is I. To shew how unfit J. S. of all Men is to undertake this Cause II. To settle the true State of the Controversie between us III. To examine the Reasons he produces against our Grounds of Certainty IV. To lay open the weakness of his Arguments on behalf of the Infallibility of Oral and Practical Tradition I. As to J. S. his appearing in this Cause again we are to consider that in his Catholick Letters he frequently owns Faith vindicated Reason against Raillery and Errour nonplust and even Sure Footing it self But I shall now shew that he disowned the main Principles in those Books when he was in great danger of being Censured at Rome for them and therefore is not to be allow'd to produce them again The Account of this Matter will give great Light into the state of the present Controversie and is therefore necessary to be premised to it Out of those Books of J. S. a considerable Person in the Church of Rome selected three Propositions about the Grounds of his Infallible Certainty which were these I. That he who is obliged to profess Faith propositions true must see the Connexion between their Terms and consequently that they cannot be unconnected or false II. If the two Terms be not seen to be connected these Propositions may nay ought to be denyed by the Respondent whose Office and Right it is to grant nothing but what is evident lest he ensnare himself III. 'T is requisite and necessary that the Assent of Faith in divers particular Believers be formally Infallible or that those Persons be infallibly certain by evident Reasons that the Authority or Rule of Faith they rely on cannot herein deceive them Else great Wits and acute Reflecters whose piercing Vnderstandings require convictive Grounds for their Faith would remain for ever unsatisfied nor would the wisest Christians sincerely and heartily assent to nor with honesty profess the Truth of their Faith nor could any prove it true or establish rational doubters in it or convert Men of exact knowledge to it or convince Hereticks calling the Truth of it in question Nor could Governors and leading Persons with any Conscience or Credit propose and preach the Truth of Faith to the Generality These Propositions were tender'd to two Doctors of the Sorbon who declared The First could not be explained in a Catholick Sense and therefore very unfit for Catholick Letters For if say they a Person sees the Connexion between the Terms it would be Science and not Faith it is enough to see them not to be contradictory or that the Connexion is not repugnant to Reason Divine Faith is above not contrary to Reason As to the Second they agreed That neither could that be explained in a Catholick Sense because it is destructive of Faith and a Proposition ought not cannot be denied although the Respondent hath not Evidence of the Terms of which it consists when he otherwise knows the Church which Faith not Demonstration teaches to be Infallible in Matters of Faith to propose as a Truth revealed by God. To the Third they say That it cannot be explained in a Catholick Sense Because it is sufficient that the Church be believed by Faith to be Infallible and it is not requisite that the Infallibility of the Church be proved by evident Reason See here the main Design of his Catholick Letters declared to be no Catholick Doctrine which is to prove that there must be Infallible Certainty by Conclusive Evidence of the Churches Infallibility And if this be not Catholick Doctrine I am infallibly certain his Letters are far from being Catholick in their Sense One of these Doctors writes to the A. B. of D. That the Natural Sense of the Propositions could not be Catholick and that all Bishops were bound to suppress this Doctrine lest it did mischief to the Flock of Christ. And that the A. B. of Paris would revoke his Licence if the Author did not retract them as he hoped he would What Retract the Substance of his Catholick Letters Is this possible And yet again publish the same Doctrine as Catholick This is indeed very surprising But so it was For the A. B. of D. averrs That J. S. confessed the Propositions to be Heretical yea very Heretical but he said they were not taken in his sense which the other said was a ridiculous Plea. He granted that J. S. might contradict himself but there was no colour for saying the Propositions were not taken in their true sense And Mr. S. being requir'd by the A. B. of Paris to Anathematize these Propositions and to subscribe to the Censure that they could not be explained in a Catholick Sense he did it And yet the sense of them is maintained by him in his Catholick Letters Is not such a Man fit to hold the Cards for Mr. G. who makes the same Doctrine to be Heretical and Catholick as his Circumstances require And in his own Language he goes backwards and forwards blows and sups declares for and against the same Principles This