A90293:96
Theomachia autexousiastikē
Theomachia autexousiastikē: or, A display of Arminianism. Being a discovery of the old Pelagian idol free-will, with the new goddess contingency, advancing themselves, into the throne of the God of heaven to the prejudice of his grace, providence, and supreme dominion over the children of men. Wherein the main errors of the Arminians are laid open, by which they are fallen off from the received doctrine of all the reformed churches, with their opposition in divers particulars to the doctrine established in the Church of England. Discovered out of their own writings and confessions, and confuted by the Word of God. / By John Owen, Master of Arts of Queens College in Oxon.Theomachia autexousiastikē: or, A display of Arminianisme. Being a discovery of the old Pelagian idol free-will, with the new goddesse contingency, advancing themselves, into the throne of the God of heaven to the prejudice of his grace, providence, and supreme dominion over the children of men. Wherein the maine errors of the Arminians are laid open, by which they are fallen off from the received doctrine of all the reformed churches, with their opposition in divers particulars to the doctrine established in the Church of England. Discovered out of their owne writings and confessions, and confuted by the Word of God. / By Iohn Owen, Master of Arts of Queens Colledge in Oxon.
London: printed by I.L. for Phil. Stephens, 1643
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.
CHAP. IIII.
Of the providence of God in governing the world diversly, thrust from this preeminence by the Arminian Idol of Free-will.
Of the providence of God in governing the world diversly, thrust from this preheminence by the Arminian Idoll of Free-will.
I Come now to treat of that, betwixt which and the Pelagian Idol, there is bellum [Greek or Hebrew] implacable war and immortal hatred, absolutely destructive to the one side; to wit, the providence of God. For this, in that notion Christianity hath hitherto embraced it: and that, in such a sense as the Arminians maintain it can no more consist together, then fire and water, light and darkness, Christ and Belial: and he that shall go to conjoin them, ploughs with an ox, and an ass, they must be tied together with the same ligament quo ille mortua jungebat corpora vivis, wherewith the tyrant tied dead bodies to living men. This strange advancement of the clay against the potter, not by the way of repining and to say why hast thou made me thus; but by the way of emulation, I will not be so I will advance my self, to the sky, to the sides of thy throne, was heretofore unknown to ⟨p. 24⟩the more refineda Paganism: as these of contingency, so they with a better error made a goddess of providence; because as they feigned, she helped Latona to bring forth in the Isle of Delos: intimating that Latona or nature though big and great with sundry sorts of effects, could yet produce nothing, without the interceding help of divine providence: which mythology of theirs, seems to contain a sweeter gust of divine truth, then any we can expect from their towering fancies,