Insignificant word Inquiry 'T is so very safe that 't is absolutely Inconfutable Had he said candidly and plainly Here follow the Principles not agreed on voluntarily which therefore I will make Evident that my Adversary's Reason may be forc'd to acknowledg their verity and by that means my discourse proceed and way be made towards some Conclusion he had offer'd me some play for then I might possibly have discover'd the weakness or Inevidence of his Principles or the slackness of his Consequences but now all my Attempts are defeated by this one pretty word Inquiry for though I should hap to confute every line in all the thirty Paragraphs yet still after all this none can deny but he has inquir'd into the Point in hand whether he have produc'd one word to evince it or no Thus Dr. T. in his late Preface got rid of the hardest and mainly concerning passage in Sure-footing by vertue of two insignificant words alledging that he had sufficiently consider'd it in his Rule of Faith which words were perfectly verify'd though as appears in Reason against Raillery Disc. 8th he readily granted all I contended for as to that point Once more I desire our Learned Readers to reflect on the different manner in which I and my Adversaries bear our selves towards one another I candidly avow my Grounds to be Evident Principles my Consequences to be necessary my Arguments to be absolutely Conclusive or demonstrative and by so doing I offer them all the fair play imaginable and trusting to the invincible force of Truth expose my self freely for them to lay hold of my discourse where they see it their best Advantage They on the other side make a show indeed of bringing their Faith to Principles because the very pretence is honorable but when it comes to performance are so far from owning the Principles they proceed on for such that except in those six agreed on which as shall be shown are not one jot influential to the point they are aim'd to evince they not so much as name the word Principle nor vouch any Argument Conclusive or any Consequence to be Necessary much less candidly affirm such in particular to be thus qualifi'd but hide and obscure all these in one dow-bak'd slippery word Inquiry by which means none can tell where to take any sure hold of any part of their Discourse 4. Notwithstanding that Dr. St. is thus shy to name these thirty Paragraphs Principles in regard they are so monstrously unlike those Clear and Evident Truths which use and ought to bear that sacred name yet 't is manifest by his carriage he meant them for such and would have them thought such too for they immediately follow after the six Principles voluntarily agreed on as if they were the other sort of Principles not voluntarily agreed to and all of them antecede his six Conclusions or Sequels which he puts immediately to follow out of them Again the Running Title superscrib'd to them is The Faith of Protestants reduc'd to Principles All which manifests to us beyond Evasion that he makes use of and relies on them as Principles though he be something bashful to call them so directly Wherefore in compliance with his Intention we will for once strain a word to the highest Catachresis that may be and by a strange Antiphrasis call Black White and all these Paragraphs Principles 5. Yet though there be nothing of candid and clear and consonant to any maxims even of Natural Logick in this Discourse yet I must allow that there is as much cunning and slight and Sophistry in it as could well be stufft into so narrow a room Wherefore that I may not be like him I shall openly profess before hand what I undertake viz. to show plainly that he hath not spoke one efficacious word to the purpose he intended that is he has not produc'd any one Principle one Reason one Argument either settling in the least the Faith of Protestants nor unsetling that of Catholicks This will be seen by our Examination of each particular Principle in order and the Answer to them To which I now address 1. An entire Obedience to the Will of God being agreed to be the condition of mans happiness no other way of Revelation is in it self necessary to that end than such whereby man may know what the Will of God is Love of God above all things and of our Neighbour for his sake being the Fulfilling of the Law does by consequence include in it self eminently an Intire Obedience to the Will of God and is agreed to be the Condition of mans Happiness Yet this Love or Charity presupposing Hope and both Hope and Love presupposing Faith as their Basis both of these do by consequence come within the compass of Obeying the Will of God and are in their several manners and according to their several natures Conditions of mans Happiness as I doubt not but all sober Protestants will grant Again Faith being part of our Obedience to the Will of God and so commanded by him and it being against those Attributes of God agreed on by both sides to command Man to act contrary to the right Nature himself had given him and establish'd it Essential to him that is contrary to true Reason Also Faith being a Virtue and so agreeable to right Nature nay more a supernatural Virtue and so perfecting and elevating Right Nature or True Reason not debasing or destroying it it follows from these and many other Reasons alledg'd in Faith Vindicated that this part of our Obedience call'd Faith must be rationabile obsequium a Reasonable Obedience and that our Assent call'd Belief taking it as impos'd by God is conformable to Maxims of Right Reason and that it perfects and not in the least perverts Human Nature But it is directly opposit to Human Nature as given us by God or to Right Reason to assent and profess that Points of Faith are True as the Nature of Christianity settled by our Saviour enjoyns us in case we are to rely solely on the Divine Authority for the formal Motive of this our believing or holding them such and yet when we come to doubt concerning their Truth cannot possibly arrive to see any Grounds absolutely Certain that the Divine Authority is indeed engag'd for the Truth of the said Points Also 't is quite opposite to Human Nature to love Heaven above all things in case there be not Grounds absolutely certain that God has told us there is such a thing as Heaven or such a Blissful state attaiâ—â—ble by us in the sight of Him wherefore when Dr. St. says no other way of Revelation is in it self necessary to this end or to the Entire Obedience to Gods Will than such whereby man may know what the Will of God is we are to mean by the word know that at least the governing part of Gods Church or Ecclesia docens may be absolutly-certain that the Points of Faith the assenting to and professing which
such persons are known to be lost it may be doubted nay it ought to be granted that the present Written Rule is defective in the nature of a Rule unless it be well made out that those divinely-inspir'd Writings which were lost were of another Nature then these extant and therefore that they had no part in being a Rule The Proofs for which point ought to be very pregnant and convincing otherwise it may be question'd whether any Books writ by men divinely inspir'd had in them the nature of a Rule or were intended for that end by God And this is particularly inforc'd because Dr. Sâ— here Princ. 28. makes Scripture the Rule and Measure of what we are to believe and if the Measure fall short 't is to be fear'd the thing measur'd or Faith will fall short likewise But if he says onely some of those divinely-inspir'd Writings were sufficient 't is very necessary it should be made out how many are needful that so it might be throughly understood what are the precise Grounds of Christian Faith concerning which yet there is much difference in opinion amongst those who hold the Letter-Rule which signifies that none of them know distinctly what themselves assign or hold to be that Rule Or if he says that onely those which Gods Providence has preserv'd are that Rule then he must either say that Gods Providence therefore preserv'd these because they contain'd holy Doctrin and were writ by men divinely-inspir'd or were apt to benefit future mankind and then by the same Reason those which perish'd should have been preserv'd too or else that God preserv'd these in particular because these which remain are besides those qualifications Proper and Sufficient to be the Rule of Faith And then he begs the Question and supposes his own Tenet true even while he is proving it so Nexâ— supposing the Originals of these Books now extant to have been once the Rule of Faith it was requisite the Church in the beginning shouâ—d have look'd upon them as such and consequently have made account for the first 300 years till when they were not collected or universally propos'd it had no Absolute Certainty or Entire Body of their Faith But of this we hear not that any had the least Jealousie or that they lookt after Books of Scripture as Things without which the Church was not either absolutely Certain of its Faith or had not all its Faith Again had those Books been then the Rule of Faith as considering that some of them were unacknowledg'd one scatter'd here another there accidentally is sensless to imagin Yet how can we â—ow or future Ages hereafter have Absolute Certainty that some substantial word or other is not alter'd omitted or inserted in those places that concern the main Points of Faith for example the Godhead of Christ or the Real Presence in case there be no Infallible Authority to attest the Truth of it which Dr. St. denies here Princ. 15. It is not evident he must say that none of these can be made out with Absolute Certainty and consequently confess with Dr. T. that all this may be otherwise unless he have recourse to Gods Extraordinary Assistance to the multitudes of Transcribers and Translators because of the Necessity the Letter should be thus preserv'd still unchang'd in regard otherwise none could say his Faith is True which again begs the Question and supposes it the Rule of Faith instead of proving it so Farther Let the Letter be suppos'd exactly like the Original how will that Letter secure from all possible Error all that rely on it as the Rule of Faith ought or to use Dr. St's words Princ. 