The Protestant Resolved, Imprimatur – Title page
Imprimatur,
Liber cui Titulus, [The Protestant Resolved, &c.
Mar…. 12. 1687. Guil. Needham RR. in Christo P. ac D. D. Wilhelmo Archiep. Cant. a Sacr. Dom.
THE Protestant Resolved: OR A DISCOURSE Shewing the UNREASONABLENESS Of his Turning Roman Catholick FOR SALVATION.
The Second Edition.
LONDON: Printed for William Rogers, at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. MDCLXXXVIII.
No Necessity for a Protestant to turn Roman Catholick for Salvation.
WE are all I hope thus far argeed, That sincere Christianity is the sure Way to Salvation. That to be saved, we must have the Hearts, and not content our selves with the bare Name and naked Profession of Christians. That the Authority of God and Divine Truth, and no worldly or carnal Concern must sway and govern our whole Conversation. If we be not religious in good earnest, resolving and endeavouring to honour God in Heart and Life, according to the Holy Gospel of our Blessed Iesus, it's no matter to us what Religion we profess, or to what Church we join our selves. Wickedness and Hypocrisy, through what Church soever our Way lieth, lead assuredly to Hell. A wicked Protestant and a wicked Papist will in Hell be of the same Communion.
True Christianity is none other but that which was taught at first by Christ and his Apostles, and all they who believe and live according to their Doctrine shall be saved. Herein again we are all I suppose agreed. And if so, I think it very reasonable we should agree as well in that which I now add. It is not material to enquire whether a Man be of the Church of Rome, or of the Church of England, to find whether or no he may be saved; but he that would satisfy himself of the possibility of Salvation in the Way wherein he now is, ought to enquire whether he believe and live according to the Doctrine taught by Christ and his Apostles; seeing they who do this are good Christians, what other Names soever Men may bestow upon them, and all that are such shall be saved. If therefore I may be able to satisfy my self that I believe, and live according to the Doctrine deliver'd by Christ and his Apostles, I have no reason to doubt of the Possibility of my Salvation in the Way wherein I now am, tho it were so, that I had never heard to this day of any such Thing as a Church headed by a Pope or Bishop of Rome. And I am yet somewhat confident that a Man may believe and live according to the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, and never hear of a Bishop of Rome; because once Men certainly did so, and yet were saved.
The next thing therefore that I have to do, is to enquire by what Means I may certainly know, what was the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles; for by the same Means whereby this may be known, I may also know the certain Way to Salvation. If there be no such Means left us, we are all Fools in professing a Religion, the certain Doctrine whereof can by no means be known. If such Means there be, there must be some certain Records safely convey'd down from their Time to ours; for by what other Means we at this distance of so many hundred years should be certainly inform'd what they taught, is by me unconceivable. These Records then are to be diligently searched into, and impartially examined, and whosoever is found to believe and practise according to the Doctrine in those Records contained, may be concluded to be in the Way to Salvation.
Such certain Records we have, even the Books of the holy Evangelists and Apostles, which (together with the Books of the Old Testament) we call the Holy Scripture. In this we are all again unamimous, both Papists, and Protestants agree, that the Doctrine in these Books contained is the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, and Divine Truth. Whence it certainly follows, that whatsoever Doctrine is contrary to the Doctrine contained in these Books, whether it it be taught by Papists or Protestants, is to be rejected as none of the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles. It ought not therefore to satisfy me, that this or that Doctrine is taught by the Church of Rome, or by the Church of England; for by which of them soever it be taught, if it be found contrary to the Doctrine of the holy Scripture, it is by the Consent of both Churches to be rejected. Now seeing we Protestants take this holy Scripture, and it only, for the Rule of Faith and Life; it is certain, that holding to this Rule, we do not err either in Belief or Practice: while on the other side we cannot be sure, thot they do not err in both, who receive another Rule; till it appear that the other Rule which they receive, is as true and certain as ours is acknowledged to be. Our part of the Rule, and that which indeed we take to be the whole, being granted us; all the Question is about their part of it. Ours is on all hands granted to be most sure and certain, theirs alone remains disputable; and therefore I cannot yet see any reason, why I should think their Way safer than our own, except it can be safer to follow an uncertain than a certain Rule, which I think no body will be so hardy as to affirm.
