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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38033	The Socinian creed, or, A brief account of the professed tenents and doctrines of the foreign and English Socinians wherein is shew'd the tendency of them to irreligion and atheism, with proper antidotes against them / by John Edwards ...	Edwards, John, 1637-1716.	1697 (1697)	Wing E212; ESTC R17329	116,799	294

by steps That is the reason they have not in their Writings touch'd upon some of the foresaid Opinions But it is not to be question'd but that they have a good esteem of them and will in time when they have dispatch'd their Main Business betake themselves to the hearty defence of them But fourthly if I were to give a Scheme of the Roman or Popish Religion should I not discharge that Province sufficiently if I gave a true account of it from the Writings of the generality of Divines of that Communion and Profession in other Countries though I had not consulted every individual Papist in England about the Points Yes surely And so it is here Socinianism was not begot in Britain it is of Foreign Breed and therefore the Writings of those Foreigners who were profess'd Socinians are to be consulted and produced when we are to give a True Pourtraiture of Socinianism and accordingly this Method I have taken It was not necessary to ask every Little Pretender or Retainer to it in every corner of this Countrey whether he was exactly of the same Cut with the Outlandish Writers in every thing as if Socinianism were to be measured altogether by their sentiments and perswasions No Socinianism is not to be defined by what one or two Upstart Writers dictate this as Popery is to be judged and estimated according to the Generality of the persons that profess it And that is it which I have been doing I have been giving an estimation of it according to the Greatest Numbers of those who own themselves to be Socinians In this I have dealt fairly and no man can blame me for it Nay fifthly I have decipher'd Socinianism not only according to the judgment of the Most who own and profess it but of the Chiefest and Learnedest I have not only brought upon the Stage the Opinions which are held by the Main Body of them but I have consulted the Choicest Writers on the several subjects There are other Socinian Writers whom I have not mention'd as Goslavius Voidovius Gittichius c. but I chose out those that are renowned among them I could have produced the Assertions which are to be found in Servetus Valentinus Gentilis Bernardinus Ochinus Franciscus Davidis Sommerus Georgius Blandrata who made way for the reception of Socinus's doctrine against the Holy Trinity I could have quoted a later Author one Pr●…ovius who in his Writings hath said something concerning most of the Points before mentioned Yea this Volume of his is order'd by the Party to be adjoyn'd to the Bibliotheca Patrum Polonorum And besides the Reprinting of it in the year 1692 shews that it is Authentick among the Modern Socinians But I have omitted this Polonian Knight for such they tell us he was he being not so well known to the world as the rest that I have named I chose rather to make use of those Names which are of general Repute and Credit among the Unitarians and whose Writings they have a great and universal regard for so great and universal that they take all they say from them If I had always listned to the Majority of Voices to only what the Biggest part of them say though that were sufficient it is likely they would have blamed me but now seeing I have likewise attended to the determination of those who are reckon'd the most Eminent among them I 'm sure they can have nothing to object against me They must not think to shuffle us off by saying the Foreign and English Unitarians are not the same for you see that these latter are included in the former and both of them make up One Body of Men who are known by the name of Socinians and who are all of them profess'd and sworn Opposers of the Sacred Trinity Thus I suppose I have fully answer'd what was Objected and it is manifest that our own Countreymen no less than Foreigners are concern'd in the Character which I have given of these men CHAP. X. The Author concludes with Inferences from the whole viz. 1. Socinianism is a Complication of Old and New Errors Quakers and Muggletonians sprang thence 2. It is strange boldness in the Socinians to pretend to ground their Opinions on Scripture 3. What hath been said gives us a right Idea of these persons It appears they are no Christians but great favourers of Judaism and Turcism especially of the latter 4. We must entertain none of their Principles 5. We are to take notice of the tendency of them to Irreligion and Atheism Socinians and Atheists at this day friendly agree Yet the former have the confidence to charge the Trinitarians with Idolatry and Atheism The Author writes nothing in way of Recrimination but from a sense of the Reality of the things themselves He appeals to the judgment of the Sober and Religious He thinks not himself concern'd to take notice of every scurrilous or trifling Opponent NOw from the whole I will make some brief Remarks and Reflections and so conclude First see how faulty how erroneous how dangerous how pernicious the Theology of the Socinians is It fails not in one or two Points only but in a vast number as I have let you see It is patch'd up of several different Opinions fetch'd from sundry quarters it is a Fardle of mix'd and disagreeing Notions it is a Nest of Heterodoxies a Gallimafrey of Old and New Errors a Medley of Heresies taken from Ebion and Cerint●…us the Sabellians Samosatenians Arians Photinians Macedonians who corrupted the doctrine of the Holy Trinity They joyn with Jews Pagans and Mahometans in disowning and denying this Great Mystery of Religion Other false opinions they have borrow'd from the Pelagians a sort of Antient Hereticks concerning Adam's fall and the Effect of it and man's Natural strength and ability in spiritual matters so that these men deal in Brokers ware Old Opinions trimmed up anew Again They comply with the Papists as I have shew'd in several of their sentiments and perswasions and if there be any Idolatry in the Church of Rome it is certain the Socinians cannot clear themselves of that crime They tread in the steps of the Old Sadducees and of the Epicureans and of several Antient and Modern Libertines about the nature of Spirits of Separate Souls of the Resurrection of humane bodies of the Last Judgment and of Hell They espouse the cause of Anabaptists they follow those Enthusiasts who disallow of the solemnizing of any special Time particularly the Lord's day who disbelieve the benefit and use of the Sacraments and deride the Office and Call of Ministers in the Church It is observable that in their late Pamphlets they with great rudeness and incivility speak of Preaching In one place I remember School-boys and Preachers Rhetorick are joyn'd together by them and in five or six other places they have a fling at the Pulpit which they mention with great disdain It seems the Profess'd Instructors of the people are very much

