The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…

This Schism, however it be understood, hath ever proven exceeding hurtful to the Church, and hath been an inlet and nursery to the greatest errors; It is most pressingly condemned in the Scriptures, even with as great weight as corrupt doctrine and heresy are, and it is attributed to that same original, to wit, the flesh, with witchcraft, idolatry, heresy, &c. Gal. 5. 20. It hath ever been most weighting to faithful Ministers, most offensive to people of all sorts, most advantageous to the enemies of the truth, and hath made the Church most vile and contemptible before the world, as we may see in the sad complaints and writings of the Fathers, in reference to the Novatians, Donatists and others of that kind: It hath also proven most dangerous to these who have been engaged therein, and often hath been a snare to bring on some spiritual desertion, deadness of spirit, security, self-confidence, or some other spiritual evils of that kind, or to dispose for receiving a more gross tentation, as was formerly marked. Also, it may be observed, that such schisms have spread very suddenly in some places of the world, but have not been easily removed; for, these schisms of the Novatians and Donatists did trouble the Church for several generations, which might be enough to make men think the breach of unity, in that respect, to be no little evil, and to make them fearful to fall in the same. But because every schism properly doth imply some error in doctrine, although it doth not arise from the same, ⟨p. 276⟩therefore we shall forbear to speak any thing particularly to this, because what hath been said of errors in doctrine, may in part be applied here: For, we will find, that schism doth imply one, or all of those. 1. That such apprehended corruptions do either make such a society to be no Church, or communion with that Church in other Ordinances, to be unlawful because of such corruptions, or of such corrupt members. 2. That there may be a distinct erected Church beside a Church, which yet may not be of communion with that other Church. 3.

This Schism, however it be understood, hath ever proven exceeding hurtfull to the Church, and hath been an inlet and nursery to the greatest errours; It is most pressingly condemned in the Scriptures, even with as great weight as corrupt doctrine and heresie are, and it is attributed to that same originall, to wit, the flesh, with witchcraft, idolatry, heresie, &c.