AN ANSWER TO THE PREFACE.

SINCE this Author has thought fit to single me out, as an example of this pretended Agreement between the Church of England and the Church of Rome, I shall undertake my own defence, which will give me no other trouble, but a short diversion from some better designs; which I suppose is all that was hoped for from this Pamphlet.

For whoever this Author be (which I am not curious to know) I cannot think him so weak, as to hope at this time of Day, that he could perswade our Dissen∣ters, That the Clergy of the Church of England, are not the Chief, if not the only Opposers of Popery, and De∣fenders of the Protestant Religion; or that, notwithstand∣ing all their appearing Zeal against Popery, they are still Papists in their hearts, and are ready to embrace a Cassandrian accommodation whenever the Government pleases; and therefore I could be very well contented Page  2 such suggestions as these should pass without an An∣swer, as far as I am concerned in them; for let any man that knows me, think me a Papist if he can; I am pretty confident, this Author believes me far enough from it, or else I might have expected better words from him; but it is fit, that such little arts as these should be exposed to the scorn and contempt of Man∣kind, and that our Dissenters should be made sensible what a mean Opinion such Writers have of them, who hope to impose upon them by such mean arts. For to be∣gin with that great Cry of late, that the Clergy of the Church of England are now the Chief, if not the only op∣posers of Popery, and Defenders of the Protestant Re∣ligion; Is there not good reason for it? Have they not defended the Church of England against all the little arts and shifts of the Church of Rome? What is that then which he calls the unlucky mistake, and which the unwary Readers of Books are to be warned against? That those unanswerable Books, which have of late been written against Popery, were not wri∣ten by the Clergy of the Church of England? That he dares not say. What is the mistake then? That these men, who confute Popery, are not Protestants, but Papists? Methinks their confuting Popery is no great sign of their being Papists; especially when Papists are not able to defend their Religion against them. I am sure, if their Arguments will keep men from turning Papists, they are notable opposers of Po∣pery, and defenders of the Protestant Religion, whatever they are themselves; and what hurt it would do any man to be confirmed in the Protestant Religion, though it were by the Writings of concealed Papists, I cannot guess. Should the Pope himself write a Book against Popery, if the Arguments were good, I should like the Book never Page  3 the worse for the sake of the Author. I deny not, but such things may be done; Papists may write against Popery, and Protestants for it, with an intention to be∣tray the Cause which they undertake to defend; but if this were his rule of guessing, there would be much more just cause to suspect, that our late Popish Writers were Protestants, than that our Protestant Writers were Papists. When they are able to Answer their Books against Popery, we will give them leave to call them Papists still; but could they have done that, they would have allowed them to have been Protestants still.

But what course does our Author take to undeceive unwary Readers at this time, and to prove these Con∣futers of Popery to be Papists? Why, by acquainting them with the avowed Principles of some of our Clergy about those Points wherein the very life of Popery con∣sists, and on which the whole System of that Religion is founded: In doing which, he hath with some clearness demonstrated the agreement of Opinion between the Church of England men, and the Church of Rome, to be so exact and full, that if the Government should so design, it were but dictum factum, according to their Doctrine; and a Cassandrian Peace might be patch'd up presently with Rome. This is a notable discovery indeed! Do any of these men then embrace any Doctrines of the Church of Rome? No; but it seems, they agree with the Church of Rome in some Fundamental Principles, whereon the whole System of Popery is founded; That shall be examined anon: But suppose it at present; Do they draw the same Conclusions from these Principles, which the Church of Rome does? No; but they ought to do so: so this Author thinks; But suppose they do not think so; Are they ever the nearer Popery, though their Principles be the Page  4 same, if their Conclusions are as distant as Prote∣stancy is from Popery? If they be so well disposed to a Cassandrian Peace, I pray, What hinders it? Won't, they receive us upon these terms? What? Not after all their softning representations to invite men into the bosom of the Church? When they are so fond of all new Converts, will they reject the Cas∣sandrian Divines of the Church of England? When he adds, That his Majesty will admit of no such accomodati∣ons, any one would suspect that these poor Cassandrians had been suing for reconciliations, and had been re∣jected; that the mollifying character, of a Papist truly represented, and the Bishop of Condom's Expo∣sition of the Catholick Faith, which is as soft, though not so honest, as Cassanders consultation, would not now be allowed of at Court, and all for the sake of that more glorious design of Liberty of Conscience. But why might not Cassandrians be reconciled to the Church, and Dissenters have their Liberty too? This Prefacer does not tell his Story well; he has Forehead enough, but wants somewhat within.