15. reveal so plainly the whole will of God that no sober Enquirer can miss of what is necessary for salvation Now if they cannot miss of what 's necessary for salvation they must needs hit on it and so are in a manner Infallible as to that point while they rely thereon To put it to the Tryal let us consider what Disputes there are out of Scriptures Letter between Socinians and their Opposers about a Trinity and the Godhead of Christ and what between Catholicks and their Adversaries about the Real Presence How many Interpretations of This is my Body How many Allusions of one place to another in both those Points to hammer out the Truth and these agitated on both sides by Bodies of eminent men excellent Scholars Acute Scripturists Must every sober Enquirer and every private ignorant person who sincerely endeavours needs hit on the right and judge better of these Points than all those Learned men Or must we needs conclude that all those learned Enquirers found in each of those vast different parties are mad or Insincere I wish he would prove this 'T is his best Interest and would give his Argument some likelihood which till then has none for the Fact being so notorious how earnestly they all endeavour to find out the Truth of these points by the Letter none will judge but that if their Heads or Hearts be not strangely disorder'd by Folly or Insincerity the Letter which shouâ—d inform them is strangely incompetent for that end But 't is remarkable how neatly Dr. St. skips aside from the Point He undertakes not to give us any Assurance that his sober or sincere Enquirers shall by vertue of this his Rule of Faith find out that any one point of his Faith is an Absolutely Certain Truth but only that he shall not miss of what is necessary for salvation that he shall not erre or at least not be damn'd for it So that for any thing appears by his discourse let him but read the Scripture though he holds nothing but Error by so doing yet he is still in the way to salvation by the very Reading and Running into Errour But this deserves a particular reflexion hereafter Lastly the very nature and Genius of the Scripture as it now is shows that however it be excellently Vseful for perfecting the Lives of the Faithful in many regards yet it was never intended for the Rule of Faith For to omit innumerable other reasons frequently alledg'd by our Authors Its several parts were evidently writ on several emergent occasions and have not the least semblance as if the whole had been purposely compil'd to deliver an intire Body of Faith Nor does it observe any method tending to clear each several Point For it neither begins with defineing or explaining every word made use of in signifying those Points which is the best means to avoid Equivocation the Ground of all mistake nor does it pursue home the evidencing any one Point by making us aware of the sinister senses in which each word expressing that Point might seem to be taken nor does it put objections against each Tenet and establish us in the right Apprehension of it by solving them nor distinguish by laying common Rules to know when the words are to be taken properly when Metaphorically much less tell us particularly in
be Formally Infallible in the Grounds of Faith and so able to discourse of those Grounds and make out their Absolute Certainty by way of Skill or Art there ought to be moreover another sort of men in the Church Formally-Infallible in discerning the True and distinct notion of each Point of Faith and this is the proper work of the Governours of the Church For these by reason of their State of Life which is to meditate on God's Law day and night their perpetual Converse with the Affair of Faith by Preaching Teaching Catechizing Exhorting their Concern to overlook their Flock lest any Innovatour should infect them with Novelties their Constant Addiction to observe exactly their Rule Tradition the Standard by which they govern themselves in distinguishing the true Faithfull from revolting Apostats or Hereticks their Duty to be well vers't in the Doctrine of Fathers and Acts of former Councils and according to these soberly and gravely not quirkingly and with witty tricks to understand and interpret Holy Scripture These Eminent Personages and Chief Magistrates and Mâ—sters of the Faithfull being tâ—us furnisht with all requisite endowments to give them a most distâ—nct and exact knowledge of the doctrine descended to them by Tradition and of the sense of the Church in case any Heretick revolts openly from the formerly deliverâ—d Faith these Men I say are by the Majesty and sway of their moâ—t venerable and most ample Authority to quash and subdue his petty party newly sprung up and either reduce him to his duty by wholsome advice and discipline or if he persists in his Obstinacy to cut him off solemnly from the Church by Excommunication that so the sounder Faithfull may look upon him according to our Saviours command as on a Heathen or a Publicanâ— it being thus made evident that he stands against all his Superiâ—urs and rebels against the most sacred Authority upon Earth Or in case that Heretick cloak his poisonous doctrine in aâ—biguous expressions or goes about to pervert the words used formerly by the Church by drawing them to a sinister sense never intended by Her They being perfectly acquainted with the language and sense of the Church are to invent and assign proper words to express the Churches sence and such as are pertinent and effectual for the present juncture and exigency to defeat the crafty Attempts of those quibbling Underminers of Faith or else they are to clear the true sence of the former words us'd by the Church by declaring in what meaning the Church takes and ever took them And sometimes too beating the Heretick at his own weapon Scripture's Letter by avowing this to be the sence in which the Church ever took such and such places Hence they are said to define Faith that is to expresse in distinct words it 's precise Limits and bounds that so no leaven of Errour may possibly intermingle it self and to seal and recommend their Acts by stamping on them the most Grave most Venerable and most Sacred Authority in the whole Christian world Now that this Authority of the Church Representative is Infallible in knowing the Points of Faith and that on the best manner is prov'd hence because if such a Learned Body consisting of the most Eminent and Knowing Personages in the world can be deceiv'd while they rely on the Means left by God to preserve mankinde from errour in understanding the Points of Faith 't is evident no man in the world can be â—â—cur'd thereby from Errour and so the Means would be no Means to arrive at Truth but rather a Means to leade men into Errour since they err'd relying solely on that which it being supposed to have been intended by God for a Contrary end is absolutely Impossible 5. Though the Substance or Essence of Faith consists in believing what is True upon the Divine Authority certainly engag'd for those Truths which is the Formal Motive of Believing and therefore 't is enough for trne Faith that the â—Generality of the Church or the Vulgar be materially Infallible in their Faith yet it addes evidently a great perfection to Faith that they be Formally Infallible and that the Faithfull see with Infallible Certainty that the Divine Authority is actually engag'd when they believe First because Faith is an Intellectual Virtue and so to proceed knowingly upon it's Grounds makes it more Agreeable to the Understanding and Perfective of it 2. Because the more evident 't is that the Divine Authority is engag'd the more heartily those who reverence it are dispos'd to submit their Iudgments by believing whence Faith in such Persons is more lively firm and Immoveable also more Efficacious and if other Considerations be equal more apt to work through Charity than it is in others Moreover such Faithful are incomparably more able to satisfy and convert others being able as is supposed to make â—ut evidently the Grounds of their Faith Wherefore every thing being then in it's perfectest state when 't is able to produce it's like or another of it 's own kinde 't is a signe that Faith in such men is Ripe Manly and Perfect since 't is able to propagate it sâ—lf to others or as S. Paul phrases it gignere in Evangelio Whence those who are to convert souls and propagate Faith are oblig'd to labour all that may be to accomplish themselves in this particular lest they fall short of this Perfection which seems properly and peculiarly due to their state For 't is not so opprobrious to the Layity to be unable to perform this but 't is highly so to them because they are lame without it 6. Notwithstanding this 't is God's Will that all the Faithfull should be formally Infallible in their Faith or know Infallibly the Grounds of Faith cannot be False as far as they are capable For this being as was lately shown a Perfection in Faith and God who is Essential Goodness not being Envious but desirous his Creatures should have all the Good they are capable to receive especially such goods as tend to the bettering their souls and promoting them towards Heaven it follows that he wills them this Perfection in Faith as far as it can stand with the Universal Order of the World or the particular natures of Things that is as far as they are capable to receive it 7. He hath therefore ordain'd such a Means by which to know his Will as far as concerns our Belief or what he would have us believe that is he has constituted such a Rule of Faith that it's Certainty may be most easily penetrable by all degrees and sorts of the Faithfull Whence follows most evidently that Tradition and not Scripture is that Rule For of all ways of Knowing and Ascertaining imaginable nothing is more easie to be comprehended or to satisfy people of all sorts then is that of Witnessing Authority as we experience in their perfect belief of K. Iames or K. H. 8ths existence and such like The Grounds of which Truths not needing to be
learnt at School but being either inbred or by an ordinary converse with the world instil'd into them nothing is easier then for the wiser sort of them to fall into the account of it of themselves occasion being given as also to awaken as it were those dormant Knowledges in the Vulgar and make them reflect and see not with a clear and distinct sight as do the wiser portion of the Church but with a grâ—sse and confused yet solid Knowledge and suitable to their pitch that a Rule of such a nature is Certain and so those who professedly own and proceed upon it are in the truth they who reject it in an Errour Whereas yet they are utterly Incapable by any Maxims in their rude Understandings either to know that the Letter of the Scripture on the rightness of which all depends was preserv'd from Errour among so many Translatious and Transcriptions or that the Sense is necessarily such as they conceive it to be amidst such multitudes of Commentators and Sects wrangling about the meaning of that Letter nor yet are they competent Judges of the skill of all those several Sects and sorts of men whom they see and hear differ about the sense of it Tradition then of the Church being thus prov'd the Rule of Faith 't is both farther shown how Unreasonable Unnatural and Unsafe Dr. St's private-spirited Rule of Faith is and also even hence demonstrated against him here that Tradition of the Church is Infallible since being by this moans prov'd to be the Rule appointed by God to light Mankinde to their Faith 't is impossible that those who rely and proceed upon it should be led into Errour and also Impossible that Faith it self thus grounded should be False But I needed not have gone thus far to confute D. St's four Principles now under hand The four first Notes had abundantly given them their Answer and 't is time we now begin to apply them to that purpose Whereas then he grounds them all on our Tenet That No Divine Faith can be without an Infallible Assent he may please to know that we only mean by those words there materially Infallible or so as cannot possibly be an Errour and in this sense we own the Position and so must he too unlesse he will speak open blasphemy For Divine Faith being a believing upon the Divine Authority and as we both suppose upon some Means laid by God himself by which he proposes to us what we are to beleeve by telling us he has said it in case an Assent thus Grounded could possibly be an Errouâ— it would follow necessarily that God himself would be the Cause of that Errour The Substance then of Faith could be preserved and the Chief End of Faith our Salvation on some fashion attained were there no more than this that is though never a man in the whole world did know or could come to know that the Rule of Faith were Infallible provided none in the Church did speculate and so looking into the Grounds of his Faith and finding them as far as he could see Inconclusive did begin to suspect the Truth of it nor any out of the Church did oppose Faith For the Faithfull would in that case be in actual