to be Fundamentals he before hand asks why he should take them from me rather then from an Anabaptist p. 52. And in the same place he saith he hath as much reason to believe an Anabaptist or Quaker c. as me Which is as much as to tell me in express terms that he hath taken up a resolution to attend to no Articles of Faith that I shall propound Where were the Thoughts of our Pilgrim Tutour when his unwary tongue dropt such words as these Even when he is soliciting me yea challenging me to give him a List of Articles he proclaims to the world that he will not accept of any of them he declares that he would sooner take a Set of Articles and Fundamentals from a Socinian or a Papist for he particularly names them both on this very occasion than from me p. 52. And Sir we will believe you without swearing IV. An other Question I shall put to you and require an Answer to it Seeing you have taken part with the Follower of Socinus and have adopted several of their Notions and Tenents and interpret some Scriptures which relate to the Trinity in the same way that they do and thereby have given occasion to be thought one of the Party and yet you pretend to disown all acquaintance with them p. 222 223. seeing you appear thus with a double face and amuse the world with these disguises I require of you to return an Answer to this Query and the several parts of it Whether you verily believe that Iesus is so the Son of God that he is really God and that in the Unity of the Divine Essence there is a Trinity of Distinct Persons or Subsistencies that the Father is God the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God and that these Three are One God as the Scriptures plainly and expresly declares Seeing you are so brisk in your demands I expect a positive Answer to mine and hereby shall we know whether you are a True Man or a Spie When I see you have performed this work I will still find you more employment I had proved Socinianism Unmask'd chap. 2. that his Opinion of One Article was founded among other things upon this Notion that all things in Christanity must be so plain that they may be easily comprehended and that there may be nothing difficult to mens understandings This I made clear from the tenour and coherence of his words from his 〈◊〉 of reasoning from the scope of his book and from the plain sense of his expressions But our Vindicator cannot bear this and therefore puts himself into a posture of shifting and evading whatever was brought against him and by all imaginable arts he labours to stifle my Reasonings and Arguings on that Point One of his knacks is to frame a Dialogue between me and him p. 34 35 36. and he is so silly in the contriving of it that it baffles him instead of favouring his Cause Fearing that the Dialogue would not do the feat he appears in the shape of a Syllogizer p. 39. though the Inconsiderate Man had derided Logick and Syllogism because they are University-Learning The next he falls into the old trade of Questions Where and When and after this is done he begins his Dialogue again This is one of the Distracted Scenes of his Vindication and the Reader may thence form an idea of the Whole Work and see with amazement what little Knacks and Conceits he applies himself to that he may juggle men out of the Truth He hath so accustom'd himself to shewing of Tricks among his Young Frie whom he hath had the Tutorage of that we must never expect any other of him whatever Subject he handles P. 93 94. he will not admit of any Mysteries in Christianity and therefore opposes what I had asserted viz. that there are some Doctrines in the Gospel which are not plain and clear and yet are of necessity to be believ'd If he had been Master of any Sincerity he would have observ'd how I explain'd my self and shew'd that all the Doctrines and Articles of the Christian Religion are not alike some of them are in themselves Evident and Illustrious others because of the Transcendency of their Matter are Obscure and Mysterious and not level to our humane understandings as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity Christ's Incarnation c. but yet are believ'd with a firm and unshaken Faith This is so Rational that none but the hood wink'd Masker would have excepted against it And he doth it after a very poor rate He nibbles at the distinction I make between the Certainty or Reality of some Evangelical Doctrines and the exact manner of the things themselves contain'd in those Doctrines But he finâ—s it pricks his chaps and so he gives it over However like the Gentlemen of Racovia he cannot endure to hear of Mysteries in Christianity and therefore here he takes occasion to express his great dislike of those who assert that in the Christian Religion there are Mysteries properly so called i. e. such Truths and Articles that as to the Manner of the things contained in them are not Intelligible but exceed humane Reason and cannot possibly be fathom'd by it The denying of this is one of his last Artifices and Contrivances for if we brieflâ— recount the Methods of this New Projector we shall find them to be in this order first he presented the world with odd Conceits of the Idea's of things thereby to undermine the Principles of Truth and to discompose the receiv'd Notions in Philosophy and Divinity as a very Reverend and Learned Writer though one of the chiefest and most Eminent of the Pulpit Orators hath lately proved against him Then that his Sentiments might prevail he prescribes a new way of Bringing up of Youth and seasoning them betimes in some Private Nurseries with such Principles as he and his Associates shall dictate and accordingly all Publick Schools and Universities and their Studies are cried down by him Next there comes forth a New Plat form of Religion all the Fundamental Articles and Doctrines of Christianity are discarded by him excepting One bare single Article which he thinks fit to retain till he hath a fair opportunity of throwing that off too Then he further advances and every where very warmly inveighs against Ministers and Preachers partly because of their University-Learning but chiefly because they oppose his groundless notion of One Article and assert the Fundamentals of Christianity And lastly to compleat his design he strikes in with the Deists and Socinians and laughs at the Mysteries of the Christian Religion and thereby encourages men to cast off all Reveal'd Religion the greatest part of which consists of Profound and Inexplicable Mysteries and such as Humane Reason neither found out nor can comprehend when reveal'd These are the Ways and Methods he hath applyed himself to in order to the undermining of the Orthodox Faith Here I will observe to the Reader how profoundly skill'd
