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. The same doctrine in Rutherford de providentia confuted.

625. I Have been too long in confuting this Digression of Dr. Twice which is contrary to the commonest doctrine of Protestants; and ¹I think soundeth not well in Christians ears: The sum of which is this: [Neither God nor Devil do will sin as it is evil; but God is the first willer of its existence, because it is in its own nature sum & unice conducibile to the manifestation of his Justice and mercy: And willing and Loving being all one in God, he thus singularly Loveth the existence of sin, above its contrary (holiness) for this end: And by Predetermining premotion (which he much more largely writeth for elsewhere) he causeth as the first total Cause all that man Causeth; But it is sin in man because forbidden him, but not in God, because not forbidden him; And therefore God is not to be said to cause sin (though he cause all that is caused) but to permit it, because he causeth it not in himself; nor is he to be called a Deficient cause of our omissions, because he is not bound to Actuate us; but man is to be called the efficient and deficient cause, because he is under an obliging Law, Though God made that Law: And though he can no more than a stone act without physical predetermination, nor forbear acting when so acted, yet he is to be called free, because he is actually willing (or his will doth act) and because he is predetermined by none but God.] This is the true sense of their opinion as opened by themselves. I shall now briefly consider what Rutherford saith to the same sense.

625. I Have been too long in confuting this Digression of Dr. Twisse which is contrary to the commonest doctrine of Protestants; and ¹I think soundeth not well in Christians ears: The summ of which is this: [Neither God nor Devil do will sin as it is evil; but God is the first willer of its existence, because it is in its own nature summe & unice conducibile to the manifestation of his Justice and mercy: And willing and Loving being all one in God, he thus singularly Loveth the existence of sin, above its contrary (holiness) for this end: And by Predetermining premotion (which he much more largely writeth for elsewhere) he causeth as the first total Cause all that man Causeth; But it is sin in man because forbidden him, but not in God, because not forbidden him; And therefore God is not to be said to cause sin (though he cause all that is caused) but to permit it, because he causeth it not in himself; nor is he to be called a Deficient cause of our omissions, because he is not bound to Actuate us; but man is to be called the efficient and deficient cause, because he is under an obliging Law, Though God made that Law: And though he can no more than a stone act without physical predetermination, nor forbear acting when so acted, yet he is to be called free, because he is actually willing (or his will doth act) and because he is predetermined by none but God.] This is the true sence of their opinion as opened by themselves. I shall now briefly consider what Rutherford saith to the same sence.