possession of those Excellent Truths call'd Points of Faith firmly assented to by their Understandings which were apt to produce thoâ—e Good Dispositions of their Wills call'd Virtues in the same sort though not in the same degree as they do now and by means of them they might arrive at Heaven Thus the Dr. may see that all he builds on is a pure mistake and that all the Faithfull may be thus Infallible in their Assent and thus Infallible in judging the Proposer does not nay cannot deceive us nay Infallible in judging thus of the matters propos'd to us to beleeve and yet not one man be Infallibly sure by way of Evident Knowledge that the Church is Infallible because all this proceeds not in the least in this supposition from the reach of any man's Intellective Faculty but purely from the Goodnesse and Conclusivenesse of the Grounds laid by God and his good Providence which led those men to embrace them though they neither penetrate nor went about to discourse them but simply to believe them on the same manner as our ruder unreflecting vulgar are led now But in this case were all the World no wiser the wisest in the Church would be no wiser then the weakest and rudest vulgar now mention'd wherefore both for that reason and many others ' assign'd in my 3d and 4th Note it was absolutely requisite to the Church and so becoming God's Providence to order that it should be otherwise and that the Conclusiveness of those Infallible Grounds on which God has founded our Faith should be penetrable by those who set themselves to such speculations or fall into doubts concerning them according as the exigencies of the Church shall be found to need such helps If this will not serve Dr. St. I am sure it will serve to defeat all his Arguments I shall farther tell him that the Generality or main Body in the Church is formally Infallible in judging the Church to be such in delivering down the First-taught Faith as I have prov'd in my 6th and 7th note and elsewhere Besides my reasons given there and in other places I must desire him and the rest of my Readers that in conceiving how this may be they would take their measures from the Absolute Certainty such people are capable of in Parallell matters and not from their Ability to explain or defend this absolute Certainty or their Constancy in adhering to it if combated by plausible reasons for he is a very mean Reflecter upon Nature who observes not that the Vulgar have Absolute Natural evidence of many Truths which yet they can neither give reason for declare defend nor perhaps through levity incident to such weak souls do very firmly adhere to and no wonder since so great a man as Sextus Empiricus speculated himself out of the Conceit of the Certainty of his Senses of which yet none doubts but Nature till he began to pervert it by wrong speculations had given him as Infallible Certainty as to any other Also they are to reflect how Infallibility or which is all one Certainty may be in a thousand different degrees according to the greater or lesser Capacity of the subject which they will best comprehend by reflecting with how different a Clearness many things appear to us now we are at Age and how dimly when we were young which yet we were absolutely Certain of at that time Nor yet does one of those Infallibilities spoken of render the other Vseless for they may either be about different Objects as if the Church Officers were formally Infallible in knowing what particular Points came down from Christ's time and penetratâ—ng the distinct Limits of each point and those other Particular persons be only Infallible in judging the Church to
be so as it happens in many Controvertists who are well instructed in the Grounds of their Faith yet not so well verst in the nature of particular points but believe them only by Implicit Faith or else one of their knowledges may be more Clear and distinct than the others and so serve to perfect and advance it in the same manner as Art does Nature Least of all can it follow that the Infallibility of the Church Representative is needless for This is not intended to teach the Faithfull their Faith at first nor do I remember ever to have seen a Generall Council cited in a Catechism but this is performed by the Church Diffusive by her Practise and Language and by her Pastors in their Catechisms and Instructions But it 's use is to secure and preserve Faith already taught and known from receiving any taint by the Equivocating Heretick and to recommend it more Authoritatively to the Faithfull when clear'd And whoever reads my 4th Note will see so many particularities in the Members which compound a Representative Church above others who are purely Parts of Ecclesia Credens that he cannot in any Reason judge them Vseless though those others be in an Inferiour degree Certain of their Faith too For all this while the word Infallible which seems to have so loud a sound and is made such a monstrous peece of business by the Deniers of it is in plain Terms no more but just barely Certain as I have prov'd Faith Vind. p. 37. 38. and Reason against Rail p. 113. To come closer up then to my Adversary His 20th Principle which speaks of Assent in common is wholly built upon a False supposition that it can only be Grounded upon Evidence For however indeed in perfect Reflecters that are unbyast Evidence of the Object or of the Credibleness of the Authority is alwayes requisit to breed Assent yet Experience teaches us that Assent in weak and unreâ—lecting persons is frequently built on a great Probability sometimes a very little one and sometimes men Assent upon little or no reason at all their Passion or Interest byassing their wills and by it their Understandings and this many times even against such reason as would be Evident to another Again matteriall Infallibility which is enough to that Assent we speak of precisely and solely consider'd depends solely at least Principally on the Object contrary to what is there asserted And whereas he says Princ. 29. that the Infallibility of every Particular person is not asserted by those who plead for the Infallibility of a Church he sees by this discourse it both is and must be Asserted and that we maintain that every particular person must be materially Infallible or incapable of erring while he relies on the Grounds laid and recommended by God that is while he believes the Church which yet is far from rendring the Formal Infallibility of the Church useless unless he will say that because it suffices for the pitch of weak people whose duty 't is not to maintain and make out the Truth of their Faith that they be simply in the right or void of Errour and that they see after a gross manner that the thing is so though they cannot defend it therefore there is no need that those whose duty 't is to do so should be able to penetrate the Grounds of Faith and so explicate prove and maintain it to be True Nor will it follow that though the Generality were after a rude and gross manner formally Infallible in their belief that the Church is Infallible and therefore that the Points she proposes are all likewise Infallibly-true it will not follow I say hence that a greater and clearer and more penetrative degree of Formal Infallibility is useless in Church-Governours for as appears by my 4th Note there are many other things to be done by them of absolute necessity for the Church which far exceed the pitch and posture of those dull Knowers of the lowest Class which is the next degree above Ignorance and are unauthoriz'd to meddle in such affairs Unless he will say that Art is needless because there is Nature or that there needs no Iudges to decide such Cases in which the Law seems plain And thus much for the clearing this concerning Point In the rest of his Principles I shall be briefer But I must not pass over his Transition to them which is this We are further to enquire what Certainty men may have in matters of Faith supposing no External Proponent to be Infallible And he need not go far to satisfie his Enquiry For it being most evident by the Disputes between the Protestants and Socinians that Scripture needs some External Proposer of it's true meaning in such kinde of Points as also some External Proposer or Attester that this is the true Text of it on which all is built Also it being evident that Dr. St. Princ. 15. denies any Infallible Proposers of either of these and that here again he pursues close the same doctrin Lastly this Proposer being such that however we can have Certainty without It that the Divine Authority is to be believed yet we must depend on It for the Knowledge when and where 't is engag'd that is we must depend on It for the Certainty of our Faith It follows that in case this Proponent be not Infallible it can never be made out with Infallible Certainty that the Divine Authority stands engag'd for the Truth of any one Point of Faith and consequently that the Certainty men have in matters of Faith is not an Infallilible one And if it be not an Infallible Certainty which Faith has as he no where challenges but very laboriously disproves it he need not go far to enquire or learn what Certainty it must have for Common Sense tels him and every man who has the least spark of Natural Logick that if Faith must have Certainty as he grants and have not Infallible Certainty it must either have Fallible Certainty or none at all there being no Middle between them and so we must make account that because it overstrains D. St's weak Grounds to assert Faith to be Infallibly Certain therefore his next Attempt must be to overstrain Common Sense and to the inestimable Honour of Christian Religion maintain that all Christian Faith is Fallibly-Certain But he must do it smoothly and warily and however he nam'd the word Infallible loud enough and oft enough when he was confuting it yet he must take heed how he names the word Fallible Certainty when he is asserting it lest it breed laughter or dislike though it be evident out of the very Terms that he who confutes Infallible Certainty must maintain Fallible Certainty sf he maintains any But now he begins his defence of Faiths Fallible Certainty and 't is fit we should listen Monstrous things use to challenge and even force Attention from the most unconcern'd 24. There are different degrees of Certainty to be attained according to the
