TRACTS FOR THE TIMES.
whereas, we go on lamenting once a year the absence of discipline in our Church, yet do not even dream of taking any one step towards its restoration. Again, we confess in the Articles that excommunication is a solemn duty of the Church under certain circumstances, and that the excommunicated person must be openly reconciled by penance, before he is acknowledged by the faithful as a brother; yet excommunication, I am told, is now a civil process, which takes place as a matter of course at a certain stage of certain law proceedings. Here a reformation is needed.
L. Only of discipline, not of doctrine.
C. Again, when the Church, with an unprecedented confidence, bound herself hand and foot, and made herself over to the civil power, in order to escape the Pope, she did not expect that infidels (as it has lately been hinted) would be suffered to have the absolute disposal of the crown patronage.
L. This, again, might be considered matter of discipline. Our Reformation in the 16th century was one in matters of faith; and therefore we do not need a second Reformation in the same sense in which we needed a first.
C. In what points would you say the Church's faith was reformed in the 16th century?
L. Take the then received belief in purgatory and pardons, which alone was a sufficient corruption to call for a reformation.
C. I conceive the presumption of the Popish doctrine on these points to lie in adding to the means of salvation set forth in Scripture. Almighty God has said His Son's merits shall wash away all sin, and that they shall be conveyed to believers through the two Sacraments; whereas, the Church of Rome has added other ways of gaining heaven.
L. Granted. The belief in purgatory and pardons disparages the sufficiency, first of Christ's merits, next of His appointed sacraments.
C. And by "received" belief, I suppose you mean that it was the popular belief, which clergy and laity acted on, not that it was necessarily contained in any particular doctrinal formulary.
L. Proceed.
