Second Vindication of the Protestant Grounds of Faith, Imprimatur – Errata
Imprimatur,
Sam. Parker R. in Christo Patri ac Dno. Dno. Gilberto, Arch. Episc. Cantuar. à sac. Dom. April 15. 1673.
A SECOND DISCOURSE IN VINDICATION OF THE Protestant Grounds of Faith, Against the Pretence of INFALLIBILITY In the ROMAN CHURCH, In Answer to The Guide in Controversies by R. H Protestancy without Principles, AND Reason and Religion, or the Certain Rule of Faith by E. W. With a particular Enquiry into the Miracles of the Roman Church.
By Edward Stillingfleet D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty.
LONDON, Printed by R. W. for H. Martlock, at the Sign of the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-Yard, and at the White Hart in Westminster Hall. 1673.
To the Right Honourable ANTHONY Earl of SHAFTSBURY, Lord High Chancellour OF ENGLAND, &c.
My Lord,
I HOPE it will not be thought unseasonable to make an Address of this nature to Your Lordship in the Beginning of Term, since the great Cause at present in Your Court (as one of late pleasantly said) is thaet between the King and the Pope, between our Church and the Church of Rome. And while so many Witnesses are daily sworn of the Kings and the Churches side; it may not be improper to lay open to Your Lordship the Nature and Merits of the Cause.
A Cause, My Lord, which was at first set on Foot by Ambition, carried on by Faction, and must therefore be maintained by the like means; but can never hope to prevail among us again, till subjection to a Forreign Power can be thought our Interest, and to part at once with Reason and Religion be esteemed our Honour. It is a Cause much of the nature of some others depending before Your Lordship, more vexatious than difficult; and managed by such Advocates who being retained in the Cause, though they have nothing material to say for it, yet are ashamed to be silent. Who are alwayes disputing about an end of Controversies, but at the same time do their utmost to increase and perpetuate them; and are ready to foment our differences that they may make use of them to their own advantage.
While we have such restless Adversaries to deal with, part of our danger lyes in being too secure of the Goodness of our Cause: and methinks there can be little satisfaction in lying still or quarrelling with each other, when we know our common enemies to be at work undermining of us. But whatever repose others enjoy, my Adversaries seem to deal with me, as some do with those whom they suspect of Witchcraft; they think by pinching me so often, and keeping me from taking rest, to make me say at last as they would have me. But the comfort is, as long as I am secure of my senses, I am of my Religion against theirs: if I once lose them or my understanding, I know not whether it may be my fortune to be carried to Rome, or some more convenient place. And in my opinion they deal with those under their care, as if they believed them not to be in their right senses, for they keep them alwayes in the dark, and think nothing more dangerous than to let in light upon them. Wherein I cannot deny, but considering the nature of their Cause, they take the most effectual course to maintain it; for it not being capable of enduring a severe tryal, nothing can preserve its reputation, but Ignorance and Credulity: which are therefore in so great esteem among them, that if it were a Custome to Canonize Things as well as Persons, we might find those sacred names in their Litanies; and addresses as solemn made to them, as ever were to Faith and Vertue among the elder and wiser Romans.
I need not go far, for an Instance of their design to advance, even in this Inquisitive Age, the Honour of these two great Pillars of their Church: For if your Lordship shall be pleased to cast Your eye on the following Discourse, especially that part which concerns the Miracles of the Roman Church, You will find fufficient evidence of it almost in every Page. When I first engaged in this Controversie I could hardly believe what I now see, that they would ever have brought it to this issue with me, viz. That they would renounce all claim to Infallibility, if they did not produce as great Miracles wrought in their Church to attest it, as ever were wrought by Christ or his Apostles. The boldness of which assertion, and the pernicious influence of it upon Christianity it self, hath made me take the more pains in the examination of it. Which I have done with so much care in consulting their own approved Authors, that I hope at last they will grow ashamed of that groundless calumny, that I do not deal fairly in the citing of them. A calumny so void of proof, that I could desire no better argument of a baffled Cause, than such impertinent Clamours. But if impudent sayings will serve their turn, they need never fear what can be written against them. Do they indeed think me a man so void of common sense, as to expose my self so easily to the contempt of every one that will but take pains to compare my citations? Have I the Books only in my own keeping? or are they so rare that they cannot get a sight of them? How then come they to know them to be false quoted? But alas! they are men of business, and have not leisure to search out and compare Books, and therefore the shortest way is to say, that without doubt they are all false. Their numbers certainly are not so small, nor their business so great, but they might have spared some to have undertaken this task particularly, if I had been faulty: and in my mind it had been of some consequence to have freed their Church from those heavy imputations of Fanaticism, and destroying the necessity of a good life, from the Testimony of their own Authors. But if these could not move them, I desire them not to spare me in this present subject of Miracles, wherein I profess to relye on the Testimony of their own Writers; if they shew me any wilful mistakes therein, I will endeavour to give them publick satisfaction.