The Rule which they of the Roman Communion advance against ours, is that of Tradition. I am therefore next to to consider, First, what they understand by it: And, Secondly, what greater reason I can find to perswade me, that it is safer to trust to it, whether singly, or in Conjunction with our own, than to our own alone, which is the holy Scripture.
This Tradition consists of such Doctines of Faith and Practice as are supposed to have been taught either by Christ himself, or being dictated by the Holy Ghost to his Apostles, were delivered by them to the Church, not in Writing, but in Word only, and so have successively been handed down from Father to Son, unto the present Age. And these are all according to the Council of Trent to be received with equal affection of Piety and Reverence, as the holy Scripture.
Now I confess, if it may appear as evidently to me that Christ or his Apostles left such Doctrines to the Custody of the Church, of equal necessity to the Salvation of Christians, with those that are written in the Scpipture, as it doth that they left us these which are written in the Scripture; and if I may be well assured, that these very Doctrines which the Church of Rome now holds, and pretends to an Authority of imposing upon all Christendome, are indeed the very same which were at first (as abovesaid) deliver'd to the Church, I can see no reason why I should not be bound to believe the one as firmly as the other. For seeing it is the Authority of the first Preachers of it, and not barely the Writings of it, that bind me to believe the Doctrine; if I can be equally assured, that as well what is unwritten as what is written, was preach'd by them, as necessary to the Salvation of Mankind, I must needs also own an equal Obligation upon me to believe them all alike.
But neither of these could I ever see clear'd, nor can I conceive any hope that I shall hereafter. And seeing the proof of both lies wholly upon them, who affirm both; I cannot be obliged to believe them, till by such proof they have convinced me. In the mean time, it seems enough to me, that God himself was pleas'd to signifie to the World his Will in writing, which I cannot imagine why He should do, had he not intended we should learn his Will from what is written, and not from any unwritten Tradition. And I am the more confirm'd in this Opinion by this, that he did not use this way of revealing his Mind unto Men at the first, nor till after the World had had a very long time to discern by experience the Unfaithfulness of unwritten Tradition. So that this and some other Considerations whereupon the Papists use to ground their Arguments against both the Necessity and Perfection of the Scripture, seem to me very fully to evince both the one and the other; and so to leave no room at all for their unwritten Traditions as any part of the Rule of Faith and Life.
Yet, seeing they, who are always preaching this Doctrine to us, That there is no Salvation for them that are not of their Communion, preach it not as a private Opinion of their own, or of some few others in that Communion; but as the generally received Doctrine of that Church, which pretends to be no less than Infallible; it concerns me so much the more to use all possible diligence, to find out what Truth there may be in this Assertion. And that, not only because I shall thereby discern the necessity of changing my Religion to make sure of my own future Happiness; but also, because the Determination of this one Point will at once put an end (as it seems to me) to all the Disputes that are now between the Papists and Us. If I can find it true, that no Man can be saved out of that Communion, I shall be a Fool to trouble my self with the Study of the Scriptures, and seeking out for my self in them a Way to Heaven; when I may be sure, by stepping over the Threshold out of the one Church into the other, to meet with an Infallible Iudg, whom if I do but follow, I cannot go amiss. And to dispute any longer with my self, whether I should do so or not, would but shew me fitter for Bedlam than for any Church; seeing none but the maddest Man alive would dispute for Damnation. On the other side, if I shall find it false, that a Man cannot be saved out of that Communion, I must needs be convinced that the Roman Church, which hath determined it for a certain Truth, hath already err'd both in Faith and Charity, and that having erred, she is not Infallible: and being not Infallible, by her own Confession cannot be that One, Holy, Catholick and Apostolick Church, out of which there is no Salvation. So that as this Assertion of that Church shall be found to be, true or false; even so will the Popish Religion appear also to be.
