A Christian Directory, Part 3: Christian EcclesiasticsBaxter, Richard
Religion
A Christian Directory, Part 3: Christian Ecclesiastics
Baxter, Richard
Casuistry; Christian sociology
6. If now the neighbour churches, by their pastors in their synods,
shall in compassion seek to reclaim these stragglers, and they justify
their unjust separation, and contemn the counsel of the churches and
ministers of Christ; this is a confirmed, obstinate schism.
7. If they shall also judge that church to be no church from which
they separated, and so cut off a part of the body of Christ by an
unrighteous censure, and condemn the innocent, and usurp authority
over their guides; this is disobedience and uncharitableness with
schism.
8. If they shall also condemn and unchurch all the other churches that
are not of their mind and way, and renounce communion with them all,
and so condemn unjustly a great part of the body of Christ on earth,
this is to add fury and rebellion to an uncharitable schism. And if to
cover their sin, they shall unjustly charge these churches which they
reject, with heresy or wickedness, they do but multiply their crimes
by such extenuations.
9. If the opinion that all this ado is made for, be a damning error,
against some essential point of the true religion, then it is heresy
as well as schism.
10. If this separation from the church be made in defence of an
ungodly life, against the discipline of the church; if a wicked sort
of men shall withdraw from the church to avoid the disgrace of
confession or excommunication; and shall first cast off the church,
lest the church should proceed to cast out them; and so they separate
that they may have none to govern and trouble them but themselves;
this is a profane, rebellious schism. This is the common course of
schism when it groweth towards the height.
11. Besides all these, there is yet a more pernicious way of schism,
which the church or court of Rome is guilty of: they make new articles
of faith, and new points of religion, and a new worship--of God, shall
I say, or of bread as if it were a god? And all these they put into a
law, and impose them on all the other churches; yea, they put them
into an oath, and require men to swear that without any doubting they
believe them to be true: they pretend to have authority for all this,
as Rome is the mistress of all other churches. They set up a new
universal head, as an essential part of the catholic church, and so
found or feign a new kind of catholic church: and he that will not
obey them in all this, they renounce communion with him; and to hide
this horrid, notorious schism, they call all schismatics that are not
thus subjected to them.
12. And to advance their schism to the height, as far as arrogance can
aspire, they not only refuse communion with those from whom they
separate, but condemn them as no pastors, no churches, no christians,
that are not subject to them in this their usurpation; and they, that
are but about the third or fourth part (at most) of the christian
world, do condemn the body of Christ to hell (even all the rest)
because they are not subjects of the pope.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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