Particular I propounded to speak of It is true some of them in their Writings have laudably asserted and maintain'd the Being of a God Crellius is the only man among them that hath professedly and designedly undertaken this task and he hath done it learnedly and substantially and I verily believe heartily for I count it an Injury to detract even from an Adversary But there is another sort of men who act under a Disguise and cunningly undermine that Cause which they seem to promote An example of this was Vaninus who was an arrant Atheist and was burnt for being so and yet writ for the Existence of a God declaim'd against the most Pestilent Sect of Atheism as he calls it in his Amphitheatrum Divinae Providentiae Machiavel often hints that there is a God he talks very favourably in behalf of Religion he makes it the very basis and foundation of all Civil Government and the cause of all that Success and Prosperity which attend Commonwealths Where Religion is saith he there good laws and good discipline take place from whence the fortunate and happy Events of things especially in Warlike Expeditions proceed As on the contrary if you take away Religion the Commonwealth must needs sink for where the fear of God is taken away there follows Impiety and from that the ruine of Governments And afterwards he professedly shews that it is necessary for the preservation and flourishing of Kingdoms and Common-wealths that Religion and the Worship of God should be maintain'd And yet hear what the foresaid Crellius saith of this man It appears from many passages in his Writings that notwithstanding what he seems to say sometimes for it was necessary to cover his Atheism in some manner he did not acknowledg any Religion at all And again afterwards thus He plainly enough shews that he really acknowledges that there is no God and notwithstanding this that he hath no excuse to alledg why he doth not acknowledg a God If a Socinian Author and one of the Learnedest and Ablest of them thus censures this Writer then there may be ground to suspect that some of those of the Party who defend the Being of a God are not sincere in doing so but make that a Pretext and Shew to disguise the Badness of their other Opinions and it may be thought that as Machiavel and Socinus were Countrymen so in other respects they are more nearly allied The Racovians will patiently suffer a man to dissent or seem to dissent from them in many things if they know him to be right as to the main They will permit him to use his Pen against some of their Beloved Doctrines and yet at the same time they will own him as theirs There is a plain proof of this in those two Eminent Persons Grotius and Episcopius The former seem'd to be a great Abhorrer of Socinianism as appears from an Oration which he pronounced before the States of Holland where he calls it the Poison of the Church and the Worst of Heresies at the mentioning of which all pious men are horribly afraid And it is well known that he defended the Satisfaction of Christ and yet he is reckon'd and acknowledg'd by the Socinians to be of their Perswasion The latter hath in his Writings seemingly oppos'd some of the Points which Socinus's followers adhere to at least he doth not throughly comply with them and yet our Modern Undertakers for the Cause put him into the Catalogue of their Writers Whence we may infer that the Party have a Licence to Dissemble their Words and Profession do not always correspond with their Apprehensions and consequently when some of them assert a Divine Being we cannot thence conclude their real Belief of it or when they seem to confute the contrary opinion we can't certainly infer that they are in good earnest Wierus some say was too well acquainted with Diabolical Magick though he writes against it and defies it Our Hopkins the Witch-finder some think was vers'd in the Black Art himself and practis'd it I would offer it to the consideration of Wise and Discerning Men whether Socinus hath not gratified the Atheists not to say that he hath shew'd his own inclination to be one when he not only tells us that there is no proof of a God from any innate apprehensions of his being and nature The notion of God saith he is not written in mens hearts there is no inward principle in their breasts whereby they can by the use of Reason come to the knowledg of God But adds likewise that he cannot be proved from without that is from any of the Works of the Creation though these have been always voted by the Wisest Men both Pagans and Christians to be a Sufficient Topick whence we may argue a Deity Yet he stiffly denies it and will not admit of the Argument nay though his denial be a direct opposing of St. Pauls words Rom. 1. 20. The invisible things of God from the creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and godhead The Being and Attributes of God though they are Invisible are understood and as it were seen by the visible things of the Creation This is the plain meaning of the Text and yet he will not by any means acknowledg it but by an unaccountable forcing of the words labours to pervert the Sense of them against all the evidence of Grammar Criticism Reason the Context c. This looks very ill that we have no notice of a Divine Being from our own Natural Reasons nor from the Make and Structure of the World Who but Faustus Socinus would have believ'd this and who but a Well-willer to Atheism would have broach'd it Especially seeing it is so groundless and senseless an Opinion and so easily to be confuted for if there be no inward impressions of the being of God on Mens Minds and no arguing from the outward and visible works of the Creation then it is certain no Pagans could have arrived to the notion of a God which yet we see they have and there is no Man denies it Wherefore one would suspect that the foresaid Gentleman had a great Mind to maintain and divulge a Paradox which he could not but be sensible would be very grateful to the worst sort of Men if Atheists are such But I wave this and will consider the Socinian Opinions concerning God with respect to the first of his Properties and Attributes and after that to the Trinity of Persons and then particularly to the Godhead of Christ. I taxed these Me●… in my Discourse concerning the Causes 〈◊〉 Occasions of Atheism with denying of the Self-existence Spirituality Omnipresence and Omniscience of God As to the first I know very well the Discipl●… of Socinus generally uphold the Self-existence of the Deity chiefly to make us●… of it for forming of an Argument against the Divinity of our Saviour but the