much that in some Matters of very great Moment the Scripture is a very sufficient Rule and Ground of Certainty as to all Points between Us and Infidels And if it be so as to these Points then why not as well as to other Points consequent upon these If Christ be the Eternal Son of God in opposition to Heathen Deities and we can know him by Scripture to be so then we may as well know him to be the Eternal Son of God in opposition to Arians and Socinians If against the Heathens we can prove from Scripture that the Word was made Flesh Why will not this as well hold against Nestorians and Eutychians And so the Scripture becomes a very sufficient Rule to distinguish Light and Darkness in such Points among Christians too For is it ever the less fit to be a Rule because both Parties own it But they differ about the Sense of it and therefore Controversies can never be ended by it If Church-History deceive us not the greatest Controversies were ended by it before General Councils were heard of and more than have been since Many of those we read of in the First Ages were quite laid asleep as Theodoret observes but since Church-Authority interposed in the most Reasonable manner some Differences have been perpetuated as appears by the Nestorian and Eutychian Controversies I do not blame the Authority of Councils proceeding as they then did by the Rule of Scriptures but the Event shewed that the most probable Means are sometimes very ineffectual for ending Controversies And those which Men think will most effectually Suppress Heresies do often give a New Life and Spirit to them So vain are the Imaginations of Men about putting an End to Controversies till they do come to a Certainty about the true Sense of Scripture It is possible to stop Mens Mouths by Force and Power but nothing brings Men to a true Satisfaction but inward Conviction as to the true Sense of Scripture and there can be no rational Certainty as to these Points without it If Controversies be not ended let us not blame the Wisdom of Providence for God doth not always appoint the Means most effectual in our Judgment but such as are most suitable to his own Design And we see Reason enough to blame the Folly and weakness the Prejudice and Partiality the Wilfulness and Obstinacy of Mankind and till Human Nature be brought to a better Temper we may despair of seeing any End of Controversies Men may Dispute and for all that I know will do to the Worlds End about the Method to put an End to Disputes For the Controversies about Certainty and Fatality have been always the Matters of Debate among disputing Men under several Names and Hypotheses and are like so to be to the general Conflagration IV. He saith Scripture is not our distinguishing Rule of Faith but our own particular Judgments about Scripture for that which distinguishes my Rule from that of the most abominable Heresies can only be my own Judgment upon the Letter of Scripture and wriggle which way I will there it will and must end at last I wish Mr. S. had been a little better conversant in the old Disputes about Certainty for it would have saved me the trouble of answering some impertinent Objections such as this before us For they would have been thought mean Logicians who could not put a difference between the Rule of Judgment and the Judgment which a Man made according to the Rule Suppose the Question were about Sense whether that were a certain Rule or not to judge by and Epicurus should affirm it and say he so firmly believed it that he judged the Sun to be no bigger than he seemed to his Senses would not he have been thought ridiculous who should have said this Fancy of Epicurus was his Rule The Rule he went by was in it self certain but he made a wrong Judgment upon it but that was not his Rule So it is here We declare the Scripture to be our only certain and standing Rule whereby we are to judge in Matters of Faith and we understand it as well as we can and form our Judgments by it but doth it hence follow that our Judgment is our Rule We may be deceived in our Judgments but our Rule is Infallible we may differ in our Judgments but our Rule is one and the same And how is it possible for those who differ in Judgment to have the same Rule if our Rule and our Judgments be the same For then their Rules must be as different as their Judgments I know not what Modern Logick Mr. S. learnt but I am sure he learnt not this way of Reasoning from the Antient Philosophers who discoursed about the Criterion after another manner than our great pretender to Logick doth V. He objects That our People do not make Scripture the Rule of their Faith not one in a Million relying upon it and therefore this pretence of mine he saith books like a meer Jest and he cannot perswade himself that I am in earnest while I advance such a Paradox What doth J. S. mean to call one of the Articles of our Church a Jest and a Paradox For the Words of our Sixth Article are Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to Salvation so that whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any Man that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation Doth J. S. now take this for a Paradox among us I assure him I love not to make Jests about Scripture nor matters of Faith and Salvation But wherein doth this Jest lie Why forsooth I make the People to make Scripture their Rule and not one in a Million thinks of relying on it Have they then any other Rule of Faith which they rely upon What is it I pray Is it the Churches Infallibility No. Is it Pius the Fourth's Creed No truly while they are Children they believe Tradition Now I think J. S. hath hit it Tradition is indeed a Rule of Faith for Children who are very apt simply to believe their Fathers and Teachers But suppose they come to years of Discretion what Rule of Faith have they then Have they a Judgment of Discretion then No this is another Jest. For he supposes all our People to be a dull sort of Animals that understand nothing of Scripture or Faith themselves I wonder then that they make no more Converts among them but trust their Parson for all For Boves arabant Asinae pascebantur juxta eos therefore the People have no Judgment of Discretion I hope J. S. knows whose Jest or rather Argument that was Whatever he insinuates as to our People I have Reason to believe far better of them and that all those who mind their Salvation do seriously read and consider the Holy Scriptures as the Rule of their Faith. But if
