their gracious holy walking with their God; onely take you heed that you involve not your felves in the guilt of that wrong that is done unto them by readineffe of your fpirits to clofe with, and take content in what evill you heare of those whom God accounts faithfull.

CHA P. XXV.

The fixt Dividing Practice, the giving Characterizing names to men, names of Divifion.

TH

The 6. dividing

practice.

Nullum crimi

"His is an old continued practice of the Devill,he hath gained much by it, and therefore is loath to leave it: The Orthodox of old were called Cornelians, Cyrillians, by the followers of Novatus and Neftorius, in time of Reformation Lutherans, Zuinglians, Huffites, Calvinifts, Hugenots. Tertullian fayes nis nomen nik in his Apology for the Chriftians of his time, their crime that they nomini crimen. are perfecuted for, hath no name, that for which they are bated and Tertul Apo.. perfecuted is the crime of their name; fuch men are cryed out of

under fuch a name, but when things come to be examined, their name is all their crime.

And among other that of Schifmaticke is not onely a chara&tifing, but a ftigmatizing name, whereby of old and lately many have had a brand of reproach upon them, which upon examination will be found to be as it is applyed by many, nothing but a fearing word, taken up by fuch who underftand fittle what Schifme is; I fhall therefore endeavour to open this briefly. The word Schifme comes of the Greeke ile, to rend, from thence gioua, Scifura, a rent; It is amongft Divines a Tecnologicall terme. Schifme in the Church, is much like to what Sedition is in the State: When the Church grew up to the ftate and outward glory of an earthly Kingdome, much ufe was made of this terme, as a brand upon thofe who would not fubject to the yoakes of them who loved preheminence in the Church.

But the true nature of Schifme is this, An uncharitable, unjuft, rafh, violent breaking from union with the Church, or the Members of it.

172

The Church is that from which the rent is: Herefie divides from the head,Schifme from the body, Apoftacy from both.This rent is either from the whole Church, or fome part, if from the whole, it is Donatifme: Donatus denyed any to be of the body of Chrift, to be beleevers, to be fuch as could be faved, except that company that joyned with him, and with thofe in his way. This is clear from the whole difcourfe of Auguftine against him, in that Tract De unitate Ecclefia. Wherefore those who cenfure fuch as deny communion with fome particular Congregations, as Donatifts, difcover either ignorance or malice, if not both. Yet Schifme may be, though the rent be but from fome part of the Church, but this must needs fuppofe union with that part: now there may be a twofold union with the feverall parts of the Church, either that which all who are to be accounted Chriftians have with them as they are of the fame body Cathofick; or that which is by agreement to grow up together into a fpeciall fellowship. The rending from any of these unions in fuch a way as before was mentioned, is Schifme. If we feperate. from or refuse that communion with fuch as are to be accounted Chriftians, that is due to all Chriftians, this is the more groffe Schifme. Or if we thus breake off that communion which is by fpeciall agreement, which may be either when Chriftians joyne together in a private way for mutuall edification and comfort: or when they fo joyn together as to make up a diftinct spirituall corporation, to fet up the publick ordinances of Chrift, which the Scripture calls a Church Now though there may be Schifme in the breaking the former, yet the cenfure of Schifme is efpecially applyed to the undue breaking off communion in the latter. Now this implyes an union by a Church agreement; where there never was fuch an agreement, there cannot be the guilt of this Schifmes Although they who dwell within fuch a perambu lation, fuch a compaffe of ground, should not joyne in fome or dinances with fome within that compaffe, whatfoever offence there may be against fome civill conftitution, yet the guilt of Schifme they doe not contract upon themselves, for that union they never had cannot be broke.

But you will fay, Yes, they are Schifmaticks, though they were never fo united,because they were bound to unite thus,and they have not.

It must be granted that CHRIST by what he ordered the Apoftles to doe, would have all Chriftians dwelling together,fo far as they can, to unite into a body,but there is no fuch order of Chrift, that all that dwell on the one fide of the street should be of one body,and all on the other of another body:if they be more then can joyn into one fpirituall corporation, they are bound to joyne into feverall, fo as they may beft, to their own and other Churches edification,and if they should fail in this,not joyning in the best way that poflible might be, their fin is against that edification that Chrift requires, but not therefore the fin of Schifme. Who ever they were that bounded Parifhes,furely they did not fo bound them to the greatest edificati on of the Church that poffible might be, and yet who will fay they were therefore Schifmaticks? But fuppofe you have joyned with any company of Saints in a fpirituall corporation, if you now fhall uncharitably,unjustly,rafhly,and violently break from communion with them, then you contract the guilt of Schifme

upon you.

t

Anfw.

Pirit, the fepartion must be from want of charity. By faith efpecially we are united to Chrift our head,and by charity to one another. Ifa man appeares departing from any fundamentall Article of our faith which joyned him to his Head, he is to bee judged an Heretick.So by his appearing to depart from that love: by which he was joyned in communion with the members, he is Schifmatis pecto be judged a Schifmatick. If his departure proceeds from his catum fpeciale love of God, his love to his Saints, and his owne foule, yea his vitium eft, cha ritati oppofi love to that very Church from whence he departs, as fometimes tum. Aquin. 2. it may, witneffing in a gratious way against evill in it, he is farre 2 q. 29. Art. 1. from the guilt of Schifme..

