Brief Account of One Suggestion of the Romanist, Chapter 5 · Section 6
SECT. VI.
Strictures on his twelfth Section. Faith imputed to impurity of passion. No faith, but knowledge with S. W. His dign…fying their present Church. Of the supposed imposs…bility for Parents to conspire to lead their children in error. Some Fathers proceed by the Colliers faith. Mr. Whites Confession. Communion in error without conspiracy. Belief of a Churches infallibility a principle of general error. Many wayes of introducing errors into a Church No demonstrativenesse of Mr. Whites new way. The present Church assured of some things, very fallible in others. The no ground of his thirteenth Section. Infallible belief of matters of fact concurrently testifyed. Concurrence of testimonies of fallible men, an infallible reason of belief. S. W's misrepresentations.
1. HIs twelfth Section with the rare Sermon at the end of it (a special essay of S. W's faculty that way) is all either repetition of grounds of their Churches inerrability (already refuted when formerly laid) or of consequences (which cannot rise above the height of their fountain, the pitch of the grounds) or meer declamation and contumely, (which must not be incouraged so much, as to have the least regard, or return made to it.)
2. Some things only I shall briefly note in his processe, and leave the Reader to consider of them, As 1. that all assent which hath not its original from evidence (this, I take it, must include Faith, which is of things inevident)*P. 118. Springs from impurity of passion, i. e. of vice.
3. So again that God either hath left no power to oblige to assent, or if he have, it must be sounded in evidence] The necessary importance of which I suppose to be, that I cannot by God himself be obliged to assent to any thing, but what is proved to me by demonstration, nor to believe but what I know, which immediately concludes that there is no Law of Faith, but only necessity of knowledge.
4. Thirdly, that the present Roman Church (of that he must speak) hath no other motive to oblige any heathen to assent to her Doctrine, as farre as concerns its having been taught by Christ and his Apostles, but the proposal of her own authority, millions and millions of Fathers in the (present Roman) Catholike Church conspiring to witnesse those points of Doctrine were received from their Ancestors as from their, and so ascending upward, as from Christ.] Which as it gives the same authority to their present Churches praesumptions, as to the universal Testification of the first and purest times of those that were foreign and foreign of the Apostles, so it aequals the evidence of every article, that either this, or any one former age hath taken for Tradition, with the aeternal divinity of Christ, the divine authority of the Scripture, or any thing which is attested to us most infallibly.
5. Fourthly, that 'tis impossible that these Fathers (of families, Mr. Whites connatural way was wont to read Mothers) would conspire in any age to attest a notorious untruth, pernicious to their own and childrens aeternal blisse.] When 1. understanding it, as we doe, of additionals only, every such untruth is not pernicious to their seduced childrens aeternal blisse. 2. 'Tis more than possible for the farre greatest number of Parents to go themselves, and lead their children in the broad way whether of pleasure, or profit, that leadeth unto ruine, and S. W. hath not so numbred his Fathers by the poll, as to be able to affirm any more of any quaestioned Doctrine of any age, than that it hath been thus taught by the farre greatest number of Parents. 3. 'Tis more than possible also, that untruths may by some cunning seducers be so disguised, or by authority plausibly and definitively proposed, as not to be notorious to many. 4. What is but possible, and so is every thing that implyes not a contradiction, as it is evident this doth not, is not impossible.
