THE METHOD OF A SYNOD, OR, A RATIONAL AND sure Way to compose and settle the Differences and Controversies in Religion to the Contentment of honest and wise men, and all the Lovers of Christian Peace.  
By G. T. Stud. in C. C. C.  Nemo nostrum dicat jam se invenisse veritatem: Sictam quaeramus quasi ab utrisque nesciatur. Aug. count. Manich. 
LONDON, Printed, and are to be sold by William Larnar. MDCXLII.   

A METHOD OR, WAY OF PROCEEDING in SYNOD.  
NO Age from the first entrance of Sin into the World has enjoyed so pure and certain a happiness but that it has still been mingled and disturbed with some infelicity: and on the other side, on Time has been so miscrable and unfortunate, but the good will of God towards Mankind, whose flesh his blessed Son wore, has tempered it with some sweetness. The experience of all Ages witnesses this, the Histories of all people abundantly prove it. This present Age of ours is a most clear Testimony to assert the same: Oh all you that pass by, was ever grief and distraction like ours? Which to prove, I mean not to run the Story of all our Evils, nor of that Good wherewith we are somewhat recreated and relieved; but only to recount one most eminent Good, and one Evil diametrally opposed to that Good; our great and eminent Good is this: That divine Mercy has illuminated these Kingdoms with the beams of Sacred Truth, and the knowledge of the true (that is) of the Christian Religion, for all others besides it are most certainly false: Our Exceeding great Evil to that Good opposed, is, That either humane ignorance, or perverseness has not only masked, but dangerously clouded the beauty of that Truth with Errors, and torn us into various parts, nay parcels of parts, quite contrary to the nature, spirit and Genius of Christian Religion, which is most entirely one, the Author of which is one; and the Prince of peace, the Doctrine, the Gospel of peace, the Professors called the Sons of peace; and to say all in a word, The foundation of which is that great Pacification betwixt GOD and man; and the end of it eternal peace and tranquillity. Is it not then strange, that of this Religion such and so many Dissensions should be borne? Christ himself tells us no. 
Mat. 10.  I came not to send peace into the Earth; but a sword, etc. And the enemies of a man shall be those of his own house; which words do not show the end of Christ's coming, but an event like to arise from thence by the averseness of some or the most of men from his Discipline.  
From Religion sprung that hate of the Jews towards the Samaritans whose service he would not use even in business that concerned his life, nor the Samaritan his: hence the Samaritan woman admires that Jesus should ask water of her to drink, Joh. 4. From such hate and descent of minds, Schisms, Factions, Secessions into several parties arise. For as Love is an Affection of Union, so hate of disseparation. Hence Synagogues, are opposed to Synagogues, Temples to Temples, Altars raised against Altars, consecrated and frequented, which neither part wiladmit of Commerce with the other. This is the cause, that voices not unlike those of the Jsraelites scattering themselves into Factions, are heard amongst us now; To thy Tents (O Israel!) they have no share in God, nor in his Son Jesus Christ. For both Factions equally appropriate to themselves that glorious name of the true Israel, and take it from the other; as if this were possessed with plenary absolute power of judging above the other; or as if the GOD of Heaven had prejudged that great name to this party alone, which he graciously bestows upon, and publishes to his whole Church: neither yet does this in bitterdnesse of dissenting minds rest and fix itself in Schism; but if peradventure one party find itself too strong for the other, it does not fear to begin a persecution against the adverse, and to contrive, and labour the utter destruction of it, passing by no Engine fit for that purpose which either wit can invent, or Religious choler can dictat, or the very Shop of Hell can furnish them withal. They are mad, and commit outrages upon the same; the goods and bodies of men alive, upon their dust, Sepulchers, and memory when they are dead, nay upon the souls of living and dead men, and that with all kinds of arms; with mocking, Calumnies, and Execrations, Excommunications, Anathematisms, Libels, Prisons, Banishments into remote and barbarous Lands, from their dear Wives and Children, till the adverse part be either quite extinct, or submit itself to the will of the prevailing side, by abjuring their own opinion, and receiving that opinion which they lately blamed, and protested against.  
Thus the Gentiles persecuted the first and best Christians; thus the Arians the Orthodox Divines. If we look upon our present state here at home, I need not cast about for more Arguments to prove this; all this Town, all this Kingdom confesses, That from Christian Religion our greatest good, dissensions and importunate vexations of one another have flowed, not immediately from Religion itself, but our vice, or weakness, or both. And now I come to the Remedy of these miseries and evils, and most hopeful appearing way to repossess us in that good which we ourselves have forfeited. Physicians say the nature of Remedies is such that they are never applied in vain; that they either do good, and truly are what they are said to be, or a great deal of harm: which very thing persuades me, first to remove certain perverse remedies in this case of controverted Religion, devised by men, and sometimes used. 
