Fides Catholica, or, The doctrine of the Catholick Church in eighteen grand ordinances referring to the Word, sacraments and prayer, in purity, number and nature, catholically maintained, and publickly taught against hereticks of all sorts : with the solutions of many proper and profitable questions sutable to to [sic] the nature of each ordinance treated of / by Wil. Annand ...

Quest. 4. Whether it be lawfull to hear an un∣ordained man Preach?

We must stand at the doore of this question avoid errour and distinguish of Unordained Preachers before we go for∣ward.

• 1. There is a preaching by way of tryall to ordination, their gifts, their knowledge, their uprightnesse, their utterance cannot be known but by preaching, the Church gene∣rally, will have a tryall of their parts before she separate any for that worke, thus Paul preached before his ordina∣tion.
• 2 There is a preaching by way of opposition to ordinati∣on, so there are some that will presumptuously execute all the offices of a minister, and slight ordination, desiring possi∣bly not to be bound nor tyed to that calling, that though their errours might be detected, yet their irregulari∣ty might passe unpunished, of these latter sort, the

• Question is to be understood, and that it is unlawful appeares
  • 1 Because to hear such is to goe out of Gods way, and practise: the Pharises that taught sound doctrin in some points, yet were but theeves and robbers, coming not in at the door but climbing up some other way, these the sheep hear not. Never did God give a power to any to ordain themselves Ste∣wards in his house, and therefore we are not to go to them for bread, left we be thought strivers against him, he ne∣ver intrusted them with his broad seale, and therefore we are not to receive the seales from them. Christs knows Paul, and Stephen, and Timothy; but these he knows not, there∣fore his people are bound to esteem them not as Ministers of God.
  • 2 It encourages them in their irregular proceedings, when they behold, giddy heads, ignorant persons, curious spirits flocking after them, imboldens them and hardens them in their er∣rour, whereas to withdraw from them might in time make them ashamed of their doings.
  • 3 It gives an evill example, when the weake Christian seeth one that is strong going to those upstart teachers, the weak may follow him; he may go out of wantonnesse or cu∣riosity, and the other may go out of conscience and frailty.
  • 4 Errour is ever sooner believed, then truth. It is expe∣rimentally known, that an Heretick may broach that do∣ctrine in a day; which truth cannot overcome in a year: there is a certain connaturality between the nature of man and falsehood. It is best therefore to withdraw from them, the very foundation of whose teaching is erroneous, in as a much as the authority they pretend to have, goes contrary to that autho∣rity that ever God invested his Church withall.
  • 5 Experience shews that God is offended with mans hearing or following of them, for we shall seldome see men giving eares to their doctrines; but what through ignorance of justice they are brought to believe a lye, which mkes them hop from one opinion to another; untill faith and religion be lost, and conscience it self be baffled or stifled; that they sit down in the seat of the scornful, and mock at laws established by either God or man.

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