Doctrine of J. S. was complained of at Rome and a Congregation of Cardinals was appointed to Examine it and they sent their Instructions about it to the Popes Nuncio at Paris where J. S. then was And therein they took notice that in his Vindication sent to them he detested that Doctrine as Heretical viz. that the Evidence of the Connexion of Predicate and Subject and the Evidence of the Rule of Faith by which the Believer may be infallibly certain he cannot be deceived is necessary in order to Faith. I desire the Reader to mark this Declaration which J. S. sent to Rome and to compare it with the Doctrine of his Catholick Letters But of that hereafter But it is worth our while to shew with what a double Face I. S. appeared in his Vindication and Complaint sent to Rome and in his Books which he published here And by that the Reader may judge of the Catholick Sincerity of the Writer of these Letters I. About the Faith he designs to demonstrate Faith Vindicated Preface I declare then that my chief End in this Treatise is to settle Christian Faith or to demonstrate that it must be truly or absolutely certain and that my applying it now and then to my Opposers is only a Secondary Intention and meerly Occasional Querimonia advers Lominum p. 49. He saith He speaks not of Faith in itself but as it is controverted among us The same he affirms p. 145 146. that he meddles not with Faith but with respect to his Adversaries or as it is disputed between Catholicks and those he calls Hereticks p. 148. If it were his design to settle Christian Faith and to make it truely and absolutely certain and only secondarily applying it to his Opposers how is it possible that at the same time he should not meddle with Faith in itself but meerly with respect to his Opposers Is not this a
Certain to those who use it aright although it be very possible for Men through their own Faults to mistake about it And this is no way disagreeing to the infinite Wisdom of God who deals with us as with Rational Creatures and hath put Faculties into us that we might use them in order to the Certainty of our Faith. And such Moral Qualifications are required in the New Testament in order to the Discerning the Doctrine of it as Humility of Mind Purity of Heart Prayer to God Sincere Endeavour to do the Will of God that it would be very repugnant to the Design of it to suppose that the Letter of Scripture alone would give a Man immediate and certain Directions in all Matters of Doctrine being applied to it Therefore an easie Answer is to be given to Mr. S's great Difficulty viz. How the Sense drawn from the Letter can any more fail to be true than the Line drawn by the Rule to be straight For we say that the Sense truly drawn from the Scripture can never fail to be true but we do not say that every Man must draw the True Sense from the Scripture for although the Scripture be an Infallible Rule yet unless every Man that makes use of it be Infallible he may mistake in the Application of it And this to me is so clear that to make an Infallible Rule in his Sense he must make every Person that uses it Infallible or else he may err in the Application of it But the Right Way saith Mr. S. will certainly bring a Man to his Journeys End and the way must needs be a wrong way if it do it not The Right way will certainly bring them to their Journeys end if they continue in it but here we must consider what is meant by the Journeys End. If by it be understood their Salvation then we say that those who do their utmost endeavours to keep in that way shall not fail of their Journeys End. But if by it be understood the Certain Truth or Falshood of every Opinion tried by the Scripture then I answer that although the Sense of Scripture be infallibly true yet it was not designed as an Infallible Way for us to know the Truth and Falshood of all particular Opinions by For as Mr. S. well observes Salvation is that which chiefly imports us and it was for that End the Doctrine of Christ is made known to us and it is an Infallible Way to it if Men continue therein but for judging the Truth or Falshood of Opinions without respect to Salvation as the End it was not intended as an Infallible Way to every one that makes use of it and therefore it is easie for Men to mistake in judging by it of things it was not design'd for As if a Man designed to observe all the old Roman Cities and Stations here and were told the old Roman Way would be a Certain Way to lead him to them with the help of the Roman Itinerary if that Man objects that this will not do for he cannot find out all the Modern Towns and Villages by this Means is it not a just and reasonable Answer to say that is a most Certain way which leads a Man to that which it was design'd for and the Roman way was only intended for Roman Foundations but it is very unreasonable to find fault with it because