:

members of it) cannot possibly err, either in the whole faith, or any necessary article of it.' You say, M. Doctor, I cannot for my instruction acquaint the universal church with my particular scruples. You say the prelates of God's church meeting in a lawful general council may err damnably it remains then, for my necessary instruction, I must repair to every particular member of the universal church spread over the face of the earth: and yet you teach that the promises which our Lord hath made unto his church for his assistance, are intended not to any particular persons or churches, but only to the church catholic,' with which (as I said) it is impossible for me to confer. Alas! O most uncomfortable ghostly father, you drive me to desperation! How shall I confer with every Christian soul, man and woman, by sea and by land, close prisoner or at liberty? &c. Yet upon supposal of this miraculous pilgrimage for faith, before I have the faith of miracles, how shall I proceed at our meeting? or how shall I know the man on whom I may securely rely? Procure (will you say) to know whether he believe all fundamental points of faith; for if he do, his faith, for point of belief, is sufficient for salvation, though he err in a hundred things of less moment. But how shall I know whether he hold all fundamental points or no? For till you tell me this, I cannot know whether o no his belief be sound in all fundamental points Can you say the Creed? Yes, and so can many damnable heretics. But why do you ask me this question? Because the Creed contains all fundamental points of faith. Are you sure of that? Not sure: I hold it very probable." Shall I hazard my soul on probabilities, or even wagers? This yields a new cause of despair. But what? doth the Creed contain all points necessary to be believed, whether they rest in the understanding, or else do further extend to practice? No. It was composed to deliver credenda, not agenda, to us ; Page 151. u Page 241.

X

faith, not practice. How then shall I know what points of belief, which direct my practice, be necessary to salvation? Still you chalk out new paths for desperation. Well, are all articles of the Creed, for their nature and matter, fundamental? I cannot say so. How then shall I know which in particular be and which be not fundamental? Read my answer to a late popish pamphlet, entitled Charity Mistaken, &c.; there you shall find that fundamental doctrines are such catholic verities as principally and essentially pertain to the faith, such as properly constitute a church, and are necessary (in ordinary course) to be distinctly believed by every Christian that will be saved. They are those grand and capital doctrines which make up our faith in Christ; that is, that common faith which is alike precious in all, being one and the same in the highest apostle and the meanest believer, which the apostle elsewhere calls the first principles of the oracles of God, and the form of sound words.' But how shall I apply these general definitions or descriptions, or (to say the truth) these only varied words and phrases, (for I understand the word fundamental as well as the words principal, essential, grand, and capital doctrines, &c.) to the particular articles of the Creed, in such sort, as that I may be able precisely, exactly, particularly, to distinguish fundamental articles from points of less moment? You labour to tell us what fundamental points be, but not which they be; and yet unless you do this, your doctrine serves only either to make men despair, or else to have recourse to those whom you call papists, and who give one certain rule, that all points defined by Christ's visible church belong to the foundation of faith, in such sense, as that to deny any one cannot stand with salvation. And seeing yourself acknowledges that these men do not err in points fundamental, I cannot but hold it most safe for me to join with them, for the securing of my soul,

x Page 211, 213, 214.

and the avoiding of desperation, into which this your doctrine must cast all them who understand and believe it. For the whole discourse and inference which here I have made, are either your own direct assertions, or evident consequences clearly deduced from them.

20. "But now let us answer some few objections of Dr. Potter's against that which we have said before: to avoid our argument, that the Scripture is not so much as mentioned in the Creed, he saith, the Creed is an abstract of such necessary doctrines as are delivered in Scripture,' y or collected out of it; and therefore needs not express the authority of that which it supposes.

