I ALUMNI LIBRARY, |
I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, |
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X PRINCETON, N. J. J
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A
VINDICATION
O F
Chris t's Divinity:
BEING A
DEFENSE
OF SOME
QUERIES,
RELATING TO
Dr. CLARK £'s
Scheme of the H. TRiNirr,
In Answer to a
CLERGY-MAN in the COUNTRY.
Ey DJfNIEL IVyJ r E R L J N D^ D.D.
Master of Magdalen-College in CAMBRIDGE, and Chaplain in Ordinary to his MA JES TT.
AO:s ix. f .
The Fourth Edition.
CAMBRIDGE:
Printed for Corn. Crov/n field, Pgnter to the Univerfity: And are to be Sold by James Knapton, and Robert Knaplock, Bookfellers in St. Paul's Church-Yard, LONDON. MDCCXXI.
THE
PREFACE.
HE following Queries were drawn tipy a few Tears ago, at the Reqiiefi of Friends 3 when 1 had not the leaji apprehenjlon of their ever appearing in Trinty as might heguefs'dfrom the negligence of the Style and Compojiticn. The Occafion of them was this, A Clergyman in the Country y well efteerrid in the Neighbourhood where He lived y had unhappily fallen in with 2)r. Clarke'^ Notions of the Trinity i and began to efpoiife them in a more open and unguarded manner than the T>o6ior Himfelf had done. This gavefome tmeajinefs to the Clergy in thofe Tarts, who could not but be deeply concenid to fiyid a fun- damental Article of Religion called in ^e ft ion ; and that too by one of their own Order, and whom They had a true Concern and Value for. It was pre fumed, that a fincere and ingenuou's Man [as He appeared to be) might, upon pro- per Application, be inclinable to alter his Opi- nion : And that the mo/l probable way to bring Him to a Senfe of his Miftake, was to put Him to defend it , fo long till He might
A 2 perhaps
The PREFACE. perhaps fee reafon to believe that it -juas not defenfible. With the fe Thoughts, I "ji^as pre- 'vailed upon to draw tip a few Qticrics {the fame that appear now -, excepting only fome flight verbal Alterations) and when I had done , gave them to a common Friend to con- njey to Him. I was the more inclined to it , for my own InftruEiion and Improvement , in fo momentous and important an Article : Be- fides , that I had long been of Opinion , that no method could be ?nore proper for the train- ing up ones Mind to a true and found Judg- ment of Things, than that of private Confe- rence in Writing 'y exchanging Tapers, mak- ing Anfwers, Replies, and Rejoinders, till an Argument fhoidd be exhaufled on Both Sides, and a Controverfy at length brought to a Toint. In that private way ( // it can be private ) a Man writes with Eafinefs and freedom i is in no pain about any innocent Slips or Mijlakes i is under little or no Temptation to perffl obftinately in an Error {the Bane of all publick Controverfy ) but concerned only to find out the Truth, which on what fide fo* ever it appears, is always Vidory to every ho- nefi Mind,
I had not long gone on with my Correfpon- dent , before I found all my Meafures broken, and my Hopes intirely fruflrated. He had fent me, in Manufcript, an Anfwcr to my Qticrics^ which Anfwer I received and read with due Care ^ promisd Him immediately a ^ ^ Rcply^,
The PREFACE.
Reply s and foon after prepared and finijh'd it , and convey d it fafe to his Hands, Then it was, and not till then, that He difcovcred to Ale what He had been doing 5 fignifyingy by Letter, how he had been over perfuaded to commit his Anfwer, with my Queries, to the Trefs i that They had been there fome thne y and could not now be recalled -, that I muft follow Him thither^ if I intended any thing farther ; and muft adapt my publick De- fenfe to his publick Anfwer, now altered and improved, from what it had been in the Ma- nufcript which bad been fent me. This News fur prized Me a little at the firfl ; and forry I was to find my Correfpondent fo extremely de- firous ofinflruciing Others, inftead of taking the moft prudent and confiderate Method of inform- ing Himfelf As he had left Me no Choice ^ but either to follow Him to the Trefs , or to defift, I chofe what I thought moft proper at that Time-, leaving Him to tnftru5i the Publick as Hepleafed, defigning my Self to keep out of Pub- lick Controverfy j or, at leaft, not defigning the Contrary. But, at length, confidering that Co- pies of my Defenfe were got abroad into fever al Hands, and might perhaps, fome time or other y fteal into the Trefs without my Knowledge ', and confidering farther that this Controverfy now began to grow Warm, and that it became every honefi Man, according to the Meafure of his Abilities, to bear his Teftimony in fo good a Caufe 5 / thought it beft to revife my Taper Sy
A 3 to
The PREFACE.
to give them my lafi Handy and to fend Them abrczd into the IVorld-^ where They mitft ft and or f all {as I defire They Jhould) according as They are found to have more or lefts Truth or Wmht in Them.
. 2)r. Clarke has lately pubUfhed a Second Edi- tion oft his Scripture-Doctrine : IVherCy I per- ceive, He has made fteveral Additions and AU terationSy but has neither retraded, nor defend- ed thofte Tarts , which Mr, NellbnV learned Friend had judicwufty replied tOy in his True Scripture-Dodrine continued. / hopCy impar- tial Readers will take care to read one along with the Other.
One thing I muft obftervcy for [the "Dolor's Honour y that in his new Edition He has leftt out thefte words oft his ftormer Introdudion. " 'Tis plain that every Terfton may reafonably " agree to ftuchYo\:mSy whenever He can in any " Senfte at all reconcile them with Scripture!" I hope, none hereaftter will pretend to make ufte oft the T>o5tor's Authority , ftor fubfcribing to Forms which They believe not according to the true and proper Senfte oft the Words , and the known Intent oft the Impolcrs and Compilers. Such Prevarication is in it ftelft a bad Thing , and wouldy in TimCy have a very ill Influence on the Morals oft a Nation, If either State- Oaths on the One Handy or Church Subfcrip- tions on the Other y once come to be made light ofti and Subtilties^^ invented to deftend or pal- liate ftuch grofts Infmcerity j we may bidftarewel
to
The PREFACE.
to Principles , and Religion ic-/// be little elfi hilt difgnis'd AxhoA^m,
The learned T>o^ory in his Introductiony has infertedy by 'way of Note, a long flotation out of Mr. Nclfon'j- Life ofBifjop Bull. He can hardly be pre fumed to intend any Parallel be- tween Bifoop BuUV Cafe and his own : And yet Readers may be aptfo to take ity fince the 'Doctor has not guarded againfl ity and fince other wife it will not be eafy to make out the pertinence of it. The T)ocior has undoubtedly fome mean- ing in it, thd I will 7iot pre fume toguefs what. He ^ obfervesy " That there is an exaEi account *' given , what Method that learned Writer " (Bifliop Bull) took to explain the T>ocirine *^ ^Juftification (i;/^. the very fame and only *-*- Method which ought to be taken in explaining " all other T)o5lrines whatfoever ) how z,ea- " loufy He was accitfed by many Syftcmatical " T>ivi7ieSy as departing fromtkeT)ocirine and *■' Articles of the Church, in what He had " done i how learnedly and efFcdually He de- " fended Himfelf againft all his Advcriaries 5 " and how (wcc^kiwl at length his Explication " was, it being after fome Tears ahnojl univcr- " fally receive dy This account is true, but defedlive 'y and may want a Siipple7nent for the Benefit of common Readers, who may wijh to know, what that excellent Method of Bifjop BullV waSy by means of which his Explication
f Introdu£l. p. 2f> i5,
A 4 proved
The P R E F A C E.
proved fo fucccfsful, and came at length to be ahr.ojt univerfally received. It -jjas as foliovcs,
1 . In the firjt place ^ his way was to examine carefully inio Scripture, more than into //j^ Na- ture and Rcafon of the Thing abjlra^edly confi- de fd. He pitched upon Juch Texts as were pertinent and clofe to the Toint j did not chiife Them according to the Sound only^ but their real Senfe^ which He explain d juilly and natu- rally, without any wrefting or draining. He mr/6^rneglcdcd nor diffemblcd the ut mo ft force of any Texts which fcerud to make againft Him ; but propofed them fairly, and anfwefd them fo- lidly; •zi/V^/'^^//- ^w/ artificial Elufions, or any 'isik>' tile or furprizing Gloffes,
2. In the next place, hozvever cogent and for- cible his Reafonings from Scripture appeared to be^ yet He modeftly declined being confident of them, nnlefs He could fnd them like wife iup- portcd by the general Verdi6i of the primitive Church ', for which He always exprefsd a moft religious Regard and Veneration : believing it eafier for hirrfelf to err in interpreting ^^r//>r//r^, than fcr the univcrfal Church to have erred from the Beginning, Topafs by many other In- ftances of his fincere a'ud great Regard to Anti- quity, I fall here mention one only. He ^ tells !Z3r. Tu'iy^ in the mofl ferious and foleuin man- ner imaginable y that if there could but be found any one "Propoftion-, that He had maintained in
" Bull. ADoIog. contr. Tull. p. 7.
all
The PREFACE.
^l his Harmony , repugnant to the Tio^rine of the Catholick a7id Primitive Church , He ijjould immediately give up the Cauje, fit down contentedly under the reproach of a Novelift, openly retrad his Error or Herefy, make a fo- lemn Recantation in the Face of the Chrtjtian World , and bind himfelf to perpetual Silence ever after. He knew very well what He f aid; being able to Jhow^ by an Htflorical TJedu^ion^ that his T>o5trine had been the conjlant doc- trine of the Church of Chrifl , ^ down to the T^ays of Calvin, in the Sixteenth Century,
3 . Befides this^ He demonftrated, very clear^- ly, that the moft antient arid valuable Confef- fions of the Reformed Churches Abroad were intirely in his Sentiments. He examind them with great Care and ExaBnefsy and anfwer'd the contrary Tretences largely and folidly,
4. To complcat all, He vindicated hisT>o5irine farther J from the concurring Sentiments of our own moft early y and moft judicious Reformers: As alfb from the Articles, Catechifm, Liturgy, ^7^^/ Homilies of the Church of England : And this with great accuracy and flrength of Rea--
fori, without the mean Arts ^Equivocation or Sophiftry.
5. / may add, fifthly, that his manner of Writing was the moft convincing, and moft \xi- ^2L^m^ imaginable: Acute, ftrong, ^w^ nervous; learned throughout; and fincac to a fcrupulous
I Bull. ApoJ. contr. Tall. p. 5-0,^1.
ExaBnefs,
The PREFACE.
Exa6inefsy 'Ui'itbout artificial Colours or fludied Difguifcs, ^uihkh He utterly abhor d. The good and great Man breaths in every Line : ^ Rea- der, after a few ^PageSy may be tempted almofl to throw off his Guard, and to refign Himfelf implicit ely into fofafe Hands, A Man thus qualified and acco7nplip'dj having true Judg- ment to take the riglit Side of a ^leftiony and Learning, Ability, andi\\\.z2f\v^ to fet it off to the great eft Advantage^ could not fail of Snc- cefs 'y efpecially confidering that the moft judi- cious and learned of our Clergy , and Thofe be ft affected to the Church of England {fuch as ©r. Hammond , &c, ) had been in the fame Sentiments before 5 and Bifhop Bull's bittereft Adverfarieswere moftly Syftematical Men {pro- perly fo called) and fuch as had been bred up {during the great R^cbdVion) in ^^^Predeftinarian and Antinomian Tenets , as Mr. ^ Nelfon ob- ferves. There was another Circumftance "which Mr. Nelfon alfo takes ^notice of^ namely ^ his writing in Latin : Which ftjowed his thorough Jtidgmeyit of Men and Things, He would not write to the Vulgar and Unlearned ( which is beginning at the wrong end, and doing nothing but to the Learned and judicious 5 knowing it to be the fur eft and the port eft way ; and that , if the Toint be gairtd with Them , the reft come in of Courfe -, if not, all is to 710 purpofe. This became a Man, who had a Caufe that He
* Nclfon'j L//c of Bull, \c.g. 98.
• Nelfon^ Z-z/e of Bull, fij. 94-
could
The PREFACE.
could trufl: to y and confided only in the ftrcngth of his Reafons. By fiich laudable and inge- nuous Methods y that excellent Man prevailed over his Adverfarics 5 Truth over Error, Anti- quity over Novelty, the Church of Chrift: over Calvin and his "Difciples, If any Man elfe has fitch a Caufe to defend as Bifhop Bull had^ and is able to manage it infuch aMethody by jhow- ing that it ftands upon the fame immoveable Foundatio7is of Scripture and Antiquity, con- frm'd by the concurring Senfe of the judicious part of Mankind i then He need not doubt but it will prevail and profper y in any Protcftant Country y as univerfally as the other did. But if fever al of thofe Circumflances , or the moji confiderable of them^ be wanting ; or if Cir- cumflances be contrary y then it is as vain to ex- peR the like Succefs , as it is to expe^ Mira- cles. It mufl not be forgot y ih at the fame good and great Prelate, afterwards^ by the fame fair and honourable Methods ^ the fame ftrength of Reafon and profound Learnings gain'd as com- pleat a Vi^ory over the Arians, in regard to the §)ueftion about the Faith of the Ante-Niccne Fathers: ^;^^ ^/V Determination, in that par- ticular, was^ and ft ill is ^ among Men of the gr eat eft Learning and Judgment y as univerfally fubmitted to as the other. His admirable Trea- tife {by which He being dead yet fpeakcrh) re- mains unanfwer'd to this T)ay 5 and will abide Vidorious to the End, But enough of this.
I am
The PREFACE.
I am obliged to fay fomething in ^efeyice of wy general Title (A Vindication of Chrift's Di- vinity) bccatife^ Ifnd, Mr. Potter, fince deceas'd-, was rebuked by an ^Anonymous Hand for fiich a Title. The pretence isy that our Adverfaries do not difown Chrift's Divinity, as i^^^ Title in- Jimiates. But to what piirpofe is it for Them to contend about a Name , when they give up the Thing? It looks too like Mockery [though They are far from intending it) and cannot but remind us of Hail King of the [ews. A^<!? body ever fpeaks of the Divinity ^Mofes, or ofM^- giftrates, or of Angels , though called Gods in Scripture. IfChrift be God, in the relative Senfe only, why fhouldwe (peak of his Divinity, more than of the other ? The Chriftian Church has all along ufed the word Divinity , in the Jlri6i and proper Senfe : If we muft change the Idea , let us change the Name too ; a?id talk no wore of Chrift's 'Divinity ^ but of his Medi- atorfliip only-, or at moft, Kingfliip. This will be the way to prevent Equivocation , keep tip propriety of Language^ and ftout out falfe Ideas. I know no Divinity, but fuch as I have defended: The other y falfiy fo called, is really none. So much for the Title.
In the Work it felf I have endeavour d to ^T^r^r^/ Sophiftry, 2?/^^^ Fallacies, and take off Dilguifes, in order to fet the Controverfy upon a clear Foot; allowing only for the Myfteriouf-
^ A^logy for Dr. Clarke'; Trcf.
nefs
The PREFACE.
ncfs of the Subjeft, The Gentlemen of the New way have hitherto kept pretty much in generals, and avoided coming to the pinch of the ^leftion. If they pie afe to fpeakto the Toint ^ and put the Caufe upon a {hort Iffiie , as may eafily be done , that is all that is defifd, I doubt not but all Attempts of that kind wilt end {as thej have ever done) in the clearing up of the Truths the T> if appointment of its Oppofers^ the Joy of good Men^ and the Honour of our Bleffed Lord ; whofe Divinity has been the Rock ofOjfence to the Difputers of this World , now for 1 600 Tears 'y always attacked by foine or other , iyi eve- ry Age , and always Triumphant, To Him , with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft , Three Perfons of the fame divine Power, Subftance, and Perfedions, be all Honour and Glory, in all Churches of the Saints, now and for ever- more.
THE
THE
CONTENTS.
Compare the following Texts.
I am the Lord^and there is none elfe j There is no God befides me, Ifa.^^. f .
Is there a God befides me ? Yea , there is no God, I know not any, Ifa. 44. 8.
I am God, and there is none like me, Ifa. 46. p.
Before me there was no God form'd, neither iliall
there be after 43. 10.
me, Ifa.
The Word was God, John I.I.
Thy Throne, O God, Heh. 1.8.
Chrift came, who is over all God blefTed for ever, Rom. p. f .
Who being in the Form of God, Phil. z. 6.
Who being the Bright- nefs of his Glory, and the exprefs Image of his Per- fon, Heb. i. 3.
Q^UERY I.
Wloether all other Beings^ he fides the one Supreme God^ he not excluded by the ^exts of Ifaiah {to which ma-' ny more might be added) and confequently^ 'whether Chri/l can he God at all^ unlefs he be the fa?ne with the Supreme God? p. z.
Q^UERY II.
Whether the 'Texts of the New Tcflament (in the fe- cond Column) do not fiow that He (Chrill) is noi excluded^ and therefore muft be the fame God? p. 6.
Q^UERY III.
UHoether the Word (God) in Scripture^ can reafona^ bJy be fuppos'd to carry an ambiguous meanings or
be
The CONTENTS.
he us*d in a different Scnfe^ when applied to the Fa- ther and Son^ in the fame Scripture^ and even in the fame verfe ? (See John i . i .) /;. 47.
a.UERY IV.
Wloether^ ftippofing the Scripture-Notion of God to he no more than that of the Author and Governor of the Univerfe, or whatever it be^ the adynitting of Another to he Author and Governor of the Uni- verfe, he not admitting another God 3 contrary to the texts before cited from Ifaiah j a}id alfo to Ifa.
41. 8. 48. II. where he declares^ He will not
give his Glory to another? ^.73.
Q^UERY V.
Wloether Dr. ClarkeV pretence^ that /Z?^ Authority of Father and Son heingOnc^ tho' they are two diftind Beings^ makes them not to he two Gods^ As a King upon the Throne , and his Son adminillring the Father's Government, are not two Kings, he not trifling and inconfiftent ? For, if the King's Son be not a King^ he cannot truly he called King 3 if he is^ then there are two Kings. So, if the Son he not God /;/ the Scripture-Notion of God, he cannot truly he called God J and then how is the Do5lor conftfient with Scri- pture^ or with Himfelf ? But if the Son he truly God, there are two Gods upon the Doctor's Hypothefis^ as plainly as that one and one are two : and fo all the 'Texts 0/ Ifaiah cited ahove^ befides others^ ft and full and clear againft the Doctor's Notion, p. 7p.
TE XTS ■, proving an Unity of divine Attri- butes in Father and Sony applied.
I'd the one God. Thou, even Thou only knoweft the Hearts of all
To the Son. He knew all Men, 6cc. Joh. z. 24. Thou knowell the
The CONTENTS.
the Children of Men, I Kings 8. 3 p.
I the Lord fearch the Heart 3 I try the Reins, Jer. 17. 10.
1 am the fir ft, and I am the laft, and befides me there is no God, Ifa. 44. 6.
I am A and a, the be- ginning and the end. Rev. 1.8.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, 1 fim. 6. If.
The mighty God, Ifa. 10. II.
Lord over all. Rem. 10. II.
all Things, John 16. 30. which knowell theHcarts of all Men, J^ts i . 24. , I am he that (earcheth the Reins and the Heart, Rev. z. 23.
I am the firrt, and I am the lall, Rev. i. 17.
I am A and n, the be- ginning and the cn6^ Rev, zi. 13.
Lord of Lords, and KingofKmgs, Rev. 17.
14. ip. 16.
The mightyGod,7/Cp.5. He is Lora of all, Jcls 10. 35.
Over all God blclTed, 6cc. R.om. p. f .
aUERY VL
Wheiher the fame Char a6lerifikks ^ efpe daily fuch emi- nent ones^ can reafonably be underftood of two diftin6l Beings \ and of one Infinite and Independent^ the other Dependent and Finite ? p. 8p.
Q^UERY VII.
Whether the Father^ s Omnifcience and Eternity are not one and the fame with the Son's^ being alike de- fer ib'dy and in the fame phrafes ? p. 100.
Q^UERY VIII.
Whether Eternity does not imply neceffary Exigence of the Son-y which is inconftftent with the Do Bar's Scketne ? Jnd whether the * DoBor hath not made. ♦ Reply p. 127.
\ an
The CONTENTS.
an clufivc, equivocating, Jnfhjuer to the Objeclmt^ Jince the Son may be 'a neccnary Emanation from the Father, by the Will and Power of the Father^ without any Contradiction? Will is one things and ■ Axhiuixxy I- rm another^ p. iii.
Q_UERY IX.
V/hether the di\;i?ie Attributes^ O.mnifcicncc, Ubi- quity, 6cc. thofe individual Attributes can be com- municated ^without the divine EJJence^ from which they are infeparabk? p.' i6j^.
Q^UERY X.
Whether^ if they (the Attributes belonging to the "S6n)"^<? not individually the fame^ they can be any thing more than faint Rcfemblances of them^ differing from them as Finite from Infinite j and then in what Senfe^ or with what Truth can the Do^.or pretend that ^ all divine Powers, except abfolute Supremacy and Independency, are comnmnicated to the Son ? And whether every Being^beftdes the one Supreme Being^mufi not neceffarily be a Creature andWmiit j and whether all divine Powers can be communicoited to a Creature^ Infinite FerfeUion to a Finite Being? p. 174.
Q^UERY XL
JVh ether if the D 0 ctor -means by divine Powers^ Powers given by God (in the fame Sen fe as Angelical Powers are divine Powers) only in a higher Degree than are given to other Beings \ it be not equivocating^ and faying nothing : Nothing that can come up to the Senfe of thofe Texts before cited^ \ or to the fe following? p. 181.
Applied
To the one God. Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone > Thou hall
To God the Son. All things were made by him, John I. 3. By hun
* Scripture Doar. p. 298. ^ t Query 6. p. 89.
B made
The CONTENTS.
made Heaven, the Hea-| were all things CieatcJ ; ven of Heavens with alllHe is before all things, their Holl, the Earth, land by him all thingsCon-
and all things that are therein, ^c. Neb. p. 6.
In the Beginning, God Created the Heavens and the Earth, Geri. i . i .
fill, Coloj^. I. 1(5, 17.
Thou, Lord, in the Be- ginning , haft laid the Foundation of the Earth 5 and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands, Hel?. I. 10.
CLUERY xir.
Whether the Creator of all things ijuas not himfelf Un- created -, and therefore could not he cJ^ j/x, ovlwv, made out of nothing ? p. IP4.
CLUERY XIIL
iVhether there can he any Middle hetween heing made out of nothings and out of fomethlng\ that is^ he- tween heing out of nothings and out of the Fathers Suhftance > hetween heing eflentially God, and heing a Creature ? Whether^ confequently^ the Son muft not he either eflentially God, or elfe a Creature ? p. 102.
CLUERY XIV.
■Whether Dr. Clarke, "who eiery ivhere denies the Can- fuhjlantiality of the Son as ahfurd and contradi^o- ry^ does not^ of Confequence^ affirm the Son to he a Creature^ cli »^ ovrwv , and fo fall under his own Cenfure^ and is Self-condemn" d? p. 2,12.
CLUERY XV.
Mnjetherhealfomuftnot^ of Confequence^ affirm of the
Sony that there was a time when he was not, fince
God muflexift he fore the Creature > and therefore is
again Self-condemn" d (See prop. 16, Scrip. Do6br.)
I And
The CONTENT S.
^ml 'whether he does not equrcocate in faying ^clfe^ 'where that the fecond Per Jon has been always "with the fir ft y and that there has been no time, 'when he was not fo : Jnd laftly^ 'whether it be not a 'vain and 'weak at temp to pet end to any middle 'way be- Pween the Orthodox and the Ariansj or to carry the Son's Di-vinity the leaft higher than they did^ 'without taking in the Confubflantiality ? p. 214.
divine Worjhif due
'To the one God.
Thou fhalt have no o- ther Gods before me, Ex~ $d. 20. 5.
Thou fhalt Worlhip the Lord thy God, and him onlylTiak thouferve, Matth. 4. 10.
To Chrift.
They worfliip'd him, Luke 24. 2f.
Let all the Angels of God worfhip him , Heb. 1.6.
That all Men fhould honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, John f . 213.
Q^UERY XVL
Whether by thefe (of the firfl: Column) and the like Texts^ Adoration and PForftoip be not fo appropriated to the one God^ as to belong to him only? p. 22p.
(i.UERY XVIL
Whether^ not'withftanding^ Worftnp and Adoration he not equally due to Chrift 5 and conjequently^ 'whether it muft not follow that he is the one God^ and not {as the iVrians fuppofe) a diftin^t inferior Being ? p. 25-2.
auERY xvin.
Whether Worftnp and Adoration^ both from Men and * Script. Do£lr. p.438.
B 2 Angels J
.The CONTENTS.
Ajiids^ 'ujas not due to him , loyig he fore the. Com-^ vicncing of his Mediatorial Kingdom, as he was their Creator and Prefcrver {fee Col. i. 1(5, 17.) ylfid ^whether that he not the fame Ttitle to Adoration which God the Father hath^ as Author and Go-ver- nor of the Uni'verfe^ upon the Do^ofs own Princi- ples ? p. 2.(57.
Q^UERY XIX.
jVhether the Doctor hath not green a 'very partial Ac^ count c/John f. 13. founding the Honour due to the Son^ on this only^ that the Father hath com- mitted all Judgment to the Son 5 when the true Reafon afjign'd hy our Saviour , and illufirated hy fen:eral biftances^ is , that the Son doth the fame things that the Father doth ^ hath the fame P ower and Authority of doing what he will \ arid therefore has a 1'itle to as great Honour^ Reaver ence^ and lie gar d^ as the Father himfelf hath ? And it is no Ohjeclion to this^ that the Son is there faid to do nothing of himfelf, or to have all given Him hy the Father -y ftnce it is own'd that the Father is the Fountain of all^ frojn whom the Son derives^ in an ineffable manner^ his Ef- fence and P ower s^ fo as to he one with him. p. 178.
Q^UERY XX.
Wlo ether the DoBor needed have cited 300 T^exts^ wide of the purpofe^ to prove what no Body denies^ nafne- ly^ a Subordination, /;/ forne Senfe^ of the Son to the Father 5 could He have found hut one plain T^est againft his Eternity or Confubflantiality, the Points in ^cflion? p. 2p8.
CLUERY XXT.
JVhether he he not forced to fupplyhis want of Scripture" proof by very fir ain^d and remote Inferences^ and very uncertain Reafonings from the Isfature of a,thingy con-
■ ■■feffedly.
The CONTENTS.
feffcdly^ Obfcure andabo^jeComprchenfton-j mid yet twtmore fo than God's Eternity, Ubiquity, Prcfci- encc, or other Attributes^ ivhich yet we are obliged to acbwivledge for certain T'rutbs ? p . 3 o 5 .
aU E R Y XXII.
Whether his (the Dod'or's) whole Performance^ when-' ever Ih differs from us^ be any thing more than a Re- petitiori. of this AJfertion^ that Being and Pei'fon are the fam?^ or that there is no ^Aidiiwmbctween Trithe- ifrn a/d Sab'TlliAnilm ? which is removingthe Caufe from Scripture to natural Reafon j not very conjtflent^ ly with the T'itle of his Book. p. 315.
aU E R Y XXIII.
Whether the Doctor's 7^'jtion of the 'Trinity be more clear and intelli<i'J:u ^hanJhe other?
The Diijlctiltyln tioe Conception of the Trinity is^ how Three Per.'ons can be One God.
Does the DoHor deny that every One of the Perfons^ fingly^ is God ? No : Does he deny that God is One ? No : How then are Three One ?
Does one and the fame Authority^ exercifcd by all ^ make them one^ numerically or individually one and the fame God? That is hard to conceive how three diflin6i Beings.^ accordingto the DoUofs Scheme^ can be indi- vidually one God^ that is^ three Perfons one Perfon.
Jf therefore one Godneccffarily fignifies but onePerfon^the Confequence is irrefiftible > either that the Father is that one Perfon., and none elfe^ which is downright Sa- bcllianifm 5 or that the three Perfons are three Gods.
Thus the DoElor's Scheme is liable to the fame Dijji- culties with the other.
There is indeed one eafy way of coming off and that iSy
by faying that the Son and Holy Spirit are neither of
themGod^ in the Script ure-fenfe of the Word. But
this is cutting the Knot^ in (lead of untying it > and is in
B 3 ^ff(^^
The CONTENTS.
effe^ to fay^ they are notfet forth as divine Perfons in Scripture.
Does the Communication of divine Powers and j^ttri- but es from Father^ to Son and Holy- Spirit^ make them one God^ the Divinity of the two latter being the Fa- ther's Divinity ? 7}t the fame difficulty recurs : For either the Son andHoly-Ghoft have diftinB Attributes^ and a difiin^ Divinity of their ovun.^ or they have not : If they have^ they are (upon the Dociofs Principles) dijiincl Gods from the Father^ and as much as Finite from Infinite^ Creature from Creator j and then how are they one ? if they have not^ then^fince they have no other Divinity ^but that individual Divinity andthofe Attributes which are infeparable from the Father's Effence^ they can have no diflincl EJfence from the Fa- thers-^ and fo (according to the Doctor) will be one and the fame Perfon^ that is^ will be Names only.
Q^ IVhether this be not as unintelligible as the Or- thodox Notion of the Trinity^ and liable to the like Difficulties : A communication of Divine Powers and Attributes^ without the Subftance^ being as hard to coyicclve^ nay^ much harder than a commu- nication of Both together ? p. 345.
CLU E R Y XXIV.
frhetherG-x\.^. 8. may not be enough to deter mine the difputc betwixt us ; fince it obliged the Dut'tor to con- fers that Chrifi is ^'^ by Nature truly God, as truly as Man is by Nature truly Man.
He equivocates.^ there^indeed.^ as Ufual. For^ he will have it to fgnify.^ that Chrifi i^ God by Nature.^ only as ha- vingby tfoat Nature which he derives from the Father^ true Divine Power and Dominion : that Is^ he is truly God by Nature^ as having a Nature difintl from and inferior toGod's.,wantl'/giihc motl ciTcntial Chara^St- crof God, Seif-exi/lence. IVhat is this but trifling
♦ Reply p. 81. i Reply p. 92.
with
The CONTENTS.
"•jjith Words ^ and playing faft and loofe? p. ^70.
QJJ E R Y XXV.
met her it he not clear from all the genuine remains of Ayitiqiiity^ that the Catholick Church before the Coun- cil of Nice, and even from the beginnings did believe the Eternity and Confiibflantiality of the Son ; ifeithei- the oldefi Creeds^ as interpreted by thofe that recite them J or the Tefiimonics of the carliefi JVriters^ or the publick Cenfures pafs'd upon Hereticks^ or parti- cular pajf ages of the Antientefi Father s^ can amount to a proof of a thing of this Nature? p. 378.
a,U E R Y XXVI.
Whether the Do^or did not equivocate or prevaricate jirangely in facing ^ The Generality of Writers before the Council of A^/Vf, were, in the whole, clearly on his fide: Whenitismanifefl^ they luere^ in the general s no farther on his fide ^ than the alloiv- ing a Subordination amounts to-, no farther' than our ov:n Church is on his fide^ while in the main points of difference^ the Eternity and Confubftantiality, they are clearly againfl him > nat is^ they were on his fide ^ fo far as we acknowledge him to be right ^ but no farther, p. 38p.
Q^U E R Y XXVII.
Whether the Learned Do^or may not reafonably be [up- pos'dto fay^ the Fathers are on his fide with the fame Meaning and Referve as he pretends our Church- Forms to favour him \ that is^ provided he ?nay in- terpret as hepleafes^ and make them [peak his Senfe^ however contradictory to their own : And whether the true Reafon why he does not care to admit the Tefli- monies of the Fathers as Proofs, may not bcj becaufc jChey are againllhim ? p. 412.
* Anfwer to Dr. ffelh p, 28.
B 4 QUERY
The CONTENTS.
(i_U E R Y XXVIII.
Whether it he at all probable^ tToat the primitive Church JJwtild mi flake in fo material a Point as this is 3 or that the vjhole Stream of Chriftian Writers fljould miflake in telling us. ijohat the Senfeof the Church ijoas > and "whether fuch a Cloud of TVitneffes can be fit afide ivithput weakening the only Proof ive have of the Canon of Scripture, and the Jntegrity of the Sa- cred Texts? p.4f6.
Q. U E R Y XXIX.
Whether private Reafoning^ in a piatter above our Com- prehenfion^ 'ie ' a fafer Rule to go by^ than the general Senfe and Judgment of the primitive Church in the firft'^ooYears', or^fuppofing it doubtful what the Senfe of the Church was w.ithin that tlme^ whether what was determined by a Council of 3 00 Bifkopsfoon after^ with thcgreat-efl Care and Deliberation^and has fatis- fied Men of the' greatefl Senfe^ Pl^ty-i <^T^d Learnings all over the Chriftian World^ for 1400 7}ars ftnce^ may not fatisfy wife and good Men now ? p. 460.
Q^U E R. Y XXX.
Whether^ fuppofing the Cafe doubtful^ it be not a wife Mans part to take the fafer Side ; rather to think too highly^ than too meanly of our blejj'ed Saviour ; rather to pay a modefl deference to the Judgment of the Ant lent, aud. Modern Churchy than to lean to onc"^owii Undcrfdndihg? p.47f.
Q^U E R Y XXXI.
whether anything lefts than clear and evident Demon" ''. ftriu'ion, cntbe ftufeof Ari-anifm, ought to move a wife ■'hndgoodAI'dn-^ againft, ft" great Appearances of Truths on the fide o/' Orthodoxy, /;c//7 Scripture, Reaibn, and Aniiquity : and whether' we ?nay not wait long before we find ftuh Dcmonflration ? p. 48 1 . A
DEFENSE
OF SOME
QUERIES
RELATING TO
Dr. CLARKEs
Scheme of theH.TRiNiTY;
In A N s w E R to a
CLERGY-MAN in the Country,
Compare the following Texts.
/ am the Lord^ and there is none elfes There is no God be- [ides me-, Ila. 45. 5.
Is there a God he- Jides me? Tea-, There is no God., I know not any, Ifa. 44. 8.
1 am God and there is none like me':, Ifa.46.9. . Before me there is: as no God form'd, neither Jhall there be after me., Ifa. 43. 10.
The Word was Gody Joh. I. I.
Thy Throne^ OGody Heb. i.S.
Chrijt came, who is over all God bleffed for ever, Rom. 9. 5.
IFho being in the Form of God, Phil. 2. 6, JVho being the Brightnefs of his Glo- ry , and the exprefs image of his Terforiy Hcb. I. 3.
.^ ^DEFENSE Qu. I.
Q^ U E R Y I.
Whether all other Beings y be/ides the one Supreme God, be not excluded by the Texts of Ifaiah , [fo "juhich many more might be added) and confequently , 'luhether Chrijl can be God at ally unlefs He be the fame '-juith the Supreme God?
THE Sum of your Anfwcr tothisQuery, is, that the Texts Cited from Ifaiah, in the firfl Column^ are fpoken of one Pcrfoii on- ly> (p- 54-) The Terfon of the Father y fp. 39.) And therefore all other TerfonSy or Beings (which you make equivalent) ho:i} divine Jo- every are necefarily excluded ; and by Confe- quence y our Lord Jefus Chrift is as much excluded from being the one Supreme God, as from being the Terfon of the Father, (p. 40.)
You fpcnd fomcPages, in endeavouring to fhow, that the T erf on of the Father only is the Supreme God ; and that the Pcrfon of the Son is not Supreme God. Buc what does this iignify, except it be to lead your Reader off from the Point which it concerned you to fpeak to ? Inftead of anfwering the Difficulty propos'd, which Wcis the Part of a Refpondcnt, you chufe to flip it over, and endeavor to put Me upon the Dcfcnfive; which is by no means Fair. Your Bufincfs was to ward off the Confcqucncc which I had prcfs'd you with, namely, this : That if the Son be at all excluded by thofc
Texts
Qu. L ^//^;«^ Q.UERIES. ,
Texts in the firft Column, He is altogether ex- ckidcd ; and is no God at all. He cannot, up- on your Principles, be the fame God, becaufe He is not the lame Perfon : He cannot be ano- ther God, becaufe excluded by thofe Texts. If therefore He be neither the fame God, nor ano- ther God; it muft follow that he is no God. This is the difficulty which I apprehend to lie againft your Scheme; and which you have not Efficiently attended to.
I fhall therefore charge it upon you once again, and leave you to get clear of it at Icifure.
I fhall take it for granted, that the defign and purport of thofe Texts, cited from Ifaiahy was the fame with that of the firji Command- ment: Namely, to draw the People off from placing any Truft, Hope, or Reliance in any but God, to direfl: them to the only proper objecl of Worfhip, in oppofition to all Things orPerfonSjbefidcstheone^Siipremc God. " Nci- *' ther Baal nor Afitarothy nor any that arc " cfteemcd Gods by the Nations, are (iridlly and " properly fuch. Neither Princes nor Magiftrates, *' however called Gods in a loofe Metaphorical '' Senfe, are ftriclly or properly fuch. No reli- *^ gious Service, no Worfliip, no Sacrifice is due ^'to any of them: I only am God, in a jufl: " Senfe 5 and therefore I demand your Homage " and Adoration. Now, upon your Hypothefts, we muft add ; that even the Son of God Him- fclf, however drji7ie He may be thought, is really no God at all, in any juft and proper Senfe.
He
4 ^DEFENSE Qu. I.
He IS no more than a nominal God, and ftands excluded with the reft: All Worfliip of Him, and Reliance upon Him, will be Idolatry as niuch as the Worfliipof Angels, or Men, or of the Gods of the Heathen would be. God the FdtherHe is God, and he only ; and Him only jhalt thou ferve. This I take to be a clear Gonfc- qucnce from your Principles, and unavoidable.
You do, indeed, attempt to evade it by fup- pofing that, when the Father laith there is no God bejides mey the meaning only is, that there is no Supreme God befides me. But will you plcafe to confider>
1. That you have not the leaft Ground or Rcafon for putting this Senfe upon the Text. It is not faid there is no other Supreme God beftdcs me; but abfolutely, no Other,
2. If this were all the meaning, then Baaly or yljhtarothy or any of the Gods of the Na- rions, might be looked upon as inferior "Deities, snd be ferved with a fubordinate Worfliip, not- W'ithftanding any thing thefe Texts fay, with- out any Peril of Idolatry, or any Breach of the firft Commandment * Solomon might Sacrifice to Afljtaroth and Milcom, to Chemojh and Moloch, provided he did but ferve the God of Ifrael with Soveraign Worfliip, acknowledg- ing: Him Supreme, And this miizht furnifli the Samaritans with a very plaufible cxcufe, even from the Law it felf, for ferving their o^-jon Cods \\\ Subordination to the one Supreme God 5 fince God has not forbidden it.
• J Kin;rs c. ii. 3- YoU
Qii. I. of fof^e QJJ ERIE S. y
. 3. You may plcalc to coafidci* farther, that thcLX was never any great Danger of cither Je-jj or Gentile falUng into the bcUcf of many Sn- freyne Gods -, or into the Worfliip of more than one as Supreme, That is a Notion too filly to have ever prevailed much, even in the igno- rant Pagan World. What was moil to be guard- ed againfl:, was the Worfliip of inferior licitie.s, befidcs, or in Subordination to, one Supreme. It cannot therefore reafonably be imagined diat thofe Texts are to bear only fuch a renfc, as leaves room for the Worfliip of inferior Divinities.
The Sum then is, that by the Texts of the Old Teftament, it is not meant only that there is no other Suprer/ie God 5 but abfolutcly ?io Other: And therefore our blelled Lord mull cither be included and comprehended in the one Supreme God of Ifrael, or be intircly ex- cluded with the other pretended, or nominal. Deities. I (hall clofe this Argument with St. Aufiins Words to Maximin^ the Arian Bifliop, who recurr'd to the fame Solution of the Diffi- culty which you hope to flielter your fclf in.
^' * Repeat it ever fo often, that the Father " is greater^ the Son lefs. We fliall anfwcr " you as often, that the greater and the Icfs ♦* make Tjuq. And it is not faid', 77?/ grcnt(»:f
* Clama quantum vis, Pater cfl Major, Filius Minor, rcfpondctiir tibU duo tamen funt Major & Minor. NqcdK^um cd Domluus i)eus'tuus M^j/o;'l)ominusunuscrc : 'lc<\ dic'luni'cfl Dominus Dci;s tuus Dominus unus efl. Ncquc didum c(l, hon cfl alius ^rtuBs milji, feddidtum c/1, noii eft alius prxrcr mc. Aut ergoC^outrrcre Patrem 8c Filium unum cllc Domir.umDcum, ayt apcrte nc^^a I^- Bamum Dcum die Chriflum. -4;/^/y/^.l. 2. c.cj.'^. 727.
Lor^
6 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. II.
Lord God is one Lord: But the Words arc : " The Lord thy God is one Lord ^-y Nor is it faid, " There is none other Equal to me^ but the " Words arc, There is none other Bcfidcs me, " Either therefore acknowledge that Father and " Son are one Lord God 5 or in plain Terms " deny that Chrift is Lord God at all. This is the difficulty which I want to fee clear'd. You produce Texts to fhow that the Father Jingly is the Supreme God, and that Chrift is excluded from being the Supreme God : But I infift upon it, that you mifunderftandthofe Texts 5 becaufe the Interpretation you give of them, is not re- concileable with other Texts 5 and becaufe it leads to fuch Abfurdities as arc too fliocking even for your felf to admit. In fhort ; either you prove too much, or you prove nothing.
Q^ U E R Y 11.
Whether the Texts of the New Teft anient {in .the fecond Column) do not fhow that He (Chrift) is not excluded^ and therefore mufl be the fame God?
THE Texts cited, if well confidercd, taking in what goes before or after, are enough to (how that Chrift is not excluded among the nominal GodSy who have no Claim or Title to our Service, Homage, or Adoration. He is God be- fore the World was, God over all bleffed for ever. Maker of the World, and worfliip'd by the Angels, and therefore certainly He is not ex- cluded
Qu. II. offome Q^U E R I E S. 7
eluded among the w^w/WGodswhomto wor- fhip were Idolatry. But fince all arc excluded, as hath been before fhovvn, except the one Su> preme God, it is very manifeft that he is the fame with the one Supreme God. Not the lame Terfon with the Fathery as you groundledy ob- jed to us, but Another Perfon in the fame God- head ; and therefore the Supreme God is more Perfonsthan one. You argue, (p. 40.) that ^ Chrift be God at ally it unavoidably follo\s:s that He cannot be the fame individual God iL'ith the Supreme God, the Father, By individual God^ you plainly mean the fame individual divine Terfon^ which is only playing upon a Word, miftaking our Senfc, and fighting with your own Shadow. Who pretends that the Son is the y2?w^ y^r/Z?7^ with the Father > All we aUcrt is, tliat iie is the fame Supreme God 5 that is, par- taker of the fame undivided Godhead. It will be proper here briefly to confider the Texts, by which you attempt to prove, that the Son is ex- cluded from being the one Supreme God : Only- let me remind you, once again, that you forgot the part you was to bear. Your Bufinefs was not to oppofe, bwtto refpond: Nottoraife Ob- jedions againfl: our Scheme-, but to anfwer thofe which were brought againft your own. You obferve *fromy^/&«8. 54. Matth. 22. 31, 32. and A5is 3.13. that God the Father was the God of the JewSy the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, Very right. But how does it appear
* Pag. 34.
rha
S ^DEFENSE. Qu. II.
that the Son was not ? Could you have brought ever a Text to prove, that God the Son was not God oi Abraha?n^ I fane, and Jacob -, I muft ther\ have own'd that you had argued pertinently, -.j You next cite Job. 17.3. i Cor. 8. 6, Eph, 4. 6. to prove that the Father is fometimes ftiled the only true God; which is all that they prove. But you have not fhown that he is fo called m oppofition to the Son, or exclufive of Hmi. It may be meant in oppofition to Idols only, as all, Antiquity has thought 5 or it may fignify that the Father is "^ primarihy wot exclufive ly, the only true God, as the firft Perfon of the blefled Tri- nity, the Root and Fountain of the other Two. You obferve ^ that in thefe and many other Places, the one God is the Verfbn of the Fat her ^ in Contrad{ftin^ion to the "Terfon of the Soi^^ It is very certain that the Perfon of the Father is there diftinguifli'd from the Perfon of the Son ; becaufe they are diftindly named : And you may make what ufe you pleafe of the Obfer- vation, againft the Sabellians^ v/ho make but one Perfon of t\yp. But what other ufe you c^n be able to make of it, I fee not; unlefs you can prove t\\\^ negative Proppfition, that no fufficient Reafon can be aflign'd for ftiling the Father the only God, without fuppofing; that the Son is excluded. Noiiatian's Remark, upon one of your Texts, 7^^, 17. 3- ^hee , the only true Gody and Jefus Chrifi ^isjhom thou
♦ Vid.Tcrtull. cont. Prax. c. 18. | Pag. 34.
haft
Ou. II. offorrje Q. U E R I E S. 9
hafi fent) may dcfcrve your Notice. * He infers from the Text, that Chrifl: is C^^, as well as the Father : If he did not mean that Chiifl: was GW, in the fame Senfe as the Father, and only God as as well as the Father, it will be hard to make out the Senfe, or Connexion of his Inference. He did not fee that peculiar force of the ex- clufive Term, [only) which you infift fo much upon. He knew better 5 being well acquainted with the Language, arid the Dodlrine of the Chriftian Church. His Conftrudion, to fpeak modeftly, is at leaft as plaufible as yours. If you can find no plainer or clearer Texts agaiiifl: us, you'll not be able to help your Caufe. As to I Cor, 8. 6. All that caii be reafonably ga- thered from it, is, that the Father is there e?n' fhatically (tiled 07ie God 5 but without defign to exclude the Son from being God alfo 5 as the Son is emphatically (tiled one Lord-^ but without defign to exclude the Father from be- ing Lord alfo. -f Reaforis may be aflign d for the Emphajis in both Cafes ; which are too obvi- ous to need reciting. One Thing you may pleafe to obfcrve; that the Difcourfc there,
* Si nolulfiet fe ctiam Dcum Intelligi, cur addidit, Sc quern mififti jefumChriftum, nifi quoniambcDeiimaccipi vo\\i\r..K6rat.Tr'm.c.z\.
See the fums Argument illuftrateil and improved by the great Atha- nafius: Orat. 3.p._fy8. Vol. i. Edit. Bened. Vid...4>w^r<?/. de Fid. lib.5-. c. I.
f Si cnim, ut exiflimant Ariani, Deus Pa^cr Solus cfl: Dcus, etid^m confequcntia, Solus erit Dominus Jefus Chriflu?, Sc ncc Pater eric Dominus nee Filius Deus. ^C(\ aolit, ut non lit, vcl in Domi- iiationeDc'tas, vcl in Deitate Dominatio. Unus eft Dominus i>c unus eft Deus: quia Patris & Filii Dominatio una Diyinitas eft, Hieron, comment, m EpLcf. C. 4. v. y,
C V.4;5'
to ^DEFENSE Qii. II.
V. 4, 5 . is about Idols ^ and nominal Gods and Lords, which have no claim or title to rehgious Worfliip. Thefe the Father and Son are Both equally diftinguiflied from : which may infinu- ate, at Icaft, to us , That the Texts of the Old or New Teftament, declaring the Unity and ex- cluding others, do not exclude the Son, by '-ji'kom are all Things : So that here again you have un- fortunately quoted a Faffage, which inftead of making for you, feems rather againft you. You have another, which is £^/>&. 4. 6. One God and Father of ally ^-iSjloo is above alU and through ally and in you all A famous Paflage, which has generally been underftood by the * Antients of the whole Trinity. Above all as Father through ally by the Word, and in ally by the Holy Ghoft. However that be, this is certain, that the Father may be reafonably called the oney or only God, without the leaft Diminution of the Son's real Divinity : a fuller Account of which Matter you may pleafe to fee in Dr. Fiddefs Body of Divinity, Vol. i. p. 383. &c. As to the re- maining Texts cited by you, fomb are meant of Chrift as Man, or as Mediator: And thofe which certainly refped him in a higher Capacity, may be accounted for on this Principle, that we referve, with the Antients, a Priority oi Order to the Father, the Firft of the Blcffed Three. This may fervc for a general Key to explain
* Irendus l.f.c.iS.p.^ ly. Ed. Bencd. H'lppolytus Contr. Noet.c. 14. p. s6. Fabric. Ed, Athanajius E p. ad Scrap, p. 6T6.Marh{sVtciorln, B P.Tom. 4. p. i^^.Hieron^m, Tom. 4. p. i.p. 362. Ed. Bened.
the
Qii. II. offome Q^U E R I E S. i r
the Texts mcntion'd, or others of like import. I cannot, in this place, delccnd to Particulars, without running too far into the "Defenji-ce^ and leading the Reader off from what we began with. Had you pleas'd to obferve the rules of ftrid method in diipute, you fliould not here have brought Texts to balance mine ; but fhould have refervcd them for another place. All you had to do, was to examine the Texts I had fet down in the fecond Column 5 and to give fuch a Senfe of them as might comport with your own Hypotkefis, or might be un- ferviceable to mine. You fhould have Ihown that Jch. I.I. Heb, i. 8. and Rom. 9- 5- niay fairly be underftood of a no77nnal God only ; one that (lands excluded, by the Texts of the firft Column, from all Pretence, or Title, to religious Homage and Adoration : For, as I have before obferved, He muft either be intire- ly excluded, or not at all : and if He be not excluded. He is comprehended in the one Su- preme God, and is One with Him : Or, at lead, you fliould have fet before the Reader your Interpretation of thofe Texts, and have fhown it to be confident with the Texts of Ifaiah. For example, take Joh, i . i .
" In the Beginning was the Word, and " the Word was with the o^v. Supreme " God, and the Word was Another '' God inferior to Him, a CREATUREofthe '' GreatGod: AllThings were Created *' by this Creature, &c,
C 2 This
12 ^DEFENSE Qu. It
This Interpretation, which is really yours, as fhall be fliown in the Sequel, is what you ihould have fairly own'd, and reconciled, if poffible, with the Texts of Ifaiahy (pur- pofely defigned to exclude all inferior^ as well as co-ordinate Gods) and particularly with Ifaiah 43. 10. Before me there v:as no God formd, neither jhall there be after ]sie: Words very full and expreflive againft 2XVj Creature-Gods, * But, inftead of this, you tell us, God could not be i^ith Himfelf, as if any of us faid, or thought. That was St. John's meaning. Thus you induftrioufly run from the Point, mifreprefent our Senfe, and artfully conceal your own. In this flight manner, you pafs over the three firft Texts al- ready mentioned 5 but you think you have fome Advantage of the ^lerifl^ in refped of Thil, 2. 6. and Heb. i. 3. and not content to fay, that they come not up to the point 5 you are very pofitive, that they prove the direB con- trary to that for which they are ^alledg'd-^ and exprefs your wonder that they Jhordd be offefd. Whether you really wonder at a Thing, which no Man who is at all acquainted with Books and Learning can wonder at ; or whether only you affed that way of talking, I deter- mine not ; but proceed to confider what you have to offer againft my Senfe of the two Texts.
*Qui. ergo Hocdicit Pater an Filius ? Si Filius, Ante Me, in- c]uit, non ejl alius Deus : Si Pater, poft 77ic, inquit, non erit. Hie Priorcm, Ille Pofteriorcm non habcr. /mbror. de Fid. 1. i. c. 8. p. 4J-8. Vid. Greg. NylT. contr. Eunom. 4. p. 5-74.
Upon
(^. II. offofKe qU E R I E S. 15
Upon "P^/Z 2.6. youprcfsnic with the Au- thority of Novatian-^ whom, I do afilirc you, I very much rcfpcd, as I do all the prhuitivc Writers. As to Novatian's Interpretation of Tkil. 2. 6. it ihall be confider'd prefently 5 only, in the firil place, let me obfcrvc to you, that as to the main of my Argument, built upon that and other Texts, Fle was certainly on my Side. He * cites Jfa. 45. 5- ^nd underftnnds it of God the Father 5 not fo as to cxxludc the Son from being comprehended in the one God^ but in oppofition to falfe Gods only. He proves the Divinity of Chrifl from his receiving Worfhip of the Chn.rch , and his being every where prefent, f befidcs many Other Topicks 5 and^ makes Him ," Confub- Jlantial\j\\\\ God the Father. This is as much as I mean by his being one with the Supreme God ; and therefore I have nothing to fear from this Writer, who agrees fo well v/ith me in the main, and cannot be brought to bear Evi- dence againft me, unlefs, at the lame time, EIc be found to contradid Himfeif. This being
*Ego Deus, & non eft propter me. Qui per cundcm Prophcrnm j-efert: Quoniam iMajeftatem mcam nondabo aircri, utomncsciini fuisFigmcntis Ethnicosexcludat 6c K.'^^reticos. C. 3. />. 70S. ^ce alfo theCiiatio-nabove p. 9,
f SiHomo tantummodo Chriflus, quomod(» ndLfl: iib'quc invo- catus, cum h^ec homir.is natura non lit, fed Dei, ut addle omni loco poflit? C. 14. p. 715-.
iJUnus Deus oftenditur vcrus & ^ternu<; Pater, a quo folo hxc vis Divinitatis cmilTa ctiam in Filium tiadira 8cdirc6r.iruiTum per SubJlantU Coynmumomm ad Patrem revolvitur. The Father h here filled emphatically the cue God, but ftUl comprehoui-ng, r.ct cxrhulh:^ the Son J coufubllantial with H'un. Ch. 3 i.p, 750.
C 3 prcmib'd,
14 :/^ D E F E N S E Qu. 11,
premised, let us now fee what He fays to the Text above mention d, T^hil. 2. 6. He faith of the Son (I ufe your own Words p. 35.) that iho) He was in the Form of God, yet He ne- ver compared Himfelf with God his Father. You have tranflated the laft Words as if they had run thus 5 TDeo, patri fw. The Words are, Nunqitam fe T>eo Tatri aiit comparavity aiit contidit. Never compared Himfelf with God the Father, The Reafon follows, Memor fe effe ex fuo T?atre: Remembring He was from his Father-^ That is, that he was be- gotteny and not tinbegotten. He never pre- tended to an equality with the Father, in re- fped of his Original-, knowing Himfelf to be fecond only in Order, not the firft Perfon of the ever Bleffed Trinity. You may fee the like Expreflions in * Hilary and ^ Thabaditts 5 who can neither of them be fufpedled of Arianizing in that Point. You afterwards cite fome other Expreflions of Novatian^ particu- larly this: 'T>uo aqtiales inventi duos T)eos merito reddidijfent. Which you might have render'd thus : Had they Both been equal (in refped of Original, Both unbegotten) They had undoiibtedlj been two Gods.
See the II whole Paflage as it lies in the Au-
* Hilary Tr'm. I. 5. c. 4. p. 810. Ed. Bencd.
•)■ ThAbad. p. 3 04.
Ij Si cnim natus non fuiflct, innatus comparatus cum eo qui cfTet innatus, sequatione in utroqueoftenfa, duos faccretinnatos, 5c ideo duos facerct Deos. S\ non genitus cffet, collatus cum eo (qui) genitus non eflct, 6c aequales inventi, duos Deos merito reddi-
thor
Qu. II. offome (^U E R I E S. 15
thor himfelf, and not mainVd and mutilated, as you quote it from Dr. Clarke. There is no- thing more in it than this, that Father and Son are not two Gods, becaufe They arc not Both unoriginated: which is the common Anfwcr made by the Catholicks to the charge of Trithe- ifrm, not only before, but after the iV/V^;;^ C<?//;/- cil 5 as might be made appear by a Cloud of Witneffes, were it needful. What you are pleased to call a 7710ft Jlrong Teftimony agairtfl an abfolute Coeqtiality (meaning this Paflage of AV vatian) is, if rightly underftood, and compared with what goes before and after, a moft ftrong Teftimony of fuch a Coeqtiality as we contend for. And therefore Dr. Whitby, having for- merly cited the whole Paragraph as a full and clear Teftimony of the Son's real Divinity, concludes thus. The Author, fays He, in this Paflage, " *does, in the plaineft words imagin- " able, declare that Chrift is God , equal to *' the Father in every refpeft, excepting only " that he is God of God. The Do^l:or indeed has fince chang'd his Mind 5 and now talks as confidently the other way, upon f this very
difTent non genitii atque ideo duos Chriflus reddidiflct Dcos, ^\ fine Origine eflet, ut Parcr, inventus ; & ipfe principium omnium, ut Pater, duo faciens principia, duos ofrcndiflct nobis confequcnrcr ScDeos. C. 31. Conf. lldar. deTrin. p. 1040. Ncque ex iniLiici- bilitate innafcibili coxqualem, fed ex geneiationc unigcniti non difparem.
* Ubi verbis difci;tifllmis oftendit (Nurvnttanui) Chriftum cfic Deum, Patri a^qualem paremque, co tantummodo excepro, quod fit Deus deDco. IVh'tt. Tract, tie Ver.Chr. Dettate, p.6j. \[m:itb.t difquifitio Modeft. p. 164.
C+ Paflage.
16 :.^ D E F E N S E Qli. II.
PafTagc. Whether He was more Hkely to fee clearly then, or fincc , I leave to others to judge, who will be at the Pains to compare his former with fome of his latter Writings.
You have given us the Sum of the 3 V^ Chap- ter of Novatian-, as it fiands collected by the Lc.jned T)r. Clarke in his excellent Anfwer to Mr. Nelfon's Friend. You may next pleafe to confult the no lefs excellent Reply, by Mr, Nelfons Friend, p. 170, drc, where you may probably meet with Satisfadion. ' But to return to our Text, TLil. 2. 6. The
words, ^X *-A?7J'"^r/uiov y]/'^'^"^'^^'^'^ uvai 'i(Ta@'.^j yOU
tranflate^ ii/<?didnot affeffy did not claiWy did not ajjlimcy take upon Him^ or eagerly de- fire-, to be Honoured as God, After wardjs, "(p. 16) He never thought fit to claim to Him- Jelf divinity, or more literally y you fay. He never thought the ^Divinity a Thing to be fo catch' d at by Him, as to equal Himfelf voith God his Father, This you give both as No- 'vatians Senfc, and as the true Senfe of the Text. And you endeavour to confirm it from the Authorities of Gr otitis ^ Tillotfon, Whitby y snd Clarke -, wdio, by the way, are very diffe- rent from each other in their Interpretations of this Place, hardly two of Them agreeing toge- ther. However not to ftand upon Niceties, I may yield to you your own Interpretation of this Paffage, did not ajfe^i to be Honoured as God '3 For the flrefs of the Caufe does not feem fo puch to lie in the liucrpretation of thofe
Words,
Qu. II. offoDte CLU E R I E S. 17
Words, as of the Words foregoing, viz, 6? ov ixo^a^A ©sa uird^x^-j. " Who being" /^ the Voryn " ^/' G^^, that is, " triilj God (which bcft " anfwers to the Antithefis following, the " Form of a Servant fignifying as much as ^' truly Man) and therefore might juflly have '' affumed toappear as God, and to be always ^' Honbured as fachy yet did not do it, at ^' the time of his Incarnation 5 but for a Pat- " tern of Humility , chofe rather to veil His ^^ Glories, and, in appearance, to empty Him- *' felf of Them, taking upon Him human Na- " ture, and becoming a Servant of God in that " Capacity, &c. What is there in this Para- phrafe or Interpretation, either dilagreeable to the Scope of the Place, or the Context, or to the fober Sentiments of Cathohck Antiquity, not only after, but before the Council of Nice-^ as may appear from the Teftimonies cited in the * Margin > Now, if this be the Senfc of it,
* Tertullian'i recti al of thisText, and Comment upon it, are tcorth 'Remarking. Plane de fubftantia Chrifti putant 8c hic Marcionitcc Suffragari Apoftolumiibi, quod Phanrafma Carnis fucrit in Cliriflo, quum dicir, Quod in Effigie D^i conjlitutus non rapinam exifiii?hivtt Variari Beo, fed exhanfit femctipfum accepta Jijpgie [irii^ ncn vcri- tatCj ^ Jim'ditudine Hominis^ non in Homine ^ ^ Figur.xi'.zcrjwi
ut Homo, non Subftantia, id cd, non Carne Numqu id
ereo 8c hic quA in Effigie cum Dei co]locat ? i^tjuc r.on erit Dc/.'s Chriji'ds zcre, fi ncc Homo zere fit it in Effigie Homims Conflitutur. Contr. Marc. 1. f. c. 20. P.4S6. Non fibi mneni aliquid Jcputat quod ipfc quidcm sequalis Deo. 8c unum cum Patrc, eft. JDrig. iu ipifi . ad Rem, I. ^. 0S5$ ^3/> y,ivi>(rcc<; icivrcv ccttq rS i^vat iccc Q:y. Concil. Antioch. Labb. Vol. i. p. 848. '0.^/y.ovovjj'>;? tS ©ts As'/^-,
rtl^TTi^^iTc, Hippolytus, Vol 2. p. 19. Fabric.
>vhich
18 ^DEFENSE Qu. II.
which I might farther confirm by the Autho- rities of Athanajius , Jerom , Attjlin , Ckrj- fojlomy Theophyla6i y OecumcniuSy and others of the Antients, befides "^ Bifhop Tearfon and •f Bifliop Bull among the Moderns, why (hould you "Uionder to find it again cited in the fame Caufe, being fo full and pertinent to the Matter in Hand ? Next, we may proceed to the other Text, which you as groundlefly pretend to be direBly contrary to that for which it is alledged. It is Heb, 1 . 3 . IVho being the brightnefs of his Glory y and the exprefs Image of his Terfon^ &c. Here you are fo obliging as to cite only one Paflage owtoi Euft bins , againft me, I would fay, for me. EttfebiuSy writing againft the Sa- bellianSy preflcs Them with this Text, and ar- gues thus from it. " The Image, and that *' whereof it is the Image, cannot Both be the " fame Thing (in the Sabellian Scnfe) but they " are tis^o Sttbftances, and tui'o Things^ and t'wo ** Towers : from whence He rightly infers, or plainly means to do, that the Father is not the Sony but that they are really diftinft. il What is there in this at all repugnant to what the ^lerifl maintains ? The force of your Ob- jedion lies, I fuppofe, in this, that Father and
* On the Creed : Article i .
fDef. Fid. N. 49. 70. Prim. Trad. p. 38. Qui unus locus, fi redie expcndatur, adomnesH^Erefes adverlus jcfu Chrifti Domini noftri pcrlbnam rcpel!cndas fufficit. D. F. p. 37. ' I] Conf Ambrof. de Fid. /. 1 . c.-j. />. 45-3. Vides ergo quia dum linago dicitur, Patrcm fignificatefTc cujuslmago fit Filiusi quia nemo potcfl ipfc libi imago iua efTe.
Son
Qu. II. of fame QUERIES. 19
Son arc called (f'uo ii(flai^ <^uo Tf>J,yixj.rc/.^ and c'u3 ^mdixEi^^ inconfiftcntly, you imagine, wit li/;7<^/- ^idiial Confubftantiality.
I will not be bound to vindicate every Ex- preffion to be met with in Eufebhts : Bur, al- lowing for the Time when it was wrote, be- fore the fenfe of thole Words was fix'd and de- termin'd, as it has been fince ; there may be nothing in all this, which iignifics more tlian w^hat the Catholick Church has always mcdnt by two Terfons'^ and what all nuiil: affirm, who believe a real Trinity. So ^ ^P'terius caird Father and Son aV/ar o^Jo, meaning no more than we do by two didind Pcrlbns : And Alexander Bifliop of Ale x and' i a, tlic firft Champion for the Catholick Caufe againft Arias J in his Letter to Alexander Bifliop of Conftantinople^ fcruples not to call Father and Son ^ c/^Jo 7r^7/aaT:ii and 7<?r/^/////W/ intimates that they are '^ du£ res, fed Conjunct ^ --, and Methodius ufes ^ o%o o'^uva/a«f, meaning two Perfons. Thefc or the like flrong Exprcfllons, occuirngin the Catholick Writers, were only to guard the more carefully againft Sabelliur nifm, the prevailing Herefy of thofe Times. But after ^r/^;^//% arofe, there was greater dan^ ger of the oppofite extreme: And therefore they began to fofren this manner of Exprcrt]on, left any" fliould be led to think, that the Per- fons of the Trinity were fo diftincl: as to be
^Sce Phot. Cod. I r 9. p. 500. *" ApuJ ThcoJ. 1. i.e. 4.
'Contr. Prax.c. 8. p ,fc4.. •* Phor. CoJ.i^f.p. 11,7.
indcpcn-
20 ^DEFENSE Qu. IL
independent of, fcparate from, and aliene to each other. Thus mftead of o'^uo (pwra, which might be innocent before, and is iifed by ^ Ori- geriy They chofe rather commonly to fay, ^ (pcos- \% (pcoTo? : yet fometimes not fcrupling the former way of expreflion. "" Rather than fay, du£ ejjentia, which might be Uablc to miftakes; They would fay, EJfentiade EJfentia, as T>eus de T)eo. The defign of all which was, fo to alfert a real Diftindion, as not to teach three abfolute, inde- pendent, or feparate Subftances 5 fo to maintain the diflinElion of Pcrfons, as not to divide the Subftance. Three real Perfons is what I, what every Trinitarian^ w^hat all found Catholicks af- fert. Now let us return to the Text, Heb. 1.3. Having fhown you that Enfebitiss Comment is not pertinent to our prefent Difpute, nor at all af- feds the Caufe thati maintain, w hich, I affure you, is not Sabellianipm : Now let me proceed a little farther, to vindicate my ufe of that Text; which, you pretend, is ftrong againft me. Origen per- haps may be of fomc Credit with you ; and the more for being admired by the ArianSy and much cenfur'd by many of the Catholicks ^ but after his ow^n Times. ^ His Comment, upon a parallelText to this, together with tliis alfo, is pretty remark- able. *'If He (Chrift) bethelmageof the/;^!/'//?- "^/^, the Image it fclf mud hz invifible too. I *' will be bold to add, that fmcc He is the Re- ^' femblance of his Father, there could not have
'Comment, in Joh, p. 70. ''5'^f AthanaL V.i.p f f^ . ""Vid. Cyr.AIcx.Thci'p. 1 1 o, "^Apud Athan.Dccrct.Syn.Nic.V.i .^,23 3 .
*' been
Qii. II. of fome QiJ ERIE S. 21
" hen a Time when he '-jjas not. He o;ocs on to argue, that fincc God is Light, and Chrift the 'A.ira,'jycL:jixj.^ or fliiiiing forth of that Liirht, quoting this Text, that They could never have been feparate one from the other, but mud have been Co-eternaL
^ T>ionyfius of Alexandria , another Ante- Nicene Writer, draws the very fame Inference from the fame Text. And Alexander Bifhop of Alexandria, in his circular Letter ^ extant in Athanafitts, makes the Hke ufe of it. The latter part of the Text efpecially, the words, exprefs Image of his Terfon^ were very fre- quently and triumphantly urged by the Catho- licks againft the Arians : by ^ Alexander of Alexandria, ^ Athanafitis, ^ Hilary, ^ Bafily s Gregory Nyffeny ^ Gregory Nazianzen, ^ Cy- rily and Others.
This may fatisfy you that it was neither flrange, nor new, to alledge this Text in favor of Chrift's Divinity. When you have any thing farther to objcd, it fliall be fairly examin'd. In the mean while, let it ftand, to fupport the fe cond Query 5 which returns upon you, and ex- peds a fuller Anfwer. That it may come to
'^'ATUV'-/o(,<rfJbO!, dim (puree, elio^m, TruvTU/; x.cci ccjtoc, Uioioqi^iy, cyrec ycio uei rS ^i^rU, ^"HMv ac, \^iv uil to UTruuyxc-f^x. Apud Atlianaf. deScnt, Dionvf. p. 25-3.
^ n&)5 uvofjtjoi<^ TvJ {J(r«Jt r» -TToiToot^, 6 av f^y-uv rsXux kui uzx\,y)C(rfjux. 78 7:uTc--;c,-^ Apud Athanaf Vol. i. p. 399.
'Epift. ad Alexand, Thcodor. p. 17. ''Orat. i. p. 424. dc
Synod, p 745. 'DeTrin.p. 97f .loSf. i if 9. 'Conrr.
EHiiom. p. 28, 89. fContr. Eunom. p.460. ''Orat. 36.
'Dial.y.de Trin.
vou
22 ^DEFENSE Qu. II.
you recommended in the beft Manner, and in the bcft Company, I (liall hcrefubjoin the Tefti- monies of the Ante-Nicene Writers, all declar- ing that the Son is not excluded from being the one Cody but is included and comprehended therein : that is, tho' the one God primarily denotes the Father, yet not exckjively , but comprehends the Son too. Now, as often as the primitive Writers fpeak of Father and Son together, as the one God, in the Singular, they bear witnefs to this Truth. See the Teftimonies of Iren£USy Athenagoras, TertuHiaUy Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, colledcd in ^ Dr. Fiddess Body of Divinity, to which may be added ^ Hippolyttis, ""Laciantitis, and even Etifebius Himfelf, who acknowledged ^ one God in three Terjons, as Socrates informs us.
I proceed next to other Teftimonies more cxprefly declaring, that the Son is not excluded from being the one Supreme God, by the fe- -veral Texts of Scripture, which aft ert the unity 5 but is always underftood or implied, as com- prehended in the fame one God. - Iren^us Qiys, " that the Holy Scriptures declare the one and
'Vol. I. p. 387, d'f. , , ,, ,.,,..,
^ OiKfivcfjUiCC (rvyj<paviac> c-vvayircck e? hccOiov, i\c, yaj^ sV'v o Otoq, c y^i xiXium 'rrxT'A^, 6 ^i u7:cCKiim t»to?, to ^t <rvviT,^(^oy elyioy 7Fviv[A>x.
'O 0)V TTCCTVi^ fcVi SOCVTU^y, h Jfe ViOC ^^y. TTUVTUV. TO ^i UyiCV TTViVf/jX CV
ztZg-iv. "AAAi.'5 Ti svu, ©£cv voyji(riii f^vi ^vvUf/jiB-u, t^v y,K iivTuc, ttxt^i, Koii f'tx) kUi dyiM 7:-nv(J'joc':-i Tri^iotruyjiv. Hippol. Contr.Noet.p. 14. 16. Fabric. Edit. ' ^ ^ *^ Lib. 4. c. 29.
** '^Ev« Qijv ov r^iirlv \:z:f>-^ri(n. Socr. E. H. J. r. C. 23. p. 48.
* Univerfx Scripturcc unum Sc Solum Deum, ad ex-
cludendos alios, praediccnr omnia feci fle per V^rbi.m Sunn, gvc. I. 2, c. 27. p. i^y. Bcncd. Edit.
<« only
Qii. II. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 2 j
*' only God, excluding all others, to have " made all things by H i s Word. Others are excluded but not his JFord, that is, his Son^ by whom he made all Things, as Irentcus conftantly underftands it. At other times, He fays, " God * made all Things by Himfelfy " interpreting liimftlf, by His JVord and by " His IVifdom ; that is, His Son and the Holj " Spirit. Certainly he could not think that God, in his Declarations of the Unity, meant to exclude what was fo near to Him, as to be juftly ( not in a Sabellian Senfe) interpreted Himfelf, Many more PalTagcsof the like Im- port mkht be cited from this primitive and ex- cellent Writer. I fliall only add a f Paffage or two to fhow, that He look'd upon the Son as the only true God, as well as the Father, He obferves, that the Holy Scriptures never call any Peribn abfolutely God or Lord, befides
* Fecit ea per femetipfum : hoc eft per Verbum 8c Sapicntiam fuam. Adeftenim ei femper Verbum ^Sa^mtia, ¥i\\\xi^ Spmtus, per quos, & in quibus omnia liberc ^ fponte tecit. Lib. 4. cap. 20.
fV^nquam neque Propheta: neque Apoftolialium Deum nomi- naverunt, vel Dominum appellaverunt, prorter Vmtm & i>olum D(um. L. V c.8. p. 182. Ncquc igitur Doxninus, neque Spiritus Sandus, neque Apoftolieum qui non eilbr Deus, definitive & abio- iute Deum nomin-i-lVentaliquando nifi cilet Fi-r^ Deus. L. 3.C. 6. NoTV fee rvhat folloirs.
Utrofque Dei appellatione lignavit Spiritus Sceum qui ungitur. riluim, &eum qui ungic Patrem. L. 3. c.6. p. 180.
Th,s Father goes on, m the fame Chapter, to produce fevnal other inflames from the Holy Scnpture to prove that the Son is caUed Uefr.t:veiy and abfolutely) God. That ,s flatnly hume^ntnr as any 'mL may fee hy looking into the Chapter. Vid.ctiam p. xS3o'4'
die
24 ^DEFENSE Qli. II;
the only true God\ and yet prefcntly after takes notice, that both Father and Son arc by the fame Scriptures abfolntcly fo called. See the place in the Margin : For though abfolntely be not there expreflcd, yet it is neceflarily implied, and is undoubtedly the Author's mean- ing.
We may go on to Terttilliany who is fo full and clear to our Purpofe, that nothing can be more fo. Out of many Paffages which might be cited, I fhall here content my felf with one out of his Book againft Traxeas. ^^ * There " is therefore one God the Father, and there " is none Other befides Him : By which He " does not mean to exclude the Son, but Ano- " ther God Now the Son is not Another " from the Father. Furthermore, do but ob- " ferve the drift and tendency of this kind of ■ " Expreffions, and you will find, for the mod " part , that they concern only the Makers
* Igitur uhus Deus Pater, 8c alius ablqueco noneft: Quodiple inferens, non Filium ncgat, led AHum Deum. Csetei'um Alius a patrc Filius non eft. Denique, infpice fequentia hujufmodi pro- nuntiationum, 6c inveniastere ad Idolorum Fadtitores atque Cultores Definitionem earumpertinerej ut multitudmem falforum Deorum Unio divinitatisejfpeiiat, habens tamen Filium quanto individuum Scinlcparatum a Patrc, tanto inPatrereputandum, etfi non nomi- natum. At quin Ii nominaflet ilium, ieparaffet, itadicens, Alius pra:tcr mc non eft, niii Filius mcus. Aliuai enim etiam Filium tecifTct, qucm dc aliis excepiftet. Puta Solcm dicerc: Ego Sol, 8c alius prxter mc non eft, ni radius meus 5 nonnc denotaUes Vanitatem i quali non 8c Radius in Solem deputetur. c. 18. p. j-io. Compare IrenAus, I.4. c. 6. p. 2 ; 4, 23 f . Non ergo Alius erat qui cof^nolce- batur, Zl Alius quidicebat mmo cogKofcit Patrcm, fed unus ik idem, omnia lubjicientc ei Patre, 8c ab omnibus accipicns Teftimoniuni ^uoniam Vire Homo, 8c quoniam r^rc Deus. ■
Qu. II. of Jome Q^U E R I E S. 2 >
*' and Worfliippcrs of Idols ; that tlic divine " Unity may exclude the multitude of falfe '*■ Gods, while it includes the Son ; who, in '' as much as He is undivided and infcpa- *' rablc from the Father, is to be undcrdood 't as impHcd in the Father, tho' He be not " particularly named. Farther; had He na- '' med the Son in this Cafe, it had been ^^ tantamount to feparating Him from Him- ^' felf : fuppofe He had faid \ there is None " Other befidcs me, except my Son ; He would " in efFedl have declared Him to be Ano- *' ther ( or aliene ) by excepting Him in " that manner out of Others. Suppofe the " Sun to fay, I am the Sun, and there is not " Another befides me, except my o'jvn Ray ; " would not you have marked the Impcrti- ^' ncncej as if the Ray were not to bereckon'd *' to the Sun, as included in it? Here you fee plainly what TertuHian means; Namely, that the Son is fo much one with the Father, that He cannot be fuppofed to be excluded among Other Deities : He is not Another, but the fame God with the Father : and yet this He aflcrts in a difpute againft Traxeas, one of the fame Principles, in the main, with Noetus and Sabellius : So careful was He not to run Things into the oppofite extreme. He takes care fo to aflcrt the Son to be the fame God with the Father, as notto make Him the fayne Terfon: And on the other hand, while He maintains the Diftindion of Fcrfons, He does
D not
26 y^ D E F E N S E Qii. IL
not forget to keep up the true Catholick Doc- trine of the Unilj of Snbflance,
I fhall next cite Athenagoras: This learned and judicious Writer, having proved at large, that there is but one God, the Father 5 and that the Chriftians acknowledged no Other God yet immediately adds, * vo^fxtv yap ;^ 'ijov t» Os^, c* 9./. 37. as much as to fay, we comprehend and include the Son in that one God 5 we are always to be underftood with this referve, or ^ Salvo to the Divinity of the Son 5 as does clearly appear from what follows in the fame Chapter, and in the next to it, where the Son is called ^ the Mind and Word of the Father, and declared to be ^ Uncreated^ and « Eternal. And in ^another place He very plainly com- prehends Both in the one God, To avoid Pro- lixity, I fhall content my felf with s referring only to the Paffages in others of the Ante- Nicene Writers, leaving you to confult Them at your leifure, if you can make any doubt of fo clear a Cafe. As to the Toft Nicene Fathers,
■ Parallel t(f which is that in Athanafius, Orat. 5. p. f j-8. N«rT<t{ htrut TOO fXjovo) >^ ohk'oq, AnJ again: 'Ev r^ sv), jC fAov:^, xul tt^utu trvHov votTrcci 6 i\oy^. See Tertull. Contr.Prax. c. 19.
