A92140:848
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.
8. Yea and so, what God spake immediately to Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, could not be infallibly and by certainty of faith to them the word of God; for if God spake to them in a language intelligible, they had no certainty of faith, that the words that came from God, did signify thus and thus; for sure, God, by immediate inspiration, taught them not Grammar, and significations of words, and those that read the Law written by Gods finger on two Tables of stone, those who heard Moses and the Prophets preach in their Mother-tongue even the Jews, who read the original first Hebrew copy of Moses and the Prophets, must have had no warrant, that, that was the word of God, but the authority of Father, Mother, and Nurses, who first taught them their Mother-tongue, for sure the Prophets were not School-masters to teach them Hebrew; so by this learning there was never since the world was, any certainty of faith, but such conjectural humane and fallible opinions in all the matters of God, as is resolved ultimately (saith Mr. Goodwin) into mens fallible and topic authority and skill of Grammar, and all divine faith is perished out of the earth: nay there never could be any divine faith on earth, except God by a supernatural power taught men first Grammar, and then to believe, for which we have no warrant, so all our faith must be dreams.
8. Yea and so, what God spake immediately to Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, could not be infallibly and by certainty of faith to them the word of God; for if God spake to them in a language intelligible, they had no certainty of faith, that the words that came from God, did signifie thus and thus; for sure, God, by immediate inspiration, taught them not Grammar, and significations of words, and those that read the Law written by Gods finger on two Tables of stone, those who heard Moses and the Prophets preach in their Mother-tongue even the Jewes, who read the originall first Hebrew copy of Moses and the Prophets, must have had no warrant, that, that was the word of God, but the authority of Father, Mother, and Nurses, who first taught them their Mother-tongue, for sure the Prophets were not School-masters to teach them Hebrew; so by this learning there was never since the world was, any certainty of faith, but such conjecturall humane and fallible opinions in all the matters of God, as is resolved ultimately (saith Mr. Goodwin) into mens fallible and topicke authority and skill of Grammar, and all divine faith is perished out of the earth: nay there never could be any divine faith on earth, except God by a supernaturall power taught men first Grammar, and then to beleeve, for which we have no warrant, so all our faith must bee dreams.