suspect any Fraud or Design in the Alterations that appear in the Manuscript Copies And as to Translations that have been made among us the People who are not able to examin them by the Originals have no Reason to suspect them as to any Matter of Faith. Not meerly from the Skill and Integrity of the Persons and the Care that hath been taken but because it was so much the Concernment of some Men to have lessen'd the Credit of our Translations as much as was possible and they have not been able to produce any thing that might shake the Faith of a considering Man. If it be said after all This is but Human Faith and not Divine I answer IV. We must be careful to distinguish the Certainty of Human and Divine Faith in this Matter We do not pretend that we have an Absolute Divine Certainty of things that are only capable of Human Certainty and we do not say that we have only Human Certainty of things capable of Divine Certainty If the Question be put concerning the Objects of Divine Faith then we do answer That we have a Divine Certainty of them from those things which are the proper Evidence of Divine Revelation We believe the Doctrine of Christ with a Divine Faith because it was confirmed by Miracles and Prophecies We believe the New Testament to be written by the Holy Spirit because the Promise of the Spirit was fulfilled upon them and especially in a thing of so great Concernment to the whole Christian Church But if the Question be asked only concerning a Matter of Fact as whether the Books that bear such Names were written by the Persons whose Names they bear then I can have no greater Certainty than belongs to a Matter of Fact but then it is so circumstantiated that I have a greater and more absolute Certainty as to this then any other Matter of Fact which wants the Proofs that this hath And if as to Books and Copies and Translations we have as high a Certainty as the thing is capable of it is madness to expect and require more For where there is but a Human Testimony there cannot be the Certainty of Divine Faith which must not only have a Divine Object but must rest on a Divine Testimony but where the Testimony is Human the Certainty must be such as relates to the highest of that kind But still such a Faith may have Absolute Certainty of its kind and although in regard of its Testimony it be Human Faith yet in regard both of its Object its inward Cause and its Effects it may be truly called Divine IX The last Objection is concerning the Number of Canonical Books Pray satisfie us saith Mr. S. about this exact Number of Books and how many will just serve turn One would think by his Objections J. S. were preparing Matter for the Critical History of the New Testament he seems so concerned to lessen the Authority of it But I shall Answer the Objections he offers 1. There may have been Books lost that were written by Persons divinely inspir'd and we have no unanimous Consent of the Christian Church that there is none lost and those Books might contain Matters different from or to be superadded to the Canon we have now and without this we can have no Certainty that the Books we have now contained all the Divine Revelations I Answer I. If we have the unanimous Consent of the Christian Church that we have the Canon of the New Testament entire then we have their Consent that there is no Book written by Divine Inspiration lost And this appears by the Contest in the IV. Century about the just Number of the Canonical Books The Churches then differ'd about some Books not then Universally receiv'd as the Apocalypse in some and the Epistle to the Hebrews in others Which shews that the Churches were then so solicitous to preserve any Books that appear'd to be written by Persons Inspir'd that although these did then want Universal Consent yet they were still kept and read and dispers'd till upon further Examination they came to be Universally read It is not therefore in the least probable they should suffer any Apostolical Writings to be lost II. This is to charge the Christian Church with so gross a Neglect as overthrows the force of all his Arguments for Tradition For we must suppose an Apostolical Writing sent to some Church by Direction of the Holy Spirit and yet that Church be so notoriously careless as to lose a Book containing in it many Points of Faith now I appeal to any one of common Sense whether he could trust their Word for Matters of Faith who could be so negligent as to lose a great many Points of Faith at once And the more such a Book were dispersed the Argument is still stronger against Tradition Besides this shews the great Insufficiency of Oral Tradition if these Points of Faith are lost because such a Book was lost wherein they were contained If Tradition had been so effectual a Means of Conveying Matters of Faith it should have appear'd in such a Case viz. in preserving such Matters of Faith though the Books were lost But we find nothing like this so much as