A26911:341
The defence of the nonconformists plea for peace, or, An account of the matter…
The defence of the nonconformists plea for peace, or, An account of the matter of their nonconformity against Mr. J. Cheney's answer called The conforming nonconformist, and The nonconforming conformist : to which is added the second part in answer to Mr. Cheney's Five undertakings / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed for Benjamin Alsop, 1680
A DEFENCE OF THE NON-CONFORMIST'S Plea for Peace, AGAINST Mr. J. CH… › Chapter 28
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
CHAP. XXVIII.
§ 1. Your 27th Section is of the Non-obligation of the Covenant (or Vow.) And here you tell us first how much you can declare, and then you give us just twenty Reasons against the making and taking of the Covenant, which you knew were impertinent to any thing that I said: And yet many of them are as impertinent to the end which you seem to intend; and a Covenanter would soon shame. A bad Argument wrongeth the best Cause.
§ 1. YOur 27th Section is of the Non-obligation of the Covenant (or Vow.) And here you tell us first how much you can declare, and then you give us just twenty Reasons against the making and taking of the Covenant, which you knew were impertinent to any thing that I said: And yet many of them are as impertinent to the end which you seem to intend; and a Covenanter would soon shame. A bad Argument wrongeth the best Cause.
1. You say, There was never such an Oath taken by any Person fearing God. Ans. How prove you that? Oh! very easily: You bid us prove the Affirmative. Pitiful! So you may affirm that never Man in the World said or did that, which we cannot prove that some said or did: or affirm an universal Negation, because we prove not the contrary. 2. Might not an Arian at Nice (Conc. 1.) say, Never such a Creed was drawn and imposed before. 3. May not the Pope say to the first Protestants, Never such a Protestation was made before? 4. But I pray you read better the Scottish History, and see whether no such Covenant was made in Scotland before.
1. You say, There was never such an Oath taken by any Person fearing God. Ans. How prove you that? Oh! very easily: You bid us prove the Affirmative. Pitiful! So you may affirm that never Man in the World said or did that, which we cannot prove that some said or did: or affirm an universal Negation, because we prove not the contrary. 2. Might not an Arrian at Nice (Conc. 1.) say, Never such a Creed was drawn and imposed before. 3. May not the Pope say to the first Protestants, Never such a Protestation was made before? 4. But I pray you read better the Scottish History, and see whether no such Covenant was made in Scotland before.