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A58493
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Remarks on The life of Mr. Milton, as publish'd by J.T. with a character of the author and his party : in a letter to a member of Parliament.
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R. E.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing R933; ESTC R13741
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33,766
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88
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Gentilis and Servetus differed from one another in pretence at least as Calvin acquaints us in his Theological Tracts Gentilis taking special caâ—…e to clear himself as much as he could from the Suspicion of being a Favourer either of Arius or Servetus yet both of 'em held the Deity to be divided into three Essences We have heard before how Socinus and others differ'd about the Worshiping of Christ to which may be added that though they affect to be thought the great Masters of Reason and the Advocates of it they will not allow Reason to be sufficient in it self to discover that there is a God and yet they reject the Doctrine of the Trinity because they cannot comprehend it in their Reason The ascribing of Infinite Perfections to our Saviour who at the same time they will have to be a meer Creature and Przipcovius calling him God in a proper sense and by Nature and yet saying he was but a meer Man till after his Resurrection are as ridiculous Contradictions as any that are chargeable upon the Popish Doctrine of Transubstantiation George Blandatra differ'd so far from the rest of the Socinians and feigued an Agreement with the Calvinists so artfully that Calvin was much censured by the Reformed in Poland for charging him with Heresie and yet the Italian Church at Geneva complain'd of Blandatra at last for using fraudulent Methods to Poison the Vulgar People with his Opinions and at the same time the more effectually to propagate his Errors pretended a zeal for the Truth and subscrib'd the Confessions of the Calvinists while his intimate Companion was Alciatus who upbraided the Calvinists with Worshiping three Devils meaning the Three Persons which he said were worse than all the Popish Idols Calv. Ep. 257. Then as to our English Socinians they dont adhere to Biddle's Confession and Catechism no more than the Foreign Socinians do to that of Racovia which in the several Editions of it has had divers Important Alterations Socinus wrote a Treatise to prove that it was the Duty of every good Man to separate from the Assemblies of the Polish Protestants as from Persons too Impious to be Communicated with and to join themselves to the more holy Assemblies of those falsly and undeservedly as he said call'd Arrians Yet our English Socinians can Communicate with all sorts and profess they join sincerely in Communion with the Church of England but Independantly on any Faction and that they place not Religion in Worshiping God by themselves as appears by their Books called the Trinitarian Scheme Considered and some Thoughts upon Dr. Stil Vindication c. And at the same time while they pretend to entertain Communion with the Church of England they oppose the very First of her Articles about the Trinity Some of them again profess sincerely to believe that God is truly Omniscient and forseeth all Events how Contingent soever they may be to us as in the Consideration on the Explication of the Trinity p. 32. Others of 'em again think that it is more dishonourable to God to be the Author of all the Sin and Wickedness that ever was or ever will be in the World which they falsly charge as the necessary consequence of his Prescience than to deny his Fore-knowledge as may be seen in The Desence of the Reasonableness of Christianity against Mr. Edwards p. 18. compared with The Considerations on the Explication of the Trinity pag. 32. Biddles Confession p. 21. 22. Argues strenuously for the Personallity of the Holy Ghost but the Brief History of the Unitarians Sect. 1. p. 7. denys it and says he is only call'd so by the same Figure of Speech that describes Charity as a Person Thus it is evident that they cannot agree among themselves tho' like Herod and Pilate they agree in destroying the Foundations of Christianity The last thing I shall take notice of is that their Principles have a direct Tendency to Introduce Atheism or at least Paganism This was observ'd of them of Old by Bisterfield in his Dispute against Crellius De Uno Deo Lib. 1. Sect. 2. Cap. 18. And will be evident if we consider 1. That the Author of Answer to the Lord Bishop of Worcester's Sermon p. 5. Ridicules the Eternity of God thus That to say a Person or Thing was from its self implies this Contradiction That it was before it was and adds I am sorry an Eternal God must be a Contradiction It 's true that herein he Contradicts Socinus Crellius and others in their Institution of the Christian Religion where they say God hath from himself a Divine Empire over us and that his Nature and whatever else is proper to the Supreme God he receiv'd from himself but then we see that ouâ—… â—…glish Socinians are worse than they 〈◊〉 have made further advances towards Atheism for if God be not Eternal and from himself he must be Finite and owe his Being to another which makes him no God at all 2. If in the next place it be observ'd That Crellius Smalcius and Socinus deny God's Immensity Circumscribe his Essence within the Heav'ns deny his Omnipresence the Infinity of his Essence his Prescience and Omniscience as may be seen in Socin Frag. Catech. Tom. 1. p. 685. Smalcius his Answer to Fran. David Tom. 2. p. 735. Socinus his Theological Praelections c. 11. p. 549. which is in effect to Ungod him to give up the Cause to Atheists to overturn all Reveal'd Religion the Divine Authority of the Scriptures and to deny the Spirit of Prophecy in contradiction to common Sense as may be prov'd from these two Instances the 1st is that of the Jews whom we see every day with our Eyes to be a despicable hated Vagabond People according to what our Saviour foretold would befall them the other particulars of which as the Destruction of Jerusalem c. are exactly confirm'd to us by Josephus a Jew and other Historians Enemies to the Christian Name And the 2d is that of the Roman Antichrist the Seat of whose Dominion and the Nature of it was so exactly foretold above 1600 Years ago as it is now obvious to our Senses Then again they pretend to believe a Trinity but cannot agree what it is Ruarus Przipcovius John Biddle and his Followers say there are Three Persons Socinus Sclichtingtius Crellius and the greatest part say there are but Two The Holy Ghost is according to them One of the Three but not a Person nor God nor a Creature They own that is a thing truly Divine and Eternal but yet not God as may be seen in Sclichtingius against Meisner p. 694. And Ostorodius in his Controversie with Tradelius says It is neither God nor a Creature as Graâ—…erus informs us Pol. Sacr. p. 635. Then let any Man judge whether their Scheme be not full of Mysteries and Contradictions can there be any Medium betwixt a Created and an Uncreated Being Can the Holy Ghost be Eternal and Divine and yet not God Can