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<DATE>2012-11-26</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE HEADS OF REASONS, FOR VVHICH A Generall Councell of PROTESTANTS ought to be called together in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Published by Authoritie.</HI></P>
<P>LONDON, Printed by <HI>E.P.</HI> for <HI>Nicolas Bourne</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop at the South entrance of the Royall Exchange. 1641.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>THE HEADS OF REASONS, for which a generall Councell of Prote&s;tants ought to be called together in <HI>England.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_IT may be made good fir&s;t, That a generall Councell of Prote|&s;tants will be not onely mo&s;t u&s;efull unto the whole Church of God, but even very nece&s;&s;ary both to the &s;ame and to all Prote&s;tants States, and mo&s;t of all to the Church and State of <HI>England</HI> at this pre&s;ent time. Secondly, That the wavof calling it together in <HI>Great Brittaine</HI> will be ea&s;ie. Thirdly, And that the man|ner of proceeding therein towards the re|dre&s;&s;ing of publicke evils, will be &s;afe and &s;ure, without all apparent difficulties. Therefore it mu&s;t be concluded, that the purpo&s;e of calling &s;uch a meeting at this time, ought to be taken to heart by the Church and State of <HI>Great Brittaine.</HI> And to
<PB N="2" REF="3">make the former propo&s;itions good, that the latter may be inferred, let us con&s;ider the particulars thereof.</P>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Of the first.</HEAD>
<P>Fir&s;t, the great u&s;efulne&s;&s;e of &s;uch a Coun|cell will be, that on the one &s;ide the Go&s;pell of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t con&s;idered in it &s;elfe, then the Churches of God profe&s;&s;ing that Go&s;|pell, and with the&s;e all the publicke States, wherein the&s;e Churches dwell, will receive thereby incredible advantages, and on the other &s;ide the &s;uper&s;titions and errors of Po|pery, the here&s;ies of other Sects, which more &s;ecretly undermine the truth, and the open &s;candals and di&s;putes, which di&s;turbe the peace of many mens con&s;ciences, which trouble and divide the Churches, and breed in end all the&s;e confu&s;ions, and di&s;orders which &s;hake publike States, will be aboli|&s;hed and taken out of the way.</P>
<P>And to make this more plaine, it may in due time by Gods grace be made apparent to the full, that,</P>
<P>The Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t in it &s;elfe con&s;ide|red,
<PB N="3" REF="3">will by &s;uch a meeting receive the&s;e ad|vantages.</P>
<P N="1">1. Matters of chiefe doubt nece&s;&s;ary to be decided (le&s;t Athei&s;me and Libertini&s;me in|crea&s;e more and more &s;till, as they begin in many parts) may be cleared.</P>
<P N="2">2. Fundamentals of Chri&s;tian truth and faith, may be fully and invincibly &s;etled by common con&s;ent.</P>
<P N="3">3. The publicke profe&s;&s;ion of Divine wor&s;hip may be brought to &s;ome Religious uniformity, &s;o farre as is expedient for the amiable corre&s;pondency of &s;everall Chur|ches one with another, and is &s;it for the edi|fication of all Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P N="4">4. The meanes of propagating the Go&s;pell and Kingdome of Chri&s;t towards tho&s;e that are yet in darkne&s;&s;e, and de&s;titute of true and &s;ufficient helpes to attaine a&s;&s;uredly to &s;alvation may be agreed upon, and &s;et a foot for the advancement of Gods glory.</P>
<P>The Churches making profe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pell, may by this meanes receive the&s;e advantages.</P>
<P N="1">1. All the evill intelligences which now
<PB N="4" REF="4">are betweene the Churches by rea&s;on of mi&s;takings and &s;uperfluous di&s;putes will be taken away, when parties &s;hall come to under&s;tand one anothers meaning right|ly.</P>
<P N="2">2. The brotherly affections of mutuall love and care for one anothers edification, &amp; pre&s;ervation in the feare of God (which is the true badge of Chri&s;ts Di&s;ciples) will be taken up &amp; begotten in the hearts of upright Divines who now are at a dolefull di&s;tance: by rea&s;on of mi&s;under&s;tandings, and evill &s;urmi&s;es ri&s;en among&s;t them.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Churches will increa&s;e in number, and all the members thereof being taught by their Leaders, to keep the unity of the &s;pirit in the bond of peace and love, after this mee|ting will grow in knowledge, and in godly zeale to all vertue.</P>
