A27069:143
Which is the true church? the whole Christian world, as headed only by Christ…
Which is the true church? the whole Christian world, as headed only by Christ ... or, the Pope of Rome and his subjects as such? : in three parts ... / by Richard Baxter ...
London : Printed, and are to be sold by Richard Janeway ..., 1679
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 (were it not for interpreting him contrary to his company) I should by his words here 1judg that it is no Divine faith of the Churches Veracity, which he maketh pre-requisite to all other acts of faith; but it is Prudential motives of cre•bility, which must draw him to afford credit to that authority as derived from God, which commends to him the Bible as the word of God: now that can be no other than the Authority of the Catholic Church.
But (were it not for interpreting him contrary to his company) I should by his words here 1judg that it is no Divine faith of the Churches Veracity, which he maketh pre-requisite to all other acts of faith; but it is Prudential motives of cre•bility, which must draw him to afford credit to that authority as derived from God, which commends to him the Bible as the word of God: now that can be no other than the Authority of the Catholick Church.
- 1Sect. 17.
Ans. Mark Reader, It can be no other than the authority of the Church which must be the prudential motive to credit the authority of the Church as derived from God. So the Churches Authority must be first credited, that he may credit it; or else the Authority not credited must move him to credit it; which is all contradiction, unless he mean that the Churches Authority credited by a humane faith, or by some notifying or conjectural evidences, besides divine revelation, must move him to believe that it is authorized by God. When they have told us, whether that first credit given to the Church, have any certainty for its object, and also what and whence that certainty is, we shall know what to say to them. Knot against Chillingworth is fain to say, That it is the Churches own Miracles, by which it is known to have divine authority, before we can believe any word of God. And so no man can be sure that Gods word is his word, and true, till he be first sure that the Church of Rome hath wrought such miracles as prove its veracity as from God; which will require in the Catechumen so much acquaintance with Historical Legends (which the more he reads them, the less he will believe them) as will make it a far longer and more uncertain way to become a Christian, than better Teachers have of old made use of.