The INTRODUCTION to the Notes of the Church.

• THE Visibility of the Catholick Church takes away the Necessity of finding out Notes to distinguish it by, especially of such Notes as are matter of Dispute themselves. p. 3.
• The Ʋse of Notes of find out an Infallible Church, and these appropriated by the Cardinal to the Church of Rome only. p. 4.
• What Protestants intend in those Notes they give of the true Church, and what the Papists by their Notes of a Church. p. 5.
• The Protestant Way of finding out the Church by the essential Properties of a true Church. p. 6.
• Three things objected to this by the Cardinal, and Answers retur∣ned. p. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
• The Cardinal's Way considered and examined,
• 1st. To find out which is the True Church before we know what a True Church is. p. 13.
• Two Enquiries in order of Na∣ture before which is the True Church, whether there be a True Church or not? and what it is. ibid.
• No Notes of these, but such as they dare not give, viz. the Authority of the Scrip∣tures and every Man's pri∣vate Judgment of the Sense and Interpretation of them. p. 14.
• 2ly, She gives us Notes where∣by to find out the True Ca∣tholick Church, before we Page  [unnumbered]know what a particular Church is. p. 15.
• Impossible to know what the Ca∣tholick Church is, before we know what a particular Church is. ibid.
• No other Notes of a True Church, but what belongs to every True particular Church, and that can be nothing but what is essential to a Church, and what all Churches do a∣gree in, viz, the true Faith and Worship of Christ. p. 16.
• The 6th (which is the same with the 2d) and the 8th are the chief, if not the only Notes of this Nature, and here our Claim is as good, if not better than theirs. ibid.
• His 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th not properly Notes of a True Church, any otherwise than as they are Testimonies of the common Christianity, which is professed by all true Chur∣ches. ibid.
• The 13th, 14th, 15th, no Notes at all, because they are not always true. ibid.
• His 3d and 4th Notes are not Notes of a Church, but only God's Promises made to his Church. p. 17.
• His 1st Note doth not declare what a Church is, but in what Communion it is, and is no Note of a true Church, unless it be frrst proved, that they are true Churches, which are in Communion with each other. ibid.
• His 5th, common to the Greek, and any other Church, who have Bishops in Succession from the Apostles, or Apostolical Bishops. p. 18.
• The 7th Note serves to purpose the Cardinal's Design, and doth his Business without any other Note. ibid.
• 3dly. Another Mystery in for∣ming these Notes, is to pick out of all the Christian Chur∣ches in the World one Church, which we must own for the Ca∣tholick Church, and reject all others, as Heretical, or Schis∣matical, or Ʋncatholick Chur∣ches, who refuse Obedience and Subjection to this one Catho∣lick Church. p. 19.
• That there is but one True Church in the World, and that the Catholick Church doth not signify all the particular True Churches, but some one Church, which all others are bound to submit to, and com∣municate with, if they will be Members of the Catholick Church this necessary to be pro∣ved before the Cardinal had gi∣ven us these Notes of a Church. p. 20, 21.
• 4thly. Another Design in ma∣king these Notes, is to find out such a Church on whose Authority we must rely for the whole Christian Faith, e∣ven Page  [unnumbered]for the Holy Scriptures themselves. p. 22.
• But here we must first be satis∣fied that the True Church is Infallible; this can never be proved but by Scripture, which a Man must first believe, be∣fore it can be proved to him, that there is an Infallible Church. p. 23.
• The Church is not the first Ob∣ject of our Faith in Religion, since we ought to know and be∣lieve most of the Articles of the Christian Faith, before we can know whether there be any Church or no. p. 23, 24.