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<DATE>2014-03-03</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140110.apex.</ITEM>
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<HEAD>An <HI>Addre&s;s</HI> Pre&s;ented to the Reverend and Learned Mini&s;ters of the <HI>Church of England,</HI> by one &s;incerely de&s;irous of finding out the Truth, in behalf of him&s;elf and others equally concern'd, as well for their own as the general Satisfaction.</HEAD>
<P>THERE can be no doubt, but that the main Concern of Man in this Vale of Tears, is the Salvation of his Soul. If this be lo&s;t, he lo&s;es all; if this be gained, he gains all, and both for an Eternity. No body then can blame me, if being &s;olicitous to &s;ave my Soul, I have recour&s;e to tho&s;e, who&s;e Learning mu&s;t needs enable them, and who&s;e Charity cannot but incline them to in&s;truct me in this weighty Affair. I therefore hum|bly be&s;eech you mo&s;t Reverend and Learned Doctors of the Church of <HI>England</HI> to afford me a clear and &s;atisfactory Solution of the&s;e fol|lowing Doubts.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> I de&s;ire to know, whether all things nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation are contained in Scripture? If not, where mu&s;t I &s;eek them? If they be, then they are either clearly contained in it, &s;o that there is no need of an Interpreter for the meaning of the words; or not. If there be no need of any &s;uch Interpreter, then I humbly ask what the&s;e Nece&s;&s;aries to Salvation are, and in what Chapter and Ver&s;e of Scripture each of them may be found. For Example; Is the Belief of a <HI>Trinity,</HI> One God and Three Per&s;ons, nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation? If it be, as the Creed of S. <HI>Athana&s;ius</HI> a&s;&s;ures us it is, in what Chapter and Ver&s;e of Scri|pture is it clearly expre&s;&s;ed? If you &s;end me to the 1. Epi&s;t. of S. <HI>John,</HI> Chap. 5. Ver. 7. where we read, <HI>There are Three who give Te&s;timony in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and Holy Gho&s;t, and the&s;e Three are One;</HI> or to the Go&s;pel of S. <HI>John,</HI> Chap. 10. Ver. 30. <HI>I and my Father are One;</HI> I de&s;ire you to &s;hew clearly out of Scripture, that the word <HI>One</HI> here
<PB N="2" REF="2" MS="y"> &s;ignifies a &s;trict <HI>Identity</HI> or Unity of Sub&s;tance, as the Church of <HI>England</HI> holds, not a meer Moral Union, as many Learned <HI>Arians</HI> and others will have it, and as we all confe&s;s the &s;ame word &s;ignifies in S. <HI>John,</HI> Chap. 17. Ver. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. where our Lord Prays that all Believers may be <HI>One,</HI> as he and his Father are <HI>One;</HI> where certainly he cannot be &s;up|po&s;ed to mean <HI>One</HI> in Sub&s;tance. In what Ver&s;e then and Chapter in Scripture have we the&s;e or the like words, The word <HI>One</HI> in the 1 Epi&s;t. of S. <HI>John,</HI> Item in S. <HI>John</HI>'s Go&s;pel, &s;ignifies a &s;trict Iden|tity; which notwith&s;tanding I conceive ought to be, if all Nece&s;&s;a|ries to Salvation be clearly contained in Scripture. Now if the Be|lief of a <HI>Trinity</HI> be not nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, I de&s;ire it may be clearly owned in the&s;e or the like words: <HI>'Tis not nece&s;&s;ary for Sal|vation to believe Three Per&s;ons and One God, notwith&s;tanding the Creed of S.</HI> Athana&s;ius, <HI>and Definition of the Fir&s;t Council of Nice, when the Church was in her Purity not the lea&s;t corrupted.</HI></P>