within the Compass of the four Seas By the same way of Arguing I will prove that the doctrine of the Trinity is no part of Christianity as delivered in the Scripture And so you may saith the Vindicator for I hold there is no such thing as the Trinity in Scripture But I will try again by the same Argument I will prove that the Divine Decrees and the Attributes of God and his Providence are no Part of Christianity because these words Decrees Attributes Providence as it is understood of God are not in Scripture Nor do the Sacraments belong to Christianity because that word occurs no where in the Sacred Writings as Barclay Apol. p. 292. profoundly argues Nay The word Christianity is not to be found in Scripture why then doth this man talk of Christianity as delivered in the Scripture You see by this what strange and inconsistent things he obtrudes upon the Reader He will not allow of Satisfaction because the word is not mention'd in the Bible Is there any reason then to own such a thing as Christianity seeing the word is not found there But he will say the Thing is And the same I say of Satisfaction and so the Vindicator shews himself to be a sorry contemptible Wrangler and lets the World know that he hath dealt so much with Children that he 's of that number himself But afterwards p 157. he pretends to own the Thing and to say it may be collected out of his Reasonableness of Christianity Yet still the Stubborn and Stomachful Man which disposition he observes reigns much in Children Educat p. 121 122. will not buckle to the Word Surely this same word satisfying hath been some way or other very mischievous to him that he so starts back at the naming of it But to come close to the business I appeal to any Impartial Man whether it can in any probability be believ'd that a person own such or such a Truth or Doctrine of the Gospel and yet will not express it by that Word or Name which all the Professors of the Orthodox Faith have agreed to call it by This is the Case of the Vindicator he pretends to allow of the Satisfaction of Christ and yet he absolutely refuses to use the Word But till he can give us any Reason for this refusal we shall believe that the true Cause why he will not admit of the Word is because he disbelieves the Thing it self P. 159 he would be fastning two Properties of a Iesuite as he saith upon me but every one saith they are his Own and therefore I will not injure him by laying claim to them And this I 'll tell him moreover that he hath an Other Property of one of that Order which he hath not named and that is Trudging up and down and having no Home And if a man can be of Loiola's Order and a Mendicant too then I 'm sure he may put in for both What he jabbers p. 163 164. about Satisfaction not being named at the Admission of those of Riper Years to Baptism he might have seen answer'd if he had had two eyes in my Socinianism Unmask'd p. 47. P. 168. he comes to make little Whimsical Remarks on what I had said of the Apostles Creed he raises Trifling Objections he sets up a Phantom a mere Shadow and then encounters it he is wanton and freakish and in brief the Kitling plays with his own Tail He insists upon the terms Abstract and Abridgment p. 173 174. and spends a great many vain words about them but can't for his heart disprove what I asserted viz. that the foresaid Creed is an Abstract or Abridgment of the Christian Faith which is more fully express'd in the Holy Scriptures not only in the Gospel but in the Epistles which our Vindicator cannot endure to hear of At last I am to be the Iesuite again and he is to take Mr. Chillingworth's place and so the Protestant is to confute the Papist and there 's an end of that silly Fantastick Fiction of our Masker not worthy of one of the poor raw Boys that he hath drag'd up in his time Further it is to be noted that after he had banded as fiercely as he could against my notion of Abridgment and to thwart me had produced Chillingworth's sense of the word he confesses that he is ignorant whether what Chillingworth had given be the nature of an Abridgment or no. p. 177. Which shews how fickle and restive he is and that he builds upon precarious hypotheses and is not careful whether there be any Ground for what he saith This would make one doubt whether this Writer be in his right mind or no. Hath not former Thoughtfulness disorder'd his Brain that he thus talks P. 177. he would seem to pay some honour to the Primitive Church and the Church of England though no man believes it no not himself and to vindicate their practise in admitting persons to Baptism upon the Faith contain'd in the Apostles Creed as if no more were to be believ'd by them than what is in express terms in that Form of Confession But the Catechism of our Church may satisfy him that more is comprehended in that Form of Faith than is expresly there mention'd else it would not have been said that we are chiefly to learn in these Articles of our Belief to believe in God the Father in God the Son and in God â—he Holy Ghost He may look long enough into the Creed and never find there these words God the Son and God the Holy Ghost but Our Church lets us know that these terms are really contain'd in that Profession of Faith Whence it follows that when persons are baptized into the Faith of the Apostles Creed they are baptized into the Faith of the Trinity and consequently into more than is in express words mention'd in this Symbol of our Faith Which is the thing that this Quarrelsome Animal objects against but is not able after all his fluttering to effect any thing Besides it is evident that our Church thinks not this Creed to be absolutely Perfect and Compleat because she adds other Creeds to it as the Nicene and Athanasian Which it is probable she would not have done if every thing to be believ'd were in express direct and full words set down in the other Form of Belief And again as to what he saith of the Primitive Practise of admitting persons to Baptism upon the bare confession of the Apostles Creed he betrays his Ignorance having not learnt from several Eminent Writers that this Creed is not exactly the same that it was in the First Ages of Christianity but that some Articles have been added to it But the heedless Masker attends to none of these things but goes on Chattering and loves to hear his Clack move But you must pardon him for he that is used to the Conversation of Nurses and the whole Posse of the Chatting Crew can't be thought to moderate his Intemperate Organ P.
