A26906:949
The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being…
The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being dividers or troublers of the church with some directions to the pastors how to deal with such Christians / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed for Nevil Symmons, 1670
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.
Secondly, Too many are strangers to the people whom they teach, and know not the weaknesses of the vulgar, and therefore neither justly resolve their doubts, nor answer their objections, nor indeed speak that language which the people understand. They have been bred from their childhood in the Universities among Scholars, and have little conversed with Plough-men and poor people and ignorant persons, who have ⟨p. 318⟩quite other conceptions and expre•••ons than scholars have. Their accurate stiles and well couched words, and elegant phrases, are most of them like an unknown tongue, to the greatest number of their auditors. And that which they use as congruous to the matter, is so incongruous to their hearers, that its little to their benefit.
Secondly, Too many are strangers to the people whom they teach, and know not the weaknesses of the vulgar, and therefore neither justly resolve their doubts, nor answer their objections, nor indeed speak that language which the people understand. They have been bred from their childhood in the Universities among Schollars, and have little conversed with Plow-men and poor people and ignorant persons, who have ⟨p. 318⟩quite other conceptions and expre•••ons than schollars have. Their accurate stiles and wellcouched words, and elegant phrases, are most of them like an unknown tongue, to the greatest number of their auditors. And that which they use as congruous to the matter, is so incongruous to their hearers, that its little to their benefit.
Thirdly, And some in avoiding this extreme, do fall into the contrary; and never go beyond the present understanding of the people, and teach them nothing but what they know already; And hereby they bring themselves into contempt enticing the hearers to think that their Teachers, are as ignorant as they, and know no more than they teach; And they tempt the people to be puffed up, and think themselves worthy to be preachers, because they can do as much and as well as their teachers use to do.