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A26962:69

Naked popery, or, The naked falsehood of a book called The Catholic naked truth,…Naked popery, or, The naked falshood of a book called The Catholick naked truth,…

Naked popery, or, The naked falsehood of a book called The Catholic naked truth, or, The Puritan convert to apostolical Christianity, written by W.H. opening their fundamental error of unwritten tradition, and their unjust description of the Puritans, the prelatical Protestant, and the papist, and their differences, and better acquainting the ignorant of the same difference, especially what a Puritan and what a papist is / by Richard Baxter ...Naked popery, or, The naked falshood of a book called The Catholick naked truth, or, The Puritan convert to apostolical Christianity, written by W.H. opening their fundamental errour of unwritten tradition, and their unjust description of the Puritans, the prelatical Protestant, and the papist, and their differences, and better acquainting the ignorant of the same difference, especially what a Puritan and what a papist is / by Richard Baxter ...

Richard Baxter 1615–1691London: printed for N. Simmons, 1677

196, [8] p. · 61k words · Wing B1315 · ESTC R13884

Title page: Princeton Theological Seminary Library copy, digitized by the Internet Archive (opens the Internet Archive in a new tab)

Chapter 2

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.

[ Earlier:66–81 of 699

:66p. 30

CHAP. II.

:67p. 30

YOU describe to us four supposed Parties. I. The Puritan. II. The Prelatical Protestant, (whom your Fitz-Simmons calleth, The Formalist.) III. The Papist, as you suppose us falsely to describe him. IV. The Papist, as you suppose him truly described, whom you call The Apostolical Christian. In all which you show that you are far from Infallibility, and a man unfit for your Relations to trust in so great a Case.

YOU describe to us four supposed Parties. I. The Puritan. II. The Prelatical Protestant, (whom your Fitz-Simmons calleth, The Formalist.) III. The Papist, as you suppose us falsly to describe him. IV. The Papist, as you suppose him truly described, whom you call The Apostolical Christian. In all which you shew that you are far from Infallibility, and a man unfit for your Relations to trust in so great a Case.

:68p. 30¶1

I. I confess you give the Puritan a very laudable description, in comparison of the Prelatist Protestant, and the feigned Papist. And you tell us, that you were once a Puritan your self, and you own still that which you describe as Puritanism, only adding Popery to it, which you think it wants. I confess you speak incomparably more honourably and charitably of Puritans, than some malicious interested Persons, of their own Protestant Profession will do. But,

I. I confess you give the Puritan a very laudable description, in comparison of the Prelatist Protestant, and the feigned Papist. And you tell us, that you were once a Puritan your self, and you own still that which you describe as Puritanism, only adding Popery to it, which you think it wants. I confess you speak incomparably more honourably and charitably of Puritans, than some malicious interessed Persons, of their own Protestant Profession will do. But,

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Position

Cited: :69
On this page: :66–81
Section: :66–110
Whole work: 699 passages

Cite

Richard Baxter, Naked popery, or, The naked falshood of a book called The Catholick naked truth,… (London, 1677), ch. 2, §1, p. 30. EEBO-TCP A26962.

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The book

Title as printed: Naked popery, or, The naked falsehood of a book called The Catholic naked truth, or, The Puritan convert to apostolical Christianity, written by W.H. opening their fundamental error of unwritten tradition, and their unjust description of the Puritans, the prelatical Protestant, and the papist, and their differences, and better acquainting the ignorant of the same difference, especially what a Puritan and what a papist is / by Richard Baxter ...Naked popery, or, The naked falshood of a book called The Catholick naked truth, or, The Puritan convert to apostolical Christianity, written by W.H. opening their fundamental errour of unwritten tradition, and their unjust description of the Puritans, the prelatical Protestant, and the papist, and their differences, and better acquainting the ignorant of the same difference, especially what a Puritan and what a papist is / by Richard Baxter ...
Author: Richard Baxter 1615–1691
Place: London
Bookseller: N. Simmons
Year: 1677
Size: 196, [8] p.
Words: 60,859
Catalogue: Wing B1315 · ESTC R13884
Text: EEBO-TCP A26962

