A92140:266
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved
A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgic Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawless liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience tending to resolve doubts moved by Mr. John Goodwin, John Baptist, Dr. Jer. Taylor, the Belgick Arminians, Socinians, and other authors contending for lawlesse liberty, or licentious toleration of sects and heresies. / By Samuel Rutherfurd professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews.
London: printed by R.I. for Andrew Crook, 1649
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.
What is naked and mere simple heresy (say the Belgic Arminians) but a mere device?1 or is heresy only error (say they) which hath place in the mind of him that erreth: nor is error sufficient to constitute a thing heresy, nor if it were, is it the object or cause of any punishment, a mere error does not go out of […] that erreth, he that erreth cannot be punished the mind of man is not liable to any command, only God commandeth […], thoughts are free from paying tribute to men, pertinacy is not of the nature of heresy, nor blasphemy; nor if they were, can heretics therefore be punished? nor doth sedition make heresy punishable; so they make heresy nothing but a name, who (say they) can say an heretic is an evil doer? evil doers confess their evil deeds, and know them to be worthy of punishment, by the Law of God and man: heretics deny they are heretics, or that they have any bad opinions, or that they blaspheme, they profess the contrary, that they are ready to dye an hundred deaths rather then they should blaspheme, thieves steal, that they may steal, heretics seduce not, that they may seduce, but that they may reduce ⟨p. 101⟩men to a better mind and […] them from […].2 So […] Oelsut also de heret••i• […], […] 1. f. 5, 6.
WHat is naked and meere simple heresie (say the Belgick Arminians) but a meere device?1 or is heresie onely error (say they) which hath place in the minde of him that erreth: nor is error sufficient to constitute a thing heresie, nor if it were, is it the object or cause of any punishment, a meere error does not goe out of 〈…〉 that erreth, he that erreth cannot be punished• the minde of man is not lyable to any command, onely God commandeth 〈…〉, thoughts are free from paying tribute to men, pertinacy is not of the nature of heresie, nor blasphemy; nor if they were, can heretickes therefore be punished? nor doth sedition make heresie punishable; so they make heresie nothing but a name, who (say they) can say an hereticke is an evill doer? evill doers confesse their evill deeds, and know them to be worthy of punishment, by the Law of God and man: heretickes deny they are hereticks, or that they have any bad opinions, or that they blaspheme, they professe the contrary, that they are ready to dye an hundreth deaths rather then they should blaspheme, theeves steale, that they may steale, heretickes seduce not, that they may seduce, but that they may reduce