A26998:115
The Protestant religion truly stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard BaxterThe Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter
The Protestant religion truly stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Daniel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.The Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Danel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.
London: printed for John Salusbury, 1692
Protestant Religion Truly Stated, and Justified, &c. › The Fifth accused Point.
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.
But if he will say that he meant, [By his own understanding alone without a Teacher,] why did he not say so, but say one thing and do another. But that had been too gross a Lye, to have been believed, by them that see that we set up Teachers in all our Congregations.
3. Therefore I can imagine nothing but absurdity in his words, unless he mean, that we hold that a Man may rightly Interpret Scripture by his own understanding immediately, instructed by his Teacher ⟨p. 31⟩and God's Spirit, without taking the Sense only at the rebound, on the belief of the Pope and his Clergy. For we never thought that a Man's own natural Wit without a Teacher, and the help of God's Spirit, can savingly understand and apply the Scripture.
3. Therefore I can imagine nothing but absurdity in his words, unless he mean, that we hold that a Man may rightly Interpret Scripture by his own understanding immediately, instructed by his Teacher ⟨p. 31⟩and God's Spirit, without taking the Sence only at the rebound, on the belief of the Pope and his Clergy. For we never thought that a Man's own natural Wit without a Teacher, and the help of God's Spirit, can savingly understand and apply the Scripture.
And yet we would fain tell Papists a better way to Convert a Philosopher, or a Turk, than to Preach to them thus: God hath written his Law and Gospel to the World, but you cannot tell what is the meaning of it, till you take that sense on trust from our Pope and Clergy, and know that Christ authorized him to be Judge; and that before you believe in Christ, or understand the word that so authorizeth him. Were not corrupted Nature very blind in things Spiritual, Plough-men, and Tinkers, and Cobblers, would be able to confute such Fopperies, and much more Priests, and Popes, and Prelates.