A vindication of the Animadversions on Fiat lux

And your flattering your selves with an imagination of any other Privilege, is that which hath wrought your ruin: You are deceived if in this matter you are of Menander's mind, who said [Greek or Hebrew]; that, all will of its own accord fall out well with you though you sleep securely. As for all other Churches in the world besides your own, we have your concession not only that they were and are fallible, but that they have actually erred long since: and the same hath been proved against yours a thousand times; and your best Reserve against particular charges of Error lies in this impertinent general pretence, that you cannot err. It may be you will ask, for you use so to do, and it is the design of your Fiat to promote the •nquiry, If the Church be fallible, that is to propose unto us the things and Doctrines that we are to believe, How can we with faith infallible believe her proposals? And I tell you truly I know not how we can, if we believe them only upon her Authority, or she propose them to be believed solely upon that account; but when she proposeth them unto us to be believed on the Authority of God speaking in the Scriptures, we both can, and do believe what she teacheth and proposeth, and that with faith infallible resolved into the Veracity of God in his Word: and we grant every Church to be so far infallible as it attends unto the only Infallible Rule amongst men: When you prove that any one Church is by any promise of Christ, any grant of Privilege expressed or intimated in the Scripture, placed in an unerring condition, any farther than as in the use of the means appointed she attends unto the only Rule of her preservation, or that any Church shall be necessitated ⟨p. 193⟩to attend unto that Rule whether she will or no, whereby she may be preserved, or can give us an instance of any Church since the foundation of the world, that hath been actually preserved and absolutely from all error, (other than that of your own, which you know we cannot admit of,) as you will do, [Greek or Hebrew], a great and memorable work, so we shall grant as much as you can reasonably desire of us upon the account of the Assertion under consideration.

And your flattering your selves with an imagination of any other Priviledge, is that which hath wrought your ruine: You are deceived if in this matter you are of Menander's mind, who sayed 〈non-Latin alphabet〉; that, all will of its own accord fall out well with you though you sleep securely. As for all other Churches in the world besides your own, wee have your concession not only that they were and are fallible, but that they have actually erred long since: and the same hath been proved against yours a thousand times; and your best Reserve against particular charges of Errour lyes in this impertinent generall pretence, that you cannot erre. It may be you will ask, for you use so to do, and it is the design of your Fiat to promote the nquiry, If the Church be fallible, that is to propose unto us the things and Doctrines that we are to believe, How can we with faith infallible believe her proposals? And I tell you truly I know not how we can, if we believe them only upon her Authority, or she propose them to be believed solely upon that account; but when she proposeth them unto us to be believed on the Authority of God speaking in the Srciptures, we both can, and do believe what she teacheth and proposeth, and that with faith infallible resolved into the Veracity of God in his Word: and we grant every Church to be so farre infallible as it attends unto the only Infallible Rule amongst men: When you prove that any one Church is by any promise of Christ, any grant of Priviledge expressed or intimated in the Scripture, placed in an unerring condition, any farther than as in the use of the means appointed she attends unto the only Rule of her preservation, or that any Church shall be ecessitated