pretended Although it were much easier pretended than proved III. This is to suppose the Providence of God not to be immediately concerned in preserving Books written by Divine Inspiration Mr. S. doth really suppose that Books written by Divine Inspiration may have been lost or at least that we cannot prove that they are not But we think it a considerable Proof that they could not because the Divine Providence doth so immediately concern it self in preserving that which tends so much to the Good of his Church If a Hair doth not fall from our Heads nor a Sparrow fall on the Ground without the Providence of God as our Saviour affirms is it not very unreasonable to suppose that a Divine Book written for the Benefit of the Christian Church should be wholly lost Especially considering the extraordinary Care the first Christians took in Times of the greatest Persecutions to preserve the Scriptures and no force or violence could extort them out of their hands On Mr. S's Supposition it was no hard Matter for a Book of Scripture to be lost viz. if the several Books had been committed to the Custody of some Men in Trust for the whole Church but if we consider the things as they really were it will appear hardly possible For the Books were not kept up at first in a few hands but dispersed abroad in multitudes of Copies and received with mighty Veneration both on the Account of the Authors of them and the Matters contained in them They were read both in Publick and in Private they heard them in their Assemblies and they made them their constant Imployment at home they were their Rule of Life as well as of Faith. And how is it possible to suppose any Book so received so
by the Confession of Parties what thinks he of those of the Church of Rome who have charged his Doctrine about Infallible Certainty with downright Heresie and Impiety and that it leads to Atheism and Infidelity and overthrows the Christian Faith This we are told is the sense of all the Learned and Orthodox Men of your Church Let the Reader judge what J. S. hath gotten by the Confession of Parties I hope now we shall come to the State of the Question for he charges me with perverting it The First Question he saith at the Conference was Whether Protestants are absolutely Certain that they hold now the same Tenets in Faith and all that our Saviour taught to his Apostles And my Answer he saith was They are By his favour my Answer was not in those words but that we are absolutely certain that we now hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles And for a certain Reason I desire my own Words may express my Mind for I do not find Oral Tradition Infallible and where Words are varied the Sense may be so too But he observes that I trick it off again as he calls it I suppose it is Gamesters Language from the Point of Absolute Certainty of Faith to Absolute Certainty of the Rule of Faith viz. the Scripture but our Saviour and Protestants believe more than that the Book so called is Scripture Is Certainty of this more and Certainty of this Book all one Here is then an enquiry after one thing plainly turned off to another It seems Mr. G. is quite gone for a Gamester for he discerned no Tricking in this matter nor can I. It is very true we do believe More than that the Book so called is Scripture for we believe All the Matters of Faith contained in that Book And what then If by his More he means Articles of Faith not contained in Scripture then I tell him plainly we believe no More And therefore when Mr. G. put his next Question as he thought very pertinently By what Certain Rule do you hold it My Answer was By the Divine Revelation contained in the Writings of the New Testament Whereby I excluded his More if it be not contained in Scripture But if by More he means our Assent to the Points of Faith contained in Scripture I shall give a full Answer to it afterwards Then he asked By what Certain Rule do you know that the New Testament which we now have does contain all the Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles And if he puts such Questions concerning the Rule What Tricking was it in me to give a direct Answer to them How did I turn off the Enquiry from one thing to another when I only Answered the Questions he proposed This is not playing Mr. G 's Cards but condemning him for playing unskilfully and desiring to begin a new Game for Mr. G. had a bad hand and managed it very ill But what would J. S. have done The thing to be made manifest by the Conference was the Absolute Certainty of Protestant Faith. And so it was for Protestant Faith is to believe all that is contained in Scripture and no more Mr. G. did indeed ask some Questions about your Certainty of your Rule and I gave him direct Answers Where is the Tricking in all this But I wisely cut off the Course of the Questions before they had question'd away the Certainty of Faith. So far otherwise that I let them alone till they plainly run away from the business of Certainty to another Question and then Mr. T. cut them off by declaring himself satisfied and asking How they could prove the Church of Rome to be Infallible But now we are to see how much better the Cards might have been plaid And now look ye Gentlemen the Man of Skill begins the Game After the Certainty of Scripture from Tradition was admitted there was no Refusing to admit that Tradition causes Certainty and makes Faith as certain as Scripture See the difference of these two Gamesters at Tradition But what if I should yield him that I will not refuse to give my Assent to any Point of Faith which comes down to us from the Apostles Times with as large and as firm a Tradition as the Scripture Then saith he it would have proved something