1687. fome who confecrated, had us'd thefe Words, Bread thou art, Bread thou shalt be: Wine thou art, Wine thou shalt be. To all this the Jefuit having nothing to reply, with great Noile and Affurance ask'd the Doctor, What was the kule of Faith? Where the Protestants had their Bible? Who gave them the Copies? How? Where? When? And the like. The Doctor anfwer'd, that the Rule of Faith is the Holy Bible; that the Sum of it, in neceffary Doctrines, is the Apoftolical Creed; that if the Romanifts had any good Proof of the Bible, the Proteftants had it too; that the firit External Inducement for the receiving of the Bible, as Written by fuch and fuch Perfons, and as fuch a Book, was, not fo much the Authority, as the Teftimony of the Univerfal Church of all Ages, all agreeing in it, and amongst others the Roman, excepting the Apochryphal Books of later Time, rais'd by them into a Level with the primary Canon, whilft the Proteftants had the fame Canon the ancient Church own'd in the Council of Laodicea; That the Proteftants took in the Teftimony of Heathens, as of Julian the Apoliate, who own'd three of the Evangelifts; and of the Jews, who had once the Oracles committed to them, and from whom the firft Chriftians receiv'd the Canon of the Old Teftament, and might believe Men fincere when they fpoke against themfelves; That by this way of Univerfal Confent, we were as fure of this Book's being the Bible,as of Cicero's Offices being his Book; and that for the Holy Bible, when Men came to confider the Propheties and their Events, the Characters and History of Chrift, and Things in thofe Books, moft worthy of the Supream Being, and ufe Pious Means in Humility of Soul, they had further Affurance begotten in them. The Jefuit infifting upon thefe Paffages of Scripture, Thou art Peter, and upon thee will I build my Church; hear the Church, &c. that a Church at Rome was fpoken of by St. Paul, &c. the Doctor took up the Bible, and made three or four Offers to prove how thofe Paffages were mifapply'd; but Mr. Pulton turn'd all off by general Difcourfe about the Bible and Rule of

1687.

Faith, and faid, that the Greeks, whom the Do ctor had mention'd, were all Liars, being Hereticks; and that the Roman Catholicks were faid by them to be a Corrupt Church, and that therefore the Proteftants depended upon Liars for their Bible. The Doctor anfwer'd, that the Greeks were not all Liars and Hereticks; that Father Simon, a learned Romanist, in his Book call'd, Histoire Critique de la Créance des Nations du Levant, publifh'd Three Years before, had fhew'd how the Millionaries had flander'd and mifreprefented the Greek Church, and made thofe Hereticks who were not fo, and rais'd a Difpute about Words when they agreed in Meaning; That when every Body in all Ages has confpir'd in a Teftimony concerning Books, or fuch Cities as Rome, or Jerufalem, though fome might be ill Men, and in fome Particulars Liars, yet we could not believe them fuch in their univerfal Confent, because they could never be in a Confederacy to vent fuch a Lie: Lafily, that though the Proteftants took, in part, the Teitimony of the Roman Church, yet from her Authority the Scrip-. tures could not be prov'd, becaufe fhe went about to prove her Being from out of the Scriptures, and therefore could not do it, till it was firft prov'd that the Scriptures were the Word of God, and the Places cited were Infallibly prov'd to carry that Senfe which the Romanists put upon them. After this, the Jefuit with that Heat and Turbulency which are Natural to thofe that maintain a bad Caufe, faid, that the Church was a City on a Hill, and always Visible; and ask'd, where fuch a Church as the Proteftant was Vifible in all Ages? The Doctor learnedly reply'd, that it fuffices the People' that they have heard Chrift's Promise, that there fhall be a Society of Men profeffing Chriftianity to the end of the World; That they believe Chrift will make good his Word, and that they find among the Proteftants fuch Doctrine and Rules of Life, as are in the Scriptures; That the Greeks have always had Churches; that among the Latins we have Catalogues of Witneffes againit Romish Errors; that a true Church may, (though not as fuch) have many

