A27045:659
The successive visibility of the church of which the Protestants are the soundest members…
The successive visibility of the church of which the Protestants are the soundest members I. defended against the opposition of Mr. William Johnson, II. proved by many arguments / by Richard Baxter ; whereunto is added 1. an account of my judgement to Mr. J. how far heretics are or are not in the church, 2. Mr. Js. explication of the most used terms, with my queries thereupon, and his answer and my reply, 3. an appendix about successive ordination, 4. letters between me and T.S., a papist, with a narrative of the success.The successive visibility of the church of which the Protestants are the soundest members I. defended against the opposition of Mr. William Johnson, II. proved by many arguments / by Richard Baxter ; whereunto is added 1. an account of my judgement to Mr. J. how far hereticks are or are not in the church, 2. Mr. Js. explication of the most used terms, with my queries thereupon, and his answer and my reply, 3. an appendix about successive ordination, 4. letters between me and T.S., a papist, with a narrative of the success.
London: printed by R.W. for Nevil Simmons, 1660
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.
R. B. Reply. Qu. 3. Reply […] there lieth not so much at the stake as a mans salvation: and man is not so able as God to make a truly sufficient revelation of his will to all: and therefore the proportion holds not. 2. But if it did, either you think the sufficiency varieth according to the variety of advantages, opportunities, and capacities of the persons, or else that it consisteth only in the act of common publication, and so is the same to all the subjects. If the first be your sense (as I suppose it is,) then still you are uncertain who are Heretics, as being uncertain of mens various capacities, and so of the sufficiency in question. Unless you will conclude (with me) that thus you make all Heretics, as aforesaid; because all men living are culpably ignorant of some truths, which they had a revelation of that was thus far sufficient. If the second be your sense, then the same unhappy consequence will follow (that all are Heretics;) and moreover, that some of obscure education are unavoidably Heretics, because they had no opportunity to know those ⟨p. 330⟩things, which as to the Majority, are of public testimony or universal Tradition. Is not the Bible, a public Testimony and record, and being universally received, is an universal Tradition? And yet abundance of truths in the holy Bible are unknown, (and therefore not actually believed) by millions that are in your Church, and are not taken by your selves for Heretics. Your befriending ignorance would else make very many Heretics.
R. B. Reply. Qu. 3. Reply 〈…〉 there lieth not so much at the stake as a mans salvation: and man is not so able as God to make a truly sufficient revelation of his will to all: and therefore the proportion holds not. 2. But if it did, either you think the sufficiency varieth according to the variety of advantages, opportunities, and capacities of the persons, or else that it consisteth only in the act of common publication, and so is the same to all the subjects. If the first be your sense (as I suppose it is,) then still you are uncertain who are Hereticks, as being uncertain of mens various capacities, and so of the sufficiency in question. Unless you will conclude (with me) that thus you make all Hereticks, as aforesaid; because all men living are culpably ignorant of some truths, which they had a revelation of that was thus far sufficient. If the second be your sense, then the same unhappy consequence will follow (that all are Hereticks;) and moreover, that some of obscure education are unavoidably Hereticks, because they had no opportunity to know those