<P>Again, Is the Belief of the <HI>Incarnation</HI> nece&s;&s;ary for Salvation? Where is it clearly expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture? You refer me to S. <HI>John</HI> Chap. 1. <HI>The Word is made Fle&s;h.</HI> But you know that many Learned Men, <HI>Ne&s;torius</HI> and others, denied that word to &s;ignifie a &s;trict Incar|nation, but either a Moral Union, or a meer external appearance of a Man, as tho&s;e who held <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> not to have a real but a phanta&s;tick Body. Now be plea&s;ed to &s;hew me in what Ver&s;e or Chapter it is clearly expre&s;&s;ed, that the &s;aid words &s;ignifie a &s;trict Incarnation. But if you deny the Belief of this My&s;tery to be nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, own it, for our Satisfaction, in the&s;e or the like words: <HI>It is not ne|ce&s;&s;ary for Salvation to believe, that the Second Per&s;on of the Ble&s;&s;ed Tri|nity was made true Man.</HI> And if the Belief of neither <HI>Trinity</HI> nor <HI>Incar|nation</HI> are nece&s;&s;ary, &s;hew me what is, and where expre&s;&s;ed in Scripture.</P>
<P>Then in order to Practice, I de&s;ire to know whether it be nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, to keep holy the <HI>Lord's-Day,</HI> that is, <HI>Sunday</HI> and not <HI>Sa|turday.</HI> If it be, I de&s;ire to know in what Chapter and Ver&s;e it is clear|ly contained in Scripture; as al&s;o where the Abrogation of the <HI>Satur|day</HI> is clearly expre&s;&s;ed. If it be not nece&s;&s;ary for Salvation to keep holy the <HI>Lord's-Day,</HI> I de&s;ire your Warrant for it in the&s;e or the like terms: <HI>It is not nece&s;&s;ary to keep holy the Lord's Day, that is, Sunday.</HI></P>
<P>If you &s;ay that every one is only bound to believe what is clear to him in Scripture, reading it with Sincerity and Humility, then I mu&s;t de&s;ire to know, What if I reading Scripture <HI>Sincerely</HI> and with <HI>Humi|lity,</HI> cannot find clearly expre&s;&s;ed either the <HI>Trinity</HI> or <HI>Incarnation?</HI>
<PB N="3" REF="2"> will it not be nece&s;&s;ary for the Salvation of my Soul to believe the&s;e two My&s;teries?</P>
<P>Put the Ca&s;e I have recour&s;e (as by the&s;e I have) to <HI>Church-Guides,</HI> and they tell me I mu&s;t believe tho&s;e My&s;teries: is it nece&s;&s;ary I be|lieve the&s;e Guides? If it be, then Scripture alone is not clear in Ne|ce&s;&s;aries to Salvation; for here I am obliged to believe what is not clear to me in Scripture. Again, am I bound to keep holy <HI>Sunday,</HI> th&ocirc; I find no Precept for it in Scripture, and not <HI>Saturday,</HI> th&ocirc; I find an expre&s;s Command for it, no-where Abrogated in Scripture, becau&s;e my <HI>Guides</HI> tell me I mu&s;t do &s;o? If I mu&s;t, then <HI>Guides</HI> are nece&s;&s;ary to Salvation, and Scripture alone without them is not &s;ufficient. Be plea&s;ed to own this Propo&s;ition<HI>&mdash;Scripture alone is not &s;ufficient, with|out Guides to Interpret it.</HI> If notwith&s;tanding my <HI>Guides</HI> I am not bound to believe either <HI>Trinity</HI> or <HI>Incarnation,</HI> or ob&s;erve <HI>Sunday,</HI> then I mu&s;t beg of you to warrant with your Authority the&s;e words: <HI>I am not bound to keep holy the Lord's-Day or Sunday, th&ograve; the</HI> Guides <HI>of the Church tell me I mu&s;t, if I cannot find it clearly in Scripture.</HI></P>
