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Historical Defense of the Reformation · Jean Claude

Historical Defense of the Reformation, Part 1 · Chapter 6

CHAP. VI.

An Examination of the proofs which they produce to eſtabliſh the Infalliblity of the Church of Rome.

LEt us ſee nevertheleſs upon what Foundations that pretended Prerogative of the Latin Church is built. They produce on this Subject ſome paſſages of Scripture, and ſome Arguments. But as to the Paſſages of Scripture, it is evident that there is not any one which reſpects more peculiarly the Latin Church then the Greek, the Aegyptian, the Aethiopian, and others, every one of which has as much reaſon to apply them to themſelves as the Latin. Yet we do not here diſpute about a favour common to all Chriſtian Societies, but about a peculiar prerogative pretended to by the Latins. For they are all agreed that all other Societies have err'd, notwithſtanding all thoſe paſſages. They ought then neceſſarily to alleadge ſomething which belongs to the Latins peculiarly, excluſively from all others; or they ought to come to an acknowledgment that thoſe paſſages do not at all eſtabliſh the Infallibility of a viſible Church, ſince if they did ſo eſtabliſh it, being ſo general as they are, they would have the ſame cogency in favour of the Greeks, the Armenians, and the Jacobites, as well as the Latins.

1. In effect, one ſort of thoſe paſſages reſpect the true Church of Jeſus Chriſt, that is to ſay, not that multitude of men who make profeſſion of Chriſtianity, or who live in the ſame external Society of Religion, but the truly faithful, thoſe holy men whom God has inwardly regenerated by his Spirit, and whom he leads to life everlaſting. It is of that Church that it is ſaid, That ſhe Eph. 1. Eph. 4. Eph. 5. Hoſ. 2. Mat. 16. Mat. 28.is the body of Jeſus Chriſt. That there is one Body, and one Spirit, That Jeſus Chriſt is her head, That ſhe is his ſpouſe. It is only of the truly Faithful and no otherwiſe that theſe promiſes are verifi'd, Ʋpon this Rock will I build my Church, and the Gates of Hell ſhall not prevail againſt it; I will be with you always unto the end of the World; I will pray the Father, and he ſhall give you another Comforter, who ſhall abide with you for ever. The Spirit of Truth ſhall lead you into John 14. John 16. Mat. 28.all Truth; where two or three are gathered together in my Name, I will be there in the midſt of them. Theſe paſſages denote nothing leſs then an Infallibility, either in the whole Body of the Viſible Church, or in the ſide that is ſtrongeſt, or in Councils, or in the Deciſions of Popes, or in Traditions and Ancient Cuſtoms; but they only ſignify that God will have always ſome truly Faithful upon the Earth even unto the end of the World, and that he will accompany them with ſuch a meaſure of the light and grace of his Spirit, as ſhall in the end bring them to the Glory of his Kingdom.

2. There are others, which they yet make uſe of, far leſs to the purpoſe, becauſe they ſignify only the Duty of Paſtors, and what they are appointed to do, and not that, that in effect they ſhall do. Such as theſe: Go, Teach all Nations, Baptiſing them, in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Son of man, I Mat. 28. Ezek. 33. Malach. 2.have ſet thee for a Watch-man over the Houſe of Iſrael. The Prieſts lips ſhall keep knowledge, and they ſhall ſeek the Law at his Mouth. I have ſet watch-men upon thy walls, O Jeruſalem, which ſhall never Iſa. 62.hold their peace day nor night. And he gave ſome Apoſtles, and ſome Prophets, and ſome Evangeliſts, and ſome Paſtours and Teachers; Eph. 4.For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the Miniſtery, for the edifying of the Body of Chriſt: Theſe and ſome other like paſſages ſhew to what the Offices of the Miniſtry are naturally appointed, and the Obligation of thoſe that are called to it, but they are very far from giving from thence a Prerogative of Infallibility.

3. They alledge alſo ſome paſſages that recommend to the Faithful the having a reſpect for and an Obedience to their Paſtors. Such are theſe, He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that rejecteth Luke. 10.you, rejecteth me: Obey them that have the rule over you, and ſubmit your ſelves: for they watch for your Souls. The Scribes and the Heb. 13.Phariſees ſit in Moſes ſeat, All therefore whatſoever they bid you obſerve, that obſerve and do, but do not ye after their works. But I Mat. 23.cannot ſee what this laſt paſſage ſhould let us ſee, but that all thoſe Exhortations that God makes to the Faithful to have a ſubmiſſion to the word of their Paſtours, denote very truly the Duty of the people in that matter, but they do not in the leaſt ſettle any Infallibility in their Paſtours. For is this that that Jeſus Chriſt would ſay, That the Scribes and Phariſees as long as they ſat in the Chair of Moſes were Infallible: he that on the contrary accus'd them of having made void the Commandments of God by their Traditions, and who elſewhere gave his Diſciples ſuch a Charge to take heed of the leaven of the Phariſees, that is to ſay, of their pernicious Doctrines? How many times is that Obedience, that Reſpect and that Submiſſion recommended to Children to give to their Fathers, in the Scriptures? Is it that the Scripture in that aſcribes to their Fathers an Infallibility? It is without doubt the Kings pleaſure that we ſhould ſubmit our ſelves to his Officers, and that we ſhould obey them, but he does not mean to advance them to be Infallible, nor to ordain us to obey them, if they ſhall happen to command us theſe things that are directly contrary to his ſervice, and to that Fidelity which we owe to our Soveraign. It is then True that all thoſe Exhortations to hear our Paſtors and to obey their words, are always to be reſtrain'd by this clauſe underſtood, as far as their words ſhall be conformable to that of God; that they can never go beyond that, and that they cannot from thence draw any Priviledge of Infallibility.

