Protestant Reformation not a full Reformation of Doctrine
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:37 pm
Below is the perspective of a rather insightful and candid Catholic, Sir Richard Steele. Bolded text is my emphasis:
In harmony with this observation, Thomas Emlyn had written the "unpardonable":It is to this prosecution of Mr. Emlyn, that Sir Richard Steele refers in his Dedication to the Pope, prefixt to his Account of the State of the Roman Catholic religion, which is so genteel a sarcasm of those proceedings, that I cannot forbear setting them down in his own words:
"Sometimes, says he, we of the established church can manage a prosecution (for I must not call it a persecution) ourselves, without calling in any other help. But I must do the Dissenting Protestants the justice to say, that they have shown themselves upon occasion, very ready to assist us in so pious and christian a work, as bringing Heretics to their right mind; being themselves but very lately come from experiencing the convincing and enlightening faculty of a dungeon or a fine. The difference between these two sorts or persons is this: The one differ from us about ceremonies of worship and government, but they boggle not at all at the doctrine settled for us by our first Reformers: it is all with them right and good, just as Christ left it at first, and Calvin found it above fifteen hundred years afterwards. The others, unhappy men, look upon this to be straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. However, the former sort having a toleration for their own way, upon subscribing all our doctrines, can the more easily come to persuade themselves, that the Christian world is unhinged, if the latter should be tolerated in their opposition to doctrines, which have been called fundamental, even by Protestants, for so many years.
"This hath been experienced particularly in Ireland by One who could not see exactly what they saw about the nature of Christ before his appearance in this world. For as with you, a man had better blaspheme Almighty God, than not magnify the Blessed Virgin, so with many of us it is much more innocent and less hazardous to take from the glory of the Father, than of his Son. Nay, to bring down the Father to a level with his own Son is a commendable work, and the applauded labour of many learned men of leisure; but to place the Son below his own Father in any degree of real perfection, this is an unpardonable error; so unpardonable, that all hands were united against that unhappy man; and he found at length, that he had much better have violated all God's commandments, than have interpreted some passages of Scripture differently from his brethren. The Non-conformists accused him, the Conformists condemned him, the Secular power was called in, and the cause ended in an imprisonment and a very great fine; two methods of conviction about which the gospel is silent."
Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mr. Thomas Emlyn (Vol. 1; 1746. p. xxxvii-xxxviii)
I know [Jesus] loves nothing but truth in his cause, and will never be offended, I hope, with any who stand by his own words, namely, The Father is greater than I, John 14:28. I think it a dangerous thing to say, God is not greater than he, or is not the Head of Christ.