Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, or, Mr. Richard Baxters narrative of the most memorable passages of his…

4. Seeing you have voted to lay down only Fundamentals to Salvation first: and upon that Vote have put this as one, you do not only damn all that believe any other way than by the written Word; but you damn all those that will not damn them, by owning this condemning Article. Now, that it is not Fundamental appears; 1. In that the Fathers and choicest reformed Divines were else no Christians. 2. No Creed of the ancient Churches did contain it. 3. It is not of necessity to our believing on Christ the Foundation: A Man may be brought himself by the Scripture to believe, that yet thinks another may believe by verbal Tradition. 4. No Scripture doth expressly (no not implicitly) deliver it; much less as a Fundamental.

4. Seeing you have voted to lay down only Fundamentals to Salvation first: and upon that Vote have put this as one, you do not only damn all that believe any other way than by the written Word; but you damn all those that will not damn them, by owning this condemning Article. Now, that it is not Fundamental appears; 1. In that the Fathers and choicest reformed Divines were else no Christians. 2. No Creed of the ancient Churches did contain it. 3. It is not of necessity to our believing on Christ the Foundation: A Man may be brought himself by the Scripture to believe, that yet thinks another may believe by verbal Tradition. 4. No Scripture doth expresly (no not implicitly) deliver it; much less as a Fundamental.

5. My next Reason was, that your Assertion and Reason are injurious to the Christian Cause. For 1. When Gospel Truth is delivered down by two Hands you wrong it when you cut off one; when neither is needless. 2. We are able by other ways of Proof to confute those Infidels that deny the Authority of Scripture; especially when they tell us, that we cannot prove that our Doctrine was delivered from Christ and his Apostles, and not since devised or corrupted by later Hands. Now you would force our Arguments out of our Hands, to the Advantage of the Enemy: Upon the Experience of some late Debates with subtle Apostates, now Infidels, I am bold with Submission to say, that I would not for all the World so wound the Christian Cause, as it is wounded by those who bereave the Scripture of the Advantage of other Tradition: And think that a Bible found by the way, by one that never heard of it hath the same Advantages to procure Belief, as Scripture and Scripture-Doctrine, and matters of Fact delivered to us by the Hand of certain