The practical divinity of the papists discovered to be destructive of Christianity and mens…

There are many horrid sins, which they have transformed into virtues, or count high strains of Piety and Devotion: and thereby, are so far from being concerned to forsake them, as they are obliged to live in the practice of them, I might instance in Blasphemy, Idolatry, Perjury, Robbery, Murder, &c.

THere are many horrid sins, which they have transformed into vertues, or count high strains of Piety and Devotion: and thereby, are so far from being concerned to forsake them, as they are obliged to live in the practice of them, I might instance in Blasphemy, Idolatry, Perjury, Robbery, Murder, &c.

Their Blasphemies, in ascribing the peculiar excellencies of the Divine Majesty, and the prerogatives of our Lord Jesus Christ to the blessed Virgin, and other Creatures, and to their Popes (though diverse of them, as themselves acknowledge, were Monsters and incarnate Devils) have been sufficiently discovered by others, and therefore, designing brevity, I here wave them.

For the same reason, I will not insist upon their Idolatry in invocating Saints, adoring the Host, and worshipping Images, only as to this last, let me observe what is less taken notice of, that their own Doctrine before opened, quite shuts out the best, and only considerable plea, they make use of, to excuse themselves from this Crime. It is their common Doctrine, that the same Worship is to be given to the Image, and the exemplar, id est, the Worship of God to the Images of the Trinity, the Worship of Christ to a Crucifix, or a Cross, or the Image of the ⟨p. 184⟩Cross. They also define Idolatry, to be, a giving the Worship of God, to any thing else besides God. Who would imagine, but they had hereby fastened the charge of Idolatry upon themselves unavoidably? yet they make account to escape by pleading that the Worship they give to Images is Transient, not Terminative, id est, it stayes not in the Image, but passes from it to the exemplar, the mind of the Worshipper directing it to God. There's no need to ask what ground they have to imagine, that their giving the Worship of God to an Image Transitively, is not Idolatry; it is enough that they acknowledge it to be Idolatry, if it be not Transient: since whatever they pretend when they are pinched, yet they count it not requisite, that their worship should pass from the Image unto God; but think it safe to let it stop, where it first fell, and terminate in the Image. For they confess it passeth not to God, without an act of the mind directing it to him; this is not, nor can be, when in the Worship God is not minded: and they generally agree (as was showed before) that they need not mind God in their Worship. So the result of their own Doctrine is, that they need be no better than Idolaters. I know not what they will say here, unless as Cajetan, that a virtual termination will suffice, id est, when they have an intention, to terminate their Worship on God, without doing it actually, and indeed. But if no more be necessary, the Worship need not pass to God really, but may rest in the Image, and actually terminate there: and so they will be real, and actual Idolaters, whatever their intention be. Yea as to that, by their Doctrine it is not needful, to intend to Worship God, as we saw before. Answerably in their prayers to Saints, before their Relics, or before an Image;