The Papists Reasons of State and Religion, Reason of religion 30
Reaſon of Religion. 30 30. REASON OF RELIGION.
A Religion, fromaSuch as depart from popery are happy & bleſſed. Apec. 18.4. which Countries either departing, or mingling other doctrines with it, made preſent wracke of their former felicities, falling either into flatte Apoſtacie, or moſt lamentable bondage, or both. The inſtances are:bAll theſe nations were puniſhed for departing from the ſincerity of Chriſtian religion, not of Poperie. TheiTheodoreti… lib. 4 cap. 32. Sozomen lib 6. cap. 37. Goths, while they remained Catholike, flouriſhed & enlarged their territories, but becomming Arians, were ſhortly expelled thence by the Hunnes, thē Infidels: The like, and by like occaſion befell thekJornandes de rebus gest. Dacians, Myſians, and Pannonians, by invaſiō of the Hunnes, Gepides & Rugians. ThelEx Aenea Silvio. in Eur. cap 16.17. An…o. Sabel Enne 10 lib. 6… & ex Chronicis ea…ū dem Nationūs, aſijſ que , Hiſtorijs. Dalmatians, Gauls, Britannes, Spaniards, & the Africans by ſuperinducing or mixing, one the hereſie of Manichaeus, another the hereſie of Vigiſātius, the third the hereſie of Pelagius, the fourth the hereſie of Priſcillian, the laſt the hereſie of Donatus, with the Catholike religion, were conquered, and ſupplanted, the Dalmatians by the Turke, the Gaules by the French, the Britannes by the Engliſh, the Spaniards by the Goths, the Africanes by the Vandals: To which may be added the Germans, waſted & ſubiected by Attila … the ſeigniory of the Hunnes after the Arian hereſie had rooted it ſelfe …n ſeuerall quarters and prouinces of their Country: TheoOrtel…s in R… gia, ex Saxone …elmoldo & Crantzio. inhabi…ants alſo of the citie Iulinum, who being conuerted to the Romane faith, and falling againe from it were all conſumed, both citizens and cittie with fire from heaven. Touching the Countries in the Eaſt, after they beganne to diſhonour themſelues with new doctrines, the ſo faſt ranne headlong therein, (an inſeperable property of al hereſie, becauſe they are vnbounded, and lacke a defining & binding power) that in ſhort while after, to witte, in the raigne of Herselius the Emperour, there were on footedNiceph. lib. 18.45. Jacobitans. Georgiās. Theopaſchitae. Armenians. Monophyſites. Agnoetans. Staurablatans. Monothelites. Severites. Aphtar thodecits. Phantaſiaſts. Maniches. Tetradites. Tritheites. Arians. Nastorians. ſixteene ſeverall ſortes of beleefe: but what followed? Firſt, Choſr…es king of the Perſiās ſacked Ieruſalem, and much weakened the Empire: Then, (Heraclius the Emperour turned Monothelite) Mahomet that infernall monſter, being made the Captaine of the Saracens, tooke Syria and Aegypt, Anno Dom. 635. Meſopotamia, Anno. Dom. 639. and afterward all Africa: Finallie wee thinke that in the revolution of the fifteene firſt ages, the Nation or kingdome cannot be named, which forſaking the Catholike Romane religion or not keeping it whole, & inviolated, was either noteThe contrarie appeareth in England and Scotland; to inſist in no other. conquered, or miſerably torne by civill diviſion and ſlaughters.
Reſolution of the 30 Reaſon.
Popiſh religion is that from which Countries either departing, or mingling other doctrines with it, made preſent wracke of their former felicities, falling either into flatte Apoſtaſie, or moſt lamentable bondage, or both.
Ergo.
Popery is true religion, and to be tolerated.
ANSWERE.
1 GOD doth not puniſh any nation or people for departing from Papiſtrie; ſeeing ſuch a departing, is not Apoſtacie from true religion; as I hauehave proved before, p. 37.
2 GOD is ſo farre from puniſhing any for ſeparating themſelues from the communion of Popery, that contrariwiſe, whoſoever doth not ſeparate himſelf, God threatneth to plague him; Apoc. 18.4 Goe out of her, my people, that yee bee not partakers of her ſinnes, and that yee receive not of her plagues.
3 The Suppliants inſtāces are of ſuch nations as were, before Poperie beganne to raigne; who could not therfore be puniſhed for relinquiſhing Poperie.
4 Thoſe nations were indeed puniſhed either for quite falling away from true religion, or for not profeſſing it ſo ſincerely, as they ought to hauehave done.
5 For our times, GOD hath infinitely bleſſed the profeſſours of our Religion; & declared his iudgments againſt Poperie and Papiſtes. I will not ſpeake of Luther who by the mightie protection of GOD, bouldly maintained the truth of the Goſpell even in the middeſt amongſt his enemies: Nor yet of the miraculous preſervatiō of Geneva, that ſtandeth in the mouth of the adverſaries, who wante neither power nor malice againſt it: Nor of Rochell, beſieged for the Goſpelles ſake by all the power of France for ſeven whole monethes togither, and yet by the power of GOD perſiſted invincible.
6 OnelyOnly I will ſpeake one worde of this Kingdome of England, and for our late bleſſed Soveraigne; Who as ſhee hath ſtoutly maintained the cauſe of Ieſus Chriſt; ſo hath GOD performed vntounto her kingdome his promiſes made vntounto his children in Ieſus Chriſt. Search all Hiſtories, turne al Chronicles, ſacred or prophane, eccleſiaſtical or civil; yet ſhal yee never finde a Womā-Prince, a Mayden or Virgin Queen, yea you ſhall not finde any Prince at all, whoſe preſervatiō hath bin ſo mighty, whoſe glorie ſo great, whoſe government ſo long, ſo proſperous, ſo happie. All this hath bin the more admirable, and is the more to be conſidered, by how much the more and oftener ſhee hath bin curſed with bell, booke and candle, by him that arrogateth to himſelfe Fulues of power, and auctority in heaven, in earth, & in hell. But GOD hath turned his curſes into bleſſings; yea the more he curſed her Maieſtie and the Land, the more GOD hath bleſſed both.
7 If the Land ſhould not continue ſtill in the zealous profeſſion of the Goſpell; but ſhould mingle hereſies with truth, and admitte the practiſe of Popery, which is the Suppliants motion and petition: Doubtleſſe God would ceaſe from being our GOD, he would with draw his bleſſings frō vsus, yea he would be avenged vponupon ſuch a faithleſſe & backſliding people.