The True Catholic and Catholic Church Described, Part 31
2. Having spoken of the Catholick Rule, let me next advise you to keep close to the Catholick Governour and Judge. And who is that? Even Jesus Christ himself, and none but he. Why, but is there not a visible Head and Catholick Judge of Controversies on Earth? To deny this, seemes an intolerable absurdity to a Papist: Then every man may believe what he list, or what his own fancy leads him to? Answ. 1. And if the Pope can cure Heresie or Infidelity, why doth he suffer most of the world to be Infidels, and most of professed Christians to be (in his judgement) Hereticks? And if he can decide all Controversies, why suffers he so many hundred to be undecided, among his followers. And it seems by the late determination of the five Jansenian Articles, that neither he nor his subjects know when he hath decided a Controversie, and when not. He said he condemned five points of the Doctrine of Jansencius: The Jesuites say so too: The Jansenists say, It is not so, they are none of his Doctrines, nor to be found in him in word or sense. 2. The Catholick Judge doth not contradict the Catholick Rule; but the Pope and his Council doth. 3. The Catholick Judge contradicteth not himself, but so do Popes and Councils. 4. That is not the Catholick Judge, whom most of the Catholick Church disowneth, and never did own: but most of them never owned the Pope. But of all this, I intreat the unsatisfied Reader, to peruse but what I have written in the second and third Disputation against Popery.
Object. But what! will you have no visible judge of Controversies?
Answ. Yes: but not over all the Catholick Church.
Quest. But who then shall be judge?
Answ. The Case is plain, if men were but impartiall. Discerning is one thing, Teaching is another, and Deciding or Determining is another. A discerning judgement, as far as they are able, belongs to all: A Directing or Teaching judgement occasionally and ex charitate belongs to all that are able; and publickly and ordinarily, ex officio, it belongs to all Pastors and Teachers. Neither of these, is the Judgement now enquired after, but the third. If a man know not the Articles of saith, the Teachers of the Church are to instruct him. But if a man deny the Articles of faith, the same T…ach…rs of the Church, are to endeavour to convince him of his error, and better inform him: and thus far Judicial Decisive power is unnecessary: But if he will not be convinced, but still deny the Articles of the faith, then comes in the judicial Decisive Power in order to his punishment. The Articles of faith are to be discerned, and judged by, but not judged themselves, any otherwise then to be Taught: But it is the Heretick or offender that is to be judged. And the judgement being in order to execution, there is a twofold Judgement, as there is a twofold execution. 1. If the Question be, Who shall be taken for a Heretick, in order to the corporall punishment or forcible coercion of him by the sword, here the Magistrate onelyonly is the Judge: And it is 1. A vile usurpation in the Pope, to take this power out of his hands; 2. And it is an intolerable abuse of Magistrates! It makes them but like hang-men, or meer executioners; when the Pope and his Clergy must be the Judges of Heresies, and the Magistrate must but execute their Judgement? What if the Church or Pope, judge a Catholick to be a Heretick, must the Magistrate therefore burn an innocent member of Christ? They confess themselves, that the Pope may erre in matter of fact, and judge a man to be a Heretick that is none: And if he could not erre, yet sure his Clergie may: Yea they confess a Generall Council may, and say, they did erre in condemning Pope Honorius of Heresie. And must Kings and Judges, and all Magistrates, hang and burn all innocent people that the Popish Clergy shall falsly judge Hereticks: Will it justifie them before God, to say, The Pope or Bishops bid us burn them? No, I had rather be a Dog, then be a King upon these conditions. 3. And indeed it is impossible for the Pope himself to be Judge of all men through the world that are guilty of Heresie. For he is many hundred, or thousand miles off: and there must be a present Judge that shall hear the Cause and Witnesses; and there must be many thousand of these Judges to the whole world: and can the Pope or Council then serve alone? If every Heretick in England scape, till a Pope or Council have the hearing or judging of him, he will not fear.
Object. But the Pope and Councill are to judge what is Heresie, and what not, though not to judge all particular Causes; and then the Bishops must judge the Causes.
Answ. God hath told us already in his word, which are the Articles of our faith, and the Universall Church hath delivered us all the Essential Articles in Creeds, Professions, and the Baptismall Covenant! And therefore here is no work for a Judge, but for a Teacher. The Pastors of the Church must teach us ex officio, with authority, which are the Articles of saith; but they have no Power to judge an Article to be no Article, nor to make any new Article: And to judge an Article to be an Article, any man may do, by judgement of Discerning, and any Teachers by a Judgement of Direction. If moreover, you would have no Article of faith believed to be such, but on the word or Credit of the Pope or Council, and so resolve our faith into them, I have fully confuted this in my third Dispute against Popery! The word of God must be believed, whether men know the mind of the Pope and Council or not? But this is the highest arrogancy of the Papall sect, that they must not have Gods own Lawes believed, or received by any, but upon their word and credit? And so we must know, that they are authorized hereto, and infallible, before we know the Articles of our faith; and so we must believe in Christs Vicar, before we can believe in Christ? This is the ground of the Papall cause. Well, I think I may take it for granted by this time, that with reasonable impartial considerate men, the case is plain; that it is Magistrates, and not the Pope that are Judges, Who is to be corporally punished for Heresie! And if every Bishop must do it, then 1. they must prove every Bishop infallible; and 2. then they have not one Catholick Judge of faith, but many.
