And he who would desire an Instance of the fertility of mens Inventions in forging and coining Objections against heavenly mysteries in the Justification of the Sovereignty of their own Reason as unto what belongs to our Relation unto God, need go no farther then the Writings of these men against the Trinity and Incarnation of the Eternal Word. For this is their fundamental Rule in things divine and Doctrines of Religion, that not what the Scripture saith is therefore to be accounted true, although it seems repugnant unto any Reasonings of ours, or is above what we can comprehend, but what seems repugnant unto our Reason, let the words of the Scripture be what they will, that we must conclude that the Scripture doth not say so, though it seem never so expressly so to do. Itaque non quia utrumque Scriptura dicat propterea haec inter se non pugnare concludendum est; sed potius quia haec inter se pugnant ideo alterutrum a Scriptura non dici statuendum est, saith Schlicting. ad Meisn. def. Socin. pag. 102. Wherefore because the Scripture affirms both these (that is the Efficacy of Gods Grace and the Freedom of our Wills) we cannot conclude from thence, that they are not repugnant; but because these things are repugnant unto one another, we must determine, that one of them is not spoken in the Scripture; no, it seems, let it say what it will. This is the hansomest way they can take in advancing their own Reason above the Scripture, ⟨p. 60⟩which yet savours of intolerable Presumption. So Socinus himself speaking of the satisfaction of Christ saith in plain Terms; Ego quidem etiamsi non semel sed saepius id in sacris monumentis scriptum extaret, non idcirco tamen ita prorsus rem see habere crederem, ut vos opinamini; cum enim id omnino fieri non possit, non secus atque in multis aliis Scripturae Testimoniis, una cum caeteris omnibus facio; aliqua quae minus incommoda videretur, interpretation adhibita, eum sensum ex ejusmodi verbis elicerem qui sibi constaret; For my part if this (Doctrine) were extant and written in the Holy Scripture, not once but often, yet would I not therefore believe it to be so as you do; For whereas it can by no means be so (whatever the Scripture saith) I would as I do with others in other places, make use of some less incommodious Interpretation, whereby I would draw a sense out of the words that should be consistent with it self.
And he who would desire an Instance of the fertility of mens Inventions in forging and coyning Objections against heavenly mysteries in the Justification of the Soveraignty of their own Reason as unto what belongs to our Relation unto God, need go no farther then the Writings of these men against the Trinity and Incarnation of the Eternal Word. For this is their fundamental Rule in things divine and Doctrines of Religion, that not what the Scripture saith is therefore to be accounted true, although it seems repugnant unto any Reasonings of ours, or is above what we can comprehend, but what seems repugnant unto our Reason, let the words of the Scripture be what they will, that we must conclude that the Scripture doth not say so, though it seem never so expresly so to do. Itaque non quia utrumque Scriptura dicat propterea haec inter se non pugnare concludendum est; sed potius quia haec inter se pugnant ideo alterutrum a Scriptura non dici statuendum est, saith Schlicting. ad Meisn. def. Socin. pag. 102. Wherefore because the Scripture affirms both these (that is the Efficacy of Gods Grace and the Freedom of our Wills) we cannot conclude from thence, that they are not repugnant; but because these things are repugnant unto one another, we must determine, that one of them is not spoken in the Scripture; no, it seems, let it say what it will. This is the hansomest way they can take in advancing their own Reason above the Scripture, ⟨p. 60⟩which yet savours of intolerable Presumption. So Socinus himself speaking of the satisfaction of Christ saith in plain Terms; Ego quidem etiamsi non semel sed saepius id in sacris monumentis scriptum extaret, non idcirco tamen ita prorsus rem se habere crederem, ut vos opinamini; cum enim id omnino fieri non possit, non secus atque in multis aliis Scripturae Testimoniis, una cum caeteris omnibus facio; aliqua quae minus incommoda videretur, interpretatione adhibita, eum sensum ex ejusmodi verbis elicerem qui sibi constaret; For my part if this (Doctrine) were extant and written in the Holy Scripture, not once but often, yet would I not therefore believe it to be so as you do; For whereas it can by no means be so (whatever the Scripture saith) I would as I do with others in other places, make use of some less incommodious Interpretation, whereby I would draw a sense out of the words that should be consistent with it self.
