Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n
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A42050
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A modest plea for the due regulation of the press in answer to several reasons lately printed against it, humbly submitted to the judgment of authority / by Francis Gregory, D.D. and rector of Hambleden in the county of Bucks.
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Gregory, Francis, 1625?-1707.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing G1896; ESTC R40036
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38,836
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57
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A Modest Plea For the Due REGULATION OF THE PRESS In Answer to several REASON◠lately Printed against it Humbly submitted to the Judgment of Authority Quae est pejor mors animae quà m libertas erroris August in Epist 166. By FRANCIS GREGORY D. D. and Rector of Hambleden in the County of Bucks LONDON Printed for R. Sare at Greys-Inn-Gate in Holborn M DC XC VIII A MODEST PLEA For the Due REGULATION OF THE PRESS c. SECT I. Good Reader IT is not long since I accidentally met with a Printed Paper Entitled A Letter to a Member of Parliament shewing that a Restraint on the Press is inconsistent with the Protestant Religion and dangerous to the Liberties of the Nation This Title at the first view did startle and make me wonder for I could not imagine how the Contents of this Letter could possibly justifie such an Inscription But whether this Letter were really sent or only pretended and by whom I cannot tell for the Writer of it thought it an act of Prudence to conceal his Name as well as his Opinion But if he be not one of the worst sort of Hereticks I mean a Socinian it is his great misfortune and no small fault that he hath given his Reader just cause to think him so For 1. This Author treats our Common People with extraordinary Civilities he pleads for the full liberty of every Man's Conscience and tells us that every Man hath as much right to Communicate his Thoughts to his Neighbour as to think them himself he tells us that every Man is to judg for himself even in the controverted Points of Religion as well as the ablest Divines of our Church Nor can we wonder that a Socinian should thus flatter the Vulgar for they who design to instil their Opinions into the Heads of Men are concerned in Policy by fair words and courtship first to insinuate themselves into their Hearts 2. This Author treats the Church of England with incivility and scurrilous Language he loads its Governours with several Calumnies which are no way deserved he calleth them Imposers upon the Consciences of Men Tyrants Lords of the Peoples Faith but 't is not my business to wipe off his unjust Reproaches but to answer his groundless Arguments But however 't is not strange that a Socinian should thus bespatter the Clergy of our Church to render us odious to the People because they know that our Divines are the most able Men to defend those great Articles of our Creed which they oppose and to confute those detestable Doctrines which they promote but will never be able to maintain so long as the Church of England shall continue as well stored with learned Men as now it is But in the mean time they make it their business to disparage and vilifie our Divines in hopes that our People disesteeming our Persons may shew the less regard to what we plead in defence of Truth 3. This Author sheweth himself yet more manifestly to be a Socinian because according to the known Practice of that sort of Men he highly magnifies Humane Reason exalting it far above its proper Sphere advancing it to that sublime and sacred Office which as now it is it can never discharge For in that Preliminary Discourse which he premiseth as an Introduction to the main Body and Substance of his Letter he tells us that God hath given Man His Reason which is his only light not only to discover that there is a Religion but to distinguish the True from the many false Ones He tell us again p. 15. That God hath given Men no other Guide but their Reason to bring them to happiness and yet again p 17. he saith That the Peoples common Notions are the Tests and Standards of all Truths Now my own Reason such as it is tells me that all these Assertions are as false as bold and daring for what greater Encomiums could have been given to Humane Reason were we still in the state of Innocence though in that state the Reason of Man might shine like the Sun in its full glory not a Cloud interposing yet by and since the fall of Adam the Common Reason of Mankind is become like the Moon lying under though not a Total yet a very great Eclipse Solomon the wisest of Men hath left our Reason no better Title than this the Candle of the Lord. 'T is not stiled a blazing Torch but a Candle which is but a diminutive light and so much the less because 't is full of Snuff 't is clouded with mists and fogs of ignorance and in nothing more than in matters of Religion True it is that this little light of Nature being well attended to is enough to discover to us some Truths which are a sufficient ground for natural Religion the Reason of Man exercising it self in contemplating the Works of Creation and Providence is enough to convince him that there is a God and that this God ought to be worshipped but there are some other Truths absolutely necessary to Salvation which the most improved Reason of Man without some other help could never have discovered In all Cases the Reason of Man is lumen sine quo non a light without which we can discern no Truth at all but yet 't is not a light by which we can discern every Truth which doth concern us Our Lord hath truly said The light of the Body is the Eye and yet this Eye be it never so clear and strong without the help of some other Light beside it's own can see very little or nothing so here the light of the Soul is its Reason and yet this Reason without some other assistances in matters of Religion can discern but very little There were amongst the Heathens many sober vertuous and industrious Moralists Men of raised Intellectuals Men of excellent Parts both Natural and Acquired and yet as to the Matters of Religion they shewed themselves mere Sots and Dunces they became as St. Paul saith vain in their imaginations They exceedingly doted in their Notions concerning the Nature Will and Worship of God there are several religious and necessary Truths whereunto their own Reason though much improved was not only a perfect Stranger but a professed Adversary the Doctrine of the Creation stands opposed by that known Maxim which their Reason entertained as an undoubted Truth ex nihilo nihil fit out of nothing nothing is or can be made And as for the great Doctrine of the Resurrection Men of Reason look'd upon it as Celsus speaks in Origen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as a thing impossible and abominable and according to these Notions they took St. Paul who preached this glorious but difficult Doctrine to be no better than a vain babler But whence might this gross Ignorance of theirs arise How came it to pass that Men so acute and lucky in searching and finding out many secret Mysteries both of Art and Nature should be so dull and
