C-?..?II.] ?sm.em?ose. 40? their ?tm? sins, u i? equivalent to the value of the indulgence be. stowed and received."' 6. The following is an extract from the decree puzed by thhe Court* oil of Trent: "Since the power of granting indulgences has been be- 8towed by Christ upon his church, and this power divinely given has been treed from the earliest antiquity, the holy council teaches and enjoins, that the ;me of indulgences, so salutary to Christian people, and approved by the authority of venerable councils, shall be retained in the church; and it anathematize? those who essen that they are use* Iasc, or deny that the chnrck hu the power of granting them."?' How far the declaration o1' the council respecting the an.'/qu/ty of indulgence? i? correct we will presently see. II. Let us examine now by what auOurdty the Church of Rome grants indulgences. 1. And as she hu made this part of her system an art/de offa/tA, by embracing it u one of the articles o� Pope Pius's creed, and by dog- nmtically teaching it by the Council of Trent, the reader should expect that this doctrine is supported by the most unequivocal Scriptural thority. Peter Dens, in attempting to prove this point, adduces the deci- sion of the Council of Trent, Scripture, and continued ecclesiastical ?se. 2. As it regards the decision of the council in this matter, it has no weight with Protestants; it is a species of authority which can never emablish an article of faith. 3. The reader will be surprised to find that the following are principal pazsagea of Scripture which the logical and wily Dens, and the best theologians, can adduce for the sale of indulgences: "To thee will I give the key8 of the kingdom of heaven," &c., Matt. xvi, 19. "Feed my sheep," &c., John xxi, 17. On this point it is only nece?.- sary to state, that these pnssages, u interpreted and quoted by Roman Catholics, are made to support almost eveiv doctrine, usage, and rite of the Church of Rome. The supremacy ?;f the pope, the power of absolution, the infallibility of the church, and many other things besides, are all proved from two or three pu?ages. It is barely enough to say, that to employ two or three term to prove every ? is plain proof they are not properly interpreted. The truth is, they are aware Scripture does not authorize this article of their creed ;. and it because they are preued by Protestants that they quote Scripture at all on this point. So Dens commences with the authority of the Council of Trent; he then proceeds to quote the foregoing term; and as if aware that Scripture wu against him, he reverts to ecclesiamtinal in the place of Scriptural authority; though he changes the form, by going from the council tO the use of t? cA?rc? But let us examine this ecclesiastical usage of indulgences, and trace it to its origin. The incestuous Corinthian is quoted, but surely to no purpose. To as Utde purpose is quoted, by Dens and others, a custom that early obtained in the primitive church, by which the/apsed were
- Le Plat, il, 2t-?. See also Cramp, page 340.
t' Cure potestas conf?rendi indulgentiao ? Christo ecclesim concema sit; atque jusmodi potestnte, divinitfis nibi' tradit.? antiquisshnis etiam temporibua ill& s?.ro.?nct= synmtus indulgemiamm usum, Ghriatiano populo maxin? salutamm, sacforam �oneilioram a?ctorit-tz pmb?tum, in ze. clesi? ret?n?ndum zss? doc?t, e? pmcipit: zo?qu? ,nathema d?mmt, qui ?ut inutilzs esae ashrunt, vel ?aa eonce?izndi in ec�l?ia poresthrum ess? ne?nt.?D?rct a?s/n?a/g., ?s?. 2?th.
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