<P N="4">4 <HI>A</HI> &s;pirituall corre&s;pondency for mutuall communion of Holy things, belonging to the publike good of Religion, may be by this meanes &s;etled betwixt the Churches and afterward entertained, from whence incre|dible comforts will ari&s;e to every one in par|ticular,
<PB N="5" REF="4">and to all an generall which truely profe&s;&s;e Religion.</P>
<P>The States wherein the united Churches doe dwell may receive from hence the&s;e ad|vantages.</P>
<P N="1">1. Within them&s;elves they will be more &s;etled in quietne&s;&s;e then heretofore they have beene, and in all likelihood attaine to a full and con&s;tant peace one towards ano|ther.</P>
<P N="2">2. Together with inward peace all the ble&s;|&s;ings attending the &s;ame in plenty and pro&s;|perity will follow.</P>
<P N="3">3. In re&s;pect of tho&s;e that are without, they will be in &s;afety from the practices of evill in&s;truments which have beene &s;ent among&s;t us, and &s;et a worke, or have &s;et them&s;elves for their owne ends politickly a worke; to worke the divi&s;ion of Prote&s;tants, and by their divi&s;ion their overthrow.</P>
<P N="4">4. If they be a&s;&s;aulted, as now they have beene a long while agoe, more for their Re|ligion then for any other cau&s;e, they will re|ceive &s;trength and a&s;&s;i&s;tance one from ano|ther, and not be &s;o farre divided in Councels
<PB N="6" REF="5">as hitherto they have beene to their owne overthrow.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the advantages on the right hand, which by this Councell will clearely redound unto the Go&s;pell, to the Churches, and to the States Prote&s;tants.</P>
<P>The advantages on the left hand are no le&s;&s;e if not farre more apparent; for by this meanes,</P>
<P>The &s;uper&s;titious fooleries and errors of Popi&s;h Religion, together with the tyran|nicall practi&s;es, u&s;urpations and pretentions of Papi&s;ts again&s;t Prote&s;tans will be brought to nought, and loo&s;e clearely all the advan|tages which hitherto they have had again&s;t the Churches, and &s;o the greate&s;t blow that ever was yet given unto Popery, will by this meanes be given to it. Which is a thing &s;o cleare that no rationall man can doubt of it, if he but a little con&s;ider that although the meeting &s;hould not yet (as it needeth not) be called to condemne Popery, yet if it but &s;heweth forth the truth of God, in that wherein it is fundamentally profe&s;&s;ed by Prote&s;tants, and &s;etteth their
<PB N="7" REF="5">Churches in &s;ome kind of union among&s;t them&s;elves, and bringeth their intentions to &s;ome good and ea&s;ie corre&s;pondency, for the future manife&s;tation and advance|ment of the Go&s;pell towards tho&s;e that are kept in ignorance and &s;pirituall &s;lavery by the Pope: it will make him fall from his u&s;urped Throne to the ground, and his whole imaginary Religion with him into contempt, even as Satan fell from heaven like lightning, when Chri&s;t &s;ent forth his &s;e|venty di&s;ciples, which preached the Go&s;pel. As for the Here&s;ies of other Sects which &s;ecretly undermine the fundamentals of &s;aving truth, and &s;ound government; the&s;e doe as much harme in corrupting the minds of &s;imple ones in the darke, as the Papi&s;ts doe openly by violence and other practices upon the affections of men that are wi&s;e af|ter this world. Therefore to cut the&s;e &s;hort of the advantages which they now take from our di&s;tractions, this meeting may greatly &s;erve. For if the truth of fundamen|tals once be evidently cleared, then a cour&s;e may be&s;ettled, to deal both by authority with
<PB N="8" REF="6">tho&s;e that are impudently bla&s;phemous, &s;candalous and refractory, again&s;t the clearely fundamentall truth of Gods word, and likewi&s;e by treaties in all lenity and long-&s;uffering with carefull in&s;truction and Councell, to give &s;atisfaction to the &s;cru|pulous con&s;ciences of the weaker &s;ort; by which meanes the force of their &s;eduction will come to an end. For now they pre|vaile onely, becau&s;e no &s;uch cour&s;e is taken by common con&s;ent: And no &s;uch cour&s;e can be taken by common con&s;ent, except it be done with common advice; and this cannot be done, except a Generall Coun|cell of Prote&s;tants be called to con&s;ult upon the matter.</P>
