Animadversions on a treatise entitled Fiat lux, or, A guide in differences of religion,…Animadversions on a treatise intituled Fiat lux, or, A guide in differences of religion,…

Is it possible that any man in his right wits should talk at such a rate? Consult the writings of those days, of Alexander of Alexandria, of Athanasius, Gregory, Basil, Chrysostom, Austin, who not? Go over the Volumes of the Councils of those days; if he can once find the Authority of the Pope of Rome, and his Person, pleaded as the Pillar of the Faith of Christs Deity, or as any argument for the proof of it, let him triumph in his Discovery. Vain man that dares to make these flourishes, when he knows how those ancient Christian Hero's, of those days, mightily proved the Deity of Christ from the Scriptures, and confounded their Adversaries with their Testimonies, both in their Councils, Disputes, and Writings, which remain to this day; Was not the Scripture accounted, and pleaded by them all as the Bulwark of this Truth? and did not some of them, Athanasius for instance, do and suffer for the maintaining of it, more then ⟨p. 424⟩all the Bishops of Rome in those days, or since? and, what a trifling is it to tell us of the Popes Council at Nice? As though we did not know who called that Council, who presided in it, who bare the weight of the business of it, of whom none were Popes, nor any sent by Popes; nay, as if we did not know, that there was then no such Pope in the world, as he about whom we contend. Indeed it is not candid and ingenious for a man to talk of these things in this manner. The like must be said of the six first Councils mentioned by him; in some of which the power of the Bishop of Rome was expressly limited, as in that of Nice, and that of Chalcedon, and in the others; though he was ready enough to pretend to more, yet he had no more power then the Bishops of other Cities, that had a mind to be called Patriarchs. We do not then, as yet, see any reason to change our former thoughts of the Pope, for any thing here offered by our Author; and we cannot but be far enough from taking up his, if they be those which he hath in this discourse expressed, they being all of them Erroneous, the most of them Blasphemous.

Is it possible that any man in his right wits should talk at such a rate? Consult the writings of those dayes, of Alexander of Alexandria, of Athanasius, Gregory, Basil, Chrysostom, Austine, who not? Go over the Volumes of the Councils of those dayes; if he can once find the Authority of the Pope of Rome, and his Person, pleaded as the Pillar of the Faith of Christs Diety, or as any argument for the proof of it, let him triumph in his Discovery. Vain man that dares to make these flourishes, when he knows how those antient Christian Hero's, of those dayes, mightily proved the Deity of Christ from the Scriptures, and confounded their Adversaries with their Testimonies, both in their Councils, Disputes, and Writings, which remain to this day; Was not the Scripture accounted, and pleaded by them all as the Bulwark of this Truth? and did not some of them, Athanasius for instance, do and suffer for the maintaining of it, more then