it doth not lead you to all Modern Towns and Villages So say I here the Scripture was designed by Divine Wisdom to make us Wise to Salvation and thither it will infallibly lead us if we keep to it but if besides this we would know by it such things as are not necessary to Salvation we blame it for that which was not in the Original Intention and Design of it For when we make use of it to be our Rule of Judgment meerly as to Truth and Falshood of things not necessary to Salvation it is not because it was designed for that End but because it is of Divine Revelation and so is the surest Standard of Divine Truth and we are sure there is no other Rule for us to judge besides From whence we may and ought to reject any Points of Faith imposed upon us which are neither contained in Scripture nor can be proved from it And so it is our positive Rule of Faith as to all Necessary Articles and our Negative Rule as to all pretended Points of Faith which are not proved from thence II. I answer that this Method of Mr. S. will overthrow the Possibility of any Rule of Faith because none can be assigned which it is not possible for Men to misapprehend and to mistake about it Let us at present suppose Mr. S. to substitute his Rule of Faith in stead of Scripture viz. Oral and Practical Tradition Why may not Men mistake the Sense of Tradition as well as the Sense of Scripture Is Tradition more Infallible in it self Is it deliver'd by Persons more Infallible Doth it make those to whom it is delivered Infallible Why then may not those who deliver it and those who receive it both be mistaken about it This I had mention'd in my second Letter that it was very possible to mistake the Sense and Meaning of Tradition and I instanced in that of Christ's being the Son of God where the Traditionary Words may be kept and yet an Heretical Sense may be contained under them Mr. S. answers That the Sense of the Words and all the rest of Christ's Doctrine is convey'd down by Tradition This is bravely said if it could be made out and would presently put an End to all Disputes For if all the Doctrine of Christ be derived down to us in such a manner that we cannot mistake the Sense of it we must be all agreed whether we will or not For how can we disagree if we cannot mistake the Sense of Tradition Not while we hold to Tradition Then it seems it is possible not to hold to Tradition and if so we have found a terrible flaw in Human Nature that will let in Errors in abundance viz. that it may grosly err about the Rule of Faith yea so far as to Renounce it But how is this possible if the Sense of Tradition be infallibly convey'd For is not Traditions being the Rule of Faith any part of it We must in Reason suppose this And if we do so how can Persons Renounce its being the Rule while they cannot but believe its being the Rule If Men may mistake about Traditions being the Rule of Faith why may we not suppose they may as well mistake about any Points convey'd by it For the greatest Security lying in the Rule there must be more Care taken about that than about the Points convey'd by it But let us see how he proves that Men cannot mistake the Sense of Tradition in Particular Points The force of what he saith is That Men were always Men and Christians were always Christians and
that none are saved but Metaphysical Speculators that perch upon the specifick Nature of Things and dig into the Intrinsecal Grounds of Truth If this be his Opinion How few can be saved But if Salvation be the End the Means must be suitable to the Capacity of Mankind and I do not think the Intrinsecal Grounds of Truth are so But aftey all he saith that I stifle any further talk of the Certainty of Protestent Faith. How can that be when I own no Protestant Faith but what is contained in Scripture or may be deduced from it according to the Sixth Article of our Church I am not conscious to myself of any Art in the matter which he charges me with and he saith I avoid what cannot be performed What is that To make out that Protestants are absolutely certain that they now hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles If all that Doctrine be contained in Scripture and they hold the Scripture by Grounds of Absolute Certainty then Protestants must be certain that they hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles Afterwards Mr. S. starts something that comes nearer to the business which is that Certainty of Faith and Certainty of Scripture are two things For those who have as much Certainty of Scripture as we may have not only an Vncertain but a Wrong Faith and therefore I am concerned to shew not only that Protestants have Certainty of their Rule but of the Faith which they pretend to have from that Rule That which I am now upon is to settle the true State of the Controversie about the Certainty of Faith. In the Conference my first