some Certainties without any kind of nature of Proof that is without any regard had to the Object After this he acquaints us with one kind of Morâ—l Certainty Watch he says is oppos'd to Mathematical Evidence Now I neither discern how Moral and Mathematical come to be opposite to one another more then Moral or Physical and Metaphysical or Theological less do I see how Certainty anâ— Evidence have such an Opposition and Aâ—tipathy I thought they might have been both on the same side but I conceive that the goodness of Natural Reason made him at unawares joyn Certainty to Moral and Evidence to Mathematical thereby confessâ—ng that this Moral Certainty as he apprehends it is indeed the Issue of no kind of Evidence at all but of meer Obscurity or at best of some conjectural glance of Likelihood But he describes or gives us some distinct Knowledge of this Moral Certainty telling us that it implies a firm Assent upon the highest Evidence that Moral things can receive and this he assigns to Christian Faith Where first I would know whether this Moral Certainty here mention'd be an Infallible Certainty or a Fallible one and I presume he will answer 't is a Fallible one for Infallible and Moral Certainty are opposite which is a fair beginnâ—ng towards the ascertaning Faith Next I would desire him to speak out candidly and tell me whether this Moral Certainty put Faith absolutely out of possibility of being False or whether notwithstanding this Certainty it may with Truth be said that still absolutely speaking all Christian Faith may be an Errour or Mistake of the world I presume he will not say 't is absolutely Impossible it should be all a Mistake because 't is so protected by this Moral Certainty for he makes this a less degree of Certainty than Mathematical Certainty is and Dr. T. has told us there can be no degrees in Absolute Impossibilities besides I see not how a Fallible Certainty can establish any Tenet Impossible to be False for an Infallible Certainty which is incomparably above that can do no more And yet for all that 't is dangerous to his Credit for 't is indeed blasphemous to say that all Christian Faith may possibly be a lying Imposture for any thing any man living knows or that all the Christians in the world though relying and proceeding to their power on the Means God has appointed to establish them in True Faith may notwithstanding be possibly in an Errour I suppose then he will recurr to his late excuse and tell us that no man who firmly assents to any thing as true can at the same time entertain any suspicion of it's Falshood But this is nothing to our purpose 'T is not his Iudgment but his Doctrin which stands impeach't not his Thoughts but his Words and Discourses let him clear those to the world and I am to remit secret things to God and his own Conscience I leave then him and his Frâ—end to shuffâ—le about for better Evasions which I am sure can never be candid and Scholar-like but some learned quirks and Jeers and address my self to a farther examination of this worthy Principle 3ly then I would ask whether the Firmness of this Assent which he says here Moral Certainty implies be taken from the Object or from the Subject I suppose he will say here from the Object because he says 't is upon the highest Evidence Moral things can receive but I perceive him dispos'd even while he says so to blame the Things for receiving no more I doubt he should rather blame himself for receiving no more from those Moral Objects who are both as able and as ready to afford him perfect Evidence as perhaps any other things in Nature did he dispose himself to receive it For are not Moral things as firmly establisht in their respective determinate natures as Natural and Mathematical things from which Establishment all our Science is taken Is not a will as Certainly a will and Liberty as necessarily Liberty as a Triangle is a Triangle Again are not Voluntary Liberty Virtue Vice and such like very Intelligible words aud consequently the Natures of Moral things Knowable as well as others in other Sciences I wonder then why the Evidences of Moral things cannot be as high as that of Mathematical things since the natures of both are equally Firm both natures can be known and so engaged in our discourses of them and from them and all science or Evidence springs from engaging the Natures of things The Sum then is Dr. St. hath given Faith excellent good words in telling us it's Moral Certainty implys a firm Assent upon the highest Evidence Moral things can receive but looking to the bottom of his meaning he intends it only a Fallible Certainty or such as may still permit it to be False and so the right descant upon his fine words is in true construction this He allows Faith such a Certainty as is Vncertain such a Firmness as may both bow and break such an Evidence in it's Grounds as is Obscure and consequently makes it such an Assent as is Irrational All which and much more must needs follow from this rejecting Infallible Certainty in the Gronnds of Faith If he thinks I wrong him let us put it to the test Let him take the best of those Evidences or Proofs which ground his Moral Certainty and put it with the help of a little Logick into a Syllogism or two and then tell me whether it does necessarily conclude the Truth of Faith or no. If it concludes why does he not say Faith is absolutely Certain but mince it with Moral If it concludes not how can all the world avoid but his pretended Evidence is Obscure his pretended Certainty built on that Evidence Vncertain the Firmness of that Assent Infirm and the Assent it self to a Conclusion thus unprov'd and no ways Evident in a man capable to comprehend what ought in due of Right Reason cause Assent privatively Irrational or Faulty 28. A Christian being thus Certain to the highest degree of a firm Assent that the Scriptures are the Word of God his Faith is thereby resolved into the Scriptures as into the Rule and Measure of what he is to believe as it is into tht veracity of God as the Ground of his believing what is therein contained A Christian who is no better Certain then thus that is by Grounds allowing only such a Certainty as is not absolutely or truly Conclusive of the Truth of Faith as Dr. St. intends no more by his Moral Certainty is not Certain at all As appears farther by the next words Certain to the highest degree of a firm Assent the meaning of which must be that this highest degree of a firm Assent either is the same with the Certainty he intends his Faith according to his former doctrin and constitutes or explicates it or else that at least it helps to make up this Certainty that is perfect it within it's notion and
make it more a Certainty or a better Certainty which makes the Conclusiveness or Evidence had from the Object needless to create a Certainty and signifies thus much in plain Terms Think or imagine what you will so you imagine it strongly and hold it stifly you are as Certain of it as may be Had he said A Christian is or may be thus Certain by such a Proof had from the Object as was truly Conclusive of the Thing how Genuin Coherent Clear had his Expression been which now is forc't Incongruous and Obscure how Agreeable to Reason and the nature of Certainty as all Mankind understands it which now is most Irrational and Unsuitable to the same Nature How Honourable and Creditable had it been to his Cause and to himself too as a Writer But men that have not Truth on their side and consequently are quite destitnte of found Principles and true Grounds must not dare to speak Sense Himself told us Princ. 20. that the nature of Assent is agreeable to the Evidence we have of it in our Minds let him remember then that the highest degree of a firm Assent requires in reason the highest gree of Clear Evidence to beget it which yet he lately deny'd to be had from Moral things and attributed it peculiarly to the Mathematicks So that all is Incoherent all is Common and big words hollow and so of a loud and high Sound but without any determinate Sense Again how does it follow that because a Christian is thus Certain that the Scriptures are the Word of God that therefore his Faith is thereby resolved into the Scriptures as into the Rule and Measure of what he is to believe There is not the least show of consequence for this unless he had first prov'd that God had intended to speak so clear in the Scripture as every private Understanding should not sail of being secur'd from mistake while it rely'd upon It as also that God had spoken to us no other way but by the written Word which he has no where prov'd nor can ever prove And if the former of these as experience tels us 't is be wanting 't is not a Rule to those Persons if the latter 't is not necessarily the Measure of what they are to believe 29. No Christian can be oblig'd under any pretence of Infallibility to believe any thing as a matter of Faith but what was revealed by God himself in that Book wherein he believes his Will to be contained and consequently is bound to reject whatsoever is offer'd to be imposed upon his Faith which has no foundation in Scripture or is contrary thereto which Rejection is no making Negative Articles of Faith but only applying the general Grounds of Faith to particular Instances as because I believe nothing necessary to Salvation but what is contain'd in Scripture therefore no such particular things which neither are there nor can be deduc't thence If Christians were bound to hold that God had reveal'd his whole Will in that Book and this so clearly that all or most Chriâ—tians could not miss of understanding it right so as thereby to be absolutely Certain of their Faith then indeed the first half of his Principle here runs very currently and smoothly but these rubs lying still in the way which Dr. St. has not in the least removâ—d they being also satisfy'd by the General Conceit of Christianity and by the Nature and Genius of Christian Faith that it cannot possibly be an Errour or Lye and consequently muâ—t have such Grounds as cannot possibly permit all the world to be in an Errour while they rely on them that is Grounds which are Infallibly secure and on the other side observing both by experience and Reason that Scripture is not such a Ground as that private Understandings applying to it are thereby perserv'd from possibility of erring as Dr. St. also confesses in his next Principle hence they are invited strongly to conceive that God has left some Persons on earth easily to be found who may supply what is wanting of Clearness to Scriptures Letter in the highest Points of Faith and that God will some way or other perserve them from erring and that while thus protected by God's signal Providence whether this be performed Naturally Supernaturally or both wayes they cannot Erre in that Affair or in acquainting us with right Faith So that unless Dr. St. make out solidly that Scripture has in it the true nature of the Rule of Faith of it self and without needing any Church he must expect in reason that the very nature of Faith will necessarily incline all sincere persons who have due care of their souls and of finding out true Faith to beleeve the Infallibility of the Church And whereas he says that their rejection of such Points which have no Foundation in Scripture or are contrary thereto is no making New Articles of Faith but only applying the General Grounds of Faith to particular Instances he discourses therein very consonantly to his own Grounds were they worth any thing Yet I have one thing to propose to his Consideration which is that to justify his Reformers he must produce Grounds full as good or rather better for the Rejection of those Points as for his Faith or to speak more distinctly he must have as perfect or rather perfecter Certainty for these two Propositions Nothing it to be beleeved which has no Foundation in Scripture and This or that rejected Point has no Foundation in Scripture as he has for any point of Christian Faith For since upon the Evidence they had of these two Propositions they disobey'd and rebell'd against their then lawful Superiours and Church Pastors and broke Church-Union which was evidently forbidden by God's Law and so the preserving Union obeying them is a point of Faith and which themselves confess is such and binds them as such in case the reasons for their imposing New points be not valid that is if these two Propositions on whose Evidence they rely'd when they alledged they were wrongfully impos'd and thence rejected them be not True it follows that they must at least have equal Evidence nay more for bare Equality would only Balance them in a doubtful suspence berween either side that those Propositions on which they grounds their Rejection of those Articles and disobedience to their Pastours aad Superiours are True as they have for their Faith And if the Grounds of this Rejection ought to be more Certain then the Grounds of their Faith there is either some thing wrong in the pretended Grounds of their Faith or else their Negative Articles ought to be allow'd the honour of being Points of Faith too since their greater Certainty gives them fair and equal Title to it if not Absolute Preeminâ—nce 30. There can be no better way to prevent mens mistakes in the sense of Scripture which men being Fallible are subject to than the considering the consequence of mistaking in a matter wherein their salvation
