12. THEY difpute whether Men are to be of the Priests Religion, or the Ma giftrates, or are to judg for themselves. In the Reign of CHARLES II. (that King after their own heart) their Leader Dr. PARKER faid, * That in Cafes and Dif putes of a publick Concern, private Men have no power over their own Actions, they are not to be directed by their own Judgments, or determin'd by their own Wills; but by the Commands and Determinations of the publick ConScience or Magiftrate. And if there is any Sin in the Command, he that impos'd it, shall anfwer for't. Again, That in all difputable Cafes it is better to err with Authority, that is, with the Magiftrates, than to be in the right against it. But fince the Magiftrate has laid afide all Claim to Dominion over Mens Minds and Confciences, by ceafing to fine and imprison Men on the fcore of Religion, and by granting a Toleration; they now fet up the Authority of the Priest (which they call the Church) and make the Magiftrate himself, who is by Law the fupreme Governour in all Caufes and over all Perfons, as well Ecclefiaftical as Civil, the Priests Ecclefiaftical Subject as well as the rest of the Laity. Some few Priefts, fuch as Mr. CHILLINGWORTH, Dr. TILLOTSON, * Ecclef. Polity, p. 308. + Hickes, Lelley, &c. and 1 and others now living, have clearly afferted I COULD proceed to give an account how they difpute about the Priests power to abfolve Men from their Sins, about the Independency of the Church on the State, about the Sacrament being a proper Sacrifice, about the real Prefence in the Sacrament, about the Priests of the Chriftian Church being proper Priefts; and indeed about every Point in the whole Chriftian Religion, as well as about the Meaning of almoft every Text in the Bible: But what I have produc'd being fufficient to prove their Divifions about the Meaning of the Scripture in matters of the greateft importance, I may juftly conclude that it is neceffary for every Man, instead of relying upon them, to think freely for himfelf; and proceed to the fecond Inftance of their Conduct. 2dly. A SECOND Inftance of their Conduct, whereby they make Free Thinking unavoidable, is, their owning in exprefs words the Doctrines of the Church to be contradictory to one another, and to Reafon. THE Renowned Dr. SACHEVEREL P.257. fol. fays in his Speech at his Tryal, That by abandoning Paffive-Obedience, the diftinguishing Badg and Glory of our Reformation, we must render . render our felves the most inconfiftent Church in the world, By which words the Doctor must suppose, even before the Sentence pass'd upon him condemning the Doctrine of Paffive-Obedience, that many Doctrines of the Church were inconfiftent and contradictory to one another; otherwise one Inconfiftency more would not make it the most inconfiftent Church in the world. Dr. BEVERIDGE fuppofes our whole Faith in God to confift of Contradictions to Reason, when he fays, That is most true of God which feems most impoffible to us. Dr. Sou TH, fpeaking of Chrift's Incarnation, fays, To behold the Divinity which is present to all places, cloth'd in Flefb, is as if we should imagine not only the whole World represented upon, but also contain'd in one of our little artificial Globes, or the Body of the Sun envelop'd in a Cloud as big as a Man's hand; all which would be look'd on as aftonish ing Impoffibilitys; and yet as far short of the other, as the greatest Finite is of an Infinite, between which the Disparity is unmeasurable. For that God should transform himself, and fubdue and mafter all his Glorys to a poffibility of human Apprehenfion and Converse, the best Reafon would have thought it fuch a thing as * Private Thoughts, p. 52. God God could not do, had it not been actually done. It is (as it were) to cancel the effential Dif tances of things, to remove the Bounds of Nature, to bring Heaven and Earth, and (what is more) both Ends of a Contradiction together. Again, the fame Reverend Perfon fays, in relation to his Faith about the Perfon of P. 316. Chrift, That were it not to be ador'd as a Mystery, it would be exploded as a Contradiction. Dr. HENRY MORE, in his Mystery of P.495. Godliness, fays, There is fcarce any Church in Christendom at this day (in the next Page he fays, the whole vifible Church in what Nation foever under Heaven) which does not obtrude not only plain Falfhoods, but fuch Falfboods that will appear to any free Spirit pure Contradictions and Impoffibilitys, and that with the Same Gravity, Authority, and Importunity, that they do the holy Oracles of God. To which I crave leave to add his judicious Reflection that follows, tho foreign to my prefent Defign, That this Conduct of the Priest. is a heavy fight to the truly Religious, and joy to the Profane, who take advantage thereby against the whole Mystery of Piety, as if there was no truth in it, because that fo grofs Falfhoods are urg'd upon them with the Jame folemnefs as thofe things that (were it not for the ferious Impudence of the Priest in other open Falfitys) might pass with them for true. 3dly. A 3dly. A THIRD Inftance of the Priests Conduct, is, their Acknowledgment of Abufes, Defects, and falfe Doctrines in the Church. THE Reverend Dr. GRABE (a Man fupported at the Charge of her moft Excellent Majefty, encourag'd by the most eminent Divines of our Church in his undertaking to publish the Alexandrian Manufcript of the Septuagint, and employ'd by our Ecclefiaftical Governours to vindicate our eftablifh'd Faith against the Reverend Mr. WHISTON) acknowledges certain * Abufes and Defects to have crept into our Church; particularly, Baptifm by bare Sprinkling, not mixing Water with Wine in the Lord's Supper, and the eating of Blood and things ftrangled: all which Abuses, he fays, we are guilty of, in oppofition to the antient Church all the world over, and the plain Teftimonys of Scriptures. How far the Reverend Doctor is in the right as to all thefe particulars, I do not pretend to fay; but with refpect to the laft, I have often wonder'd how Men profeffing to believe in the Bible, and particularly those who pretend to underftand it according to the Senfe of the primitive Church, can live in the Practice of eating Blood and things Strangled, in oppofition to fo plain an Infti p. 11. Preface to Effay on the Doctrine of the Apoftles, tution, |