The orthodox faith and vvay to the Church explaned and iustified in answer to a popish treatise, entituled, White died blacke; wherein T.W. p. in his triple accusation of D. White for impostures, vntruths, and absurd illations, is proued a trifler: and the present controuersies betweene vs and the Romanists are more fully deliuered and cleared. By Francis White Bachelour in Diuinitie, and elder brother of Doctor Iohn White.

CHAP. V.

Paragraph. 1. Whether inward faith be needfull to make one a member of the Church.

T. W. MAister White suggesteth, that we require not any true and inward faith, or other vertues, to denominate

or make one a perfect member of Gods Church, but onely an inward shew thereof: and to this end introduceth Bellarminea 1.1, speaking thus: No inward vertue is required to make one a part of the true Church, but onely the ex∣ternall profession of faith.

Answ. Here againe you play the falsarie; for D. White produceth Bellarmine to no such end.

Your Compartner A. D. had said; The note of sancti∣tie belongeth not to the Protestants Church, by reason many of their people are euidently more wicked, then they were in former time.

Doctor White, besides other answer, denies the con∣sequent of this reason, affirming; That Papists themselues doe not make personall sanctitie a note of the Church; and for proofe hereofb 1.2 he produceth Bellarmine, &c. From whose assertion it followeth, that the former illati∣on of A. D. is false. For if no inward vertue be required to make a Christian an absolute member of the true Church, but onely externall profession of Faith, and communion of Sacraments, then personall sanctitie which consisteth principally of inward vertues, is no note of the Church, because the same is separable from many true members thereof.

T. W. Bellarmine acknowledgeth, that all Theologicall vertues are found in Gods Church, and that inward vertues are necessarie for a Christian soule: and he compares such as want the same, to the lesse profitable and excrementall parts of the bodie: and Maister White wrongeth the Cardinall, who saith; That a man onely of outward profession, is but aliquo modo pars ecclesiae, meaning onely in an imperfect or aequi∣uocall manner of being, &c.

Answ. First, this remoueth not my Brothers answer to

A. D: for although Theologicall and inward vertues, be alwaie•• found in some members of the Church; yet the same may be wanting in manyc 1.3, and sometimes in the most: and the multitude of those which want them, be∣ing according to Bellarmine, absolute members of the visible Church, may be more wicked then people were in former times.

2. The last part of the answer, which is, That a man of outward profession onely, is a part of the true Church, in an imperfect and aequiuocall manner of being onely, is both repugnant to the Tenet of your owne Doctorsd 1.4, and subuerteth the Popish Church: for hence it follo∣weth, that the Roman Pope when he is a wicked mon∣stere 1.5, and Deuill incarnatef 1.6, is not the visible head of the Church: for hee which is a member in an aequiuocall manner of beingg 1.7; to wit, like a woodden leg, or a head of brasse, is no organicall part, no head or instrument to cause influx of Faith or Sacraments into the bodie of the Church, as our Aduersaries maintaine their Pope doth. And hence it followeth, that the Romane Church is ma∣ny times a breathlesse and headlesse lumpe, without any Faith or Sacraments; and as the head is aequiuocall, so the faith and religion, is in name onely such, and not in definition.

Lastly, if as Bellarmine saith, those persons which want inward vertues, are no otherwise members of the visible Church, then the haires of a mans head, his nailes and euill humors, are members of a naturall bodie; it is wor∣thy

the inquirie, how Popes and Prelates being such, can be the foundation of the militant Church or principall parts whereof the same consisteth; seeing it was neuer yet heard of, that haires, nailes, or euill humors, did prin∣cipally constitute the frame of the naturall body of man.

Parag. 2. Bellarmine concerning ignorance, and implicite faith.

T. W. Maister White alledgeth Bellarmineh 1.8, saying; Faith is better defined by ignorance, then by knowledge; to proue, that among vs the lay people are not bound to know what the matters of faith be. But Bellarmine speaketh of such knowledge as proceedeth from the demonstrable euidence of the thing known, and is incompatible with faith; and not of Christian vnderstanding, going with faith, and proceeding from diuine reuelation▪ for shame Maister White forbeare to seduce any longer the ignorant, &c. making them beleeue, that Bellarmine doth support a supine, and affected ignorance of the articles of faith.

Answ. 1. Bellarmine in the Chapter whence these words are taken, disputeth against Caluini 1.9, and exclu∣deth from faith such knowledge as he affirmed to be ne∣cessarie thereunto. But the knowledge which Caluin re∣quired vnto Faith, was not the knowledge of demon∣stration, such as the Manichees would haue;* 1.10 but onely the knowledge of reuelation, that is, the conceiuing by vnderstanding, the obiect beleeued, as the same is pro∣pounded in the Scripture.

