Romes Ruin(1), Answer · Paragraph 2
PARAG. II. Concerning the attributes of our christian faith, true, divine and infallible.
Challenge.
That there is always one and but one true, divine and infallible faith professed by the church of Christ, without which none can please God, or attain to falvation, &c.
Answer.
When I read your preface and compared it with that which followeth, I could not but think of Oretes pots sent for a present to Bruson. facet. et exem. l. 1.Polycrates, in which there was a little gold laid on the top, and under it nothing but trash; for after these two golden assertions of the unity and immutability of the true, divine and infallible faith, laid as it were in the top of your discourse, there is nothing to be found under them but lead and trash, as shall appear hereafter in the gaging it. I grant there is one, and but one true, divine and infallible faith; but you should have explicated, how but one, and in what sense. Divine and infallible faith hath been always, and is one for substance, though not for circumstance: all beleevers even from Adam were, though not in name, yet in truth christians, Christ and his meritorious actions and passions were the object of their faith as well as ours: but they beleeved in Christ to come, we in Christ that is come: we and they resemble the spies that carried the bunch of grapes on their shoulders, the former who went before looked backward, the latter who went behind looked forward on the grapes: they looked forward with the eys of their faith on the incarnation, passion, resurrection and ascension of Christ to come, we look backward on these as past, they saw Christ in foregoing types, we in succeeding sacraments. Yea, but it may be objected, that many new articles of faith are daily declared, and many new theologicall conclusions found out, else how should knowledge encrease? How then is the faith of the church always one? For answer hereunto I will borrow Vincentius his decision, what (saith he) is there no profiting in Christs school? no growth Vine cont haeret. nullus ne ergo in ecclesia profectus? habeatur sane & maximus, sed ita tamen ut verè profectus ille fidei sit, non permutatio. Not beleeving it, or not in the true sense.in faith and the knowledge of salvation? Yes, very great, but provided always that this progresse be a going forward in the same way to heaven, not a turning out of the way: an improvement of faith, no change; that is, holding the same principles of faith, we may and ought daily by the studies of scriptures deduce new conclusions, but such as are vertually contained in those principles, not such as are any way repugnant to them: so long as we mutilate not our creed by dis-beleeving or mis-beleeving any article of it, and whatsoever we offer farther to be beleeved, we cleerly and evidently conclude from scriptures, or other prime and fundamentall articles of christian religion, the faith of the church is still one. Secondly, this faith is said to be divine in a three-fold regard: 1. Of the object, which is God: 2. The efficient, which is the spirit of God: 3. The motive, which is the word of God, or the authoritie of the speaker, which is divine: and because God cannot deceive, nor be deceived, hence it followeth, that the faith which is grounded upon his word is infallible, and such is the faith of the reformed church of England, one, divine, and infallible; whereas on the contrary your romish faith is neither one, nor divine, nor infallible. Not one, for you differ one from another in many substantiall points of faith, as is proved Paragraph the X. Nor divine, for the last resolution of your faith is unto the church, a company of men subject to error. Nor is it infallible, for it is partly grounded upon unwritten traditions, which vary; partly upon the decrees of Popes and councels, which contradict one the other; the generall synod held at Ariminum contradicted the first of Nice, Vid. infra.in the point of Christs deity; the councell at Frankeford contradicted the second councell of Nice, in the point of images: the generall councell held at Lateran contradicted the generall councell at Basil, in the point of supremacie; and I could with a wet See Bilsons supremacie, par. 3. & Bellum papale.finger produce divers decrees of Popes, out of the canon law, flat repugnant one to the other; but others have done it to my hand, and saved me this labour.