And what if we had granted them a power in the Pope or Council, to judge of Gods Law, and what is an Article of faith, and what is heresie? yet this will be far from restraining heresies, as long as there is no Judge of the particular Case: and if we have as many Judges of the Cause and Person as there be Bishops, then we have not one Catholick Judge of Persons and Causes; and if we must have fallible Bishops (yea and Popes) to judge of the person and fact, then we have but fallible restrainers of heresie.
2. The second sort of Judg… ment is in order to Church punishments. When the Question is not, Who shall be punished by the Sword, but Who shall be avoided by the Church as a Heretick? here it is, the Church that is to judge? Even that Church that must avoid, or reject them from Communion. And therefore as Communion is of narrower or wider extension, so must excommunication, and judging of Hereticks be. If the Question be onelyonly, Whether this man be to be avoided as a Heretick by this particular Church where he liveth? that Church must judge? If the Question be, Whether he be to be avoided as a Heretick by all the Churches of the Countrey or Nation, it is all these Churches that must judge? For who should judge, but those that must practice and answer for their Practice? And how can the Pope or Council be able to judge Persons and Causes that they know not; and to judge so many millions throughout the world? If you could prove that the whole Catholick Church were bound to take notice of this individuall Heretick, and were capable of actuall Communion, and avoiding Communion with him, and of congregating to judge him, then I should consent that all Christendom should meet to excommunicate a Heretick, if they had no better work the while to do. But the Case is plain, that the Church that must execute, must judge: the Church that must avoid the Communion of the Heretick, must judge him to be avoided: And I think the Pope and Generall Councils, will not undertake all this work.
You have nothing therefore to say, but to recur to the former way in your Objection, viz. That it is the work of Pope and Generall Councils, to judge what is faith and Heresies, and the work of Provinciall Synods or Bishops, to judge the offendors by their Cannons.
Answ. That is plainly; the Pope and Council must make the Law, and the Bishops judge by it. But 1. God hath made the Churches Law already: we know but this one Lawgiver to the Church, to constitute Articles of faith and spirituall duty. And is this all, that you make such a noise about, when you say, [Who shall be judge of faith and Heresie, and Controversie?] that is, Who shall make Lawes against them, to tell us, which is faith and which is Heresie? Why God hath done this already in the Scripture. 2. And this will not answer your own expectations in resolving your doubt? For if the Popes Legislation be all his judging of Controversies, there will be never the fewer Controversies or Heresies in the world: For there's no Law that hath a vertue sufficient to compel all the subjects …o obey it. If Gods Law cannot do it, neither can the Popes.
Object. But every Heretick pleadeth Scripture, and saith, it is for him? And shall there be no judge to put an end to all these Controversies, about the sense of Scripture?
Answ. 1. If there be any absolute Judge of the sense of Scripture, this work is to give the world a decisive Commentary upon it: which no Pope or Councill hath done? 2. And he should actually decide all the Controversies a foot, which the Pope dare not attempt; but leaves hundreds undecided among themselves, and more then ever were among the Protestants. 3. Its the work of a Teacher, and not a Catholick Judge, to acquaint men with the meaning of the Law. 4. For all their malignant accusation of the Scriptures, they do as plainly deliver us the Articles of Christian faith, and the necessary Christian duties, as any Pope or Council hath done. And if all the work for a Pope or Council, be to teach God how to speak, or mend his word, and make sense of it, when God hath made it but non-sence, (in their presumptuous judgements) then we can well spare such a Judge as this. 5. There's as much contention among your selves, about the meaning of the Cannons of Councils, and the Popes Decretals: and who must be Judge of all these Controversies? Even the late Council of Trent, is pleaded by one party for one side, and by another for the contrary: yea, even by the particular Divines that were members of the Councill. And yet no deciding Judge steps up; but let the contenders worry one another, and there is no end of their Disputes.
So that the case is as plain as can be desired, 1. That constituting by a Law or Ʋniversal Rule, to determine what shall be taken for faith, and what for Heresie, this God hath done, who is the onelyonly Universal Lawgiver, and we need no Pope for it. 2. To judge who is to be corporally punished as a Heretick, belongs to the Magistrate in his own Jurisdiction, and not to Pope or Bishops: (As hath been made good in all ages against them, since they claimed it, as the many Tractates of Goldastus Collection manifest.) 3. To judge who shall be cast out of the Communion of the Church as a Heretick, and avoided, belongs to the Church that hath Communion with him, and that is to avoid him; and to all other Churches, so far as they are naturally capable of Communion, and non-Communion with him, and of the cognizance of the case, and bound to take notice of it. So that all humane Judgement is but limited and ad hoc▪ the Judgment being but in order to the execution. 4. And therefore the Absolute finall Judgement is onelyonly that of Christ himself, to whom we must make our appeales, and from whom there is no appeal: And this is the true decision of this Question, that makes so lowd a noise, Who shall be judge of Controversies in faith, and of Heresies. And thus you see, that Scripture is the Catholick Rule, and Christ the Catholick Judge, and the Magistrate the Judge ad hoc, who shall be corporally punished, and the Pastors and Church where Communion or Avoiding the party is a duty, are Judges, ad hoc, Whether he be to be avoided. And this is the next Catholick Principle.