Treatise of the Four Degenerate Sons, Treatise · Part 4 · Section 6
SECT. 6. Whether the Jewes are to be ſuffered in a Chriſtian common wealth or not?
THe Iewes are to be tollerated amongſt Chriſtians now, when they are out of the Covenant, as they did tolerate us Gentiles when wee were out of the covenant.
When the gentiles were out of the covenant there were three ſorts of them,We ſhould uſe the Iewes now as they uſed us gentiles when we were out of the covenant. firſt the ſtrangers that were ſtrangers by birth, by affection, and religion: ſecondly thoſe who were ſtrangers by birth and religion, but not in affection, that is, thoſe ſtrangers who dwelt peaceable amongſt them, although they were not Proſelytes and converted to their religion, yet they permitted them to dwell amongſt them: the third ſort were Proſelytes and gentiles converted, and they injoyed all the priviledges which the Iewes themſelves enjoyed.
Theſe that were Iewes by birth they called Hebraeos ex haebreis, Phil. 3.5. That is, whoſe parents were both hebrewes; ſo hee whoſe father was an Hebrew, and his mother a ſtranger, he needed not to be made a proſelyte, he was foreign indigena, a naturall Iſraelite, but if his father was a ſtranger and his mother an Iſraelite, he was but alienigena, and behooved to be made a Proſelyte before he was to be admitted to the ſocietie of Iſrael; but moſt of all thoſe, whoſe Parents both father and mother were ſtrangers were not to be admitted to their ſociety, untill they were made proſelytes, and thoſe they called bagbag by a contraction, for ben gar filius gentilis viri, the ſonne of a man who was a Gentile and ben giorith, that is, the ſonne of a woman who was a Gentile.
The Iewes who are Iewes both by birth religion and affection ſhould not be tollerate amongſt Chriſtians.So the Jewes, now who are Iewes by birth, religion, and affection, that is, who hate Chriſt and Chriſtian religion, who raile againſt him, and blaſpheme him, theſe ſhould not be tollerated in a Chriſtian Commonwealth; who ſay they are Iewes, but they are of the Synagogue of Satan Revel. 2.9. Theſe ſhould be put to death, as the blaſphemer who blaſphemed the name of the Lord was put to death Levit. 24. So ſhould they now, and if a Chriſtian who incalls upon Chriſt, and blaſphemes God the father ſhould dye the death; So ſhould a Iew who incalls upon God and blaſphemes Chriſt, dye the death. Nehemiah when he heard the children ſpeake halfe the language of Aſhdod; he contended with the men, and pluckt off their haire, Nehem. 13.25. Much more ſhould the Chriſtian Magiſtrate cut off the heads of theſe blaſphemers who blaſpheme the name of Chriſt.
Thoſe that were ſtrangers by birth and religion but not in affection were tollerated amongſt them.The ſecond ſort of ſtrangers who dwelt among the Iewes, and were tollerated by them, were Gentiles by birth and religion, but not in affection, and they were called advenae portae, the ſtrangers within thy gate, Exo. 20. Thoſe ſtrangers were bound to ceaſe from their labours upon the Sabbath,Maimo. Hall cap. 8.12. & 13. and to learn the ſeven precepts of Noah, that they might be drawn peece & peece to aliking of the Iewiſh religion: ſo the Iewes who live amongſt the Chriſtians now, who are Iewes both by birth & religion, but not in affection, they may be advenae portae to us, ſtrangers permitted to dwell within our gates, If they dwell peaceably amongſt us, and abſtaine from offences, and ſome ſhort principles of Chriſtian religion ſhould be taught unto them, as the gentiles who were advenae portae learned the ſeven precepts of Noah.
Obj. Hee that worſhips not the true God ſhould not be permitted in a chriſtian common weale; thoſe Iewes worſhip not the true God; therefore they are not to be ſuffered in a chriſtian common wealth.
Anſw. Thoſe who through ignorance worſhip not the true God, and of whoſe converſion there is hope, thoſe may bee ſuffered in a chriſtian common wealth.
Queſt. How did the Iewes tollerate Herod to be their King being an Edomite?
Anſw. The Edomites were their brethren, Deut. 23.7. thou ſhalt not abhorre an Edomite, for he is thy brother, the Edomits might enter into the congregation unto the 3. generation Deu. 23.8. that is, they might marry with them, and they might have a charge among them; but the Moabites might not enter into the congregation unto the tenth generation, Deut. 23.3. that is, they might neither marrie with them, neither might they have any charge in Iſrael.
