Selected quad for the lemma: master_n
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A55926
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A third letter concerning toleration in defense of The argument of the letter concerning toleration, briefly consider'd and answer'd.
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Proast, Jonas.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing P3539; ESTC R26905
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76,552
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84
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have God for their Author and Truth for their Standard and how much soever the greatest part of Mankind may be exposed by the Force which is used to make them hearken to the Information and Instruction of Men appointed to it by the Magistrate or those of his Religion to be led into Falshood and Error than they are likely this way to be brought to embrace the Truth which must save them Yet every one sees that it may be true nevertheless that convenient Force used to bring men to the true Religion which is all that I contend for and all that I allow may be very serviceable for that purpose by bringing men to that Consideration which nothing else besides the extraordinary Grace of God would bring them to Which is that which I mean by doing service indirectly and at a distance toward the bringing men to the true Religion and so to Salvation You might therefore for any thing I see have spared the Pains you have here taken to give me a view of the Usefulness of Force my way applied For how confidently soever you tell â—e that it amounts but to the shadow and Possibility of Usefulness but with an overbalancing weight of Mischief and Harm annex'd to it I hope I have sufficiently made it appear that instead of proving this you have onely trifled hitherto and said nothing at all agâ—inst my Assertion Having thus as you imagine or to speak more properly perhaps as you would have it thought destroy'd the Usefulness of Force which I had asserted you go on to new matter of triumph But suppose say you Force applied your way were as useful for the promoting true Religion as I suppose I have shew'd it to be â—he contrary it does not from thence follow that it is lawful and may be used By your savour Sir I think it does follow from thence that Force is not therefore unlawful to be used because it is utterly useless or absolutely impertinent which is all that I was to shew against our Author That being all in effect that he says to prove the unlawfulness of using Force in matters of Religion as has already been made appear against all that you say to the contrary But as to the Lawfulness of such Force as I take to be useful for the promoting the true Religion I must again put you in mind that I do not ground it upon the bare Usefulness of such Force but upon the Necessity as well as Usefulness of it as any man must acknowledge that reads my Answer Where as I shew at large that Force is generally necessary to bring those thaâ— wander to the right Way so I expresly declare that I look upon outward Force to be no fit means to be used either for that purpose or for any other where it is not necessary as well as useful And therefore how useful soever you may suppose it in a Parish that has no Teacher or as bad as none that a Layman that wanted not abilities for it should sometimes preach to them the Doctâ—ine of the Gospel c. yet unless you suppose it necessary withall it will not serve your purpose And that you cannot suppose it necessary is evident because any such Parish may quickly have redress if they will but seek it Whether I have rightly framed the Author's Argument or not has already been consider'd You say further As Force applied your way is apt to make the Inconsiderate consider so Force applied another way is as apt to make the Lascivious chaste c. Thus you see Castration may indirectly and at a distance be serviceable towards the Salvation of men's Souls But will you say from such aâ— usefulness as this that therefore the Magistrate has a right to do it and may by Force make his Subjects Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven Where again I must tell you that unless you will say Castration is necessary as well as apt to make the lascivious chaste this will afford you no advantage Now I suppose you will not say Castration is necessary because I hope you acknowledge that Marriage and that Grace which God denies to none who seriously ask it are sufficient for that purpose But however this is not a like Case For if Castration makes any lascivious person chaste it does it by taking away the Part upon which the Power of offending depends Whereas the Force which I think may be used in order to the â—uring men of destructive Errors concerning the Way of Salvation does not destroy the Possibility of erring by taking away or any way disabling the offending Part but leaves men's Brains safe in their Skulls Indeed if I had said that to cure men of damnable or dangerous Errors it is useful to knock out their Brains the Case had been exactly parallel as far as Usefulness goes But since I say no such thing I hope no man that has any Brains will say it is You add It is not for the Magistrate or any body else upon an imagination of its Usefulness to make use of any other means for the Salvation of men's Souls than what the Author and Finisher of our Faith has directed Which how true soever is not I think very much to the purpose For if the Magistrate does only assist that Ministery which our Lord has appointed by using so much of his Coactive Power for the furthering their Service as common Experience discovers to be useful and necessary for that End there is no manner of ground to say that upon an imagination of its Usefulness he makes use of any other means for the Salvation of Men's Souls than what the Author and Finisher of our Faith has directed 'T is true indeed the Author and Finisher of our Faith has given the Magistrate no new Power or Commission nor was there any need that he should if himself had had any Temporal Power to give For he found him already even by the Law of Nature the Minister of God to the People for good and bearing the Sword not in vain i.e. invested with Coactive Power and obliged to use it for all the good purposes which it might serve and for which it should be â—ound needful even for the restraining of false and corrupt Religion as Iob long before perhaps before any part of the Scriptures were written acknowledged when he said that the worshiping the Sun or the Moon was an iniquity to be punish'd by the Iudge But though our Saviour has given the Magistrates no new Power yet being King of Kings he expects and requires that they should submit themselves to his Sceptre and use the Power which always belong'd to them for his service and for the advancing his Spiritual Kingdom in the World And even that Charity which our great Master so earnestly recommends and so strictly requires of all his Disciples as it obliges all men to seek and promote the good of others as well as their own especially
