Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	scripture_n	sense_n	true_a	4,624	5	5.7921	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85393	A fresh discovery of the high-Presbyterian spirit. Or The quenching of the second beacon fired. Declaring I. The un-Christian dealings of the authors of a pamphlet, entituled, A second beacon fired, &c. In presenting unto the Lord Protector and Parlament, a falsified passage out of one of Mr John Goodwins books, as containing, either blasphemie, or error, or both. II. The evil of their petition for subjecting the libertie of the press to the arbitrariness and will of a few men. III. The Christian equity, that satisfaction be given to the person so notoriously and publickly wronged. Together with the responsatory epistle of the said beacon firers, to the said Mr Goodwin, fraught with further revilings, falsifications, scurrilous language, &c. insteed of a Christian acknowledgment of their errour. Upon which epistle some animadversions are made, / by John Goodwin, a servant of God in the Gospel of his dear Son. Also two letters written some years since, the one by the said John Goodwin to Mr. J. Caryl; the other, by Mr Caryl in answer hereunto; both relating to the passage above hinted.	Goodwin, John, 1594?-1665.; Caryl, Joseph, 1602-1673.	1655 (1655)	Wing G1167; Thomason E821_18; ESTC R202307	68,987	94

preferment over the Presse who by the opportunity of their standing on this ground shall be in a good capacity to gratifie their friends and benefactors in their way But in this I shall spare you For a cloze I shall make this reasonable and Christian request unto you that in case you be fellow-fufferers with me and have not been privy or consenting to the framing or publishing of that unworthy Pamphlet intituled A Second Beacon fired c. you will publickly and in print wash your hands from the guilt hereof and declare unto the world that you had neither right hand nor left either in the inditing or venting of that Pamphlet Or if your consciences be not at liberty to accommodate you in this for by somewhat I have heard since I began this Epistle to you I am little lesse then all thoughts made that you are the true and not the personated Beacon-firers your selves that then you will with your own hands quench your Beacon on fire first by acknowledging publickly and in Print 1. That you have falsly accused me either of Blasphemy or of Errour and this unto his Highnesse the Lord Protector the Parliament the Nation and indeed to the whole world 2. That you have given unadvised councel to speak no worse of it for the oppressing the Christian and just liberties of the Commonwealth of England about printing by subjecting the whole Nation I mean as many in it as shall at any time intend or be desirous to publish any thing Presse wise unto the wills and pleasures of a few particular men 3. By delivering or presenting Copies of what you shall Print or cause to be printed upon both these accounts to all the same persons as well Parliament men as others or to as many of them as are yet living in or near the City to whom you not long since delivered Copies of that unhappy Pamphlet stiled A Second Beacon-fired If you shall with your own hands thus quench the Beacon which you have rashly and unchristianly fired I shall rest satisfied Otherwise you will compell me to do it after my weak manner for you by publishing the contents of these Papers which I have sent unto you I shall wait for your Christian Answer till the latter end of the next week The God of all Grace give you Wisdome and a sound understanding in the Gospel of his dear Son that you may be capable of knowing things that differ to your own comfort and peace Your very loving Friend in the Faith of Jesus John Goodwin From my Study in Swan Alley in Colemanstreet London Nov. 9. 1654. The Book-sellers Letter to Mr J. Goodwin ENDORSED To the Learned Mr John Goodwin at his House in Swan-Alley Together with the said Mr J. Goodwin's Animadversions thereon according to the respective Sections of it Book-sellers or Beacon-firers §. I. SIR OVr weaknesse shall be as readily acknowledged by us as it is scornfully derided by you a but God who doth righteously conceal himself from lofty and crafty Sophisters b doth graciously reveal himself to Weaklings and Babes c We own that Book which you say was written by a son of Belial d because thore was one little word SVCH e mitted in transcribing a passage out of your Redempt Redeemed We cannot but admire this righteous providence f For you accuse us of falsification as Joseph's Mistresse accused him of wantonnesse whereof he was innocent and she was guilty g Mr. Goodwins Animadversion I. a Your weaknesse may be as readily acknowledged by you as it is scornfully derided by me and yet never be acknowledged by you at all yea as far as by the Contents of your Letter can be reasonably judged you are too far hardned in a conceit of your strength ever to acknowledge your weakness For your charge here is but an unchristian calumniating of my Christian intentions towards you in remembring you privately of your weaknesses nor do my words import any scornfull deriding either of them or of your persons for them Your Prophet and Amanuensis the Compiler of your Letter hath drawn you into a sinfull snare in the very beginning as he hath done unto twenty more in the sequel by occasioning you to subscribe such an insinuation of untruth b The word Sophister in the canting dialect of high Presbytery commonly signifies a person who levies such Arguments whether from the Scriptures or otherwise against any of their Tenents which their Prophets cannot tell how to answer In this sence of the word the Libertines Cyrenians Alexandrians c. might have termed Stephen a Sophister because they were not able to resist the wisdome and spirit by which he spake Act. 6. 