Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	abide_v	abimelech_n	contrary_a	37	3	6.6064	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80614	The controversie concerning liberty of conscience in matters of religion, truly stated, and distinctly and plainly handled, by Mr. John Cotton of Boston in New-England. By way of answer to some arguments to the contrary sent unto him, vvherein you have, against all cavils of turbulent spirits, clearly manifested, wherein liberty of conscience in matters of religion ought to be permitted, and in what cases it ought not, by the said Mr. Cotton.	Cotton, John, 1584-1652.	1646 (1646)	Wing C6420; Thomason E364_10; ESTC R201241	11,124	16

ayd to helpe God and neither worldly pompe and power to undertake to defend the Christian Church I aske you Bishops what helpe used the Apostles in the preaching of the Gospell With the aid of what power did they preach Christ and convert the heathen from their Idolatay to God when they were in prisons and lay in chaines did they praise and give thankes to God for any dignities graces and favours received from the Court or doe you thinke that Paul went about with regall Attendants or Kingly Authority to gather and establish the Church of Christ sought he protection from Nero Vespasian The Apostles wrought with their hands for their own maintenance travelling by land and water from Towne to City to preach Christ yea the more they were forbidden the more they preached Christ But now alas humane helpe must assist and protect the faith the same against the Arrians The Church which formerly induring misery and imprisonment was known to be a true Church doth now terrifie others by imprisonment banishment and miserie and boasteth that she is highly esteemed of the world when as the true Church cannot but be hated of the same Tertullian ad Scapulam it agreeth both with humane reason and naturall equity that every man worship God uncompelled and believe what he will for it neither hurteth nor profiteth any one other mans Religion and beliefe neither beseems it any Religion to compell another to be of their Religion which willingly and freely should be imbraced and not by constraint for as much as the offerings were required of those that freely and with good will offered and not from the contrary Jerom. in poeni lib. 4. in Jeremiam Heresie must be cut off with the sword of the Spirit let us strike through with the arrowes of the Spirit all Sons and Disciples of the misled Hereticks that is with testimonies of holy Scriptures the slaughter of Hereticks is by the Word of God Brentius upon 1 Cor. 3. No man hath power to make or give Lawes to Christians whereby to bind their consciences for willingly freely and uncompelled with a ready desire and cheerfull mind must those that come run unto Christ Luther in his Book of the Civill Magistrate saith the Lawes of the Civill Magistrates government extends no further then over the body or goods and to that which is externall for over the soul God will not suffer any to rule onely he himselfe will rule there Wherefore whosoever doth undertake to give Lawes to the Soules and Consciences of men he usurpeth the Government himselfe which appertaines unto God c. Therefore upon 1. Kings 5. In the building of the Temple there was no sound of Iron heard to signifie that Christ will have in his Church a free and a willing people not compelled and constrained by Lawes and Statutes Againe hee saith upon Luke 22. It is not the true Catholique Church which is defended by the secular arme or humane power but the false and fained Church which although it carries the name of a Church yet it denies the power thereof Again upon Psal 17. he saith the true Church of Christ knoweth not Brachium seculare which the Bishops now a daies chiefly use Again in Postil Dom. 1. post Epiph. he saith Let no Christian be commanded but exhorted For he that willingly will not do that whereunto he is friendly exhorted he is no Christian wherefore they that compell those that are not willing shew therby that they are not Christian preachers but worldly Beadles So upon 1 Pet. 3. he saith if the civill Magistrate shall command me thus and thus I should answer him after this manner Lord or Sir Look you to your wordly or civill government your power extends not so far as to command any thing in Gods Kingdome Therefore herein I may not hear you For if you cannot hear it that any should usurpe authority where you have to command how do you thinke that God should suffer you to thrust him from his seat and to seat your selfe therein Lastly the Papists the inventers of persecution in a wicked book of theirs set forth in King James his raigne thus Moreover the means which Almighty God appointed his Officers to use in the conversions of Kingdoms and Nations and people was humility patience charity saying Behold I send you as Sheep in the midst of Wolves Math. 10.16 he did not say behold I send you as Wolves among sheepe to kill imprison spoile and devoure those unto whom they were sent Again vers 7. he saith They to whom I send you will deliver you unto Councels and in their Synagogues they will scourge you and to presidents and to Kings shall ye be led for my sake He doth not say You whom I send shall deliver the people whom you ought to convert to Counsells and put them in prison and lead them to presidents and Tribunall seates and make their Religion Fellony and Treason Again he saith ver 32. when ye enter into a house salute it saying Peace be unto this house he doth not say you shall send Pursevants to ransack or spoile his house Again he said Iohn 10. The good Pastor giveth his life for his sheep the Theefe commeth not but to steale kill and destroy hee doth not say the Theefe giveth his life for his sheep and the good Pastor commeth not but to steale kill and destroy So that