Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. What opinions …
BUt are there no far off … at all to be … not learned men give divers and contrary expoſitions … one and the ſame text of Scripture and hath not the Church ſuffered errours and erronious … in godly … men in all ages even in …, … have not implored the ſword of the … them, though all errours printed and preached hurt the ſoules of others more or leſſe.
Anſw. Some errors are about things that God … indifferent, for the time, … opinion and … meate… and dayes, Rom. 14. 1 Cor. 8. … in theſe, God gives an indulgence, and bid… us ſo long as the date of indifferency in doreth, bea with the … 1 Cor. 8. you ſhall not finde that Paul … with the unlimited practiſe of dayes and meates … and in all caſes, as for the caſe of ſcandall, … the practiſe, to the ſcandalizing of the weake, and calleth it ſoul-murther, and here it in like the Church may ſuffer ſinfull ignorances, for …s the Magiſtrate is not to publiſh all externals,Some far off errors may bee tollerated. ſinnes of inf…rmity againſt the ſecond table, …or then humaine ſocieties muſt be diſſolved, and … ſubſiſt, except there be a reciprocall ye…lding to the infirmities of men, as they are weake and …; as we muſt not make a man an offender for a word, though it bee a haſty and ſinful word, even in a family where the Lord of the houſe hath the power of the …, and proportionally in other ſocieties, we would heare Solomon ſaying, Eccleſ. 7. 21 Alſo take not heed to all words that are ſpoken, leaſt thou leave thy ſervant curſe thee. So it would appeare, that ſome lower errours, that are farre off, without the compaſſe of the ordinary diſcerning of man, and lye at a diſtance from the … on (as fundametals, and Goſpell promiſes lye heard the heart of Chriſt) may bee diſpenſed with as a conjectur…, what became of the meate that Chriſt eats after his reſurrection, when he was now in the ſtate of immortality, and ſome probable opinions that, neither better the holder, no… much promove or hinder the edification of others, are not much to be …, ſave that … is ſinfull, and happily may bee tollerated: or whether the heavens and …, after the day of judgement, ſhall be … and turned to nothing, and be no … or if … ſhal be renewed, and delivered from vanity and indeed with new … to ſtand … as laſting and eternall … and witneſſes of the glory of God▪ … Chriſts, and the redeemed in heaven in … live in glory to be eternall lectures, and teſtimonies of the glory of the Lord, Redeemer and Sanctifier of his people▪ … moſt probable, and the Scripture may … to ſay much ſome other ſide.
2 For diverſe expoſitions of one and … Heavens and new Earth, when … of the expoſitions, ſo farre as is revealed …o the godly and learned, who in this life doe but know and propheſie in part, doe neither doubt the fundation, … truth, that is non-fundamentall, we think the opinion of both may be tollerated, even though the one of them be in it ſelfe an errour, and that upon the ground that Church and Magiſtrates both are to tollerate, not to puniſh theſe infirmities, againſt both tables, that are the neceſſary reſults of ſin originall, common to all men, as men, … about with them a body of ſin. And the like I ſay another the like opinions about matters of religion, and eſpecially matters of fact, as the virginity of Mary for all her life.
3 Such opinions and practiſe …as make an evident ſchiſme in a Church, Schiſme and actuall gathering of churches out of churches cannot be tollerated.and ſet up two diſtinct Churches, of different formes of Government, and pretending to different inſtitutions of Chriſt, of which the one muſt by the nature of their principles labour the deſtruction of the other, cannot be tollerated, &c. for each pretending their fellow Churches to bee of man, and ſo of the devill, though they ſhould both make one true inviſible Church, agreeing in all fundamentals, and many other truths, yet ſure the whole ſhould be a Kingdome devided againſt it ſelfe, … deſtroyeth peace much … the deviſions of one and the … Church of … though they pretended not to be different Churches, for thoſe that ſaid they were of Paul profeſſed they could not be diſciples of Peter, but he ſharpely rebuked them … man, and ſuch as devided Chriſt, and by conſequence muſt ſay, Paul was crucified for them, and was their redeemer, and ſo, if obſtinately they had proceeded … that ſeparation, Paul would have none on to higher cenſures of the Church: farre more could he not end…e gathering of true Churches out of true Churches, which is the profeſſed practiſe of Independents: and yet both ſides pretending the ſpirit of deſcerning; could ſay, the ſpirit teſtifies to my ſoule that Paul is the onelyonly called preacher, and the other, nay but to my diſcerning Cepha… or Peter is the onelyonly man, that I can heare or follow. And a third, nay, not any on earth, nor any miniſtery wil I acknowledge, but Jeſus Chriſt whom the heavens muſt containe till the laſt day, … my onelyonly, onelyonly preacher, now if a Jezabel come in and ſay no miniſtry is to be heard but Chriſt, and turne away all from hearing the word, and not ſuffer Sergiur … or any other to hear Paul or any godly miniſter, ſure Jezabel ſhould be a perverter of the right wayes of the Lord, and ſo not … ſuffered.
