shew'd it in his late Undertaking and that I would not have made opposition to him in any other Points but These which are the Foundation Basis and Ground-work of Christianity and the very Life and Soul of our Religion and therefore none is to be permitted to treat them irreverently and scoffingly as he and his Associates have lately done But I entertain some hope that this Unsavoury Tang will wear off in time And thus I have finished both my Replies to the Gentlemen's Writings against me and I have wholly confined my self to these and not ventured to guess at their Persons or make any Reflections of that kind for that is a thing which I abhor Nay though the Vindicator by his reflecting upon my Degree p. 24. and 36. and Calling p. 36 and before p. 26 and before that p. 9. had given me occasion to enquire into his Quality and Character yet I purposely forbore to meddle with any such Considerations And so as to the Examinator I could easily have traced his Person and Station and offer'd some Remarks upon either but I made it not my business to observe Who they were that wrote but what they had written And it was necessary to do this latter with some Salt and Keenness that the levity of their Arguments might be the better exposed and that I might in a lawful and innocent way retaliate that Liberty which they had taken And indeed the Socinian Gentlemen must shew themselves very Disingenuous which I will not presume of them if they be dissatisfied with me for my Freedom of discourse when in all their Writings they profess to use it And it is plain that they make use of it for who sees not that they have been very sharp upon some of the most Eminent and Venerable Persons of our Church They have handled the late Archbishop and some of his Reverend Brethren who in their Writings shewed their dislike of the Socinian doctrines with no excess of Respect And they represent them and the whole Clergy as Mercenary Timerous and False hearted They would perswade the world that the doctrine of the Trinity is defended by them merely because they are bribed or forced to it And others of their Writers have been very severe upon the Trinitarians in their late Prints And therefore with good reason some of These have been free with them again especially that Worthy Person who undertook the Defence of the Archbishop and the Bishop of Worcester and hath with great Vivacity and Sharpness reflected on the Socinian Errors and with as great Solidity and Composedness establish'd the contrary Truths and hath not spared that Socinian Author whom he grapples with no not in the least I suppose none will grudg me that Freedom which this Gentleman and others have taken in their Replies to the Racovian Writers especially seeing I have not as I conceive made ill use of it But of that let the Reader judg FINIS BOOKS written by the Reverend Mr. John Edwards AN Enquiry into several Remakable Texts of the Old and New Testament which contain some Difficulty in them with a Probable Resolution of them in two Vol. 8 o. A Discourse concerning the Authority Stile and Perfection of the Books of the Old and New Testament with a Continued Illustration of several Difficult Texts throughout the whole Work In three Vol. 8 o. Some Thoughts concerning the several Causes and Occasions of Atheism especially in the Present Age with some brief Reflections on Socinianism and on a Late Book entituled The Reasonableness of Christianity as deliver'd in the Scriptures 8 o. A Demonstration of the Existence and Providence of God from the Contemplation of the visible Structure of the Greater and the Lesser World In two Parts The first shewing the Excellent Contrivance of the Heavens Earth Sea c. The second the wonderful Formation of the Body of Man Socinianism Vnmask'd A Discourse shewing the Unreasonableness of a Late Writer's Opinion concerning the Necessity of only One Article of Christian Faith and of his other Assertions in his Late Book Entituled The Reasonableness of Christianity as deliver'd in the Scriptures and in his Vindication of it with a brief Reply to another Professed Socinian Writer All sold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lyon and John Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-yard * The Exceptions of Mr. E. against the Reasonableness of Christianity c. examined * Mishn. Tract Avoth c. 5. * De Uno Deo Patre l. ◠c. 1. †The Exceptions of Mr. E. c. examined * Mat. 28. 19. Iohn 10. 30. * Mat. 28. 19. Iohn 10. 30. * The Exceptions c. examined * Diatr de Symbol †De Trib. Symb. * Azoar 1. * Azoar 67. †From the Arabick verb islam credidit whence the Mahometan Religion is call'd Islamisinus * Alcor Azoar 11. †De Trin. l. 1. * Socin de Cognit Dei Ostorod Instit. cap. 3 4. Epifeop Apol. Remonstr * Praelect cap. 5. * De Uno Deo Patre Sect. 1. cap. 1. * The Exceptions of Mr. E. against the Reasonableness of Christianity examin'd * Cont. Meisner de Trin. †Socin cont Wiek cap. 5. * Cont. Meisner de Trin. * Luke 1. 35. †John 10. 36. ‖ Acts 13. 32 33. ** John 3. 16. Rom. 5. 8. 2 Cor. 11. 31. * The Trinitarian Scheme of Religion page 21. * Reasonableness of Christianity p. 303. * Vindic p. 20. * W. Pen's Sandy Foundation p. 12. †Sandy Foundat ibid. * Considerations on the Explications of the doctrine of the Trinity
