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…

So that by the name [Christian] which expresseth all my Religion it self Positively considered, I am differenced from Heathens, Jews, Mahometans, and all Infidels, and those (by some called Heretics) who usurp the name of Christians, while they deny part of the very essentials of Christianity. And by the name [Catholic] I add nothing Positive to the former, but only intimate that I am of the Universal Church, and negatively exclude my self from all divided parties, or from any that are yet in that Church, and yet take up any dividing titles or ways therein, though they withdraw not from it; as they are such, I am none of them, and therefore disclaim (when I express my Religion) such private names; I am no Lutheran, Calvinist, Arminian, Papist, Socinian, &c. but a Catholic.

So that by the name [Christian] which expresseth all my Religion it self Positively considered, I am differenced from Heathens, Jews, Mahometans, and all Infidels, and those (by some called Hereticks) who usurpe the name of Christians, while they deny part of the very essentials of Christianity. And by the name [Catholike] I adde nothing Positive to the former, but onely intimate that I am of the Universal Church, and negatively exclude my self from all divided parties, or from any that are yet in that Church, and yet take up any dividing titles or wayes therein, though they withdraw not from it; as they are such, I am none of them, and therefore disclaim (when I express my Religion) such private names; I am no Lutheran, Calvinist, Arminian, Papist, Socinian, &c. but a Catholike.

But yet when I say I am a Reformed Catholic, I purposely disclaim the Corruptions of Popery, and in that word renounce their Errors as such, as by the word Catholic I renounced their Schism: And so I may agree with Luther, Calvin or any man in Reformation, so far as they hold to the word of God: so that if malicious adversaries will put the name of ⟨p. 10⟩Sect upon the Catholic verity, and call it by the name of Zwinglianism, Lutheranism, Calvinis•• or the like, pretending that it had its spring from these men, they shall not by such unworthy means, remove me from the Catholic Religion, nor yet cause me to own their Corruptions, because they have named the opposition of them as a Heresy Augustine would not turn Donatist, because they named the Catholics Caecilians; nor would Prosper turn Pelagian, because they called the Orthodox, Predestinarians or Fatalists, nor would Athanasius before them turn Arian because they called the Orthodox Tritheists. It is not other mens fastening upon us the name of a man, or of a Sect that proves us Sectaries, or that we had our Religion originally from that man. Yet do we so much reverence their names, that we rejoice in their labours for the Church, and bless God for them, and endeavour to imitate them in their holy doctrine and lives, though we make none but Christ the Lord of our Faith