difficult to satisfie even a willing Man that the Faith is certain which is opposed to a Faith come down by Tradition Something difficult Nay very much so without doubt But this is fairly to suppose that you have as Vniversal a Tradition for your Tridentine Faith as we have for the Scripture but this I utterly deny and I hope in another Treatise to shew I have not done it without Reason Let the Matter of Tradition itself as a Rule of Faith be one of these Points If there were a Constant Vniversal Tradition in the Christian Church from the Apostolical Times that there were Matters of Faith necessary to Salvation not contained in Scripture I grant that it would be difficult to prove it to be a Matter of Faith that Scripture alone is our Rule of Faith. But that is the mighty Advantage of our Cause that we have both Scripture and Tradition for us and that no Catholick Tradition can be produced against us in any one Point of the Additional Creed of Pius IV. which is the Design I have undertaken of which I shall suddenly publish the First Part and if God gives me Life and Health I hope to go through the Rest. Well but in the mean time Absolute Certainty of Scripture was not the Point of the Conference Can J. S. tell better than the Managers His meaning is it ought not to have been Nor is it the Point of Concern This is strange Not the Point of Concern to those that own it to be the Word of God and the only Rule of Faith It is of Infinite Concern to us if it be not to you I pity you for it Besides that it is agreed on all hands Men are saved by Believing and Practising what Christ taught not barely by believing Scripture is Scripture This is no New Speculation But what follows from it Therefore we ought to believe Christ's Doctrine contained in Scripture and obey his Commands and do I give the least Intimation against this But the Question was about our Rule of Faith and that I still think is the Scripture and whatever is contained therein is to be believed on that Account But Salvation is the thing that imports us in these Disputes and 't were well if nothing else were minded by Disputers And so think I too I desire no more to end our Controversies than to make Salvation our End and the Scripture our Rule But how can Salvation be the thing that imports us in these Disputes if Men cannot with Reason hold any thing true unless they can produce the Intrinsecal Grounds which prove it to be so Doth Mr. S. in earnest think
that none are saved but Metaphysical Speculators that perch upon the specifick Nature of Things and dig into the Intrinsecal Grounds of Truth If this be his Opinion How few can be saved But if Salvation be the End the Means must be suitable to the Capacity of Mankind and I do not think the Intrinsecal Grounds of Truth are so But aftey all he saith that I stifle any further talk of the Certainty of Protestent Faith. How can that be when I own no Protestant Faith but what is contained in Scripture or may be deduced from it according to the Sixth Article of our Church I am not conscious to myself of any Art in the matter which he charges me with and he saith I avoid what cannot be performed What is that To make out that Protestants are absolutely certain that they now hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles If all that Doctrine be contained in Scripture and they hold the Scripture by Grounds of Absolute Certainty then Protestants must be certain that they hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles Afterwards Mr. S. starts something that comes nearer to the business which is that Certainty of Faith and Certainty of Scripture are two things For those who have as much Certainty of Scripture as we may have not only an Vncertain but a Wrong Faith and therefore I am concerned to shew not only that Protestants have Certainty of their Rule but of the Faith which they pretend to have from that Rule That which I am now upon is to settle the true State of the Controversie about the Certainty of Faith. In the Conference my first Answer was that We are absolutely Certain that we now hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles And when the Question was asked By what Certain Rule do we hold it I answer'd By the Divine Revelation contained in the Writings of the New Testament So that the Certainty of Scripture was that which I was obliged to answer to Now comes J. S. and he finds fault with Mr. G's management because he asked Questions about the Certainty of the Rule whereas he ought to have gone another Way to work So that now Mr. G. is given up and a New Controversie is begun upon other Grounds and the Words which I used with Respect to the Rule are applied to particular Doctrines He saith The Certainty of Scripture was not the Point for which the Conference was How comes he to know better than Mr. G. unless he directed the Point and Mr. G. mistook and lost it in the Management But I am now bound to manifest that Protestants have Absolute Certainty not only of the Scripture as the Rule but of the Faith they have from that Rule or else to own that I cannot It seems Mr. G's good Nature betray'd him when he asked Questions about the Rule of Faith and so the main Point was lost Yet methinks it was not meer good Nature in Mr. G. For when we are asked about the Grounds and Certainty of our Faith how is it possible we should answer more pertinently than to assign the Rule of our Faith And we declare it to be the Scripture by which we judge what we are to believe and what not And therefore if any ask us of the Matter of our Faith we must answer It is whatever God hath revealed in the Scripture which is our Rule If they ask us How we come to know these Books to be written by