9. 10. In like manner the Jews at Damascus might have called Paul a Sophister because he confounded them {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} argumentatively proving or inforcing by argument that this Jesus is very Christ Act. 9. 22. The Prophets of the said school of high Presbytery have attempted to impose a like exotique sence upon several other words of frequent use amongst us They make the word Orthodox to signifie a man of their judgement whether rotten or sound the word Heteredox or erroneous a person differing in judgement from them though in the truth the word Blasphemy that which contradicts any of their notions or conceits about the Nature or Attributes of God this complex the Reformed Religion with them signifies that Systeme or body of Doctrine which they teach the word Arminian or Pelagian signifies such a person who holds that Christ tasted death for every man in the Scripture sence and again who holdeth in the Scripture sence that God would have all men to be saved and none to perish By Socinian they frequently understand a person that will not bruit it in matters of Religion by proud they sometimes mean him that will not stoop to the high Presbyterian yoke or to their judgement in other things My meaning is not that they intend or desire that the words or terms specified should in their writings or teachings be taken in the sences respectively mentioned but that truth cannot ordinarily be made of what they write or teach when any of the said words are used by them unlesse they be taken and understood in the said respective significations And by their usage of these and several other words upon the terms expressed they have wretchedly abused the simple and over-credulous world But I confesse that if I be learned as you please to stile me in the superscripcion of your Letter and yet a Sophister in the true and known signification of the word my condemnation is the greater and equal to a rich mans who is a common theef But it may be that was your complement and this your heart c Those Babes unto whom God graciously revealeth himself are not persons full of malice and revenge or who will justifie themselves in scandalous and publick misdemeanors nor who are alwaies learning and never able to come to the

Lord Protector and the Parliament all this while wherein they have established no such Committee allowed men a liberty to blaspheme Jesus Christ or to corrupt his Gospel Therefore doubtlesse you do not understand your selves Nor can any man make sence and truth of your words with the least pertinency to your cause Nor do I well understand what you mean by Blaspheming Jesus Christ and yet lesse what you mean by corrupting his Gospel You and your Prophets have odd notions and conceits about Blasphemy Scarce any truth can be held forth which thwarteth or falleth foul on any of your tenents or Doctrines but this Antipathy by you is turned into Blasphemy And whether by corrupting the Gospel you mean the mingling of any errour though never so light or small with gospel truths or whether such a corrupting it which wholly destroies the nature and blessing intended unto men by it or whether a corrupting it to such or such a degree between these two extreams who can so much as steadily conjecture The truth is that I know very few who are greater corrupters of the Gospel then your greatest Champions When you say that all things are not free in a free Common-wealth do you speak to any purpose Or doth it follow from hence so much as by a dream of a consequence that therefore the Press ought not to be free because all things are not free Behold the natural face of your arguing in a glasse All things are not lawfull for men to do therefore eating when they are an hungry or drinking when they are thirsty are not lawfull b The three thirteenths you here point me unto I have already read at least thrice over respectively and have drawn conclusions from them to my full satisfaction against yours And if you please to see what conclusions I have drawn from them and what grounds I have laid upon which you also may draw the like I shall direct you to my respective arguings and explications of them The first of your three places you shall find examined by me at large in my treatise intituled Hagiomastix from 34. to the end of 41. Your second in a small discourse written upon that text of Scripture onely intituled a Postscript or Appendix to the former discourse Your third and last in the said discourse from the beginning of 45. to the end of 50. Between these Scriptures taken conjunctim and divisim and between your cause you will find a very cold Communion c Your Answer to my sixt reason is very little and yet to less purpose For 1. What do you mean by The Religion which the State owneth 2. What do you mean by the Christian Religion For this latter first The Religion owned and professed by Anti-Christian States is at least in a sence the Christian Religion Yea they have as much confidence if not more of the truth and soundnesse of their Religion as any Protestant State can have of the Religion owned and professed by them Secondly I would know what you mean by the Religion which the State owneth that so it may be considered not so much whether it be but how and how far and in what sence it may be called the Christian Religion First if by the State you mean either all those onely that have part in the Rule and Government