** Salvo enim filio, re6te unicum Deum pote£ determinaflc cujus eft Filius. TertulL adv. Trax. c.i%.
'Nas *^ Aov©- ^ TTocr^c, C. 10. p. 39,
^ ©icv ocyovTi^ T Trontrtiv rcZsi i^ Texyrot^ xxi T ttx^' ctjrov Xoyw, p. 122. Compare p 40.
^Clemens Alexaudr. p. 129, 135-, 142. OrigenContr. Celf. 1. 8. p. 506. & alibi. H'-ppolytm Co/Ur. Noet. p-.iiTim. Kovat:an,c. 7,, Dionyjius Romanus, apud ^hanaf, Dionyjms AUxand. apud Atha- nafinrnj p. 2^4.
I Athanor
Qii. II. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 27
Athanafius^ Bafil^ the Gregories, Jerom, An- ftin, Chryfijlomy &c. Their Sentiments are well known, in the prcfent Point; and how they do not only rejed, but abhor tlic Prin- ciples which you are endeavouring to revive. However I fliall tranfcribc one Padigc out of AthanafiuSy part whereof has been givenabove, which may ferve as a Comment upon the Ca- tholicks which went before Him, whofe Senti- ments He was perfedly well acquainted with, and had thoroughly imbibed.
" * When the Prophet fpeaking of the Crea- " tion, faith. Which Alone fpreadeth out the " HeavenSy Job 9. 8. And when God fays, *' /Alone ftretch forth the Heavens ^ Ifa. ^^ 44.24. It is very manifeft to every Man, that " in Him, who is faid to be Aloney the Wordy " of that Aloney is alfo fignified, in whom all " Things were made, and without whom No- " thing was made. If therefore the Heavens " were made by the Wordy and yet God fays, / " Alone ; and the Son, by whom the Heavens " were made, is underftood to have been with " \}i\z Alone Qto^s for the fame Reafonalfo, if " it be faid, one God, and / Alone, and I the " Firfi^ we are undoubtedly to underftand, " that in the One, Aloney and Firft, is com- " prehended the Word, as EfFalgcncy, aTrau- " yaaixa.-, is impUed in Light. At hana fills' s reafoning in this Paffage is fo like f Tertullians
* Athanaf. Orat. ^. Contr. Arian. p. f > 8. \TertHlL Contr. Prax. c. i^.
D 2 upon
2S y^ D E F E N S E Qu. II.
upon the fame Head, that one might think He had borrowed it from Him. But, indeed, it is fo intirely conformable to the true and genuine Sentiments of the Catholicks before Kim, that it may juftly pafs for the general Scnfe of All.
To confirm what hath been faid, I fhall ufe one Argument more, before I pafs on to ano- ther Query ; fuch as, if carefully confidcr'd, may be fufficient to filence all farther doubt or fcruple, with regard to the Senfe of the Ante- Nicene Writers.
It is well known, that they ever look'd up- on the Son, as the God of the Jews, the God of Abrahamy Ifaac and Jacob, Many parti- cular Teftimonies may be cited in Proof of the Fad, which, for Brevity fake, I pafs over ; and proceed to a more general proof drawn from their citing of Texts out of the Old Teftament, in which the God of the Jevjs is cer- tainly fpoken of ; and applying them to the Per- fon of Chrift, the fecond Perfon of the ever Blefled Trinity.
* They heard the Voice of the Lord God
walking in the Garden, And the Lord
God called unto Adam, &c. Gen. 3« S, 9.
•f The Lord appeared to Abram, and faid unto hiniy I am the Almighty God -y walk be- fore mcy and be thou perfe^^ Gen. 17. i> 2.
* TheofhilAntloch. p. 129. Ed. Ox. TertuU. adv.PM.v.c. \6. t Clem. Alex. TAclag, 1. 1 . c. 7 . p. i 3 i . Eujcb. Dcm>ijir, E.. I. y. cp, E.H.I, i.c.i.
^ And
Qli. IL offome QU E R I E S. 29
* Andtke Lord appeared unto hhn'tnthe plains of Mamrc. The Lord fatdunto Abraham, 6cc. Gen. 18. I, 13.
^ The Lord rained upon Sodom, and vpon Gomorrah brimjfone and fire from the Lord out of Heaveny Gen. 19-24.
"^ And Abraham flood before the Lord,
&c. Gen. 19. 27.
^ And God faid unto Abraham, &c. Gen. 21. 12.
*= And behold, the Lord flood above it, and faidy lam the Lord God of Abraham thy Father, and the God of Ifaac, Gen. 28.13.
^ I am the God of Bethel, '■jijhere thou a* nointedft the Tillar, &cc. Gen. 31. 13.
g And God faid unto Jacob, Arife, go up to
Bethel, and make there an Altar to God,
that appear d unto Thee, &c. Gen. 3 5 • i •
^God called unto him out of the midft
of the Buf/y, He faid, / am the God
of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God
*Jnflin Martyr, p. 213. Sylburg. Ed. Novat. c. 16. Ttrtull. Trax. c. 16, 17. Eufei?. Dem. E. 1. ^-.c. 9. Epfi.Syi,od. AKttoch. Ldbb.^lom. i. p. 84^-.
^JhJI. AUrf .p. z I f. IrenAus. 1. 3 . c. 6. p. 1 80. Tertull. Frax. e. 13, 16. Et^feb. E.HA. I. c.z. Novat. c. zi,z6.
"Jufi. Mart. p. 216.
^fuJl.Mart.D;al. p. 161. Ed. ]eb. Novat. c. 26.
*JiiJi. Mart. p. z 1 8 . Clem. Alex. lUd. 1. i . c. 7 . p. i 3 X .
^ Juji. Mart. 218. Clem. Alex. FacI. 1. i . c. 7 . p. 1^1. Novat. c.z-j. Eufeb. Demon. Ev.\. f. c. 10. Efifl. Synod. Antioch. Labb, Tom. I. p. 848.
8 JuJi.Mart. n8. Cyprian. Tefi. \.z. c.6. p. 35-. Ed. Ox.
^Jufi. Mart. p. 220. Irenms. \. 3. c. 6. p. 180. J. 4 c. 12. p. 241. I. 4. c. 5-. p. 232. Tertull. Vrax. c. 16. Eptjf, Synod. Antioch. Labb. Tom. i. p. 348. Origen in Joh. p. 3 2.
D 3 */
30 ^DEFENSE Qli. II.
e?/ Jacob, 6cc. Exod. 3.4,6.
^ And God faid tmto Mofcs, I am that I A M. The Lord God of your Fathers^ the God of Abraham, of Ifaac, and ^ Jacob, ap- pear dj Exod. 3. 14, 15.
^ I appeared unto Abraham, unto Ifaac, arid unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty ^ but by my name Jehovah, was I not known unto them, Exod. 6. 3.
"^ I am the Lord thy Gody which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, Exod. 20. 2.
^ God of Ifrael, Exod. 24. i o.
*^ The Lord flrong and mighty ^ the Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of Hoflsy He is the King of Glory ^ Pfal. 24. 8, 10.
^ Be (filly and know that I am God. I will be exalt edy &c. Pfal. 46. 10.
g God is gone up with a floout, The Lord (Jehovah) 6cc. PfaL 47. 5-
^ The mighty God, even the Lord ^ hath
fpoken Our God pall come^ and pall not
keep fdencey &c. Pfal. 50. 1,3.
" Irena-us, ubi ftipva. That is, He muftof confcquence under- ftandthis of Chrill: as well as, ^'.4, 8, 19. {See True Scr:pt. Do^r. couiau 'il,p. 15-9 160 .) TiriuU. adv . Prax . c . 17. yu/i. Mart . Apol. i . p. 123. Ox, EJ. Lufib. Cordr. Marcell, 1. 2 . c. 2 o, 2 i ,
^ Jufi. M^.rt. ^.x-j^. Sylc'ur.Edit.
* Cu-m.^kxand. P£dag. 1. 1 . c. 7 . p. 13 i . Eufeb. Ecclef, Thecl. 138.
«* Eufeb. De77Joy.JIr. Ev. 1. y. c. 18.
*J-uft. Mart. Dial. Y- '^9'] i Cypr.adv.Jud.]. z. c. 49. p. 49,50. Oiig. m Mat. p. 458. Eufeb.i/iloc. ■ ' Gyp-:a-n. (td-v.Jnd. 1. 2 . c . 6. p. 5 5.
8 J:,-fc Mart. Dial. p. 197. Ehfeb. in PfaL 2^.091.
^ Iren. I. ^. c. 6. p. 180. Cypria?3.adv. Jud. 1 2. c. 28. p. 48. mw't.de Boho Patier.t. p. 220. Eiiftb. in Pfal. p. 209.
Let
Qu. IL of fome Q^U E R I E S. 31
^ Let God arifcy and let hts Enemies^ 6cc. Sing unto God^ JingTraifeSy &c. Pfa. 6 8. i. 4.
^In ]\Jidi2i\iisGod knowHy &:c. Pfal. 76. i.
1 G^^ ftandeth in the Congregation of the mighty: he judgeth among Gods, Pial. 82. i.
^ The Lord reigneth Pfal. 99.1.
^ Behold^ God is my Salvation: Iwill trujl and not be afraidy for the Lord Jehovah is my firengthy &c Ifa. 12. 2.
*» Behold your God will come with Venge- ance^ even God with a RecompencCy He will come and fave youy Ifa. 35.4.
p That ftretcheth out the Heavens like a Curtainy &c. Ifa. 40. 22.
^ Thus faith the Lord that created thecy O Jacob, and that formed thee, O Ifrael, Ifa. 43 . i .
' Thus faith the Lord, the King of Ifrael, and his redeemer the Lord of hofts-y lam the fir ft y and I am the lafty and befides me there is no Gody Ifa. 44. 6.
^lam the Lord that maketh all ThingSy that ftretcheth forth the Heavens alone, that fprea d- eth abroad the Earth by myfelf Ifa. 44. 24-
'Cyprian.ad. Jud. 1.2. c.6. c. 28. p. 3J'.49-
^lYsn&us. 1. 3.C. 9. p. 184. 1. 4. c. 33. p. 273.
^Juft.Mm. Bid. ^.iTl> IreriAHs, 1. '3. c. 6. p. 180. Novat. U
Tan. c. ij-. Cyprian. adv. Jud. ]. i.e. 6. p. 35". I^ufeb. in lot. "^yuji. Martyr, p. 224. Iren. I.4. c. 33. p. 274. ^ IrenjLus, 1. 3.C. 10. p. 186. ° Irendus, 1. 3. c. 20. p. 214, Novat, c. 12. Epijl. Synod. Ant'toch.
Labb.Tom.i. ip.^^f. TertulLadv.Jud.C.^,\j^. , ., , , ^Hippolyt.Contr.Noet. c. 18. p. 19. w»^|«« *»« Jta^^f*" ^ »^«''««'- ^ Eufeb, in loc. ^LaB. Injl. 1. 4. c. 9. p. 40f • ^ ^^f'^: "^ ^^f.'
N.B. 1 cite Eufebius, only as agreeing with the reft, inhisapph-
cationof fuch Texts to God the Son: not determining any thmg
as to his other principles. ^ ,
D 4 Stirel;
32 ^DEFENSE. Qii. II.
* Surely God is in thee, and there is none elfe s there is no God. Verily thou art a God &c. Ifa. 45. 14, 15.
^ I will fave them by the Lord their Gody and will not fave them by BoWy nor by S wordy Hofca 1.7.
^The Lord alfo pall roar out of Siov\, and tit- ter his Voice ^r^;;? J erufalem Joel 3 . 1 6. Amos 1.2.
^ IV ho is God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity Mic. 7.18.
^ God came from Tcman, and the Holy One from mount Ephraim- — Habakkuk 3.3.
y 1 am God^ not Man, Hofea 1 1 . 9.
'^ / will flrengthen thein in the Lordy — — faith the Lordy Zech. 10. 12.
^This is our Gody and there Jhall none other be accounted of in Comparifon of him^ Baruch 3. 3 5-
Thefe fcvcral Texts, bcfidcs others of like . Nature, the Ante-Nicene Writers, in general, undcrftood of Chrift. And therefore it is ex- ceed hig clear, that, according to the Dodrinc of that Time, the fecond Perfon of the Trinity
'Tcrtull. Trax. c. i^.Cypr:^n. ml. Jud. I. i. c. 6. p. 34. Hufcb. Dem, Ef. \.^. c. 4. p. 124. Lacinn. Epito/n. c. 44. p. 116. EJit. Dav, /^y?.p.4G4. Edit Ox.EpiJl.'-^nod.Anmch. Labb.Toiw. i.p.S4)-.
""Nozat.Trm. c. 12.
"Inmus, I.3.C. 2o.p. 214. 1.4. C.53.P. 273.
* Ircn^us, 1. 3 . c. 2 c . p. 2 ! 4 2: • cdl. Cor.tt . Marc, I. 4. C. 10. ■ */mi<£«;, 1. 5.C.20.P. 2 14. J. 14. c. 33. p. 273.
y Cyprian. TeJiimA. 2. c. 6. p. 3 f . Eufib. D(m. Ev. 1. 5-. C 22. p. 2 49 . Epifi. Syr.oJ. Ar.tioch. Labif. Tom . i . p. 84)-.
' Cypri.^n. TcjL I i.e. 6. p. ; f . Euf. D^,m. Ev. 1. ;-. c. 2 6. p. 2 j- 1 .
» Cypmn. Teji. 1. 2, c. 6 . p. 3 f . Lfichint. Efit. p. 116. Ed. Da^^.
is
Qu. II. offome dU E R I E S. 35^
hihcLord'y t\\c Lord God-, xhz Almighty God- the Lord God of Abraham^ ifaaCy and Jacob ; ^\\zJehovah\ the Lord o^ Hofts -, xhc Mighty God', the Only God ; and bcfidcs whom there is no God ; the God of Ifrael, &c. All this, I fay, Chrift is, according to the Doclrinc of thofe early Times : not exclufive of the Father, any more than the Father is fuch, exclufive of the Son ; but together with the Father : That is. Father and Son Both are the one Supreme God : Not one in Terfon, as you freq:icntly and groundlefly infinuate, but in Stibjlancey To-jier and Terfe^ion. I know, you have an Evafion, by which you hope to elude the force of all that has been urged. But whvn I have {hown you, how weak and infuificicnt your Pretence is; I hope, I fhall hear no more of it.
* In another part of your Book {p. 20.) you pretend that Chrift fpakc only in the Verfo/i of the Father j and that when He (aid, for in- ftance, / am the God of Bethel (Gen. 31. 15,) the meaning is no more than this; Jehovah rjjhoom I reprefent , and in ''j::hofe Name I fpeak, is the God of Bethel. Had you given it only as your own Interpretation of this, nnd the like Texts, it might be very excufabic; But having told us what you mean by Ipeaking in the Terfon of God the Father, you after- wards add, that it was the unanimous Opinion of all Antiquity, that Chrift appcar'd and fpakc
» SeealfoCldxVesScn^. Dodtr. p, loi.ali^i p.y4.
m
54 ^DEFENSE Qu. IL
in the Terfon of God the Father {p, 22.) lea- ving your Englijh Reader to believe, that your novel Explication was the current Do6lrine of all Antiquity. The thing may be true in fome Senfe^ fuch as is foreign to your Purpofe : But in your Scfifc^ it is notoriouily falfe, as all that have look'd into Antiquity very well know. However, for the Benefit of the common Rea- der, I will fliow that the good Fathers applied thcfe Texts to Chrift confider'd in his own ^erfon 5 and not in the Father's only. This fhall be made clear to a Demonftration, both from particular Teftimonies of the fame Fa- thers ; and from the general Scope, Drift, and Defign of thofe Writers, in quoting the Texts before mentioned,
"^Clement of Alexandria, citing Exod. 20. 2. I am the Lord thy God, &c. and underftanding it of Chrift, obferves particularly, that Chrift faid this of Himlelf, in his own Verfon.
^ TertuUh'M, interpreting lf,\,\%, and Mic, 7. 1 8. of Chrifi, makes the like remark.
\\ Irenaus, having cited £';t'^^. 3. 6. {lam the God of Abraham, and the God of Ifaac, &c.) which He undcrftands as fpoken by Chrift-,
* n«>i«v ovi oruv Xiyv, J^]^ b" <^.'« ZJ-^otraTTa, ixvrov c^oMyu zs-aiaec- yi-jyov. iyco Kt.'p<c5 o ©£:$ tr>£, o ituyxym en c/a y«? AiyuTTia. Clem. Alex. Psed. 1. i c.y. p. 131. Edit. Ox.
fEx Ipfius Domini pcrfona, ^c. Tert.Comr.MarcA. 4. c. 10.
Ij Per Hsec utique manifeftum fecit quoniam is qui dc Rubo locutus eft Moyfi, & Manifcftavit s e efle Dcum Patrum, Hie eft viventium Dcu^ Ipfe igitur Chriftus cum Patre Vivorum eft
Dcus, qui locutus eft Moyfi, qui 6c Patribus manifeftatus eft. Iren. 1. 4. c. y. p. 232. Seel. 3.c.(J. 1.4. c. u.
Qu. II. offome Q^U E R I E S. 35
goes on thus. " From hence (Chrift) made it *^ plain, that He who fpakc to Mofes out of the " Bufli, and manifefted Himfelf to be the C^od " of the Fathers, is the God of the Living, And after a deal more in that Chapter to fhow that the Father and Son are One and the fame God, He concludes to this efFeft. " Chrift " Himfelf ihcndoiiCyV/ith the Father,is the God " of the Livingy who fpake to M^it/^j-, and was " manifefted to the Fathers.
Novatiariy having obferved that the Angel which appeared to "^ Agar, ^y^r^^'s Maid, was reprefented in Holy Scripture as Lord and Gody after fome reafoning upon it, fuitable to the pre- vailing Principles of his own Times, as well as of the Times preceding, Sums up the whole in this Manner. " ^ Wherefore if the prefent " Paffage cannot fuit with the Terfon of the " Father, whom it would not be proper to call " an Angely nor to the Terfon of an Angela " which it would not be proper to call God ; " but it may comport with the Terfon of " Chrift to be God , as the Son of God ; " and to be an Angel too, as fent to reveal his «' Father's Will : The Hereticks ought to con-
* See Gtnefis c. 1 6.
t Ergo fi hie locus neque Ter[on& Patris congruit ne Angelus didlusfit, neque P^/o/z-fi Ani^eli, ne Deus pronuntiatus lit : Vtrfon^ autem Chrifti convenit, ut&Deus fit, quia Dei Filiuseft, & An- gelus fit, quoniam paternx difpofitionis Adnuntiator eft j inreUigere debent contra Scripturas fe agere Hceretici, qui Chriflum quuni dicant fe Sc Angelum credere, nolint etiam ilium Dsum pro- nuntiarc ■ Novat. c. 26. p. 724. ^ ^ ^ ^ ,,
Synod. Antioch. Ep.
« fidcr
s6 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. II.
" fidcr that They run counter to the Sacred " Writ, while They admit that Chrift is an An- *' gely and yet refufe to acknowledge that He " is God alfo. Here, you'll obferve, that, ac- cording to Novatian, it was to the Terfon of Chrift, not to the Terfon of God the Father, that the Title of G^^and Lord^ in this or the like Inftances , belongd ; and that therefore they are given to Him in his own Ter forty in his own right, as God's Son and Confubftantial with Him; than which nothing can be more diametrically oppofite to Your's , or to Dr. Clarke^ Hypotkefls. It is not faid, Gody only as having true dominion and Authority y but, as God's Son y and that implies, with Novatiany Siibftanti£ Communioneniy real and ejjential Divinity *.
I fhall next fhow you the fame of Jtifiin Martyr 'y and then beg your Pardon for the Impertinence of infifting fo long upon what none, one might think, that has ever fecn the Antients, could make the Icaft Qucftion of. " Permit me, fays He, to (how yoa alfo out " of the Book of ExoduSy how the very fame *' Pcrfon, who appeared to Abraham and Ja- " coby as an Angel, and God, and Lord, and " Man, appear'd to Mofes in a Flame of Fire " out of the Bu(h, and talked with Him. A little after, He adds thefe remarkable Words.
* C. 3 T. Compare Ch. 1 1 . Utenim prcefcripfit Ipfa natura Homt- nem credcndum cill", qui cxhominc fit : itacadem natura prxfcri- bit; 2c Deum crcdcudum ciTe, qui ex Deo lit.
" * You
Qa. II. offome q\J E R I E S. 37
" * Have you fcen, Gentlemen, that the " Angel , which Mofes fays convcrs'd with '' Him in the Flame of Fire; that very " Ferfon being God, fignifies to Mofes that " Himfelf is the God of Abraham, and of " Ifaac, and t?/' Jacob? I will not fo far di- ftruft your Judgment, as to add any farther Comment to fo plain Words. I need but juft hint to any who know Jtifin Martyr y that He, zs^^cW^^s Novatian^ rcfolvcs the 'Z)/- 'vinityoi Chrift into his '\ SonJIojp -^ mASonfloip into II Communication of the fame divine Sua- fiance: Which I remark chiefly againftDr.C/^ryi^, who feems to admit that thole Titles bclong'd to the Terfi)n of Chrift ; which is more than I ap- prehend you do. It were very eafy to add par- ticular Paflages to the fame purpofe from other Fathers; but it was, in a manner, need lefs to have mention'd thefe. For, the general fcopc, drift, and defign of the primitive Writers, in this Cafe, fhows fufficiently what I contend for. Their defign was to prove Chrift's "D'rcinitj ; to fhow that there was another Terfon^ be- fides the Father, w^ho was really Lord and God', and that this Ferfon v/as Chrifi. This is the avowed defign clear through Jiifiins
yoe, ^i?^u^/}Ktteci uvlco, tToq ccliToq Qioc, cov <ry>f/joi,i(rif^'^ r Ho fA/octi fttetuTof sftV 6 €>io<i A'^^»oi(At f^ Ij-aciK ^ \oty.uZ. Juft. Mart. Dial. p. 210.
Compare Apol. r . p. I 2 3. To 3 iff3/jov c^ Sur^ ri* Ma/o-h iya t:a,i o ay, oQio<; A^^oiuyj j^.jOfo? Icraax. <c 0 ^£>i\c, \xku^, (c 0 0ia< T a-aii- ^ay T-^, (r,if//ccyiiK<}y rS ^^ ^a^^uyiviocc, c^crivi; ^//«» fc" ilvAi aut5 ri Xfifa
uy^aTrim. See my Anfwcr to Dr. Vtloitby p. f?. tp- 185.7^. J178. 280. Sylb.Ed. )j p. i83,37 3.Ed.Jebb.
I T^ialogue ;
3 8 ^DEFENSE Qu. II.
dialogue ; and ihe like may be faid of Nova- tian, Terttillian^ Cyprian^ Irenaiis and the Reft (except Eufebms who fometimes varied in this Matter) where they cite thefe Texts, which I have given you a Lift of.
T he Argument they ufcd, is this. There is a Perfon frequently ftiled God and Lordj Je- hovah^ Almighty^ &c. who convers'd with Adamy appear'd to the Tatriarchsy and all along headed and conduced the People of the Jews. This Perfon could not be an Angel only : fuch high Titles could never belong to any meer Angel. He could not be God the Father : His Office was minifterialy He is called an Angel, Hzappeafd^ He condefcended to take upon Him human Shape, and other refem- blances * : Thefe Things do not fuit with the frjl Terfon of the Trinity. Well then ; who could He be, but God the Son ? Who being really God, might, in his own right, truly and . juftly affume thofe high Titles ; and yet being Second owly in the ever bleifed Trinity, and defigning, in his own due Time, to take human Nature upon Him, might more fuitably con- defcend to ad minifterially among Men, ( a proper prelude to his Incarnation which fhould come after) and fo might be, not only Gody but an Angel too. This is their Argument, as
* I do not find, that //jepurefimplicity of the divine Nature -wns 'ezer ttr^eJ, in this Cafe, as a reafon why it could not be the Father : ncr, that the human Affeifrions and Aftions afcribed to this Angel, ■were underfiood literally, or otherivife than by vay of Figure. Ter- twWhn gives a very dtjfsrent account of it, fJjQwin^ how all might bt und(^Jiood B-HTT^tTTi^i. Contr. Marc. 1. 2. CVCtV
Qu. II. offome QV E R I E S. 35)
every one knows, that knows any thing of thefe Matters. Now, fuppofc that thcfc good Fathers had underftood. Gen. 31. 13- as you do ; I am the God of Bethel : That is, my Father, whom I reprefent , is the God of BetheL What a trifling Argument would you here put in- to their Mouths ? ^' Chrift declares that the Pcr- " fon, whom He reprefents, is God and Lord : " therefore Chriji is God, &c. Or propofc the Argument thus, upon your Hypothefis: "The " LordGod (the Father) called unto Adam.Gzvi, " 8.9. God [aid unto Abraham, c^r. Gen. 2 i.i 2J " that is, God the Father fpoke by his Son ; " therefore the Son is called God, and is God. Can any thing be more ridiculous ? The Con- clufion which Jitfttn Martyr draws from the whole, and which He triumphantly urges againfl: Trypho, is this ; that Chrift is really Lord and God. * ®^of HaX«TC3U5 K^ (Bios hi k^ hai- The O- ther Writers draw the fame Conclufion from the famePremifes 5 a Conclufion without any Thing to fupport it, had they underftood thcfc Texts, as you pretend They did. In Ihort, the very Ground and Foundation of all They fay upon this Article, is built upon a Suppofition diame- trically oppofite to Your's ; fo little countenance have you from Antiquity. Farther , They all conclude that the Perfon declaring Himfclf to be God and Lord, &c. could not be an Angel ; not a meer Angel. There is feme Scnlc la this 5 if youftippofean Angel declaring, in his
*Juft.Dial.p.i76.Ed.Jebb. Seemy AnfwertoDr.ff^^;i>^.p.5'i'&^-
40 y? D E F E N S E Qu. II.
(TJi'n T^crfon, that he is God and Lord. It is blafphemous and abfurd for any mccr Angel to make fuch Declaration. But, fuppofing it meant of the Perfon of the Father, why might not any Angel declare,\vhat is certainly true, that the Father is God, or deliver God's Errand in his own Words? Had the Fathers thought, as you do, they mufl: have argued thus, very weakly: It could not be ameer Angel that appeared, or that fpokc thus and thus. Why ) Becaufe the Perfon who fent Him, and who undoubtedly is the God of the Univcrfe, is called God and Lord. Of all the filly Things that Ignorance and Malice have combined to throw upon the primitive Mar- tyrs and Defenders of the Faith of Chrift, I have not met with one comparable to this. I am therefore willing to believe, that you did not mean to charge them with it 5 but only exprefs'd your felf darkly and obfcurely ; which yet fhould not have been done, by one who would be care- ful not to miflead, even an unwary Reader. I would here make one Remark, and leave it with you: And that is, of the * ftricl Senfe wherein the j^nt tents ufed the word God, as applied to the Son, They argued that it could not be an Angel that appeared. Why > becaufe the Perfon appear- ing was called God. Thus NovatiaUj who fpeaks the Senfe of all the reft, ^loinodo ergo Deus fi Angelas fuit 5 cum non Jit hoc nomen Angelis
* Other Argmnents of the firi^ Senfe of the UortU God, cis ufed by the Ante-Nicenc IVriterSy and applied to the Soriy maybe feen in Dr. Fiddes, p. 374, &c.
unquam
Qu. II. offome Q\J E R I E S. 41
concejjum * ? But how then is He God, if no more than Angela fince Angels never had the privilege of fo high a Title ? Novatian allows (Ch. 1 5-) that Angels have been called Godsy meaning in the loofe Figurative Senfe : But here He plainly fignifies that the Word, God^ when applied to the Son^ is to be underftood in the ftrid and proper Senfe : And thus the Antients in general underftood it. Angelsy the very higheft order of Creatures, were not by them thought worthy of the Name and Title of God. It would have been highly abfurd, in their Judgment, to have given it them, in fuch a Senfe, and in fuch Circumftances, as they applied it to the Son, They knew nothing of your Rela- tive Senfe of the Word : They knew better. But this by the Way : Let us return to our Subjed. You'll ask me now perhaps, what did fome of the Fathers mean, thofe efpecially whom you have quoted in the Margin (p. 22.) by the Son of God's appearing, and f peaking in the Terfon of God the Father ? I have fliown you what they certainly did not mean : And if I could not fo readily account for the other, it is of lefs Moment 5 the Caufe being little con- cern d in it. But I (hall endeavor to fatisfy you in this point alfo.
You have but two Qiiotations, which arc any thing to the Purpofe : One out of TheophilnSy Bifhop of Antioch 5 and the other from Ter- tullian. And they indeed, verbally, may feem to countenance your Notion 5 tho', in re/Jity, * Ch. 26. E f ^cy
42 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. 11.
they meant nothing Hke it. But, what did they mean, one by, * cynr^o-ouVcoTy Osy, the other by, 'f AiiEioritate & nomine (Patris?) Let it be confidered, that the fccond Pcrfon, in the Texts above cited, is not reprefentcd under his own perfonal diftinguifliing Charader, as a Son, or fccond Perfon, or Mefliah, or Media- tor, as he has been fmce. It is not iliid, that the Son of the Lord God called unto Adam 5 but the Lord Godcalledy 3ccJ| It is not, I I am the Son of the God of Bethel, &c. But am the God of Bethel, 5 and fo in the reft. Chrift therefore, in thefe, or the like Texts, is not reprefentcd under his own peculiar Cha- rafter 5 but under fuch a Charader as is common to the Godhead, to the Father and Him too. This Charafter, fince the diftinftion of Perfons has been revealed to us, has been, in a more eminent and peculiar Manner, referved to the Father. He is reprefentcd eminently now as God; and Chrift, zs Son of Gcd -■, ox: Mediator, or MeJJiah, Chrift having before took upon Him that Part, Charader, or Office, which fuice that time has been referved, in a peculiar man- ner, to the Father, may be faid to have aded in the '^Perfon of the Father, or in the Najne of the Father ; that is, under the fame Charader or Capacity , which the Father now chiefly bears with refped to Men. This He might well do, being equally qualified for either. As
* Thcoph. ad Autol. I.i. p. 229. Ox. Ed.
t TeriuU. adv. Marc. 1.2. c.27. |jGcn. 3. 9.
Son
Qu. IL offome Q^U E R I E S. 45
Son of Gody He was really God i and as Son of the Almighty, He was Almighty ^ in his own rights as * Tertiillian exprcUcs it : And therefore might as juftly bear the Stile and Title of Lord Gody God of Abraham, &c. while He aded in that Capacity, as He did that of Me- diatory Mejfiahy Son of the Father y &c. after He condefcended to ad in another, and to dis- cover his pcrfonal Relation.
You cited thefe Words of Terttdlian : Cujus Au5ioritate *t* & nomine ipfe erat ''Dens, qui 'videbatUTy T>ei Filius. Which might have been rendred thus. " The Son of God who ap- " peared, He was God {acting in his {^he Fa- " thefs) Name, and with his Authority. And had you but cited the next immediate Words, you might have difcpvercd the true meaning of that Paffage. Sed & penes noSy Chriftns in perfona Chriftiy quia & hoc modo 710ft er eft : That is to fay : But with us (Chriftians) Clirift is alfo underftood under the Characler , or Per- fon, of the Meffiah : Becaufe He is ours in this Capacity alfo : That is, He is not only our God'y but our Mediator and Redeemer. And under that Charader we receive Him, as being more peculiar to Him, beyond what He has in common with the Father. Formerly He was received and adored under the one common Cha-
* Suo jure Omnipotens qua Filius Omnipotcntif— - cum Sc Filius Omnipotentis tarn Omnipotens fit, quam Deus Dei Fihus. Trax. c. 17. p. 5-20,
t Contr. Marc. 1. 2. c. 27.
E z racier
44 u^ D E F E N S E Qii. H.
rafter of God^ Lord^ and Jehovah : not mcerly as reprefcntativc of God the Father, or as in- vefted with his Authority, but as ftridly and truly Gody Confubjlantial with God the Father 5 according to the unanimous Opinion of all the Anthnts, and * of Thofe in particular, who fpeak of his afting in the Narne^ or Terfon of the Father. But now, having a new Title to di- ftinguifli Him by, we receive Him in Both Ca- pacities : as God, by Nature \ and as Mefliah, or Mediator, by Office.
The Sum then of the Cafe is this : When Chfift appeared to the TatriarchSy and clalm'd their Obedience, Homage, and Adoration $ He did not do this under the Name and Charafter which He has fincc difcovered to be perfonal and peculiar to Him 5 but under another 5 which \s His too, but in common with the Fa- ther j namely that of Lord God, God Almighty , &c. and being fincc difcovered not to be the Father Himfelf, but the iJ^;/ 5 nox. unorigi7iatedy but God of God, all that he did muft be re- ferred back to the Father, the Head and Foun- tain of All; whofe Authority He cxcrcis'd, whofc Orders He executed, and whofe Terfon, CharaBer, ox Office, He(inrome fenfc) rcprcfcnt- cd and fuftained. Thus, under the -f New Tefta- mcnt alfo, He referred all that He did to the Au- thority of the Father, as the firft Original, and
* See TrtieScript. Bocir.ccnumed, p. 196.
tVid. Tertull. Contr. Prax. c. 21. p. 5-12. E^o reni in Fatris mei mmiiif Adeo fempcr Films erat in Dci & R' gis 8c
Eominif & Omnipotcntis, £c AitifTimi nomine.
Foun-
Qii. II. ^//^w^ (QUERIES. 45
Fountain of all Power, Pre-eminence, Dignity, ^c. ading in His Name, executing his Will, and reprcfenting his Perfon. ( / and my Father are one^ Joh. 10.30. He that hathfeen me^ hath feen the father^ joh. 14. 9. / can of my oiim [elf do 7iothmgy *Joh. 5.30.) And yet whatever is faid of Chrift, is to be undcrftood of him in his ovjn Ter- fan ; and not of the Father only, whom He re- prefented. In fine, it is not neceflary that every one who ads in the Name^ or by the Authority y or in the Terfon of another, ihould nfurp the Stile of that other, and fpeak in the frft Terfon : e.g. A Viceroy y or an AmbaJJador fpeaks in the King's Nam£, and by his Authority ^ and reprefents his 'Perfon : But does not Terfonate the King, in the ftrifteft Senfe ; does not pretend to fay, lam the ■King. And therefore you can draw no certain Conclufion from the two Paflages of Theophilus and Tertullian. On the contrary, I have fhown you from the whole drift, Tenor, and Tendency, as well as from particular Tedimonics of the primitive Writings, that they are far from favour- ing your pretences in this Cafe, but are a perfed Contradidion to them. From what hath been faid, thcfe three Things are very plain and evident. I . That according to theMind of the Antients, the Son was GW, and fo called in his own Terfon.
* Fllius vifus efl femper, & Filiusopcratus eft Temper ex auaori- ;tate PatrisSc voluntatc: quia Filius nihil a fwietiffa potcji f^cere, pifi liclerit Pattern Jactentemy in fenfu fcilicct facicntcm. Pater enim Icnfu agit: Filius vero, qui in Patrit icnfu eft, vidons perficit. Tu^hU. adv. Ptax. cap. i j.
E 3 3 That
45 :^ D E F E N S E Qu. IL
2. That he was God in his own Perfon, as being God's Son,
3. That He was Gods Soriy as having the divine Stibftance communicated from the Fa- ther.
Thcfe three Confiderations intirely take off the force of whatever either You or Dr. Clarke hath offered to perplex and puzzle a very clear and manifeft Truth.
I have infifted chiefly on the firft Particular, as was proper in this place; though I have, in pafling, hinted enough of the two latter alfo ; efpecially confidering that they will often be glanced at again, in the procefs of our Difpute.
Thus, I hope, I have fufficiently vindicated the Argument of this Second Query, having fhown from plain Scripture Texts, that Chrift is not excluded from being the one Supreme God in Conjundion with the Father ; and taken off your Exceptions : And left this fhould feem infufficient, I have confirmed it farther, from the unanimous confent of all Antiquity, before the Council of Nice $ which is what your felf appeal to in the Cafe. This Article indeed has hereby been drawn out into a difproportionate 'Length : But the Importance of it is a fuffi- cient Apology. Were you able Satisfadtorily to , anfwer the following Qiieries ; This one, while it fiands unanfwered, would be enough for alL But I proceed,
Q U E R r
Qii. III. offome Q^U E R I E S. 47
Q^ U E R Y III.
JVhetker the Word (God) hi Scripture^ can reafonably be fuppojed to carry an auibis^u- ous 7neanmgy or to be ttfed in a ditfcixnt Senfe^ when applied to the Father and Son, in the fame Scripture ^ and even in the fame Vcrfe ? See Joh. i. i.
HERE you make Anfwer 5 that the IFord ( God ) in Scripture^ hath a relative Signification-, and is ufed in a fupreme and a fiibordinate Senfe. And you appeal to Exod. 7. I. I have made Thee a God to Tharaoh-^ and to Plal. 82. i. Godftandeth in the Affem- bly of Gods ; judgeth among Gods ; and you dcfire that Joh. 10. 34, 35. may be compared 5 Is it not written in your La-ji', I faid ye are Gods ? &c. You are impatient, I perceive, to come to your Diftindlion of Supreme and Sub- ordmate-y which, you imagine, clears all Diffi- culties, and you will not ftay to confider what ought to be faid firft. The firft and mod ge- neral Diftinftion of the Senfes of the Word, Gody fliould be into proper and improper 5 after which it will be foon enough to come to your famed Diftindion of Supreme and Subordinate. Dr. Clarke, indeed, would perfuade us, that the proper Scripture-Notion of God is 'Domi- nion', and that therefore any Perfon having "Dominion^ is, according to the Scripture-No- E 4 tion,
4S ^DEFENSE Qu. III.
tion, trttlyy and properly God. This fhall be examined ; but it will be convenient here to fct down the Dodor's own Words. " The Word *^ ©£0f, God, has in Scripture, and in all Books *' of Morality and Religioriy a relative Signi- " fication; and not, as in metaphyjical Books, " an abfolute one : as is evident from the re- " /^^/V^ Terms, which in ;;^^r^/ Writings may " always be joined with it. For inftance , In " the fame manner as we fay my Father, wy *' King, and the like; fo it is proper alfo to ^ fay, my God, the God of Ifrael, the God *^ of the Univerfe, and the like : Which words " are expreffive of Dominion and Government. " But, in the metaphyfical Way, it cannot be " faid my Infinite Subftance, the Infinite Sub- *^ ftance of Ifraely or the like *. He repeats the Obfervation {p. 290.) ^ And is very pofitive that the word God-, in Scripture, is always a relative Word of Offce\ giving the fame pret- ty Rcafon for it, as before. This fhall be care- fully confidered ; and the manner of fpeaking accounted for, in the fequel.
I fhall only obferve here, by the way, that the Word, Star, is a relative Word, for the fame Rcafon with that, which the Doftor gives for the other. For , the Star of your God Rempbarij (Acts 7.43) is a proper Exprclllon : But, in the metaphyjical Way, it cannot be faid, the luminous Subftance (?/\7(?//r God Rern,"
* See Dr. ClarkcV Rr/'/y, p. 284.
\ Comf are alfo Script. Do^ir. p.2p<5. alias 2,64.
phm.
Qu. III. of fame dU E R I E S. 40
phan. So again 5 JVater is a relative Word ; For it is proper to lay, the Water of IJrael: But, in the metaphyJicnlM^^iy^ it cannot be laid, the fluid Subftance of Ifrael-^ 1 he Exprefllon is * improper. By parity of Realbn, wc may make relative Words, ahiioft as many as wc pleafe. But to proceed : I maintain that T)o- Tninion is not the full import of the word GW, in Scripture ; that it is but a part of the Idcay and a fmall part too 5 and that, if any Pcrfon be called GW, meerly on account of ^ominion^ He is called fo by way of Figure and Refem- blnnce only ; and is not properly God, accord- ing to the Scripture-Notion of it. We may call any one, a King, who lives free and indepen- dent, fubjeft to no Man's Will. He is a King fo far, or in fomc refped j tho' in many other refpefts, nothing like one ^ and therefore not properly a King. If by the fame Figure ^ of Speech, by way of Allufion and Relcm- blance, any thing be called- God, becaufc rc- fembling God in one or more Particulars ; wc are not to conclude, that it is properly, and truly God.
To enlarge fomething farther upon this Head i and to illuftratc the Cafe by a few In-
♦ It is 'very obvious to perceive, where the impropriety cf [uch Ex- prejjions lies. The word Subftance, according to the common ufe of Language^ when ufed in the Singular NMnber, is fnppyfed to be intrinfick to the Thing fpoken of whofe Subjl^mce it is i and rndeed, to betheThing it f elf. My Subfl(i72ce, ts my Self: and the SubjUuce of Ifrael, is Ifrael, And hence it comes to be improper to jtin Sub- francc with the relative Terms, underflandin^ it of any thing ex- Ifinfickr
ftanccs.
5(5 :.^ D E F E N S E Qu. IIL
ftances. Part of the Idea which goes along with the Word Gody is, that his Habitation is fublime, and his dwelling not with Flejh^ Dan. 2. II. Tiiis part of the Idea is applicable to Angels J or to Saint s^ and therefore they may thus far be reputed Gods -, and are fomctimes fo ftiled in Scripture, or Ecclefiaftical Writings. Another part of the complex Idea of God, is giving orders from Above, and publifhing com- mands from Heaven. This was, in fome Senfe, applicable to Mofes ; who is therefore called a God unto Tharoah : not as being properly a God 5 but inftead of God, in that Inftance, or that refembling Circumftance. In the fame re- fped, every Prophet, or Apoftle^ or even a Miniflrerof aParifh, might be figuratively call- ed God. T^ominion goes along with the Idea of God, or is apart of it, and therefore Kings ^ princes, and Magiftrates^ refembling God in that refped, may, by the like Figure of Speech, be ftiled Gods : not properly } for then we might as properly fay, God 'Davidy God Solo- fnonj or God Jeroboam^ as King IDavidy &c. but by way of Allufion, and in regard to fome impcrfcd rcfemblance which they bear to God in fome particular refpefts 5 and that is all. It belongs to God, to receive Worfhip, and Sa- crifice, and Homage. Now, becaufe the Hea- then Idols fo far refembled God, as to be made the Objeds of Worfliip, &c. Therefore they •alfo, by the fame Figure of Speech, are by the Scripture denominated Godsy x\\o at the fame
time,
Qu. III. of fame QUERIES. 51
time, they are declared, in a proper Scnfc, to be no Gods, The Belly is called the God of the Luxurious, ThiL 3.19. becaufe fomcarc as much devoted to the Service of their Bellies^ as others are to the Service of GW5 and be- caufe their Lulls have got the dominion over them. This way of fpeaking is, in like manner, grounded on fome imperfed Refemblance, and is eafily underftood. The Prince of the Devils is fuppofed, by mod Interpreters, to be called the God of this World, 2 Cor. 4. 4. If fo, the Reafon may be, either becaufe the Men of this World are intirely devoted to his Service 5 or that He has got the Power and Dominion over Them.
Thus we fee, how the word God, according to the popular way of fpeaking, has been applied to Angels, or to Men, or to Things inanimate and infenfible ; becaufe fome part of the Idea be- longing to God, has been conceived to belong to them alfo. To argue from hence, that any of them \% properly God, is making the whole of a part 5 and reafoning fallacioufly, a di^o fecimdtim quid, as the Schools fpeak, ad di- Bum fimpUciter, If we inquire carefully into the Scripture-Notion of the Word, we fhall find, that neither T>ominion fmgly, nor all the other Inftances of Refemblance make up the Idea*., or are fufficient to denominate any Thing properly God. When the "Prince of 7>r^ pretended to be God, Ezek. 28. 2. He thought of fomething more than nicer "Domi- - nion
sz ^DEFENSE Qa. III.
nion to make Him fo. He thought of Strength invincible, and Power irrefiftible : and God was pleas'd to convince Him of his Folly and Vanity, not by telling Him how fcanty his 'Dominion was, or how low his Office *y but how weak, frail, and perifliing his Nature was 5 that He ^w as Man only, and not God. v. 2. 9. an^ fhould furely find fo by the Event. When the LycaonianSy upon the fight of a Miracle wrought by St. Tanly (Afts 14. 1 1.) took Him snd Barnabas for Gods ; They did not think fo much of Dominion^ as of Tower ^ and Abi- lity, beyond Human : And when the Apoftles anfwer'd them, they did not tell them that their Dominion was only Human-, or that their Office was not Divine -, but that they had not a divine Nature: They were weak, frail, and feeble Men ; of like Infirmities with the reft of their Species, and therefore no Gods,
If we trace the Scripture-Notion of one that is truly and properly God ; we fliall find it made up of thefe feveral Ideas ; Infinite Wifdom, Power invincible, All-fufficiency, and the like. Thefe are the Ground and Foundation of Do- minion y which is but a fecondary Notion, a Con- /equcncc of the Former : And it muft be Domi- nion SupremCy and none elfe, which will fuit with the Scripture- Notion of God, It is not that of a Governor, a Ruler, a T*roteBor, a Z.(?r^, or the like; but a /2>L'^r^/^;^ Ruler, an al- Wghty Proteftor, an omnifcient and omniprefent
Gover-
Qu. III. offome Q.U E R I E S. 55
Governor : An eternal, immutable, all-fufficicnt Creator y Treferver^ zxidTrotecior. Whatever falls fliort of this, is not properly ^ in the Scrip- ture-Notion, God ; but is only called fo by way of Figure 5 as has before been explained. Now, if you ask me why the relative Terms may properly be applied to the Word God\ the reafon is plain 5 becaufe there is fomething re- lative in the whole Idea of God 5 namely, the notion of Governor y Trote^or, &c. If you ask why they cannot fo properly be applied to the Word, God, in thzmetaphyjtcal Senfe-^ be- fide the reafon before given, there is another as plain 5 becaufe Metaphyjicks take in only one/^r^of theldea, confider the iV^^/^r^ ab- ftradled from the Relation^ leaving the relative Part out.
From what hath been faid, it may appear how ufclefs and infignificant your Diftiniftion is of a fupreme and a fiibordinate God. For, not to mention that this muft unavoidably run you into Tolytbeifniy and bring you to aflert more Gods than one, contrary to the whole Tenor of Holy Scripture 5 which is an * infuperable Objedion to your Hypo- thefis\ I fay, not to mention this at prc- fent, your Hypothejis is built upon a falfe Ground, as if any thing could hz properly God, that is not Supreme, Supreme^ in the itrid
* See what Dr. Bennct has very well nr^ed ufon tUs He»d : Difc. ot theH. Trin. p. 178, &c.
Scnfe,
54 ^DEFENSE Qu. IIL
Senfe, fuppofes for its ground all the eflential Properties of one truly and properly God, as defcribed in Scripture. Another God after this, is no Gody becaufe Scripture makes but 6?;^^ 3 hefides that an * inferior God is only God im- properly^ and fo called by way of Figure^ or in fome particular refped : So that at length your famed Diftindion of a fiipreme and fub- ordinate God, refolves into a Gody and no God, The Queftion then, between us, is, whether Chriftbe God/r^/^r/r, ot improperly to called i that is, whether He be God, or no. Your Arguments to prove Him a fitbordinate God on- ly, I fhall look upon as fo many Arguments a- gainft his T^ivinity j and as defign'd to prove that He is not God.
You cite J oh, 10.35,36. If He called them Godsy to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be broken : Say ye of Him^ whom the Father hath fanBified^ and fent into the Worlds Thou blafphemefly becaufe I faidy lam the Son of God! From hence you
* Neque enim proximi crimus opinionikis Nationum, qux (i cjuando coguntur Dciim confiteri, tamen & Alios infra Ilium volunt. Divinitas autem gradum non habct, iitpote unica. Tertull. ath. Hermag. c. 7. p. 236. Dcus non erit dicendus, quia nee crcden- dus, niii Summum magnum. Nega Deum, quern dicisdcteriorera, Tertull. Contr. Marc. 1. i . c. 6.
Qui fupcr fe habct Aliqucm Superiorem, £c fub Alterius po- tcftate efl; Hie neque DeiiSy neque Magnus Rex dici poteil. Ircn. 1. 4. c, 2. p. 229.
Unus igitur Omnium Dominus eft Deus. Neque cnim ilia fub- limitas potefl: habere Confortcm, cum Sola omnium teneat po- teflatem. Cyp. h IdoL Van, p. i^.Ox. Edit.
endea-
Qii. III. offome Q^U E R I E S. ^ ^
endeavor to prove, that Chrift is God in the fubordinate Senfe only j that is, as I have laid, not properly or trtdy God. But I can fee no manner of ground for this Inference from the Words before us. Our Bleflcd Lord had in- finuated that He was really and truly God ,• but had not aflerted it in plain and exprefs Terms : Upon this bare innuendo^ the Jews charge Him with dired Blafphemy : He to evade their Ma- lice and to keep to the Truth, neither affirms, nor denies that He meant it in the Senfe which they apprehended. However, his Difcourfe be- ing in general Terms, and not expUcite enough to found a Charge of Blafphemy upon, He ap- peals to their Law, in order to fhow, that it is not always Blafphemy ^ to make one's felf Gody or to apply the Title of God, even to mortal Men, and Men inferior to Himfelf, confidercd only as Man. This was anfwer fufficient to Them 5 who could not from his own Expref- fions clearly convid Him of meaning more, than that He was God in the improper Senfe of the Word, as it had been ufed, Tfal. 82. 6. Neverthclefs, He leaves the point of his T^ivi- 7iity undecided ; *or rather, (till goes on to in- finuate, in Words which they could not dire(n:- ]y lay hold on, the very Thing which they charged Him with. This enraged them (o much the more : and therefore they again fought to take Him, v, 39. But He efcaped out of their Hand. This Interpretation may fuffice to take off the force of your Argument. Vet the ^ Words
56 ^DEFENSE Qii. IIL
Words may admit of other and perhaps better Interpretations, confident with the Principles which I here maintain *.
You proceed to cite Heb, i. 8, 9. and argue thus : He who being Gody calls another his Gody and is fanctified by Him, muft needs be God in a fnbordinate Senfe ; that is, God im- properly fo called, or no God, To an old Ob- jection, I might return an old Anfwer, in the Words of Hilary y or words to the fame EfFed. " •{• This may fignify only his Subordination, as " a Son, or as God of God, without any Infe- " riority of Nature. The Father is h isGod, as " He is God by being begotten of Him. This Anfwer is direa and full, upon the Suppofition that the Text cited is meant, of the divine Na* ture of Chrift, or of Chrift in his higheft Capa- city. But if it be meant, as II probably it may, of his human Nature only, there is no weight in the Objeftion,
As to the Son's being fan5tifady I fiiould hardly have thought it of any Importance to the Caufe, had it not been twice infifted on by you. May not the Father defign, appomt, confccratc his Son, confidcr'd iti cither Capacity, to the Office of Mediatory W'ithout fuppofing Him of a different and inferior Nature to Him ?
*See True Script. BoHr. continued, p. 178. Bifterficld contr. Crcil. p. ^17. Surcnhuf. in loc. p. gj'p.
t Ad Nativitatcm refer turj cacterum nonperimit Naturam > & idcirco Deus ejus eft, quia ex eo natus in Deum eft. Hilar, de Trin 1.4.0.35-. P.S4S.
\\ See Bennet. Difccnrfe on the Trin. p, 3, i , 3 5 , &c.
1 Or,
Qu. III. offome Q^U E R I E S. 57
Or, fiippofc the fanciifying may be meant of the human Nature, which the Father has fandi- fied, by uniting it to the Xoycr, what force will there remain in your Ob)edion> Havino; an- fwcr\l. your Pleas and Pretences for a fiibordi- nate Gody I proceed to fhow that Chrift is not called God in a fttbordinatey or improper Scnfc; but in the fame Senfe, and in as high a Senfe, as the Father Himfelf is fo (tiled.
I. Becaufe He is called the 7^^<:?i;^^, which is a word of abfolute Signification, and is the incommunicable Name of the one true God.
* He is, very probably, called Jehovah, Luk. I. 16, 17. manyfhallHe (viz. 7^^;^ the Baptift) turn to the Lord their God, and He fliall go before Him, The Dodor owns that, in ftrici- nefs of Conftruttion, the words {the Lord their God) muft be underftood of ChriH. And there- fore Chrift is Lord Gody or Jehovah Elohimy which comes to the fame.
He is likewife called the Lord God of the Prophets, as appears from Rev. 22. 6. com- pared with V. 16. of the fame Chapter. This may be farther confirmed by comparing the Texts following.
* See this Text excellently defended and illuflr.itcd in True Scrips tureDoftr, continu'd />. 152, 133, ^c. See alio my Sermons, /. 203.
o
f
5S
A DEFENSE
Qu. III.
Of old hafl thou latd\ the Foundation of the Earth.Viioz, 25. &c. Addr<rfs'd to the Je- hovah,
And the Lord (Je- hovah) faid unto me : Caji it unto the Tot- ter-^ a goodly price that I "oijas prifed at of t kern, Zech. 1 1. 12.
They Jhall look on me (Jehovah fpeaking by the Prophet) ^^'hom they have pierced^ Zech 12. 10.
The Voice of Him that cricth in ike JVil- dernefs, prepare ye the waj of the Lord (Je- hovah) ir. 40. 3.
The Lord faid, I iL'illhave mercy on the Hoiife of judah, and *u:ill fdve them by the Lord (Jehovah) their Gody Hof. 1.7.
""Thou Lordy in the beginning haft laid the hound at ions of the Earthy Heb. 1. 10.
^ Then was fulfil led y That "which was fpo- keny &c. Matth. 27, 9,10.
Another Scripture faithy They foall look on Him (Jefus Chrift) whom they have pier- ced, Joh. 19. 37.
*^ The Voice of one crying in the Wilder - nefsy prepare ye the way of the Lord, Mar.
I. 3.
is born in the
City of David, a Sa- viour, which is Chrift the Lordy Luk. 2. i !•
'i'^fSurenhufn Conciliation, in Joe. p. 600.
'Surenhuf. in loc. p. 280.
*Surcnhuf. in Matth. 3. 3. />. 207. / refer to this Author, to ob- 'viate the pretence, that thefe Texts might bi underjiood only by veay of Accommodation.
►j. I have
Qlt. lit. of fome Q\J E R I E S. ^^
I have produced the Texts again, in order to take notice of the very pecuHar way, which you have of evading. It is your avowed Prin- ciple, that Chrift is not Jehovah in his own Perfon, p. 24. and elfewhere: and that the ^erfon called Jehovah is the Father onlj. Wliat then muft be faid to thefe Texts, which are fo very plain and exprefs to the contrary i infomuch that * Dr. Clarke Himfelf owns, that the name Jehovah is given to that vifihle Perfon (meaning Chrift) who appeared as re- prefenting the Terfon of the invifible God? He does not fay, it was given to the Perfon reprefented only, but to the Perf6n reprefent* ing alfo ; which you feem to deny. But you confound your felf with your f own Comment upon Ho f. 1.7. [Jehovah would— ^fave them by Jehovah their God) That iSy fay you, that Jehovah himfelf wotdd fave them, but not in his own Terfon, Well then ; it is by another Terfon, which Terfon the Text exprefly calls Jehovah,
Upon Zech, 12.10. compar'd with J oh. 1 9- 5 7-^ you Comment thus (/. 26.) The Sufferings of Chrift might well be called the Sufferings of Jehovah, being pierced in Effigie in his Sony who is the exprefs Ima^^e of his Terfon. What a fanciful Turn is here, merely to elude the force of plain Scripture. Say rather, that fince Chrift is the Effigies, the exprefs Image of the Father^ He might juftly be called Je-
F s hovah,
60 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. III.
hovahy which indeed He is, as well as the Fa- ther. I (hall dwell no longer on fo clear and mdifputable a point. What you hint, that the Father and Son cannot Both be Jehovah^ or as you cxprefs it, one individual Being, meaning one Terfony is hardly deferving Notice 5 becaufe it is nothing but playing with the "word indi- vidual *y and difputing againft no Body: Either take the word in our Senfe of it, or pretend not that you oppofe us. It has been obferved above, that Antiquity is every where full and exprefs in this Matter 5 never queftioning, but conftantiy afferting, that the Son is Jehovah -^ and fo called, in Scripture, in his own Terfon^ and in his own r/^/?^, ^s Coeffential Son oi God. The next Thing which I have to obferve, is, that Jehovah is a word of abfolute Significa- tion. The relative Terms do not fuit with it, as with the other. We do not read my Je- hovah, or your Jehovah, or the Jchovala of - Ifraely as is pertinently remarked by a learned * Gentleman; and the fame Gentleman pbferves, that it is fometimes render'd by ®eor, or God-, from whence we may juft take notice, by the way, that the word Osor, or Gody in Scripture, is not always, perhaps very rarely, a meer re* lative Word. That Jehovah is a Word of ^^- foliite Signification, expreffing God, as He is, may be proved, both from f Scripture it felf,
♦ The True Script. Doclr.of thcTrin. cx)ntinued, />. 134. f See this proved in the Appendix to the Confidcrations on Mr. WhiftonV Hiftor.Fref. p. loi.
4. and
Qli. Iir. offome QU E R I E S. 6 r
and the * Authorities of the bed Ciiticks in this Cafe. What you have to objcd ap;ainrt it, (hall be here examined, with all convenient Brevity, f You make the Import of the Name 'Jehovah to be, giving Being to (i. e. Perforniini^) bis Tromifes. For Reafons bed known to your Self, you flip over Exod, 3. v, 14, 15. which might probably give us the mod Light into the Matter J and chufe to found all your Rcafon- ings upon Exod. 6. 2, 3, crc an obfcure Place, on which you have made almofl: as obfcure a Comment. The Words are, I am the Lord (Jehovah) and 1 appeared unto Abraham, ;/w/d? Ifaac, and unto Jacob, by the Name of God Almighty (El Shaddai) but by my Name Je- hovah, was I not known unto them.
You do not, I prefume, fo underftand this Text, as if this was the firft Time that God re- vealed Himfelf by the Name Jehovah. That He had done before, Exod, 3. 14. And even long before That, to Abram^ Gen. 15.7. And Abram had addrefs'd Him, under that Name, fooner. Gen, 15. 2. Nay it may be run up yet higher, even to Adam and Eve, Gen. 4. i . '!
Your meaning therefore, I fuppofe, mud be,
* See the Authorities cited in the fecond Tart of the ConfiJcrations by the fame Author^ p. 2, 3. And rejcrr'd to in True Scripture Doftr. continu'd, />. 133, 134. f p. 19.
IJ M. Le Clerc thinks that all this may be folved ly n Prolcplis. Com. in Exod. 3. v. ly. To which it is fufficieit to Anfver^ ti..it it may be otherwise'-, and that it is highly improbable that Mofcs, wlo was particularly careful not to introduce the Name of Abraham Mnd Sarah, before the proper Time, JJ:ould tiot be as careful in refpcci of a more venerable Natne^ the Name of God Himfelf
F 3 that
6i ^^ D E F E N S E Qii. Ill, that God had given many Inftanccs of his ^ower before, conformable to his Name El Shaddai: But now, He was to give them In- ftances of his Veracity and Conjtancy in fer- forming Tromifes^ conformable to jiis Name Jehovah. This, I think, cither is, or lliould be your Senfe of this obfcure Paflage. That it is not the true fenfe of the Place, is next to be fliown.
I . It appears to be a very ftrain'd and remote Interpretation. The primary Signification of Jehovahy is Beings by your own Confeflion, ^nd as all know, that know any thing : and the mod obvious reafon of the Name, is, that God is Being it felf, neceflarily exifting, indepen- dent, immutable, always the fame 5 According to that of MaL 3.6. I am the Lord (Jehovah) I change not. After this, in the natural Order, He may be confidered as the Fountain of Be- ings or giving Being to all other Things : So that this feems but a fecondary Notion of Je- hovah, Yours is more r^;;^^^^ftill: \t\% giving Beings not to the World, to Angels, or to Men 5 But to Words and Tromifes ; that is, fulfilling Them. And this metaphorical Scnfe of, giving Beings you would put upon us, for the proper and fpecial Import of the Name Jehovah, exprcffing Being, Who does not fee that this is ftraincd and Far fetched )
z. The Reafon which you aflign for this Interpretation, is as lame as the Interpretation it fclf Ggdj it fccms, was now comins; to
' ' ' ■ ■' ■ >///
Qu. IIL of fome Q^U E R I E S. 63
fulfil the promife made to Abraham ; and there- fore reminds his People of the Name "Jehovah ; as importing one faithful and punctual to his Word. But what if Jehovah fhould import one eternal and immutable God, the jame yefierday^ to day^ and for every might not the Confideration thereof be very proper to raife in Men's Minds the greateft Confidence and Afllirance imaginable, that He fliould never fail of his Word ?
2. Befides, what Account will you give of many other Places of Scripture, where God re- minds his People, that He is Jehovah ; and where there is no Reference at all, io promifeSy or the like ?
Thus, in this very Chapter, Exod. 6. 39. I am the Lord: (Jehovah) fpeak thou unto Pharaoh King of Egypt all that I fay unto Thee. Again 5 Againft all the Gods of Egypt, / vuill execute Judgment ; I am Jehovah, Exod. 12. \zf None of you (hall approach to
any that is near of Kin to Him / dvi
Jehovah, Lev. 18.6. 7^;;/ M^L^r^ (Jehovah) that is my Name, and my Glory vuill I not give to another ; neither my praife to graven ^Images, If. 42. 8. * Many more Places of like nature might be cited. But I chufe to refer yoa to a Concordance for them. What I intend from
* Monf. Le Clcrc, ti^on the Vhice, endcaxors hy ^irk and Sub- t'dtyto turn fez eral FaJpigeSy wherein the Jehovah ts meuion'd, to one tarticuUr Scnfe, m favour of the Sabelhans. But that Author, and his Manner are well known, and with what Byafs he writes. V.t -very Infiances which He brings are enough to confute lUm.
/ F 4 them
64 ^DEFENSE Qu. IIL
them is this ; that if your's be the true Account of the fpecial Import of the Name Jehovah^ it will be hard to find any Senfe, or Pertinency in thofc, or other frequent Repetitions of it. But undcrftanding the Word, as it has been ge- nerally underftood by Perfons of the greatcft Learning and Judgment, all is clear ^ pertinent y, and conjijlent.
But, you will fay, why then docs God fa particularly take notice, that bj his name Je- hovah^ He was not known to Abraham^ IfaaCy ^nd Jacob? Exod. 6. 3. Did not they know Him, and worlhip Him, as the true, eternal, in- dependent, immutable God, the Creator of all Things? Yes, certainly they did, and under the Name Jehovah too ; and probably underftood the import of it. The moft probable Solution of the whole Difficulty is this; that the Words, in the latter part of the Texr, ought to be un- derftood by way of Interrogation, thus : But by my na7ne Jehovah, was I not alfo kno^'jcyi tinto th£7n ? That great and venerable Name, which exprcflcs more than El-Shaddai^ or any other Name, and which I havechofcn for my memQ- rial to all Generations ?
If you pleafc to conftilt the Criticks, you will find this interpretation fupportcd by fuch Rcafons as will bear Examining. It has been obfcrved by the Learned, that fome of the Greek
Writers read the Words, ^ ro ovcu.j. ixny KJof©--,
Qii. ILL offome aU E R I E S. ^^ icA»iXa)cra AuroK. * That is, wy «^^w^, ]diovah, / fnade known tint 0 them \ which Interpretation is likewifc favour'd by the Arabick Verjion. This, at Icaft, we may lay ; that from a Paflagc fo ob- fcLire, and capable of fcveral Conftrudions, no certain Argument can be drawn, for the fpccial import of the word Jehovah., in oppofition to the bcft Criticks in the Language, whether kw- tient or Modern. Now, to refumc the Thread of our Argument; fmce it appears that Chriit is, in his own proper Perfon, called Jehovah^ a Word of abfolute Signification, exprefling the divine Nature or Effence ; it mull follow that He is God^ ftriclly fo called 5 and not in the re- lative or improper Senfe, as is pretended.
This will appear farther, if it be confider'd that Jehovah is the incommunicable Name of the one true God. This may be proved from ^ feveral Texts, which I fhall only point to in the Margin 5 referring you to II a learned Author, who has abundantly made good the Aflertion. I may remark that this and the foregoing Obferva- tion ferve to fupport and confirm each other : For, if Jehovah fignify the eternal immutable God, it is manifeft that the Name is incommunicable y fincc there is but one God ; and if the Name be inco?nmunicable, then Jehovah can fignify no- thing but that one God to whom, and to whom onljy it is applied. And if both thefe Parts be
*yuJ}.Mcirt. reads. To cvofjuu (iin iy-la/i^ujc-x ocvrcXt,. Dial.f. z66.
Jebb.vid.Gen.32.29. comp.Pieud.Athanaf.Tom.2.p.499,fo;5,fcf.
t Exod.3 . i+, ly. Dcut.26. 17,18. Pr.83, 1 8. 1142.8. Hofca I 2. 5-.
|i 1(1 Letter 10 the Author of the HiHovy oi Montanifm, /.;f. &c.
true,
66 :/^ D E F E N S E Qu. IIL
true, and it be true likewife, that this Name is applied to Chrift ; the Confequence is irrefiftible, that Chrift is the fame one God 5 not the fame Perfon with the Father, to whom alfo the Name Jehovah is attributed, but the fame &/^^;/r^, the fame Being, in a Word, the fame Jehovah 5 thus revealed to be more Perfons than one. So much for my firft Argument to prove that the Word, God, when applied to the Father and Son, in Scripture, does not bear a double Mean- ing, oxiz proper, and the other improper', but is to be underftood in one and the fame true and proper Senfe, in refped of Both.
2. My fecond Argument for it fhall be from J oh, I. i.purfuantto the Words of the Query. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, v. i . All Things were made by Him, &c. v. 3. Here, we find the San exprefly called God: and the on- ly queftion is, whether in a proper, or improper . Senfe. The Circumftanccs of the place muft determine us in this Enquiry. Here are Three Marks to direft us how to form a Judgment. I. The word ©sor, God, is ufed in a proper Scnfe in the very fame Verfe. 2. The word was God in the Beginning, that is, before the Creation. 3 • The Work of Creation is attri- buted to Him.
1 fay, firft, the word ©so^-, God, is once ufed, in :i proper Senfe, in the very fame -Verfe, I have before fliown, that the pretended rela- tive
Qu. III. offorne Q^U E R I E S. 67
five Senfe is only an improper and figurative Scnfe of the word GW, according to the Scri- pture-Notion of it ; and therefore, certainly. That cannot be the meaning of it here, bein'^ appHed to the Father^ who, without difpute, is properly God. Befides, that fince ©sc^ in the Septtiagint is frequently the rendering of 7^- hovahy as you may readily fee by turning to Trommius's Concordance -^ and fince St. John Himfelf follows that rendering as you may ob- ferveby comparing Joh,6.\<,. with 7/2?. 54.13. we may realonably think that 0 ©eor, in the Text, is of the fame Signification with Jeho- vah: which is a farther proof that it is to be underftood abfolutelyy and not relatively, as you term it, or as I, improperly. If therefore the word ©^of, God, be once ufed by St. John in the JlriB and proper Senfe : How can wc imagine that immediately after, in the very fame Verfe, He fhould ufe the fame Word in a Senfe very different from that of the former ? You remark, that the Article is prefixed before ©scs-j in an ab folate ConflruEiion, ijohen fipoken of the Father 5 but omitted "jvhen predicated of the Aoyor. But if the want of the Article be fufficient to prove that Osor, God, when applied to the Word, is of a different meaning ; by the fame Argument you might prove that the lame word, ©so^'5 without an Article, in no Icls than four places more of this Chapter (v. 6. 1 2, 1 3,1 S.) is not to be underftood of the one true God, J cannot help thinking a remark Trifiingy which
fignifics
gg :/^ D E F E N S E Qu. III.
iignifies fo little, as cither to prove too much, or to prove nothing. Could you fhow that Oik without the Article, was always taken in a relative^ or improper Senfc, you would do fomething. All that you attempt to (how, is, that 0 esoj is no where, in the new Teftament, predicated of the Word^ in an abfohite Con- ftrudion : And what if it is not ? Then it is not : For, that is all you can make of it. Oso? without the Article in many Places, confeffed- ly, means as much as Oso? with the Article 5 which is enough for our purpofe. Or, admit- ting that there is fome reafon and fignificancy in it, that the Son is not ftiled 0 ©so? in an ab- folute Conftrudion, but that the Title is gene- rally referved to the Father, as the Title, 0 nar/i^ > all that it fignifies, is, that the firft Perfon of the Holy Trinity is eminently diftinguifh'd by an Article 5 but not that the Addition, or the Omiflion, of an Article makes any Altera- tion in the Senfe of the word ©sor. You fay, that three of the moft learned Ante-Nicene Greek Fathers injift upon this Remark, about the Article. * Clemens of Alexandria^
* Clem. Ale):. Strom. 3 . p. 5-48. Ex. Ox. Clemens doei not make his RemArk on Joh i. i. nor does He mention^ that the uirtkle is put to dijlingtiijlj the 'Bather's Supereminent dignity of Nature above the Son; As your Reader, orperhapsyourSelf, might imagine. His dejign n>0s only to prove, againft Tatian, that the True God (and not the Devil) teas the Avithor of Con'^ugal Procreation ; for -which He cites Geri. 4. 2f. obfervingy that ©so? in that Place has the Article 6 before it: and therefore mufi be tmderjlood of the True God, the ztcmtokq^.tu^ \ By the -very fame Rule, Chrijl muft be True God, in the fame Senfe, according to Clemens:. He is e ©fc?. See p. 72, 132, 25" i> 273.
* Origen
Qu. III. offome Q^U E R I E S. c<^
'1^ Origeriy and f Eufebius. But what do they gather from it, or what do they mean by it > Do they mean that the Son is not God in the proper Senfe > nothing like it. Do they mean that the Article can never be properly applied when the Son is fpoken of, or that the Scripture obferves it as an invariable Rule ? That docs not appear, but rather the Contrary : For, they underftood many Texts of the Old Teftamenr, where ©for occurs with the Article, of Chrifl-; as may appear, in fome meafure, from the Texts before laid down 5 and might be more amply fet forth by other Evidence, were any needful in fo clear a Cafe.
The Truth of the whole Matter is, the Title of 0 ©sof, being underftood in the fame Senfc with Au To^sor, was, as it ought to be, general- ly referved to the Father, as the diftinguifliing ferfond Character of the firft Pcrfon of the Holy Trinity. And this amounts to no more than the Acknowledgment of the Father's Pre- rogative, as Father. But as it might alfo fignify any Perfon who is truly and cffentially God, it might properly be applied to the Son too : and it is fo applied fometimes, tho' not fo often as it is to the Father. However, it is hardly
436, 832. and^ likewife 6 wuvtok^tv^, 277. See alfo p. 148,
€47.
- * In Joh. p. 4(J. Origen means 720 more than that the Either n
A'Jre^s^y God unorig'mated ; the Son, God of God.
. fEccI. Theol. 1. 2. c. 17. Eufebius vmkcs no farther tife of tU
Ohfervat'ion than to prove, againfi Marcellus, that the Aey2>- is 4
^ijimci real Perfon i and net the Father Himfelf,
. r worth
70 ^DEFENSE Qu. m
worth the while to difpute this Point. The Sum and Subftance of all is, that * the Father is abfolutely^ and eminently ftiled o ©sor, as the Fountain of all 5 the Sort ^'^o^-^ God of Gody which is fufficicnt to our purpofe. You ob- ferve (/). 42.) that the LXXII have @jo? with- out the Article, wherever mention is made of Godj in what you call the fubordinate Serifc. The Inference I fliould draw from thence, is, that when ©eoir has the Article prefixed, the fupreme God is meant thereby. By this Rule, if the concurrent Senfe of the Ante-Nicene Writers be of any force or weight with you, our Difpute would be at an end. For they ap- ply innumerable Texts, wherein ©co? occurs with the Article, to our Saviour Chrift. But if you flight their Authorities, yet I prefume you will be concluded by the infpired Writers, who apply fome Texts of the Old Teftament, which have ©€of with the Article, to our blefled Lord. Compare
Numb,ii.Sy6,7, I I Cor. 10.9.
7/22.45.22,23. I -f I^pm* i^, II. ^h/Li. 10. I had almoft forgot to take notice of one Pretence more you have, for the fubordinate Senfe of ©^oV, in Job. i . i . You word it thus^ {p. 41 .) He who is Gody and at the fame time is with God who begat Him^ miifl needs be God in a different meaning 5 ttnlefs the fame
* See this more fully explain' d and illujlratcd in Dr. FiddcsV Body ©f Divinity, Vol. i. p. 383, Sec. and 397, Sec. fVid.Surenhuf. Conciliation, p. y 1 1.
God
<^u. III. offome Q^U E R I E S. 71"
God could be with Himfclf, ZTC To this it is readily anfwcr'd, that being with God is the fame as being with the Father (Com p. i Joh. 1.2.) who is God, and eminently lb ftilcd, as being firft in Order * If he were not always with Him, and infeparable from Him, He could not be God in a proper Senfe. God and God, or God of God, fuppofes two Terfons ; and therefore there is no Foundation for the Ob- jcftion of the Son's being with Himfelf. Hav- ing thus endeavored to obviate your Exceptions, I now proceed to the Proof of my Pofition. The Word is here {Joh, i. i.) faid to have been God in the Beginjiing^ that is, before the Creation \ from whence it is farther probable that He is God^ in ^zftriEi and proper Senfe. This Circumftance may at lead: be fufficient to convince you, that the relative Senfe, which you contend for, is not applicable. He could have no Relation to the Creatures before they were made 5 no "Dominion over them when they were not: And therefore could not be G^^ in the Senfe of 'Dominion, or Office. But what moft of all demonftratcs the fVord to be here called God in the proper Senfe, is, that the Creation of all Things is afcribed to Him.
* Jijcre is no tnconjijlency in admitting d Priority of Order, and yet denying the Son to be God in a fubordinate, or improper Senfe. There Toas a Priority of Order, in rcfpefi of Adam and Scth : and yet Seth rpas not Man in a Subordinate Senfe, but in the fame Sc7;fe as Adam rpas. I ufe not the Similitude, as if it would anfwer m other reflects y but it may frve fo far, to illuflrate my mearing ; which is fufficient. See Expofit. Fid. attributed to Juftin. Mart. f.zc,^.Sylb.Ed.
