The True Way of Concord of All the Christian Churches, Part 2 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
In general, What are the true and only terms of Church-Vnion and Concord, and what not?
§. 1. THE true works of a Peace-maker conſiſteth, 1. In finding out the true and neceſſary terms of Concord, and diſcerning the evil and inſufficiency of the falſe terms: 2. In finding out the meet and neceſſary Inſtruments and helps: 3. In diſcovering the Hinderances and Enemies: and 4. In faithful proſecuting his known duty. And the firſt is not the leaſt.
§. 2. Having proved what Chriſt himſelf hath already done in inſtituting the terms of Unity and Concord, I ſhall here further ſhew, I. In General what theſe Terms are and muſt be, and what not. II. What Texts of Scripture deſcribe them. III. Particularly and diſtinctly what they are. IV. I ſhall anſwer ſome of the objections that are made againſt them. And V. The falſe Terms ſhall be detected and confuted in the third Part.
§. 3. I. In General, the terms of Catholick Unity and Concord, neceſſary to all Chriſtians muſt be and are, I. Only things Great and needful, II. Only things True and Sure; III. Only things plain and intelligible: IV. Only things of Gods inſtitution or authority. V. And but Few and not very many as to matter of Knowledge and belief.
§. 4. If they were not ſuch, mans known incapacity would make them unfit to be any means of the intended end: And this is fully proved by all the foregoing proofs of unavoidable diverſity that will be found in men: And I will here add yet more profs that Concord is ſo very difficult as that it will not be had on any ſtricter terms: and when all is done it will be very imperfect in this life.
§. 5. The great difficulty of Concord doth further thus appear.
1. It cannot be expected but that the greateſt part of men will be of low capacity, and partial, and ignorant, and therefore uncapable of underſtanding higher terms than theſe.
2. The Greater number, or too many will be bad, though their profeſt Religion be Good: And bad men will be ſtill ſelf-troublers, and troublers of others: There is no Peace ſaith my God to the wicked: They are like the troubled Sea that caſteth up mire and dirt, Iſa. 46. Piety and true Concord muſt grow together. There will be in Chriſts Kingdom things that offend and men that work iniquity: There will be Paſtors and people that are Worldly, Covetous, Lovers of themſelves, Lovers of pleaſures more than of God, proud, boaſters, haters of thoſe that are good, ſtriving who ſhall be greateſt: And theſe will be unfit materials in the building, as to full unity, peace and concord.
3. Yea there will be Satans Souldiers and bitter enemies to true piety in the Miniſtry and all ranks of men: In the ſame houſhold as he that was born after the fleſh did perſecute him that was born after the Spirit, even ſo, ſaith St. Paul, is it now; and ſo it will be. The firſt born man was a murderer of his own brother, becauſe his works were evil and his brothers good.
4. And Chriſt ſaith that the Rich ſhall hardly enter into heaven; And yet we ſee the Rich will be the Rulers: It hath been ſo and will be ſo, and muſt be ſo. And if they are as uſually bad as Chriſt and his Apoſtles tell us, then bad men will rule: And operari ſequitur eſſe: As men are, they will do: Great men will have worldly ſelfiſh intereſts clean contrary to the intereſt of Chriſt and his doctrine: And how great influence Rulers have as to concord or diviſion is eaſily known.
5. And hitherto the Paſtors of the Churches have been, alas, ſuch as Gregory Nazianzen, Iſidore Peluſiota and many others have deſcribed (to ſay nothing of Gildas or Salvian, or the ſad Characters that moſt parties give of one another, and the accuſations that Afflicters bring againſt thoſe whom they afflict, and which the ſufferers give of them.) If Paul then muſt ſay, All ſeek their own, and not the things that are Jeſus Chriſts, no wonder if it be ſo now; and that even General Councils have ſadly anathematized one another, and thouſands of Biſhops or Paſtors have been curſed from Chriſt by the reſt. And how much power proud turbulent ignorant and worldly Paſtors have to hinder the Churches Concord, hath been found by too long and ſad experience.
6. And mans nature is ſenſual and ſlothful, and it will coſt ſo dear, by long and hard ſtudy to be wiſe indeed, and by mortification and ſelf-denyal to be truly good, that few are likely to attain it.
