Sure Footing in Christianity, Discourse 8
THE Eighth Discourse EXAMINED.
HErein he pretends a Demonstration of the Ʋninterruptedness of his Tradition, à Posteriori, or from the Effect: Wherein.
2. He sheweth his scope to shew the certainty of Faiths conveiance guarded, and on all sides Evident. S. 1.
2. He pretendeth the needlesness of this labor as to Protestants, S. 2.
3, He layeth down the Effect which is the Medium of his Demonstration, S. 3.
4. He offers the proof of it, Ss. 4, 5.
5. He advanceth his conclusion, S. 6. We shall reply orderly.
1. To his aim or mark set up, we only say, he will do his cause right, and play the man, if he hit it: but we doubt his skill.
2. If his indeavour were needless upon the Protestants Account, he might well have spared it: but he thought it not so, whatever he saith; therefore he pursueth his work. But why was it needless as to them? Have they granted his Conclusion? He dareth not say so. Yet he examines them upon some Interrogatories, to which he desireth them to answer candidly, and so they will.
1. To his fi…st. Quaere they reply. That the Doctrine of the Trinity, Incarnation, and all Points of sound Faith delivered in the Scriptures, were held in all Ages since Christ, by Gods Church: Yet they have some limitations, and Exceptions to propound unto him.
1. That these Doctrines were held then in the true and genuine state of them; not with corrupt glosses concealed under these terms, which were various.
2. That in the true and sound sense of the Trinity and Incarnation there is not a full agree…ent between Protestants and Papists. For they differ about the notions o… …rd and Image used about the Trinity: an… how vastly they disagree about the words being made Flesh, and th… ends of the in…rnation of the Son of God: the Controversies about that Monster of Transubstantiation making Christs fle…h of bread, and about the Mediator in his person, natures, &c. maintained to this day between them, do s…fficiently declare.
3. Although Protestan…s acknowledge these doctrines in truth to be held in the Church of God, yet they agree not that upon this account alone, it was truly called Gods Church; for in word man… professed these, and yet held things destructive to them; as among the …rent Anathemas may appear, that Rome doth at this day. They judge therefore that the T… tle of Gods Church, is truly given unto that Body alone, which resigneth it self up unto Christ as th…ir Head: to be ruled by him in doctrine, worsh…p, and discipline, according to his Evangelical Law written by the Prophets and Apostles. Herein the Discourser will hardly acknowledge an agreement with them.
2. To his second quaere they say, that these p…ints of Faith were taught by Fathers to Children, and by the former Age to the lattet: But withall they say, That all true Teachers, Fathers and others, taught them these things from the Scriptures, and du…st not imbue them with any Doctrine that was not written: So that Oral did but convey the Scriptural Tra…tion: which use of it Protestants did alwaies grant: And what advantage hath the man by this Concession?
3. To his third quae…e, they demur a little, before they expresly answer.
1. They stick upon the notion of Virtue of Tradition-oral; and they conceive, there is both a natural force of speech to make known things, and an assistent power or virtue given it by Gods ord…nance, as it is appointed a means to give down the true knowledge of Christs doctrine. Again they stop upon those terms, Others as well as these; which they think he should mean of other points of saving Faith, as those of the Trinity and Incarnation: but they suspect him to intend other points of Romish Faith, which he should have exprest. Upon these Terms debated, now they answer.
1. That they are affirmative in this, That by the natural virtue of speech natural matters of Truth are given down to Posterity.
2, They assert that by divine virtue assisting, this Oral-Tradition convey…th down the saving knowledge of Christ from Father to Children, in all points of Truth revealed in the Scripture unto Salvation.
3. They charge deceit upon this Discourser in concealing his other points, to be brought down by virtue of his Tradition. And question him, why he did not name his other points of Popish Faith, debasing Scriptures, settling their Popes Supremacy, their lye of Transubstantiation, their Fable of Purgatory, &c. Which he insinuates, must uninterruptedly proceed from Christ, and his Apostles; as the Doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation.
4. They are positively negative (however he may not suspect them) That the divine vertue assisted not the Tradition of any of these Popish Artic…es, or the like, imported under those other: …nd do affirm that by the power of Satan that first lyer and deceive…, all those untruths issuing from the mistery of …n…qu…ty were powerfully given down to P…pists in O…al-Tradition contrary to …ods written word: It being under Gods permissive, and overruling Provide…ce as apt to convey down Falshood and lyes to Posterity, as any Truth of God.
