Notes. Answer. Notes. Anfwer. By keeping this Faith whole and undefiled must "be meant, if any thing be meant) that a Man "fhould believe and profefs it, without adding to it, or taking from it: If we take from it, we do not keep it whole, if we add ought to it, we do not keep it undefiled, and either way we fhall perish everlastingly. A Man of ordinary Senfe and Candor would have faid, that to keep this Faith whole and undefiled, fignified not to corrupt the Faith either by adding to it, or taking from it: for whatever we add, or whatever we take away, which does not alter the Effentials of our Faith, the Faith remains whole and undefiled still : But this would have spoiled his notable Remarks both as to adding and taking away. "First for adding: What if an honest plain Man, "because he is a Christian and a Proteftant, should "think it neceffary to add this Article to the Atha"nafian Creed: I believe the Holy Scriptures of the "Old and New Testament, to be a Divine, Infallible,and "Compleat Rule, both for Faith and Manners? I hope "no Proteftant would think a Man damned for fuch “addition: And if fo, then this Creed of Athanafius " is at least an unneceffary Rule of Faith. That is to fay, it is an addition to the Catholick Faith, to own the Scriptures to be the Rule of Faith: As if it were an addition to the Laws of England to own the Original Records of them in the Tower: For the Catholick Faith is what we are to believe, the Rule of Faith is that Book or Writing wherein this Catholick Faith is to be found, and upon the Autho rity of which we must believe it ; and therefore what the Catholick Faith is, and what is the Rule of Faith, are two very diftinct Questions, and to apply what is faid of the Catholick Faith, to the Rule of Faith, becomes the Wit and Understanding of an Heretick: This is the very Argument, which the Papists use against our Authors Compleat and Infallible Rule of Faith, the Scriptures; that they do not contain all things neceffary to Salvation, because they do not prove the great Fundamental of the Proteftant Faith, that the Canon of Scripture, which we receive is the Word of God; now what Anfwer he would. give to Papifts, with reference to the fufficiency of Scripture, let him fuppofe, I give him the fame Anfwer in Vindication of the Catholick Faith of the Athanafian Creed, and we are right again. But his parting blow is worth fome little obfervation, That if the Scriptures be a compleat Rule of Faith, then this Creed of Athanafius is at least an unnecessary Rule of Faith: But why did he not fay the fame thing of the Apostles Creed, or Nicene Creed, or any other Creeds, as well as of the Athanafian Creed for it feems a Creed, as a Creed (for there is no other fenfe to be made of it) is a very unnecef" fary thing, if the Scripture be a compleat Rule of Faith: And thus both Catholicks and Hereticks, even his dear Arians and Socinians, have troubled themselves and the World to no purpofe, in drawing up Creeds and Confeffions of Faith.. But this Author ought to be fent to School to learn the difference between a Creed, and a Rule of Faith : A Rule of Faith is a divinely infpired Writing, which contains all matters to be believed, and upon the Authority of which we do believe; a Creed is a Săm? mary: mary of Faith, or a Collection of fuch Articles, as we ought to believe, the Truth of which we must examine by fome other Rule: the fum then of our Author's Argument is this: That because the Scripture is the Rule of Faith, and contains all things neceffary to be believed, therefore it is very unneceflary to collect out of the Scripture fuch Propofitions, as are neceflary for all Chriftians explicitely to believe: He might as well have proved from the Scriptures being a compleat Rule of Faith, that therefore there is no neceffity of Commentators, or Sermons, or Catechifms, as that there is no neceffity of Creeds. But as fenfeless as this is, there is a very deep fetch in it; for he would have no other Creed, but but that the Scripture is the Divine, Infallible, Compleat Rule of Faith,which makes all other Creeds unneceffary; and then he can make what he pleases of Scripture, as all other Hereticks have done before him: But let me ask this Author, whether to believe in general, that the Scripture is the compleat Rule of Faith, without an explicite belief of what is contained in Scripture, will carry a Man to Heaven? There seems to me no great difference between this general Faith in the Scriptures, without particularly knowing and believing what they teach, and believing as the Church believes. We fuppofe then, he will grant us the necessity of an explicite belief of all things contained in the Scripture neceffary to Salvation; and ought not the Church then to inftruct People, what thefe neceffary Articles of Faith are, and what is the true fenfe of Scripture about them? Especially when there are a great many damnable Herefies taught in the Church by by Men of perverfe Minds, who wreft the Scriptures to their own deftruction; and does not this fhew the neceffity of Orthodox Creeds and Formularies of Faith? And this puts me in mind of the great usefulness of ancient Creeds, though the Holy Scripture be the only Divine and Infallible Rule of Faith, viz. That they are a kind of fecondary Rule, as containing the Traditionary Faith of the Church: It is no hard matter for witty Men to put very perverse senses on Scripture to favour their heretical Doctrines, and to defend them with fuch Sophiftry as fhall easily impofe upon unlearned and unthinking Men; and the best way in this cafe is, to have recourfe to the ancient Faith of the Chriftian Church, to learn from thence, how thefe Articles were understood and profeffed by them for we cannot but think, that those who converfed with the Apoftles, and did not only receive the Scriptures, but the fenfe and interpretation of them from the Apoftles, or Apoftolical Men, understood the true Chriftian Faith much better than those at a farther remove; and therefore as long as we can reafonably fuppofe this Tradition to be preferved in the Church, their Authority is very Venerable; and this gives fo great and venerable Authority to fome of the firft General Councils; and therefore we find Tertullian himself confuting the Hereticks of his days, by this argument from Prescription, or the conftant Tradition of all Apoftolick Churches, which. was certain and unquestionable at that time; and as much as Papifts pretend to Tradition, we appeal to Tradition for the first Three or Four Centuries; and if the Doctrine of the Athanafian Creed have as good a Tradition as this, as certainly it has, it is no unne ceffary Notes. Answer. ceffary Rule, though we do not make it a prima- "Then for taking ought from this Creed, the "whole Greek Church (diffufed through fo many "Provinces) rejects as Heretical that Period of it, "The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son contending that the Holy Spirit is from the Fa"ther only; which alfo they clearly and demonftra"tively prove, as we fhall fee in its proper place. "And for the menace here of Athanafius, that they "fhall perish everlastingly; they laugh at it, and say, "He was drunk, when he made that Creed. Gennad. "Schol. Arch Bishop of Constantin. This addition of the Filioque, or the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and from the Son, which was difputed between the Greek and Latin Church, is no corruption of the Effentials of the Christian Faith about the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as I obferved before; nor does Athanafius deny Salvation to thofe, who do not believe it: For he that will be faved, must thus think of the Trinity, does not relate to every particular Word and Phrafe, but to that Doctrine, which immediately preceeds; That the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, is to be Worshipped, which the Greeks acknowledged as L |