<P>But you'll tell me, That Nece&s;&s;aries to Salvation are either clear in Scripture, or evidently deduced out of Scripture. Very well. A&s;&s;ign then the&s;e Nece&s;&s;aries, and deduce them out of Scripture; &s;hew the Ver&s;e and Chapter from whence is evidently deduced an Obligation to keep holy <HI>Sunday</HI> and not <HI>Saturday.</HI> Again, the Evidence of that De|duction is either had immediately from the meer reading of Scripture, without help of <HI>Guides,</HI> and then I de&s;ire to &s;ee the Places from whence the&s;e Nece&s;&s;aries are evidently inferr'd; or it cannot be had but by the help of <HI>Guides,</HI> and then the Scripture alone is not &s;ufficient.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> But if all Nece&s;&s;aries to Salvation be not clear enough in Scripture to be under&s;tood without an Interpreter, then it will be ne|ce&s;&s;ary to know who and where the Interpreter is. If you remit me to the Deci&s;ion of the true Church, it will be nece&s;&s;ary to know which is that Church. If you tell me all Chri&s;tian Churches joyned together, then it follows that I am bound to believe nothing but what all Chri|&s;tians agree in; for what they di&s;agree in, cannot be the Sentiment or Deci&s;ion of the whole Church, but only of a part of it. I am not then obliged to believe the <HI>Trinity;</HI> for the <HI>Arians,</HI> th&ocirc; Chri&s;tians, deny it. I am not obliged to believe the <HI>Incarnation,</HI> for many Chri&s;ti|ans deny that Chri&s;t was God made Man by a &s;trict Incarnation, but only by a Moral Union; that is, he was a Man who had the Authority of God as his Plenipotentiary, and the like. Now then let me know
<PB N="4" REF="3" MS="y"> on what all Chri&s;tians agree, and let me have your Warrant that I am bound to believe neither the <HI>Trinity</HI> nor <HI>Incarnation,</HI> nor any thing wherein all Chri&s;tians do not agree. Now if you tell me I am obliged to &s;tand to the Determination of one particular Church, or &s;ome and not all, tell me which, and why that or tho&s;e more than others? What Church, for Example, were particular Per&s;ons bound to follow Two hundred years ago, before the <HI>Reformation?</HI></P>
<P>I conceive, an An&s;wer to the&s;e Doubts ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary for the Salvation of my Soul. For how can I be Saved, if I know not what is nece&s;&s;ary thereunto? I need not &s;ay a &s;atisfactory one, for no other can flow from your Learned and vertuous Pens; I only fear that &s;ome Pin-feather'd Divine, out of an itch to appear in Print may prevent yours, and put me off with a Flim-flam, or an uncharita|ble Jeer, or Railing again&s;t &s;ome particular Church he may fancy me to be of, which is nothing to my purpo&s;e, who &s;eek where I may find &s;ecurely Nece&s;&s;aries to Salvation, not where I cannot find them. This would be al&s;o prejudicial to the Church of <HI>England;</HI> for when Men &s;ee Doubts &s;o &s;incerely and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ively Propo&s;ed, An&s;wered only with Jeers, Railing and Invectives, or omitted and let pa&s;s, as not de&s;erving an An&s;wer, they mu&s;t needs doubt of the Learning, as well as of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">he Vertue and Charity of their Leaders.</P>
<P>Now were the Satisfaction I here de&s;ire, intended for my &s;elf alone, it might have &s;eemed more proper to have made my Addre&s;s in parti|cular to &s;ome one of your Reverend and Learned Body; but fora&s;|much as it concerns &s;o many others, and, as I per&s;uade my &s;elf, will prove extremely beneficial to Religion, it being the &s;ure&s;t, nay only way to end the many Controver&s;ies of this Age, I am forced to de&s;ire of you, who&s;e high Character obliges you to a Zeal of Souls, a publick, and withall a &s;peedy An&s;wer, by which you will highly oblige,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>SIRS,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Yours ever.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<P>LONDON, <HI>Printed for</HI> Randal Taylor, 1688.</P>
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