their spiritual and eternal good by such means as their several Places and Relations enable them to use so does it especially oblige the Magistrate to do it as a Magistrate i.e. by that Power which enables him to do it above the rate of other men So far therefore is the Christian Magistrate when he gives his helping hand to the furtherance of the Gospel by laying convenient Penalties upon such as reject it or any part of it from using any other means for the Salvation of men's Souls than what the Author and Finisher of our Faith has directed that he does no more than his Duty to God to his Redeemer and to his Subjects requires of him You add You may be mistaken in what you think useful No doubt of that Sir But you have not shewn that I am mistaken Dives thought say you and so perhaps should you and I too if not better inform'd by the Scriptures that it would be useful to rouze and awaken men if one should come to them from the dead But he was mistaken And we are told that if men will not hearken to Moses and the Prophets the means appointed neither will the Strangeness nor Terror of one coming from the dead perswade them Very good Sir And what then Dives thought it seems that though Moses and the Prophets had not prevail'd with his Brethren to repent yet if Lazarus were sent to them from the dead to testify what he had seen and heard in the other World such an Evidence as this so much greater than Moses and the Prophets had given of the Necessity of Repentance would not fail of taking effect upon them But herein Abraham assures him he was mistaken and tâ—at the true ground of his Brethren's not being perswaded by Mâ—ses and the Prophets was not any want of Evidence in them as he thought it was but onely their own Hardness and Insensibility contracted by the custom of sinning which render'd them incapable of any impressions from the greatest Evidence that could be given This I take to be the meaning of those words If they hear not Moses and the Prophets i.e. if they hear them not effectually so as to be perswaded by them as appears by the next Clause where the same thing is express'd by that word neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead But how does this concern the matter before us Is there any thing in my Assertion like this Mistake of Dives Do I any where say that the means appointed for the satisfying men's Minds concerning the true Religion are not sufficient to do it without the Assistance of outward Force Or that the Magistrate is more likely to convince men's Understanding by inflicting Penalties than Christ's Ministers are by preaching the Gospel If I had said any such thing you might reasonably enough have put me in mind how Dives was mistaken in what he thought useful But if I do expresly deny that Force has any proper Efficacy to convince men's Minds and do place all its Usefulness in its Subserviency to the means appointed for that purpose as it is apt to take off that unreasonable Aversness and Prejudice which usually keeps those who reject the Truth from applying themselves to those means then though Dives was mistaken in thinking that Lazarus might be able to convert his Brethren though Moses and the Prophets had not done it it may however be no Mistake to think Force useful for the purpose for which I affirm it to be so You go on If what we are apt to think useful were thence to be concluded so we should I fear be obliged to believe the Miracles pretended to by the Church of Rome Never fear it Sir for I assure you there is no danger of it But it seems you think there is For say you Miracles we know were once useful for the promoting true Religion and the Salvation of Souls which is more than you can say for your Political Punishments But yet we must conclude that God thinks them not useful now unless we will say that which without Impiety cannot be said that the Wise and Benign Disposer and Governer of all things does not now use all useful means for promoting his own Honour in the World and the good of Souls And then you add I think this Consequence will hold as well as what you draw in near the same words But I think it is easy to shew it will not For in the place you intend I speak not of useful but of competent i. e. sufficient means Now competent or sufficient means are necessary but I think no man will say that all useful means are so And therefore though as I affirm it cannot be said without Impiety that the Wise and Benign Disposer and Governer of all things has not furnish'd Mankind with competent means for the promoting his own Honour in the World and the good of Souls yet it is very agreeable with Piety and with Truth too to say that he does not now use all useful means Because as none of his Attributes obliges him to use more than sufficient means so he may use sufficient means without using all useful means For where there are many useful means and some of them are sufficient without the rest there is no necessity of using them all So that from God 's not using Miracles now to promote the true Religion you cannot conclude that he does not think them useful now but onely that he does not think them necessary And therefore though what we are apt to think useful were thence to be concluded so yet if whatever is useful be not likewise to be concluded necessary there is no reason to fear that we should be obliged to believe the Miracles pretended to by the Church of Rome For if Miracles be not now necessary there is no inconvenience in thinking the Miracles pretended to by the Church of Rome to be but pretended Miracles But after all how comes this Supposition in That what we are apt to think useful is thence to be concluded so For whatever you would insinuate I speak not of what we are apt to think or phansy with little or no reason to be useful but of what we judge so upon just and sufficient grounds Upon a strong Probability of Success which you your self seem to think sufficient not onely to ground an opinion of its Usefulness but even to warrant the Use of it grounded upon the consideration of Humane Nature and the general temper of Mankind apt to be wrought upon by the Method I speak of And upon the indisputable attestation of Experience For how confidently soever you tell me here that it is more than I can say for my Political Punishments that they were ever useful for the promoting true Religion I appeal to all observing persons Whether where-ever true Religion or sound Christianity has been nationally received and establish'd by moderate Penal Laws it has not always