7H The :Degrees and progrefs of Schifm. S•hifm is made, and a puty fe_parated upon the account of Come perillous crrour. s;;,e fay this ~rrou~ ml.ltl be damnablt, that 15, m the effenttllls of Rchg10n : And fome fay, it is enough if u be b~t dangeroU<· . Among all thef~ the commonefi fenfe _of [a Hereticl(] is Ont that objlinatery . crrc'b rn fomt cffenual pomt, and dzvuieth from the CommuntoH of other Chrijlians upon tb(Zt account. And fo Par.eus and many Protefiants take Herefie for the Speciti, and Schifrn for the GtmH : All Schifin is not Hmfre ; but all Hm[re, fay they, is Schifrn. Remember that all this is but a Con· trovctfic de nomine, and therefore of finall moment. Wh? uerrue ~· I3· By thisthat I have faid you may perceive who they be that are guilty of Church-divi6ons. ScbJfmanch. As? r. _The fpark~ of ir are. k~ndlcd when Proud and felf-conc~iced perfons, are brainficJt in the fond e{hmaoon of thea own op1mons; and luart-fic~ by a feaver1lh zeal for the propagating of them. Ignorant fouls think that every change of their opinions is made by fuch an accetllon of heavenly light, that if they Chould not bei\ir them to m>ke all of the fame mind, they 010uld be betnyers ofthe truth, and do the world unfpeakable wrong. When they mcafure and eenfurc rncn as they receive or rejea their peculiar difcoveries or conceits, fchifrn is in the Egge. 9· I 4· 2 . The fire is blown up, when men are defirous to have a party foUow them and cry them up Aft. to.lo. and thereuponare bufie in pcrfwading others to be of their mind, and do {ptaJr.. perverfe thiJtgs ,; draw away difciplcr after them. And when they would be counted the Mafiers of a puty. Jam; ;.l~~~ • 9: I 5· 3• The fh.mcs brca~ fo~th, when. by this means the ~ame Ch~rch, or divers Churches do J4, Sl ' 7 fall mm feveral Parttu, burnmgmzealagamltcach other, abatmg chanty, c~nfuring and condemn– ing one another ; backbiting·and reviling each other, through envy and ftrife: when they look ilrangely at one another as being on fevcral fides ; as if they were not Children of the fame Father nor rn~mbcrs of the fame body ; or as if Chrift were divided ; one being of Paul, and another of Apoilo and another of CepbtK, and every one of aft:JiJion; letting out their thoughts in jealoufics and evil furrnifes of each other ; pervc:rting the words and atlions of each to an ugly fenfe: and fnat~;h... irig occafions to uprcfent one another as fools or odious to the hearers, as if you lhould plainly fay [ 1pray you /we or defpife thcfc people whom I hate and defpife.J This is the core of the Plague fore; It is fchifm in the bud. ~· r6. 4· When people in the fame Church do gather into private mtetingt, not under the guidanct of tluir PaJfors, to edifie one another in holy exercifes in Love and peate, but in oppofition to their lawful Pafiors, or to one anorher, to prop1gate their fingulu opinions, and inc;rea(e their parries and fpeak againfi thole that are not on their fide; fchifm is then ready to bring forth and mcltip!y' and the (warm is ready to eome forth and be gone. ' ~- '7· 5· When thefe people atlually depart, and r<nouncc or forfake the Communion of the Church, and cafi off their faithful Pafiors, and duw into a feparated body by themfelves, and choofe them Pafiors and call themfelves a Church, and all without any jufi fufficient caufc ; When thus Churches arc gathered out of Churchu, before the old ones arc ditfolvcd, or they have any warrant to depart ; when thus Pafior is fet. up againfl Pallor, Church againfi Church, and Altar againfl Altar ; this is {ehifm ripe and fruitful : The fwarm is gone, and hived in another place. ~. 18. 6. If now the neighbour Churches by their Paflors in their Synods, lhall iit compaffion feek to reclaim rhefe firag1ers, and they jufiifie;their unjufi feparati'on, and 'ontemn the counfel of the Churches and Miniflers of Chrifi; this is aconfirmed obfti•att fchifm. 9· 19· 7• If they Chall alfo judge that Church to be no Church from which they fcparatcd, and fo cut off a part of the body of Chrifi, by an unrighteouscenfure and condcril~ the innocerlt> and ufuxp authority over their Guides; this is difobedieHct anduncbaritablenefs with fcbifm. , ~- 20 • 8. It thry (hall alfo condemn and unchurch aU the other Churchrr, that are not of their mind and way, and renounce conimunion with thc.m all, and fo condemn unjufily agreat part of the Body of Chrif\ on Earth, this is to add fury and rebellion to an u•charitahle[chifm. And if to cover their fin, they (hall ~njullly charge thefe Chu~<hcs which they reject, with.Herefie or wickednefs, they do but multiply the1r cnmcs by fitch extenuattons. ~- 2 t. 11 • If the opinion that all_this adoe is made for, be a tla,ning mour, againfi fome tjfential point of the true Religion, t~en it JS Herefie as well as Scbi(m. . . ~- 22 • 10 , If this feparauon from the Church be made m defenfe of an ••godly life agamfi the Difciplint of the Church: If a wicked fort of men Chall withdraw from the Church to avoid the 'difgrace of confefFonor excommunication ; and Challlirfi call oif the Church, lcfl the Church Chould pxoceed to cafi out them ; and fo they feparate ~hat they .m~y have none to govern and t~ouble the~ but themfelves ; this is a Prophaue rtbtliioU< fchifm. Thrs tS the common courfe of feh1fm when 1t groweth towards the height. . ~· .,. 11 • Bcfides all thefe, there is yet a more pernicious way of Schifm, which the Church or Court of Rome is guihy of: They make new ilrticlu offaith, and mw points of Religion, and a new worjhip - of God, (hall I fay, or of Bread as if it were a God l And all thefe they put into aLaTP, and impofe them on all the other Chu.rches, yea they put them it1to an Oatb, and require - men to fwear that without any doubting they believe them to be true : They pretend to have autho· rity for all this, as Rome is the Mifirefs of all other Churches : Thoy fet up a new Vniverfal Htad,as an Effenti•l part ofthe Catholick Church,and fo found or fain a new kind ofCatholi<k Church: And he that will not obey them in all this, they renounce Communion with him, and tO hide this horrid not<>rious fchifm, ·they call all Schifmaticks that are not thus fubjeeted to them. §. 24 • 12· And to advance rheir fchifm to the height, as far as arrogance can afpire, they not only refofe communion with thofe, from whom they [eparate but condemn them as no Pafiors, no•Cliurches, ' 00
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=