Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n
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A80419
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Religion and reason united. By A lover of his country.
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Coole, Benjamin, d. 1717.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing C6047A; ESTC R171515
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17,768
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61
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Civil Magistrate to make that the Creed of all Perswasions which all Perswasions agree is Sacred and of Divine Authority to wit the Holy Scriptures And where any Difference shall arise about the Interpretation thereof the Civil Authority should Interpose to Oblige all Parties to Vnite in Interest viz. the Peace and Prosperity of the Nation if he could not Oblige them to Unite in Charity the Christian and Religious Bottom The First the Magistrate hath Power to command The Latter if we are true Christians cannot be denied But where either Party which is uppermost for the Wheel goes round shall exercise their Power first to exalt themselves in Honour and Wealth upon the Credit of Religion and secondly abuse that Power to make Traps for their Neighbours by cramming Creeds down their Throats which cannot be understood by them and which the others have no Authority from Holy Scripture to impose Most certain it is As it is to turn Persecutors for Religion when Religion it self forbids it and is in it self both Unreasonable and Irreligious so it is of that Provoking Nature that will inevitably draw down God's Righteous Judgments to the Desolation of that Kingdom or Common-Wealth where such Methods are taken and finally prove the overthrow of that Church which promotes such a Work But without looking for a Stroke from the Hand of Heaven 't is no good Policy since 't is the first Foundation to Schism For had not the Church of Rome imposed more than she had Authority from Holy Scripture for the Protestants could have had no reasonable Colour for their Revolt but the first is true and so is the last Again had the Church of England imposed no more than the Holy Scripture had warranted Her in Matters of Faith nor any Discipline but what might reasonably be Collected from them Nor any other Practices by her Clergy than what was Honest Just and of Good Report as becomes Ministers of Jesus Christ the Dissenters Separation had been a Ridiculous Thing Whereas it appears now to be so Grounded that the Strength of the Church is not able to Convince nor Confute them In short if the 39 Articles were not half so many as they are and more clear than some of them appear to be And if the Creed commonly called Athanasius's were reduced to that of the Apostle's or Nicene-Creed which as they are less Perplexing so they are as Substantial and would engage more to unite in the Truth thereof who are now too often rather Stumbled than Excited to be Religious It would tend more to Peace if not Unity Again if the Presbyterians Assembly of Divinity had not made such a horrid Blunder in their Westminster Confession of Faith as they did by Asserting such and such Principles for Orthodox with pretended Authority from Holy Scripture which upon Examination no more answered their design than the first of Job proves the Divinity of Christ they might at that time have enlarged their Dominion and like the Jews made Proselytes of the Covenant in abundance But wherâ— People see first an Arbitrary Power to impose and secondly so much weakness in their Proofs no marvel if they were left also as they left others Nor had the Synod of Dort any better success especially in Holland where the Remedy prov'd worse than the Disease Nor was England free from the dire Effects thereof But as W. P's Address to Protestants pag. 62 and 63. saith The mournfullest part of that History is the ill Usage the Bishop oâ— Landaff and others had who werâ— acknowledged to be sound in the Faith of those Times viz. the Calvenist yet if at any time they appeared Moderate in Behaviour and Gentle in their Words desiring rather an Accommodation with the Remonstrators than to encrease the Difference to the Prejudice of Religion in general Gomarus and his Followers not observing the Rules of Debate in so grave an Assembly fell foul of the Bishop c. Reproaching their Tenderness and insinuating the Charge of Treachery c. against those more Vertuous but less Bitter and Stingy Persons than themselves But without Raking in the Ruins of time 't is evident that the several Councils Convocations Synods c. that have been called to settle Articles of Faith have rarely avoided Exercising such a Dogmatical Power to the straining the Principles of Religion beyond not only the Line of Holy Scripture but the Staple of Reason and common Sense And therefore no wonder if the World be filled with Schisms In days of old the Ancient Land-Marks were not to be removed without a severe Penalty and most certain it is neither wider nor streighteâ— must we set them than the Holy Meâ— of old did unless by the same Authority they had And how that was thâ— Holy Scripture plainly demonstrates And until That be our general Creeâ— without far-fetch'd Consequences wâ— cannot reasonably expect to be freâ— from the trouble that attends whaâ— is