this once, (which they do unwillingly grant him, and upon mere neceffity), he is for ever after to refign up his judgment to the church. And though this liberty be allowed pro hac vice, and properly to ferve a turn, i. e. in order to the changing of his religion; yet he is to understand, that he is no fit and competent judge of particular points of faith: these he must all learn from the true church when he is in it, and take them upon her authority and in fo doing he fhall do very prudently; because the is infallible, and cannot be deceived, but he may.

But is there any fenfe in all this, that a man fhould be very fit and able to judge of that which they esteem the main and fundamental point of all, namely, which is the true church and religion; and of the reafons and arguments whereby they pretend to demonftrate it, and of the true meaning of thofe texts of fcripture whereby they pretend to prove theirs to be the only true church; and yet fhould be wholly unable to judge of particular points of faith, or of the true fenfe of any texts of fcripture that can be produced for the proof of thofe points?.

Is it fo very prudent, in all the particular points of faith, for a man to rely upon the judgment of the church, because she is infallible; and not to truft his own judgment about them, because he is fallible, and may be deceived? And is it prudent likewife for this man to trust his own judgment in the main business of all, namely, which is the true church and religion; concerning whichhe is as fallible in his judgment, and as liable to be deceived, as in the particular points? And if he be mistaken in the main point, they muft grant his mistake to be fatal; because his fincerity as to all the reft depends upon it. This is a great mystery and riddle, that every particular man fhould have fo fufficient a judgment as to this main and fundamental business, which is the true church and religion? and fhould have no judgment at all about particular points fit to be trusted and relied upon : as if there were a certain judgment and prudence quoad hoc; and as if all mens understandings were fo framed, as to be very judicious and difcerning in this main point of religion, but to be weak, and dangerous, and blind, as to all particular points: or as if a man might have a

very good judgment, and be fit to be trufted and relied upon, before he come into their church; but from the very moment he enters into it, his judgment were quite loft, and good for nothing: for this in effect, and by interpretation, they fay, when they allow a man to be very able to judge which is the true church and religion; but fo foon as he hath discovered and embraced that, to have no judgment of his own afterwards of any point of religion whatsoever and a very tempting argument it is to any man that hath judgment, to enter into that church.

2. Another art they ufe with their intended profelyte, in order to his making a right choice of his religion, is, to caution him to hear and read only the arguments and books which are on one fide. But now, admitting their defigned profelyte to be just fuch a judge, and fo far they will allow him to be, and no farther, viz. which is the true church? but to have no fitness and ability at all to judge of particular points of faith: yet methinks they put a very odd condition and untoward restraint upon this judge, in telling him, (as they certainly ufe to do those whom they would pervert), that he must have no difcourfe, nor read any books, but only on that fide which they would gain him to; because that is the way to perplex and confound him, so that he shall never be able to come to a clear judgment and refolution in the matter. But will any man admit this way of proceeding in a temporal cafe? This is just as if in a caufe of the greatest confequence, the counsel on one fide should go about to perfuade the judge, that it is only fit to hear what he hath to fay in the cafe; that he will open it very plainly, and state the matter in difference fo clearly and impartially, and bring fuch ftrong reafons and proofs for what he fays, that he fhall not need to hear any thing on the other fide, but may proceed to judgment without any more ado: but if, when the matter is thus laid before him fo plainly, and is even ripe for judgment, he will trouble himself needlessly to hear the other fide; this will caft them back where they first began, and bring the matter to an endless wrangling, and fo confound and puzzle his understanding, that he fhall never be able to pafs any clear judgment in the cause.

What, think we, would a judge fay to fuch a bold

and

and fenfeless pleader? The cafe is the fame, and the abfurdity every whit as grofs and palpable, in preffing any man to make a judgment in a matter which infinitely more concerns him, upon hearing only the reasons and arguments on one fide.

3. Another art which they use in making profelytes, is, to poffefs them, that there is but one thing that they are mainly concerned to inquire into; and that is this: Since there is but one true catholick church of Christ upon earth, out of which there is no falvation to be had, which that true church is? and when they have found that out, that will teach them in a most infallible way the true faith and religion, and all things that are neceffary to be believed or done by them in order to their falvation; fo that they have nothing to do, but to fatiffy themselves in this fingle inquiry, Which is the true catholick church of Chrift? This is the unum neceffarium, "the one thing neceffary:" and when they have found out this, and are fatisfied about it, they need to inquire no farther; this church will fully inftruct and fatisfy them in all other things. And this I cannot deny to be a very artificial way of proceeding, and to ferve their purpose very well; for they have these two great advantages by it.

