A27015:51
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
To the reader: To the Literate Romanists that will read this Book.
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.
Another of your dissimulations which increaseth my dissatisfaction is, Your pretending •o the ignorant people, that you are all of a mind, and there are no divisions among you, •nd making our divisions the great Argument •o raise •n odium against our doctrine, calling us Schismatics, Heretics and the like. When indeed no one thing doth so much turn away my heart from you as your abominable Schism. Do we not know of the multitudes of Opinions ⟨image 18⟩among you, mentioned by Bellarmine and other of your Writers? If you call me out to any more of this work, I mean the next time to present to the world a Catalogue of your Divisions among your selves, that it may appear how notable your unity is? If the Jesuits are to be believed, what a silly sottish generation are your secular Priests? If your Priests are to be believed, what a seditious hypocritical, cheating pack are the Jesuits? I speak not the words of your Protestant adversaries, but of those of your own Church. Do I not know what Guiliel. de Sancto Amore and many another say of your own Church? Do you think I never read Watsons Quodlibets, and the many pretty stories of the Jesuits exploits there mentioned by him? I do not think that you suffer many of your own followers to read these books that are written against one another by your selves. But the great division among you, that quite overthrows your cause in my esteem, is that between the French and Italian, in your very foundation which all your faith is resolved into. You have no belief of Scripture, nor in Christ, no hope of heaven, you differ not from Turks and Infidels, but only upon the credit and authority of your Church: And this Church mus• be infallible, or else your faith is fallible: A• least it must be of sovereign authority. And when it comes to the upshot, you are not agree• ⟨image 18⟩what this Church is? One saith it is the Pope with a General Council; and another saith it is a General Council, though the Pope dissent. One saith the Pope is fallible, and the other saith a Council is fallible. One saith, a Pope is above the Council, and another saith the Council is above the Pope. And now what is become of your Religion? Nay is it not undeniable that you are of two Churches specifically different? Certainly a body Politic is specified from the summa potestas. And therefore if the French make a Council the summa potestas, the sovereign power;