such Persons we say It is by the Vniversal Tradition of the Christian Churches If they ask us Why we believe the Doctrine contained in those Books then our Answer is From the Divine Testimonies which make us certain that it came from God. And thus we answer both to that which is called the Material and Formal Object of Faith and if we are absolutely Certain of these we must be so of our Faith. If we ask a Jew about the Certainty of his Faith he saith he is Certain of it because all his Faith is contained in the Books of Moses and he is well assured they were written by Divine Inspiration If we ask a Mahometan of his Faith his Answer is That his Faith is contained in the Alcoran and by proving that he proves the Certainty of his Faith and if that be disproved the Certainty of it is overthrown Those who resolve their Faith into a Written Rule must go thither when Questions are asked them about the Certainty of their Faith. For if I believe every thing in it and nothing but what is in it there lies my Faith and the Certainty of it depends upon the Certainty of my Rule But I must shew the Certainty of the Faith of Protestants as it is pretended to be taken from the Rule Not certainly when the Question is asked about the entire Object of our Faith or when we are to shew how we hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles for the word All makes it necessary for us to Assign our Rule wherein that All is contained If he ask us of the Certainty of any particular Point of our Faith then we are to make it out that this is contained in our Rule and our Certainty is according to the Evidence we are able to produce for it For the Case is not the same as to particular Points of Faith with that of the General Grounds of the Certainty of Faith. A Jew firmly believes all that is contained in the Books of Moses and with the highest Degree of Certainty but whether the Resurrection can be proved certainly from those Books is a particular Point and he may have Absolute Certainty of all contained in those Books though he may not have it as to such a Particular Point And when we come to Particular Points their Case is not only different from the General Rule of Faith but such Points are very different both among themselves and as to the Certainty of them For 1 There are some Points of Faith which were necessary to be Revealed because they were necessary to be Believed in order to our Salvation by Jesus Christ. For as Mr. S. saith Salvation is the thing of greatest Importance and therefore on Supposition that it is to be by Jesus Christ the Nature of the thing requires that we have a firm and established Faith in him And of these Points of Faith the Church hath given a Summary in the Creeds which were proposed to those who were to be Baptized and not only St. Augustin but Aquinas saith these were taken out of Scripture and the Certainty of them to us doth depend not upon the Authority of the Church proposing them but the Evidence of Scripture for them which is very much confirmed to us by the Concurrent Testimony of the Christian Church in all Ages from the Apostles times i. e. as to the main Articles for that there
of Faith And hath he found out the Churches Authority too without the Churches Help and yet doth he want some necessary Points of Faith Then it follows that after the submitting to the Churches Authority there are still necessary Points of Faith which may be wanting and then an absolute Submission is not all that is required of one that hath found out the Churches Authority But my whole Argument there proceeds upon a Supposition viz. that if one may without the Churches Help find out the Churches Authority in Scripture then why not all necessary Points of Faith So that it goes upon a Parity of Reason and I see no Answer at all given or pretended but only he endeavours to stop my Mouth with a handful of Dirt. Thus I have dispatched this long Argument about the Judgment of Discretion And I shall now sum up my Answer in these particulars I. Every Christian as such is bound to enquire after the true Way to Salvation and hath a Capacity of Judging concerning it II. Every Christian proceeding according to the best Rules of judging hath Reason to receive the Scripture as the Rule of his Faith. III. The Scripture is so plain in all Necessaries and God hath promised such Assistance to them that sincerely seek it that none who do so shall want the knowledge of such things as are necessary to their Salvation IV. When any thing is offer'd as necessary to be believed in order to Salvation every Christian hath a Right and Liberty of Judging whether it can be proved by the Scripture to be so necessary or not V. We do not allow to particular Persons the same Faculty of Judging in doubtful Points of Controversie which we do as to Matters that immediately concern their Salvation VI. No pretence of Infallibility or Authority can take away that Right of Judging which was allowed them by the Apostles whose Authority was Infallible VII This Right of Judging doth not exclude the Churches due Authority as to Matters of Faith and Controversies of Religion as it is declared Art. 20. of our Church but all that we now plead for is not any Authority as to others but a Right of Judging as to themselves in Matters that concern their Salvation VIII The Certainty of Faith as to them depends upon two Things 1. The clearness of Scripture about them which implies the Certainty of Reason 2. The Promise of Divine Assistance which makes their Faith Divine both as to its Principle its Ground and its Effect But I have not yet ended his Objections about our Rule of Faith For VI. He objects That we cannot necessarily resolve our Faith into the Writings