Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A40490
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A friendly debate upon the next elections of Parliament and the settlement of liberty of conscience in a dialogue between a city and country elector. With allowance.
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1688
(1688)
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Wing F2218C; ESTC P2642
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8,327
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5
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order to which First I believe not only the Doctrins of the Church of England but the points in Controversy between her and her Dissenters for theirs most of them and our Doctrines are the same are founded on holy Writ and extracted from those sacred Fountains of Truth as you say But pray have not several of the Dissenters the very same Basis the Scriptures too even for those Tenents and points in differance between us Coun. How now I hope you are not for making the Scripture play the Satyr in the Fable blow hot and cold both with one Breath can the Scripture reconcile Contradictions can Truth play the Janus And can opposite points of Faith or Divine Rites of Worship be both at once supported by the sacred Oracles of the Gospel Cit. I dare not tell you that they can but this I dare tell you as there is but one God and one Gospel so there are those Great and Fundamental Truths delivered in that Gospel so plain and Evident that he that believes and practises accordingly and to the height of his Ability lives up to the precepts and commands contained in and derived from those Fundamental Truths cannot err in the path to Salvation But on the other side as there are several lesser points contained also in or deduced from that sacred Volume of the revealed Mysteries that from Generation to Generation have admitted of Dispute and which without setting up an Infallible Judge neither have been are or will be adjusted to the end of the World And consequently the numerous Christian Dissenters in those forementioned points of difference between us neither are or will be reconciled as long as the Sun and Moon endure how unreasonable therefore is the Institution of Penal Laws to punish no other Transgression then this Impossible Reconciliation And to bring it more home to the Church of England a Church that utterly disowns any such Infallible Judge confessing her own and all other Fallibility Her punishment of Dissenters carries the most notorious face of Injustice that all her Eloquence can never answer nor Sophistry it self can palliate For what assurance as Fallible can she have but that the Dissenters in those points in Difference may be in the Right and her self in the Wrong and therefore with what forehead dares she pretend in so tender a concern as no less then the Liberties Estates and Lives of her Dissenting Brethren struck at by our Penal Laws to punish Dissent as Erronious when possibly the errour may be on the punishing and not on the offending side Coun. Truly I should be a Dissenter my self should I dare contradict so established an Opinion of our Church as â—â—â—ability And therefore I must acknowledge we â—panâ— no â—â—â—ther assurance of the Right on our side in the aforesaid controverted Points then founding our Truth in that matter in contradiction to their Mistake only upon our Internal Evidence testifying for iâ— Aâ—lâ—ght oâ— Judgment of Conscience that after a serious â—â—atâ—â—re and deliberate Examination and from our own Intâ—â—petation of the Spiritual Records decides in our own Favour and gives Reason and Strength to our own Arguments and Opinions Cit. This very acknowledgement has undone you for the Dissenter himself has that very Light and Judgment of Conscience that in contradiction to all your Reasons decides for his own And if no stronger a Light can erect Penal Laws supposing our Church Government in the Dissenters Hands he has the same parity of Justice to turn all our own Penal Weapons or others as sharp against the very Breast of the now Church of England Coun. Troth Friend to give you your due I think there 's a little small matter of Sense some little smattering of Reason in this Argument of yours that hang me if at present I am provided with a Reply Cit. No matter hear the end of it and lay your own and your helping Neighbours Heads together to answer it He that is an Enemy to this Charter of Religious Liberty and that defends our Penal Laws in matter of Religion and restraint of Conscience or endeavours the choice of those Representatives in Parliament that shall uphold them justifies the Deaths of every Protestant that dyed by the Laws of Queen Mary and all the Erection of Stakes and Inquisition Houses and ought not in Justice to complain were it possible that Popery should ever be so reestablished again in England as that indeed it never can be Coun. Never Are you sure on 't Cit. Yes never But of that in its proper place As I said before grant the supposition of the same reestablishment