as well as a private man to consider the consequence of mistaking also I am sure it as much concerns her and so the Church or as he cals it a Society of men may also be Infallible in understanding and explaining Scripture and by this means we are come about again to an Infallible Proponent which we have so zealously labour'd to avoid In a word after he has put all Means left by God to be Certain of our Faith and all the diligence and care possible to be used by man to lay hold on those means let him either acknowledge that any particular man in the world and so a fortiori God's Church or any Sâ—ciety of men exactly following relying on those Means to arrive at right Faith is by so doing Infallible in that thing or in interpreting Scripture and by consequence that Christian Faith is Infallibly Certain or else confess that notwithstanding all means us'd all Christian Faith is still either not Certain at all or else Fallibly Certain which is a peece of most profound Nonsense and were it sense signifies plain all may be False The later half of this Principle is still more admirable Nonsense than the former and shows how meanly he is verst in solid Divinity he conterposes there the Certainty in matters of Faith to that which God has made use of as the means to keep men from Sin in their lives as if Faith were not intended by God to make men Virtuous and the Certainty of Faith the most effectual part of those means But because I see Dr. St. though he have a very good witt yet by reason of his sole Application to verbal Divinity which never reaches the Ground or Bottom of any thing it talks of is very Ignorant of what is meant by Christian Life and it's opposite Vice or Sin I will take a little pains to inform him better He may please then to know that it suting best with God's Wisdom to govern the world by way of Causes and Effects he carries on the course of his Ordinary Providence even in Supernaturalls by means of Dispositions The whole design then of his Goodness is to plant those dispositions in our Soul by means of Religion as may make us most comfortable to himself that so Ascensiones in corde nostro disponendo asceendamus de virtute in virtutem donec videatur Deus Deorum in Sion That is by Ordering those rising Steps in our heart we may ascend from Virtue to Virtue till the God of Gods be seen in Sion Hence the life of a Chriâ—tian as such is spiritual and the Proper way for him to worship God is in spirit that is by Spiritual Acts or Habits to perfect his Soul or that part in us which is Spiritual and dispose is for Heaven But Errour is also spiritual and yet is far from perfecting our Soul therefore Truth must go along with it and so we are to worship God in spirit and Truth Hence the first of virtues in priority of Nature is true Knowledge of God and of the motives or means to attain him and the only way for the Generality to arrive at these is by beleeving his Divine Authority upon some way of Revelation which gives his Church and by her and all others Absolute Certainty 't is engaged by which means we are perfectly secure that what we proceed upon is God's sense or Truth which is the Basis of all our Spiritual building Out of these Knowledges are apt to spring Adoration Reverence Hope and Love of him above all things in Christian Language call'd Charity the Queen of all Virtues major autem horuni Charitas says St. Paul and out of this Love of God above all things Love of our Neighbour as our self in the heartiness of which or the having that Rational disposition in our hearts to do as we would be done to consists the keeping all the Commandments of the Second Table which is also our good for so more undisturb'd by Passion or vexation from the Exteriour World whose order we violate in transgressing against these we are more free to practice those other vertues which are to elevate us towards Heaven and fit us according to the measure of out pitch appointed by God for the Attainment of Bliss Hence is seen what is meant by sin or vice For this being formally a defect is only a want of the opposit good Disposition or Virtue The chief Vice then is Hatred of God or a very sleighting and perfectly deliberate dis-regard Posthabition of his Incomparable self our Final Bliss to a Creature next Despair Irreverence Infidelity totally as in Heathenism or in some particular as Turâ—ism Iudaism Heresy In the last place comes the want of that due Love of our Neighbour for God's sake as leaves our Will dispos'd as far as that motive carries us to do him any injury for our own temporal Convenience in which consists the violation of the Commandments of the Second Table Insomuch as though a man commits not one of those Acts there forbidden out of the motive of Worldly Honour Civility Fear or any other such like yet if he wants that rightly-grounded Interiour Love of his Neighbour and builds not his Avoidance of harming him on that motive that is if he be dispos'd to commit them all for any thing that motive would hinder him however in the sight of man or Exteriourly he keeps those Commandments yet is he guilty of them all Interiourly or in the sight of God To apply this then to our present purpose 'T is seen hence that Faith is the Basis of all virtuous Life and consequently the want of it the ruin of all virtue and the ready way to all Vice and sin For external Acting or Avoiding are nothing to Christian virtue unless they spring from a Christian motive and 't is only Faith which gives us those Motives and the stability well-groundedness or Truth of Faith which renders those Motives effectual Wherefore unless the Faithful be materially Infallible while they believe God has revealed such and fuch things that is unless God did indeed reveal them and so their Faith be really True all Gods worship and Good life is ill-built ruinous and fals to the Ground And unless some of them or those who are capable to understand it to be True be formally Infallible it would work less effectually in all those who should reâ—lect that they saw not but it might be False or be made so reflect by others who were enemies to Faith nor could the Truth of Christian Faith be defended or made out or be Justifiably recommended to others as True nor with Wisdom and Honesty be profest True by those who judge themselves capable to look through it's Grounds and yet see nothing Conclusive of Truth in them Wherefore this Fallible Certainty of his destroys all Efficacy all Defence and even Essence of Faith and consequently radically subverts and overthrows all Christian Virtue and all true Goodness Which I attest
the Authour and Finisher of our Faith is the true reason why I with so much zeal and Earnestness oppose him and his Friend for advancing Vncertainty and consequently Scepticism in Faith however they and their angry passionate party are pleas'd to apprehend me I perceive Dr. St. will hope to evade by saying that Christian virtue may be upheld by the Certainty we have of some Points of Faith though others be Vncertain which Points to make his Uncertainty of Faith go down the better he cals here Opinions But if he means by Opinions the Tenets of a Trinity Christs Godhead and Presence in the B. Sacrament all most highly concerning Christian Life one way or other in which we discern great parties differing who all â—dmit the Scripture and use the best means to interpret it as far as we can perceive nay and consider the consequence of mistaking too which he makes the very best means of all If I say these and such as these be the Opinions he speaks of and counterposes them to means to keep men from sin in their lives and that the Rule of Faith he assigns leaves whol Bodies of Reliers on it in actual Errour in such Fundamental Points of Faith and of most high concernment to good life as has been shown even while they proceed upon it 't is evident 't is not the Rule God intended his Church and mankinde to build their Faith on and so none can presume of security of mistake by relying purely upon it but all of Concern not known before by some other means that is all which it alone holds forth may be also liable to be a mistake likewise unless some other Authority more ascertainable to us then it abets it's Letter in such passages as are plain because they are either meerly Moral or Narrative or explain it's sense in others which are more spiritual and supernatural and so more peculiar and Fundamental to Christianity Recapitulation To meet with the absurd Positions exprest or else imply'd in the Doctrin deliver'd here by Dr. St. in these last Eleven Principles of his I take leave to remind the Reader of these few opposit Truths establisht in my former Discourse 1. That Assent call'd Faith taken as built on the Motives left by God to light Mankind to the Knowledge of his Will that is taken as it ought to be taken and as 't is found in the Generality is for that Reason Absolutely that is more then morally Certain or Impossible to be False 2. Though the Nature of Assent depend immediatly on the Evidence we have of it in our minds when 't is Rational yet in case it be True as the Assent of Faith ought to be it must necessarily be built and depend fundamentally on the nature of the Thing since without dependance on It this Evidence it self cannot possibly be had 3. A man may be materially Infallible or out of possibility of being actually deceiv'd in judging the divine Authority is engag'd by adhering to another's Iudgment who is Infallible or in the right in thus judging though he penetrate not the reason why that other man comes to be Infallible Also he who is thus Infallible being in possession of those Truths reliev'd upon the Divine Authority as the Formal motive of believing them which Truths as Principles beget those good Affections in him in which consist our Christian Life such a man I say has consequently enough speaking abstractedly for the Essence of Saving Faith though he be not Formally or knowingly Infallible by penetrating the Conclusiveness of the Grounds of Faith 4. To be thus materially Infallible or thus in the right in judging the Divine Authority is engag'd is requisite and necessary for the Essence of Faith otherwise the believing upon the Divin Authority when 't is not engag'd and so perhaps the believing and holding firmly to abominable Errours and Hereticall Tenets might be an Act of Faith to assert which is both absurd and most impious 5. 