The Catholic Hierarchy, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. Of Scandals.
§ 1. HAving ſpoken of the ſtrong and weak Chriſtian, and how they ſhould walk one towards another inoffenſively, it will be neceſſary to underſtand a little the nature and kinde of offences which the Goſpel gives us ſo frequent and ſtrict warning to take heed of. The Apoſtles great inference (from the advice that he had given to the Strong and weak) was by way of advice, Rom. 14.13. Let us not therefoee judge one another any more, but judge this rather, (i. e. determine) that no man put a ſtumbling-block or an occaſion to fall in his Brothers way. foreign, & foreign, inter ſe differunt, ſed non ſemper: foreign leviorem offenſam ſignificat, quā tamen aliquis non corruat, ut ſupra, 11.11. foreign vero graviorem declarat, ex quā quiſpiam prolapſus claudicet. Beza and moſt Interpreters go this way, but Eſtius, who ſaith, Non diſting, inter offendiculum & ſcandalum, ſicut inter lapidem offenſionis & petram ſcandali, Rom. 9.33. nam hujuſmodi repetitiones ad inculcationem eyuſdem rei Scripturis familiares ſunt. Eſtius.There is two words uſed, but both ſeem to intend the ſame thing, though ſome make them differ in degree. A Scandal is any impediment or obſtruction that lies in a mans way, over which he may ſtumble or fall: So that we take a Stumbling-block or occaſion of falling for the ſame thing, any thing that doth grieve, trouble, diſtract, or turn aſide, carries the nature of a ſcandal with it, and thoſe we muſt diſtinguiſh according to degrees: There are the greater and more dangerous, that hazard falling; and there are thoſe of a leſſer nature, that hazard ſtumbling onelyonly. They differ onelyonly in degree, or in reſpect that they have to our ſtate or particular actions and concerns. Some of more dangerous conſequence, and ſome of leſs. Some are more eaſily removed out of the way, ſome more permanent and laſting. As if there be any difference in thoſe expreſſions, a ſtone of ſtumbling, and rock of offence, it lieth in that the offending Stone is eaſily put aſide, but the Rock is immovable.
§ 2. Offences are ſaid alſo to be either ſuch as are given and not taken; and in this ſence ſome places muſt be taken, as Matth. 16.23. when Chriſt ſaid to Peter, foreign, Thou art an offence to me, in endeavouring by thy advice and evil counſel to turn me out of the courſe of exerciſing my Mediators office: Not that Chriſt was ſtumbled, but there was ſuch a thing in the nature of Peter's advice, in relation to Chriſt's work that he had to do. Some offences are taken and not given; i. e. it's not in the nature of them to be offences, but by reaſon of the corruptions of men by their abuſe of the greateſt good, it often becomes a ſcandal to them; ſo Chriſt himſelf was a ſcandal to the Jews, and a Rock of ſcandal, as well as a Stone of ſtumbling, Rom. 9.33. 1 Cor. 1.23. How many, when he went preaching about, were ſcandalized at him and at his Doctrine, Matth. 11.6. ch. 15.12. ch. 26.31. This is a ſuppoſed ſcandal to him that is offended. Thus the doing of the moſt juſtifiable action may undergo the diſreputation of an offence, when men will either perverſly call good evil, or interpret it as evilly intended, or by reaſon of ignorance and weakneſs of judgement judge it ſo: and thus Chriſt himſelf, and no marvel if the beſt of his Members be not a ſcandal many times in their moſt commendable ways of walking, unto the men of the world, yea unto many weaker Believers, their liberty becomes a Stumbling-block to the weak, 1 Cor. 8.9. and a mans good is blaſphemed, or evil ſpoken of, Rom. 14.16. there are many that will be offended captiouſly and deliberately, and they are the profane men of the world that call Chriſt Beelzebub, and his Diſciples no better, or the phariſaical Profeſſors. The Diſciples told Chriſt, Knoweſt thou not that the Phariſees were offended when they heard theſe ſayings, Matth. 15.12. Chriſt anſwers, That every plant that his Father had not planted ſhould be rooted up: Let them alone, they are blinde, &c. therefore, no marvel if they bark at the Sun, &c. Theſe unjuſt and unreaſonable offence-takers are the greateſt offence-givers, who do truely offend Gods Children in all ſences more than the prophane world: ſo Joh. 6.60, 61.