Answer was that We are absolutely Certain that we now hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles And when the Question was asked By what Certain Rule do we hold it I answer'd By the Divine Revelation contained in the Writings of the New Testament So that the Certainty of Scripture was that which I was obliged to answer to Now comes J. S. and he finds fault with Mr. G's management because he asked Questions about the Certainty of the Rule whereas he ought to have gone another Way to work So that now Mr. G. is given up and a New Controversie is begun upon other Grounds and the Words which I used with Respect to the Rule are applied to particular Doctrines He saith The Certainty of Scripture was not the Point for which the Conference was How comes he to know better than Mr. G. unless he directed the Point and Mr. G. mistook and lost it in the Management But I am now bound to manifest that Protestants have Absolute Certainty not only of the Scripture as the Rule but of the Faith they have from that Rule or else to own that I cannot It seems Mr. G's good Nature betray'd him when he asked Questions about the Rule of Faith and so the main Point was lost Yet methinks it was not meer good Nature in Mr. G. For when we are asked about the Grounds and Certainty of our Faith how is it possible we should answer more pertinently than to assign the Rule of our Faith And we declare it to be the Scripture by which we judge what we are to believe and what not And therefore if any ask us of the Matter of our Faith we must answer It is whatever God hath revealed in the Scripture which is our Rule If they ask us How we come to know these Books to be written by such Persons we say It is by the Vniversal Tradition of the Christian Churches If they ask us Why we believe the Doctrine contained in those Books then our Answer is From the Divine Testimonies which make us certain that it came from God. And thus we answer both to that which is called the Material and Formal Object of Faith and if we are absolutely Certain of these we must be so of our Faith. If we ask a Jew about the Certainty of his Faith he saith he is Certain of it because all his Faith is contained in the Books of Moses and he is well assured they were written by Divine Inspiration If we ask a Mahometan of his Faith his Answer is That his Faith is contained in the Alcoran and by proving that he proves the Certainty of his Faith and if that be disproved the Certainty of it is overthrown Those who resolve their Faith into a Written Rule must go thither when Questions are asked them about the Certainty of their Faith. For if I believe every thing in it and nothing but what is in it there lies my Faith and the Certainty of it depends upon the Certainty of my Rule But I must shew the Certainty of the Faith of Protestants as it is pretended to be taken from the Rule Not certainly when the Question is asked about the entire Object of our Faith or when we are to shew how we hold all the same Doctrine that was taught by Christ and his Apostles for the word All makes it necessary for us to Assign our Rule wherein that All is contained If he ask us of the Certainty of any particular Point of our Faith then we are to make it out that this is contained in our Rule and our Certainty is according to the Evidence we are able to produce for it For the Case is not the same as to particular Points of Faith with that of the General Grounds of the Certainty of Faith. A Jew firmly believes all that is contained in the Books of Moses and with the highest Degree of Certainty but whether the Resurrection can be proved certainly from those Books is a particular Point and he may have Absolute Certainty of all contained in those Books though he may not have it as to such a Particular Point And when we come to Particular Points their Case is not only different from the General Rule of Faith but such Points are very different both among themselves and as to the Certainty of them For 1 There are some Points of Faith which were necessary to be Revealed because they were necessary to be Believed in order to our Salvation by Jesus Christ. For as Mr. S. saith Salvation is the thing of greatest Importance and therefore on Supposition that it is to be by Jesus Christ the Nature of the thing requires that we have a firm and established Faith in him And of these Points of Faith the Church hath given a Summary in the Creeds which were proposed to those who were to be Baptized and not only St. Augustin but Aquinas saith these were taken out of Scripture and the Certainty of them to us doth depend not upon the Authority of the Church proposing them but the Evidence of Scripture for them which is very much confirmed to us by the Concurrent Testimony of the Christian Church in all Ages from the Apostles times i. e. as to the main Articles for that there