4. As theſe Gentlemen let ſlip nothing that may ſerve for their Intereſts, ſo they ordinarily make uſe of that paſſage in the 18th. Chapter of St. Matthew, where Jeſus Chriſt ordains that if any one receive an injury from another, he is to reprove him between himſelf and him alone; and if that firſt complaint ſignifies nothing, then he muſt take witneſſes with him; and if he neglect to hear thoſe witneſſes, he is to tell it to the Church; and if he neglect to hear the Church, he is to be unto us as a Heathen and a Publican. All that that follows in the cloſe of that diſcourſe of Jeſus Chriſt ſhews, that he ſpeaks there neither of Faith nor Worſhip, but of ſome private quarrels that we might have againſt our Brethren to be taken away, and of the uſe of that Diſcipline. For the mind of our Lord is, that before we break off abſolutely with our Brethren, we ſhould obſerve all the Rules of Charity, and that we ſhould there make uſe of the Church, but if he would refuſe to hear the Church, that in that caſe it was allowed us to treat him no longer as a Brother, but as a real ſtranger. Who ſees not that if they would draw any thing of conſequence from that paſſage, they ought to pretend that the Church is Infallible not in matters of Faith, for they are not medled with there, but in matters of Fact, and in the Cenſures that it gives upon private Quarrels, in which nevertheleſs all the World agrees that ſhe may be deceiv'd. And therefore it is that theſe Gentlemen are wont to alleadge theſe laſt words, Tell it to the Church, and if he will not hear the Church, let him be unto thee as the Heathens, and Publicans; and they alleadge them alſo as ſeparated from the ſequel of that Diſcourſe, becauſe otherwiſe they could not but obſerve that they would ſignify nothing to them.

5. In fine, they produce thoſe words of St. Paul to Timothy, Theſe things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee ſhortly: But 1 Tim. 3. 4, 5.if I tarry long, that thou mayeſt know how to behave thy ſelf in the Houſe of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth. How can, ſay they, the Church be the pillar and ground of Truth, if it is not Infallible in the Doctrines it propoſes as of Faith, and in the Worſhip which it Practiſes? But what likelyhood is there that he would have eſtabliſhed an opinion ſo important, as that of the Infallibility of the Latin Church, on ſuch Metaphorical terms, which St. Paul did not make uſe of upon the ſight of any Infallibility, which ſhould reſpect no other but the Latin Church in particular, and which ſhould much rather have reſpected the Church of Epheſus, or the other Churches of Aſia, where Timothy was then, when the Apoſtle wrote to him, which yet did not fail of falling into Error; in Terms which may be explained in divers ſences, and which have been appli'd to divers particular Biſhops, without yet pretending to raiſe them up to be Infallible, what colour I ſay, is there that they can prove the Infallibility of the Church of Rome? It appears in the end of that diſcourſe of St. Paul, that he never thought of making the Church Infallible, for in all that Chapter, he aims at nothing elſe then to ſet down the duties of Biſhops and Deacons; and after having markt out in particular ſome qualities with which they ought to be endow'd, and from what Vices they ought to be more eſpecially exempt, after what manner they ought to govern themſelves, he adds in the cloſe of all, That he wrote all that to his diſciple, to the end he might know how to behave himſelf in the Houſe of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of Truth. Who ſees not that that Infallibility, comes not in at all to the purpoſe in that cloſe of the Diſcourſe? Let the Biſhops, ſays he, and the Deacons take heed they be wiſe, ſober, &c. That they hold the Myſtery of the Faith in a pure Conſcience, that their Wives ſhould be honeſt and faithful in all things, that their Children ſhould be well educated, &c. And that which I ſay in general, I apply alſo to thee Timothy, to the end thou mayſt live unblameably in the Houſe of God, in the Church of the living God: Add, according to the Interpretation of theſe Gentlemen; Which Church is Infallible and cannot err; and there is nothing of any natural Connexion in it. On the contrary that conceit of the Infallibility of the Church, according to the Principle that our Adverſaries makes uſe of in the Doctrine of the Perſeverance of the Saints, would harden them in ſecurity, for let them do as they will, all would go well, and after whatſoever manner the Paſtors govern, the Church could never be corrupted, nor its Truth be loſt. Which would ſeem far more proper to inſpire negligence into the Biſhops, then to animate them to do their duty. In effect if they cannot tell how to exhort men by motives of that nature, They ought then to confeſs the Truth, to wit, that theſe words, The Pillar and Ground of Truth, note the end, and natural deſign of the Church, that for which ſhe is made, and to which ſhe is called, which is to ſuſtain and bear the Truth, and to make it ſubſiſt in the World, and ſo the diſcourſe of the Apoſtle appears very juſt, and well connected: Behold, ſays he, after what manner the Biſhops ought to frame their courſe, and after what ſort thou oughteſt to live in the Church of God, in behaving thy ſelf in it ſo, as remembring that God has appointed it to be the pillar and ground of his Truth; Live therefore in that manner that may anſwer that end, or that natural appointment of the Church. Juſt as if the King, exhorting one of the Officers of his Parliament to do his duty, ſhould tell him, That he liv'd in a body that was the Pillar and Ground of Juſtice, and the Rights of the Crown; that is to ſay, which is naturally ordain'd for the maintaining Juſtice in the State, and to defend the Rights of the Crown. But as that ſpeech of the Prince would not eſtabliſh any priviledge of Infallibility in the Parliament, ſo neither can that of the Apoſtle do it for the Church: for Societies do not always follow their natural appointments, we ſee that they often enough depart from them. I confeſs that the Church does not always wander from its end, nor in all things; yet it cannot alſo be imagin'd that ſhe never departs: For the wicked are mingled with the good in the ſame Society, the Dignities of the Church are ſometimes to be found more poſſeſſed by the men of the World, then by the truly Faithful; the very beſt men themſelves are ſubject to weakneſſes, and they ſometimes commit faults of that importance, that may conſequently be dilated by continuance, and all that cannot but produce Errors and Corruptions, which it will be moſt neceſſary to reform.

Behold all thoſe paſſages of Scripture upon which, they ſeem to me, to found that pretenſion of the Infallibility of the Latin Church! To them they joyn ſome Arguments.

