A vindication of the Animadversions on Fiat lux

5. Protestants are not satisfied with your general implicit assent unto what your Church teacheth and determineth, which you have invented to solve the difficulties that attend your Description of the Unity of Faith. Of what use it may be unto, other purposes, I do not now dispute, but as to this, of the preservation of the Unity of Faith, it is certainly of none at all: The Unity of Faith consists in all mens express believing all, that all men are bound expressly to believe, be it what it will: Now you would have this preserved by mens not believing what they are bound to believe: For what belongs to this keeping the Unity of Faith they are bound to believe expressly, and what they believe implicitly, they do indeed no more but not expressly disbelieve; for if they do any more than not disbelieve, they put forth some act of their understanding about it, and so far expressly believe it: So that, upon the matter, you would have meant to keep the Unity of Faith, by a not believing of that, which that they may keep the Unity of Faith they are bound expressly to believe: Nor can you do otherwise whilst you make all the Propositions of your Church of things to be believed, to belong to the Unity of Faith. Lastly, The Determinations of ⟨p. 128⟩your Church you make to be the next efficient Cause of your Unity; now these not being absolutely infallible, leave it, like Delos, flitting up and down in the Sea of Probabilities only: This we shall manifest unto you immediately; at least we shall evidence that you have no cogent reasons, nor stable grounds to prove your Church infallible in her Determinations. At present, it shall suffice to mind you, that she hath Determined Contradictions, and that in as eminent a manner as it is possible for her to declare her sense by; namely by Councils confirmed by Popes; and an infallible determination of Contradictions, is not a Notion of any easy digestion in the thoughts of a man in his right wits. We confess then, that we cannot agree with you in your Rule of the Unity of Faith, though the thing its self we press after as our Duty. For, (2.) Protestants do not conceive this Unity to consist in a precise Determination of all Questions that are or may be raised in or about things belonging unto the Faith, whether it be made by your Church or any other way.

5. Protestants are not satisfied with your generall implicit assent unto what your Church teacheth and determineth, which you have invented to solve the difficulties that attend your Description of the Vnity of Faith. Of what use it may be unto, other purposes, I do not now dispute, but as to this, of the preservation of the Vnity of Faith, it is certainly of none at all: The Vnity of Faith consists in all mens express believing all, that all men are bound expresly to believe, be it what it will: Now you would have this preserved by mens not believing what they are bound to believe: For what belongs to this keeping the Vnity of Faith they are bound to believe expresly, and what they believe implicitly, they do indeed no more but not expresly disbelieve; for if they do any more than not disbelieve, they put forth some act of their understanding about it, and so farre expresly believe it: So that, upon the matter, you would have ment to keep the Unity of Faith, by a not believing of that, which that they may keep the Unity of Faith they are bound expresly to believe: Nor can you do otherwise whilest you make all the Propositions of your Church of things to be believed, to belong to the Unity of Faith. Lastly, The Determinations of