Wesley Corpus

Courayer, has irrefragably proved. “‘All power in the church of Christ comes from him; either immediately from himself, or from men who have the authority handed down to them from the Apostles. But this commission has not been conveyed to the Protestant Preachers either of these ways: Not immediately; for by what miracles do they prove it?” So said Cardinal Bellarmine long ago. Neither ‘by men deriving authority from the Apostles. Read F. Courayer, and know better. Neither are the Protestants ‘divided from any ‘Churches’ who have true ‘pretensions to antiquity.’ But ‘their doctrine of justification by faith alone was anathematized, at its first appearance, by the undoubted heirs of the Apostles, the Pastors of the Apostolic church. By the Prelates at the Council of Trent it was; who thereby anathematized the Apostle Paul, to all intents and purposes. Here you throw off the mask; otherwise you might have passed for a Protestant a little longer. ‘Consequently they are sent by no other but him who sent all the false pro phets from the beginning.’ Sir, we thank you. This is really a very modest assertion for the subject of a Protestant King. “But to turn the tables: I said, ‘If the Romish Bishops do.” For this I absolutely deny. I deny that the Romish Bishops came down by uninterrupted succession from the Feb. 1761.] JOURNAL. 45 Apostles. I never could see it proved; and, I am persuaded I never shall. But unless this is proved, your own Pastors, on your principles, are no Pastors at all. “But farther: It is a doctrine of your Church, that the intention of the administrator is essential to the validity of the sacraments which are administered by him. Now, are you assured of the intention of every Priest from whom you have received the Host? If not, you do not know but what you received as the sacrament of the altar, was no sacrament at all. Are you assured of the intention of the Priest who baptized you? If not, perhaps you are not baptized at all. To come close to the point in hand: If you pass for a Priest, are you assured of the intention of the Bishop that ordained you? If not, you may happen to be no Priest, and so all your ministry is nothing worth : Nay, by the same rule, he may happen to be no Bishop.