of the Apostles only What is the meaning that we cannot necessarily resolve it I think we must Resolve it into a Written Rule till we see another proved Did the Apostles when they went to convert the World go with Books in their Hands or Words in their Mouths Doubtless with Words in their Mouths Or were those Words a jot less Sacred when they came from their Mouths than when they put them in a Book Not one jot Or lastly doth any Command from Christ appear to write the Book of Scripture or any Revelation before hand that it was to be a Rule of Faith to the future Church No such matter and the Accidental Occasions of its writing at first and its Acceptation afterwards bar any such pretences On the other side their grand Commission was not scribite but only praedicate Evangelium I have given an Account so lately of the Reasons and Occasions of writing the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament that I need only here to give these general Answers I. Whatsoever was done as to the Writing the Books of the New Testament was done by the immediate Direction and Appointment of the Holy Ghost II. The Reason given by the Writers of the Gospels themselves is that Matters of Faith might be delivered with the greatest Certainty III. Those Writings were not intended only for the Benefit of the Church then being but for future Ages and thence the Books of Scripture were so received and esteemed in the Primitive Churches IV. The most Antient Writers of the Christian Church assure us that the Apostles wrote the same Doctrine they taught and for that purpose that they might be a Pillar and Foundation of Faith. V. The most certain way we now have to know what Doctrine the Apostles taught is by their Writings since they taught and wrote the same Doctrine and we are certain we have the Doctrine they wrote but we have no other Way to be certain what Doctrine they taught VII He objects That the Question being put concerning the New Testament's containing all Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles I gave no direct Answer but shuffled it off to Matters necessary to Salvation The setting out of this is the Subject of some pages To which I give an easie Answer The Question concerning the New Testament containing all the Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles may be taken in two Senses 1. As relating to the entire Object of Faith and so the Answer was most direct and plain to the second Question That the Rule whereby we hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles is by the Divine Revelations contained in the Writings of the New Testament For since we believe all that is there and nothing but what is there that must contain the Entire Object of our Faith. And the word All must relate to that 2. As to all those things which particular Persons are bound to believe as contained therein and so the Question being put about the Vniversal Testimony to assure us i. e. all particular Christians That the New Testament contained all the Divine Revelations of Christ and his Apostles My Answer was direct and apposite to this Sense viz. that the Universal Testimony of the Christian Church as to the Book of Scripture and the Doctrine therein contained is a sufficient Ground to make us certain i. e. all particular Persons of all Matters necessary to our Salvation So that the Substance of my Answer lies in these three things I. That all our Faith is contained in Scripture and thereby we hold all the Doctrine taught by Christ and his Apostles II. That although all particular Persons may not reach to the entire Object of Faith contained in Scripture yet they had thereby a Certainty as to all Matters necessary to their Salvation III. That the Ground of Certainty as to both these was the Universal Testimony of the Christian Church concerning the Books of Scripture and the Doctrine contained therein The Words of my Letter are We are to consider that the Scripture being our sole and entire Rule of Faith all Matters necessary to Salvation must be supposed to be contained therein and therefore the same Testimony which delivers the Scripture to us doth deliver all the necessary Articles as contained therein
what Sense I took it and could I answer him more directly than to tell him I took it in the largest Sense as it was made up of all the Parts and not in such a Sense as they do who give the Denomination of the Whole to a Part But by this I do not seclude all Hereticks I do not take upon me to judge of all the Bodies of Christians in the World whether they be justly charged with Heresie or not but I take them only as Christians and from their Universal Consent I prove the Certainty of the Canon of Scripture Hereby I profess a Brotherhood with Excrementitious Outcasts I know not what Brotherhood lies in making use of their Testimony but I had rather do it than with unsufferable Pride and Folly call so many Bodies of Christians for whom Christ died Excrementitious Outcasts But although he seems to own that their Testimony doth strengthen the Evidence for the Canon of the New Testament yet he calls it back again and for extraordinary Reasons 1. They may have corrupted the Letter of Scripture although they may allow of the Books Let us then take their Testimony for the Books and examine the Letter afterwards 2. This Vniversal Testimony must reach to each Chapter and Verse but we must have Assurance not only of each Verse but of each significant Word in the Verse How hardly are some Men satisfied about the Certainty of Scripture Are there not different Copies in all Parts to examin and compare if there be cause of Mistrust and if there be none What Prejudice is this to our Certainty At this rate Men may