4

concluf.

If you fay, love is a fecret thing, we cannot judge of what is Schifmatici in the heart th difciffionibus We cannot judge of it while it is in the heart, but when it ap- terna cbaritate iniquis a fra peares we may. You may know whether this or other principles diffiliunt. Aug. act men or no by their behaviour in their breaking off commu- lib de Fide & nion. Where this is not, bitcerneffe, pride felfe-ends, will foone Symbolo, cap... appear, and carry them beyond thofe principles themselves profeffe they goe upon bab Anfm.

Secondly, If the caufe of leaving communion be juft, then those 2.35

who

10.

Culpam fchif

matis non debe

re conferri in cos qui defertores deferunt, fed in ipfos defertores qui Chriftum &

antiquam fidem deferum erant, Voet. defper. caufa papatus, lib. 3. fect. 3.

Anfw.

who give this caufe are the Schifmaticks,not thofe who withdraw upon it. Thus the Governours of the Church may be the Schifmaticks,and a private member withdrawing may be free. Suarez a great Jefuite, in his difputation De Schifmate, fayes in fome cafes the Pope may be a Schifmatick.

If Governours thall enjoyne any thing upon the Church, or any member, that is finne; or if they fhall mingle evill in the publick worship, fo that there can be no joyning with their worship, but there must be likewife a joyning with finne,in this cafe if any withdraw from them, they are the Schifmaticks, not those who withdraw, they are fugati, not fugitivi. The blame of Schifme, fayes learned Vostius, muft not be upon those who forfake fuch as have forfaken Christ and the ancient faith; but upon those who have thus forfaken Chrift and his truth.

When the fecond Councell of Nice fet up Image-worship, many thousands could not yeeld to it, but were forced to withdraw, who was the Schifmaticall party there, but the Synod and those who joyned with it?

Yea further, if they impofe that which is not neceffary, (though in it felfe not finful) and will not beare with the weakneffes of fuch as thinke it to be evill; if upon that they be forced to withdraw; in this the Governours are the Schifmaticks alfo; the caufe of the rent is in them, they ought in fuch things to beare the weaknesses of their Brethren, and not imperioully to require of them thofe things that there is no neceflity of. If fuch things be finne to their Brethrens consciences, if they will stand upon it to enjoyne them, they lay a neceffity upon them to withdraw from them. God will not lay the Indictment of Schifme thus, Such a one departed from the communion of fuch a Church, because he would not doe what was lawfull to be done; but thus, You impofed that upon your Brother which there was no neceffity of, and would not forbeare him in what I would have you forbeare him, but caused him by your imperioufneffe and fiffeneffe, to depart from communion with you. It is true, fayes God,the thing might have been done, but it was not neceffary, it was out of confcience to me that they forbore, the weaknesse is theirs, but the Schifme is yours. This hath beene generally received (though it be very falfe)

that

that if a man departs from a Church because he refufeth to joyn with it in that which is not in it felfe evill, that this mans de-parture is Schifmaticall: Certainly no; Grant there is a weakneffe in his conscience, and fo a finne, he fhould informe his confcience better, but cannot; and this inability is not without finne, yet this arifes not to that height of finne, as to make that (which (fuppofing him to be in this condition) is better for him to doe then not to doe) to become Schifme; efpecially if he be willing to hold communion with that Church ftill in all acts of worship, wherein he can joyne without finning against his confcience, and continues brotherly love to them as Saints in all the expreffions thereof, as he is able.

The first great Schifme in the Church, that was caused by the Governours of it, was that which Villor Bishop of Rome, and those who joyned with him caufed, by that imperious way of enjoyning Easter to be kept at fuch a time which you have mentioned, pag. 15, 16, 17. The ftory of which you have inEufebius, lib. 5. cap. 23. Those who denyed not the lawfulneffe of keeping Easter, yet have generally accused Vifter, and fuch who fo violently urged this upon the Churches as the cause of the Schifme, not fuch who did not conforme to what was enjoyned them, because the thing was not neceffary, and there fhould have beene a forbearance in it: No Governour ought to urge fuch unneceffary things which are but under fufpition by tender confciences, if they do, the Schifme is justly charged upon them.

Thirdly, where a man cannot have his foule edified in fome Ordinances and truths of great moment, which that Church whereof he now is fhall deny, and is in great danger of being feduced to evill, he may depart from that Church to another, if he does it orderly, and not be guilty at all of Schifme, love to God and his owne foule is the cause of this, not want of love to his Brethren.

It is a good speech I finde Chillingworth hath,, what the goodneffe of the man was I know not, but in that Treatife of his, The Religion of Proteftants a safe way, Cap 5. Part. 1. Sect, 61_an-fwering that plea of his adverfary against Proteftants that com-munion with a Church not erring in fundamentals, upon preteace of erring in other matters, muft not be forfaken, he hath

3.