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,…

Though strictly it is but the Positive Law and the Debitum poenae here that God willeth, which the non-impedire & non-dare gratiam follow. But Gods not making men Angels, or Stars, or Suns, and his making us men, free and defectible, and his permitting the first sin, and his giving men no more grace antecedently (before forfeiture) as free benefactor & dominus suorum, none of these have the same reason on which to found such denominations of Gods will and essence. And seeing Nolitions in man are the results of his Insufficiency and war against noxious evils, we must not ascribe such Imperfections to God; but only such Nolitions as his Actions as Rector per Leges & Judicia have made to signify no imperfection, as being not contra nocumenta, but only contra injurias as against himself, & contra nocumenta as against his creatures, i. e. contra peccatum. And now I may answer the solitary argument of Vasquez, mentioned in the Margin (that non entia, non dare gratiam, non impedire peccatum, &c. may have aliquam rationem boni & amabilitatis, and so may be Willed, Loved or Decreed.) Answ. 1. In mere Naturals, Negations are not properly any way good or evil; but Privations are Natural Evils, and not good. 2. To be occasio sinè qua non of good, (as sickness is of the Physicians honour, and sin of Gods,) is not any true ratio boni vel amabilis: The bonum & amabile is only the good that on that occasion is done: The occasion is neither efficient, constitutive or final cause of any good, nor any causal proper medium. 3. In Morals, mere Negations are neither good nor evil, nor have any Morality, but only Positives and Privations. 4. In morals God judicially doth that whence Penal privations follow, and he may penally non agere, non dare gratiam, to execute his Law, and demonstrate his truth and Justice on sinners, and occasion the perception ⟨p. 80⟩of his mercy to others. And here the non-agere, non-dare, permittere, being loco materiae volitae, may after our mode be said to be Volita seu decreta, & bona. But properly it is not the non-entity, that is bonum or Volitum, but the positive Law and Judgement, and the relatio debiti p• nae, and the ratio poenae in the privation, and the demonstration of truth, justice, holiness, &c. therein. 5.

Though strictly it is but the Positive Law and the Debitum poenae here that God willeth, which the non-impedire & non-dare gratiam follow. But Gods not making men Angels, or Stars, or Suns, and his making us men, free and defectible, and his permitting the first sin, and his giving men no more grace antecedently (before forfeiture) as free benefactor & dominus suorum, none of these have the same reason on which to found such denominations of Gods will and essence. And seeing Nolitions in man are the results of his Insufficiency and war against noxious evils, we must not ascribe such Imperfections to God; but only such Nolitions as his Actions as Rector per Leges & Judicia have made to signifie no imperfection, as being not contra nocumenta, but only contra injurias as against himself, & contra nocumenta as against his creatures, i. e. contra peccatum. And now I may answer the solitary argument of Vasquez, mentioned in the Margin (that non entia, non dare gratiam, non impedire peccatum, &c. may have aliquam rationem boni & amabilitatis, and so may be Willed, Loved or Decreed.) Answ. 1. In meer Naturals, Negations are not properly any way good or evil; but Privations are Natural Evils, and not good. 2. To be occasio sinè qua non of good, (as sickness is of the Physicions honour, and sin of Gods,) is not any true ratio boni vel amabilis: The bonum & amabile is only the good that on that occasion is done: The occasion is neither efficient, constitutive or final cause of any good, nor any causal proper medium. 3. In Morals, meer Negations are neither good nor evil, nor have any Morality, but only Positives and Privations. 4. In morals God judicially doth that whence Penal privations follow, and he may penally non agere, non dare gratiam, to execute his Law, and demonstrate his truth and Justice on sinners, and occasion the perception