2. iii. Remed.   
First of all the sufficiency of implicit faith, by which we believe without knowledge of the thing itself, what the Church and Prelates believe, is obtruded upon us as a special Remedy, when Religion is distempered and sick. With this kind of faith, (says the jesuit) the Catholic Collier perplexed and confuted the Devil. And indeed this is a way without doubt not only to remove dissensions in Religion, but take away even Religion itself which cannot be without knowledge and faith, Rom. 10.10. Hab. 2.4. 2 Cor. 4.13.  
2. another Device not unlike this, to settle Religion, is a strange Position, yet received in the world; namely, That every man may be saved in his own Religion: But this Assertion is a Remedy worse than the Disease of Religion, and leads those which are possessed with that Error to certain destruction; because that opinion makes Error incurable, since no man upon this ground, That his own Religion will save him, needs to lay down or correct his error. Mahomet devised this to establish his Alcoran and exempt it from Disceptation. This prevailed in Paganism, as appears by that inscription of an Altar at Athens; To the Gods of Asia, to the Gods of Europe, and Africa, to unknown and foreign Gods. By this way the Devil sought to establish himself, providing that his Kingdom should not be divided against itself to perish.  
3. A third perverse Remedy is prohibition of dispute about Religion, which lays a foundation for most stupid ignorance. and this is dangerous, whether that Religion which prevails amongst a people be true or false: if true, by reason of the inconstancy of man's mind ready to be Apostate from true Religion, there needs dispute to confirm it: if false, lest received Error should be turned over, and consecrated to perpetuity.  
4. The Romanists prescribe us three Remedies more. They send us to the Catholiqne Church, that is, the representative body of the Roman Church, the Bishop of Rome, the Cardinals, inferior Bishops, and other Praelaticall men subject to the Pope: and because they believe that all the subordinate Bishops, Cardinals and Prelates gathered together may err, they exempt the Pope from a possibility of erring, and turn us over to his Holiness for definitive Sentence, and peremptory Decree, in the Doubts, Controversies, and Differences in Religion. But this Remedy for two Reasons is vain. First, because the Christian world cannot be convinced of the Truth of that Article of Infallibility in the Pope. Secondly, when they go about to prove his Holiness infallible by the Scriptures, they teach us unawares to run to the Scripture as the great Precedent, and most certain Determiner in Religion.  
5. If this way of cure do not please us, they give us a receipt of all the Greek and Latin Fathers; they bid us swallow and digest them, and then pick out our Religion from their consent and agreement: But this Remedy is hopeless for many Reasons, but especially for that which the Romanists with us agree upon; namely, That every Father might Err, and be quite out as well as we.  
6. For further Remedy, They send us to consult with the Decrees of antecedent Counsels, and if the Controversy be there once decided, they advise us not to call it again into question. But what if a good Cause be ill pleaded and cast; not for any fault in itself, but in the assertors silence for fear or unskilfulness in the Patronage of his cause? must we then take the Result of his weakness for truth upon the word of a Council?  
7. Some have thought it a hopeful Remedy in case of divided Religion, To supplicate God Almighty that he would be pleased to send some man from the dead, that of him we might know how God judges of the opinions of dissenting men. But our Saviour takes us off from this, Luk 16. They have Moses and the Prophets, whom if they will not hear, neither will they believe though one should rise from the dead.  