6. Fifthly that 'tis impossible those so many Fathers could either erre or mistake in things so visible, or contrive a conspiracy to embrace any one error, considering the several Countreyes in which they lived dispers'd, and consequently their several natures, obligations, interests, and other manifoldly varying circumstances.] Whereas 1. every point of Doctrine is not a thing visible to the multitude of Fathers of Families, who perhaps never hear or know what belongs to some Doctrines, which the Church holds, but are*Apol. p. 234. 71. 114. oft allowed by Mr. White to proceed by the Colliers principle, believe as the Church believes, though they know not what it is, or as his style is, believe a knowing person in that wherein our selves are ignorant (a maxim, saith he, that governs all our life publike and private) 2. there is no impossibility for such great multitudes to erre or mistake, when (whatever their Church is) not one of these Fathers mentioned is by them believed to be infallible, and then 3. there is no need of their contriving a conspiracy to embrace an error, their few Doctors may be either seduced, or overawed, or bribed by persons in greatest power to embrace an error, (as was visible when the Emperor was Arian, and in many other instances) and then they will uniformly deliver it to all that believe them, and understand it, and they that understand it not, will believe with the Collier, and they that believe not will be either silent, or unconsiderable, and soon put to silence, and an anathema, or a fagot will be sufficient to make any Doctrin general, 4. The variety of Countreys, natures, interests, &c. can never produce an impossibility, or render it more than improbable, and a thousand probabilities are nothing, saith Mr. White, and as little the same number of improbabilities, and never were they lesse in any case than in this where the one motive being common to all that live within the Roman Communion, viz. a belief of their Churches Infallibility, whatsoever is proposed by the Governors of that Church, may universally be received, by all their subjects, how distantly soever dispersed, or natured, or interested, nay must, by necessity of immediate connexion, when once they have imbibed the principle, resolved that their Church is infallible, for then sure she which can erre in nothing, cannot erre in this.
7. Sixthly, that 'tis impossible that if they would and could attest and introduce an error, it should not be most visible and palpable to the whole world, whereas 1. the farre greatest part of the whole world, as that signifies the Fathers or Mothers of Families, doe not in a whole age consider some Doctrines of their Church, or consequently are capable of comparing the old stock with a Roman Additional. 2. If they discern it, they may either out of love of novelties, like the change, and upon tender'd advantages, like it better, or upon fear accept, and not expresse dislikes, or, upon perswasion of her Infallibility, never quaestion what is entred into a Canon at Florence, or at Trent, and then what matters it for visibility and palpablenesse to the whole world.
8. These last three propositions of his intituled his treble twisted Impossibility, are the result of his admired Dialogues, and the Apology for Tradition, and as many faileurs as there are in them (there are many more than I have now mention'd) so many evidences there stand upon record, that the New-Albian way of Oral Tradition, on which all the Dispatchers fortunes depend, fails of its demonstrative evidence; and then according to the rule in the front of this Section, all assent that is given to it must spring from impurity of passion, i. e. from vice, and consequently he will conclude, that God himself cannot command assent to it. What then must Mr. White take himself for, that so severely and inexorably exacts it of all his Disciples, that the Pope himself must be an Arch haeretick, if he come in competition with this more refined way, of his Fathers or Mothers, for the Infallibility.
P. 120.9. Seventhly, that their Churches sticking close to this Rule, of delivering only what she received as thus attested (which was the great begging the quaestion, on which in his Grounds, all his demonstration for Tradition depended, the Minor in his grand Syllogisme, not offered to be proved) is again tender'd in the like manner, without any offer of proof; But of this I must not again so soon enlarge, having so lately elsewhere spoken abundantly of it.
10. As these fundamental propositions of his shall be found to have demonstrative truth, so his consequences shall be allowed the priviledge of their connexion, to them, and by the same necessity fail of all degree of probability, if his grounds appear to have been mislaid, and to that issue I leave the whole dozen of them, and the Sermon cast in, to make up the weight.