of the Nation or else the great Body it self and Bulk of the Nation who can distinctly and in particular tell what Religion it is that is owned or that ever will be owned by either That Religion or that System of Tenents or confession of Faith which was composed and drawn up by the late Assembly of Divines and others at Westminster is not it seems owned or is not like long to be owned by the State in either acception of the word For the State in the former sence is in Travail with another Religion I mean another Confession or Profession of Faith which when they shall have assented unto and Authorized there is little question but the State in the latter sence will more generally own also If a man should repair to every particular member of the State in the former sence and much more in the latter and desire his sence and judgement distinctly touching his Religion and what he particularly holdeth in such and such points there is little question to be made but that in many things at least he should meet with the exemplification of the Proverb quot capita tot sensus quot homines tot sententiae as many men so many minds Yea in case the respective members of the State in the former sence shall joyntly and unanimously subscribe and Authorize any confession of the Faith which shall be formed either by themselves or by any number of Ministers or others this will amount to no proof that therefore the same Religion especially in all points is owned by them For it is a most true saying that Fides est in sensu non in verbis a mans faith consists in that which he meaneth not in the words which he speaketh And who knows not but the same words may have different interpretations and senses put upon them Therefore in case a State shall publiquely own and Authorize a model of Religion or Confession of Faith that shall be presented unto them I shall be very little the neerer hereby to know of what Religion this State is unless each particular member of this State shall further distinctly and particularly explain his sence touching every Article or head of Doctrine therein The truth is that to a State Religion it may be aptly said Belluae multorum es capitum nam quid sequar aut quem A many-headed Beast thou art for what or who May I with peace and safety for my Guide allow I confess men may be very unhappily and beyond the forecast of their own Genius inspired in the composing and drawing up a Catechism or Confession of Faith But I judg that hardly can either be formed or contrived in such words but that in case I may be allowed my own sence and construction of them I can subscribe them Book-Sellers or Beacon-Firers §. XIIII 7. To the seventh You do but repeat the Blasphemy which you darted against Heaven in your first Argument For we never desired the Parliament to suppress any truth revealed by the Spirit of God in the holy Scriptures but to suppress Blasphemies and Heresies a Mr. John Goodwins Animadversion XIIII a What Gentlemen suppose I had charged you with desiring the Parliament to suppress truths revealed by the spirit c. had this been blasphemy darted against Heaven Are you Heaven or any the Inhabitants thereof I cannot but here tell you that such importune and horrid assumings as these on the one hand and such abominable untruths and slanders one following in the neck of another like the waves of the Sea on the other hand are not so much as the way thither but to a far differing place For I know cause to

he did not remove or take away Errours but sowed them a In the same piece he complains likewise of many professors of Christianity who had Bibles full of errors and falsities and these acknowledged for such by themselves and yet to keep their Books fair without blotting and interlineing would not suffer them to be amended And particularly speaking of the Book of Job he saith that amongst the Latines he means in the Latine Translations of this Book Job until his days lay on the dunghil and was spread all over with worms of errors b Yea nothing is more frequent amongst the best and learndest Expositors of the Protestant party themselves then to take and give knowledge of error after Error as yet retained in the ordinary Copies of the Bible which at first crept in thither partly by the ignorance partly by the negligence of those who were employed to Transcribe them Yea very many of the Expositors I speak of ever and anon take upon them to correct and amend those Translations themselves which notwithstanding they follow otherwise in their Expositions Nor is there any of them that attempt this more frequently then Piscator But surely although you would have me in cool blood to consider your own blood was in an high distemper when you talk of a cursed Art and a black Art in Swan-Alley to undermine the Authority of the Scriptures when we most pretend to defend them But whatsoever there is in Swan-Alley there is such an Art as you speak of cursed and black in Black-Friars and perhaps in the Northern quarters of Pauls Church-yard also the Practitioners whereof like the Pharises of old who defamed the Lord Christ as having a Devil and this most confidently and impudently Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a Devil Joh. 8. 