Richard Baxter's Catholic theology plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriors who,…Richard Baxter's Catholick theologie plain, pure, peaceable, for pacification of the dogmatical word-warriours who,…

§. 16. When the preaching of the Word, Education, Company and other visible Means seem equal, God hath innumerable means, supernal, internal, external, invisible and unknown to us, by which he can make all the difference that he maketh in men: So that we cannot prove that ever he worketh on souls, without any second cause or means at all: (though we cannot prove the contrary neither.) And therefore he that resisteth all means, for ought we know in so doing resisteth all Gods gracious operations on his soul.

§. 17. ^*Whereas Dr. Twice so frequently asketh, Whether Gods conditional will (and so his operation) be [Volo te veil, modo velis, or credere modo credas,] to give us faith if we believe, and so maketh non credere or non velle to be the only resistance; and the Arminians to be ridiculous in making the effect antecedent to the cause as a condition of the causation and itself: This semi-subtlety, though it beget voluminous confidence, must cry peccavi, if a little more subtlety do but detect the defectiveness of it. We are not now enquiring of the Rations fidem habendi, but of the Rationes non habendi; nor are we enquiring Whether God have made a Covenant or formal Promise of giving faith upon antecedent conditions; But whether he deny (or give-not) grace for actual faith (effectual or sufficient) to any but those that resist and wilfully omit the preparatory acts which they were able to perform? even preparatory Volitions? Or if you will make the question to be de ratisnibus fidem habendi (not de causis Actus donandi) Whether God do not ordinarily give or produce the act of faith, in that soul, which doth not wilfully resist, and omit such preparatory acts as it could do? even Volitions? And so I answer,

§. 17. ^*Whereas Dr. Twisse so frequently asketh, Whether Gods condional will (and so his operation) be [Volo te velle, modo velis, or credere modo credas,] to give us faith if we believe, and so maketh non credere or non velle to be the only resistance; and the Arminians to be ridiculous in making the effect antecedent to the cause as a condition of the causation and itself: This semi-subtilty, though it beget voluminous confidence, must cry peccavi, if a little more subtilty do but detect the defectiveness of it. We are not now enquiring of the Rationes fidem habendi, but of the Rationes non habendi; nor are we enquiring Whether God have made a Covenant or formal Promise of giving faeith upon antecedent conditions; But whether he deny (or give-not) grace for actual faith (effectual or sufficient) to any but those that resist and wilfully omit the preparatory acts which they were able to perform? even preparatory Volitons? Or if you will make the question to be de ratisnibus fidem habendi (not de causis Actus donandi) Whether God do not ordinarily give or produce the act of faith, in that soul, which doth not wilfully resist, and omit such preparatory acts as it could do? even Volitions? And so I answer,