we holding our peace our adversaries themselves speak for us or rather for the truth But it is objected that it would be a prejudice to the Common-wealth to permit liberty of conscience We answer it is not any prejudice to the Common-wealth if liberty of conscience were suffered to such as fear God indeed as is or will be manifest Abraham abode among the Cananites a long time yet contrary to them in matters of Religion Gen. 13.7 and 16.13 Again he sojourned in Gecar and King Abimelech gave him leave to abide in his Land Gen. 20.21 22. Isaac dwelt in the same land yet contrary in Religion Gen. 26. Jacob lived 20. years in one house with his Uncle Laban yet different in Religion Gen. 31. The people of Israel were about 430. years in that infamous Land of Aegypt and afterwards 70. years in Babylon all which time they differed in Religion from the States Exod 22 and 2 Chron. 36. Come to the time of Christ where Israel was under the Romanes where lived divers Sects of Religion as Herodians Scribas and Pharisees Saduces and Libertines Th●deans and Sa●●ritans besides the common Religion of the Jewes Christ and the Apostles All which differed from the common Religion of the State which was like the worship of Diana which almost the whole world worshipped Acts 19.20 All these loved under the government of Caesar being nothing hurtfull to the Common-wealth giving unto Caesar the things that are 〈◊〉 And for their Religion and Consciences towards God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them to themselves as having no Dominion over their soules and consciences

a sparke assoone as it appeareth is to be extinguished and the leaven to be removed from the rest of the dough rotten pieces of flesh are to be cut off and a scabbed beast is to be driven from the sheep-fold least the whole house masse of dough body and flock be set on fire with the spark be sowred with the leaven be putrified with the rotten flesh perish with the scabbed beast Brentius whom you quote next speaketh not to your cause we willingly grant him and you that man hath no power to make Lawes to bind the conscience out this hindreth not but that men may see the Lawes of God observed which do bind conscience The like answer may be returned to Luther whom you next alledge First The government of the civill Magistrate reacheth no further then over the bodies and goods of their subjects not over their soules and therefore they may not undertake to give lawes to the soules and consciences of men Secondly That the Church of Christ doth not use the Arms of secular power to compell men to the faith or profession of the truth for this is to be done by spirituall weapons whereby Christians are to be exhorted not compelled But this hindreth not that Christians sinning against light of faith and conscience may justly be censured by the Church by excommunication and by the civill sword also in case they shall corrupt others to the perdition of their soules As for the testimony of the Popish book we weigh it not as knowing whatsoever they speak for toleration of Religion where themselves are under the hatches when they come to sit at Sterne they judge and practise quite contrary as both their writing and judiciall proceedings have testified to the world these many years To shut up this Argument from testimony of Writers It is well known that Augustine retracted this opinion of yours which in his younger times he had held but after in riper age reversed and refuted as appears in his second book of retractations cap. 5. and in his Epistles 48.50 and in his first book against Parmenianus cap. 17. he sheweth that if the Donatists were punished with death they were justly punished and in his 1. Tractate upon John they murther saith he soules and themselves are afflicted in body they put men to everlasting death and yet they complain when themselves are put to suffer temporall death Opta●●s in his third book justifieth Macharius who had put some Heretiques to death that he had done no more herein then what Moses Phineas and Elias had done before him Bernard in his 66. Sermon in Cantica out of doubt saith he it is better they should be restrained by the sword of him who beareth not the sword in vain then that they should be suffered to draw many others into their error for be is the Minister of God for wrath to every evill doer Calvins judgment is well known who procured the death of Michaell Servetus for pertinacie in heresie and defended his fact by a book written of that Argument Beza also writ a book de Haereticis morte plectendis that Heretiques are to be punished with death Arelius likewise took the like course about the death of Valentius Gentilis and justified the Magistrates proceeding against him in a history written of that Argument Finally you come to answer an objection that it is no prejudice to the Common-wealth if liberty of conscience were suffered to such as fear God indeed which you prove by the example of the Patriarches and others But we readily grant you libertie of conscience is to be granted to men that fear God indeed as knowing they will not persist in heresie or turbulent schisme when they are convinced in conscience of the sinfulnesse thereof But the question is whether an Heretique after once or twice admonition and so after conviction or any other scandalous or heinous offender may be tolerated either in the Church without excommunication or in the Common-wealth without such punishment as way preserve others from dangerous and damnable infection Thus much I thought needfull to be spoken for avoiding the grounds of your Errour I forbear adding reasons to justify the contrary because you may find that done to your hand in a Treatise sent to some of the brethren late of Salem who doubted as you doe The Lord Jesus lead you by a spirit of truth in all truth JOHN COTTON FINIS