Now let us conſider what benefits the Iewes may enjoy among us chriſtians, and what not.What benefits the Iewes may enjoy amongſt us Chriſtians Tertullian ad Scapulam.
Firſt the Iewes are not to be compelled to chriſtian religion, Tertullian, Non (eſt inquit) religionis cogere religionem, quae ſponte ſuſcipi debet, non vi, It is not the part of religion to compell a man to religion, which ſhould be willingly profeſſed, and not by compulſion. So Bernard fides (inquit) ſuadenda eſt, & non cogenda, ſo they ſhould not be compelled to be baptized,Cranſius, lib. 5. cap. 14. for many of them who have beene compelled to bee baptized, have fallen backe againe to their vomit of Iudaiſme.
Queſt. Whether may they be tollerated to circumciſe their children now or not,How the Iewes may be tollerated to circumciſe their children now for Paul ſaies Gal. 5.4. If yee bee circumciſed Chriſt is become of no effect to you, and yee are fallen from grace?
Anſw. Thoſe who have received the Goſpel, and have beene baptized, if they bee circumciſed, they are duplicate page duplicate page fallen from grace; but theſe Iewes who ſtand ſtill in Iudaiſme; their circumciſion to them is not a falling from grace, but a confirming of them in their former Iudaiſme; One who uſeth alwaies to eate poyſon from his infancie, If hee eate a poyſonable thing it will doe him no harme, But if one who is bred with wholeſome meates ſhould eate poyſon, it would preſently poyſon him; So circumciſion to thoſe Iewes who are bred in judaiſme is not deadly, but to theſe who are baptized and profeſſe chriſtianity it is deadly.
When chriſtians do tollerate the Iewes who dwell amongſt them to circumciſe their children, this makes not their circumciſion lawfull, but only tollerable: there are two ſorts of relaxation of a law; the firſt is, when that is permitted lawfully to be done,Two ſorts of relaxation of a law. which was unlawfull before; Example. 1 King. 5.6. Hiram commands wood to be cut for the building of the temple of Ieruſaſalem, that is he permitts it to bee done; here his permiſſion makes it lawfull, which was not lawfull before: There is another ſort of relaxation of a law, when that is permitted or tollerated to be done which is not lawfull to bee done; (although it bee permitted) no more then it was before thē permiſſion; as when a magiſtrate tollerates a thing which he cannot hinder, this thing becomes not lawfull by his tolleration, but he tollerates it, becauſe he cannot hinder it; As Moſes did tollerate the bill of divorce for the hardnes of the Iewes hearts: So when the chriſtians tollerate the Iewes to circumciſe their children: this is for the hardneſſe of the Iewes hearts; for the Iewes would not live amongſt chriſtians unleſſe they were tollerated to circumciſe their children: things commanded are bona, things forbidden are mala, and things permitted are non bona, as circumciſion is to them when they uſe it.
Their Synagogues may be permitted to them.Their Synagogues ſhould alſo be permitted to them, and their foreign or oratories, for when there is a permiſſiō to them granted to worſhip there muſt be a place granted alſo to worſhip in; this is not the tolleration of a falſe religion to permitt them to reade the law as if they ſhould tollerate the Alkaron to bee read in their ſynagogues, for the word of God is ſtill the word of God, although they abuſe it to a wrong end:Iuſtinian in conſtitutione clxvi. The Iewes had a priviledge granted by the Emperor Iuſtinian to reade in their ſynagogues, either the Hebrew or the 70. tranſlation; and howſoever the Iewes abuſe this word to a wrong end in reading of it, yet it is the word of God ſtil, and they ſhould be tollerate to reade it, providing that they bring not in their blaſphemous interpretations upon it. Chriſtians may not tollerate forcerie amongſt them, becauſe it is evill in it ſelfe, yet they may tollerate an Idolater to ſweare by his Idoll in making a covenant with them, becauſe that is but vitium perſonae, for to make a covenant is not unlawfull, and to ſweare is not unlawfull: It is but a thing unlawfull to them, and if they pleaſed they might ſweare by the true God; ſo the reading of the word of God is unlawfull to the Iew, but per accidens.