§ 3. An offence given, is when a man or thing hath an innate juſt ground of ſcandal, by relation to the moral Law, and is no other than ſin or ſinful per ſe & in ſe, whatever other mens opinion of it be; and therefore works objectively upon others by way of ſtumbling and ſcandalizing; and they are two ſorts on whom it operates this way: Either thoſe that behold this action with approbation; and they ſtumble, or rather fall, in the worſt manner thereby; for they thereby are encouraged to fall into ſin, or to remain in ſin, by reaſon of it, becauſe of the great inducements that they take up from the perſon committing it, his Holineſs, Wiſdom, Authority, Age, &c. or thoſe that behold it are grieved at it, and at the perſon offending, ſo as to cenſure his Perſon or Religion, and provoked by ſome ways or means to manifeſt their great diſguſt, not onelyonly to the perſon offending, but even to the world. Hence I diſtinguiſh Offences into Grieving and Sinning, or Grief-cauſing offences, or Sin-cauſing offences.
§ 4. Of the grieving Offence firſt; and it's that which tends to the afflicting and troubling the Mindes, Hearts, and Conſciences of the Faithful in their Chriſtian courſe; and the offending party either wrongs and injures by acts of violence and oppreſſion, whereby he grieves the oppreſſed; or elſe he does and perſiſts in ſuch actions as the offended judge unlawful: And therefore from true principles of the love of God and his Brother, and the hatred of ſin, he is much grieved, and walks heavily to ſee his Brother walk diſorderly, and complains of this block laid in the way of his Charity and Chriſtian Communion, Rom. 14.15. If thy Brother be grieved (foreign) with thy meat, thou walkeſt not charitably.
§ 5. There be two ſorts of grieving Offences. 1. All abſolutely unlawful actions that are ſeen by the offended party to be ſins by Chriſt's Law, and theſe he is bound by Chriſt's Law to be offended at, and at the perſons committing them, as not onelyonly ſinners againſt God, but againſt the Members of Chriſt; and ſuch offenders are the prophane men of the world or Phariſaical Profeſſors, Matth. 13.41. chap. 18.7. the world is full of theſe offences, and miſerable and woful by reaſon of them. 2. All actions that though they are lawful in themſelves, yet circumſtantially reſpected according to time and place, they have an unexpediency, and therefore carry an offenſiveneſs with them, or they become offences by the ſiniſter interpretation of the offended, and then are not juſtly taken: all things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man that eateth with offence, Rom. 14.20. and though the offence may be but a reputed or ſuppoſed one (v. 14.) by the offended party, yet it may be really given by the offending party, and the offence be unjuſtly taken as to the thing or action, yet it may be juſt and equal as to the party offending, who is as well acquainted with the weakneſs of his Brother, as the indifferency of the action.
§ 6. The ſinning offence is ſuch a thing or action in one man, that becomes an occaſion of ſin in another, whether it work upon him by way of Example, Advice, Compulſion, &c. if it force or allure him into ſin, it's a ſcandal, and of the groſſeſt and moſt hainous nature; and a man is offended here many times, when he is pleaſed as to the carnal part, as he always ſeems to be when they cloſe with him by way of encouragement, becauſe ſinning is moſt properly ſpiritual ſtumbling and falling, and thoſe things that occaſion it are metaphorically called Traps, Gins, Snares, Stumbling-blocks, in Scripturephraſe; and in that ſence is foreign moſt frequently uſed. This Scandal, or occaſion of falling into ſin, is diverſly taken; it's ſometimes aſcribed unto Gods judicial proceeding with the ſons of men, when he lays ſuch Providences before them which he knows will become a ſcandal by reaſon of their corruptions, viz. of further more viſible and exemplary ſinning unto them, Ezeek. 3.20. Jer. 6.21. in this ſence Chriſt became a ſinning ſcandal unto a great part of the world: To the Jews, a Stumbling-block, and to the Greeks, Fooliſhneſs. The ſufferings and falls of Gods people, intended for the humbling, proving, and doing good unto them, have their bardning effects upon the wicked: The ſame Sun-beams harden the Clay, and ſoften the Wax; Quicquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis. Many Creature-comforts uſed by ſome for nouriſhment and comfort of life, become no better than Poyſon unto others by their intemperate and ſinful abuſe of them, and are called a Snare, Trap, Gin, Scandal, Rom. 11.9. It's attributed to any ſubtile enticement or inſinuation to the commitment of ſin, either of our own inherent Luſts and Affections, James 1. and in this ſence the right Eye, or Hand is ſaid to ſcandalize us, Matth. 5.29. and 18.9. Mark 9.47. Or it's taken for another's inſinuations or allurements to ſin, by Words or Actions, by Words and Perſwaſions; that of Peter to our Saviour, Matth. 16.23. By alluring Actions and Practices: ſo Balac laid a Scandal before the Children of Iſrael, Rev. 2.14. Moreover, it's attributed to any thing ſinfully hurtful, or as a fruit of ſin, noxious unto man, eſpecially all ſinful incorrigible men; all which ſcandals Chriſts Angels ſhall gather out at the end thereof, Matth. 13.41. But the uſe of the word moſtly in our ſence, is ſuch a kinde of Stumbling-block as one Brother may put in another's way; or more largely, ſuch a kinde of Stumbling-block as is an occaſion of ſinning to any of Chriſt's Members. 1. Such as is laid by the malicious World and Phariſees, who are plotting and contriving entrappers of Gods people, like Balaam and Balack, and rejoyce over them as Enemies when they have brought any of thoſe little ones into ſin; our Saviour's Wo belongs to them, Matth. 18.6. 2. When one Believer offends another, the ſtrong doing an action (to him indifferent) whereby the weak by miſunderſtanding becomes ſeduced to, and entrapped, or eſtabliſhed in ſin.
