and to declare positively That his Church could never Err. About an Hundred and fifty Years after this the Schoolmen invented the Term Infallibility to express this Unaccountable Privilege Mr. Cressy calls it an Unfortunate Word and 〈◊〉 is indeed For never any had harder usage than this It is forced to stand against Scripture and Tradition against Authority and Reason and Sense This poor Infallibility must hide all Faults must cover every Defect and vouch every Absurdity and justifie even Transubstantiation I have insisted I fear too long upon the grounds we may have to suspect that the Church of Rome does not really believe her own Infallibility What conceit she may have of her self or how she may stand in the Opinion of her Adherents is to us of no great Importance since we do not conceive our selves concluded either by her fond Fancies of her own Excellence or the extravagant Applauses of her Flatterers only we would desire she would not press us too vehemently to this Belief while she is under such flagrant Suspicion of Deriding it within her self If she do really believe this we envy her not the Paradise of such a Conceit but rather pity her Disease and the disorder of her Imagination for so it is And something not unlike her case we have in the Character of the Church of Laodicea Because thou hast said I am Rich and encreased with Goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art Wretched and Miserable and Poor and Blind and Naked anoint thine Eyes with Eye-salve that thou mayest see But be the Roman Pretence never so sincere we have further grounds of Suspicion that really there is no such thing For I. Christ himself the Author of our Faith though he was Infallible because he was God yet did not think fit to use this way of Authority or meer Defining to introduce his Doctrin nor to recommend it to his Disciples as a Principle for trying Doctr●●● when he was gone to Heaven The way therefore which our Saviour took was to Prove and to Convince by Arguments proper and conclusive When he was question'd he appeal'd to the Scriptures Search the Scriptures for they testifie of me If I bear witness of my self my witness is not true And therefore produces the Testimony of John the Baptist of his Father at his Baptism of the Miracles that he did The same Works which I do they bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me If ye do not believe me believe the Works But above all he alledges the Scripture in Vindication of his Person and his Doctrin When he was blamed for Healing on the Sabbath he justifies himself from the Law that permitted Beasts to be relieved on that day and by an Argument a fortiori he