A92140:507
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.
But for sins against the Law of nature, Rom. 2. 12. 13, 14, 15. Rom. 1. 19, 20, 21, 22. and the like must we say of Judges whether heathen or Christian, though in the state of heathenish, they never having heard of Christ, freeth them from an obligation of actual punishing Gospel heretics, yet as Judges their office is to punish such, but neither heathen Princes, nor heathen fathers, masters, husbands, tutors, and teachers of Schools, are obliged to an actual exercise of all and every Magistratical, fatherly, masterly, marital, and tutorage Gospel-duties, toward their underlings and pupils, if they live in a Country where they are invincibly ignorant of the Gospel, if the Lord by no providence send Preachers of the Gospel to them. And how shall they believe in him of whom they never heard? And how shall they judge heretics sinning against a Gospel of which they never heard? Let no man stumble at this providence, God hath made the supreme Magistrate Judge of all murders, yet may this godly Prince, and the generality of men be ignorant, yea uncapable, at least most unfit to judge how a bloody Physician took away the▪ life of such a child by ⟨p. 222⟩this vegetable, or this herb, or this syrup, to the end his own son might be heir; dare we say with this Objecter, therefore this providence in appointing such a godly Prince to be •udge of murder, because he is not a skilled Physician, is inconsistent with the wisdom and goodness of God in the government of the world, the like instances I may give in thousands of the like cases, in which the Christian Judge may be ignorant. And I cannot dissemble, but it is a hard question how the Magistrate as a Magistrate, doth punish Gospel-heretics, for so all Magistrates, even heathen Magistrates, who are invincibly ignorant of the Gospel, in regard they never heard of the Gospel, should be obliged to punish false-teachers, and Gospel-heretics, which seems hard; for it is a sin against the Magistratical duty of an Indian Magistrate not to punish Gospel-heretics?
But for sinnes against the Law of nature, Rom. 2. 12. 13, 14, 15