as many as he can on the other's head The sum of all which is this CLAW ME AND I WILL CLAW THEE It is worth the observing that the Vindicator subscribes himself at the close of his Letter to Mr. Bold which in a conceited manner he claps into the Preface his most humble servant A. B. Upon which these short Remarks may be made 1. That he is ashamed of his Name and that with good reason 2. He is ashamed of his Cause and dares not Personally own it and set his Name to the defence of it This and the former may be reckon'd as the only Instances of Shamefacedness and Modesty that the man was ever guilty of But 3. We may gather from those two letters which he hath affixed to the end of his Epistle Who he is for though he hath only set down A. B. yet he hath left us to add the next letter C and then we know what person is meant viz. a Breeder up of Boys to learn their First Rudiments a Learned Teacher of A B C. concerning which you may find more p. 272 273. Educat From the Preface and Epistle I pass to the Book it self the first part of which is spent in the old known way of Malefactors at the Bar they are always willing to evade the Charge to insist upon the little Niceties and on the Formality of words and the Exact Punctilio's of Matter of Fact This is the practise of our Criminal p. 6 7. and he thinks thereby to palliate his Guilt He is loth to own it for he knows his demerit and the Consequence of it He is to be excus'd indeed for this or rather there is a known Proverb that excuses him that makes him so backward to Confess I have given an account of this matter in my Socinianism Unmask'd p. 5 6. and have also shew'd since that the Formal Words are agreed to by his late Proselite So that his own Gizzard Mr. Bold comes in Evidence against him and lets us know that we have no reason to listen to him when he waves the Enditement He will say and unsay as it comes into his head and will put the Reader off with any shuffling suggestions merely to evade what I had justly lay'd to his charge One of his great Cavils is that I alledge matter of fact but do not justify the Allegation p 2 and 7. and undertakes to prove it from my pretending as he saith to know and deliver his thoughts p. 8. This saith he there is an Instance of False Allegations in matters of Fact and such as are not capable of a Negative proof Such poor little trifling stuff doth he obtrude upon the Reader as if one that had read his Writings could not in a probable way tell what his thoughts of such a subject were unless you will say he dissembled when he wrote and this perhaps is it which he means when he saith there concerning me that that I affirm what I do not know And so you see what he hath got by caviling against what I alledged he hath before he was aware let the world know that he believes not what he writes that his Thoughts and his Pen hold no correspondence that when he pleads for One Article only he doth not think that there is but One but however he designs to root out All by reducing all the Articles of Christianity to One Who would attend to any of his Objections when it is plain that it is not his business to search out Truth but to betray it He hath nothing to say to what I replied to his former Vindication and therefore now to cheat the world and amuse the Reader and to give farther proof of his daring Confidences he bids me p. 9 25 72 c. go to work again 1. to prove that there are these words in his Reasonableness of Christianity viz. that Nothing is required to be believed by a Christian as absolutely necessary to make him such but this Proposition Iesus is the Messias 2. to prove that he set himself on purpose to find but one Article of Faith 3. to prove that he contends for One Article of Faith with exclusion and defiance of all the rest 4 to prove that the believing of Iesus to be the Messias is not the only Article sufficient to make a man a Christian. And several other things he calls upon me to prove and the silly Accountant scores them up as he goes along and sets down the Figures And he would not have left off where he doth but that the Innocent had number'd as far as he could go There is not one Particular he mentions which I have not proved and evinc'd in my Socinianism Unmask'd and therefore I scorn at the motion of such a Whiffling Objector such a Crude Repeater of what he had said before in his First Vindication but now hath lately vamp'd up and sent abroad again I scorn I say to produce the same Proofs again and to affront the Reader with Needless Repetitions which is the guise of this trifling Writer But seeing our A B C darian calls to me over and over again to prove this and to prove that I will now put him upon Proving and see how he will discharge that part In order to this I am to acquaint the Reader that this Gentleman in his Former Vindication call'd for a List of Fundamental Articles i. e. such as the Holy Scripture represents to us as requisite to be known and believ'd that we may be True Christians I obey'd the demands of this pert Vindicator and perform'd the Task which he was pleas'd to set me in my first Chapter of my forenamed Treatise I assign'd a considerable number of Articles of the Christian Faith as absolutely necessary to be known i. e. so far as they can be known for there are Great and Profound Mysteries couch'd in some of them so that I had reason to say they were in some measure which expression the Vindicator vainly objects against p. 70. to be known and understood and to be believ'd and I particularly and distinctly proved that all of them are of that nature and consequently no man can be a Christian without a competent knowledge and belief of these Doctrines I also there propounded a General Rule whereby all such Articles and Doctrines may be discern'd i. e. they may be known to be such from the Nature of the things contained in them for no Evangelical Truths are absolutely and indispensably necessary to be known and to be assented to in order to the constituting of us Christians but those that have Immediate respect to the Occasion Author Way Means and Issue of Mans Redemption and Salvation But our Vindicator attempts not in the least to invalidate this Description of Necessary Articles nay though he mentions it again p. 130. yet he can't invent any thing to object against it only asks this and the other Question nothing to the purpose Our bold Reformer in Divinity scribles on
