342 A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVERSIONS ON FIAT LUX.
able only by that revelation ; but he that shall disbelieve any truth revealed in the Scripture, because it is not manifest unto him to be so revealed, and is in a readiness to receive it Avhen it shall be so manifest, upon the authority of the author of the whole, is not in the least danger to be induced by that disbelief to question any thing of that which he is convinced so to be revealed. But, as I said, your concernment lies not therein, who are not able to prove that Protest- ants have rejected any one part, much less "substantial part" of reli- gion; and your conclusion, upon a supposition of the rejection of errors and practices of the contrary to the gospel or principles of re- ligion, is very infirm. The ground of all your sophistry lies in this, that men who receive Christian religion are bound to resolve their faith into the authority of them that preach it first unto them ; where- upon, it being impossible for them to question any thing they teach without an impeachment of their absolute infallihility, and so far the authority which they are to rest upon, they have no firm foun- dation left for their assent unto the things which as yet they do not question; and consequently, in process of time, may easily be induced so to do. But this presumption is perfectly destructive to all the certainty of Christian religion; for whereas it propose th the subject- matter of it to be believed with divine faith and supernatural, it leaves no formal reason or cause of any such faith, no foundation for it to be built upon, or principle to be resolved into : for how can divine faith arise out of human authority? For acts being specificated by their objects, such as is the authority on which a man believes, such is his faith ; — human, if that be human ; divine, if it be divine. But resolving, as we ought, all our faith into the authority of God reveal- ing things to be believed, and knowing that revelation to be entirely contained in the Scriptures, by which we are to examine and try whatever is, by any man or men, proposed unto us as an object of our faith, — they proposing it only upon this consideration, that it is a part of that which is revealed by God in the Scripture for us to be- lieve, without which they have no ground nor warrant to propose any thing at all unto us in that kind, — we may reject any of their pro- posals which we find and discern not to be so revealed, or not to be agreeable to what is so revealed, without the least weakening of our assent unto what is revealed indeed, or making way for any man so to do. For whilst the formal reason of faith remains absolutely un- impeached, different apprehensions about particular things to be be- lieved have no efiicacy to weaken faith itself; as we shall farther see in the examination of your ensuing discourse : —
" The same way and means that lopped off some branches will do the like to others, and the root too." (But the errors and mistakes of men are not branches groAvuig from the root of the gospel.) " A vilifi-
WHENCE THE GOSPEL CAME TO ENGLAND. 843
cation of that cliurcL wherein they find themselves who have a mind to iDi-evaricate, upon pretence of Scripture and poAver of interpreting it, light, Spirit, or reason, adjoined with a personal obstinacy that will not submit, will do it roundly and to effect. This first brought off the Protestants from the Roman Catholic church ; this lately separated the Presbyterians from the English Protestant church, the Independent from the Presbyterian, and the Quakers from the other Independent. And this left good, maintains nothing of Christian religion but the moral part, which in deed and truth is but honest Paganism. This speech is worthy of all serious consideration."
That which this discourse seems to amount unto is, that if a man question or reject any thing that is taught by the church whereof he is a member, there remains no way for him to come unto any cer- tainty in the remaining parts of religion, but that he may, on as good grounds, question and reject all things as any. As you phrase the mat- ter, by " men's vilifying a church who have a mind to prevaricate, upon pretence of Scripture," etc., though there is no consequence in what you say, yet no man can be so mad as to plead in justification of such a proceeding ; for it is not much to be doubted but that he who layeth such a foundation, and makes such a beginning of a separa- tion from any church, will make a progress suitable thereunto. But if you will speak unto your own purpose, and so as they may have any concernment in what you say with whom you deal, you must otherwise frame your hypothesis : Suppose a man to be a member of any church, or to find himself in any church-state with others, and that he doth at any time, by the light and direction of the Scripture, discover any thing or things to be taught or practised in that church whereof he is so a member Avhich he cannot assent unto, unless he will contradict the revelation that God hath made of him- self, his mind and will, in that complete rule of all that religion and worship which are pleasing unto him, and therefore doth suspend his assent thereunto, and therein dissent from the determination of that church; then you are to assert, for the promotion of your design, that all the consequents will follow which you expatiate tipon. But this supposition fixes immovably, upon the penalty of forfeiting their interest in all saving truth, all Christians whatever, Greeks, Abys- sines, Armenians, Protestants, in the churches wherein they find themselves, and so makes frustrate all the attempts for their recon- ciliation to the church of Rome ; for do you think they will attend unto you, when you persuade them to a relinquishment of the com- munion of that church wherein they find themselves to join with you, when the first thing you tell them is, that if they do so they are un- done, and that for ever? And yet this is the sum of all that you can plead with them, if there be any sense in the argument you make