4 As touching opinions more manifeſty erronious a… Juſtine Marty… his ſaving of men …, of they uſed the light of nature wel, though they were ignorant of Chriſt, the Montaniſme of Tertullian, and his way of damning … mariage (which the very Jeſuit Tole…u… commiteur in Joan. Said he wrote contro fidem Catholicam, againſt the Catholick faith) and Auguſtine his condemning of all in … dying without Baptiſme, and Origen his … at a ſo… of purgatory after death, the greek fathers their preſidence of good works, and faith as the cauſes of predeſtination, their Pelag…niſme and Semi-p…lagianiſme touching men… freewll beginning and meeting Gods grace, eſpecially, hard ſayings of Chryſoſtome, Greg… Nyſſy…, and others, and the … Hieronymus, noſtrum eſt incipere & dei … … extolling of the Biſhop if Rome, for perſonall gifts, their orations of … to the Martyrs dead; without foreign with that doubtſome condition, if there be … feeling of our affaires in the dead, which was the ground worke of invocation of Saints, it is a queſtion and to be proved, whether the Church and Christian Magiſtrate (when th… were any) ſhould tollerate theſe, for ſome opinions to truths are as braſſe, ſo as we cannot put a ſtamp of neceſſity of edification on them, and ſome are peeces of gold and foundation ſtones, ſo other truths are neare of blood to fundamentalls, and pinnings in the wall, though not foundations, and becauſe the want of them may hurt the … they muſt goe as peeces of current ſilver.
OnelyOnly two or three objections muſt be removed; The place Ro. 14. willing us to receive the weake, no plea for tolleration.As 1. Rom. 14. They erred againſt a Law of God▪ who kept dayes, and abſtained from mea…s, concei…ing that the conſcience of Gods Law, did injoyne ſuch a practiſes whereas there was no ſuch Law now, the Apoſtle was perſwaded there were no creatures uncleane now; but to him, who, through error of conſcience, believed they were uncleane, v. 14. Yea the earth bring the Lords, they might eat ſwines fleſh or meats, though ſacrificed to Idols, without conſcience of a Law, 1 Cor. c. 8. c. 10. yet Paul is ſo far from cenſuring ſuch weake ones, that he bid… receive them as brethren, and not trouble them with thorny diſputations.
Anſw. Paul bids receive them, ergo, he bids tollerate them all together; it follows not, he will have them informed that there is no ſuch divine Law that preſſeth them, and ſo a morall tolleration of not refuting their error is denyed to them.
2. He bids receive them in a practice in it ſelfe, for that time, indifferent (for 1 Cor. 8. 8. Neither if they did eat, were they the better, nor if they did not eat, were they the worſe) but onelyonly erroneous in the manner, becauſe of the twilight and ſparklings of the light of the Goſpell not fully promulgated to the Jewes. Will it follow that the Jewes ſhould be tollerated ſtill, and perpetually to circumciſe and keepe the Ceremoniall law, and to teach others ſo to doe? for Libertines contend for a conſtant and perpetuall tolleration of all Jewiſh and ſinfull practiſes.
Ob. 2. Paul ſpeaking of Ceremonies, Ph. 3. 15. ſaith, Let us therefore, as many to be perfect, be th… minded, and if, in any thing, ye be otherwiſe minded, God ſhall reveale even this unto you. 16. Nevertheleſſe whereunto we have attained, let us walke by the ſ…me rule, let us minde the ſame things.
Anſw. This is the onelyonly Magna Charta abuſed for liberty of conſcience, which yet croſſeth it, but favours it now. Paul giveth two rules, neither of them are for tolleration, but againſt it; the one is for the minde within, the other for the practice without: for the former, he willeth all the perfect to minde this, that is, to endeavour Pauls one thing, and to be followers of him, v. 17. forgetting that which is behind, and preſſing toward the marke, and if any be otherwiſe minded in the matter of circumciſion, if he minde the journey toward the garland, God ſhall cleare his doubts to him there is nothing here for Libertines, except we ſay, let all the godly minde to walke toward the garland,The place Philip. 3. 15. Let us walke according to the ſame rule, &c. nothing … tolleration. by practiſing circumciſion, (as if that were the way) and by tollerating of others to practiſe Jewiſh Ceremonies, and if they be otherwiſe minded, God ſhall reveale their error, but in the meane time we are to ſuffer them to minde that, for the which Paul ſaith, their end is deſtruction, their belly their God, and they are dogs and evill doers, v. 19. 2. 3. as for the other rule of practiſe, v. 16. If it plead for Libertines, the ſenſe muſt be, as far as we have obtained the minde of Chriſt let us practiſe, that is, let us be circumciſed, and teach and profeſſe and publiſh to others, all the hereſies and blaſphemies that ſeeme to us to be true doctrine according to this rule, and let us minde the ſame thing, let us contend for the garland, and walking according to our conſcience our onelyonly rule, and practiſing unlawfull ceremonies, and publiſhing and profeſſing all the hereſies we can, we minde the ſame crowne and garland. Now except walking according to the rule be reſtricted to carefull and diligent practiſing of theſe things in which we all agree, which muſt exclude a practiſing or publiſhing of doctrines controverted, and that we ſhould abſtain from practiſing and publiſhing of opinions in which we agree not, nothing can be extorted hence in favour of tolleration. Our brethren ſay, Let us gather Churches out of true Churches, and ſeparate our ſelves from true Churches, and preach Familiſme, Antinomianiſme, Arrianiſme, and what not? and then we walke according to the ſame rule, which muſt be moſt contradictory to the … of the Holy Ghoſt, and therefore Libertines durſt … draw a formall argument for tolleration out of theſe or any other places, but bring us ſuch reaſons as by the nineteenth conſequence comes not up to the purpoſe; for by the gloſſe of Libertines, Let us walke according to the … rule, muſt be, Let us practiſe and walke (for it cannot be meant …f heart-opinions) according to the known rule conceived by our conſcience to be right (though it may be wrong and ſinfull) and ſo let us be circumciſed, and make a faire ſhew in the fleſh as the falſe Apoſtles did, for if ſome beleeved circumciſion, and the Law to be neceſſary for juſtification, then Paul muſt bid them walke contrary to their light, and then the perfect had attained light to practiſe unlawfull Jewiſh ceremonies.