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Show (.)}!after John Cottons A11[wer •knowne finne!. To the fame purpofe, is this general! Anfwer framed here : which himfelfe well-knoweth upon what particular occoiion it grew, and to whJt particul.r cafe it had refereAce. Jl..•ply. 2. Beiides,"hy thould we count the Anfwer ~·wand ring in Gt neralidcs, when it wu fitted to hiS generall Obita:ton l Hts '()bjdh<Jn was Ch•pt. 1 c.'Ih•t a •ucrf!ir ie/,y upon g,,d/y mm, before thry i:~n'be f<t '"'Iter for •Church·fellowfhip, to (ee, b.!w.ile, repent,come -cut ofthef•lfo ClmrcheJ, Worjbip, Minifl ery, Grwernment. Nuw here are onely generall words: no p.trticular mention of the falfhoods that lye in the Churches, Worthip, Muuflery, Government. Why ihould he blat:'le wand ring in Generafi tie in the Anfwer, when his own Objeihon wandereth in the like Genera-lities. . 'Rep~. 3· If he pleafe to look back tO the Reply given in his u . Chapter,he may Iinde me plaine anrl puntl:uall in luitancing in ·particlllars. But thus having pafftd over ·his ObG:rvations upon my former Anfwer,<he now cometh to returne Anfwer'to me, by demanding a'U!!eflion or two, to wit, x. -Whether if a g~dlj per~n rtm•ine a membtr of a falfe1y conPitwed Church, md fa confequent~ (Ill that reJPef1) of afalfe CbriJI, wbethrr in vijible worfoip ht bt 11i!t fopJ· rate from the true ChrSjl ? .Anfw. That I may not delude neither him, nor my telfe, by .anfwering to oblcure and ambip;m as termes, I would know (by fome tlut undtrlhnd his fpeech) what he meaneth by afalfe~ con• jlituted Churclm r eiCe give me le.ve toexplainethe termes ~y f~l(e. ·There be but twu thing! intrinftcally necetT:uy to the confltructon of any thin~, & fo of a Church,to wit,a tic matrer,,nd a fit fo rme. Tlie matter ot a Church •re vifible Saints,Pro•effurs of the faith of Chrifl. The forme, is an holy Covenant, or Aweement, ( eirher explicice or :mplicite) to jayne together in one Congregation, to worfhip the Lord,and to edifie one another in the Adminiflration of his holy Ord.inanccs. Now if in itead of vifible Saincs profdling theN •me of Chrifl, there be a company of proplt.we perfo~'' I· dola!Ci s, Hereticks, that thai! covenant, or agree together to Joyne in a Con gregation to worfhip Ido!l,,and co bui!d up one another in Herefie, and Apoflafie ; This is EcclejiJ M•lign•ntium, a faHe conitituced Church: Arid confequendy, the H<ad of this ~burch h a falfe Chrifl, and every member of thi3.Church , who Joyn:chh \Vi! to Majler Roger Williams. with them in this way, !sin vifible worfhip, Ceparate from t'!te true Chrifl. In this fence, I would anfwer to the Examiners fir it Qgeltion, Affirmatively. His Cecond ~e ition then is, Whether it be not •bfolutely necejJjry t•agod~ per{on1 uniting with the true Church, (that i1, wi1h Chrijl in tr"" Chrijlian wor{hip) that he foe and bewaile, and abfolute/y <ome lUI ftem that former f alfe Church, or Chrift,and h11 MwiJiery,Worjhzp, &c. before bt can be united to the true Ifrael? .Anfw. I would readily anfwer this Qgeflion, Affirmatively alfo, unlelfe there be a fallacy in the latter ablolucely. For his Q:teftion is Whether it he not abfolutely necej[ary unto uniting with a true Church, ,; fee, and bewaile, a'ld come out abfo lutely fr •m the falfe Cb~r:h~ or Cbrift, or Minijlery, or Wor(hip, &c. This latter abfolmely, tf It 1m· ply no more then coming out altogether from all that feparateth from true Chriit, I grant it abfolutely: but if he meane cummg out from every thing of theirs, fay from every good gift, yea from e~ety error amongft them, which doth not feparate from Chnit, and then I deny that it is abfolutely nccdfary, either to fee or bewaile all, or in that fence abfolutely to come out of all. His fimilitudes brought to the contrary, may perfwa.de a Celfepl• afing fancy, but will not convince nor facisfie any fohd Judgement. Might not the Ifraelim that came out of lE;;ypt, borrow Jewells of filver and gold from the JEgyptian~, yea and carry up alfo a mixed multimde of People , and yet bmld a Tabernacle. to 1he Lord in the Wilderneffe ? Exod. 12. 35· to 38. Might notthe Jer.u come out of Babel, and accept from all the ~eople, where they had fojourned, vt ffells of filver, and gold, wtth goods and beafis, and ocher precious things, and yet bmld a'T emplc at H_reTIIfolem? Ez ra 1, 4> 5, 6. May not a foul e be nurrled to Chn ft, and yet his former husb•nd ( his corrupt nature) not be fo abfolutdy dead, as the husband of a wife mull be, before fhee can b~ l•wfnlly mar ried co another ? The Graft em off from one tree, may be engrafttd to another: and yet carry forth his old le,.ves with him. The. kingdum' of C~rifi chat is cm off from the Romane Monarchy, llJJY) ec fur a time hne fon:e entercourfe with the R.omane-Monarchy. The Corintbi.Jm, tho.tgh united with Cbrilt, ancl w•fh~d from K k l ~~r |