'T is requisite to the Perfection of Faith to be formally or Knowingly Infallible that the Divine Authority is engag'd For since it hazards Heresy and Errour to judge that the Divine Authority is engag'd for any point when 't is not it ought to breed suspence and caution in Reflecters till they see it engag'd consequently the better they see this the more heâ—rtily they are apt to assent to the point upon the Divine Authâ—rity So that the Absolute Certainty of the Grounds which conclude the Divine Authority engag'd betters and strengthens the Act of Faith 6. However it be enough for the Faith of those whose downright rudeness lets them not reflect at all to be only Materially Infallible that God's Authority is engag'd yet 't is besides of Absolute necessity to Reflecters who raise doubts especially for those who are very acute to discern some reason which cannot deceive them or to be formally or knowingly Infallible that 't is indeed actually engag'd for those points Otherwise it would follow that provision enough had been made by God to satisfy or cause saving Faith in Fools and none at all to breed Faith wise men which without satisfaction in this in point is in possible to be expected in such through-sighted Reflecters The same Formal Infallibility is necessary for the wisest sort of men in the Church both to deâ—end Faith and establish it's Grounds in a Scholar-like way as also for their Profession of the Truth of Faith and other Obligations incumbent on them as Faithfull and lastly for the Effects which are to be bred in them by Faith's Certainty 7. Though then the Rule of Faith needs not to be actually penetrated by all the Faithfull while they proceed unreflectingly yet it ought to be so qualifi'd that it may satisfy all who are apt to reflect and so to doubt of their Faith that is it 's Ruling power ought to be penetrable or evidenceable to them if they come to doubt and also so connatural and suitable to the unelevated and unreflecting thoughts of men of all sorts that it be the most apt that maybe to establish the Faithfull in the mean time and preserve them from doubting of their Faith Both these are found in Tradition or Testifying Authority and not in Scripture's Letter That therefore and not This is the Rule of Faith 8. Infallible Certainty of Faith being rejected the Moral Certainâ—y he substitutes must either be a Fallible Certainty or none this later is Impious the former is non-sense Wherefore all Dr. St's Discourse of Faith while he rejects Infallibility must forcibly have the one or the other of these Qualifications 9. A firm Assent to a thing as True renders no man Certain of what he thus assents to for so Hereticks might be truly Certain of all the pestilent Errours they hold so they but firmly assent they are True 10. Faith being the Basis of all Christian Virtues on which all our spiritual Edifice is built and from whence we derive all the
Divinity p. 191. 192. In Logick p. 228. 236. 237. His Performances reduc't to their proper Principles Contradictions p. 236. Tradition the Rule of Faith p. 45. 46. 141. 142. Vnion how to be hoped p. 51. 52. Writing how capable to be the Rule of Faith p. 36. 37. 38. Errata PAge 2. line 4. receive p. 11. l. 21. perfectly p. 15. l 2. disparate p. 32. l. 1â— then we can p. 45. l. 12. Again p. 67. l. 27. dele and this as far c. to the end of the 4th line after p. 81. l. 29. dele of p. 84. l. 2. Endeavorers l. 29. Endeavorers p. 104. l. 4. dele we p. 10â— l. 5. his p. 124. l. 5. and. p. 131. l. 30. dele in the. p. â— 2. l. 11. infallibly l. 23. then p. 834. l. 17. be False l. 20. about p. 159. l. 22. if p. 1â—0 l. 14. as l. 15. dele be p. 167. l. 11. dele if p 173. l. 18. to a higher degree p. 177. l. 23. which are p. 181. l. 2. degree p. 184. l. 24. ground p. 185. l. 15. reason given l. 18. keep men p. 187. l. 14. is p. 188. l. 14. dissatisfaction l. 21. some p. 192. l. 5. conformable l. 16. it l. 26. by her all p. 193. l. 17. our p. 198. l. 2. receiv'd p. 199. l. 14. in wisemen in this point p. 202. l. ult The 5th and 6th p. 214. l. 3. dele to p. 216. l. 12. its p 221. l. 18. Dr. St. p. 234. l. 18. applying it p. 235. l. 23. produc't one p. 250. l. 9. not THE FIRST EXAMEN CONCERNING Dr. Stillingfleet's Design in this Discourse as exprest in his TITLE 1. IN the first place the Title superscribed to this Discourse and signifying to us the Nature and Design of it is to be well weighed that so we may make a right Conceit of what we are justly to expect from Dr. St. in this occasion 'T is this The Faith of Protestants reduc'd to Principles 2. Now Principles as we have discours'd in the Preface must either be Evident to both Parties or at least held and granted by both else no discourse can proceed for want of Agreement in that on which all Rational Process is grounded Also they must be Proper for the End intended or Influential upon the Conclusion which the Arguer aims to evince otherwise if the thing in question deceive not its Evidence and Truth from them though those Propositions be never so evident in themselves yet they cannot be to It or in this Circumstance a Principle whatever they may be in others Wherefore to make good this Title Dr. St. is to produce nothing for a Principle but what is either granted at first by both Parties or else is of so open and undeniable an Evidence as all the World must see and acknowledge it such as are either first Principles or those which immediatly depend upon them and are comprehended under them or if he builds on any Propositions as Principles which are not thus evident but need Proof he is at least to render them evident ere he builds upon them And lastly he is to apply them close to that which he professes to conclude from them otherwise he can never show them to be Principles in this occasion any more than one can be a Father who has no Off-spring or than any thing can be a Ground which has no Superstructures 3. Next we are to consider what Dr. St. means by the word Faith in this place And I hope he will not think I injure him in supposing he has so good thoughts of the Faith of Protestants as to hold 't is more than a bare Opinion whose Grounds may all be false For if so the Assent of Protestants as Faithful may possibly be an Error and all the Tenets they profess to be Truths and hope to be sav'd by believing them liable to be prov'd nothing perhaps in reality but a company of Lies If then as in this supposition he must he holâ—s the 〈◊〉 of Protestants Impossible to be Faâ—â—e he is 〈◊〉 to reduce it into 〈◊〉 Grounds and Principles as are likewâ—â—e Impossible to be False and consequently if it relies on Authority he is to bring Infallible Authority for it all that is Fallible as Common sense teaches admitting Possibility of Falshood in whatever is grounded on it Such Grounds then or Principles he is oblig'd to produce for the Faith of Protestants in case he holds it may not perhaps be an Error for any thing he or his Church knows But in case he judges this Assent or Belief of Protestants may be True Faith though the Grounds of it may be False then he ows me an answer to Faith Vindicated where the contrary is prov'd by multitudes of Arguments not one of which has yet receiv'd one word of sober Reply from him or Dr. Tillotson though as appears by the Inferences at the end of that Book it most highly concerns them both to speak to the several Reasons it contains 4. In the third place we are to reflect what may be meant by the word reduc'd in the said Title And since all Truths not self-evident nor known by immediate impression on sense are at first deriv'd or deduc'd from Principles this word reduc'd having a signification directly contrary to the other intimates to us that Dr. St. makes account he has begun by putting the Faith of Protestants which is the Conclusion and brought it back for so the word reduc'd imports to Principles whereas 't is Evident to every Scholar he proceeds in a way quite contrary to what he here pretends First laying six Principles agreed on then thirty others which since they go before his Conclusions we are to think he meant for Principles too and thence drawing in the Close six Inferences or Sequels which is most manifestly to deduce from Principles not to reduce to them 5. But however it be blameable in one who owns himself a Scholar especially pretending the rigorous and learned way of proceeding by Principles not to understand the nature of the Way himself takes yet let us kindly suppose that Dr. St. out of an unwariness only made use by chance of an improper word which being but a human lapse is more easily pardonable especially since the Method he here undertakes viz. to begin with Principles is if rightly manag'd and perform'd the most honorable for a Scholar and the most satisfactory that may be and so deserving to make amends for many greater faults Let him then by reduc'd to Principles mean deduc'd from Principles yet since both reducing and deducing imply the showing a Connexion between those Principles and what 's pretended to be drawn from them and this either Immediate as to every particular Conclusion or Mediate We are to expect Dr. St. should still show us this Connexion which is best and most clearly done by relating each of his six Conclusions to their respective Premisses or Principles that so by this distinct proceeding and owning
be so the not appearing to be otherwise will avail nothing to conclude it so All it can effect is to make us maintain our liberty of suspence and Indifferency that so we may be void of forestalment or prejudice and free to believe it when competent or conclusive Reasons shall appear to evince it What then Dr. St. is to do is to produce Conclusive Reasons to evince that the Letter of Scripture has such a perspicuity and other Perfections belonging to such a Rule as must ground that most Firm Vnalterable and if rightly grounded Inerrable Assent call'd CHRISTIAN FAITH and this considering the Nature of Faith the Effects which are to proceed from Faith and Obligations issuing from it and Incumbent on the Faithful as such But in stead of performing this necessary Duty of his to argue as if though the Reasons he brings conclude it not yet it must needs be so because we have no Evidence 't is not so is so pleasant and new invented a way of arguing that he must find the VVorld a new Logick and Mankind it self a new nature ere he will arrive by means of such Discourse at any Conclusion And whereas he seems to build much on the word Equal alledging that we must for the reasons there given hold the Scriptures the Rule of Faith unless it appear they are defective with an Evidence Equal to that whereby we believe those books to be the word of God 'T is absolutely deny'd not only for the reason lately given in common that none can be bound in reason to hold or own any unprov'd Position but particularly because of the peculiar nature of the thing we are discoursing of For the Rule of Faith being that which is to tell us God said such or such things or engages the Divine Authority for their Verity if we should happen to misuse Scriptures Letter by letting loose people of all capacities to rely on it as their Rule of Faith then in case it should peradventure not have been intended by God for this end but for some others we expose our selves and others to the desperate danger of running into Endless Errors by this misusage of Scripture and of adhering to those Errors as firmly as if God himself had spoke them that is we hazard erring irrecoverably in matters which ate the proper means of salvation and blaspheming God daily in making him the Patron of Lies In this case then there is particular caution to be used and so if upon sincere and strict Examination it be but any thing dubious that Scripture was never intended by God for a Rule of Faith we can never be obliged to hold or own it for such especially not having any Certain Argument to conclude it such much less must we be oblig'd to hold it to be such unless we have EQVAL Evidence of its Unfitness to that whereby we believe those Books to be the word of God unless Dr. St. will say that nothing ought to restrain a man from hazarding the greatest mischiefs in the world but perfect Evidence that no harm will come of it So that still his main business and without which he does nothing at all remains yet to be done which is to bring solid convincing Proofs that God intended Scripture or his Written Word for the Rule of Faith that is for such a Rule