4. As to his 4th Quaere about Connection between Cause and Effect.
1. They yeeld under the Providence of God constituting a nec…ssary connection between subo…dinate natural causes, and their formal effects; as betwee… the Sun and light.
2. In voluntary Causes and effects, as Tradition and Faith, where God hath not settled a necessary connection, they deny the constant issue of such Effects from such Causes.
3. They yeeld also where the Truth of Christ was ever delivered, it was ever received: that is, by them to whom it was delivered effectually by the spirit of God in such Tradition.
4. They deny that Papists can argue from any such Effect, to such a Cause for any point that is in Controversie between them and Protestants; For all meerly Popish Points cannot be asserted, as ever delivered f…om Christ unto this day; therefore can the… not be so received. Jesuitical impude… …ay be ashamed to say it. Whereupon the Discourser, adds as a subterfuge, (In case it be a Point we held ever delivered) Hath he been contending all along for the indefectibil…ty of Traditionary Romish Faith from Chr…st, as ever delivered, and as ever received from Christ to this day? And now come to shuffle in this job, In case it were by them held so ever delivered? Is it their holding it ever or never delivered, that makes it so? What unreasonable arguing is this? Are there an… points of Faith that were not at first delivered by Christ and so ever drawn down from him? Had any Church power to make new points of Faith in ages after? How then should any true point of Faith be otherwise held, but as ever delivered from Christ. To save any more pains they say.
1. No points of Faith controverted by Papists with Protestants, are ever or uninterruptedly delivered from Christ to them at this day; neither can they be rationally so …eceived. They who will be bl nd must be blind. The Sun beam is not clearer then this.
2. From all the Concessions of Protestants, it appears not needless that he should demonstrate better the Indefectibility of his Tradition. If not, he hath proved nothing; and so our dispute may be well put to an end. As to his suspicion, it is malitious folly: For Protestants know no chance, nor Fortune, nor contingency in Gods ordering means to bring down the true Faith of Christ unto the worlds end: but an infinite wise and unchangeable Providence; which hath ordained true and faithful Tradition both Scriptural and oral to preserve the saving knowledge of Christ unto his chosen in the world: which also suffereth and ordereth lying Tradition to fascinate those unto perdition, who will not receive the love of the Truth, that they might be saved. But he pursueth his design and method at first intended, and we shall closely follow him, to try his attainments therein.
3. He proceeds to his Demonstration from the Effect, about which he laieth down. 1. His Medium or Ground of it. S. 3.— 2. His Proof of this, S, 4. 5.—3. His Conclusion. S. 6. The sum of all which Sections, to make the work shorter and easier to be apprehended, may be reduced to this form of Argument in three propositions.
That which is the present perswasion of Trad…tionary Christians, or, Romish Catholicks, that their faith hath descended from Christ and his Apostles uninterruptedly by Oral-Tradition, is undoubtedly a Truth, But
It is the present perswasion of Romish Catholicks, &c. Ergo, This uninterrupted descent of their Faith from Christ by Oral Tradition is undoubtedly a Truth.
1. In this Syllogism we have at once a view of all his strength in this second Demonst…ation: And to cut the sinews of it, we deny the Proposition as most ridiculously false: Had he offered it only to his blind Papists it might have past for current with them, as other notorious falshoods do, g ven them by Tradition: But to argue thus with Protestants or any other reasonab…e men, not of his R ligion, is to expose himself to hi…sing. For who of them w l… value the present pe…swasion of Romish Catholicks about the uninterruptedness of their Tradition as an undoubted Truth? and so it must be, if it be a certain Medium to infer a true conc usision. The Protestants therefore deny his Proposition, whereof he labours not to make the least proof at all, but beggs it as a ground not to be questioned. We dare not trust Popish perswasions; therefore we grant it not. And untill he prove it, his Demonstration is void, and our work is at stand.
2. His endeavour is to prove his Assumption in S. 4. 5. and that by two Principles (as he calleth them) which when he hath done is but to little purpose; for we believe that Romish Catholicks have such a present perswasion without proof. And the impossibility of the being of this perswasion in them, we grant, without the existence of their pretended indeficiency of Romish Tradition: But impossible it would have been that such a perswasion should be, had the ever-indifficiency of Christs Doctrine alone continued with them. Yet we will glance at his Principles, which he thus laieth down.
1. That Age which holds her Faith delivered thus from the Apostles, neither can it self have changed any thing in it, nor know or doubt, that any Age since the Apostles had changed or innovated any thing therein.
