Ans. Its pity that sloth and sottishness, should keep any Protestant (or Papist either) in such ignorance, as to need any help to answer so easy a question at this day! Let not equivocal names deceive us, and the case is easy. By the word Church the Scripture still meaneth; first, either the Universal Church which is the body or Kingdom of Christ alone: Secondly, or particular Congregations associated for personal communion in Gods worship: But the Pope hath feigned another kind of thing, and called it The Church: That is, The Universality of Christians as headed by himself, as the constitutive and governing head. Whereas, first, God never instituted or allowed such a Church, Secondly, nor did ever the ⟨p. 83⟩Universality of Christians, acknowledge this usurping Head. Show me in Scripture, or in Church-History, that either there ever was de facto, or ought to be de jure, such a thing in the world as they call the Church, and I profess I will immediately turn Papist. But if you ask why we separated from the Papal Church? I answer, Because, first, it was no Church of Christ (as such.) And secondly, It was a Church of traitorous combination, against the prerogative of Christ, and therefore by the Protestants called the Anti-christian Church. We separated not from Rome either as the Universal Church (for that it was not) nor as part of the Universal Church; (for so we hold communion with those that are Christians in it still) Nor as a true worshipping Congregation (for they consist of many thousand congregations which we had never local communion with: And as true worshipping congregations in specie, we still hold communion with them in mind, so far as they are such indeed: But in two senses we separate from them: First, as a Papal Catholic Church; because in that sense they are no Church of Christ, but a pack of rebels: Secondly, as particular Congregations in specie which have mixed Gods worship with false doctrine and Idolatrous bread-worship and other unlawful things, which by oaths and practise they would force those to be guilty of, who will communicate with them. And thus we disown them only as neighbour Churches, that never were their lawful subjects, but bear our testimony against their sin.
Ans. Its pity that sloth and sortishness, should keep any Protestant (or Papist either) in such ignorance, as to need any help to answer so easie a question at this day! Let not equivocal names deceive us, and the case is easie. By the word Church the Scripture still meaneth; first, either the Universal Church which is the body or Kingdome of Christ alone: Secondly, or particular Congregations associated for personal communion in Gods worship: But the Pope hath feigned another kind of thing, and called it The Church: That is, The Vniversality of Christians as headed by himself, as the constitutive and governing head. Whereas, first, God never instituted or allowed such a Church, Secondly, nor did ever the ⟨p. 83⟩Universality of Christians, acknowledge this usurping Head. Shew me in Scripture, or in Church-History, that either there ever was de facto, or ought to be de jure, such a thing in the world as they call the Church, and I profess I will immediately turn Papist. But if you ask why we separated from the Papal Church? I answer, Because, first, it was no Church of Christ (as such.) And secondly, It was a Church of traiterous combination, against the prerogative of Christ, and therefore by the Protestants called the Anti-christian Church. We separated not from Rome either as the Universal Church (for that it was not) nor as part of the Universal Church; (for so we hold communion with those that are Christians in it still) Nor as a true worshipping Congregation (for they consist of many thousand congregations which we had never local communion with: And as true worshipping congregations in specie, we still hold communion with them in mind, so far as they are such indeed: But in two senses we separate from them: First, as a Papal Catholick Church; because in that sense they are no Church of Christ, but a pack of rebels: Secondly, as particular Congregations in specie which have mixed Gods worship with false doctrine and Idolatrous bread-worship and other unlawful things, which by oaths and practise they would force those to be guilty of, who will communicate with them. And thus we disown them only as neighbour Churches, that never were their lawful subjects, but bear our testimony against their sin.
