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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	divine_a	faith_n	revelation_n	3,458	5	9.7228	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38042	Socinianism unmask'd a discourse shewing the unreasonableness of a late writer's opinion concerning the necessity of only one article of Christian faith, and of his other assertions in his late book, entituled, The reasonableness of Christianity as deliver'd in the Scriptures, and in his vindication of it : with a brief reply to another (professed) Socinian writer / by John Edwards ...	Edwards, John, 1637-1716.	1696 (1696)	Wing E214; ESTC R3296	60,720	171

They acknowledg that Some few Verses in several Chapters of the Four Evangelists and the Acts are matter of Faith or Religion but they do not cry the Bible the Bible the Bible they do not think that All and Every one of the Fundamental Truths in the Whole Scripture are the necessary matter of our Belief Thus I think this Reverend Scribe might have spared the quoting of Mr. Chillingworth unless he delights in confuting himself and his New Convert Afterwards he nibbles at some other passages in my Discourse but flies off into Impertinencies Only one thing I meet with that is very Remarkable and I request the Reader to attend to it There are saith he some that-of Deists have been reconciled to the Christian faith by the Vnitarian books and have profess'd much satisfaction therein p. 42. You may perceive that they are making of Proselytes as fast as they can and among the rest some Deists come in to them and so as the Apostle speaks of Seducers and those that are Seduced 2 Pet. 2. 20. the latter end is worse with them than the beginning for whereas before they owned a Natural Religion now they become guilty of perverting and prophaning a Revealed one They are so far from being reconciled to the Christian Faith that they oppose and contradict it and even defie the Main Articles of this Religion which is owing to Divine Revelation Such Converts as these have no reason to profess much satisfaction in the Vnitarian books unless Corrupting the Christian saith be to be chosen before plain Theism To speak the plain truth and it is the design of these Papers to do so and that which every Thinking and Considering Man cannot but discern the Socinians are but the Journey men of the Deists and they are set on work by them for these latter hope to compass their Design which is to impair the Credit of the Christian Religion and of those Inspired Writings which give us an account of it they hope I say effectually to compass this design by the help of such Good Instruments as they find the Socianiz'd Men to be You see then what ground this Gentleman hath to think that the Deists are Proselytes to the Vnitarians Then he proceeds to make a long harangue about the Obscurity of Systematical Fundamentals p. 44. c. but never was poor Creature so bewildred as he is Only he happily lights upon the Quakers p. 44 45. where it is worth observing that the man doth not know his Friends from his Foes nor these from them He rails against this sort of men who he saith would be counted the only People of God and yet it is certain that they are his brethren Socinians They utterly disown the Scripture as the Rule of Faith he saith and doth not our late Socinian Writer symbolize with them when he declares that the Divine Truths contained in the Epistles of the Holy Apostles which are a considerable part of Scripture are not the Necessary matter of Faith He complains that the Quakers turn the Gospel into an Allegory but the foremention'd Author doth much worse for he represents the greatest Part of the Gospel-discoveries as Superfluous and Needless In giving us the farther Character of the Quakers he in lively colours represents the Socinians for these are his words concerning them Retaining still the words wherein the Christian Faith is expressed though in an Equivocal Sense they have made a shift to be reputed generally Christians Certainly there could not be a better Pourtraiture of the Racovian Writers for it is known that they are crafty and sophistical and quote Scripture only to pervert it They acknowledg Christ to be God and an Expiatory Sacrifice but they mean it Equivocally they quit the true sense of Scripture though they retain the words and by reason of this latter have made a shift as this Author speaks to pass for Christians These men whatever some few English Writers of the Racovian way hold of late exactly side with the Quakers in crying down of Water-Baptism for so they both call it in derision In the Grand Point of the Trinity they both concur i. e. to reject it witness W. Pen's Sandy Foundation by which he means the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity In a quibbling manner wherein he shews both his Ignorance and Blasphemy he thus speaks If God as the Scriptures testifie hath never been declared or believed but as the HOLY ONE then it will follow that God is not an HOLY THREE Neither can this receive the least prejudice from that frequent but impertinent distinction that he is One in Substance but Three in Persons or