as people of all sorts relying on it should be Infallibly or absolutely-secur'd from Error by so doing In making good which concerning Point he hath hitherto trifled exceedingly Nay himself here is afraid to own the Goodness of his own Proof otherwise he would never have thought it fit to annex those words Vnless it appear with an Evidence equal to that whereby we believe those books to be the word of God that they were never intended for that End because of their obscurity or imperfection For the Evidence whereby it appears those Books are the word of God must be conclusive else according to his Grounds we can never conclude one word of Faith True and so an Evidence equal to it must be Conclusive likewise If then he had thought his reasons to prove Scripture the Rule of Faith were Good and Conclusive Common sense would have forbid him to add these cautious words Vnless it appears with an equal evidence c. for Common sense tells us no Conclusive reason can possibly be brought for the Negative if Conclusive Reasons be once produc'd or be producible for the Affirmative It appears then by this behaviour of his on this occasion that he distrusts that either he has produc'd any Conclusive reason for that main Point of Scriptures being intended for the Rule of Faith or that any can be produc'd Lastly That we may give perfect satisfaction to this Fundamental Principle of his though perhaps there is not Evidence Scriptures Letter was never intended for the Rule of Faith equal to that whereby we believe those Books to be the Word of God in regard we believe this upon the Authority of Gods Church which is supported with the whole strength of Best Nature and Supernaturals yet we have rigorous and Conclusive Evidence that it is not penn'd in the very best way imaginable to avoid all ambiguity of words and forestall mistakes as being immediately inspir'd by God whose works are perfect if it had been intended by him to be our Rule of Faith it ought to be And I shall presume I have already brought Conclusive Evidences both à priori and also à posteriori in my answer to his 10th Principle to evince that it has not in it the nature of such a Rule nor consequently was it intended by God to be such a Rule How incomparably excellent soever it be for other Ends for which it was indeed and solely intended But omitting all the rest at present I remind him of one which I cannot too often repeat and enforce it upon him thus He cannot deny but the Points of a Trinity and Christs Godhead are most Fundamental Points of Faith he cannot deny but both Protestants and Socinians rely on the Letter of Scripture for the sole Rule of their Faith and sincerely endeavour to know the meaning of them which is all he requires on the Persons side He cannot deny but that notwithstanding this one party holds There is no Trinity and that Christ is not God the other that there is a Trinity and that Christ is God and so one side erres most Fundamentally He cannot deny but Error being a Defect there must be a fault somewhere to beget this Error that is either in the Persons judging of what the Rule of Faith tells them or else in judging that to be a Rule which is not the Rule for in case they erre in neither of these 't is impossible they should erre or misconceive at all in matters of Faith He cannot deny in any reason but the persons on both sides being such acute men and excellently well vers'd in the Letter of Scripture have both Capacity
act as they adjudg'd had both led them into actual Errour and punisht them thus grievously in that case for adhering to Truth which are too horrid blasphemies to be heard or imagin'd But if they mean onely for some time of that Law or some Ages immediately before Christ when the Synagogue was most corrupt this implies a Confession that such a Society was necessary in the Ages foregoing and then Dr. St. is to show us why it was not equally necessary in the later as in the former and not suppose it gratis Nor was the Synagogue ever more corrupt than in our Saviour's days and yet we see how severely he enjoins the Jews of that time to obey the Scribes and Pharisees because they sate in Moses his Chair which it were blasphemy to say Christ could do if he had not secur'd their Doctrine from being Erroneous that is preserv'd them Inerrable in that Affair Add that were all granted yet there is far more necessity of explaining the Scriptures now than at that time For the Law was in a manner all of it either matters of Fact to be done or Moral Duties and so agreeable to nature whence both of these were far more easily expressible in proper language and consequently Intelligible than the sublime spiritual and mysterious Tenets of the Law of Grace which are more hard to be exprest in per words and being more removed from our knowledg the natures of the Things are more hard to be penetrated and so those words more difficult to be rightly comprehended and understood without an Interpreter than were those other 16. There can be no more intolerable usurpation upon the Faith of Christians than for any person or society of men to pretend to an Assistance as Infallible in what they propose as was in Christ or his Apostles without giving an equal degree of Evidence that they are so assisted as Christ and his Apostles did viz. by miracles as great publick and convincing as theirs were by which I mean such as are wrought by those very persons who challenge this Infallibility and with a design for the Conviction of those who do not believe it Thus the Dr. makes sure work against the Infallibility of any Church which overthrown his single self nay any private man or woman that has but self-conceit and confidence enough to proceed openly upon these Principles of his is upon even ground with the best nay all the Churches in the World at the main point of understanding and determining what 's Faith what not Nay more may defie all the Governours of all Churches in the World if he or she be but conscious to themselves that they sincerely endeavour and soberly enquire for the true meaning of the divine writings for these being their Rule of Faith and being assuâ—ed by Dr. St. that they cannot miss if they soberly enquire of what is necessary for salvation and being inform'd by common Reason that 't is a point very necessary to the salvation of a Christian or one who is to follow and adore Christ to know whether he be God and so may without fear of Idolatry have Divine Honour given him or no these things being so in case it should seem to the best judgement of such a man and let him be for example one brought up in the Church of England and newly turn'd Socinian that Christ is not God he ought not to relinquish his Rule of Faith at any rate nor what he judges the Scriptures sense of it this being his Faith but maintain it boldly against all his Pastors talk and quote Scripture as briskly as the best of them all desy them to their faces nay dye in defence of his interpretation of it and be a special Martyr though he take his death upon it that all his lawful Pastors and the whole Church of which he is a member are most hainons Idolaters for giving the worship proper to God to a man In this case 't is plain the Church cannot pretend to oblige him to believe her interpretation of Scriptuâ—e Alas all such power is quite taken out of her hands by these new principles not to act exteriourly as she does for that were to oblige him to deny his Faith in his Actions and carriage and this in so hainous a point as committing flat Idolatry and which his Rule of Faith tells him is such Nor to acquiesce so far as to hold his tongue and not contradict the Church for 't is both ingratitude to God who has so plainly reveal'd it to him in Scripture not to stand up for his honour so wickedly violated by the Church and withall most uncharitable to his neighbour not to communicate to him the light he has receiv'd by such plain Revelation from God's word and to endeavour his reducement from so grievous an Idolatry especially if this man be a Minister of the Church of England whose Office and Duty 't is to hold forth or preach what he judges God's word Nay though it were a Lay-man or a Lay-woman all 's a case why may they not with as much reason make known so concerning a truth plainly reveal'd to them as Aquila and Priscilla did of old As for all power of the Church to restrain them that 's quite thrown out of doors Humane commands can have no force when the best duties to God and man are neglected by obeying and the more the Church is obstinate and opposes this private man or woman by so much greater is the necessity of his or her informing the Church right and standing up for the Truth Hereafter more of this at present let us see how he destroyes infallibility in the Church which is his chief design and indeed it makes very much for his purpose for I so far concurr with him that if it be but fallible in attesting or explaining Scripture 't is little available to the grounding Christian Faith so that if infallibility be but overthrown and these Principles setled in its stead every private man is a Church which our corrupt nature loving liberty will no doubt be very taking and please the rabble exceedingly He is so earnest at his work that he stumbles for hast For first who did ever pretend to an infallibility equal to what was in Christ or his Apostles as his words import Christ was essentially infallible the Apostles by Immediate Inspiration from God The Church pretends indeed to be infallibly assisted but that she pretends to have it either essentially as God has it or by way of immediate inspiration as the Apostles had it is a thing I never yet learnt 'T is enough to justify her constant claim of infallible assistance that she have it mediately or by means of the ordinary working of natural and supernatural causes so shee but have it And to have it this way seems far more agreeable to reason than the other of immediate inspiration as to have by way of immediate inspiration was far more fitting for the Apostles For