<P>The la&s;t advantage of the left hand re|doundeth to the Go&s;pell, to the Churches, to the States, and to every particular per&s;on therein all at once. For the removing, fir&s;t of needle&s;&s;e di&s;putes; which upon this mee|ting will infallibly (if it be well ordered) follow, will prevent contentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and &s;trife of parties. And if this be prevented, pu|blicke &s;candals will of them&s;elves cea&s;e, &s;o
<PB N="9" REF="6">farre as they proceed from that licenciou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and inordinate cour&s;e which men take to offend one another in the way of partiality and contradiction. Which way being once &s;topped, the wel-&s;pring of a thou&s;and publicke evils will be dryed up; and if there were none other motive to in|duce his Maje&s;tie, and the Church and State of <HI>England,</HI> to call &s;uch a meeting of Pro|te&s;tant Divines but this alone: namely that the fountaine of &s;uch bitter waters of &s;trife may be dryed up, it would be &s;ufficient to draw them to this re&s;olution, whether they looke in particular to them&s;elves at this time, or in generall to the whole States of Prote&s;tants, wherein their &s;afety is invol|ved.</P>
<P>And from hence ari&s;eth, if not an ab&s;o|lute, yet a very urgent nece&s;&s;ity of making u&s;e of this councell at this time; becau&s;e if now it be either ab&s;olutely, or at lea&s;t very urgently nece&s;&s;ary, not onely by rea&s;on of Gods expre&s;&s;e and generall Commande|ment to this effect, but al&s;o by rea&s;on of pu|blicke and private calamities, di&s;tractions
<PB N="10" REF="7">and &s;candalou&s;ly pernitious di&s;orders more frequent now, then at others times, to aime at the &s;eeking of peace in the profe&s;|&s;ion of his Go&s;pell. And if this peace can|not truely be &s;ought for, or any wayes ob|tayned or hoped for, without &s;uch a mee|ting of Prote&s;tants; then it followeth that &s;uch a meeting is at this time, if not ab&s;o|lutely, yet very urgently nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P>But this may ea&s;ily be made manife&s;t, that without &s;uch a meeting, a true and &s;et|tled peace of Prote&s;tant Divines and Chur|ches, cannot be obtained, according to Gods Commandement, for the advantage of the Go&s;pell, and the &s;afety of their pu|blicke States: therefore it mu&s;t al&s;o be con|cluded, that the aime of calling &s;uch a mee|ting, is not onely mo&s;t u&s;efull, but al&s;o ei|ther ab&s;olutely, or at lea&s;t very urgently ne|ce&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P>Much could be &s;aid of this, either ab&s;o|lute or at lea&s;t very urgent nece&s;sity of pro|curing peace and unity, as well among&s;t Prote&s;tants in generall, as in particular among&s;t the Churches of <HI>Great Brittaine,</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="7">and of the peculiar advantages, which tho&s;e of <HI>Great Brittaine</HI> &s;hould gaine more then others, by calling a meeting of Pro|te&s;tants to that effect, but now I will &s;ur|cea&s;e from this &s;ubject, and leave the mat|ter to the more &s;erious con&s;ideration of the judicious and pious Reader, who can di&s;|cerne what the true cau&s;es and remedies of publicke evils are, and how the &s;afety of the Church and State of <HI>England</HI> at this time cannot be procured without &s;ome e&s;peciall relation, which it mu&s;t have towards other Prote&s;tant Churches and States.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Of the &s;econd.</HEAD>
<P>To &s;hew that in <HI>England</HI> &s;uch a meeting may ea&s;ily be called together, I mu&s;t in the fir&s;t place pre&s;uppo&s;e that the State will be free from troubles and dangers of warre, and that there is a willingne&s;&s;e in the King and Clergy to have it called, and then in the &s;econd place it mu&s;t be made apparent, 1. That the minds and di&s;po&s;itions, of the chiefe of all Prote&s;tant parties, are now
