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Miscellaneous

Puritanical Charges against the Caroline Prelates

and Clergy

A.D. 1641

Caroline
Divines.

"Their [the "Prelatical Clergy "] endeavours have been, Charges as we conceive, to draw the people from immediate regard against to, or dependence on, God and his will and word, unto more, or more immediate and that necessary regard to and dependence on themselves and their power, dictates or actions, in matters of religion ... more particularly endeavouring the same in matters of Belief, Practice, or Hope. I. In matters of Belief or knowledge, whereby the people may be more easily ruled and swayed by them in all things. Their endeavours have been (as we conceive) to keep the people in ignorance of Divine things, (more than serves for a foundation of their affected sway,) and to hinder the free and full knowledge of God, and the means thereof. To which purpose, and for their own case in example, makes their-i. Teaching or insinuating that much knowledge or preaching is not needful, but rather distracting or dangerous. 2. The restraining the use of Catechism to the bare words of the common Catechism without any exposition. 3. Opposing, discountenancing, and suppressing the diligent preaching and hearing of God's word. By-1. Prohibiting afternoon sermons on the Lord's-day. 2. Suppressing lectures, and, where idle and unpreaching ministers are, denying to let others preach, though the people would procure one (and that) at their own charge. 3. Punishing good people for going to hear sermons at neighbour churches when none at their own; and for meeting to repeat sermons on the Lord'sday. 4. Hindering also the full audience of sermons,

Charges

against Caroline Divines.

and withdrawing the opinion of the use of churches for auditories, by pulling down lofts in great congregations. 5. Restraining pious and orthodox books from printing and publishing; such books formerly licensed from reprinting (or blotting out and adding what they pleased), but allowing lascivious and idle books freely to be printed and published, which may withdraw people from diviner studies. 6. Discountenancing or disparaging canonical Scripture, countenancing and giving Divine authority to apocryphal with other human books, and to traditions. 7. Teaching and insinuating the necessity and sufficiency of implicit faith in the doctrine of the Church whereof they appropriate the name. . . .

'II. In matters of Practice, especially of Divine worship. Their endeavours, we conceive, have been to take off men's hearts from the spiritual fervency and purity of worship (viz. the immediate direction of it to God), and to stay them and make them rest in outward actions, forms, and things (such as must depend on the prelates or priests, and come through their hands), or at least to make them worship God (idolatrously) only in and through such things; and to draw them from God's prescript (for the form of worship) to their own inventions, and (for the matter of obedience) to their own rules and commands. To which purpose tend, Their—1. requiring, using, and observing in Divine worship, such specious habits, ceremonies, and formalities (in the outward state and majesty whereof the sense and fancy might be amused, and the minds of the people detained from the rational part of the work) and confounding all with noise, especially in the cathedral service, which they make exemplary to all other churches. 2. Secondly, disgracing zeal and fervency of worship under scandalous names, as enthusiasm or madness: Purity in it, or the immediate direction to God, under the like ill names, as slovenliness, unmannerliness, presumption, etc.; and commending the contrary, under specious titles of discretion, order, decency,

Caroline

etc. 3. Thirdly, resolving all Divine worships into set Charges forms as having peculiar spiritual efficacy, though of only against human invention and proposal, viz. of words, even the Divines. preacher's prayer before sermon: of gestures (standing at one part, as Gloria Patri, and the Gospel, other gestures at other parts, bowing at the Name of Jesus, etc.), and into Divine reverence to supposed holy places, and other outward things dependent on the prelacy and priesthood. For which-4. Fourthly, attributing special holiness to places and things by their appointment and consecrations; as if without their consecration all things were unclean, nothing fit for holy uses: and being consecrated they may never admit of common uses, though lawful, publick, necessary, and inoffensive; or, if by such polluted, they must be re-consecrated ere used. 5. Fifthly, attributing distinct degrees of holiness to several things by special consecrations, viz. 1. To persons in several orders: the Priest holier than the Deacon, the Bishop than the Priest, etc., unto his Holiness, where only, we conceive, their comparison would rest superlative. 2. To places; viz. to churchyards one degree, to churches more, and of churches, the Mothers or Cathedrals holier than others, the Metropolitans yet more holy and in each church the navis or body holy, the chancel more, the place of the altar with the altar, holiest of all. And to that purpose6. Sixthly, preferring the Communion-table to the east end of the chancel, turning it to the posture and name of an altar, advancing it with new steps to it, railing it in with single or double rails, placing a canopy over it, tapers by it, crucifixes or other superstitious images upon, over, or about it, approximating peculiar parts of service to it. In all which things, as we conceive, a power is assumed as if they could confine God to special presence or exhibition thereof where they please; or impart spiritual virtue to outward things as they please. 7. Drawing worship or reverence to external things aforesaid, according to such supposed holiness (at least) to be directed immediately towards the same, as especially in bowing or praying

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