bide by us and we by it all our whole lives till we arrive at our future state the Region of Light where we shall see facie ad faciem who sees not that it must be held and so since there can be no Necessity to hold a thing to be what 't is not must be Impossible to be false for otherwise were we to hold it that is were it self possible to be False it ought to be held Alterable when ever more Light should appear discovering it to be an Errour To evince this Truth I have produc't multitudes of Arguments in Faith vindicated none of which has been thought fit to be reply'd to though mine and Faith's opposers still craftily persist to insinuate the contrary Errour But I will at present make use only of one which will I conceive best conclude the Point between us For Dr. St. makes Scripture the Rule of Faith and so speaks of Faith as standing under what he conceives the firmest and clearest Ground and which was left by God for Mankind to embrace Faith I do the same when I assert the Churches Testimony or Tradition to be the Rule So that neither of us speak of the particular odd ways by which some persons casually come to have Faith nor of Faith as had by such means but of the common road-way left by God for Mankind to attain to Faith and of Faith as standing under such a Means or Rule Upon this Agreement if we joyn issue and proceed it seems that nothing but evident Obstinacy against manifest Truth can hinder us from agreeing in our Conclusion For since if we may be deceiv'd in beleeving even while we follow the direction of that Rule which God himself has appointed to light us to Faith it would follow that there is no means imaginable likely to do that effect as also that God himself had deceived us which is both Blasphemous and Impossible it must follow That Faith built upon the Rule left by God whether Scripture or Tradition must be Impossible to be an Errour and consequently its Ground or Rule must be Impossible to be False or Erroneous Wherefore Dr. St. is oblig'd as well as I am to hold heartily this double Conclusion and if he attempts to discourse of that point to make it out that the Rule he assignes is such as cannot leave us in Errour and our Infinitely-perfect God in the blame How far short he hath fallen hitherto of making out his pretended Rule of Faith viz. Scripture as standing under the Judgement of every private person to be Impossible to suffer men to err while adhering to that way is already shown How heartily now he asserts Faith it self built on the Means or Rule left by God to be Impossible to be Erroneous or False comes next to be examined 20. No mans Faith can therefore be Infallible meerly because the Proponent is said to be Infallible because the nature of Assent doth not depend upon the objective Infallibility of any thing without us but is agreeable to the Evidence we have of it in our mindâ—s for Assent is not built on the nature of things but their Evidence to us This Principle begins with a Fallacy of non causa pro causa For what man in his Witts ever said or held that Faith must therefore be Infallible meerly because the Proponent is said to be Infallible must a meer saying that is a saying neither self-evident nor prov'd be held a competent Ground to build the Existence of any thing upon But let us suppose that Dr. St. by the words is said to be meant is or prov'd to be as is indeed our true Tenet let 's see how he confutes us Our Tenet is that in case the Proposer of Faith be Infallible all that rely on It for that particular are by so doing Infallible likewise He argues against us from the nature of Assent which he sayes depends not on the Objective Infallibility of any thing without us but is agreeable to the evidence we have of it in our minds If he means by the words depends not such a dependence as is Immediate I grant it For our Assent being an effect wrought in our Soul and a Result of some foregoing knowledges notions or natures of things within us which produce that Assent if it be a Conclusion or compound it if a First Principle 't is impossible any thing without us and staying there without evidencing it self to our minds or breeding some Interiour discovery of itâ—elf there should beget any Assent at all concerning it But if he means by those words that our Assent depends not mediately or depends not at all on the Object without us as his large Expression seems to signify then 't is absolutely deny'd For the Evidence of the Thing in us is an Effect of the nature of the Thing without us nor could evidence of the Thing in us cause Assent without such dependence on the Object or Thing without us for unless by means of the Object and dependence on it this Evidence it self could not be The last words For Assent is not built on the nature of things but their evidence to us is but a Tautology or short rehearsall of the reason lately given and so needs no new Answer Yet however D. St. for want of Logick expresses himself ill confusedly there is notwithstanding a kind of knot in in his discourse and I shall lend my best Assistance to loose it but first it will be necessary to put down his three next Principles since they all seem to club into one Dilemma against Infallibility 〈◊〉 Proponent 21. It is therefore necessary in order to an 〈◊〉 Assent that every particular person be infallibly assisted in judging of the matters proposed to him to be beleeved so that the Ground on which a necessity of some Externall Infallible Proponent is asserted must rather make every particular person Infallible if no Divin Faith can be without an Infallible Assent and so renders any other Infallibility useless 22. If no particular person be Infallible in the Assent he gives to matters proposed by others to him then no man can be Infallibly sure that the Church is Infallible and so the Churches Infallibility can signify nothing to our Infallible Assurance without an equal Infallibility in our selves in the belief of it 23. The Infallibility of every particular person being not asserted by those who plead for the Infallibility of a Church and the one rendring the other useless for if every person be Infallible what need any representative Church to be so and the Infallibility of a Church being of no effect if every person be not Infallible in the belief of it we are farther to inquire what certainty men may have in matters of Faith supposing no externall Proponent to be Infallible Ere I begin my Discourse I am to note Dr. St's shuffling way of contriving his Sentences here or of penning his Principles as he call's them His 21st contends 't is necessary
agreed to by all the World at what time all Deserters of our Church of what name soever broke from us as also who were the Authors and Abettors and who the Impugners of such New Doctrins besides in what places they first begun and were thence propagated to others but no such thing is known of us even by our Adversaries whom it concerns to be most diligent Searchers after it seeing they are in a hundred mindes about the Time when and the Persons who introduc'd these pretended New Doctrins of ours which they say vary from Scripture as may be seen by their own words in several Books and amongst others one call'd The Progeny of Protestants and this for every point in which they pretend we have innovated 't is plain that when we charge them with deserttng the known Doctrin of the former Church and the Rule of Faith we speak open and acknowledg'd evidence when they accuse us of the same their charge is obscure and unknown even to the very Accusers nay plainly prov'd false by the necessity of the things being notorious if it happen'd and the constant disagreement of those who alledge it when or how it happen'd 16. I say Notorious for since Points of Faith which ground all Christian practise are the most concerning Truths in the World it cannot be but the denyal of such Truths must needs raise great commotions before the opposite Truths could be nniversally spread and the change of Christian Practise and Manners which depend on those Truths must be wonderfully manifest and known to every body wherefore had we been guilty of such a change and introduc'd New Tenets and propagated them over the Christian world as is pretended it must needs be manifestly and universally known that we did so neither is it possible the change should be so Insensible and invisible that our very Adversaries cannot find it out especially this alone making their Victory over us so certain and perfect For seeing we own TRADITION as an Infallible Rule We are irrecoverably overthrown if they make out that we ever deserted It and surely nothing should be more easie than to make out That than which if True nothing can possibly be more Notorious 17. Moreover since it cannot be that Multitudes of men should profess to hold points both infinitely concerning and strangely difficult to believe and yet own no ground upon which they hold them if we ever as 't is said we have deserted Tradition we must till the time we took it up again have proceeded upon some other Ground or Rule of Faith And because none ever charged â—s with proceeding upon the Letter of Scripture or Phanaticism and besides thâ—se there is no other but Tradition 't is plain we never deserted but always stuck to Tradition 18. Besides 't is impossible that that Body of Men whiâ—h claim for their Rule of Faith an uninterrupted Tradition from the Apoâ—â—les days should not have held to that Rule of Faith from the beginning For otherwise they must have taken it up at some tim◠〈◊〉 other and by doing so profess to the 〈◊〉 that Nothing is to be held of Faith but what descended by an uninterrnpted delivery from the beginning and yet at the same time acknowledge that all they then held was not so descended but received by another Rule this of Tradition or uninterrupted Delivery being then newly taken up which is so palpable a Contradiction that as Humane Nature could not fall into it so if it could the very pretence would have overthrown it self and needed no other confutation 19. Add to this that none of tbose many Sects who from time to time have deserted our Church's Faith and Discipline and so become her Adversaries ever yet pretended to assign the time when we took up this Rule of Tradition and yet a change in that on which we profess to build all the rest must needs be of all changes the most visible and most apt to justifie the carriage of those Revolters Wherefore 't is demonstrably evident on all sides that as this present Body of men call'd the Roman-Catholick Church does now hold to Tradition so their Predecessors uninterruptedly from the Apostles days did the same that is did hold to it ever And since 't is shown before § 11. that this Rule if held to will certainly convey down the true Faith unchang'd to all after Ages 't is likewise demonstrable that they have the true Faith and are the truly Faithful or true Church 20. And hence by the way is clearly seen what is meant by VNIVERSAL TRADITION and where 't is to be look'd for and found which puzzles many men otherwise very judicious and sincere who profess a readiness nay a duty to follow Vniversal Tradition but they are at a loss how we may certainly know which is Ie. For since 't is evident that to compleat the notion of the Vniversality of Mankind for example it were absurd to think we must take in brutes too which are of an opposite nature to Mankind but 't is sufficient to include all in whom the nature of Mankind is found so to make np the notion of Vniversal Tradition it were equally absurd to think we ought to take in those in whom the nature of Tradition is not found but its Opposit that is Deserters of Tradition or their Followers but 't is sufficient to include those in whom Tradition is found as in its Subject that is Adherers to Traedition or Traditionary Christians All therefore that have at any time deserted the Teoching and Practise of the immediately fore-going Church how numerous and of what name soever they behave no show of Title to be parts of Vniversal Tradition and only they who themselves do and whose Ancestors did ever adhere to it how few soever they seem are the only persons who can with any sense pretend to be those of whom as Parts Vniversal Tradition consists Whence also that Rule of Vincentius Lirinensis directing us to hold that which is believ'd in all places all times and by all which is so mis-apprehended by our Modern Dissenters is clearly understood viz. by taking it with Restriction to all those who hold to Tradition For otherwise should we not restrain it to those only who have adher'd to the Rule of Faith but enlarge it to the utmost extent of the words so as to comprehend also those who have deserted that Rule nothing could possibly be held of Faith whlch any Heretick had ever deny'd and so in stead of being a Rule to distâ—nguish or know what we are to believe it would by thus confounding right Faith with all the Heresies in the world render it utterly Impossible ever to know what 's Faith what not or discern Christ's true Doctrin from Diabolical Errours But to return whence we digrest 21. It follows from the former discourse that those men who stick to Tradition can by applying that their Rule certainly know who have true Faith and which body of men is