called Schism and where that is Persecution commonly follows foâ— Non-conformity though it be but tâ— an Image and not the true God Anâ— what a Prejudice that is to the State to be torn in pieces by Factions woful Experience hath taught us This with the Immorality and Ambition oâ— the Clergy in King James the First Time laid the Foundation for thâ— Ruin of his Son and with him Threâ— Kingdoms according to F. O. in hâ— Observations on K. J's Reign Ouâ— Divines saith he for the generality did Sacrifice more to Bacchus than Minerva Again nor did the notorious Debauchery of the Episcopal Clergy add a little to the Rent made by those called Puritans Nor did the sudden Translations of Bishops from less to greater Fees give time to visit sufficiently their respective Charges being more intent upon the Receipt of such Taxes as a long abused Custom had Estated them in than upon Reformation For from the Pulpit came all our future Miseries God not being served there as he ought c. I take the more notice of this because himself was no favourer of Puritanism but of the other side For the Security therefore of the Government Ease of the Magistrate and Peace of the People Creeds not to be found in Holy Scripture and an Ambitious and Immoral Clergy by the common Voice of Mankind should be totally Rejected Which leads me to my Fourth Proposition viz. That Liberty of Conscience is every Man's Birth-right 4thly By Liberty of Conscience is not meant a Liberty to Licentiousness for no Man that is Compos Mentis will pretend Matter of Conscience to commit Wickedness But by Liberty of Conscience I mean for every Man to go to what place he please to worship God in that way he is persuaded is the Right Way and to hear that Preacher that he likes best As for Instance I cannot see any Prejudice to the State to Indulge the Jews in the Exercise of their Religion which of all Perswasions has the least Reason to desire or expect it yet we find our
World And so shall the Civil Magistrate have great Peace and the People have that Tranquillity that attends sitting Vnder their own Vine where none can make them affraid To Conclude he that is Born Heir to an Estate is not Heir because he is of such a Church but because he is his Father's Son And if his Inclination Education or Judgment lead him out of the national Road to work out his own Salvation 't is very unreasonable as well as contrary to the Fundamental Laws of the Land that he should therefore loose his Birth-right And indeed great pitty it is that all parties are not hearty herein for none knows but that those that are otherwise minded are making Rods for Themselves or Posterity to be whipt withal But leave Conscience Uncramp'd and by this means the Civil Magistrate will always be Umpire between the several Parties that are under his Government for as he protects all so all will fly to him as to their Common Sanctuary where the Laws will decide all Controversies or Disputes that may arise And if the Civil Authority is pleased to make one Party as the Eldest Son that Elder may not have Power to spoil the Younger For this Reason I Conceive with Submission that Holland has given us an Excellent Example in which tho' they have no National Church yet the Magistrate gives a preference as he pleaseth and therefore takes care to maintain what he so prefers out of the Common Stock which is a Just and Reasonable way and by that means all Parties contribute to the upholding what the Magistrate is willing to prefer and here is no Imposition upon those that do not think as the Magistrate thinks nor is A. B. compell'd to pay B. C. for what A. B. thinks were better let alone But A. B. is obliged to render to Caesar what is Caesar's viz. Taxes Tribute c. and if Caesar will out of that Common Stock maintain that Man or Ministry that he prefers he ought not to be disobeyed for there are perhaps many Thousands of People under his Care who have not the Discretion no more than Children to choose for themselves And therefore 't is but reasonable the Magistrate should provide for them that labour to Instruct the People in Religion and good Manners over whom in chief the Magistrate himself is over-seer 5thly That Morality may be encouraged since it is so great a part of Religion that without it none can be Religious Were the foregoing Propositions well considered there would be the less need to say much upon this Head since it would be for the most part actum agere for let but the Immoralist the Ambitious the Tenacious the Persecutor be discouraged in short let Vice be under the Displeasure and Correction of the Civil Magistrate and Virtue or Morality will naturally be encouraged The encouragement that is here intreated is that no Man that is a Just a Temperate and Honest Man that keeps himself clear of those Sins that shut Men out of the Kingdom of Heaven may be either exposed to Contempt Scorn or Persecution nor look'd upon as a common Nusance nor as the 5th Wheel of a Waggon but that he may have that Respect and Preference by the Government that his virtuous Life hath justly merited for where a Man of a vicious Life shall have the Smiles of Authority whilst a Man of better Talents and a good Life shall be for God's sake slighted and despised This is an apparent discouragement to Morality and how prejudicial that may be to the State in time as well as to Youth at present