Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
religion_n civil_a magistrate_n matter_n 3,433 5 6.0251 4 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A75502 An Apologie for Mr. Iohn Goodwin: who having subscribed proposalls to be presented to the magistrate concerning matters of religion; after that, makes 30 Queries, whether it be the magistrates duty to interpose his authoritie in matters of religion. 1653 (1653) Wing A3545; Thomason E690_5; ESTC R206986 6,148 11

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

AN APOLOGIE FOR Mr. Iohn Goodwin Who having Subscribed Proposalls to be presented to the Magistrate concerning matters of Religion after that Makes 30 Queries whether it be the Magistrates duty to interpose his Authoritie in matters of RELIGION Ephe. 4.14 Be no more Children tossed too and fro carryed about with every wind of Doctrine Joh. 9.41 If ye were blind ye should have no sin but now ye say We see therefore your sinne remaineth Optat. Lib. 3. I lle Donatus Schismaticus solito furore succensus in haec verba prorupit Quid est imperatori cum Eclesia Idem Ib. Constat Macarium Proconsulem in eos vindicasse a quibus jussio divina contempta est Nam non tibi facies sculptise Dei vox est London Printed for John Wright at the Kings Head in the Old-Bayley 1653. An APOLOGIE for Mr. John Goodwin MEns judgements are as various as their Pallats and Books and Dishes seldom come to two persons with one and the same relish For as Elihu speaks in Job The Ear tryes words as the mouth tastes meat It were therefore no wonder if Mr. Goodwins thirty Queries met with thirty times thirty censures But the main Querie and wonder is How the same hand could subscribe the Ministers Proposals for advancement of Religion presented to the supream Magistrate and yet propose this Question Whether the Civill Magistrate stands bound by way of Duty to interpose his Power or Authority in matters of Religion or worship of God and upon the basis of this proposall raise a fabrick of Queries thiry stories high But to Vindicate Mr. Goodwin from the mistakes of those who upon this last account may be apt to censure him as inconsistent with himselfe The Reader with his good leave shall have this Apology for him that among the thirty Queries propounded by him there is not one to be found but is either 1. Impertinent or 2. Impotent as to the insinuating any scruple against his own and the Ministers Proposals And therefore as he prosesses so he hath really dealt modestly in the businesse and not at all destroi'd the things which he had builded To evince the Impertinency of Mr. Goodwins Queries as to the creating any doubt against the Ministers and Mr. Goodwins Proposals and consequently that Mr. Goodwin in the one and Mr. Goodwin in the other are not Antagonists as some would fancy First It is to be premised that Mr. Goodwin may justly expect this Right from the Reader not to be interpreted as setting his hand to the maine Querie which is the Root upon which his thirty questiuncles as so many Filaments depend against his hand to the Ministers proposals nor his hand to those against his heart in this provided such a sense may be given of his words as will fairly and without violence accomodate both And that such may be given need not be doubted for if the interposition of the civill Magistrates power which Mr. Goodwin scruples in the prementioned Question be understood of a Coercive Power in matters of Faith and Worship a Power that like a Spanish Inquisition or an English High Commission Court would compell to a conformity unto the publique profession and practise with such a power the Ministers hold as little correspondencie as Mr. Goodwins Queries and consequently Mr. Goodwin in his Queries quarrels not with Mr. Goodwin in his Proposals but there is a mutuall harmony in the one and the other Etres conjurat amice But to take the confidence to advance one step further It is affirmed in the second place that Mr. Goodwin not only may but indeed must be so understood at least if the Vote of the major part of his Questions may carry it Let them who thinke it worth their leisure examine the particulars since of twenty eight that is of all all but the two last Queries may without wrong to Justice be acquitted of being guilty of suggesting any pertinent scruple against the Power of the Magistrate in matters of Religion save what concernes a constraint by Mulcts Fines Imprisonments c. to a conformity unto the publique profession in matters of Faith Ex ungue leonem Take a taste instead of all of his sixteen Querie In this Querie he cites Tertullian in these words That it is palpably unreasonable that