1. If, ſay they, it be poſſible for the Church to err, why do we call it holy, as we do in the Creed; I believe the Holy Catholick M. le Card. de Richelieu. liv. 1. ch. 13.Church? Such an Aſſembly that is united in the profeſſion of an error, is ſo far unfit to be called Holy, That on the contrary it is Impious, ſince it agrees in a Doctrine that is contrary to the Holy Truths revealed by God. I anſwer: That if this Argument were good, it would follow, not only that the Church ſhould be Infallible as to matters of Faith, but alſo that ſhe ſhould be impeccable in reſpect of manners, for ſhe is called Holy as well from that Holineſs that regards good works, as from that which regards the Faith. The Church is Holy, but yet after an imperfect manner, while ſhe is here upon Earth, and ſhe will never be perfectly ſo, but in Heaven. Furthermore they ought to remember that the Title of Holy, and generally all other Titles of Honour and Glory that are given to the Church, belong to it in truth only, in reſpect of the true Believers, and not in reſpect of the Hypocrites and wicked which are mingled with the good in the ſame viſible Society; and that it is but only on the ſame account of the Good, that all that viſible Body is called the Church. For they are none but thoſe whom God has called to his Salvation, who only can be the true myſtical Body of Jeſus Chriſt. When then it ſhall come to paſs that the number of the wicked prevails in that Viſible Society, they will fill up the Pulpits, they will be Maſters of Councils and of Deciſions of Faith, of the Government and Miniſtry of the Church, and will not fail to introduce Errors and a falſe Worſhip; but when thoſe perſons ſhould introduce and authoriſe them, the Church would not ceaſe to be Holy, not in reſpect of thoſe wicked men who waſte it, and corrupt it as much as it lyes in their power to do, but in regard of the Faithful whom God will keep pure by the illuminations of his Holy Spirit, and the methods of his Providence. The Church of Iſrael in the midſt of its greateſt Idolatries did not ceaſe to keep the Titles of a Holy Nation, and a Kingdom of Prieſts, which Moſes had given her, but ſhe kept them, not in reſpect of her Corruptors, and thoſe Exod. 19.wretched men that would have ſeduc't her, but in reſpect of thoſe that were Holy. For it is certain that God has always done that which he did in the days of Elias, where he reſerv'd ſeven thouſand men who had not bowed the Knee unto Baal, and it is in thoſe that the Church is preſerv'd, and always kept Holy.

2. But yet further, ſay they, If the Church may err, and particularly Bellarm. de Eccleſ. milit. lib. 3. cap. 14.the Church Repreſentative, that is to ſay, the Body of Paſtors, why do the Councils pronounce Anathema's againſt all thoſe who ſhall not conſent to their Decrees? Would it not be very unjuſt to bind men under ſo great a penalty to conſent to things that are uncertain, and which may be falſe? I anſwer, that the force of the Anathema's of thoſe Councils depends altogether on their Juſtice. If thoſe Councils have lawfully decided controverſies according to the word of God, and if with the Truth they have kept Love and Charity, according to the Precept of the Apoſtle, their Anathema is very efficacious, and all that they bind on Earth ſhall be bound in Heaven. But if they have decided any thing againſt the Truth, or againſt Charity, if they have abuſed their Places, their Anathema's are vain and raſh, and will fall upon none but their Heads who pronounce them. For God has never ſubmitted his Righteouſneſs to the Unrighteouſneſs of any Prelats. All the force of thoſe Thunderbolts depends on thoſe very things which have been decided. We can do nothing, ſays the Apoſtle, againſt the Truth: We ought not then to imagine that thoſe Anathema's muſt needs be Infallible, we ought not alſo to believe that they could not be rightly uſed if they had not that Infallibility. Saint Hilary did not pretend to be Infallible, and yet nevertheleſs he pronounc'd an Anathema Hilar. in Fragm.againſt Liberius, who was a Deceiver. Saint Paul did not pretend to make us Infallible, and yet notwithſtanding he commands us to Anathematiſe even an Angel from Heaven, and himſelf, if he ſhould Preach any other Goſpel then that which he has preached Galat. 1.unto us. Cyril of Alexandria did not aſpire after Infallibility, and yet he thunders out his Anathema's againſt all the Errours of Neſtorius. The ſecond Council of Tours never thought of being Infallible, and yet nevertheleſs, it Anathematis'd all thoſe who after the third admonition refus'd to reſtore the goods of the Church. In fine, every private Perſon pronounces an Anathema againſt all Hereſies. The Anathema's of the Councils are not the Sentences of the Magiſtrate, the force of which depends on the Authority of him who pronounces them, they are only the Denuntiations, that men make on Gods ſide, as his Interpreters and his Miniſters, of the ſeverity of his Judgments againſt the Unbeleivers, the Wicked, and the Hereticks. And provided that thoſe Denuntiations ſhould be founded on the word of God, as far as the light of the Paſtors of the Church and their good Conſciences could perſwade them, we ought not to doubt but that they would be juſt, altho' they would not be Infallible. For howſoever it be, that good and lawful Councils aſſembled in the Name of Jeſus Chriſt, would never pretend that their Anathema's ſhould bind any perſon, any farther then their Deciſions and their Canons were juſt, and conformable to the Scripture.

