Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	gospel_n	word_n	3,444	5	4.1556	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67621	The natural fanatick, or, Reason consider'd in its extravagancy in religion and (in some late treatises) usurping the authority of the Church and councils by John Warly ...	Warly, John, d. 1679.	1676 (1676)	Wing W876; ESTC R15139	52,674	234

vain imaginations who scorn'd all ties of Laws and Religion As subjection to Governours is never more effectually recommended by any mere rational argument than that which comes with this consideration of the necessity of bring obedient to Magistrates because humane nature is not so able to provid for it self in solitude as in Societies So the extravagant Reasoners in Religion are not any way better reduced to obedience to Ecclesiastical Authority than by contemplating the vanity of their own imaginations For that prospect of their own ignorance will make Reason so obsequious and tame that though Ecclesiastical Laws as the Greek Law-giver saies of Laws in general are lookt on as Cobwebs yet they will not think it their interest to break them This consider'd I hope may supplant all censure which might condemn this way of arguing as prejudicial to Religion by rendring arguments which were design'd to fortifie it weakned by too severe an inquisition for this method doth no more violence to Religion than a Chirurgion doth to his Patient whilst he stretches the Sinews in order to set a bone which was out of its place Neither shall I fear that these Papers will be lookt upon as vainly speculative seeing the Dedication directs the Reader to so eminent an Example which alone though the Church was not protected by civil power and truth naked in that sense which the factious Adversary would have it is able to win practice and engage all Christian obedience which is desired and design'd so far as these Papers can promote it by My L d. Your Lordships most humble and obedient Servant John Warly An Advertisement SO often as the word Reasoner occurrs in this Tract it is to be understood of the Author of the Treatise of Humane Reason or of any other who is conducted by his principles and so often as the word Reconciler is us'd it is to be understood of the Author of the considerations of the Reconcileableness of Reason and Religion other Authors antient and Modern are either plainly cited or so discoverable by their matter that nothing more need be said by way of Explanation ERRATA REad as streight an Union page 16. for who read which p. 34. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 35. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 65. dele they 73. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 83. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 85 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 90. r. terminated p. 92. r. p. 104 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 108 r. Minucius Felix 112. dele that 115. r. as much p. 116. dele least r. or p. 118. r. Erroneous p. 139. dele not and r. are not p. 153. r. scales p. 162. for which r. when 170 r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 173. for that r. what 178. fornor r. now p. 180. Dele not 184. REASON in some late Treatises being set up Umpire in Religion challenging Appeals to be made to it as the highest Tribunal and being asserted with priviledges which are exalted above Pelagian invention or what any other Heresie could project And one Article of the Church of England being threatned by some positions which directly oppose it by saying That a man may be sav'd by the Law or Sect which he professeth so that he diligently frame his life according to that Law and the light of nature I thought my self obliged to examine the foundation on which this natural infallibility was built which is supported by these positions which say That faith is an assent given to Religious matters the understanding and will being no otherwise assisted than they are in drawing other Conclusions And that Reason requires no other assistance in the act of faith than the proposal of that which is to be believed which the Reasoner calls the near approach of the object being brought nigher by Revelation The former account of faith is imperfect and attended with many false conclusions which are deductions from it amongst many let this be considered That no man according to that description of faith can be an Infidel who hath readholy Scripture or its contents or matter proposed to his understanding And as it is an impossibility that Euclid should not render the intelligent Reader a Mathematician so it is equally impossible that the contents of holy Scriptures proposed to the Infidel should not make him a Convert This is necessarily inferred from the former position and shall be more illustrated by a supposition suppose therefore an Ethnic made so much a Proselite to the true Religion by reading holy Scriptures that he gives assent to matters of Religion no further than upon Examination he shall find them agreeable or congenial to his Reason or to speak another Phrase Reason can confess them to be true and let him be suppos'd to speak like the Samaritan-Woman in another case saying I do not believe the Creation of the World the incarnation of Christ and other matters of faith because of the evidence of the Divine Records but because I presume my belief will be ratifi'd and approv'd by my reason which is naturally bound to confess them when they are propos'd it will appear upon experiment that he is a wavering and weak Convert not far remov'd from infidelity This supposition is agreeable to the Reasoners account of faith and that term of art which expresseth it calling under standing and will the Elements of which faith is compounded In examining which I intend not to be so critical as he in interpretation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will equally admit of such critical exercise but rather take it in the common acceptation That out of which bodies are made and into which is their last Return or Resolution which being accommodated to the Reasoners sense will conclude that Religious knowledge was no otherwise in mans mind than Idaea's or some dormantknowledg to be excited by proposal of holy Scriptures or as letters to make words to be fram'd by the Divine Paedagogy the Law and Gospel too being in his sense but as a School-master not according to the Apostles meaning to prompt the understanding This is so false that it may be confuted by History which sayes many perused the mosaical-Mosaical-Scripture and some past critical judgments on them Longinus and others with the Greek Law-givers though some of their knowledg seems borrowed from them who must be in the Catalogue of Infidels And later ages give examples of this kind many men who must be acknowledged to be Masters of reason being not able to reduce themselves to belief according to the former method which wanting the Divine Testimony to byass their wills and to command assent left them in desperate Scepticism for though the contents of Religion are such as may be presum'd sufficient to command or at least win assent yet the medium which begets this perswasion is taken of holy Scriptures which saith Reason in some sense must be laid aside which shall be more proved in its proper place whilst it resigns it self to a more insallible conduct Let it be

