Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	king_n	liberty_n	parliament_n	4,708	5	6.3048	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A39389	To en archy: or, An exercitation upon a momentous question in divinity, and case of conscience viz. whether it be lawfull for any person to act contrary to the opinion of his own consicence, formed from arguments that to him appear very probable, though not necessary or demonstrative. Where the opinions of the papists, Vasquez, Sanches, Azonius, &c. are shewed, as also the opinions of some Protestants, viz. Mr. Hooker, Bp Sanderson, Dr. Fulwood, &c. and compared with the opinions of others; the negative part of the question maintained; the unreasonableness of the popish opinions, and some Protestants, for blind obedience, detected; and many other things discoursed. By a Protestant.	Protestant.; Collinges, John, 1623-1690, attributed name.	1675 (1675)	Wing E718; Wing C5314_CANCELLED; ESTC R214929	62,722	96

desire to talk of Arguments onely in Justification of their own Sullenness or Peevishness as they are maliciously represented by some Modern Doctors far better at Reviling than Disputing Their Arguments in the first Case are many of them in Print as in Mr. Cotton's Discourse against Set-forms many years since Printed but that we know of never Answered as also in Mr. Calderwood's Altare Damas never Answered neither and in divers other Books In the Second Case their Arguments never yet Answered are to be found In Mr. Bradshaw's Discourses about things Indifferent and about Worship and Ceremonies In Dr. Ames his Irish Suit against the Ceremonies In Mr. Calderwood's Altare Damasceum In Mr. Gillespie's Disp against the Engl●sh Ceremonies Upon the 3d. Case divers of their Arguments are in R.A. his Letter to a Friend Printed 1661. And The Serious Review of Presbyters Ordination by Bishops Printed about the same time and in all the other Cases Our Brethren know that Arguments are in Print to prove them unlawful which never yet received any Answer Besides as there is a variety of Mediums so the same sute not every Fancy nor are all produced and the work of them who should undertake to shew the Arguments of all not probable would be almost infinite Sect. 16. What shall be done in this Case by those Superiours who will believe themselves as well as their Inferiours obliged recording to the Apostles Precept To Walk Charitably not laying a stumbling-block before others nor doing as much as in them lyeth to destroy poor Souls for whom Christ dyed We say what can be done by such Superiours in these Cases unless this Either that in the things of God they be very tender and enjoyn no such things as any considerable Number of their Inferiours thus Judge unlawful at least if they Judge them not by God Commanded to be done or to be avoided Or if they Judge it expedient to Command some other things for Splendor or as they Judge Decency which the Inseriours cannot Judge Lawful Indulge them who so cannot Judge of them as themselves do but verily believing them from Arguments which appear to them probable unlawful for them to do which is our present Case For whiles the Superiour in such things as these insisteth upon his Authority he unavoidably forceth them to sin against God who so Judge them unlawful yet through some Fear or out of some Temptation of want or the like will adventure to do them Now no Soul can Justifie it self before God in Commanding another to do what he knows would be sin to him unless it would also be sin in him not to Command or force him And for others who dare Act he forceth them to suffer in which Case because their Consciences so Judging of the things they should sin in doing of them they must suffer to avoid sinning which we are sure is in one sence at least to suffer for Righteousness sake and for what they Judge to use Dr. Ashton's phrase the Exercise of the True Religion and all Sober Persons will so judge in the first sence and whether it be so or no The great day of the Lord must Evidence Both which certainly are Rocks which all Superiours ought to avoid and all Wise Masters and Masters Mates in the great Ships of Kingdoms and Common-wealths will avoid though some less advised Boat-swains passionate Chaplains or ignorant Mariners in those Ships may clamour to take the Advantage of the Wind of Passion and Revenge which blows they think in these Cases fair for the Advantage of their private Lucre but must certainly drive them either upon this Seylla or that Charibdis Every considerate Superiour will Judge the price of Souls purchased with the Blood of him who was the Son of God at another rate Indeed if the Superiour judgeth the things which he Commandeth in their own Nature necessary and what it is the Will of God antecedaneous to his Command that all Men should do whether indeed they be so or no. He is also tyed to the Peace of his own Conscience he is Gods Vice-gerent he must Command and inforce them and the doing of what is plain to him to be the great Creators Will in his place must be attended before the danger of any Creatures Souls and this alone where the Superiours Conscience is fixed in an Error necessarily causeth a Persecution Sect. 17. This appeareth to us so clear both from Scripture and the Concurrent Judgment of all Protestant Divines for a Man 's not Acting contrary to the Opinion of his own Conscience that we cannot be so Charitable but we must think that those Divines who indeed are Protestants and are for the upholding these impositions and against any Indulgence to those that dissent because of them and are Authors to Magistrates to inforce the things by Penalties are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Condemned by their own Consciences For they cannot but know that the Dissenters thus Opining must sin should they do the things and if they Suffer they must Suffer that they might avoid sinning And for the Interpretation of that What it is for a Superiour not contrained in his own Conscience from the express revealed Will of God to make his Inferiours Suffer because they will not do what they cannot do without running the hazard of their Souls by wilful sinning We shall onely say Let the Interpretation be to them that hate our King and to the Enemies of all English Nobility or Gentry Sect. 18. To Conclude then this we Judge enough to demonstrate the exceeding Reasonableness and great Religion of a Gracious Liberty to which His most Sacred Majesty hath Declared his Willingness and the Perfecting of which hath once and again been under the Deliberation of the High and Honourable Assembly of Parliament as to those whose Suffering by it is obviated because they cannot do what they Charitably believe their Superiours would not have willed them to do had they not Judged them in themselves Lawful But yet themselves will not say are necessary otherwise than as they are pleaded to be so made by their Command but they who are their Inferiours do bonâ fide and ex animo Judge them Unlawful and that from Arguments which they will not call necessary indubitable and demonstrative for they confess themselves not Infallible but which appear to them very highly probable such as they cannot Answer nor find Answered by others so as to give them any Satisfaction FINIS