It was forbidden to the chriſtians to marry with them;Canon (cave Chriſtiane) 15. & cap. 17. ſiquis Iudaice, Eze. 28. queſt. 1. ex concilio Tolitano. cap. 4.62. but if it fell out that they were both Iewes who married, and one of them were converted to the chriſtian faith, then the Church ordaines Tranſibunt filij minores in infidelitate nati in favorem fidei, & a parente infideli ſeparabuntur ne ejus involvantur erroribus; that is, if one of the parents become a chriſtian, then he or ſhee who are chriſtians ſhall have the charge in bringing up the young ones, that they be not nuzled up in the infidelitie of the parent who remaines an infidell.
As for their ſervants;Concilio Tolitano, Tom. 4. cap. 59. & cap. 11. it was forbidden that a chriſtian ſhould ſerve a Iew Prohibitum chriſtianis cujus cunque ſexus famulitio domeſtico inſervire Iudeis.
Amongſt the Iewes an Hebrew might ſerve an Hebrew; ſecondly, an heathen might ſerve an Hebrew; thirdly, an Hebrew might ſerve a converted gentile, but hee might not ſerve a Gentile not converted?
A Chriſtian might not ſerve a Iew, yet they tollerate that a Iew may ſerve a chriſtian.
Queſt. What if a Chriſtian had three ſerving him, a Iew, a Turke, and a Chriſtian, the Turke obſerves the fryday, the Iew the Saturday, and the Chriſtian the Sunday, might the maſter compell his Chriſtian ſervant to worke upon the Sunday as hee might compell the Turke to worke upon the Fryday, and the Iew upon the Saturday?
Anſw. There is not the like reaſon in theſe, for the obſerving of the Sunday is Gods ordinance and the Church determinate ſo. The obſerving the Saturday was one of Gods ordinances, but not now, and the obſerving of the Fryday was never Gods ordinance. On that day the ſervant is the Lords freeman. The Hebrews call ſlaves foreign,Sen. lib. 3. de. beneficiis. Rev. 18.13. becauſe their bodies are only ſubject to their maſters but not their ſoules, Seneca, ſervitus in totum hominem non deſcendit & pars melior ejus eſt excepta, In fine de controverſia infidelium lib. 31. tit. 34.corpora obnoxia ſunt, & ad ſcripta dominis, ſed mens quidem, ſui juris eſt. They have forbidden the Chriſtians to dwell with the Iewes, to eate with them, to waſh with them in the ſame bath, to nouriſh their children, or to take phyſicke from them, or to bury with them.
In the third eſtate thoſe who are Iewes neither in affection nor in religion, although they be Iewes by birth, yet when they joyne themſelves to the chriſtian Church and become advenae Iuſtitiae they ſhould enjoy all the priviledges which the Chriſtians enjoy.Many benefits have the Chriſtian Church gotten from the Iewes.
Many are the benefits which the Chriſtian Church hath gotten from the converted Iewes; Hierom learned firſt the Hebrew tongue of a Iew who became a chriſtian, Epiſt. 4. ad Rufinum. So in his preface upon Daniel, and 24. yeares afterward when hee returned out of Egypt to Ieruſalem, and was taught by one Barabanus of whom he makes mention, Epiſt. 65. qui timebat Iudaeos, & mihi alterum exhibebat Nicodemum, becauſe hee came to him in the night, for feare of the Iewes (as Nicodemus did to Chriſt) and after that he had a third maſter of a Iew from Tiberias, of whom he makes mention in his preface of the booke of the Chronicles, and laſt hee had a maſter a Iew who taught him the Chaldee tongue, of whom he makes mention in his preface upon Daniel: Hierom therefore that famous tranſlater of the bible was firſt beholding to the Iewes, and we to them for his paines. In time of the Gothes Iulianus a converted Iew was a Biſhop in Spaine, Paulus Burgenſis a biſhop afterward of a Iew became a Chriſtian. So Nicolaus Lyra of a Iew became a Chriſtian. So was Antonius Margarita a baptized Iew, & profeſſed the Hebrew language at Lipſia in Germanie; Dictum Elia de Paulo Phagio.ſo was Immanuel Tremelius a baptized Iew; The Iewes ſay of Rabbi Moſes Bar Maimon; that from Moſes to Moſes there aroſe not ſuch a Moſes; ſo they ſay of Paulus Phagius becauſe he was very skilful in their tongue) to us chriſtians; A Paulo Tarſenſi ad Paulum Phagium non fuit talit Paulus, from Paul the Apoſtle who was bred at Tarſhis to Paulus Phagius there was not ſuch a Paul; ſo wee may ſay from Immanuel Ieſus Chriſt to Immanuel Tremelius there aroſe not ſuch an Immanuel.