and because in several places he distorted the Evanelists words Yet according to his never-failing art of Falsifying he represents me as one that vilifies the Four Evangelists Such another daring Falshood is that that I think the Gospel the Good News of Salvation tedious from the mouth of our Saviour and his Apostles p. 126. For which apparent forgery I claim the forfeiture of his Ears if he hath not as he hath deserv'd lost them before And from this you may gather what Sincerity there is in his objecting to me that I make bold with Truth and that what I say is utterly false p. 403. you must not credit one word of it for once a Forger and always so This is his master piece of Art to cheat and abuse the world with downright Falsities and to betray Christanity and yet whilst he is doing this to accuse others of being False He grants p. 127 what I had urged about the Four Gospels being writ to and for Believers as well as Unbelievers and yet immediately after he revokes his Grant and sophistically shifts it off so that no man alive knows where to have the Gentleman But it is worth our remarking that it hath pleased God to leave this Man to his own infatuations and to suffer him to produce and insist upon a protion of Scripture which is an absolute Conâ—uration of what he brings it for p. 125. He quotes a great part of the fifth chapter to the Hebrews to prove that the Necessary Articles and Principles of Faith are not to be gather'd out of the Epistles particularly he makes use of those words You have need that one teach you again which be the first Principles of the Oracles of God v. 12. And the Apostle in chap. 6. v. 1. particuarly sets down these Principles of the doctrine of Christ as he also stiles them Who but this Obstinate and Senseless Vindicator would hence infer as he strenuously doth that the Apostolical Epistles and this especially were not written to teach men the Fundamental Principles of Christianity We have seen what a Talent he hath of Grammar and Criticism now behold the mans Improvements in Logick If you please wee 'l reduce what he saith into a Syllogisâ—â—â— because this profound Logitian hath set us a Pattern before and he will take it ill if we don't follow him If it be plainly express'd in the Epistle to the Hebrews that they have need to be taught again the First Principles of the Oracles of God and of the doctrine of Christ and accordingly the Apostle distinctly tells them what some of these Principles are then neither this Epistle nor any other Epistles of the Apostles distinctly shew what were those doctrines which were absolutely necessary to make men Christians I use the Logitian's own words But it is plainly expressed in the Epistle to the Hebrews that they have need to be taught again the first Principles of the Oracles of God and of the doctrine of Christ and accordingly the Apostle distinctly tells them what some of those Principles are Ergo neither this Epistle nor any other Epistles of the Apostles distinctly shew what were those doctrines which were absolutely necessary to make a Man a Christian. Or more briefly he argues thus This and other Epistles tell us what are the Necessary Principles of Christianity Ergo they do not tell us You have a tast of his Logical Faculty and I doubt not but you likewise have been drawing a Conclâ—sion from the Premises viz. that such Wild Reasonings argue a flaw in his Skull that uses them Is this the Thoughtful man A Creature that goes on all four if it could speak would talk much better Sense Here is such a Heap of Contradictions and such Impiety in citing the Holy Text to patronize them that I question not but the Judicious Reader will hence form such thoughts of this Gentleman as his great merits require But surely in his next quotations out of an Epistle though it be a part of Scripture which he so much dreads he will take care to speak tolerable sense and not to abuse the Sacred Writ in this palpable manner Let us see then how it is with him in his Citation out of the first Epistle to the Corinthians In order to prove his former wild Conceit that the Epistles of the Apostles are not to be consulted for Fundamentals of Christianity he alledges chap. 3. v. 2. I have fed you with milk and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet are ye able The plain meaning of which words without doubt is this that the Apostle had hitherto taught them and continued still to teach them the Necessary and Indispensable Doctrines of Christianity such as were as needful for them as Milk for babes Because they were not able to bear any heavy Superstructure he made it his chief business to lay the Foundation and this Foundation is Iesus Christ v. 10 11. The plain way of Salvation by this JESUS the Son of God the Plain and Easy Articles of the Christian Faith all of them Plain as to the Truth and Certainty of them though some of them not Plain as to the manner of the things comprehended in those Articles these plain and simple Truths which are as Pure and Unsophisticated as Milk and therefore are so termed here are those Doctrines which the Apostle taught the Corinthians And now then let us see how this Man of Logick argues from the Apostle's words and to give you the better light into his excellent way of Arguing we will present it in Mode and Figure for Mr. Chillingworth saith he bid his Adversary write nothing but Syllogisms p. 228. and besides we find that Good Mr. Bold is for Syllogisms p. 4. of his Reply So that upon these Weighty Authorities we must betake our selves to this way of Disputing Thus then he argues If the Apostle fed the Corinthians with milk i. e. taught them the Plain and Necessary Articles of Christianity and delivered such in his Epistles to them then we are not to think that any Fundamental and Necessary Articles of the Christian Religion such as are to be received to make a man a Christian are to be found in this or any other of the Epistles But the Apostle fed the Corinthians with milk i. e. taught them the Plain and Necessary Articles of Christianity and delivered such in his Epistles to them Ergo we are not to think that any Fundamental and Necessary Articles of the Christian Religion such as are to be received to make a man a Christian are to be found in this or any other of the Epistles Risum teneatis If the Vindicator can clear this from Nonsense I promise him that the Reader and I will leave off laughing at him for his cashiering of Burgersdicius But in the mean time we see the reason why this Itinerant Innovator is so zealous against Logick and University-Learning He trembles at the thoughts of Strict Sense