Crca-
72 ^DEFENSE Qu. IIL
Creation is an iiidifputablc Mark of the one true God':, the * diftinguifliing Charader by which He was to be known, and for which He was to be reverenc d above all Gods ; and on •f* Account of which, He claims to Himfelf all Homage, Worfliip, and Adoration. But of this I fhall have occafion to fay more hereafter, and therefore fhali difmifs it for the prefent. I muft not forget to add, that, befides what I have here urged, by virtue alfo of what hath been proved under Query the firft, I may come at my Con- clufion. For, no Queftion can be made but that the Word is called G^?^, by St^John^ in a higher Senfe than any nominal God can pre- tend to. And therefore, fince He is not ex- cluded with the nominal Gods, He is included and comprehended in the one fupreme God; and confequently, is coeternal and cocffential with the Father. Enough hath been faid in Vindication of the Argument contain'd in this Query : and fo now I return it upon you, ftand^ ing in full force 5 and expefting a more com pleat, and more fatisfaftory Anfwer.
♦"Jerem. 10. 11. t i^ev. 4. 10, 11.
Qu E R Y
Qu. IV. ofjome Q^U E R I E S, 73
(^ U E R Y IV.
IVhetheTy fuppojing the Scripture-Notion of God to be no ?nore than that of the Au- thor and Goi:ernor of the Univerfe^ or whatever it be^ the admitting of A710- ther to be Author and Governor of the Univcrfe, be not admitting another God; contrary to the Texts before cited from Ifaiah; and alfo to If. 42. 8.-48. 1 1. 'H'here He declares^ He will not give his Glory to Another ?
YOUR Anfwer is (/>. 42.) Snppofingthe revealed Senfe of the Word, God, to imply Dominion, and that He is the Author and Governor of the Univerfe, the admitting a Second Perfon, diflinEl from the 07ie fitprcme Gody to be Author and Governor, doth by no means contradi^ the Tajfages cited from Ifaiah, or any Other, or introduce two Gods, viz. two fupreme Beings, or Terfons. Give me leave to produce the Texts of Ifaiah once more $ and to place others in an oppolltc Co- lumn to them, only mutatis tnutandt:, putting Author and Governor of the Univerfe iiiftcad of the Word, God-, which, with you, amounts to the fame.
1 am
74-
A DEFENSE
Qu. IV,
I am the Lord:, and there is none elfe:, there is no AnthoM and Gover- nor of the Univcrfe be- Jidesmej Ifa. 45-5.
Is there an Author and Governor of the Univerfe be/ides me ? yeay there is no Au- thor, &c, befidesme, Ifa. 44- S.
The word was Au- thor and Governor of the Univerfe, J oh. i . i .
Chrijl came^ who is over ally Author and Governor of the Uni- verfe, blejfed for every Rom, 9. 5,
I hope" you fee plainly how theTexts^ In the two oppofite Columns, confront and con- tradid each other 5 and that two Authors and Governors of the Univerfey whom you fup- pofe two diftinft feparate Beings, are as plainly two Gods^ as if it were faid fo in Terms. For indeed there's no Difference more than that of putting the definition for the Thing defined. But you have an Evafion after ; That They are not two fiipreme Beings. And what if They are not? Are They not ftill two Authors and Governors of the Univerfe ? and is not every fuch Author and Governor^ by your own Ac- count, a God ? This pretence then comes too late. Or admitting that Supreme muft be add- ed to Author and Governor, to make a true Definition of God 5 then Author and Go- vernor of the Univerfe y without Supreme^ i> not fufHcient to denominate a Perion God ;
^ and
Qu. IV. of fame QJJ E R I E S. 7^
and fo you z/;^^^// the Second Pcrfoii; and what you gave with one Hand, you take away with the other.
What you fliould have faid, is, (for it is what you really mean) that there are r'X'^ Gods 'y one Supreme^ and the other Subordi- nate: Which being a Propofition utterly re- pugnant to the Texts of Ifaiah^ and to the whole Tenor of Scripture, and to all Antiquity, you do not, I luppofe, care to fpeak it at length. I have before endeavour 'd to cxpole this no- tion of t'-jvo Gods^ one Supreme y and the other Inferior j and have fhown it to be unrea- fonable and unfcriptural. I may add, that if there really be t-j:jo Gods [Snpre7}ie and In- ferior ) in the proper Scriptural Scnfe of the Word, the Good Fathers of the three firft Cen- turies argued againft the Heathen "Polvtheiffn upon a very falfe Principle, and died Martyrs for an Error 5 the Angel in the Revelations may feeni to have impofed upon St. John with an erroneous Maxim, Rev. 19. 10. our Saviour's Anfwer to the Devil to have been defective, and not pertinent, Luke 4. 8. and the many Declarations of the UnitVy fcr.ttcred through the Old Teftament, to be unintelligible and infignificant. But this fliall be more dillindly cxplain'd, when I come to the Argument con- cerning Worfliip.
Here let me only ask you, where docs thc^
Scripture give you the leaft Intimation of
t^^'o true Gods ? Where docs it furnifli yon
G 2 ^viLh
76 ^DEFENSE Qu. IV.
with any ground for the Diftindion of a So- veraign and an Inferior Deity ? What Foun- dation can you find for adding J///?;^;;;^ whcrc- cvcr the Scripture fays abfolately there is but one God? You are apt to complain of us, for adding to the Text; and for pretending to fpeak plainer than the Holy Spirit has dilated; why do you add here, without any Warrant \ If the Sacred Writers intended to limit the Scnfe by Supreme-, why could not They, in one place at lead, among many, have faid fo, and have told it us as plainly as Dr. Clarke and you do ? I argue indeed here ad Hominem oi\\Y ; and let it have juft as much force with you, as the fame way of Arguing, when you take it up in your turn, ought to have with us. But farther; what account can you give of your leaving Room for inferior ^DeitieSy when the Reafon of the thing, the drift, fcope and defign of the Scripture feems plainly to have been to exclude, not other Su- premes only, or other Independent Deities (which few have been weak enough "to fuppofe) but other lefer^ inferior, and dependent Divi- nities ! Bcfidcs, God has declared that He ^-juill not give his Glory to another-, If. 42. 8.-48. i r . This you fay has no diffieulty. How (o, I be- fcech you ? It feems to me a very great diffi- culty in your Scheme. You add, that his Glory is y his being the one fupreme independent Caufe and Original of all Things or Beings, Now, I thought it was his peculiar Glory to
be
Qu. IV. of fome QU E R I E S. 77
be truly God, and to be acknowledged as fuch, cxclufive of other Gods. This, I am fare, is what the one God inculcates and infifts upon, very particularly, in the Old Teftament. He dilcovers Himlelf to be a jealous God, and looks upon it as the higheft Indignity to have any admitted as Partners and Sharers with Him. All Afts of Worfliip, all Homage, Service, Adoration, and Sacrihce, He claims, He chal- lenges as his due 5 and due to Him only ; and that becaufe He only is God, Now put the Cafe of another God y another Author and Go- 'vernor of the Univerfe: That other will have a Share, and divide, tho' unequally, with Him in Glory. Was this then the meaning of Ipu 42. 8. Iwilhwt give All my Glory to another ? I will have the greater Share in every Thing > How confiftent might this be with the AA^orfhip of inferior Deities, or with the ranked: Toly- theifm ? For many of the Pagans themfelvcs paid their higheft Veneration to the one fu- preme God 5 only they defiled his Vv^orfliip with a multitude of inferior Deities; they gave not God the fole Glory; but admitted others as Sharers and Partners with Him. You add, that "uohatever divine Honour is juflly ^^iven to any other, redounds ultimately to the Glory of Him , Vi'ho commanded it to be given.
But what if God, who bed knows '■Ji.'hat re- dounds to his Glory, has already and before- hand cngrofs'd all divine Honour to Himfelf, as being the only God, and the fole Author
G 3 ^^'^
7S .^DEFENSE Qii. IV.
and Governor of the Univerfe? Then all others arc precluded from receiving any dtvtJie Honour'^ and there's no more Room left for God's commanding it, than there is for his con- fronting and contradicting Himfclf. But more of this hereafter, under the Head of JVorftoip. I fhall clofe this Article with Grotkis's Com- ment upon the Text which we have been con- fidering. The meaning of it is, fays He, *^ * That God will take fevere Ven2;eance on " thofe v/ho give that Name which belongs to " Him, to Bely Nei?o, Merodachy and Others, " which by Nature are no Gods.
* Vult enfm dicere, fe Vir.dlcaturum fevere in Eos qui Nomen, quod Ipfius cfl, dant Bcio, Neboni, Meraducho, Sc Aliis ro7c ^\
QVERY
Qii. V, offome qU E R I E S. 79
Q^U E R Y V.
Whether T>r. QX^sk^s pretence, that the Au- thority of Father and Son being One, thd They are tisuo diftinci Beings, makes The?n not to be t^-jvo Gods, As a King upon the
, Throne and liis Son adminidring the Father's Government, are not two Kings 5 be not tri- png and inconfijlent ? For, tf the Kings Son be not a King, He cannot truly be call- ed King; // He is, then there are two Kings. So, if the Son be not God, in the Scripture-Notion of God, He cannot truly be called God j and then ho-ju is the T>octor confifieyit iziith Scripture, or rsjith Himfelf? But if the Son be truly God, there are two GoAs upon the 'Doctors Hypothefis, as plain- ly as that one and one are Two : And fa All the Texts of Ifaiah cited above, befides others, fland full and clear agalnjl the "Dolors Notion,
YO U truft, it feems, that upon a fccond Confideration of this fifth Qtiery, The Ob- jector himfelf will not think it very pertinent or conclufive. But I can fee no Rcafon for your bemg fo fanguine upon it. For, as an Argument fo plain and (Irong, needs not fo much as a fecond Confideration -, fo if the Objeftor were toconfiderit ever fo often, He gould not but think it to be, as He finds it, G 4 ^^^^^
so y^ D E F E N S E Qu. V.
both very pertinent and very conclujive. You add, that He will not asky a fecond Time^ whe- ther one divine Verfon exerctfing the Authority of another y to whom He is fubordinate^ and by 'whom He is fentj proves that the two Terfons are two Gods.
But let me intreat you, in a Subjed of this Importance, not to trifle at this rate; talking backwards and forwards, faying and unfaying, affcriing and then recanting, and contradidting your felf. What is Dr. Clarke's Intention, 4nd what is your's, in infifting fo much on the re- lative Senfe of the word God, but to find a falvo for the "Divinity of the Son ; that He may be acknowledged, confiftently with your Hypothefis, to be truly ^ really y properly God > Read but over again what you your felf have written {p. 113.) and then deny this if you can. Well then; if the Son, a diftinft feparate Being, be truly and really God 5 and if the Father be fo too, what can be plainer than that there arc, upon your HypotheJiSy two Gods ? But you fay, one is Supreme^ the other Sub- ordinate. I underftand it ; Iconfiderit: And do not you allow that a fubordinate Being may be properly God ? Do not you exprefly plead and contend for it ) Is it not ejjential in Dr. Clarke s Scheme, and Your's too ? What mean you then to deny that there are two Gods ? Can , you deny it, without recanting all that you had faid before,* without ftriking out q\qx^ fubordi- nate Being, from being truly and properly
God
Qii. V. of fame Q^U E R I E S. ^t.
Go*Avithout dilbwiiing the very Principle up- on which you aflcrt the Son to be God j la fhort, without manifcftlycoufrontini; and con- demning your fclf ? I do not charge you with aflerting two fupreme Gods : But I do charge you with holding two Gods, one Suprtme^ ano- ther Inferior ; two real and true Gods, accord- ing to the Scripture-Notion of the Word, God, as explained by your Self. This you cannot truly and fincerely, you fhould not othcrwifc, deny : And therefore, inftead of fliifting it off, your Bufinefs (liould be to maintain your Af- fertion, and reconcile it, as far as pofTiblc, to Scripture, Antiquity, and Reafon. I am fenfibk, fomcthing may be pleaded, having ^azw what has been pleaded, for the Notion of Tjuo Godsy as you undcrHand it. But, I think, it is upon fuch Principles, as will leave you no Pretence, from Scripture, to objed Tritheifrn to others ; nor any juft ground for infifting, as you generally do, upon the ftrid Force of the excltijlnje Terms, in order to ungod the Son. I will not however anticipate what you may have to fay farther on this Head ; nor what may be pertinently replied to it. Let me fee firft, how far you will, in good carneO:, efpoufc the Notion of two Gods : In the Interim, I may fairly leave you to confider of it. I fhall be content, at prefent, to follow you in the way that you are in ; endeavoring to clear your felt of the charge of aflerting two Gods, and yet all the while, pleading for a fubordinate God.
To
S2 yf D E F E N S E Qii. V.
To countenance your Notion, you proliKc, * after the Learned Doftor, the Authority of Terttillian':, the fame TertuUiayiy whom I have quoted above "^ as declaring cxprcfly againft any fuch vain Imagination, as that of a fitbordinate God 5 and throwing it oft as a Tagan Dream : the fame that fays, the T)ivinity has no IDe- grees, being one only. Will you bring Him for a Voucher, fo diredly againft Himfelf >^ True, He ufes the Jmilitude of a King upon a Throne y and a Son adf^iinifinng his Father s King- dom : But to a very different purpofe from what you would have it ferve. The Objeftion againft more Perfons than one in the Godhead (as Terttdlian rcfolves it) was, that the Au- thority would not be one 5 that there would not be unicum imperitim : fee the place in the II Margin. The Jmilitude is pertinent to fliow how the Authority y or Government^ may be cne in the Hands of Several Perfons. But if
* Scrip, Tiocir. p. 5 5 ^ . \ See ^. 3 . p. 5-4.
11 Mor.a"chla777y inquiunt, tenemus. Et ita fonum vocaliter ex- piimunt Latini, etiam Opici, ut putes Illos tarn bene intelligere Monarchiam, tjuam cnuntiant. Sed Monarchiam fonare lludent La- tini; &: Oeconomiam intelligere nolunt ctiam Gra^ci. At ego, fi quid utriufqiir. Linguse prsecerpfi, Monarchiam n\hi\ aliud fignificar^ fcio, quam Smgulan 0> UnicH?n Impcrhmj : non t^men pra:fcribere 2^1ffnarch'uimy idcoquia Unius fit, Eum, cujus fit, aut Filium non habere, aut Ipfum le fibi Filium fecifile, aut Monarchiam fuamnon per quos vclit adn-.iniflrarc. Atquin, nullam dico Dct;2/«^/w;cw ita unius flii cfic, ut non etiam per alias pvoximas Pcrfonas admi- niftrctur— — . Si vero Sc Filius fuerit ei, cujus Monarchia fit, ncnflatim dividicam, 6c A/o?/^;r/^.w»encsdefincrc, fi particeps ejus adfijmatur 6c Filius. Contr. Vmx.c. 3 . p. 5-02.
The Senfe cf this Taffage is I'cry clear: The Praxcans, (I fnppofe taking aclvant(tge of ti^is j that the Church had chrays rcjeclcd Tria Principia, and 7^ih ^yoc[x.ii<i) pleaded for the??7fchcsy and againfi a.
you
Qii. V. of fo?ne Q^U E R I E S. 83
you ask Tertiillian, how Father and Son can be reputed one Cod-^ He tells you in the ^Chapter before, and in that very Paiiage which the Dodor quotes, that it is by Unity of Stibftance and Original Unity of A.itho- rityy and Unity of Godheady are, with Ter- ttdliany diftind Things; however you may pleafe to confound 1 hem : God and his Angels have, according to Him, one Authority i, but He does not therefore fay, that the Angels are Gods 5 or that, if They were, there would ftill be but one God,
^ Athenagoras makes ufe of the fame Simi^ litude for the fame purpofc with Tertullian-^ to illuftrate the Unitjr of Authority and Power common to Father and Son ; not the Unity of Godhead, It Vs^as the <^ Government divine., which He undertook, in fome meafure, to illu- ftrate, by That Comparifon of a King and his Son (which however would argue an Equa- lity of Nature^ contrary to your Tenets.) But as to Unity of Godhead, He refolves it in- to ^ other Principles, the very fame with Ter-
real Trinity -y fjuova^^Uv temmus, Tertullian tells them^ that They mifunderjiood yjovcc^X^cc. (As it 7night Jignify unum principium. He had anfwered the Qbjeciion before y c. 2J Here He fuys^ it Jigntfies only one Authority ^ and He JJjotos that^ taken in that Senfe, it was no jufi Objeciion againfi a Trinity of Verfons. Thus, hansing maintained, fir fly Unity of Principle, and afterwards Unity of Authority ; He fufficiently guarded the Docirine of the Trinity, againfi the Cavils of Praxeas.
* Unus omnia, dum ex uno omnia, per Subftantix fcih'cet Uni- ta tern, />. 5-01.
FiHum non aHunde deduco, fed de Subflantia Patris, c. 4. p. foi.
** Lcgat. c. if.p.6^. ' iTTi^^xyiy/ Fx^tTiAf.'iCF.
tullian*s'j
U ^DEFENSE Qa. V.
tullian*s; Namely, Unity of Stdjlance, and Original, making the Holy Ghoft (and the reafon is the fame for the Son) to be a Subftan.- tial * Emanation from the Father, as Light from Fire. The common anfwer to the Charge of Tritheifm, or T>itheifmy as well of the Toft- Niceney as Ante-Nicene Fathers, was, that there is but one Head, Root, Fountain^ Father of all s not in refpeft of Authority only> but of Subjiance alfo ; as Terttillian before exprefles it: Kon aliunde dediico, fed de Stibftantia Tatris. This was the concurrent Senfe of f All in general $ and into this chiefly they rcfolved the Unity of Godhead-^ as they muft needs do, fince they believed God to be a Word denoting Stibjlance, not T>ominion only ; and one 2)/- ^initjy ©ecT/ir, was with Them the fame Thing as one divine Subjiance. The learned Doftor, after his manner of Citing, il produces, I think. Thirteen Vouchers, (Ten Antient 5 Three Mo- dern) for his Notion of the Unity. Tertulliany AthenagoraSy and Novatian (Three of Them) evidently refolve the Unity, as before obferved, into Communion of Subjiance, Jujiin, Atha- najiusy Hilaryy Bajily Tearfony Bully Tayne^ (Seven more) moft of Them, in the very Pal- fages which the Doctor cites ; All of them, fomc- wlicrc, or other, are known to refolve it into SonJhipyOiUviitYO^Trinciple i either of which
TO Tsrviu^x, p. 96.
f Some pretended Except'iom will be conjidered in another Place, Qu . 2 3 . Ij Sfrt^t. Dciir. p- 3 3 4. 3 3f . &^<^". ^^''^^ p. 3 0 1 , Sec.
comes
Qu. V. offome Q^U E R I E S. %s
comes to the fame with the former. None of thefe Authors fo undcrftood the Father to be one God, as to exclude the Son from being (?«^ O^withHim, in Nature, Subftance, and Per- fedion : Nor would they have fcrupled to call Father and Son together, one God 5 mod of them doing it exprefly, all implicitely.
Origeriy another of the Doftor's Authors,^ refolves the Unity into Communion of Godhead, in the ^ Paffage cited. ^iifA^ is the word He ufes ; ^ generally, if not conftantly, fignifying Siibflance in that very Comment from whence the Citation is taken 5 agreeably to the moft ufual Senfe of ©sor, in the Ante-Nicene Writers ; and of T>ivmitaSy in Tertullian 5 and of ®£5r»}c in other ^ Authors.
La£iantius,xhc twelfth oi the Number, would have fpoken fully to our purpofe, in the very ^ Chapter referred to, if the Doftor would have fuffered Him. He would have told us (how- ever unhappy He may otherwife be in his Explications of That Myftery) that Father and Son are one Subftance^ and one Gods fo far, at lead, contrary to what the learned Do-
• Comm. in Job. ^. 46. ''Seeibicl,;'. ^j*, 135, 15-4, 228,2^)2.' *" Epift. Synod. Antioch. Labb. Tom. i. ^ag, 847. Eufebius Comrn. in Tftilm. p. 325,5-92. ^ inl/a.-p. S;/, 382,5-/ 1. Atha- naf. palTim. Epiphan. Hseref. 64. c. 8.
** Una utrique mens, unus Spiritus, um Suhjlamid^^-y fed Illc quail exubcrans Pons eftj Hie tanquam defluens ex eoRirus: Illc tanquam Soli Hie quaH Radius^ Sole porredlus.— Ad «/r*»«i^«« Terfonam referens intulit, ^ Prdter me mn eji Deus; cum poflit diccre, pr-eter 720s: fed Fas non erat plurali numero Separationcm Tants Ncccflitudinis fieri, /. 4, c. 29. f. 40^,404,
4. dor
s^ :^ D E F E N S E Qu. V.
£tor cites him for. Tiierc remains only Eit- febinsj whofe Expreflions are bold and free 5 and fo far favourable to the Dodor, ns they are different from thofc of the CathoUcks of his own Time, or of the Times before, and after. If they are really to be underftood, fo as to ex- clude the Son from being one God with the Father, they tmgod the Son 5 and contain plain Arianijhu But, perhaps they may admit of fuch a favourable excufe as, * Gelafms tells us, Eufebius, in effefl:, made for Himfelf, in refped of any uncautious Expreflions, which, in the warmth of Diipute, or out of his great Zeal a- gainfl: Sabellianifmy had dropp'd from Him: That He did not inteitd Them in the impious Senfe (^^Arius) but had only been too carelefs and negligent in his ExpreJ/ions, One may be the more inclined to believe it, fince He ad- mitted, at other Times (as I have obferved above) One God in three '^Perfons : and elfe- •where ^ fpeaks very Orthodoxly of the Holy un- divided Trinity, illuftrating the Equality of the Perfons by a very handfome Similitude. But to return to the Learned Dodor: In the !! Clofe of this Article , He has a peculiar Turn, which fliould be taken notice of. The
Gelaf. 1. 2. de Syn. Nic. c. i. p. 1 1.
■j- Etx&Jv ^ ToZrcc (Juvj-Dcvii Kccl zrK,vccyiXi;y kcc] (io!,(nXiyM<; r^iahc,. v, T?
TU. (TTTi^-fJl/CiTCCy KCCl Tobc, MyOVC,^ Kul TOCe, OCiTlSitiy O^.THA^JI^S. Orat. U«
l-aud. Conftant. p. yii. Ed. Valcf. U Script. Dodr. p. 345?.
Scho^
Qii. V. offome Q.U E R I E S. %y
Scbolajlick Writer Sy fays He, in later Ages^ have put this Matter (meaning the Unity of the Godhead) upon another Foot : That is, different from what Himfclf, and perhaps Etifebius in thofe Paflagcs, had put it upon. They have not, k feems, put it upon a reaU proper y numerical In- dividiialitj, as the Learned Doftor would have had them do. They do not make the Godhead picvcTreocrcoTT©^, One fingle Hypoflajis 5 which, in the main, is all one with the SabelUan Singularity.
The Reader fliould be told^ tiiat thofe Scho- laflick Writers are as old as Tertnllian-, Ire- n£USj or Athenagoras \ which brings it up al- moft to the middle of the Second Century. So early, at leaft, Father and Son together have been called^ and all along believed to be one God Let but the Reader undei:fl:and, and take along with Him, what I have now obferved > and I fliall not differ with you about Names. Scholaftick may ftand for Catholicky as I per- ceive it often does with you alfo, if you think the Catho'.ick Faith may, under that borrowed Name, be more fafcly, or more fuccefsfully attacked. The Scbolajlick Notion then, which has prevailed for Fifteen Centuries at leaft, is that Father and Son arc one God: Yours, on the other Hand, is, that the Father is one God, and the Son another God: And I am to con- vince you, if I can, that one God, and ano- ther God, make two Gods. You ask me feri- oully, ^ "H'hether Herod the great^ was not
* Pag. 4^-.
King
S8 ^ D E F EN S E Qu. V.
King of ]\xAq:2l, thdtheje-ji:s (that is, when the Jews) had no King but Cxfar ? I anfwer, He was not : For, Herod the Great had been dead above Thirty Years before ; and the Jews had really no King but Ca:far, when they faid fo. However, if there had been one King un- der another King, there would have been two Kings, The fame I fay for one God under another G^^5 they make two Gods, You ask, next, whether there were more Kings of Perfia than one J thd the Ki7ig of Perfia was King of Kings ? I Ihall not difpute whether. King of Kings y was Titular only to the Kings of Verfay or whether They had other Kings un- der Them. I fiiall only fay thus : Either the ftippofed Kings of Terfia were Kings of "Ter- fay or They were not : If They were ; then there were more Kings ^/^ Perfia than one: If They were not Kings of Perfia ; They fhould not be fo called. To apply this to our prcfent purpofe; either there are two Authors and Go- vernors of the Univerfcy that is, two Gods y or there are not : If there are, why do you deny it of Either ? If there arc not, why do you af- firm it oV Both?
After all, pleafe to take Notice, that I do not difpute againft the notion of one King un- der another ; n petty King under a Supreme. There*s no difficulty at all in the Conception of it. But what I infift upon, is this : That a great King and a little King make two Kings ; or clfc one of Them is no King, contrary to
the
Qli. V. offonie (QUERIES. 89
the Suppofition. The fame I lay of a ftipreme and a jubGrdlnate God, that They make Two Gods ; or clfc, one of Them is no God, con- trary to the Suppofition.
Texts, proving an Unity of divine Attri- bates in Father and Son, appUed
To the one God.
Thou, even Thou on- ly knowefi the Hearts of all the Children of Meny Kings 8. 39.
I the Lord fearch the Hearty I try the Reins, Jer. 17. 10.
/ am the firfi, and I am the laji, and be- fides me there is no Gody Ifa. 44. 6.
I am A and n, the beginning and the end. Rev. 1.8.
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, i Tim. 6. 15.
The mighty God, If. 10. 21.
Lord over all, Rom. 10. 12.
To the Son.
He knew all Men, 6cc. Joh. 2. 24. Thou krioweft all Things , Joh. 1 6. 3 o Which know- eft the Hearts of all Men, Ads i. 24.
lam He that fearch- eth the Reins and tka Heart, Rev. 2. 23.
/ am the firft, and I am the /^,Rev. 1.17.
I am A and n, the beginning and the end^ Rev. 22. 13.
Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, Rev. 17. 14.— 19. 16.
The mighty God, If. 9. 6.
He is Lord of all. Ad. 10.36. Over aUGod blejfedy 6ic. Rom. 9. 5- H Query
90 ^DEFENSE Qli. VI.
Q^ tr E R Y VI.
JVhether the fame Chara6ieri/iicksy efpecially fitch eminent ones, can reafonably be under- food of two diftinEi Beings^ and of one In- finite and Independenty the other depen- dent and Finite ?
IN this fixth Query (for fo I chufe to make it, thinking That method moft convenient, on feveral Accounts) are couched two Argu- ments for the Son's being the one true Gody as well as the Father.
The Firft \'i\ That the CharaEteriftickSy ap- plied to the one true God, are applied likcwiti to the Son : which Confideration alone is of great force.
The Second is : That the Attributes here ap- plied to the Son, are fuch eminent ones, that we might fafely conclude they belong to no Crea- turey but to God only.
How fliall we know, who, or what the one God is 5 or what Honour, and to whom, due 5 but by fuch Marks, Notes, and diftinguifliing Ch^rafters as arc given us of Him in Scripture ? If thofe are equally applied to two, or more ^erfonSy the Honour muft go along with the Attributes 'y and the Attributes infer an equa- lity of Nature and Subftancc, tofupport Them. In a Word 5 if divine Attributes belong to each Pcrfon, each Pcrfon muft be Godj and if God,
fmce
Qu. VI. offome (^U E R I E S. 91
fincc God is one, the fame God. This is the Sum of the Argument: Now let us fee what Anfwer yoU give to it.
You admit that the Attributes, fpccified in the Texts, belong to Both : only you obfcrvc that all Vo^duers and Attributes are [aid to be the Father's only, becaufe they beloyig to Him primarily, or originally, as the Self-ex- ifient Caiife *. This I can readily admit, as well as you, provided only, the word, Caiife^ be interpreted to a jufl", fober, and Catholick Senfe (astheGr^^^t Writers efpecially have under- ftood it) and Self-exiftent be interpreted, as it fliould hz.negatively, i.e. Unbegotten. You add, our Lord Jeius Chrift, having all communicable divine Tovuers derived to Him^ with His Beings from the Father, is faid to do the fame things which the Father dothy and to be, in a ftibordinate Senfe -y what the Fa- ther is.
Here are many Things, in this Anfwer, liable to juft Exception. Firft, your ufing the word, 'Divine, in an improper Senfe. Ange- lical Powers are fuch as are peculiar to An- gels 5 and divine Powers fuch as are proper to God only : But, here you underdand it, in the fame Senfe, as one might call any kingly- Power, or Authority, divine, becaufe derived from God 5 and fo any thing that comes from God, is in your Senfe, divine. In the next place, you clog it farther with the Term, com-
* Pag. 46.
H z municable^
92 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. VI.
mimicabley telling us that all communicable di- vine Powers, arc derived to Chrift J cfus: where- as I contend, that the Attributes in the Text, are ft r idly divine 5 and therefore incommtini^ cable to any Creature. Next, you (peak of a fubordinate Senfc, in which thofe Attributes belong to Chrift 5 which is the fame as to fay, (becaufe you mean fo) that they belong not at all to Him. For, I fuppofe, omnifcience^ or . eternity^ &c. in your fubordinate Senfe, are very different from the others and therefore are not the fame Attributes. It were better to deny roundly, that the fame Attributes be- long to Both 5 and then we fhould clearly appre- hend each other. Laftly, I obferve to you, that you underftand the word, fubordinate^ very differently from what Catholick Writers do, in this Controverfy ; and therefore, inftead of it, fhould rather have faid, in a refrain' d, limited Senfe , which is your meaning, otherwife you contradid not me.
Now^ then, I muft ask you, what ground or warrant you have from Scripture, or right Rea- fon, for putting RefriEiions and Limitations upon the Texts applied to Chrift Jefiis^ more than to thofe applied to the one God? The Expreffions are equally general ; and, feemingly at leaft, equally extenfive. You are io fenfible that you can i];ive no folid Proof of a reftraifid and limited Senfe, that you do not fo much as offer at it ; but only covertly infinuate your meaning, under dark and obfcure Terms. You
fpcak
Qa. Vr. offome Q.U E R I E S. 95
fpeak of Subordination^ and quote Fathers for it 5 who undcrftood it in the fober and ortho- dox Senfe : if you agree with thofe Fathers^ you agree with me. But, do not ufe their venerable Names as a cover for what they ne- ver meant, but would have greatly abhor'd *. I allow the fecond Perfon to be fubordinately "-jvife, good, poisoerfiil, &c. That is not the Queftion between us : He is fapientia de fapi- entia \ as lumeyi de himine-, and T)eus de T>eo. What I contend for farther, is, that his Attri- butes ^xzfiri^ily divine, and his Perfeclions in- fnite, I prove it from hence ; becaufe the At- tributes which belong to the one God, and are therefore undoubtedly Infinitey belong to Him alfo j from whence it follows, that the God- head belongs to Him too ; and that there are more Perfons than one, in the one God, What- ever I can find, in your Anfwer, tending, in the leaft, to invalidate this reafoning, I fhall take notice of; tho* you have been pleafed to be very fparing in this Article. You obferve that the exercife of thefe Attributes being finite, they do not neceffarilj infer an infinite Subject, I underftand not what you mean by the exercife of Eternity and Omnifcience-, which arc two of thofe Attributes j nor how it can be finite, without an exprefsContradidlionj
* The Tejlimonies, which you have cited from Dr. Clarke, I take no notice ofi becnufe they hiw* been already confider'd by a learned Gentleman i and JJjown to be foreign to your ptrpofe. True Script. Do6lr. coiKinu'd, p. ii,
H 3 nor
94 :/? D E F E N S E Qa. VL
nor how either of them can be exencifdy what- ever you mean by it, but by an infinite Sub- jed. As Httle do I underftand how infinite ToweVy which, I prefume, is what you chiefly allude to, muft be finite in the exercife of it ; as if there could not be an Ad of infinite Power, or as if God could not do fomething \vhich {hould infinitely exceed any finite Power. Thefe Things very much want explaining 5 and fo I leave them to your farther Thoughts.
The cleared ExprefTion you have, under this Article, is this : when Chrifi: is ftiled^ Lord of all, fee it explained, Matth. 28. x 8. and Ephcf. \, 22. where Chrift jefus is faid to have all power given Him. Here, I think, I do under- ftand your meaning; and am forry to find that it falls fo low. Would your * Predeceflbrs in this Controverfy, the Antient Arians^ or Eti* nomians, have ever fcrupled to acknowledge that our Blefied Saviour was Lord over alU long before his Refurrecliony or even his In- carnation ? That He was Lord of- all before his Refiirre^ion , is very plain from the Scri- ptures, which carry in them irrefragable Proofs of it. By Him were all Things created that q,re in Heaven, and that are in Earth, vifir. ble and mvifible \ whether they be ThroneSy or 'Dominions, or Trincip^lities, or To^wexs^
* Antequam faccrt-f Uuiverfa, omnium Futurorum Deus 5c Do- fninus, Rex & Creator crat Conftitutus. Vclunratc &: prxccpto (DlI e* Pcitris fui) Coelcftia 6c Trrrcftria, vilibilia Jk invihbilia; Corpora &• Sp:rivQs, ex" nuflis exflanribiis, lit cAent, fua virtutq fecit. Scrm.An.rnor. apid Aii^f*fi,Tom.%. ■p.C^i.
all
qu. VI. offome Q^U E R T E S. 95
a// Things were created by Htm^ and for Htm ; and He is before all Things^ and by Him all Things confifty Col. i. 16,17. Thou Lord in the beginning haft laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the works of thine Hands y *Hcb. i. 10.
* It is not mthout good Keafon that roe underjland Heb. i. io«
of Chnft.
1. The Context it felf favors it. The Verfe hegim with kccI (tw, •which properly refers to the fame who was fpoken of immediately be- fore in the fccond Ferfon, The o-« preceding a;id a-u following^ an- froir to each other, A change of Terfon, while the fame wayof fpeak-
ing is parfued, mufi appear unnatural.
2 . The fcope and intent of the Author was to ft forth the Honour and Dignity of the Son above the Angels , and no Ctrcumfa ice could be more proper than that of his Creating the IVorld.
%. If he had omitted it, He had [aid kfs than Himfelf had done before, in Verfe the 2*^, of which this feems to be Explanatory j and as He had brought Froofs from the Old Tejifimcnt for feveral other Articles, nothing could be more proper or more pertinent, than to bring a Proof, from thence, df this alfo.
4. Declaring Him to he Jehovah , and Creator of the Univerfe might be very proper to fljovj that He was no miniftring Spirit but cruy^T^v^ ; to fit at the right Hand of God, which immediately fellows,
f. To introduce a Vajfage here about God': immutability or ilabili- ty, mujl appear very abrupt, and not pertinent i becaufe the Angels Alfo in their Order and Degree, reap the Benefit of God's (lability and immutability. And the ^lejlion was not about the duration and continuance, but about the fublimity and excellency of their refpeciive iiatures and Dignities.
6. I may add, that this Senfe is very confonant to Antiquity; which every where [peaks of the Son as Creator, and in as high and firong Terms : fuch as Thefe^ ri^virtiq, ^y)Ujns^yoi;, i70i;jry,<; : ccv^eaTruv, ei,yiXcov, r Ts-ouiruy, r cAuv, t» Koa-fjj^, and the like; Tefimonies ■ whereof will occur hereafter. Barnabas, fpeaking of the Sun in the. fjcavensj calls it spvcv x^^m ccurcu, meaning Chrijl; tho' there's feme dfpute about the Reading : of which fee Grab. Not. in Bull. p. F. p. 23.
Thefe CGnjJderations feem fufficiem to overthrow the Vrctences of a Ute Writer, Examin. of Dr. Bennct on Tr n. p 40. As to former Txceptions to this Verfe, They are conf'dnd and confuted by B/y'Z'i'/' Bull, Jiid. Eccl. p. 43. See alfo Surenhufl in loc. p. 600.
H 4 Can
96 ^DEFENSE Qu. VI.
Can you imagine that the Son could be Crea- tor and Treferver of all Things from the Be- ginning 5 and yet not be Lord over all till after his Rcfurredion ? If this does not fatisfy you, return to Job, i. i. He was ©sos- before the World was, by your own Acknowledge- ment ^ which being a word of Office and imply- ing T^ommioUy He was certainly Lord^ as foon as ever there w^as any Thing for Him to be Lord over. And when He came into the Worlds the World that ijuas made by Him^ ( joh. I . I o.) He came unto his own, {Job. i . 1 1 . ) Surely then, He was Lord over all \on^ before his Refurredion.
You will ask, it may be, what then is the meaning of thofe Texts which you have quoted? How was all To'-jver given Him^ according to Matth, 28.18? Or how were all Things xhcnpiLt under his Feety according to Eph. 1.22? Nothing is more eafy than to anfwcr you this. The Ao/or, or JVord^ was, from the Beginning, Lord over all-j but the God incarnate, the ©s^'vS pai7rf>, or God-Man^ was not fo, till after the Refurredion. Then He received, in that Capacity, what He had ever enjoy 'd in another. Then did He receive that ftill'Po'-juerj in Both Natures, which He had heretofore poHcfs'd in one only. This is very handibmcly rcprcfcnted by Hermas, in his fifth Similitude: Vv'hcrc the * Son of God is introduced under a double Capacity, as a Son^
* Sec Eull.D.Fid. N. p. 38.
I and
Qii. VI. offome Q.U E R I E S, 97
and as a Servant y in refped of his two Natures, T)ivine and Human.
''* TheFatlier calling his Son and Heir whom " He loved, and fuch Friends as He was wont " to have in Council, He tells Them what " Commands He had laid upon his Servant ; '^ and moreover what the Servant had done; " And they immediately congratulated That " Servant, for that He had received fo full a
" Teftimony from his Lord. {Afterwards
the Father adds) '' I will make Him my Heir
*^ together with my Son. This defign of
" the Lord, both his Son and his Friends ap- " proved, namely, that this Servant fliould be " Heir together with his Son.
It is much to the fame purpofe that Origen fays to Celfus, " ^ Let thofe our Accufers " (CJuho objeB to its our making a God of a *' mortal Man) know that {this Jefus) whom " we believe to have been God, and the Son " of God, from the beginning ; is no othev
* (Pater) adhibito Filio quem carum 6c H:Ercdem habebat,& Ami- C!S quosinConfilioadvocabat ; indicat eis qusc Servo fuo facicnda mandalfet, qux prxrerea Ille fecilTct. At lili protinus gratulati funt Servo illi, quod tarn plenum Teftimonium Domini aflccutus
fuifTct volo eum Filio meo faccrc cohaercdem . —
Hoc conlilium Domini, 8c Filius, Sc Amid ejus Comprobaverunr, ut ficret fcilicct Hie Scrvus Cohsercs Filio. Herm. Fajl. Sim, y. c. 2. p. 104. Cot. Edit.
fivui Qiov -/.cci iicy Otiu, oOroq 6 U'jToXoyo^i<,-i^ xcct >j ccuro(ro(PicCy tcxl << uuToxXyi^-eix. To oi ^^vr,rcv auroZ troif/ja, kxi rvy uv^^uTTivLu) ci» otur^
yutyi^cc (pa^iv ZTPg(rii>.r,(piyoci, KXi '^ c/KUva S-worjjro^ Kt)coiva)iijx,oTX ii\ ©S5V ///ilcccttojjKiWt. Orig. Contr. Cclf. 1. 3. p. i^6,(y>c.
" than
98 ^DEFENSE Qu. VI.
*^ than the Word it fclf, Truth it Iclf, and " Wifdom it fclf: But we fay farther that his " mortal Body, and the human Soul that was " therein, by means of tlieir mod intimate *' Connexion to, and Union with the Wordy " received the greateft Dignity imaginable, and *' participating of his Divinity, were taken in- " to God. It is difficult to exprefs the full force of this Paffage, in Englijh : But you may fee the Original in the Margin.
From hence you may perceive, how cafy it is to account for our Lord's having all Toijuer given Him, after his Refurredion 5 given Him in refped of his Human Nature^ which was never fo high exalted, nor affumed into fuch Power and Privilege, 'till that Time j having before been under a State of Affliction, and Humiliation. There is a notable Fragment of Hipfolyttis which Fabricius has lately given us in the Second Volume 5 and which is fo full to our purpofe, that I cannot forbear adding it to the former. Speaking of that famous Paf- fage in the Epiftle to the Thilippians, c. 2. and particularly upon thefc Words : Wherefore God alfo hath highly exalted Him^ v. 9. He Comments upon it thus. " * He is faid to be '' exalted, as having wanted it befo;C5 but in '' rcrpccl only of his Humanity^ and He has '' a ^■:wViZ given Him ; as 'twere a Matter of '^ Favor, 'which is above every Name^ as the
♦riippolvtus Vol. 2. p. 29. Fabric Edit. See a parallel place in Oiigcn. Coiii. in Job. p. 413.
" Bleffed
Qu. VI. offome QUERIES. 99
'' Blcffcd (Apoftlc) Taul exprcffes it. But " ill Truth and Reality, this was not the giv- " ing Him any Thing, which He naturally *' had not from the Beginning : fo far from it, " that we are rather to efteem it his rcturnins: *• to what He had in the Beginning * effentiallyy " and unalterably^ on which account it is, that ^' He, having condefcended, ofxovo/aixwr, to put " on the humble Garb of Humanttjy faid, Fa- ■' ther^ glorify me with the Glory, which I " hady &c. For he was ^/'Z^^^yj inverted with ^^ Divine-Glory, having been Coexiftent with ^^ his Father before all Ages, and before all ^^ Time, and the Foundation of the World *f .
I hope this may fuffice to convince you, how much you miftake; and how contrary your Sentiments are both to Scripture, and Ca- tholick Antiquity, if you imagine that the "Koyo^ or Word, then firft began to be Lord over all, when that Honour was conferred on the Man Chrift Jefus.
j / may add a Fajfage of Novatian. Ac fi de ccelo cJefc-fndit Verbum Hoc, tanquam Sponfus ad Carnem, ut per Carni<; ad- fumptionem FUius Hominis illuc pofTet afcenderc, undo Dei Fuiusy Verbum, dcfcendcrat: Merito, dum per connexioncm mutuam, 2c Caro Verbum Dei gerit, 8c FiliusDeiFragilitatem Carnisadfumir ; Cum fponfa Carne Confcendens illuc unde fine Carnc dcTcenderc r. recipit jam dariiatcm ilU/n, quam dum ante mundl Co f.ltut omni hahwjjs ojienditnr^ Dens mmfefiijjime Com^robatur, Novat. c. 1 3 .
CJ^UERY
loo ^DEFENSE Qu. VII.
Q^U E R Y VII.
Ji'ljether the Fathers Omnifcicnce and Eter- nity are not one, and the fame with the SonSy being alike defer ibedy and in the fame ^Fhrafes? See the Texts above, /?. 89.
YOUR Anfwer, * with rcfpeft to the Son's Omnifcience, is, that he hath a rela- tive Omnifcience comfnunicated to Him. from the Father ; that He knows all Things re* lating to the Creation and Government of the Univerfe ; and that He is ignorant of the T)ay of Judgment,
The Son then, it feems, knows all Things^ excepting that he is ignorant of many Things ; 7A\(i is omnifcient in fuch a Senfe, as to know infinitely lefs, than one who is really omnifci- ent. Were it not better to fay plainly, that He is not omnifcient, than to fpcak of a rela- tive Omnifcicnce, which is really no Omni- fcience-■, unlefs an Angel be omnifcient ^ or a Man omnifcienty becaufe He knows all Things which He knows ? What Ground do you find in Scripture, or Antiquity, for your Dillinclion of abfolute and relative Omnifcience ? Where it is fnid, that He knows all Things relating to hisOjfce, and no more? Or how can he be fo much as omnifcient, in this low Scnfc, if He knows not, or knew not, the precife time
* Pag. 48.
of
Qu. VII. offome Q.U E R I E S. loi
of the Day of Judgment 5 a Thing which, one would imagine, (hould belong to his Office as much as any ? Matth, 24. 36. as well as Mark 13. 32. is plainly meant only of the hitman Nature 5 and is to the fame efFcd with Lnkt 2. 52. That He increasd in JVtfdom^ whicli cannot be literally underftood of the Aoy©* with any tolerable confiftency, even upon the Arian Hypothejis *. You tell us farther, that All the Ante-Nicene Writers under ft and by thefe two TextSy that our Lord as the AcyQ'j or Son of God^ did not then know the ^ay of Judgment y (p. 49 ) This is very new indeed 3 if you have read the Ante-Nicene Writers 5 you muft know better : if you have not ; how unaccountable a thing is it to talk thus confidently without Book ? If what you fay was true, we ftiould, without delay, give you up all thefe Writers to a Man ; and never more pretend to quote any Ante-Nicene Fa-
♦ A late Writer acquaints «j, in the Name of Dr. Clarke wnd ths Arians, ('/ pre fume -without their leave) " that the Word really *' emptied it felf, and became like the Rational Soul of another Man, ** which is limited 6y the Bodily Organs i and is, in a manner, dor- " mant in Infancy y and that the Word may he deprived of its for- •' mer extraordinary Abdnies... .in reality, <i«/^grow/» Wifdom,
*' ^ J others do. This is makin-^ the Aoy^, That great eft and bejl of Beings, (upon the Arian Scheme) next to God Himfclf beco:ne a Chtld in undsrftanding ,• tho* once voife enough to Frame, a id Govern the -whde Univerfe. The Author calls it, (I think, very profaneiyj The true and great Myftery of Godlincfs, God manihefiin Flefh, Oneromld think, mfieadof manifeft, it jlm:ild have been, confin'd. lock'd up in Flejh i which is the Author sown Interpretation of this Myfi:ery,fp. t 6.) What defign He could have in all This, I know not i unlefs He coyyider'd what Turn Arianifm took, foon after its Revival at the Refonnatioi2^ See Exam. of Dr. Bennst on theTrin. p. if, \6.
thcr.
102 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIL ther, in favor of the prefent Orthodoxy. But as the Point is of great Moment, we muft re- quire fome proof of it : For, writing of Hiftory by Invention, is really Romancing, You cite Irenaus from * Dr. Clarke^ who could find no other : or elfe we fliould have heard of it from the firft Hand. And yet you cry out All'^ which is more than the learned Dodor pretended to fay $ who had his Thoughts about Him 5 and would not have let flip any fair ad- vantage to the Caufe which He efpoufcs.
But has the Doftor really proved that Ire- naus meant fo ? Perhaps not : And then yout Ally which was but one^ is reduced to none. Two Things the Dodor, or you, fliould have proved 5 firft, That Irenaus underftood thofe Texts of the Aoys^^ or Word, in that Capacity. And Secondly, That He fuppofed Him //>^r^/A Ignorant of the Day of Judgment. The Do6lor knew full well what Solutions had been given of the difficulty arifing from this Paflage. Yet He barely recites Irenatiss Words*, and nei- ther attempts to prove that fuch was his Senfe, nor to difprove it. You indeed do obferve, from fome learned Terfon^ that this Paflage of Ire- naiis will admit of no Evajion, For, He evi- dently [peaks not of the Son of Man, but of the Son of God 5 even of That Son with whomy as it follows, in omnibus T^ater com- miinicat. Let this have its due Weight : The Argument may look fo far plaufible on that
* Script. Doflr. p. 14^, ^Mi 132.
fide :
Qu. VII. offome Q^U E R I E S. i aj
fide: But let the other fide be heard alfo, be- fore we determine. ^Bifliop Bull hsiS given fome Reafons, and weighty ones too, to (how, that, if Iren£us attributed any Ignorance to Chrift, He did it in refped of his Human Na- ture only. His Reafons are,
1. Becaufc/r^w^/zx, inthevery fame Chapter, ^ afcribcs abfolute Omnifcience to the divine Nature oi Chrift.
2. Becaufc He every where elfe fpeaks of the Son, as of one perfedly acquainted with the Nature^ and IVill^ of the Father,
3. Becaufe the fame '^Irenaus upbraids the Cnoflicks for their Folly, in afcribing any De- gree of Ignorance to their pretended Sophia, or Wiidom. How then could He imagine that the true Sophia, Wifdom it felf, could be ignorant of any Thing ?
4. Becaufe the fame Irenmis ^ ufes an Argu- ment againft the VakntinianSy who pretended
'Def. F.N. ^ 82. C(?w/>. Brev. Animadv. in G. CI.;". io_f5.
^ Spiritus Saivatoris, qui in co efl, Scr-utatur omnia, 6c Altitu- dines Dei, I. i.e. 28. ;>. 15-8.
' Se^ I. 2. c. iS.p. 140. Iren. Qiiomodoautem non vanum eft, quod etiam '^ophiam ejus dicunt in ignorantia. . fuifle ? Hcec
enim aliena funt a Sophia, &: cjntraria— — ubi enim eft Im^ prov'ident'td 6c Igfioranm utilitatis, ibi Sophia non eft. ,
** Iren. I. 2. c. 25-. />. 15-2. Ed. Befied. In quantum minor eft, ab eo qui fadlus non eft 8c qui femper idem eft, ille qui hodiq h£tus eft 6c initium fadlur^ accepit: in tantum, fecundum fcieri' tiam 6c ad invejiiga?ulum caufas cmnmm, minorem efle eo qui fe- cit. Non enim infedtus es, O Homo, neque femper co-exiftebas Deo, iicut propnum ejus Verbum : Scd propter eminentem Boni- tatem ejus, nunc initium Fadurse accipiens, fenfim difcis a Verbo difpofitiones Dei, qui Te fecit. The -whole Pajfage is fuller to the Toi'it,
to
104 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIL
to know all Things, which plainly fuppofes that Chrifl: is omnifcient. The Argument is This. You are not eternal and uncreated^ as the Son of God is, and therefore cannot pretend to be omnifcienty as He is.
It might have concerned you to anfwer thefe Reafons, and to make the Good Father, at Icaft, confiftcnt with Himfelf, before you lay claim to his Authority for your fide of the Qiieftion. However, I am pcrfuaded, that, as Bifliop Bull is very right in determining that Iren£us could not mean to afcribe any degree of Ignorance to the Aoy©', or divine Nature of Chrifl: 5 fo you are right fo far, in the other Point, that Irendeus is to be underfl:ood of the Aoy©^, in what He fays. And now the Quefl:ion will be, whether He really afcribcs Ignorance to Him, or only feems to do fo, to an unattentive Reader.
Iren£uss Words, I conceive, will moil na- turally bear this following Interpretation, or Faraphrafe. " * If any one inquires on what " Account the Father who communicates in
* Si quiscxquirat caufp.m, propter qunm in omnibus Pater com- municans FiJio, foius fcire Sc Horam & Diem a Domino mani- feftatus efl; ncquc aptabilem magis, neque decentiorem, nee fine pcriculo alteram quam hanc invcniar, in praifenti, (quoniam enim Solus Vernx Magifter eft Dominus) ut difcamus per Ipfum fuper omnia eHe Patrem. Etenim Tater, ait, Major me eft. Et fecundum Agnitionem itaquc pr:^poiitus cfTe Pater annuntiatus eft a Domino noftro; a^ hoc, ut 8c nos, in quantum in figurahujus mundi fu- mus, perfedtam fcientiam, &c tales quxftioncs concedamus Deo: 6c no forte quaerentcs, e>r. Iren. /. i.r. iS. />. 15-8, i jp. He had [aid before.
Pominus, ipfc FiliusDei, ipfum Judicii Diem & Horam con-
" all
Qu. VIL offo7ne Q^U E R I E S. 105
*' all Things with the Son, {and confcquefitly " in all Knowledge, arid particularly in that *' of the T)ay of Judgment) is yet here fet " forth as the only Perfon knowing that Day " and Hour 5 He cannot, fo far as I at prefent " apprehend, find any fitter or more decent, " or indeed any other fafe Anfwer than this, " (confidering that our Lord is a Teacher of *-^ Truth, and miifl mean fomethivg by it) that " it was to inftruft us, as from Himfelf, that " the Father is above ally according to what " He fays elfewhere, for the Father is greater •' than /. And therefore the Father is declared " to have the Priority and Preference in refpeft " of Knowledge, by our Lord Himfelf, for an " Example to us 5 that we alfo, while we live " and converfe here below, may learn to refer *^ the Perfeftion of Knowledge, and all intri- " cate Queftions to God.
The defign of Iren£us was to check the vain Prefumption, and Arrogance of the Gnofticksy pretending to fearch into the deep Things of God. And the Argument He had us'd was this ; that our Lord Himfelf was pleas'd to refer the knowledge of the Day of Judgment to the Fa- ther only ; as it were on purpofe to Teach us, that while we converfe here below, it becomes
cefllt fcire folum Patrcm, manifefle dicens : de Die autem illo 8c Hora, nemo fcit, ncque Filius, nijl Pater folus. Si igitur fcientiam diei illius, FiJius non erubuit rcferre ad Patrem, fed dixit quod verum eft j neque nos erubefcamus, quae funt in quaiftionibus majora fecundum nos, refervare DeO; p, ijS,
US
106 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. VII.
us not to pretend to hi^h Things ; but to leave the deep Things of God, to God alone. This is his Argument, and a very good one it is. But the good Father apprehending that what He had laid of our bleffed Saviour, might be liable to Exception , and be mifundcrftood 5 comes afterwards to explain his Senfe more at large. He is Icnfible of the danger of afcribing any thing like Ignorance to our blefled Lord, on one hand; and as fenfible of the danger of contTcidiciing the Text, on the other. §luo- niam enim folus Verax Mdgifter eft 'Domi- miSy in as much as "ui'hat Chrift has faid mtift be true 'y in fome fenfe or other. Thefe Words may ferve to give light to the reft 5 For the difficulty lay here : How can it be true that the Father communicates in all things, and confequcntly in the knowledge of the Day of Judgment, to the Sonj and yet our Saviour fay true, in afcribing that parti- cular knowledge to the Father only ? His an- fwer is, that wx are thereby taught to refer every thing to the Father, as the Original of all Things. To Him A';^^1j2.7(?^^ ought to be principally, and in the frft place, afcribcd : Our Saviour therefore Himfelf yields to Him the preference, as became Him, efpecially here on Earth : not as if He knew lefs, but becaufe what He knew. He knew by Com- munication from the Father 5 to whom there- fore He refers fuch fecrets as it was not pro- per
Qlu VIL of fome (QUERIES. 107
per to reveal, 1101: fit for Men to inquire alter.
That this is all that Iren^ns meant, may reafonably be thought ; not only becaufe other- wife it would be utterly inconfiftent with many other parts of his Writings, as has been before obferved : but alfo, becaufe feveral Exprellions in this very Paffage, lead to it. Had He really believed the divine AoyQ^^ or IVord, to be literally Ignorant j why fliould He be fo ap- prehenfive of the difficulty of thofc Texts? Why fo concerned about the fitnefs, and de- cency of his Interpretation; and that it might be jine periculo? The danger was, in inter- preting feemingly againft the Text, to find a Salvo for the Son's Omnifciencc. For this rea- fon. He does not ask, why the Father only knew (not, cur Tater foliis fci-vit) but why, or on what Account [folus fcire manifeflatiis eft) He was reprefented as alone knowings or. He only was faidio know. He does not fay, as the Doflor's Tranflation infinuates, that the Father is more knowtJig than the Son ; but prapofitiis only 5 which fignifies fet before , having the T refer enccy or the hke; which may be conceived, tho' He be equally know- ing : and, for the greater Caution, it is not faid abfolutely, prapofitm eft : but pr^pofitus effe annuntiattis eft : He is declared to have the Preference : So that the Queftion, with IrenauSy is not why the Father is Superior in knowledge 5 but why, fince Father and Son^
I 2 are
108 ^DEFENSE Qu. VII.
arc equally knowing, our Saviour makes fuch a Declaration as gave the Preference to the Father. And the Realbns which He ailigns;, are very much to the purpofe.
1 . To inftrudl us, that the Father is the Foun- tain and Original, even of the Son Himfelf.
2. Becaufc, in his then prefent State of Con - defcenfion, it became Him to refer all to the Father.
3 . Becaufc it may be an ufeful Example of Humility and Modefty to us, that we, much rather, while we are here below, may not pre- tend to high Things.
Upon the whole, it may appear, that Ire- nteus% Solution of the difficulty is the very fame with That which the * Dodor quotes from St. Bafil ^ who had learned it from a Child: Namely this, " That our Lord meant to afcribe " to the Father, the firfl:, (i. e. the primary ^ ** original) Knowledge of Things Prefent, and " Future ; and to declare to the \¥orld, that " He is in all Things the firfl: Caufe f . As the Son is God of God^ and Light of Light ; fo it is proper to fay, Omnifcience of 077inifci- €7ice^ &c. The Attributes being derivative, in the fame fenfe, as the Eflcnce is : Which is St. Bafd'^ meaning j and I think, Irenaus's.
This Defence may be fairly and jufl:ly made for IreiiauSj fuppofmg that what he faid, was meant of the Aoy©', or divine Nature, as fuch:
* Scy'ipt. TioBr. p. 147, 148. ahas 134, i^f. t BaiiladAmphiloch. £/». 391. Conf, Gregor, Nazianz. Omt, 3(5.^:^84.
To
Qu. VII. offome QU E R I E S. 109
To which Opinion I incline. Ncvcrthclcfs, I fhould not affcd to be dogmatical in That Point, fincc learned and judicious Men have been of both Sides of the Queftion. Tetavms * obferves, that the Senfe is ambiguous \ and that there are not certain grounds to determine us either way. If he underftood it of the hu- man Nature onlyj then the difficulty is no- thing : if of Both, I have fho wn how fair an Account may be given of it. Having thus got over Iren^cuSy I have at once taken from you all your Ante-Nicene Writers. You will ob- ferve, that the Texts might be underftood of the Ao/©', or divine Nature^ as Bafil under- ftands them, in the place above cited ; and yet that They, who fo underftood them, might be far from thinking that the Aoy©^, or Wordj was ever ignorant of any Thing. ^ Dr. Clarke^ to do Him Juftice, is, in the main, fo very fair and reafonable in his Account of thofe two Texts, that we have nooccafion at all to differ with Him. I wifh, as you have in moft other- Matters, fo you had here alfo copied after Him. I will not leave this Article, without giving you a Specimen of the Senfe of the Ante- Nicene Writers, in regard to the Son's Omni- fcience; that you may have a better Opinion of thofe good and great Men. We may begin
* Irenjeus, ]ibro SecundoCapite 29. ambigue loquitur j ut ne- fcias Infcitiam illius Dei Chrifto, faltem qua eft Homo, tribuat, an non ac poflit ad utramque deflefti fententiam.
t Ke^ly to Mr. Nelfon'i Fiiendy p. 17 i.
I 3 with
ixo ^DEFENSE Qli. VII. with Ignatius, " ^ There is nothinii; hid from " the Lord: But our very fccret Things are " nigh unto Him. Let us therefore do all '^ Things, as having Him dwelHng in usj that '' we may be His Temples, and He our God *' in us.
I proceed to Clement of Alexandria^ who fays thus : '' ^ The Son of God never goes off '' from his Watch-Tower : never parted, nc- " vcr feparatcd, nor moving from Place to " Place ; but is always every-wherc, and con- *' tain'd no-where, all Mind, all Light, all " Eye of his Father, beholding all Things, '' hearing all Things, kno'jving all Things,
^ In another Place. ^' Ignorance [in any degree) "- cannot affect God, Him that was the Father's
* O'.'C^v >My^a.vi "^ K.'j^icv, i^/.A^ Ksd roi x^vTiioc vfjuuv iiyhi ccira sV<v. Ignnt. Ep. 2d Ephef. c. \f. p. 17. Ox. Ed. That ¥.uncv is r?tcar,t of Ch-ifi, is vtry highly probable from the ufe of the JVorcl m this Auti:cr^ and from the Cohtcxt.
— CIcm. Alex. Srrcm. ). 7. c. 2. p. 83 i. See alfo p. 1 1 3. 6 i i. 832.
cifM'^h^^ii yivcfjjiv'^ rcZ UctTfiqc. p. 832.
N.B. The Do(flor's Criricifms (Script. Dear. y. '> 16. alias 294.) ppon CA;??^.', arc very flight. I need only hint, that-srsj" c-.o^^ro'^ is applied to the Son, itlcafl: twlcefp. 148. 277.J and7ri>A^.T>}? once (p. 647.) by Chnens i nnd that Troroxfidru p, may as" well fi^^nify cKini-tene/:}, as cmnipotens 5 and that omr.i-tcnente Vchntate is not lifiprop^r, but agreeable to Clemcm's Philofophy. (Seethe notes to Cl.mens, p. 43 i. Ed. Ox.j and that theicfore Chrift might be iup- pofcd tuuurallyom/jfrient, by CUfnens, notwithftandingt!-.eDo(fto''s pretences : Befides that thepaflagcs rcfcrr'd to, if well confidcr'd, can bear no other Scnfe. Se^ nty Sermons^ p. 2(5(5.
^^ Coun-
Qii. VII. offome (QUERIES. 1 1 1
*' CounfcUor before thcFoundation ofthc World.
* Origtn is pretty large upon the very Texts whereof we have been Ipeaking. He gives fe- veral Interpretations : but it is obfervable, that He ftudioufly endeavors to find fome Solution, which may acquit the Aoy©^ from the Imputa- tion of being literally Ignorant of the Day of judgment. What Origeits Opinion was of Chrift's Omnifcience^ you may alfo fee ^ elfe- where. To confirm what hath been faid, one general Remark I leave with you.
The Sabellian Controverfy began early, and laded long in the Church. The Difpute was, whether Father and Son were one and the fame Hypoftajisy or "Terfon. Had the Catholicks in- terpreted thefe two Texts, as you pretend They did, there could not have been any Thing more decifive againft the Sabellians, Ter- UiUiariy you know, encounter'd them in a pretty large Book, his Book againft Traxeas y Hippolytus entered the Lifts againft NoetuSy and his Book is ftill extant 5 Eufebiuss famed Piece, againft Marcellus, is to the fame pur- port. Several Fragments befides, of other Au- thors, remain. Pleafe to look them over j and fee if II you can find any one of Them combat-
* Horn. 30. in Mat.
t Comm. in Job. p. 28. Huet. Ed. He puts the very ^ie/I/on, n>hether the Son knows all that the Father hiows, and determines in the Affirmative i bU?n'mg thofe who, under pretence of magnifyifig the Father, pre fumed to deny it. The FaJJage is rather too long to be here infer ted,
(] Tertullian indeed cites the Text, in pajfing-, not drawing any fuch Argument J as I mean^ from it. What He meant will be fl}0wn ereafter, under ^uery 26'''.
I 4 ing
112 ^DEFENSE Qu. VII.
ing the Sabellians with thcfc Texts : And if you cannot 5 either be content to own, that it was a very ftrangc and unacountable Omiffion in thole Writers, or elfe that they had quite other Notions of Things, than you have hitherto imagined. The Ar'tans you find afterwards, perpetually almoft, teazing the Catholicks with thofe Texts : Strange they fhould never have been infifted on againft the Sabellians ^ being fo full to the Purpofe y efpecially if, as you fuppofe, the Ante-Kicene Writers were them- felvcs of that Perfuafion, which was afterwards called Ar'tan, It is evident that the Sabellians muft have underftood the Texts, if they are to be taken literally , of the Man Chrijl Jefus only. Otherwife there had been a manifeft re- pugnancy, in the Words, not the Son, but the Father i, fmce they fuppofed Father and Son one and the fame Hypojiajts. It is as plain, that they muft have thought that the Catholicks agreed with them in that Expofition, other- wife they would have charged them, not only with Tritheifm, but with the denial of the Son's ejjential T)ivinity. It docs not appear that thofe Texts ever came into Controverfy bctv/ixt Them ; or were ever urged by the Catholicks j fo that Both fecm to have agreed in the fame Interpretation. So much for the Point of Omnifcience.
I come next to confidcr what you have to objed to my Argument for the Son's Eternity , I had put it upon this 5 that it is dcfcribed in
the
Qu.VIL offomeQXJEKlES. ii? the fame Phrales, with God the Father's ; which, one would think, fhould be high enough. You tell me that tbe Sons Metaphyfical Eternity is no where exprejiy revealed. What the fine word, Metaphyjicaly fignifieshcrc, I know not. If his Eternity is revealed, it is enough for me. That I underftand to be revealedf in thefe two
Texts, Rev. i. 17. 22. 13. I am the fir ft ^
and 1 am the laft, I am Alpha and Omega^ the Beginning and the End, That thefe, and the like Phrafes refpeft "Duration^ appears from Ifa, 43. 10. compared with Ifa.\\, 6. In the latter, the Words are ; / am the firft^ and I am the laft, and befides me there is no God *. the former, exprefling the fame Thought, runs thus: Before me was there no God formed^ neither ftjall there be after me. The Phrafe of A and n, Firft and Laft, is, in like manner, explained Rev, i. 8. I am Alpha and Omega^ the Beginning and the Ending, faith the Lordy which iSy and which was, and which is to come. The Phrafe then refpeds T^uration\ and it is applied to our blefled Saviour, as hath been fhown; Rev, 1.17.— 22, 13. Therefore there was no God before Him : Therefore He is, in the ftrideft Senfe, Eternal, You fay, the ObjeEior hath not brought one Text of Scri- pture that at all proveth it, I did not pro- duce all the Texts proper upon that Head : I defign'd Brevity. Befides, I had a mind to re- move the Caufe, from Criticifm upon Words, to
* Compare alfo I|a. 48. 12. See my Sermons, p. 233.
one
114 :/f D E F E N S E Qii. VII.
one plain and affcding Argument: viz. That the Proof of the Soris Eternity ftands upon the fame Foot, in Scripture, with the Proof of the Fathers ; and is exprcfs'd in as ftrong Words. And for this, I appeal, as to the Texts above cited, fo ahb to 'Prov. 8. 22, &c. which you allow to be fpokcn of the MeJJias. The ori- ginal Word, wdiich we tranflate, from Ever- lajling^ is the very fame with what we meet with in Tfal. 90. 2. where alfo we find a pa- rallel Defcription of Eternity^ applied to the one God, See alfo '^Pfal. 93- 2- I allow your Obfcrvation, that the Hebrew word may, and fomctimes docs, fignify a limited^ as v/cU as it does, at other times, an tmlimited Duration. And therefore I do not lay all the ftrefs of my Argument upon the critical meaning of the Word 5 but upon That, and other Circum- (lances taken together: particularly this Cir- cumftance 5 that the Eternity of the Father is dcfcribed in the fame Manner, and in the fame Phrafes, with the other 5 as by * Comparing Tt^fal, 90. 2. with ^r^i;. 8. 22, (i:rc, and Rev, 1.8. (fuppofing that Text to be meant of the Father) with Rev. 11. 13. may fully appear. I do not argue from a finglc Phrafe, or the par-
* Before the Mount.i'ws vrcre Tfje Lord poJfef>\{ mz in the bc- Irctiglt fcnth, or ever thou hadji gmn'mg of his roay^ bforckh Works 'orihcd tke Earth Und the World: of old. Ixcas fet up from- everlttji- I'zcii from ctirlafiing^ Thott art ing, froin the beginning, or e-ver (J fid, Pial. 90.2. the Earth was ■ . . Before the
Mountains roere fettled ; before the Hills, ivas I brottght jcnh, Prov. S. 22, Sec.
ticular
Qii. VIT. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 115
ticular force of it ; but from fever al-^ and thcfc equally applied to Both : as it were on purpofe to intimate, that though thefe Phrafes Jingly might bear a limited Senfe; yet confidering that God had made choice of them, as moft Signi- ficant to cxprefs his o-jun T^nration 5 and again made choice of the very fame, out of many others, to cxprefs his Soris T>tiration too, we might from thence be taught to believe that the Son is Co-eternal with Him. ' You arc fcnfible of the Objeftion lying a- gainft you; namely, that there's no certain Proof, according to your way of reafoning, of the Eternity of the Father, in the Old Tcfta- ment : and fo refolute you are in this Matter, that, rather than admit the Son to be eternal too, you are content to leave us in the Dark, fo far as the Old Teftament goes, about the other. But, for a Salvo to the Father's Eter- nity, you obfcrve, that it is emphatically ex- prcfs'd in the New Tefiament (Rom. i. 20.) forizjctiino that the word 'AivT^fo,- occurs but * once more, in the New Teftament ; and then fignifics eternal in a limit edS^n^c only, or a parte pofi^ as the Schools fpcak. Well then, for any thing I fee to the contrary, we muft contentedly go away, v/ithoutany Scripture Proof of the Eter- nity of the Father), for fear it fhould oblige us to take in the Son's alfo. And this, indeed, is what you are before-hand apprehcnfive of, and prepared for ; and therefore it is that you tell us, that there appears no nccejjity at all-, that
♦ Jude V. 6. ^^^^
116 :/^ D E F E N S E Qu.VII.
the Attribute of Eternity Jhould be diJiinEily revealed ^ouith refpe6i to the Father 5 ^-^hofe Eternity our reafon infallibly ajfures us of (p. 50.) Infallibly affurcs: So you fay; and, I believe, />/ my own wajy I might be able to maintain your Aflfertion. But I profefs to you, that I do not, at prefent, apprehend, how, up- on your TrincipleSy you will be able to make any compleat Demonftration of it. It would be ridiculous to talk of proving from Reafon^ only, without Revelation, that the Perfon whom we call the Father^ the God of Jews and ChrifiianSy is the Eternal God. I will therefore prcfume that you mean, by Reafon Reafon and Revelation Both together 5 and if you efFcdually prove your Point from Both, it fliall fuffice. You can demonftrate that there muft be fome eternal God, in the metaphyfcal Scnfe, as you call it, of thcfe Words : But fmce the Father, the God of Jews and Chriflians, has not declared, either that He is Eternal, or God, in xhzmetaphyJicalScnk ; it does not ap- pear how He is at all concern'd m it. He has laid, indeed, that there is no God befides Him ; but as He did not mean it in the metaphyfical Scnfe, there may be Another, in that Senfe, befides Him, notwithftanding : Nay, it is cer- tain there are and have been other Gods ; even in the fa:7}e Senfe : For Mofes was a God wn- to 7 haroah', and Chrift is God-, and therefore tills cannot be literally true. It can only mean, that He is e?nphatically God, in Ibmc rcfpcd or
other.
Qu. VII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 117
other ; perhaps as being God, of our Syftcm ; or God of the Jews and ChriJiianSy his pecu- Ihim. It is true, He has called Himfelf Je- hovah 5 which if it fignified necelTary-exiftence and independence, it would be an irrefragable Proof of his being the eternal God. But it unfortunately happens that Jehovah fignifies no more than a Perfon of Honour and Integrity, who is true to his Word, and performs his Tromifes {p, 19.) He has farther declared Him- felf to be Creator of the World : but this ex- erctfe of creating, being finite^ does not ne- cejfarily infer an infinite Subje5fy (p. 48.) Befidcs that this Office and Character ^ relative to usy pre-fuppofes noty nor is at all more perfect fory the eternal pafl duration of his Beingy (See p. 50.) What (hall I think of next? I muft ingenuoufly own, I am ut- terly non-plufs*d5 and therefore muft defire you, whenever you favor me with a Reply, to make out your Demonftration. But let us proceed.
Having given us a Reafon, why it was not neceffary that the fuppofed Eternity of the Fa- ther fhould be revealed, you go on to acquaint us, why it was not needful to declare the fup- pofed Eternity o^ the Son. And here you give cither two Reafons, or one , I hardly know whether. His Office and Chara£lery you fay, relative to tiSy does net prefuppofe it. I know that very wife and judicious Men have thought, that it does prefuppofe it. Bifliop Bully for 4- inftance.
lis ^DEFENSE Qu. VII.
inftancc, has Ipokc admirably well upon that Head. But thcPallagc being too long to tran- fcribc, I fliall only refer to it "^^ How you come to take for granted a Thing which you know nothing of, and which it is impofllble either for YoUj or any Man elfe to prove, I know not. It is very manifetl that, unlefs you have a full Idea of the whole Work of Redemption, and can tell as well what belongs to a Redeemer, and a Judge of the whole Univerfe, as you can what belongs to a Redor of a Parifli, you can pafs no certain Judgment. No Man can cer- tainly define the utmoft of what was needful in the Cafe 5 becaufe no Man can dive into the utmoft depth of it. There may be more than You, or I, or perhaps Angels, can fee, in that myfterious Difpenfation 5 and therefore it is the height of Prefumption to pronounce, that any Power, lefs than Infinite, might be equal to it. I do not fay that the Argument forChrift's 'D/vhi- ty, drawn from the grcatnefs of the Work of Re- demption, and the Honours Confcqucnt upon it, amounts to a perfed Demonftration : But this I fay, and am very clear in what I fay, that it is much furer arguing for the Affirmative^ from what we know 5 than for the Negative, from what we know not. It is poflible our Proof may not be fufficient : But it is, a prior i^im^^offiblc that your's fhould. Whether we can maintain our Point, may perhaps be a Qiieftion : but it is out of all Qiicftion, that you cannot maintain your's. ' *'
* jiidic. Eccl. p. 12.
' \, Having
Qu. VII. offofne Q^U E R I E S. 119
Having anfwcr'd this your firft Rcafon, why it was not ncceffary to reveal the Son s Eter- nity, I proceed to the remaining Words 5 which if I perfedly underftood, I might know whe- ther they are a diftinft Reafon, or only an Ap- pendage to the former. They are thefe: Nor is it (Chrift's Office and Charader) at all more perferi for the eternal pafl ^Duration of his Beings (p. 50.) I have been confidering why that word, Tafly was infertedj and what it can mean, in that place. It feems to be oppofed cither to prefent-, or elfe to, to comey tacitly miderftood. At firft, I thought thus: That It might be put in to prevent our Imagining that Chrift s Office might not be at all more perfeft for the eternal Duration of his Being, to come. But confidering again, that if he does but con- tinue till the Office is compleated and perfefted, it is all one, in refpeft of that Office^ whether his Duration hold longer or no ; I thought. That could not be the meaning. Refleding again, I conceived that, Tafl^ might poffibly have relation to the Office confider'd as prefent, or commencing at fiich a Time 5 fuppofe Six Thou- fand Years ago : And you might think ; what could it fignify to date his Being Higher ? If He did but exift, foon enough for the Office, it is fufficient* All the Time run out before, is of no Confidcration ^ having no Relation to an Office which was to commence after, and would ftill be but the Self-fame Temporal Of- fice, commencing at fuch a Time. If I have
hit
I20 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. VII.
hit your Thought at length, I allure you, it has coft me fome Pains ; and I wifli you would ex- prefs your fclf more clearly hereafter.
Now then, let us apply this Manner of Rea- foning to another Purpofe : By parity of Rea- fon we may argue, that the Office of God the Father, commencing at the Creation 5 I fay, the Office of Suflaining, Preferving, and Govern- ing the World, has no Relation to the Time fafty being but juft what it is, whether a lon- ger or a fliorter, or no Time at all be allowed for any prior Exiftence; nor is it at all more perfed for the eternal paft Duration of his Be- ing. But does not this Argument fuppofe that the Office is fuch as may be difcharged by a finite Creature, or one that began in Time ? Certainly. And is not That the very Thing in Queftion in this, and in the other Cafe too ? Undoubtedly. How then comes it to be taken for granted ? Bcfides 5 is not a Perfon of un- limited, that is, eternal Powers and Perfe- ftions, more capable of difcharging an Office, than any Creature 1 Well then, by necefla- ry Confequence, the paft Duration of the Perfon is of great Moment in the Cafe j and the Office muft be thought as much more perfed for the eternal paft T^uration of his Being, as God's Pcrfedions excel thofe of his Creatures; and that is infinitely.
QjJERy
Qu. VIII. offome (QUERIES. 121
Q^ u E R Y VIII.