men who are free should be forced against their wils to sacrifice when as it is the willingnesse of the minde that is required in all divine Services Yea it may be well judged ridiculous that one man should bee compel'd by another to honour the Gods when as hee stands bound at his perrill to render those propitious to him of is owne accord c. And Ambrose thus The Law of God hath taught us what we are to follow the Lawes of Men cannot teach us this They may extort from persons a timerous change but they cannot inspire beliefe Upon these Authorities Mr. Goodwin infers That the Sense of Antiquity was that matters of Faith did not at all appertaine to the Cognizance of the Christian Magistrate as a Magistrate That is as the words of the Authors themselves expresly carry it as to inspriring Faith extorting a change of Profession and compelling to sacrifice in which sense onely as he hath Antiquity with him and his present quotation and inference are pertinent and sound so the Ministers and Mr. Goodwins Proposals hold a friendly compliance with Mr. Goodwin and his Antiquity in this and the rest of his Queries and Mr. Goodwin with himselfe in His and the Ministers Proposals And consequently the generall impertinencie of Mr. Goodwins Queries as to casting any scruple upon the Ministers Proposals or any blemish upon himselfe as counter-querying and quarrelling himselfe in subscribing them hath thus farre beene vindicated from the mistakes of those that would needs judge otherwise The next thing to be showne in Apologie for Mr. Goodwin is the Impotencie of his Queries to infirme the Proposals affirmed by his subscription And here his two last Queries doe onely keep the field all the rest of the Brigade being justly cashiered upon the Article of Impertinencie in respect of any service done by them against Mr. Goodwins and the Ministers Proposals The truth is these two last Queries seeme to lay the Axe to the Root of the Magistrates power in matters of Religion and charge Mr. Goodwin home against Mr. Goodwin But to relieve Mr. Goodwin from this Charge of himselfe against himselfe by weakning the stroke and blunting the edge of this Axe the best way will be first to lay downe the grounds upon which Mr. Goodwins Queries scruple his proposals And then to discover the sandinesse of those grounds by the light of a few principles to which Mr. Goodwins owne assent is not altogether despair'd The first of the two last Queries bottoms is selfe upon a Jam sumus ergo pares A paritie of Reason why the Civill Magistrate may no more intermeddle in things of a religious nature then the Ecclesiastcall person in
Civill But this Stone is so ill squar'd that one way it will be found to narrow and the other to broad to prove an adaequate foundation whereupon to raise a Batterie that may annoy the Ministers and Mr. Goodwins Proposals For things of a Religious nature are absolutely such or mixtly The Proposals plead not for the Magistrates intermedling in the former and it 's presum'd Mr. Goodwin will not plead against in the latter Such are the publique Circumstance of Time Place and Revenue and some opinions amongst Papists or Ranters For it is credible some Papists would never have sacrificed their lives in pursuance of some treasonable practises were it not upon the account of a religious Conscience though miserably misled Tanlum Religio potuit suadere malorum Let Mr. Goodwin resolve whether a Christian Magistrate were obliged to suffer a Heathen under his Jurisdiction to Sacrifice his Child to Moloch c. In the last place as the foundation of the grand scruple and Top-stone of thirty Queries comes in the considerable question whether the Civill Magistrate be not a kind of Bat that is confin'd to the twi-light of Nature and whether the Child may adventure to take a lesson out of any Book but natures Primmer But least the Reader be mistaken he must remember that the Book of Nature according to Mr. Goodwins Edition comes forth in a just volume the light of Nature in his Astronomy is a Star of the first magnitude And therefore whilst he allowes the Magistrate a power to punish offenders against the light and law of Nature he out-vies the Proposals if he be true to his owne principles For what cannot the light of Nature see if it looks with Mr. Goodwins eyes which by the Light of Nature can discover the way to Faith and Salvation But to spare the sharpning any weapon at this Forge it shall suffice by way of conclusion to Vindicate the Ministers Proposals from all just ground of scruple by a few Corollaries whose Truth the light of Nature may discover or at least being discovered must assent to 1. The light of Nature