Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	true_a	word_n	1,739	5	3.8086	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47125	The arraignment of worldly philosophy, or, The false wisdom its being a great hinderance to the Christian faith, and a great enemy to the true divine wisdom / by George Keith.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1694 (1694)	Wing K143; ESTC R1585	27,083	30

3. as if he had said to them Why should ye look after that which is rather falsly called Philosophy among the Gentiles than that which is true Philosophy or Wisdom for granting that they may have some scraps and Fragments of some true Knowledge yet it being mingled and mixed with many hurtful Errors contrary to the Doctrine and Faith of Christ it is better to shun it than to look after it But if ye desire or love true Wisdom and Knowledg seek after it in Christ learn it of him for in him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledg for who would go and eat scraps of Food mixed with Poyson when they can have a plentiful Table well furnish'd with all variety of wholesome meats without any mixture of any hurtful thing It is convenient in this place to take notice that it is only the hurtful and false Opinions of these called Philosophers that the Apostle Paul doth chiefly caution them against and because what things of Truth or true Knowledg they had or taught either by word of mouth or by their books and writings was so greatly mixed with many hurtful Errors it was more advisable for them that were weak to let the whole alone because not only all things of Truth or true Knowledge that the best of them had were not only to be learned from Christ without them but much more even all that was requisite or conducing to true happiness or satisfaction And as things receive their Name and Denomination from their greater part so the Philosophy of the Gentiles containing for the most part more Errors than Truth might well be termed hurtful and erroneous Yet strictly speaking it was not what they had of Truth or true Knowledg either of things divine or natural that the Apostle cautioned them against as fit to be rejected or disowned for whatever is of Truth to be found in any men is to be owned and acknowledged in its place and a good use and improvement may be made of it to convince them of the Errors that they hold for as all the parts of Truth are well coherent and consisting and stand in most excellent Harmony one with another so Truth and Error are very incoherent and break the Harmony and beautiful consistency of things Therefore by what a man holds of Truth in some small measure he may be convinced of his Errors when it is shewed to him in the clear light of divine illumination or even of the true Reason of Man that what Opinions or Perswasions he judgeth to be true are inconsistent with the Truths he doth hold that therefore they must needs be Errors and false and unsound Notions And after this manner Paul dealt with these called Philosophers at Athens Acts 17. citing a most true and excellent saying out of one of their own Authors That men or mankind is the Offspring of God and from this he took occasion whereby to convince them of their Idolatry and Superstition and such a method did the Ancient Fathers so called and Primitive Teachers in the Church after the Apostles days make use of in disputing against the Philosophers in these times who were commonly the greatest Enemies and Opposers of the Christian Faith by which they did mightily confound them and put them to silence and gain'd upon divers of them so that they received the Christian Faith and Doctrine And seeing it was not any thing of Truth or true knowledg that Paul did caution men against in them called Gentile Philosophers whether they had it by vertue of that common divine illumination given to all mankind or by the use of their true Reason as men in subordination to that more excellent principle jointly working together both which are the good gifts of God and are not to be disregarded but duly esteemed and valued in their several places the one to wit the divine illumination as the Master or Mistress the other as the Servant or Handmaid to wit the true Reason or reasonable understanding of man but it was chiefly or rather indeed only their gross Errors that did oppose and impugn the true Christian Faith and Doctrine that these called Philosophers did hold and which made them so great Enemies to the Christian Faith tha● they neither did receive it themselves while they retain'd these Errors nor suffered their Hearers and Followers that believed them to receive it therefore it was that Paul did so warmly and earnestly warn them to whom he wrote this Epistle against that called Philosophy that was then among the Gentiles with whom they conversed and that he saith beware the Greek Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is see as if he had said take nothing upon trust from men neither believe what they say upon their bare credit and authority but see with the Eyes of your understandings that God hath anointed and opened with his heavenly and divine Eye-salve and with these Eyes compare things with thing and by so doing ye will find that the Gentiles Philosophy teacheth many things contrary to the true Faith of Christ and their wisdom is for the most part contrary to the wisdom which Christ teacheth And that he saith beware or see lest any spoil you or make a prey of you or rob you through philosophy and vain deceit The latter words are explanatory as to say the Philosophy I caution you against it is not the true Philosophy or wisdom but vain deceit and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he calleth it a shew or talk of wisdom but not the true divine wisdom And whereas the Apostle Paul doth not enumerate all nor most of their Errors in this place nor any where else but only mentioneth a few in particular and giveth them a warning against the Philosophy profest at that time among the Gentiles in general as being hurtful and opposeth the wisdom of the world to the wisdom of God as 1 Cor. 1. after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe and so doth James set in opposition the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below with the qualities and properties of each calling that from below earthly sensual and Devilish as indeed the greatest part of the Learning or Philophy of them called Greeks at that time was no other It is not to be understood that the Apostle did reject or condemn the true exercise use and improvement of mens rational faculties either in the invention or cultivation of such useful Arts and Sciences as were really useful for the life of man as the skill of Husbandry Navigation Arithmetick or the knowledg of Numbers and use of them in Accounting Geometry Astronomy and other the like useful Arts which were for most part the result and improvement of Mans Nature Reason and Understanding as a Man however it may be allowed that in some cases and things God did teach some men these or the like things