§ 7. There are theſe ways whereby the indifferent act of the Strong becomes a ſinning ſcandal unto the Weak. 1. When it encourageth the Weak to an implicite Faith, taken upon the practice of the Strong (i. e. of one eminent for Grace, Gifts, Exemplary ſufferings, or places of dignity and truſt) to do thoſe things which he doubts to be lawful and warrantable by the Word of God, and then this weak Believer foreign is condemned in Conſcience (not abſolutely damned, as ſome underſtand the uſe of that ambiguous word in the tranſlation) the reaſon added is demonſtration enough, becauſe whatever is not of Faith is ſin, and all ſin condemns by a concomitant or ſubſequent guilt attending. 2. When the actions of the ſtrong, lawful in his performance of them, is a confirmation of the weak in his unlawful practice of the ſame thing, as in the Apoſtles inſtance of eating things ſacrificed to Idols: The ſtrong eats it as other meat, without any conſcience of, or reſpect to the Idol; but the weak is confirmed in his idolatrous or ſuperſtitious uſe of it, 1 Cor. 8.4. and the ſame thing being but an indifferent lawful action to one; is Superſtition or Idolatry to the other, eating with ſome reſpect to the Idol, or with a Conſcience checking upon that conſideration; and ſo their Conſcience being weak is defiled (i. e. becomes accuſing of ſin, and therefore polluted with guilt, Heb. 10.12.) but meat commendeth us not to God, v. 8. i. e. an indifferent thing in it ſelf, we are never the worſe for it, provided no ſinful circumſtances do attend it; but take heed leſt your meat (i. e. an indifferent thing) and your liberty in the uſe of it, become not a ſcandal, i. e. an occaſion of ſin to the weak: For if any that is weak ſee thee which haſt knowledge ſit at meat in an Idol-temple, (and think that thy carriage be with ſome civil or religious reſpect) ſhall not ſuch a mans Conſcience be emboldened? (foreign) or edified? i. e. confirmed in his Judgement and practice in eating ſuch things. If he that is weak ſee thee uſe an indifferent action (ſuch as bowing, kneeling, &c.) in the ſervice of Idolatry or Superſtition, will it not embolden him to the like practices? i. e. either encourage him to venture on a practice which he was affraid before was ſin, or embolden him confidently to perſevere in that practice which he went on in before with a doubting or ſcrupling Conſcience; ſo that by thy knowledge (i. e. by the occaſion or example of it) ſhall thy weak Brother periſh, ſo far as he is concerned in thy actions, (for whom Chriſt died) and ſo far as thou knoweſt, he being fallen into, or confirmed in ſin by thy means; and when ye ſin ſo againſt the Brethren, and wound their weak Conſciences, you ſin againſt Chriſt. The Apoſtle enlarges further and very plainly upon this point, 1 Cor. 10.23. to the 9th, &c. which I ſhall not detain the reader upon, but onelyonly refer him to diſtinct reading and conſideration of the Text; and ſhall conclude this point with that eminent place of John the Apoſtle, 1 Epiſt. ch. 2.10. He that loveth his Brother abideth in the Light, (i. e. the truth of the Goſpel) and there is no occaſion of Stumbling (the word is foreign) in him; that is, no active ſcandal, i. e. he gives no occaſion of falling unto his Brother; and there is no paſſive ſcandal, he is ſo far enlightned and informed in the truth, that he doth not eaſily take offence at his Brothers actions, ſo as to ſtart from the truth, or walk in any ways of ſin or errour; neither is he ſoon offended and prejudiced at his Brothers perſon or profeſſion, as to ſtart from the communion of either. But he that hateth his Brother (i. e. hath little regard to the welfare of his Brothers Soul) is in darkneſs, and walketh in darkneſs, and knows not whither he goes, becauſe darkneſs hath blinded his Eyes; Ergo, will both ſtumble and fall, and lay Stumbling-blocks and Scandals in the way of others, that they may fall alſo.