Whether Eternity does not imply ncceflary Ex- iftence of the Son-y which is tnconfiftent with the 'DoBofs Scheme'^ And whether the * 'Dotfor hath not made an elufive, Equi- vocating Anfwer to the Obje^iion, (ince the Son may be a ncceffaiy Emanation from the Father, by the Will and Tower of the Fa- ther ^ without any Contradi^ion? Will is one Thing, and Arbitrary PFill another.
TO the former part of the Query you anfwer, that jimple and abfolute Eter- nity is the fame with Neceffary, or Self exi- ftcnce; which is no where fupposd of the Sony by T>r, Clarke. Here are feveral Mi- ftakes : For, firft, the Idea of fimple Eternity is not the fame with that of Neceffary-ex- ifience. Nor, fecondly, is it the fame with both Necejfary-exiftence and Selfexiftenccy fuppofing it were the fame with the former 5 becaufe thefe two are not the fame. The Idea of Eternity is neither more nor lefs than duration without beginning, and without end. Some have fuppofed it poffible for God to have created the World from all Eter- nity; and they ufe this Argument for it 5 that whatever He could once do, He could always do. I do not think there is much weight in
* Re/Zy, p. 227.
K the
122 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIII.
the Argument j but it is fufficient to (how, that the Ideas arc diftind; and that, tho* Eter- 7iity may, in found Rcafoning, infer or imply Nee e (far y exifienee^ as is intimated in the Query 5 yet the Ideas are not the lame : For if they were 5 it would be Nonfenfe to talk of 6?;/^ inferring or implying the other. Then for the fecond Point ; it is very manifeft that the Ideas of Neeejfary-exiftencey and Self-exiftence (how- ever they may be imagined withy or without Reafon, to imply each other) are not the fame Ideas, * Artftotle-, and the latter Tlatonijls fuppofcd the World and all the inferior Gods (as Tlato and the Pythagoreans^ fome Supra- mimdane Deities) to proceed, by way of Emanation, without any Temporary Produ- dion, from a Superior Caufe : That is, they believed them to be Necejfarjy but not Self- exijient. Something like this has been con- ftantly believed by the Chriftian Church, in re- fpeft of the A67©': Which fliows, at leaft, that the Ideas are different ; and not only fo, but that in the Opinion of a great part of Man- kind, they do not fo much as infer and imply each other; one may be conceived without the other. However, That is not the Point I infill on now. All that I affirm, at prefent, is, that the Ideas arc diftind ; and not the very fame. After you had laboured to confound thefe Things together, you proceed to argue againfl:
• Sec Cudworth. Intcllc6l, Syflcm. p, ij-g, ^c,
the
Qu. VIII. offome qU E R I E S. fa,
the Son's being eternal But what is that tq the Query ? I fuppofed Dr. Clarke {Reply^ p. 227.) to underftand the word Eternal y as I, or any other Man fhouldj and objeded the inconfiftency of acknowledging the Eternity of the Son, and yet denying his Necejfary- exiftence-^ which. Eternity ^ I thought, inferred and implied. You admit my reafoning to be jud, if the Dodor meant the fame, by EternaU as I do. But if He meant by Eternal^ Tempo- rary y then my Argument fails 5 as moft cer- tainly it muft. But why are we thus impofed on with fo manifed an abufe of Words ? What occafion is there for putting the Epithets of (impky abfolutey or metaphyfical to the word Eternal^ which every one, that knows Englijh^ underftands better without > Unlefs you fup- pofe that there is an unlimited^ and a limited Eternity ; which is, in reality, an Eternity, and no Eternity, You proceed to difpute againft the Eternity of the Son 5 which tho' it be fomething foreign to the purport of the Query, yet being pertinent to the Caufe in hand, I fliall here eon- fider it. You argue that, if the Son be Eter- naly He is Necejfartly-exifiing'-, which I aU low: and if Neceffarily-exiftingjt[\zn Self-ex- ijlent ; which I * deny : and you cannot prove,
* 'AXAccf/^ti 7i<i, TO ociiy zr^Cj ijzsovoutv ccyiyv^ra ?iocfAfCuHrUy li^otov^ •I Toe, -^v^YiCi ui(BijTki^icc ■zs-tTrvii^iOfXjiyoi oire ySkfi to hvy oi/rg to «£», ooTi ro t^ xiuvuv, TXVToy i^i tm uyivvyiTM. AleX. Ep. apud Theod. 1. I,
p. 4. p. 17. Comp. Baf. cont. Eunom.l. z. p. 5-/. Hilar.de Synodc p. 1166. This Tvas fa'td in Oppojaion to the Arians, -who were -willing tg (gt}foitndthe Idea of Eternity and of Necejfary-exifiencej -with Selfrcxiftence,
124 /^DEFENSE Qa. VIII.
You go on to a new Confideration 5 which, pat into Syllogifm, (lands thus.
Whatever has a principium is not Eternal : The Son has a principium^ the Father being principium Filii ■ Therefore, &c.
The middle Term, principiumy is equi'vocaly and bears two Senfes ; wherefore the Syllogifm confifts of four Terms, If principium be un- derftood in refped of Time-, the Minor is not true : if it be taken in any other Senfe , the Major is not true : So that Both cannot be true. You might, in the fame way, argue that the Sun's Light is not coeval with the Sun 5 nor Thought coeval with the Mindy fup- pofing the Mind to think always. For, in both Cafes, a/r/wa///^;;^ is admitted 5 but no Priority, in rcfpeft of Time. You add, that there is a reafonable Senfe in which the Son may be faid to be Eternal. I hope there is : But not your Senfe 5 which is juft as reafonable^ as to fay 5 an Angel is eternal ^ only becaufe you deter- mine not the Time when He came into Being. I fliould think it moft reafonable^ to ufe Words, according to their obvious, and proper Signifi- cation ; and not to fix new Ideas to old Words, without any warrant for it. In this way of going on with the abufe of Words, we fhall hardly have any left, full and exprefs enough
Tht Learned DoBor cites this Tajfage, dircSily ugainfl Himfelf (ScTiipt. Doftr. p. 285. alias ifo.) It was intended, and is diametrically oppO' fte to the Doctor's leading Principle, or rather Fallacy y which runs thro' his Performance, viz. That the Son cnnr.ot be firilily and ejfentially God, Mnlefs Htbe Self-cxiftent, or unoriginatew every Senfe,
to
Qii. VIIL offome Q.U E R I E S. 125
to diftinguifli the Catholick Doftrine by. It was once fuiBcient, before the rife of Arianifmy to fay, the Son is God: But by a novel Senfe put upon it, the word {God) was made Am- biguous. To That were added truly, and really i to be more expreflive : But the * Avians found out a Scnfe for thefe Terms too 5 and could gravely fay, that the Son was truly ^ really God. God by Nature, one might think, is full and ftrong enough: But you are ftealing away the Senfe of that Expreilion from us. We can add no more, but eternally and fub- ftantially God i and yet, I perceive, unlefs we put in Jimplyj abfolutely^ metaphyficallyy or the like, even thefe Words alfo may lofe their Force and Significancy. But to what purpofe is all this ? Might you not better fay plainly, that the Son is not -E/'^m^/i not by Nature r, nor /n/^ God; in a word, not God? No, but Scripture reclaims; and the whole Catholick Church reclaims; and ChriftianEars would not bear it. So then, it feems, it is highly neceflary to fpeak Orthodoxly, whatever we think ; to (trip the words of their Senfe, and to retain the Sound. But to proceed.
As to the latter part of the Query, I am to cxped no clear or diftinft Anfwer: Becaufc what is meant by a necejfary Emanation by the Will of the Father, you underftand not ; nor what again by the dijference of Will, and Arbitrary Will, p. 52. Had you but retained
♦SeeSocr.E. Hift.l.i.c. 19. p. 82. Theod.l.i. c.28.
K 3 in
12(5 y^DEFENSE Qu. VIIL
in Mind, what you muft have obferved, wherl you read the AntientSy you could not have bceil at a lofs to apprehend my meaning. You may pleafe to remember, that one of the principal Arguments made ufe of by the * Arians^ againft the Catholicksy was this :
^ Either the Father begat the Son with his Confent and Will 5 or againft his Will and Con* fent : If the former y then that A5i of the Will was antecedent to the Son's Exiftencc 5 and there- jFore He was not Eternal : T^izlatter^ waspiain^ ly too abfurd for any Chriftian to own.
The CathoUcks took two ways of anfwering the T)ilemma, One, which was the beft and lafcft, was, by *= retorting upon the Anans, the "Dilemma, thus : Was God the Father, GW, with J or againft his Will ? By this fhort Que- ft ion, That fo famous Objedlion of the Arians^ was ^effedually filenc'd.
But befides this Anfwer, they had alfo ano^ thcr^ They admitted that the Generation of
• See Athanaf. Orat. Contr. Arian. 2, 3,4. Hilary, p. 1184. tjicg. Nyii"". p. 62f. Pctav. deTrin. p. 128.
^ Interrogant ("Ariani ) utrum Pater Filium Volens an Nchns gc- hucriti ut i\ refponfum fuerit quod Volens genuerit, dicant, prior cfl: erpo Voluntas Patris ; quod autcm Nole?is genuerit, quis potefl di'ccre ? Augujl. Cohtr. Serm, Arian. I. i . p. 6z6. Bened. Ed.
*^ Athanaf. Orat. 3. p. 61 1. Ber,ed. FA. Greg. Nazianz,. Orat. 3 j". ■p. ydf. Auguft. de Trin. 1. 15-. c.8o. p. 994.
" Viciffim cuaefivit ab eo, utrum Deus Pater, Volens an Nolens, fit Deus: ut ii reiponderct, Nolens, lequeretur illamiferiaquamde Deo credere magna infania efl, fi autem diceret, Volens, reiponde- rerur ci, ergo & Ipfe Deus efl, fua Voluntate, non Natura. Quid "'ergo rclbbat, nifi ut obmutefceret, & lua intcrrogatione obliga- tum infolubili vinculo fcvideret. Augujl.ibiJ.
Air :hh fartlm^xpUiu'd-in the PoU-'Script. ^'.4.51.
the
Qu. VIIL offo7^e Q\J E R I E S. 127
the Son was with the Will and Confent of his Father; in the fame Scnfe that He is wife, good, juft, &c, neceffarily, and yet not againft his Will. Some thought it reafonable to fay, that the Father might eternally will the Gene- ration of the Son, and that He could not but will fo, as being eternally Good. ^ See Teta- *vius. This way of reafoning ^ Bifliop Btdl mentions, hardly approving it : And one would almoft think that "" Dr. Clarke was once in- clinable to fubfcribe to it : underftandins; eter- naly as we do. But He thought fit '^ afterwards to explain Himfelf off, into another meaning. There was another Notion which « fome of the primitive Writers had 5 Namely, this : That fince the IVillo^ God is God Himfelf, as much as the Wifdoniy &c. of God, is God Himfelf 5 whatever is the fruit and produd of God, is the fniit and proditEi of his Willy Wifdom, (^c, and fo, the Son, being the pcrfed Image of the Father, is Sttbftance of Subftancey Wif- dom of IVifdoniy Will of Willy as He is Light of Light y and God of God: which is Si. Aii- ftiris Doftrine , in the ^ place cited in the Margin.
By this time, Iprefume, youmay underftand what I meant by the latter part of the Query.
» Pag. 5-91, 5-92. 'D.F.N, p. 222.
•^ Script. Doftr. p. 280, c^c. ^e^ly, p. 113. Vaper givm in to the Bijhops. " Clarke's Lett. N. 8.
' See the Teftimonies colle^ed by Cotclerius, in his Notes upon the Recognitions of Clem. p. 492. and by P&tavius, I. 6. c 8.1. 7. c. 12. See efpecially, Athanaf. Orat. 3. pag. 613. Bened. Ed. Epiphan. Haeref. 74. p. 895-. ^ Dc Trin. 1 i;-. c. 8.
K 4 There
128 y^ D E F E N S E Qli. VIII. There is a fober , Catholick Senfc, in which the Son may be acknowledged to be by^ or from^ the Will of the Father, and yet may be a necejTary Emanation ahb. And therefore Dr. Clarke did not do well in oppofing thofe two, one to the other 5 as if they were incon- fiftent : Efpecially confidcring that He produces fcveral Authorities to prove the Generation to be by a * Tovjer of WtlU in oppofition to NeceJJity of Nature^ from Writers who af- lerted Both $ and denied only fuch a fuppofed iieceffity as might be againft, and a force upon the Father's Will. This is manifeft of his Cita- tions from the f Council of Sirmium, Maritis ViEiorinnSj Baflj and Gregory Nyjfew^ and hath been clearly fhown by his Learned II An- tagonift. The Sum of all is, that the Genera- tion of the Son may be by NeceJJhy of Na- tiirey without excluding the Concurrence or Approbation of the Will. And therefore Wtll^ (/'. e. confent, approbation, acquiefccnce) is one Thirig 5 and Arbitrary Willy (that is, free Choice of what might otherwife not be) is Anotker. You endeavor to prove, that the Son derives his Being from the Will of the Father, \w this latter Scnfe 5 which is the fame thing with the making Him a Creature, You recite fomc
* Script. Do<fi:r, p. 2.Sr, ^c. a.hr.y, i.j-y ^r,
f Script. Doiflr. p. 285-, zS6. alas, lyi, 25-3.
fj TrucScript.l^odr. continued, p. 119, ^f. ■ N. B. Tin DoHor manifefily pcr^erts the S:afe of the Council of Sinnium, and of Flilary'j Comment nfon //, by mifiranflatinc; them ; ^/<m.:^' without his Will, infLead of ai^ainll his Will. Scq the Preface to my Sermons y p. 20
Scraps
Qu, VIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. up
Scraps of Quotations, as colkfted by Dr. Clarke and Dr. Whitby^ in your Notes (/>. 5 1 .) Not one of the Citations is to your Purpofe, or conies up to your Point. For inftance; Igna-^ this fays, * Clirift is the Son of God^ accord- ing to the Will and Tower of God, Suppo- fing this not to be meant of his f miraculous Conception, and Incarnation, (which the Con- text has been thought to favour, and which Bi- fliop Tearfon inclined to, in his Notes) yet fee how many feveral Interpretations it may bear, befides what you would fix upon it.
1. The Fruit and Off-fpnng of the Will and Tower of God: fignifying no more than God of Gody in the Senfe intimated above, p. nj,
2. By the eternal WiM and Power of God, in a Senfe likewife before intimated, and own'd by fome of the Toji-Nicene Writers.
* 'AXyi^eoq ovrx cit yiviS(; AaQi^ kxtx cru^tca^ lily QtS KXrai B-i>\.iju,e6 xtci ^uvccfjijiv 0£5.— Ignat.Ep. 2d Smyrn. c i. p. i.
f / can bf no means think, that the Son is here called, Itot; QsS^ in refpeci of his Incarnation -^ -which was really his Nativity Tcecroe. <ru.cKcc, to which this other is oppofed , a7id v^hich mujl therefore he iirukrflood of fome ^rg^fr Sonfliip. The FlTrafe of ycarcc (ru.0KU,, has Seen corftantly fo interpreted by the Antients ; Irenjcus, Tertullian, Origen, Novatian, the Synod of Antioch in the Cafe of Paul of Samofata, Hippolytus, Eufebius, Ladtantius, all explaining Chrt(i*s being the Son of David according to the FleHi, by his Birth of the bleffed Virgin ; and the Fhrafe Kocrk crapjtflt as oppofed to a prior Son- Ihip, in his divine Nature before the World was i in which refpeci He was Son of God, before he became Son of Man. That Ignatius intended the fame is highly probable, not to [ay evident, from his own Words, elfcwhere. Il^)> utmuv tscc^ zrxre/, h. Magnef. c. 6. '/;» Tif 0s2, 0(5 i^iv xurS Aoy®- oit^i©^. Ibid. C S. Xg/*5-5 t» liS OsS, tS yv/oiji^ivd, on u^ipw, cun (r7:i^fjbxro<i Aoi«/J^. Rom. c. 7. Compare Apoflol. Conftit, 1.8. C. I. 'Ev^oy.lci QicZ 6 zrfo ccimcov fjuovoyivy^q^
3. With
t30 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIIL
3. With the Approbation, and Acquiefcencc of God, in the lame Senfe that He is pleafed with, and acquiefccs in, his own Wifdom, Goodnefs, and other Perfedions.
4. The paflage may relate, not to the Son's Generation in the higheft Senfe; but to his Manifejlation, or Coming forth^ in order to create the World ; which is a kind of * Fili- ation mentioned by Jujiin Martyr y Athe- nagoras y TheophiluSy Tertttllian^ Tatian y Novatian , and Hippoljtus , and fuppofed as ^Ghmtary a Thing, as the Incarnation after- wards 5 tho' the fame Authors aflerted the Eter- riity and Confuhflaniiality of the Aoy©*, or di- vine Nature of Chrift; of which more here- aftor.
From thefe four Particulars you may per- ceive, how little you can be able to prove from that Paflage in Ignatius, As to Jtiftin Martyr^ I have already hinted, in what Senfe He made the Generation voluntary. But why you fliould chufe to do that good Father a doable Injury, firfl in curtailing his Words, and next in. mifre- prcfenting his Senfe, you can bcft Account. The whole Paflage is this, litcrnlly trandated : **-|-Who, according to his {the Father's) good
* Clement of Alexandria feems to intend the fame (p. 65-4. Ed. Ox-. Comp. p. 86.) exprejjing it bytheroord rir^iA^^m. And it is extremely pobdbk that Ignatius had the very fame Thought. Aoy<^ uifi®- ovx, MTTo a-iyri(, ^rposA^irf^ ad Magnef. cap. 8. "Eycc 'Ua-ovv XfiTcv, rov up', fV6{ sr(»Tf)05 <jrf?f^'3"ovTee, X6C« iic, ivct ovTcc ku.1 ^cJ^^CTiivJci, Ibid.
Op. 7. ^ ^ ^ , , V , ^ ; ,-
^ L-zstiffTilf r"^, y^ufjjvf etiroZ. p. zSo.S/lb. Jeb. 370. Parallel t»
'' Plea-
Qu. VIII. offome QUERIES. 151
*' Plcafure, is God, being his Son; and an " Angel too, as miniftring to his Father's Will. The meaning is not, as you reprefent it, that Chrift is God, by the Will of the Father (the* even that might bear a good Senfe according to what has been obferved above) but that it was the Father's good pleafurc that He Ihould not only be God, as He always was, being God's Son ; but that He Ihould take upon Him befides, the Office of an Angel. That He was God was a * fiecejfary Thing, as He was God's Son, of the fame nature with Him : but that He fhould be Both 5 /". e, God and an Angel too 5 this was intirely owing to God's good Pleafure. However, you have been fomething civiller to this antient Father, than Dr. IVhitby has been, in his modeft "Difqtiifitions -, who, to ferve a bad Caufe, ufes a worfe Art ; -f cuts the Quo- tation (hort at tjov aurU; and then to make his own Senfe out of that Paffagc, inferts {Et) in his Tranflation, rendering it thus: ^i ex vo- luntate Ipjitis & TDeus eft^ Et Filius s leaving out, Et jdngelusy to which the former, Et^ re-
•K>hich is that of Novatian. Perfonae autcm Chrffti convenit ut 8c Deusfif, quia Dei Filius j ScAngeiusfit, quoniam paternae difpofi- tionis Adnuntiator eft. Novat. c. z6.
^ * For, tho He was God, as being God's Son ; and a. Son Ketrit ^h- Anf, according to Juftin, and other Writers before mentioned j yet they did not think that he was God, koltoc /3«Aj)v. ^ut becaufe He came forth, as a Son, from the Father ; and was not produced l\ »jc ovrm, {as all Creatures are) therefore He was God, having ever exijled, before his Coming fonh, in and with the Father. Hie ergo quando Pater voluit, proceflitex Patrci &: Qui in Patre fuit, proceflitcx Patre. Novat. c.i6.,
t Whitby s Difq. Modeft, p. 32.
fcrr'd.
ijs y^ D E F E N S E Qu. VIII.
fcrr'd. Strange that any fliould be fo refolutcly eager to angod their Saviour, as not to permit the cauic to have a fair hearing. It were pious, at lead, to let the Reader know, what has, or what can be faid on the other fide of the Que- ftion ; and to give it its due Weight and Force. This is reafonable in any the moft trifling Mat- ter, that can come before us? But certainly much more fo, where His Honour is conccrn'd whom All Men are commanded to Honour ^ even as They Honour the Father y Joh. 5.23. For my own part, I declare once for all ; I de- fire only to have Things fairly reprefented, as they really are 5 no Evidence fmother*d, or ftifled, on cither Side. Let every Reader fee plainly what may be juftlj pleaded here, or there, and no more 5 and then let it be left to his impartial Judgment, after a full view of the Cafe : Mifquotations and Mifreprefen- tations will do a good Caufe harm 5 and will not Ions; be of Service to a bad one. But to return : The fecond Citation which you bring from Jnfiin, you give fuch an Account of, as mull: make one think, either that you never faw
the Book you mention ; or elfe but fee
the Paffage in the * Margin. Your words are^ He hath all thefe Titles [before 7nention[d, viz.
* ''E;^«y yi<f ttuvto. <2^(rovcfA>x'C^i^xiy tx. re rS uTrr^inTY r» Ts-ar^i- xS ^ifXiifj^uUy kaI cm rS octto r» srttrpoe S-;>.yi(r<i ytyivvtixl^. Dial. p*. 138. |cb. // is not from his being Beget ten of the Father, that He h^th all thefe Titles j but from that, and his Admin'ifiring to his FAth-rs WiU. Both together ^ {not either lingly j ttili accotint for all thefe Titles,
that
Qii. VIIT. of fame QJJ E R I E S. 13?
that of SoUy JVifdomy Angela God, Lord, and Word) from his being Begotten of the Father by his tVill'-i direftly contrary to the whole Tenor of the "Dialogue \ and the very imme- diate Words preceding thofe you cite. In your third Quotation, you are pleas'd, for the fake of Englifh Readers, to miftranflate -ar^eXS^ovIa, produced, inftead of, coming forth, or proceed- ing. Your next Citation is from Clement of Alexandria: In which I find no fault but your referring to Strom, 5 . inftead of Strom, 7. and bringing a PalTage not certainly pertinent to the Point in Queftion. If you pleafe to look into the * Author Himfelf, you will find it, at leaft, doubt- ful, whether He be fpeaking of the Generation of the Son 5 or only fhowing how He, by the Father's good Pleafure, was at the Head of Affairs, and adminiftred his Father's Kingdom. Your next Author is ^ Tertullian, who is in- deed fpeaking of the Generation, that is. Ma- nifeftation, ox. Coming forth, of the Son: And here you render protulit, produced, meaning into Being y or into a State of E^iiflence^ which is not Tertullian'% Senfe, nor of any of the Fathers, who fpeak of that Matter. Ter- tullian exprefly || excepts againft it : So doej;
* Clem. Aiex. Strom. 7. p. 833. Ox. Ed. '^rruvrai r «iya3-»>',,
yo^ Kiy^iTiUt;, ^yxfx/it; ««A>):t](^ cx,iSii;(ri '. » yaip o vt*y rSra 6><pdr} to^
f Tunc cum Deus voluit, ipfum primum frotulit Sermonenv Jertul, Contr. Frax, c. 6. jj Contr. Prax. c. f .
I * Tatian^
134 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIIT,
* Tatiariy the next Author which you name : And fo likewife ^ AthenagoraSy and <= Hip- folytuSy whom you have not named : But I chufe to mention Them, as being ufeful to explain the former. ^ Eufebius may reafon- ably be interpreted by Thofe that went before Him 5 or by the Emperor Confiantine's Ex- plication of this matter, which fliali be cited hereafter ,• or by his own Account of the Holy undivided Trinity, before mention'd : If not; his Authority, againft the Catholicks before and after Him, and againft Himfclf, muft appear of Imall Weight. The reft of your Authorities I have already fpoke to; and you may per- ceive, by this Time, I prefume, that none of them fpeak home to the purpofe for which they were cited. However, for the fake of fuch who, being little acquainted with thefe Matters, may be liable to be impofed upon by a few fpecious Pretences, I fhali now go a little deeper into the point before us ; and endeavor to fet it in a true Light.
The diftinftion of a « threefold Generation of the Son, is well known aiiiong the Learned, and is thus explain'd.
I . The firft, and moft proper Filiatioriy and Generation is his eternally exifting in, and of
» Tatian. Sc£t. 7. p. 20. Ox. Edit, *• Legat. Sc6l. i o. p 39. Ox. Edit. ' Conrr. Noet. Sed:. 10. p. 13. Vol. i.Ed. Fabric. •** See True Script. Docir.CQ-ithtued, p. li^ « Bull. D. F. p. XT,!. Brev. Animadv. in Gil. Gierke, p. io>'4' Fabric.Not. in Hiippoi. Vol i. p. i^i.
4 the
Qu. VIII. offome QXJ E R I E S. 1 3 s
the Father 5 The eternal AoyQ^^ of the eternal Mind. In refped of this, chiefly. He is the only begotten^ and a diftinft Perfon from the Father. His other Generations were rather Condefcenfions, firft to Creatures in general, next to Men in particular.
2. Wisfecond Generation w^s his Condefcen- Jion, Manifefiation, coming forthy as it were, from the Father (tho' never feparated or divided from Him) to create the World : This was in Time, and a voluntary Thing ; and in this re- fpeft properly, He may be thought to be -nreca- TOTox©' 'nracryjf XT/Vscof : Firjibom of every Crea- ture 5 or before all Creatures.
3 . His third Generation, or Filiation, was when He condefcended to be born of a Virgin, and to become Man. Thefe Things I here fup- pofe or premife only, for the more diftinft Ap- prchenfion of what is to follow ; not expeding to be believed farther than the Proofs can juftify. We may now proceed to fpeak of the Doftrine of the Antients.
It is obfervable, that the Ante-Nicene Wri- ters are more fparing, than Thofe that came after in fpeaking of the Jirjl^ the eternal Generation : Sparing^ I mean, as to the Terniy oxiThrafe-y not as to the Thing it felf. The Eternity of the Word, or Acy©', and the Diftinftion of Perfons, they all held 5 together with the Con- fubftantiality, and Unity of Principle 5 which together are as much as can be meant by eternal Generation..
Ire-
i$6 yf D E F E N S E Qu. VIIL
Iren^us is a * frequent and conftant Afferter of the Eterm^y of xhzJVord-^ h\jit eternal Ge- neration we do not read in expreft Terms. Yet we find what amounts to it, by neceffary Implication. In one particular place ^ He cen- fures thofe who pretend to afcribe any begin- ning to the Nativity of the Word ; which is, in effcd, aflerting an eternal Trolation^ or Ge- neration 5 for He makes thefe words ^ equi- valent.
Origeny Commenting upon the Words of the fecond Pfalm : Thou art my Son^ this day have I begotten Thee -y Proceeds thus : " ^Tliey are " fpoken to Him by God, with whom it is " always To day : For, I conceive, there is no " Evening nor Morning with Him ; but the " Time co-extended, if I may fo fpeak, with " his unbegotten and eternal Life is the To *' T>ay in which the Son is begotten 5 there <^ being no beginning found of his Generation, " any more than of the To T>ay, This is far-
■ Pag. 15-3. 163. 209. 25-3. Ed. Bened. We do not pretend to Argue merely from the force of the word {emper, or cctl, but from That and other Circumjlances . as vphen Infedlus goes along with it, or the likey p. 15-3. ulndas Semper aderat generi humano, p. 209. imimates that He was with Men, as foon as any Men exijiedj So, exiftens femper apud Patrem, intimates hit being coeval with the Flit her.
^ Prolationis initium donantes, /. 2 c. 14.^. 132.
' /. 2. C.28./>. 15-8. ^
icTTifia QsS. lyct) S y.^/SajMort ^a\ TTouicc. 'AAA* 6 (rvu/TrxDiKTeiveov tm tcynvy.Tu y^ caaiM ectiTa C^e^v, iv tsruq u^rai^ X^'^^^^f >ifJijt^cc J5"»y ««- TiJ a-yifJUifoy^ c^i yj yiymvtTcci o iioq. a^f;:^?? ytvinaq ccvrS isruc, i^ w- p*(rK5/>(»iy>j5, i)^ i^ Tm yijuifxq. Com. in Joh. p. 31. Compare with this, the Citation from Origen, i» PamphilusV apology,
ther
Qii. VIIL offome (QUERIES. 157
ther confirm'd by what ^ Athanajius quotes from Him, where Origen calls it Prefumption ^ to a- fcrihe any Beginning to the Son ; and fpeaks of the only begotten^2iS being '^al'oi'ays^iih. the Father. To Origen I may fubjoin ^ Novatian, who fays, the Son muft have always exiftcd in the Father, or elfe (which he takes to be abfurd j the Father would not have been always Fa- ther, This, I think, can bear no Senfe, un- lefs always be underflood ftridly. And it is very manifeft that ^ Novatian fuppofcs the Son to have exifted before that Troceffion, Coming forth, or Nativity y which He fpeaks of, in that Chapter. Some indeed have thought, that Novatian underftands not the Word, Semper^ there, in the ftrid Saife, of unlimited Dura- tion : Wherein, I humbly conceive, They are miftaken. I have tranfcribed the ^Paflage into the Margin, and fliall proceed to explain its meaning. After the Author had faid, Semper eft in ^atre. He immediately adds a fentencc which (hews that He underftood. Semper, as
' De Decret. Synod Nic. p. 233. Ed.Bened.
** hoc ro>\^yi<rc<,c, ri<i uo^uo dS> hvXI vi^ zr^ri^'>v CCTO ovi(^>
** Semper enim in Patrej ne Pater non femper Pater, r. 31.
* Et qui in Patrc fuit, proceflit ex Patre : 8c qui in Patre fuit, quia ex Patre fuit, cum Patre poftmodum fuit , quia ex Patre pro- ceiTit, f. 3 I .
^ Hie ergo cum fit genitus a Patre, Semper eft in Patre. Semper autem fie dico, ut non innatum, fed natum probem j Sed qui ame omne Tempus eji, Semper in Patre fuiflTe dicendus eft : nee enim Tempus Illi affignari poteft, qui a77te Tempus eft. Semper enim in Patre, ne Pater non Semper fit Pater ; quia & Pater Ilium etiam praccedit, quod necefie eft prior fit qua Pater fit: quoniam antece- datnecefte eft Eum, qui habet Originem, Il.'equiOxiginem nefcit.
138 y^ D E F EN S E Qu. VlII.
we fay, a parte ante. But withal there is a ieeming Rcftriclion : Sic dicOy tit non Innattim fed natnm prohem. There might be fome then^ ns well as 7iO'ji\ who knew not how to diriinguifli between Eternity, and Self- existence. The SabeUians, in particular, itiight pretend that the Son, being Eternal, muft be the Selfexiftent Father Himfelf. It was therefore neceflary for the Author to guard, in the manner He does, againft any fuch Miftake, or Mifconftrudion. So Alexander Bifhop of Alexandria, while He maintains the ftrid Eter- nity of the Son, to guard againft the invidious Mifconftrudion of the Arians, inferts the like Caution *. " Let no Man, fays He, miftake " Eternal, as if it were the fame with Self- " exijlenty as {fhe Avians) having their minds " blinded, are wont to do. This may fervci for a good Comment upon Novatian, To pro- ceed : Novatian adds ; Qiii aiite omne Tempus eft. Semper in Tatre fuijje dicendus eft. Here He explains. Semper, by, a7ite omne Temptts. Now, this is the very fame, with Him, as if He had laid of the Son, qtiod non aliquando caper it', as may appear by the -f Account He gives of the Eternity of the Father -, explain-
* See p. I 2:j. vid.ctiam HiLv.-p.i i66,i 35-4. Prutlent.Apoth.p. 172.
I Niii forre (quod abllt) aUqu.inclo effecAperit, ncc fupcr omnia fit, fed dum poftahquid cfle atperir, intra (!cg. infra^ id iit quod antclpfumfuerit, minor inventus potcflate, dum poflerior denota- tur etiam ipfo Tonporc. Novat. c. 2. Mark tie Force of the ivonls, Etiamlpfoj mtimating that rofieriority inTnne is alo-^v degree of Vojle- riority, and that a Thing might he faidto <^f porter ior ir; a higher Sen fe th;ifi thiit ; viz. in Order of Nature, asi^ve taw it.
■V ins
Qu. VIIL offome (QUERIES. 15^
ing it by his not being pojlerior to Time: And his having no Time before, is the very fame, with having nothing ^ preceding. Wherefore, when Novatian fpeaks afterwards of the Fa- ther's hdn^ precedent to the Son, He can mean it only in order of Nature^ not in refped of duration. And this I take to have been the meaning of the Catholick Writers, before and after the rife of Arianifm, by the Phrafes ante
TempUSy "^po alaJvoov, "sr^o Travroov aicJvcov, or the
like, as applied to God the Son. So ^ Hilary in the Name of the generality of the Chriftians of his Time, interprets it : So Alexander of Alexandria, in his Letter extant in Theodorit^% the ^Sardican Fathers in their Synodical^'^'i- (tie 5 and the ^ Catholick Bifliops, upon the opening of the Council of Ariminum, Thus alfo we are to underftand, "js^po 'urd'jrc^'i r aicJvwv, in the Conjlantinopolitan Creed. Thz^Arians indeed, equivocating upon the Words, Timey and Ages, eluded the Catholick Scnfe, ftill re- taining the Catholick Expreffion : But the Ante-Nicene Catholicks were fuicere, plain, honeft Men 5 and do not feem to have made ufe of thofe fubtile Diftindtions, They under-
' Id quod fine Origine eft, prascedi a nullo poteft, dum non habet Tempus. Ibid. Tempus here mcimfef.ly jignifies Duration, in the largejl Senfe i not Time, in the rejlmind Senfey as the Ariang afterwards underjiood it.
** Audiunt ante Tempor a i putantid ipfum, anteTempora, eflequod Semper e^. Contr. Aux. p. 1166. Co??ip.Tnn.\. iz.-p. 1129. 113^.
^ Eccl. Hift, 1. I. C.4. p. 13. c^r.
^ ApudTheod. E, H. ]. 2. c.8. p.8o,8i.
* Hilar. Fragm. p. 1343. Ed. Bened.
fSet Athauaf. Vol.1, p,4i8,HiIar. 1 1 19. Epiphan.Ha;r.74.pp 887,
L z flood
104 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIIL flood thofe Phrafes as they would be com- monly undcrftood by the People; otherwife they would not have ufed them, without greater caution and rcferve. * Sijinnius, of the Novati- anSz^y long ago obferved (which confirms what I have been mentioning) that the A nticnts ne- ver would attribute any Beginning to the Son of God, believing him to have been Co-eter?7alwhh the Father. The Reader may obfcrvc the ufe of thofe Phrafes, in the places referr'd to in the -f Margin 5 all of them admitting, moft of them requiring, the Senfe I contend for. I men- tion not the Interpolator of Ignatius' s Epiftles, an Arian, probably, of the fourth Century, or later. To return toNovatian: when he adds, Tempus tin affignari non pGteft : He does not mean only, that no particular Time of the Son's Exiftence is ajjignable 5 but, that it was before all Time, as himfelf expounds it, ante Tem- pus ejty i. e. ftriaiy Eternal-:, II which agrees . with what follows, and makes it Senfe : Sem- per enim in Tatre, ne Tater non femper Jit ^ater. What can be more exprcfs for the
♦ Socrat. E. H. \.f. c. lo.
t Ignatius ad Magnef, c.6. p. 2i. Juftin. Fragm. in Grab.Spic. Vol. 2. p. 199. Melifo in Cav. H. L. Vol. 2. p.^^^. Origen in Pamph. Apolog. Hippolytus Fragm. Fabric. Vol. 2.p. 29. Concil. Antioch. Contra. Paul. Sam. Lab. Tom. i. Dionyf. Alexandr, Refp. Contr. Paul. Q^ 4. Lucian. Symb. apud Socr. I. 2. c. 10. Apofl:. Conftit. 1. 8. c. 5-. F/</. etiam Siiicer, Thefaur. m voce^ A^m,
jj Hilary 'i -words tfrnyferve as a Comment «^o;? Novatian'j. Quod ante Tempus natum eft, Semper eft natum. Quia id quod eft ante jEternum Tempus , hoc Semper eft. Quod autem Semper eft ratum, non admittit nealiquando non fucrit: quia aliquando non ^iffc, jam non eft femper cfte. hilar. deTrin. p. 1127.
4. Eter.
Qu. VIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 141
Eternity of the Son, than to declare that the Father was never without Him ? He plainly fuppoies it abllird to Hiy, that the Father was ever no Father, or, which comes to the fame, that ever the Son was not. What follows there- fore, in that Chapter, of the Father, pracedity and antecedat necejfe eft, &c. can only be un- derftood of z priority of Nature y * not of Time, or T>iiration\ and in This all Catholicks agreed. You'll excufe my dwelling fo long upon Nova- tian : it was neceffary, to clear his Senfe, and to obviate fome -f fpecious Pretences, not only againft Novatian, but other Catholick Writers of whofe meaning there is lefsdifpute. From hence may be underftood in what Senfe all the Oriental Bifliops (if the Fad be true, relying only on the doubtful Credit of || Arius) might
teach, -nr^ouVa^j^etv ra ijs t ©sov d^d^yjj^^. That it could not be meant in Arius s Senfe, is fuf- ficiently evident, from the determination of the iV/V^??^ Fathers, which has infinitely more weight in it than his fingle Teftimony 5 and fliews the Senfe of the whole Church, in a manner, at that Time. But enough of this : I fhall only remark, before I part with Novatian, that He is an Evidence both for the Firjly and Second Nativity, or Generation, of the Son. As He fuppofes the Son exifting before the Troceffiony (which is the voluntary Nativity He fpeaks of)
* Vid. Origen. apud Pamph. Apolog. p. 230. Zen. Veron. in Exod. Serm. 9.
t Whitby Modeft. Difq. pref. p. 29, 3 o. Proem. p. f. Lib. p. 1 66. II Apud Theodorit. E.l. i. c. f. p. 21.
L 3 and
1^1 ^DEFENSE Qa. VIIL
and prc-exifting as a * Son^ He cannot be un- derdood othcrvvifc. See this more fully ex- plain'd in Bifliop Bulh. If any othci' Writers, who cxprefly held an eternal Generation, any where fpeak alfo of a temporal TrocefJJon^ or Nativity^ the fame may be true of Them alfo. I only give this hint, by the way, and pafs on.
^ i>ionyJiUs of Alexandria^ who lived about the fame time with Novatiany afferts the fame Do£lrine ; viz. That the Father was aliz'ays Father ; and never was without his Son : which is the fame as to maintain eternal Generation^ which He afterwards afferts in Terms.
*^ "DionyfiuSy Bifhop of Rome, Contemporary with the other, declares that the Son is eter- naly and that there never was a time when the Son was not ; adding in Confirmation of it, that He is the Word^ the JVifdom, and the Tower of God. This, tho' it be cxprefs for the Eternity of the Son, yet is not full ioneter-
* Sive dum Virkum eH:, fivedum V'trtus eft, five dum Sapientia cd, fivedumiwAT eft, iivedumF/7:«;eft ^ r.onexfecft, quia nee innatus eft. That is, He is natus, conJJder'd under any Capacity ; -whither as Ao'v©-, cuju'cifj^ic, on-cCpU, or ^Zc, or hio^, -xhtther before theVroccJJioriy or after. This fecms to bs the mcft probable Corfiruciion of the Fajfage y and mofi Confonam to what He had faid before. Comp. Athanaf.
Vol. I. p. 222. ^ ^ "D.F.p.222.
* Ov yuo y.v en. o Gio<; Ctoo kv ^aryirm 5^ yu^ Jt), Tiir^'y ecfov(^
m o &iofj, eir» i-^rccidoxciica-urc. ociaviov Trooicetrcct kxI (rvn^ivecvrZ,
ro ctTTccuyutrfJijec ccvu^x>^.v yxn oce-tyiv^^ Athan. Vol. I. p. 25*5 .
* Ri yxp yifcyiv vice, y,y cTi CVTC «v. «:« •) «v ii yt ci Tft* "^UTf^yi if IV, 0!^ uiJrc^ <Pwi, Jf^ «' Ae7<^» »f» (Tc^m^ ^ ^uveCfJC/K; 6 X^i?-/?. dpud Athanaf. Decrct.Syn. N.232. E<' toIvwj ytfcvtv o vioii, »» en one h TCiZru. viv a^ x«i^5, on /j&fj? r^rav h 0 Qicc,. ura^o)- Tuf^v 3 Tcuro. Ibid. This and Novatlan'j Tejiimony, Loth of the mrm AgCy may frve to illuflrate each other ^
nal
Qli. VIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 14;
7ial Generation \ unlcfs it had been faid, Eter- nal, as a Son, He might be fuppofed Eternal, as the Ao7©^5 and his Sonjhip commence after- wards. And therefore I do not put this among the clear unexceptionable Authorities for eter- nal Generation 5 though hardly any reafonable doubt can be made of it, fincc he fuppofed the Father, the Head, Root, Origin, of the A07®'. * Methodius fpeaks more clofe and home to the Point. For, upon the Words of the TfaU mifl : Thou art my Son, this day have I be- gotten Thee; He comments thus. " It is ob- " fervable that his being a Son, is here in- *^ definitely exprefs'd without any Limitation " of Time. For he faid. Thou art, not Thou " bee am' ft my Son; fignifying that He did " not acquire any new Filiation, nor fhould " ever have an end of his Exiftence, but that " He is alivays the fame. He 'f goes on to fpeak of his after Filiation, intimated in the words. This day have I begotten Thee-, and obferves, that it was more properly a Mani- feftation of Him; confonant to what He had faid before, that He could not have a new Fi- liation. This may relate either to what I be- fore called his Second, or to his 37?/>^ Genera-
^ Tl(*eu\r^v^iOV yei^ or* to ^ vio9 avTov ilveti eto^i^&x; U7r£(pycilo, ?^ TOY uvTCii TiTv^'/iKivoti T^ ikoB-iCicci;, f/jyjTS OAj tc^cut: ufc^omci> TiX(^ ^%'^'
xivM, u>,x' ilvxiccil T ccuTcy. Apud Phot. Cod. 237. p. p6o, Comp. Athanaf. Fragm. in P/alm p. 75-. Cyril. Catechef. 3. p. 46. Bened.
^jYAVcii, 0 ^i> «V<> TT^ci^iv oiy»oi!fS/)ov yyc^fio-cci. Ibid.
L 4 tion:
144 ^DEFENSE Qu. VIII. tion : The Words are ambiguous, and capable of cither Scnfc.
To Methodhis I may fubjoin TamphihiSy who, while He delivers Origens Senfe, in his Apology, does undoubtedly fpeak his own too. He is very * clear and full for the eternal Ge- neration, if we may rely on the Tranflator.
Alexander J Bifhop of Alexandria^ ^ reckons it amons: the Sinsularitics of Arius. that He would not own the Father to have been always foj but pretended that God was once no Fa- ther, and that the Aoy(^ was produced in Time. I obferve, that thefe two Things are here join'd together, as being Explanatory one of the other, according to the reafoning of that Age, at leaft. And if the fame reafoning held before, as may be probably inferr'd from I! other Paflagcs of the Anticnts, then it will follow, that as many as affertcd the Eternity of the ■^h&-> oil Word, which were all without Exception, did implicitely maintain the eter- nal Generation. It appears to have been a Maxim in the Church at this Time,- that is, about the Year 315, Ten Years before the
* Inter Op.OiJ^-U.Bafil.^p. 877. _^
+ Gux. an 0 0?fl^ 77cir/,p -/iv. ccXX' y;v on 6 Qio^^ury^p ovk viVy ovk
uily.vo t5 &iou My®-, ocxX i^ ovk ovt&iv ysfcviv. Alexand. Ep. apud Socr. E. H. 1. I. C. 6. p. to. 'A(r£te£5-«r>?? av <puvua"/}^ 'f i^ouk cviuv -iJzjvC itrt&xiy uvufKV} T 7:ci,ii^(6 uu nviCL xccli^u,. Alexand. Ep. apud Theod. 1. I. c. 4. p. 13.
)J The charge brought aga'mfi 'D\ov\y Cms o/" Alexandria ; anA -which Ht clear'd Himfdf (f, was This: Ouk uu v,v 6 ©to^ tccii^' jJ» uil KV iio^, ccaX 6 _tt ©£ci5 «i» ;t*'P'5 "^^^ Xcfv. cf^vTcc, ■) 0 ytoc »x ry TT^iy
'Xwvfxy v.?X >)> 7ori en cCfc «v. Athan. Ep. dc Scntcnt.Dion.p.iy ;.
Council
Qu. VIII. offome Q\^ E R I E S. 145
Council of NicCy that the Father was always Father. The fame we have fcen, about Sixty Years before, from what has been cited out of ^ionyjius of Alexandria, and Novatian. The Teftimony of * OrtgeUy cited by Tamphilus^ with others mentioned, carry it up Thirty Years higher, to about the Year 220. Ire- 7i£tiSy Thirty Years higher, to about 190, within lefs than a Century of St. John^ Terttillian, betwixt the Two laft named, feems to have underftood this matter differently: For He fays plainly, that '\ there was a Time when the Son was not--, meaning, as a Son^ and that God was not always Father, And this is agreeable to his Principles, who al- ways fpeaks of the Generation as a voluntary Thing, and brought about in Timej as do feverai other Writers. From hence a Quet tion may arife, whether there was any Diffe- rence of Dodrine between thofe Writers, or a Difference in Words only. This is a Point which will deferve a moft ftrid and careful In- quiry.
The Authors who make the Generation Tem- porary, and fpeak not exprefly of any other, are thefe following : Jujiiny Athenagoras^ Theo- fhilusy Tatiany TertulUany and Hippolytus.
* Non enim Deus, cum prius non cflet Pater, poftea Pater elTc cxpit. &c. Pamphil. ApoLp,8jj. Comp. Orig.tn Joh.p. 44,45-.
t Pater Deus eft, 8c Judex Deus eft, non tamen ideo Pater 6c Judex fef?7per, quia Deus Temper. Nam nee Pater efle potuit ante Filium, nee Judex ante delidlum. Fuit autem Tempus cum 6; (l^Ii^um & Fillus non tuit. Tertnl. Contr.Hermog.c.-^.
Novatian
145 yf D E F E N S E Qu. VIII.
Novatian I mention not with Them, becaufe He aflerted Both. Let us then carefully examine what their Doctrine was : And that it may be done tliemore diftinftly, let us reduce it to Par- ticulars.
I. They aflerted the Co eternity of the Aa- y©*, or Wordy though not confider'd prccifely under the formality of a Son, This, I prefume, is fo clear a point, that I need not burthen my Margin with Quotations for it. It fliall fuffice only to refer to the * Places, if any fhould doubt of it. It was a Maxim with Them, that God was always Acyr^of, never "AXofc^- that is, never without his Wordy or Wtfdom, So far they agreed perfeftly with the other Writers, cither before, or after, or in their own Time, the Antients, fuppofing the Relation of the Aof©* to the Father to be as clofe and intimate as that of Thought to a Mind j and that this was infinuated in the very Name^ rightly con- cluded that the Father could not be "AXcf©', or without the Aor©*, any more than an eter- nal Mind could be without eternal Thought -f . Some have pretended that the Ante-Nicene Writers, who ufed that kind of reafoning, meant only an Attribiitey by the Aof©*- and not a realTerfon. But there's no ground or colour
* Juftin. Martyr. Apol, i. p. 122. Ox. Ed. Athenag. Legat. r. 10. p. 59. Ed. Ox. Theophilus Antioch. p. 82, 129. Ed. Ox. Tatian.p.io.22. Ed. Ox. Vtd.BuU. D.F. p. 209. Tertull. Contr. Prax. c. y. p. 5-03. c. 27. Vid. Bull. D.F. p. 24>-. Hippol/t Contr. Noet. CIO. p. 15. Edit^Tahrlc.
I JefBulJ.D.F.p.2o6.^c this farther explained Serm.7 ,^.i^i,&c.
for
qu. VIII. offofne QUERIES. 1 47
for this Pretence, as fliall be fhewn prefently. I (hall only note here, that the * later Writers, who, undoubtedly and confefledly, took the A6- 7©* to be a Verfon 5 a real, eternal Perlbn ; yet make ulc of the fame Maxim, and the very fame way of reafoning.
2. They did not mean by the A'oyi^^ or Wordy any Attribute, Toiler, Virtue , or Operation of the Father 5 but a real, fubfifting Perfon : whom they believed to have been always in and with the Father 5 and diftind from Him, before the Temporary Generation they fpcak of. If this be well proved, other Matters, as we fliall fee pre- fently, willbeeafily adjufted.
The learned and judicious "f Bifliop Bullhzs fufficiently fliewn, of every Author fingly, (ex- cept Jiiftin, whom he reckons not with Them) that He muft be underftood to have believed the real and diftind Pcrfonality of the Son; before the Temporary Troceffion, or Generation mention'd. His reafonings, upon that Head, have not been anfwer'd, and, I am perfuaded, cannot : So that I might very well fpare my Self the labour of adding any Thing farther. But for the fake of fuch, as will not be at the Pains to read or confidcr what He has faid at large 5 I fliall endeavour to throw the Subftance of it into a fmaller Compafs, in the following
* Alex. Epift.Encyc. Ath.Op. Vol. i. p. ^^c). Athanaf. Vol. i. p. 221, 424, 5-00^619. Et alibi. Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 35". p. ^74. Greg. NylT. Cat. Orat. c. i. Cyril].1.4.in Joh. c. 48. Thefaur. p. 12. z^.Damafc, 1. i. Marc. Diadoch. p. iiy.
\ Defcnf.F. N.Scft. 3. cj, 6, 7. 8; 9, 10.
Parti-
r4S ^ D E F E N S E Qu. VIIL
Particulars : Only premifing this, that fince all thefe Authors went, in the nip.in, upon the fame Hypothecs $ They arc the bcft Commentators one upon another: And whatever Explication we meet with, in any one, two, or three, may reafonably (land for the Senfe of All, if they have nothing contradictory to it. Now to proceed.
1 . * Before the T^roceJJion^ or Generatioriy of which they fpeak, they fuppofe the Father not to have been alone-:, which it is hard to make Senfe of, if they only meant that He was with his own Attributes, Powers or Perfedions : As much as to fay. He was wife^ and great, and powerful by Himfelf-y therefore He was not a- lone. Alone, indeed, they own him to have been, with rcfpeft to any Thing ad extra \ but with refped to what was in Himfelf, He was not alone ; wot Jingle, but confifting of a Plura- lity, having the Aoy©^ always with Him.
2. The fame A07©', or Word, was always 7 with Him ; convers'd with Him 5 was, as it were, aflifting in Council, according^ to thofe
* M/i^-* 'w> 0 ©so?, 1^ ov ctuT'M 0 Xcy"^, Theoph. p. 130. AwT6$
irV« woaA/vT©- y.v. All rvhich Words corrcfpond to the feiJtral Names of the Son or Holy Spirit ; >.oys«, trocpMy ^uyu^ic,, /3»An, (toZ Ts-ccTpqr^) and r?7ea7i the fame Thing. Hippolyt. p. 13. Contr, Noet. Comp. Greg. Nazianz.Orat. ^f. p. 5-74.
Solus autcm, quia nihil extrinfecus praeter ilium, cxtcrum ne tunc quidem Solus. Habebat cnim fecum, quam habebat in femctipib, Rationem fuam icilicet. Tertull. Contr. Frax. c. ^.
Writers J
Qu. Vlir. offome Q.U E R I E S. 14^
Writers ; and therefore, certainly, a diftinft Per- fon. It would be very improper to fay that God was * iriy or with one of his Attributes, or con- fulted with it : All fuch Expreflions muft denote a diftin^t Perfonality.
3. The fame individual Aoyor, who after the TroceJJion^ was undoubtedly a TerfoUy is fuppofed to have exifted before. ^ Novatian is exprefs. " He who was in the Father, pro- " ceeded from the Father. It is the fame indivi- dual Aoy©', according to "^TheophiluSy who is !%7ravTor, always, both before and after his Proceffion, with the Father 5 and therefore, if He was a real Terfon after, which is not di- fputed. He muft have been fo before. That ^ very Aoy©*, or Word, which had been from all Eternity ovcPjaOsI©', oyxa^cA/a 02»5 becomes afterwards wpoif o^xor. If therefore he was ever
uuTM "Czsiij-wi. Tatian. c. 7 . pag. 20. "O uh irvyu'!r<x.^m uura» Theoph. p. 8 2 . Tov cvra, ^i^%xvrc(; ov^iuB-irov iv Kcc^^tcc 0f ey . Id, p. 129. A little after y ToZrov tl^s (roiju'ca^ovj iuvroZ veun ^ (p^r>)in» cyTU, Ta xlyco U'jtoZ ^b^.TTuvro^ 6f/ji?^Zv, Idem. p. 129.
Si neceffaria eft Deo materia ad opera mundi, ut Hermogenes exifti- inavit; Habuit Deus materiam longe digniorem Sophiam fuam
icilicet Sophia autem Spiritus : Uxc lUi Confiliar'ms fuit. Tert,
Contr. Hermog.
* 0fo^ ^v iv 'A^x>^- rKV i) oi^X''"'^ ^^oya ^vvxfjdtv 7Fu^H>^<pxf^. Tat. p. 19. *
••Qui in Patre fuit, proceflltex Patre, p. 5 i.Zeno Veronenns, cf the folloTvtng Century^ expreffes it thus : procedit in Nativitatem, qui cratantequamnafceretur, in Patre, Which I add for Illujlration . Vid, ctiam Pfeud. Ambrof. de Fid. c. z.p. 349. Prudent. Hymn, 1 1 .p.44»
" Pag. 129.
** ToZrov T >.ofov s^'vija-s ■!xr^<poe^Kov. Theoph.p. 129. <I>*$cie^6'- T05 yfvvZvt ■a'poKKivTilKlia-iKuQAOVf T I'^ov voZv xurai jj/ova Tsr^on^ov o^rep llcffuf^eylu. Hippol. C. I O. p. I 3. Now^, o(i ■zirfo'ooct; iv x-oCfX/u iatiKfu]*
Kcu<i ©joy. c. 1 1, p. 14. C(?;7?Mre Theoph, p. 129, before cited.
a Ter-
ISO ^DEFENSE Qu. VIII,
a Per fori, He mud have been fo always. So again : The Aoy(& that fpake to the Prophets, and who was undoubtedly a Terfon, is the *very fame individual Acy©', which was always with, the Father 5 0 del o-uvxaewv owtoi. Tertiil- lian, who diftinguiflies betwxen RatiOy and Sern20 5 and aflerts the former to be Eternaly and the latter to be a Terfbn-^ yet ^connects Both in one 5 and makes Them, in Subftance, the very fame; the felf-fame Terfon Both : on- ly fuppofed under different Capacities and dif- ferent Names, before, and after the Troceffion. It was one and the fame Hypoftafis \ once Ratio (according to this Writer) and as fuch, Eternal; afterwards ^^r;^^, and as fuch, '^2iSon. The feeming difference between theanticnt Fa- thers upon this Point is eafily reconciled, fays a ^ very worthy and learned T relate of our Church. " One faith, God was not Serinona- " lis a principio, or his V/ord did not exifl till " the Creation ; others fay, Chrifl is Aoy©^ 'Ai- " c/^i©^, the Eternal IFordyOi '&iz¥2xhz\:. They " may all be undcrflood, in a found Senfc, " with the Help of this Diflinflion. The fVord, ^' as He is inivard Speech formed from the E- *' ternal Mind, was for ever with God : But as
» Thcoph.p. 8r, Zi.
•* In ufii eft noftrorum Sermomm dicere in primordio apud
Deum FuifTc, cum magis R«/w;;c;;>compctatanti(]uiorem haberi; quia non Scrmonalis a principio, fed Rationalis Deus etiam ante principium, & quia ipfe quoquc Svymo Rcit'tone confiftcns, prio- rcm earn ut Subftunt'mm fuam oftendat. Contr. Frax. c. _f. Comp, Origen. in Joh.p. 4:5, 44. '6'c^Bull Scd:. 3. c. 10.
f BiJJio^ of Lidifieid and Coventry, Serm,^. 13, 14.
" God's
Qii. Vlir. offome dU E R I E S. 1 5 1
" God's Agent to (^\i^^\zy zwA found forth t\\Q. " Wifdom of God in external Works, as fuch^
" He exifted not till the Creation the Cre-
*' ation being, as it were, a verbal Explicatioa " of what Reafon had firft filently thought, dil- " pofed, and refolved within it felf.
4. If there (till remains any doubt of this Matter, there is a farther Argument to be urg d, which may be juftly look'd upon as dear, full, and decifive in the Cafe. Had thefe Fathers believed that the Acy©', or Word, was an At- tribute only, or T^ower^ &c. before the "Fro* cefJiOTiy or Generation^ which they fpeak of ^ then it would follow, that the Son began firft to be, and was properly a Creature^ «$ cuV- ov- TWV5 in their Opinion 5 and that Troceffion was but another Word for being created. But thefe Writers do exprefly guard againft any fuch No- tion. * Novatain very clearly diftinguiflies be- tween Troceffion and Creation. AthenagoruSy is ftill more exprefs to the fame purpofe; -f de- claring that the Son was not then madcy but had exifted in the Father, as the Aoy@^j or Word, from all Eternity.
Jufiin Martyr is the firft, and the moft con- fiderable of thofe Writers ; and therefore it will be proper to examine his Sentiments with a more particular care and exaftncfs. I have fe-
* Si Homo tantummodo Chriftus, quomodo dicit, E^o ex Deo froHii, Joh. i6.— cum conilat, HominemaDeo Fdcium ejfe, non ex Deo VroceJJiJfe? c. 2;.
h ixvr-^ T ^oycy «i<^'(>;4 AeytJts^ iiv, C, I o. p. 39.
lecled
tS2 y^DEFENSE Qu. VIIL
lefted the mod material Paffages I could find^ which may help to give us a juft Idea of his Doftrinej and have placed Them in diftincl Columns, in the * Margin. It would fignify little to tranflate Them 5 becaufe the Arguments arifing from them are proper only to Scholars. I have diftinguifli'd the feveral Citations by Fi- gures, for the more convenient referring to Them. 1. 1 obferve, firft, {See N. i, 2.) that He joins dyivvrOQ'^ with ad^^af©^ and d'iJ^i©'' oppofing
I , "k'O f^ 'f> Mft;t'V?S, 0 aiv, i(p?i' i H TlXoCTVI To CV. iKUTifiCV ij T
ti^tjf/jivwv Tu ecu evil vjso) TT^ocry,-
fOfi th acJroi'— T f/) ctyl'jr/tlov cc'ia'iov tiYCt.t >.i[cv\x' Tiic, ^ yl^jvniis<i *l <93J-
fA^ivac,. Parasn. p. 90, 9 1 . Ox.
2. ' OcTot yap eV* {JuiTct T Qsov h t^xi TTors^ TUurcc <pu<rtv (p&a^n^v i^iiVy >Ci tloc Ti ilo:,<puvnBiivxi to ^yi iivUi \ti. yt/cvo^ -yb o:y(.vvr,Toi ^
ii<p6xpT0^ 0£O5, K^ 2kj^ TOUTO Qscq
irt' Dial. p. 21. ]ebb.
3. 'Rya yoef. (pwiv, ikfxn 0 cov. eivr laiui^iXXciiv iccvrov o.;Xc\io7i 0 a)v To4$ fM, iiTiv. Porirn. p- 87.
4. "OvOf/jDi Tu TtXVTOJV TTXT^i
SsTev, u.yl'jvy,TU ovTt, (7B7i'iV«v. a yuf
kuTifiOV S;ji T 3-ifO/JOV To (!vOfJI/».
TO i) Ucc.y^, id 0io5, K^ Kr*V>J5, ^ K^fie^y <c' AiaarQT7'^ cnc ovofA>cc]oi f^iv aAA* cy/i T t^jTroiiZv t^ T f^- yuv r^oa-^yia-^^' Apol. 2. p. i^.
€>£« j ISTi 6 Tthiq Of OfJUXj TT^OV- '^•JpAi^"' **'"* Ct'JTCq iCCVTOV OVOfJljCC-
^liV ci'tih *£«*'. il<; (c" jXiovoii VZ^xe-
X.(^y, Parxn.p. 87.
f» 'lifoUTdi tsv iiyii(rxfd/Jot uu
T -ZoOLTi^di T oXaV XiXccXiJKiVKl TM
MuG-ii, tS XciXuicXyTot; ecurca IvToq ys» T» &icZ, 'cq y^ uyfiXoq )C^ 'h^ -
^OACq Kiy.A'rjj, OkKOCMq iXif^OVJ
y^ j^^ Tou mo^yiTiKoZ TZviZfJi/XTociy (c" dl' KoTou Tou Xci?-ou , aq hts T TTXTi^x UTS T u4cy syvucrxv b? y^ Xoyeq tc^utctoko^
av §' ©£oy, f^ 0=0? Vzaet^^i. A- pol. I. p. 12 2, 123.
Compare the Citations before given in p. 37.
6. *0 S uibq c^uva, 0 loovoq Xi- yofo/Jcq Kv^icoq vicq, 0 Xcjoq iTp» T 7roir,y/oCTOJV i<^ (riv.cifjy ^ jyjv^-
f^Oq OTi Ty,V CiP^i)V Oi UUTOU TTOCV-
Toi iY.Tun (^ sKctryjyKTSj X^i^-cq p.
KUt)x, to KiK^i^ y^ XOtTfJlMtrXl TOi TZUVTCC ^i OiitToZ T 0«OV, AjjfJ, olOfJjOC (^ X'JTO tSCil^CV ccyvuqo)
(ry)f/jcctrnxv' ov T^Tfov KCCi to 0«o5 'X^ctrxyo^^jyua, cvx. Ivofiix t^iv, ci?i-
XoC TT^ikf^XTOe, ^va-ihtyKTH \{JIj<Pv^ Toq Tvj ipi'tril T ciyB-^uTTCcy oo^a,
Apo!. 2. p. 14. Ox,
them
Qa. VIIL offome Q^U E R I E S. 15? them to (pO^e"^^"^ T^c^o/^©^, c/^yif^iypfyiTOr, and ^XXu/jt/'/j®' : Here therefore, * df^^f^Qy-, is not confider'd as the perfonal Charader of the Father, and as fignify ing tmbegotten ; but as it belongs to the -^ ^eior. and denotes eternal, uncreated, im- mutable Exiftencc. Either yii/lm muft have behe- ved that dyivvni'^'^ in this latter Senfe, is appli- cable to the Son ; or elie He mud have iuppofed Him, not only ^V^-rro?, but ^^^o^v'yj©', c/^yi/aiaeryiTOs-, and (pOae-TOf alfo, which muft appear highly abiurd to any one who has ever Gonfider'd Jnftin'^ Writings,
2. I obfervc {See N. 2) that God's being d.-^- vnnS- and ^rq)Oa^"©^ is fuppofcd, as it were, the very Ground and Foundation of his being Gcd^^ on account of which He is ©'-^^ and without which, confequently. He could not be ©sic- If therefore the Aoy©^ be not, in this Senfc, aysw/il©' and aq^Gao?©', He is not ©^o?, according to Jtif- tin Martyr: And yet no Man is more exprefs than Jnjiiny every where, in making the Son ©sof, and infifting very much upon it.
l.Jtifiin makes 0 'j^'v to anfwer to the Fla-
* I need but hint that the ri-'orJs ct,y^v>Qsc, and oiy^vy)To^, -urith dou- ble or fingU V , hanje bcsn uf'd very pro??2!faioujiy in Autijors i and hardly came to be accurately dijlinguifh'd, till the Arian Controicrfy gave Qccafion for it. See Suicer'i Therauriis, upn the Ecclefajit- cal ufe of thefe [4'ordsi ami Cudworth for profane Writers, />. ayj- 25-4. ayjd MontfaucDn admon. in Arlian. Decrct. Syn. N. p. 207, The Son is properly u-J/^jy^rcq, as tvcll as the Father 5 fo Ignatius ; fo Irenxus i fo Origcn exprcfy files Hiw ; and Athenagoras'^ i •^jo{a}^joc, is to the fame ejf'ci. The fimiltiude of the IVord and Sound wasy very probably, the chief Re.ifon r^-hy the Title of u^'r/iTcq vpas not oftener applied to the Son, -which omifflon howeier is compen- fated by ether cr^unaknt I.xpnffhm.
M tonifts
154 ^^ D E F E N S E Qn. VIII.
tonifts TD cv. (See N. i.) And cither of them equivalent to dcu^v^ and That toysvscr:-; /ari ^x^^^ uncreated, imniUtable, ncccirarily-exifting. Now compare A^. 5. and two more Citations given above, p^g. 37. and from thence it is manifeft that Jujlin makes the Acy®- to be 0 w;, in his own proper Perfcn. And He gives the reafon here why, or on what Account, He miglit juftly llile hinifelf ©so.- (and the fame mnft hold for 6 wv) it is bccaufe He is ®io^-, as Gcd/s Son;
4. J^ijtin Alartyry having taken notice that the Father had properly no Name, (tJ^^N. 4.6.) as having nothing antecedent or pre-exiftent, does, immediately after, repeat the Obfervation of having no Name, and applies it to the Son j obfcrving that neither he, properly, has any Name, but only fome Titles or Appellations given Him, from what he did in Time -, parti- cularly from his coming forth to create and put into benutiflil Order the whole Syftem of Things. This fecirsto infinuate his Co-eternity with the Father; and the more iOy bccaufe y;//?;;/ ob- ferves, at the fame time, that He is emphati- cally Son of the Father, (0 .acv©^ >..?rc/i4'j©' y.-o^xs vc^^) T.nd Co-exillent (cn/x-i^v) with his Father, before riie World ; tho' begotten or fent forth, in
* Coni^^.xreTM.f. 564, 183,^71, iS4.F.d.JcbK I add for lllti' Jtr.itioii :!j:f:V/ordsoj ilyxW. 'Or.io u-j I'i. cc-f^'j-'ja vmI l^c;6:^^,ii ytyiv- vaJ, i-ovToxs-C'.vrfcc <^:^l)u£^y, vmI ccyiv.ilv. Cyril. Alcx. Thcfaur. />. 54. iJucii to the lame piu-pofcistliatof l-htlo before Jujlm. J? reo ce::^^^ .vsiy;-';^ piwj «::,r5^:''rii'ii0«fro:. Phil, dc Conf. Lingu.
O);,
I'- 3'-'5-
nmc.
Qu, VIII. of/ome Q,U E R I E S. 155
time, to create the Univerfe. Thefe Coiifidera- tions convince me that Jtiftiyh as well as Athe- nagorasy taught the ftrid Co-eternity of the Son 5 which is equally true of all the other Writers.
Beftdes this, the feveral * Simihtudes, which thefe Authors ufed, to illutlratethe Nature of that Troreffion ; fuch as the Sun and its RaySy the Fotmtain and its Streams, the Root and its Branches, one Fire lighting another^ and the like 5 manifedly fhew, that They never dream'd of the Sons being created. Then, the care they took left any one ftiould imagine there was any T>ivifion of the Father's Subftance 5 and their inculcating that He was prolatiis, non feparatus ; brought forth, but not feparated fnoui the Father, demonftrate their meaning to be, that here was no Produdion of a new Subftance, but an Emanationy Manifeftation, or TroceJJion of what was before. Farther, their declaring that, tho' He proceeded from the Father, He was ftill in the Father, (taken together with the f Maxim, th^it nothing is i7i God but what is God) fetsthe matter beyond all rcafonable Scruple. In a word ; as they all held the Confubftantiality of the Son with the Father, which is as clear as the Light,
* juftin. M. Dial/). 183, 373. Jebb. Athenagoras/>.4o, 96. Ox. Ed. Tatian. c. 8* p. 21, 22. Ox. Ed. Tertull. Apol. c. 21. Adv. Prax. c. 8. Hippolytus Contr. Noet. c. 11. p. 13. Contr. Jud. />. 4. Fabric. Vol. 2.
N. B. Athenagoras'j r.-^o-ds are, in fir'tflncfsy meant of the Holy GhofL only, in Both phccs. But the roafon being the f.ime for one m the other, they are equally applicable to Either i and it is thus mly I rcoiild he underfiood, wherever I apply cither of the Fajfnges to the Son. t VJd. BullD.F. N. p. 19S.
M 2 ill
156 ^DEFENSE Qii. VIIL
in their Writings ; they muft have been the moft inconfiftent Men in the World, had they thought that the Trocefjion or Generation of the Son^ was a Creation^ or ne^s; Trodu^tion of him i or had they not firmly believed that He cxifted, the living ^ind fttbftaritialfVord, from all Eternity.
Jufiiri Martyr feems to have fpoke theSenfe of all, in faying, " That the Ac-/©' co-exifted with " the Father before the Creatures j and was then ** begotten, when the Father at firft created and " put into beautiful Order the Frame of Things. See the Paflage above *. The Emperor Con^ ftantine afterwards exprcfles the fame Thought fomething more fully and diftindly, thus. " '\ The Son, who was alivays in the Father, " was begotten, or rather proceeded forth, for " the orderly and ornamental Methodizing of *' the Creation. I chufe to follow the Senfc, rather than the ftrid Letter. Whether thofc Writers went upon any folid Reafons, in aflign- ing fuch or fuch parts, in the Work of Creation, to Father, Son, or Holy Ghoft, is not very mate- rial. It is manifefl:,they fuppofed the whole Trini- ty to be concerned in it ; and to Create, as it were, in concert. Their afcribing the orderly adjuft- mcnt and beautifying part to the Son, feems to have been in allufion to his Names of A07©', and Go(^ia^ and (f^cuV. In rcfpcd of the laft of them, Hippolytus fuppofcs the Generation to
Kul TTUnCTS OV. TO ".TXr^l Ci>V, ITli T«V T vW' CtJTOV yi^jVlf/ji.;U]l ^cf-ycf^-.
/-y';Ti!'. Apud Gelaf. Acl. Syn. ^ac,palt. 3. p. j-S,
Qu. VIII. offome QU E R I E S. 157
be poftcrior to the Creation, upon God's faying. Let there be Light, Then did the Son pro- ceed (pM? ox (pGOTOf . * TertulUan fcems to have had the fame Thought 5 and, perhaps, f Origen. Athenagoras likewife fuppofes the Troceffion to he after the Creating of the unformed Mafs of Things. And yet nothing is plainer than that I! all thefe Writers believed the prior Exiftence of the Son 5 and that Things were at firft created by Him, as well as afterwards adorned and regu- lated. In fliort, whatever the Father is fuppofed to have done, was by his Son and Holy Spirit 5 therefore frequently ftiled Mantis Tatris : But the AuOjvr/a, the T)ejigning part, was thought moft properly to be rcfcrvcd to the Father, as the firft Perfon. Thefe are Things not to be too curioufly inquired into, or too rigoroufly inter- preted ; but to be underftood ^io-k^ih:'^^. In the whole, they have a very good meaning ; and were founded in the Belief of a Co-ejfential d^wi. Co-eternal Trinity.
From what hath been faid, I prefume, it is evident that there was no difference at all, in the main of the Doftrine, between Thefe, and the other Catholick Writers 5 but a different
• ♦ Contr.Prax. c.7, i2« -j- Vid.Huet.Origenian. p. 41-
IJ Ai to Athenagoras, v'td. fupra. Tertuliian fays: Deum im- 7nutabilem 8c informabilem credi necclTe eft, ut ^eternunii quod- canque transfiguratur in aliud, definit efle quod fuerat, Sc mci- pit ejfe quod non erat. Deus autem neque definit efie, nequc aliud potefteflej Sermo autem Deus, ^c. Contr. Prax. c. 27. Hippolytus hath thefe words, Uxr^l Qu/jcuho-,, adv. Jud. p. 4. 'tioq iz-oii)<riVy Contr. Noet. p. 16. 'A« y)ep h sv i'^olv BsoTrasTTiZ r^
r,icifi(«oA??. Fabric. Vol. 2. />. 19. Origen we have feen before,
M 3 manner
158 y^DEFENSE Qu. VIIL
manner only, of cxprcfling the fame Things. The Qiicftion was nor, whether the Hypoftafisy or Terfon, of the Son was from all Eternity, coeval with the Father, and confubftantial with Him i in That, they all perfedly agreed. Nor was there any difference about the ^rocefflon : for the * latter Writers acknowledged it as well asThofe before them; and made it Temporary and Voluntary^ as Thofe did. But the Que- (lion was, whether, the Son's eternal Co-ex- iftence, (I fliould rather fay, the co-eternal Ex- igence of the Acy©^,) fhould be deenVd Sonpip and Filiation or no; or whether the Trocef- Jion might not more properly be fo ftiled. TertuHian (and perhaps Others) was of Opi- nion that this latter was '\ perfect a Natruitas Sermonis ; The p erf eft Nativity, or Birth of ike IVcrd: who had been, as it were, qmefcent and tmoperating from all Eternity, till He came forth to Create the World: And II Hip- polytiis carried this Notion fo far, as to think the Filidtion not compleated-, 'till He had run thro' the laft fort of Sonlhip, in becoming Man. All this is true, in feme Senfe, and when right- ly explain'd. But other Fathers thinking this way of fpcaking liable to Abufe and Mif-con-
* Vid.Buil.Dcf. F. N. Sc<rt. vc 9.
f Contr. Pra.Y.c. 7.
Ij Contr. Noct. C. if. p. 17. O'TJ yk^ ^(r<^pxo? x«j xy.3-' ixvToD o hcycc, TiXetoi; r,v wwc, v-ai rci Tt^.oioc, X'oyoc, m /aovsj^jms- It is re- markable, that He males t' e Son pcrferffy yjovo-^j-^Ay too' not per- fn'ils yto-; bcfon the Incarnation. Others might p'rhafs reafon, in like warmer, with regard to the z! ^liXivinc, -^ thir.kwg Him to ia-ve heen A-s'y:?, or f^^vo^r.c, before it, b^t not uuc,.
' (Irudioni
Qu. VIII. of fome (QUERIES. 159 ftmdion ; and confidcring, probably, that the Aoy©^, or Word, might ^ properly be called Son^ m refped of that eternal Kxiftencc whicli He ever enjoyed />/, and from the Father as the Head, Root, Fountain, and Caufe of All ; they chofe to give That the Name of Genera- tion: and to call the other Two, ^Condefcen- fionsy Alanife fiat mis , Troceeding forth, or the like. So we have feen it in MetkodiuSy before cited for the ete-'^nal Generation: And He, very probably, had the notion hom'-Ju- fiin Martyr ; who, ni like manner, interprets Generationy in the fecondary Senfe, by Mani- feflat'm. And even ^ HiffolytuSy as before obferved, explains the Troceffiony or Genera- tion of the Son, a little after the Creation, by Mafiifejiatwnoi Him.
" Omnis Origo parens cfl ; omne quod r?x Origine profcrtiir, progenies eft. I'ertidl.contr.Pmx.c.'^. S2el:\o\'2it. above, '^. 141. Tinci p isu Kdi 6 ijAto? 7>;v civyv/J . E'jf. Eccl. Th. ]. I.e. 12. P- 7 3 •
Tc'iK-vi';sc,-\jzscii)^'ivuio^Wi.v(yA-Hvii., £| a "^ sfiy. Atlian. Orat.4-.p.6 18.
^ It is obfervable that Jufcin MaicjT applies the -ivord -s^^laXhu to the latter of them, as -well as to the former. Dial. 228. Jcbb.
-dnd, in like manner^ Clement of Alexandria ufes —^'Misov of ^oth, p. 65-4. ^;;</Hippolytus, of the litter. Contr. Noct.c. 17.
