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A61911 A plea for tolleration of opinions and perswasions in matters of religion, differing from the Church of England. Grounded upon good authority of Scripture, and the practice of the primitive times. Shewing the unreasonablenesse of prescribing to other mens faith, and the evil of persecuting differing opinions. / Humbly presented to the kings most excellent majesty, by John Sturgion, a member of the Baptized People. Sturgion, John. 1661 (1661) Wing S6093; ESTC R208120 10,549 20

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third Reason against restraining or using force in matters of Religion is taken from the unreasonablenesse of such proceedings for what is more unreasonable then to deny men the use of their Reason in choice of their Religion for if Scripture Tradition Councils and Fathers be the evidence in a question yet Reason is the judge that is we being the Persons that are to be perswaded we must see that we be perswaded reasonably and it is against Reason to assent to a lesser evidence when a greater is propounded but every man for himself is to take cognizance if he be able to judge but if he be not then he is not bound under the tye of necessity to know it nor will God punish him for not knowing it and not onely the unreasonablenesse but the impiety of using force in this case may be further seen if it be considered that there is nothing under God hath power over the understanding of a man God commanding us to believe his Revelations perswades and satisfies the understanding by his commanding and revealing it for there is no greater probation in the World that a Proposition is true then because God hath commanded it to be believed but then it must certainly be made appear to us that God hath so commanded it but no man hath any Efficacy or Authority on the understanding of another but by Proposal Perswasion and then a man is bound to assent according to the operation of the Argument and strength of the Perswasion neither indeed can he assent sooner or other wayes though he would never so fain he therefore that in this case useth force or punishment punisheth a man for keeping a good Conscience or forceth him into a bad he both punisheth sincerity and perswades hypocrisie he presecutes a truth and drives into an errour he teacheth a man to dissemble to be safe but never to be honest nor acceptable to God Learned Doctor Taylors Argument for Tolleration is very Excellent in his Epistle to his Liberty of Prophecie in page 14. This very thing saith he being one of the Arguments I use to perswade permissions left compulsion introduce hypocrisie and make sinceritie troublesome and unsafe Reason 4. The fourth Reason which I humbly offer to consideration That persecution for Conscience or the Civil Magistrate using force in the matters of Religion is because it came in through corruptions of the times so that it is so far from being of Divine Sanction that it is earthly and sensual for the proof of this I shall onely transcribe a passage out of that worthy Author Doctor Taylor in his aforesaid Epistle to his Liberty of Prophecie Page the 18 19. Which is as followeth That against this I have laid prejudice enough from the Dictates of holy Scripture it is observable that this with its Appendent degrees I mean restraint of Prophesying imposing upon other mens understandings being masters of their Consciences and Lording it over their Faith came in with the retinue and train of Antichrist that is they came as other abuses and corruption of the Church did by reason of the Iniquity of times and the cooling of the first heats of Christianity and the increase of Interest and the abatement of Christian simplicity when the Churches fortune grew better and her sons grew worse and some of her Fathers worst of all For in the first three hundred years there was no sign of persecuting any man for his opinion though at that time there were very horrid opinions commenced and such which were Exemplary and parallel enough to determine this question for they then were assaulted by new Sects which destroyed the common Principles of Nature of Christianity of Innocency and publick Society and they who used all the means Christian and spiritual for their disimprovement and conviction thought not of using corporal force other wayes than by blaming such proceedings and therefore I do not urge their not doing it as an Argument of the unlawfulness of such proceedings but their defying it and speaking against such Practices as unreasonable and distructive to Christianty for which the Learned Doctor cites all these Fathers Tertullian St. Cyprian Lactantius St. Hilary Minuitius Felix Sulpitius Severus Saint Chrysostome St. Hierom St. Austin Damascon Theophylact Socrates Scholasticus and St. Bernard and he further saith that all wise Princes till they were overborn with Faction or solicited by Peevish Persons gave Tolleration to differing Sects whose Opinions did not disturb the publick Interest and in page 20. till 400. years after Christ no Catholick Person or very few did provoke the secular arm or implore its aide So far he From which it is evident that the Magistrates imposing in matters of Religion is an Evil from which I pray God deliver your Majesty Reason 5. The fifth Reason is taken from the Principles and Practices of some great Princes who did both give and perswade Tolleration King Iames your Majesties Royal Grand-Father in his Letter to the States of the united Provinces dated the sixth of March 1613. amongst other things thus wrote Etdistrictè imperetis ut Pacem Colant seinvicem tolerando in ista opinionum ac sententiaram discere pacitià Eoque Iustius videmur vobìs hoc ipsum suadere debere quod Neutrum Comperimus adeo deviam ut non possint cum Fidei Christiana veritate cum Animarum Salute consistore Englished for common Benefit That you charge them to maintain peace by bearing one with another in such difference of Opinions and Iudgements Therefore it seemeth more Right that you should be thus perswaded seeing neither of the Judgements is found so dangerous but that it may stand with the true Faith of a Christian and the Salvation of Souls The like Counsel in the divisions of Germany at the first Reformation was thought reasonable by the Emperour Fardinand and his Excellent son Maximilion they had observed that violence did Exasperate was unblessed unsuccessful and unreasonable and therefore they made Decrees of Tolleration and appointed Tempors and Expediences to be drawn up by discreet Persons and George Cassander was designed to this great work and did some thing towards it and Immanuel Phillibert Duke of Savoy repenting of his War undertaken for Religion against the Pedimontans promised then Tolleration and was as good as his word as much is done by the Nobilitie of Polonia and Theodoricus the Sage King of the Gothes asswaging the vemency of the Arians against the Orthodox No belief saith he is carryed on by blowes nor is that Excellent saying of King Edward the sixth to be forgotten he being solicited to put a Heretick to death made this wise answer Will you have me to send her to Hell in her sins But to conclud● this the French King although he be the second son of the Church of Roome gives Tolleration to different perswasions in matters of Religion for the Hugonets have their Churches and Places of meeting for to worship God in according as they