An answer, to a little book call'd Protestancy to be embrac'd or, A new and infallible method to reduce Romanists from popery to Protestancy

SECT. I. Protestants live in Spiritual Sla∣very not Catholicks. The De∣cree of Innocent the third, in the third Cap. of the Gene∣ral Council of Lateran is not a Decree of Faith

TO his saying the R. Church imposes besides the written Law so many Obligations on her Subjects, that Popery is justly call'd a meer Slavery.

I Answer. She imposes none not contained in the Law of God, explicitly or Implicitly. Since God has bid Bishops (or the Teaching Church) Govern the Church, viz. the directed Church and Commanded us to hear Her, or them, 'tis no more Slavery to us to Obey Her in Spiritual matters, then for the Subjects of a Kingdom to Obey in Civil matters, the Commands of a Vice-Roy, or a Commissioner.

The Protestants indeed live in a Spiritual slavery according to their Principles, because when they have

Grace, they are necessitated by it, and when they want it, they are necessitated by their concupiscence, and so are ever without Liberty in Sla∣very.

The business our Adversary drives at in this Ob∣jection, is this, that the Church incroaches upon the Temporal Dominions of Princes by deposing Kings, untying their Subjects from their Allegiance to them, and giving their Lands to such as can Conquer them. As may be seen in the third Chap. of the fourth General Lateran Council, under In∣nocent the Third.

Answer. Let our Adversary Read that Decree with the Eyes of a Divine, and he'l find that, that Decree is not of Faith, and therefore does not o∣blidge us to believe it.

The Decrees of Faith in that Council being ga∣thered into the first Chap. Intituled, de Fide Ca∣tholica, The Tenets of the Catholick Faith. Let him then learn to distinguish another time a De∣cree of Faith from a Decree of Precept. The first oblidges always and every where, the other not al∣ways nor every where, but may be chang'd the circumstances changing: As I said when I told how a General Council may be mended.

And this I show in this present Precept of the fourth Council of Lateran under Innocent the Third now ceasing: For are R. Catholicks in France, Germany, England, Scotland, &c. admonish'd to take that Oath of Ridding their Lands of Hereticks? Or are they thought by the R. Church not good Catholicks, because they do not do it?

Then you see this Oath may be omitted with a safe Conscience, and Princes be without fear of having their Subjects free from their Obedience.

Moreover, I say that under the general notion

of Potentats, Soveraigns are not comprehended, no more then Abbots under the General Name of Monks, tho' really they are Monks.

In fine, if you will not be satisfied with these so∣lid solutions, remember that the Embassadours of Kings were present at the Council, so that if they knew 'twas mean'd also of their Masters, and they did not oppose the Decree afore it was passed vo∣lenti non sit Injuria, no Injury is done to him who is willing.

This Decree I know is a common place for Pro∣testants, not considering that they hit themselves on the Heel when they bring it against us, giving us an occasion to reflect, not by a mistake, but with Truth upon them, since the chief Principle sup∣posed by the first Beginers of their Reformation was, that it was Lawful not only to refuse all O∣bedience, but to take Arms against their own Na∣tural Soveraign, for the Reformation of Religion. If they deny this Principle, as never supposed by their Predecessors, then they must grant that the first Broachers and Abettors of their Reformation were all Traytors and Rebels, since they begun it by Sedition and Rebellion against their Lawful So∣veraigns in Germany, France, Geneva, Holland, and Scotland.

What was the great ground of the Bloody Scots Covenant? Have we not seen of late a number of Clowns and Crafts-Men by their private Inter∣pretation of the Bible, free themselves from all due Obedience to their King, and in their Conventicles endeavour to take from him all Royal Power by their seditious Sermons and Declarations, as in those who were published at Sanchir and Rouglin? Many of which remain so obstinate in their ridicu∣lous perswasions, that they will rather Dye, then

give any acknowledgment of submission to a most Gracious and Loving Prince.

You'l say, they are not true Protestants.

Answer. I pray in what Fundamentals do they differ from you?

What a Childish Discourse is this which follows, when he says that the Romish Church forbids Her Followers the use of their Rational faculty to find out the true Church.