3. They add yet, if it were poſſible for the Church to err, it were poſſible for it totally to fall away after that manner, that Monſieur le Card. de Richelieu. liv. 1. ch. 13. & liv. 1. ch. 4. Hoſ. 2.there ſhould not be any longer a Church upon the Earth, and yet notwithſtanding how many promiſes have we in the Scripture that denote the Perpetuity of the Church? God ſays in Hoſea, That he would betroth her unto him for ever. Saint Paul calls her the Body of Jeſus Chriſt. But the Body of Jeſus Chriſt is Eternal. Jeſus Chriſt promiſes to be with his even unto the end of the World, and ſays, that the Comforter ſhall abide with them for ever, and that the Gates of Hell ſhall never prevail againſt his Church. But it is no need of heaping up theſe Proofs of a thing which was never conteſted. God will always keep a Church upon Earth; that is to ſay, he will always have a number of true Believers, whom he will guide by his Word and by his Spirit, and they are thoſe that are betroth'd to him for ever, and the Myſtical Body of his Son, to whom he will grant his gratious preſence for ever, and an aſſured Victory againſt the Gates of Hell. There is nothing diſputed in that point. Our buſineſs is only to enquire, whether all that Body compoſed of the good, and the wicked, that Aſſembly in which the worldly men and Hypocrites are mixt with the truly Faithful, and that which they call the Viſible Church, can never fall into errour, after what manner ſoever it be. Whether it is not poſſible, for that party of the men of the World which may be ſometimes the ſtronger, to corrupt the publick Miniſtry, and for the ſame in reſpect of ſome errours and ſuperſtitions leſs Fundamental, to infect the Good, and to draw them, tho' not ſo far from the Truth as to make them wholly loſe the true Form of Piety, and Communion with God (for if that might happen, the Church would be brought to nothing) yet after ſuch a manner as that their Faith and their Religion could not be ſaid to be altogether pure. But this experience juſtifies. For in the Corruptions of the Church of Iſral, and in thoſe times wherein they had introduc't the Worſhip of falſe Gods into the publick Miniſtry, God had reſerv'd ſeven thouſand men who had not bowed their knees to Baal, and that which is moſt conſiderable, is, that that very Religion of thoſe ſeven thouſand was not pure; for they liv'd in that Schiſm that Jeroboam made, and no more went to render that Worſhip to God which they were bound to pay at Jeruſalem, but to Bethel. It will ſignify nothing to them to ſay, that the Church then ſubſiſted in the Tribe of Judah; for beſides that, that would not hinder any from ſeeing clearly by that example of thoſe ſeven thouſand, that God can when he pleaſes preſerve his own in a corrupted Communion, and that yet the far greater number might fall into errour, and that the publick Miniſtry might be contaminated, it will not follow notwithſanding that that Church was wholly extinct, which is only that which we ſay: Beſides that, I ſay, it is yet manifeſt, that thoſe two Churches; that of Iſrael, and that of Judah, were often found to depart both together ſometimes from the true Worſhip of God, as it appears from that which Jeremiah ſays; That Jer. 3.God having given a Bill of Divorce to that of Iſrael for her Idolatries, Judah her Siſter feared not, but that ſhe alſo had turned aſide from his true Worſhip. It appears alſo by that which Ezekiel ſaid, that Samaria had not committed half the ſins of Judah, who had juſtifi'd her Siſter in multiplying her Abominations. Ezek' 16.The ſame Hiſtory of the Kings of Iſrael and Judah teaches us concerning Joram the Son of Ahab King of Iſrael, that he clave to the ſins of Jeroboam, by which he had made Iſrael to ſin, and that at the ſame time Joram the Son of Jehoſhaphat, and his 2 Kings 3. 8.Son Ahaziah Reigned in Judah, and walked after the ways of the Kings of Iſrael, in doing that which diſpleaſed the Lord. But, without going ſo far, is it not true that when Jeſus Chriſt came into the World, he did not find a pure Church upon Earth? The Schiſmatical Samaritans had ſo confuſed a Religion, that Jeſus Chriſt did not ſcruple to ſay, that Salvation was of the Jews. The Jews on their ſide had defac'd their Religion by a thouſand ſuperſtitions, and by the falſe Doctrine of the Phariſees, and in fine, they had crucifi'd the Lord of Life, the only Meſſoas they expected. Notwithſtanding which, we ought not to believe that the Church was periſhed from the Earth, and that God did not preſerve his Children in the midſt of thoſe Confuſions. The ſame thing happened then, when the Arrians had made themſelves Maſters of the Miniſtry of the Church; and when under the Emperour Theodoſius the younger, the Eutichians prevailed in the ſecond Council of Epheſus. For it would be a very abſurd thing to imagine that during the time of the Triumph of thoſe Hereticks, there were no more, any true Believers in thoſe Churches, all whoſe Pulpits they had fill'd, and none in all that Communion but thoſe who obeyed the erronious Councils of Milan, of Ariminum and of Epheſus. At this very day the moſt zealous among thoſe of the Church of Rome acknowledge, that God ſaves many perſons who live under the Schiſmatical Miniſtry of the Greeks, and the Muſcovites, although beſides that Schiſm, they accuſe them of holding a multitude of errours and ſuperſtitions. For ſo Poſſevin ſets it down in one of his Relations of Muſcovy. We Poſſevin in Muſcov.ought not then to make the ſubſiſtance of the Church to depend abſolutely on that Infallibility, whereof we diſpute. We ought yet far leſs to abuſe the promiſes of God, by pretending under that pretext, that they can never do that that is ill. The true uſe of the promiſes, is to encourage us to our Duty, and in ſtead of making us preſumptious, they ought on the contrary to humble us, and to ſhew us the horrour of our ſins when it is contrary to that promiſe. For ſo the Scripture makes uſe of it in the ſecond Book of the Kings, upon the ſubject of the Idolatries of Manaſſeh King of Judah; for after having reckoned them over 2 Kings 21.particularly, it adds, that he ſet up a graven Image of the Grove that he had made in the Houſe of which the Lord had ſaid to David, and to Solomon his Son, In this Houſe, and in Jeruſalem which I have choſen out of all the Tribes of Iſrael, will I put my Name for ever. See there the promiſe employed to its right uſe, not to defend Manaſſeh in what he had done under a pretence, that God had promiſed that his Name ſhould never depart from the Temple, which is the Language they ſpeak in theſe days; but to condemn Manaſſeh of that, that as much as it lay in his power he had nullified that promiſe of God. And ſo alſo it is that good men ought to ſpeak to the Corrupters of Religion. God has promiſed us, that he would betroth his Church to himſelf for ever; and you have laboured to break off that happy Marriage. Jeſus Chriſt has promiſed us, that he will be always with us even unto the end of the world, and you have endeavoured to deprive us of his preſence. He has promiſed us that his Holy Spirit ſhall be always with us, and you have greived and drove him away.

4. If the Church might err, ſay they yet farther, God would then be unjuſt, in commanding us to keep our ſelves under the Guidance and the Miniſtry of the Church, for that would not be an aſſured means of obtaining ſalvation. All men know ſays, Monſieur the Cardinal of Richelieu, that God could not with any juſtice Chap. 13. de la Metbode.bind his creatures to incline to an end without giving them means to come to that end. The Church cannot err, ſince if ſhe did err we ſhould not have any means to come to everlaſting ſalvation, where God would have us come under the conduct of the Church. But the Anſwer is not difficult; God would that we ſhould be ſaved under the Conduct of the Church, that is to ſay, of the Paſtors of it, not by giving a blind obedience to all that they tell us, but by a wiſe diſcerning of that which is good, from that which is bad: and that we may make that diſcernment, he has given us his word, to which he will have usbring all that the Paſtors teach, to examine their Doctrine according to that Rule. This is the aſſured means that he has left us for that. If that means is not ſo agreeable to the men of the world, who have other buſineſs to mind, and wont break their brains with the Reading of the Word of God, God will tell them one day, that their greateſt buſineſs was to ſerve him, and to ſave themſelves, and that if they have not ſearched out the true means, they ought only to accuſe their own neglect, and their too great graſping of the things of this world.

