A27015:348
The safe religion, or, Three disputations for the reformed catholic religion against popery proving…The safe religion, or, Three disputations for the reformed catholike religion against popery proving…
The safe religion, or, Three disputations for the reformed catholic religion against popery proving that popery is against the Holy Scriptures, the unity of the catholic church, the consent of the ancient doctors, the plainest reason, and common judgment of sense it self / by Richard Baxter.The safe religion, or, Three disputations for the reformed catholike religion against popery proving that popery is against the Holy Scriptures, the unity of the catholike church, the consent of the antient doctors, the plainest reason, and common judgment of sense it self / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed by Abraham Miller for Thomas Underhill, 1657
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.
But yet this is not all, nay the smaller part. For if you will but consider the state of the Church of Christ for the first three hundred, yea five or six hundred years, you will find that the Papists do differ from them all, even from the whole Church. For then the Popes universal Episcopacy and jurisdiction was not known in the world (as is said before.)
All these doth the Roman party now separate themselves from: All these they do pronounce to be no true Churches or true Christians, but Heretics and Schismatics: All these do they condemn to the pit of Hell. They have now concluded that only those are of the true Church, that acknowledge the Mastership or universal Headship of the Pope, and the Mistress-ship of the particular Roman Church which none of all those forementioned did. They now conclude that none can be saved but who are of this (new-framed) Church of theirs.
All these doth the Romane party now separate themseves from: All these they do pronounce to be no true Churches or true Christians, but Hereticks and Schismaticks: All these do they condemn to the pit of Hell. They have now concluded that onely those are of the true Church, that acknowledge the Mastership or universal Headship of the Pope, and the Mistrisship of the particular Romane Church which none of all those forementioned did. They now conclude that none can be saved but who are of this (new-framed) Church of theirs.
Now I do appeal to any reasonable impartial man alive, whether there be any more notorious Schismatics on earth, then these men; that dare unchurch the far greatest part of Christs Church on earth at present, & the far purest, and renounce communion with them all, and proclaim them Heretics or Schismatics, and sentence them all to the flames of Hell: Yea that dare do the like by all ages of Christians that have gone before them; yea that dare unchurch and damn to Hell the whole Church of Christ for many hundred years! For what do they less when they unchurch and damn all that acknowledge not their new made universal Bishop which the Primitive Church never did? And when they make that to be essential to the Catholic Church