Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	law_n	sin_n	sin_v	8,157	5	9.6294	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80794	A learned and exceeding well-compiled vindication of liberty of religion: written by Junius Brutus in Latine, and translated into English by N.Y. who desires, as much as in him is, to do good unto all men: wherein these three following propositions are undenyably proved, and all objections to the contrary fully answered. 1. That if magistrates, in case of necessity, promise hereticks liberty of religion; they are bound to performe their promise after that necessity ceaseth. 2 That magistrates may with a safe conscience grant hereticks liberty of religion, and oblige themselves by an oath, or bond of assurance, to provide for their safety and security. 3. That magistrates ought to grant hereticks liberty of religion, and to oblige themselves by an oath, or bond of assurance, to provide for their safety and security.; Vindiciae pro religionis libertate. English.	Crell, Johann, 1590-1633.; N. Y. translator.	1646 (1646)	Wing C6879; Thomason E1178_4; ESTC R208101	37,701	85

saith Saint Paul Rom. 12. 18. Heb. 12. 14. If it be possible as much as in you is have peace with all men And in another place Follow peace with all men But yet both nature and common reason besides declare that any man ought to live peaceably with all those with whom he may especially with such as earnestly desire and importunately ask it But if Heathens also thought it good to purchase peace oftentimes even upon harsh and unjust termes how much more are Christians bound to accept of a just peace offered them by others even of their own accord or grant it them at their request Blessed are the Peacemakers saith our Saviour for they shall be called the children of God Secondly if Catholiques should deny Heretiques liberty or peace and should hold it lawfull to punish them and so should punish them for professing that religion which differs from the Cathoique they would force them as much as in them lyed to their own religion But no man ought to be forced or compelled by outward violence to the Christian religion First because the disposition and nature of religion especially spirituall and perfect religion such as is the Christian religion is repugnant to compulsion Rightly saith Lactantius Religion cannot be compelled And again nothing is so voluntary as Religion which if the minde of him that sacrificeth dislike then it is taken away then it becomes none at all And therefore Tertullian saith It is not the property of religion to force religion which ought to be freely embraced not by force And then because by this meanes many are constrained to counterfeit and fain religion for that violence cannot cause a man to think otherwise then he doth An opinion can neither be thurst into the minde by violence nor extorted and wrested from it That is all force can do to cause a man to approve of that opinion in words which he dislikes in his heart But such a simulation and hypocrisie is abominable to God and ought to be also to all men and it is hurtfull both to the Church and to hypocrites themselves To the Church because those hypocrites are secret enemies whom the Church fosters in her bosome as Serpents For they cannot but hate that Church by which they believe themselves to be most unjustly afflicted and desire and if they can work the ruine and destruction thereof It is hurtfull to hypocrites themselves because it brings them to eternall destruction Our Saviour saith of that evill servant That the Lord shall appoint him his portion with the hypocrites there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth And truly this punishment would befall them although they should think that this simulation and dissimulation were lawfull but whosoever amongst them are more sincere and vertuous then others in doing so wound their conscience most grievously and so sin most hainously against God because they Professe that religion which they hate and abhor in their minde and performe those religious exercises which they condemne and believe to be displeasing to God But he sins most hainously which violates his conscience If he sins and therefore is damned who doth a thing which is otherwise lawfull in it selfe with a doubting conscience as Saint Paul teacheth he sins far more hainously and more justly is Rom 14. 23. condemned who doth any thing directly against his conscience and the judgement of his own minde Hence it is that Divines say they are the words of a most famous man amongst the Catholique doctors that the conscience though it be erroneous binds so that it is never lawfull to do any thing against it but it behoveth a man to lay it aside and discharge himselfe of it by the prudent counsell of reason and of wise men or if he cannot do that he is bound to obey it to wit if his resolution and the matter in hand may not be deferred Wherefore they which force others to desert their own religion and embrace the Catholique against their conscience compell them as much as in them is to sin most grievously But how may he be judged free from sinning greatly who forceth other men to sin greatly But some man may here object of which we spake also in the former Chapter That God neverthelesse commanded them under the Law to punish those with death which should worship strange and false gods Wherefore at least in such a case God would have men to be forced to the true Religion neither would have any regard to be had of that point That Religion ought to be free and that many by such means as force may be driven to simulation or compelled to do any thing against conscience We might answer thus That it is lawfull for God who as he is Lord of all other things so also of our consciences and of whose will and pleasure the state and way of Religion depends To swerve from the ordinary path and method of things and to ordain many things which it is not lawfull for us to ordain or effect But we will not now make use of this answer Thus much first we affirm That even Catholique Doctors both ancient and modern have observed and any one that will seriously bend his mind to it will easily see that the Jewish religion was carnall and consisted most in externall matters not spirituall and perfect such as we have said the Christian to be wherefore it is no wonder that God would force men in some respects by carnall punishments to a carnall religion and that the genius and proper quality of Religion which is that it be free and voluntary did not shew forth it self in every point in that Religion But the proper quality of a spirituall and perfect Religion is of another temper which requires most of all the Minde of man wherefore God would not have it established by externall force nor by terror of Civil but Eternal punishments a great deal rather would have it imprinted and ingrafted in the minds of men by the love of most holy promises And in the next place it is to be noted that the Jewish religion was both so ordained and setled from the beginning and afterwards continued and administred that it may justly be affirmed that violence was no more offered to the consciences of the Jews when they were deterred by threatning punishments from worshipping strange gods and from contempt of the Law than it is to their consciences who if they be Inhabitants of any Kingdome are deterred by threatning punishments from yielding that honour which is due unto a King to any besides their own King or from the contempt and breach of those Lawes which are enacted and established by a lawfull power and command no dishonest matter For God appearing openly from the very beginning in the mountain Sinai so shewed himself to be the only God in the sight of all the people and published his Law unto them that no man could doubt but that he was both their only God