is not hard to determine For Young Men will not apply themselves to the Study of Virtue to recommend themselves for the Service of their Countrey when they see Examples of Vice before their Eyes under Promotion But if Virtue were the only Qualification to advance to Honour Power and Profit and that none but those that were Educated in her School should be intrusted with the Charge of the Nation the Nobility and Gentry as well as common People would find themselves obliged to take care of their Posterity to keep them from every Vicious Path since that leads to nothing but Destruction both of Body and Soul here and hereafter True it is many good Laws we have in England both against Swearing Drunkenness Whoreing and Gaming c. now 't is to no purpose to catch a Porter and make him pay 12 d. for an Oath or send a Kitchen Wench to Bridewell for Twelve Months for having a small Child whilst Persons of higher Rank shall by practice repeat that every day without Censure which these poor Persons must suffer for though but once committed But to stop the growth of Impiety and to retrieve the Nation from that Debauchery it is now fallen into let every Man that is guilty of any manner of Debauchery or Immorality be mark'd out as an Enemy to the Peace and Tranquillity of his Country by being rendered uncapable of doing any thing for his King and Country till he hath repented and reformed his Life And if this method were begun at Court Vertue would grow in Fashion in the City and so should Morality be encouraged in all parts of the Country With these things God Almighty would be well pleased and pour out his Blessings upon us With these things the King and his Great Counsel would find abundance of Ease and Great Wealth as well as Immortal Honour With these things the City and Country would be safe and eased of that continued Vexation and Charge that the contrary always brings upon them True it is that altho' every One that is a Just and Temperate Man in short that is a Moral Man may not be a good Man for tho' his outside may be without blemish his inside may be too faulty and very unclean yet no good Man can be so without the Moral Man's outside nor will those lusty Believers that pretend to Church Priviledges and by Presumption not Faith lay claim to Promises find their account but themselves irreparably mistaken if there be any Truth in him that said First make clean the inside and the outside will be clean also By outsides we are known one of another and to one another and by outsides we make our Judgments of each other and if the outside is not fair we are sure we must lay by our Reason to think the inside can be otherwise than foul and how Consonant that is with Religion is above declared nor can it make any better mixture than Iron and Clay Let Men that have clean outsides then be commended and encouraged for Example's sake and if they are not so but Hypocrites God will find them out as he did Annanias and Sapphira But sure I am the Government will have the Advantage of that Conformity if it be no more than Hypocrisie in the Conformist THE Conclusion ALL Mankind that has any Sense of Religion makes something the Foundation of that Sense Now that something must be either Tradition Reason the Holy Scriptures or Divine Inspiration But he that has only the first cannot be said to be a Religious but Superstitious Man who cramps his own Reason as he would others Consciences Yet even such a one ought not to be done by as he would do by others for then we should be as bad and worse than he because of our larger Knowledge True it is he ought to be pitied but not persecuted and if his Eyes cannot be opened but he must die as blind as he was Born and Lived we must e'en think of him as of Idiots viz. Leave them to the unseen ways of that God who is slow to Anger and of great Kindness Though I highly prefer Reason to Tradition in Religion yet I cannot think Reason as commonly understood a good Foundation for Religion Nevertheless he that is moved by no Power Superiour to that of Reason from Reasonable Considerations must of necessity be Silenced and Routed out of his Traditional Religion And if Reason conquers Tradition as nothing is more certain it will also discover its own Insufficiency from whence an earnest Desire and Search will be after something to make good that Defect And here the Holy Scripture without and the Holy Spirit within will come in to the relief of every such Person to the Impregnating his Understanding and Judgment to Comprehend as well as Desire and Will to Comply with what is his Duty to God his Neighbour and Himself So that Faith which comes by hearing the Word of God and is God's Gift to render us Christian and Reason which is his Gift likewise to make us Humane are like the Husband and Wife no more to be Twain but One. Nevertheless the Man has the Preheminence for the Head of the Woman is the Man and the Head of the Man Christ c. as the Apostle teacheth Therefore those that would endeavour to part what God hath so joyned together bring themselves under the Curse But Faith which is the Foundation of Religion for without it we cannot please God and Reason which is Essential to our Humanity God hath United in One that so all our Beliefs and Works relating to God our Neighbours and our Selves may appear to be no more than really it is viz. our Reasonable Service FINIS