*" On the n-onls, Thou- art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee: He comments thus. Tin ^/jctiv cyjr^ xiyuv y/v5£>>! roic^ 'A-.C^^a- ^01^, iloTn ii yvatrn; ctor^ \wiX>.i y^nS^. Dial. p. 270. Ed. Jebb.
yJ<rfjUM ^o^cpiov cfia, c^ccrov zrciH. C. lo.p. 13. A little b:- fore He had faidy Tm S yivocofjojv ccpyj'r/iv ^ a-vfjjt^Xov id. l^yty^rr.v lyhjvci, >.oycyt
OV AoyOV i'Xf^iV CV iCC'JTCO CioC^TOV Ti OJIX, TCO KUC'-'l^ Ci), ^^^(^'^ OpH-Tilf
The words of Zcno Veronenfis r/7ay be aJded, as a good Com- fnent tipcn the former. Cujus [Vatris) ex Ore, ur renim nature, quse non cvnr, fingeretur, prodivit Uni2;cn'tus Filius, Cordis eius Nobilis Inqiiilinus: exinde ^'/j:<^i^V effcclus, quia Humanum ge- nus vilitaturus erat, i^c.
M 4 After
160 ^DEFENSE Qu.VIII.
After j^rius arofc; the Catholicks found it highly ncccflary to infift much on the eternal Gerieratwn. For, the Arians, taking advan- tage of it, that the Temporary Condefcenfion of the Son, to create the World, had been often called his Generatioriy were for looking no higher; bur artfully infinuatcd that this was the tiril: produBion of Hm \ and that it was abfurd to talk of the Son's exiiling before He was be- gotten : in oppofition to which pretence, wc find the Nicene Fathers anathematizing fuch as fliould fay, that the * Son exifted not be- fore He ^d:as EKGOTTENj meaning in the Scnfe now explain'd. However, the Arians might have known that the eternal Exiftcnce of the Acf©' Wcis univerfally Taught: and even by thofcwdio aflcrtcd aTcmporal Generation. Nor indeed were they ignorant of it; but -f they contrived, for a Saho^ to maintain, that the Ao}'^5 or JVord.y which was held to be Eter- naly was not the fame with the A67©', or
- IVord begotten j tlie former being only the Father's own proper IVordy and no fubflantial Thing : the latter, a created Subilancc, dired- ]y contrary to all Anriqulty which has nq- thing to countenance any fuch Notion of a t\zo-
fold Aoy©^. Upon this, it became ncccflary to ex pi r. in in what Scnfe any Temporal Genera- tion had been aflerted 5 and to keep up the true Catholick Dodrine, which had obtain'4
^ 'P.v TToTi 'o:s err/. :'.r, kcu 7:e:v y/,vriC7,vsii Cent -^v.
f Uc Bull. Ucf. F. J-. 19S. Athiin.Crato i.p. /07.
from
Qu. VIII. offome QUERIES. 1 6 1
from the Beginning 5 namely, of the Eternal Acy©* diftind from the Father; Son of tlic Father, as partaking of the fame divine Sub- ftance from all Eternity ; * going out from the Father to create the World; and laftly conde- fcending to become Man : Soriy in all thefe re- fpcds, but primarily and chiefly in refped of the firft. From the whole, we may remark, that an explicite Profefllon of eternal Gene- ration might have been difpens'd with ; pro- vided only that the eternal Exiftence of the Aoy(^^ as a real fubfifting Terfon, in, and of f the Father y (which comes to the fame Thing) mjght befecured. This was the Point ; and this was all. In this, all found Catholicks agreed ; and to difpute it, was accounted Herefy^ and Blafphemy. If any one, difliking the Name, or the Phrafe of eternal Generation-, thinks it better to affert an eternal Wordy inftead of an eternal Son, (meaning thereby a di- ftind Perfon, and confubftantial with God, whofe IVord He is) and refers the Generation to his firft and laft Manifeftatton^ at the Creation and Incarnation ; there feems to be no farther harm in it, than what lies in the Words, and their liablenefs to be mifconftrued,
* Th'ii is well exprejfeti 6y the Antiocnian Fathers^ aga'mfi Paul of Samofataj and by Clement (t/" Alexandria. Tirov Tfi^^'o^tj c-vjj r»y ttccIpI ciH oviy-, c/K7ri7rXi}^(JKivcit to TTUT^tKcv fi'^Xy.ftiCC, !^po^ rviv y.ri<nv rm oXm. Labb.ConC. Tom. I.p. 84f. T^jcvsv etyrs Vvi^(r;ov, v.c&i KXr^e-
ycix,lc6^, x.ul kicf,Xoyicc<^ "^ Trurfoci, ^i « icul ru, (pccvz^oi xMi Tec oc^ava Jj" xoV/^a ^i^r^fjt^iis^yyQ. Clem. Alex.Quis.div. p. pjj. Ox I Vid. Athan.Vol. I.p. *Z2. 6i5>,<5z8.
or
I6z yf D E F E N S E Qu. VIII.
or to give offence. Here therefore every Man is left to his own Difcretion and Prudence : On- ly the fafcr way fccms to be, to follow the moft general and moft approved manner of Ex- preilion, together with the ancient Faith 5 being, in all probability, the furell: means to preferve Both. I dcfigncdly faid, firft andh{\y not firft or laft. For, fuch as interpret the Generatwny of the lajl only, ftand, I think, * clearly condemn- ed by Scripture ; many places whereof can never fairly be accounted for by the miraculous Con- ception folely : Befides that from Barnabas^ and Clemens RomamiSj down to the Councilor. Nice^ all the Chriftian Writers fpcak unanimoufly of a higher, mxcccdQintSonpip ; and, generally, even found Worjhip upon it.
I (hall juft obfcrve to you, in the clofe of this Article, that, from what hath been faid, you may know what Judgment to make of an Af- fertion of -f Dr. Clarke s^ viz. That the learned ft of the moft Orthodox Father Sy '•joho afterted the Eternal Generation of the Son, did yet never thelefs afjert it to be an A5i of the Fa- thers eternal Power and Will. By which the Doctor feems to infinuate, that the good Fathers
* Sane in ida ex MiriaVirc^ine nativitate, SuprcmaScSingularis 1^^'iX/^ atque excdientia Filiarionis Domini noftri adco non con- fulit, ut ca ipia Nativiras ad ejus frupemiam a-vyy.xTo'J^ccfrtv omni- no referenda iit. Hoc nos iatis apciw decent, fi modo a Spiritu SancLO edoceri velimus, mulris in locis, S. literal.
Ita femper credidit m6c: ab ipfis Apoftolis Catholica
•Chnfti Ecclefia. Bull. J. p. 5c;. See u'Jo Dr. FidJes Vol. i. B. 4. Ch. 1.
f Script. Doccr. p. 2S0. alias 247.
did
Qu. VIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 165
did not underftand Eternal in the ftrid Senfe. If the learned Doftor can fliew, that Thofe, who maintain'd only the Voluntary and Temporary Procelllon of the Son, beUeved that the Aoy©* was eternally prc-exifting in the Father, by an j45f oi his Will ; or tl>at thofe who exprcfly afferted an ^/^r«^/ Generation, believed alfo that it was an Arbitrary Thing, and might have been otherwife, (which I (uppofe is the Dodor s Senfe of an A^iofthe Will) then He will do fomcthing. But, as none of his Authorities prove any thing like it 5 it would have been a prudent part, at leaft, not to have produced Them to fo little purpofe. But enough of this Matter : I have, I hope, fufficicntly explain d my Self upon this Head 5 and have therefore the more reafon !to expeft a difiinB Anfwer from You, when- ever you think proper to re-confider this Subjed.
Q^UERY
154 ^DEFENSE Qu. IX.
Q^U E R Y IX.
IVhether the divine Attributes , Omnifciencey Ubiquity y Sec. Thofe individual Attributes-, can be communicated ^-juithout the divine Ef- fencCy from which they are infeparable ?
TH E intent of this Query was to prevent Equivocations ; and to make the Next clearer. You agree with me that the individual ^xs'mz Attributes cannot be communicated with- out the individnall^zmiQ. in which they fubfift. You ■:!iddy that Dr. Clarke ^ in the zio^^ page of his Replies^ hath plainly Jhewn, that individual Attributes, divine or not divine^ cannot poffibly he communicated at all. Well then -y we know what the Doclor means by all divine ^TowerSy m his Scripture Dodrine, (/?. 298.) which is one point gain'd : For when words are ftripp'd of their Ambiguity, we may be able to deal the bet- ter with them. As to the Doctor's Aphorifm laid down {p, 250.) I may have leave to doubt of it ; notwithftanding that it is fet forth to us, with the utmoft Afllirance. It is notunufual with the Doctor to lay down Maxims, in relation to thisControvcrfy, which Himfelf would not rulow, at another Time, or in another Subjeft. r'or Inftancc ; "^ neceffary Agents are no CaufeSy
' * V/mtever proceeHi from any Being, otherwife than by the Will i>l that BriKgj doth not in Truth proceed from that Being ; but j'rotn fame other Caufe or Necctlity nxtrinjlck and independent of
thai;
Qu. IX. offome QJJ E R I E S. i6>
that is, they do not fo properly Ad, as arc adcd upon. This is very true of all Jinite nc- ceflary Agents; for, all their necelliry, or na- tural Ads, proceed not fo properly from Them, as from God the Author of their Natures. But does it therefore follow that, if God ads by a Neceffity of Nature, in fome Inftanccs, He is therein a£ied upon likewife? Or that all the Ads of the divine Nature are Voluntary ^ and Freely none natural and neceffary? This fliould not be faid by one who, €lfev:here^ fpeaks fo much of God's being infinitely ^i/^', and infinitely good, infinitely happj, &c. by an abfolute Neceffity of Nature, unlefs He could be certain that knowing, loving^ con- templating, and enjoying Himfelf, do not im- ply perpetual AEiing\ or that an infinitely atli'Ve Being can ever ccafc to A£i, I (hall not fcruple to affert, that by the fame abfolute Neceffity of Nature that the Father exifts. He cxifts as a Father 5 and Co-exifts with his Co- effiential Son proceeding from Him. If you fay this fuppofes the Son Selfexijieiit, or Un-origi- note-, I defire it may not he faid only, but proved. * In the Interim, I take leave to fuppofe that Unbegotten and Begotten, Un- originate and '^Proceeding, are different Ideas.
that Being, Neceflary Agents are no Caufes, but altvAyi Inflrii-
ments only in the hand of fome other Toiver. Reply, pag. 217.' Compare p. 1 13.
* O'jTi ^uo uymYiToiy ^n auo f/jovoymiX, uX'A f<§ l^i rrxrv,c ciyty-
<y/. TfctTflq ysymyjfj^ivoi. Cyril.Catcch. lo.p. 141, Ox,
Again
166 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. IX.
Again (p.ziS.) * He finds fault with the Au* tkor of fame CoTifiderationSj for fuppofing that the Son is fornethlng more than a mere Name^ and yet not a real diftin^ Being: And upon this lays down another Aphorijin\ that there is no Medium between a Being, and not a Being: which indeed is a very true one, if Be2?:g, and Being, are taken in the fame Senfe ^ but not otherwifc. For let me mention almoft a parallel Cafe. Upon the Dodor's Hypothejis^ that God's Siibfcance is extended every where \ and that the fame is the Siibftratum of Space ; we may imagine two Subjlrata, one pervading the Sun, and the other the Moon, which are both diftind, and diftant. Will you pleafe to tell us, whether thefe two are real dijtinEi Be^ ings, or no> If They are, you may leave it to others to prove them intelligent Beings, that is, Terfons : And^ perhaps, the very next con- fequcnce will make them two Gods, upon the Dodor's own Principles : If they are not real difiinEt Beings -, then here is fomething admit- ted bet^jjeen a Being, and not a Being ; con- trary to the Dodor's Maxim : unlefs he makes them Nothing', and fiippofestwo Spaces, with- out any Stibftratum at all ; two Extenjions, with- out any thing extended.
But let us confidcr, whether fomething may not be thought on, to help both the learned
* To azciil this Coafeqtmice, He is forced to pippofe (p. 29.) that rf;e Son is fomething more than a mere Name, (trul yet not d real diflin<5l Bein^; that is to fay, that He is fometimg hetvreen a Be- ing, «/,v/ rot a Being. Cl. Reply, p. ziS,
Dodor
Qii. IX. offome QJJ E R I E S. 167
Doctor and Us out of thcfc Difficulties. The Truth of this Matter, fo far as I apprehend, is, that Being may fignify, cither, fimply, what Exifts-^ or what exifts Separately. This Di- ftindion feems to be juft, and neceflary 5 and fuch as you 11 the more readily come into, ha- ving occafion for it, as well as we. I hope, none arc fo weak, as to deny the Verfons to exifl: in reality. The very School-Men Themfelves never fcruple to call Them Tres Res^ Tres enteSy or the like, in that Senfe 5 tho' at the fame time, in the other Senfe of Being-, They are all but one Being, una fumma res, and una res numero 5 which comes much to the fame with Tertiillian's tina (indivifa) Subftantia in Tribiis coh^rentibiis ; (only fetting afide his par- ticular manner of Explication) and is the Senfe of All Antiquity. Upon the Foot of this Diftinftion, you may readily apprehend thofe Words of Gregory Nazianzen^ fpoken of the three Per-
fbns. ZwaV ;g X^'^jjjj (ftZrj. ;^ (pails', afaGa k^ dfa-
r« v» ;^w^'^ov1©^ rd d.yjJi^<;a.^\ By the fame Di- ftindion, you may, probably, underftand a very noted Creed -^ which feems to have coft the learned Do£lor fome Pains in explain- ing. To return to our Inftance of the Two Stibjirata, I fuppofe the Dodor, or your felf, will be content to allow, that This is SubJiancCy and That Sitbjlance -, and yet not Subftances^ but one Subftancc. In like manner alfo, This
** Orat. 1 9 . p. 2 1 X . Parif. Ed.
1 is
168 y^ D E F E N S E Qii. IX.
is Being, and That Being ; and yet not Two Beings, but one Being : This eternal, and That Eternal ; and yet not Two Eternals, but One Eternal. I might go on almoft the length of an Athanajian Creed. This muft be your manner of Ipeaking, if you come to Particulars; and that bccaufe the Subjirata arc fuppofed to have no feparate Exiftence independent on each other, but to be united by fome common Ligaments, which perhaps you'll call perfonal Attributes. And why then fliould you be fevere upon \]sy for ufing the like Language, and upon better Reafons ? We believe the Three Perfons to have no feparate Exiftence independent on each other ; wefuppofe them more united, in fome refpeds, than the Subjirata are fuppos'd in your Scheme ; bccaufe equally prefent every where : We ad- mit fome common Tics or Bands of Union, which we call eJJTential Attributes and Perfedi- ons. Either therefore allow us Our way of fpcaking, which we think decent and proper ; fuitable to the Idea we have, and to the Cir- cumftances of the Cafe; founded in- the very Nature and Rcafon of Things : Or elfe, find out a better for your Own ; that we may, at length, learn from you how \yc ought to fpeak in this Matter.
You will fay, it may be, that the Inftancc I have chofen, is not exadly parallel in every Circumftance. No 5 God forbid it (hould. But it agrees fo far as is fufficient for my pur- pofe. 1 here is this manifeft difference, that » you
Qu. IX. offome qUEKIES, 169
you fuppofc the fcvcral Stibftrata To \\\2xv^ parts of God 5 tho' every one of Them infinitely Wife, infinitely Good, infinitely Powerful, infinitely every Thing, but extended. We, more con- fidently, fuppofe three Perfons equal, in all re- fpefts 5 none of them fingly part of God ; but every one perfeft God.
A fecond Difference is, that you fuppofe all the finite Parts, making one hifiyiite, to be one Being, one God, and one Terfon 5 by Conti- milty, I prefume, and :i perfonalXJ moi\oi the "Parts. We fuppofe Three Perfons to be One God, by their infeparabtUty and the ejjential Union of the Terfons: Which, I humbly con- ceive, we are as able to explain, as you are to explain the others and I hope, more able to prove it.
A third Difference permit me to mention, that you fuffer your Imaginations to wander, where you can find no Footing; we arc con- tent to tinderftand only, and that imperfectly, without imagining at all.
In fine, you have philofophiz d fo far, in Thefe high and deep Matters, that you really want all the fame favourable Allowances, which we are thought to do. Others may objeft feve- ral Things to us, which would bear equally hard upon us Both. The fimplicity of the di- vine Nature, for Inftance, is one of the ftrongeft and moft popular Objedions : But the learned Dodor has broke thro' it ; and has contrived a Solution, a very good one, both for Himfelf
N and
I70 y^ D E F E N S E Qii. IX,
and Us*. I have often thought no Hands fo pro- per to be employed againlt the Dodrine of the Bleffed Trinity, as Thofe which arc good only at pulling down, and not at building up. If once you come to fettling and determining Points of a myflerioiis Nature , there will be as fair a Plea 'iox.This alfo : And I doubt not but the fame Thread of Reafoning, which firft brought you to qucftion it, will, when carefully purfued, and as foon as you perceive the like Difficul- ties almofl: in every thing, bring you to make lefs Scruple of it. But left others fliould ima- gine, from what hath been faid, that They may have fonic Advantage over us 5 let me add thefe few Confiderations farther.
1. That what hath been urged, is not pure- ly arguing ad Hominem 5 but it is appealing to what good Senle and impartial Realbn dictates equally to You, or Us 5 onfuch, orfuchSuppo- fitions.
2. That if we come to reafon minutely on any other Matter, alike incomprchenfible as This of the Holy Trinity, we may foon lofe our felves in inextricable Mazes.
3. That if they pleafc to take any other Hy- potbejis of the Omniprefence^ They may meet with Difficulties there alfo, perhaps not inferior to the former.
4. That if they chufe to reft in generals^ without any Hypothefis at all, and without de- fcending to the Modus^ and Minutm of it:
♦ Anjycw to tht Sixth Letter y p. 39,40.
4. This
Qu. IX. of fame (QUERIES. 171
This is the vciy Thing which \vc dcfirc, and contend for, in regard to the Blcflcd Trinity (which ought certainly to be equally dealt with; and then we may foon come to a good Agree- ment.
By purfuing this Point, I had almoft negled- ed the learned Doctor's Third Aphorifm : That nothing Individual can be communicated. Here is as great a Fallacy and Ambiguity in the Word Individual^ as before in the Word Being, I fliall make this plain to you. That particular Subftance, which is fuppofed to per- 'vadcy and to be commenfurate to the Sun, is an individual ^zmgy in fome Senfe; unlefs there be a Medium between a Being and not a Being, which the learned Dodlor admits not : The whole Subftance likewife is one individual Being, and '^Perfon too: upon the Dodor's Hypothefis: And we fay farther, that three Perfonsmay be one individual Being; having, we think, a very good meaning in it. So here are plainly three Senfes of the word Individual \ and till you can fix a certain principle of Indi- viduation^ (a Thing much wanted, and by which you might oblige the learned World) any one of thefe Senfes appears as juft and reafon- able as another. Now, the Doctor's Maxim, rightly underftood, may be true, in all thefe Senfes. For, in refped of the Firft, what is peculiar and prober to one Part, is not com- municated, or common to other Parts : In re- fped of the Second^ what \% proper to one Per-
N 2 fon^
172 ^DEFENSE Qu. IX.
foriy is not common to other Verfoits : And fo, in rcfpccl of the Tkird^ what is proper to one Ejjeiice or Snbjlance^ is not common to other Ejfcnces or Sab fiances. All this is very true : but to what purpofe is it, or whom docs the learned Doctor contradicl ? This is only teUing us, that fo far, or in fuch refpe^fy as any thing is fuppofcd individual or incomfmmica- blcy it is iuppofed individual or incommimica- hie 'y which no Body doubts of. But whether This, or That be communicable, or how far, or in what manner (which is ail the difficulty) remains a Qu eft ion as much as ever; and the Dodor's Maxim will not help us at all in it. It may be the fafeft way, firft to try the ftrength and the ufe of it upon the Do6lor's own Hy- pothefis. Let it be ask'd, whether the Wif- dom, ^"r. refiding in that Part which pervades the Sun (for it feems that it muft be intelli- gejity and infinitely fo, unlefs one infinite In- telligent be made up of Unintelligent s^ or finite Intelligent s) I fay, let it be ask'd, whe- ther that be the very individual Wi((io\x\ which refides in another Part, at any given Diftance. I prefumc, to this Queftion, you muft anfwer, 7es : And then we are to obferve, that here is. but one /W/'L'/^^^/ infinite Wifdom, w^hich is intirely in the u:holey and i?itirely in every part ', proper, in fome Senfe, to each fingle Part (fince it can have only fuch Attributes as inhere in it) and yet common to All; T^if Jifed through extended Subftancc , yet not
Co-
Qu. X. of fome (QUERIES. 175
Co-extended: Nor multiplied :, bccaufe but One, If you admit thus far, as I think you muft, we fhall have nothing to apprehend, in point of Reafon (which neverthelefs is what you chiefly truft to) againft the Do£lrinc of the Trinity. Tiie Co?7m2i{nication of EJfential Attributes, which we fpeak of, is, at lead, as Intelligible as what I have been mentioning; and every whit as confident with theDodors Maxim y that nothing which is Individual can be Communicated, Only you have your Senfe of Individual-, and We have onrs'-y and you can account no better for fo many, and infinite- ly diftant parts making one Terfon^ than Wc for three Perfons making one Subfiance-, or one God. Let us therefore be content to (top where it becomes us ; and frankly confefs our Ignorance of thefe Things. For, by pretend- ing farther, we fhall not difcover lefs Ignorance than before, but much greater Vanity. I would not have prefumed to difcourfe thus freely of the tremendous Subftance of the eternal God (infinitely furpaffing Human Comprchenfion) were it not, in a manner, necefTary, in order to expofe the Folly, and the Frefumption of doing it. If the Dodrine of the Bleffed Trinity is to ftandorfall by this kind of reafoning, it was very proper to make fome Trial of it firfl-, where it might be done more fafely, to fee how it would anfwer. You, I prefume, cannot com- plain of me, for treating you in your own way ; and turning upon you your own Artillery. But
N 3 to
174 ^DEFENSE Qu. X.
to proceed 5 You arc pofitive in it, that the Son of God hath not the indruidual Attributes of God the Father 5 for then, fay you, He muji be the Father, On the contrary, I affirm, that He hath the individual Attributes of God the Father, as much as He has the individual Ef- fence : For, otherwife he muft be a Creature only : And therefore the Queftion between you and me, in plain Terms, is, whether the Son be Gody or a Creature ?
Q^u E R Y X.
IfToether if They (the Attributes belonging to the Son) be not individually the fame^ they can be any thing more than faint Refem- blances of them, differing from them as Finite from Infinite ; and then in what Senfe^ or "with vi^hat Truths can the 'T>o5ior pre- tend that * all divine Powers, except abfo- lute Supremacy and Independency, are com- municated to the Son ? And whether every Being, befides the one fupreme Being, miifl not necejfarily be a Creature, and finite ; and whether all divine Powers can he communi- cated to a Creature y infinite TerfeEtion to a finite Being,
I Have put under one Qiiery, what before made Two, bccaufe the Subftanceof Them is nearly the fame 5 and contains but one Argu-
* ScYi^t^ Bocir. p. 2p8.
ment.
Qu. X. offome Q^U E R I E S. 175
ment. I have two Things upon my Hands at once ; firft to clear and fix your Senfe, which is induftrioufly difguifcd ; and next to confute it. The prefcnt Qiicry relates chiefly to the former, to draw you out of general and ambiguous Terms, that fo we may come up the clofer, and fall di- redly to the point in Q.ieftion. You tell me, in anfwer to the former part, that the divine Attri- bates of the Son are not indmdu2i\\y the fame "jvith ihofe of the Father *. By which you mean that they are not T>ivme : And fo here you have difcovered, that the Doctor does not undcrftand divine, as others do in this Controverfy j and as a candid and ingenuous Reader might be apt to underftand Him. You add, that They (the At- tributes of the Son) are notwithftanding, more than faint Refemblances ; the Son being the Brightnefs of his Father's Glory y and the ex- prefs Image of his Terfon, I allow that this Text does fet forth a great deal more than a faint Refemblance : But you have not (hewn that your Hypothefs fuppofes fo much ; and therefore the quoting of this Text is only argu- ing againft your felf. The Inference we draw from this Text, confonant to all Antiquity, is, that the Refemblance between Father and Son is compleat and perfedj and that therefore They do not differ as Finite and Infinite ^ fince that Suppofition would fet Them at an Infinite diftance from any fuch perfeft and compleat Re- Csmblance. You obferve farther, that there can
* Pae. 64.
N 4 b9
175 ^DEFENSE Qu. X.
be but one Intelligent Being (the fame with you, 2(sTerfon) abfolutely infinite in all re fpect Sy (p. 5 5 .) which tho' an Aflcrtion of great Impor- tance, you are pleas'd barely to lay down, with- out the lead tittle of Proof, or fo much as pre- tence to it. Nay, you admit in your * Notes, that there may be t'wo Infinite Beings, in the Scnfe of immenfe 5 that is, two Beings omnipre- fent, or infinitely extended. And why not as well Two Perfons infinitely perfeftin all other re- fpecls, as well 2iS prefience ? For to ufe your own way of arguing, in that very Place: \i finite Power, Wifdom, Goodncfs, c^^r. do not exclude Infinite j it is plain that infinite Power, Wifdom, Goodnefs, &c. of One, do not exclude the in- finite Power, Wifdom, Goodnefs, S'C. of Ano- ther. Befides that Two, Infinite in All refpeds, are as eafily conceived, as Two, Infinite in Any : And therefore, here you feem, by your too li- beral Conceffions, to have unfaid what you had faid before 5 and to have unravelled your own Objcdion. You are aware that an Adverfary may take Advantage of what you fay $ and en- deavour, lamely, to prevent it, by telling us {p. 56.) that tho* it be poffible to fuppofe two difii?2^ immcnCc Beings, yet it is impofllble there
* One Infinite, in ih^ Senfe of immenfe, does not {by taking •up all Space) exclude (nece([arily) another immenfe, any more than it excludes any Finite. For if a finite Being doth not exclude (God) from a finite Vlace, it is plain that an Infinite, that is, an immenfe Being cannot exclude Him from Infinite, that is, from immenfe Tlace. So that perhaps it is no fuch abfolute impoflibility, as fo-me haze thught it, to fuppofe two diftind imvnenfe Beings^ Not. p. 5-6.
j fliould
Qu. X. of fame QVEKIES. 177
fliould be two immenfc Beings of the fame indi- vidual Nature \ for fo. They muft coincide y ayid he but one Terfon, But what if thofe who ailert the fame individual Nature^ in more Pcrfons than one, underftand the Words in a larger Senfe than you here take them in ? It is very certain, they do not underftand the Phrafe of the fame individual Nature^ as You, who make it equi- valent to the fame Terfon^ underftand it : For, they aflert more Perfons than one to have the fame individual Nature. In the mean while, what a wonderful difcovery is this, which you have laid fuch a ftrefs on 5 that two Terfonsc2in- not be one Perfon, without coinciding and making me "Perfon. This is all that you have really faid ; and very true it is ; only I am at a lofs to find out the pertinency of it. To conclude this Head : As to Infinite in the Senfe of Extenfon^ (into Length, Breadth and Heighth) you will give me leave to fufpend my Judgment. I do not find, either that it is aflerted in Scripture, or generally maintained by the Fathers ; but that it is liable to many Difficulties, inpointof Reafon, more than I am, at prefent, able to anfwer. See what a * late thoughtful Writer has faid, and what f Cud- worth had before Colleded on that Subjedi. In my Humble Opinion, fuch intricate Queftions are too high for Us, and are what our Faculties were not made for. However that be. You and I
* Impartial Inquiry into the Exigence and Nature of Gcd^ fy S. C. Part X. C. 1,2,3.
t IntdMtutl Syji, p,8z8. /^ p. 834,
need
I7S ^DEFENSE Qu. X.
need not differ. For^ if You can admit the pof- fibility oiT'oiJO infinite extended Beings^ You caa have nothing confiderable to objed againfl: the one Infinity of Three infinite Perfons, which I affert, and without determining the modus of it.
You proceed to obferve, that the Son's Office and CharaBer doth not require infinite Towers : To which I (hall only fay, that it may, for any thing you know 5 fo that this is only gueffing ia the Dark. Laft of all, you come to interpret Dr. Clarke 5 fuppofing him to mean by "Divine Tow- erSy * all divine Powers relating to the Sons Cha^ racier. If He meant fo, He might eafily have faid fo : And yet if He had. He had dill left us in uncertainties as much as ever ; to mufe upon a Diftindion, which He has no Ground for ; and which, when admitted, will make no Man wifer. You hopey the ^er iff is fo good a Thilofopher as to perceive^ {thd He doth not confider it) that abfolnte infinite TerfieEiions include and infer Su- premacy and Independency. And therefore^ ^x'henT>r. Qhxkz excepted Sttpremacj and Inde- pendency, He plainly^ in Reafbn and Confe- quenccy excepted abfohte infinite Towers,
Now, I am perfuaded, that Dr. Clarke would have thought it hard meafure to have been charged by his Adverfaries, with this fo plain Confequenccy which you here fo freely lay upon Him, Thc^cerifi was aware that the Do6lor's words might bear an orthodox Senfe ; namely, that to the Son are communicated all things be-
* Script, DoBr. p. 198.
longing
<Ju. X. offome QUERIES. 179
longing to the Father, excepting only what is Terfonals that is, excepting that He is not the firft in Order 5 not Supreme^ in that Senfe, nor Unoriginate, The Dodor well knew that His words might bear this Conftmdion ; and perhaps would not have took it well of any, but a Friend, that fliould have tied down a loofe and general Expreffion to a ftri^ particular Meaning 5 and then have loaded it with Coniequences too (hock- ing to be admitted in plain and exprefs Terms. But to proceed : You feem to be much offended at the Qucrift, for asking, Whether all divine To'-juers can be communicated to a Creature^ in- finite Terfe&ion to a finite Being? This, you lay, is an evident Contradiction^ which ought not to have been put hj one Scholar upon Another. But, after this Rebuke, you will pleafe to hearken to the reafonof the Cafe. The difficuty, you know, with the ^lerift, was, how to come at the Doctor's real Senfe, couch'd under general and ambiguous Expreffions 5 that fo the Contro- verfy might be brought to a Point ; and it might be feen plainly what was the true State of the Queftion : Which, as appears now, is only this : whether God the Son be a Creature or no. The Dodor talk'd of the Son's having divine Powers, and all divine Powers. It was very proper to ask you, whetherHe hereby meant infinite? o'^'qxs or no 5 and withal to (hew, if you (hould not anfwer direftly, that He could not mean it, con- fifiently with the Arian Hypothefis ; which He fcem'd, in other parts of his Performance, to
cfpoufc.
I80 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. X.
efpoufe. You will not yet fay direftly, that the Son's Perfeftions are finite^ nor deny them to be infinite : So hard a Thing it is to draw you out of your ambiguous Terms; or to make you fpeak plainly what you mean. All you are pleas'd to fay, is, that the Powers or Perfections of the Son are not abfolutely infinite : As if In- finity were of two Sorts, abfolute and limited , or might be rightly divided into Infinity^ and not Infinity. Inftead of this, I could wifti, that words may be ufed in their true and proper meaning. If you do not think the Perfedions of the Son are infinite^ and yet are unwilling to limit them 5 let them be called indefinite^ which is the proper word to exprefs your meaning 5 and then every Reader may be able to under- ftand us, and may fee where we differ. We are Both agreed, that the Doftor, by divine Powers, did not mean i«^;^/Y^ Powers. Now let us proceed to the next Query.
QUERl?
Qu. XL offome QUERIES. 1 8 1
(^ U E R Y XL
Whether if the T)oBor means by divine Tower Sy Towers given by God {in the fame Senfe as AngelicatTowers are divine Towers) only in a higher degree than are given to other Beings ^ it be not equivocating^ and faying nothing : no- thing that can come tip to the Senfe oj thofe Texts before citedy * or to thefe following ?
Applied to the oneGod. ThoUy evenThou^art Lord alone i Thou haft made Heaven^ the Hea- ven ofHeavens with all their Hofty the Earth and all Things that are therein^ &c. Neh. 9. 6. In the Beginnings God created the Heavens and the Earthy Gen i . i .
To God the Son. AUThings were made by Him, Joh. 1.3. By Him were all Things created % He is before all Things y and by Him all Things confiftj Coloff. i .
1(5,17.
ThoUy Lordy in the Beginnings haft laid the Foundation of the Earth 'y and the Hea- vens are the Work of thy Hands y Heb. 1. 10.
IF the Do(Sor means, by divine Powers, no more than is intimated in this Query, Imuft blame Him firft for equivocating and playing with an ambiguous Word i and next for reftraining
* Qu. ^. p. 8pi
end'
182 ^DEFENSE Qu. XI.
and limiting the Powers of the Son of God 5 not OTi\y without J but ^^^/;?/? Scripture 5 and con fe- quently for giving us, not the Scripture T)o^rine of the Trinity y but his Oo^n. That there is no ground, from the Texts themfelvcs, for any fuch Limitation as is now fuppofed, is tacitly implied in the Dodor's own Confeflion 5 that the Son is excluded from nothing but abfolute Supremacy and Independency : So naturally does Truth fome* times prevail, by its oi2:n native Clearnefs and Evidence y againfl the ftrofigeft and mofl fettled Prejudices, Indeed the thing is very clear from the Texts themfelves cited above 5 cfpeciaily when ftrengthened with Thofe now produced under this Query. That the Son was, and is endowed with creative To'juers, is plain from thefe Texts, and others which might be added $ and is con- firmed by the unanimous Suffrage of Catholick Antiquity. And that the Title of Creator is the diftinguifhingCharader of the one Supreme God, is (q clear from * Scripture, that he who runs may read it. Now let us confidcr what you have to except, in order to elude the force of this Ar- gument.
The Son of God, you fay, is manifeftly the Father s Agent in the Creation of the Uni- verfe ; referring to Ephef 3.9. and to Heb. i . 2. from whence you infer, that He is fubordinate in Nature and Towers to Him, This you have {p, 58.) and in your Notes {p, 5 5-) youi
* Nehem.9.6. Ifa. 40. 12, 13. — 18, 19, 20, 21. O'r. lia. 4>.f,8. ira.4.3.1,10, ler. 10. 10, 11,12. ^^i'Serm, 3.p.94,e^f.
infift
Qu. XL offome Q.U E R I E S. 185
infift much upon the Diftindioii between c/^i au- T»5 and uV a<;V», explaining the former of an Inftnimentaly and the latter of an Efficient Caufe 5 of which more in due time and place. As to the Son's being Agent withy or Affijiant to the Father, in the Work of Creation, we readily admit it 5 and even contend for it. The Father Is primaril'^y and the Son fecondarilyy or immediately y Author of the World ; which is fo far from proving that He is inferiovy in Nature or Tower Sy to the Father 5 that it is rather a convincing Argument that He is equal in Both. A Subordination of Order y but none of Natttrey is thereby intimated. * EufebiuSy whom you quote (/>. 55.) out of Dr. Clarkey and f miftranflate to fcrve your purpofe, docs not deny the proper Efficiency of the Son in the Work of Creation. All he afferts is, that the Creation is primarily and eminently attributed to the Father, becaufe of his AuOsvl/a, his Tre- rogativcy Authority y Supremacy y as Father, or firft Perfon 5 not denying the Son's proper Effi- ciency y but only (if I may fo call it) || original
*^^^Eufeb, contr. Marcel. I. i.e. 20. p. 84.
f The learned Dociovy and^ after Him, You conftrue, W ecurSj and ^i uuroZy by efficient, and miniftring Caufe. As if a mini- firing Caufe might not be efficient, or mufl necejfardy be oppofed to it.
IJ ^Ihis is excellently illufirated by the elder Cyril. U»\^i, ^aPiti-
eftTTetMoTg^wd?) '^ airXoTiiCK.'i t t^uv ^/jfjun^ytifjuxruv, fJUytn 6 «<o$ T vx' «tAA{^ ^f/^m^B-inw /ixrt^<ii'vif itMet ^ vtt' ccvtov. Catech. ll.p. i6o. £d. Bcned.
Effici-
184 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.Xr:
Efficiency ; that is, making Him the fecond and not the firfl Perfon ; not Father but Son. Indeed, the * general Opinion of the Antients center'd in this 5 that the Father, as Supreme, iffued out Orders for the Creation of the Uni- verfe, and the Son executed them. And this was aflerted, not only by the AnteNicene Writers, but f Tofi-Nkene too ; and fuch as ftrenuoufly defended the Catholick Faith againft: the Arians. I have before obferved that the Antients had a very good meaning and intent in affigning (as it were) to the Three Perfons, their feveral Parts or Provinces in the Work of Creation: And let no Man be offended, if, in this way of confidering it, the Son be fome- times faid JTrn^sleiv, or uV^^yeiv, or the like ||. This need not be thought any greater Difparage- ment to the Dignity of the Son, than it is, on the other hand, a Difparagement to the Dignity of the Father to be reprefented as having the Counfel and Alliftance of two other Perfons ; or as leaving every Thing to be wifely or- dered, regulated, and perfeded by the -Son and Holy Spirit. Thefe Things are not to be ftrift- ly and rigoroufly interpreted according to the Letter ; but oixovo/jiixcus-, and ^sott^sxcov. The de- sign of all was: i. To keep up a more lively Senfe of a real Diftinftion of Perfons. 2. To
* See Irenceus, p. 8f. Tertullian. contr. Prax. c. 12. Hippo- lyt. contr. Noet. c. 1 4.
t >Sfe Petavius de Trin. 1. 2. c. 7. Biill.D. F.p. 80, 11 1.
Ij Vid. Cotclerii Not. ad Herm.Mandat._f. p. 91. S; ad Apoft. Coftfl. 1.^. c. 20. p. 326.
teach
Qu. XL offome Q^U E R I E S. i g 5
teach us the indivifible Unity and Co cilcntialicy of all Three, as of one * Creator. 3 . To %nify wherein that Unity confids, or into w hat it ul- timately reiblvcs, 'vi:z. into Unity of ^Prtncipley one '^^XM Head, Root, Fountain of all. As to the Diftindion between c^t aura, and ^' avri^^ jper qitem and ex qiio^ or the like ; it can be of ve- ry little fervice toyourCaufe. The prcpofition ^, with a genitive after it, is frequently ufed, as well in Scripture, as in Ecclefiaftical Writers, to cxprefs the efficierit Caufe, as much as -^-i or c^., or-nreof? orany other. Sothatthe Argument draw a from the ufe of the Prepofitions is very poor and trifling, as was longfince obferved by -f Bajfil the Great, who very handfomly expofes its Author and Inventor, Aetius, for it. Pleaie but to account clearly for one Text, out of many, {Rom. 11.36.) Of Him, and tkrd Him (^''i aJrci) and to Him arj allT kings 5 to '-^'hom be Glory for ever. If you un- derftand this of the Father; then, by your Argu- ment from the Phrafe, c'l a.^jrii^ you make Him alfo no more than :>ini?iftrume7italC-mk : If you underftand it of morePerfons, here'san illuftrious Proof of a Trinity in Unity. If it be pretended, which is the !l Do6lor*s lad refort, that although the ufe of thofc Prepofitions fingly be not fuffi- cient, yet when they are ufed in expre/s Contra- dijliyiction to each ot her ^ they are of more Signifi-
* So Origen, -who makes the Futher ^'-.ui^^yoc, andihe Son or.- f^ia^yoq, Contr. Celf. p. 317. ^ef, in the very fame Tnatifcy iLn'ies that tl^ IVorU could, have more Creators than one. Mn ^uvxf^^o'v "Jzsv zroXXZ-i ^KU>iii^ym yifovitui, p. I S. f ^^ Sp.Sandl, p. I 4y, ^f.
]J See Script. Do6tr. p- 90.
O cancy5
r$(5 y? D E F E N S E Qn. XI.
cancy; I anfwcr (irft, that 1 dcfire to know of what Significancy they arc in Rom. 11.36. where they fccm to be ufcd in exprefs Contra'diflinciion to each other 5 and (ccondly, admitting that they are of Sigiiijicdhcy^ they may fignify only a real Diftindion of Perfbns, as * St. Bajil well ob- fcrves; 01 iomz priority of order proper to the jirjt Terfon : This is all the ufc which any Ca- tholicic Writer ever pretended to make of the Diftindion, However, to countenance the Di- flindion between the Father ^sthz efficient, and the Son as the inftrumental Caufc, you are plea- fed to fay farther, (/>. 56.) 'tis remarkable that {according to the Smfe of the foregoingT^iftinEti- on) though Chrift is frequently Jliledby the An- tients T?;^v/Ty!s- and Ar^iJA^s^yc^^ yet rioirjTyi? t oXootf is {to the befl of 7ny Remembrance) always con- fined by Them to the Father only.
Had your Remark been true and juft, yet it would not be eafy to fliew that 'vi')(ym^^ or how- ever o'^n/^i^eyo^'jniay not fignify as much as -zroryiTcV t- But your Memory has much deceived you, in this Matter; and you Ihould be cautious how you make your Readers rely upon it. Tiiofc Words
* Dc Spir.Sanvf^. p. 148.
t Sec Origcn. Contr. Celf. p. 5 17. trhcro the Son is faid 7T0i7-i(ru.t v aio-fjocv^ aKil the Tather to be zr^^aiTer.-i, thut is, primarily, or eminently, ^'if/^n^fv^^' If ^toojt^? fgnijiid more than h.^ui^^/o^y Origcn [poke lery unaccurately.
Cyril of Aiexandria fnppofes God the tathn to haue been in re^
altty TiyQjiT/i'i from eierlafiing ; ^\fj^n'fyo(; in Foiver and Intention only.
' Thcfaur.afT. 4. p. 34. yet Atiianaiius makes zioir.!]^", to figrujy more.
than rix,viT'jc. Orar. contr. Arian. 2. p. 489. Authors do not always
obferve a critical Exacimfs in the ufe of Ik'ords.
.\. (cfpecially
Qii. XI. offome Q^U E R I E S. i%j
(cfpccially the Two hft of them) fcem to have been ufed by the Antientspromilcuouny ; and to have been applied indifferently to Father or Son, as They had occafion to mention either. If They are oft'ner applied to the Father, it is only becaufe He is ihzfijl Terfon 5 and is there- fore/'r/>/^^r/7>' and ^;^//;^i?;^^/7, tiyyiirs-^ c/^il/^jy^yor, or -ujoimh' not that the Son is not Jlri^ly, pro- perly, 2^nA comphatly Creator d\(Oj according to the fulled fenfe and import of any, or of all thofe Words. They were intended to fignify that the Son is the immediate and efficie?it Caufe of all Things , had * creative Powers ; and was, with the Father, Cr^^/'^pr of Men, of Angels, of the whole Univerfc. A late ^ Writer ispleafed to exprefs Himfelf, upon this Head, in fuch a manner as may deceive ignorant and unwary Readers. " I know not [fays He) that either " ArianSy or any primitive Chriftian Writers, " ever adventured to give the Charafter of great " Archite^ of the Uiiiverfe to Jefus Chrift ; *' chuiing rather, with the facred Writings, to " fay, in fofter Language, that thro Him God " created All, and referving the abfolute Title of *' Creator of the Univerfe to Another.
If Ho. knows not x\\diclLh'm2,s, He might for- bear to fpeak of them. What He fays, even of the Sacred Writings, is Mifreprefentation : For, Theydo not conftantly follow that fo ft Language,
♦ The Arians themfelves jvould fay, fua virtute fecit, me;imng it of the Son. See the Citation above, p. 94.
t Mr. Erulyn. Exam, of Br. Bennet, p. ii.fird Edit.
O 2 which
18$ yi D E F E N S E Qu. XI.
which He fo much approves of. They do it not, in Job, 1.3,10. Colof 1 . 1 6. Hebr, i . i o. Nei- ther can that Conftruftion be afcertain'd, in any- one of thefc Texts, from any neceffarj force of the Prepofition '^- As to Antiquity, which this Gentleman pretends to, He may knou:;, hereafter, that the Charader of "" great Architect of the U- niverfey is exprefly given to Jefus Chrifty by En- febius ; who was never fufpedled of carrying Or- thodoxy too high. A Man muft be a very ftran- ger to the Antients-, who can make any Quefti- on whether They attributed the Work of Crea- tion to the Son, as much as to the Father. They afcribed it equally to Both 5 only with this diffe- rence, as before obferved, that, for the greater Majeftyand Dignity of the Father as ihcfirftTer- fon. They fuppofed Him to ^ iflue out Orders, or to give his Fiaty for the Creation, and the Son to Execute. From hence we may eafily under- ftand in what Senfe the Title of Creator was '^primarily, or eminently attributed to the Father 5 • and yet, as to any real To'm'er or Efficiency, the Son is as truly and properly Creator --, and is fre- quently fo ftiled, by the primitive Writers, in the ^ fuUeft and flrongeft Terms. You may fee
' OyAyoic, T oXuv ^/lyuii^fya^ Ao'/^. Eufeb. E. H. 1. 10. C, 4.
<c d'/)[/ji-'-:^ybvT(^, ?" J T^viVf.ijciT'^ T^i(povT<^ y^ ul/^oyT(^. Iren. p. 285-. Ed. Bened.
UcctI)^ y,^iXri<riVy vioc, i7:o'y,(n¥, TtviZiXiU i(pUvi(U(nr. Hippol. COntr,
Noetj p. id.
' U:^6iTM^ (^r,ujtyj7ov. Ori^. contr. Cclf. p. 5 1 7 •
fomc
Qii. XL of form QU E R I E S. i S9
Ibiiic Tcftimonics, in the Margin, from Athenar goras, Tatian, Iren£tis, Clement of AlexandriUy nnd Origeyi. It would be cafy to add more, from HippolyttiSy Gregory of Neoc^fareay No- n^atiaUy and indeed from the generality of the Church Writers down from Barnabas to the Council of Nice, I muft obferve to you, that even your admired ^ EufebinSy (whom you be- fore quoted in your favour, miftaking Him very widely) He applies the Title of srcvurr,'^ ^ o\(tiVj (the highcfl: which you think the Father Himfelf can have) to the Son, no lefs than thrice ; as Ire- n£ns had done, thrice alfo, before, in Words e- quivalent ; zndOrigeny probably, once, as alfo
^ iiou. Athenag. p. 38. Ed. Oxon, Obferve 7:^o<; ccCtoZ, as well as ^luuroZ,
AuToq iccvrS mv uXujo a/i^jiii\>y¥i<rc<.<,. 'A7. iXuy d^jju/ij^pyag. Tatian.
p. 22,26. Ed. Ox.
ToZtov fJucvoy^Wy ToZrov zocvtcjv 7:oi;:rua. Iren. p. 4,^, Ed.Bened,
TOUTOV KO<rf/jiS TtOiTtTUM 5('^ TCt IJlcC f?<.i)XvSoTCC, Ibid. Tov T TToif-
Tuv y,ii^lui , x^ OYiyjia^yovy jC t^'oiyiIuo , Xcyoy y &ic>u,p, j^.Tuv ctTT^.vrwt Tf;tjvtT-/j? Acy©-, p. igo. Fabricator omnium, p. 219. Fabricator Univeriorum, p. 307. Mundi Fa(fi:or,p. 315^.
'i2 Tu TTuvTcc }'ih(J!^iis^[\), Clcm . Alcxandr. p. 7. Edit. Oxon.
'ZvfljTtCCVTUv 0fOV 'iV6t f/jCVOV ■ O'/ifij'.^i^yoV ViOV CV Tixl^Ji^ p. IA2.
Uoivrec 6 Xoy(^ xoiiim . , ru, oXx S^/jf/jm^yii . .. S^ KoG-(juii <c' '5*
^AiiSfaTra ^/jfjunf^yoq, p. 310, 'H t 'o\m ' A^x^^ P* 669. 'O Ac^CS)- r^'jjW'ta^yios? xl'Ti(^, p. 6^4. rictfyrftjr ^/;/>i<<xf<yoo, p. 768.
Tcv Acj'ov :7"£;roi>3)c£K«* TTccv'iU, oTcc 0 zcii/jf uur^ inlikXuro. Grig, contr. Celf. p. 6^. Comp. Athanaf de Dccret.S. N.p. riG.
A-/;^4i.'^yov T TToivruvy kIh-Im, xoiviTLo ^ T zclvruv, Origen. apud Huet. Origenian. p. 38.
N. B. ThisUJlCttationy from a Catena, is of lefs Authority ; b$it the ■ Citations from his other ceitdiinly genuine f forks, are,inSenfe, Equivalent.
f Eufcb. in Pfalm. p. 125-. de Laud. Confl:. c. 14. in PC p. 630. See alfo in Pfalm. 631. in the firjl of the three Places, the M^ords are remarkably full and flrong. 'O ^/iwnsrMxoy^^, 0 jrei/jrij? r oA^/v, The other Two are equivalent in Senfe. 'ATrU^lay TToiKr^St and 6 TFot^Tnq fcvrm i where 'qXmv is nnderfiood,
O 3 "^ Hippo-
190 .^DEFENSE Qu. XL
* Hippolytus : not to mention that all the Fa- thers by interpreting, Gen. 1.26. {-aron/ia-aijjJ^av- Gj^^ajTTcv, (^c.) of Father and Son jointly, have implicitely and confequcntialjy, tho'not expreily, laid the fame thing. To proceed :
You have an Argument to prove that Great- ing does not imply infinite Power. For^ you fay, "ucas the extent of tbofe 'Powers then ex- ercisd^ infinite^ 'tis evidtnt, the JVorld miift be infinite alfo, (p. 58.) This, indeed, is doing the Bufinefs at once: For, if this reafoning be jufl:, the Father Himfelf, as well as the Son, is efFedually excluded from ever giving any fen- fible Proof, or from exerting any Aft, of infinite Power. St. T aid's Argument from the Creation, ioY i\\Q, eternal To'uver and Godhead oi the Cre- ator, is rendredinconcluflve : For it will be eafy to reply, in Contradiftionto the Apoftle*s reafon- ing, that the Things which arc made are fijiite^ and therefore cannot prove the maker of Them to be infinite: So that Atheifts and Unbelievers V\^ere net fo entirely "UJttkout excufe, as the good Apoftlc imngin'd. If you think there is fome diiference between infi7iite Tovjer^ and eternal Tower and Godhead --, and therefore that the Apoftle's Ai-gument is not pertinent to the point in Hand -, I fliall be content if Creating be al- lowed a fufficient Proof of the Son's eteryial Tower and Godhead', fince it brings me direftly to the Point I aim at : Befides, that infinite Tower
* Contr.Bcron. 8v He), p. 126. Co?np.contT. Noet.p. 16. Jhe^e'fiiiinifs oj thefirfiiijom. ^i.i t dcubrful) but the la't is lOt que/Hon' J.
will
Qu.XT. of fome Q^UE^IES. 191
will come in of CoiuTc afterwards, by ncccfTary Inference and Implication. I had almoll forgot to t:.kc notice of your way of wording your Argument, which looks not very fair. You fay, "-LZ'as the extent of thofe Towers infinite } as if any one faid it was, in the Senfe wherein you underftand the word extent. For Reafons beft known to your felf, you do not diftinsuifli be- tween extent of Power a^ intra, in refped of l^egree-y and extent of Yo^nzx. ad extra, in re- fped of the exercife of it. It mny require an infinite T>egree of Power to create a grain of Sand ; though the extent of that outward Ad reaches no farther than the thing created. Now, you know, ourdifpute is only about infinite ex- tent of Power in the firfl: Senfe. Let us there- fore put the Argument into plain Words, and fee how it will bear.
" Was the Power cxercis'd in the Creation " infinite in ^Degree, or exceeding any finite *' Power, thenit is evident that the JVorldmuft *^ be infinite. Make this our, with any tolera- ble Senfe, or Connexion, and you 11 do fome- thing. Next let us put the Argument in the o- tiaer Light.
" If the Power cxercis'd in the Creation ex- " tended to an infiriite Compafsy or to an in- " finite Number of Things, then it is evident " that the World miift be infinite. Right: If the Creation had been infinite in extent, the Creation muft had been infinite in extent. But who is it that you are difputing againft? Or O 4 whom
192 ^DEFENSE Qu.XI.
whom cio you oblige by thcfc Difcovcrics ) The Qiicftionis, whether the CVt^^/^/^?^, that is, pro- ducing out or Nothing, any one Jingk Thing, however fmall in extent, be not an Ad proper to God only 5 exceeding any finite Power 5 in- communicable to any Creature, It is fufH- cient for Ton^ to put Us upon the Proof of rhe Jffirmati'Ve: No confidering Man would ever attempt to prove the Negative, As to the Affirmative^ there are many very probable pre- fumptivc Proofs, fuch as ought to have great Weight with Us: particularly. Creation every where in Scripture look'd on as a divine Aft; Not fo much as a Grain of Sand) or a Particle of Matter, Hiidto be created by an Angel, or Arch- angel, or any Creature whatever ; Reafonable to fuppofe that nothing can come into Being by any Power leis than His, who is the Author and Fountain of all Being. To this agrees the general Senfe of the more fober and thinking Part of Mankind. This was the Dodrine of the * Ante-Nicene Catholick Writers, fo far as ap- pears, as well as of thofc that came after. Wherefore the Arians^ in afcribing Creation to a Creature^ ''\ innovated in the Faith of Chrift,
* Hoc Dcus ab Homine d.itcrf, quoniam Dcus quidem facit. Homo auttm fit : &: quidem Qui facit, fempcr Idem eft. Ircn, f. 140. Ed. Bentd.
Nihil cnim in return Diabolus invenitur fecifle, videlicet cum 2c IlJ'e Crcatura iit Dei, quemadmodum k rcliqui Angeli. Iren. ^.228. See alfo Bull. D.F. Epilog, p. 291,292.
tciiToiy y.civ O'juXvtr'^vo';, xl! Mu^-mo^v, (c BuinXi.o/ic, Toixvrcc (pogvaci, jC< lfji,Sicy,'.:.vuy i^ii^^ral rvyx^vi^TS. Athan. Crat. 2. P.4S9.
copied
Qii. XI. offome aU E R I E S. 193
copied after the Gnojticks^ * and cxpofed their Caufe. Since they refolved to make a Creature only, of the Son of God, they fliould not have allowed Him any Power of Cr^/:^//;?^; butfliould have interpreted all thofe Texts which fpeak in favour of it, as the Socinians have done fince, of a metaphorical Creation. That indeed had been novel, and ftrain'd enough 5 but accompanied with lefs Abfurdity than the other. However, This ufe we may make of what the Arians fo generally granted J Firft, toobfcrve, that Scrip- ture and Tradition muft have appeared to run ve- ry ftrong, at that time, for it: And it may far- ther fhew, ho\Z) eafy and natural that Notion 7nnjl be allo'juedto be^ ''jjhich fo many could not forbear expreffmg clearly and dijlinBly ; even frequently ^-jiheny at the fame time^ they '•jjere about to affirm, and endeavouring to prove fomething not very confflent ^-ji'ith it. But we fhall have more of this Matter in the following §iueries,
f See Serra. 3. p. 99, &c.
Query
194 ^DEFENSE Qu. XII.
(^ (J E R Y XII.
Whether the Crentnr ofallTh'mgs was not Him- felf uncreated \ and therefore could not be V^ cuTi ovTCiiv^ made out of nothing,
THIS and the four following Queries, are^ you fay, all^ at moft, but Arguments^ ad ignorantiam, or Verecundiam, (p. 59.) ta put us upon detenmning ThitgSy on either Jide^ not clearly revealed. To fay tlie Truth, you feem here to be very much perplex'dj and therefore have reafon to complain : And I am not to exped any very clear and diftind An- fwers. You admit {p. 60.) that the Creator of all Things imijl be Himfelf uncreated. W^ell then : The Son is Creator of all Things 5 There- fore He is uncreated. The premifTes are Both your own ; The Conclufion mine : And, one might think, it fliould be yours too. But you are, it feems, very loth to come into it; and difcover a ftrong Inchnation to elude and evade it 5 if it were any way pofllblc for you to do it. Let us fee what you can fay 5 If the Scripturc-Scnfe be the true and only proper Senfe of the word. Creature, {to wit, the vijible and invifible Worlds brought into be- ing by the Vower of the Aoy^^ or Son of Cody in Subordination to the Will and Tower of the Father) then 'tis manifeft that the Acy©*, who thus created Them, mufl [whatv ever is the nature of his own TroduStion or
Gene-
Qu. XII. offome Q\] E R I E S. 195
Generation) be, in this 'ujay of fpeaking, uncre- ated. This is fomething myftcrious. It is how- ever very plain that you are draining hard for fomc odcly peculiar Senfe of the word, Creature, or Created-^ which is to be called the Scripture- Sen fe 5 and if this does not reUeve you, all is loft.
You give us the Scripture T)oEirine of the Creation-, exprcfling both tht Creation it felf,and the Terfon by whom it was wrought: and That "whole T>o^rine, tho' fet forth in many Words, you call the Scripture-Senfe of that One Word, Creature, ox Created. As if I ihould fay ; the Scripture- Account of the Ark is, that it was made by Noah 5 therefore the Scripture-Senfe of the word, Ark, implies the making of it by Noah. Or, the Scripture- Account of the Temple is, that it was built by Solomon ; therefore the Scripture- Senfe of the word, Temple, fuppofes it to be fomething made by Solomon : And if there were ever fo many Temples bcfides that one, yet They could not properly be called Temples, unlefs built by Solomon. This is juft as good as your pretence, that creating does not fignify fimply, creating -, but creating by the Aoy(^. Give me leave to ask whether the Jews, who kept their Sabbath in Memory of the Creation, and un- doubtedly took their Notion of it from Scri- pture, underftood the word conftantly in your Senfe, as created by the Aoyi'^ \ If they did ; That is a point I may make fome ufe of another Time: If They did not$ then the Scripture- Senfe
196 y^ DEFENSE Qu.XII.
Senfe of the word, Creature , before the coming of the MeJJiahy was fomething different from what you have given us. I fhall only add, that your pretended Senfe of the word Creature^ or Created^ does not feeni to have prevailed fo ear- ly as St. 7<?/.72's Time. He tells us, all Things were made by Him^ that is, by the Aoy©'* and rjoithmit Him^ ijoas not any Thing made that Ksoas made. Might He not better have faid, in fliort, all Things were created^ neither was there any thing but what was created'^ It was perfeftly needlcfs, if your pretence be true, to infert, bj Him-j becaufe, in the Scripture-Senfe oi the Word, it was implied, and the Addition of it only renders it Tautology.
You go on to fay, it is, I think, for this reafony that the Scriptures never fay that He is created. IngenuouQy confefs'd ; and therefore I hope you will not prefunie, either to fay, or to believe, that He is created. As to tiie Reafon you aflign for it , it is mere Fancy and Fiction : I hope, out of pure Re- verence to the [acred Writ, you will bethink your felf of fomc better. You add, on the othec Hand, that the Scriptures never fay that He is uncreated', forgetting what you had acknow- ledged, in the fame Page, viz. That the Creator of all Things muft be Himfelf tmcreated, is an unavoidable confeqtience in Reafon: And that the Aoy& had created all Things you admit, immediately after, as delivered in Scri- pture. Wherefore, if Scripture, by unavoid- able
Qu. XII. offome QJJ E R I E S. 197
able con fequencCy does fay, that He is uncreated \ I hope, Scripture docs fay it. The Scriptures, every where, carefully keep up the Diftinclioii between Creator and Creature'-, and never con- found Both in one. They tell us not of any Crea- ture of the Father ^^ which is not a Creature of the j^^r/s alfo. They fay, that all Things '■jj ere made by Him 5 and to be more expreflive and cmphatical, 'ujithout Him was not any Thing made that was made. How can this be if He Himfelf was made ? Si ipfe Fa5tus eft, nonper 11- lum fnnt omm:i f aria, fed cxtQi^x 5 faith St. Aiiftin. As to theSenfc of xhcAnte-Nicene Writers, in this particular, it is well known that they do implicitely and con fequenti ally, almoft every- where, declare the Son to be uncreated. You may fee fonie * Teftimonies referred to in the Margin, where they do it alfo dire5ily, and in exprefs Words. I fcruple not to put Origen amongfl: Them : His Orthodoxy has been ef- fectually defended by the Incomparable Bifliop Bidl, in the Opinion of the ableft and moft impartial Judges. The learned Doftor, notwith- ftanding, has been pleafcd to revive the Difpute about Origens Sentiments : with what Succefi, fhall be here examin d, as briefly as may be. The
* Athena^oras, Lcgat. p. 39. Ed. Ox. Ignat. ad Ephcf. c. 7. p. 14. Ed. Ox. Irenxus, J. 2. c. 25-. p. if^. Ed.Bcncd. Grig. contr. Celf. 1. 6. p. 287. Dionyf. Rom. apud Arhanaf. de Dc- cret. Syn. N. p. 232. Dionyiius Alexandr. apud Eund. 230. 25'?,2f7. Theognoftus—— apud Eund. 230. Methodius apud Phot. p. <?6o. Hippolytus {probably) de Theol. & Incarn. p. 228.
Words
IPS ^DEFENSE Qu. XII.
Words of Origen, which ^ He lays hold on, are
thcfc. ^ npscC'uraTcv wdvrctiv r cJ^niJUii^^mJ-clrdi'j^
applied to the Son. Bifhop B^ll, like a skillful and a candid Man, who did not care to fet one ambigtious Sentence againft many plain ones > nor to make an Author manifeftly inconfiftent, without as manifeft a necefllty; rcndred the Words, very rightly, Antienter than all Crea- tures. The Doftor Himfelf is forc'd to ^ admit that the Words might bear this Conftrudlion : And yet ^ afterwards fays, that Origen exprefly reckofid the Son among the cJ^ri[jAii^y^[j.arci. But how exprefly ? This can never be proved mere- ly from the Force of is-^icrQ^rcLro-j^ as a Super- lative: unlefs ^Etifebiiis exprejly reckon d the Son among Times and Ages ; or ^ Jnftin Mar- tyr exprejly reckoned the Tentatetich among profane Hiftories: or the fame ^Jufiin ex- prejly reckon'd Mofes and the Prophets among the Wife -Men of Greece: which is ridicu- lous. The Superlative^ we fee, hath been ufed fometimes Comparatively -, and why not by Origen ? He may only appear to fay, what
« Script. Doflr. p. 1 84, 278, 282. alias 164, 24;-, 249. ** Grig. contr.Cclf. 1.5-. p. 25-7 • *" Script. Dodr. p. 184. altas 16^.
* Script. Dodr. p. 282. alias 249.
' n«4v705 pt;^"^ ^ zswTkv ccU)))m ^p£crt£;T4t%5. DeLaud. Conjdanf. C. I. p. 5*0 I. Valef. Jjf 5^ u.0T0i)v dlmuv l<^i n^vTriq )o x^^^ zra>Toc,io 7:p(r'^vTUTC'j. Cyril. Alex. Dial. 2.de Trin, p. 446. Vid. contr. Jul.]. I. p. 18. EtTheod.ad Grjec. Tom.4. p.462.p. 493.
* ' P^cx'^tolonLu ttoktZv T i|&'3-£v 'l^oQ^av rr^v M,uv(riu<i 'is-og/av. Pa- rcen. c. i2.p. 70.Ed.Oxon.
TTixp ifjuTy <rc(po)v. Paraen. c. 35*. P- 118. Mwo-wj T^unuv fc 'EAAs»a;» TTDte-UTufoc. Eufeb. Prsep.Evang.l. 14.C. 3.
He
Qii. XII. of fome QV ERIE S, 199
He really does not. There is certainly a wide Difference between ^verbally Teeming to aflert, and exprefly afferting ; as much as between be- ing barely capable of fuch a Senle, and being ca- pable of no other Senfe. How then will the learned Dodor be able to make good his Preten- fions ) He * alledges the 'wholeTemr ofOn^crvs Opinion '-, in which he greatly Miftakes: For the whole Tenor of Origen, efpecially in that Trea- tife from whence the Paflage is taken, is alto- gether contrary; as the Learned well know, and Bifhop Btill hath clearly fhewn. But the Doftor has a farther Plea from a Paflage in f AthanafiiiSy which He feems to be much pleafed with ^ referring to it, once, and again, in his Scripture-'DoBrine. The principal Words are thefe : Tov k^ t" xt/o-sw? xu^rov, k^ -nrda-n^ >auD- ^cL(Ti'ji£ o\ixiiipyov. The Doftor thinks he has here difcovered a II Contra-diftinSiion between t- xt/- <Ti(}^^ (He negleds j'.upiov) and -sraVns- x^TJus-aa-sco? c/^jj- jutis^fov. We are to fitppofe -utclgh^ \cuK,7cla-t(tis of larger Extent and Signification than -nraVKir xt/o-sw? \yould have been : and, becaufe d^nfj-m^yoy goes a- long with it, we are to fuppofe that ^T^^K^iftiixcL was underftood, by AthanajhiSy in a larger Senfe than xr/o-i? : Laftly, we are 10 fuppofe that Athanafms is, in this Inftance, the beft Interpre- ter of Origeni tho' it does not appear from Or/-
* Script. Doflr, p. 184. alids 164.
•\ T^Tcv fjtjovov eivxt 02ov «A>j<'!), T J^ T^ xVcrz^yi; ku£/ov, }^ 7ex<rr,i
TTiKHvx 7ra.(ry,t; '^vtry^c, irUq, o ^ Xe/€-oZ TTxr^f Orat. COntT. Gent,
p. 3p. Ed. Bcned. |) Script. Do<5lr. p. 1S4. alias 164.
gen's
200 y^ D E F E N S E Qii. XII. geri'^ own Writings, that He knew any thing of this pccuUar Scnte of o\\i.vi^^^xcL^ but the Con- trary. Tiie bare Recital of io many StippoJitionSy cidvanc d Avithout Proof, or any Shadow of it, might fuffice foran Anfwer. But we may obferve,
1. That if AthanaJitiSy being then a young Man and an Orator, intended only to vary his Plirafe; either to be more emphatical, or to give the better Turn and Cadence to a Period (and this might be all, for any thing that appears to the contrary) then the Dodlor's Critktjm falls to the Ground.
2. If any Co7itra-diJlinciio7t was intended, it fliould feem, that the fame muft hold with re- fped to y-\j^'>c'j and ch^iua^yo-j : the Confequcncc whereof is, that God the Father is not Hu'ei©^ fo far and wide as He is c'/^uiypyk. It will be fome Satisfaftion to us, that if the Son be o\mi^' yr^ij-cij He has no Lord over Him.
3. The conA^m u{c of o\j.iiir>ycaci and oV^?" 70^5 in other Authors, and even in * Athanafius Himfelf, and in this very ^Trcatife, is another ftrong Prcfumption againft the Dodor'sCritidfm.
* See Atlianaf. Je Decret, Syn. Nic. pag. 237. Where He ex- prejly pleach that the Father cafwot i>e fiul to be ^yjiov^yo^^ in refpecl of the Son.
f Tec fjiy/i tvrx sVjoroj-'jcr^v, tyj K'.itri Trup^^ r yPua-aflx "Xolt^^J oyncy
Z-^Z._fJCjCC TlOC^^OVTiC, 0(.]iir,TO)i XUi ObCTiri'CtC. ' OfJjiHV y-* H TIC, TX ifljCt TT^
T TUTUV o/i[jjiov^yov KXTCt-TTu,'^./}, p. 2^6. The TOPOrds oyjfJiiiov^yyif/jccTfC arjd c/j/jiovr/oi> ahfwer^ iii the Si)/nlittule anU Aaalo^y, to KTiG-e-t and ' KTitru^TUy going before. Wherefore^ I conceive, that, according to Atlianarius, the Two former, when ttnji-rjlood with relation to Gody art cniiivnlent to the Two latter.
1 z.The
Qu. XII. offome Q.U E R I E S. 201
4. The Confcqucnccs following from the Suppofition of fuch a Scnfc, as the Do£lor would impofc upon Athanafitis, may be dcmonftrably confuted from the fame Trcatife j nay, from the very iame Page where that remarkable Paf- fage is.
For, you mufl: know, that, if the Do£lor underftands Him right, Athanafms included the Son under -urda-r,^ ^cosd^dcncx)^^ whereof the Fa- ther is o\jiiypy6j: And fo the Son m.uft be o\a{- ii^yniJ-ct' according to Athanafius. Not only fo, but He muft alfo come under -urdTcs '^w^rh ^aias' which, for the purpofe, the learned Do- ftor took care to render all derivative Be- ings anfwering to his rendring of o\[x^)6^yr,ixa:, ^ afterwards. This might look fair and plaufible, had we only that fingle Sentence of Athanafiits to form a Judgment by : But it ftands in a pretty large Treatifc, wherein we find that Athanafms is fo far from fuppofing the Son to be cl^if]tJ.iii^'yr,<j.a.) that He makes Him ^woinTn^ of all the iiivifible lowers $ nay and ^o'^y)aiye7°^ '^^ '^'^-■•'" Tcs-, which, I think, comes to as much as c/^/i,ai* si^/of -uidcrs '^'^ci^i'^r and that therefore the learned Doctor may almoft as reafonably bring the Father in, among the cAn/aiy^yyi.aara of the Son, zsviceverfa. To conclude 3 AthanafiuSy within a few lines of thatPaflage which the Do- dor makes ufe of, exempts the Son, clearly and cxprefly, from the Rank of fuch derivative Be-
^ Script. Do(5lr. p. 4. alus p, 5-. |
" Script. Doftr. p. 278. |
«/u;2jj. ' Pag. 43. |
-Pa-.ic,. |
P |
tngs, |
202 yf D E F E N S E Qii. XIII. ings, as the Do6lor would place Him with:
much for ylthanajius, and the Dodor's Criticifms upon Him. Now, if you pleafe, let Origen be Ours again, till you can better make out your Title to Him. I do not know that the Dodor has faid any thing confiderable to weaken the E- vidence of any other of the Authors, refcrr'd to in the Margin. So we may leave Them as They are ; and proceed to another §^iery.
(^ U E R Y XIII.
Whether there can be any Middle bet\ji'ee?i being made out of nothings and out of feme - thing 5 that is^ bePvjeen being out of No- thing , and out of the Father's Siibflance 5 bet'uoeen being cflcntially God, and being a Creature; U'Tjether, confequently^ the Son miift not be either ellentiaily God, or elfe a Creature ?
HERE, again, I have mn two wineries into one (being nearly allied to each other) for the conveniency of Method. Que- ftions of this kind you like not: It is, you fay, prefllng you to determine Things not clearly reveal d: As if you had not deter- mirid already upon the Points in Queftion; or were at all afraid of doing it. Permit mc to fay, you have determined : But becaufe the
Con-
Qu. XIIL of fame Q^tJ E R I £ §. 263' Coiiclufion is too (liocking to appeal* in broad Terms, and two weak to bear; therefore yoU keep it under Cover, and lay Colours upon it, the better to deceive and draw in an unwary- Reader : This is what I complain of. Let every Reader be apprized , that the only Queftioa between us is, whether His Creator and Re- deemer, be a Creature^ or no : and then the Caufe will be brought to a fliort Iffue ; and it will foon be feen where the Truth lies. It is not that I defire to draw you into danger of Cenftire^ of which you are apprehen- five j I could not have a Thought fo mean : Befides that I intended, and defired,- for the greater freedom of debate, to be private: And You, perhaps, majr be fo ftill, if you plcafe. It concerns every honeft Man to have the Caufe fairly laid open. While you arc en- deavouring to expofe the received Opinion, as much as you arc able, let your own be fliewa in its true Colours^ and then fet againft itj that fo we may the more eafily judge, which has the Advantage upon the Comparifon. You are very fcnfible, I doubt not, that the Argu- ments againft the Son's being a Creature^ bear upon you with fuch Strength, Force, and full Light; that you had rather have the pinch of the Qiieftion concealed from the Reader, or dlfi^uifed under other Terms. The Antient ArianSy the immediate Succeflbrs of AniiSi found it abfolutely neceflary to refine uport their Leader; to refine, I mean, in Language *i P % foi
204 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XIIIJ
for their Faith was the fame. When the World was, in a manner their own 5 and when They were fo far from fearing cenfiire themfehxs, that they employ 'd the fecular Power to ^ plun- der, perfecLite, and deftroy as many as oppofed Them ; even then^ Thofe Men durft not fay direEily-, that the Son of God was a Creature, We have Creed after Creed drawn up by Them ; and Amiss Fofitions ^ exprefly difclaimed by fomeof Them 3 though, at the fame time, They meant the fame Things. And what was the meaning of this wary Proceeding 5 this walking in difguife, while they had nothing to fear from the Powers in Being > The Reafon is plain : Their Dodrine was new-, and ^Jhocking to Chri- . ftian Ears. It was not fit to appear in ^ clear and plain Words. It was to be infinuated only, in remote Hints, and dark Innuendo s. People were to be decoy'd, and gradually drawn into a new Faith, which if they had fully underftood, and feen what it led to, they would immediate- ly have detefted. See to this purpofe a ^ Pailage oi Hilary worth remarking; which I have thrown into the Margin.
' 5"fe Athanaf. Vol. i . p. i lo, ; 17, 321, 345-, 362, 586. Hi- lar, p. 1291. Bafil. Ep. 70,71, 282. Greg. Naz. Orat. 20,23, 2;-, 32.
'' Athanaf.Vol. i. p. 176,275-. Vol. 2. p. 735-. Socrat.1.2, c. lo.Sozom. E.Hift. 1. 3.0.5-. Epiphan.Ha^ref. 73. p. 845-.
*= Athanaf. Vol. i. p. 234, 285. Alexand. Epift. TJieod. H. p. 26, 30.
** See Athanaf. Vol.i. p. 28S.
• Hujus quidem ufquc adhuc Impietatis Fraude pcrficitur, ut jam fub Antichrifti Sacerdotibus Chrifli l^opidus non occidat, duin Hoc putant lili lidei eiTe quod rocn cfl. Audiunt Deum Chri-
The
C^i. XIII. offoine Q^U E R I E S. 205
The j^rians, or Semi- Avians (for Both come to one at laft) were fo fenfiblc that their Tenets would not bear the Light, that they were forc'd to difguife and conceal them under Ca- tholick Forms of Speech, with all imaginable Art and Subtlety; as was much complained of by the CathoUcks^ * who abhorr'd fuch Artifices. The myftery of thcfc Difguifes has been already intimated. Had they veatur'd to fpeak out, they could not have deceived any great Num- bers. The greater part of their deluded Fol- lowers were blinded and hood-wink'd; and hardly knew what their Leaders intended, or whither they were driving. Thefe were the Arts, by which Arianifm prevailed ; and yet hardly prevailed above Forty Years. Whether thefe, or the like prudential Reafons, determine fome now to proceed with the like Caution, and to avoid declaring, in Terms, that the Son of ■ God is a Creature J I know not. But this I know, that every careful Reader ought to be well apprized of the Tendency of your main Doctrine. It fliould be told, that you aflert, though not direEily and plainly^ yet tacit ely and confeojiientiall'j-, that the Maker, Redeemer,
flumi putant cfle quod dicitur. Audiunt F/////;;? Df/ j putant in Dei Nativitate ineife Dei Veritarem. Audiunt Ahte Tcfnpor.ty putant id ipfum Ante Tempore, cflc quod Semper efl-. Sanftio- rcs Aures plebis quam Corda Sacerdotum. Hilar, p. \z66. See alfo Sozom. E. H. J. 5. c.f.
