Doctrines are contrary to the Gospel What not believe an Apostle nor an Angel from heaven if he should teach any thing evidently contrary to the plain Doctrine of the Gospel If he should determine Virtue to be Vice and Vice to be Virtue No not an Apostle nor an Angel because such a Doctrine as this would confound and overturn all things in Religion And yet Bellarmine puts this very Case and says If the Pope should so â—â—termine we were bound to believe him unless we would sin against Conscience I will conclude this Discourse by putting a very plain and familiar Case by which it will appear what credit and authority is fit to be given to a Guide and what not Suppose I came a Stranger into England and landing at Dover took a Guide there to conduct me in my way to York which I knew before by the Mapp to lie North of Dover Having committed my self to him if he lead me for two or three days together out of any plain Road and many times over hedge and ditch I cannot but think it strange that in a civil and well-inhabited Country there should be no High-ways from one part of it to another Yet thus far I submit to him though not without some regret and impatience But then if after this for two or three days more he lead me directly South and with my face full upon the Sun at Noon-day and at last bring me back again to Dover Pere and still bids me follow him Then certainly no modesty do's oblige a man not to dispute with his Guide and to tell him surely that can be no way because it is Sea Now though he set never so bold a face upon the matter and tell me with all the gravity and authority in the world That it is not the Sea but dry Land under the species and appearance of Water and that whatever my eyes tell me having once committed my self to his guidance I must not trust my own senses in the case it being one of the most dangerous sorts of Infidelity for a man to believe his own eyes rather than his faithfull and infallible Guide All this Moves me not but I begin to expostulate roundly with him and to let him understand that if I must not believe what I see he is like to be of no farther use to me because I shall not be able at this rate to know whether I have a Guide and whether I follow him or not In short I tell him plainly that when I took him for my Guide I did not take him to tell me the difference between North and South between a Hedge and a High-way between Sea and dry Land all this I knew before as well as he or any man else could tell me but I took him to conduct and direct me the nearest way to York And therefore after all his impertinent talk after all his Motives of Credibility to perswade me to believe him and all his confident sayings which he gravely calls Demonstrations I stand stiffly upon the shore and leave my learned and reverend Guide to take his own course and to dispose of himself as he pleaseth but firmly resolved not to follow him And is any man to be blamed that breaks with his Guide upon these Terms And this is truly the Case when a man commits himself to the Guidance of any person or Church If by virtue of this Authority they will needs perswade me out of my senses and not to believe what I see but what they say that Virtue is Vice and Vice Virtue if they declare them to be so And that because they say they are infallible I am to receive all their Dictates for Oracles though never so evidently false and absurd in the judgment of all Mankind In this case there is no way to be ridd of these unreasonable People but to desire of them since one kindness deserves another and all Contradictions are alike easie to be believed thâ—t they would be pleased to believe that Infidelity is Faith and that when I absolutely renounce their Authority I do yield a most perfect submission and obedience to it Upon the whole matter all the Revelations of God as well as the Laws of men go upon this presumption that men are not stark fools but that they will consider their Interest and have some regard to the great concernment of their eternal salvation And this is as much to secure men from mistake in matters of Belief as God hath afforded to keep men from sin in matters of Practice He hath made no effectual and infallible provision that men shall not sin and yet it would puzzle any man to give a good Reason why God should take more care to secure men against Errors in Belief than against Sin and wickedness in their Lives I shall now only draw three or four Inferences from this Discourse which I have made and so conclude 1. That it is every mans Duty who hath ability and capacity for it to endeavour to understand the grounds of his Religion For to try Doctrines is to inquire into the grounds and reasons of them which the better any man understands the more firmly he will be established in the Truth and be the more resolute in the day of Trial and the better able to withstand the Arts and assaults of cunning Adversaries and the fierce storms of Persecution And on the contrary that man will soon be moved from his stedfastness who never examined the grounds and Reasons of his belief When it comes to the Trial he that hath but little to say for his Religion will probably neither do nor suffer much for it 2. That all Doctrines are vehemently to be suspected