Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	punishment_n	soul_n	5,532	5	5.2858	4	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

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

by a divine illumination working upon their rational understandings as men For tho there is nothing that is supernatural in all these Arts and Sciences commonly taught in Schools or which surpasseth the common capacity of mens reason to understand them yet the invention or first discovery of them might have had a more immediately divine original as when Christ opened the natural eyes of the blind to see their seeing was natural after their eyes were open'd but the opening of them was supernatural and miraculous It being therefore the gross and hurtful Errors that did abound in the Gentile Philosophy that made Paul give such caution against it And the same Errors continuing among many called Christians at this day that spoil them by hurting yea destroying the Faith of some and hindering the Faith of others which were among the Gentiles in that day I have found a Zeal raised in my heart and a weighty concern upon me to point at divers gross Errors held professed and taught in this day by some called Christians as Doctrines and Principles of true Philosophy most of which were the very Errors of the old Heathen Philosophers and they are such as follow particularly the Platonists and Stoicks taught 1. That the Body is no part of a Man but a Prison and Grave to the Soul Hence they could not but deny the Resurrection of the Body after Death for no man after he is set free out of Prison has any desire to return to it again and also from this Error no doubt came that neglecting of the Body that Paul mentions Col. 2. 23. which makes me the more think strange of some at this day who tho they plainly profess they believe nothing of the Resurrection of this body or any part or parts of it yet they are but overmuch addicted highly to nourish and cloath it and that in a very high degree and have an extraordinary love to it and care of it as if it were their only immortal part But such who are of this Opinion that the Body is as a Prison and Grave to the Soul and consequently expects no Resurrection to it more than to the body of a beast do not understand how the body by sin is changed to be liker to a Prison or Grave than to a Palace such as it was before the Fall even as a most fair and stately Palace and such it will become again at the Resurrection of the Dead Again many of old taught and now teach 2. That Matter or Body has no life or perception sense or feeling of pleasure or pain even when the Soul is in it and united to it but that the Soul or Spirit of a man is the alone subject of all sensation and perception And because some late Philosophers so called do not own Beasts Fishes and Fowls to have any principle in 'em but meer body or matter they deny that they have any sense or perception but say they are moved by springs and Mechanick motions like to Watches or Clocks Hence such cannot but consequentially deny the Resurrection of the body for if the body be wholly without all sense or perception either of pleasure or pain to what purpose should it be raised seeing its insensibility makes it uncapable either of future felicity or misery or any capable subject of reward or punishment But this is plain contrary to Christs Doctrine who said Fear not them that can kill the Body but fear him that can cast both Soul and Body into Hell-Fire Where note these 2 things 1. If the Body can be killed that has a Life 2. That it is capable of future punishment as well as the Soul and consequently the body of a Saint is capable of a future reward together with the Soul and the Scripture teacheth us that not only the Soul of a true believer but the Body is for the Lord and the Lord for it to wit that it may be a Temple for the Lord to dwell in in the future state and world to come and therefore he who raised up Jesus from the dead will also raise us up by Jesus 1 Cor. 6. 13 14. Rom. 8. 11. And it is great ignorance in such and a sinful excuse of their great error and unbelief who so frequently say Let us not be concerned about the manner of the Resurrection of the Body since it is not discovered nor told us in Scripture what manner of body it shall be but let us live well and we need not take thought about the Resurrection of the body For the Scripture doth plainly tell us what manner of body it shall be when raised as well as what manner of body it is that is sown or buried It is sown natural it is raised spiritual c. 1 Cor. 15. 42 43. And men cannot live well unless they have the true Faith of the Resurrection of the body for the unbelief of it leads us to all looseness and Epicurism by the plain testimony of the Scripture in the foremention'd Chap. 1 Cor. 15. 32. If the dead rise not the Greek hath it in the Plural Number if dead men rise not let us eat and drink for to morrow we die And here the Apostle is not discoursing of the New Birth or rising of the soul out of the death of sin as some most grosly and perversly think but of the Resurrection of the body also the Apostle doth most excellently argue That not to believe the Resurrection of the dead is not to believe the Resurrection of Christ and not to believe the Resurrection of Christ maketh faith vain and preaching vain and if faith be vain they arë yet in their sins who profess faith and therefore they cannot live well Lo how the Apostle inseparably linketh all these things together so that to break one Link is to break the whole Chain See v. 13 14. 3. Tho both Platonists and Stoicks taught many true things of God and some did profess to own Gods inbeing in them and his divine teachings comforts and refreshments yet as they taught nothing of that great mystery of our salvation Viz. the Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ his coming in the flesh his dying for our sins to reconcile us unto God being that great propitiatory sacrifice for all mankind so much of their Doctrine did contradict it Hence many of the ancient Philosophers not understanding the spiritual signification of the Jews Sacrifices as they were Types of Christ that was to be offered up for the sins of the world in his body of flesh upon the Tree of the Cross as accordingly was fulfilled did deride the Jews for their Sacrifices according to that ancient Latin Distick of Cato Cum tu sis nocens cur moritur Victima prote Stultitia est morte alterius sperare salutem When thou hast sinn'd why should for thee a Sacrifice be slain By another's Death Life to expect it foolish is and vain And therefore it was that Paul said That Christ crucified was