If they yet urge, that that means is neither eaſie nor proper for the meaner ſort; we need but compare it with that of the pretended Infallibility of the Church, and we ſhall quickly ſee that this laſt is infinitely more difficult, and far leſs proper for the ſimple, than the other. For without taking notice of the impoſſibility that there is for them to be aſſured of this Principle that the Latin Church is Infallible, ſuppoſing at the ſame time that it was, where ſhould any Woman or Tradeſman go to ſeek that Infallibility, to be perſuaded that that which they believe, and that which they practiſe, is the true Belief, and the true Worſhip of the Church? Will they go to ſeek it in the Practiſes and Cuſtoms of the People? But they all agree that the people may fall into thoſe abuſes and Superſtitions, that the Church does not at all approve of. Will they look for it then from the voice of their Curate, or from that of their Biſhop? But their Curate and their Biſhop may be miſtaken, ſhall it be then from the Words of the Pope pronounc'd ex Cathedra? But that poor Tradeſman, and that Woman can neither know where to find the Pope, nor what they mean by ex Cathedra; ſhall it be then from the Univerſal conſent of the Church and her common cuſtoms? But who ſhall tell them what that Univerſal Conſent is? Muſt thoſe poor people know what they generally hold and prectiſe in France, in Germany, in Spain, in Italy, or that which they generally teach in the Schools? It is then neceſſary for them to learn Greek and Latine. But when they ſhall have learnt that, how can they underſtand the true ſence of the Councils, ſince that without going any further the greateſt part of the Canons of that of Trent are conceived in general and Ambiguous Terms, which may be explained in divers ſences, and which very thing ſome ſay was done with deſign for the carrying on the different Opinions of the Schools. Moreover, thoſe general and ambiguous terms, ſomtimes leave the mind undetermined, and the Conſcience in ſuſpence, in matters of practice, where they make it neceſſary to do a thing without ſhewing them after what manner they ſhould do it. For Example, the Council of Trent decides, That one ought to give to Images that Worſhip that is due to Conc. Trid▪Seſſ. 25.them; this is the Infallible Voice of the Church, which binds a man to give ſome Worſhip to Images, which if he does not, he fails in doing his Duty. But what that Worſhip is, the Council ſays nothing to. Is it a Negative or a Poſitive Worſhip? Is it that the ſame that they give to thoſe they repreſent, ſhould be communicated to the Image as well as the Original? or is it meant only of ſuch Relative Worſhip that the Image ſhould have no part of it, or if has any part, what is it? Is it ſimply a cuſtomary Worſhip, which conſiſts in making uſe of thoſe repreſentations to excite their Piety, by the remembrance of things paſt? To tell that, the Council ſays nothing. It ſays indeed, that the Worſhip which they give to Images, relates to thoſe they repreſent; but this is not to define of what nature that Worſhip is, for of what kind ſoever it is, one may always ſay it has reference to the Original. It ſays indeed yet further, that when any Kiſs their Images, when they Bow to them, and Kneel before them, they adore Jeſus Chriſt and the Saints; but thoſe terms denote only an external Worſhip, without determining any thing of a more internal one, and when it ſhould determine of an internal, that Council ſays not a word whether the Image has any part, or what part it has. Notwithſtanding which they ought neceſſarily to determine it to ſome internal Worſhip, for of that they treat. How ſhall any man know whether that ſide which he takes in this matter be good or bad, ſince the voice of the Church has abandoned him, and after it has as it were ſet him in the midſt of four ways, and commanded him to march on, never ſhews the way that he ought to follow, but leaves him in the neceſſity of placing his Devotion at all adventure? They will ſay, that this is to urge things too far as to what relates to Women and Tradeſmen: For thoſe perſons know not what uſe to make of the Infallibility of the Church, but only for certain General Articles, which they cannot doubt of that the Church Teaches. But, not to inſiſt here, that thoſe General Articles are themſelves ſubject to form different meanings in the minds of the more ſimple, and that they ought to make their choice with ſome certainty. I ſay, that the Worſhiping of Images, and other ſuch like things is more uſed by ſuch ſort of perſons than others, and that many of thoſe Devotions are proper to them, about which they cannot have any certainty, nor by Conſequence practiſe them with any Faith. I place in this Rank the Feaſt of the Immaculate Conception of the Bleſſed Virgin, which they ſolenmly celebrate, for who can give them any certainty in that point? Yet nevertheleſs it is a piece of Worſhip, it is a matter of Practice or Duty, whereof they cannot acquit themſelves of a good Conſcience, without being aſſured of that which they do.

5. In ſine, they make uſe of the Viſibility of the Church, to Monfeiur le Card. de Richel livr. 1. ch. 6.prove its Infallibility. The True Church of Jeſus Chriſt, ſays one, ought always to be Viſible, always plainly to be diſcerned, whence it follows that ſhe cannot err; for if it were poſſible for her to do ſo, ſhe could be no longer acknowledged as a True Church, and there would be no more means propoſed to all men for their Salvation. None can be ſaved out of the Communion of the True Church, ſince it is impoſſible for any to be ſaved without Faith, and that according to the Apoſtle none can have Faith without that Preaching which ought to be made by the Miniſters of the Church. The True Church ought then to be always Viſible, to the end that all men ſhould ſet themſelves under its Miniſtry to obtain Salvation, or that at leaſt they ſhould be inexcuſable if they did not ſo place themſelves, and by Conſequence it is neceſſary that ſhe ſhould be Infallible. To this Reaſon, which alone makes a long Controverſie, and about which they make very long Chapters, they add ſome paſſages of Scripture, from whence they conclude that the Church is always Viſible, and ſome others that contain in their Opinion, not only the promiſes of a perpetual Viſibility, but of a Viſibility ſhining with ſuch a brightneſs and ſuch ſplendour, that the True Church may be known to Strangers and Infidels to be ſo.

