A76988:1344
The arraignment of errorThe arraignment of errour
The arraignment of error: or, A discourse serving as a curb to restrain the wantonness of mens spirits in the entertainment of opinions; and as a compass, whereby we may sail in the search and finding of truth; distributed into six main questions. Quest. 1. How it may stand with Gods, with Satan's, with a mans own ends, that there should be erroneous opinions? Quest. 2. What are the grounds of abounding errors? Quest. 3. Why so many are carried away with error? Quest. 4. Who those are that are in danger? Quest. 5. What are the examens, or the trials of opinions, and characters of truth? Quest. 6. What ways God hath left in his Word for the suppressing of error, and reducing of erroneous persons? Under which general questions, many other necessary and profitable queries are comprised, discussed, and resolved. And in conclusion of all; some motives, and means, conducing to an happy accommodation of our present differences, are subjoined. / By Samuel Bolton minister of the Word of God at Saviours-Southwark.The arraignment of errour: or, A discourse serving as a curb to restrain the wantonnesse of mens spirits in the entertainment of opinions; and as a compasse, whereby we may sail in the search and finding of truth; distributed into six main questions. Quest. 1. How it may stand with Gods, with Satans, with a mans own ends, that there should be erroneous opinions? Quest. 2. What are the grounds of abounding errours? Quest. 3. Why so many are carried away with errour? Quest. 4. Who those are that are in danger? Quest. 5. What are the examens, or the trials of opinions, and characters of truth? Quest. 6. What waies God hath left in his Word for the suppressing of errour, and reducing of erroneous persons? Under which generall questions, many other necessary and profitable queries are comprized, discussed, and resolved. And in conclusion of all; some motives, and means, conducing to an happy accommodation of our present differences, are subjoyned. / By Samuel Bolton minister of the Word of God at Saviours-Southwark.
London: printed by G. Miller for Andrew Kembe, 1646
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
2. In that they all agree to James, it is a plain evidence that they had not spoken by the immediate instinct of the spirit, neither had been directed by any extraordinary dictate and assistance of him, because they decline, if not recede from what themselves had spoken, and now, as it were upon further and second thoughts, do wholly concur with James.
2. In that they all agree to James, it is a plain evidence that they had not spoken by the immediate instinct of the spirit, neither had been directed by any extraordinary dictate and assistance of him, because they decline, if not recede from what themselves had spoken, and now, as it were upon further and second thoughts, do wholly concurre with James.
6. And indeed which may be a sixth instance of the thing in proof; though that which Peter and Paul said was a truth, that the Gentiles should not be pressed to the observation of Moses Law upon necessity of salvation, yet they did not so fully speak to the resolution of the Question; nor would that they said have satisfied the consciences of the Churches in their present practice, if James had seen no further, or spake no more in the resolving of the Question then they did. For, notwithstanding what Peter and Paul said, They might have eaten things offered to Idols, and blood, and things strangled, which at that time had been a sin against the law of nature, and a great scandal and offence to the Jews, and so notwithstanding this determination, the divisions would have been greater, the rents wider, the scandal more dangerous then before; the Jews they should have gone on in a total abstinence of all Ceremonies, which might have been scandalous to some Gentiles; and the Gentiles should have gone on in eating blood, meats offered to Idols, and things strangled, which had been highly scandalous to the Jews; which certainly had Paul or Peter acted here as Apostles, by virtue of the immediate inspired spirit, they could not have overseen, nor had they let it pass•. By all which to me it seems clear that the Apostles and Elders in this Convention, did not act by virtue of an immediate inspired spirit, nor had they any