Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/135

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

Cla?.IlI.] va.?mo=, �1?-? teaches many things which are in direct oppo?tion to popish traditions, he, nevertheless, dom not speak always with that clearness and de- cision as to prevent his sentiments from being brought with an appear- ance of speciousness to fayour ?ome of the traditions of Rome. C?r/l of A/e?mdr/?, who died in 444, says: "The Holy Scripture is sufficient to make those who are instructed by it wise and most approved, and furn?hed with most sufficient understandings.*'* "That which the Holy Scriptures hath not said, by what means should we receive and account it among those things which are true In the writings of TAeodo?t we meet with this kind of speeches: "By the Holy Scriptures alone am I Porsuaded."$ "I am not so bold am to affirm any thing which the sacred Scripture paaseth in silence."] "We ought not to seek tho? things which are passed in silence; but rest in the things that are writtou."} 6. Fat/2r? oftA? ?.?ti ?ntu?. A,m?ta?s., S/maRs, who died about the year 599, in giving instruc- tions respecting a pious life, observes :--" We must be imranaded that the church has tradition about these things which are not in the Holy Scriptures. As, for instafice, that one ought to be fasting when he re- ceives the eucharist; that he should turn to.war? the east in the time of prayer; that the mother of Christ cont?tued a virgin after she had brought forth a child; and that she brought forth Christ in a cave."? John Damascene, who was condemned by the Iconoclaust Council in 754, says: "We receive, and acknowledge, and reverence all things which are delivered in the law, the prophets, the apostles and evangelism, and we seek after noth?g beyond these. " Toward the close of the sixth century the mystery of iniquity began to work, and human tradition and new ceremonies began to be in con- ?iderable request, so that from the sixth century till the reformation by Luther the church was burdened with loads of traditions and haman iastitutions. We have above given a continued chain of testimony from the fathers o� the first six centuries, which carries the evidence down from the apostolic age during the purest times of the church. And the united acrimony is, that the Scripture alone is the rule of the Christian's faith; and that there is no adequate evidence to support Roman Catholic traditions, which are by the Church of Rome made equal to the word of Cod. There are as many as twenty-two fathers of the six fu?t cen- turies quoted, and from these there are many quotations, which, when taken together, present an overwhelming amount of evidence against popish traditions. �"Butfacia divim Scripture ad fsciendum eo? qui in ilia educ? .unt sapientes, et proha 'tm?mo? et mxt?!cJent?mam babenasa iutelligentiam.**?(?r//, b%. vii, C?mtra Jul. ai?f r?t?v?t ?m'a?o?o?p?a."--Cyrit.'Olap? in Gen. lib. 2. t "Eye ymn? ? ?,f?o/? ? Ott? ?pa?:?Theod. Dial. i, Arpr?. ldmm, Dial. ii, ?n. Q?. 4?.