<PB N="12" REF="8">&s;ufficiently prepared to embrace and enter|taine with gladne&s;&s;e &s;uch a motion, if it &s;hould be propo&s;ed unto them in a conve|nient way by any one of eminent Authori|ty, which is able to be at &s;ome extraordi|nary charges to that effect.</P>
<P N="2">2. That the mo&s;t judicious Prote&s;tant Divines and State&s;men in every party doe judge &s;uch a meeting to be not only u&s;efull, but nece&s;&s;ary to make an end of our divi|&s;ions.</P>
<P N="3">3. That not onely the mo&s;t judicious, but even almo&s;t all &s;uch as are of any note, have given already their con&s;ent and advice towards &s;uch a meeting; and among&s;t the&s;e all the truely peaceable and godly wi&s;h earne&s;tly for the calling of it toge|ther, ever &s;ince the Evangelicall States of <HI>Germany</HI> have made a Decree in the yeare 1634 that at &s;ome time convenient, when the affaires of the Empire &s;hould &s;ettle a little, &s;uch a meeting &s;hould be cal|led.</P>
<P>Now &s;eeing that time is not yet come in <HI>Germany,</HI> nor like to come in ha&s;t,
<PB N="13" REF="8">and neverthele&s;&s;e on all &s;ides the nece&s;&s;ities of &s;uch a remedy, to cure publicke evills grow daily greater and greater. Therefore the Church and &s;tate of <HI>England,</HI> is to be en|treated for its owne &s;afety and peace, and for the love of Gods glory, to helpe the publicke good in this behalfe.</P>
<P N="4">4. That the further preparatives, namely to call,</P>
<P N="1">1. Tho&s;e that are to be called. 2. To deal particularly with them, that they may be preinformed of the &s;cope &amp; manner of trea|ting intended. And 3. To order and precon|ceive the whole way of proceeding to|wards a full and happy conclu&s;ion of the treaty; &s;uch as may be without exception on all &s;ides, will not require above a years &s;pace, after the re&s;olution is once taken to call the Coun&s;ell together. All which may be made palpably and particularly, manife&s;t in a very &s;hort &s;pace, if it once ap|peare, that this motion is not &s;lighted. And if it be &s;lighted, I doe hereby declare that I have wa&s;hed mine hands in innocency, and cleared my con&s;cience from that guilt,
<PB N="14" REF="9">which will lye heavie upon tho&s;e, who are incendiaries of &s;trife, or acce&s;&s;ory thereun|to, or being able, will not helpe to redre&s;&s;e and to heale the breaches of <HI>Sion,</HI> which &s;trife and ambition have made and aug|ment daily.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Of the third,</HEAD>
<P>To &s;hew that the manner of proceeding in &s;uch a meeting of Prote&s;tanes may be &s;uch as will certainly without all apparent difficultie reach the ends, wherefore it ought to be called: Wee mu&s;t conceive what the properanddirect &s;cope of the com|ming together of this Coun&s;ell &s;hould be: How the Divines &s;hould be brought toge|ther? how, when they are come together he that calleth them &s;hould deal with them, to oblige them to the &s;cope for which they meet? What they &s;hould treat off? how they &s;hould &s;everally conceive, and joyntly conferre their thoughts? how the gene|rall conclu&s;ion, and con&s;ent of all their re|&s;olutions is to be taken up and ratified? and la&s;tly Low the &s;ame is to be introduced into all the Churches; for their mutuall
<PB N="15" REF="9">union, peace, and edification?</P>
<P>Of the&s;e heads to &s;peake but a word, conceive thus of each.</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t, the &s;cope for which the Coun|cell &s;hould be called, &s;hould not be dire|ctly to decide matters of particular con|trover&s;ie, or to make determinations and Decrees, whereunto the con&s;ciences of all men, as by ab&s;olute command of that A&s;&s;embly &s;hould be obliged implicitly to &s;ubmit their beleefe, and blindly to give obedience, but rather to declare their meanings, onely concerning the union of Prote&s;tants in fundamentall truthes and formes of Doctrines mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary for edification, and to give their advi|ces concerning the way of uniting Pro|te&s;tants in the publicke profe&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e truthes, and in the meanes of peace|able government for mutuall edifica|tion in time to come, and for taking away of &s;candals, and preventing of the cau&s;es of future breaches.</P>
<P N="2">2. The way of bringing them together