vacates the Authority of Scripture only to gratify some of his Fraternity who with himself have a design to smother the Chief Articles of our Religion and to stifle the Christian Faith P. 344 345 c. he is mightily Concern'd if you will believe him that he should be thought to favour Socinianism What Evidence I brought for it he labours to render invalid but with little success He would maintain forsooth that though I have proved him a Socinian yet he is no Socinian and what if he be both May not a man be a Socinian and no Socinian as well as a Physitian and no Physitian But he farther complains that he is the first man that was ever found out to be at the same time a Socinian and a Factor for Rome p. 346. No Sir you are mistaken here as in all your other Points you are not the first man for there was a Iesuit in the late Reign as a profess'd Socinian owns in his Exceptions of Mr. E. examin'd p. 46. who publish'd a Paper entituled An Address c. wherein he pretends to shew that the Scriptures commonly alledged for the Incarnation of the Son of God and for the Trinity admit of an other sense And this Paper was read by the Jesuite-Preacher in Limestreet and zealously urged by him in his Pulpit Whence it is evident that Popish Priests when they see it makes for their Interest cry up the Socinian Principles and Doctrines A Iâ—suite can appear in all shapes and figures as well as a Vindicator and that is the reason that our Vindicator mention'd not this when he was enumerating the Properties of a Iesuite for he knew well enough that he could assume the guise of a Quaker or a Socinian or any other Sect and therefore a Socinian and a Factor for Rome are not inconsistent Which proves that the Vindicator had no cause to complain of my coupling these Two together and that it was as weakly as falsly said of him that he was the first man in whom both these Denominations meet Socinianism was first brought out of Italy and thither it tends Our Runnagate Tutor being almost out of breath with Impertinent Nonsense and Repetitions begins to sit down and take up with Quotations p. 350 and of whom Of two Orthodox Prelates of our Church But where-ever he mentions that word Orthodox he intends it for a Jeer so that those Worthy Persons he gives that Epithet to are much oblig'd to him for his Buffoonry But that is not all they are two Prelates he saith whom when he follows Authorities he shall prefer to Slichtingius and Socinus the good man thinks Socinus was after Slichtingius Here is the Honour that is done to those Eminent Men of our Church he can only give them the preference to two Notorious Corrupters of our Christian Faith What an impudent affront is this to the Ashes of the late Archbishop and to the Right Reverend Bishop now living from the Pen of this Episcopus Puerorum this Contemptible Overseer of Hanging-Sleeves When he follows Authorities is as much as to say he never will for our Puny-Governor is Authority to himself Thus he quotes those Excellent Prelates only to abuse them and to distort their words as may be seen in what he saith of them And it is very observable that this man who scorns Authorities yet brags in an other place that he hath Great Authorities to justify him And in what viz. that the Soul of Man is Material Here our good Gentleman can depend upon Authorities and call them Great Ones when they shock the Immortality of Humane Souls but in a Point of Orthodox Faith he laughs at Authorities This Ignorant Writer stands to what he said before that the Son of God was a phrase that among the Iews in our Saviour's time was used for the Messias p. 357. Which hath no foundation at all and none but the man that talks of the Mishna and never saw it would have asserted any such thing Mr. Selden who it is thought was the better Antiquary and Judge in this matter expresly tells us that by the Son of God the Iews meant the Word of God as he is called in the Chaldee Paraphrast which was the same as if he had profess'd himself to be God De Jure Nat. Gent. l. 2. c. 12. For the Old Jews belief was as several Good Authors have proved that the Messias was God or the Son of God for they look'd upon the Son of God as Synonymous with God when it is applied to the Messias Rittangel a Learned Writer who had been a Jew sufficiently proves this from the Jewish Writings And from other Testimonies it might be proved that the Son of God was not a term only to express the Messias but that it signified something more viz. That Jesus is the Proper Natural and Eternal Son of God that he is One with the Father as having the same Divine Nature and Essence Thus in the strictest sense he is the Son of God and the Jews in our Saviour's time understood this expression thus otherwise they would not have attempted to stone him for Blasphemy when he said he was the Son of God which according to them was the same with being One with the Father and making himself God Joh. 10. 30 33 36. Whence it is evident that the Son of God denotes the Divinity of Christ which the word Messias doth not and consequently the Son of God and the Messias are not terms of the very same signification And that place Acts 8. 37. I believe that Iesus Christ is the Son of God inefragrably proves it which I urged in my former Treatise but when the Vindicator came to repeat what I had alledg'd he leaves out the words of the Text as the Reader may see p 370. which is an argument of his hating the Light But as being ashamed which is prodigious in him of that Omission he afterwards mentions the Text and sweats to evade the force of it My Argument ran thus If the Eunuch who was instructed by Philip in the Christian Faith profess'd that he believed Iesus Christ or the Messias to be the Son of God then that word Messias or Christ is not of the very same signification with the Son of God but imports something else But the Eunuch profess'd c. Therefore the word Messias is not of the same signification with the Son of God The Minor is the Text The Major is proved from this that if the Son of God signified no more than the Messias then the Eunuch's words are a downright Tautology for they are as much as if he had said I believe that the Messias is the Messias A man would think there is some sense and reason in this way of Arguing No saith our Gentleman I will not allow that there is any Sense in this for the Tautology will be quite removed if we take Christ here for a proper Name p. 374. Say you so Good Mr. Vindicator