8. There remains another horrible kind of Remedy, and yet sometimes used; namely, the adjuration of damned Spirits in the bodies of the possessed men by Exorcisms and Conjurations to make them answer concerning the truth of controverted opinions. And this is so execrable that I need say nothing against it. We know that Christ Jesus would not take the Testimony of such spirits concerning him, but commanded them to hold their peace. But I dismiss these wild Remedies, and come to those which are voted sober, holy and true, by the most learned Writers of the best reformed Churches: which Remedies may be distributed into Rernedies preparatory, and Remedies Aphaereticall, or powerful to take away Dissensions of minds in Religion. To the Remedies preparatory chief belong Prayers and supplications to God for the knowledge of truth, and the impetration of Christian peace; which prayers joined with fasting and humiliation in dust and ashes cannot but be efficacious, because (according to Gods own command) we pray for the peace of Israel. To our prayers let a serious Correction of our lives be added, or else our Prayers are nothing but a fruitless noise. He that does the will of my father shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, etc. John 7. Let those causes which beget and nurse dissension be taken away: let humility out our pride; let benevolence take place of envy, longanimity of anger; let a sober kind of wisdom in nice questions set a bound and measure to our desire of knowing something more than others; let hate and bitterness be laid down, and in stead of them let the bowels of compassion be put on towards those which descent from us in Religion and seem to be in the error; which we may easily do if we consider these four things. 1. How difficult a thing it is to discover truth, and decline error. 2. That those who cross our opinion, do it rather out of ignorance than a studied malice to procure eternal destruction for their own selves and others. 3. That those whom we apprehend to be in such an error may possibly be of the number of Gods elect, and permitted to fall into that error, that God may raise them with more glory: and can we then determine any thing rigorously against our brethren the members of Christ, and not only the servants, but the sons of God, and the elect heirs of heaven? Thus much of preparatory Remedies disposing us to the discovery of truth, and the reconciliation of divided parts in Religion. The piety and wisdom of our Sovereign Lord, and of this great and honourable Council has already showed us the most hopeful Remedy of our distempers, namely a Synod. The definition of which (though it might be here not unartificially as also that authority by which a Synod ought to be called, I willingly omit. A young Divine may easily trip in a political discourse: but I have resolved with myself not to touch on any thing which is not safe for me, nor to say any thing which a wise man perhaps will not venture to say after me. But will you now hear the judgement of grave, honest, and learned Divines concerning the qualifications and accomplishments of such as are fit to be Synoders? Such men (say they) ought to be conveined as are instructed with wisdom, sanctity of life, and experience of things, such as burn with the zeal of God, and the salvation of men, with the love of truth, and Christian peace; such as are acknowledged by probable reasons to have the Spirit of Truth, by which they are enabled to discern betwixt true and false, good and bad; and since Laics as well as Ecclesiastic men may be endowed with such abilities; Laics (say the same Authors) whether they be inplace of office and Dignity, nor more private may be admitted to the sacred Convent: the door of the house where such'a Convent is held, they would have thus inscribed with golden letters. Let no man enter here, but he that is studious of Truth and peace: may God himself place his Angel with a flaming sword at the entrance of this Paradise where divine Truth and the lovely Concord of the Church is consulted about, to keep back all those who are otherwise minded. Amen.  
In such a Synod Divines agree, That the Prerogatives of Princes, making of war, with other Political ching, are not to be handled; but things pertaining purely to Religion, such as are (say they) the Doctrine of Faith and manners, & Ordo Ecclesiasticus, the interpretation of which words I permit to every man, because I mean to be offensive to none, except it be for not rendering them. In dogmatis, or in opinions two things are to be considered; 1. the truth of them; 2. how great the necessity is of knowing, believing and doing according to them. The end of such a sacred Convent should be the illustration of Truth, the conservation and propagation of it, extirpation of errors the peace of the Church, whence exists the glory of God, and the eternal salvation of man. Now whether a presidence in such a Synod be compatible to any one particular man, or whether to avoid confusion, several Precedents to succeed one another may not be needful, I leave to the resolution of honest and wise men. But I think some kind of Precedent might be very useful to propose thines to be done, to ask opinions, to collect them by the service of Notaries, and govern the whole action.  
Actions which pass in such a Synod by Divines are reduced to three; 1. accurate disceptation about controversies; 2. mature consultation; 3. A free speaking of every one's sentence concerning what is enquired, the rule of all which is the Word of God contained in the old and new Testament. All men which writ upon this subject agree, that Disputations in Synods ought not to be made in Rhetorical flourishes, but in Logical concise argumentations, in which all extemporality and praecipitant haste must be taken heed of. They advise the Disputants on both sides to take time enough for just meditation, & for the avoiding of many absurdities, to comprise in writing the sum of what they intent to speak, and thence to recite it. The Disputation being ended, grave and mature deliberation is to be used both about the Controversies themselves and Arguments urged by both sides, that by contracting the whole Dispute to a narrow compass, the truth at one intuition may appear and be received with the content and astipulation of the whole body. And because nothing has more hindered the discovery of Truth, & agreement of men in Religion, then that some men who have tied themselves to opinions at home, bring them to the Synod, and resolve to pronounce them there: therefore it is necessary (says my Author) that sanctum juramentum a holy Oath should be given to every man convented to speak all in the fear of God from a good conscience, to maintain nothing which he thinks false, to conceal nothing which he thinks true though it make against himself, not to urge any thing which is doubtful for a thing certain, but that he will be ready to do all which lies in him that may conduce to the discovery of Truth, and promotion of Christian peace. From minds of men disposed as aforesaid to reconciliation and agreement, from a Synod thus administered and regulated, we may expect by God's mercy and blessing, a glorious rising and breaking forth of Truth and peace upon us, and have cause to receive them with Benedictions Jubiles, and such like acclamations.  
Truth and righteousness look down from heaven upon us, and we see jerusalem as a City at unity within itself. Pray for them that love her: peace be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.  
FINIS.