But here I meet with a very great Difficulty in my way, as I am going to seek out the Truth or Falshood of this Assertion; that however I may be able to satisfy my self, yet I shall never (for ought I can see) be able to satisfy them who are the Authors of it, any other way, than by a total Submission of my own Iudgment and Conscience too to their Determination, and a blind Obedience to their Will. The Dispute (as is evident) is between two Churches, the one whereof challengeth to it self the big-swoln Prerogative of being the Lady and Mother of all Churches; a Sovereign Authority of prescribing to the Faith of all Christians; the Right and incommunicable Priviledg of being the Sole and Infallible Iudg of all Controversies in Religion; finally, an unquestionable Power of defining and declaring to all the World the true and only Terms of Salvation. Now, that this Roman-Mother and Mistress-Church, sole Commandress and Infallible Iudg, having already in the fulness of Power determin'd it, and by her Supreme Authority imposed an Oath upon her Subjects to maintain it, That none out of her Communion can be saved, should after all this, in pure Condescension to Men declared Hereticks, divest her self of her Authority, lay aside her Infallible Definitions, come down from the Tribunal and the Throne of Iudicature and Majesty, and stand at the Bar submitting her self and the whole Cause to an indifferent and equal Trial, is a thing as little to be hoped for, as it is yet unagreed upon by what Law, Iury or Iudg the Controversy should be decided. And truly on the other side, it seems to me altogether as unreasonable in her to accept, That we Protestants of the Church of England, tho we pretend to nothing of this Exorbitant Power over Her or other Churches, or of determining Disputes for all the World, should yet, upon a naked Summons from Her, whose Authority we question, and see no reason to acknowledg, forthwith subscribe to the Sentence of our own Condemnation, without any fair and legal Process, or indeed so much as yield to a Trial, where our professed Adversaries must be at once the Law-makers, Accusers, Witnesses; and yet this is most notoriously our Case.
What course now in this Case can be taken by us? The Church of Rome tells us expresly and peremptorily, We cannot be saved out of her Communion. Must we believe her without any more ado? That's indeed the way to make a short end of all our Differences, for then we must yield to be Her's, or else run headlong to Damnation: But if we believe her not (as for my part I know not how we can do, till we see some reason why we should do so) the Dispute (for ought I can see) is like to be endless. For no such reasons can, or ought she to give us, if she will be constant to her self, and stand to her own Principles, (as will plainly appear anon) and if she desert her own Principles, she must yield her self to be fallible, and not the true Church; and then in vain is all talk of Reasons, why they that are not of her Communion should be damned.
However, suppose it be pretended (as indeed it is) that we have had sufficient Reasons given us, why we ought to believe her in this Point. This then is the present Question between us, Whether she hath given us sufficient reason for this, or no. She confidently affirms it, We as confidently deny it. She calls us obstinate Hereticks for denying it, and lays many a heavy Curse upon us: We for this think her a very unreasonable and imperious Mistress, usurping an Authority over us, which God never gave her. Who I wonder shall now be thought fit to decide this Dispute? She will be tried and judg'd by no other but her self; for She is resolv'd to be Sole and Infallible Iudg in all Controversies of Religion: That is in plain terms, She will accuse us, and she will leave us no room for our own Defence; She will condemn us, and she will not permit us to question the Iustice of her Sentence. She tells us, we are bound to believe her, and obey her, or else we must die eternally for it. We desire some reason may be brought to convince us of this Duty: and she tells us again, she is our Supreme and Infallible Mistress, and Mother, and Iudg; and so the Conclusion is, We must believe she hath this Supreme Authority and Infallibility, because she is Supreme and Infallible; which we can yet see no reason to believe, and therefore cannot believe; and because we cannot believe it, we are declared to be Hereticks, and in a State of Damnation.
Seeing then, that the Church of Rome will by no means recede from her Claim to this Supremacy and Infallibility; it seems plain to me, that there is no possibility of satisfying her any way whatsoever but by yielding my self up intirely to her without any farther dispute. But because I cannot do this, without violence to my Conscience, and incurring that very Damnation, which she would persuade me thereby to prevent; I must of necessity leave her a while to satisfy her self about the Truth and Charity of this Doctrine as she can; whilst I for my own private Satisfaction take into a very serious Consideration these two things.
I. Whether I can discern any solid ground to hope, that I may be saved, as I am now a Protestant of the Church of England.
II. What more hopeful way to Salvation the Church of Rome can me put into, should I enter into her Communion.
If the result of this double Enquiry shall be, that I really think my self in a fair way to Salvation where I am already, and cannot discern any more hopeful way to it in the Church of Rome; I must needs accout my self bound in Conscience, and under the Penalty of Damnation, to steer my course according to the best Light I shall be able, by such a diligent and impartial Inquiry, to attain unto, and content my self with that Religion, which seems best and safest to me, till some better and safer can be found.