A Free Disputation
Against pretended
Liberty of Conscience Tending
To Resolve Doubts Moved by Mr. John Goodwin,
John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, theBelgic Arminians, Socinians, and other Authors
contending for lawless Liberty or licentious Toleration of Sects and Heresies.
By Samuel Rutherford
Professor of Divinity
In the University of St. Andrews
Psalm 119:45
And I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts.
LONDON
Printed by R.I. for Andrew Crook, and are to be sold at his
Shop, at the sign of the Green Dragon in St. Paul’s
Church-yard. MDCIL.
TO THE
Godly and impartial Reader.
I offer (Worthy Reader) to your unpartiall and ingenuous censure these my ensuing thoughts against Liberty of conscience, from which way looking to me with a face of Atheism, I call the Adversaries, Libertines, not intending to reach a blow to any godly man, or to wound those who out of weakness are captived with that error, but to breed in the hearts of the godly a detestation of that way, which in truth hath its rise from Libertinism, and savoureth rankly of wide, loose and bold Atheistical thoughts of the majesty of God, as if our conscience had a Prerogative Royal beside a rule; yea (which is prodigious) in its simple apprehensions of God, of the Mediator, of the revealed will of God, above the Law of God: So I think, and all say so, and our faith and hope must be resolved in the first principle of skepticism. So it seems to me, for the young daughters of the mind, the simplest acts of apprehendding, knowing, believing God and divine truths are innocent, harmless ill-less soul-works, being from un- der all dominion of either freewill or a divine Law, and the mind, a free born absolute Princess, can no more incur guiltiness in its operations about an infi- nite Sovereign God, and his revealed will, by this law- less way, then the fire in burning, the Sun in enlightening, the stone in moving downward, be arraigned of any breach of Law, if toleration have place.
2. All certainty of believing, all steadfastness, rooting, and unmovable establishing in the truth, all life of consolations and comforts in the Scriptures, all peace of heavenly confidence, all joy unspeakable and full of glory, all lively hope, all patient and submissive waiting for the fruits of the harvest, all wrestling in prayer, all gloriation in tribulation, and all triumphing in praising, all rejoicing in the Spirit, being bottomed on fallible opinions, on doubtful disputations of skeptics, may be the reelings of windmills, fair fancies, and dreams; for who (say they) is infallible: and who hath known the mind of the Lord? so as the truth must be monopolized to any one Sect, or way? Who in faith or fullness of assurance can convince or rebuke gainsayers, heretics, or such as bring another doctrine, as Those whom you so labor to convince and rebuke?
3. Conscience is hereby made every man’s Rule, Umpire, Judge, Bible, and his God, which if he follow, he is but at the worst, a godly, pious, holy Heretic, who feareth his conscience more than his creator, and is to be judged of you a Saint.
4. Hence conscience being deified, all rebuking, exhorting, counter-arguing, yea all the Ministry of the Gospel must be laid aside; no man must judge brother Idolater, or brother Familist, or Saints to be Socinians, or men of corrupt minds, perverse disputers, vain-janglers, wresters, rackers, or torturers of Scripture, whose words eat as a canker, who subvert whole houses, who speak the visions of their own head, and see false burdens, for all these who were of old, but are now quite gone out of the world; for who can make a window in any man’s soul, and see there heart-obstinacy which only doth essentially constitute the heretic, the blasphemer, the false prophet?
But is not brotherly forbearance, Christian indulgence a debt we owe to brethren, Saints, and the truly godly in errors, and mind infirmities, which by a natural emanation or resultance get the fore-start of freewill?
To which I shall speak in these few considerations.
1. It is much to be desired with the prayers and suits of the children of God, that where there are two opinions, there may be one heart, that the Father of Spirits would unite the hearts of all the children of one Father, and the heirs of one house.
2. Papists here have exceeded in boundless domination and tyranny over the consciences of men: and what ever is contrary to the lawless decrees of their Councils and Popes, is an unexpiable heresy, and cannot be purged but by fire and fagot. 2. Who ever refuse subjection of conscience to that Enemy of Christ, and to that woman-mistress of witchcrafts, on whose skirts is found the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, is presently an heretic, and his arguments answered with burning-quick, this tyranny over conscience we disclaim; yet for that ought not the other extremity of wild toleration be embraced.
3. We cannot think but all Saints in this side of glory carry to heaven with them errors, mistakes, and prophesying in part, and the fairest Stars and lights in this lower firmament of the Church are clouded, and the benefit of the Moon serves to enlighten the under garden of Lillies, whereChrist feedeth, till the day break, and the shadows flee away. And here brotherly indulgence and reciporation of the debt of compassionnate forbearance of the infirmities one of another must have place.