7. And education, company, friends, and falſe writers and teachers will ſtill cheriſh faction and diſcord in the world.
8. And diſtance and diſacquaintance will leave open mens ears to back-biters, ſlanderers and falſe reports. Men will think it uncharitable not to believe ſuch, e. g. as Learned Hiſtorians, Doctors and their Paſtors are.
9. And the wars and croſs-intereſts of Princes and States have hitherto by jealouſies fomented diviſions in the Church.
10. And the falſe wayes and termes of Concord will be kept up in oppoſition to the true, and will not be the leaſt impediment.
11. And Laſtly, Even the Wiſe and Good that muſt be the Peace-makers, are ſuch but in part, and have in them too much of the folly, errour and ſin of others, which will hinder their work, yea and make them alſo troublers of themſelves and others.
§. 6. Theſe being not doubtful conjectures but certain Prognoſticks, the remedy muſt be ſuited to the Patients capacity.
And I. Neceſſary Eſſentials all Chriſtians are and muſt be agreed in: But unneceſſary things ſuch as I have deſcribed are never like to be commonly united in, nor is it neceſſary that they ſhould: It ſeemed good to the Holy Ghoſt and to the Apoſtles to impoſe nothing on the Church, but Neceſſary things, Act. 15. It was the deceivers and falſe Teachers which would have done otherwiſe: Againſt whom St. Paul doth copiouſly and zealouſly diſpute, in his Epiſtles to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Coloſſians, &c. To pretend that as neceſſary which is not ſo, or to command that as neceſſary and cauſeleſly to make it neceſſary which is not ſo in it ſelf, and which we may eaſily know will never be ſo judged of, nor received by all, is but to rack and tear the Church, and do miſchief for an unneceſſary thing.
§. 7. II. As it is certain that nothing but Truth can be fit matter for the Churches Concord, ſo it muſt be certain Truth: that is, not only ſuch as whoever believeth is not deceived, but ſuch as may be diſcerned by aſcertaining Evidence by all ſober willing Chriſtians; Not only ſuch as the Learned may be ſure of, but all that muſt take it as certain in their profeſſion; For no man muſt make a falſe profeſſion, and ſay he is certain when he is not. Not that all that may be called certainty muſt needs exclude all doubting; but that the Aſſent be prevalent againſt ſuch doubting: Nor do I mean that it muſt be certain by natural evidence; It is enough if it be ſo by Divine Revelation: And if any be ſo weak that they perceive not ſome neceſſary revealed truth to be certainly ſo revealed, they muſt be put on no more than to ſay, [I do, though not with certainty, believe it.] And no probability muſt be impoſed on mens profeſſion, when there is notable danger on the contrary ſide, if they ſhould miſtake.
§. 8. III. Therefore the terms of Union muſt be only things plain and intelligible to all ſober willing minds: For all perſons of dull wits and diverting buſineſs cannot attain ſuch certainty or firm belief of things which they cannot underſt…nd: Belief without underſtanding is but a dead notion or name, or rather a contradiction.
§. 9. As for the Popiſh doctrine of Implicite faith, it is no true belief of any thing but that General verity in which they ſay the particulars are implicitely contained. We muſt all believe implicitely in God, that is, That whatever God revealeth is true: But he that believeth no more but this, is falſly ſaid to believe other things; For he may believe this, who never underſtood that God revealed any thing in particular: He that never heard of Chriſt or the reſurrection may believe that all Gods revelations are true: But to call this, an Implicite belief of Chriſt and the Reſurrection, is but to equivocate, and call that believing a thing, which is no believing of it: If they hold that to believe that the Church (that is, the Pope and his Councils) is infallible in acquainting us with matter of faith] is all that is neceſſary to ſalvation, though they know not what the particulars are, let them ſay ſo plainly, and not call this a believing of other things, or a believing in Jeſus Chriſt, or his Goſpel.