held some gross errors and had very dark and Obscure Notions and Conceptions about God and Divine Things and spoke not very certainly and clearly of the Felicity of souls of Good Men after Death altho they did generally profess to believe the souls immortality and future rewards and punishments but not one of them believed the Resurrection of the Body as the Scriptures hold it forth for they generally believed the body was the soul's prison or grave and so it would be no Felicity to the soul to be re-united to it not understanding how the body at the Resurrection is so refined and dignified yea glorified that it shall be no Prison nor Grave to the Soul but a most beautiful Palace and Throne such as it was to Adam's Soul before he sinned and which at the Resurrection shall be enriched with greater Beauty and Glory than it then had Also both Plotinus and Porphirius were great Enemies to the Christians and wrote against them which plainly enough shews they were but dark men and had at best at that time but little acquaintance with the divine illumination in their experience notwithstanding their high profession of it as it is with too many at this day who profess the divine Light and talk much more of it than they walk in it for if either Plotinus or Porphirius had been faithful to that divine illumination given to them in common with all mankind it would have led them to befriend and not to oppose the Christians in that time when Christianity did flourish a great deal more in the Purity and true life and power of it than it did in after-ages And thus I have in 20 divers instances discovered the great hurt of the Worldly Philosophy its being a great hinderance to the Christian Faith and a great enemy to the Divine Wisdom and true divine Philosophy by which Worldly Philosophy I understand not only that taught by these called ancient Philosophers but even that lately and at present taught by many called Christians that containeth more hurtful errors than any thing which may happen to be taught by them of truth do profit So that to pass a free and impartial Judgment upon all that called commonly Philosophy both ancient and modern of all the sorts and sects of them called Philosophers it consisteth of a great mixture of error and falshood containing many dangerous and hurtful Opinions but mingled with some true Notions of things that lie so obscure and veiled under the clouds of their many great and dangerous errors that until it be better resined reformed and purged from the great dross filth and poyson of these many hurtful errors wherewithal it doth abound it seemeth to me as well as to many more that are impartial Judges in the case that the study of it in this state of so great mixture is rather hurtful than really profitable And to spend time in turning over the many Volumes of that called Philosophy to find the pure Truth either of Things Natural or Divine is not only to lose time but to expose the mind to the great danger of being leavened and corrupted with gross and hurtful errors tending to overthrow the Christian Faith and to beget in the mind of him that is studious in it a deep prejudice and enmity against the True Divine Philosophy and the Truth as it is in Jesus But the pious endeavour of some late Writers is greatly to be commended who have attempted to correct and reform the vulgar errors in that called Philosophy as the Author of the book called Enchiridion Physicae restitutae and the lately deceased and worthily esteemed Esq Boyl and others And here before I come to a conclusion of my intended matter I think to answer 2 weighty questions and that very briefly The first is What is the chief cause or reason that men generally professing to seek after the True Philosophy Wisdom or Knowledge of Things both Divine and Natural have so greatly miss'd it and instead of the pure Truth have embraced Error for the greatest part Ans The chief cause or reason is their too much relying upon their Humane Understanding and the bare exercise of Human Reason which they generally made the Rule and measuring Line to find out all Truth or True Knowledg in natural things even as Christians so called too generally do the same at this day and I wish they did not so do in the search of Divine Truth also and in the enquiry after the Knowledg of Divine Things Hence it is that some derive the Etymology of the word mens in Latin that signifieth the Mind in English from the Latin word metiri to measure as if the bare mind or humane understanding of man were the measure of all truth at least in the knowledg of natural things And because they did either wholly or for most part rely upon their humane understanding and bare exercise of humane Reason thence it came to pass that the divine gift of God even that divine principle of Light wherewithal Christ the eternal word had enlightned them was neglected and like the unfaithful and slothful servant this divine Talent wherewithal they ought to have occupied and traded they buried in the earth and thus professing themselves wise they became Fools And tho what was to be known of God had been in some measure made manifest in them God having shewed it unto them by the divine illumination of the eternal word yet as Paul declareth when they knew God they glorified him not as God nor were they thankful And because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge but held the Truth in unrighteousness therefore their foolish hearts were darkened and they were given up to vile affections and this was the more general state of them call'd Heathen or Gentile Philosophers yet I will not judg so hardly or uncharitably of them universally because the more sober and humble minded Gentiles did not profess so much but practised more and better and might be and I believe were in a better state and condition towards God And tho I shall be far from concluding that they are perished yet whoever of them are saved with eternal salvation it is not by any works of Righteousness which they had done in their meer Gentile state or by any Obedience to any Law or Light whatsoever without Faith in Christ Jesus but by Faith in Christ Jesus all who ever have been or shall be saved from the beginning of the world to the end of it have and shall obtain eternal Life and Salvation as Paul hath largely declared and proved in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians and in his Epistle to the Ephesians he telleth them That by grace they were saved through faith and not by any works they had performed before faith was given them and wrought in them But how the true Faith of Christ was wrought in them in those days when it was not outwardly preached to them by the Ministry