Christ and his Church: or, Christianity explained, under seven evangelical and ecclesiastical heads; viz. Christ I. Welcomed in his nativity. II. Admired in his Passion. III. Adored in his Resurrection. IV. Glorified in his Ascension. V. Communicated in the coming of the Holy Ghost. VI. Received in the state of true Christianity. VII. Reteined in the true Christian communion. With a justification of the Church of England according to the true principles of Christian religion, and of Christian communion. By Ed. Hyde, Dr. of Divinity, sometimes fellow of Trinity Colledge in Cambridge, and late rector resident at Brightwell in Berks.

SECT. VIII. To oppose the celebration of Christs Nativity is a scandal to Chri∣stians, and a stumbling block to the Jews, keeping them from Christianity.

PER scandalum laeditur proximus in mente, ut per homicidium in corpore, per furtum in possessione, saith the School-man, (Alensis par. 2. qu. ibi. m. 1.) Scandal wrongs my neighbour in his mind, as murder wrongs him in his body, and theft wrongs him in his possession▪ and therefore I have great reason to take heed of being scandalous, as to take heed of being a murderer, or a thief. And truly I cannot see, but that our Saviours deter∣mination concerning scandal reacheth this very case, Mat. 18. 6. Whoso shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in me, it were better a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea. For tell me, do they not believe in Christ who set apart a time of purpose to make Profession of their Belief in him? And if they do believe in him, how will you answer your scandalizing and offending them, whiles they are professing or rather indeed practising that their belief; or your scandalizing others, whiles you keep them from the same Christian Practice and Profession? Wherefore it can hardly be denyed but this is really a scandal or an offence to Christians, be∣cause it is a way to cause some of them to forget, or to forsake our Saviour Christ; But surely it is a down-right stumbling∣block to the Jews, to keep them from embracing the Christian Religion: For the main thing needful to their conversion, is, to prove the Messiah is already come in the flesh, which the Jews will take for granted is denyed if not disproved by them, who will not allow themselves nor others to celebrate the memorial of his coming: for the whole course of their Religion taught them to acknowledge the receipt of far lesser blessings, with much more solemn memorials; as the receipt of the Law with the celebration of Pentecost: So that whatsoever may be urged for serving God in Spirit & in Truth, to make Christians become sincere worshippers, yet we had need keep up an outward so∣lemn

service and worship of Christ to make Jews become Chri∣stians; For it is not imaginable they should leave the outward decency and order that they are bound to use in their own Sy∣nagogues according to the whole purport of their own Law, to come to the slovenliness and Indecency that may be found in some Christian Churches, under the pretence of the purity of our Gospel.