* Athanaf. p. 235-, 224, S97. Thcod. E. 11. p. 27. Socrat. E. H. 1. 2. c. 4f. Sozom. E. H. I.4. c.29. Epiphan. Hirrcf. 73.p. 84;-. Gregor.Nazianz.Orat. 21. p. 387.
f i and
206 ^DEFENSE Qii. XIII.
and Judge of the whole World, is no more than a Creature 'y is mutable, and corruptible ; de- pends entirely upon the Favour and good Plea- fure of God ; has a precarious Exiftence, and dependent Powers, finite and limited ; and is neither fo perfcd in his Nature, nor fo ex- alted in Privileges , but that it is in the Fa- thers Power, according to his own good Plea- fure, to create Another equal, or even fuperior, to Him. Thefe are your Tenets, if youpleafc to fpeak out ; and thefe, in the main, are what j4rmSj being a plain, open, and confiftent Man, at the beginning, very frankly pro- fefs*d. But, if thefe Pofitions appear fo harfli and {hocking , that you your Selves , who admit Them, do not care to own them in plain Terms y it may be very excufable in Other Sy to contradid Them 5 and to affert, upon fo great Evidences of Truth, from Scri- pture and Antiquity, that God the Son is infinitely removed from the Condition of a Creature-^ is really^ truly ^ and effentialfyy God,
You have, perhaps, fome few fpccious Dif- ficulties to urge againft a Trinity and Unityy eternal Generation, or the like, points too fublime for Men, or, it may be. Angels to comprehend. But why muft thefe bethought to weigh down the many and unanfwerable Objcftions againft your own Scheme 5 or be efteem'd fufficient to bear up againft the united Voice of Scripture and Catholick Antiquity ,
m
Qu. XIIT. of fonie Q\J E R I E S. 207
no where affcrting that the Son of God is a Creature':, but every where inthiiatuig, ui- culcatinir, proclaiming, that He is the ■ Crea- tor, Treferver, and Sttftainer of all Things; very and eternal God ? you'll pardon mc this Excurfion, neceflary to give the com- mon Reader a juft Idea of the Difpute be- twixt us; and of the true State of the Qltc- ftion. A Stranger in this Controverfy, fiud- ing how near we come to each other in ex- prefjlon-, might be apt to wonder wherein wc differ, or what it is that we difpute about; not being aware of the Artifice you makeufeof, in giving an UncathoUck meaning to CathoUck ExprclTions. We fay,, the Son is not Self- exiftentj meaning that Kc is not Unoriginate : You do not only fay the fame, but contend for it ; meaning, not neceffarily exijling. We fay, not unoriginate, meaning that He is not the Head or Fountain, not the firfl Terfon of the Trinity : You take up the very fame Word, and zealoufly contend that the Son is not un- originate-, underftanding it in refpeft of Ti?^ie, or T>uration. We fay, the Son is fubordinatey meaning it of a Subordination of Order, as is jufl, and proper: Youalfo lay hold of thevv^ord Subordinate, and feem wonderfully pleas'd with it ; but underftanding by it, an I?iferiority of Nature, We fay, that the Son is not abfblutc- ly fupreme i\oi independent -, intimating thereby that He is Second in Order as a Son, and has ^)0 feMratej independent Exiftcnce from the P 4- Father,
20S ^DEFENSE Qu. XIIL Father, being co-e(fentially and coeternally one with Him: you alfo take up the fame Words, interpret them to a lo\Z! Senfe, and make the Son an inferior dependent Being ; depending nt firft on the Will of the Father for his Ex- iftence, and afterwards for the continuance of it. This is the way you chufe to infinuate your Heterodoxy into weak Readers. In the mean \vhile, notwithftanding our feeming or ^verbal Agreement, there is as wide a Difference between what You teach and We, as between finite and infinite^ mutable and immutable^ a dependent Creature and the eternal God, From what hath been faid, you may perceive what the ConceJJions o{ CatholickSy which the Dodor of- ten boafts of, amount to. The Catholicks have ufed fome Phrafes in a good Senfey which art- ful Men have perverted to a bad one : That is all the Cafe. But I return.
You v%7as to find a medium between being ejjentially Gody and being a Creature: or elfc to declare in plain Terms, that the Son is a Creature. A medium you find not,- nor indeed can there be any : And yet, inftead of frank- ly acknowledging fo plain and manifeft a Truth, you are pleas'd to fhift, double, and wind about, in a manner unbecoming a grave Difputant, or a fincere and ingenuous Writer. In the firft place, you put on an Air of Courage, and give mc one Caution, viz. not to fay or attempt to prove, that every Being that is derived muft bcj jar that reafon^ a Creaturej for fear of
making
Qii. XIII. offome Q.U E R I E S. 209
making my o-^n NotioUy which fuppofcs the Son generated, that is, derrjed^ to favour the Arians : But, admitting the Son to be derived y as it may be underftood in a Catholick Scnfc, yet what is that to your Purpofe ? Docs not my Argument turn upon the Words, out of 7iothmg? Point me out any ^zm2, fo derive dy a Being which now is, and once was not ; and deny Him to be a Creature ^ if you can. But you go on ; As to v:hat is fa'td in tke S^^ie- ries^ that either the Son of God nmjl be the \iLidi\\A\Ji2\ Subftance of the Father , or elfe ^k <^'>^'^- pvT(ji^^ 'VJith the Arians ; / anfjoer^ if both Scri- pture and Reajon clearly demo/ifirate that the Son is not the Individual Subfiance of the Fa- thcry vuho miifl look to that Confeqiience, if it be one ?
Here, at a ftrait ( as ufual ) the Word Indi- vidual comes in 5 a Word capable of feveral Meanings , and fo neccflary to help Inventi- on, that you would often be at a lofs what to fay, if you wanted that poor pretence for Equivocation. It is evident, that you all along ufe the Word in a Sabellian Senfe, different from what cither the ScheoUnen, or more antient Catholicks intended by it. The thing which I affertis this ; that you muft cither own the Son to be of the fame imdivided Subn:ancc with the Father; or elfe declare him a Crea- ttire. If you deny the former, you mud, of Confequence, admit the latter; and you really f}o fo. The confequence T'cu arc to look to, as
ncccf-
210 >^ D E F E N S E Qu. XIIL
neceflarily flowing from r/^/zr Premiflcs ; which you pretend to found on Scripture and Reafon, \i'ithout any ground or warrant from cither. You are refolved, itfccms, to difown ther^r/'^/>2/;'of the TDisjun^ion, {p,6\.) fo afraid you are of determining the Son to be a Creature «J cJ/. ovrwy. Let us hear what a Difputant may have to plead againft a Thing as clear and evident as any^x/- om in Geometry.
You fay, *, The Nicene Fathers thought the Son to be neither the i^cria rS tu-ar^or. The Sub- fiance of the Father^ nor \% cuy, o-jt-^-j^ but ck -f ^cia£ ris -urar^z-^ from the Subftance of the Father, The Nicene Fathers explain their meaning, both in the Creed it felf, and in the Anathemas annexed to it; determining the Son to be no Creature^ nor a different God from the Father 5 but of the fame //W/i;/V^^ Subftance with Him, God of God, Light of Light , Con- fiibftantial with Him, and a diftind Perfon from HUii.
- Next, you fay, wz dare not determine that Cod -produced all Things, or any ' Thing, {fir icily and met aphyfic ally fp caking) out of Nothing. Extreme Modcfty ! That you dare not determine whether God has properly cre- ated any Thing ; or whether all Things were not neceffarily-exijting. Matter it felf may have been co-eval and co- eternal with God the Fa- ther; Any thing, it fcems, but his own beloved and only-begotten Son: Or elfe why are youfp
* i'ce Dr. ChrkcV Bs^'y to the. Convocation, p. 25?.
Qii. XIII. offome QUERIES. 211 fliy, at other times, of acknowledging His Eter- nity ? Or why lb refolute in difputing againft it ? Aw eternal SoUy mcthinks, is much better Senle than an eternal Subjlancey not divine ^ and a Son rnade out of it 5 which is what you muft mean, or mean nothing. But to proceed : You add. How God brings Beings into real Exifience 'iz'e know noty becaufe we know not their E (fences. Therefore, I fuppofe, we know not, whether He brings them into Exiftence at all ; or whether they had a Being before they were created. That's the Confequence you intend, if any thing to thepur- pofe. You go on : Or whether it be a Contra- di^ion to predicate Exiflence of them before their coming into that State which they now are in^ and which we call their Creation^ we know not. Very ignorant ! Andyetyoucanbepofitivc in Things, which you know a great deal Icfs of; prefuming to make the Generation of the Son of God Temporal '-i and determining it * a Contra- didion to predicate Exiflence of Him before His Generation. Such things as thefc carry their own Confutation with them 5 and only fliew that Truth is too fcubborn to bend. Let it be faid then plainly, and without Difguife, that the Son of God is either Confubftantial with God the Father; or clfe a Creature, There is no mediiimy neither can there be any ; confident with Scripture, and with the Truth and Rcafon pf Things. This being fettled, our Difputc
may
212 yf D E F E N S E Qu. XIV.
may be brought into a narrower Compafs 5 and wc may hereafter dilmifs doubtful and ambigu- ous Terms.
Q^UERY XIV.
TVhether T^r, Clarke, '-jnho every "ovhere denies the Confiibjlantidity of the Son^ as ahfurd and contradiEiory^ does not, of Confequencey affirm the Son to be a Creature ^ J c Jh © vtw;, and fo fall under his own Cenfure^ and is felf condemned ?
IT hath been queftioned by fomc, whether D. Clarke has really given into the Arian Scheme, or no. From what he faith, in fome places of his Scripture-T>oBriney ( particularly * Prop. 14. and 1 6. ) one might imagine that He flood A^if/z^^r, neither determining for, nor againft the Catholick Faith in that Article : But, from his declaring ij: exprefly againft the Confubflantia' Uty of the Son, w^hether Specifck or Individual y ( between w^hich lie allows no medium ) and from his reckoning the Son among the v\xi>ioyl^ixa.ray ( though he gives an artificial Glofs to it ; ) as alfo from his excluding the Son out of the 07ie Godhead ; from thefe Confiderations, to men- tion no more, it is exceeding clear, that He has dctcrmin d againft the Church, and declared for Arianifm. He has, by neceftary Confequence,
♦ Script. Do(riT. p. r-]G. 179.
^ See Script. Dodr. p. 465-. Erfl Ed,
aflcrtcd
Qu. XIV. of fome QUEKIES. 215
alTcrtcd the Son to be £? cJk ovra^v , which is the very Effcnce and Charaftetiftick o^Arianifm, By fo doing> He is Self-condemn'd {See "Prop, 14,) uiilels affirming a thing exprefly be highly blame- able ; and affirming the fame thing, implicitely and coitfeqnentially^ be juft and good. It is unac- countable to me, how there comes to be fuch a charm in Words, that a Man fhould be blameable for faying a Thing of this Nature, plainly and di- redly, which he may affirm indireftly and confcqucntially, without any fault at all. Doth the Offence lie only in Sounds or Syllables? Or was Arius more culpable for faying, the Son was a Creature^ and from nothing:, than A- nother who fays, He is not Confiihftantial with the Father, nor One God with him, or the like 5 when it is fo very manifcft, and hath been pro- ved above, that they arc only different Expref- fions of the fame Thing ? I can think but of three Reafbns ( I fpeak not of particular yiez:;s, or Motives ) why any Man (hould condemn Arius for declaring the Son to be ^^ cJy. cvrm. Either becaufe the Propofition is falfe-, or becaufe it is ditbions ; or becaufe it is not, in exprefs Words, contain d in Scripture.
If the Doftor believed it falfe^ He could not, confiftentiy, difown the Confiibfiantiality and Co-eternity 5 if He thought it dubious^ He muft have obfervcd a Neutrality in this Controverfy 5 which He has not done : The Third Reafoii would bear too hard upon many of the Doc- tor's Fifty Five Tropofitions. The Conclufion, * which
214 y? D E F E N S E Qu. XV,
which I draw fronithcfe PrcmiircSjpurfuant to the Q^icry laid down, is, that the learned Dodlor, in condemning ArhiSy has implicitcly condemn'd Himfelf. It was as neceflary to take notice of this, as it is to take oif Difguifes, and to prevent a Reader's being mifled by fair Pretences. Let Things appear what they really are, without Art or Colouring; and then, if you can make any Advantage of 'em, in God's Name, do fo ; and, if your Caufe be juft, it will thrive the better for it.
Q^UERY XV.
tVh ether he alfo inuft not^ of confequence, affir7n ofthe SoUy that there was a Time when He was not, fince God miift exift before the Crea- ture i and therefore is again Self condemn dy (See Prop. i6. Script. Doftr. ) And whether He does not equivocate infayingy * elfewhercy that the fecondTerfon hasbeeyi always with the Firft % and that there has been no Time, when He was not fo: And laflljy whether it be not a vain and weak Attempt to pretend to any middle way between the Orthodox and the Arians i or to carry the Sons T>ivinity the leaf higher than They didy without taking in the Confubftantiality ?
I Could have been willing to have had this, and other the like Queries, relating more to the Dodor himfelf, than to the Caufe, drop'd. But
* Scrip. Dodlr. p. 438. firfl Ed.
fuice
Qvi. XV- of fime Q.U E R I E S. 215
fmccyou have thought fit to/>^/^///& Them, prc- fuming your fclf able to defend the Do6tor m every Thing j you have brought a kind of ncccirity upon me, of (hewing how little ground you have for your Allurance in this particular; and that the Doftor will ftill want fome better Advocate.
He condemns, in his * Scripture-^oSirine^ Thofe "oi'Ioo pretending to be 'UJife above what is written, and intruding into Things which they have not feen, have prefnmed to affirniy that there v/as a time when the Son was NOT. Who would think, after this, that He fhould be the Man who (hould prefiime to do it > Yet nothing is more evident than that He denies the Eternity of the Son ; which is the very lame as to affirm, that there was a Time when the Son was not. He denies it, by plain Con- fequence, in fuppofing the Son to be 2$ ^J/. ovrciiv, as was fliewn under the lad Gy^iery \ and be- fides, He exprcfly fays, in his % Comments on the Athanafian Creed ( which contain what Himfelf fubfcribes to ) that there are not three eternal Terfons, It muft indeed be own'd, that in his Paper laid before the Bifliops, July 2. 1 7 14, He profeffes that the Son was eternally begotten by the eternal JVill and '^Power of the Father. But, after a Friend of his had difcovercd fome uneafincfs at that Paflage, as looking like a Retractation of his former Opi-
*
Prop. 6. p. 279. alias i^6. t Script. Dodlr. p, 419.
This firt h left put m his fecond Edition.
niop ,
216 ^DEFENSE Qu. XV.
nion, and as admitting the Son s Eternity^ He * took care to explain it away, and to fignify that, tho' He had faid the Son was eternally begotten, He did not mean it in the ftrid and proper Senfe. " My Intention, lays He, was '' not to aflert any thing different from what *' I had before written ; but only to fliew that " I did not in any of my Books teach ( as had " by many been induftrioufly reported) the *' Do6lrine of Arius ( viz, that the Son of " God was a Creature made out of Nothing, *■'- juft before the Beginning of the World) but " that He was begotten £/^r;^^//y, that is, with- " out any Limitation of Time, (a'%e°^^*5 "^e^
" in the incomprehenfible Duration of the Fa- " ther's Eternity. This is too plain to need any Comment.
I fliall only obferve to the Reader, how the Doclor fingles out one particular Point, where^ in He differs from Arius -^ whereas it is juftly queflionable whether that was Aritiss fettled Opinion or no. Any one that will be at the pains to read over Aries's Letters, extant in f Theodorit and \ Athanajiiis, wall eafily fee, that the principal Thing which (luck with Him, wasthe ToatJ^oy, or cruujajViov, the flrid Eter- 7iity or Co-eternity of the Son. As to othci^ leficr Matters, He would eafily have compound- ed with the Catholicks > and would never have
* Uttm, Numb. 8. f E. H. 1. i. c. j.
\ De Synod. Arim. p, 729.
fcruplcd,
Qii. XV. offome QUERIES. 217
feruplcd, in the kafl:, to carry the pohit as high as the Dodor does. He was content, for the niofl: part, to fay, There was a Time "juhen the Son was not, without defining the precife Time of his Generation, 01 treat :on. To make it the more clearly appear, that He was perfe<flly of the Do£>or's Sentiments, in this par- ticular, it is obfervablc that He ufcs nearly the very fame Words wliich the Dodor does:
TiravTwv T alfjlvw) Words, tho' not cxadiy the fame, yet full as high and (Irong as Thofe which the Dodor explains his own Senfe of Eternity by. So that the Dodor has no reafon to dif- claim Ariiis 'y or to endeavour to perfuade the World that He differs from Him in any thing material relating to this Controverfy. But to return: Ihe \wo]:diS eternal, always, or the like, are plain EngHp Words; and fhould either not be ufed, in this Cafe, at all, or ufed in their true and proper Senfe. You Apologize for it, as far as the Matter will bear : But it would be wifer, and better, and more ingenuous, to give that Point up. Let us hear, however, what "you have to fay.
God could eternally aB, that is, could ith any point of duration of his own Exinence exercife his eternal Tower and TVill in pro- ducing Beings and therefore Beings diftin£i
* Epift. apudAthannf.p. 730.
•» Athanaf. ibid. Theod.c. 5-. p. 2i„
! ConfefT. Arii. gc Euz. apud Sozom. 1. a. c. t.; . p. jpj*.
<^ from
2ig y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XV.
from the one fiipreme God may be [aid to be Eternal, as far as we are able to reafon about Eternity (/ mean as it is a negative Idea) fo that we cannot conceive Time when they were notj (p. 6i.) What a number of Words are here, only to tell us, in a round about way, that the Son is not Eternal What is this ne- gative Eternity, but no Eternity ? And why are not Angels, or Arch-angels called Eternaly fince we know not precifely when they were made, nor in what Time they began to exift ; which is all the meaning of this new fort of Eternity \ Befides, is not every Creature pro- duced in fome Toint of T^uration^ in which God exercifes his eternal Tower and Will up- on them? Are they therefore Eternal'^ As to your intimating of the Son, that 'Z£;^ cannot conceive Time when He was not 5 it is not true, upon your Principles. We can conceive it as well of Him, as of any other Creature, Angel, or Arch-angel ; if He was made in Time, that is, if He was made at all. We can con- ceive, and muft conceive, that there were Millions and Millions of Ages backwards ^ an Eternity, a parte antCy before He came into Being. I hope, you intended not any Equivocation in the word. Time : But if you did, it is only putting duration in the room of it, and then all will be right. The Arians would have been content to have had but one moment of Time admitted for the Father to be prior, and to IVill the Exiftcnce of the Son. This would
have
Qu. XV. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 219
have been enough to make the Generation of the Son fit ealy upon their Minds. But the Mil- fortune was, that one Moment's Priority of Time mufl: infer an infinite Priority, The A- rians h\v it, and fubmitted to it: The Catho- Hcks abhorr'd the Thought, and could not bear the Impiety of making the Son of God a Crea- ture,
You endeavour to fhcw that Dr. Clarke takeg a middle way between the Orthodox and the Arians I by which you only happen to (hew how little you have been acquainted with the Forms ^ Creeds, and ConfeJJions of the Anticnt Arians. The firft * Inftance you give of the Dodor's middle Way, is, that He does not plain- ly and diredly fay that the Son was created-^ He denies Him to be £? (^"^y- hrm. But herein. He bnly copies after many of the Antient Arians 5 who, when accus'd by the Catholicks of mak- ing the Son a Creature, rejeded the Charge with great Difdain 5 having this Rcfervc, f not a Creature like other Creatures which are creat- ed mediately by the Aoy©^: the fame Eva- fion, which you are pleas'd to adopt for your Own, {p, 60.) And it was [! frequent with the Arians to deny the Son to be t^ oujt hr^'i' or even to Anathematize thofe that fliould affirni it. A fecond Inftance you give, of the Doctor's
* Pag. 60. f 5"^<?Socrat.E. H, 1.2, c. lo. p. 75,
Hieron. Dial, contr. Lucif. p. 300,
Ij See Ariaii Creedi Athanaf. p. 738. Socrat. 1. 2. c. 8, 19, 30, Sozom. 1. 3.C. II.
Q. 2 refilling-
220 ^DEFENSE Qu. XV.
refining upon the Avians, is in the point of the Son's Eternity, {p. 6i.) But I have fliewn you that He does not fo much as go beyond ^m/i" Himfclf, in that Point : Befidcs that the ^ Antient ^d^r/^wj- condemn dthofe that fliouldprefume to lay, that thae ^jvas a Time when the Son ivas not, equivocating upon the word, Time. Both your Inftanccs^you lee, fail you, being neither of them fufRcient to the purpofe.
But, to fet this Matter in a fomewhat clearer Light, it may not be improper, in this Place, to exhibit a Draught or Rcprefentation of the Arian Tenets or Principles; by which it will appear what Arianifm really is, when purfued in its remoteft Confcquences ; and what the Difference is be- tween Thole who only admit lome pnrt of it (as the Dodor and your Self) and Thole who receive the whole.
^Tofitions of fome, orotherofthehnzns,
in refpeci of the Son. T . Not " Confiibftantial with God the Father.
2. Not "^ Co-eternal y however begotten be- fore all Ages, or without any known Limitation of Time.
3. Of a diftintt inferior Nature, however otherwife perfectly like the Father.
* See Arian Creeds. Athanaf. p. 738. Socrat. 1. 2. c, 18, ip. Sozom. I. 3. c. II.
^ Arhanal'. p. 282, 398, 728. Sozom. 1. i. c. i)-. Theod. IIa;rer. Fab. 1. 4. "" TUs reas agreed to unammoujly.
TJois I'oir.t dli/ffited by the Pfath)Tians. Thcod. Hieret. Fab. 1,4.0.4. p. 238.
4. Not
Qu. XV. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 221
4. Not jlri^ly and ejfentially Gody but par- taking of the Father's Divinity.
5. A Creature of the Father's^ however un- like to the reft of the Creatures, or fuperior to Them.
6. * Kot like the Father 5 but in Nature and Subftance, like other Creatures.
7. -f Made in Time 5 there having been a Time when He was not, made from Nothing.
8. 1! Far inferior to the Father in Knowledge, Power, and Perfections.
9. Mutable in his Nature^ as a Creature, tho* unchangeable by Decree.
I o. 'Depe?ide?it on the good Pleafure of the Father, for hispaft, prcfent, and future Being.
1 1 . Not kno-ji'ing the Father pcrfedlly, nor Himfelf. His Knowledge being that of a Cr<?i^- ture, and therefore finite,
1 2 . Made a little before the World -juas made 5 and for the iake of Thofe that fliould be after Kim.
Thefe are the Arian Principles brought down as low, as they can well go. AriuSy the Au- thor and Founder of the Sed, feems to have gone through ail thofe Steps, atthefirft: And indeed, all of them, except the laft, hang toge- ther 5 and are but the neceffary Confequenccs
* Thh dented hy all but thofe called Anomseans, f T^:;is dented, in IVords, by many.
I) Fetv bold enough to mahuain e'xprefly thi:;, or any of the follow- ing Pfopofitians.
0.3 of
223 ^DEFENSE Qu.XV.
of each other. Thofe that ftop'd in the mid- way, or fooner, might be more pious and mo- deft ; but lefs confiftent Men. A little Expe- rience convinc'd, as well Arms Himfclf, as his Followers, that thofe Fofitions, all together, were too grating upon, and too fliocking to every pious Chriftian at that Time. And there- fore (without confidering how one depended pn another; or how a Principle could be main- tained, and yet its plain, necellary Confequenccs difown'd) they immediately went to work, to cut off what fhould appear moft ofFenfive, and retain only what might found tolerably; efpe- jcially when worded in ambiguous^ or Catholick Terms.
The nine laft Particularswere, for fome time, and by the Avians in general, waved, dropped, not infifted on (as being too grofs to take) pr clfe artfully infinuatcd only, under fpeci- pus and plaufible Expreffions. The frrji They 2II own'd, and infifted the moft upon 5 having rnany Pretences to urge againft Confiibftanti- alityy either Name, or Thing. The fecond and third They divided upon, as to the way of Expreflion: fome fpcaking their Minds plainly, others with more referve; not fo much denying the Co-eternity , as forbearing to affirm it. This was the method which the Arians took to propagate their Herefy. Wc need not wonder if they were often forc'd to make ufc of CoUufions, Equivocations, and double Entcndres. For, being obhged, for
feat
Qtt. XV. offome QUERIES. 223
fear of Offence, to ufe Catholick Words, tho* without a CathoHck meauing ; and to maintain their main Prinjiple, without fceming to main- tain its neceiTary Confequences 5 (nay, feeming to deny and rejeft them) it could not be other- wife. And not only the Catholicks frequently complain of thofe fmooth Gentlemen, but fo iie even of their * own Party could not endure fuch Shuffling ; thinking it became honed and fin- cere Men, either to fpeak out-, or to fay no- thing. Of this kind were A'etiiis, and Euno- miusy with their Followers, called Anom^ans, and Exoticontii; being indeed no other, in re- fped to the Son's Divinity, than fuch as Arms was at firft 5 and fpeaking almoft as plainly and bluntly as He did. After the Difguifes, and Softenings, and Colourings had been carried on fo long, till all Men of Senfe faw plainly that it was high time to leave oft trifling, and to come from Words to Things -, and that there was no Medhiniy but either to fettle into Orthodoxy ^^ or to fit down with the pure Arians and Anom£anSy (if they would determine any Thing, and be fincere and confijlent Men) fome chofe the for- mer, and fome the latter, according as they more inclined to one way, or the other. There is certainly no Medium betwixt Orthodoxy and Arianifm (for -^ Semi-Arianif?n^ if fo undcr-
* See Epiphan.Hct^ref. 76. p. 91 (5.
f Seml-Ar'tanus^ 8c Semi-Dens^ 8c Semi-Creatura, pcrinde mon- flra 8c portcnta funt, qu^ Sani 8c Pii Oiiiiif s racrito exhorrcnt. 5«//. D.F. P.2S4.
0^4 flood,
224 >^ D E F E N S E Qu. XV,
flood, is pcrfcd Non-fenfc and Contradidion) there being no Medium between God and Crea- iurey between Unmade and Made. Men may conceal their Sentiments, fupprefs Confequences, nnd fpeak tlieir Minds but by Halves 5 and fo one Arum may be more cautious, or more art- ful than Another: But, in truth and reality, every Man that difowns the Confiibftantialitjj rightly undcrftood, is as much an Arian-, as En- 710777 ins y or Aetius^ or any of the Antient Arians were ; or even as Arms Himfelf, excepting only foire few Particulars, which were not hisftand- ing and fettled Opinions.
in fine, there is but one middle way to take between the Orthodox and the Arians y and 7 hat is, to avoid determining on either fide; to leave the point m medio-, and to fufpend affent to cither,- to believe as much, and as high, as nny of the Arians did ; and as to the reft, nei- ther to believe, nor disbelieve it. But this is not the Cafe, cither with the Dodor, or your Self. You have declared againft the Coyifiib- fidntiality^ and tlie proper 'T>ivinity of Chrift, as well as Co-eternity: And are therefore fo f T from refining upon, that you really come fliortof many of the Antient Arians y\\\dy to do you )ufiice, you are the more confiftent with your lelves for it. I have now fuffici- cntly vindicated every part of the ^lery -, having flKv;n, that the Eqtiivoeation, in refped of the Son's Eternity, is juilly chargeable up- pn the Dodor 5 and that He has not ob-
fervcd
Qu. XV. offome Q^U E R I E S. 225
lervcd a neutrality in this difpute ^ nor carried the point higher than the antient Avians i but has really, and fully, given into their Senti- ments 5 and therein dctermin'd againft the Ca- tholick Church. The ufe which I make of this, at prefent, is to obfcrve to the Reader:
I . That the Doftor has not invented any new, or more excellent Scheme than was thought ofy conjidefd^ and condemn' d^ near 1 400 Years ago, by a very wife, numerous, and unbyafs'd Coun- cil. 2. That He cannot juftlycite any Catho- lick, Toft-Nicene Writer, ( nor perhaps Ante- Nicene) as certainly favouring his mam Doc- trine. 3. That his Attempt to reconcile the Nicene and Athanafian Creeds to Artanifm^ formed in dired Oppofirion to it, is endeavouring to bring Light and Darknefs, and the moft irre- . concilable Inconfiftencies to meet together. This for the prefent : The future ufe I (hall make of it, is to come diredly to the point in Q;ie- ftion: for when it is certainly known what the drift, defign, and meaning of an Author is, much Pains may be fpared, and a Difpute fhortned.
I hardly^ know whether firid Method would permit me to take notice of the lat- ter part of your Reply, ( contained in Pages 62, 63, 64. ) it is fo wide and foreign. You muft have had a great mind to fay fome- thing of eternal Generation : Otherwiie you would never have introduced it in a place fo fmproper. The pretence is, that we equivo- cate
t26 ^DEFENSE Qu.XV,
rate in talking of eternal Generation ; and therefore it is proper to retort it upon us, in anfwer to a charge of Equivocation, But wherein do we equivocate^ or do any thing like it? Is it in the word. Eternal? But we undoubtedly mean it in the ftrift and proper Senfe. Is it in the word, Generation ? That is a word of Latitude, capable of more Senfes than one. We uic it in the Senfe, which has pre- vail'd in the Church 1 500 Years ; and in a pro- per Senfe, according to the Rule of Terttillian^ Omnis Origo Tarens eft. And where then is the Impropriety, or Equivocation in the word. Generation^ as ufed by us ? True, it is not the fame with Human Generation, But who will pretend that Human is to be the mea- fure and ftandard of all Generation ? Genera- tion, you fay, implies Begin7iing'^ and yet wc call it * Eternal Admit that it did fo ; yet till that can be made appear, we may be ve- ry (incerc in calling it Eternal^ intending no Equivocation : You have not proved that all Generation implies Beginning; and what is more, cannot. You endeavour to 'make the notion of it abfurd ; But, unlefs you can de- monftrate the abfurdity of it, how will you charge us with Equivocation, which was the Point > All you have to fay turns only upoa
'^(icrai; uutoVj r^^uc, oi'^iv eiujo^ f/^ovj^. (^yril. Catcch. M- P* ^45'-
» your
Qii.XV. ^//^;w^Q.UERIES. 227 your mifconftruction of, I fhould hy, Eqitivo- tion'my the ^'oxd Individual y which, youmufl: needs know, we underlland not in your Scnfe of it ; unlefs we are weak enough to fuppofc Father and Son to be one Terfon. You make another Argument, by equivocating in the word, Trodu&ion j which if we ufe at all, we always take care to explain to a goodSenfcj and never once imagine, that the eternal Ge- neration is a temporal Produdion. You are very unhappy, to equivocate all the way, while you are retorting the Charge of Equivocation ; befides that, could you have retorted it in a handfomer manner, it would not have been pertinent, becaufe it comes out of Place. For, your proper part here, is, not fo much to objed againfl: our Scheme, as to defend your own : Pleafe to clear your own Hypothefts firft i and then we may hear what you can fay againft ours. The Church of Chrift has been in pofleffion of the prefent prevailing Dodrines, at leaft, for 1400 Years: It concerns us, before we part with them, to fee that we may have fomething better in their (lead. What if the Catholick Dodrine has fome Difficulties ? Has Arianifm none ? Or muft we change the for- mer for the latter? No, let us firft confider w^hether Arianifm has not more and greater ; and then perhaps we may fee reafon enough to keep as we are.
It is an ufual Thing with many ( Moral ifts |)iay account for it) when they meet witj^
a dif„
228 y^DEFENSE Qu. XV.
a difficulty which They cannot readily anfwcr, immediately to conclude that the Dodrine is Falfc 5 and to run dire^lly into the oppofite Perfuafion : not confidering that They may meet with much more weighty Objedions there, than before 5 or that They may have reafon fuf- ficient to maintain and believe many Tilings in T?kilofophy or 'Divinity ^ tho* They cannot an- fwer every Queftion which may he ftarted, or cvcryDifficulty which may be railed againft them. As to the Point we are upon , while fome are confidering only the Objedions againft the Do- drinc of the Bleffed Trinity ( how Three can be One--, how the Son could be generated , how ^erfon and Being can be different 5 and the like ) they imagine prcfently, that the World, in a manner, has been hitherto miferably miftakcn 5 and that They are the happy Men, who fee dearly how^ and 'uuhy. Let but the very fame Men have patience a while, and not imbark in the oppofite Caufe, till They are able to find . out a truer and a judcr Scheme, and to clear it of all confiderable Difficulties ; I fay, let Them but do thus, and then, I am pcrfuaded, They will be much Icfs fanguine in their purfuit of Novelties. In the prcfcnt Controvcrfy, there arc three Schemes, which I may call Catholicky SabelliaUy and Ariaji : One of the Three muf^, in the main, be true. The way to know which, is, to weigh and confider the Difficul- ties attending each refpedivcly ; and to balance them one againft another. The Advocates of
the
Qii. XVI. of fome QV E R I E S. 229
the Two latter have performed rcafonably well, in the offenfive part ; and efpecially againft each other : But have neither of them yet been able to defend tolerably their refpe^tive Schemes; nor, I fuppofe, ever will be. But I proceed.
Divine Worfliip due To the one God. To Chrift.
Thou Jhalt have no other Gods before mey Exod. 20. 3.
Thou Jhalt worfhip the Lord thy Gody and Him only fmlt thou fervey Mat. 4. 10.
They worfhip*d Hiniy Luke 24. 25. Let all the Angels of God^duor- fhip limy Heb. i . 6,
That all Men floould honour the Sony even as they honour the Father y John 5. 23.
Query XVI.
IVJjether by thefe ( of the firfl: Column ) and the like TextSy Adoration and Worfloip be not fo appropriated to the one Gody as to belong to Him only?
^T'^H I S is a very material Inquiry, relating JL to the Objed of Religious Worfliip 5 than which nothing can be of greater Concernment. Here therefore, if any where, we might expect and demand of you a very full, clear, and fatisfadory Anfwcr. I fliall examine your Anfwer, in due time and place. But, tirft, it will be proper to fliev/
what
230 y^ D E F E N S E Qii. XVI. what Rcafons we have to think, that all Reli- gious Wordiip is appropriated to God only. I fliall inquire into the fenfe of Scripture, in this Article j and next proceed to the Judg- ment and Practice of the Antient Church, the beft Comment upon Scripture.
Exod, 20. V. 3. hath been already produced. The Words are, Thoti Jhalt have no other Gods before (or befides) me. Which is farther explained, 'V, 5 . (the reafon being the fame, both with refped to Images and falfe Gods ) Thou Jhalt not bow down to Them, norferve Them *. All Ads of Religious Worfliip are forbidden to be offered to any other Being, befides the one Supreme God : to Him they are appropriated, to Him only. So ^eut, 6.13. Thou Jhalt fear the Lord thy God, andJerveHim: And again, ©^///^. 10. 20. Thou Jhalt fear the Lord thy God-, Him Jhalt thou ferve. Which is quoted, and explained by our Bleffed Lord Himfelf, in thefe Words : Thou Jhalt worjhip the Lord thy God, and Him on- ly Jhalt thou ferve, Matth. 4. i o. This was faid in anfwer to Satan, who did not pretend to be Supreme, nor defire to be acknowledged as fuch. {See Luke 4. 6.) all He required was, that a folemn outward Aft of Adoration and Wor- (hip fhould be paid Him: And the reafon given for refufing it, is not that He was a bad Spirit ^ an Enemy to God 5 or that God had 7iot com- manded that He fliould be worfliip'd 3 but the
* See alfoExod. 22. 20.— —34, 14. Dan. 3. 28.
reafoi^
Qu. XVL offonw qjJ E R I E S. 251
reafoti is general, tliat none are to be worfliip'd, but God only. And that thcfe and the like Texts were intended to exclude all Beings^ bc- fide the one Supreme God, from being wor- fliip'd, cither at that Time^ or at any Time after^ appears, not only from the Realon of the Thing, but from plain Scripture. Before me was there no God fornidy neither Jhalt there he after me ^ If. 43. 10. If there arife among you a Trophet ^ or a "Dreamer of T>reamSy and giveth Thee a fign or wonder ^ nnd the fign or wonder come to pafs^ where- of He [pake ttnto Thee^ fayingy Let us go after other Gods { which thou hajl not known ) mid let us ferve Them, Thou fhalt not hearken^ &c. Deut. 13. I, 2, 3. The Worfliip of the fame one God, exclufive of all others, is by this for ever made unchangeable: Miracles could not be fufficient to give credit to any one, who Ihould pretend to introduce another objed of Worfliip ; or to fet up another God, befide the one Supreme God. All Creatures whatever arc hereby cffedually precluded from receiving any religious Homage and Adoration. This is con- firm'd by St. ^atil ( Rom, i . 2 1 , crc ) who cen- fures thofe that knew God^ ( that is, acknow- ledged one Supreme God ) and yet glorified Him not as Gody becaufe they ferved the Creature more than ( or befidcs ) the Creator^ who is bkffed far ever. Wherein the Apoftlc plainly intimates, that the Creator only is to be fervedi and that the Idolatry of the Hca-
tliciis
232 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
thcns lay in their worfhipping of the Crea- ture. He docs not blame Them for giving foveraig7i^ or abfoliite Worfliip to the Crea^ tiires (They could hardly be fo filly, as to imagine there could be more than one Supreme God) but for giving any 'zc.'^r/^/^ at all, Sove- raign or Inferior, Abfolute or Relative, to any Thing but the Creature, To the fame purpofe. Gal, 4. 8. He condemns thofe v^hodidfervice unto Them, iz'hich by nature were no Gods. Which Text 1 fhall take care to explain par- ticularly, in another Place. All this is con- firmed and illuftrated by the Angel, ( Rev.
19. 10. 22.9.) who rcfufed to receive fo
much as the outward Ad of Adoration 5 giving this Rule and Maxim upon it, Worjhip God: intimating thereby, that God only is to htwor- Jloipd'y that all Ads of religious Worfliip arc appropriated to God only. He does not fay, worfliip God and whom God fhall appoint to be wor(hip''d\ as if he had appointed any be- fidcs God : nor worfliip God with foveraign Worfliip; as if any inferior fort of Worfliip was permitted to be paid to Creatures 5 but fimply , plainly , and briefly , Worfhip God. To this I may add, that the Reafons which God infifi:s upon and inculcates, in the Old Teftar m.ent, why He, and He alone, in oppofition to all others, is to be worjhip'dy are fuch as exclude all Creatures. His being Jehovah^ * Creator, Suftainer, Preferver of all Things,
* ^Velf. 40. ir.45'.y, 6, 7. 2 Kings 19. I/. Jcr. 10. 10, ii,i2j
having
Qji. XVI. offonw (QUERIES. 2 ^
having no God before Him nor after Him, and the like.
This is the Scripture Account of the Objcd of Worfliip : There is neither Rule nor Example in it, for the worfliipping any Creature whatever ; but all the Texts, relating to this Matter, arc full, ftrong, and clear for the Worfhip of God only. Now, whatever Reafons Human Wifdom may invent for the worfliipping of Creatures, befides the Creator^ (as Celfns and Torphjrie of Old, and the Romanijis of later Times, have pretended) thofe are never to be fet a- gainft a clear and plain Law ; or oppolcd to the unerring Wifdom of God, who beft knows to whom Worfliip is proper to be paid, and to whom not.
I fliall not here argue the Point from the Nature of the Thing it felf. I will fuppofe (without granting) that Creatures may be wife enough to know, ready enough to hear, and able to relieve our wants, at any Diftance. I will fuppofe alfo, that one Creature may be ap- pointed to bear Rule and to have Dominioirover many ; as fonie have thought particular Angels to prefide over fuch and fuch Kingdoms or Countries. I will fuppofe likewife, that it may feem to Human Wifdom very fit and proper, that fuch Creatures as can aflift, or have the charge of others, fliould be refpeded, worjhifdy QSid adored by Them. I will fuppofe alfo, that we may be fo ignorant as not to perceive any- great harm, in thcfc Suppofitions, from the Na-
R ture
234 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
ture of the thing, barely and fingly confider'd. But God's Thoughts are not our Thoughts : He has beien plcas'd to enter an exprefs Caveat and Prohibition in the Cafe ; and has, no doubt, good reafon for it. Poffibly, He may ap- prehend it to be more for his own Glory, and more for our Good, that our whole Worfliip and Service be paid to Him, than a part only. Poffibly, He may know (fuch is Hu- man Infirmity) that if any part, or kind, or degree of Religious Worfhip was permitted to be given to Creatures, it might infenfibly alienate our Minds from the Creator*, or eat out all our Reverence and Refped for God. Or, it may be, that while our Acknowledgments are ordcr'd to be paid to Him, and to Him alone, we may thereby be induced to live more in dependence on Him 5 become more imme- diately united to Him 5 and have the greater love and efteem for Him. He will not, per- haps, leave his Favours in the Hands, or in the difpofal of his Creatures, left we (hould forget whom we are principally obliged to;' or left we fhould imagine that He is not always every where prcfent, to hear all our Petitions, and to anfwer them, according to his own good Plea- lure. Thefe, or a Thoufand better Reafons, in- finite Wifdom may have, for appropriating all Ads of Religious Worfliip to God. It is fuf- ficient for us to know that He has done it : and of this Holy Scripture has given abundant Proof, as we have before fecn.
Now,
Qu. XVI. offojiw (QUERIES. 235
Now, I come to confidcr what you have to except againft fo clear a Truth. All is com- prized in one fhort Sentence ; one remarkable Diftindlion. Abfolute Supreme Honour is plainly appropriated to the 'Per [on of the Fa- ther only (by Exod. 20. 3. Matt.^. to.) as the abfolute Supreme Beings or the one God, (p. 94.) From which I am to infer, that relative in- ferior Worfhip may be paid to the Creatures, notwithftanding what has been urged, from the whole Tenor of Scripture and Antiquity, to the Contrary. This is the famed 'Diflinciionj pleaded by the Heathens of Old, for Pagan -, by the Rornayufls of late, for Popifh ; and by You, for Arian Idolatry. I fhall endeavour to convince you how little there is, cither of Truth, or Probability, in this fo celebrated 'T>i- ftinB'io?i 5 and then put an End to the Argument of this ^lery.
You fet out unfortunately under a miftake, as if We were inquiring about Refped and Efteem, when the Queftion is entirely about A5is of Religious Worfhip. My Words were Worfhip and Adoration: Inftead thereof you put Honour, an ambiguous Word \ and fo flip over the Difficulty, which you was pinched with 5 and infenfibly lead your Reader off from the Point it concerned you to fpeak to. Pleafe to remember that we are difputing about AEis of Worfhip, Religious Worfhip. Let us keep to the Terms we began with ; left, by the changing of Words, we make a change oi Ideas, R 2 and
V36 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
and alter the very ftatc of the Qacftion. This being premised, now I come direftly to the Point in Hand. Your pretence is, that /////- watL% abfolnte, fupre?ne, foveraign Worfliip is due to the Father only 5 Mediate^ relative^ inferior^ petty Worfliip may be paid to Crea- tures: The outward Ads and Circumftanccs llippofed alike in Both, fo far as to make Them Religious^ not Civil Worlhip. Your confideriiig the Father as Supreme , and your intending Him the highefl Refped imaginable, are to make His JVorjhip become fupjremey abfolute^ foveraign Worfhip : But your con- Jidering another Being as inferior^ dependent ^ and a Creature only, and your ^intending Him no more than a proportionate Refped, are to make the Worfliip of Him become inferior , relative^ petty Worfliip. Worfliip therefore is to take its Quality from the Efteem and In- tention of the Worfliipper, and is to be fup- pos'd higher and lower accordingly. This, I think, is your real and full Meaning, in as few and as plain Words, as I am capable of Exprciring it. In anfwer to it, I obfervx as follows.
I . I can meet with nothing in Scripture to countenance thofe fine-fpun Notions. Grayer \vc often read of 5 but there is not a Syllable about ahfolute and relative^ fitpreme and in- ferior Prayer. We are commanded to pray Fervently and Incejfantly ; but never Sove- rnignly or Abfolutely, that I know of. Wc
have
Qii. XVI. of forne Q^U E R I E S. 2^7
have no Rules left Us about raifing or lozverifi/f our Intentions^ in proportion to the dignity of the Objc5fs. Some Inllruclions, to this purpole, might have been highly ufeful 5 and it is very ftrange, that, in a Matter of fo great Impor- tance, no Directions fliould be given, eitlier in Scripture, or, at leaft, in Antiquity, how to re- gulate own Intentions and Mecmings, with Meta- phyfical Exaftnefs 5 fo as to make our Worfliip cither higJo^ higher y or higheft of all, asoccafion Ihould require.
2. But a greater Objcdion againft this Do- dlrine, is, that the wholeTenor of Scripture runs counter to it. This may be underdood, in parr, from what I have obferved above. To make it yet plainer, I fhall take into Confideration fuch Ads and Inftances of Worfhip, as I find laid down in Scripture $ whether under the old or new Difpenfation.
Sacrifice was one Inftancc of Worfliip re- quired under the Law ; and it is faid j He that Sacrificeth unto any God, fave unto the Lord only. He (hall he utterly deflroyed, Exod. 22.20. Now fuppofe any perfon, confidering with Himfelf that only abfolute and fovereign Sacrifice was appropriated to God, by this Law, ihould have gone and facrificed to oxhcx: Gods, and have been convicted of it before the judges : The Apology He muft have made for it, I fuppofe, muft have run thus. " Gentlemen, " though I have facrificcd to other Gods, yet, I '^ hope, you'll obfcrve, that I did it not abfo-- R 3 '' Intel) :
238 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
'^ lutely : I meant not any abfolute or fit- *^ prerae Sacrifice ( which is all that the Law '' forbids) but relative and inferior only. I '' regulated my Intentions with all imaginable *' Care ; and my EJieem with the moft critical " Exadncfs: I coiifidered the other Gods, *' whom I facrificed to, as inferior only, and *' infinitely fo ; referving all foveraign Sacri- " fice to the ftipreme God of //r^^/. This, or the like Apology, muft, I prefume, have brought off the Criminal, with fome Applaufe for his Acutcnefs, if your Principles be true. Either you muft allow thisj or you muft be content to fay, that not only abfolute fupreme Sacrifice (if there be any Senfe in that Phrafe) but all Sacrifice was, by the Law, appropriate to God only.
Another Inftance of Worfhipy is making of Vcws, religious Vows. We find as little Ap- pearance of your famed Diftindion here, as in the former cafe. We read nothing oi foveraign and infrior^ abfolute and relative VoyfjSj that v/e fliould Imagine ftipreme Vows to be appro- priate to God, inferior permitted to Angels ^ or Idols ^ or to any Creature,
SvL'caring is another Inftance much of the fame kind with the foregoing. Swearing, by God's Name, is a plain Thing, and well under- ftood : But if you tcil us oi foveraign and in- ferior Swearing, according to the inward Re- fped or Intention you have, in Proportion to the Dignity of the Pcrfon by whole Name you
Swear.
Qii. XVI. offome Q^U E R I E S. 239
Swear, it muft found pcrfcdly new to us. All Swearing which comes ihort in its Rcfpcfts, or falls below Soveraign-, will, I am afraid, be little better than Trofanenefs.
Such being the Cafe in refpeft of the Ads of Religious Worfliip already mention'd, I am now to ask you, what is there fo peculiar in the Cafe of Invocation and Adoratioyiy that They fhould not be thought of the fame kind with the other? Why fliould not abfolitte and rela- tive Prayer and Proftration appear as abfurd, as abfohte and relative Sacrifice, Vows, Oaths, or the like ? They are Ads and Inflances of r^//^/Wj Worfliip, like the other; appropriated to God in the fame Manner, and by the fame Laws, and upon the fame Grounds and Rea- fons. Well then, will you pleafe to confider, whether you have not begun at the wrong end, and committed an yVs^ov -sreoTe^ov in your way of thinking. You imagine that Ads of religious Worfliip are to derive their Signi- fication and Quality, from the intention and meaning of the Worfliippers ; whereas the very reverfe of it is the Truth. Their Meaning and Signification is fixed and determined by God Himfelf ; and therefore we are never to ufe them with any other meaning, under peril of Profanencfs or Idolatry. God has not left us at Liberty to fix what Senfe we pleafe upon religious Worfliip, to render it high or low, abfolute or relative, at Difcretion^ fupreme when offered to God, and if to others
R 4 inferior-^
240 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
inferior-^ as when to Angels ^ or Saints, or Images, in luitablc Proportion. No : Religion was not made for Aletaphyficd Heads only j fuch as might nicely dillinguifli the feveral De- grees and Elevations of Refped and Honour among many Objeds. The fhort and plain way, which (in pity to Human Infirmity and" to prevent Confufion) it has pleafcd God to take with us, is to make ail religious Worfhip his ^x'w 5 and fo it \s Joveraign of Courfe. This I take to be the true Scriptural as well as only r^^^/2?/^^/^/? Account of thcObjedof Wor- Ihip. We need not concern ourfelves (it is but vain to pretend to it) about determining the Senfe and Meaning of religious Worfliip. God Himfelf has tpok care of it 5 and it is already fixed and determined to our Hands. It nieans, v/hethcr we will or no, it means, by Divine Infiitution and Appointment, the 'Di- vinity ^ the Supremacy^ the Soveraignty of its Objcd. To mifapply thofe Marks of Dig- nity, thofe appropriate Enfigns of Divine Ma- jcdy 5 to compliment any Creature Avith them, and thereby to make common what God has n^:[dc proper:, is to deify the Works of God's Elands, and to fcrve the Creature inftead of the Creator^ God blefled for ever. We have no GCCufion to talk of fovcraign-, abfolutCy ulti- viate-, Prayers, and fuch other odd Fancies : 'Trayer is an addrefs to God, and does not admit of thofe novel Didindions. In fliort rhcn, Elcrc is no room left for your diftin-
guifhin^
Qu. XVI. offome aU E R I E S. 241
guifliing between foveraign and inferior Adora- tion. You mud firft prove, what you have hi- therto prefumcd only and taken for granted, that you are at Uberty to fix what Meaning and Sig- nification you pleafc to the Ads of religions Worfhip; to make them high 01 /^iz; atDifcre- tion. This you will find a very difficult under- taking. Scripture is before-hand with you -, and, to fix it more, the concurring Judgment of the earlieft and beft Chriftian Writers. All religi- ^//i" Worfhip is hereby detcrmin'd to be, what you call abfolute and foveraign. Inferior or re- lative Worfhip appears now to be Contradiction in Senfe, as it is novel in Sound ; like an infe- rior or relative God. To what hath been faid, I may add a few farther Confiderations from Scripture. The Apoftles Barnabas and 'Paiily when the * Lycaonians would have done Sa- crifice unto Them, did not tell Them that Sacrifice was of equivocal Meaning ; and that They might proceed in it, provided only that They would rectify their Intentions^ and con- Jider Them as Apofiles only 5 but They forbad them to Sacrifice to Them at all. The Angely in the Revelations^ did not dired St. John to confider Him only as an Angel, and then to go innocently on, in his Worflnp of him 3 but He order'd Him to Worfoip God. Our Blcffed Lord did not tell the Devil that all external Worfliip was equivocal and might be offered to Angels or Men^ provided the Intention was
•^ Avfls 14.
\, regulated.
242 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
regulated, and rciped proportioned --y but He told Him plainly that all religious Worfliip was ap- propriate to God. In fine, nothing is more evident than that the Defign, both of the Law and the Gofpel was to eftabl ifti this great Truth, and to root out CreatureJVorJhip, " And this '' was, as Dr. CudwortPj rightly obfcrves, the <^ grand Reafon why the Antient Fathers fo zea- «^ loufly o^'foio.dArianifmy becaufe that Chri- <' ftianity, which was intended by God Almigh- " ty for a means to extirpate Pagan Idolatry y <' was thereby it felf Paganized and Idola- *^ trizedi and made highly guilty of that very «' thing which is fo much condemned in the " PaganSy that is, Creaiure-Worjhip, This *' might be proved by fundry Teftimonics of *-^ AthanaJiuSy BaJiU Gregory Nyffen, Gregory <^ NazianzeUy EpiphanitiSy Chryfojiomy Hilary ^ <^ Ambrofe, Auftine^ Fauftinus-, and Cyril of A- " lexandria 5 All of them charging the ArianSy " as guilty of the very fame Idolatry with the " GentileSy or Pagans, in giving religious Wor- '' (hip J even to the Word and Son of God Him- " felf ( and confcquently to our Saviour Chrift ) " as He was fuppofed by Them to be a Crea- " ture ^.
But, in anfwer, perhaps, to This, it may be faid, by fuch as run things off in a confufed manner, and do not ftay to diftinguifh, that certainly there is a wide and great Difference between giving Honour to Heathen Idols, and
* Cudw. IntcII. Syft. p. 628.
doing
Qii. XVI. of fome QUERIES. 243 doing it to our Saviour Chrift, tho' a Creature only. No doubt but there is 5 and God forbid that any Chriliian fhould fay, or think other- wife. But that is not the point. The Worfhip even of Saints and Angels is much preferable to Tagan Worfhip. But ftill They are Both equally^ though not equally culpable ^ Idolatry ; and are Breaches of the firft Commandment. Whatever love, rcfped, gratitude, &c, may be due for what our Lord and Saviour has wrought for us, if He be ftill a Creature^ All cannot come up to V/orfhipy which is appropriate to God alone. Well, but it may be farther pleaded, that here is God's Command in the Cafe, which makes it widely different from any of the for- mer. Very True, there is fo; and we fhall make a proper ufe of that hereafter : But the Queftion is, what is the fundamental Rule of religions Worfliip ) Is it to ^-iaorjhip God only ? Or is it to worfliip God, ajtd whomfoever be- JideSy God Jhall appoint to be 'ui'orfljip'd? They who pretend the latter muft fliew fome Foun- dation, if They can, in Scripture, for ir. Where is it intimated, cither in the Old or New Tefta- menr, that Worfliip fhould be paid to any befides God ? Neither the Law nor the Prophets, nei- ther Chrift nor his Apoftles ever intimated any thing like it. Our Saviour did not fay, worfliip God, and who7nfoever God Jhall order to be wor- (loipd'-y nor did the Angel, in the Revelations infuiuate any fuch Thing : 'Si'i. 'Paul never told us oi ferving the Creator, and whom the Crea- tor
244 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVI.
tor flioul J nominate bcfidcs ; but Creator only. The like may be oblcrved upon other occafi- ons, where this might have been properly inti- mated, but is conftantly omitted. Nothing there- fore can be plainer, than that the fundamental Rule for Worfliip is, that God only is to be wor- (hifd. All Worfhip, inconfiftent with this pri- mary and perpetual Law, muft, of Confequence, sppear Idolatrous y either in the Practice, or the Principle : And it is thus that the ArianSy fol- lowing a Scriptiire-Coynmand y but not upon Scripttire-TrincipleSy and praiflifing a Chrijlian Duty upon a Vagan Foundation of Creature- Worjhip and Tolytheifmy (land charged with Idolatry.
2. To confirm us farther in the Truth of the Principles here afferted, I (hall fubjoin a fecond Confideration, drawn from the Pradice of the primitive Martyrs $ who may be prefumcd to have underftood the Principles of that Religion, for which They chearfuliy laid down their Lives. - It is well known, that They readily fubmittcd to all kinds of Torment, and to Death it felf, rather than offer Adoration, Incenfe, or Sacri- fice to the Heathen Deities. Now, if Soveraign Worfhip be all that is appropriated to God; and if no Worfliip be Soveraign^ but what the in- ward Intention, and fecret Efteem of the Wor- fliippcr make \o \ how thoughtlefs w^re They, to rcfift even unto Blood, for fear of committing i Sin, whi;:h it was not polTible for Them to have been guilty of? They could never have
blunder'd
Qu. XVI. offome Q^U E R I E S. 245
bliindcr'd lb egrcgioully, as to have confider^d the Heathen Deities (which They heartily de- fpifed ) as Suprerne Gods j or to have intended them So'Veraign Worfliip 5 and therefore could not have been guilty of giving them that fVor- (hip which is appropriate to God. They had (o mean and defpicable an Opinion of the ^Pagan Deities, that if theQiiality of the Worfliip is to be eftimated from the fccret Efteem and Inten- tion of the JVorJhippery fuch Ads of Worfliip muft have dwindled into no Worfliip in reaUty ; hardly amounting to fo much as an empty cere- monious CompUment. Where then was the Harm of Sacrificing to Idols ? What Law had condemn'd it, if your Principles be true > The outward Ad being equivocal^ this could not be interpreted Sacrifice^ fuch as God had forbid to be offer'd to any but Himfelf. But thofe primi- tive Saints were unacquainted with your refined Subtil ties, having learn'd their Logick from Scrip- ture, and the plain common Senfe and Reafon of Mankind. They knew that the Signification of Worfliip and Sacrifice depended not on their ar- bitrary Efteem, or fecrct Intention ; but had been before fix'd and detcrmin'd by God. To offer Sacrifice to the Heathen Deities, was, by Con- ftruction and Implication, declaring Them to be immutable-, eternal, fnpremcy and ^li^ly divine. They could not be guilty of fuch a folemn Lie, or commit fuch barefac'd Profanenefs and Idolatry. They would not prollitute the Marks and Cha- raders of Divinity to Thofe who were by Na- ture
246 ^DEFENSE Qii. XVI. tiire no Gods I, nor give that to Idols, which was appropriated to God only. This was their manner ofreafoning; and this was right: For, indeed, upon the other HypotheJiSy there is no- thing fo mean or low, but what a Man might pay religious Worfliip to. For Inftance : Pray to Angels^ but conjider them as Angels^ with proportionate Refped, and there will be no harm in it. Worfliip Saints departed, but intend them only fuch refped as is due to Saints^ and all is right. Fall down before a Crucifix with hum- ble Proftration, but conjider it as a Crucifix , and intend little or nothing by it, and all is well. Thefe feem to me the unavoidable Confequences of this famed Diftindion, and thefe are the ufes which have ndually been made of it, fmce Men have learn d to be fubtiie, inftead of wife 5 iind have departed from the fundamental Max- im of revealed Religion, that God dove is to be worjloifd -xith religious JVorfhip. The Sum of what hath been faid, on this important Ar- ticle, may be comprized in the folipwing Par- ticulars.
I. That, under the Old Teftamcnt, all reli- gious Worfliip was declared to belong to God only; and upon fuch Reafons as exclude all Creature-J¥orpip ; Namely, bccaufe He is God, Jehovahy Eternal, Immutable, Creator, Prefer- ver, Suflarner, and Governor of all Things.
I 2. That
Qu. XVI. offome Q.U E R I E S. 247
2. That our bleflcd Lord made no Alteration in this Law 5 but explain'd and confirm'd it : His Apoftics, after Him, inculcated the fame Thing, long after our Saviour's Exaltation and Afcen- fion\ and an Angel from Heaven reinforc'd it, thereby proclaiming its perpetual Obligation. No Diftindion of Worfhip, mediate and tiltimatCy was ever intimated ; nor of Inferior and Sove- raign : But all Religious Worfliip fuppofcd to have one Meaning, one Significancyj one Obje^iy viz. The divine Nature $ whether fubfifting in onePerfon, or more.
3. Such being the Rule and ftandingLaw for Religious Worfhip, none can have any right, title, or claim to IVorJhipy but in Conformity to the fame Rule.
4. If the Son of God be very God, Jehovah^ Creator y Suftainer^ and Treferver of all Things 5 then He both may, and ought to be worfliip'd, in conformity to the Scripture-Rule, and upon Scripture-Principles: But if He be a Creature only, the Worfliip of him is not confident with the fundamental Rule both of the Law and the Gofpel. In a word; if the Son of God is to be worjhip'dy He is not a Creature : if a Crea- ture, He is not to be worjhip'd.
It remains now only to inquire, whether the primitive Church, which had the fame Scri- ptures that wc have, and better Opportunities of knowing and underftanding Them, made the fame or the like Conclufions from Them. It is an Argument of no fmall Importance 5 and there-^
fore
24S y^ D E F E N S E Qii. XVL fore I fliall think it worth the while, to give you a brief Summary of the Sentiments of the ear- licfl: Chriftian Writers ; and in their ownWords, that every impartial Reader may be able to judge for himfelf
Jiifiin Martyr^ giving account of the Chriftian Worfliip, fays plainly, " * We worfliip God a- " lone ; and, None but God ought to be wor* " fliip'd.
^ AthenagoraSi in like manner, fpeaks to this effed : " We are not to worfliip the World, but *■' the Af^^^rofitj we worfliip not the Towers " of God, but their Creator and Governor^
Theophilus fays, " I will Honour the King, *' but I will not Worjhip Him. ^ I wall w^orfliip *' God, the real and true God : no one ought *" to be w^orfliip'd but God alone.
^ Tatian-, to the fame purpofc, tlio' not ^o fully, faysj " ThclForks of God, made for our '• fakes, I will not worfliip.
^ Tertiillian fays, '' What we worfliip is one
* 0£ov "p [hivov 'X^o^y.'JvtZi^^ Apolog. I. C. 23.* Tcy Qilv fJi^zvov ^it x^oa-xvvHVj C. 2 I .
*^ Ou ToZrov, uXhU T Ti^nrlrM ectirou TT^ou-KuvtfTioVf p. ff' C>'j roi<; A\j)iu,iA>ii<i ("yGjoy) ;rpo(rievr£5 B^tfccTTi'Jof/jiv, ccXXu rev 7:ony:/iV ctCrauv Ktci cixrroTua, p. 5"6.
•^ 0£« 2) "^^ ovra<i 0j<v iCi oiXij^fi srf oirxteff — — — p- wx osAPla i|a»' if* * I ■ ■s::^o(rKtwei<^ ocXX n f/joya> ©ff, p. go. 33,
^ Aiifjuns^yUv TKv \:zs' wjtS yiyl^yifo/Jlc/j ;^«s^v xfjtjm zr^otncuMiv i ^iXu, p. 18. Vid. &. p. 79.
' Quod Colimus, Deus unus eft; qui Totam molem iftam ■ ■ . de nihilo cxpicfTit. A^cl. c. 17.
Prcefcribitur mihi ne quern Alium Deum dicam, ■ ■ nc quern alium adorcm, aut quoquo modo vencrer, prxtcr unicum Ilium qui ita mar.dar. Scorp. c. 4. p. 490. Ri^alt.
" God
(^. XVI. of fame Q.U E R I E S. 249
'' God, who made the whole Mafs of Things " purely from Nothing. I am commanded not " to call any other, God, nor to atJorCy or in " any wife worfiip any other bcfides that one.
* Clement of Alexandria has more to this purpofe : " Angels and Men (lays He) arc the " Works of God's Hands : Let none of you " worfliip the Sun, but let him fet his Heart " upon the Sim's, Creator: Neither let him " deify the World, but to the Maker of the "■^ World let his Defircs be. I feck after God, " the Creator of the World, Him that lighted *^ up the Suny and not after the Creatures \}^ycL) " which God hath made. The Gentiles ow<2h.t " to learn, from the Law and the Prophets, to
worfliip the one only God, the neccflarily-ex-
ifting Almighty. This it is to worfliip the " divine Being in true Right eoufnefs of Praftice " and Knowledge.
f Iren£tis exprcfles Him fclf thus : " You ought " to worfliip the Lord your God, and to fcrve ^^ Him alone, and to give no Credit to Him, who
r<5 If/jZ'/ zr^ncuvi'ro) ccXAy. rhv i^Xi-i ztoi'/jtIm iTriVoBs.'rcj. fjtjy)h tov koc- fjtjov c^/.d-eitA^iTCJ, aXXli t)v koc^'^ ^/.uui^^ylv i,7il^.']ri:(rxrcci, p.Jj. Ed. Ox. T^ov )co(rfj(,^ ^/jfjijiagycv, rov iiXia (paHyuy^v Qicv iTn^nrS, ^ rlc i^cc ^ Qiv, p. 5*9 . Tisq '^EXXrivcci^ Z^'^ ^Id vof/ja, xecl zrPo<p;;rZy c^- fjt/Xv&ujHv ivx f/jcvov (Tionv 0£ci/ TOV ovja^ ovlcc ■HFCiv^Koocrc^Xf p. 825*. To <r' sV* ^[ntTK^Jw To^iiov 2>\^ 1^ oi/i<y$ ai,}(,o(,ko(ruv'^c,\^yuvTix.xiyvai' c-iu<i, p. 778.
f Dominum Dcum tuuin adorare oportet, &: ipfi foli icrvire, Sc non credere ei qui falfo promifit ea, quae non funt fua, di- cens: Hac omnia Tibt dabo Ji procidens adoraveris me . — - ,, . Ncque enim conditio fub ejus poteftate eft, quandoquidem Sc ipfe unus de Cric^turii ell, p. 320. Ed. Bened.
S deceitfully
<.c
250 '^DEFENSE Qu.XVI.
" deceitfully promiicd Things which were not " his own, faying : All the fe Things will I give " TheCy if Thou ivilt fall down and ^ijuorjhip
<' me The Syftem of Creatures is not under
" his Dominion, fince He Himfelf is one of the " Cr eat tires.
* Origen has a great deal to our purpofe, in his Book againft Celfiis, I fliall feled a few Paflages: He blames the Gentiles, "who from " the ftupcndous greatnefs of the Things in the " World, and the beautiful Order of C>(?^/^//r^i' " [(J^YiiJ.iiipynij.drm) could not look up and confider " thatthey ought to admire, worfhip, and adore " Him only that made Them. In another place " He fays: To worfhip the Am and the Crea- " ttires of God (©£« c^nixini^yriixara) is forbidden " Us, w4io are taught, not to ferve the Crea- " ture befides the Creator. He obferves a little after that : " We ought not to Honour Thofe *' in the place of God, or of the Son of God, Which I take notice of here particularly, that you may ice how clearly Origen diilinguiflics the Son from the o't^\u>iiY^\x^rcf.^i^\ as, indeed, He does every where. In another place, He
y.Cii B-CCVUi,CC(^&iV y.OH (TscStV ^Oy, f/jOViV TOV TUVTU -^iTTOf/iKOTX, p. I jS.
ii_ii-__ ff-i^iiv y rev yMoVy kuI ru y ©s» a^ii[//i^'yyi^ciTic oi/rt^ y^fjiAV k7tv,'/o^<^^ ^Xoua-Koi^ot^ jAjVi X(X.\^6'Jiiv vj) KTivi zrafu, rev KTiorxviBC^ pag. 37f.
I JJjall add another Tajfige.
^iiov zru-^u, Toi/ \::siohiKvwJra> ovc^uv ccil t^ ^ uoiVTo^ d'?iyjHifySy xa* 35-aJ(r«y <^J%Im uvct(Pi^i» cWfvi", p. 367.
obferves
Qu. XVI. offomc Q^U E R I E S. 251
obfcrvcs that Cliridians arc bred up to Thoughts elevated far * above all Creatures^ and might very juftly difdain to worfliip any of Them. The like He remarks of the Jeivs, "that they *' were taught to 7 afccnd up to the uncreated " zY^^//r^ of God, to fix their Eyes upon Him " only 5 and on Flim alone to reft all their " Hopes and Expectations.
I might add many more Teftimonies, to the fame etFed, from the Ante-Nicene Writers : But thefe arc fufficient to give us a juft Idea of their Principles, in relation to the Objed of Worfliip. This we fliall find run thro' Them all, That God alone is to be worfiiip'd 5 the Creator in oppofi- tion to all Creatures whatever ; the roOacv (as Cle~ ?nent of Alexandria^ and Ortgen fometimcs ac- curately exprcfs it) which alfo TertuUian fccms to intimate, in the words, ^lod ColimuSy above cited. The Sum then of the Cafe is this : If the Son could be included as being uncreated, and very God , as Creator, Suj'Iahiery Treferver of all Things, and one with the Father ; then He might be w^oifliip'd upon their Principles, but otherwifc could not. What their Pradice was, (hall be con- fider'd in its proper place. For the prefent, let it be a Rule and Maxim with us, fix'd, as far as
* T^5 ^L^xyjLrx:; f/jiyuMipvc^i vxst^xvX'ox^Htv ■zs-ecna. tU ^^:u>tii^.~
. f 'AvX^tiiVilV £^J 7HV Ot^iiJTOVii' &ioZ (PuiTiV KXKiiVCO yj^VCi) Oi/CSUV , Kicl
rurj clt: U.UTOU fjj'-isov sA,T»'Jflf^ rrp/>(r^oxw, p. iSy.
Compare p. 160. wkere Origen inji^s upon the NcceJJ:t) of ele- "jat'mg our Thoughts and Devotions above ayid beyond alt created Beifig, c, nroravv r^^vnrcv, m one place, ^u-jtc^ y('jr,T9v in the other. See filfo Clem. Alex. p. 809,816. Ox.Ed.
S z Scripture
252 ^ D E F E N S E Qa. XVIL
Scripture and the concurring Judgment of Anti- quity can fix it (befides what niight be juftly plead- ed from the Reafon of the Thing) that no kind ordegreeof r^//^/(?//j- Worfliip is due, or can be lawfully paid, to any Creature. The Conclufion from all is; if our Blcffed Lord is a Creatttre, * He is not to be w^orfliip'd 5 if He is to be worfliip'd. He is not a Creature, Now \vc may pafs on.
Q^U E R Y XVII.
Jiljether, notijvithjiandhjg, JVorJhlp and Adora- tion be not equally due to Chrijl ; and confe- quentljy ^whether it miifl not follow that He is the one God^ and not {as the Arians fup- pofe) a dijlin^ inferior Being ?
YO U Anfwer, that Equality of divine Ho- nour is 7iever attributed in Scripture to the Son with the Father ; and then, in proof of a Matter of Fad, you affign a reafon of your own devifing ; for then the Son would be ab- folutely equal with the Father ,^ which is contrary to Scripture and Reafon^ (p. 94.) But why do you not keep clofe to the Words of the Query, and to the Point in Qucilion ? JVorfoip and Adoration arc my Words ; not divine Honour ^ which is ambiguous, and leads ns off from the Argument in Hand. Suppofe it had been faid Sacrifice: Would you anfwer
x.r.'ar^x <z)icv. Ath. Oiat. 2, p. 49 I.
4. thus >
Qli. XVir. of fame QJJ E R I E S. 253
thus ? Equality of divine Sacrifice is never at- tributed, O'C, Do not you fee the Impropriety ? Well, bur, as it is, you muft fay, equality of divine JVorpip is never attributed, &c. And then, pray tell me, what you mean by eqiia- lity or inequality of JVorJhip ; whether you mean longer or fhorter Prayers, more or lefs frequent Addreflcs, or any thing elfe. Be that as it will, IVorJhip-, religious Worfliip, greater or fmaller, longer or fliortcr, has the fame Im- port and Significancy 5 and fpeaks the Perfon addrefs'd to, to be divine: )w{!t ;xs Sacrifice y whether otfer'd once a Year only or once a Day, or whether it were a Lamb or only two young '^Pigeons^ carried the fame Acknowledg- ment with it of the "Divinity^ Soveraignty^ and Supremacy of the Perfon to whom it was ofFer'd. Now, Worfhip being, as hath been faid, an Acknowledgment of the true God, in oppofition to all Creatures whatever, which are by Nature no Gods 5 and being ofFer'd to the Father, not for the recognizing his perfonal Properties, as He ftands diftinguifhed from the Son and Holy Spirit^ but his ^/7^;f7/-/W Perfecti- ons, common to all, and by which He is di- ftinguilh'd from the Cr(?^i^//r^x; it is very mani- feft, that if the Son is to be worfioip'd too. He is equally God, and true God, with the Father ; has all the fame eflential Excellencies and Perfedions which the Father hath, and is at as great a diftance from the Creatures; in oppofition to whom, and as a mark of his Su-
S 3 perior
-54 ^DEFENSE Qu.XVII.
pcrior and infinitely tranfccndcnt Excellency, He is "oi'orjhtfd. If then Honour confifts in the Acknowledgment of hiscricntialPerfedions, Equality of divine Ho?ieur is attributed in Scripture to the Son '-ji'ith the Father ; becaufc JVorfljip is attributed to Both, and is always of the fame Import and Significancy, by God's own Order and Appointment. But then you'll fay, the Son will be abfolutely equal with the Father ; which you think inconfiftcnt with Scri- ' pture and Rcafon. If you mean by abfolutely equal, that the Son mud be the foft Ter forty as well as the Father, I deny your Inference : if any thing elfe, I allow it to be true. The "Son will be equal in all thofe Refpefts, for which Worfhip is due to the Father Himfclf. He will be equally divine^ equally eternal^ immtttabk, 'uvz/j, po^jverful, &c. in a word, equally God and Lord. As to the Subordi- nation of Fcrfons in the fame Godhead, That is of diftind Confideration ; and we may never be able perfectly to comprehend the Relations of the three Ferfons, ad intra, amongft themfclves; the ineffcible Order and Occonomy of the ever bleilcd Co-cternal Trinity. You have many Things to fay, in hopes to leffcn the Honour and Worfhip attributed to the Son in Holy Scripture. But unlefs you cou'd prove that no Worfhip at all is to be paid Him, you prove nothing. How- ever, that I may not fccm to pafs any thing flightly over, I (hall take the Pains to examine your Exceptions.
As
Qii. XVII. offo7ne QUERIES. 255
As to what you lay, to weaken the force of 'J oh. 5. 23. the Anfwer to it will properly fall under a diftindl Qiiery j which is entirely upon it. You "^dtcThil. 2. 1 1. Job. 14. 13 againft the ^erift ; as if it was any Qucftion betwixt us, whether God was glorified tn his Son 5 or whe- ther the Honour of either did not redound to Both. It'-juaSy joufayy theTrayerofChriftto glorify his Father, and the Father only. But read that part of the Prayer again, and believe your own Eyes, Joh. 17. i. Father, the Hour is come, Glorify thy Son, that thy Son alfo may glorify Thee, How familiar, how equally con- cerned, as well for his oijun, as his Fathers Glory. So again, a little after 5 I have glorified Thee on the Earth : I have finijhed the Work which Thou gavefl me to do. A^id now, O Father, glorify Thou me with thine own felf, with the Glory which I had with Thee, before the World ':c;^i-,Joh. 17.4? 5- See alfo, Joh. 13. 31? 32. and then tell me whether it was Chrift's defign, or defire, that his Father only might be glorified. How could you mifs fuch plain Things? You go on 5 The Father is the Object, to which he commands us to direEi our Vrayers. What ? Will you difpute whether Chrift is to be wor- fliip'd, or invocated? Confider, I befeech you, y^^.5.2 3.mention'd above ; Recoiled with your felf, that He is fometimes diftindtly and perfo- TidWy-^ invocated, Grace, Mercy, and^eace, or
* p. 90. I Ads 7 . j'p. I ThefT. 3 . 1 1 . Rom. 10. 13.
J Cor. I, 2.
6 4 Grace
256 y^ D E F E N S E Qli. XVII. Grace and '^Pence^ or Grace only, are frequently, in Twenty Places of the New Teftament % im- plored of Him, together with the Father. He is to be worfliip'd and adored, as well as the Father, by Men, by ^ Angels ^ by the ^ whole Creation, Glory and "Dominion for ever and e-ver are ^ afcribed to Him, as well as to the Father. This is the Senfe of Scripture : I need not "dd, it being a thing fo well known, the Senit ::Aio of the earlieft and bed Chriftian Wri- ters, who unanimoLifly declare for the Wor- fhip of Chrift 5 and their Pradice was conform- able thereto. And now, that you may fee how confiftent thofc good Men were (fuitably to their ftrid Sincerity) with Scripture, with Thcmfelves, and with each other; I fhall ftep a little afide, to fliew You upon w^iat Principles They might, and did give religious Worfliip to Chrift.
We have heard Jujlin Martyr^ before, de- claring that God alone is to he worjhipd. Very true : But then He confiantly teaches us that the Son is God ; and therefore might confidently fay, that the Son is to be ^'worfhif/dy and, in the Name of the whole Church, '^ we ^worjldip Fa- " ther^ Son-, and the Prophet ick Spirit.
' See CWc?'s Script. Dodlr. Ch. 2. Sea:.4.
'' Hebr. i. 6. ' Rev. 5-. 8.
** iPer. 3. iS. Rev. 5-. i 5. 6"^^ alfi Rev. 7. ro.
"^ Y]^cTKti'jyi7)i<i, A^o\. I. p. 94. Apol. 2. gj". Ox. Dial. pag. '^91,209,231,365-. Jcbb.
^ EKiTvey T( , x^ rev -Zoct^ WjtS licv Ix^ovrct zrviufJijix. Tg ro
:rcs(pijTiy^v (nScfjui^cc y^ -i^foTKuotf^. Apol. i. p. Ii.