argue against every thing and that there can be no Certainty of any Writing unless the Person stood by and saw the Author write and even then he might question his Senses too These Objections do indeed lead to an Incurable Scepticism in the Church of Rome 3. The Judges suspect the Justness of the Cause if known Knights of the Post are called in to corroborate the Evidence What a desperate Cause is that which forces Men to fling such Dirt in the Face of so many Christian Churches And that without the least Evidence or Proof against them How come all the Greek Abyssine Coptick Oriental Christians to be compared to Knights of the Post because they afford a Concurrent Testimony with us about the Canon of the New Testament They may be the honestest and best Part of Christendom for any thing J. S. knows and what Justice can there be in such Uncharitable Censures It is not enough for you to say They are all accounted Hereticks or Schismaticks by you for we that know how unjust and unreasonable your Censures are so near home have no Cause to regard them at such a distance Thus I have Answered all the Objections I have met with in J. S. against our Rule of Faith. I now come to the last part of my Task which is to examin the Arguments produced to prove the Infallibility of Oral and Practical Tradition The main Argument is thus set down by Mr. S. All Traditionary Christians believe the same to day which they did yesterday and so up to the time of our Blessed Saviour and if they follow this Rule they can never err in Faith and therefore are Infallible And they could not innovate in Faith unless they did forget what they held the day before or out of malice after it All the Parts of this Argument Mr. S. endeavours to shew to be Self-evident but in truth it is a Self-evident Fallacy as I shall shew at large But before I particularly lay it open I must consider what he saith against the Method I used in the Conference for answering it I then thought and do still that the clearest Answer to an Argument which proves a thing impossible was to bring an undeniable Instance that such a thing really was which was proved impossible to be And to this purpose I produced the Instance of the Greek Church which professed to follow Tradition and yet they could not deny to have erred This Mr. S. saith Is giving no Answer at all for this is no Answer to his Argument but producing a new Argument against him And he magisterially tells me That it is my turn to answer and therefore I am confined to Concedo Nego or Distinguo as the Propositions are either true false or ambiguous or I may deny the Inference if I find more terms in the Conclusion than in the Premisses But these are my Bounds which I must not exceed But with submission to these Logicians I answer That where an Argument is designed to prove a thing impossible which is contrary to Sense and Experience the producing an evident Instance is the plainest and shortest way of Answering as well as in an Induction which is allowed to be disproved by a plain Instance As in the Case of Zeno's Argument against Motion Diogenes his Moving was a far more effectual Answer than if he had stood a great while with his Concedo Nego and Distinguo J. S. confesses That the vanity of Zeno 's Argument was not ill ridiculed by Diogenes his moving before him And why might not I then expose the vanity of this Demonstration by the Instance of the Greek Church unless some fault be found in the Instance He brings the Argument and I an Instance against it what are People the wiser and which shall they be for the Argument or the Instance Zeno brought his Argument and Diogenes his Instance were not By-standers the wiser when it so apparently proved the foppery of the Argument Doth J. S. think the vanity of it was not enough exposed by that means But he saith This is excepting against the Conclusion when there lies none against the Premisses No such Matter for it shews there is a Fallacy in the Premisses It is however but an Argument ad hominem call it what you will so it doth my business to shew the vanity of the Demonstration This way doth but sham an Adversary And truly that is a great matter if they be such as P.G. They are of no use for discovery of Truth As much as laying open Sophistry helps to the discovery of Truth which is not a little when we deal with Sophistical Disputers But we come to the Instance How doth he after all clear this Instance of the Greek Church Doth he deny that they hold to Tradition No. Doth he deny that they have erred notwithstanding All that he saith is That P. G. was no ways obliged not to deny that the Greek Church had erred in Points of Faith. No then he must grant that the Roman Church hath erred for they contradict each other Let him take his choice one doth my business as well as the other and more effectually destroys the pretence of Infallibility in the Roman Church But I say they did not err What is my saying to the business in hand Besides there are
