VIII. may have been, it was formed and influenced, not by Protestantism, but by Popery. He was born and educated a Papist; whatever his religion and morality were, he received from the church of Rome. In this great event, as in many others, we have to admire the wisdom of divine Providence in overruling the passions of men, for the accomplishment of his infinitely holy purposes. The following judicious remarks of that excellent historian, Sharon Turner, are too important here to be omitted. "All Henry's court, and parliament, and nation, were born and educated in the Romish faith, and all they did was therefore the act of Catholics. A different state of things began in Edward VI. and Elizabeth's time. They were trained up to Protestant principles, and so were the children of most of the subjects of Henry VIII. The acts of these were therefore those of Protestants. If any of the preceding Catholics threw off opinions and habits, which they thought wrong, they were still Catholics who so acted, and their decisions were the decisions of Catholics discerning what was erroneous, and preferring what their reason and conscience perceived to be preferable. Their children being educated as Protestants, acted on different principles; they judged as Protestants, as their fathers had judged as Catholics. This distinction is important. The change of Catholics into the new opinions, was the verdict of Catholics in their favour; who met them with a catholic mind, and examined them with catholic prepossessions. The English Reformation was thus the wise and good work of the Catholics themselves, correcting the abuses of their own church, and establishing a purer system of catholic Christianity. Protestantism is catholic Christianity, reformed from its Papal corruptions. Romanism is sectarianism, compared with apostolical Christianity: * Sharon Turner's Modern History, vol. i. p 573. 26 CHAPTER II. THE RULE OF FAITH. Church of Rome. "I most firmly admit and receive the apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other observances and constitutions of the church. "I admit also, the sacred Scriptures, according to that sense, which holy mother church, to whom it pertains to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of the sacred Scriptures, hath holden, and still holds; nor will I ever receive and interpret them, otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers. "I do without doubt receive and profess all things which have been delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred canons, and œcumenical councils, especially by the Holy Council of Trent; and all things contrary thereunto, and all heresies, of whatsoever kind, which have been condemned, rejected, and anathematized by the church, I, Church of England. "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation, &c. Wherefore, although the church be a witness and keeper of holy writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so, besides the same, ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of salvation. "General councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of princes. And when they be gathered together (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed by the Spirit and word of God) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things per in like manner, condemn, reject, and anathematize."-Trent. Profess. Art. i. ii. xii. taining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them, as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture." —Art. vi. xx. xxi. THE statement given above will fully justify the remark of Bishop Bull, that "the church of Rome hath changed the primitive canon, or rule of faith, by adding new articles to it, as necessary to be believed in order to salvation." The church of Rome denies that the sacred Scriptures alone are a sufficient rule of faith. Traditions, oral and written, said to be handed down from the apostles' times, and the decrees and interpretations of councils, are considered as of equal authority with the word of God, and equally necessary as a rule of faith to Christians. Yea, more than this, with the Scriptures and tradition in our possession, we are still incompetent to decide what we ought to believe and practice, unless we receive the interpretation of the church. The church, by which the Roman Catholic means his own church, is regarded as the sole infallible interpreter of holy Scripture; as she interprets the divinely inspired word of God, in that sense, whether true or false, the member of that church is bound to receive it as his rule of faith and practice. This is the fundamental error of the church of Rome; by thus making void the word of God through their traditions, the way was prepared for all those corruptions in faith and practice which will hereafter be noticed. To guard against misrepresentation, it is necessary to give, in this place, a few extracts from the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, and from other writings of the advocates of the church of Rome. The Council of Trent, at its fourth session, holden April 8th, 1546, a few weeks after the death of Luther, decreed as follows:-"Having this object constantly in view, that errors being removed, the real purity of the gospel may be preserved in the church, which, promised aforetime by the prophets in the holy Scriptures, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first promulgated by his own mouth, and afterwards ordained to be preached to every creature by the apostles, as being a fountain both of saving truth and instruction of manners; knowing, further, that this truth and instruction is contained in the written books, and in the unwritten traditions, which having been received by the apostles, either from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the dictates of the Holy Spirit, were handed down and transmitted even to us; following the example of the orthodox Fathers, this sacred council receives and venerates with sentiments of equal piety and reverence, (pari pietatis affectu ac reverentiâ,) all the books, as well of the Old as of the New Testament, since one God was the author of them both ; |