Irenicum, to the lovers of truth and peace heart-divisions opened in the causes and…

Whence are wars? even from your lusts. The Apostle doth not here condemn wars simply, this was the error of the old Manichees, raised up again by some amongst us; especially as the Wars are looked upon under that notion, raised for Religion. They seek to weaken our hands in these wars, by telling young people who have newly given their names to Christ, and therefore desire to be guided by the Word in all they do, whom God hath used under himself to be the strength of these wars, that they have no warrant to fight for Religion. To whom our Answer is, that we have a Civill right to the outward peaceable profession and practice of our Religion; we have the Laws of the Land for it, and for the maintenance of this right we fight. There can be no reason given why our civil right we have to our Religion, may not as well be maintained by the sword, as our civill right to our houses and lands. This answers all objections against the maintenance of Religion by the sword, from the practice of the Christians in the Primitive times, who never sought to maintain Religion thus. We say their case was not the same with ours; they never had any civill right to the profession and practice of Religion in the Countries where they lived, as we have.

Whence are wars? even from your lusts. The Apostle doth not here condemn wars simply, this was the error of the old Manichees, raised up again by some amongst us; especially as the Wars are looked upon under that notion, raised for Religion. They seek to weaken our hands in these wars, by telling young people who have newly given their names to Christ, and therefore desire to be guided by the Word in all they do, whom God hath used under himself to be the strength of these wars, that they have no warrant to fight for Religion. To whom our Answer is, that we have a Civill right to the outward peaceable profession and practice of our Religion; wee have the Laws of the Land for it, and for the maintenance of this right wee fight. There can be no reason given why our civil right we have to our Religion, may not as wel be maintained by the sword, as our civill right to our houses and lands. This answers all objections against the maintenance of Religion by the sword, from the practice of the Christians in the Primitive times, who never sought to maintain Religion thus. We say their case was not the same with ours; they never had any civill right to the profession and practice of Religion in the Countreys where they lived, as we have.