of Popery He ought not to complain or murmur were the old Smithfeild Fires rekindled and himself one of ahe Number that Blazed in their Flames Coun. Heyday Here 's a bold Lanch indeed But I hope you are not serious for if you are you 'll have tough work to vouch what you say Cit. Not so tough as you fancy For to state the Ballance between them Our Church in Power and Dominion upon the presumption of being the True Ancient and Apostolick Church and her self only in the right sets up Gibbets to punish her Erroneous Recusants and establishes Jayls Consiseations Sequestrations Abjurations Banishments and Halters here again too to punish her erroneous Non-conformists And pray did not the Church of Rome in Power and Dominion set up Fire and Fagot to punish her erroneous Recusants too under the same presumption of being the true ancient Apostoâ—ick Church her self only in the right and her Hereticks in the wrong I might have said greater Presumption for her supposed Infalibility gives her a confidence of that right and wrong which our tenderer Modesty only allows us Hopes of And consequently by the same Equity of Condemnation we tacitly avow her Hereteci Comburendi to be as honest and upright a Law when in force as 27th or 38th of Elizabeth Coun. But hold a little my nimble Friend I hope there 's some little difference between the Church of Rome and the Church of England Cit. I undoubtedly a great one Coun. And therefore I hope the Laws and Penalties to support our Innocent Primitive Faith and Purity as severe as you are pleas'd to represent them and the Laws to support such an Erroneous Superstitious Idolatrous Religion as that of Rome bear some little Disproportion Cit. Disproportion none at all for grant all this outery of Errour Superstition c. against the Romish Religion true she has as authentick a justification of her Penal Laws as we can have of ours We are indeed to consider that the Scripture is that Ark or Cabinet in which Gods Divine Truths are Reposited but with all so Reposited that the Key of Knowledg that opens to them does not unlock to all Men a like T is not the absolute and perfect Knowledge for such Perfection is not given us of Good and Evil and Truth and Falsehood in every entire Part and Particle But only the Presumptive Knowledge of them that sets up Churches and Laws to support them and therefore the Romish Church with an Equal or rather more strong Beleif of her Divine unerring Truth and uprightness has as sufficient and authorative warrant for her penal Inflictions in matter of Conscience as we can have for ours And indeed powr in the Saddle in any Church whatever whether Christian Jewish Mahometan or Heathen it self upon the granted supposition of a human Right of Dominion over Conscience with the same tho not so well gounded a presumtion of Right on their side has the same plea for all the Barbarities that Persecution or Cruelty has can or shall commit And therefore as I said before he that upholds any such penal Power of Restraint of the worship of God and avows the government of Conscience any other then the pecular Province of the Almighty and wholly without the Jurisdiction of Man opens a boundless and insatiate Torrent to all the licentiousness of Tyranny that mad Zeale or Spiritual Pride under the Colour of a Law for that they could not want can set a floating And these very Records our Penal Statutes so uphold deprive us of all Right of Appeal even to God himself against the Injustice or Oppression of any Ecclesiastical Restraint of or Persecution for Conscience that any other Church whatever in power over us does or can excercise upon us For what have we then more done to us then we our selves will to have done to others And more particularly to the Dissenters part if they either infatuated or scarcrow'd out of their Reason shall neglect the embracing of His Majesties gracious Offer and elect any Members of Parliament that they shall know are not inclining to this Religious Liberty they justifie not only the Fines Imprisonments Sequestrations c. that the Members of their own Communion have from Time to Time so violently Suffered from our Penal Laws but also the Deaths and Blood also of so many Thousands for no less then Thousands are their number of their Brethren that have dyed in Jayle under the Restraint of those Penal Laws And consequently they must either confess themselves not in the Truth in exercising that Religious Worship for which they so Suffered or else that whole Congregations of Christians may and ought justly by Law to be deprived of Freedoms Goods Chattels Estates c. and to Rot Starve and Perish in Jayls with Truth on their side and that so Suffering for Truth is Justice and Equity Coun. Why truly Citty Friend these Reasons carry an indifferent fair Face with them Cit. Indifferent only Coun. Then suppose for once I granted your Point thus far I have so many more Rubs and Blocks in your way still that you 'll sind no easie matter to get over Cit. Let us adjourn then this Evening and come as fresh to morrow Morning with 'em as you can