A92140:882
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.
2. The simple apprehension of God to be a four-footed beast, is by the Apostle, Rom. 1. esteemed Idolatry, and a mental changing of the glory of the incorruptible God into the glory of a corruptible creature; and the profession thereof ⟨p. 380⟩must then be the profession of manifest Idolatry, and so punishable, yet it is a profession of a mere opinion; but I confess of a most Idolatrous opinion, not of a fact, otherwise by this learning of Libertines there can be no sin in simple apprehensions of God, though most prodigious, and monstrous, what is blasphemy, is as controverted and as unjudicable as simple error. Servetus his naming the blessed Trinity a Cerberus, or three-headed dog, blasphemed, say we, I think Doctor Taylor will not say so, then by his way, blasphemy must be as unjudicable as heresy, and to him the formal of it is within, in the heart.
2. The simple apprehension of God to be a fourfooted beast, is by the Apostle, Rom. 1. esteemed Idolatry, and a mentall changing of the glory of the incorruptible God into the glory of a corruptible creature; and the profession thereof ⟨p. 380⟩must then be the profession of manifest Idolatry, and so punishable, yet it is a profession of a meer opinion; but I confesse of a most Idolatrous opinion, not of a fact, otherwise by this learning of Libertines there can be no sin in simple apprehensions of God, though most prodigious, and monstrous, what is blasphemy, is as controverted and as unjudicable as simple errour. Servetus his naming the blessed Trinity a Cerberus, or three-headed dog, blasphemed, say we, I thinke Doctour Taylor will not say so, then by his way, blasphemy must be as unjudicable as heresie, and to him the formall of it is within, in the heart.
3. If matters of fact be punishable according to their proportion and malignancy, then speaking lies in the name of the Lord, and teaching and professing malignant doctrine contrary to the doctrine of godliness, that Christ thought it no robbery to be equal and consubstantial to God, that God is one in three persons, and to teach any thing contrary to what God hath said in his word, as that there were not eight persons in the Ark with Noah, must be punishable, the contrary whereof the Doctor saith here: for every breach of a Commandment is malignancy and punishable, when it hurteth humane society especially.