Well, but it was necessary in this present juncture to put some check to the insulting Talk of the Clergy, who would be thought to be the only Champions against Popery: That the Clergy of the Church of England, have in∣dustriously and successfully opposed the Corruptions of the Church of Rome, will be acknowledged by all but Papists, and they feel it to their cost; but that they are the only Champions against Popery, I assure you, is not pleasing to them, for they would be very glad to see their dissenting Brethren put to their help∣ing Hand, and be as industrious to preserve those from Popery, who have a Veneration for their Au∣thority, as we are; and upon these terms we could Page  5 heartily forgive them all their former unjust impu∣tations of Popery to us; but that our Popish Adversaries find it necessary in this juncture to give some check to this Popery-opposing Clergy, I do not wonder, and I be∣lieve no body will, tho methinks the best way of giving a check to their Brags, had been to confute their Books, and they had work enough before them, had they liked this way; for I can tell them a great many Books which they have never answered yet, and I beleive never will, I am sure never can to any purpose: But they come too late to perswade people now that we are Papists, espe∣cially when they are so open-hearted as to tell all the World what their design is; for if we were Papists, no man will believe that they would be the first men who would discover us; it may be they may know some few Cassandrian Church-men, but those they keep to them∣selves yet, and leave others to guess at them.

But what Check does he intend to give to this Insult∣ing Talk of the Clergy? A very terrible one truly; for from this Essay, it is pretty evident, That the Church of England must either freely declare, that as to the particu∣lars instanced in, she is agreed with the Romanist, and that the Controversie lies only between the Church of Rome and the Protestant Dissenter; or she must honestly renounce the Principles she has cleav'd unto, when any of her Sons wrote against the Nonconformists, and confess that she has been persecuting them for their firm adherence to Protestant Doctrines. This is to triumph before the Victory, as our Author will quickly find; but however, for my part, I am glad it is no worse; for I do not see how this will much humble us with relation to our Disputes against Popery: Should I find any Principles that ever I have maintain'd against Dissenters, give any advantage to Po∣pery, I would certainly conclude them to be false, and Page  6 make no scruple at all to renounce them; for that which is false cannot follow from that which is true; and how great a humiliation soever this were, a man might dis∣pute heartily against Popery still; and let them but lay the charge of Persecution upon this issue, which I grant is the true and fair state of the Case, (for Persecution is only for Righteousness sake) and if our Dissenters were in the right, I will readily grant that those who made or executed those Laws against Dissenters, who had any hand or heart in it, were guilty of Persecution. There may be unreasonable severities used upon other accounts, but every man who suffers for following his Conscience, is not therefore persecuted; but he who suffers for being in the right, for believing and doing what God commands.

The next discovery this Essay makes is this, That ever since the breach between the Church of England, and the Protestant Dissenter has had its being, we have left us uothing but the Name, the Shadow of a Protestant Church of England, and that so far as she differs from the Dissenter, she agrees with the Roman Catholick. How glad would these Gentlemen be, to have none thought Protestants but Dissenters, who in this present juncture are a more gentile and better natur'd sort of Protestants, than this Shadow of the Church of England, which haunts them like a Ghost or Spectre: But when did the Church of England commence such a mere Name and Shadow? Ever since the breach with the Protestant Dissenter. But is not the Church of England the same now that it was before that breach? And if it were a good substantial Protestant Church then, How comes it to be a Shadow now? Suppose what he says were true, That as far as we differ from the Protestant Dissenter, we agree with the Roman Catholick. The Church of England may be ne∣ver the worse Protestant Church for that, which is pla∣ced Page  7 in the middle, between two Extreams, the Dissenter and the Papist. The Church of England Reformers ne∣ver made a mere Opposition to the Church of Rome, the Rule of their Reformation, but Reformed only those abuses of the Church of Rome which needed a Refor∣mation; and when this Prefacer can prove that we have not Reformed enough, we will Reform again; for we are not obstinate against convictions, and never think it too late to Reform; however, if as far as we differ from the Dissenter, we are Roman Catholicks, yet certainly, as far as we agree with the Dissenter, we are not; and that is enough to make us somewhat more than the Shadow of a Protestant Church. For we agree with them in our opposition to the Popes Supremacy, (as will presently appear) to Infallibity, to Transub∣stantiation, to the Sacrifice of the Mass, to the Adora∣tion of the Host, to the Worship of Saints and Angels, and the Virgin Mary, to the Worship of Images, to Prayers in an unknown Tongue, to the denying People the use of the Bible, to the Five new Popish Sacraments, to Indulgencies, Purgatory, Prayers for the Dead, the Merit of Works, and such like Popish Innovations and Corruptions; and to oppose these I take to be good sub∣stantial Protestancy. And as for those things wherein we differ from the Dissenters, we are so far from being Ro∣man-Catholicks, that as for my own part, tho I like neither, yet I think the Dissenter the better of the two: setting aside the Apostolical Institution of Episcopacy, I should prefer any form of Government, Presbytery, or Independancy, rather than a Papal Monarchy; it were better to have no Ceremonies at all, than to see Religion transform'd into little else but outside and Ceremony; for some external Indecencies of Worship, which may be supplied by in∣ward Devotions, are more eligible than gross and palpa∣ble Page  8 Superstitions. Though I think sitting at the Lords Supper favours of too much irreverence, yet I had rather see men Receive sitting, than see them Worship the Host.

So that our Church of England Nobility and Gentry, as he adds, have no reason either to embrace the name of Roman Catholick, or to close with the Protestant Dissenter; a Church of England Protestant is somewhat more than a name still, and I hope will be so, when some other names will be forgot.