48. when as he was full of the Holy Ghost and acted and spake accordingly so do these men most shamelesly and with outfaceing the most evident truth traduce such persons as underminers of the Authority of the Scriptures and enemies otherwise to the interest of Christian Religion who have been and so continue most zealous and faithful Assertors of the former against all opposers and are devoted heart and soul to the promoting of the latter Concerning that Book which your Epistling Prophet teacheth you to charge with undermining the Authority of the Scriptures one known to be as learned grave and judicious as any English-born at this day and he no Independent neither nor yet of my judgement at least in several points about Redemption with the controversies relating to it gave a far different testimonie of it though not to me nor in my hearing To a friend of his he gave his sence and judgement of the Book in these words or to this effect That it was as good a Book as any was written since the Apostles days This testimony I confess may be as much too wide on the right hand as your malignant imputation is on the left Nor should the story ever have been told or reported by me for fear of being counted a fool for my labour but onely to balance the most importune malignity of those men whose consciences serve them to spit that poyson of Asps mentioned in the face of it Upon occasion of which strange unworthiness the said person expressed himself further to this effect that we are now fallen into an age in which mens consciences will serve them to say any thing My juggle is discovered and my folly detected in such a sence as the Lord Christs blasphemy was discovered by the high Priests rending of his garment Mat. 26. 65. and the Apostle Paul murther detected by the Barbarians when they said of him No doubt this man is a murtherer Act. 28. 4. h. i. It seems by the latter passages in this Section and the mention of Cooks and good chear that your Prophets Animus when he compiled them was in patinis and moreover that amongst you you intend to be at the cost and charge by the help of Cooks and Geese and other good Chear to preserve the Ceremonious frolique and jollity of Christmas so called from sinking in your days But because such of my Books as are sold offend Foxes therefore those that are not sold must do penance and defend Geese But do not you your selves defend your selves with some of them in this very Epistle You do somewhat very like a defending of your selves with some of them Sect. 7. and Sect. 11. and in several other places Whereas you think you reflect great disparagement upon my Books that some of them might have been wast-paper c. 1. I have no demonstrative ground to beleeve that there were not as many Novice Presbiters sold as Busie-Bishops or Blind Guids If there were not it may signifie nothing else but that the Presbyterian party of the world and their money are sooner parted then those that are wiser and theirs Besides it is the Observation of one of your Orthodox men for so I conceive him to be pardon me if I mistake in this that Learning hath gained most by those Books by which the Printers have lost whereas foolish Pamphlets have been most beneficial to the Printers When a French Printer saith he complained that he was utterly undone by Printing a solid serious book of Rablais concerning Physique Rablais to make him recompence made that his jesting scurrilous work which repaired the Printers loss with advantage Of the former part of this Observation he giues three famous Instances The first of Arias Montanus who wasted himself in Printing the Hebrew Bible commonly called the King of Spains Bible The second of Christopher Plantine who by Printing of his curious Interlineary Bible sunk and almost ruined his Estate The third and last of a worthy English Knight he means Sir Henry Savile who set forth the Golden-Mouth'd Father Chrysostome in a silver Print and was a loser by it Therefore that many books are no quicker of sale may as probably argue the ignorance weaknesse and injudiciousnesse of the world as any defectivenesse or want of worth in the Books Whereas you inform me of some Anti-Scripturists who bought up my books about the Scriptures I am very glad to hear it For the work was in special manner calculated for the use and benefit of such persons who are either in whole or in part Such I mean Anti-Scripturists I trust that thorough the blessing of God upon their labours in reading it it hath reclaimed many But I somewhat marvel at your tendernesse here in saying We had almost said against the Scriptures considering how bold and daring you are in twenty places besides to speak aloud and without regret most palpable and grosse untruths Your thought that my works need not be called in is very grave and considerate should you not do well humbly to present it to the Parliament Book-sellers or Beacon-firers §. VI Sir you might have had more honesty and piety then

them with this Majesty carries the print of a false singer in it as was lately said Nor is it any better then a putid of silly cavil not worthy the Genius of a School-Boy of ten or twelve years old to charge me with the grossest Blasphemy because I ascribe unto the University an Autocratorical majesty over Books and opinions in such a sence as I declare and explain in the period immediately following at large Nor would your Committee of Licensers should the Parliament indulge you in your Anti-Christian a request about them which I trust is found among the Absits of all considering men be able to accommodate you in your expectations or desires if they should not invest them with such an Autocratorical Majesty over Books and Opinions as I ascribe to the Doctors of Cambridge Should then the Parliament be guilty either of base flattery or of the grossest Blasphemy in case they should invest them with such a power over Books and Opinions as that which I Rhetorically term an Autocratorical Majesty Or have not I every whit as much ground of hope that there will be found none at least no wise men who will