Why then does She propose to our Rational Fa∣culty to move it to Assent, or to be confirmed in that we have Assented to, marks out of Scrip∣ture of Her being the true Church? Telling us first, that we see in Her, as was foretold, Ephes. 4. A perpetual and visible Succession of Pastors, since the Apostles time, Is it credible, that God by a special Providence, notwithstanding so many Persecutions, would have Conserv'd that perpetual Succession of Pastors, to teach Superstition and I∣dolatry? And not Conserv'd a Succession of Pa∣stors among Protestants to teach the true Religion? As we then have the same Spiritual Power ever Descending, and continued from the Apostles time, so have we also with it the same True and Aposto∣lical Doctrine, Descending from Father to Son, since the Apostles time to us.

Secondly, That there is no Doctrine or Faith now Preach'd to all Nations according to the Command of Christ, Matth. 28. v. 19. given to his Apostles, but that of the Roman Church.

Its altogether amazing, if the Protestant Doctrine be true and Evangelical Doctrine, that GOD has never stirred up any of the Protestant Preachers to go with an Apostolical Spirit through Poverty, Afflictions, Persecutions, &c. as the Apostles did, to instruct many Barbarous Nations in Africa, A∣sia,

America, but makes use only, to give the knowledge of his Holy Name to them, of Idola∣ters and Superstitious Romanists, the true Preach∣ers staying at Home with their Wives and Chil∣dren.

Thirdly, That moreover this Faith and Doctrine, altho so Universal, yet all the Believers thereof have such an Unity and Agreement among themselves in matters of Faith. and such a subordination to the visible Head of the Church, that they make, as Christ said of his Sheep, Iohn 10. v. 16. one Flock and one visible Pastor, they both receiving all Spi∣ritual Light, Grace, and Direction, from their in∣visible Head and Pastor Iesus Christ.

Fourthly, That the Doctrine of the R. Church, leads evidently to a Sanctity of Life, and Worship of God Almighty, by a Sacramental Confession of Sins, Fasting, Praying, Self-denyal, Mortificati∣ons of the Flesh, Good Works, keeping GODS Commandements, by Vows, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and many Ceremonies, by which out∣ward show we make appear our inward respect to God.

From hence it comes that in all Ages among the Believers of the R. Church, there has appeared pub∣lickly and visibly, to whole Nations Men of such Sanctity of Life with the Gifts of Miracles, that af∣ter their decease, their Lives and Miracles done both afore and after their Death, having been first se∣verely examin'd and discus'd, and then approv'd, they were after this Examination declared Saints, and as such, are for the present Honour'd by the whole Catholick Church. If you say, what is said of those Saints and their Miracles, is but Fabu∣lous.

Then I ask you, if a Iew would say the same

to you of our Saviours Miracles. How would you convince him? For as he denyes the Divinity of CHRIST, so he denyes also the New Testament to be the Word of God. Laying then aside Di∣vine Revelation, had Men at that time more Hu∣mane Authority to believe CHRIST's Miracles, then we have now to believe the approv'd Mira∣cles of our Saints? From all I have said, I in∣fer.

First, If the R. Church, notwithstanding all these marks be not the true Church of CHRIST, he has no true Visible Church upon Earth, since there cannot be more clear and Visible Marks of the true Church, then these I have brought.

Secondly, I infer that if the Iews seeing some Prophet's Sanctity of Life and Miracles, were most reasonably perswaded, and convinc'd, that GOD directed them by his Spirit, and spoke by their Mouths to others: We must of necessity believe that the Roman Church is directed by the Spirit of GOD, and that He speaks by Her to us: Since whatsomever motif you'l find for that perswasion in a single Prophet, you will find it in an higher Degree in the whole Body of the Church.

Now to make use of our rational faculty in or∣der to see if you have any appearance of a Church among you, 'tis not enough for you to say that the Protestant Church has the true Worship of God. You must bring such proofs as I have brought for the R. Church to prove it. This you have never done nor will ever do.

But to come nigher to you, I ask by what mo∣tive you can perswade me that Luther and Calvin your first Reformers were mov'd and directed by the Spirit of God in all their oppositions to the Roman Church?

Can it be imagined that God would have taken from a whole visible Church which had those marks I spoke of, the true sense and meaning of the word, and given it to Men who leaving the Altar and their Vow of Chastity prostituted themselves becoming the slaves of a shamful and Sacrilegious Passion?

As to that our Adversary saies the Roman Church Imposes many weighty burdens on her Children beyond what God Commands, he is mightily de∣ceiv'd; for God commanding us to Worship and obey him, he Commands us implicitly to make use of the means most convenient to perform these two duties.

Now the Church by her Commands does also but show us the fittest means to perform the perfect observation of Gods explicit Command, and oblidg∣es us to make use of them; and consequently pro∣perly speaking there, is no new burden impos'd upon us.