The practical divinity of the papists discovered to be destructive of Christianity and mens…

Its true, they say, God should be loved appreciatively (as to valuation, and in esteem) above all: but then by, All, they understand, not simply all things but the worst things of all. In those, (the worst of evils) he is to have the preeminence: but the Creatures are not such evils, and they may be preferred before God in most cases. By their doctrine, we may prefer the judgement of others, or our own before the advice of God in all matters of mere Counsel, and to this they have reduced the greatest part of Christian duties; and we may follow our own wills, or the will of others, rather than Gods continually, and make this the constant practice of our lives, in all those innumerable evils which they count venial. And so in the most instances by far, we may love and esteem our selves and others more than God, and yet love him enough, and not transgress the Precept. We need not love him more than all Creatures, we may love any Creature more than him, even in way of valuation; only he is to have this honour, and this will be enough, to love him more than deadly crimes; such ⟨p. 104⟩as declare open hostility against God: this is all the import of that great precept, which concerns us in this life, as it is expressed after Aquinas by ^(t)Soto and others.

Its true, they say, God should be loved appreciatively (as to valuaation, and in esteem) above all: but then by, All, they understand, not simply all things but the worst things of all. In those, (the worst of evils) he is to have the preheminence: but the Creatures are not such evils, and they may be preferred before God in most cases. By their doctrine, we may preser the judgement of others, or our own before the advice of God in all matters of meere Counsel, and to this they have reduced the greatest part of Christian duties; and we may follow our own wills, or the will of others, rather than Gods continually, and make this the constant practice of our lives, in all those innumerable evils which they count venial. And so in the most instances by far, we may love and esteem our selves and others more than God, and yet love him enough, and not transgress the Precept. We need not love him more than all Creatures, we may love any Creature more than him, even in way of valuation; only he is to have this honour, and this will be enough, to love him more than deadly crimes; such ⟨p. 104⟩