4. Yet so, as there can be no conflict of grace against grace; nor can the taking off the Foxes which destroy the Vines, be contrary to the gentleness and meekness of the Saints in fulfilling the law of love, and bearing one another’s burdens, nor can love seated essentially in a new born child of the second birth be contrary to the zeal of God in withstanding to the face a Saint looking awry, and walking not with a straight foot according to the truth of the gospel; which way if heeded in sincerity, should breed more union of hearts, and be a greater testimony of faithfulness to a straying sheep, than our cruel meekness, and bloody gentleness in a pretended bearing with tender consciences under a color of paying the debt of bastard love, while as we suffer millions to perish, through silence and merciless condolency with them in their sinful depraving of the truth.
Farewell.
Yours
In the Lord Jesus,
S. R.
The Contents
Chapt. 1. Of Conscience and its Nature.
The name Conscience
Conscience the practical knowledge
Conscience a power, not an act or habit
What sort of knowledge is ascribed to the Conscience
Of the sunthresis
Of Conscience in relation to the major Assumption and Conclusion of a practical Syllogism
The object of Conscience
Conscience to be reverenced
Of obligation of Conscience, and the acts therefrom resulting
Of witnessing of Conscience, and self reflection
The knowledge of our own state of grace, may be had by the fruits of the Spirit of Sanctification
Acts of Conscience in relation to the Conclusion
A Conscience good or ill
A good Conscience
Conscience the rarest peace that God made
A tender Conscience
Who engross the name of tender Consciences to themselves
Of a Scrupulous Conscience
The causes of a Scrupulous Conscience
Chapt. 2. Conscience under Synods, and how; and that the Conscience cannot have absolute liberty in matters of religion.
How a Synod compelleth
The Conditions that Libertines require to be in a Synod
Liberty to question everything is License
The Church though not infallible, may determine infallible points
A Confession, Covenant, or Synodical decree, a secondary rule of Faith
A Ministerial and public, and a Christian and private judgment and faith how they differ
Libertines give us Skepticism and Fluctuation for Faith
There is need of Interpretation and decision of Synods
That Confessions ought to be only in express Scripture words, is another false principle of Libertines
Ancient bonds of Liberty of Conscience
The end of Synods is not to remove heresies by any means good or bad, or to crush heresy so effectually as these heresies shall never be heard of in the world again
The necessity of Synods
Pastors subject the disobedient to wrath, yet are not lords over the conscience; ergo, neither are Synods lords over the conscience for that
The subject of a Synod not a skeptic conjectural truth as Liber tines suppose
The sense of Scripture from Synods believed truly to be infallible, although Synods consist of men who are not infallible, as an earthen pitcher doth contain gold and precious rubies and sapphires in it, though there be no gold in the matter of the pitcher but only clay, 2 Cor. 4.7
How a true decision of a Synod is ever the same and not retractable
Though all truths be peremptorily decided in the word, yet is there need of a ministerial and declarative decision of men, because teachers may deceive, and those that are taught are ignorant and dull
Men are to come to Synods not as Nullifidians but as engaged for Truth
Synods may impose on others and how?
Ancient bonds or Liberty of Conscience stated
The conditional imposing of Synods consisteth well with trying of all things, what Libertines say on the contrary is naught
Conditional imposing proveth the imposer to be no lord of conscience
Chapt. 3. The Church may complain of heretics
Pastors are not out of their calling, nor apparitors, nor tale-bearers, if they complain to the magistrate of heretics
Chapt. 4. The state of the question of compulsion of conscience and toleration
Opinions cannot be compelled, nor the mind or will in the elicit acts.
The question is, whether the magistrate may compulsorily restrain the external act of the outward man in religion
Shame and fear of rebukes, by pastors and church censures have the same compulsory influences on false teachers, that the fear of public punishment by the Synod hath
Church censures are as compulsory on the conscience, as coercing by the sword
Some external actions of injustice flowing from mere conscience are punished justly, without any note of persecution by grant of Libertines, and why not all others also?
Ancient bonds of liberty of conscience
Discountenancing of men and negative punishing of them for their conscience is punishing of them.
Ancient bonds p.12
How religion may be compelled, how not
One mans religion remaining in the mind and will, may hurt or benefit the man himself, not any others: but true religion, as it comes forth into acts of teaching may edify and win others, and false religion may subvert the faith of others
The magistrate does not command religious acts as service to God, but rather forbids their contraries, as disservice to Christian societies
How Turtullian and Lactantius are to be expounded of forcing to heathen religion
Though we can compel none to religion, it follows not that the magistrate may not punish those that seduce others to false religion
Lactantius speaks of compulsion without all teaching
Those that are without the church are not to be compelled
Because the magistrate’s compulsion makes heretics it followeth not, he should not punish heretics, for so he should not punish murderers
The magistrate may by the sword curb such impediments, that keep men from embracing the truth, according to Augustine
Answer to Doctor Adam Stewart
Impotency of free will objected by Master John Goodwin, no reason why the magistrate ought not to punish seducing teachers, as the Donatists of old objected
State of the question more strictly proposed
It may as well be said because there be no express laws against murderers, parricides, sorcerers, sodomites, in the New Testament more than against false teachers, that therefore sorcerers are no less than heretics to be tolerated
Chapt. 5. Of Fundamentals
The number of fundamentals
A saving disposition of faith to believe all truths revealed, though the man be ignorant of many, may consist with the state of grace.
