A76988:941
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.
3. Error will not only work upon the affections, but it will steer a mans life & conversation according to it. It will put a man to speak according to it, and act according to it, live, according to it: mens practices are but the results of their principles, their lives & ways, they are but the expressions of their doctrines and opinions. Men may be as true to erroneous as others are to religious principles, erroneous opinions may not only have an influence upon the conscience, but the conversation too, & will cause a man to order his ways, and steer his conversation according to them. Error entertained doth bind the conscience, as well as truth, to walk answerable to it, & they dare no more recede from their erroneous principles, & walk unanswerable to them, without wound of conscience, then a man dare recede from the truth it self. Nay, here is a wonder, as a godly man will walk holily to adorn the truth, and dignify the Gospel of Christ, and dare not walk disorderly, lest the ways and truth of Christ should be blasphemed for his cause: so may a man in an error, out of the like conscientious respects, endeavour to walk holily, for the gracing and adorning of an error, which yet ⟨p. 198⟩he apprehends to be a truth, and he dare not walk disorderly, lest he should give occasion to others to condemn and speak against that opinion which he apprehends truth, but is indeed an error.
3. Error will not only work upon the affections, but it will steer a mans life & conversation according to it. It will put a man to speak according to it, and act according to it, live, according to it: mens practices are but the results of their principles, their lives & waies, they are but the expressions of their doctrins and opinions. Men may be as true to erroneous as others are to religious principles, erroneous opinions may not only have an influence upon the conscience, but the conversation too, & will cause a man to order his waies, and steer his conversation according to them. Errour entertain'd doth binde the conscience, as well as truth, to walk answerable to it, & they dare no more recede from their erroneous principles, & walk unanswerable to them, without wound of conscience, then a man dare recede from the truth it self. Nay, here is a wonder, as a godly man will walk holily to adorn the truth, and dignifie the Gospel of Christ, and dare not walk disorderly, lest the waies and truth of Christ should be blasphemed for his cause: so may a man in an errour, out of the like conscientious respects, endeavour to walk holily, for the gracing and adorning of an errour, which yet