2. Bellarmine giues instance in children, women, ru∣rall

and vnlettered persons, who (saith hek 1.11) are numbred among the faithfull, and beleeue the articles of the Trini∣tie and other points of Faith, although they scarce con∣ceiue any thing in their minds besides the sound of the words. Hence it followeth, that Bellarmine excludeth from faith as a thing generally necessarie thereunto, all distinct knowledge of the matters beleeued: and then saying in the conclusion of the Chapter: That Faith is better defined by ignorance then by knowledge, he can meane no otherwise, but that grosse ignorance in diuers persons may stand with faith; and by the word noticia, he vnderstandeth both the science of demonstration which the Manicheesl 1.12 required in faith, and also the knowledge of reuelation which Caluin requires.

Paragr. 3. Whether Nauar make it heresie, to dispute of matters of faith.

T. W. Maister White alledgeth Nauar, saying; It is he∣resie for a lay man to dispute of matters of faith. But the said Author maketh it onely mortall sinne, and a lesse offence then heresie.

Answ. In the sextus Decretaliumm 1.13, the prohibition, for∣bidding lay men to dispute of the Catholike faith, vnder paine of excommunication, is placed vnder the Title De haereticis: and Nauar in his Manualln 1.14, condemning in lay

men all disputation concerning matters of Faith, con∣firmes his assertion by that Text of the Canon law: and this gaue my Brother occasion to suppose, that Nauar ac∣counted the same heresie. And in those places where Po∣pery is in full strength, if lay men dispute and question matters of Faith, the sacred Inquisitors will be bold to examine whether they smel of heresie or noto 1.15; and if eft∣soones they doe the same, their law will pronounce them Hereticks indeed.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Bellarm. de eccles. l. 3. c. 2.
• b 1.2

  Harding. Staphilus. Baronius.
• c 1.3

  Stella com. Luc. ••8 Nunc adeo creuit vi∣tiorum tem∣pestas, &c. Lambert. Scaf∣naburg hist. Germ. pag. 210. O mo••es, O tempora, &c. Platin. vi•••• Mar cel. 1. Vitia no∣stra eo creuere, vt vix apud D••ū misericordiae locū relinquant. Concil Basil. resp. synodal. Omnis ecclesi¦asticae & Chri∣stianae vitae dis∣ciplina, vbique pene extincta videtur.
• d 1.4

  Stapl. Rel c. 1. q. 2. ar. 1. notab. 5 Solent haeretici dicere, sanctos esse proprie membra eccle∣siae, alios im∣proprie & aequi∣uoce: sed fal∣luntur, &c. Bannes 2. 2. q. 1. ar. 10.
• e 1.5

  Platina vita Ioh 13. Sunt qui scribum hunc sceleratissimum hominem, seu monstrum potius, &c.
• f 1.6

  Constan. Concil. sess. 11. ar. 5. Fax vitiorum, & diabolus incarnatus. Benedict. 9. apud Baron. annal to. 11. Alexand. 6. a∣pud Guicciardin▪ & alios.
• g 1.7

  Bellar. de ima. l. 2. c. 21. Quod non dicitur, nisi improprie, simpliciter negari potest. Stapl. Rel. c. 1. q. 3. ar. 6. ad. 4. Nisi forte aequiuoce, quod perinde est ac non esse.
• h 1.8

  Bellarm. de iustif. l. 1. c. 7.
• i 1.9

  Nunc aduersus Caluinum, &c.
• * 1.10

  Bonauen. 3. d. 24 exposit. textus.
• k 1.11

  Bellar. de in∣stif l. 1. c 7. Cum maxima a pars fi¦delium vel prop¦ter aetatem pue∣rilē, vel propter serum mulie∣brem, &c Vide Stapl. Rel. c. 5. q. 3. ar. 4. ad. 8. Espenc. com. 2. Pim. 3. De∣cantata hodie per Catholicos Carbonarij fi∣des, qui quic∣quid crederet interrogatus, responderit, cre∣dere se quod credit ecclesia, & ecclesiam itidem credere, quod ipse crederet.
• l 1.12

  Aug. de vtil. cred ca. 1. Greg Val. to. 3. d. 1. qu. 2. p. 2. Manichaei contendebant, nihil esse amplius credendum, quam quod possit euidenti ratione demonstrari.
• m 1.13

  Sext. decr. l. 5 tit. 2 de haeret. c. Quicunque.
• n 1.14

  Nauar. enchir. c 11. n. 26. Sil∣uest. sum. v. disp. Linwoood l. 5. de Magistr. c. praeterea. gloss. Laicus nullo modo disputare debet de fide publice vel occulte.
• o 1.15

  Hasen Muller. hist. Iesuit. c. 3. Si contra disputēt, ad domum In∣quisitionis re∣mittunt.