The doctrine of schism fully opened and applied to gathered churches. Occasioned by a book entituled, Sacrilegious dissertion of the holy ministery rebuked; and tolerated preaching of the Gospel vindicated. / By The author of Toleration not to be abused by the Presbyterians.

CHAP. V.

The consequence of deserting their Office from their not gathering, disproved as not good either according to the Authors Principles, or the Answerers, or the nature of thing it self.

J Hope, by this time, you perceive you have not dealt like a very fair Dispu∣tant, in framing a proposition your self, and then publishing it to the World as mine, and as asserted and defended by my Book; and ac∣cordingly laboring to demolish it in the de∣sign and scope of your Answer, although that proposition had been the necessary, plain, and immediate consequence of what I had affirmed or denied.

But what shall I say if it indeed appear otherwise, and if that which you impose upon me, and so zealously oppose in me; be not, in any sense, the consequence of what I had said, either immediately or remotely, plainly or ob∣scurely, or any way necessarily. And that though I do assert, that it is unlawful for you

to gather new Churches, it will not follow, ei∣ther from my principles, or from the nature and truth of the thing, or from your own prin∣ciples, that I must needs hold it to be unlaw∣ful for you to exercise your Ministery; or would perswade you to desert your Office, let each be examined.

1. To make your charge against me any way tolerable, you should make it appear at least, from my principles, which is not possible for you to do: for, though I judge it unlawful for you to gather new Churches to preach un∣to, I hold it equally unlawful for you to de∣sert your Office: 'Tis my plain opinion, you ought rather then either of these, to attend upon the Ministery of the Temples; and in order thereunto to conform: and be it known unto you, if you knew it not before, that I am much of Mr. Fulwood's mind, who in three Books, published by him to that pur∣pose, hath endeavored to convince you, that this is his judgement, and that your duty.

Now, unless an endeavor to perswade you not to desert your Office, be to exhort you to desert your Office; yea, unless I had declared, that I believe there is no better, or no other way, for you to serve your Mini∣stery, then by gathering Churches, how can you affirm with honour to your wit and inge∣nuity, p. 57. that by disswading you from

the latter, I exhort to desert the former.

2. Neither doth it follow from the nature and truth of the thing; there is no such in∣dissoluble connexion betwixt these two Pro∣positions, that from my asserting one of them, you should boldly charge me with the o∣ther.

I do say, you may not gather Churches; I do not therefore say, you may not preach: or, if I did say that in statu quo you may not preach; I do not say, you may not change your state, as before, and then preach; I do not say, the King may not open the door of the Temple to you, that you might preach there; or if I had said all this, yet I had not said, you should desert your Office; for not to preach is one thing, and to desert your Office is another.

For no man may say, that a Minister de∣serts his Office, who living in a place of Chri∣stian Government, and hath no title, but sin∣cerely desires it, though he do actually preach, without publick licence, or the leave of a particular Pastor; and he that acknowledg∣eth any thing of Government, cannot be sober and believe that his Office obligeth him to go into Houses for want of a Temple; and there endeavor to draw the people from the publick worship, without the leave of their faithful Pastor; and that too, just at the times

appointed for the publick worship, as the cu∣stome generally is, notwithstanding your ex∣ample and Edicts to the contrary, and this, forsooth, because he must preach.

Yea, once more, admit that a lawfully or∣dained Minister rightfully inducted into his cure, should be suspended, justly or unjustly, by a lawful Authority; (and I think this may venture to comprehend something of our present case:) will any rule of good Policy, or regular Reason, allow this Minister to preach within the bounds of that Authority that silenc'd him, before such Authority is satisfied, either for the offence, or of the inno∣cency of the Person, and the unwarrantable∣ness▪ of the sentence.

