our knowledge, as God manifest in the flesh? She came near and touched the hem of His garment, although she could not have explained how the touch should do her any good: and must we not in like manner approach Him in the devout use of His Sacraments, however impossible it must always be for us to understand how they should be means of grace? She indeed was ignorant of some things: but involuntary ignorance is one thing, profane contradiction, or conceited scepticism, another. She had, perhaps, what some might account low superstitious notions of the way to profit by our SAVIOUR: and, on the other hand, if they who so judge had stood by and seen St. Peter, when, in anger at the very thought of the crucifixion, he took our Lord and began to rebuke Him, and said, This shall not be unto Thee; and we may suppose they would have said, He may be mistaken, but any how his fault is on the right side: he cannot endure any low notion of his SAVIOUR; depend upon it, he is the last to deny Him. We know how that proved on experiment; and perhaps, comparing the two together, we shall not be wrong if we conclude that the only safe way is to take God's will exactly as we find it declared in His word as interpreted by His Church, and not to perplex ourselves with fancies, philosophical or other. So may we hope by God's grace to obtain larger and completer views of our whole condition and duty, and build higher and higher as feeling that our foundation is sure. So may we hope to escape that curse, the terrible accompaniment generally of the Church's anathema, of continuing for ever wavering and unsteady in all the great rules and principles: "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

OXFORD,

The Feast of the Annunciation.

[FOURTH EDITION.]

These Tracts are continued in Numbers, and sold at the price of 2d. for each sheet, or 7s. for 50 copies.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE.

1841.

GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London.

No. 61.]

(Ad Clerum.)

[Price 1d.

TRACTS FOR THE TIMES.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A WITNESS AGAINST ILLIBERALITY.

ILLIBERALITY of mind in religious matters, bigotry, intolerance, and the like, is the disposition to make unimportant points important, to make them terms of communion, watchwords of parties, and so on.

Now the Church Catholic acts on the principle of insisting on no points but such as are of importance, of judging of opinions variously according to their respective importance, of acknowledging no parties, and of protesting and witnessing against all party spirit and party dogmas.

One remarkable instance of this is to be found in the circumstance, true as a general rule, and capable of explanation in its apparent exceptions, that it knows no master but CHRIST, as He enjoined. It struck the attention of Christians as early as the age of Athanasius, what is witnessed at this day, that heresies bear the name of individual teachers, whereas the Catholic Faith has no especial human interpreter, but is transmitted on from CHRIST through His Apostles, in every place. Considering how the names of the champions of all opinions are circulated to and fro by all parties, it is a very surprising fact, that those only remain at this day inseparably connected with the respective doctrines of those who bore them, which belonged to heretics: e. g. in spite of all the efforts that have been made, to call the orthodox faith Athanasian, that word occurs, for the most part, only in a transitory page of history, being exchanged for Catholic by the upholders of the faith, Trinitarian even by its enemies, who, meanwhile, cannot help connecting themselves as Arians, Sabellians, Nestorians, &c. with human masters. In like manVOL. II.-61.

A

ner, modern history opens upon us Lutherans, Calvinists, Brownists, Wesleyans, &c., but would be perplexed what title to give to the English Church less respectful than Episcopalian. We have plainly no human master, such as Melancthon, Bucer, or Cranmer, whatever influence these celebrated individuals might have in their day. We are a branch of the Church Catholic. Not that the absence of such human title is a criterion of Gospel truth; for there were Gnostics of old, and Independents and Quakers now; but that the Catholic doctrine is ever free from this badge of intolerable bondage.

This is shown in the case of the parties within the Church, as well as of the heresies and sects external to it; e. g. the Augustinians, the Jansenists, or the Arminians among ourselves; or in the various monastic orders, as Benedictine, Dominican, and the like. I mean, the tolerance and comprehensiveness of the Church is shown from the fact, that she can afford to receive within her pale varieties of opinion, imposing on its members, not agreement in minor matters, but a charitable forbearance and mutual sympathy. Hence she has been accustomed to distinguish between Catholic Verities and Theological Opinions, the essentials and non-essentials of Christian Faith.