To Anſwer this Argument of theirs, in the firſt place I ſay, That the True Church may be ſo far from being always diſcernable by all men, as they pretend it to be, as that one cannot ſay ſo much as that all men have always been able to know that there has been a Society of Chriſtians in the World; for not to alledge that the Chriſtian Church, in its Original, then when the Apoſtles were as yet in Jeruſalem, or thereabouts, was very little known to the reſt of the world; not to ſay, that the knowledge of that new Society did not ſo ſoon ſpread it ſelf over the Roman Empire, nor in the bordering Countries, that the moſt of the people were ignorant for ſome time, of what it was to be Chriſtians; it cannot be denyed that many Ages had ſlipt away, before that the moſt conſiderable part of the Earth, as all America, could have any knowledge that there were any Chriſtians in the World. How then, can any one ſay the True Church is always Viſible, and always diſcernable to all men? Is it becauſe thoſe Americans before theſe laſt Ages were not men, or is it becauſe they were not bound to work out their own Salvation? They ought then in good earneſt to acknowledge that God is moſt free in the diſpenſing of the means of Salvation, which he propoſes to whom he will, and refuſes to whom he will. Till the external Communion with the True Church ſhall be the only means of, and abſolutely neceſſary to Salvation, none can conclude that ſhe ought to be perpetually viſible, and diſcernable by all men. For it frequently happens, that God for moſt juſt reaſons, but which we ought not to ſearch out with too great Curioſity, may withdraw from men the external means of their Salvation, and yet notwithſtanding he does not fail to convince by other ways, which render them inexcuſable & worthy of Condemnation. Men are bound to place themſelves in the true Church, then when it is diſcernable to them to be ſo, but when it is not ſo, as it is not at this day to the Southern Nations, we ought not to believe that God will damn them for not having put themſelves into it, they have other crimes enough to be puniſhed for, without making God to violate his Juſtice in that reſpect.

See here what I ſay for the defending of Gods Juſtice, and to let you ſee the raſhneſs of thoſe Arguments, which ſuppoſe that God is bound to make thoſe Gentlemen Infallible, to the end that he may condemn men with ſome reaſon. But further, I do not deny, that one cannot in ſome ſence ſay, that God has always preſerved ſome True Church Viſible upon Earth; but that one ought not to play with thoſe ambiguous Terms, it is neceſſary to make a diſtinction, and to ſhew clearly in what ſence it may, and in what ſence it may not be found to be True. For beſide that that I have ſaid in the firſt place, That the True Church is not Viſible, nor to be generally known by all, we ought not to imagine that the True Church muſt be always Viſible in one certain place, that is to ſay, that one only People, one Society, one body which has been for time a True Church, may not in the end loſe that quality, after whatſoever manner that comes to paſs, whether it be by an entire forſaking of Chriſtianity, or whether it be by an extreme and general Corruption of that Religion. God has ſometimees taken away his Candleſtick from the midſt of a people, according to that threatning which he made to the Church of Epheſus. I will come quickly unto thee, and take away thy Candleſtick out of its Revel. 2.place except thou repent. The greateſt part of the African Churches which heretofore were ſo flouriſhing, are now no longer ſo; and there is not any place upon the Earth, neither Paris nor Conſtantinople, nor Jeruſalem, nor Antioch, nor Rome, nor Avignon, neither the Latin Church, nor the Greek, nor the Armenian, nor the Aethiopian, neither the Chair of Saint Peter, nor that of Saint James, nor that of Saint John, nor that of Saint Denis, that can promiſe it ſelf that it ſhall never periſh. There are no ſuch promiſes in the Scripture, and it is a ſpeech very criminal in the Mouth of any Church whatſoever it be, if ſhe ſays, I ſit a Queen, Revel. 18.and am no widow, and ſhall ſee no ſorrow. When therefore they ſhall ſay, that God keeps up always a True Church in the World, let them remember, that it is in a way Independant on any Places, and Sees; or if that reſtriction will not pleaſe them, let them produce thoſe clear and ſolid and peculiar priviledges to us, which may ſet the Latin Church above all its Fellows. For as to that that ſome ſet before us that ſaying of Jeſus Chriſt to S. Peter, I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not; it is clear from a plain Luke 22.view of that paſſage, that it only regards the perſon of Saint Peter, with relation to that violent Temptation wherewith he was hurried in the Houſe of the High Prieſt, and under which there wanted but a little of his Faith having wholly periſhed, and that it does not in the leaſt concern his pretended Succeſſours, whereof there is not ſo much as one word in all the Scripture. I ſay the ſame, to that Commandment that Jeſus Chriſt gave him to Feed his ſheep, John 21.which reſpects only his re-eſtabliſhment in the Office of an Apoſtle after his fall, nor is there any promiſe adjoyned for his Succeſſors, nor for their See, whereof there is not a word mentioned either there, or any where elſe. And as to that paſſage, Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock will I build my Church, &c. Whether they underſtand Matth. 16.it of that Confeſſion which Saint Peter had made, or whether they refer it to his perſon, I ſay that no one can underſtand it of his Succeſſors ſince there is not any mention made of them either directly or indirectly. For when the See of Rome was not, when it had never yet been; The Church did not fail of being built upon that Confeſſion of Saint Peter, comprehended Jeſus Chriſt, upon whom the Church is every way built; but alſo becauſe that Confeſſion of Saint Peter, or Saint Peter Confeſſing, was as one of the Chief Stones in that myſtical Building, which is not left alone, for Jeſus Chriſt, who is not only the Foundation, but the Soveraign Architect, has added many others in all Ages, and will always joyn others to them till the Building be intirely finiſhed, that is to ſay till God fulfilled the Decree of his Election.