Were I not well assured, My Lord, of the Strength of my Evidence, as well as of the Goodness of my Cause, I should never have appeared in it before a Person of so sharp and piercing a Judgement as Your Lordship. But I have the rather presumed to offer this Discourse into Your Lordships hands, and to send it abroad under the Protection of Your Name, not only thereby to acknowledge the particular Favours I have received from Your Lordship; but to thank You on a more publick Account, I mean for Your late generous owning the Cause of our Religion and Church in so Critical a time; which not only gives a present Lustre to Your Name, but will preserve it with Honour to Posterity. I am,
My Lord, Your Lordships most obliged and faithful Servant Edward Stillingfleet.
The Contents.
CHAP. 1. An answer to the Guide in Controversies about Infallibility and the Resolution of Faith.
THE State of the Controversie. p. 295.
The Principles of the Guide in Controversies. p. 300.
Those Principles Considered. p. 304.
Of Particular Divine Revelation as the Ground of Faith. p. 308.
The Resolution of Divine faith must agree to all. p. 314.
Of immediate assent. p. 316.
Of the assistance of the Holy Ghost. p. 318.
The absurdities of the Guides Principles. 322.
CHAP. II. The Principles of E. W. about Divine Faith laid down and considered.
E. W's. Principles laid done. p. 329.
Some things premised to the State of the Question. p. 340.
Of the necessity of Grace and the sense of Moral certainty in this Controversie. p. 346. 347.
Gods veracity as the foundation of faith not received on divine Revelation. p. 349.
Of the notion of Divine faith. p. 353.
The true State of the Question. p. 358.
My first argument laid down and defended. p. 361.
Of the Motives of Credibility and their influence upon faith. p. 369.
Of the Grounds of Faith. p. 376.
Of the School-notion of the obscurity of faith. p. 383.
Of the Scripture notion of it. p. 386.
Of the power of the will in the assent of faith. p. 395.
The second argument defended against E. W. p. 400.
Of the Circle in the resolution of faith not avoided by E. W. p. 423.
CHAP. III. An enquiry into the Miracles of the Roman Church.
E. W's. assertions about the miracles of the Roman Church. p. 434.
The ways proposed for examination of them. p. 439.
Of the miraculous translation of the Chappel of Loreto. p. 441.
Of the miracles wrought at the Chappel of Loreto. p. 452.
Of the miracles wrought by St. James at Compostella. p. 465.
Of St. Mary Magdalens vial and other Reliques. p. 476.
Of the miracles of St. Dominick. p. 488.
Of the miracles of the Rosary of the B. Virgin. p. 493.
Of the miracles of St. Francis. p. 496.
Of the miracles related of the British and Irish Saints. p. 505.
Of the Testimonies of St. Chrysostom and St. Augustin against the continuance of the power of miracles. p. 567.
Of the miracles of St. Vincentius Ferrerius. p. 574.
Of the Testimonies of their own Writers against the miracles of the Roman Church. p. 585.
Of the miracles reported by Bede and St. Gregory. p. 589.
Of the miracles wrought in the Indies. p. 615.
Of the Impostures and forgeries of miracles in the Roman Church in several examples. p. 624.
Of the insufficiency of this argument from their miracles to prove the Infullibility of their Church. p. 663.
Several conclusions about the proof of miracles. p. 664.
The miracles of Heathens and Hereticks compared with those of the Roman Church. p. 670.
ERRATA.
PAge 302. line 28. read ultimate. p. 343. l. 15. …. asse…t p. 421. l. 13 r. signatures. p. 437. l. 13. r. convince. l. 18. r. disp…ssessed. p. 493. l. 15. r. consi…ing p. 502. l. 24. r. several p. 508. l. 22. r. any better p. 549. after Saints insert▪ than p. 590. l. 14. r. …o…l, p. 641. l. 11. r. Anglerius.