which decline Trial and are so loth to be brought into the light which will not endure a fair Examination but magisterially require an implicite Faith Whereas Truth is bold and full of courage and loves to appear openly and is so secure and confident of her own strength as to offer her self to the severest Trial and Examination But to deny all liberty of Enquiry and Judgment in matters of Religion is the greatest injury and disparagement to Truth that can be and a tacite acknowledgement that she lies under some disadvantage and that there is less to be said for her than for Error I have often wonder'd why the People in the Church of Rome do not suspect their Teachers and Guides to have some ill design upon them when they do so industriously debar them of the means of Knowledge and are so very loth to let them understand what it is that we have to say against their Religion For can any thing in the world be more suspicious than to perswade men to put out their eyes upon promise that they will help them to a much better and more faithfull Guide If any Church any Profession of men be unwilling their Doctrines should be exposed to Trial it is a certain sign they know something by
be their best security And if the providence of God have placed them under such Guides as do seduce them into Error their Ignorance is invincible and God will not condemn them for it so long as they sincerely endeavour to do the will of God so far as they know it And this being the case of many especially in the Church of Rome where Ignorance is so industriously cherished I have so much charity as to hope well concerning many of them And seeing that Church teacheth and enjoins the people to worship Images it is in some sence charitably done of them not to let them know the second Commandment that they may not be guilty of sinning against so plain a Law Having premised these Cautions I proceed in the II. Place To represent to you the grounds of this Principle of our Religion viz. That we allow private persons to judg for themselves in matters of Religion First Because many things in Religion especially those which are most necessary to be believed and practised are so plain that every man of ordinary capacity after competent instruction in matters of Religion which is always to be supposed can as well judg of them for himself as any man or company of men in the world can judg for him Because in these he hath a plain Rule to go by Natural Light and clear Revelation of Scripture And this is no new Principle of the Protestants but most expresly owned by the antient Fathers Whatever things are necessary are plain saith St. Chrysostom All things are plainly contained in Scripture which concern faith and a good life saith St. Austin And nothing can be more reasonable than that those things which are plain to every man should be left to every man's judgment For every man can judg of what is plain of evident Truth and Falshood Vertue and Vice of Doctrines and Laws plainly delivered in Scripture if we believe any thing to be so which it is next to madness to deny I will refer it to no man's judgment upon earth to determin for me Whether there be a God or not Whether Murder and Perjury be Sins Whether it be not plain in Scripture That Jesus Christ is the Son of God That he became man and died for us and rose again So that there is no need of a Judg in these cases Nor can I possiby believe any man to be so absolutely infallible as not to call his infallibility into question if he determins any thing contrary to what is plain and evident to all mankind For if he should determin that there is no God or that he is not to be worshipped or that he will not punish and reward men or which is the case that Bellarmine puts that Virtue is Vice and Vice Virtue he would hereby take away the very foundation of Religion and how can I look upon him any longer as a Judg in matters of Religion when there can be no such thing as Religion if he have judged and determined right Secondly The Scripture plainly allows this liberty to particular and private Persons to judg for themselves And for this I need go no farther than my Text which bids men try the Spirits whether they be of God I do not think this is spoken only to the Pope or a General Council but to Christians in general for to these the Apostle writes Now if St. John had believed that God had constituted an infallible Judg in his Church to whose Sentence and Determination all Christians are bound to submit he ought in all reason to have referred Christians to him for the tryal of Spirits and not have left it to every man's private judgment to examine and to determine these things But it seems St. Paul was likewise of the same mind and though he was guided by an infallible Spirit yet he did not expect that men should blindly submit to his Doctrine Nay so far is he from that that he commends the Bereans for that very thing for which I dare say the Church of Rome would have check'd them most severely namely for searching the Scriptures to see whether those things which the Apostles delivered were so or not This liberty St. Paul allowed and though he was inspired by God yet he treated those whom he taught like men And indeed it were a hard case that