unto them, full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition*. And just as St. Paul had foretold it would happen among Christians. Beware lest any man spoil you through vain deceit, after the tradition of men, and not after Christ +. But here they reply, that, let this passage be designed against whom it will, it cannot possibly fall on them. For, however uncertain tradition might become of itself in process of time, and however difficult it may be for private persons to judge of doctrines by it, yet the judgment of the Catholic Church in these points is infallible, and theirs is that Catholic Church. Now that the Church is infallible, they sometimes attempt to prove from reason. Making it so was the only way to end disputes, and therefore God being wise and good, must have made it so. But certainly a much more effectual way of preventing disputes and errors had been to have made every single man infallible; and yet God hath not done this. It might therefore be more modest for them to let him show his wisdom and goodness in what way he pleases. The Jewish Church we know was not infallible. For they denied their Saviour, and it was by following tradition that they came to do it. How then does it appear that the Christian must be more infallible? Why, they have texts of Scripture to prove this. But if, as they commonly tell us, the Scripture can neither be proved nor understood but by the infallible authority of the Church; how can the infallible authority of the Church be proved or understood by Scripture? However, let us hear these texts. Our Saviour told his Apostles, that the Comforter should come and lead them into all truth. But perhaps this was said only had it been said to them and + Col. ii. 8. John xvi. 13.

to the Apostles: and,

* Mark vii. 5. 9.

their successors, or, which is still a different thing, to the whole Church; yet so St. John* tells all believers, they have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things; that is, things necessary; not that they were not capable of mistaking, but that, with due care, they might avoid it if they would. Again he promised his Disciples, that he would be with them to the end of the world. And so he hath promised every single Christian to be with them and dwell in them yet this does not hinder but they may both misunderstand, and even renounce Christianity if they please. But he declares also, that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church§. But the gates of Hell, or, as it might be translated, of the invisible world, mean nothing else than the power of death, i. e. the terror of persecution, as the learned well know. And it can never follow, that because persecution shall not destroy the Church, error shall not corrupt it. Or were this expression, the gates of Hell, to comprehend error, it must at least equally comprehend sin. And therefore, as this promise does not hinder the Church universal from being more or less defiled by sin, so neither from being deformed by error. And the most our Saviour meant to promise is, that neither shall totally abolish, though, through the faults of men, both may greatly pollute it. They plead farther, that St. Paul says, the Church of God is the pillar and ground of the truth: but they know at the same time, that this passage of St. Paul is fairly capable of two other translations, either of which turns it to a different sense. Or were this the only sense; we acknowledge the Church was then, and ought always to be, + 2 Cor. vi. 16.

* 1 John ii 20.

§ Matth. xvi. 18.

+ Matth. xxviii. 20.

1 Tim. iii. 15.

and in some measure always is, a pillar and support of truth; and so in his proportion is every believer: and therefore of every single good Christian our Saviour says, in the Revelation*, I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. But then it does not follow from hence, that any one Christian, or the majority of Christians, so support the truth, as that they do and ever will profess it all, without any mixture of error: and unless this be done, there is no infallibility. But they argue farther, that our Saviour directs †, if a man neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a Heathen man and a publican. But what is he there speaking of? Let us read the context. If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go, and tell him his fault between him and thee alone. If he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more. If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church. If he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a Heathen man and a publican. That is, if a man have done you an injury, first admonish him privately of it. If that avail not, tell the Church: not the universal Church sure throughout all the world, but the particular one you both belong to. And if he will not reform upon their reproof, look on him no longer as a true Christian, but an ill man. Here therefore is not one word said about disobeying the determination of the Catholic Church concerning a disputed doctrine but about slighting the admonition of a particular Church concerning a known sin, and particular Churches are owned to be fallible.

Again, they say it is an article of our creed, that we believe in the Catholic Church. But then they know the meaning of this is not that we believe whatever this Church, or any who please to call them

*Rev. iii. 12.

+ Mat. xviii. 17.

selves so, shall at any time assert. But, as believing in the resurrection of the body, is only believing that such a resurrection shall be, so believing in the Catholic Church is only believing that such a church is that Christ hath united his followers into one regular society or body, of which himself is the head: which society or Church is therefore called Catholic or Universal, because it consists of all nations; whereas the Jewish Church was not Catholic, but particular, consisting only of one nation. But whether this Church be infallible or not, the creed says nothing. They that can lay a stress on such wretched arguments as these, how would they have triumphed had the same things been said of their Church, that are said of the Jewish Church? If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, says Moses, thou shalt come unto the Priests the Levites, that shall be in those days, and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall inform thee; thou shalt not decline from the sentence that they shall show thee, to the right hand nor to the left*: for by their word shall every controversy be tried. The Scribes and Pharisees, says our Saviour, sit in Moses' seat, All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and dot. Now if these very strong expressions did not prove that Church infallible, (as certainly they do not; for then Christianity which they rejected would not be true,) how can much weaker expressions prove any other to be so? But they who will needs have the Church to be infallible, and the rule of our faith instead of Scripture; what part of it do they make the infallibility reside in? For unless that be clearly known, we are never the better for it; but instead of the same rule of faith, every difMatt. xxiii. 3.

Deut. xvii. 8, &c. + Deut. xxi. 5.

ferent opinion about this matter will produce a different rule of faith. And it is a matter, in which the opinions of the Romanists differ greatly. Many of them say the Pope is infallible, and he himself claims to be so. But then some think he is so in matters of faith only, some in matters of fact too. In most Popish countries it would be looked upon as heresy to deny him this prerogative; in others as great weakness to ascribe it to him. For a large part of them say nothing is infallible under a general Council, regularly called. But then they have so many different opinions about what makes a Council general, and what call of one is regular, that some of them reckon at least eighteen general Councils, and some at most but seven or eight: and indeed they might very justly question whether, strictly speaking, there was ever one such in the world. But farther which of the Decrees and Canons of these Councils, amongst the infinite forgeries there have been, are genuine, and which not, here again is an endless controversy; and another as endless what the meaning of some of the most important ones of them is. In consequence of this they differ and dispute, and have done for ages, (as united as they would seem to be,) not only about such silly questions, as whether the Virgin Mary was conceived in original sin or not, (and yet about this they were calling one another Heretics for 300 years, and their general Councils, with all their infallibility, have not dared to determine the matter to this day;) but they quarrel equally about things of the greatest moment. To give but one instance of many, whether a king may, for heresy or disobedience to the Church, be deposed, and his subjects discharged of their allegiance, is a question of as much weight as can well be put.