take that power and glory to themselves without which Licensers of the Presse cannot be established to do their work effectually and with authority as you have to hope that the Cambridge Doctors will not take that glory to themselves which I ascribe to them When you insinnuate indeed as good as say right-down that I my self ascribe unto God that Autocratorical Majesty which I ascribe unto men vestratim facitis you do like your selves and not like unto men honestly considerate Do I anywhere ascribe unto God an Autocratorical Majesty over Books and Opinions But he that commits sin I see is the servant of sin e Whereas you wish me a better memory then that which I have I fear you would be better satisfied if it were worse But I shall not burthen you with this jealousie Nay if you be reall and Christian in your wish I most heartily concur with you in it And by way of recompence for your good affections to me most cordially wish you a better understanding which I know will accommodate you as much as a better memory will do me f Your Prophets are they who aspire above the Order of second Causes when they claim a Lordship and Dominion over mens faith and undertake to prescribe what must be taught and beleeved by men And if your notion here be true this probably may be the cause why they are in your affectate Metaphor so Wormeaten in their intellectuals Booksellers or Beacon-firers §. XII 3. To your 3 reason concerning Qualifications the Holy Ghost doth set down such Qualifications both Negatively and Positively as would fit men to oversee a Presse though printing was not invented some hundreds of years after the Canon was perfected 1. Negatively They are not fit to oversee the Presse who are men of corrupt minds destitute of the truth a void of judgement or delivered over to areprobate sence 2. Positively they are fit who hold fast the wholesome form of sound words the mystery of faith and Godlinesse and have their sences exercised to discern both good and evill b Mr. Goodwins Animadversion XII a If men of corrupt minds or destitute of the truth be not fit men to oversee a Presse I doubt you must contract the number of your Committee of Six or else admit of men not fit according to your own rule for the service b Again if they and onely they be fit who hold fast the wholesome form of sound words certain I am that your Committee of Six are not fit for they hold fast an unwholsome form of words and teach many unsound Doctrines which are not according to Godlinesse the unsoundnesse and ill consistency of several of these Doctrines with the interest of Godlinesse I have demonstratively shewed and proved in sundry places of my writings Nor have all the Mercury water that hath been applied nor all the scrapings and scratchings and scrubbings that have been used been able to cleanse or clear those Doctrines from these stains and blots By the way though it be true that the Scripture doth mention such qualifications and characters of men both negative and positive as you speak of in reference to other occasions and imployments yet by what authority or warrant do you make them competent to qualifie for such an Apocryphal office as you call the over-seeing of a Presse Are not you men who abhominate to make use of your own wits reasons or judgements in matters of Religion especially to trust unto them Or can you prove from the Scriptures that your qualifications were ever intended or meant by the Holy Ghost for the designation or characterizing of persons meet to make Oversee-ers of Presses Or is your Office of Presse-over-sight an alien to Religion and irrelative to it Besides what warrant have you but onely from your selves and your own reasons when you undertake to qualifie your Presse-masters with those qualifications from the Scriptures which you expresse to lay aside and leave out others which are delivered there upon the same or like account with those insisted on by you Why do you not require in your Overseers of the Presse that they be as well blamelesse husbands of one wife given to Hospitality not given to wine not greedy of filthy lucre not covetous c. as men who hold fast the wholesome form of sound words which by the way is no Scripture qualification this no where termeth forms wholesome but words or Doctrines onely Notwithstanding this Section of your Letter hath this that it is the calmest of all the 22. Book-sellers or Beacon-firers §. XIII 4. To your 4th all things are not free in a free Common-wealth that Christian Commonwealth must expect to be ruined which allows men a liberty to blaspheme Jesus Christ or corrupt his Gospel a 5. To your 5th be pleased to read the 13th of Deuter. the 13th of Zachary and the 13th to the Romans and draw conclusions from thence for your satisfaction b 6. To your 6th The Religion owned by our State is the Christian Religion c Mr. Goodwins Animadversion XIII a What you mean by a Christian Commonwealth what by this Commonwealths allowing men a liberty to blaspheme Jesus Christ or corrupt his Gospel I professe ingeniously I understand not If by the former you mean a Nation or State wherein Christianity at large is more generally professed that which you speak here of a Christian Commonwealth you might as well have spoken of an Anti-Christian But I pray tell me did you ever know or hear of a Commonwealth which was either Christian or Anti-Christian that did allow men a liberty to blaspheme Jesus Christ or to corrupt his Gospel Or doth it follow that unlesse a Committee of Presse-Masters be established in a Commonwealth this Common-wealth must needs allow men a liberty to blaspheme or corrupt as you say Or have the