But to go on with our Diſcourſe of the Viſibility of the True Church. I affirm in the third place, that we ought to know very well what a True Church Viſible is. For we ought not to imagine that all thoſe perſons who compoſe that Viſible Society, ſhould be that True Church. None but thoſe True Believers; I would ſay, thoſe who joyn to their external Profeſſion of Chriſtianty, a true and ſincere Piety, are really the Church of Jeſus Chriſt, and as for the others, that is to ſay, the worldly, Prophane and Hypocritical, they are but the Church in appearance only, and not indeed. For having no inward Calling, which conſiſts in Faith and Love, they do not belong to the Myſtical Body of our Saviour, nor are they of his Communion. Notwithſtanding, they do not fail to be mixt with the Faithful by reaſon of that external profeſſion, as if they really were in the ſame Religious Society with them. What then is the Viſibility of the True Church as to us? It is not that we can diſtinctly, and with any certainty affirm. Behold theſe be the Truly faithful of Jeſus Chriſt. None but but God alone can know them after that diſtinct manner, and and without a poſſibility of being deceived. But this we may ſay of that Viſible Society, that Ʋnder that Miniſtry, and in that Communion, God preſerves and raiſes the truly Faithful. Whence we may from this Judgment with Solidity and Truth, and I may ſay alſo without a poſſibility of being deceived, that there is a True Viſible Church. In that ſence, I declare, that there has always been ſome way or other a True Church Viſible upon Earth, not but that God can make it wholly diſappear to the Eyes of men whenſoever it ſhall pleaſe him to do ſo without doing men any wrong, or any breach of his promiſes, ſince he has without doubt, extraordinary ways to beget Faith in the hearts of his Children, and to keep them on in that courſe and to lead them in the end unto Salvation, without making uſe either of the publick Aſſemblies, or Miniſtry, but only becauſe we ought not to believe that there ever hapned ſince the firſt riſe of Chriſtianity an Eclipſe ſo full and intire, that one could not ſome way ſay, There is a Society in which God does keep the truly Faithful.

I ſay, after ſome way, For as that Judgment depends on two things, the one to be able to know a Society and a Miniſtry, and the other to know that under that Miniſtry and in that Society a Man may work out his own Salvation, in reſpect of the firſt it is neceſſary to diſtinguiſh between two ſeaſons, the one of Liberty and Proſperity, where the Church has its Aſſemblies and exerciſes its Miniſtry openly in the face of all the World. For then ſhe is much more viſible then ſhe would be otherwiſe, that is to ſay, it is far more eaſy to be known what Society and what Miniſtry that is. Such was the State of the Church under Conſtantine and other Chriſtian Emperours; and it is in ſuch times as thoſe that the promiſes of Its outward ſplendour, if there are any ſuch in Scripture, are accompliſhed. The other ſeaſon is that of its Afflictions and Perſecution, ſuch was that of the firſt Century of the Church under the Pagan Emperours, and the Enemies of Chriſtianity. For none can deny that then, the Church was leſs diſcernable by its Aſſemblies, not only becauſe they were more private and leſs expoſed to the publick view, but alſo yet further becauſe, the name of Chriſtian had been defamed by a thouſand calumnies, and charged with a thouſand falſe imputations, which made the knowledge of the Church to be far more difficult. And it will be to no purpoſe to ſay, That then the Church was viſible, and illuſtrious by the blood of its Martyrs. For the blood of its Martyrs, did not in the leaſt hinder the accuſing of the Chriſtians of moſt odious crimes, that which hindred its being liable to be eaſily known. Thoſe Accuſations were as a Cloud before the eyes of the Common people, which was neceſſarily to be diſcipated, before they could come to know what Chriſtianity was. So that the True Church is more or leſs Viſible according to the difference of its Seaſons.

As to the ſecond thing, which is to know that one may be ſaved in that Society and under that Miniſtry, it is neceſſary that we diſtinguiſh of the two States or Conditions wherein that Society may be found. The one is a more pure State, then when the word of God is preached without mixtures of the Doctrines of men when the publick Worſhip is perform'd without ſuperſtitions, and the Sacraments plainly adminiſtred according to their Primitive Inſtitution, and when generally Religion is eſtabliſhed, taught, and obſerved, after the ſame manner wherein Jeſus Chriſt and his Apoſtles left it to the World. In that Condition, it is certain that the True Church in very viſible, and very diſcernable; for it is eaſy to behold all the Characters of its Truth, which only conſiſt in its Conformity to that lively, primitive, and natural Image of Chriſtianity, which God has left us in his Holy Scriptures. But it is not leſs certain that a Church may fall into a quite contrary Condition, that is to ſay, into a State of Corruption, then when it adds to divine Truths, ſtrange and adulterate Doctrines, when it mingles ſuperſtitions with the true Worſhip of God, and when in ſtead of a juſt Government, it exerciſes an inſolent and abſolute Dominion over Mens Conſciences, in one word, then when all things appear ſo confuſed and in that diſorder, that one can ſcarce any more ſee any traces of that beautiful and glorious Image of Chriſtianity which I have before ſpoke of, to ſhine forth. In that Condition I affirm that True Church is very hard to be known, for howſoever it were moſt Viſible in quality of a Church, becauſe its Aſſemblies might be much frequented, it would be nevertheleſs leaſt of all ſo, in the quality of a True Church, in that its natural beauty is ſo darkned and its Viſage ſo disfigured, that in judging according to its Appearances, one can but very difficultly ſay that God does yet preſerve ſome Faithful ones in that Communion and under that Miniſtry. But they will ſay, may not a Church fall into that Condition, and yet for all that be a true Church? I anſwer, that a Viſible Society, as I have ſhewn, is not called a true Church, but only with reſpect to thoſe true Believers who are in it, and not with reſpect to the others. When then it comes to paſs, that the party of the Men of the World prevails, and fills that Society with its Corruptions, all that Society taken in the general does not fail as yet to be called a True Church, while their is ſome appearance, how ſmall ſoever it may be, that God does yet keep and hold in it thoſe good men who do not defile their Souls with that Corruption of the wicked. But how can, ſay they yet further, thoſe good men preſerve themſelves in the midſt of ſuch a Society? I anſwer, That they may preſerve themſelves there, after that manner, that one may preſerve himſelf in a contagious Air, where he draws in the Air, becauſe it is neceſſary to his Life, but yet he may keep himſelf as well as he can from that Contagion, by the help of Antidotes. There are two things in a Corrupted Church, the good, and the evil: if a Man can ſeparate that good from the evil, that is to ſay, if he can take the one and keep himſelf from the other without falling into Hypocriſy, and being bound to do as thoſe who equally take the good and the evil (which he knows not how to do without dividing between God and his Conſcience,) he may be ſaved in a corrupted Communion, and there may not be another more pure. This evidently appears from the Examples of Zachary and Elizabeth, of Simeon, of Joſeph, and the Holy Virgin, and divers other perſons who liv'd in the Jewiſh Church, when our Saviour came into the World, and who preſerved their Piety though that Church was fallen into the higheſt Corruption under the Miniſtry of the Scribes and Phariſees. Jeſus Chriſt himſelf who reproved the abuſes of thoſe wicked men, and exhorted his diſciples to take heed of their falſe Doctrines, did not fail to live in that Common Society, and to be found in the Temple with them, and after that he had been Crucified by them, his diſciples did not wholly withdraw themſelves from their Communion, during ſome time, and till they had indiſpenſable reaſons for it. I will ſhew in the Progreſs of this Treatiſe, that it does not from thence follow, that we may at this day abide in the Roman Communion, and that it much leſs follows, that we may return thither by forſaking the Communion of the Proteſtants, under a pretence that we may ſeparate the good from the bad, the pure from what is impure, ſince we can no more do that, then not become wicked, Impoſtures, Hypocritical and Deteſtable before God and Men. But as this is a point that belongs to another Place, it ſhall ſuffice me to have clearly ſhewn in this Chapter, in what manner, and with what diſtinctions it may be ſaid, that there is always a true Viſible Church, and to have made it appear that it no ways follows from thence, that ſhe muſt needs be Infallible, as the Church of Rome pretends that ſhe is.