In doing this, she has been guided by the text, spoken against the Pharisees, "Judge not, that ye be not judged;" and while enforcing this command, she both exemplifies obedience to it in her own case, and also becomes herself a test, applied to the hearts of men, to ascertain whether they are bigotted and narrow-minded or not. Contrast the text just quoted with 2 John 10, 11, "If any man come unto you, and bring not this doctrine," &c. and you see at once her gentleness and her severity.

Herein lies one eminent argument in favour of the divine origin of the Church, that, by the course it has actually taken, it gives us a clue to reconcile "not judging," with "not bidding God-speed."

Again, the claim of authority with which it silences quarrels, affords, I say, a test, such as we antecedently might expect would be given us, for ascertaining that latent Pharisaical temper of party which our Lord rebukes.

TRACTS FOR THE TIMES.

3

Submission to Church authority is the test whether or not we prefer unity, and the edification of CHRIST's body, to private fancies.

Thus, e. g. when the man of strong feelings, in old time, merely founded a college or monastery for devotion and study, he satisfied the test. When, in modern times, he opens a conventicle, and forms a sect, he is condemned by it, as Pharisaical.

When the Baptists go so far as to separate, because they think children ought not to be baptized, they fail under the application of it, since the Church, though earnestly enjoining infant baptism, does not exclude from communion those who scruple at it; therefore the Baptists are self-banished. When the Non-conformists separated on account of the surplice, the cross in baptism, &c. they too were detected and convicted of a rebellious spirit, by the same test.

The spirit of Schism, in addition to its other inherent characters of sin, implies the desire of establishing minor points as Catholic or essential points, or the spirit of exclusiveness.

The desire of novelty is restlessness; the maintenance of our own novelty is selfishness.

Zeal is the effort to maintain all the Truth; party spirit is a perverse maintenance of this or that tenet, even though true, yet to the suppression and exclusion of every thing else. "Forte hinc appellata Catholica," says Augustine, " quod totum veraciter teneat, cujus veritatis nonnullæ particulæ etiam in diversis inveniuntur hæresibus."

While Dissenters are exclusive on the one hand, Papists are so on the other. The Council of Trent converted certain theological opinions into (what they maintained to be) Catholic Verities. This was wrong, whoever did it; but it is some comfort to find, that the body that thus became uncatholic, was not the Church Catholic itself. It had been wretched, indeed had the Church, in its Ecumenic or Universal capacity, surrendered its own essential character, and added to the Catholic faith private judgments. But the Tridentine Council was a meeting of but a part of Christendom. Though the Latin Communion is given at 80,000,000 souls, yet the Greek Churches are said to comprehend ner, modern history opens upon us Lutherans, Calvinists, Brownists, Wesleyans, &c., but would be perplexed what title to give to the English Church less respectful than Episcopalian. We have plainly no human master, such as Melancthon, Bucer, or Cranmer, whatever influence these celebrated individuals might have in their day. We are a branch of the Church Catholic. Not that the absence of such human title is a criterion of Gospel truth; for there were Gnostics of old, and Independents and Quakers now; but that the Catholic doctrine is ever free from this badge of intolerable bondage.

This is shown in the case of the parties within the Church, as well as of the heresies and sects external to it; e. g. the Augustinians, the Jansenists, or the Arminians among ourselves; or in the various monastic orders, as Benedictine, Dominican, and the like. I mean, the tolerance and comprehensiveness of the Church is shown from the fact, that she can afford to receive within her pale varieties of opinion, imposing on its members, not agreement in minor matters, but a charitable forbearance and mutual sympathy. Hence she has been accustomed to distinguish between Catholic Verities and Theological Opinions, the essentials and non-essentials of Christian Faith.

In doing this, she has been guided by the text, spoken against the Pharisees, "Judge not, that ye be not judged;" and while enforcing this command, she both exemplifies obedience to it in her own case, and also becomes herself a test, applied to the hearts of men, to ascertain whether they are bigotted and narrow-minded or not. Contrast the text just quoted with 2 John 10, 11, "If any man come unto you, and bring not this doctrine," &c. and you see at once her gentleness and her severity.

Herein lies one eminent argument in favour of the divine origin of the Church, that, by the course it has actually taken, it gives us a clue to reconcile "not judging," with "not bidding God-speed."

Again, the claim of authority with which it silences quarrels, affords, I say, a test, such as we antecedently might expect would be given us, for ascertaining that latent Pharisaical temper of party which our Lord rebukes.