21. "This answer makes for us. For by giving a reason why it was needless that Scripture should be expressed in the Creed, you grant as much as we desire; namely, that the apostles judged it needless to express all necessary points of faith in their Creed. Neither doth the Creed suppose or depend on Scripture in such sort as that we can, by any probable consequence, infer from the articles of the Creed, that there is any canonical Scripture at all; and much less that such books in particular be canonical. Yea, the Creed might have been the same, although Holy Scripture had never been written; and, which is more, the Creed, even in priority of time, was before all the Scripture of the New Testament, except the Gospel of St. Matthew. And so, according to this reason of his, the Scripture should not mention articles contained in the Creed. And I note in a word, how little connexion Dr. Potter's arguments have while he tells us, that the Creed' is an abstract of such necessary doctrines as are delivered in Scripture, or collected out of it, and therefore needs not express the authority of that which it supposes:' it doth not follow-the articles of the Creed are delivered in Scripture, therefore the Creed supposeth Scripture. y Page 234.

z Ibid.

For two distinct writings may well deliver the same truths, and yet one of them not suppose the other, unless Dr. Potter be of opinion that two doctors cannot at one time speak the same truth.

22. "And notwithstanding that Dr. Potter hath now told us, it was needless that the Creed should express Scripture, whose authority it supposes; he comes at length to say, that the Nicene fathers in their Creed confessing that the Holy Ghost spake by the prophets, do thereby sufficiently avow the Divine authority of all canonical Scripture.' But I would ask him, whether the Nicene Creed be not also an abstract of doctrines delivered in Scripture, as he said of the Apostles' Creed, and thence did infer, that it was needless to express Scripture, 'whose authority it supposes?' Besides, we do not only believe in general that canonical Scripture is of Divine authority, but we are also bound, under pain of damnation, to believe that such and such particular books, not mentioned in the Nicene Creed, are canonical. And, lastly, Dr. Potter in this answer grants as much as we desire; which is, that all points of faith are not contained in the Apostles' Creed, even as it is explained by other Creeds. For these words, 'who spake by the prophets,' are no way contained in the Apostles' Creed, and therefore contain an addition, not an explanation thereof.

23. "But how can it be necessary,' saith Dr. Potter, for any Christian to have more in his Creed than the apostles had, and the church of their times?' a I answer, You trifle, not distinguishing between the apostles' belief, and that abridgement of some articles of faith which we call the Apostles' Creed; and withal you beg the question, by supposing the apostles believed no more than is contained in their Creed, which every unlearned person knows and believes; and I hope you will not deny but the apostles were endued with greater knowledge than ordinary persons.

a Page 221.

24. "Your pretended proof out of the Acts, that the apostles revealed to the church the whole counsel of God, keeping back nothing, with your gloss, (needful for our salvation,') is no proof, unless you still beg the question, and do suppose, that whatsoever the apostles revealed to the church is contained in the Creed. And I wonder you do not reflect that those words were by St. Paul particularly directed to pastors and governors of the church, as is clear by the other words, he called the ancients of the church. And afterward, Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops to rule the church. And yourself say, 'that more knowledge is necessary in bishops and priests, to whom is committed the government of the church, and care of souls, than in vulgar laics.' Do you think that the apostles taught Christians nothing but their Creed? said they nothing of the sacraments, commandments, duties of hope, charity, &c.?

25. "Upon the same affected ambiguity is grounded your other objections: ' to say, the whole faith of those times is not contained in the Apostles' Creed, is all one as if a man should say, This is not the Apostles' Creed, but a part of it.' For the faith of the apostles is not all one with that which we commonly call their Creed. Did not, I pray you, St. Matthew and St. John believe their writings to be canonical Scripture? And yet their writings are not mentioned in the Creed. It is therefore more than clear that the faith of the apostles is of larger extent than the Apostles' Creed.

26. "To your demand, why, amongst many things of equal necessity to be believed, the apostles should so distinctly set down some, and be altogether silent of others?' I answer, that you must answer your own demand. For in the Creed there be divers points in their nature not fundamental or necessary to be explicitly and distinctly believed, as above we b Acts xx. 27. c Page 244. d Page 222, 223. • Page 225.