teaches all men and among others the Civill Magistrate that there is a God and that God is to be worshiped 2. Never was there yet it were no audacious assertion to add nor never will be any Common-Wealth in the world which publiquely owned all Religions or none It s true indeed the Scripture seems to hold forth a promise of a Time wherein all shall owne but One when it speakes of a Day in which all shall serve the Lord with one consent and the Lord shall be one and his Name one 3. In all Common-Wealths where there are as 't is believed there are in all civiliz'd Common-Wealths this day in the World publique places and Revenues set apart to Religious uses the trust of the disposall of both is in the Civill Magistrate 4. In disposall of both according to this trust the Civill Magistrates duty is to use at least as much wisdome and faithfulness as men are obliged to use in things that concern their own private 5. The wise and faithfull Christian Magistrate may be assured of some truths in the Christian Religion and their opposite errors 6. The Christian Magistrate can neither discharge his trust concerning such places and revenues with wisdom nor faithfulness in the disposall of either to persons either wholly unknown or known to be enemies to such known truths or friends to their opposite errors It were no vaine confidence to presume on Mr. Goodwins assent to this position For 't is to be supposed Mr. Goodwins Church neither would nor indeed could be obliged upon any rationall account to administer to him of their temporall things if they were not satisfied in the spirituall things which he administers to them at least as to the maine however in other things dissenting And why should it be accounted unreasonable in the Magistrate to expect the like satisfaction in the like case Besides 2 Joh. 10 who can deny it to be the priviledge and duty of a Master of a Family to admit such onely to Teach in his House as his Conscience shall be satisfied in and warrant him to receive Or to come yet a little nearer will the Churches distinguished by the names of Independents and Anabaptists suppose Mr. Goodwins Church admit of any person either wholly unknown or known to be grosly ignorant or scandalous suppose a known Mahemetan or one of their own judgement and without scandall but wholly unknown to Teach in their Congregations without their approbation and assent first obtained if not as it is presum'd they will not let no man scruple to allow that thing to be the right of the Magistrate as a publique parent in the disposall of publique places and revenues to persons to be approved by himselfe or such as he shall think meet to be trusted therein which is claimed as a right by every private Parent and Congregation And whereas Mr. Goodwin in the last Querie hath appeal'd to the Law of Nature as to his Caesar to Caesar he shall goe and therein let be remembred First that so far power is granted by him to the Magistrate in Religion as the Law of Nature doth dictate And secondly That his Contradistinction is unsound in that Querie where he distinguisheth the worshipping of God in a false manner from evill doing against the light of Nature for here he may see that Idolatry and false worship are against the light and law of Nature yea that the law of Nature teacheth the Magistrate to make lawes against false worship and Idolatry And Indeed the Apostle Paul might serve in stead of all proofs who clearly shews that men by the light of Nature might see this truth that God was not like unto Birds nor Beasts nor was to be worshipped under such Images but that in so doing they did deteine the Truth even the evident Truth in unrighteousness yet ex aebundanti here shall be produced concerning the light of Nature directing Magistrates to make Lawes for Religion The testimonies both of Gentiles and Jewes which termes commonly comprehend all man-kind and it may serve for an universall Testimony And first for the Gentiles le ts hear what Plato saith Plato de Repub. lib. 2. lib. 4. Let the first Care in every well constituted Common-wealth be for setting up the true not a false or fabulous Religion in which let the chiefe Magistrate even from his Child-hood be instructed Lib. decimo de legibus Ignorance of the true God is the greatest plague of all Common-wealths Therefore he pulls down the foundation of all humane Society who takes away Religion or abolishes it out of the minds of men Whence it is that all impiety is to be punished with the greatest and most grievous punishments c. Therefore in no wise are there to be tollerated in a Common-wealth well ordered so much as Disputation against God and his Providence c.