impertinent and ridiculous that is It was not in the place he meaning me would have it in p. 5. He should have said it is not in the place where every one might reasonably have look'd for it it was not in the place where his matter necessarily oblig'd him to insert it so that he was both faithless to his Subject and false to the True Cause in brief it was not in that place where if he had not been a Pupil of Socinus it would certainly have been found for no man but such a one did ever designedly undertake the Enumeration of those Benefits which we are partakers of by our Lord 's Coming and yet omit at the same time his Redeeming and Purchasing us by his Blood He pretends indeed p. 5. that in an other place of his book he mentions Christ's restoring all man kind from the state of death and restoring them to life and his laying down his life for an other as our Saviour professes he did These few words this Vindicator hath pick'd up in his book since he wrote it This is all thro' his whole Treatise that he hath dropt concerning that Advantage of Christ's Incarnation which I was speaking of and they are general terms too and such as every Racovian will subscribe to for they are not backward to own that Christ some way or other but not That before specified restored us to life and they cannot gainsay the express words of Christ concerning his laying down his life for his sheep Iohn 10. 15. but it is well known that notwithstanding this they deny the Satisfaction of Christ and his purchasing life and salvation by vertue of his Meritorious Passion and Death There is not any thing that sounds like this in that part of his Discourse where he peculiarly made it his employment and task to let the Reader know what Advantages we reap by our Saviours assuming our humane nature But he deridingly cries out What will become of me that I have not mention'd SATISFACTION p. 6. I will tell you Sir seeing you would know what will become of you you will ever hereafter be reckon'd by all understanding men an Egregious Whiffler or in plainterms a Notorious Dissembler For the case stands thus and I doubt not but the Reader will perfectly agree with me in it you believe Christ's Satisfaction or you do not if you believe there is such a thing and this was one of the Advantages we have by Christ's Coming then you were false and treacherous in omitting it if you believe it not you are as false and hypocritical in vouching your self to be no Socinian seeing this is one known Badg of a person of that Character Let him take which of these ways he will he forfeits his Truth and Integrity Was it not enough to make use of the Chief Socinian Arguments and to expound Texts in the Racovian way and to leave out plain and direct places even in the very Gospels that assert the Holy Trinity and moreover to throw off all the Famous Testimonies to this doctrine in the Apostolical Epistles and to balk the Satisfaction of Christ for us even when he was purposely telling the Reader what are the Advantages which flow to us from Christ's Coming Was it not enough I say to do all this which loudly proclaims him a Socinian but must he also hold the world in hand that he is none Can this Writer himself consider this and not blush Who doth not wonder at his Weakness that he should manifestly take the part of these Gentlemen and yet endeavour to perswade us that he is not of their number But who doth not wonder more at his Insincerity that he should act thus Must not this then be his Lasting Character that he hath in his Writings demonstated himself to be not only a Socinian but a False hearted one There are other Passages in his book which I might produce to confirm this Character of him but those may be taken notice of at another time At present let it suffice that I have shew'd that he hath not said one word in his Vindication that clears him of this imputation And as for his book it self of the Reasonableness of Christianity let it suffice to say that though there have been many Treatises concerning that Subject yet none ever could imagine that this which he offers could possibly be brought under that Title He saith some body is good at Conjecturing but if a man had the best faculty in the world that way it were impossible to guess and surmise that such a Title should be prefix'd those Papers which are an Unreasonable and False Representation of Christianity a Lame and Shatter'd Account of the Principles of the Gospel and in short a kind of Libel against the New Testament Finally let it suffice that I have demonstrated to the Reader that this Gentleman acts a Part in what he writes by which he hath gained this that he must never be believed for the future He that is such an Under-hand