And then my Answer lies in these things I. That the Scripture is a certain Rule of Faith as to all Points necessary to Salvation to all such as make use of it as such and do not through their own fault make a wrong Application thereof II. That the Scripture was not designed for a Certain Rule as to Vnnecessary Opinions and therefore Mens not arriving at a Certainty in them doth not hinder its being a Rule of Faith. III. That Scripture being our Rule of Faith we are bound to reject all pretended Articles of Faith which cannot with Certainty be proved from the Sense of Scripture And so the Proof of Certainty lies upon those who affirm such Articles of Faith and not upon us who deny them This Argument is Mr. S's Goliah and now it is no wonder if his lesser Men at Arms soon quit the Field But I must take some notice of them lest they be magnified by being slighted His next Argument is That I contradict myself I hope I have in the beginning made him unwilling to repeat such a Charge against me till he hath cleared himself But wherein is it In another place he saith I deny any Absolute Certainty as to Tradition attesting the Books of Scripture which in the Conference I asserted I have looked in the Place he refers to and there I find nothing like it I deny the Necessity of any Infallible Society of Men either to Attest or Explain the Scripture Where by an Infallible Society of Men I mean such as have a Divine Assistance to that purpose And what is this to the Absolute Certainty we have of the Books of Scripture by Vniversal Tradition But he urges it further If this Society be not Infallible then it is Fallible and if it be Fallible then we cannot be more than fallibly Certain and so we can have no absolute Certainty from a Fallible Testimony This is the whole force of what he saith To which I Answer I. I understand no such thing as Infallibility in Mankind but by immediate Divine Assistance I grant that the Holy Spirit may where he pleases preserve the Minds of Men from any possibility of mistake as to those things wherein it doth inlighten them but set aside this there is no such thing as Infallibility the utmost is a rational Certainty built on clear and convincing Motives Where the Motives are meerly probable there may be Opinion but no Certainty where the Evidence is thought so strong as to determine Assent there is a Certainty as to the Mind as when we commonly say we are certain of such things we mean no more than that we firmly believe them but when the Evidence is the highest which in point of Reason the thing is capable of then there is that which I call Absolute Certainty i. e. such as depends not meerly on the Assent of the Mind but the Evidence which justifies that Assent II If by being fallibly Certain he means any Suspicion that notwithstanding such Evidence in all its Circumstances I may be deceived then I utterly deny it for otherwise I could not be absolutely Certain but if he means only that there is no Divine Infallibility and I know no other then I own that there is still human Fallibility consistent with this Absolute Certainty But Mr. S. will have Absolute Certainty to be Infallible If nothing will satisfie him but Human i. e. fallible Infallibility much good may it do him but I much rather chuse proper Terms which I know the certain meaning of than improper though they make a far greater Noise I do own an Absolute Certainty in some Acts of the Mind by inward Perception as that I think I doubt and that I am I do own an Absolute Certainty as to common Objects of Sense and as to some Deductions of Reason I do own an Absolute Certainty as to some Matters of Fact by a Concurrence of Circumstances but for all that I do not account Human Nature Infallible nor this an Infallible Certainty unless it be taken in another Sense than Divines take it in For even the Divines of the Church of Rome as well as Ours make a difference between a Human and Acquisite Certainty and that which is Divine and Infallible And if Mr. S. by Divine means Human and by Infallible no more than Certain he must not think he hath gained any great matter when he hath made use of Words in an improper and unusual Sense III. His next Argument is That our Rule of Faith is common to all the Heresies in the World which pretend Scripture as well as we This is just the Old Sceptical Argument against Certainty if there be any such thing as Certainty you must assign such a Criterion which is not common to Truth and Falshood but if you cannot assign any such Mark of Truth which may not as well agree to what is False then there is no such thing as Certainty to be had In Matters of this nature the Proof must not lie in generals but we must come to particulars to shew the Grounds of our Certainty viz. as to the Trinity and Incarnation of Christ and then if we cannot shew why we believe those Points and reject the