Facts and Assertions_ or a Brief and Plain Exhibition of the Incongruity of the Peculiar Doctrines of the Church of Rome

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Facts and Assertions: or a Brief and PlainExhibition of the Incongruity of the Peculiar Doctrines of the Church ofRome, by George Stanley FaberThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and mostother parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms ofthe Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll haveto check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.Title: Facts and Assertions: or a Brief and Plain Exhibition of the Incongruity of the Peculiar Doctrines of the Church of RomeAuthor: George Stanley FaberRelease Date: October 15, 2018  [eBook #58108]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FACTS AND ASSERTIONS: OR A BRIEFAND PLAIN EXHIBITION OF THE INCONGRUITY OF THE PECULIAR DOCTRINES OF THECHURCH OF ROME***

Transcribed from the 1831 C. J. G. & F. Rivington editionby David Price, email [email protected]

FACTS AND ASSERTIONS:

OR
A BRIEF AND PLAIN EXHIBITION
OF THE
INCONGRUITY OF THE PECULIAR DOCTRINES
OF
The Church of Rome
WITH THOSE,
BOTH OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES,
AND OF THE
EARLY WRITERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CATHOLIC.

BY
GEORGE STANLEY FABER, B.D.
RECTOR OF LONG-NEWTON, AND PREBENDARY OFSALISBURY.

It is the part of mere triflers to propound and tospeak the things which are not written.  Athanas. Epist.ad Scrap. Oper. vol. ii. p. 29.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR C. J. G. & F. RIVINGTON,
Booksellers to the Society for Promoting ChristianKnowledge,
ST.  PAUL’SCHURCH-YARD,
AND WATERLOO-PLACE, PALL-MALL.

1831.

[410]

p. 2Gilbert & Rivington, Printers, St. John’s Square,London.

p.3ADVERTISEMENT.

It has been suggested to me, thatA brief and plain Exhibition of the utter Incongruity of thepeculiar doctrines of the Church of Rome with those both of theSacred Scriptures and of the early writers of the ChristianChurch Catholic might be useful as a small Tract for generalcirculation.

This suggestion has given rise to the present littlemanual.  As for those, who either desire more copiousinformation on the subject, or who may wish to see my authoritiesin the original Greek and Latin: I refer them to the secondedition of my Difficulties of Romanism, printed forMessrs. Rivingtons, St. Paul’s Church-Yard, andWaterloo-Place, London, 1830.

If, from the Written Word of God and from the Fathers of thethree first ages, any Latin Divine can make out an historicalcase, for The alleged Apostolicity of the peculiarities of theChurch of Rome, better than the failures of Mr. Berington andBishop Trevern of Strasbourg: let him by all means come forward,whether he be Bishop or Priest or Deacon.  The Bible and theFathers of the three first centuries, whence alone any historicalsubstantiation of the assertions made by the Romish Clergy can bededuced, are open to them as well as to ourselves.

p.4Respecting opinions in the abstract, ingenious menmay dispute for ever: but FACTS areof a more stubborn and intractable quality.

Assertions of the apostolicity and perpetuity andimmutability and primeval universality of Romish Peculiaritiesare cheaply made: but FACTS andASSERTIONS are matters widelydifferent from each other.

To the satisfactory test of BAREFACTS I have brought the peculiar doctrines and practicesof Romanism.

Let the Latin Clergy, if it be in their power, set asidemy FACTS, and historicallysubstantiate their own ASSERTIONS.

Long-Newton Rectory,
      August 3, 1830.

p.5CONTENTS.

p. 7CHAPTERI.
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.

The great and constant boast of theLatin Clergy is: that The Catholic or Universal Church ofChrist from the very beginning, has ALWAYS taught the doctrines which arenow taught by the Church of Rome; that These doctrines arerevealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, and that Theyhave ALWAYS been set forthand maintained by those early ecclesiastical writers who arecommonly styled the Fathers.

I.  On these points lest we should labour under anymistake, let us hear the positive declarations of the Council ofTrent, which sat in the sixteenth century, and which by theRomanists is considered as having finally set at rest alldisputes respecting the points of doctrine litigated betweenthemselves and the Reformed. [7]

p. 8Thedeclarations of that last reputed infallible General Council runin manner following.

1.  This faith was ALWAYSin THE CHURCH OF GOD. [8a]

2.  The UNIVERSAL CHURCH thus ALWAYS understood. [8b]

3.  This matter was ALWAYSheld for certain in THE CHURCH OFGOD. [8c]

4.  The sacred scripturesdeclare, and the tradition of THE CATHOLICCHURCH has ALWAYS taught. [8d]

5.  Since, by the testimony of SCRIPTURE, by apostolical tradition, andby the unanimous consent of THEFATHERS, the matter is perspicuous:—no one ought todoubt. [8e]

6.  The Council of Trent, following the testimonies ofTHE SACRED SCRIPTURES and THE HOLY FATHERS and the most esteemedCouncils and the judgment and consent of the Church herself,determines, confesses, and declares, these doctrines. [8f]

II.  Here we have no ambiguity.  The Church of Rome,we see, speaking through the organ of the Council of Trent,declares: that Her doctrines are revealed in HolyScripture; and that, Expressly as such, they havealways been unanimously taught by the Fathers, and havealways been invariably received by the Church Universal. [8g]

p.9III.  Now the meanest capacity will at onceperceive: that, In making this declaration, the Churchof Rome asserts, not merely a point of opinion,but AN ABSOLUTE MATTER OFFACT.

