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,…

C. Apply this to the point in question, (of Futurity.)

B. If Futurity, as is said, be an eternal Being, it is God: If nothing it hath no cause. If it be called Quid medium, the very Quid is a contradiction to it. To begin backward, 1. If it be Modus Entis, from eternity, it must be Modus Dei: For there was no ens ab aeterno but God: If it be Modus Dei, it is Dens: For all in God is God. 2. If it be Relatio, it is absoluti alicujus relatio. If so, either of some real Being, or of nothing. If of a Being from eternity, it must be a Relation of God to the thing future, in that he either willed or fore-knew •. For nothing was eternal but God. And if so, that Relation of God to the thing future is something or nothing. If something, it is God himself, and so hath no cause. If nothing, it is no effect, and so hath no ••••. But if it be the Relation of nothing, viz. of the thing future, (to an Intellect possible or real that could know it future) than it is nothing it self: For the Relation of nothing cannot be something, a real accident without a real Subject. 3. If futurity was from eternity ens Rationis, it was Rationis Divinae; for there was no created Reason ab aeterno: And if so, either Aptitudinal or Actual. If Actual, it was God: For all his Idea's and entia rationis (for I suppose you one of the bold men that affirm entia rationis to be in God,) must needs be God himself, and so have no cause. If Aptitudinal, and not yet in meant divina, but objecta possibilia; either they were something or nothing. If something, then there was something eternal besides God, which is not said by any of us. If nothing, to call them future, signifieth no more, but that Gods infinite knowledge extendeth to things that are not as if they were, which is true: But futurity it self being nothing, hath no cause. 4. If you say that they are extrinsical Denominations, it is something or nothing that is denominated future. I know you will say, It's nothing. If so quatenus extrinsical to God, it was from eternity nothing, which you call a Denomination. But if you mean the Act of God denominating, it was quid reale, that is God himself, who hath no cause. But yet this is the true foundation of the notion. Because Gods Knowledge of all things, and his Will of all good things, extendeth to all intelligible and amiable Objects to all eternity;