those Doctrines before rehears'd though we know nothing of the nature and intent of them nay though we never heard of them for there is but One Article of Faith and no more that is required to make us Christians and that is this that Iesus is the Messias If you believe this take it upon my word you need nothing more I mean as to matter of Faith to make you True and Living Members of Christ. This alone is that which properly deserves the Name of Iustifying Faith and is that Faith which God will impute to a man for Righteousness I have been blamed by several of my Brethren in the Ministry for preaching and printing such doctrines as this and they have baffled me as they think out of the Holy Scriptures and have demonstrated that there are sundry other Points of Faith that are required to be believ'd in order to the making a man a Christian but I can't be brought to listen to what they say Neither Church-men nor Dissenters shall bring me off from this perswasion I will rather stick to Worthy Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Lock then part with my Opinion at the sollicitation of Thousands of Divines and other Christians whom they call Orthodox I 'm chiefly confirm'd in this Notion by the latter of those Gentlemen whom I named who cruises up and down the Countries to propagate this doctrine and I hope will take Steeple in his Circuit very suddenly and then he will further satisfy you though I should not have used that word Satisfying because it is â—o hateful to him and instruct you in that and some other matters relating to Religion which no Christian ear ever heard of before After Mr. Bold had asserted the Darling Proposition he presents us with an other which is no less strange and monstrous and from whence we may guess at the Character of the Man who is Mr. L's humble admirer His express words are these Pref. p. 5. A mans knowing that Iesus Christ hath revealed such a doctrine brings him not under an Obligation to believe it but he may notwithstanding that withold his Assent This is the maxim of Mr. L's New Christian but the Mischievous Ingredients of it are sufficient to shew the nature and design of this Writer for though he will perhaps say that he delivers that afterwards which is contrary to the interpretation which I make of these words yet the Answer is plain that he makes nothing of Contradicting himself and therefore this is no Plea He can say and unsay as he thinks fit of which I gave several Instances in my Reflections on what he writ before This then is no excuse at all but rather shews his Weakness that he can't tell when he talks inconsistently or his Insincerity and Perverseness that he will make use of Contrarieties to serve his own ends I know likewise he will say that he speaks this of those Doctrines the belief whereof doth not constitute a man a Christian but this is a mere Evasion and he can't possibly make use of it with any shadow of Sense for if you ask him what those Doctrines are he will tell you that they are those which I before specified and reckon'd as Fundamentals of Christianity But he denies them to be such and he can't do otherwise for if there be but One Article of Faith necessarily to be believ'd to make a man a Christian which is the thing he so stiffly maintains then all the rest are not necessary to be believ'd to make him so or to denominate him to be such Having thus prevented and obviated the Cavils which he might start I 'll now very concisely present unto the Reader a few Remarks on that Proposition which I quoted out of Mr. B's last printed Papers viz. that I knowing that Christ hath reveal'd such or such a Doctrine brings not a man under an obligation to believe it but he may notwithstanding that with hold his assent First this baffles the end of Christ's revealing his doctrines to the Sons of men for without doubt they were reveal'd for this very purpose that we should yield assent to them But this Gentleman tells you that there is no such thing Revelation hath no affinity with Assent and therefore this could not be the End and Design of that And herein he follows the Patern sent him by a late Writer in his Christianity not mysterious p. 38. Divine Revelation saith he is not a motive of Assent nor a ground of our persuasion or a reason we have to believe a thing as if we were to receive it only because reveal'd Secondly This separates Knowledg from Belief and makes Religion and even Christianity it self a mere Notional Speculative thing We may according to this Wise Shaper of Christianity read the New Testament and see what Christ and the Apostles deliver'd there as matter of Belief but we are not under an obligation to believe what they delivered We may if we please look into the Gospel and the Acts but have a care of peeping into the Epistles and thence stock our selves with Propositions and furnish our Brains with Knowledge as well as our Tongues with something to talk of but we are excused from yielding Assent to the truth of them Such a monstrous Idea doth this Writer give us of that Sacred Institution of the Blessed Jesus Thirdly This is bidding defiance to the Divine Authority of the Scripâ—ures for whoever refuses to believe those doctrines which are reveal'd in the Sacred Writings doth in effect declare that those Writings are not divinely inspired And yet Mr. L's Disciple assures his Reader that though Truths and Doctrines be reveal'd in the Writings of the New Testament yet we are not obliged to give credit to them and to profess our belief of them which is no other then annulling the Authority of the Scriptures Fourthly This Assertion destroys that very One Article which he contends for for if the revealing of a Truth obliges us not to believe it then we may with hold our Assent to this Proposition Iesus is the Messias as well as to any Other for seeing they are all equally reveal'd in the Scripture we ought to make no difference So that you see the poor Foolish Builder pulls down his own Structure with his own hands The Beloved Article which he so much insists upon is ruined by what he himself asserts This is the just Judgment of God on such audacious Innovators and Depravers of Christianity Whilest they are throwing down the Propositions which others with great reason assert they demolish their own Fifthly and lastly This wild Proposition of the Replyer is destructive of all Reveal'd Religion Let there be never so many doctrines reveal'd to us by the Holy Spirit in the Divine Oracles a Christian is under no obligations according to him to believe them for all being alike reveal'd they may be equally disbeliev'd This is the New Theology of our giddy Worshipper of that Idol Opinion of One Article One would scarcely