2. No Age could innovate any thing, and withall deliver that very thing to Posterity, as received from Christ by continual Succession.
Upon these he descants a little to delude his unwary Reader; but we shall a little sift him.
1. Are these indeed Principles? Then they must be known to men as men, and command their reason by such light, as they cannot but unreasonably deny: Now what man as a meer Man regards the Faith of Christ either to its being or Traduction? They are no Principles to them.
2. What Ages doth this man mean, that cannot change nor innovate Faith, so held to be delivered from the Apostles? Surely they must be successive Generations of Papists and these were alwaies fittest to prove their own perswasions. So he plainly argueth, That the perswasion of Romish Catholicks about indeficiency of their Tradition must be true, because no Age of them could change or innovate that which was delivered of faith unto them. This wil… do it indeed, if such things pass for Principles.
3. We do charge it on several Ages of Pap…sts, that hower de jure they co…ld not do it; yet de facto they have both changed and innovated that Faith of Christ once delivered by the Apostles to the Saints in the written Gospel, and withall have conveied it unto posterity, as received from Christ by continued Succession. Several Centuries have declared it: And this daies experience testifieth to it, that their Teachers do perswade them, that all their abominations in doctrine and worship, which the Lord abhorrs, and the rest of the Christian world knoweth to be false, are indefectively descended by Trad…tion from Christ unto them.
4. The pretence of an Impossibility that whole Ages should thus deceive and be deceived is frivolous; seeing the thing is visibly done; as it was also foretold, that the world should go after the Romish Beast, God hath past that sentence upon those earthly m…nded men, who love not the simple spiritual Truth of Christ. Neither is it rare for seared Consc…ences to deliver falshoo… for Truth against their knowledge. And the s…o…er they begin thus to corrupt their Off-spring every month ripening to a capacity of such knowledge, it is the more effi…acious; To all which Motives are not wanting to ingage unto their faction all they can; For the glory of the world binds them, which the Papal Interest doth so much as it can assure them of: And in fine, To hold contradictions, and tell lies for their advantage, is nor are thing for them, who are the the sworn Vassals unto Romish Tradition, against the Scriptures of God: They must contradict themselves, who walk so contrary unto the Lord in faith and practice. From the premises then men may see the ridiculousness of h…s Principles.
4. Yet he advanceth from these his Conclusions in S. 6. Seeing this is the present perswasion of Romish Catholicks that their Faith is uninterrupte…ly descended from Christ to them, and the ages of their Fore-fathers could not change or innovate it nor deliver it, if innovated, as received from Christ by continual succession; therefore the indefectiveness of their Traditionary Fai h from Chr…st must be true: They hold it descended to them as such, therefore it di… descend to them as such. And hence the Demonstrator collects confidently, That no power nor wit of man could make their Faith now held to be so descended, but its having been actually so descended: that is, by the only existence of Traditions indefic…ency this present perswasion could be effected in Romish Catholicks of their faiths uninterrupted descent from the Apostles: For they hold that the Church, (which is their Romish) never failed in Faith.
Unto all which we reply in shorr, and leave it to be weighed in an equal ballance.
1. His proposition is denied, Popish perswasion argueth not the indefectiveness of their Tradition.
2. His Principles are vain and begg'd, by which he makes good his Assumption.
His Inference is the same with his medium. They hold their Faith descended to them as such, therefore it did descend to them as such.
4. Although the Power and wit of man, could not have made them hold their Faith to be so ever descended to them, unless it had been so actually descended; Yet some Power and wit of the Devils added to it, under the r…ghteous judgment of God, could easily delude them, and make them hold that, which was not true.
5. Their tenaciousness of their Romish Churches never failing in the Faith of Christ, is the grand delusion by which the old Serpent hath beguiled them into their obstinate and wilful erring by its Tradition. Her Apostasie is so notorious that if the Scripture be the word of God, she cannot be the Church of Christ.
6. We conclude from all, that the Discourser… Demonstration …s sappless and irrational, concluding nothing as he pretended, which we leave to the judgment of the most acute Christian Readers. Blind Papists may beleeve him and perish by him; but such whose eies are he…led with Christs eye-salve, will easily perceive, there is neither Truth nor Reason in it. So that we hold still.
1. Romish Oral-Tradition of their Trent-faith is not uninterruptedly descended from Christ and his Apostles.
2. Scriptural Tradition of the Gospel-faith, is indefectively descended from Christ and his Apostles unto us.
He next proceeds from Demonstration unto Church-proof of the indefectiveness of his Tradition.