Passages: 699
Sections: 22

:72p. 31–32

Thirdly, and because these Non-conformists lived strictly, and were for much preaching, and praying, and holy conference, and spending the Lords-day in holy Exercises, and serious diligence in working out our Salvation, and were sharp against drunkenness, swearing, and such other sins, therefore the vulgar Rabble of vicious ones, that durst not rail at Piety under the name of Piety, took the advantage of the Bishops displeasure at the Non-conformists, and of the name Puritan, and put that name upon all Christians among them, that were notably serious in practical Godliness, persuading themselves that they were all but Hypocrites: And so the name among the vulgar Rabble grew common to godly Conformists and Non-conformists: And as if loquendum cum vulgo had been a Law, by this means the Devil did more hurt both to godliness (rendering it among the vulgar to he but odious Hypocrisy and Singularity) and to Episcopacy (making Multitudes that disliked the wickedness of the Rabble, to think that all this came from the Bishops,) and it did more to advance and honour the Non-conformists, (because the name was formerly theirs as such) than by any one thing that I remember in all my younger days. This the godly Conformists grievously complained of, (as Bishop Downame in his Spittle Sermon, called Abraham's Trial, and Mr. Robert Bolton, who saith, that he believeth that never poor persecuted Word passed through the Mouths of wicked Men with more bitter scorn, since Malice ⟨p. 32⟩first entered into the Heart of Man:] Really the permitting of the common Rabble of all the debauched Sinners of the Land to make serious godliness a common scorn under the name of Puritanism, had as great a hand as any thing I know in all our Confusions.

Thirdly, and because these Non-conformists lived strictly, and were for much preaching, and praying, and holy conference, and spending the Lords-day in holy Exercises, and serious diligence in working out our Salvation, and were sharp against drunkenness, swearing, and such other sins, therefore the vulgar Rabble of vicious ones, that durst not rail at Piety under the name of Piety, took the advantage of the Bishops displeasure at the Non-conformists, and of the name Puritane, and put that name upon all Christians among them, that were notably serious in practical Godliness, perswading themselves that they were all but Hypocrites: And so the name among the vulgar Rabble grew common to godly Conformists and Non-conformists: And as if loquendum cum vulgo had been a Law, by this means the Devil did more hurt both to godliness (rendring it among the vulgar to he but odious Hypocrisie and Singularity) and to Episcopacy (making Multitudes that disliked the wickedness of the Rabble, to think that all this came from the Bishops,) and it did more to advance and honour the Non-conformists, (because the name was formerly theirs as such) than by any one thing that I remember in all my younger days. This the godly Conformists grievously complained of, (as Bishop Downame in his Spit•le Sermon, called Abrahams Tryal, and Mr. Robert Bolton, who saith, that he believeth that never poor persecuted Word passed through the Mouths of wicked Men with more bitter scorn, since Malice ⟨p. 32⟩first entred into the Heart of Man:] Really the permitting of the common Rabble of all the debauched Sinners of the Land to make serious godliness a common scorn under the name of Puritanisme, had as great a hand as any thing I know in all our Confusions.

:79p. 33–34

A Non-conformist in Scotland is one thing, in England another thing, as the Impositions are different. Nonconformity twenty years ago, or forty years, was one thing. Non-conformity since 1662. is quite another thing. And Non-conformists differ among themselves: If twenty things be imposed as necessary to the Ministry, he is a Non-conformist who consenteth but to nineteen of them; and so is he that consenteth but to eighteen, or to seventeen, or to sixteen, and so on, as well as he that consenteth to none of them. And that there is so much difference among them is no wonder to them, nor any considerate Man; for they hold Christian Love and Communion with those that agree with them in the foresaid common Principles and Practice of Christianity, (as far as they require not them to sin:) And they are not of a different Religion from every one that fasteth not on Fridays, or Saints Vigils, &c. as you seem to be, nor ⟨p. 34⟩from every one that doth so; nor from every one that thinketh not in every thing as they think, or that prayeth in other words than they; for no two Men in the World should on such Terms be of one Religion: They believe Socrates and Sozomen, who tell us of the great diversity of Rites and Orders in the ancient Churches, which all consisted with the same Religion, Faith, and Love. They abhor the Principle of hating, persecuting, yea and separating from one another for such differences as will unavoidably adhere to the imperfect condition of Christians here on Earth.

A Non-conformist in Scotland is one thing, in England another thing, as the Impositions are different. Nonconformity twenty years ago, or fourty years, was one thing. Non-conformity since 1662. is quite another thing. And Non-conformists differ among themselves: If twenty things be imposed as necessary to the Ministry, he is a Non-conformist who consenteth but to nineteen of them; and so is he that consenteth but to eighteen, or to seventeen, or to sixteen, and so on, as well as he that consenteth to none of them. And that there is so much difference among them is no wonder to them, nor any considerate Man; for they hold Christian Love and Communion with those that agree with them in the foresaid common Principles and Practice of Christianity, (as far as they require not them to sin:) And they are not of a different Religion from every one that fasteth not on Fridays, or Saints Vigils, &c. as you seem to be, nor ⟨p. 34⟩from every one that doth so; nor from every one that thinketh not in every thing as they think, or that prayeth in other words than they; for no two Men in the World should on such Terms be of one Religion: They believe Socrates and Sozomen, who tell us of the great diversity of Rites and Orders in the ancient Churches, which all consisted with the same Religion, Faith, and Love. They abhor the Principle of hating, persecuting, yea and separating from one another for such differences as will unavoidably adhere to the imperfect condition of Christians here on Earth.