state is like one intoxicated whose we kness multiplies a single object wherefore it was necessary that Israel even to improvement of Knowledg as well as Religion should know there was but one God Let this also be consider'd that in Pagan Divinity we find no such distinguishing worship or character given to Jupiter to shew that he was God Are the other Deities but Deputies as some learned men say or so reputed for they were all ador'd now in Scripture there is not the least favour or disspensation granted to adore any Being but God no not so much as his Representators Prophets and Apostles working wonders This is enough to justifie the expression of God by a plural number in Scripture though not in Pagan writings besides the Grammatical help of a singular number with a plural without false Syntax or false sense The Heathens did apprehend God in such a manner as a plural number best suited with their thoughts seeing the Universe was their God as appeared by their Deifi'd Pan of whom there is this account 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orpheus in Hymn This may be further proved by a Testimony of lactantius lib. 9. De false Religione who when he brings in Trismegist speaking most Divinely concerning the Unity of the Godhead saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he translates or paraphrases on it Ignitur Deo nomen non est nec opus est proprio vocabulo nisi cum discrimen exigit multitudo Whence it is plain that the multitude sometimes apprehended God as the general power reigning in the World though at other times they were more accurate in asking his name But not to check inventions or methods by which men frame the notion of one God let the Metaphysician think of infinite power wisdom justice c. And according to art or rule put them together he will make such an Aggregate or Sum of perfections which man cannot naturally know or by what one name to call it beside that of infinite now how properly Infinity in the natural mans sense can be said to be one hath been said before it being like Eternity of which we can speak so little properly that we can rather say what it is not than what it is Add to this that the Reasoner who frames a notion of a God by summing up perfections and knowing not how one Attribute poises another how power wisdom justice and mercy bound one another he seems as much a Polytheist as he who own'd power in Jupiter and wisdom in Apollo c. And can no more be said to be a Theist than one whose education hath advanced him no further than the Alphabet can be said to be a Philologer or he who only knows Letters an Interpreter of words before they have taken their places to form them This instance if it seem not so apposite yet I hope pardonable seeing Christ himself disdains not to be called the Word which without his own exposition would but imperfectly express his nature and Amelius a Platonist admir'd by Eusebius lib. 11. de prepar Evang. cap. 19. And call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Because he so much approved the compellation Suppose a Novice who hath been only in the Porch of a Geometrical School and learnt all kind of Lines in their several varieties of which the most accurat draught must consist shall he be thought worthy of the name of a Painter who knows no proportions of the single lines this instance I presume is so apposite that it will need no comment on it and it giving me occasion of a digression from the Metaphysical method of framing a notion of one God to one more suited to all apprehension by similitude as Vives Grotius Morney and others who have illustrated the Unity of the Godhead by Analogy viz. The Heavens one Sun one Primum mobile and other instances of Monarchy as it appears in the World How little impression such instances are like to make on some who in their Philosophical certainty conclude that there is no such primum mobile in the same Authors sense neither dare affirm there are no more lights of like nature and influences may be guest at by the reception and entertainment which later Hypotheses have found So he who endeavours to demonstrate the Unity and Trinity in the Godhead by the three powers which are in one Soul may expect his argument should be as little prevalent for that method which obligeth a Peripatetick to the belief of a Trinity may perswade the Platonick to believe a Quaternion for he as zealously contends for that as accommodated to its several degrees of knowledg as the other was for his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or three powers in the rational Soul and surely the Platonicks did admire the number 4. else it had not been so solemnly used in their Oaths Let it be urged that God may be known by similitude although there be but imperfect and small footsteps of his Being to be traced by the Reasoner yet according to proportion by one Attribute there may be discovery of all as the proverbiall speech of an Herculean draught from a foot and if I may stretch the letter of the Proverb a little finger If such objections appear to the Readers thoughts I only desire him to re-collect or look back to the former part of the Disquisitions in which it was never granted that man by reasoning can have any such knowledg of any Attribute so as it shall be a Rule to him infallibly to judg of the nature of God without Revelation and the last appeals made to it I am not ignorant that the primitive Fathers to instance in one Minutius Foelix made use of similitude to convince the World of the Unity of the Godhead Dux unus Apibus Dux unus in Gregibus yet this was intended rather for illustration than strict proof neither is there violence done to the Divine example whilst the Reasoner disowns similitudes in case that demonstration is justly expected for although God is pleased to discover himself by similitudes he expects not that his Being should be proved by that method The Reconciler who supposes the Being of God and Providence Page 4. of his Preface cautions us to beware of similitudes whilst we would have a true conception of him page 12. Attributes which we cannot possibly know except he tell us and then says we should not conclude or guess about them by Analogies to things of a nature infinitely distant from his or by maxims fram'd according to the nature of inferiour being Let not this argument which seem to have its foundation in practice prejudice the Reasoner for I shall no further make use of it than reason must allow and the authority cited shall have another ratification of its strength by an appeal to the Reasoner who helps his thoughts by art and impartial and unbyass'd industry who by the conduct of his own reason will scarce find out that narrow path which will lead him to the