Sixthly, That it is contrary to all story, reason, and common sense ; for it is notorious that far the greatest part of Christians that belong to the catholic church of Christ, or have done so from the days that Christianity first entered the world, successively in all ages, never thought themselves any otherwise concerned in the E,oman church than in any other particular church of name in the world : and is it not a madness to exclude them all from being Christians, or belong- ing to the catholic church, because they belonged not to the Roman? This I could easily demonstrate throughout all ages of the church successively. But we need not insist longel: on the disproving of that assertion vv^liich implies a flat contradiction in the very terms of it. If any church be the catholic, it cannot therefore be the E-oman ; and if it be the Roman properly, it cannot therefore be the catholic.
2. If you shall say that you mean only that you are a pai'ticular church of Christ, but yet that or such a particular church as hath the great j^rivilecjes of infallibility and universal authority annexed unto it, which make it of necessity for all men to submit unto it, and to acquiesce in its determinations, I ausvv^er, — (1.) I fear you will not say so ; you will not, I fear, renounce 3'our claim unto Catholicism. I have already observed that yourself in particular affirm the Roman and catholic church to be one and the same. It is not enough for you that you belong any way to the church of Christ, but you plead that none do so but yourselves. (2.) Indeed you do not own your- selves in this very assertion to be a particular church ; your claim of
SOS A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVERSIONS ON FIAT LUX.
universal authority and jurisdiction, which you still carry along with you, is inconsistent with any such concession. (3.) To make the best of it that we can, what ground have you to give us this difference between the churches of Christ, that one is fallible, another infallible ; that one hath power over all the rest; that one depends on Christ, all the rest on that one? Where is the" least intimation given of any such thing in the Scripture ? where or by whom is it expressly as- serted amongst the ancient writers of the church ? Was this principle pleaded or once asserted in any of the ancient councils? Some am- biguous expressions of particular persons, most of them bishops of Rome in the declining days of the chiuxh, you produce, indeed, unto this purpose ; but can any rational man think them a sufficient foun- dation of that stupendous fabric which you endeavour to erect upon tliem? I suppose you will not iind any such persons hasty in their so doing: those who are already engaged will not be easily recovered. For new proselytes unto these principles, you have small ground to expect any ; unless it be of persons whose lives are eitlier tainted with sensuality, which they ^vould gladly have a refuge for against the ac- cusations of their consciences, or whose minds are entangled with worldly, secular advantages, suited to their conditions, tempers, and inclinations.
Thus I have, with what briefness I could, showed you the uncer- tainty, indeed falseness, of those general principles from Avhich you educe all your other pleas and reasonings, into which they must be resolved. And now, I pray, consider the groundwork you lay for the bringing of men unto a settlement in the truth, and unto the unity of faith, in opposition to the Scripture, which you reject as in- sufficient unto this purpose. The sum of it is, an acquiescency in the proposals and determinations of your church, as to all things that concern faith and the worship of God; the two main principles that concur unto it we have apart considered, and have found them every way insufficient for the end proposed. Neither have they one jot more of strength when they are complicated and blended together, as they usually are by you, than they have in and of themselves, as they stand singly on their own bottoms A thousand falsehoods put together will be far enough from making one truth. A multiplica- tion of them may increase a sophism, but not add the least weight or strength to an argument. An army of cripples will not make one sound man. And can you think it leasonable that we should re- nounce our sure and ffi'm word of prophecy to attend unto j'^ou in this chase of uncertain conjectures and palpable untruths ? Suppose this were a way that would bring you and us to an agreement, and take away the evil of our differences, I can name you twenty that would do it as effectually; and they should none of them have any evil in
PRINCIPLES OF PAPISTS ON THE UNITY OF FAITH. S09
them but only that Avhich yours also is openly guilty of, — namely, the relinquishment of our duty towards God and care of our own souls, to come to some peace amongst ourselves in this world: which would be nothing else but a plain conspiracy against Jesus Christ, and re- jection of his authority. At present, I shall say no more but that he who is led into the truth by so many errors, and is brought unt(j establishment by so many uncertainties, hath singular success, and such as no other man hath reason to look for ; or he is like E,obert, duke of Normandy, who, when he caused the Saracens to carry him into Jerusalem, sent word unto his friends in Europe that he was " carried into heaven on the backs of devils."