and Argument because these make against him Yea he makes the Blessed Apostle contradict himself meerly to contradict me And I would further remark that immediately after he had quoted those foresaid words of the Apostle he adds THEREFORE very little is said in this Epistle for explaining any part of the Great Mystery of Salvation and yet before he was against all Mysteries in Christistianity contain'd in the Gospel p. 131. And presently after The same holds in all the other Epistles and THEREFORE the Epistles seem'd not to me to be the properest part of Scripture he said before they were not at all proper to give us the Foundation p. 132. He complains of a therefore of mine where there is no cause at all for it p. III. but here is such a pair of Therefores as never was heard of in any Age and be sure never will be unless it be in his Writings It was St. Paul's way to instruct the Corinthians in the plain Principles of Christianity he took care to settle them in the Foundation seeing they were not fit at that time for any considerable Superstructure and therefore saith our Vindicator we must not expect to meet with any such Principles in this Epstle or in any others There are several people in that Great Brick House he wots of at the lower end of Moorfields that never bid for that place by talking so ravingly Whether the Childrens Crying and Bawling or the Mâ—thers Unkindnesses to him have put him into these disorders I shall not determine but the poor Animal is certainly much shatter'd and 't is to be fear'd belongs to the Hospital of the Incurable Then he proceeds p. 138 139. to mention my taking notice of his feigned ground of Writing the Epistles viz. because the Fundamental Articles are mix'd here with other Truths But having nothing to rejoyn he falls to Railing a fault which he imputes to me but is peculiar to himself And as for what I said of Mixture that those things which are promicuously put together are capable of being distinguish'd which he boggles at there is an Example of it in one he knows very well a Committee man and a Vindicator are mix'd together but there is a possibility of distinguishing yea of separating the former from the latter the Honorable from the Vile though 't is true some things are so mix'd in some persons that they will never admit of a separation as a Chamber-Quack and an Abhorrer of Universities or thus an Innovator and a Creed-Hater There is no parting of these In the same place he thinks it Witty to reflect twice on my Degree in the University as if B. D. were as Contemptible as A B C which is his own Character He jogs on still p. 140 141 c. sometimes coyning matter and fastning it upon me sometimes impertinently asking of Questions and requiring Answers and every where falling into ridiculous Impertinencies and weak reasonings And what else could be expected from a Man that had all his days been us'd to the Tattle of Brats and Nurslings and hath thereby perfectly learn'd all their humors especially as I observ'd before their impertinent Queries and troublesome Babblings Thus our Old Tutour is twice a Child though he doats so extremely that he can't see it but verily perswades himself that all he hath writ against me is Strong and Nervous and like what he dictates to his Young Masters must not be examin'd and censured Only here it is to be noted that what he saith p. 145. concerning Popular Haranguing is a saucy Reflection on the Chiefest and most Eminent of the Clergy of our Church whose constant employment hath been that which he contemptuously calls Popular Haranguing and in other places Pulpit-Oratory i. e. Preaching Such is his Spleen against this Evangelical Institution and the Ministers of it though he makes a shew of being a Christian. But he that will bespatter the Universities and Academick Learning and expunge the Chiefest Articles of Religion out of the Bible will not stop at any thing But our Penny-Post is upon the hoof still p. 146 147 c. and his Quill is as Itinerant as himself and like its Owner fixes no where hath no Habitation Sometimes he quotes what I have said and misinterprets it at other times to fill up his book and to make it bulky he gives you large shivers out of his own Writings for he thinks none are so good as they and that 's the reason he never quotes an Author unless it be to disparage him He trifles to a prodigy and according to his constant Method he never fails at the close of a Paragraph to wind up all with Railing his Mother-tongue But wondrous it is to see what work he makes p. 156. where the Reader will be puzzel'd to tell whether his Falshood or his Weakness be greater He complains that I call him a Betrayer of Christianity and a Contemner of the Epistles because he did not out of them name Satisfaction Whereas the Reâ—der will find if he thinks fit to consult my Socinianism Unmask'd that I treat of his Contempt of the Epistles in one Chapter and of his refusing to use the word Satisfaction in an other And I mention his not naming of Christ's Satisfying for us on no other account but this that it argues he is a favourer of Socinianism because when he professedly and designedly enumerates the Advantages of our Saviour's Coming he speaks not of his making Satisfaction for us This is the true and plain account of the matter whence it is obvious to take notice of his willful violation of Truth and Sincerity He jumps from the Third Chapter of my Book to the Seventh to form a Falshood against me He most untruly and perversly represents the thing he speaks of and there is no shadow of Verity in what he saith So that the Reader is sufficiently caution'd against depending upon his word for the future and he must always suppose him to be an arrant Masker But he is as Silly as he is False for in the same place to excuse himself as to his not mentioning of Satisfaction he saith there is not any such word in any one of the Epistles or other Books of the New Testament in his Bible as Satisfying or Satisfaction made by our Saviour and so he could not put it into his Christianity as delivered in the Scripture Very sound and solid It being such a Noble Strain of Logick and Reason we will form it into a Syllogism and leave it as Mr. Lock 's Memorial to posterity It is briefly thus If there be no such word as Satisfaction in any of the books of the New Testament it cannot be put into Christianity as delivered in the Scripture But there is no such word as Satisfaction in any of the Books of the New Testament Ergo it can't be put into Christianity as delivered in the Scripture Get thee gone for a Cunning Disputant thou hast not thy fellow I verily believe