Three things that are among those to be believed. 1.Things simply Necessary 2.Simply profitable 3.By consequence necessary; how the Papists err in these
Some consequences necessary
Builders of hay and stubble on the foundation may be saved, and those that fall in murder and adultery out of infirmity may be also saved? Yet there is no consequence; ergo, the magistrate should tolerate both
Chapt. 6. Errors in non-fundamentals obstinately held are punishable
Obstinacy in ceremonies after full information deserveth punishment
Those that err in non-fundamentals, may deserve to be punished.
To teach the necessity of circumcision, not an error formally and primarily, but by consequence fundamental; and the contrary truth not necessary, necessitate medii
The toleration of all who err in non-fundamentals examined
Queries proposed to M. John Goodwin, who asserteth a catholic toleration of all religions, upon the ground of weakness of freewill, and want of grace?
Most arguments of Libertines infer a catholic toleration in non-fundamentals, as well as in fundamentals
What deductions the Spirit makes in the soul of an elect knowing but a few fundamentals and going out of this life who knoweth?
To know revealed truths of God is a commanded worship of God?
One general confession of faith without a particular sense containing the true and orthodox meaning of the word not sufficient
Divers pious conferences between us and Lutherans
They hate God and love blasphemies in the consequence who obstinately hold to them in the antecedents
They may be false teachers and so punishable who err not in fundamentals
Divers things not fundamentally believed with certainty of faith
Believing of truths revealed of God with a reserve, blasphemous, and turneth believers into Skeptics and Nullifidians
Believing with a reserve against the motion of the Holy Ghost
Believing with a reserve against the stability of faith
Against the trying of all things, and spirits, enjoined by the Holy Ghost
Faith with a reserve against our prayers for knowledge and growing therein
The Holy Ghost bids us not believe with a reserve
To believe with a reserve contrary to our doing, and suffering for truth and faith
Two distinctions necessary touching controverted points
Some things of their own nature not controversial, yet the deductions from them to our blind nature are controversial
Fundamentals of faith most controversial to our blind nature
Chapt. 7. What opinions may be tolerated, what not.
Some far off errors may be tolerated
Schism and actual gathering of churches out of churches cannot be tolerated
The place of Romans 14 willing us to receive the weak, no plea for toleration
Philippians 3:15 Let us walk according to the same rule, etc… nothing for toleration
Chapt. 8. Whether heresy be a sin or a mere error and innocency, whether a heretic be an evil doer?
Libertines make heresy a mere innocent and unpunishable error of the mind
Heresy is a sin as well as idolatry though we could neither define heresy nor idolatry
Heresy proved to be a heinous sin
The Holy Ghost contrary to Libertines, supposeth undeniably that heretics are known, and so they are not known to God only, when he bids us beware of them, avoid them, bid them not God speed
Pertinacity may be, and is known to men
Heresy a wicked resisting of the truth, and yet not blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
Libertines say that a heretic dying for his heresy hath no evil conscience, but a spiritual and heavenly end
The vain glory of the devils, martyrs who die for heresy
Spiritual stupidity and malice both together in heretics and Satan’s martyrs
Some ignorance consists with the sin against the Holy Ghost.
Chapt. 9. Of Liberty of Prophesying, of erroneous indictments of conscience, that it is not our rule.
Who is a heretic to Arminians, Titus 3:10
None to Libertines are heretic, but such as profess a religion, which they believe with persuasion to be false
Liberty of prophesying taken in a threefold sense
To desire false prophets to cease out of the land is no quenching of the Spirit
Chapt. 10. Of Indulgence in Fundamental or Non-fundamental Errors.
How the Arminian Libertines do define a heretic
Heretics to Libertines only such as deny things knowable by the light of nature
Diversity of opinions among them
The punishing of men for publishing of fundamental errors, and the indulgence of a toleration yielded to them though they teach all errors in non-fundamentals, a vain distinction, and hath no ground in scripture
Some murders non-fundamental in David which yet are consistent with the state of salvation, should as well be tolerated, as some errors in non-fundamentals by the distinction of Libertines
Some non-fundamentals clearly in the word revealed, not to be believed with a reserve, and other non-fundamentals with a reserve.