dealer can't be trusted there is no heed to be given to what he saith Thus I thought my self obliged to set before the Reader the state of the Case between this Gentleman and my self and to give an impartial account of our Sentiments I am satisfied in my Undertaking for whatever my defects in it otherwise be I 'm sure I have aimed aright at the vindicating the Glory of the Great Majesty of heaven and earth I have faithfully asserted our Holy Religion and the Divinity of the Blessed Author and Founder of it I have maintained the Authority and Honour of the Holy Scriptures To the pursuing of which Glorious Designs I shall dedicate my whole life and I hope from what I have written and shall hereafter write the World will bear me witness that I do so CHAP. VIII The Gentleman insinuates that the Author would represent every one as an Atheist that thinks not as he doth This Calumny is baffled He laughs at Orthodoxy and cries down Systems and Creeds This Indifferent Writer blames the Author for his Zeal Is angry with him for penetrating into his Thoughts and Intentions The Party inure themselves to Sophistry and yet make a shew of Simplicity and Plainness The Gentleman 's Uneven Temper observ'd What is meant by a known Writer of the brotherhood He is himself of an other Fraternity Though he pretends to be Grave he Scosss and Ieers He cannot be brought to confess himsef to be a Retainer to Socinianism though he hath given such evident proofs of his being one The Author shuts up all with seasonable Advice to him giving him some account of the Freedom which he hath used towards him in the preceding Discourse HAving now dispatch'd my Main Business and found the Bill against the Criminal not by Innuendo's but by Plain Express Proof I am at leisure to account with him for some Other Passages in his Vindication He insinuates that I would represent every one as an Atheist
Socinianism Unmask'd A DISCOURSE Shewing the Unreasonableness Of a Late Writer's OPINION Concerning the Necessity of only One Article of Christian Faith And of his other Assertions in his late Book Entituled The Reasonableness of Christianity as deliver'd in the Scriptures and in his Vindication of it With a Brief Reply to another professed Socinian Writer By IOHN EDWARDS B. D. and sometime Fellow of S. Iohn's College in Cambridge LONDON Printed for I. Robinson at the Golden Lyon and I. Wyat at the Rose in S. Paul's Church-yard MDCXCVI THE INTRODUCTION THE following Discourse which was finish'd above two months ago but by reason of some Intervening Occurrences found not its way to the Press is design'd against the undertaking of a late Author in his book which bears the Title of the Reasonableness of Christianity c. But the Writer himself is wonderfully pleased with his Lying hid and being No Body I grant there may be Reasons why a man may sometimes conceal his Name and not prefix it to the Book he is Author of But there are some Reasons that are proper and peculiar to this Writer's circumstances for this is perfectly after the Mode of our late English Racovian Writers who constantly appear Nameless and accordingly herein he shews himself to be of the right Racovian breed And another good reason is this which indeed argues something of Modesty he would not set a Christian Name before that book wherein he so grosly abuses Christianity and renounces the greatest part of it I will not wast time and trouble the Reader and my self about guessing who this Writer is Out of Christian good will and charity I am backward to believe that he who is vogued to be the Father of these Extravagant Conceits is really so I will still perswade my self that there is an Error of the Person upon which account I shall be more free than otherwise I should have been But to come to the Book it self there was to express it in the most Learned and Rhetorical Stile of our Author himself a great flutter noise and buz raised about it even while it was yet under the Printers hands There were certain Factors and Emissaries who extravagantly extolled it and it was observ'd this Applause came from the Racovian quarter Those of that way knew before it came out that it was in favour of their Cause whence it was that they so mightily raised the Expectations of those they convers'd with and highly magnified this Piece before the world had seen it And as soon as it was blessed with the sight of it their language ran to an exorbitant heighth as if Christianity had been never known before the time of the compiling of this book All that went before this Author were deluded Creatures and were perfect Strangers to the Articles of the Christian Faith and to Christianity it self Now is risen up an Infallible Teacher all must obsequiously repair to this Great Oracle Now the Socinians have another Champion now they look brisk upon it and the day is their own Now Converts come in apace and the Youth begin to have a Polonian Aspect and in a short time we shall have a Brood of Socinians we shall be