a necessity of believing divine Revelations and rejecting Impostures should be imposed upon Christians and yet the liberty of judging whether a Doctrine be from God or not should be taken away from them Thirdly Our Adversaries themselves are forced to grant that which in effect is as much as we contend for For though they deny a liberty of judging in particular points of Religion yet they are forced to grant men a liberty of judging upon the whole When they of the Church of Rome would perswade a Jew or a Heathen to become a Christian or a Heretick as they are pleased to call us to come over to the Communion of their Church and offer Arguments to induce them thereto they do by this very thing whether they will or no make that man Judge which is the true Church and the true Religion Because it would be ridiculous to perswade a man to turn to their Religion and to urge him with Reasons to do so and yet to deny him the use of his own judgment whether their Reasons be sufficient to move him to make such a change Now as the Apostle reasons in another case If men be fit to judge for themselves in so great and important a matter as the choice of their Religion why should they be thought unworthy to judge in lesser matters They tell us indeed that a man may use his judgment in the choice of his Religion but when he hath once chosen he is then for ever to resign up his judgment to their Church But what tolerable reason can any man give why a man should be fit to judge upon the whole and yet unfit to judge upon particular Points especially if it be considered that no man can make a discreet judgment of any Religion before he hath examined the particular Doctrines of it and made a judgment concerning them â—s it credible that God should give a man judgment in the most fundamental and important matter of all viz. to discern the true Religion and the true Church from the false for no other end but to enable him to chuse once for all to whom he should resign and inslave his judgment for ever which is just as reasonable as if one should say That God had given a man eyes for no other end but to look out once for all and to pitch upon a discreet person to lead him about blindfold all the days of his life I come now to the III. Thing I propounded which is To answer the main Objection of our Adversaries against this Principle and likewise to shew that there is no such Reason and necessity for an universal Infallible Judge as
the Sacrament is not bread but the body of Christ he hath only the evidence of his senses and he hath the very same evidence to prove that what he sees in the Sacrament is not the body of Christ but bread So that here ariseth a new controversy whether a man should believe his senses giving testimony against the Doctrine of Transubstantiation or bearing testimony to the Miracle which is wrought to confirm that Doctrine For there is just the same evidence against the truth of the Doctrine which there is for the truth of the Miracle So that the Argument for Transubstantiation and the Objection against it do just ballance one another and where the weights in both Scales are equal it is impossible that the one should weigh down the other and consequently Transubstantiation is not to be proved by a Miracle for that would be to prove to a man by something that he sees that he does not see what he sees And thus I have endeavoured as briefly and clearly as I could to give satisfaction to the first Enquiry I propounded viz. How we may discern between true and counterfeit Revelations and Doctrines I proceed now to the II. To whom this judgment of Discerning does appertain Whether to Christians in general or to some particular Person or Persons authorised by God to judge for the rest of mankind by whose judgment all men are concluded and bound up And this is an enquiry of no small Importance because it is one of the most fundamental Points in difference between Us and the Church of Rome And however in many particular Controversies as concerning Transubstantiation the Communion in one kind the Service of God in an unknown Tongue the business of Indulgences the Invocation of Saints the Worship of Images they are not able to offer any thing that is fit to move a reasonable and considerate man yet in this Controversy concerning the Judge of Controversies they are not destitute of some specious appearance of Reason which deserves to be weighed and considered Therefore that we may examine this matter to the bottom I shall do these three things 1. Lay down some Cautions and Limitations whereby we may understand how far the generality of Christians are allowed to judg in matters of Religion 2. I shall represent the grounds of this Principle 3. Endeavour to satisfy the main Objection of our Adversaries against it And likewise to shew that there is no such reason and necessity for an universal infallible Judg as they pretend I. I shall lay down some Cautions and Limitations by which we may understand how far the generality of Christians are allowed to judg in matters of Religion First Private Persons are only to judg for themselves and not to impose their Judgment upon others as if they had any Authority over them And this is reasonable because if it were otherwise a Man