164 SCRIPTURAL EQUALITY OF BISHOPS. out any warrant, that their authority is derived from him; forcing them to exercise it no otherwise than as his subjects, and according to his pleasure.' But of this point more afterward. 5. This pretence thwarts the Scripture, by robbing all Christian people of the liberties and rights with which, by that divine charter, they are endowed, and which they are obliged to preserve inviolate? St Paul enjoins the Galatians to " stand fast in the liberty where- with Christ hath made us free, and not to be entangled again with theyoke of bondage," Gal. v. 1. There is, therefore, a liberty which we must maintain, and a power to which we must not submit ;and against whom can we have more ground to do this than against him who pretends to dogmatize; to define points of faith; to impose doc- trines, new and strange enough, on our consciences, under a peremp- tory obligation of yielding assent to them; to prescribe laws, as di- vine and necessary to be observed, without warrant, as those dogma- tists did against whom St Paul bids us maintain our liberty, Gal. v. 1; Col. ii. 16, 18; so that if he should declare " virtue to be vice, and white to be black, we must believe him," [as] some of his adhe- rents have said, consistently enoughwith his pretences?* for Against such tyrannical invaders we are bound to maintain our liberty, according to that precept of St Paul; which if a pope might well allege against the proceedings ofa general synod, with much more reason maywe thereby justify our non-submissionto one man's exorbitant domination. This is a power which the apostles themselves did not challenge to themselves; for, " We," says St Paul, " have not dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy," 2 Cor. i. 24. They did not pretend that any Christian should absolutelybelieve them in cases wherein they had not revelation, general or special, fromGod; in such cases referring their opinion to the judgment and discretion of Christians. -1 Cor. x. 15, vii. 12, 25, 40. They say, " Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other 1 Dei et apostolic% sedis gratis. Vid. post. Superbum nimis est et immoderatum ultra fines proprios tendere, et antiquitate calcata alienum jus velle pr%ripere, atque ut unius crescat dignitas, tot metropolitanorum impugnare primatus, &c. P. Leo. L, Ep. lv. " It is too proud and unreasonable a thing, for one to stretch himself beyond his bounds,and, maugre all antiquity, to snatch away other men's rights; and that the dignity of one may be enhanced, to oppose theprimacies of so many metropolitans." 2 Sanct% ecclesi% universali injuriam facit. Greg. I., Ep. i. 24. " It does wrong to theholy catholic church." Plebis majestas.Cypr., Ep. lv. ad Corn. P., p. 117. * The reference may be to Bellarmine, or to the Canons with their glossaries. Bel- larmine certainly teaches that " it may be affirmed, in a good sense, that Christ gave to Peter the power of making sin to be no sin, and that which is no sin to be sin." De Rom. Pont., lib. iv. cap. 5. And Boniface begins one of his decretals thus: " Licet Ro- manus pontifex qui jura omnia in scrinio pectoris sui censetur habere." " The Roman pontiff; who may be held to have all laws enclosed within the shrine of his own breast."En. P. Leo. I., Ep. xxviii
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