stock'd with Young Racovians And to let you into the whole Project this is the short account of it Socinianism was to be erected at this time they can stay no longer and in order to that all hands are to be employed i. e. all that they can get Among others they thought and made choice of a Gentleman who they knew would be extraordinarily useful to them and he it is probable was as forward to be made use of by them and presently accepted of the Office which was assigned him Now thinks he I had best to make use of this opportunity and to set up for a Divine Not only the Illiterate bulk of mankind but their Reverences and Right Reverences to use the words of a Writer of our own Brotherhood shall come to Me to have their understandings inform'd for we have but a sorry unthinking sort of Teachers now a-days whether they be Conformists or otherwise I could never approve of their Systematick genius their doating upon Creeds and Confessions and rendring our Faith cumbersom and burdensom It may be even these men will give ear to what a Thoughtful Musing Man dictates to them though they never think themselves but take all upon trust and swallow Epistles and Gospel together I have attained to such a heighth and perfection of knowledg that I am able to instruct these people after another rate I must tell them which I know they will look very strangely upon that the Apostles when they wrote the Epistles to their Christian Converts designed not to trouble their heads with any Articles or Truths that were necessarily to be believed they only dropt a few Occasional Documents And it may be now and then that One Article which I have propounded to the world may be hook'd in by the by but that is no place to look for any Necessary and Fundamental Truth of Christianity which is absolutely to be believ'd by us This seems to be Novel Doctrine and so indeed it is for I have the honour to be the first famous Inventer of it but I doubt not but in a short time I shall not only propagate this but the Cause to which it is subservient in a wonderful manner To this purpose I will carry it cunningly whilest the Double-Column'd Prints are openly and in a down-right way advancing the Cause I will do as much service under-hand They look directly towards Poland or Transylvania they publickly profess themselves to be Socinus's Followers but I 'll be upon the Reserve and so disguise my self that it shall be very difficult to discover me I will make the world believe that I never heard of such a man as Socinus and if they tell me that I speak his very language as perfectly as if I were a Native of Sienna I 'll face them down that I had it not by fingring of any Socinian Authors but by a kind of Natural Revelation Well this cause must be carried on and I can do it as well as any man by maintaining that there is but One Article of Christian Faith necessarily to be believ'd to make a man a Christian necessarily to be believ'd in order to salvation For if there be but One Point necessary to be believ'd then the doctrines concerning the Trinity concerning the Incarnation and Divinity of Christ concerning his Satisfaction c. are rendred unnecessary as to the making us Christians And this I will shove on under the colour of being serviceable to the bulk of Mankind of being obliging and merciful to the Multitude and Rabble and Poor People though to say the Truth I shew my self to be so far from obliging the Multitude that I do them an infinite deal of Mischief Yet if I compass my End it is enough and I care for no
and may prove a very Substantial Tool and Engine in the great Work they are now about viz. the subverting of our Saviour's Divinity the laying aside the Apostolical Epistles the shutting out the Necessary Matters of Faith contain'd in them and the setting up and idolizing of One Article with defiance of all the rest as any ways Necessary to be believ'd This is the New DIANA that is set up by our Ephesians especially by their late Demetrius Then he hath a fling at my Booksellers p. 5. wherein he follows the steps of the Vindicator p. 37. And in this and other things they jump which discovers their Correspondence though he had but just before said he knew him not And so this gives us an account of the truth of what the Vindicator said that he knew not that the Socinians interpreted such and such Texts after such a manner This is said to impose upon the world and make them believe that he and the Racovians have not been Confederates But he confutes this in another place where he owns that he hath particular knowledg of that Gentleman and knew the circumstances of his Life p. 13. Col. 2. for he could not say of him that he overcame the prejudices of Education unless he had been acquainted with his Education and manner of life And if this is the Gentleman of no ordinary judgment from whom he saith he hath seen a Letter c. p. 17. Here still you see is Juggling and sleight of hand and it is natural and proper it seems to the Party And further to