Subsistencies To which all Socinus's followers say Amen The same Gentleman derides the doctrine of Satisfaction and scoffingly calls the Asserters of it Satisfactionists and who knows not that Transylvania agrees here with Pensylvania The Man that suffer'd at Ierusalem is the Socinian as well as the Quakers Stile And generally as to the main things that relate to our Saviour they perfectly accord viz. in making nothing of them If Quakerism then be no Christianity as this our Writer reports it in the same place then we may with much more reason conclude that Socinianism is none By this it appears that Socinus and Fox are well met and that they are very Loving Friends But they must seem to disagree as here in this Gentleman's Papers Lastly let us see the wonderful hand of God in suffering this Unthoughtful Writer to produce a Paper written by a Iesuite in the late Reign entituled an Address c. And in this Address he saith he goes about to shew that the Scriptures commonly alledg'd for the Trinity admit of another sense He goes the same way in the Article of the Incarnation What! had he not enough of the Quaker but he must bring in the Iesuite And must he tell the world that the Iesuitical Writers take the part of the Socinians must he publickly give notice that they both carry on the same work and joyntly conspire to pervert the Scriptures in order to it For the credit of the Cause it had been better to have placed this under a former head and to have told the Reader that some Iesuites as well as some Deists are Converts to Socinianism But he hath blurted it out that Ignatius Loyola and Faustus Socinus were of kin Surely this Author must not be employ'd any more to write in defence of the Cause He must be no longer a Double-Column'd Writer they must look out for a man that is not so Open-hearted one that can handle his Weapon with more Cunning for this man hath stabb'd his own Cause But because this Writer in the beginning and towards the end of his Papers is pleas'd to use some words of Deference and Respect I will not be backward to return his Civility in the same kind by letting him know that I suppose him to be a Person of Ingenuity and Learning only I wirh he had

to be believ'd concerning him The Mahometans call themselves Musselmen of rather according to the true account of the Arabick word Moslemim i. e. Believers and what difference is there between one of them and our Author's Believer The former believes that Christ is a Good Man and not above the nature of a Man and sent of God to give Instructions to the world and the Faith of the latter is of the very same scantling Thus he confounds Turky with Christendom and those that have been reckon'd as Infidels are with him Christians He seems to have consulted the Mahometan Bible which saith Christ did not suffer on the cross did not die for he and his Allies speak as meanly of these Articles as if there were no such thing The Alcoran often talks particularly see the Last Chapter of it against Christ's being the Son of God by Generation It is one of the First Principles of Mahometism that there is but One God neither begetting nor begot See Sulburgius's Saracenica This is it which our Author drives at when he labours to prove the Messias and the Son of God are terms synony mous as you shall hear by and by This reminds me of that Affinity and Correspondence which hath been between the Turks and this Gentleman's Party Servetus conferr'd notes with the Alcoran when he undertook to fetch an Argument out of it to disprove the Deity of our Saviour It is observable that those Countreys of Europe which border on the Sultan's dominions as Hungary Transilvania c. abound with Socinians and Antitrinitarians The inhabitants of these places accommodate themselves to their Potent Neighbours they make some approach to the Conquerer's Creed Some of these men have lately got footing in England and because they and the Great Turk disbelieve the Trinity therefore we must all be Proselytes to their opinion They are making way for this by taking away all the Articles of the Christian Faith but One. And our late Writer is the Instrument they make use of for this purpose This Great Mufti hath given us a Hopeful Draught of Christianity and it was fit the English Reader should know that a Turk according to him is a Christian for he makes the same Faith serve them both Nay in the last place let us take notice that this Gentleman presents the world with a very Ill notion of Faith for the very Devils are capable of all that Faith which he saith makes a Christian man yea of more for we read that they believed Iesus to be the Son of God Mat. 8. 29. They cried out to him Thou art Christ the Son of God Luke 4. 