for this very reason because they did it through ignorance or errour not through pride and stubbornnesse of heart But what shall wee say of Christ who came into the world for that purpose That he might save sinners Paul writes of himself that Christ Iesus our Lord put him in his service who was before a Blasphemer and a Persecutor and an Oppressour but saith he I was received to mercy because I did it ignorantly through unbeliefe Behold he obtained pardon for so great sins as blasphemy persecution reproaches and oppressions wherewith he troubled and afflicted the godly because he did those things ignorantly through unbeliefe and that at such a time wherein the memory was yet fresh of those great miracles and infinite in number which were wrought by Christ when those wonderfull deeds of the Apostles were daily to be seen when those faithfull persons themselves whom Paul with an outragious fury persecuted were full of the holy Ghost and at least many of them famous and renowned for their miracles Neither did this bounty of Christ make a stand at Paul For the Apostle himself sheweth in the words that follow that place to Timothy that Christ would shew an example in him of all long suffering that others also from thence might have a strong beliefe of so great mercy of Christ towards them If Christ did both beare with in so great evidence and clearnesse of the truth a blasphemer a persecutor and contumelious person and bestowed so great a favour upon him as to commit the most holy function of the Apostolicall office unto him because whatsoever he did hee did it ignorantly through unbeliefe Why doe the servants of Iesus Christ refuse to tolerate those who at this time wherein no man dares say the Christian religion is attended with so great splendour and renowne of miracles may erre indeed and perhaps blaspheme through ignorance yet for all that persecute no man give reproachfull words to no man nor trouble any man for religions sake But that it may yet appeare more manifestly by the example of Christ that wee ought not to suppresse Heretiques by violence and to haule them to punishment let us observe how he behaved himselfe towards Apostates The Law as we have signified before commands an Apostate to be slain without mercy Thine eye shall not pity him neither stalt thou shew mercy nor keep him secret But thou shalt even kill him thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death Will not they say here that hold it fit for Heretiques to be punished that this course is a great deal rather to be taken against those which revolt from Christ and when they have been his disciples will now no longer be of their company Certainly if Heretiques were to be slain who notwithstanding professe and honour the name of Christ and are ready to suffer a most terrible and cruell death for his honour although they do not rightly understand his doctrine Much more shall they be worthy of this punishment who altogether reject his doctrine and do so forsake that faith which they had placed in him that they will not professe his name any longer and be conversant amongst his disciples But what did Christ teach us by his example that we ought so to do and did he not rather demonstrate the contrary We read in John c. 6. v. 66. that after Christ had discoursed much concerning the eating of his own flesh and drinking of his own blood Many of his Disciples being offended at this his speech went back and walked no more with him But what saith Christ to these things Did he lead them violently to punishment or thought it fit they should In no wise Moreover he bespake those his twelve Disciples or Apostles after this manner Will ye also go away as if so be he had given them liberty to go away if they would Thou wilt say that Christ had no magistrate nor people at his beck and command to bring them to punishment But he had that divine vertue and power dwelling in himself by which he might be able to destroy them without any externall force And to have done it in such a way would not have been so liable and obnoxious to blame and reprehension because a punishment inflicted upon them by a Divine vertue and power ought to be accounted by them as a punishment inflicted by God himself and so to be acknowledged most just Moreover if such a course had been taken in destroying them the rest of the Disciples would have been stricken with so much the greater fear of daring to revolt from Christ and his holy religion Certainly if those Catholiques who hold it fit for Heretiques to be persecuted and destroyed could have destroyed them by their Anathema as by a thunderbolt sent miraculously from God they would in no wise have forborne to do it And it were to be desired not only by the Catholiques but even by the Heretiques themselves in some respect that Catholiques might be able to do it because from thence they would be manifestly convinced that the Catholique religion were true and proceeded from God and therefore would imbrace it presently neither would suffer such a severe and powerfull thunderbolt to be darted forth upon them and then no Catholique would fall into heresie Why then did not Christ do so who had so great power to effect it Was it not therefore because he judged it most averse and disagreeable to his most gentle and meek spirit and to the religion which he published and to the purpose and will of God for performance whereof he was sent into the world He came not as elswhere he speaks of himself to destroy mens lives but to save them Why therefore do not his servants and disciples the like before whom he sets himself for an example to be imitated who are or ought to be partakers of that Spirit who professe his most holy religion They ought to call to memory that which our Saviour himselfe once answered to his disciples when the Samaritans refused to entertain him For when they asked him whether he would have them to command that fire come down from heaven and consume them even as Elias did Jesus rebuked them and said Ye know not of what spirit ye are for the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them That is he would have his Disciples to be as mild and gentle as himself Before we leave this Argument we would have Catholiques to consider what men of great renown in former times amongst the Doctors of the Catholike Church thought concerning this matter and what gentlenesse they held fit to be used towards hereticks whom they believed to be infected with most pestilent and blasphemous errors After this manner Augustine writes concerning the Manichees Let them exercise cruelty against you who know not what a labour it is to find out the Truth and what a difficulty it is to avoyd Errors Let them exercise