Independency Further Proved to be a Schism, Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
THe reverend Doctor is ſtill peremptory, that the ſeparation of any …an or men, from a true Church, or of …e Church from another, is not …hiſm; he means, "In the preciſe ſignification of the word, pag. 80.and deſcription of the thing, as given by the holy Ghoſt. …eſides what is ſaid, to diſprove that …ſe of the word, and deſcription of …e thing, I ſhall now add; 1. He can…t ſay this of all ſeparation from a true …hurch, for he hath granted ſome ſuch be ſchiſm, as I ſhewed above, from …s 58 page, where he ſaies, "It is denyed, Who told him, that raiſing cauſleſſe differences in a Church and then ſeparating from it, is not in my judgment ſchiſm? p. 147.that his notion of ſchiſm is the way, to free all Church-ſeparation from ſchiſm: Ergo, …ome Church-ſeparation ſchiſm, as I conceive. 2. In the next page 81. he ſaies, That ſeparation fro… Churches is oft-times evill, is readil… granted. And before, he ſaid, Cauſ… leſſely to ſeparate, is no ſmall evill, p. 70 Then a cauſleſſe ſeparation from … Church is evill; and why? but becauſ… it breaks the union of the Church, whic… is the very definition of Schiſm, commonly given. Which if it be true, ho… could he ſay indefinitely, the ſeparatio… from a true Church is not ſchiſm? Fo… no body ſaies abſolutely, that all ſeparation is ſchiſm; but a cauſleſſe ſeparation is ſchiſm; upon this reaſon, becauſ… it violates and rends the union of th… Church, the body of Chriſt. 3. If h… ſhall ſtick to the notion of it, in th… place of the Corinthians, that there wa… onelyonly a diviſion in the Church, an… therefore ſeparation from the Churc… is no ſchiſm, it is incumbent on him t… prove that conſequence, which yet h… hath not done. In a word, I ask, Wh… is diviſion of minds in a Church a ſchiſm I believe he muſt anſwer,1 Cor. 1.10. Becauſe it i… a breach of union, of Chriſts appointment, who requires members of Church to be all of one mind. And is i… not an appointment of Chriſt, that th… members of a Church be united, as to …he performance of the ſame numericall Worſhip? Then by parity of reaſon, it …ollowes, that to break that union cauſ…eſſely, is alſo a ſchiſm. Is not this a …auſleſſe and worthleſſe vitilitigation of …he learned Doctor?
I brought 1 Joh. 2.19. for a blameable …eparation from the Church; They went …ut from us, as (ſaid I) is the manner of …chiſmaticall ſpirits; they ſtay not till …hey be caſt out, but go out, and become …he head of a faction. He ventures to …ay, All Writers expound it of apoſtacy: They may do ſo, but not excluding …chiſm or hereſie; foreign.for the ſame phraſe of going out is uſed, Act. 15. of thoſe that …aiſed a ſchiſm at Antioch; yet were not …hey apoſtates, not denying Chriſt, but …oyning Moſes with Him. But I contend not.
He is as confident, that of the three places by him brought, for blameable departures from a Church, none of them come under the head of ſchiſm. I …aid, All, or ſome of them do. Here I muſt firſt rectifie a miſtake in the reve…end Doctor, which he pleaſes himſelf with; viz. That he (not conſulting the Errata's) reads mind for include. I ſaid Some of them included the nature … ſchiſm, at leaſt, as precedaneous to th… ſeparation. Upon which miſtake, h… ſports himſelf, and adds; Whatev… the matter is,pag. 82. I do not find h…m ſpeaking ſo faintly, and with ſuch caution through his whole diſcourſe, as in th… place. Truly I ſpake ſo cautiouſly, fo… his reputation, not any end of my own becauſe ſome, one at leaſt, of the place ſpeaks of no ſeparation at all; viz. tha… from 1 Theſſ. 5.14. and 2 Theſſ. 3.2, 6 as I prove to him; but he will not ſee For the firſt, that of Heb. 10.25. whic… he takes to be meant of apoſtacy; I proved his miſtake from the Context clea… red, from others, and from himſelf who formerly gloſſed it, neglecting th… publick Aſsemblies; and alſo becauſ… apoſtates may be ſchiſmaticks, and ſomething more. For the third, Jude verſ. 19 I proved the ſeparation to be ſchiſmaticall, from the nature of the word foreign, and the judgment of learned Interpreters: To all which, the reverend Doctor thinks it ſafeſt to ſay nothing. And I muſt tell him once again,…ag. 86. It was not incumbent on me to prove, that ſuch a ſeparation is called ſchiſm in Scripture, and is as ſuch a thing condemned. But that ſuch a ſeparation, hath the entire nature of ſchiſm …n Scripture, though not the name, according to his firſt propoſall; and that I ſuppoſe I have abundantly proved.
