A26901:34
The church told of Mr. Ed. Bagshaw's scandals and warned of the dangerous snares…
The church told of Mr. Ed. Bagshaw's scandals and warned of the dangerous snares of Satan now laid for them in his love-killing principles with a farther proof that it is our common duty to keep up the interest of the Christian religion and Protestant cause in the parish churches, and not to imprison them by a confinement to tolerated meetings alone / by Richard Baxter ...
London : s.n., 1672
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.
CHAP. II.
I Must needs again remember the Readers, 1. That the design of my Book was not particular, to reconcile men only to the Parish Churches; but universal, against those Principles in mens minds, which cause Divisions in all other Churches, as well as that, and will never suffer Christians to Unite and Agree where they prevail.
2. That I was so far from persuading any Minister to the present Conformity, that I persuaded not the Readers, 1. Either to use the Ceremonies; 2. or to communicate with any Persecutors; 3. or to own Diocesans; 4. nor to communicate with, or own a Diocesan Church; 5. nor to communicate with, or own any Parish Minister, that is intolerable, through Insufficiency, Heresy, or Wickedness; 6. nor to speak one false word, nor to do one sinful action, to obtain Communion with the best Church in the world; 7. nor to prefer Communion with a worse Church and Minister, before Communion with a better, where it may be had, without greater loss than benefit; 8. nor to forbear any lawful endeavours in private for each others good; 9. nor to forsake a lawful faithful Pastor, merely because he is ⟨p. 8⟩cast out of the Tithes and Temple; 10. nor to take a man for your Pastor, merely because he hath possession of the Tithes and Temple; 11. nor that a lawful faithful Minister should give over his Ministerial work, or not perform it to the best Edificacation of the Church, whoever is displeased by it, or whatever it cost him; which I take to be downright Perfidiousness against his Ordination, and Sacrilege, as being the alienation of a devoted consecrated person; (yea, greater Sacrilege than alienating Church Lands.) 12. Nor did I persuade any Minister, that instead of flying to another City (as Christ once commanded) he must needs fly from all Cities: (For the Diocesans that think Cities only were the seats of Churches and Bishops, might infer, that if it be lawful to desert the souls of all in Cities and Corporations, it is but a little step farther to desert the Villages also.) 13. Nor did I ever persuade any Minister to go to a Parish Church in City or Corporation, who is by Law forbidden to come within five miles of it; and who by appearing there, doth put himself into prison for six months in the common Jail. 14. Nor did I ever persuade any to hear the common Prayer, or go to the Parish Churches, merely for fear of punishment, and to save themselves. None of all these were the matters I that meddled with.