<PB N="16" REF="10">mu&s;t be by intreaty made to the Supe|riours of all parties, requiring that they would &s;end, &s;ome able judicious and godly men &s;it to give coun&s;ell in &s;uch ca|&s;es. And to make this intreaty effectuall, &s;ome &s;it Me&s;&s;enger, or Me&s;&s;engers mu&s;t be u&s;ed to in&s;inuate the purpo&s;e of their calling together unto the State whence they are called, le&s;t jealou&s;ies ri&s;e and hinder the proceeding of the worke.</P>
<P N="3">3. When they are come together, they are to be obliged unto the &s;cope of their meeting by a &s;olemne forme of Oath, binding them fir&s;t to &s;incerity in repect of their meanings, which are to be declared in the pre&s;ence of God, and then to certaine other conditions not to be refu&s;ed by any; whereby the dan|ger of ra&s;h contradictions, needle&s;&s;e di|&s;putes, and frivolous tergiver&s;ations in profitable matters may be prevented, and the true manner of their treaty limited within due bounds.</P>
<P N="4">4. The &s;ubjects whereof they &s;hould
<PB N="17" REF="10">treate are the particulars, contained un|der the ends heretofore named, whereof a li&s;t mu&s;t be made, with a cleare demon|&s;tration of the coherence of every Sub|ject with another; and of the impor|tance of every one for the attaining of the chiefe end to which it mu&s;t be referred in the con&s;ideration which is to be taken of it.</P>
<P N="5">5. The manner of conceiving &s;everal|ly and conferring joyntly their thoughts, mu&s;t be done in write.</P>
<P>Therefore to conceive their determi|nations and coun&s;els, the &s;ubjects of me|ditation are to be given to every Colledge apart in write, by way of que&s;tion propo|&s;ed: whereunto the manner of an&s;wearing is to be prelimited, in re&s;pect of the grounds whence the an&s;wear is to be ta|ken; of the forme, how it &s;hould be &s;et down, and of the end to which it is more di&s;tinctly to be referred. And to conferre their determinations and coun&s;els joynt|ly,
<PB N="16" REF="11">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="17" REF="11">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="18" REF="12"> it may be done by a Committee of &s;ome few, which hee who calleth them together, may appoint. And this Committee &s;hould contract the varie|tie of all the an&s;weres, to &s;o few heads as may be, without omitting any thing which may be thought ma|teriall.</P>
<P N="6">6. The generall con&s;ent of all their re&s;olutions is to be gathered from their owne declarations into one &s;umme, yet by di&s;tinct heads of matters &s;et downe. And it &s;hould be given to eve|ry one &s;everally to be peru&s;ed, before it be ratified, as an Act of the Coun|cell. And when all are willing to ac|knowledge it as their owne Act, then it &s;hould be &s;ub&s;cribed.</P>
<P N="7">7. The manner of introducing the Acts of &s;uch a Councell in all parti|cular Churches, &s;hould be determi|ned in the Councell it &s;elfe, &s;hew|ing what cour&s;e &s;hould be taken every
<PB N="19" REF="12">where to acquaint the Mini&s;ters there|with in all Churches, &s;o as they may receive full &s;atisfaction in ca&s;e of any doubt, and have no cau&s;e to com|plaine, that a yoake of humane con|&s;titutions is put upon them, by the au|thority of &s;ome few, or that they are too much limitted in that liberty, which Chri&s;t giveth to his Servants in the Go&s;pell, to prophecie and pra|ctice things tending to private or pu|blike edification. All this may be done without the formalitie and trouble of many Se&s;&s;ions, and publicke meetings which might perhaps breed &s;ome in|conveniences here needle&s;&s;e to be men|tioned.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, the charges will not be a great burthen to <HI>England,</HI> although it &s;hould beare the &s;ame all alone, and although the meeting &s;hould la&s;t a yeare or two: but it may be made good,
<PB N="20" REF="13">that in one yeare &s;pace and &s;ooner al&s;o, the worke may be done. And that mo&s;t of the Prote&s;tant States will be wil|ling to &s;end their owne Divines, at their owne charges. And no doubt a free contribution will ea&s;ily be obtained of all good Prote|&s;tants, to bring &s;uch a happy worke to pa&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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