A Christian Directory

and when that interest requireth it, they will betray their Governors, as Infidels will do. If you can reduce all the world to be Infants or Idiots or Brutes, yea or Infidels, they will then trouble the State with no contentions for Religion or matters of salvation. But if the Governed must be brutified, what will the Governors be? 4. All true Christians are agreed in the substance of their Religion: There is no division among them about the necessary points of faith or duty. Their agreement is far greater than their disagreement; which is but about some smaller matters, where differences are tolerable: Therefore they may all be Governed without any such violence as you mention: If the common Articles of faith, and precepts of Christian duty be maintained, then that is upheld which all agree in; and Rulers will not find it needful to oppress every party or opinion save one, among them that hold the common truths: Wise and sober Christians lay not mens salvation upon every such Controversy; nor do they hold or manage them unpeaceably to the wrong of Church or State, nor with the violation of Charity, peace or justice. 5. Is there any of the Sciences which afford not matter of Controversy? If the Laws of the Land did yield no matter of Controversy, Lawyers and Judges would have less of that work than now they have. And was there not greater diversity of Opinions and Worship among the Heathens than ever was among Christians. What a multitude of sects of Philosophers and Religions had they? And what a multitude of Gods had they to Worship? And the number of them still increased as oft as the Senate pleased to make a God of the better sort of their Emperors when they were dead. Indeed one Emperor (of the Religion of some of these Objectors,) Heliogabalus, bestirred himself with all his power to have reduced all Religion to Unity, that is, he would have all the Worship brought to his God to whom he had been Priest: Saith Lampridius in his life, Dicebat Judae•rum & Samaritanorum religions & Christianam devotionem, illue transferendam, &c. And therefore he robbed and maimed and destroyed the other Gods, id agens ne quis Romae Deus nisi Heliogabalus coleretur. But¹ as the effect of his monstrous abominable filthiness of life was to be thrust into a privy, killed and dragged about the streets and drowned in Tybur;

and when that interest requireth it, they will betray their Governours, as Infidels will do. If you can reduce all the world to be Infants or Ideots or Bruits, yea or Infidels, they will then trouble the State with no contentions for Religion or matters of salvation. But if the Governed must be bruitified, what will the Governours be? 4. All true Christians are agreed in the substance of their Religion: There is no division among them about the necessary points of faith or duty. Their agreement is far greater than their disagreement; which is but about some smaller matters, where differences are tolerable: Therefore they may all be Governed without any such violence as you mention: If the common Articles of faith, and precepts of Christian duty be maintained, then that is upheld which all agree in; and Rulers will not find it needful to oppress every party or opinion save one, among them that hold the common truths: Wise and sober Christians lay not mens salvation upon every such Controversie; nor do they hold or manage them unpeaceably to the wrong of Church or State, nor with the violation of Charity, peace or justice. 5. Is there any of the Sciences which afford not matter of Controversie? If the Laws of the Land did yield no matter of Controversie, Lawyers and Judges would have less of that work than now they have. And was there not greater diversity of Opinions and Worship among the Heathens than ever was among Christians. What a multitude of sects of Philosophers and Religions had they? And what a multitude of Gods had they to Worship? And the number of them still increased as oft as the Senate pleased to make a God of the better sort of their Emperours when they were dead. Indeed one Emperour (of the Religion of some of these Objectors,) Heliogabalus, bestir'd himself with all his power to have reduced all Religion to Unity, that is, he would have all the Worship brought to his God to whom he had been Priest: Saith Lampridius in his life, Dicebat Iudaerum & Samaritanorum religiones & Christianam devotionem, illue transferendam, &c. And therefore he robbed and maimed and destroyed the other Gods, id agens ne quis Romae Deus nisi Heliogabalus coleretur. But