Neither can I see (pardon my dulness) how any Government can be secured from the danger of General Confusion, that shall suf∣fer this Principle [we must preach] to bear it down. I wish heartily I may be found mistaken in this at last; however, I am sure, if persons thus suspended shall (during their suspension) forbear to preach, at least till the innocency of their Cause, and the unjust∣ness of their silencing be very clear and un∣doubted, generally to persons unconcerned, they do not by their obedience and unvolun∣tary silence desert their Office, though they be yet in the possession of their Cures: their

non-actual preaching in obedience to Autho∣rity, deserves a better name then a sacrile∣gious desertion of the Holy Ministery; much less if Ministers have no Cures of their own, may they be charged with deserting their Office, because they gather not our people from our Temple-worship, that they may have Auditors to preach unto, though without so doing they could not preach.

3. Let us now, lastly, try the strength of this consequence by your own principle dis∣covered to us by your concessions and pur∣poses in your Book; but more especially, in your advice given to the Non-conformists.

In p. 92. you say, In Parishes where all may hear the Parish-Minister, I would not have you (Non-conformists) without necessity preach at the same hour of the day, but at some middle time, that you may not seem to vie with him for Auditors, nor to draw the People from him; but let them go with you to hear him, and after come and hear you. I do acknowledge that in o∣ther places, though you omit it here, you provide that the Minister of the Parish be faithful, truly endeavoring the salvation of his flock.

I am not here to urge, or insist upon the inconveniencies of such a practice; and if the Non-conformist be an humble, discreet, and good man, for my part I should not much

fear them; but my business is to collect from this Advice of yours, that you your self can hardly believe, that deserting your Office, doth necessarily follow the not gathering of Churches; and that not only in mine, but in the common and usual understanding of the terms.

For thus, as you well observe, the Non-conformist would but hold a Chappel meeting under, and be subservient in his work to the Parish-Minister; and such preaching would in no ordinary construction be termed Schism, or a gathering a Church out of, or distinct, much less in opposition to the Parish-Church, but a furtherance, if well managed, to the common interest and concern of it; as the office of a School-master in Catechising the yonger sort upon the week-days.

And could we find that this cause had been indeed taken upon the foresaid conditions, as you advise, we should not have thought we had not had much reason to endeavour to prevent the Abuse of Toleration by the Pres∣byterians, or to complain as we do.

But 'tis sad to observe their practice quite contrary, generally so far as we can learn, and particularly in the populous City where I dwell, that are most conveniently ordered into Parishes, and the best provided of faithful Ministers, for to such places the Non con∣formists

generally resort, and set up their meetings in direct opposition to the Paro∣chial Churches, at the same time with the publick Worship; not endeavoring, in the least, any communion with it, or the Parish-Minister; but to as much discouragement of him as possibly they can.

And in those other places, where they have set up their Meetings, (there are but few that think it convenient to venture in the Country Parishes) they take the same course, without any regard to the distinction of faithful and unfaithful Ministers; and this is the thing we call Schism and sinful separa∣tion, and unlawful gathering of Churches out of Churches, and cannot see how you can believe that the necessity of your Office can justifie such dividing practices, who seem to detest them.

Yea, if such as bear the name and licence of Presbyterian-Ministers, would follow your advice, and only gather temporary Assemblies (waiting for a fixed better state, as you speak) in London, and in some Country Pa∣rishes, where the Ministers are intollerable, till they are better provided for, though per∣haps we justly differ from you about the number of intollerable Ministers, and must in reason judge, that your first endeavors should try to have such Ministers remov'd;

yet, I conceive, we should not have so great cause of lamentation, as now is too too no∣toriously given us, by the unreasonable cau∣sers of our Divisions.

Sir, give me leave to say and believe, up∣on the observation of the peaceable Princi∣ples, I find now and then hinted, even in the midst of your heat against me, in your Book, that did you rightly apprehend how matters are carried by these Church-gatherers for the dividing, dissipating, and as much as in them lies, destroying our Parochial Churches, you would return to your first thoughts, and no longer oppose, but second me.