A20187:169
The opening of heaven gatesThe opening of heauen gates
The opening of heaven gates, or The ready way to everlasting life Delivered in a most familiar dialogue, between reason and religion, touching predestination, Gods word, and mans free-will, to the understanding of the weakest capacity, and the confirming of the more strong. By Arthur Dent, preacher of the word of God, at South-Shoobery in Essex.The opening of heauen gates, or The ready way to euerlasting life Deliuered in a most familier dialogue, betweene reason and religion, touching predestination, Gods word, and mans free-will, to the vnderstanding of the weakest capacitie, and the confirming of the more strong. By Arthur Dent, preacher of the word of God, at South-Shoobery in Essex.
London: printed by G. Eld for John Wright, 1610London: printed by G. Eld for Iohn Wright, 1610
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
I would to God the Papist would look wisely upon his Church, and afterward tell us how far it differeth from the Churches of the Pharisees, which reproveth, and condemneth our Saviour CHRIST as a false Prophet, and all his Doctrine, as new-found doctrine, and schismatical, saying and swearing that theirs was of antiquity, observed of their fore-fathers, and having the warrant and consent of the world, what say they at this day against us which do embrace the self-same Doctrine, that was so condemned? Do not they say and ⟨p. 107⟩swear that Martin Luther is the father of our religion? Do they not call it a Sect, a Schism, an• Heresy? Do they not call us traitors to God & man, giving us such titles as they themselves deserve, and have they not slain whole thousands in that quarrel. If we demand of them whether y• Church of God were at any time comparable to the Synagogue of Jews in re•••ct of the multitude, which way will they turn them? if they answer that it was not, they condemn their own reasons of very much weakness, which do go about to confirm tho authority of their Church by other marks then the Church of God ever had: If they answer that the church of Christ was always the greatest, they are already convicted of as great foolishness, for there-upon would all this packet of untruth lustly depend, viz. That the Church of God, was drowned in the general overflowing, when all the world was drowned, and the church of satan saved in the Ark. That the church of God perished-among the Sodomites, and just Lot, and his family, were y• church of the devil: y• the Jews, Scribes, & Pharisees, were the Church of ⟨p. 108⟩Christ, and Christ him-self with the remnant of believers the Church of Antichrist: In conclusion that their Church is now the true Church because of the multitude, and ours the false: we will demand but one thing of those multitude of men, which if they truly tell us and prove, they shall have our hand and▪ our heart, we will become as true to them as steel, and consent to any religion of their forefathers; which is, that they show forth, at what time the estate of the world, was in so good case, that the best things did please the greatest number, or when iniquity had not the most consent of adherents (except at that time, when all were drowned except eight persons) Alas their proof is even as far to seek, as heaven is distant from hell;