41. which latter words in both places denote his Divinity as I shall shew afterwards But besides this Historical Faith as it is generally call'd by Divines which is giving credit to Evangelical Truths as barely reveal'd there must be something else added to make up the True Substantial Faith of a Christian. With the Assent of the Understanding must be joyn'd the Consent or Approbation of the Will All those Divine Truths which the Intellect assents to must be allow'd of by this Elective power of the Soul True Evangelical Faith is a hearty Accepting of the Messias as he is offer'd in the Gospel It is a sincere and impartial submission to all things requir'd by the Evangelical Law which is contain'd in the Epistles as well as the other Writings And to this Practical Assent and Choice there must be added likewise a firm Trust and Reliance in the Blessed Author of our Salvation But this late Undertaker who attempted to give us a more perfect account than ever was before of Christianity as it is deliver'd in the Scriptures brings us no tidings of any such Faith belonging to Christianity or discover'd to us in the Scriptures Which gives us to understand that he verily believes there is no such Christian Faith for in some of his Numerous Pages especially 191 192 c. where he speaks so much of Belief and Faith he might have taken occasion to insert one word about this Compleat Faith of the Gospel Having thus represented how Defective how Narrow how Erroneous how Mistaken this Unknown Writer's Christianity and especially his Faith is I will now proceed to shew how Dangerous and Pernicious this sort of Doctrine is Here is a Contrivance set up for the bringing in of Darkness and Barbarism into the Christian world The only Necessary Point of Belief that the Old Testament delivers is according to these Gentlemen that there is One God and all the New Testament affords us as matter of Necessary Faith is this that Iesus is the Messias Carry but these Two Articles along with you and you are a True Christian. There is no Necessity at all of being acquainted with the Reveal'd Doctrine concerning the Cause of Mankinds Degeneracy and Corruption which gave occasion to the Messias's Coming into the world There is no Necessity of knowing whether this Messias be God or Man or both there is no Necessity of understanding whether he came to suffer and dye in our stead and to satisfie the Divine Justice and to purchase Salvation for us by his Blood There is no Necessity of believing that without Faith and Evangelical Obedience we cannot have any Benefit by the Messias There is no Necessity of being perswaded that our Salvation springs from the mere Grace and Bounty of Heaven There is no Necessity of believing the Privileges and Rewards both here and hereafter which are entail'd on Christianity There is but a Single Article of Belief and this is a very Short one too viz. that Iesus is the Messias and if you assent to This you are as Sound a Christian and as Good a Believer as this Gentleman can make you One would think that seeing there are so many Branches of the Evangelical Faith commended to us and urged upon us by the Apostles in their Epistles some of which our Saviour himself in the Gospel had made mention of one would think I say that a man that hath a True Sense of Christianity and is a Lover of Souls should endeavour to display before the world these Several Parts of the Christian Belief and should be earnest with men to embrace them All and not to omit or neglect any of them seeing they all so nearly concern their Everlasting Wellfare But here comes One that makes it his great business to beat men off from taking notice of these Divine Truths he represents them as wholly Unnecessary to be believed he cries down all Articles of Christian Faith but One. He at this time of day when Christianity is so bright strives to darken and eclipse it he hides it from the faces of mankind draws a thick Veil over it will not suffer them to look into it takes the Holy and Inspired Epistles which are as much the Word of God as the Gospels out of their way and tells them again and again that a Christian man or

Necessary Truths may be distinguish'd from those that are not such by the Nature and High Importance of them by their Immediate respect to the Author and Means of our Salvation Besides I suppose this Flourishing Scribler he knows very well why I give him that particular Title will not deny that the Epistles contain divers Rules of Holy Living several Religious Precepts in order to the practise of Godliness and that these are not so promiscuously and without distinction mixt with other Truths but that they may easily be distinguish'd from them Why then may we not expect to find Necessary Doctrines of Faith in these Writings as well as Instructions concerning the practise of Holiness and the regulating of our Lives And why may we not distinguish between these and the Occasional Matters as well as between the Others and them Nay it is certain that those Necessary doctrines of Faith which were but lightly touch'd upon in the Gospels and the Acts are distinctly and fully explain'd in these Epistles The truth then is that the Gentleman was loth to go any further than the former these latter affrighted him for he knew either by reading them or by hear-say that there were several Other Divine Truths in them which have been generally thought to be Necessary to be believ'd in order to making a man a Christian but our Author had no kindness for them He commands his Readers not to stir a jot further than the Acts. It is not in the Epistles saith he that we are to learn what are the Fundamental Articles of faith p. 295. They were written for resolving of doubts and reforming of mistakes as he saith in the same place and therefore I forbid you to seek for Fundamental doctrines there you will but lose your labour and moreover you will meet in these Writings with several Points which we approve not of and therefore must not admit of because Faustus Socinus hath given us a charge to the contrary But let us hear further what this Vindicator saith to excuse his rejection of the Doctrines contain'd in the Epistles and his putting us off with One Article of Faith What if the Author meaning himself design'd his Treatise as the Title shews chiefly for those who were not yet throughly or firmly Christians purposing to work upon those who either wholly disbeliev'd or doubted of the Truth of the Christian Religion p. 6. Here he comes with his what if's and gives another palpable proof of Counterfeiting and that in Religion Now seeing his Book is sifted and the design of it is laid open he would make us believe that he intended his Piece for Atheists Turks Iews and Pagans and a few Weak Christians for these he must mean by those that wholly disbelieve and those that are not firmly Christians And he would bring in his Title to speak for him but it saith not a word in his behalf for how those that wholly disregard and disbelieve the Scriptures of the New Testament as Gentiles Jews Mahometans and all Atheists do are like to attend to the Reasonableness of Christianity as deliver'd in the Scripture is not to be conceived and therefore we look upon all this as mere Sham and Sophistry He is put hard to it and like one a drowning he fastens on any thing next at hand That is his case as any man may perceive But I ask Why had we not a hint one gentle hint at least of this in all his Book It would have been very useful to the Reader to have been acquainted with his Design No he thinks otherwise for in the same Page he saith Would any one blame his Prudence if he mention'd only those Advantages viz. of Christ's Coming which all Christians especially Socinian Christians are agreed in He hath bethought himself better since he first publish'd his Notions and as the result of that he now begins to resolve what he writ into Prudence I know whence he had this Method and 't is likely he hath taken more than this from the same hands viz. from the Missionary Iesuites that went to preach the Gospel to the people of China We are told that they instructed them in some matters relating to our Saviour they let them know that Iesus was the Messias the Person promised to be sent into the World but they conceal'd his Sufferings and Death and they would not let them know any thing of his Passion and Crucifixion So our Author their humble Imitator undertakes to instruct the World in Christianity with an omission of its Principal Articles and more especially that of the Advantage we have by Christ's Death which was the Prime thing design'd in his Coming into the world This he calls Prudence so that to hide from the people the Main Articles of the Christian Religion to disguise the Faith of the Gospel to betray Christianity it self is according to this Excellent Writer the Cardinal Vertue of Prudence May we be deliver'd then say I from a Prudential Racovian He would clear himself by quoting Rom. 14. 1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye p. 7. as if that Text authorized him to deceive Novices and Weak Christians as if because they are Infirm therefore he must Strengthen them by Imposing upon them It may be he will say Children must have but few Lessons given them but I answer there is difference between few and only One and there is difference between telling them that there is but One and afterwards hinting that there are More For that must be the meaning of his What if he design'd his Treatise chiefly for those c. What if he first of all tells them that nothing is absolutely requisite to be believed but this that Iesus is the Messias and what if afterwards he intends to let them know that something else is requir'd of them And yet at the same time such is the unaccountable humour of the Gentleman he declares that Nothing more is requir'd of them Here is no bottom for any thing he saith He contradicts himself and imposes falsities upon mens minds he would in one place I remember fancifully please himself by thinking that all his sins which I espie in his book are sins of Omission p. 9. But if this be not one of Commission and that a very Great one it is hard to tell what is He pretends a Design of his Book which was never so much as thought of till he was sollicited by his brethren to vindicate it But now see how his Pious Frauds prosper when he hath attempted it they are displeased with the way he hath taken And no wonder because they cannot but perceive that his Vindication is inconsistent with his Treatise and that by these last Evasions and Collusions he hath in a great measure betray'd their Cause as well as that of Christianity I find that they have only this to excuse him that he did not take Time enough to consider of what he Writ but for my part I think that