A27015:698
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.
Quest. 7. What is it which they call the present Church: Is it 1. The whole number of the faithful. 2. Or a major vote, or part. 3. Or the Bishops, or Presbyters in whole or part. 4. Or a Council chosen from among them, 5. Or the Pope? If the first,
Quest. 8 Do they not then make all Christians infallible as well as the Pope. And so they are in sensu composito in the essentials of Christianity and the whole Church shall never deny those essentials, but 1. whole particular Churches may, and 2. the whole Church may err some smaller errors against the revealed will of God; the Apostle telleth us that we know but in part; and as in many things we offend all, so in many things we err all. And moreover if this be their sense.
Quest. 8 Do they not then make all Christians infallible as well as the Pope. And so they are in sensu composito in the essentials of Christianity and the whole Church shall never deny those essentials, but 1. whole particular Churches may, and 2. the whole Church may erre some smaller errors against the revealed will of God; the Apostle telleth us that we know but in part; and as in many things we offend all, so in many things we err all. And moreover if this be their sense.
Quest. 9. Will it not then follow, that the Pope cannot be proved infallible, because it is most certain ⟨p. 289⟩that All the Church doth not take him to be infallible: no nor the greatest part of Christians in the world. Yea if they will take none for Christians but Papists, yet it will hence follow that there is no certainty that either Pope or Council are infallible. For the French take a Pope to be fallible, and the Italians and others take a General Council to be fallible: and therefore the whole Popish Church being not agreed of it, we cannot be sure that either of them is infallible. And moreover on this ground I demand,