A27058:55
The true history of councils enlarged and defended against the deceits of a pretended…
The true history of councils enlarged and defended against the deceits of a pretended vindicator of the primitive church, but indeed of the tympanite & tyranny of some prelates many hundred years after Christ, with a detection of the false history of Edward Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross in Ireland ... and a preface abbreviating much of Ludolphus's History of Habassta : written to show their dangerous error, who think that a general council, or college of bishops, is a supreme governor of all the Christian world ... / by Richard Baxter ... ; to which is added by another hand, a defence of a book, entitled, No evidence for diocesan churches ...The true history of councils enlarged and defended against the deceits of a pretended vindicator of the primitive church, but indeed of the tympanite & tyranny of some prelates many hundred years after Christ, with a detection of the false history of Edward Lord Bishop of Corke and Rosse in Ireland ... and a preface abbreviating much of Ludolphus's History of Habassta : written to shew their dangerous errour, who think that a general council, or colledge of bishops, is a supream governour of all the Christian world ... / by Richard Baxter ... ; to which is added by another hand, a defence of a book, entituled, No evidence for diocesan churches ...
London: printed for Tho. Parkhurst, 1682
Preface: To the Pious and Peaceable Protestant-Conforming Ministers, who are against our Subject…
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.
[What I did heretofore was done by my Fathers command, whom I must needs obey, so that by his conduct I made War against my Kindred and Subjects. But after the last Battle in Wainadega, both learned and unlearned, Clergy and Laity, Civil and Military men, great and small, fearlessly said to my Father the King, How long shall we be vexed & tired with unprofitable things? How long shall we fight against our Brethren and near Friends, cutting off our Right Hand with our Left? How long shall we turn our Swords against our own Bowels, when yet by the Roman Belief we know nothing but what we knew before? For what the Romans call two Natures in Christ, the Divinity and Humanity, we knew it long ago, from the beginning even unto this day: For we all believe that the same Christ our Lord is perfect God and perfect Man; perfect God in his Divinity, and perfect Man in his Humanity: But whereas those Natures are not separated, nor divided, (for each of them subsisteth, not by itself, but conjunct with the other) therefore we say not that they are two things, for one is made of two, yet so as that the Natures are not confounded or mixed in his Being. This Controversy therefore is of small moment among us: ⟨image 12⟩Nor did we fight much for this; but specially for this cause, that the Blood was denied the Laity in the Lucharist, whenas Christ himself said in the Gospel, except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood ye shall not have eternal Life.—But they detested nothing more than the Reiteration of Baptisms, as if before the Fathers rebaptized us we had been Heathens or Publicans: And that they Reordained our Priests and Deacons.—You too late offer us now that which might have been yielded at the first; for there is now no returning to that which all look at with the greatest horror and detestation, and therefore all further Conferences will be in vain.]
[What I did heretofore was done by my Fathers command, whom I must needs obey, so that by his conduct I made War against my Kindred and Subjects. But after the last Battle in Wainadega, both learned and unlearned, Clergy and Laity, Civil and Military men, great and small, fearlesly said to my Father the King, How long shall we be vexed & tired with unprofitable things? How long shall we fight against our Brethren and near Friends, cutting off our Right Hand with our Left? How long shall we turn our Swords against our own Bowels, when yet by the Roman Belief we know nothing but what we knew before? For what the Romanes call two Natures in Christ, the Divinity and Humanity, we knew it long ago, from the beginning even unto this day: For we all believe that the same Christ our Lord is perfect God and perfect Man; perfect God in his Divinity, and perfect Man in his Humanity: But whereas those Natures are not separated, nor divided, (for each of them subsisteth, not by itself, but conjunct with the other) therefore we say not that they are two things, for one is made of two, yet so as that the Natures are not confounded or mixed in his Being. This Controversie therefore is of small moment among us: