Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	false_a	know_v	true_a	4,114	5	4.5846	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26946	The judgment of non-conformists of the interest of reason in matters of religion in which it is proved against make-bates, that both conformists, and non-conformists, and all parties of true Protestants are herein really agreed, though unskilful speakers differ in words.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1676 (1676)	Wing B1293; ESTC R1374	14,946	24

the great and hourly Work of Prudent Reason and of exceeding great use to our daily innocency and peace 24. The more the Understanding of a Christian discerneth the Evidences and true Reasons of all things in Religion the far greater advantage his Will hath for the Love of it and fixed Resolution never to forsake it and for seriousness and constancie in a holy self-denying Life and for patience in sufferings and joyful hopes of Heavenly Glory for Grace worketh on Man as Man that is as a Rational free Agent whose Will must be guided by the light of his Understanding And he must needs be the lowest and loosest Christian that hath least Knowledge and Intellectual apprehension explicite or implicite why he is a Christian 25. It is a great cause of the slight superficial Religion and weakness of all Grace which abounds among us that too many taking the Essentials of their Religion too much on the trust of those that educate them or with whom they live do labour only to build upward on such an ill-laid Foundation when as Trees grow downward in the Roots as well as upward they should be all their days still growing downward in the confirmation of their Faith and in the clearer and more orderly discerning of their Fundamentals and the Evidences of them It being an increased sight of Evidence of Truth intensively and extensively in depth and clearness of perception as well as material Evidences which is indeed the true increase of Knowledge and Belief And the ablest Christians should be not questioning but as long as they live growing clearer and stronger in the Knowledge of God the Immortality of the Soul and reality of the future Life and Misteries of Redemption and Sanctification where holy Reason will find the most necessary great and fruitful Work 26. Objective Religion being the thing which Reason must discern it is as vain to ask whether Religion or Reason should be preferred as to ask whether we should in seeing preferr the Eye or the Light or the material Objects which must all Concur to make one Act And they that ask Whether Reason and Religion be contray must know 1. That the Faculty of Reason as such is no more contrary to Religion than the visive Faculty to the Light or Object 2. That so far as Reason hath any pravity in Disposition or Act privative or positive ignorance or errour in the matters of Religion so far it is contrary to Religion 3. That so far as Reason is sound in Act and Habit it is agreeable to Religion 4. Therefore the worse any Mans Understanding is the more it is against Religion And not only the Learnedst and Wisest but also the Holiest and best having but an imperfect Illumination in this Life hath still some remnants in him of that which is contrary to Religion and every Man so far as his blindness and pravity is yet uncured 5. But as to the Objective parts themselves it is said before that none of them are contrary The Common Principles or Notices of Nature have nothing contrary to them in the Scripture There is nothing in the Doctrine of the Trinity Incarnation or Resurrection contrary to any Natural Verity nor any thing which true illuminated Reason by true Divine Revelation cannot prove 27. The blessed in Glory whose Intellects are perfected will see for ever such Reasons for all the parts of Religion even the Trinity Incarnation and Resurrection as will delight them everlastingly as seeing the admirable Harmony of all the sacred Truths and Works of God and the transcendant Wisdome of God manifested in all And Christ who is now both essentially in himself and o●jectively to Believers the Wisdome of God will as such be admired by Believers as he is now by Principalities and Powers in Heavenly places who know the manifold Wisdome of God by the Church Eph. 3.9 10. Even that Misterious Wisdome of God which seemeth Foolishness to the Worldly Wisdome of foolish Men 1. Cor. 1 2. And must be spiritually discerned 28. As the Devils believe and tremble so it is probable that the Judge of all the World will convince the wicked and Infidels at last that it was a Reasonable Gospel which they rejected and a Reasonable Faith and Service which God required of them and that they lived against Reason in their unbelief and sinning against God For the Spirit doth reprove the World of sin because they believed not in Christ John 16.8 And he that will come in flaming Fire to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and will punish them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the Glory of his Power and will come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe in that day even because they believed 2. Thes 1.9 10. Will sure convince Men that Faith was a reasonable and Infidelity an unreasonable thing In all these particulars we have reason to believe that not only Conformists and Non-conformists but all true Protestants are agreed And they agree in the Renunciation of these contrary Opinions though we cannot say that any Man living is so perfect as to hold nothing that hath some remote Contrariety to the Truths which he doth profess not discerning the Contrariety I. They all reject the Infidels Opinions who think that the Misteries of Christianity and the Gospel are not to be believed at least as certain because Reason without supernatural Revelation cannot know them or who hold that the Gospel hath no Evidence of certain truth II. They all reject their error who take some part of Gods supernatural Revelation to be false and will judge what is true and what is false by the Conjectures of their Reason which ought to see the Truth and Concord of all And that supposing falsly a Contradiction do set up one part of Gods own Word against the rest III. They all reject their error who will not believe the difficulties of Faith upon the Reason or Proof of Gods Veracity and Revelation unless the thing revealed be evident in it self and may be proved by Natural Proof alone IV. They reject the proud conceits of those who when they find passages in Gods Word which they cannot reconcile or think not probable are readier to accuse or suspect Gods Word than their dark and erring understandings V. We all reject their impudent errour who feign Miracles where there was none or put false Constructions on the Text yea on the Articles of Faith and charge their own errours by misunderstanding on Gods Word even when those errours are contrary to the common Notices of Nature or the greatest clearest and most evident Doctrines and then tell Men that they must either deny those great Doctrines as cross to Gods Word or else that both must be believed as of God even the Canon Verities and these Mens inconsistent errours And we reject their Method that will try many plain great

THE JUDGMENT OF Non-conformists OF THE INTEREST OF REASON IN MATTERS OF RELIGION IN WHICH It is proved against Make-bates that both Conformists and Non-conformists and all Parties of true Protestants are herein really agreed though unskilful Speakers differ in Words LONDON Printed in the Year 1676. AMong the other Church-troubling Controversies of these times we find it is one and not the least How far Mans Reason hath to do in matters of Religion And deep accusations we find brought against each other on this account some suspecting others of Socinianisme as over-magnifying Reason and others insimulating such as they seem to differ from as guilty of making Religion seem unreasonable and some who go over the Hedge where it is low do lay this charge of unreasonableness in special on the Non-conformists We who do verily believe that this scandalous Contention ariseth from Mens unskilfulness in the Art of framing and expressing the notions of that same matter which they commonly hold and that really not only Conformists and Non-conformists but also all Protestant Parties are herein of one mind though some think otherwise who neither understand their Brethren nor are understood themselves do therefore take it as Peacemakers to be our duty to give our Reasons of this our Judgement that if it may be the Preachers of Truth and Peace may not tempt the People into unchristian disaffection by perswading them that we so widely differ when really we are all or generally agreed Qu. Whether understanding Charity can see any real difference between Conformists and Non-conformists or any other Partiss of true Protestants about the interest and use of Reason in Religion that is about Gods Doctrine of Faith and his Laws for Mens Desires and their Practice Neg. For the due handling of this it is requisite that we first explain our words and then truly state the Question and then prove the Negative and lastly add some applicatory Consectaries I. By understanding Charity we mean a Person indued with Understanding and Charity so far as he useth them in this Judgement By a Real difference we mean not real misunderstanding of one another or real contending about words but a difference in Judgement about the very matter of Doctrine it self when intelligibly opened and each Party is understood By Religion we mean only that which is truly Divine and not about what Man may superadd though on the by we may speak somewhat of that and as the Church hath ever summed it up in the Sacramental Covenant and explained the parts of it according to the three summaries the Creed Lords Prayer and Christian Decalogue so do we here mean 1. The Articles of Faith 2. The matter of Holy Love or Desire 3. And of Practice By Conformists and Non-conformists we mean qua tales whether this be any part of the Controversies which denominate them And ex abundante even Qui tales whether they that are Meerly Non-conformists differ from the Conformists herein the question not extending to Quakers Seekers Papists Antinomians or any such Sect which are more than Meer Non-conformists By Protestants we mean those that make Christianity as delivered in the Scriptures their Religion protesting against the Corruptions and Additions of Popery who are now commonly known by that Name and distinguished unhappily by their By-opinions into Lutherans Calvinists and other Names 1. We deny not that all Protestants differ greatly from the Socinians who reject the Doctrine of the Trinity though found in Scripture because they think that it is against Reason though in that they err 2. We deny not that Protestants herein differ from Enthusiasts or true Fanaticks who pretend Revelations which Reason cannot prove to be what they pretend them to be and are contrary to true Reason and Scripture it self and who think that the secret impulses of their diseased Phantasies and Passions are such motions of Gods Spirit as Reason must give place to 3. We deny not but Protestants differ from the great Fanaticisme of Popery which both buildeth Faith and exerciseth Religion upon the most stupendious Fiction of Miracles against Reason and Common sense that ever to our knowledge was entertained by any Sect or Heresie in the World viz. 1. In their holding that a Pope and his Council called General are the Infallible Judges of the Churches Faith from whose Authority it must be received though the Pope should be himself an ignorant Lad or a Heretick and most of the Bishops in Council should not before understand the matter which they vote for As if God by Miracles taught the ignorant and erroneous to vote contrary to their former Opinions or above their understanding and their miraculous Enthusiasm and Infallibility were the Foundation of the Common Faith As if God would enable a Pope and Council that understood not Greek or Hebrew Infallibly to Translate the Bible out of Greek and Hebrew into their Native Tongues 2. And they pretend that all the Priests in their Church perhaps many score thousands can work Miracles at their pleasure and do so in every Mass which they Celebrate even to the making Bread to be no Bread and Wine to be no Wine nor any sensible Substance and all the Sences of the World that see tast touch them to be utterly deceived which is farr greater Miracle-working than ever Christ or his Apostles wrought And to the Belief of this and this renunciation of all common Sense all Christians on pain of damnation must submit and Princes must exterminate those that will not or else their Dominions must be given to another by the Pope We say not that Protestants do either exalt Reason as the Socinians or renounce it as either of these two Sects of true Fanaticks By Judging we mean 1. Discerning our selves 2. Proving to others By Reason We mean I Ex parte objecti such evidence of Truth which humane Reason may discern This is three-fold I. Evidence of the Thing it self which is either 1. Sensible Evidence as the very thing is objected to the Senses and so as Sensate represented to the Intellect 2. Evidence immediately intelligible by which the thing it self is objected to the Intuition of the Mind so some say with Ockam that the Intellect knoweth its own Acts and Spirits see Spirits II. Evidence of the Medium from whence by Reason we may inferr the Verity of the Thing And this is 1. Of an ordinary Natural Medium as a Natural Cause is known by the Effects and the Effects by the Cause e. g. There is a Sun ergo there is Motion Light and Heat or There is Motion Light and Heat ergo there is Fire 2. Or of a Supernatural Medium such as is Divine Revelation by Vision Inspiration miraculous Attestation III. There is Evidence of Consequence that the Conclusion certainly followeth the Premises Of Reason in these Senses we may have occasion to speak II. Ex parte subjecti vel Agentis And so Reason is taken 1. For the reasoning Faculty 2. For the mental