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DISCOURSE

AGAINST

Tranfubftantiation.

By His Grace Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON,
Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.

JANA

BIBLIC

The TENTH EDITION.

LONDON: Printed for B. Tooke, 7. Tonson, J. Round, 7. Pemberton, and E. Valentine, MDCCXXII, Where may be had all his Grace's Works.

Price Three Pence, or 20s per Hundred.

/12/

A DISCOURSE against

Tranfubftantiation.

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Oncerning the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, one of the two great pofitive Inftitutions of the Chriftian Religion, there are two main Points of difference between Us and the Church of Rome. One, about the Do&rine of Tranfubftantiation; in which they think, but are not certain, that they have the Scripture and the Words of our Saviour on their fide: The other, about the Adminiftration of this Sacrament to the People in both kinds; in which we are fure that we have the Scripture and our Saviour's Inftitution on our fide; and that fo plainly that our Adverfaries themselves do not deny it.

Of the firft of thefe I fhall now treat, and endeavour to fhew against the Church of Rome, That in this Sacrament there is no fubftantial change made of the Elements of Bread and Wine into the natural Body and Blood of Chrift; that Body which was born of the Virgin Mary, and fuffered upon the Crofs; for fo they explain that hard Word Tranfubftantiation.

Before I engage in this Argument, I cannot but obferve what an unreasonable Task we are

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put upon, by the bold confidence of our Adverfaries, to difpute a matter of Senfe; which is One of those things about which Ariftotle hath long fince pronounced there ought to be no Difpute.

It might well feem ftrange if any Man fhould write a Book, to prove that an Egg is not an Elephant, and that a Musket-bullet is not a Pike: It is every whit as hard a Cafe, to be put to maintain by a long Difcourfe, that what we fee and handle and tafte to be Bread, is Bread, and not the Body of a Man; and what we fee and tafte to be Wine, is Wine, and not Blood: And if this Evidence may not pafs for fufficient without any farther Proof, I do not fee why any Man, that hath Confidence enough to do fo, may not deny any thing to be what all the World fees it is; or affirm any thing to be what all the World fees it is not: and this without all poffibility of being farther confuted. So that the Bufinefs of Tranfubftantiation is not a Controversy of Scripture against Scripture, or of Reafon against Reafon, but of downright Impudence against the plain meaning of Scripture, and all the Senfe and Reason of Mankind.

It is a moft Self-evident Falfhood; and there is no Doctrine or Propofition in the World that is of it felf more evidently true, than Tranfubftantiation is evidently falfe: And yet if it were poffible to be true, it would be the most ill-natured and pernicious Truth in the World, because it would fuffer nothing else to be true; it is like the Roman Catholick Church, which will needs be the whole Chriftian Church, and will allow

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