When I ſaid, the pinch of the queſtion is this, Whether a man, or more, may ſeparate from a true Church, upon a true or falſe plea, of corruption in it, and ſet up another Church, &c. He cries out, I do not know, that I was ever neceſſitated, to a more ſad and fruitleſs employment, &c. Is that the queſtion in preſent agitation? &c. Was not this ſcruple ſtarted by himſelf? 1. In giving his definition of ſchiſm, to be onelyonly a diviſion of minds in a Church, and not any ſeparation in or from it. 2. Did he not vigorouſly aſſert, in this very Chapter, pag. 77. Of ſchiſm; and here again, pag. 83. That for a man to withdraw, or with-hold himſelf, from the externall communion of any Church, upon plea of its corruption in Worſhip, Doctrine, or Diſcipline, &c. is not called ſchiſm, &c. Did it not now come to be the cauſe of my queſtion, which I rightly ſtated, as I thought, and others think, between us and him, and his Independent aſſociates? Is not their ſeparation from us, the ground of all our differences? Can common honeſty diſallow this ſtate of the queſtion? Or can he truly deny, that they have made any ſeparation from us, or that they do not deny our Churches? What was ſaid afore, muſt be again repeated; I ſpake not onelyonly of himſelf, but of many Independent Churches. Neither was my queſtion propounded in Hypotheſi, as reſpecting them; but in Theſi, of any ſeparation from a true Church. Whether a man, or more, may ſeparate from a true Church, &c. and ſet up another Church, &c. as afore. And have I not proved alſo before, that they and he, (if he ſtand to his principles) have, and do deny our Churches▪ and Ordinances? Hath any man a face or conſcience to deny this charge? clamet Melicerta perîſſe Frontem de rebus.
The remainder of his Animadverſions on this Chapter, is for the moſt part nothing, but a repetition of thoſe things, which he hath often charged; of miſtakes, and ſurmiſes, &c. which have …een once at leaſt fully anſwered. I ſhall …nely lay hold of his promiſe, twice …ade; That if I can prove aga…nſt him, he ſhould have added, or his party) a breach of any union, inſtituted by Jeſus Chriſt, that with all ſpeed, he will retreat from that ſtate or thing, by which he hath done ſo, and (in a kind of ſcorn) ſubmit to the diſcipline thought meet by me, &c. Truly I think, I have proved, …hat they have ſeparated from us, and …roke the union of our Churches; and in …o doing, (if he will, as he doth, ac…nowledge us true Churches) they have made a breach, upon an union of Chriſts inſtitution, without which, we are no true Churches. And now I ſhall expect the performance, of ſo ſolemn a promiſe. But for the contract or condition adjoyned, That in my next reply, I deal not with him, as I have done in my former, neither as to his perſon, nor as to the differences betwixt us. I ſhall promiſe, and have performed it; for upon review, of what I formerly have done, I find, that I have dealt fairly and reſpectfully with him, though perhaps ſharply, as in a zealous defence of truth. And if he have (as he hath) dealt more uncivilly with me in this, I ſhall no… retaliate, but onelyonly vindicate the truth as a friendly and chriſtian adverſary.