shew their Conferring of Notes together it might be observ'd that both agree to say that what I write was writ in hast and in a fit Examin p. 5. Vindicat. p. 19. And let it be so if they will for thence it will appear that a man need not take up much time to confute either the Vindicator or this Gentleman But what is this that he hath to say of my Booksellers Some great matter without doubt He put me upon making Exceptions against that Treatise that so the sale of his own Tract might be the more promoted p. 5. The Reader may guess from this what is their own Trade they and their Booksellers joyntly club to cheat the poor bulk of mankind That is their practice we may learn from their fastning it upon others Any man may see that the Rationalist went snips with his Pater-Noster-Men they fully understood one another as appears from their not denying him to be the Author of the Reasonableness of Christianity c. all the time it was in the Press but when they saw the Sale of it was not according to their High Expectations they to buoy up the Gentleman's Credit began to disown him to be the Author This was done by the two Shrine-men that before cried aloud for Diana Now then I think it appears at last that these people are extremely beholding to my Booksellers if they did any such thing as they surmise for by this means the sale of their Book was promoted After the Booksellers I must be taken to task by the Reverend Examinator who having flutter'd a little about the formal words which I had said were to be found in the Reasonableness of Christianity which no Creature that hath once read it will once doubt of he fixes on this p. 5. as the Vindicator's true sense yea his own words that all that was to be believed for justification or to make a man a Christian by him that did already believe in and worship one True God maker of heaven and earth was no more than this Single Proposition that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ or the Messias This man makes a Miserable Entrance to his work for though he saith these are the Vindicator's words for thus he brings them in It is true he saith yet no man alive can find them in his book and he knew this himself else he would have set down the page as we find him paging it afterwards What shall we say then to such men as these who will vouch any thing They can be trusted with no book no not with one of their own Tribe for we see here that this Writer's stile is he saith and yet this Express Saying no where occurs in the book he refers to And here by the way we may observe the bold Partiality of this Writer he as well as the Vindicator p. 38. would charge me with not quoting the formal words which are in the Reasonableness of Christianity whilest he is not sensible of his plain misquoting the same Author Yet here we may observe this that it is but a Single Proposition and no more which is to be believ'd to make a man a Christian. This is the sense of the Vindicator's friend thus he understands him and so indeed every one must and yet it may be remembred that the Vindicator himself would evade this and pretends that he means more than a Single Proposition or Article Now next let us see how this Examinator licks over the Vindicator's Article and tells us that the belief of Iesus's being the Messias comprehends and implies several other things p. 3. Here he sweats to bring off his Brother handsomly and with credit by letting us know that his Bold Assertion which runs through his whole book is to be qualified after this manner 1. All synonymous expressions c. and so he sets them down one two and three But I ask him this Question and let the Reader be pleas'd to observe the issue of it Why did not the Gentleman himself make use of these Qualifications when he vented the Proposition and insisted upon it in the bulk of his book yea why did he not mention these Qualifications in his Answer to my Exceptions against his book He knew what he had asserted and he defends as well he can his doing so but you will find in no part of his Vindication that he betakes himself to these Evasions though he hath enough of Others of a different sort How then come you Mr. Examinator to invent these things for him Do you not hereby proclaim to the world that you will put off the Reader with any idle and groundless Conceit of your own When he repeats my words p. 6 7. wherein I took notice of the Gentleman 's willful omitting of plain and obvious passages in the Evangelists out of whose Writings he had drawn a Whole Article which contain the belief of the Holy Trinity he saith not a word to excuse his Omission but by his silence for he would have spoken without doubt if he had had any thing to say in his Friends defence he owns it to be wilful and blameable Only he comes with the Trite and Common Answer of the Party to those Texts but before he enters upon the Second of them viz. Iohn 1. 1. he declares there is no such Text in the whole Bible p. 9. He said rightly that he was bold to say it