§. 10. IV. And it is only things of Divine Authority that can be the neceſſary terms of univerſal Unity or Concord, ſuppoſing the neceſſary media of bringing them to mens notice: Had we lived in the time and place where Chriſt and his Apoſtles did preach and work their Miracles, it had been one thing to determine what were then preached as the neceſſary articles of faith, and another thing, how we come to hear, know and underſtand them: It muſt have been by our ears, eyes and intellects, that we knew and perceived what was ſaid and done. And ſo now ſtanding at the diſtance of many ages, certain hiſtory, or tradition muſt bring that to our notice, which our eyes and ears would then have brought to it: But ſtill the Law and terms of Vnion are no leſs Divine, whatever means do help us to underſtand them: And as for them that will make humane terms ſeem neceſſary to Catholick Vnion or Communion, that they deceive themſelves and others and ſhall never attain the end, but tear the Church by ſuch ill engines, is eaſily thus proved.
§. 11. The Catholick Church never did or will agree what humane power it is to whom this work belongeth: whether it be a Pope or Council, or ſome univerſal Monarch, or a Council of Princes by agreement; Never ſuch a thing was, or will be. Popes and Councils were but in one Empire, the chief Eccleſiaſtical Governours under the Emperours Civil Government; and not over the world; nor was there ever ſuch a thing as a General Council of all the Chriſtian world, but only General as to one Empire: Nor did any of theſe Councils take on them to make Conſtitutive terms of the Univerſal Church or its Union; but only to preſerve, declare and expound them, and to make ſubordinate governing Canons. And if they had undertaken more, no wiſe man can imagine that all Chriſtians will therefore confeſs the right of ſuch a claim, and ſo ſubmit to it. The proof of their authority will be ſo obſcure, that as ſuch as I cannot ſee it, ſo there will be ſo many no wiſer than I am, as that the excluſion of all Chriſtians that are but of our ſize will never ſtand with Catholick Unity. And if it were poſſible to ſatisfie all the preſent age, 1. that ſome have ſuch authority from God, 2. and who they are, 3. and how far it extendeth, yet ſtill ſuch will ſucceed them in whom the uncertainty and diſſent will be revived. What needeth there more proof than mans incapacity and the experience of ſo many Generations? All Chriſtians agree in Chriſtianity: All Chriſtians never agreed on any human… terms of Unity; Pope, Council, or Monarch. One Empire hath pretended to agree in Councils, but have been ſo far from it, as that they have been the occaſion of their greateſt diſagreements; witneſs even the Great ones, Conſt. 1. Epheſ. 1. & 2. Calcedon, which ſome bleſſed and ſome curſed for many generations after; and that at Conſtantinople that made the decree de tribus capitulis divided even the Roman Church ſo far as that for one hundred years a great part of it renounced the Roman Biſhop, and ſet up another Patriarch againſt him. And Abaſſia and other extra-imperial Churches were never under the Roman or Imperial Government.
§. 12. V. And that the terms of Catholick unity muſt not be very many things is evident from the foreſaid Incapacity of the moſt to comprehend many things; and alſo from the confeſſion of almoſt all ſorts of Chriſtians: Even the Papiſts who have advanced the Chriſtian Religion to the monſtrous magnitude of their vaſt and numerous Decrees of Councils are forced yet to make them almoſt all unneceſſary under the name of Implicite belief, and do narrow the neceſſary articles of the Chriſtian faith almoſt to an annihilation,Of this I have written at large in my laſt Confutation of Johnſon, Which is the true Church; or for our Churches perpetual Viſibility. while they agree not whether it be neceſſary explicitely to believe the life, death, reſurrection, mediation, judgement, yea or being of Chriſt himſelf, or any more than that there is a God and an Infallible Church: Of which ſee Franciſc. de ſancta Clara his Deus, Natura, Gratia, at large.
And thoſe of our ſelves that eject Miniſters and Chriſtians for diſſenting from ſome of their own impoſitions, are yet contented to admit ſuch as ſubmit to themſelves, upon very low terms of Chriſtian knowledge, to the Sacraments and Communion of the Church. And indeed he knoweth not man, who knoweth not, that univerſal unity and concord will never be had upon the terms of Many, dark, uncertain, humane, or unneceſſary things, but only on the terms of things Few, ſure, plain, divine and neceſſary.