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1587. many Corruptions; and that the prefent Corruptions in the Roman Church were not formerly made Articles of Faith; That we had the true Faith before any Million came from Rome; That St. Gre gs Faith was not that which Rome now teachThat here the Synods of the Second of Nice and Irent could not prevail; That a Doctrine contrary to Tranfubftantiation had been Taught in the Saxon Church. This Debate about the Rule of Faith, and the Vilibility of the Church, having lafted upwards of two Hours, and the Jefuit having nothing more to fuggeft, he introduc'd a Difcourfe about Tranfubftantiation, and the real Prefence; in this Controverfie Mr. Pulton difcover'd his Ignorance of Hiftory and Chronology, and how unacquainted he was with Ecclefiaftical Writers; and though he made a thift to maintain a noife, rambling Fight, by the help of thifting Cavils, grofs Anachronifins, and Quotations of fpurious Authors, particularly of St. ferome of the Sacraments; the Third Epiltle of St. Anacletus, Canon 39. Arab. of the firit Council of Nice; St. Cyril of Jerufalem against Ruffinus, &c. yet both he, and the Pricfts that fupported him, were at latt forc'd to yield to the invincible Proofs and Arguments of one tingle learned Proteftant Divine. The Doctor would make no other Advantage of his Victory, than to tell Mr. Pulton, that though he had in a printed Paper promis'd not to tamper about Religion with the Proteftant Boys who thould come to the Savoy-School, yet it appear'd that he had tamper'd with thole out of his Care, and would do fo much more with fuch as were under it; for it being his Principle, that all out of his Communion were Damn'd; as a Jefuit and a Papilt, he mutt break his Word for the neceffary Good, as he thought, of the Souls of thofe Boys. The Jefuit and his Affiftants were fo netled by this home Expoftulation, that being at a lofs how to aufwer it, they faid aloud, It reflected upon the King; alledging, that the King, as a Roman Catholick, was alfo bound to break his Word given to his People, of not forcing their

Con

Confciences; but many of the Hearers, provoked 1687. with Indignation, cry'd out against them, and faid it was a knavijh Trick. The Doctor likewife justly incens'd by their unfair Proceeding, told one Meredith, a new Convert, who had first rais'd the Accufation, that for his own part he thought his Loyalty to be more valuable than his, because as a Son of the Church of England he had profefs'd he would not rebel against the King, notwithftanding he might be of another Religion; whereas Meredith being of the fame Religion, could not fo well feparate Loyalty from Intereft. Thereupon the Jefuits abruptly broke up the Conference, muttering enfnaring Words about Perfecution, the Queen of Scots, the Bill of Exclufion, and the Penal Laws, to which laft Point the Doctor replied, That he pity'd People of differing Affemblies, but that for fuch as his Order, who had taught excluding Suarez, and depofing Doctrines, and brought in a foreign Mariana, Jurifdiction, it feem'd fit to keep up fome Laws &c. against them. 'Twas not without Reason that the Doctor apprehended the old Trick of making a Converfion of one chang'd already, to turn upon a verbal Conference; for foon after, the before-mentioned Boy being ask'd by a Romanist, If he was now Satisfied in the Religion he was brought up in? He anfwer'd, Not: But it appear'd by his Carriage before Dr. Tennifon, and Dr. Horneck, that he was already taught how to fence in this Matter; which was further evidenc'd by a Letter he wrote to his Father Nine Days before the Conference, wherein he gives an Account of thofe Motives which oblig'd him in Confcience to betake himself to the Church of Rome. Thefe Motives, or rather Suggeftions of the crafty Jefuits, were thefe: That the Roman Catholick Church was allow'd to have been once the true Church built upon the Rock, against which our Saviour promis'd Hell fhould never prevail; whence, unless we will give our Saviour the Lie, She is still fo; That the Church had Power, during the Four first Centuries, to decide all Controverfies about Religion, and they were reputed Hereticks who obey'd not her Decifion; which Power she must still

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retain

1687. retain; That thofe of that Church are all of one Faith in all Countries: Whereas the Reform'd Churches all clash among themselves, and divide and fub-divide without end; That it is the Catbolick Chur halene which is taught in all Countries, and that od nas feconded the Labour of her Miffion tris wah manift Miracles: That among them abundance of noble and rich People follow the Evange Lical Counts, and leave all for God's fak; and that they built and founded all thefe Monuments of Deotion and Churches we fee now extant; whereas the Reformd Religions have only ferv'd to pull them down, and were founded on the Leachery of Henry VIII. the Ambition of the Tutor of King Edward VI. and Violence of Queen Elizabeth, and only preferv'd by the Rigour of Perl Laws, and Spilling the Blood of those who for a Thousand Years had profefs'd the Catholick Faith. Notwithstanding their Defeat, the Jefuits had the Affurance to boat, both in private Converfations, and in their Pulpits, that the Advantage was on their fide; nay, fome of their Emiffaries fpread it all about the City, and afterwards all England over, that One Jefuit had filencid Five Proteftant Minifters, to wit, Dr. Tennifon, the Deans of Peterborough and Windfor, Dr. Horneck and Mr. Wake: but the firft of thefe Reverend Divines foon undeceiv'd the World, by publishing an Account of the Conference, of which I have given the Reader the foregoing Abtract, to let him into the bold Defigns and intinuating Practices of the Jefuits, in order to fubvert the eftablish'd Religion of thefe Realms.

French

At the fame time that King James advanc'd Popery, it cannot be denied but that his Generofity extended, in a particular manner, to the diftrefs'd Proteftants Proteftants who had lately fled from France uprelieved. on account of Religion; for he not only granted them Briefs, but gave 'em alfo large Sums out of his Privy Purfe, to excite the Charity of his Subjects by his Royal Eximple. Nevertheless, thofe Briefs had not all the good Effect which was intended by His Majefiy: Many People refuting to contribute towards thofe charitable Collecti

ons,