A76988:457
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.
So that you see it's clear in Scripture, that it is the duty of believers to examine, &c. We will now come to the second thing propounded, viz. confirm it by Arguments, and we will put these Scriptures into an Argument, which shall be the first.
Arg. If every believing Christian be commanded of God to take heed, to prove, to try, to examine doctrines, then God would not have us to take things of trust, to submit to the definitions, and determinations of men, the best of men, without examination and search: but this is the command of God to all Christians, as I have showed: therefore—All the doubt lies in the consequence, that if we be commanded to prove and try all things, then God would not have us submit to any thing but upon examination and search. And this is plain: for if we are to swallow all, if we are to receive what ever is offered, if we are to take all upon trust; It is then impossible, that ever we should do these duties of proving and trying and examining, before we embrace, and therefore seeing God would have us to do the one, certainly God would have us to do the other also, viz. to examine things before we do embrace them.
Arg. If every beleeving Chistian be commanded of God to take heed, to prove, to try, to examine doctrines, then God would not have us to take things of trust, to submit to the definitions, and determinations of men, the best of men, without examination and search: but this is the command of God to all Christians, as I have shewed: therefore—All the doubt lyes in the consequence, that if we be commanded to prove and try all things, then God would not have us submit to any thing but upon examination and search. And this is plaine: for if we are to swallow all, if we are to receive what ever is offer'd, if we are to take all upon trust; It is then impossible, that ever we should doe these duties of proving and trying and examining, before we embrace, and therefore seeing God would have us to doe the one, certainely God would have us to doe the other also, viz. to examine things before we doe embrace them.