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,…

SECT. XIX. How God may be said to Cause the Acts of sin?

I Have said of this also so much before, as that this Breviate here must serve.¹

1. 1It is ill said, [Profite• mur incunctanter, prorsus impeditum iri quod universi simpliciter Bonum est, si impeditetur peccatum: quoniam h•• pact• impediretur patesactio Divin• misericordi• parcentis, & justitia vindicant is: Qu• quidem patesactio; non minus universi Bonum censenda est, quam q••libet alia c• jus•ibet Del proprietatis, in ipso tanquam in speculo rel•cent is.] Twiss. Vindic. Grat. li. 1. p. 1. pag. 133. It is dangerous to talk so boldly of these mysteries. Here seem to me many errors and confusions. 1. It is false that God could not make known to the world that merciful nature which now pardoneth sin, and that Justice which now punisheth, if there had been no sin. His Laws▪ Promises and Threats do antecedently make them known. And God could cause blessed Spirits to know all his perfections before there was any sin. 2. Gods Holiness and Goodness is called Mercy and Justice by extrinsic denomination, and connotation of sin and misery. And if his Holiness and Goodness had been known as preventing all sin and misery, men will think that he hath not proved that this had been Evil in the Universe, or less Good. 3. Posita Divina Volition as the rule of Good, it followeth I confess, that it were evil not to have that will fulfilled. But I deny, that God willeth sin or its existence. Therefore it is not Good because not Volitum à Deo. It is sufficient, that it is not so far evil as to be Absolutè Nolitum; but only evil, 1. As prohibitum, 2. As hurtful to the sinner, and to others. Methinks they that maintain that sin is Privatio, should not say, that it is Positivè Volitum à Deo. 4. All this dependeth on that curious question, Could not God have made the World better than it is? or at least as good with many alterations from what it is? They that hold the first, say that God freely made things no better than they are: But had there been no Devils, no Sin, no Toads, no disorder, the world had been better, that is, a perfecter demonstration of Gods perfection. But they that are more modest, ar content with the latter, and say, that God freely made things as they are, and not necessarily. But it had been necessarily if no other way had been as good. And that if God had pleased to show his Goodness by preventing all sin, it had been as Good, and no loss or disparagement to the Universe. 5. And he doth through all his Books beg the question, Whether a mere occasion be a conducible medium and so good? If he will stretch the word Medium so wide as to extend it to a mere evil sin quo non, or presupposed, which hath not the least causality, efficient, material, formal or final, I will not strive for a word. But conducibile noteth some kind and degree of Causality, which sin hath not to the glorifying of God: It is the destroying of sin, that God is glorified by: Where the malum amovendum is not the bonum conducibile, but the ill state of the matter, without which God had not glorified himself by this Act, but by some other as well.