P. 123.11. Only one special prodigy more may deserve to be call'd out from his tenth consequence, that my denying any company of men on earth (my words apparently must be understood of none on earth) to be infallible, is no lesse than the destroying at once all belief, and making it a sin to believe any article of the Christian faith, since if the Authority that conveighs Scripture and Primitive Doctrine to us cannot be evidenced to be infallible, no man is bound to believe either, nay he must needs sin in praecipitating his assent without evidence to ground it.] Whereas I had thought, that the universal consent of the whole Church of the first ages (that were certainly competent testifiers) might so be convey'd to us, as infallibly to assure us of the Scriptures, and all Apostolical Doctrine, and that that Church of this age that were thus infallibly assured in many things, might yet be fallible in others, such as on their own discourses and reasonings, or but praetense of Tradition, they define without the like testification of their coming from the Apostles. And if my saying of this be as much as he sayes or desires (as*P. 123. himself confesses it is) one would think this might be the setting an end to this controversie. But then alas our new Preacher that hath not been oft in the Pulpit, would lose his Text, on which his harangue is praepared, and therefore it must be decreed, that I have contradicted my self, and so that my condition is but so much the worse, for having gone as farre as he himself could desire of me. When will disputes be at an end, whilest these are the contrary arts and wayes of aeternizing them?
12. A like art it is which hath produced his whole 13th Section, where from my saying that 'tis in vain to speak of motives to return—(i. e. in plain terms, that we were excommunicated by (and did not separate from) them, and cannot now be readmitted to their communion without dissembling and lying, by which means our reunion is become impossible, and so 'tis a meer vanity to talk of motives to it) he makes no difficulty to conclude, that I professe my self uncapable to hear motives or reasons, and that it is in vain to speak of them to me, and what greater obstinacy than this? But suppose I had said 'tis vain to speak reason to S. W. who is so resolved to misunderstand, and put odious colours on all that is most innocently said and meant, would he conclude from thence, that I profess'd never to speak reason more, and so were resolved to subscribe all his infallible Dictates? The justice were aequal on both sides; the case being clear, that what is made simply impossible by their tyranny and intolerable conditions, is thereby become vain to think or speak of to those that will not sin against conscience, and then what need we attend to more motives for what we desire already, when if we desired it more ardently, 'twere still as impossible as ever?
13. What to my Replies concerning Antiquity and Possession (Repl. p. 20, 21.) he hath returned p. 129, 130. I desire the Reader to consult in the places, and so also concerning the fallibility of the testimonies of men in a known matter of fact, as that there was such a King as Henry VIII. which testimonies though in one respect I count fallible, because every man that hath testified it, is, as a meer man, but fallible, yet the concurr…nce of all men, that then lived, and since, in those testimonies assures me infallibly of the truth of it, so that no imaginable motive can beget any doubt of it in me, and so upon the strength of that reason I believe it infallibly.
14. When therefore he saith that I account the reasons of believing that Henry VIII. was King—fallible, he must know, 'tis a misrepresentation, *Repl. p. 22.My words are, The reasons on which I believe it, are the testimonies of meer men, and so fallible] The word fallible he might, if he had pleased, have applyed to what was next before it, [meer men] and then it must have been evidently true, for sure meer men are fallible: But he might with more reason have applyed it to [testimonies of meer men] for of them 'tis visible that I spake it, by what follows [the bare fallibility of those testimonies] but (against this evidence) he must mistake, and affix it to the first word, that the reasons of believing I account fallible] Whereas 'tis plain enough, that the testimonies, as they are of fallible men, being fallible, yet the concurrence of all men in those testimonies is an infallible reason, of which therefore no man can reasonably doubt.
15. This kinde of certainty, he saith*P. 137. I put as a parallel of the Protestants uncertainty, and challenges me to shew the thousandth part of it for any point wherein we differ from them.] But this is another misrepresentation,†Reply p. 21. Sect. 3. n. 34. My words were, that the fallibility of the Protestants, whilest yet they are without doubting verily perswaded that their reasons have force in them, cannot make it possible for them to believe what they doe not believe, or lawfull to professe contrary to their belief, and this illustrated by believing the testimonies of Henry VIII. the fallibility of which testimonies (though 'twere supposed) would not make it reasonable for me to doubt of it, nor lawfull to professe I doe not believe it. What need then had he to take such solemn pains to prove that it is demonstrable, there was such a man as Henry VIII. which I believe as much as he, and believe as infallibly as he would have me? What then follows to the end of the Section is unsignificant, and so I give it leave to passe.