opposite Heresies as Arianism Sabellianism Eutychianism c. then we are to be blamed for want of Certainty in these Points but not before But this he saith is to make Light and Darkness very consistent and Christ and Belial very good Friends It seems then there is no difference to be found by the Rule of Scripture between the Doctrine of Christ and the Devil Is this in Truth your avowed Principle Do you in earnest believe the Scripture to be such a Chaos where there is no difference of Light and Darkness and that nothing but Confusion can be found in it And we cannot tell by it whether we are to Worship God or the Devil If Mr. S. grants that there is enough in Scripture to distinguish these two then it is a Rule so far as to put a difference between Light and Darkness between Christ and Belial and so these Expressions must be disowned as little less than Blasphemous for all his pitiful Defence of them in his Second Letter which is That he never said that Christ and Belial could be reconciled or advanced any Position that implied it But he said That to make Scripture our Rule is to make Light and Darkness consistent and Christ and Belial very good Friends And is not this Blasphemy against Scripture and implies that if we go by that Rule only they may be very good Friends How can this be unless he asserts that by Scripture alone we can find no certain difference between Light and Darkness between Christ and Belial Let Mr. S. Answer to this and not think to escape with such a poor Evasion If he owns the Scripture a Certain Rule as to the difference of Christ and Belial and Light and Darkness then we have gained thus
Which are there received as in the Lump and if we receive the Book which contains all we must by the same Authority receive all contained in it As if a Purse be left to a Man by his Fathers Will full of Gold and Silver and this by the Executors be declared to contain all the Gold and Silver his Father left him they who deliver this Purse to him from the Executors do certainly deliver to him all the Gold and Silver left him by his Father But if he suspects there was both Gold and Silver left him by his Father which was not in that Purse then he must call in Question the Integrity of the Executors who declared that all was contained therein This is now the Case of the Christian Church as to all Divine Truths which respect Mens Salvation the Primitive Church who answer to the Executors in the other Case did unanimously declare that all such Truths were undoubtedly contained in the Written Word Although therefore there may be a real Difference in the nature of the Doctrines therein contained as there is between Gold and Silver yet he that receives all must receive one as well as the other and the Matters of Salvation being of greatest Moment they that receive the whole Will of God upon Grounds of Certainty must be assured that therein they receive all Matters necessary to our Salvation Never was any Purse so rifled as this is by J. S. he examines not only the Coin in it but the very Strings and Linings of it He is a dreadful Man at Ransacking a Metaphor He tells me My Similitude is so far from running on four Legs that it is in many regards lame on the right and indeed only foot it ought to stand on and which is worse perhaps against my self The sum of it amounts to this that because Scripture contains all and Protestants have Scripture therefore they have all A strange kind of Discourse As if because they have it in a Book therefore they have it in their Minds and Souls in which and no where else Faith is to reside But was not the Question put whether we had All the Points of Faith which our Saviour taught And how could I answer a Question about All but by shewing where we had All If All the Doctrine of Christ be there we must be certain we have all if we have the Scripture which contains all But it is not enough to have it in a Book I grant it But still if you ask where all my Faith is contained I must refer you to that Book which contains All. For I profess to believe every thing there and nothing as a Point of Faith but what is there We do not pretend that it is enough for Persons to say their Faith is in such a Book but we grant that they ought to read and search and actually believe what ever they find in that Book but still all Points are not equally necessary to all Persons that are therein contained but all such as are necessary to Salvation lie there open to the Capacities of all who desire to know them Now this is one of the things J. S. finds fault with this similitude of a Purse for viz. That People think it is an easie thing to open and as easie to come at the Sense of Scripture as to take Money out of a Purse 'T is but plucking the Strings and the Deed is done And is this any Disparagement to a Rule of Faith to be plain and easie If it were not so it could