Atk^na-
Qu. XVII. of fame CIUEKIES, 257
Atheriagoras has before intimated that nothing lefs than the ^ Creator of the World is to be 'u:orpip'd. But then He tells us too, that all Things were ^ created by the Son : and therefore no wonder if, giving account, to the Emperor, of the God whom the Chriftians worfhip'd, He <^ joiais the Son with the Father.
Thecphilus declares, as before feen, for the Worfhip of God only ; and fays, the King is not to be worfhip d, becaufc He is not God. But then, as to the Son, He ^ owns Him to be God ; and therefore of Confequerjce muft fuppofeWor- fliip due to Him.
Tatian teaches that God only is to be wor- fliipds not ^ Many not the Elements, not the CreatiireSy a^niMn^yia. Very good : But the Son who ^rr^^^^^ Matter, and is'AyysXwv c/^i^/jitspyos-, might be worfhip'd notwithftanding.
Terttillian is fo fcrupulous, that He fays, He will not fo much as call Any other, God, but the God whom He worfhip 'd, and to whom alone He pronounces all Worfhip due. But He mufl certainly include the Son in that only God; as every one knows who ever looked into his Writings : And accordingly He s admits the wor- fhip of Him.
demerit of Alexandria, as we iiave obferv'd above, '^protefts againfl: the Worfhip of Crea-
• See the Tajfage above ^ p. 248. ^ See above, p. 189.
^ Q)iov ccyovTi'i 70V srcijjTHi' Totjffi t5 ttxvtoi; y^ tovt^u.'^ U'jtoZ Xoyov, p. 122. ''Pag. 130. ' Pag. 17, 18, 79.
^ See above, p. 189. ^ Apo], c. 2 1 . Ad Uxor. 1. 2. c. 5.
Adv. Jud. C.J, " Pag. 249.
tures'y
258 ^DEFENSE Qu.XVIf.
tares ; and allows no Worfliip but to the Ma- ker and Governor of all Things. But then no Man more ^ exprefs than He, for the wor- Jhipping of God the Son. The Reafon is plain : the Son is ^ Maker and Governor of the World, and even -aravTO/i^rco^, according to this excel- lent Writer.
Irenaus hkewife, as above cited, gives his Tcftimony for the Worfliip of God only j and againft the Worfliip of any Creature. But the lame Iren^us as conftantly fuppofes the Son to be truly God, and one God with the Father, and exprcfly '^exempts Him from the Number of Creatures ; and therefore no wonder if He admits the Son to be ^invocatedj as well as the Father.
I fliall obferve the like of Origen, and then have done ; referring the Reader, for the reft, to the compleat Colledion of Teftimonies lately made by the learned ^ Mr. Bingham, with very judicious Reflexions upon them.
Origen^ as v/e have fecn above, declares for the Worfliip of the one God, in oppofition to all Creatures J ^AiM^^yk^.a^ra.^ every thing created^ •}^mrcv. But the good Father had His Thoughts about Him : He clearly diftinguiflies the Son from the oSiJA^^yr^ixctrct^ or Creatures i and be- fides, exprefly makes Him ^ dymro^^^ uncreated-, inmiutable, &c. According to Origenj the
' Vid. p. 311,85-1. Ed. Qy. ** See above, p. 185^,69.
, *" Vid. p. 15-5, 243. Ed. Bencd.
*• Pag. \66, 232. ' Origin. Ecd. B. 13. c.7.
- Contr. Ccir. p. 287, 1CJ9, 170.
4- Creator
Qu. XVII. offome (QUERIES. 259
Creator of the Univerfe, and He only is to be worfliip'd % pag. 3 6j , Very well; and look but back to page 308, and there the Son is "^Creator of the Univerfe. So, in <^ another place, he tells us, we are to worfliip Him only u:ho made (2\\) tPje fe Things \ and if we inquire farther wx fliall find, in the fame Author, that God the Son ^ made allThingSy the very words. It is therefore a very clear Cafe, that Origen thought the Son to have the fulled Right and Title to religions Worfliip, the fame that the Father Himfelf had, as being eternal, immutable. Creator and Governor of all Things. And therefore he fpcaks of his being ^ worfliip'd as Gody by the Magi ; and calls is EJa-£^«a, the very fame word which he ufcs, ^fpeaking of the Worfliip due to the Father. In ? another place, he fpeaksof the worfliipping Father and Son jointly as 077e God, and ^ elfewhere men- tions the worfliip of the Son, in his diftinft perfonnl Capacity. The Sum then of Origen's Doftrine, as it lies in his Book againfl: Celftis (the moft valuable of all his Works, and almofl:
'^ 2ifc«v ^^K f/jcvov rev rccurcc 7:i7:ci,mi-ru, p. icS.
^ Tov Xoyov T^iTTciyiiCivai, ttuvtx, 'otra. 6 ttcct]^^ uCtm cvinlXtiTOy p.6g. '^ Pag. 46. ^ ^ Tytv£i\rcv T' oAa-v (^jjjiX/iypyoy
^'JcTB'cetccVy p. 160. ^ Evot »v Ofoy, ti)<i'i><^h^ei>Kcif^/}yrlv7eecTi^x(^
Tcv iicv ^i^ci7r(^Jc[»p. p. 5 86.
^ Ec/;v^ic&cy t2 Acyu rS OtS, eiwafo^a uiircy iua-u^^ p, 2 3S. Xcv ^^cfly.ovcv uortov Xoycv rcZ Qiou 7T^o<rKiu>yi(rofo/ij p. 229.
N. B. Here the Trayjfiator (as it is ufual -with Him to rnif- nprefent fuch Fajfages as relate to the Son) renders ^i^Kcuv ccutov, .ejus Miniftrum. Tie Scnfe is, Difpcnfer of them j i.e. Prophe- cies, juji before mention' il.
the
Z60 .^ D E F E N S E Qu. XVIL
the only one to be intirely depended on, as giv- ing the true Senfeof Origen, or of the Church in his Time) is contain d in thefe Particulars.
1 . That God the Son, if a Creature, or not Creator y or not truly God^ fhould not be wor- Jhifd at all.
2. That being truly God, and Creator ^ &c. He maybe worfliip'di cither: Jointly with the Father, as one to Seiov^ or diftinBljy zsoneTer-
Jon of the Godhead.
3 . That tho' He be God, and Creator, yet the Father is ^o primarily and eminently as Father, and -firfl Perfon j and therefore the di- ftind Worfliip of the Son, confidcr'd as a Son, redounds to the Father as the Head and Foun- tain of all. Hence it is, that, as the Father is primarily and emiyiently God, Creator, and Objeft of Worfhip ; fo alfo all Worfhip, is primarily and eminently the Father's: And thus it is that I underftand Origen, in a * cer- tain place which has been often raif-interpreted.
4. That the worfliip of the Son, confider'd as a Son, is not an inferior Worfhip, nor any other than proper divine Worfliip 5 being an acknowledgment of the fame divine Excellen- cies, and effential Perfedions communicated from Father to Son : And hence it is, that there is fl:ill but one IVorpip, and one Objeii of
Q/,^y.rrtt^y yl Troatr^J^oi/ji^a. •) im dtujoouijih-cc xcctxkhchv "f 'Sre* z>fo- a-iv^c, xv2AoX<^i9(,(; y^ x.xroC)^f.in(riur, p. 253.
Vid. Bull. D. F. p. 111. Bingham, Origin. Eccl. 1. 13. c. 2. P-4r. &C'
Worfliip;
Qu. XVir. offome QJJ E R I E S . 251
Worfliip; as one GW, one Creator, 6cc. by reafon of the moft intimate and ineffable Union of the twoPcrfons; which Origen himfelf * en- deavours to exprcfs in the fuUcft and ftrongeft words he could think on.
From what hath been faid, we may know what Judgment to make of the Antient T>oxo- logies. They ought certainly to be underftood according to the prevailing Dodrinc of the pri- mitive Church. They were different in Form, but had all one Meaning ; the fame which I have fhewn you from the primitive Writers. The Arians were the firft who interpreted fome of them to fuch a Senfc, as either favour'd Creattire-Worjhip , or excluded the Son and Holy Ghofl from proper divine Worfhip. It was low Artifice to value one fort of 'Doxology above another, only becaufe more equivocal -y and to contend for Antient words, in oppofiti- on to the Antient Faith. The Catholicks under- ftood the fubtiky of thofe Men, and very eafily defeated it: Firft, by afterting the only true and juft Senfe of Thofe 'Doxologies, which the Arians had wrefled to an Heretical Meaning 5 and next, by ufing, chiefly, T^oxologies of another Form ; which had been alio of long ftanding in the
f^ a-o<f>iuq, Sec. p. 382.
The fame Thought is thus exprefs^d by C)Til. Mi^rfi i2k|^ TO Tifjoacv T -zs-XTs^^ ve^i^etv, iv n t a)/i^iH^yyiiJ!*oe.TCitv V
yjiQ4^i:^u if z!-^ctrfciw'r}(n<i, Cyril. Catech. i i.p. 143. Oxon.
Church 5
262 A DEFENSE Qu. XVII.
Church j and which, being Icfs equivocaly were lefs Uable to be perverted. But the Subjed of "Doxologies being already in better Hands, I fliall here difmifs it, and proceed.
You obfcrve, that it 'UL'as the conflant pra- Slice of the Apojtles to pray and give thanks to God, through Jefiis Chrijl , (p. 91.) And lb it is the conflant Pradlice of the Church at this Day. What can you infer from thence ? That the Father and Son are not equal, or are not to be equally honoured ? Nothing Icfs: But, as the Son (lands to us under the particular Charafter of Mediator, befides what He is in common with the Father, our Prayers, * generally, are to be ofFer'd rather through Him, than to Him : yet not forgetting or omitting, for fear of Mifapprehcnfion and grofs Miftakcs, to oiFer Prayers dire£lly to Him, and to join Him with the Father, in T)oxo- logies', as the Antient Church did, and as our own, God be thanked, and other Churches of Chriftendom dill continue to do. You add, that whatever Honour is paid to the Son, is commanded, on account of his ineffable rela- tion to God, as the only begotteyi Son, &c. But this ineffable Relation is not that of a Crea- ture to his Creator ; but of a Son to a Father 5 of the fame Nature with Him. This may be ililed ineffable : the other cannot, in any true or jufl: Senfe. If the Son is to be vuorjloip' d, as you feem here to allow, it can be on no
* S'fcRull, D.F.p. i2i.Fulgent.Fr3gn:].p.(:i2 5?:633,63S,042,c^<r,
othcc
Qu. XVir. offome Q^U E R I E S. 265
other Account, but fuch as is coiififtcnt with. the Scriptures, 011 the Account of his being one with the Father, to whom Worfliip be- longs j and to whom it is appropriated in op- pofition to Creatures , not in oppofition to Him who is of the fame Nature with, Co-ef- fential to, and Infeparable from Him. The JVorpipy you fay, terminates not in the Son. How this is to be underftood, and in what Senfe admitted, I have explained above. Stridly fpeaking, no Honour is paid to Either, but what redounds to the Glory of Both 5 becaufc of their intimate Union ; and becaufe Both are but one God, But, you fay, the Father begat Him: Very well 5 fo long as He did not create Him, all is fafe: The Eternity, the Perfections , the Glory of Both are One. And, you fay, gave Him ^Dominion over us. That is more than you can proves unlefs you undcrftand it of Chrift, confider'd as God-Many or Mediator.
In fome Scnfc every thing muft be referr'd to the Father ?s the firft Pcrfon, the Head and Fountain of all. But this docs not make two Worfliips, Supreme and 'Inferior -, be- ing all but one acknowledgment of one and the fame eifcntial Excellency and Per- fedion , confider'd primarily in the Father, and derivatively in the Sonj who, though perfonally diftinguifli'd , are in Subftance un- divided and eflentially one. All your Ar- guments, on this Head, amount only to a
petitio
264 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVII
petitio principiiy taking the main Thing for granted ; that a T^iftinEiion of Terfom is the fame with a 'Difirence of Nature 5 and that a Subordination of the Son, as a Son, to the Fa- ther, implies an eflential Difparity andlncquaUty betwixt Tliem y which you can never make out. Inftead of proving the Son to be a Creature^ and that He is to be worfliip'd notwithftanding (which are the Points you undertake) all that you really prove is, that the Son is not the Fa- ther ^ or firft Perfon, nor confider'd as the firji Terfon in our Worfliip of Him ; which is very true, but very wide of the purpofe. What follows in your Reply, (/>. 9i, 92, 93.) does not need any farther Anfwer; being either barely Repetition, or Comments on your own Miftake of the meaning of the Word, Indl'vidual ^ of which enough hath been faid before. You are pleafed {pag. 94.) to make a isjonderoi it, that I fliould quote Heb, i. 6. in favour of my Hy- fothefa. But if you confider that the Angels are There ordcr'd to worjhip the Son \ and that That Text is a Proof of the Son's being Jehovah (fee 7fal. 97.) and that Worfliip is appropriated to God only, by many Texts of Scripture, and the concurring Senfe of Antiquity, as I have fliewn above ; there will be little farther occafion for "-juondringy in fo clear a Cafe. In that very Chap- ter {Heb, I.) it is fufficiently intimated what it was that made the Son capable of receiving Wor- fliip and Adoration. He is declared to have made the Worlds --, to be the Shining-forth of
his
Qu. XVII. offome QUERIES. 26>^ his Fathers Gloryy and the exprefs Image of his "Terfon 5 and to uphold all Things by the *-juord of his 'To'wer^ (v. 2, 3.) Strong and lively Expreflions of his divine, eternal, uncreated Nature 5 fuch as might give Him the juftcft claim to the Worfliip and Adoration of Men and An- gels. In the dole, you have a Remark about the Error of Ariu^ ; which, you fay, did 7iot conjift in making the Son diJlinEi from, and really fubordinate to the Father ( for that was always the Chrijiian T>o^rine) Here you come upon us with ^<?;^^r^/ Terms, and e- quivocal Expreflions 5 leaving the Reader to apprehend that the Chriftian Church believed the Son to be a dijlin^f, feparate, inferior Be- ing; in fliort, a Creature, as Arivis plainly, and you covertly aflcrt : Whereas there is not an Author of Reputation, among all the An- tients, before Ariiis, that taught or maintain'd any fuch Thing. A Subordination, in fome Senfe, They held ; and that is all ; not in Ariuss Senfe, not in Yours. Well, but you proceed to tell us, wherein his Error confided, viz. in pre fum- ing to affirm, upon the Principles of his own uncertain Vhilofophj, and without warrant frofn Scripture, that the^ Son was V^ »x cvtwv, and that Ijj -uron on ^k Uj. Arius had fomuch ^hilofophy, or rather common Senfe, as to think 5 and fo much Franknefs and Ingenuity, as to confefs, that there neither is, nor can be any Medium between God and Creature, He was not fo ridiculous as to ijnnagine that God
T firft
266 ^DEFENSE Qu. XVIL
firft made a Subjfance, and then out of that pr e-exjft trig created Swh^kdincQ made the Son ; Be- ficjs that, even this way, the Son hsd been, hi the lad rcfult, s? aV- ovrojy : Nor was He weak e- nough to beheve that any thing, a^ extra, had been co-eval or co-eternal with God Himfelf. If He had, He need not have fcmpledto have al- low'd the Hke Privilege to the Son 5 the firft and bed of all Beings, except GodHimfelf, in his Opinion.
But fince you think your own Tkilofophy fo much better than yfr////s, will you be fo kind as to tell us plainly whether the Son be of the fame divine Sttbfiance with the Father ; or of fonie ex- traJieous Subftancc which eternally pre-exified-^ or from nothing ? The firfi you deny diredly, as well as Arius 'y and t\\t fecond aUb, by plain neccflary Confequence : And why tnen fliould you differ upon the thirds which is the only one left, and mu(l be true, if Both the other be falfe ? If Arius was rafh in affirming this, he was e- qually rafliin denying the Son's Co-eter7iity with the Father, and again in denying ViisConfiibfian- tiality 5 and fo your ccnfure of him recoils in- evitably upon your felf. Then, for the other Error of Arias ^ in afTerting that the Son once iL'as not'^ as having been produc'd, or createdy by the Father 5 in your way, you corredl it thus "^ : Truc> the Son was prodncdy brought into ex- ifiencc, had a beginnings and was not, meta- phyfically, eternal ^ but yet, for all that, it was
♦ Pag. /I, 63.
ail
Qii. XVIIL offome (QUERIES. 267 an Error, in Thilofophyy for Arks^s to fny, that He once "juas not. Unhappy jlrins I dctcncd by his yidverfarieSy^nd traduced by hisownFr/^w^y, from whom he might reafonobly have cxpeclcd kinder Ufage. Let me intreat you, hereafter, to be more confiftent : Ei::her va^ucand rcfped the Man, as the great Reviver and Reftorer of /r/- mitive Chrijiianity 5 or renounce his Principles, and declare Him a Hereticky as We do.
q U E R Y XVIIL
IVhether Worjhip and Adoration^ both from Men and Angels y 'ujas not due to Him^ long before the coynmencing of his Mediatorial Kingdom, as He ''ji'as their Creator and T^referver i (fee Col. I. 16, 17.) and '■jvhether that be not the fame Title to Adoration ^ujhich God the Father hath^ as Author and Governor of the Univerfe, upon the T>ocfofs own Trin- ciples ?
YOU Anfwer, th^t though the IVorld was created by the Son^ yet no Adoratioyi was due to Him upon that Account ^ either from Angels or from Men\ becaufe it was no A6t of Dominion, and He did it merely minifterially ( /?. 94.) jrfv as no Adoration is now due from us to Angels^ for the Benefits they convey to us ; becaufe they do it merely inftrumentally. This is plain dealing ; and however I may diflike the Thing, I commend T z the
z68 ^ D E F E N S E Qi. XVIIL
the frankncfs of it. You are very right, upon thcfe Principles, in your parallel from Angels : Had the Antients thought the Office of the Son minifterial, in your low Senfe, They would have paid Him no more refped than they paid to Angels-^ and would certainly never have worjhifd Him. But I pafs on : Creation, you fay, is no AEi of 'Dominion \ and therefore is not a fufficient Foundation for Worfhip. The fame Reafon will hold with refpeft to the Fa- ther alfo j for Creating is one thing, and Ruling another. Yet you'll find that Scripture makes Creation the Ground and Reafon of Worfhip, in fo particular and diftinguifhing a Manner, that no Perfon whatever, that had not a hand in Creating, has any right or title to Worfhip, upon Scripture-Principles ; to which Catholick Antiquity is intirely confonant, as we have obferved above. I did not found his Right of Worfhip on Creation only, but Trefervation .too; referring to Colojf. i. 17. By Him all Things confifl ; to which may be added, Helf. 1.3. Upholding all Things by the Word of his ^Pcwer. The Titles of Creator , Vrefervery Snjlainer oi all Things found very high; and cxprefs His fuper-eminent Greatnefs and Ma- jcfty, as well as Our Dependence; and there- fore may feem to give Him a full Right and Title to Religious Worfliip ; efpecially if it be confider'd, that they im^\y Dominion, and can- not be underftood without it. Befides that Creator^ as hath been fliewn, is the Mark, or
Chara-
Qu. XVIII. of fome qlJEKIF^S. 269 Chara^eriftick of the true God to whom all Honour and Worfliip is due. Add to this, that by Job. I. I. the Son was ©sor before the Foun- dation of the World j which implies, at leafl-, T>ominlon^ upon your own Principles : And when He came into the World, * He came un- to his owriy ( Joh. i . 11.) having been their Crea- tory V. 20. and, as is now explain'd, Governor from the firft. Wherefore, certainly, He had ajuft Claim and Title to Adoration and Worfhip from the Foundation of the World, even upon your own Hypothejis. As to his creating mini- fierially only, I have faid enough to that Point, under the Eleventh ^tery, whither I refer you. From what hath been obfeived, it may ap- pear fufficiently, that the divine Aoy©* was our King, and our God long before 5 that He had the fame Claim and Title to religious Worfliip that the Father Himfelf had 5 only not fo di- ftinftly reveal'd; and that his Enthronization, after his Refurreftion, was nothing more than declaring the Dignity of HisPerfon more folemn- ly , and invefting Him as f God-Man, in his
* Unus Deus Pater fuper Omnes, 8c Unum Vcrbum Dei quod per omnes, per Quem omnia fafta fant, &: quoniam Hie Man- dus proprius ipfius, & per Ipfum fa^ftus cfl VoJuntatc Patris, (jpc — Mundienim Fa6lor vere Vcrbum Dei eH:. /rf». p. 3if.
Verbum autem Hoc illud eft, Quod in fua venit, & fui Eum non receperunt. Mundus enim per Eum fa<flus eft, & Mundus Eum non cognovit. Novat. c. i 3. p. 714.
Si Homo tantummodo Chriftus, quomodo Veniens in hunc Mundum in fua venit, cum Homo nullum fecerit Mundum ? Novat. p. 7 If- Vid. & Hippolyt. contr. Nott. c. 1 2. p. 14. ^ ^^
e-tc^Koi. Cyril. Alex. Thef. p. 150.
T 3 whole
270 A DEFENSE Qu.XVIII.
whole Pcrfon, with the fame Power and Autho- rity, which, as God, He always had; and now was to hold in a different Capacity, and with the Addition of a new and fpecial Title, that of Re- deemcr, * They therefore who endeavour to found the Son's Title to Worfliip, only upon the Powers and Authority of the Mediator , or God- Mariy after the Refurredion (alledging Job. 5.22. !Pfo7. 2.10. Heb, I. 6. and the Ukc) give us but a very lean and poor Account of this Matter ^ neither confident with Truth, nor indeed with their own Hypothefis, You quote VhiL 2. 6. in favour of your Notion 5 and fay, that Chrift was
from the Beginning in the form of God j yet He did 7iot ajjtime to Himfelf to be honoured like unto God, till after his Humiliation, But this Pofition can never be made out from that Text. Allowing you your Interpretation, about affuming to be hononfd, yet this can mean on- ly, that He did not afiume, during his Humi-
Jiation, without any reference to what He had done before. It is very clear from J oh. 17. 5 • that our blelled Saviour was to have no greater Glory after his Exaltation and Afcenfion, than He had before the World was. Glorify me with thine own felf with the Glory, which I had with Thee, before the World was. His Glory had, to appearance, been under an Eciipfc, during the (late of his Humiliation :
^ Clarke's Script. Doclr, Prop. 4S, fo, 5-1. Clarke's Reply, peg. 239.
But
Qii. XVIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 271
But after that, He was to appear again in full Lu- ftre 5 in all the Brightnefs and Splendor of his di- vine Majcfty, as He had done ever before. You think, that our IVorfhip of Him, in his ovjyi dijiinti 'terfon and Chara5ier, commencd after his Reftirrection from the dead. I might allow this to be fo in Fad 5 and yet maintain, that He always had the fame juft Right and Title to religious VVorfliip 5 which muft have had its effed, had it been clearly and diftmdly revealed , fooner. This is c- nough for my purpofe i in as much as I con- tend only, that the Worfii pdue to Him is not founded mecrly upon the Power and Authority fuppofcd to have been given Him after his Re- furredion; but upon his perfonal Dvymty, and ejfential Perf:dions. He might have had the very fame right and claim all along, that ever He had after ; only it couid not take effed, and be acknovvlcdLcd, till it came to be clearly re- vealed. Thus, G-'>d the Father had. uudonbtedly, a full Right and Title to the Worfhip and Service of Men, or of Angels, from the firil : But that Right conld not take place before He revealed and m.ide Himfelf known to Them. This, J fay, IS fufficient to my purpofe ; and all that I infift upon. Yet, bccaufe I have a religious Veneration for every Thing which was uni- verfally taught and believed by the earliefl: Catholick Writers, efpecially if it has fomc Countenance likewife from Scripture; I in- cline to think that Worfliip, dillind Wor- T 4. ihip,
272^ A DEFENSE Qu. XVIII. Ihip, was paid to the Son, long before his Incarnation.
Iren£us is * cxprcfs that the A.oy©' was wor- fhip'd of old, together with the Father. And this muft have been thcSenfe of all thofe Fathers, be- fore the Council of Nicey who underftood and believed that the Ferfon who appeared to the Tatriarcks, who prefided over the Jewijb Church, gave them the Law, and all along headed and conduced that People, was the fecond Per- fon of the ever blelTed Trinity, Now, this was the general and unanimous Opinion of the Ante- Nicene Writers, as hath been (hewn at large, un- der ^ery the iecond. And it is obfervable, that EtifebhiSy zndAthanafmSy (two very confiderable Men, and thoroughly vers'd in the Writings of the Chriftians before Them) tho' they were oppoftte as to Party, and differ'd as to Opinion, in fome Points i yet They ^ intirely agreed in This, that the Son was ijuorjhifd by Abraham, Mofes, &c. and the Je'ji^ijh Church. And herein, had we no other Writings left, we might reafonably believe that they fpake the Senfe of their Pre- deccHbrs, and of the whole Chriftian Church, as well before, as in their own Times. You will fay perhaps, that the Worfhip, fuppofed to have been then paid to the Son, was not di~
* Q.^" if^itur a Proplietis adorabatur Deus Vivus, Hie eft Vi-
Vorum DcusSc Verbum Eju5 1.4. c. f. p-232. Ed. Bened.
■ See alfo Novatian. c. if. Deum & Angelum invocatum.
t Eufcb. E. H. 1. I. c. i. See alfo Comm. tn Ifa. p. 381, 386. Atlianaf Vol. i. p. 445, 44^.
yid. Fulgent, ad Monim^m.l. 2. c. 5, 4, ^c.
Jlin£i
Qu. XVIII. offome aU E RI E S. 275
JiinB Worfhip. But it is fufficicnt that it was (according to the Scnfc of the Chriftian Church) paid to the Terfon appearing , the 'Per- fon of the Son , and He did not rcfufe it ; which is the very Argument that * Ibme of the Ante-Nicene Writers ufc in Proof of his Divinity. The Patriarchs worfliip'd that Per- fon, who appear'd and communed with Them ; fuppofing Him to be the God of the Univerfc, to whom of right all Worfhip belongs. Had He not been what They took Him for, He fhould have rejedted that Worfliip, as the Angel in the Revelations^ rejeded the Worfliip which St. John would have offered Him. In a word ; fince the Son received that Worfliip, in \\\%own ^erfon (according to, the Antients) it muft be faid, He was then diftinBly worfliip'd, and in his own Right, as being truly God. How- ever That be, my Argument is flill good, that the Son (having hczn'mthe Formof Gody andG^^j Creator j Treferver, zndSuJtainer o^ all Things, from the Beginning) had a Right to Worfhip, even upon your Principles (much more mine) long before the commencing of his
* Novatian may here /peak the Senfe of all. On Gen. 31. He commeyjts thus: Si Angelas Dei loquitur hcec ad Jacob, atque Ipfe Angelus infert, dicens : Ego Aim Deus qui vilus fum tibi in loco Dei: Non tantummodo Hunc, Angclum, fed & Dcum politum, fine ulla hsefitatione confpicimus; Quiquc Stbt rotum refert ab Jacob deftinatum ciTe, i&c. Nullius Alterius An-
geli potefl hie accipi tanta Audtoritas, ut Deum Se cfTc fateatur. k votum Stbi fadum efle Teftetur, nifi tantummodo ChriHi c, 27.
+
Media-
274 ^DEFENSE Qli.XVIIL
Mediatorial Kinodom : And therefore his Right and Title to Worfliip was not founded upon the lowers then ilippofed to have been given Him : Confcquently, thole Texts which yoa refer to, for that purpofe, are not pertinently alledged ; nor are they of ftrength fufficicnt to bear all that ftrcfs which you lay upon Them. This Point being fettled, I might allow you that, in fomc Senfc, difiinci Worfliip commencd with the dijlinB Title of Son, or Redeemer : That is, our blefled Lord was then firft wor- Jhif/dy or commanded to be worfliip d by us, under that diftind Title or Character 5 having before had no other Title or Character pe- culiar and proper to Himfelf, but only what was * common to the Father and Him too. Tho* Father, Son, and Holy Ghofl: are all iointly eoncern'd in Creatiojiy Redemption,, and San- ciification ; yet it may feem good to Infinite Wifdom, for great Ends and Reafons, to attri- bute each refpedlivcly to o'az Terfon, rather than another y fo that the Father may be em- phatically Creator, the Son Redeemer, the Holy Ghoft Sancfifier : And upon the com- mencing of thcfe Titles refpcOively, the diftinct Worfliip of each (amongft Men) might accord- ingly commence alfo. Excellent arc the Words
* Sic Deus voluit novare Sacramentum, ut no-.e U;ius cxt- dcretur per tthum 8c Sptritum, ur Coram jam Deus in Tuis prppriis Komhubus 8c Ter fonts cognofccrc^ur, qui 8c rerro per fdium 8c Spiritum prardicatus nori iutelligcbatur. TirttdL cohtr. Trax. c. 3 o.
of
Qu. XVIII. offome QUERIES. 275 of * Bifliop5////to thispurpofej which I have thrown into the Margin. I fhallonly add, that while you endeavour to found Chrift's Right and Title to worjloip folcly upon the Powers fup- pofed to be given Him after his Rcfurrection, you fall much below the generality of the An- tient Arians (whom yet you would be thougat to exceed) and are running into the Socinian Scheme, not very confidently with your oijun. Thus you fecm to be flucluating and wavering between Two, (at the fame time verbally con- demning Both) certain in Nothing, but in oppo- fing the CatloUckXyodii\wz\ which when you have left, you fcarcc know where to fiv, or how to make your Principles hang together. To ex- plain this a little farther : \joundx\iz Son's Title to worfliip upon the T>2gnity of his Terfcn 5 his creative Powers declared in Job. i. and elfe- where i his beinj^Osos- from the Be^^innin'^; and
* Profefto adpiiranda mihi videtur divinarum Pcrfonarum in Sacipf^nftiflima Triade oiKovof/jix, qua unaquxque Pcrfona ai/ijn- ^ qaafi Titulo humanum imprimis genus im;:erio fuo divino obltrimerir, Tittdo illi refpondente etiam Mjliacia. uniulcujufquc imper i i ^Atefc^Hlone. J-rarem col i mus Tub TituiO Crtaioru -i u i u s U ni- Vf rii, qui &: ab ipfa Mundi Creatiohe homini^us inncmnit i FiUum adoranius fub Titulo Redemptons ic Servaton, noftri, cuius iticnco diviaa gloria atque impcrium non nili port per;'.(ftum inreirjr hu- manac KedcmptioKts ac Sdutu negotium faciitpafcfacJumi S^:rltitm denique ^^iwJif^w vcneramur Tub Titulo P^raa-ri, ^Humio^to'n, ac Sanciijicntorisnodri, cujusadco divina MaTfl-sdemLun p')/l dcfccn- fum ejus in Apoftolos priniofqu'^ Chrifliaiio- donorum omne me- lius copiofilllma Jargitione iiluftiifllmum, cL'rius oni.cr.er'it N'- mirum tum demum Apoftoli, idque ex Chnfti niardato, Gni'-f's baptizabant in Flenatn atque adtmatam Trndfttm Cut rum O.pri- ano loquar) h. e. in nomine Patris, Fijii, ik: Spiritus Santli. Bull. frim. Trad. p. 442.
his
'^16. y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XVIII.
his prefervingy and upholding all Things (ac- cording to Coloff. I. 16, 17. and Heb. i.) ante- cedently to his mediatorial Kingdom : you, on the other Hand, found it intirely upon the Powers given Him after his Humiliation (alledg- ing fuch * Texts as thefe, Afo^^. 28. 18. J oh. 5.22,23. "Thil 2. 10,11. Rev, I. 5,6. Rev. 5. 8, 9, 10.) as it He had no juft Claim or Title to "-juorjhip at all, before that Time : For, tho' you put in the equivocal Word, diflinEi^ (very ingenioufly) yet your Meaning really is, and the Tendency of your Argument requires it, that no Worlhip, difiin^ ox. other-wife^ was due to Him, till He received thofe full Powers. This pretence, I fay, might come decently and properly from a Socinian, or a Sabellian^ who cither makes Creation Metaphorical^ or inter- prets fuch Texts as J oh, i. i. Col. 1. 16, 17. and the like, of the Reafon or Wifdorn of the Father, that is, the Father, indwelling in the Man Chrift Jefus. But in 'jou it muft appear very improper; and very inconfiftent with your other Principles : Wherefore I muft again defire you to be more conftftent j and to keep to one conftant Scheme. Take either Arian, SabeU lian, or Socinian, and abide by it ; and then I may know what I have to do: But do not pretend to hold Two Schemes, at a time, utter- ly repugnant to each other.
As to Scripture's feeming, in fome places, to found Chrift's Title to Worfhip, not fo much
♦ See Dr. Clarke'; Kefy, p.239,24p.
Upon
Qu. XVIII. of feme dU E R I E S. 277
upon what He is in Hi'mfelf as upon what He has done for us ; a very good Reafon may be given for it, if it be well confidercd by what Springs and Movements moral Agents arc aduated, and that we love even God Himfelf, with reference to our Selves, * becaufe He firfl loved us. AbflraBed Rea[ons o^ YAzzm, Ho- nour, and Regard are unafFeding, without a mixture of fomething relative to Us, which our Selves have a near concern in. The ef fential Dignity of Chrift's Perfon is really the Ground and Foundation of Honour, and Efteeni (and confequently of JVorfhip^ the higheft Ex- preffion of Both) which ought always to bear proportion to the intrinfick Excellency of the Objeft : But his Offices relative to Us, are the moving Reafons, which principally afFed our Wills j and without which we fhould want the ftrongeft Incitement to pay that Honour and Worfhip, which the ejfential Excellency of his Perfon demands. Scripture has fufficiently ap- priz'd us of Both, difcoverlng at once both his abfolute and relative Dignity ; that fo we be- ing inftruded as well concerning what He is in Himfelf, as what He is in refped to Us, might underftand what Honour juftly belongs to Him, and want no Motive to pay it accordingly. Add to this, that Chrift's Office, relative to us, naturally leads us back to the antecedent Excel- lency and Perfedion of that Perfon, who was able to do fo great and fo aftonifliing Things
* I Joh. 4. 19.
for
278 ^DEFENSE Qu. XIX.
for us : Bcfidcs that it muft appear in the high- eft Degree probable, that no Creature whatever (luppofing Him to have fuitabie Abilities) could have been entrufted with fo great and fo en- dearing a Charge 5 fuch as muft inevitably draw after it a larger fhare of our Love, Refped:, and Efteem, thaiifeems confiftent with our Duty to God, and the Rules laid down in Scripture for our Behaviour towards the Creatures. But e- nough of this : I proceed.
Q^U E R Y XIX.
TVhether the 'Do&or hath not given a very fartialAcconntof]o\'\, 5. 23. founding the Honour due to the Son-, on this only, that the Father hath committed all Judgment to the Son j '■joPjen the true Reafon ajjigrid by our Saviour y and iliuftrated by fever al In- fiances J is, that the Son doth the fame Things that the Father doth-, hath the fame Toiz'er mid Authority of doing ijvhat fie "uijillj and therefore has a Title to as great Honour -^ Re- VierencCy and Regard^ as the Father Himfelf hath ? And it is no ObjeEiion to this, that the Son is there faid to do Nothing of Him- feilf, or to have all given Him by the Father ; fince it is owned that the Father is the Fc'tintain ofAlffrG7n whom the Son derives y in an ineffable manner y his Ejfence andTavi'ers fo as to b^ one 'with Him,
IN
Qii.XIX. of fame QXJEKIES. 279
IN Anfwer to this, you fay, TAe only Ho- nour due to our Saviour^ is plainly flip- pofed by St. John to be gi'Den Hiniy upon Ac- count of his being appointed by the Father Judge of the World, p. 96. This is very ftrange indeed, What! Was there no Honour due to Him on Account of his having beenOsor from the Beginning ? None for his having created the World? Noneon Account of his being the (?;/^ begotten Son, which St. John rcprefcnts as a Circumftance of exceeding great * Glory ? Sure- ly thefe were Things great enough to demand our 1 ribute of Honour and Refpcd ; and there- fore St. John could never mean, that He was to be honoured only upon that fingle Account, as being conftiturcd Judge of all Men. This could never be the only reafon why all Men fiould honour the Son even as They honour the Father. What then did St. John mean? Or rather, what did our BlelTed Lord mean, whofe Words St. John recites ? He meant what he has faid, and whit the Words literally im- port 5 that the Father (whofe Honour had been fufliciently fecured under the Je'wifi Difpcnfa- tion, and could not but be fo under the Chri- ftian alfo) being as much conccrn'd for the Ho- nour of his Sen, had been pleafed to commit all Judgment to Him, for this very end and purpofe, that Men might thereby fee and know that the Son, as well as the Father, \w:{s Judge of
"* Joh. I. 14.
I " all
280 ^DEFENSE Qu. XIX.
all the Earth, and might from thence be con- vine d how reafonable it was, and how highly it concern'd them, to pay all the fame Honour to the Son, which many had hitherto believed to be- long to the Father only. And confidering how apt Mankind would be to leffen the Dignity of the Son (whether out of a vein of difputing, or be- caufe He had condefcended to become Man like Themfelves) and confidering alfo that the many Notices of the T)ivtnity of his Perfon might not befufficient, with fome, to raife in Them that Eftcem, Reverence, and Regard for Him, which They ought to have, for the more effedually fe- curing a Point of this high Concernment, it pleaf- ed the Father to leave the final Judgment of the great Day in the Hands of his Son : Men there- fore might confider that this Perfon, whom they were too apt to difregard, was not only their Cre- ator-, and Lord, and God, but their Judge too, be- fore whofe awful Tribunal they muft one Day appear : An awakening Confideration, fuch as might not only convince Them of his exceeding Excellency and Super-eminent Perfections, but migh remind them alfo, how much it was their Intcreft, as well as Duty, to pay Him all that Ho- nour, Adoration, and Service, which the Dignity and Majcfty of his Perfon demands *.
Let us but fuppofe the prcfent Catholick Do- drine of the Co-equality and Co-eternity of the three Perfons to be true, what more proper me- thod can we imagine, to fecure to each Perfon
* Vid. Jobium ap. Phot, Cod. zz 2. p. ^04.
the
Qli. XIX. offome Q.U E R I E S. 2 8 1
the Honour due unto Him, than this ; that every Perfon fhould be manifcfted to us under fome pecuUar Title or Charader, and inforce his claim of Homage by fome remarkable Difpenfa- tion, fuch as might be apt to raife in Us a reli- gious Awe and Veneration ? This is the Cafe in fad 5 and on this Account, chiefly, it feems to be that the Son, rather than the Father (whofe perfonal Dignity is Icfs liable to be queftion'd) is to be judge of all Men, that fo all Men may honour the Son, x^^oJ^ n^x^^i f -urari^. The learned Dodor * pleads that xa^^oJs- often figni- fies a general Similittide only, not an exa^ Equality : Which is very true ; and would be pertinent, if we built our Argument on the critical Meaning of the Particle. But what we infift on, is, that our Bleiled Lord, in that Chapter, draws a Tarallel between the Father and Himfelfy between the Fathers Works and his own, founding thereupon his Title to Ho- nour ; which fufficiently intimates what xaOcuV means, efpecially if it be confider'd that this was in anfwer to the Charge of making Him- felf t equal with God, This is what I in- timated in the Query 5 upon the reading where- of, you are ftruck with amazement at fo evi- dent an inftancey how prejudice blinds the Mindsy &c. But let me perfuade you to for- bear that way of talking, which (bcfides that it is taking for granted the main Thing in Que- ftion, prefuming that all the Prejudice lies oa
♦ Refly, p. 2^0. t John/, i8.
V one
282 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XIX.
one fide, and all the Reafon on the other) is really not very becoming, in this Cafe, con- fidering how many wife, great, and good Men, how many Churches of the Saints, through a long Succeffion of Ages, you muft, at the fame time, charge with Prejudice and Blmdnefs ; and that too after much canvaffing and careful confidering what Objections could be made a- gainft Them ; to which you can add nothing new, nor fo much as reprefent the old ones with greater Force than They have been often before, 1 300 Years ago. It might here be fuffi- cicnr, for you, modeftly to offer your Reafons : And hov/ever convincing they may appear to you (yet confidering that to Men of equal Senfe, Learning, and Integrity, they have appeared much other wife) to fufpc6l your own judg- ment; or, at leaft, to believe that there may be Reafons, which you do not fee, for the con- trary Opinion. Well, but after your fo great Afiurancc, let us hear what you have to fay. If CUT Lord had ptirpoftly dejigiid^ in the moji exprefs and emphatical Manner ^ to de- clare his real Suhordinatton and "Dependence on the Father^ He coidd not ha've done it more fidly and clearly than He hath in this whole Chapter, Yes, fure He might.: Being charged with Blafphemy^ in making Himfelf eq^iial with God, He might have cxprefs'd his Abhorrence of fuch a Tiiought ; and have told Them that He pretended to be nothing more than a Creature of God'?, fcnt upon God's
Errand j
Qu. XIX. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 2 S 3
Errand 5 and that it was not by his own Tower or Holme fs^ that He made the lame Man to walky [(cc Acis ^, 12,) Such an Apology as this would have cffcdually took off all farther Sufpicion, and might perhaps have well become a Creature^ when charg'd with Blafphemy, who had a true Refpcd for the Honour of his Creator. But, inftcadof this, He goes on, a fecond Tinie, to call Himfclf S071 of Gody v. 2 5. declaring far- ther, that there was fo perfed a Union and In- timacy between the Father and Himfclf, that He was able to do any thing which the Father did ; had not only the fame Right and Authority to work on the Sabbath, but the fame Power of giving Life to whom He plcafed, of railing the Dead, and judging the World ; and therefore the fame Right and Title to the fame Honour and Regard : and that the Execution of thofe Powers was lodged in his Hands particularlvj left the World (hould not be fufficicntly appre- henfive of his high Worth, Emincncy, and Dig- nity j or fliould not honour the Son even as they honour the Father.
This is the obvious natural Conftmftion of the whole Paffage : You have fome Pretences againft it, which have been examin'd and con- futed long ago by Hilary^ Chyrfoftom, CyriU Auflin, and other venerable Fathers of the Chriftian Church; fo that I have little more to do, than to repeat the Anfwers. TPje Jews, you fay , fallh and malicioufly charged Him with making Himfclf equal with God. So faid V 2 the
284 ^DEFENSE Qu. XIX.
the Arians : But what ground had either They, or You, for faying fo ; It does not appear that the Evangelifi barely repeated what the Jews had faid : But He gives the Reafons why the Jews fought to kill Him i namely, becaufe He had broke the Sabbat hy and becaufe He made Him fe If equal with God, So thought * Hilary 5 and He is followed therein by Others, whom you may find Mentioned in f Tetavitts. And this WSocinus himfelf was fo fenfible of, that He could not but allow that the Apoflle^ as well as the Jews-, undcrftood that our Bleljcd Lord had declared Himfelf eqtiaho God 5 only He is forced to explain away the equality to a Senfe foreign to the Context.
But fuppofing that the Apoftle only repeated what the Jews had charged Him with 5 how does it appear that the Charge was falfc? It is not to be denied that He had really wrought on the Sabbath, and Iiad really called God his Father J and in a Senfe peculiar 5 and why fliould not the reft of the Charge be as true as the other? the Context and Reafbii of the Thing feem very much to favour it : His fay-
* Non nunc, ut in ceteris fo!ct, Jiid^orum Sermo ab his di- 6lus refertur. Expofitio potius hare Evangdiftce eft, Caufam de- monftrantis cur Domin^im intcificere vellent. HiL Trin. 1. 7. p. P^f. t He Trin. />. lyz.
Ij Ex modo Joquendi quo ufus eft Evangelifta, fcntiam eum omninouna cum Judxis ccnfuifle Chriftum, verbis illis, fc sequa-
lem Deo fecifle nccefic fit intelligere Hoc ipfum Eum quo-
que fcnfiiTe, non minus quam fcnferit Chriftum appellaflc Deum Vatrem fuum, quod ab ipfo, uno £c eodem vcrborum Contextu, proximc di(5tum fucrat. Soc'm.Krfp. ad Vnjek, ^-S17-
ing,
Qu.XIX. of fome (QUERIES. 285
ing, my Father worketh hitherto, and 1 "juork^ muft imply, cither that He had an equal Right to do any thing his Father did 5 or, that He was fo intimately united to Him, that He could not but ad in concert with Him : Which is farther confirmed by what follows, v. lo.JVhat things foever He doth, thefe alfb doth the Son like'isjife, Befides, that had this been only a ma- licious Suggeftion, a falfe Charge of the Je'JUSy the Evangelifiy very probably, would have gi- ven intimation of it, as wc find done in other Cafes of that Nature, {Joh.i. zi.Matt. 16. 12.) This is the Subftance of St. Chryfoftom\ reafon- ing, in Anfwer to your firft Objedion ; and I am the more confirmed in its being true and right, by obferving, as before faid, that Soci- mis himfelf, a Man fo much prejudiced on the other fide, could not help falling in with the fame way of Thinking, fo far, as to believe that the Apoftle and the Je-jos both agreed in the fame Thing, viz,, that our Lord did, by what He had faid, make Himfelf ecind ^-juith -Gody in fome Senfe, or other ; fuch as the Je'ujs thought to be Blafphemy, and in Confcquence whereof, they would have kill'd^ i. e. floned Him. Another Exception you make from the Words, The Son can do nothing of Him- felf: The obvious meaning of which is; that being fo nearly and clofely related to God, as a Son is to a Father ; the Jews might depend upon it, that whatever He did, was both agree- able to, and concerted with his Father ; and V 3. ought
386 ^DEFENSE QU.XIX.
oug;ht to be received with the fame Reverence and Regard, as if the Father Himfelf had done it. He, as a Son, being perfectly one with his Father, could do nothing ovoMricv tJ -nxaT^]^ againfl his Father ^ nothing aXXorpicv, nothing |fvov, (as Chryfojtom exprefleth it) Both having the fame Nature ; and harmonioufly uniting al- ways in Operation and Energy, Hence it was, that, if one wrought^ the other muft "work too; if one did any Thing, the other fliould doltkewifei, ii one qidck?2ed whom He would;, fo Ihould the other alfo ; and if one had L^fe m Hmifelf (or the Tower of Raifing the ^ead) i^o fhould the other have too : And if the Father v/as primarily Judge of the Worlds in right of his Prerogative as Father^ the Son fliould have it in the Exercife and Exeratmiy to manifeft the Equality. Now, here is no draining and forcing of Texts, but the literalp obvious, natural Interpretation. But the In- terpretation, which you give, is plainly forc'd, iTi:.kcs the Context incoherent, and the whole Paflage inconfiftcnt. For, be pleas'd to obferve your/Senfe of verfe the 19^^. The Son can do nothuig but by Commiffion from the Father : Why ? then follows, For what things foever Fie doth, thefe alfo doth the Son likewife. Does it follow, bccaufc He can do nothing of flimfefy in your Scnfe, that therefore He can ,do every thing which the Father does? Where is the Scnfe, or Connexion ? Is He here Hmit- ing, and Icllcning his own Powers, as, upon
your
Qu. XIX. offome QU E R I E S. 287
your Principles, He fhould have done in an- fwer to the Charge of Blafphcmy > No ; but He extends them to the utraoft ; and, inftead of retracing, goes on in the fame (train, and fays more than He had faid before. To make good Senfeand Coherence of the PafiTage, upon your Scheme, you muft till up the Deficiency thus. The Son can do nothing but by Conimiflion 5 a?id Commiffion He has^ to do every thing that the Father doth : Which, tho' it founds harfh, and looks too familiar for a Creature to pre- tend, yet might make the Context coherent. However, fince the Interpretation I have be- fore given, is more natural, and more obvious, argues no deficiency in the Text, makes the whole coherent, and has nothing harfli or dif- agreeing in it, it ought to be prefer'd. For, after all, it muft be thought very odd and ftrange for a Creature to be commiffion d or empower'd to do all Things that the Creator doth 5 and to do them 6/jto/ojs- in the fame maniier, alfo I do not make any forced Conftruction : for fo the 20^-' verfe , immediately following, in- terprets it : for the Father loveth the Son ; a?id pe-jueth Him all Things that Him felf doth. You endeavour indeed to make fome Advantage of this very Text 5 alledging that this "Vo-joer which the Son exercisd-^ was given Him^ not by Neceflity [which is no Gift) butbv free Love. But why muft Love imply Freedom ? Doth not God love Himfelf ? And if the Love of Himfelf be no matter of Choice, why muft the Love of V 4 his
288 ^DEFENSE Qu.XIX.
his Son, his other f elf ^ be rcprcfented otherwife ? You are forc'd to add to the Text, to give fome colour to your Argument ; and to call it free Love, when the Text fays only, that the Father loveth.
Thus far I have endeavoured to clear up the Scnfe of St. John^ and to vindicate it from your Exceptions : which are not of fo great Weight, that you need be amazed at any Man s thinking (lightly of them. Hilary well obferves that the drift and defign of our Savi- our's Words was to declare his Equality of Nature with the Father, and his Sonpip, at the fame Time. * No inferior NsLtmc could be capable of having all Things ; nor could a Son have them but as communicated. So that, in the whole, it is diredly oppofite to fuch as cither difown an Equality of Nature, or a real Difdndion 5 wherefore Hilary concludes trium- phantly, both againft Arians and Sabellians^ in Words very remarkable, which I fliall throw in- to the f Mra'gin.
But you add, as a Recapitulation' of wdiat you had faid upon this Article : If therefore to be freely fent^ and to aei in the Name and by the Authority of another ^ he^ to affume an
* Omnia habere fola natura poffit indifferensj neque Nativi- tas alicjuid habere pofilr, nili datum fit, />. 928.
f Conclufa fynt omnia adverfum Haeretici Furoris Ingcnia.. y'duis eft, cjuia ab fe nihil poreft. Dem eft, quia c^uxcunquc Pater facit, 8c ipfc Eadem facit. Unum funt, quia exacquatur in Honorc, Eademque facit non alia. Non eft Pater, quia jiiiflus eft, f 929.
He has more to th /a?ne ^turpofe, p. loij, iiyi.
equality
Qu. XIX. of fome Q^U E R I E S. \%o
equality of Honour and Regard ^-jvith that other, by whom He wasfent ; we muftfor ever defpair ioiinderflandtherneaningofWords.orto be able to diftingiiijh between a delegated, anda ftipreme underivedTower, {p. 97) To which I make an- fwcr : If declaring Himfclf to be the proper Son of That Other, which both the Jews and the Apojlle underftood to be the fame with making Himfelf equal with Him : If his claiming to Himfeif the fame Right, Power, and Authority which the other hath ; and afferting that He is a- ble to do whatever the Other doth ; and that the exercife of ihofe Powers is left to Him, for this very end and purpofe, that all Men may honour the One even as they honour the Other : If this be not afluming an Equality of Honour and Re- gard with that Other 5 we muft for ever defpair to underftand the meaning of Words, or to be able to diftinguifli between what is proper to a Crea- ture, and what to the Creator only.
As to what you hint concerning a delegated Power, it is not to your Purpofe ; unlefs you could prove that one Perfon cannot be Delegate to Another, without being unequal, in nature^ to Him ; which would prove that one Man cannot be "D^/^^^/-^ to another Man * ; bcfides other Abfurdities. Ading by a delegated Power does by no means infer any Inferiority of Na- ture, but rather the quite contrary ; cfpecially, if the Charge be fuch, as no inferior Nature could be able to fuftain ; or if the Honour at-
* See my An[v>ir to Dr. H'^nth-j, p. j-^.
I raiding
290 A DEFENSE Qu.XIX.
tending it, or confcquent upon it, be too great for an inferior Nature to receive j as the Cafe is here. However, the divine Adminiftration, and wonderful ciy,cvcij,ia of the Three Perfons, with their Order of Acling, is what we muft not prefume perfeclly to underftand ; Nor can any- certain Argument be drawn againft the Thing, from our imperfeft and inadequate Conceptions of it.
If it be objected that there is a Supremacy of Order lodged in One more than in the Other ; let that be rightly underdood, and I (hall not gainfay it. The Father, as Father^ is fiu preme ; and the Son, as Soity Jubordinate. We pretend not to make the Son the Ftrji, but the SecondVctio'Ci of the Godhead. Whatever in- equality of Honour fuch a Supre'macy of One, and Subordination of the Other neceffarily im- ply, while the Nature or EJJence is fuppofed equaly it may be admitted : But, I am not ap. prized that they infer any ; Bccaufe, tho* there arc two Perfons, there is but one * undivided
;* Unius autcm Subfl-antix, 8c Uaius Status, & Wtiis ToteJId' frs, quia Unus Dcus. Tertnll. contr. Fmx. c. 2. TJn'uts DivimiatiS Pater, 8c Filius, 8c Spiritus Sandtus. /</. ^/e Tud.c.zi.
-.T.-orsrctx.^. Athenag. leg. c. If, p.64.
Unam 8c Eandem Omnipotentiam Patris ac Filii efle cognofcas i /icut Unus atque idem cH cuin Patre Dcus 8c Dominus. Orig. '^i 'Af^i. 1. I.e. 2.
Gu ^ uXxLo ^o'ia,v srciTKf, J^ 'aXXl/jj liioc, t^e-i, o(.XXoc fJij^av <^ ta* nbrU. Cyrill. Catech. 6. p. 77. J^J- Ox. ' ^
*X,i Greg. NyfT. contr. Eunom. l.i. p.i^.
Nature^
Qu. XIX. offome Q\] E R I E S. 291
Nature 5 which makes the Cafe widely different from that of one Man (a diftinct and feparate Being) afting under Another.
What follows, of your Anfwer to the prefent Qi^cry, is only ringing Changes upon the old Objcdion, drawn from your imaginary Senfe of mdividital Stibflance. And here you let your Thoughts rove, and abound much in ^Flight and Fancy 5 conceiving of the Trinity y after the manner of Bodies, and reafoning from cor- poreal and fcnfiblc Images. A blind Man would thus take his Notion of Colours, perhaps from his Hearings or Feeling ; and make many fan- ciful Demonftrations againft the T>o6irine of Vijion ; which would all vanifli, upon the open- ing of his Eyes. Were we as able to judge of what may, or may not be, in relation to the Modus of the divine Exiftence, as we are to judge of common Matters, lying within the Sphere of our Capacity, there might then be fome Force in the Objeclions made againfl: the Dodrine of the Trinity from natural Reafon : But fince many Things, efpecially thofe relating
Totum Pater, Totum polTidct Filius : Unius cIT: quod Ambo- rum cfl, quod unuspoflidet Sir.gulorum eftj Domino ipfo dicentci Omn'ici qudcunciHc hn6et Pater, mca funt ; quia Pater in Filio, &c Fiiius manet in Patre. Cui, Ajfeclti non Coaaitione, Chantate non NeccjJItate, dccore fubjicitur, per Q^iem Pater Semper honoratur. Denique inquit : Ego ^ Fatcr tmum fumus. Unde non Diwinrttha, fed Keligiofn, ut dixi, fubjedtione eft Filius Patri liibjcdlus : cum Originaiis perpetuiquc Regni una PofTefllo, Co-xternitatis Omni- potentixque una Subftantia, una ^-Equalitas, una virtus Majeftatis augufta?, unito in lumine una dignitas rctinetur. Zen. Veronenf. fit. a BnllD.F.^. z66,
to
292 ./^DEFENSE Qu. XIX-
to the incomprehenfible Nature of God, may- be true, tho* we cannot conceive How 5 and it may be only our Ignorance, which occafions fome appearing Inconfiftencies 5 we dare not re- }c(k a Dodrine fo well fupported by Scripture and Antiquity, upon fo precarious a Founda- tion as this. That Human Under ft anding is the meafure of all Truth : Which is what all Objeftions of that kind, at length, refolve into.
This being premised, let us next proceed to examine your Pretences, that I may not feem to negled any thing you have, that but looks like reaibning. The §^ery had intimated, that the Son derives his Elfence and Power, in a man- ner ineffable. Againft which you objeft thus: But is it not Self-evident that, let the man- ner of the Son's Generation or "Derivation be ever fo ineffable, if zriyThxn^ was generated^ or derived^ it muft be a diftinft individual Subftance ? No 5 but we think it fufficient to fay, that it muft be a diftind individual P^r- fon. All the difficulty here lies in fixing and determining the Senic of the words individual Subftance. Would you but plcafe to define the Terms, we fliould foon fee what we have to do. But you go on : It could not he part of the Fathers Subftance -^ That is abfurd: and to fay, it was the whole, is fo flagrant a Con- tradiciion, that I que ft ion whether there can be a greater, in the nature and reafon of Things, Can the fame individual Subftance be
derived^
Qu. XIX. offome qV E R 1 E S. 29 j
derived, and undcrivcd ) Or, can there be a Communication, <5!«^ nothing communicated? FoTy it is Jttppofedy that the whole E (fence ^ or Subjtancey is communicated to the Son, and yet remains wliole and uncommunicated, in the Father ; isohich is evidently to be, and^ not to be, at the fame Time. This is your reafoning, founded only on your miftake and mifapprehenfion : By Father s Subftance , as it feems, you underftand the Father's Hypo- Jiajisy or Terfon 5 and are proving, very ela- borately, that the Father never communicated his own Hypoftafis, or T erf on, either in whole y or in part. You fhould firft have (hewn us what Body of Men, or what * fmglc Man, ever taught that Dodtrine, which you take fo much Pains to confute. Let me now propofe a Dif- ficulty much of the fame kind, and nearly in the fame Words, to you 5 only to convince you that Objedions of this Nature are not pe- culiar to the Dodrine of the Trinity, but affecl other points likevv^ife, whofe Truth or Certainty you make no manner of doubt of. What I mean to inftance in, is God's omnipre fence : That God, the {zmci77dividual Gody is every where, youll readily allow ; and alfo that the Subftance of God, is God. Now, will you pleafe to tell me, whether that divine Subftance which fills Heaven ) be the fame individual Subftance with That which filleth all Things. If it be not
* Ai to your gird upon Tcrtullian, in your Notes, I refer yen to Bull. D. F. p. 9/. fof an Anfmr.
the
294 y^ D E F E N S E Qli. XIX. the fame individual Subftance (as by your reafoning it cannot) it remains only that it be fpecijicaily the fame 5 and then the Confe- quence is, that you make not one Subftance in number^ but many-, the very thing which you charge the Doctrine of the Trinity with. But farther, the divine Subftance is in Heaven 5 that is witliout Queftion : Now, I ask, whe- ther the Subjiance which fills Heaven, be part only of that Subftance, or the whole. If it be part only, then God is not in Hea- ven, but a part of God only ; and the Attri- butes belonging to the whole Subftance, cannot all be contracted into any one party without defrauding the other ^^^r^j- ; and therefore there can be only part of infinite Power, part of infinite Wifdom, part of infinite Knowledge, and fo for any other Attribute. For if you fay, that the whole infinite Wifdom, Pov/er, ^c, rcfiding in the whole ^ is common to every part, it is (to ufe your own Words) fo flagrant a Contradicliony that I queftion whether there can be a greater in the nature and re'afon of Things, Can the fame individual Power, Wif- dom, c^r. be communicated, and not commu- nicated? Or, can there be a Communication and nothing communicated ? For, it is fuppofed that the whole Wifdomy bowery &c. is com- municated, to one particular part ; and yet re- mains whole and uncommunicated in the other* parts 5 which is evidently to be, and not to be at the fame Time. If you tell me that, part
and
Qli. XIX. offome Q^U E R I E S. 29 ^
and whole are not properly applied to JVifdomy To'jver, &c. I fliall tell you again, that They are (tor any thing You, or I know) 2iS>properly applied to the Attributes^ as they are to the Subjetis and belong to Both, or Neither. And fuice you are plcafed to talk of parts and whole of God's Subftance, of which you know- little, give me leave to talk in the fame way, where I know as little. The learned Dodor reprefents it as a great Solecifm to fpcak of an "^ £//, or a Mile of Confcioufncfs, He may be right in his Obfcrvation : but mz natural Con- fequence deducible from it, is, that Thought is not compatible with an extended Subfcd. For there is nothing more unintelligiblc,or,feeni- ingly, at lead, more repugnant, than unextended Attributes in a Subjed extended: And many may think that ^w Ell, or a Mile of God (which is the Dodor's Notion) is as great a Solecifm as the other. Perhaps, after all, it would be bcft for Both of us to be filcnt, where we have really nothing to fay : But as you have begun, I mud go on with the Argument, about the Omniprefence, a little farther. Well, if it cannot be part only of the divine Subftancc, which is in Heaven, fince God is There, and fince all the Perfedions and Attributes of the Deity have There their full exercife; let us fay that the whole divine Subftance is there. But then how can He be omniprelent ? Can the fame individual Subftance be coyifind, and un- conjind? Or can there be a dijfujion of it . * c/. Let^ p. 40. every
296 ^DEFENSE Qu. XI5C.
every where, and yet nothing diffufed? For it is llippofeci that the whole ElTence or Subftance is diffufed all over the Univerfc, and yet re- mauis whole and undiffufed hi Heaven. Which> again, is evidently to be, and wot to be, at the fame time,
I fliould hardly forgive my felf, upon any other occafion, fuch trifling in ferious Things. If you take to this kind of reafoningy (which is really not reafoning, but running riot with Fancy and Imagination) about Matters infi- nitely furpafling human Comprehenfion 5 you will make lamentable work of it. You may go on, till you reafon, in a manner, God out of his Attributes, and your felf out of your Faith 5 and not know at laft where to ftop. For, indeed, all Arguments, of this kind, are as Arong f or ^theijm^ as They are againft a Trinity : Wherefore it con- cerns you ferioufly to refled, what you are doing. This, and the like Confidcrations, have made the wifefl: and cooleft Men very cautious how they lirtcn d to the rovings of wanton Thought, in Matters above Human Comprehenfion. The pretended Contradidions, now revived by many, againft the Dodrine of the Trinity, are very old and trite. They were long ago objected to the Chriftians, by the Heathen Idolaters. They almoft turn'd the Heads of T^raxeaSy Noetus^ SabelUuSy ManichauSy Tatd of Samofata 5 not to mention ArittSy NefloritiSy Etttyches, and other Antient Hcreticks. The Catholicks were fcnfible of them : But having well con-
fidcrJ
Qii. XX. offome Q^U E R I E S. 297
fider'd them , They found thcni of much too (light Moment, to bear up againfl: the united Force of Scripture and Tradition. The Dodrine of the Trinity, with all its feeming Contra- diftions, has ilood the Teft, not only of what Human Wit could do, by way of Difpute ; but of all that Rage and Malice could contrive, through a Perfecution almoft as bitter and Viru- lent, as any that had ever been under Heathen Emperors. This is to me an additional Confir- mation, that the Do6trine wc profcfs is no fuch grofs Impofition upon the common Senfe and Reafon of Mankind, as is pretended. It was neither Force, nor Intereft , that brought it in ^ nor that hath fince, fo univerfally, upheld it : And Men arc not generally fuch Idiots as to love Contradictions and Repugnancies, only for Humor or Wantonnefs, when Truth and Confi- ftency are much better, and may be had at as cafy a rate. Thefe Reflections have carried me rather too far : But They may have their ufe amons; fuch Readers as knovv^ little of the Hifto- ry of this Controverfy ; or how long It had been buried ; till it pleafed fomc amoni:,ft Us to call it up again, and to drefs it out with much Art 2iMFmelfei, to take the Populace, and to beguile thtEnglifh Reader. Many Things have fallen under this S^iery, which properly bclong'd not to it But it was neceflary for me to purine You, what way focver You fliould take. You was more at Liberty : My Method is deter- mined by Your's.
X QjL^ E R Y
2S^8 >^DEFENSE Qu.XX.
Q^UERY XX.
Whether the TDoEior need have cited 306 Texts J * wide of thepurpofey to prove what no Body denies^ namely^ a Subordination, 171 fome Senfey of the Son to the Father 5 could He have found but one plain Text againji His Eternity or Confubftantiality^ the Toints in ^eftion?
YOUR Anfwcr to this is very fiiort, not to fay negligent. You fay, if the D^- fiors 300 Texts prove a real Stibordinationy and not in nofine oyily^ the point is gain'd a- gainfl the ^eriffs Notion of Individual Con- fubftantiality ; unlefs the fame individual in- telligent Subjiance can be Subordinate to it felf and Confubflantial with it felf Here you are again Doubling upon the word. In- dividual. The §)ueri(t never had fuch a No- tion as that of perfonal Confubfiantiality^ which is Ridiculous in the Sound, and Contradi- aion in Senfe 5 and yet you are conftantly putting this upon the ^tertft, and honouring Him with your own Prefumptions. Let me again (how you, how unfair and difingenuous this Method is. Do not you fay that the fame individual Subjiance is prcfent in Heaven, and, at the fame time, fillcth all Things? That it pervades the Sun, and, at the fame time, pene-
* Clarke's Reply, f. ;,
trates
Qu.XX. of fom q^UEKlES. 299
trates the Ntoon alfo? I might as rcafonably argue that you, by fuch Pofitions, make tlic fame individual Subftance greater and lefs than it felf, remote and diftant from it felf, higher and lower than it Jelf, to the right and to the left of it felfy containing and contain'd, bound- ed and unbounded, a^c. as you can pretend to draw thofe odd furprizing Confequences upon the ^lerifl. Would not you tell me, in an- fwer, that I mifinterprcted your Senfe of indi- vidualj and took advantage of an ambiguous Expreffion? Let the fame Anfwer fcrvc for Us; and you may hereafter fpare your Readers the Diverfion of all that unmanly trifling with an equivocal Word. But enough of this Matter. I might have expeded of you, in your Reply to this Query, one Text or two to difprovc the Son's Eternity^ and Confiibflantiality^ and to fupply the Deficiency of the Dodor's Trea- tife : But fmce you have not thought fit to favour me with any, I muft fiill believe that the Doctor's 300 Texts, tho* very wide of the pur- pofe, are all we are to expecl^ being defign'd, inftead of real Proof, to carry fome Show and Appearance of it, that they may fccm to make up in Number, what they want in Weight. All that the learned Dodor proves by his 300 Texts, or more, is only that the Son is Subordinate to the Father : Whether as a Son, or as a Great urCy appears not. However, the tacit e Conclu- fion which the Dodor draws from it, and infinuates carefully to his Reader, is, that the
X 2 Son
.^00 ^DEFENSE Qri. XX;1- Son is not ftriflly and ejfentially God -, but a Creature only. This Inference we deny ut- terly 5 allcdging that a Subordination may be, and may be undeiftood, between two Perfons, without the Suppofition of any Inferiority of Nature : But all the Anfwer we can get to this is, that * Naturey and Effence are obfcure Meta- phyfaal Notions 5 (which is neither true, nor to the purpofe, nor confidently pleaded by one who builds fo much upon Self-exiflence, a MetaphyficalTcrm^ the "^ord Equivocal, and the Notion fufficiently obfcure,) And thus, as foon as the learned Doctor comes up to the pinch of the Queftion, not being willing to own the Force of what is urged, He very wifely dif- fembles it, and 2;oes off in a mill of Words.
I cannot but take notice, upon this occauoiv of your charging us frequently, in an invidious Manner, with the ufe we make of Metaphy- fical Terms. I know no reafon you have for it, -except it be to anticipate the Charge, as being confcious to your felves how notorioufly you offend in this kind. Any Man, that is acquaint- ed with the Hiftory of Arianifm^ knows that its main Strength lay in Logical zwd Met aphy - /?<r^/Subtihies. The Faith of the Church was at firft, and might be ftill, a plain, eafy, fimple Thing; did not its Adverfaries endeavor to per- plex and puzzle it with ''Philofophical Niceties, and minute Inquiries into the Modus of what they cannot comprehend. The firil Chriftians
* Reply, p. 17, 19,21.
1 eafily
Qu. XX. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 301
eafily believed that Father, Son, and Holy-Gholt in whofc Name They wiitc baptized, and whom' They worfiipfd, were equally <^/V/>/^ ; without troubling themlelves about the manner of ir, or the reconciling it with their Belief in one GW. As Men generally believe that Godi fore- knows every thing, and that Man notwithftanding is ^ free- Agent, (fcarcc one perhaps in a Thoufand concerning Himfelf how to reconcile thefe two Pofitions, or being at all apprchenfivc of any difficulty in it) fo, probably, the plain honcft Chriftians believed every Pcribn to be God, and all but one God ; and troubled not their Heads with any nice Speculations about the Modus of it. This feci US to have been the artlefs Sim- plicity of the primitive Chriiiians, till prying and pretendind^ Men came to flart Difficulties, r.nd raife Scruples, and make Dillurbancc ; and then it was neceflary to r'.n'd the Faith of the Church againft fuch Cavils and Impertinencies as began to threaten it. Thilofophy and Meta- phyjicks were called in to its Afllftance^ but not till Hereticks had fliown the way, and made it in a manner necedary for the Cat ho- licks to encounter Them with their own Wea- pons. Some new Terms, and particular Ex- plications came in by this means ; that fuch as had a mind to Corrupt or Deftroy the Faith, might be defeated in their Purpofes. It was needlefs to fay that Generation was without 'Divifon, while no Body fufpeded or thought pf any Divifion in the Cafe : But after Here- '■'■ X 3 ticks
302 ^DEFENSE Qu.XX,
ticks had invidioufly reprefented the CathoHcks as aflerting a T>ivifion, it was high time for the CathoHcks to rcfeiit the Injury, and to deny the Charge. There was no occafion for the mentioning of Three Hypojtafes, till fuch as "TraxeaSy Noetus, and Sabellius^ had pre- tended to make, one Hypoftafis, an Article of Faithj drawing many \QvyNovelj and dangerous Confequences from their prime Pofition. The c/jicaViov it felf might have been fpared, at leaft out of the Creeds, had not a fraudulent abufe of good Words brought Matters to that pafsj that the Catholkk Faith was in danger of being loft, even under Catholkk Language. To re- turn to our Point : There would be no occafion now for diftinguifhing between Subordination of Order and of Nature, were it not manifeft how much the Catholick Faith may be endan- gered by the endeavors of Some, to flip one up- on us for the other. Such as know any thing oi fair Controverfy, may juftly expeftof you, that you fupport your Caufe, not by repeating and inculcating the word Subordinate (as if there was a Charm in Syllables, or Men were to be led away by Sounds) but by proving, in a rational manner, that all Subordination implies fuch an Inferiority as you contend for. If this can be done, the Dodor's 300 Texts (which are very good Texts, and have un- doubtedly an excellent meaning) may appear alfo to be pertinent to the Caufe in Hand.
Qjj E R v
Qu. XXL offome Q^U E R I E S. 303 Query XXL
Wljether He be not forced to fupply his ^juant of Scripture-proof by very ftrairid and remote Jnferences,and very uncertainReafbnings from the Nature of a Thing, confejfedly, obfctire and above Comprehenfion ; and yet not morefo than Gods Eternity, Ubiquity, Prcfciencc, or other Attributes, which we are obliged to acknowledge for certain Truths ?
TO the former part of the Query, you anfwer dire[ilj in the Negative. To which I rejoin, that Lftill maintain the Ajpr- wative, and can readily make it good. The Dodor's infinuating from the 3 00 Texts (which ftilethe Father GWablblutely, or the one God) that the Son is not ftriftly and effentially God, not one God with the Father, is a ftrain'd and remote Inference of his own , not warranted by- Scripture, nor countenanced by Catholick Anti- quity 5 but Contradictory to Both. Bcfides this, I muft obfcrve to you, that the main Strength of the Dodor*s Caufe lies, firft, in his giving cither a * Sabelliany or Tritheiflick turn (admit- ting "f no Medium) to the Catholick Dodrine ; and then charging it with Confufion of Terfons^
^See Injlctnces, Script. Do(flr. p. 99, 102, 293, 42 6, 45_f, firft Ed,
Reply, p.3f,3S,5-i,5-^93»»-^-
t Scrip. Do<ar.p.86, i32,4'/>430'43i'»437*44i»447»4^i'» 46/. firft Ed.
X 4 Toly-
304 :/^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXI. ^olytheifm, Nonfenfe-, or ContradiEiion, Take away That, to which his conftant refort is, whenever He comes to the pinch of the Que- ftion, and there will be little left confiderable. He Ihows his Reader Tritheifniy and He (hows Him Sabelliamfm (keeping the Catholkk Do- ftrinc, which is Neither, out of fight) and then recommends Arianifm (difguifed) to Him, as the bcft of the Three. Now, fmce the Catho- lkk Doctrine has been generally thought diffe- rent from any of the Three, and more follow- ed than all the reft put together, it ought to have been fairly prefented, in company with the other 5 that fo the Reader, having all the Four before Him, might be the more able to pafs a right Judgment of Them, You will fre- quently find the learned Dodor combating the CathGUck Faith under the Difguife of SabelUa- Tiijm, as if there was no Difference betweea them : Or if it be at all diftinguifh'd from Sa- belllanifm ^ it immediately commences Tri- thetjm 5 and a plurality of Co-ordinate Perfons is inevitable with the learned Dodor: This is rhe Sum of his Performance. Scripture^ in- deed, is brought in, and Fathers too, which is ftill more furprizing : But the whole, in a manner, is this one Syllogifm,
l'^ the Son be Confubjlantial with God the Father, He muft be eirher individuallv or fpe- cificallj fb : But the former is Sabelliamfm^ rhe latter Tritheifm^ Both abfurd : There- fore, ^r.— —
The
Qu. XXL offome dU E R I E S. 30^ The learned Dodor very well knows how eafy it would be to match this Syllogifm, or So- phifniy with others of the like kind, againft Om- n'tpre fence-, Eternity^ Trefcience-, and even Self- exiftence : which, in reverence to the Subject, and for prudential Reafons, I forbear j forry to find the Caufe put upon fuch a way of reafoning, as tends to undermine fomething more than the Dodtrine of the Trinity. But I proceed.
To give the better Colour to his Charge of Tritheifm, the Dodor * every where takes it for granted (which was the only way, when it could not be proved) that God the Sou cannot be really diftind, and ftri6Uy drcine too, unlefs He be Co-ordinate^ in all Rcfpeds, with the Father ; which would be contrary to the Suppofition of his being a Son^ and fecond Perfon, Two Co-ordinate Pcrfons, it feems,They mud be 5 or elfe one of them muft inevitably be a Creature: This is plainly his meaning, however ftudioufly He avoids the word Crea- ture 5 chufing rather to infinuatc covertly, what is too grofs to appear in broad Terms. The whole, you fee, germinates in a ^Fhilofbphical Qucftion: And what occafion have we for Scripture, or Fathers (except it be to amufe our Readers) if Thilofophy can (o eafily end theDifpute? For it is very certain that neither Scripture nor Fathers can add force to, if con- curring 5 nor, if reclaiming, be able to (land
* Script. Do<flr. p. 86, 415-, 430, 437.441, 447, 4T>"' 4^r- firft Ed. .
aiianilr,
$o6 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXI.
againft, clear and evident Demonftration. But ^emonjiration is the thing wanting: As to VreftimptionSy and Conjectures, we are in no Pain about them, I fhall have a farther oc- cafion to confider the Charge of Tritheifm hereafter; and therefore, difmifling it for the prcfent, ftall return to the Bufinefs of thq
To the latter part of it you anfwer, that Ga<fs Attributes are fo far from being above Comprehenfiony that they are all firiEtly de- monfirable by Reafon, You was fenfible this was wide ^ and therefore very juftly correded it, m the Words immediately following. But lamwiUingto fuppofe (How could you make any doubt of it ? ) that the Author meant j that the Manner of their Exiftence in the divine Naturey is above Comprehenfion\ and fo indeed it is. Very well \ and yet you be- lieve the realitj of thofe Attributes. Why then fb unequal and partial, with refped to the Trinity, the Cafe being exadly the fame > why may not the Thing be true, though the Manner, or Modus of it, be above Com- prchcnfion ? You add. Though the manner of the Sons "Derivation is above Comprehenjion^ ret his real Subordination is firiEily demonjlra- hky p. 99.