would deprive others of that liberty which he assumes to himself and which he can claim upon no other account but because it belongs to others equally with himself Secondly This liberty of judging is not so to be understood as to take away the necessity and use of Guides and Teachers in Religion Nor can this be denied to be a reasonable limitation because the knowledge of revealed Religion is not a thing born with us nor ordinarily supernaturally infused into men but is to be learned as other things are And if it be to be learned there must be some to teach and instruct others And they that will learn must be modest and humble and in those things of which they are no competent Judges they must give credit to their Teachers and trust their skill For instance every unlearned man is to take it upon the credit of those who are skilful That the Scriptures are truly and faithfully translated and for the understanding of obscure Texts of Scripture and more difficult points in Religion he is to rely upon those whose proper business and employment it is to apply themselves to the understanding of these things For in these cases every man is not capable of judging himself and therefore he must necessarily trust others And in all other things he ought to be modest and unless it be in plain matters which every man can judg of he ought rather to distrust himself than his Teacher And this respect may be given to a Teacher without either supposing him to be infallible or making an absolute resignation of my judgment to him A man may be a very able Teacher suppose of the Mathematicks and fit to have the respect which is due to a Teacher though he be not infallible in those Sciences and because Infallibility is not necessary to such a Teacher it is neither necessary nor convenient that I should absolutely resign up my Judgment to him For though I have reason to credit him within the compass of his Art in things which I do not know I am not therefore bound to believe him in things plain contrary to what I and all mankind do certainly know For example if upon pretence of his skill in Arithmetick which I am learning of him he should tell me That twice two do not make four but five though I believed him to be the best Mathematician in the World yet I cannot believe him in this thing Nor is there reason I should because I did not come to learn this of him but knew as much of that before as he or any man else could tell me The case is the same in matters of Religion in which there are some things so plain and lie so level to all capacities that every man is almost equally judg of them As I shall have occasion farther to shew by and by Thirdly Neither does this liberty of judging exempt men from a due submission and obedience to their Teachers and Governours Every man is bound to obey the lawful Commands of his Governours and what by publick consent and Authority is determined and established ought not to be gainsaid by private Persons but upon very clear evidence of the falshood or unlawfulness of it And this is every mans duty for the maintaining of Order and out of regard to the Peace and Unity of the Church which is not to be violated upon every scruple and frivolous pretence And when men are perverse and disobedient Authority is Judg and may restrain and punish them Fourthly Nor do I so far extend this Liberty of judging in Religion as to think every man fit to dispute the Controversies of Religion A great part of people are ignorant and of so mean capacity as not to be able to judg of the force of a very good Argument much less of the issue of a long Dispute and such persons ought not to engage in disputes of Religion but to beg God's direction and to rely upon their Teachers and above all to live up to the plain dictates of natural Light and the clear Commands of God's Word and this will
they pretend Now their great Objection is this If every man may judge for himself there will be nothing but confusion in Religion there will be no end of Controversies so that an universal infallible Judge is necessary and without this God had not made sufficient provision for the assurance of men's Faith and for the peace and unity of his Church Or as it is expressed in the Canon Law a liter Dominus non videretur fuisse discretus otherwise our Lord had not seem'd to be discreet How plausible soever this Objection may appear I do not despair but if men will lay aside prejudice and impartially consider things to make it abundantly evident that this ground is not sufficient to found an Infallible Judge upon And therefore in answer to it I desire these following particulars may be considered First That this which they say rather proves what God should have done according to their fancy than what he hath really and actually done My Text expresly bids Christians to try the Spirits which to any man's sense does imply that they may judge of these matters But the Church of Rome says they may not because if this liberty were permitted God had not ordered things wisely and for the best for the peace and unity of his Church But as the Apostle says in another case What art thou O man that objectest against God Secondly If this Reasoning be good we may as well conclude that there is an universal