not be a Rule of Faith for all Persons We do not say that any Person by opening the Scriptures may presently attain to the Certain Sense of all Places of Scripture but that which I assert is That no Man who sets himself to read and consider the Scriptures as he ought and prays for Wisdom from God shall miss of knowing all things necessary to his Salvation But Mr. S. is for mending the Similitude and truly he doth it after an extraordinary manner He will allow the Scripture to be a Purse provided the Purses Mouth were tied up with a Knot of such a mysterious contrivance that none could open it but those who knew the Mind of the Bequeather and that the Church to which it was left as a Legacy had knowledge of his Mind and so could open it whilst Others only perplexed themselves more while they went about it The Point then between Us is whether the Scripture were left only to the Church to Interpret it to the People in all Points or whether it were intended for the general good of the whole Church so as thereby to direct themselves in their Way to Heaven and consequently whether it may not be opened and understood by all Persons in Matters that are necessary to their Salvation One would think by the Church of Romes management of the Scripture keeping it so much out of the Peoples hands and talking so much of the Danger and Mischief that comes by it that they did esteem it just as the Old Romans did the Sybillin Oracles which were to be kept up from the view of the People and only to be consulted in Cases of great Difficulty and no farther Questions were to be asked but what the Keepers of them declared to be their meaning was to be so received without any farther Examination And this is the Sense of the Politicians of that Church concerning the Scripture But when they have written like Divines and have been driven to state the Controversie truly they have been forced to such Concessions as have overthrown the Political Hypothesis For I. They cannot deny that the Scripture was designed to be a Certain and Infallible Rule of Faith to all This Bellarmin proves in the beginning of his Controversies where he shews at large That the Law was the Rule in the Old Testament To the Law and to the Testimony Blessed are they that search thy Commandments c. That in the New Testament Christ proves his Doctrine by the Scriptures and refers the Pharisees to the Scriptures and confuted the Sadduces out of them That the Apostles direct Christians to honour and esteem and to rely upon them And then he proves that a Rule of Faith must be Certain and Known and for the Scriptures he saith Nihil est Notius nihil Certius Nothing is more Known nothing more Certain How can this be if there be such Mystical Knots which tye it together that none but the Church-Guides can unloose How can this then ever be so Known as to be a Rule of Faith to the People And not meerly a Rule but a most Certain and Safe Rule Which is the greatest Non-sense in the World if it cannot be understood by those who are to make it their Rule They may as well say That Algebra was a Rule for Masons and Carpenters and a Jacob's Staff for a Taylor 's Measure But Mr. S. hath beaten his Brains so long about Rules
Thing or Manner but the Revelation of such a Doctrine So that if these Points be owned to be necessary to Salvation they must be so plain that Men may understand their Duty to believe them For that is the Bound I keep my self within that all things Necessary to Salvation are so plain that we may be certain of our Duty to believe them but if not we may Err without Prejudice to our Salvation Mr S. asks what I mean by all things necessary to Salvation Nothing but what all others do mean by it Did Christ saith he teach any unnecessary Points Alas for him But are all Points taught by Christ or written in Scripture equally necessary to the Salvation of all People No he saith presently after That he will grant that fewer means than the Knowledge of all Christ taught may suffice for the Salvation of some particular Persons Very well now I hope he will make something of the main business in hand viz. To prove that Absolute Certainty of all that Christ Taught is Necessary to Mens Salvation when he grants that some may be Saved without so much as Knowing all that Christ Taught To what purpose was all this Heat about the Certainty of our Faith as to all that Christ Taught if at last some may be Saved without so much as Knowing it How doth Mr. S. prove That those some are only the Ignorant People in the Church of Rome but that all Ours are tied to no less than Infallible Certainty of all that Christ Taught He would have done well to have proved such a Privilege for Ignorance to have been limited to their Communion and that no Claim can be allowed as to the Circumstances of any other particular Persons Some few he saith again may be Saved without