fair Trial but do what they can to Stifle all the Reasons that can be urged against it But Sir Pray tell us can any sound Reason be ever urged against a Religion such as ours is Instituted by Christ Taught by his Apostles Embraced by the Primitive Church and Sealed by the Blood of thousands of Martyrs But 't is not strange to hear Men speak against the very best of things or Persons for our Lord told his Apostles Men shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you Thus were their Persons treated yea and their Doctrine too The Jews spake against those things which were spoken by Paul Nay the Psalmist tells his God They speak against thee and what wonder then if they speak against his Religion too But what do they speak That which this Author styles Reason is but Pretence and Sophistry and were such Pretences though never so plausible yet being fallacious buried in perpetual Oblivion and stifled for ever what harm were in it What one single Soul would be the worse But our Author replieth that when there is a Contest between Men of two different Opinions they have not fair Play if their respective Reasons be not heard equally on both sides we grant it what Seneca saith is true Qui statuit aliquid parte inaudita altera Aequum licet statuerit haud aequus fuit Well the main Parties now contending are the Church of England and our Socinians and have not these Men very often been heard already their Opinion and their Arguments for it being much the same with those of the Old Arians have been frequently debated all their Witnesses have been heard all their Evidences have been maturely Considered Baffled and Overthrown and Condemned by several Councils by many pious and learned Fathers by a great number of worthy Divines by Papists by Protestants by Calvinists by Lutherans by all sorts of Christians but themselves Now when a Cause Condemned by several able and impartial Judges at several times and in several places is by a Bill of Revival renewed and brought upon the Stage again with the self same Witnesses and the self same Evidence if the Proper Judges to free themselves and others from a great deal of needless trouble should reject and cast it out of the Court without any further Hearing I think there would be no foul play in doing so But we have not treated our modern Socinians thus For did any of them ever desire a personal Conference with any of our Learned Divines and was rejected Did any of them ever provoke the professours of Divinity in either of our Universities to a publick Disputation and was refused Are not their Writings and ours to be seen and had in many Shops in London Oxford Cambridge and other great Towns and Cities Have they not received our printed Answers to their printed Objections If they have Why should this Author complain for want of fair Play Why should he unworthily tell the World that we dare not suffer our Religion to undergo a fair Trial for fear it should prove False No we do not doubt the Truth of our Religion nor the Ability of our Church to defend it but our Lord tells False Prophets shall deceive many and St. Peter saith They shall bring in damnable Doctrines and yet he tells us Many shall follow their pernicious ways These Texts do make us jealous that many weak easie and credulous Men may be corrupted by the Sophistry and Fallacies of Socinian Arguments which for that Reason should not be published But may our Author reply and in effect he doth so What danger can there be in publishing such Arguments since if they be false we have great store of Divines able to confute them We have so and bless God for it But what then Must we permit the Souls of Men to be poysoned because we abound with Sovereign Antidotes Must we permit the Church our Mother or her Sons who are our Brethren to receive Wounds in their Heads because we have Balsam enough to Cure them We would take a better course than so and follow the old Rule venienti occurrite morbo prevent the Poyson and then we need not use any Antidotes prevent the Wound and then there is no need of Plaisters so here if we can by a due Regulation of the Press prevent the spreading of erroneous Doctrines there will be no need of Confutations But if Men of restless Spirits be still permitted to disturb the Peace of our Church and stagger the Faith of weak Believers by publishing Arguments which only seem to be plausible against the Fundamental Articles of our Creed we shall be concerned to spend more time and blot more Paper in returning just Answers to them we must not quit the Field so long as there are Enemies in it And so I pass from this Paragraph to the next SECT XVI 12. THis Paragraph begins thus It may be objected saith he and very justly say we that by such a Latitude People may be seduced into false Religions or into Heresies and Schisms The Truth hereof this Author doth not deny but though it should be so yet he insinuates that there would be but very little or no Danger in it for thus he tell us If two Persons profess two different Religions the one a True the other a False one yet if they have been equally sincere in their Examination they are equally in the way to Heaven This Assertion were it true would be very comfortable to all sober Jews Turks and Pagans who have been serious in examining the Grounds of their respective Religions and yet I cannot think them equally in the way to Heaven with all such Christians as have done as much And 't is easie to believe that those Christians who after an impartial search into Scripture-Truths do own the Divinity of Christ and the Holy Ghost as fundamental Articles of our Faith are in a much fairer Capacity of Salvation than our Socinians who after all their Examinations embrace a Doctrine contrary to the Faith of the Catholick Church even denying the Lord that bought them a Doctrine which St. Peter stiles Damnable St. Paul tells us There is one Faith one true Religion and no more and this one true Religion is the only right Path which leads towards Heaven and he who is mistaken in the Choice of his Religion is like a Traveller who after all his enquiries mistakes his way and if he continue under that mistake he hath little hopes to attain his desired Journey 's end But to justifie this strange Paradox this Author subjoyns this Reason two such Persons the one after a due examination professing a true Religion the other a false one are equally in the way to Heaven because in following their Reason they both have done what God requires That 's his Argument but there 's a fallacy in it for doth not God require and doth not Reason oblige us in order to our Salvation