be believ'd as a Necessary Point in order to give a man the denomination of a Disciple of Christ or a True Christian and for this reason our False Masker conceals this place even when he was pretending to give an account of those Texts which mentioned our Blessed Saviours Commissions to his Apostles This shews what a Perfidious Scribe we have got one that makes nothing of wilfully leaving out any Text of Scripture to further his design and purpose and at other times he as wilfully perverts plain Texts to the same end The consideration of which strange behaviour will I doubt not obtain me an Excuse among Impartial and Intelligent Readers for my manner of handling this Adversary whose obstinate Hypocrisy and dissimulation call for no other than the severest Chastisements and Correptions though I confess it is with no mean regret and reluctancy that I put my self upon this way of writing but tâ—ere is no help for it in the present case he must of necessity be disciplined and taught as the men of Succoth with Thorns and Briars I should not have undertaken this task upon my own private and personal account because Contempt and Neglect are the best Return in this case but when I saw our Holy Religion endanger'd by his sacrilegious attempts of depriving us of the greatest part of it and when I observ'd his Rude encroachments on the Profess'd Schools of Learning I found it was a Publick Cause and that every one who would had a right to engage in it and to oppose him as a Common Foe as a Proclaim'd Rebel as an Out-Law as a Pest of the Community and to treat him accordingly I will stay a little to examine one ridiculous passage p. 304 I had offer'd to prove that there is more than that One Article Iesus is the Messias to be believ'd to make a man a Christian by producing that place Rom. 10. 9. If thou shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him i. e. Christ Jesus from the dead thou shalt be saved where the belief of Christs Resurrection is propounded as absolutely necessary to salvation and if so then Iesus is the Messias is not the Only Article as he often inculcates What is his Answer to this To believe the Resurrection of Christ saith he is in effect the same as to believe him to be the Messias and so is put to express it And again p. 305. Believing Christs Resurrection is put for believing him to be the Messias so that these which seem to be Two Articles are but one and the same And if they be so then why throughout all his Collection of places out of the Evangelists and Acts did he not mention all those Texts which are very many that speak of our Saviour's Resurrection and why did he not reckon them to be the same with those that speak of Iesus's being the Messias Why did he not all along tell us that one is put to express the other The true Reason is because he thought of no such thing at that time but hath invented it since to shift off what I said This is such an other piece of Invention as that in his First Vindication p. 6. that he designed his Treatise of the Reasonableness of Christianity chiefly for Infirm Christians such as disbeliev'd or doubted of the Truth of Christianity and again in his Second Vindication p. 152. he saith he chiefly design'd his book for Deists though bâ— the way we may take notice of his Contradicting himself for Deists are no Christians and if he design'd his book chiefly for one he cou'd not design it chiefly for the other And yet if you consult his whole Treatise of the Reasonableness of Christianity you shall not find one syllable that intimates any such Design though there if any where he was obliged to discover and declare it that the Reader might not mistake the Intention of his book This proves that what he hath since added in both his Vindications is mere Fiction and Sham and he was forced to fly to this Asylum when I hâ—d laid open the mischief of his Papers This may convince us that he will first assert and print any thing and then afterwards he will in his Sniveling way come and Retract it or gloss it over with some pitiful Evasion But where is the Probity where is the Integrity of the Man all this while Nay to return to the Present Matter it is plain that he designedly omitted those places which mention our Saviours Resurrection because it was his perswasion that they belong not to this Proposition Iesus is the Messias He declares as you lately heard that in St. Peters Sermon Christs Resurrection as well as his Sufferings and Death was brought in only by the bye and was not a Principal Article was not principally aym'd at but that this Proposition Iesus is the Messias is the sole Truth the Apostle labour'd to bring them to the belief of and lately we were told by him that the Resurrection of Christ is no more to be believ'd to make a man a Christian than any Ordinary Truth or Proposition recorded in the New Testament Yet after all this he palpably contradicts what he hath said and in plain terms tells us that Christ's Resurrection and his being the Messias are the very same and one is put to express the other Before he held them to be distinct and so distinct that where he found the one he could not find the other as in several places of the New Testament that he consulted The Resurrection of our Lord was not taken notice of by him as appertaining to the Messiaship When St. Peter in the main part of his Sermon preached concerning Christ's Resurrection our Expositor told us that it was made use of only as an Argument to perswade them of this Fundamental Truth that Iesus is the Messias p. 269. and yet now all of a sudden this Proposition is equivalent nay is the same with Iesus rose from the dead There is no account in the world can be given of this but that he will be saying something though it be to his own apparent Confutation See here the Influence of Company It is a Common Topick but the Reality of it could never be more evinced than in this Instance Here we see how it tinctures mens Manners and transforms them into the shapes of those they associate with Here is one that hath spent his days among Talking and Gossiping people and they have made him such a one as themselves He hath learnt of them the knack of Perpetual Jabbering and his Tongue will wag when the Sexton is covering him with Moulds But if this were all we might pass it off with a little mirth But alas it is dismal and horrid to consider what a Profligate Writer shews his Head in the World who is neither ashamed to contradict himself nor the Holy Writings of the Apostles And so he brings a contempt on the things of God and Religion and