infallible Judge set over the whole World in all Temporal matters to whose Authority all mankind is bound to submit Because this is as necessary to the peace of the World as the other is to the peace of the Church And men surely are every whit as apt to be obstinate and perverse about matters of Temporal Right as about matters of Faith But it is evident in fact and experience that there is no such universal Judge appointed by God over the whole World to decide all Cases of temporal Right and for want of him the World is fain to shift as well as it can But now a very acute and scholastical man that would argue that God must needs have done whatever he fancies convenient for the World should be done might by the very same way of Reasoning conclude the necessity of an universal infallible Judge in Civil matters as well as in matters of Religion And their aliter Dominus non videretur fuisse discretus otherwise God had not seem'd to be discreet is every whit as cogent and as civil in the one Case as the other Thirdly There is no need of such a Judge to assure men in matters of Religion Because men be sufficiently certain without him I hope it may be certain and clear enough That there is a God and That his Providence governs the World and That there is another Life after this though neither Pope nor Council had ever declared any thing about these matters And for Revealed Doctrines we may be certain enough of all that is necessary if it be true which the Fathers tell us That all things necessary are plainly revealed in the Holy Scriptures Fourthly An infallible Judge if there were one is no certain way to end Controversies and to preserve the unity of the Church unless it were likewise infallibly certain That there is such a Judge and Who he is For till men were sure of both these there would still be a Controversie whether there be an infallible Judge and who he is And if it be true which they tell us That without an infallible Judge Controversies cannot be ended then a Controversie concerning an infallible Judge can never be ended And there are two Controversies actually on foot about an infallible Judge One Whether there be an infallible Judge or not which is a Controversie between Us and the Church of Rome and the other Who this infallible Judge is which is a Controversie among themselves which could never yet be decided And yet till it be decided Infallibility if they had it would be of no use to them for the ending of Controversies Fifthly There is no such absolute need as is pretended of determining all Controversies in Religion If men would divest themselves of prejudice and interest as they ought in matters of Religion the necessary things of Religion are plain enough and men would generally agree well enough about them But if men will suffer themselves to be byassed by these they would not hearken to an infallible Judge if there were one or they would find out some way or other to call his Infallibility into question And as for doubtfull and lesser matters in Religion charity and mutual forbearance among Christians would make the Church as peaceable and happy as perhaps it was ever designed to be in this World without absolute unity in Opinion Sixthly and Lastly Whatever may be the inconveniences of mens judging for themselves in Religion yet taking this Principle with the Cautions I have given I doubt not to make it appear that the inconveniences are far the least on that side The present condition of humane Nature doth not admit of any constitution of things whether in Religion or Civil matters which is free from all kind of exception and inconvenience That is the best state of things which is liable to the least and fewest If men be modest and humble and willing to learn God hath done that which is sufficient for the assurance of our Faith and for the peace of his Church without an infallible Judge And if men will not be so I cannot tell what would be sufficient I am sure there were Heresies and Schisms in the Apostles Times when Those who governed the Church were certainly guided by an infallible Spirit God hath appointed Guides and Teachers for us in matters of Religion and if we will be contented to be instructed by them in those necessary Articles and Duties of Religion which are plainly contained in Scripture and to be counselled and directed by them in things that are more doubtfull and difficult I do not see why we might not do well enough without any infallible Judge or Guide But still it will be said who shall judge what things are plain and what doubtfull The answer to this in my opinion is not difficult For if there be any thing plain in Religion every man that hath been duly instructed in the Principles of Religion can judge of it or else it is not plain But there are some things in Religion so very plain that no Guide or Judge can in reason claim that Authority over men as to oblige them to believe or do the contrary no though he pretend to Infallibility no though he were an Apostle though he were an Angel from heaven S. Paul puts the case so high Gal. 1.8 Though we or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than what you have received let him be accursed which plainly supposeth that Christians may and can judge when