A92140:648
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.
agree, and that the Magistrate is to punish such as profess and teach false doctrine in these, but in all these other points that border with these fundamentals, both magistrates and Church are to leave men to their own conscience to waste and destroy souls as they think good, without any control, except in such smooth rebukes as Eli gave to his sons, or exposing of the word of truth to mockery, after admonition an heretic is not to be instructed at all by the word, nor do we, by our doctrine more make the sword of the Magistrate a spiritual means as touching mens consciences, by which they are converted to the sound faith, as concerning the duties of the first Table and doctrine of the Gospel, because the Magistrate punisheth false teachers, then Libertines do make it a spiritual way of converting souls from murders, rapes, sodomies, robbery, lying, to a sound conversation, in matters of the second Table, who do hold that the Magistrate beareth the sword for punishing of murderers, adulterers, and such as fail against the second Table; for in either the sword hath no spiritual influence on the conscience, nor is it any thing an ordinance of God for converting of heretics, but to hinder perverting of the right ways of God, and for our external right walking as touching the outward man in all the duties of both Tables, that we hurt not one another in civill societies.1
agree, and that the Magistrate is to punish such as professe and teach false doctrine in these, but in all these other points that border with these fundamentalls, both magistrates and Church are to leave men to their owne conscience to waste and destroy soules as they thinke good, without any controle, except in such smooth rebukes as Eli gave to his sonnes, or exposing of the word of truth to mockery, after admonition an hereticke is not to be instructed at all by the word, nor doe we, by our doctrine more make the sword of the Magistrate a spirituall meanes as touching mens consciences, by which they are converted to the sound faith, as concerning the duties of the first Table and doctrine of the Gospel, because the Magistrate punisheth false teachers, then Libertines doe make it a spirituall way of converting soules from murthers, rapes, sodomies, robbery, lying, to a sound conversation, in matters of the second Table, who doe hold that the Magistrate beareth the sword for punishing of murtherers, adulterers, and such as faile against the second Table; for in either the sword hath no spirituall influence on the conscience, nor is it any thing an ordinance of God for converting of heretickes, but to hinder perverting of the right wayes of God, and for our externall right walking as touching the outward man in all the duties of both Tables, that we hurt not one another in civill societies.