After all this it is not difficult to find out the juſt and true ſence of ſome paſſages of Scripture, which they abuſe in this matter of Viſibility. For as to that of the Goſpel whereof we have ſpoken; Tell it to the Church, and if he will not hear the Church let him be Mat. 18.unto thee as the Heathens and the Publicans. It is clear, that particular Churches are treated of there, and that the perſonal differences which we may have one with another, and the meaning of it is, that the Faithful are bound, when they receive any wrong from their brethren to carry their complaints to the Church, and to refer themſelves to its Judgment. Or, if it is not to be underſtood in thoſe Times, and in thoſe places where there ſhall be Churches eſtabliſhed, to the Judgment of their Guides and Paſtors, who may end thoſe private Quarrels. And if they will infer from thence, that then there muſt be always a Viſible Church, that may be in a Condition to attend to thoſe Reconciliations, this is that that has no colour of Reaſon. For that Command of Jeſus Chriſt obliging the Faithful no further then as it lies in their power, it would be but a very bad arguing, to ſay that he has ſo engaged for that, that he will ſo order it, that there ſhall be perpetually a viſible Aſſembly, to hear Complaints and give Judgments. It is within a little, as if one ſhould ſay, that he was engaged that we ſhould always have wherewithal to Lend, and wherewithal to give Alms, becauſe he has bid us, to Lend without hoping for any thing again, and to make our ſelves friends of the Mammon of unrighteouſneſs Or, that our Kings were bound never to leave vacant the Office of a Conſtable, or that of the Mayor of the Palace, under a pretence that heretofore they order'd their ſubjects to acknowledge thoſe Dignities, and to have recourſe to them in certain Affairs. Tell it to the Church, then does not in the leaſt ſuppoſe that the True Church ought to be always in ſuch a State, wherein ſhe ſhould have Authority to paſs her Judgments for the determining private Quarrels. And beſides what I have ſaid, Experience contradicts it; for it is moſt true, that during the hotteſt Perſecutions of the Heathen Emperours, where all was laid in deſolation, that it had in many places nothing like a Viſible Tribunal, to which men could eaſily addreſs themſeves.

There are ſome other Paſſages that denote the duty of the Paſtors, and in particular of the Apoſtles, as thoſe where they are called, The Salt of the Earth, the light of the World, a City Mat. 5…ſet upon a Hill, a Candle not lighted to be ſet under a Buſhel, and the Gentlemen of the Roman Church do not fail to ſet them down, to give ſome colour to their Pretenſions. But this is evidently to abuſe the Scriptures, to make them eſtabliſh the perpetual Viſibility of the Church, after that meaning wherein they underſtand thoſe paſſages which exhort the Apoſtles, and after them the Miniſters of the Goſpel to acquit themſelves faithfully of their charge, without negligence and wearineſs from the Conſideration of their Calling, and the end to which God had appointed them. For beſides that their Office does not bind them to that of a Martyr, which does not ſuppoſe a very ſplendid State of the Church; Beſides, that the ſame does not oblige them to be Martyrs, if they were not ſpecially called to it. Jeſus Chriſt having told them, That when they ſhould be perſecuted in one place, they ſhould fly unto another▪ beſides that I ſay, there is ſo great a difference between the duty of the Paſtors of theſe laſt Ages, which are ſo far behind that of the Apoſtles, and that which thoſe Paſtors have actually done, that one caunot know how to draw any conſequence from the one to the other.

One cannot alſo conclude any thing from ſome Expreſſions of the Antient Prophets, which ſeem to promiſe a great Temporal Proſperity to the Church; no one is ignorant that the Stile of the Prophets may be full of figures and darkned with Vails, that they ought not to be taken Literally unleſs men would be deceiv'd and imitate the Error of the Jews, who take them in that manner. For the Prophets are wont to repreſent Spiritual bleſſings under the borrowed Images of Temporal things, and ſo alſo the Spirit of Chriſtianity obliges us to explain that which they ſaid of the Meſſiah and of his Church, and not to delineate its proſperities, and worldly Grandeur which have no relation at all to the nature of the Goſpel. Not that one cannot ſay, that ſome of thoſe Prophecies have been accompliſh'd according to the Letter of them, in the Times of Chriſtian Emperours for then Kings were its nurſing-Fathers, and Queens its nurſing-Mothers. But that one ought not to draw a neceſſary conſequence, from thence either for all Times, or for all Places, and as men are always prone to abuſe Temporal bleſſings; ſuch a worldly Proſperity of the Church would tend but in the end to corrupt it.