the Knowledge of such and such Points slender Motives being enough for their Circumstances I thank Mr. S. for this It seems the Point as to Salvation is gained unless particular Persons among us can be proved to be none of these few But where-ever they are it seems they may be Saved but I hope not without True and Saving Faith whence it follows that such Faith hath no necessary Relation to these high Points and there is no need of Infallible Certainty as to them of all Christ Taught One of these high Points is that of Transubstantiation too high for me and Thousands and Millions besides ever to apprehend let us do our utmost nay we cannot apprehend such is our dulness that we can have any Certainty as to Sense or Reason if we hold it We hope therefore J. S. will enlarge his Number and not talk only of some Few that may be Saved without the Knowledge of such deep Mysteries we desire to be admitted into his Number for truly our Capacities can never be stretched so far as to comprehend the Possibility of Transubstantiation Suppose our Motives be slender yet they are such as move us to that degree that we cannot overcome the Reluctancies of Sense and Reason and Revelation and Tradition against it But Mr. S. brings himself off with a Salvo Though all Points are not necessary for every particular Person yet all of them are necessary for the Body of the Church whose Pastors are to Instruct their Children in them and apply the Efficacy of them to their Souls as their Capacities admit and Exigencies require It seems still they are not Necessary to particular Persons but according to their Capacities and Exigencies but they are to the Body of the Church But how came they to be Necessary to the Body of the Church For Instance The Point of Transubstantiation is a very deep Point and although particular Persons may be Saved without believing it yet I cannot understand how this deep Point comes to be Necessary in any Respect for the Body of the Church I hope J. S. will not deny this to be one of his Necessary Church-Points Let him then shew how it comes to be so Necessary for the Pastors of the Church to Instruct their Children in it My Capacity I assure him will not reach to this and therefore I hope I may be excused and in his own words my mind is not capable of being cultivated by such elevating Considerations I do not believe there is any such danger of the Flocks dying or falling short of their full growth they might have had in the Plentiful Pasturage of the Church as J. S. elegantly speaks if they do not believe Transubstantiation or any such deep Points But still we have no Absolute Certainty of our highest Fundamentals No We affirm the Contrary and from Absolutely Certain Grounds It is Absolutely Certain that whatever God Reveals is true and ought to be believed by us And we are as absolutely Certain as Scripture and Reason can make us that God hath Revealed the Fundamentals of our Faith. But there is Experience to the Contrary What Experience That we are not Certain We affirm that we are and who can tell best How comes Mr. S. to know we are not Certain when we say we are But all are not as Socinians c. What are they to us Are not we certain because some are not Certain What pittiful Reasoning is this Is Mr. S. Certain of his Infallible Ground of Certainty Oral Tradition Why do I ask such a Question For very good Reason because there are some not Certain of it and even in his own Church but cry out upon it as Fallible Fallacious Dangerous and Destructive of Faith and leading to Atheism From whence it follows on Mr. S's Principles that he cannot be Certain himself because others are not Nay it is impossible he should have any Certainty on his own Grounds For he can have no Rule of Certainty as I shall evidently prove from his own Words A Rule must have Absolute Certainty Absolute Certainty there cannot be where Persons are left uncertain but there are many in the Church of Rome that not only doubt of his Rule of Infallible Certainty but utterly deny it and dispute against it How is it then possible for him to be certain of it on his own Grounds But it is time to proceed to another Objection against our Rule of Faith. VIII J. S. saith We can be no more certain of our Rule than we are of the Truth of the Letter of Scripture but we cannot be certain we have the Right Letter unless we have a Right Translation and that must be from a true Copy no Copy can be true unless Conformable to the Original and if there be any failure in any of these nay if we have not absolute Certainty of all these we cannot have any absolute Certainty of our Faith. This Objection those of the Church of Rome who believe Scripture to be a Rule of Faith though not the Complete are concerned to Answer as well as we For the Matters of Faith contained in Scripture are convey'd to their Minds after the same manner