Ift, That it makes the work fhort, and faves them a great deal of labour, by bringing the whole business to one fingle inquiry: and when they have gained this point, that this fingle question is all that they need to be fatisfied in; then they have nothing to do, but to ply and puzzle the man with their motives of credibility, and marks of the true church; and to fhew, as well as they can, how these marks agree to their church, and are all to be found in it, and in no other; and to set out to the best advantage the glorious privileges of their church, the miraculous things that have been, and are still daily done in it, and the innumerable multitude of their faints and martyrs and if these general things take and fink into them, their work is in effect done.

2dly, Another great advantage they have by it, is, that, by bringing them to this method, they divert and keep them off from the many objections against their church and religion, namely, the errors and corruptions

which we charge them withal. For this is the thing they are afraid of, and will by no means be brought to, to vindicate and make good their innovations in faith and practice, fo plainly in many things contrary to fcripture, and to the faith and practice of the primitive church: As, the doctrines of tranfubftantiation, of purgatory, the Pope's fupremacy, of the infallibility of their church, of their feven facraments inftituted by Christ, and of the intention of the pricft being neceffary to the validity and virtue of the facraments: And then several of their practices; as, of the worfhip of images, of the invocation of angels and faints, of the fervice of God and the fcriptures in an unknown tongue, and the communion in one kind; and several other things, fo plainly contrary to the fcriptures, and the practice and ufage of the primitive church, that almoft the meaneft capacity may easily be made fenfible and convinced of it. Thefe are fore places, which they defire not to have touched, and therefore they ufe all poffible artifice to keep men at a distance from them; partly, because the particular difcuffion of them is tedious, and it requires more than ordinary skill to say any thing that is tenible for them, and fo to paint and varnish them over, as to hide the corruptions and deformities of them; but chiefly, because they are confcious to themfelves, that as in all thefe points they are upon the defenfive, fo they are alfo upon very great difadvantages; and therefore to avoid, if it be poffible, being troubled with them, they have devifed this fhorter, and easier, and more convenient way of making profelytes.

Not that they are always able to keep themselves thus within their trenches, but are fometimes, whether they will or no, drawn out to encounter fome of thefe objections; but they rid themfelves of them as foon and as dexterously as they can, by telling those that make them, that they will hereafter give them full fatisfaction to all these matters, when they are gotten over the first and main inquiry, Which is the true church? For if they can keep them to this point, and gain them to it, they can deal with them more eafily in the reft: for when they can once swallow this principle, That the church of Rome is the one true catholick church, and confequently, as

they

they have told them all along, infallible; this infallibility of the church once entertained, will cover a multitude of particular errors and mistakes; and will very much help to cure the weakness and defects of fome particular doctrines and practices, and at last to filence and over-rule all objections against them. So that the benefit and advantage of this method is visibly and at first fight very great; and therefore no wonder they are fo fteddy and conftant to it, and do so obftinately infist upon it. But how convenient foever it be to them, it is, I am fure, very unreasonable in itself; and that upon thefe accounts.

ift, Because the true church doth not constitute and 'make the true Chriftian faith and doctrine, but it is the true Christian faith and doctrine, the profeffion whereof makes the true church; and therefore, in reason, and order of nature, the firft inquiry muft be, What is the true faith and doctrine of Chrift, which by him was delivered to the Apostles, and by them published and made known to the world, and by their writings tranfmitted and conveyed down to us? and this being found, every fociety of Chriftians which holds this doctrine, is a true part of the catholick church; and all the Christians throughout the world that agree in this doctrine, are the one true catholick church.

2dly, The inquiry about the true church can have no iffue, even according to their own way of proceeding, without a due examination of the particular doctrines and practices of that church, the communion whereof they would perfuade a man to embrace. We will admit at present this to be the first inquiry, Which is the true church? Let us now see in what way they manage this, to gain men over to their church. They tell them, that the church of Rome is the one true catholick church of Christ. The truth of this affertion we will particularly examine afterwards, when we come to confider the next step of their method in dealing with their converts. prefent I shall only take notice in the general, what way they take to prove this affertion, namely, That the church of Rome is the one true catholick church; and that is, by the notes and marks of the true church, which they call their motives of credibility; because by these they

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