up with all its due formalities of Major Minor and Conclusion Must I be forced to tell him as the Painters did by ill Pictures This is a Horse and this a Wolf This is an Argument and this an Answer It is a hard Case if a Man cannot understand Reason unless like Scaliger's Jests against Cardan there be something in the Margin to direct where they are to be found All Men of Sense understand the force of an Argument though it be not dressed up after the way of the Schools and to tye Men up to those Methods of Reasoning in our Age in Books of Controversie is like Trammelling a Horse when he is to go a Journey it might do well to teach him to pace but it would be ridiculous when he is upon Service Upon this he runs out into a very Eloquent piece of Trifling making sad Moans and Complaints with many Exaggerations and great variety of Phrases As if I offer'd no kind of Certainty to Mens Souls but only that I bid those that doubt prove the contrary and so brings notable parallels of Peters having twenty pounds in his Purse because Paul cannot prove he hath it not or his having the more Title to an Estate because an Adversary may have the ill luck to be Nonsuited I know not how Mr. G. will take these things for they do not seem much to his Advantage If I were as he I would never trust him to play my Cards more for what means this insinuation of Nonsuiting c But Mr. S. is plainly mistaken for the force of it doth not depend upon his bare Nonsuiting but upon the Goodness of the Deeds and the Strength of the Evidence which himself relied upon and appear much stronger for us than for him It is not Pauls not proving but Peters producing the twenty pounds and laying it before him which is the Argument to prove he hath it Suppose he did not produce it in Specie but shewed good Security for it such as Paul could not deny had he not reason to believe he was owner of it There being so little colour in the Reasoning Part I pass over the Declamatory as fitter for the School at the Savoy than a Writer of Controversies But here comes in among his Flowers a very notable Point of Divinity Truth is therefore Truth because it is built on Intrinsecal Grounds which prove it to be such and not on private Mens Abilities or their saying this or that This latter is undoubtedly true and is universally believed since the School of Pythagoras was broken up Wherefore till those Grounds be produced it cannot be with Reason held Truth This is great and becoming the Scientifical I. S. But will he hold to this Will he own it to the Cardinals of the Inquisition I find a certain Gentleman with the very fame Letters J. S. writing two whole Sections wherein he denies that ever he medled with Intrinsic Mediums or that it was possible that he should But P. T. was then living and followed him close at Rome now that fright is over out come Intrinsic Grounds again and no Man can hold any thing as Truth till those Grounds be produced Suppose a Man assents to the Doctrine of Faith as True and Divine on meerly Extrinsecal Grounds or Motives of Credibility hath this Man true Faith or not Is he bound to hold and profess it to be true though he doth not see the Intrinsecal Grounds which prove Truth to be Truth Doth that Man sin who professes to believe a thing to be true though he doth not see the Intrinsic Grounds for it What kind of sin is it Mortal or Venial How far may a Man safely deny that which he cannot with Reason hold to be true How many thousand Martyrs Lives might this Doctrine have saved in the Primitive Times How might the poor Innocent Christians have pleaded for themselves That they could see no Intrinsic Grounds which made Truth to be Truth and they understood from a deep Divine that till those Grounds be produced it cannot with Reason be held Truth and if it cannot with Reason be held it may surely in our very hard Circumstances with Reason be denied or at least concealed and dissembled There seems to be more danger in professing the Faith without it than in not owning it being not able to produce Intrinsic Grounds for it And these are far above our reach and capacity and if it cannot with Reason be held Truth without it it seems very unreasonable to require us to dye for it What saith J. S. to the Case of the Jews who heard our Saviours Doctrine and saw his Miracles did they sin in their Infidelity or not It will be very hard for him prove that they saw Intrinsic Grounds for what they were required to believe and yet our Saviour charges them with very great Sin in their Infidelity I hope Mr. S. will not answer me about these things as he did some in the Conference at Paris with Tace Tace interrumpis confundis me This very Instance of the Jews was then brought against him by Dr. G. and he said That only those Jews sinned who had clear Evidence that Christs Miracles were true and Supernatural But A. B. of D. then urged That if they had such Evidence they could not have inward Vnbelief nor call in Question the Truth or Divinity of Christ and his Miracles To which J. S. replied Tace nolo tibi Respondere I hope he is better provided of an Answer now and that he will shew wherein the sin of the Jews lay who did not profess Christ's Doctrine to be true because they could not produce any Intrinsic Grounds for the Truth of it But to return to our first Controversie About the Certainty of Faith to be proved by us He tells me that I know well enough that to prove Protestants have no Absolute Certainty of their Faith is no hard Task even for a weak Man I know he saith that any Man may find it confessed to his hands by Protestants and in the Margin he cites Dr. Tillotsons Rule of Faith pag. 117 118. I wonder at Mr. S's Courage that he dares mention that Book to which he hath so many years been indebted for an Answer and what he hath offer'd towards it in Faith Vindicated and Reason against Raillery he hath again retracted as to the main Principles of them for fear of a Censure at Rome and which he advanced out of opposition to those of that Book which he quotes here So that J. S. by disowning those Principles of his hath justified Dr. T. and hath overthrown the Absolute Certainty of his own Faith. For I have already proved from his own words That he owns Moral Evidence to be absolutely sufficient for Faith and yet this is the very thing from whence he proves that Protestants have confessed that they have no Absolute Certainty of their Faith. But if this Matter were to be decided