The simple question, therefore, is: Whether theasserted FACT be capable ofsubstantiation by competent EVIDENCE.

1.  In submitting this matter to the plain and honestinquirer, it is obvious, that nothing more is necessary: than,first, to state any particular doctrine of the Roman Church;next, to bring forward either the silence or the declarations ofScripture; and, lastly, to adduce the testimony of theFathers.

2.  By the adoption of such a plan, without a grain ofany extraordinary learning, and by the mere exercise of commonsense, every reader will be enabled fully to judge forhimself.

3.  Nor can a member even of the Roman Church justlyrefuse to hear me.  For the present is simply A QUESTION OF FACT: and, by Mr.Berington, one of his own Clergy, he is distinctly assured; thatIt is no article of Catholic Faith, that the Churchcannot err in MATTERS OF FACT.[9] Under the express sanction, therefore,of Mr. Berington, the laic gentlemen of the Roman Church will, Ihope, be persuaded to indulge me with their company.

CHAPTER II.
TRANSUBSTANTIATION.

I SHALL begin with subjecting,to the test proposed by the Council of Trent itself, the doctrineof Transubstantiation.

I.  The following, as defined by the Council of Trent, isthe doctrine of the Roman Church with respect to the sacrament ofthe Lord’s Supper.

p.101.  In the sacrament of the Eucharist,after the consecration of the bread and wine, our LordJesus Christ, true God and true man, is,truly and really and substantially, contained,under the species of those sensible objects: sothat, immediately after consecration, the true bodyand the true blood of our Lord, together with his soul anddivinity, exist under the species of bread and wine:for, by the very force of the words themselves,the blood exists under the species of the wine; and thebody, under the species of the breed. But, furthermore, by virtue of that naturalconnection and concomitance, through which the parts ofthe Lord, after his resurrection from the dead, aremutually joined together, the body exists under thespecies of the wine, the blood exists under the species ofthe bread, and the soul exists under the species both ofthe bread and the wine.  The divinity,moreover, on account of its admirable hypostatic unionwith the body and the soul, similarly exists alike undereach species.  Wherefore, under each speciesand under both species, so much as even the whole iscontained.  For the entire Christ exists both underthe species of bread, and under each particle of thatspecies: and the entire Christ exists, both underthe species of wine, and under all the particles of thatspecies.  Hence, through the consecration ofthe bread and wine, there takes place a conversion of thewhole substance of the bread into the substance of the body ofour Lord Christ, and of the whole substance of the wineinto the substance of his blood: which conversion isproperly and conveniently denominated Transubstantiation.

2.  All the faithful are bound to offer to theEucharist that same adoration of Latria, which is paid tothe Deity: for such adoration rests upon the belief,that in that sacrament there is substantially present thefilial God, concerning whom the Father pronounced;Let all the angels of God worship him.  And,analogously, in point of beneficial efficacy,the Eucharist, being the identical sacrifice whichChrist p.11offered upon the cross, must be deemed a truepropitiatory sacrifice, making satisfaction, eachtime that it is offered, not only for the living,but likewise for the dead in the Lord who have not as yet beenfully purified. [11a]

II.  Let us now hear Scripture with respect to this sameholy sacrament.

1.  I am the living bread, which came down fromheaven.  If any man eat of this bread, heshall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is myflesh, which I will give for the life of theworld.  The Jews, therefore, stroveamong themselves, saying: How can this man give ushis flesh to eat?  Then Jesus said unto them:Verily, verily, I say unto you; Except yeeat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, yehave no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh,and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life: and Iwill raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh ismeat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He, that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,dwelleth in me, and I in him—These sayingssaid he in the synagogue, as he taught inCapernaum.  Many, therefore, of hisdisciples, when they had heard this, said:This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured atit, he said unto them: Doth this offendyou?  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascendup where he was before?  IT ISTHE SPIRIT THAT QUICKENETH: THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING. THE WORDS, THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE. [11b]

When our Lord enforced the necessity of eating his flesh andof drinking his blood, the Jews and even his disciples,understanding him literally just as the Romish Clergynow expound his language, murmured at so hard a saying,and asked how he could possibly give men his flesh to eat. Whereupon Christ, in the p. 12avowed way of explanation,immediately declared: that the words, which hespake, are spirit; and that the flesh profitethnothing.  Clearly, therefore, according to his owndistinct explanation, his words are to be understoodspiritually or figuratively, not carnally orliterally.

2.  As they were eating, Jesus took bread,and blessed, and brake, and gave to hisdisciples, and said: Take, eat; thisis my body.  And he took the cup, and gavethanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink yeall of it; for this is my blood of the New Testament,which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you: I will not drink henceforth ofTHIS FRUIT OF THE VINE, untilthat day when I drink it new with you in my Father’skingdom. [12a]

(1.)  The authoritative interpretation of such language,as that which is here employed by our Lord, had already beengiven by him at Capernaum.  His words are to be understoodspiritually or figuratively: just as when hedeclared himself to be a vine and his disciples to bebranches.