Tantamne Rem tarn negligent er ? Here the Argument was, in a manner, brought to a Head ; and the Fate of the Controverfy depended on this Article. Here you had a fair
Oppor-
Qli. XXI. offome QUERIES. 307
Opportunity given you of laying on your Charge of Contradiftion, if you had any you could depend on 5 and of clearing God's Attri- butes (particularly, the Three mentioned) from being liable to the fame, or the like Charge. But, inftead of this, you walk calmly off with one Sentence; in which, to be plain with you, it will be hard to find cither Weight, or Per- tinency. If you mean, by real Subordinatioriy the Subordination of a Creature to God j or of pne Perfon inferior in Nature to another of a higher J fuperior, or more perfect Nature -, it is not demonftrable fro?n Scripture -y nor can it any way be proved : If you mean any Thing clfc, it is not pertinent.
You are fo kind as to allow the Mariner of the Son's ^Derivation, or Generation, to be above Compreheyifioru The Eunomians, your Predeccffors in this Controvcrfy, * thought (and They thought right) that, in order to fqpport their Caufc, it would be ncccflary to affirm the Nature of God to hzComprehenfibley or not above Human Comprchcnfion 5 and therefore it is that f Thtloftorgius ca-iCuncs Eufe- bins for clofing in with the contrary Opini- on. You are more modcfl: 5 They more con(i- ftent : For, indeed, this Controvcrfy, manag'd upon the Foot of nicer Rcafon, terminates at length in that fingle Qiieftion, Whether the
* Epiph. Hiercf. 76. p.916. Socrat.E.H. I.4.C.7.P. 176, Theodorit. H;^rcr. Fab. 1. 4. c 5. Cyril. Alex. Thcfaur. p. 2<$os Ed. Parif. Chryibftom. Horn. 17, Tom. i. p. 307.
I Phiioflorg.Ub. i.p.468. Ed. Valef.
Effcncc
308 ^f D E F E N S E Qu. XXI,
E (fence of God be above Comprehenjiony or no. The Catholicks flood up for the Affirmative ; the wifer, but bolder, Arians maintained the Negative: And this is what, if you under- ftand your own Principles, and will be at the Pains to trace Them to the laft refult, youll be obliged to take Shelter in, or to give up your Caufe, fo far as concerns all Arguments drawn from the Nature and Reafon of the Thing. Some of our Englifh SocinianSy have exprefs'd Themfelves as roundly, upon this Head, as any of the Antient Arians, oiEuno- mians 5 declaring the divine Nature to be no more myfterions than that of his Creatures. Such AlTlrtions are fliockini^; but there is a neceflity for them, if fome Men will be confi- ftcnt, and ingenuous enough to fpeak out. They would not advance fuch bold Paradoxes, if They were not forc'd to it.
Before I leave this Sluery, it will be proper to acquaint our Readers what we mean by be- lieving Mj ft erics. For I find that this is a Matter which is apt to give great Offence, and to occafion many fad and tragical Complaints. * Dr. Wkitby is one of the moft confiderablc Men that I have obfervcd giving into that po- pular way of Reafoning, which had been for- merly left (as it ought to be ftill) to Writers of a lower Clafs. He is very much difturbed that any thing fliould be propofed as an Arti- (le of Faithy which is not to be underJfGod'. And
^ * Difquif . Modefl. Prscf. p. ip.
obferves.
Qii. XXL offome Q^U ERIE S. joi
obfcrves, that no Man in his fober Senfcs can give his affent to what He under ft ands not t meaning, under/lands not at all. He is certain- ly very right, I do not fay pertinent, in the Remark : And I may venture to add, that no Man, whether fobery or otherwife, can do it. For, undoubtedly, where there is no Idea^ there can be no Aflent: becaufc ajfenting to nothings is the very fame with not ajfenting. Thus far, we are perfedly agreed. But for the clearing up of this Matter, I fhall endeavor to reduce what relates to it, to the following Particulars, as fo many diftind Cafes.
r. Let the firft Cafe be, where the Terms of a Propofition, Subjc£l and Predicate (or either of Them) are not at all undcrftood by the Per- fon to whom it is given. For inftanccj the Words, JMene rmiie Tekel Upharjin^ carried no Idea at all with them, till the Prophet had interpreted them ; before which King Bdjloaz- zar could give no Aflent to them. The fame is the cafe of any Propofition given in an un- known Language, or in fuch Words, of a known Language, as a Pcrfon undcrftands not. Only, I would have it cbfcrv'd, that, in fuch a Cafe, a Man neither admits nor rcjccls the Tropoji- tion 5 becaufe to Him it is no Tropojitmi, but meerly Sounds or Syllables.
2. A fecond Cafe is, when the Propofition is given in a Language well underftood, and in Words which ordinarily convey Ideas to the
Minds
i 16 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXt
Mind 5 but Words fo put together, in that In- ftance, as to furnifh us with no certain de- terminate Meaning. A late Anonymous Wri- ter has hit upon a very proper Example of this very Cafe, ji Woman ought to have Tower on her Heady becaiife of the Angels, The Words, Womany Toouery Heady Angelsy are all plain Words, and carry with Them obvious familiar Ideas, And yet a Man may have no Idea of what is afTerted in that Propofition; and therefore can give no affent to it, more than this ; that it is true in fome Senfe or other, or that fomething fhould be believed, -if ^He underftood what: which is not affenting to that Propofition, but to Another 5 namely, that "whatever Scripture aJfertSy is true. The afore- faid Author obferves, very fhrewdly, that hav- ing no certain Ideas of the Terms of the Tro- pojitiony it is to Him a Myjtery, I may add, that the Tertinency of his Obfervation is ano- ther fuch Myftery } and the Juftice and Equity of his drawing a Parallel between This, and the Myjleries of Chrijlianityy properly fo cal- led, muft be a Myftery to as many as cannot perceive cither the Senfe or the Ingenuity of doing it. But,
3 . Another Cafe may be, when the Terms of a Propofition are underftood, but are fo con- nefted or divided, as to make a Propofition manifcftly repugnant. A Triangle is a Square^ A Globe is not roundy or the like. Such Pro- pofitions we reject 5 not bccaufc we do not un- I derftand
Qu. XXI. offome Q.U E R I E S. Ui
dcrftand Them, but becaufc we doj and under- ftand Them to be Falfe. Sometimes indeed a Contradiaion Ues conceard under the Word^ it is couch'd in, 'till it be refolved into plainer. For Inftance : This Propofition, The Exiftence of a Firfl-Caufe is demonfirable^ a Priori: As it Ues under thcfc Terms, it feems reducible to Cafe the Second; as being Sound without Senfe. But refolve it into This ; There is a Caufe prior to the Firft ; and then the * Re- pugnancy appears. So again: NeceJJity of Exiftence is antecedently ( in order of Na- ture) the Catfe or Ground of that Exiftence. Thefe are only fo many Syllables. But put it thus : A Troperty is, in order of Nature^ an- tecedent tOy and the Ground and Catfe of the Subject "which fiipports it ; and the Contradicfion is manifeft. Once more: Neceftlty abfolute and antecedent [in order of Nature) to the Exi- ftence of the Firft Caufe muft operate every where alike. This Propofition feems to fall under Cafe the Second. But let it be refolved into plainer Words j and then it will appear that this is the proper place for it.
4. A fourth Cafe is, when the Terms of the Propr^fition carry Ideas with them, feerninghy but not plainly repugnant. For example : God Czrx ciWiXy foreknows Events depending ^« Un- certain Carfes. The omniprefent Siibftance is
CIqux, Aicx.Scrom. p, 6^6,
not
31^ ^DEFENSE QuXXL
not extended. Propofitions of this kind may be, and are affented to ; becaufe there may be a greater Appearance of Repugnancy on the oppofite Side of the Queftionj or, becaufe there is not reafon fufficient for fufpending Affent.
5. A fifth Cafe is, when a Propofition is formed in general Terms, and reaches not to minute Particulars. The pure in Heart Jhall fee God. The Phrafe of feeing Gody conveys fome Ideay but general only 5 not particular,- precife, or determinate. At Gods right Hand are Tleafures for evermore. God's right Handi and TleafureSy we have only general confufe Ideas oi: yet Ideas we have; and we affent as far as our Ideas reach. Having no more than a general confufe Perception, our Faith in fuch Points can rife no higher, or reach no farther 5 nor can more be expeded of us.
6. A fixth Cafe is, when the Terms of a Propofition convey Ideas, but Ideas oi pure In- telkci ; fuch as Imagination can lay no hold of. Philofophcrs have illuftrated this* by the Inftance of a Chiliagon and a Triangle. Wc underftand what is meant by a Figure of a Thoufand Sides, as clearly, as we do what is meant by one of Three only : But we imagine one more diftindly than the other. This In- ftance belongs more properly to diflinEi and conftfe Imagination, than to the purpofe it is brought for. Ideas of Numbers, in the Ab- ftrad, are properly Ideas of pure IntelleEt:
And
Qu. XXI. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 313
And fo arc, or fliould be, our I^eas of ourown Souls, of Angelsy of God: Wc may under fiand fcvcral Things of them , but Imagination has very little to do in fuch Matters. However, our iK>t being able to imagine^ provided we do but tinderjland, is no hindrance to our Aflcnt, in Propofitions of this kind.
7, The lall and caficft Cafe is, when the Terms convey full and flrong Ideas to the Un- d-r (landing and Imagination al-fo. For inftance : The Man Chrift Jefus ate^ drank, flcptj was crucified y died, and was buried, &c. Here, all is cafy, clear, and plain, even to Thofe who love not to think upon the Stretch, or to be under any pain in Allcnting.
Now for the Application of the foregoing Particulars to the point in Hand. Thofe Ar- ticles of Faith, which the Church has called MyfterieSy belong not to Cafe the frji or fe- cond, wherein no Aflent can be given : Or if They do. They are no Articles of Faith, but fo many Sounds or Syllables. It is to be hoped. They come not under Cafe the third: For plain Contradictions are certainly no MyflerieSy any more than plain Truths 5 as is jullly ob- ferved by the learned * Dr. Clarke. For the fame reafon, They fall not under Cafe the fe- venth, where every thing is fuppofed diftincl, clear, and particular as can bedciucd. What- ever is plainly reducible to any of the four
* Rcplv, p. 58.
■ V Cafes
314 ^DEFENSE Qli.XXI.
Cafes now mentioned, is either no Matter of Faith at all, or no Myftery, There remain three Cafes ; where the Ideas are either feem- ingly repugnant, or fuch as reach not to T^ ar- ticular Sy or fuch as Imagination has no con- cern with. AfTcnt may be given in all thefe Cafes, as hath been already obfervcd 5 and fo, poflibly, here we may find Articles of Faith : And, if fome Gentlemen will give us leave, alter we have thus explained what we mean by the Term, we will call fuch Articles Myfteries. For Example.
The Belief of Three Terfons every one fing- ly Gody and All together one God, feems to fall under Cafe the fourth : The Ideas zitfeem- ingljy not really, repugnant. We know what we mean, in laying every one, as clearly as if we faid, anyone, is God-, a Perfon having fuch and fuch eff^entialYzxi^Cdons, We fee not per- fectly how this is reconciled with the Belief of one God, as we fee not how Trefcience is re- conciled with futttre Contingents, Yet we be- lieve Both, not doubting but that there is a Connexion of the Ideas, tho' our Faculties reach not up to it.
Omnipre fence, I think, is another My fiery, and falls chiefly under Cafe the fifth. We have a general confufc Idea of it, and mean fome- thing by it. 'ThQ particular manner how it is, Ave have no Notion of; and therefore are not obliged to believe any particular Modus. Fix upon this or that, there are appearing Repug- nancies
Qu. XXL offome Q^U E R I E S. ^ 5
nancies and Inconfiflcncicsj and fo far, this is reducible to Cafe the fourth^ as well as fifth.
The Incarnation of the Son of God is ano- ther Myflerj, and comes under Cafe the fourth and fifth. There are fome feem'mg, not real Repugnancies; and the Ideas we have of it are general and confufe, not particular nor fpecial. Such as our Ideas are, fuch mufl: our Faith be j and we cannot believe farther than we conceive, for Believing is Conceiving ; con- ftifely, if Ideas are confnfely ; generally, if ^^7^^^- r^/j diftin^ily and adequately , if difiinEi and adequate.
The Generation of the Son of God is ano- ther My fiery. Ideas we have of it, and know what we mean by it. But being Spiritual Imagination can lay no hold of them ; being general and confufe, we cannot reach to !P<^r- ticulars ; and being fcemingly repugnant, we cannot make out the intire Connexion. Equa- lity of Nature (which is part of the Notion) is a geyieral Idea, and well undcrftood ; Re- ference to a Head or Fountain, is general too, but more confufe, and bcfides, figura- tive; Eternal Reference very confufcy as the Idea of Eternity neceffarily mud: be ; Infepa- rabilttyy is general, obfcure, negative, and we know but very impcrfeully whar the Union of Spiritual Things means. Ncverthelefs wc un- derfiand enough (tho' we can imagine little) to make it properly an Article of Belief; and no Man can rcafonably pretend to rcjed it, as Y 2 havinc:
3 16 -^DEFENSE a^-XXI.
having no Meaning, or carrying no Idea at all with it. We affent as far as our Ideas reach, for we can do no more : We believe in party what is revealed in part j our Faith keeping pace with our Ideasy and ending where They end.
The Simplicity of God is another Myjlery^ of which we havefome, but a very imperfcd, general, and obfcure Idea, It may fall under Caje the fifth and fixth. Scripture fays little of it : We have took it chiefly from Metaphy- Jicksy which are fhort and defedive. When we come to inquire, whether all extevfipriy or all plurality y diverfitjy Compofition of Sitb- fiance and Accident y and the like, be confiflcnt with it, then it is that we difcover how con- fiufe and inadequate our Ideas are. And hence it is, that while all Parties admit the divine Simplicity y in the general, yet when they come to be prefs'd with it in Difpute, they often give different accounts of it ; and eafily fo explain and (late the Notion, as to miake it fait with their particular Schemes. To this Head belongs that perplexing Quellion (befetwith Difficulties on all Sides) whether the divine Subftance be extended or no. And if Extenfion be admit- ted, in:^cnlous thoughtful Men will divide again, upon another Qiicftion, whether infi.nite or no ; Some thinking it very ablurd for any Attribute of God, not to be infinite j Others thinking it no Icfs abfurd to admit any infi7iite Extenfion, Number y or the like, at all. They thatfuppofe the divine Subftance extended^ lell they fliould
be
Qu.XXr. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 317
be oblig'd to conceive it as a point only; and left they fliould admit that any thing can act where it is not, arc, wlicn prcfs'd with Diffi- culties about Aliquot Tarts, forced to adniit that any part of That Subftance, how great foever, or of whatever Dimenfions, muft be conceived only as d. point, in proportion to the whole: From whence it follows, that, unlcfs the World be infinite y all that a^s (of that in- finite Subftancc) in the Worlds is but a point i and fo the whole Sub fiance, except that pointy either arts not at all in tlu: IVorld, or acls where it is not. 'Jut to proceed.
S^l^ txi'ience is another Myjlcry, of which \vekri<^' little: And the learned are hardly agreed wiKther it be ^ntgative 01 pofitrce Idea. Yet every body believes it in the grofs, con- fiifedly and undeter niy/ately. It is manifeft, on one hand, that the ;?>// Caufe has no Caitfe, neither it felf (much ieis any property of it felf ) nor any thing elfe : And yet it may fee n very wonderful how any thing fhoald exift without a Rcaibn a priori 5 that is, without a Caufe tor it *.
To name no more : Eternity it felf is the greateft M)fiery of all. An Eternity pa(l, is a Thought which puzzles all our Philofophy 5 and is too hard for the fliarpcft Wits to re- concile. The Nunc dans of the Schools (though older than the Srhools) has been ex- ploded 5 and yet Succefjlm carries with it in-
T7,c^^f/j-^,Ti z!-x'^ sripa TO iJvcn t'^acrxv. Chryf. Horn. if. Tom. i . p. 29S.
Y 3 fuperablc
318 A DEFENSE Qu.XXL
fuperable Difficulties. There is nothing pecu- liar to the Dodrine of the Trinity, any Thing near fo perplexing as 'Eternity is : And yet the Gentlemen, who are for difcarding Myfteries^ are forced to believe it. I know no Remedy for thefe Things, but an humble Mind 5 a juft Senfe of our Ignorance in many Things, and of ourimpcrfcdt Knowledge in all. Now to re- turn to the learned Dr. IVhitby.
After a view of the Premifes, it might be proper to ask Him, whether He diflikes the Catholick Doftrine of the Holy Trinity, as perrercing ContradiBtons in it. If this be the Cafe, however conccrn'd I am for that Do- drine (believing it to be true) I will venture to fay, it would be an acceptable Piece of Service, if He could any way help others to perceive them too. Truth, certain Truth, will be al- ways welcome, in any Caufe, and from any Hand, to all fobcr and confiderate Men. But if this fliould be done, He fliould not then com- plain that He tinder ft ands not the Doftrine, but that He underjlands (i. e. difiintflj' per- ceives) it to be Falfe,
If He means that He has no Idea at all of the Myjlery^ not fo much as a getieral^ ccn- ftife^ or inadequate Apprehcnfion of it ; That niuft be a miftake : as may appear from what hath been before obfcrvcd. Befidcs that hav- ing once, or oftncr, wrote for it \ (rho' He has fince laboured very much to perplex, puz- zle, and difparage it) every candid Man muft
believe
Qu. XXL offome QUERIES. 3 1 9
believe that He underftood, in fome mcafurc, formerly, what He engaged in the Proof of.
If the Cafe be, that He does not throughly, fully, and adequately comprehend it, and there- fore demurs to it ; then it fhould be confidcred, that the refult of all is this only ; that He will not admit fo far as He may underftand, unlefs He may have the privilege to underftand fome- thing more : Which whether it be not too fami- liar from a Creature towards his Creator^ and articling more ftridly with Almighty God than becomes Us, let any wife Man judge.
If, laftly, it be pretended that it is a Human^ not a TDivhie Doctrine, which He is pleafed to quarrel with; let Him cenfure it as Hu- man and Unfcripttiral only; and not as un- intelligible, and impojjihle to be afjented to : And then we may bring the Caufe to a fliort Iffue, by inquiring whether the Dodrine be Scriptural, or no. Let Things be called by their right Names, and fct in their true and proper Light -, that Truth may not be fmothcr'd, nor any Doclrine fefpecially fo Anticnt and fo Important a Dodrine) condemn'd, before we know why. So much we owe to the Church of Chrift, which receives this Faith ; tothcBlclfcd Saints and Martyrs, many Centuries upwards, who lived and died in it; to Truth, to God, and to our Selves, as to fee that it be tairly and im- partially examin'd -, that proving all ThingSy as we ought to do, in Sincerity and Singlcnefs of Heart, we may, at length, be both wife
Y 4 cnouiih
320 [/^ D E F E N S E Qii. XXI. enough to know, and fuitably difpofcd to hold faji that "which is good.
It is excellently rcniark'd by the ingenious Mr. E?jiljn, in the Appendix to his * Narra- tive : " Thnt the Holy Scriptures require no " accurate Philofophical Notions of God's E- ^' ternity, Omnifrefence^ and Immen(ity^ &c. " They are content to give us popular , ea(y ^^ accounts of thefe Matters— — They trouble " not Men with the Niceties of eternal Siic- " ceJJJons^ or an eternal to vuv, without Sue- " cejjion-^ no"^ \jith. infinite Spaces, or of God's ^' being prefent in part, or in ^ji'hole ; and the " like rnetaphyfical Difficulties. — -Our Rcli- " gion impofes no fuch Difficulties on us, of " believing v/ith the Undcrftandinp;, what we *' cannot lb much as perceive by ir ^ it only ^' requires us to believe what it reveals to " us, /. e. to our Underfianding and Appre- ^' henf.on.
All this is very rightly and judicioufly ob- fervcd. God's Eternity and Om7iipre fence v/c have only general and confufc Ideas of 5 Scrip- ture has not revealed to us the particular 77W- diis, or minute Circumdanccs of Either ; and we are not obliged to believe, any other- wife than as we apprehend ii. e. confufely and inadequately) nor indeed is it polTiblc. The fame is the Cafe of three Perfons, every one truly God, and all but ^;;'6^ G^^^- To far evi- dent from Scripture, and apprehended, in the gc-
ncral,
Qu. XXI. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 321
ncral, as fully and clearly (perhaps more fo) as Eternity, Omniprefence, or the like. But the particular modtis. How the Three are Onej and the minute Circumftanccs of their Union and "Diftinffion , are as much a fecrct to us, as how God forefecs future Contingents, or is prefent in all places at once, ^lany have been prying and inquifitive into this Mat- ter, hoping to know fomething more parti- cularly of it, till they have come to doubt even of the Thing it felf, and fo have fallen into Herefy: And Cathoticks have fome- times exceeded in this way, endeavoring to explain beyond their Ideas j which is really no- thing clfe but multiplying Words. The A^^- tion is foon fl:;.ted, and lies in a little Compafs. All that Words are good for, after, is only to fix and preferve that Hot ion, which is not im- proveable (without a new Revelation) by any new Idea 5 but may be obfcured and ftifled in a multitude of Words. The mofl: ufefal words, for fixing the Notion of Diftincfion, are Ter- fon, Hypoftafis, Subfiftence, and the like: For the T>ivi?2fty of each Perlbn, o.aosVfc? ^'ysvnrcr, eternal, uncreated, immutable, &:c. For their Union-, -uri^iy^csjfr.jiC', interior Generation, ^Pro- ve//ton, or the like. The defign of thefe Terms is not to enlarge our Views, or to add any thing to our Stock of Ideas ; but to fe- cure the plain fundamental Truth, that Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft arc all (Iridly divine and uncreated', and yet are not three Gods, but
one
322 ^DEFENSE Qii.XXL one God. He that believes this fimply, and in the general, as laid down in Scripture, be- lieves enough 5 and need never trouble his Head with nice Qucftions, whether the Union of three Perfons fhould be called individual or fpeci- fick 5 whether 'Perfon and Being are reciprocal Terms j whether every Perfon may be properly faid to be Self-exifient 5 how three Perfons can be all in the fame Place 5 whether all Perfe^i- on misiht not as well have been confined to one P^ erf on only y or whether One might not have been as good as Three^ and the like. Thefe are difficile s ntig£y moftly verbal, or vain In- quiries j and do not concern common Chriftians, any farther than to be upon their Guard, that they be not impofed on by thefe Siibtilties, invented to puzzle and perplex a plain Scrip- ture Truth, which is eafiiy perceived and un- derflood in the general, that is, as far as re- quired to be believed. Minute Particulars a- bout the modus, may be left to the PDifputers of this World, as a Trial of their good Senfc, their Piety, Modcfty, and Humility.
We do not take it well to be rcproaclVd, as running too far into Metaphyfical Subtiltics, by Men whofe peculiar Talent it is, to play their Metaphyficks, (that is, their Prefumptions a- bout the Nature of a Thing whereof they know little) againft Scripture and Antiquity, the bed Guides in thofe Searches. If the Catkolicks have fometimes gone farther than was neccfiary, in particular Explications, it Oiould be rcmcm-
befd
Qii.XXI. offomeQSIEKlES, 325 ber'd for whofe fake They did it ; and that it was chiefly with a view to fatisfy fuch as would not be contented with the general Truth laid down in Scripture. I fliall fhow, by an Infl:ance or two, how that Matter is. The 'usi^iy^^^r^'j],^^ and Interior Generation^ are two Specialities taught by the CathoUcks, and heavily complain'd of by your Friend * Dr. Whitby, as unfcriptttral Definitions. Now, thefe are but Appendages to our Prime (and as we think Scriptural) Pofitions, and we are no farther concern'd for Them, than as they are concciv'd to hang upon the other ; fo that your quarrel with us for thefe, is really finding fault with our leading and fundamental Doclrine of One God in Three ^erfons. But to fliow you, how unequal you are in cenfuring us for unfcriptural Terms, obfcrve the Courfe and Method of Di- fpute which draws us fit'ft into them. You argue, fuppofc, that the Son cannot be God, in the ilricl Scnfe, without making Tivo Gods : We anfwcr, that Father and Son, by a moft intimate and in- effable Union of Subflance, Willy Tcji'er, Tre- fence. Operation, &c. (which we call -^^^^x'^- er,:r{b) may be one God. You argue again, that if the Son be a Son, in our Scnfe, there muft be a drcijion and fe par ate Exiftcnce : We fay. No; allcdglng that Ha may be a Son in a /r^- /'^r Scnfe, and in our Scnfe, without 'Diuijion and without a feparate Exiftcnce 5 and the name
* Difquifit. Modeil. Prxf.;. i(5.
for
324 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXI,
for this is Interior Generation. After we are come thus far, purfuing your wandrings into the Thilofopky of the Thing; you dcp back again, and tells us, that Scripture fays nothing of this'rars^;;^-wpy:jK, or interior Generation. Sup- posing (not granting) your Pretence true 5 Did You fet out upon the Foot of Scripture? Does Scripture any where tell you, that two divine Perlons cannot be one God ? Or that Father and Son muft have a feparate Exifience ? You argue only from the Nature and Reafon of the Thing it felf, of which you have no adequate Idea-y and we anfwer what is fufficient, and more than fufficient to confute mere Conjeftures in Matters above your reach. Lay You afide your//;^/^f/'^/'//r^/Obje£i:ions, and We fhall have no occafion for unfcriptiiral Anfwcrs.
1 fh:Jl juft take notice of an artificial Turn of Mr. jE/^Z/^-Zs, relating to this Subjed; and then put an end to this long, but, Thope;ufeful Di- greilion. His Words are as follow : "^ " The " ^r/^^^/ i?(f^/2>/^, which hindrcd (fheTagan ** Thilofophers) from believing in Chrid, did " not lie in rcfufing to fubmit their Faith to '- wyfterioiis Speculations, which puzzled their " Reafon: But, on the Contrary, it lay in a *' proud AfFcdation of Swelling Words and " Philofophick Myfteries, and not humbling " their Underftandings to receive a plain Go- " , fpel, and familiar Doclrinc.
The Thought is ingenious, and might pafs
* Exam, of Dr, Bennet, c^r. p. f . Introditci,
well y
Qii. XXI. offome Q^U E R I E S. 325
well 5 \f Hijiory, Y\k<:AIetaphyficalArgurnc?itSy were to be made merely by ftrength of Wit. He forgers that the Myftery of the RefnrreEiion was one of thofe plain familiar Things, which the '^Fride of their Reafbn refufcd to fubmit to. He confiders not that the Jews^ and the carliefl: He- reticks (much of the fame Temper with the Ta- gan Philofophcrs) were offended at nothing more than at the Myflery of God incarnate ; which we learn from IgnatinSy Juflin^ ^ Ire- 7i£USy ^Tertulliany and "" other anticnt Wri- ters: And he need but look into Jiifliny TatiaUy and Origen^ to find that the TaganSy in particular, were in the fame Sentiments, and join'd in the fame common Charge againfi: the Chriftian Doctrine. Nay, it may farther ap- pear, from other ^ Evidences, that the very Mjfierj of the Trinity^ which is the Rock of Offence to fome even at this Time, gave very early Offence to the Tagan Wits; and was much difrelifh'd by Them : So averfe were They to the receiving of Myfleries : And the Fride of Reafon wrought, at that Time, much after the fame manner, as it docs at this day ; Hu-
■ Secundum nullam Scntentiam HoErcticcrum Verbum Dei caro facftum eft. Iren. ]. 3. c. 11. p. 189.
^ Incredibile prsrumplerant Deum Carnem. Tcrtnll. Contr. Marc. ]. 5. c. 8.
•^ Alii quoquc Harretici ufquc adco Chrifti inanircflara amplcx- ati funt Diviniratcm, ut dixcrint Ilium fuillc fine C.irnc5 & To- tum illi iuiceptum derraxcrint Hominera, nc decoqucrint in illo Divini nominis poteftatem fi Humanam illi Sociaflcnr, ut arbi- trabantur, Nativiiatcm. A^o^vr/. c. 18.
^ Lucian. Philopatr. Athan. Orat. p.y64,
man
326 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXII.
man Nature being always the fame. But it is now high time to proceed.
(^ U E R Y XXII.
Whether his (the Doftor's) 'whole Performance^ whene'ver He dijfers from uSy be any thing more than a Repetition of this Ajfertion, That Being and Pcrfon are the fame, or that there is no Medium between Tritheifm and Sabel- lianifm ? TVhich is removing the Caufe from Scripture to natural Reajon^ not very conji- flently with the Title of his Book.
IT is of fmall Importance to obferve how the Do£lor has proved fuch Points, as He and We Both agree in. He might have fpared the unncceffary Pains and have took a fhortcr way with us, had his Caufe been fuch as could be fervcd by clofe Argument. He need not have told us fo often that the Father is emi- mntly ftilcd the one God, or that the Son is Subordinate, We allow all That : The Con- fequcnce which He draws from it, and co- vertly infmuatcs to his Reader, is the Thing we doubt of This was the Point which fliould have been labour'd, for the Convidlion of wife r;nd confidcring Men. He has a deal to fay in Defence of what no Body oppofes ^ and may there triumph fecurely without an Adverfary : But when He comes to the '^Point o^'DifferencCy the Ti77ch o( the ^leJUon^ there it is that He I dif-
Qii. XXII. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 327
discovers his want of Proof, and how Httlc he has to depend on, bcfides that one precarious Principle intimated in the ^fery^ which in- deed runs thro' his whole Performance, and is often fiippos'd^ but never provd.
By this Principle He ^ eludes the Force of the firft Chapter of St. y^/?w's Gofpel : And He re- fers to it again upon ^ AEis 20.28.^1 Tim. 3.16. John 5.18. By the fame Principle, He evades the Force of '^ Job, 8. 5 8. ""Job. 12.41. ^ Job. 5.23. And fo He might have done with any Number of Texts, however full and exprefs for the Received Do6lrine : For, by the fame g Maxim, He draws over the Nicene-Ci'ccdy and docs not defpair of bringing in the '' yltba- nafian alfo. From hence it is vifible, wherein the ftrcngth of his Performance lies; and what it is that He chiefly trufts to. It is not Scrip- tare, it is not Antiquity, but a Tbtlofophical Principle ; to which Scripture, Fathers, Coun- cils, Creeds, every Thing mufl: yield. And in- deed had it been a Principle of true and found Philofophy, every reafonablc Man would be willing to pny the utmofi: Deference to it : But it appears, at length, to be that kind of vain Thilofopby, which is often intruding where it has nothing to do. The Subjecl is fublime and above Comprehcnfion. We have no intrinfick Evidence, no Ideas to build any thing certain-
" Script.Doa:r.p.S6. "IJ. p.Sj. ^Id.p.8S,97. Md. p. 99. *"p. 10?.. 'p. 132. fp46j. "^ p. 42S,p.43o, 43;'> &<^- firft Ed.
328 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXII.
ly upon. Extrinfick Evidence, T>ivine Reve- lation, is here all in all ; And the only pro- per ule of our rational Faculties, is to inquire into the true and genuine Scnfe of it. Tophi- lofophize here from the Nature and Reafon of the Thing it felf, of which we know little, is chufing to be ftill in the Dark, when we have Light before us 5 and is not, properly, follow- ing our ReafoUy but our Conceits^ Fancies^ and fond Conjethires, You are pleafed to fay, in Defence of the learned Doctor, that if He had done no 7nGre than proved intelligent Being and Perfon to be the fame, it miifl for ever rewain an tmafwerable T^ijficulty , &c. Right, if He had proved what He has not, fomething might be faid. I have * before obferved to you, that the word, Being, bears two Senfes ; and that you your Selves will not call any thing a Be- ing, but a feparate Being. Excufe the Trini- tarians for being refervcd, after your Example, in fo tender a point 5 and for endeavoring to {'^z:i\< properly, as well as to think yV////y, in tilings pertaining unto God. All that- the Do- dor hath proved, or can prove, is only this ; that feparate Pcribns are fo many intelligent Be- ings-, which we readily admit: "But united Vq^- fons, or Perfons having no feparate Exijlence, may be one Beijig, one Subfiancey one God, notwithdanding. And that you may not think that I skrccn my felf under dark Words, or obfcure Diflindlions, I will tell you frankly the
* Qu. 9. p. iC-;,
mean-
Qu. XXII. offome (QUERIES. 329
meaning of what I have now laid. It is lit- tle more than this, that Pcrfons lb united as to make one Beings may be 07Je Being. I lup- pole the Ajjirmative-, that They may be fo uni- ted s having fufficicnt Grounds for it in Scrip- ture, and in Catholick Antiquity. It lies up- on you, in this Gale, to prove the Negativey njiz>. that no Union, whatever, can make two PcvCons one Being, oneroSeiov^ one God: You arc to fhow the Suppofition to be impofTible, in the Nature of the Thinii; : That is (as I humbly conceive) you are to prove what you can know nothing ofj and arc to work up a Demonftra- tion without Ideas. There the Matter rcfts, and, I am pcrfuaded, mud reft, till you pleafc to come out of Aletaphyficksy and to put the Caufe upon the Foot of Scripture and Anti- quity, the only Lights in this Matter. Strange that, at this Time of Day, Any need to be told (what * Unbelievers only doubted of formerly) that Scripture is our Rule to go by, for form- ing our Notions of God; and not the light of Nature, which is darkncls in Compariibn.
You are offended at the ^ler'ifl for faying, that the Dodor admits no Medium between Tritheifrn and Sabellianifin. I fhould have faid, it feems, no Medium for his Adverfaries,
* "Ovn 'p cpuc-e^, e'jti (Cv^atTTir^ cwcCx, lira ^lyccXu. y^ S-t7* yivci)<rx,iii/ uy^Pu^Toic, obtxrlv, osAA^ rvj oivA>B'iv £T< toj^ xyt^r, uv^^u^ r/iViyMZToc KxliX^iic-vj ^u^ui. Juft. Mart, Pararn. p. 60.
b-iiX^ sTTtrrvciXti hh^a-KovTuv w/x/S:, IbiJ. p. 1 19. Ed. 0;>. Conf. Hippolvt. coiitr. Noct. c. p.
Z and
330 -^DEFENSE Qu. XXII.
and you wonder at fo palpable a mijlake. In- deed, the meaning of what I faid was fo pal- pable, that there was no occafion for guard y while I fuppofed my felf writing to a Man of Senfe. You have took it right fo far: The Dodor allows Us, his Adverfaries, no Medium. But I had an Eye to fomething more, viz, that He has, by the fame Principle, left no Medium for Himfclf ; as I fhall fliow you, in due Time. I am only to obferve now, that it is not from Scripture, or from Cat ho lick Antiquity, that the Dodor has learned this Maxim, of no Medium (for fuch as believe Chrift to be effentially God) between Sabellianifm and Tritheifm. This was what I complain'd of, his making a Pompous Appearance of Scripture and Fathers, when the whole is made to depend upon a nicer philofopkical QLieftion, which is to be the Rule and Meafureto try Scripture and Fa- thers by. Let Scripture, or Fathers appear ever fo ftrong and clear for fuch a Mediumy They are condemn'd before-hand, cither to (peak another Senfe, or to be of no Weight or Authority. If this be the Cafe (as you feem to admit) you ought to go upon very fure Grounds. And yet the learned Do6lor, inftead oF favouring us with any proof of his main Po- firion, which gives the Law to the reft, has only often repeated it 5 which is no more than to fay, there cannot be any Medium, in the Cafe ; no, there cannot. We do not pretend to be wile enough to know any thing, a priori, whe- 1 thcr
Qu. XXII. offome (QUERIES. 331
thcr there can, or there cannot ; But, apojlerioriy we may inquire after Fafi : And if we find by Scripture, rightly underftood, that there really is fuch a Mcdhtm ; we fliall not be concern'd for any pretended Strength of your Maxim againft it. Our Defence then againft the Charge of Tri- theifm will be as follows. By comparing Scrip- ture with Scripture, we plainly find that the divine Unity is not an Unity of Terfon : We obferve, that there are more Perfons than one dignified with the fame high Titles of Lord, Cody &c. inverted with the fame high Powers, Attributes, and Perfcdions ; andintitled to the fame Honour, Worfliip, and Adoration : And yet the Scripture never tells us of two true Gods i but conftantly alTcrts that God is One. We take notice, that the Father is Jehovah, and Son is Jehovah, and yet the Lord Jehovah is One Lord ; The Father creates, and the Son creates, and yet we have no Warrant to fay Two Creators ; The Father is worjhipfd, and the Son is \z'or(Joipp'd, and yet we find no Foun- dation for averting tvi'o Objects of JVorjhipy or Two Worjhips: In a word, the Father is God, and the Son is God, and yet we are no where taught to call Them Two Gods. The obvious Conclufion, from thefe Premifes, is, that They are Both one God (otherwife indeed T)itheifrn is unavoidable) and thus the Scrip- ture-notion of Unity is of more Perfons than One in the fame Godhead. What confirms us in this rcafoning, is, that our Blcflcd Lord has told
Z a us,
332 ^DEFENSE Qii. XXII.
us, that He and the Father are one 5 that who- foever hath feen Him, hath feen the Father 5 that He is in the Father y and the Father in Him 5 and very famiUarly fpeaking of the Father and Himfelf, He fays, ^la^e will come tint 0 Htm {\\\7it loveth Chrift) and make our abode with Him, St. Taul in his Epiftles asks for the fame Grace-, Mercjy and Teace from the Father and Son 5 And alfo prays that They may dire^ his Way^ I Theff.i. 1 1 . Thefe Things ferve to illuftrate and explain each other 5 and, all together, abundant- ly make good the Pofition before laid down, that * Father and Son are one God. Accordingly the Prophet *f Ifaiahy as may be inferred from II St. Jokny makes them Both to be One Holy, Hohy Lord of Hoftsy therein fignifying both the Di- ftindion of Perfons, and Unity of Godhead. Thefe Confiderations(with many others too long to recite) convince us that there is a Mediimiy (faving the Son's effential Divinity) between Sa- hellianijm and Tritheifm. We aflert not Three Abfolure, Original, Co-ordinate Divinities, like the Marcionites -, We feparate not the Perfons from each other, with the ^r/^^^j"; we hold not a fpecifick Unity ; (fuchas between two Indivi- duals of any Species, two Men, for Inftance.) If
* I have hitherto waied the ConJ; deration of the Koly Ghofti for vhkh reafon alfj, I pafs it over here, mifining my felf chiefiy to the point of the Sen's Divinity, ivhich if fuffictently chard, thu other, I fuppofe, may be admitted nithout Scruple.
t Ifai. Ch. 6. Ij Joh. 12.41.
Vid.Athanaf p. 108,877,889. Ed. Bcned. Balil. contr. Eunom. /. f . p. lis- Hieion. in Ifa. 6, 2c Epifl. ad Damaf. de eod. Epiph. Ancorat. p. ij". $1.
WC
Qii.XXri. of fome (QUERIES. 33 5
\vc did any of thcic, there might be fome colour for the Charge of Tritheifm. But we acknow- ledge, with the Scriptures, one God the Father with his Co-effential and Co-eternal Son and Spirit; one Head and Fountain of all, the three Divine Pcrfons being One in Nature, One in Knowledge, in Prefence,in Operation and Ener- gy ; never Separate, never Afunder; diftindt without Divifion, united without Confufion. If this be Tr it loci fin, it is what the Scripture has taught Us, and what God, who bed knows his own Nature, hath recommended to Us. But it is not Tritheifm ; it is the true and only Ale- dium^ which may be found by looking in Scrip- ture for it; and which you feem to have loft by following a falfe Light, and wandring too far in fanciful Speculations.
To confirm us ftill more in this, we perceive, upon due Inquiry, that Thofe who lived neareft the Apoftolical Age, and beft knew the mind of the Scriptures, They al fo taught the fame Do- drine whicih we teach. There was fome Appear- ance of Tritheifm in it then, as there is now ; which is an Argument to us, that it is ftill the fame : But if any Chriftian ferioufly took upon Him to charge the Dodrine with Tritheifviy and perfift- cd in it, He was immediately reieded by the wifer and foberer Chriftians, as a Heretick.
Traxeas about the Year 1S6, began openly to charge the Catholicks with Tritheifm. But hisPretences were eailly dcfpifcd by the Church ; and his Arguments anfwer'd by Terttdlian.
Z 3 Not
334 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIL
Not long after, Noetiis revived the Charge, and his ^ Plea was that God is One, and that there could not be a plurality in the Godhead : But He went away with the Charader of a weak and rafh Man 5 and was condemn'd by the Chriftian Church. At the fame Time, the Noetians had fo high an Opinion of the Di- vinity of Chrift (Scripture and Tradition run- ning ftrong fcr it) that ^They had no way of folving the difficulty, but by making Father and Son one Terfon, and, in Confequence, were Tatripajjians,
About the middle of the third Century arofe SabeUius. He pretended to be extremely zea- lous for the Unity, and ^ charged the Catho- licks with aflerting Three Gods, He has been thought to have refined upon the Noetian Scheme (if we may call it refining) by deny- ing a God i'dcarnate^ after the Example of the earlier Hereticks 5 by which He avoided the Er- ror of the TatripaJJians. If fo. He may be look'd upon as holding nearly the fame Principles with the modern Socinians, This Conjedure is grounded on a PafTage in ^ Epiphanitis, But ^Sr. Aiiftin undcrftood the Matter otherwife,
" Epiplian. Hxr. 5-7. p. 480. Theod, Haeret. Fab. 1. 3. c. 3. Hippol. Contr. Noer. c. i i. p. 14.
" Ne vidcantur duos Decs diccre, neque rurfus negare Salvatoris Divinirarem, unam candemque Subflantiam Patris ac Filii afleve- rant : Id efl duo quidem nomina fecundum diverfitatem Caufa- rum rccipicntem, Unam tamen Hypoflafin fubfiftere, id efl, Unam Perfonam duobus nominibus fubjacentem, qui latine PatripalTiani appellant ur. Crig. cpid Tamph. Apcl. p. 226. Ed.Bencd.
' Epiphan, Hajref. 62. p. 5- 14.
** Epiphan.Synopf.To.m.i.l.2.p.398.Tom. 2.p. 146. Ed. Petav.
' A.j^r. HaTci:4i. ' ' and
Qu. XXir. offome Q^U E R I E S. n s
and the SabelUans have been generally reckon'd with the TatripaJJians.
Within a few Years after Sabellius, Tanloi Samofata carried on the fame Charge of ^ 27/- theifm^ (or rather T>nheifm) againll the Catho- licks 'y and was a warm, injudicious ^ Aflcrtcrof the t/;^//Vr, confining it to the Father only, exclu- five of the other Perfons. But the CathoUck Bifhops, as ^£'///2'^///j' informs us, ran together againft Him, as agninfl: a Wolf, that was endea- vouring to deftroy the Flock of Chrift.
About Fifty Years after Him, appeared Arius ; who, to avoid '^ Tritheifm (as He thought) and topreferve the Unity of the Godhead, and that there might be one ^ Self-exiftent Beings or Terfon (The fame Pretexts, in the main, which had been handed down by fome ^before Tra- xeas, as well as by Traxeas Himfelf , and Noetus, Sabellhis, and Taul of Samofata) denied the T>vvintty of the fecond Perfon, only- allowing a real Pre-exiftence, and fo making Him more antient than the others before men- tioned did. Such were the Men, who former- ly (joining therein with ^Jc^js and Pagans) charged the Catholicks with holding a plurality of Gods; While the Catholicks notwithftand-
» EpiH:. Synod. Antioch. Lab. Tom. i. p. S^f.
*" Theodoret. Hi^rer. Fab. 1. 2. c. 8. Athanaf. Vol. 2. p. 942,
' Eufeb. Ecc!. Hift. J.7.C. 27.
** Ep. Alexand. apud Thccd.E. H.I. i.e. 4. Ambr.dc Fid. 1. 1 .c. i.
* ■■ Ey r<3 ccytvvirrovy ilc, ccytwYiT^,
^ Vid.Novatian. c. 30.
« Athan.Vol. i.p. j-64. Lucian.Philopatr. p. 770,774,
Z 4 ing,
556 A DEFENSE Qu.XXII. ing, retained the Faith ; dcfpifing the Accu- fation, as weak, falic, and groundlefs: and defending Themfelves upon fuch Principles as have been before mention'd. None were ever condemned by the Church as Tritheifts, but fuch as either denied the Umty of Trincipiumy or made the Hypoftafes Heterogeneous, feparate, or aliene from eacli otiier.
We have feen then, that there is no juft ground from Scripture or Antiquity, to charge curDoflrine with Tritheifm. If there beany pretence from the Nature and Reafon of the thing it felf, it is of very flight moment. The divine Nature is beft known from Revelation : It is from thence we difcover that God is not povoTC-^crwTT©', a fingle Hypofiajis, but that the Father has his Co-eiTential and Co-eternal Son. and Holy Spirit, always in Him and with Him. Wc can have no other right Conception of the one God {to ukthcWovdsof "^ Hippoljtus) but by believing in a real Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. This is the Faith of the ever blefTcd Trinity i which Scripture and Fathers hold forth to Us ; and which is too ftrongly fupportcd, to be weaken'd by any Wit or Criticifm. As to Thofe v>^ho take Trinity and Tritkeifm for
* 'AAAa;? t£ ivoe. €>io* vofjj-.a-on f/uyt dvvetfjjtB-ec, iocv f/jyt ovr&x; UzIqa, >^ liA'y y^ ciyia zovt'jyjcx^U zriTVj(r&' fSju^ Hippol. CoDtr. Noet. p. l6.
I /hall add his Doxology, becaufe it has but lately appiar'd in the Greek , a)ul fo kai been lefi took notice of.
TluTY^, of!ny i) ^o^u y^ to k^t(^ oif/ijU Fletrpj K) dylu zyviuf/jccn, iu
J>f 10. Vol. 2. Fabric,
Synony.
Qu. XXII. of form (QUERIES. 337 Synonymous Terms, They may goon to value I'hemfelvcs upon it. T/icy have y^-oC.'.r, Ta~ gans, and Hcreticks^ Fifteen Hundred Years backwards, to countenance Them in it. It is fufficient to have fliown, that vvifer and better Men, the truly Trimtive and Catholick Church, never thought it Trtthe'ifm^ but condemn'd Thofc that thought fo.
Having taken off the Charge from our Do- ftrine, I come, next, to fix it upon Your's; where, I humbly conceive, it ought to lie. I do not pretend that you arc Tritheifls, m every Senfe 5 but in the fame Senfc that the Tagans ^x:c(:2X\c6,Tohtheifisy and intheScrip- ture-Senfe of the Word, God, as explain'd and contended for by your Selves. One di- njine Terfon is, with you, equivalent to one God\ and Two, to two Gods 5 and Three, to three Gods : The Cafe is plain ; The Confe- quence unavoidable. One SttpronCy and two Inferior Gods, is your avowed Dodrine : And, certainly, the aflerting Three Gods (v/hether r^- ordinatej or otherwife) is Tr'ttheifm\ againft the fir(l Commandment^ againft the whole Te- nor of Scripture, and the Principles of the Pri- mitive Church. It is, tome, aninftanceof the ill EfFeds of njdin Thilofopby, and fliows how the T>ifpnter of this JVorld may get the bet- ter of the Chriflian \ when Men appear fo much afraid of an imaginary Error in MetaphyfickSy and, to avoid it, run into a real One, againft Scripture and Antiquity. You tell me, indeed,
that
33S y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXII.
that if I am pofitive in this, youll bring both * Ante-Nicene and Nicene Fathers againft me. But, let me advife You to read Them (afecond Time) over; and you'll fee no Reafon to be Sanguine in this Matter. The Doftor has cited fome Paffages from Them, and made Them feemingly fpeakhis Senfe; though, in the main Doftrine, they are clearly againft Him, as I have obferved -^ above. You appeal to thefe Fathers as Vouchers for you. But let us at- tend, however, to what you fay.
The Antient Writers of the Church una- fiimoujly agree^ that nothing but an abfolute Equality and Co-ordination in God the Father and the Sony can make Them two Gods 5 and that the real Subordination of the Son to the Father preferves the Church from Poly-
* The Senfe of Ante-Nicene ^«</Poft-Nicene Fathers^ in Relation to Tritheifm, may be feen in the following Pajfages.
*£|?5 ^' ecu iiKOTbx; Xiyoifjui y^ zs-^))q ^^}^i^ivTcc<i y^ xcclXTi^vovlcc<; >^ eCvui^Hvlxq TO u-ifJt/vor»ro» }cif^vyfji/cc t^ c)njcXi](rici(i y ©£5, rviv f/jovot^^iocv J*5
— -ot r^iC<i ©£»5 T^oTtov rno!, Ky;^ur]i£(riv , vie, r^iXc, \zJT}fU(reiq |fv«$ ocaM- Xm ■srocvru.Troctri Kt^nifia-fd/jccq 2^i^uvrut;y rviv clyUv ^ovoc^x, Dionyf. Roman, apud Athanaf. Vol. i. p. 251.
rse»flt.i zruXiv 6 Qiov ciyivyjTov mxi xiym, uXXov -^ 0£ov ytvnrov^
^uo iCf ciuroq Myu 0s«<;, J^Jrf,' rtca t^ euTiccq SiJ^poDxv, kv (iXx(r<Pn- f/tu^ iKrmyii' o^a j fjtjicc y, >^ Ap;^i>>, iv -^ to tt, fltyno? yivvr.yjcc ' ' • s^ ^•£05, TfXiixq pi civ n«rg/t rp r9-£CT>j)<^ voufd^viq, TiXau^ ■^ x^ ov uiai TYi", -zs-ccJQAyJy.q ^ioTV)T(^ t'3r«p;^s^o-J55. Athan. Contr. Sabell. Greg. p. 42. Comp. Bafil. Horn. 27. Contr. Sabell. p. 604,605-.
Uo)^ av iV«ci fJtjiX ^-ioTijq, it ctrx. i^i, y.u^' ifjucc^ 'OfjtjOii(nuc, TMTJxie^, St 'ji'i^ii Ttvci 2^7X(riv, -i^Toi Oisi(po^xv KUrxTT i<noic, X'tyov^ iTi^f)'ioc,
f^ CC» U/) ©to? O t;<(35, iTip^To^ y O ZrUTy^f, (^ OUO KUTOC T^TO &iiiC,
ie.yuyK.7t xlyiiv oTTif i^iv eCTi^i^, yi^ ov^i (JUi^^Q^ [a-jvov ukok^ ■SiO.^xd'sKrcv. 'Of/jo^Ti'^ ufci TaJ TIcicIqa 0 iioc/ o'.T(J '■/-' to iv ^toTi^i CaB-i^a-iJ.
Cyril. Alex. ThcCiur. p. 78. t Qi'- r-
thcifm.
Qu. XXII. offonte QUERIES. 339
theifm, (/. 100.) In the next Page, You appeal to Athanajitis for the Senfe of the Nicene and Tojt-Nicene Fathers^ and to Hilary and Ba- fily in order to clear your Dodrine from the Charge of Tritheifm , little imagining that thefe good and great Men have * condemn'd your Dodrine, as Tolytheifm and "Paganifmy over and over 5 as all know, that are any thing converfantin their Works. Well : But what have They faid to countenance your Notion ? This only : That U7iity of Principle clears the Church's Dodrine from the Charge of 7r/- theifm. Not your Doftrinc, not the Arian Doftrine ; but the Catholick Dodrine. For fince Equality of Nature^ and Unity of Trin- ciple too, are both rcquifite ; The Catholicks admitting the former (as their Adverfaries well knew) had nothing farther needful to infift upon, in anfwer to the Charge of Tritheifniy but the latter. Unity of Principle, and Same- nefs of Nature together might make two Pcr- fons one God (according to the unanimous Opinion of the Antients) but not either of them alone.
But now in refpeft to the Arian (that is, your Doftrinc) the pretence of Unity of Prin- ciple is pcrfcdly abfurd. The Son is fup- pofed a Creature of the Father s : If his be- ing of, or from, the Father, in this Senfe, makes Him one God with the Father, it will follow, that Angelsy or Alen, or even Things
* Atlianaf. Orat. 5. p. ^6^,^66. Hilar, p. 916. BafiJ. Ep. 70. pag.S^j. Horn. 27. p. 601, 6cc, jl^_
540 yf D E F E N S E Qii. XXII.
inanimate, arc one God with the Father alfo. Indeed, to do you juftice, you do not fo much as pretend, that Unity of Tr'mciple^ or any Thing clfe can make Him one God with the Father. Which is enough to fliow, how very widely you differ from the Antients, in the main Point of All. They thought it neceffary to affert, that Father and Son were Both one God. So Iren^us^ Athenagoras, Terttdliany Clement of Alexandria^ Origen, HippolytuSy LacfantiuSy and even Eufebms Himfelf, after fome Debates upon it : as may appear from the Teftimonies * before referr'd to : And of the Vojl-Nicene Catholick Writers, in general, every body knows how They contended for it. They thought that the "Divinity of the Son could not be otherwife fecured, and Tolytheifm at the fame time avoided, than by afferting Fa- ther and Son to be one God--, and They thought right. But what do you do? Or how can you contrive to clear your Scheme ? We ask if the Son be Gody as well as the Father > You fay. Yes : How then is there but one God? Your Anfwer is, The Father is fupreme, and there- fore He, Jingly, is the one God. This is taking away what you gave us before, and retracing what you afferted of the Son. If Supremacy only makes a Per Ion Gody The Son is no God, upon your Principles : Or, if He is G^^notwith- ftanding, then Father and Son are two Gods. Turn this over, as often as you pleafe, you'll
^ find
Qu. XXII. of fome (QUERIES, u i find it impoflible to extricate your fclf from it. You can lay only this ; That you do not admit T^y^o fufreme Ciods. This is very true : No more did the "Pagan Polytheifts, nor the Idolatrous Sa- maritans j nor Others condemn'd in Scripture for ^olytheifm. You (land pretty fair upon the Prin- ciples of Thilofophy ; and are not guilty of any manifeft Error in Metaphyjicks, upon this Article. But you are fuch a Tritheiji, as, upon Scripture- Principles, and upon the Principles of the Catho- lick Church, both * before and after the Nicene- Coiincilj muft (land condemn'd. Your belief of the Fathers being for you, in this particular, is pureFancy and Fidionj owing,I fuppofe, to your feeing only fome Pieces of Them in Dr. Clarke. You can find but very little among the Ancients, which either diredly or indirectly favors your No- tion of a fupre?ne and zfubordinate God. They condemn'd it implicit ely^ in their Difputes with the TaganSy all along: And no fooner was it dart- ed in the Church, but the Catholicks^cio, alarm'd at it ; and immediately condemn'd it as reviving o^Creature-WorjJoip, and reftoring GentiHfm, and Pagan Tolytheifm, Two Gods, a greater and a lefs, a Supreme and an Inferior, no Scripture, no found Reafon, no good Catholick ever Taught ; no Church would have endured, k feparate God from the Supreme, :!in inferior created God, would not only have been look'd upon as Tolytheifm and
*N. B. I do not fay tkit the An\:t-W\ccnQlVritersncoaldha-je called the Arian Dochme Tritheifm i peihaps, Blafphcmy r.rr^fr. But they TvouLl have charged it with Paganilm ( fceTcnuWi^naSo-je, p.^^.) Tvhich comei to the fame with vfhM the Poft-Nicene fiidof it.
Contra-
342 A DEFENSE Qu.XXII.
Contradi£iion, confidcf d in it felf ; but as Herefy and Blafpbemy^ if undcrftood of God and Chrift. To conclude this Head: If we underftand the word, God, in the ftrid Senfe, it is ridi- culous to charge the Arian Scheme with plu- rality of Gods. But, if it be underftood in the loofe popular Senfe, or in your own Scnfe of it, it is equally ridiculous to deny it. Mr. Nje^ who, you know, has ftudied this Controverfy much and long, and is no Friend either to the truly Catholick Scheme, ot yotifSy condemn- ing Both as Tritheifms is pleafed however fo far to give the Preference to the former, as to declare, that the Arian Herefy is only a more abfiirdy and lefs defenjible Tritheifm *. Of all the four Schemes which have been fol- lowed, the Sabellian-, Catholick^ Arian, and Socinian 5 the Sabellian only , which intirely ttngods the Son (That is, by denying Him any diltind divine perfonality, and admitting only a human perfonality, viz. of the Man Chrift) and annihilates the Holj-Ghofl, ftands . perfeftly clear of any Appearance of Tolytheifm. The Catholick appears chargeable, but really is not fo : The Arian and Socinian both appear fo, and are fo ; Wherefore a Charge of Tritheifm muft come from Them, with a very ill Grace. For, was the Charge really Juft, and were we weak enough to affert three Co-ordinate Gods 5 yet even that could not be more repugnant to the whole Drift,
♦ Explicate of the Articles of Div. Unity, p 91.
Scope,
Qii. XXIII. of fome QUERIES. h5
Scope, and Tenor of the Sacred Writ, than the admitting 2ipltiraUty of Gods, great and little^ foveraign and inferior, infinite and finite, uncreated and created, to receive our Addreffcs, and to be the Objeds of our Love, Faith, Hope, Confidence, and religious Ado- ration.
(iUERY XXIIL
Wloether the T>ocfofs Notion of the Trinity he more clear and intelligible than the other ?
The difficulty in the Conception of the Trinity is, how three Terfons can be one God,
*T>oes the T)ofior deny that every one of the Terfons, fingly, is God? No: TDoes He deny that God is one ? No : How then are Three one ?
^oes one and the fame Authority, exercised by all, make Them one, numerically or in- dividually one and the fame God ? That is hard to conceive hoiv three diflin5i Beings, according to the T)o&ofs Scheme, can be individually one God, that is, three Terfons one Terfon.
If therefore one God necefjarily fignifies but one Terfon the Confequence is irrefiftible ; either that the Father is that one Terfon, and none elfe^ which is downright Sabellianifm 5 Or that the three Terfons are three Gods.
Thus the T)o^ofs Scheme is liable to the fame difficulties with the other.
There
344 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIL
There is indeed one eajyzvay of coming off, and that iSy by faying that the Son and Holy Spirit are neither of them God, in the Scrip- turefenfe of the Word, But this is cutting the Knot:, inflead of untying it j and is in ejfeEi to fay, They arenotfet forth as divine ^er fans in Scripture,
^oes the Commtmication of divine To'jvers and Attributes from Father to Son:, and Holy Spirit y make Them one God, the 'Divi- nity of the t'joo latter being the Father s Divinity ? Tet the fame difpctdty recurs : For either the Son and Holy Ghojt have di- ftinEi Attributes, and a diflinct Divinity of their own, or They have not : If They have. They are [upon the Dolors Prin- ciple) diftm5i Gods from the Father, and as much as Finite from Infinite, Creature from Creator ; and then how are They one ? If They have not, then, fince They have no other Divinity, but that individual Di- vinity, and thofe Attributes vchich are in- feparable from the Father s Efferice, They can have no diftinci EJJence from the Father's-, and fo {according to the Doctor) will be one and the fame Terfon, that is will be Names only,
Q. Whether This be not as unintelligible as the Orthodox Notion of the Trinity, and liable to the like Difficulties: A Communi- cation of divine Towers and Attributes, without the Snbftance, beiiig as hard to con-
ceive.
Qu. XXIIL of fo7ne (QUERIES. 345 ceive^ 7iay much harder than a Cornynnnication of Both together ?
YOU are plcafcdto fay, \h:ithad the Au- thor at allnnderjiood"T>r- Q\2xkzs Books^ He "-jDonld net have offered thcfc Confidcra- tions, They are fuch grofs Mijiakes^ (p. 105 .) It might be very pardonable to miftake the Do6i-or, who deals much in general and am- biguous Terms 5 and I am the more excufible, as mifl:akin<j!; on the tender and candid Side. I muft own to you, I was not then aware, that the Doctor had denied, Father y Son, and Holy Ghofiy to be one God. I did not apprehend, He would fcruple to call Them all together one God'^ becaufe That would be manifcftly ex- cluding Son and Holy-Ghoji from the one God- head-, and then our Difpute about his meaning, would be perfectly at an end. I fliould have been very unwilling to make lb home a Charge, asThat upon Him: But fince you are a Friend, and declare in publick that this is his meaning, lb it fhall be hereafter. And now, I will not ask ho'ji; three Terfons can be one Gody upon the Dodor's Principles: But III put the QiTcftion thus : Hoou can it be true {upon the "Dolors Principles) that every Terfon of the Trinity is God-^ and true likevi)ifey that there is but one God? The Qi^icdion or Dif- ficulty being thus fairly ftated, I conceive, that my reafoning againft the other, will, in the main, hold good againft this too; only rnuta-
A a tis
346 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIIL
tis mutandis. Now then, clear me up this Difficulty in the Doclor's Scheme, and fuee it i\:o\\\Self-Coritradi^ionj if you are able. I have been fearching diligently fcveral Pages of your Anfwer, to lee if I might find any thing like a Solution : but I perceive at length , you was fo wife as to drop it. You was to tell mc How, notwithftanding that there are Three di'V'me Terfons'y (that is, Gods^ according to you) there is ftill but one God. But inftead of this, you run wandring wide and far, to fliow Jiow Three may be One, What ? Three Gods one God ? That was what I ask'd j the reft is not pertinent, but foreign to the Point. Finding ib little Satisfaction from you, in a Point fo material, in the very pinch of the Queftion between the Dodor and Us, T thought proper to have recourfe to the Doctor's Books again ; to fee if any thing could be found there to our prefent purpofe.
I perceived, that "^ "Dcmlnl on and Authority y according to Him, fnake God to be God. Up- on this Principle, He fuppofes the Son, ^ by 7iatitre truly Gody having true divine Tovuer and ^omi?iion : And He fays, I! The v:;ord, Gcdy in Scripture:, is alvaays a relative word of Office^ /i^nif];ing perfonal dominion. The obvious Conclufion, from thefe Premifes, is, that if ^Domi7iion and Authority^ fuchasmakc any Perfon truly God, be lodged in Tiiree Per-
* Reply, ;. 301. t Ib. /'.Si.
IJ J^. ;. 190".
fens;
Qu. XXIII. offoine Q^U E R I E S. 3 47
ions 5 Thofc Three Pcrfons, upon the Doftor's Principles, mud be three Gods. Tiic DoLlor being icnfiblc of this Dilliculry in his Scheme, and not being able to Iblvc it, nor willing to profefs three Gods, tries to difguife and elude it. He asks, "^ iz'hy mujl three d'rcnie Be'mgSy of ncccffity , be conceived as three Gods ? The Anlwer is very eafy : Becaufe three divine Beings, or '^Perfons, is exadlly the lame, in other Words, \j\i\\three Gods, upon his Prin- ciples 5 and becaufe every one of the Three is fuppofed to hz\c per fonalT^ominion, that very dominion which is (ufficient to make a Perfon truly God', and fuch as makes God to be God, *}* He goes onto diftinguifli the three Pcrfons by the Names of God, Lord, and Holy Spirit -, as if He had forgot, or had no mind to own, that either of the two laft is God. He proceeds: They can no more truly be faid^to be three Gods, than each of Them, fingly-, can be truly [aid to be the God and Father of All, -vjho is above all-, "sjhich is the Apoflle's T>efinitio7iof the one fuprcme God. But this is not to the Parpofej unlefs no one can be God, that is not x\\zfupre7ne God. If the Doctor lays That, He contradids Himfelf ilrangcly -, having took a great deal of Pains to fhow that the Son, tho' not the fupreme God, is yet truly God, having true divine Poiver and T)o7ninion. I f He thinks the Apoftle's Definition of God to be bet- ter than his own, why did He not Hand to it?
* Reply, ;. 222, t lb./', 223.
A 3 - And
348 y^DEFENSE a^. XXIII.
And then it would be fccn plainly, that his meaning is, that no one can be God but the Father-^ which is making fhort work with the Dodlrine of the divine Trinity, and flriking out Son and Holy-Ghofl at once. It is evident to a Dcnionftrntion, that the three Perfons arc, upon the Doctor's Hypothefis, as really and truly three Gods, as that every one, fingly, is God: and therefore, either let Him fay plainly, that there are three Gods; or that neither the Son, nor the Holy-Ghoft is God. The Difficulty then ftill remains unanfwer'd -, how (upon the Dodor's Principles) three Per- fons can be every one, fingly, God':, and yet Scripture fay true, that there is but one God.
And now, I return to you again ; whom I left intruding the Reader, very particularly. How Three may be One ; viz. in agreement of Mind, in their joint care of the Church, in Tefiimony^ &:c. which might have been perti- nent, had I been arguing from the Text, / and my Father are One 5 or from i J oh. 5.7. But your anfwering fo copioufly to what I did not ask, and flipping over the main Difficulty, looks as if you were more concern'd how to keep your Reader from the fight of the Quc- flion, than how to give Him any reafonable Satisfaction. The firft pertinent Thing I meet with from you, is in Page 108, where you charge me with a 7nanifeft Error, for fuppcfing it Sak'llianifm to make the one God but one
I Terfon i
Qu. XXIII. of fome QJU ERIE S. 349 ^Ferfon-y namely. The Perfon of the Father. What I affert is, that it is Sabellianifin to fay, that there is but One who is God, one Terfon only, inftead of one Nature : Or to fuppofc the Godhead to be but one finglc //y/?^/^//> 5 or /ucpoTF-^ja-a)x(3^, a Father without his ilibftantial Word ox. J)^/W/- eternally and effentially fubfitling with Him, and from Him. This is what I maintain, and what you will not be able to dif- prove. But let us fee how you go about it. One Godj you fay, is one Ferfoyi only j other^^tfe one Terfon conldnot be one God. I anfvvcr, that no one Perfon is one God, exclufively of the other twoPerfons. You add, if one Godbet'UDO Ter- fans or frwre, it is impoffible for one Terfon to be God. When we fay one Perfon is God^ we mean that He is a divine Hypoftafis, T>eitatemhabenSy as the Schools fpeak : But when we fay God is three Perfons, we underftand it of the divine Ef fence, or Siibftance : So that the word God is fometimes taken ejjentially^ and fometimes per- fonally, which makes the Difference. You pro- ceed : The T>efendas of the Scholaflick Notion (you mean the Defenders of the Trinity in Unity) profefs the Father alone, and diffinfi from the Son and Spirit J is God, or the one God. Very true : in the perfonal ScnCc before mentioned, diflin^ from, not exclnfive of, the Son and Holy- Spirit. In the fameSenfe, either of the other Perfons is God, and the one God. There is a farther Reafon, why the Father is peculiarly and eminently filled the one God: Not to ex- A a 3 elude
^50 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXIII.
elude the other Pcribns; but to fignify his priority of Order, as Father, and as Fountain of alL Thus I havc^niVer'd your Rcafons, which you are plcas'd to call T>emonfirationi tho' it is manifclf that, all along in your rca- ibning, you take it for granted, that Gcd is one Pcrfon only, and liippofe the very Thing in Qiicfiion. You next proceed to confute my Allcrtion; that the making the one God but one Fcrfon, is Sabellian, And you fay thus: If by one Terfon^ He means one intelligent Agent, He makes the Sabellians Catholieks, and condemns kis oiz-n Friends for Tritheids. I certainly mean a red Perfon, an Hypojlajis^ no Mode, Attribute, or '^Property, as you might cafily have perceived. The charge of Tritkeifm I have fufficiently anfwcr'd before; and return- ed it to its proper Owners. I fliall only add here, that each divine Perfon is an individual intelligent Agent: But as fubfilling in one un- divided Subftance, They are all together, in that refpccl, but one undivided intelligent Agent *5 And thus my Friends ftand clear of Tritkeifm, You obfcrve, that Sabcllius held one Hypo- flafis, or divine Siibflance, in oppofition to the Church, 'Hijo profefsd three Hypoftafes. Why did you not add, or three divine Subftances, having rcnder'd Hypoftafis, divine Stihftance^ lufl: before? is not the rcafon of it vifible ? You would not fay that the Sabellians held one Sub fiance, and the Church three Sub-
* Sjc Pr<:facc to my Sermon?, p-S^-
fiance?^
Qli. XXIII. of fame QUERIES. 351
fiances, (tho' you fay it in cfFcd) bccaufc the Thing is notorioLifly falfc. But taking advan- tage of the Ambiguity of the word, Hypoftafis, fometimes ufed to fignify Subftance, and fomc- timcs Terfon , you contrive a Fallacy. The Church never profcfs'd three Hypofiafes in any other Senfc, but as they mean three Terfons 5 nor would Sabellhis liave been cenfur'd for holding one //)y^/9/?^/Zf only, had He meant one Sttbfiance, If you have a mind to fee clearly in what Senfe the Catholiclis profcfs'd either three Hypofiafes, or one only, you may pleafe to confult "^Athanafims, and ^ Gregory Nazian- zeyi, refcr'd to in the Margin.
The Truth is, the Church always profefs'd one Subftance 5 one eternal, immutable, uncrea- ted Subftance-, and this they underftood by, God. Notwithftanding, They believed the Son, and Holy Spirit to be fiibftantially God. Tra- xeasy Noetus, Sabellhis, and others, not con- ceiving how one Subftance could be more than one Terfon, II one Hypoftafiis, innovated upon the Faith of the Church, and made one fuigle
* Athanaf.ad Antioch. p. 973.
t Greg. Nazianz. Orat. 22, p. 395. Graf. 32, p. j-ir. IJ Origen exprcjfes the Sabcllian Notion lery MJi'mhly hi the fclloiS' wg Tajfage.^
uXXx >dj ^ssrvKeii/jivi), rvl^xvcvhi; QCfjij<Po;i^><(^ koCiu. nvui; imvoUq, x
xccrlc 'Jzxz)' TccTiv Xtyi^M zrxri^x (^ liov. Orig. Com. ill Joh. p. 1 86. Ed. Huet.
That is to fay. The SiheWhns iiid mt only make Father a7jd Son one in ElTence ( as the Church did alfo) but they carried it Co far as to make Them one ^xi^]^Q^, Suppofitum, or Hypoftafis, /;rt^w^o«/y a nominal, not a real Diftindlion.
A a 4 HjpO'
3 52 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXIIL
Hypo[lafist\\^oneGody with three Names. You tcil us, with great Affurancc, that this never "ijuas^ nor could be Sabellianifm, ip, 109.) To which I {hall only fay ; Read, and you will find. You add farther, that t/oe one God is one Trrfon only, and the Father that Terfon ; And that this isthe AJfertion of St, Paul. We will fee to St. Taul prefently; in the mean while, I again tell you, that this is the very Eflencc of Sabelltanif'm, and the Doftrine of * ^Paul of Samofata (as hath been obferved to you above) and for which He was condemn'd bv the Church. Your pretence from the Apo- flic's Words, (21? us there is but one God^ even the Father) has been fufficicntly anfwer'd un- der the former Qiieries. I fhall only obferve here, that the Text mcntion'd is much ftronger againpL the Doclor and your Self, than againft Us. For how can You, after fo flain and ex- frefs a Text to the contrary, pretend that the Son alfo is God to ns^ really and truly God, and in the Scripture-Senfc of the word, God? Whether, think you, do We, who make Him effentlally the fame God with that one, and fuppofc but one God in all, more flatly con- tradicl St. f^///; or You who make two Gods^ and in the fame relative Senfe, in which St. 'Paul is fuppofcd to ufe the v/ord, God? To take up your own Words, upon this very occalion ; You v:illy I trujl, be ajhamed ^jv hen you con-
* ha. %le, f.jj, (prt(r\v^ o i-Ti ztccvrcc ©5^5 q tzcct:^,^. Athan. Contr.
Apoliiiiar. J. 2. p. 9 42.
fider^
Qti. XXIII. offome aU E R I E S. 355
Jider^ that you plainly faljify St. Paul. He fays, there is but one Gody even the Father : But You fay, there are more Gods than one ; and particularly, that the Son is God alfo, God to us. How come you off of this ? By the help of a T^tftinElion^ I fuppofe : And fo can We ^ by a 'DiJlinEiton much older, and much bet- ter warranted than Your'sj and therefore, be fo kind as either to take fome part of the Shame with us 5 or elfe to acquit Both. You proceed to acquaint us, that the Father is the only true God"^. Very good: And do not the Dodor and You tell us, notwithftanding, that the Son is true Gody having true divine Tower and dominion ? If you can reconcile two true Godsy with the Dodrine of that Text 5 fure. We need not dcfpair, nor have any thing to fear from that Text, who af:^ree fo far with it already (more than You) as to acknowledge but One God. V/e can give a Reafon why the Son wastacitely included, being fo intimately united to the Father, as partaker of the fame divine Nature : But that any Creature fhould not be excluded from being God, or that there fliould be two Gods, notwithftanding the Text, muft appear very (Irange. After this, you have two or three Subtilties. The Father, you fay, will be but a third part. You might, in this way, revive all the Impertinencies of A'etius, and throw them before Englijh Readers. I refer
* Pag. no,
you
354 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIII.
you to * St. Anjlin in the Margin, for an An- 1 wcr. Let mc dcfire you not to give fo great a loofe to your Fancy, in divine Things : You Icem to confidcr everything under the Notion of Extenfion, and fenfible Images. A reveren- tial Silence may well become Us in fo awful a Subjed, in which Imagination has nothing to do, and of which our moft refined and elevated Thoughts are infinitely unworthy. But to pro- ceed : You add, If Father ^Son^ and Holy -Ghoft are the only true God, then they are the Father, But if the only true God, may be fometimcs ufed in a perfonal, fometimcs in an effential Scnfe, there is no force in this Reafoning. I might retort the Argument upon You, who, in your Vv'ay of conceiving God by extended Parts, apply the Phrafe of one God, fome- timcs to one Tart, fometimcs to another, and fometimcs to the ijuhole, almoft in the ^ fame manner, as We do to One, or to all the three Terfons : But I am weary of trifling.
* Putas Deum Patrem cum Filio 8c Spiritu San6i:o unum Deum efle non pofle; Times cnim ne Pater Solus non fit unus Dcus, kdpars Vultis Dei c]ui con flat ex Tiibus ; Noli timcre, nulla fit partium in Dei- tatisunitatedivifio. InTrinitate — quseDeuseft, & Pater Deus eft, & FiliusDeuscd:, 8c SpiritusSan<^usDeusen:, Simul Hi trcs unus Deus : ncc hujus Trinitatis pars eft unus, ncc major pars duo quam anus eft ibi, ncc majus aliquid funtomnes quam finguli : c[\i\2i Spirit h- alis non Corporalis eft magnitudo. uiug, Comr. AUxim. 1. 2. c. lo. p 697, 69S.
Pater 8c Filius 8c Spiritus Snn6lus, 8c ^vo-^tcx indiiiduam Deltatcm ITmti Deus eft, propter uu\u(cu]\i{c^mc proprictatcm ^vqs perfona. funt, Sc propter fingu!orumZVr/i't7w;fwP^;/eiunius Dei WW /}i«/. Id. ibid. p.6 99. CoKf, Auguft.dc Trin. p. 849. Fulgent. Refponf. Contr.Arian. in fine.
f £. G. God exiftsy God is in Heaven above, God is on Earth be- h-pf. The vorj God here, (upon the Doctor's hlypothdis rf inJiTiite eX' /en fan) has three fever al Ideas annex' d to it.
Qii. XXIII. offo7m aU E R I E S. 355
You ask me, wherein the prefent Schola- JJick Notmi difagrees "-joith z"/:^^ SabcUian ? I anfwer, in admitting three real fubfifting Pcr- fons. But fince you are fo often charging us with Sabellianifm, it may be proper to obfcrvc here, how near akin the SabeUiaiis and Arians are to each other ; Both, as it were, growing of the fame Stock.
1. In the firft Place, Bothfeem to fuppofe or take for granted, that if the rnodiis^ or manner^ be unintcUigible, the Thing it felf is incredible.
2. Both agree in the fundamental Principle of Herefjy that one Subftancc, or Being, can be only one real Perfon, or Hypoftajis, As Nejlorius and EutycheSy tho' taking different ways, yet proceeded upon the fame Bottom, that two Natures could not make one "Perfon in Chrift: So Sabellius and Arms, before Them, tho' differing in the laft refult, yet fet out up- on the fame Principle 5 That two real Perfons cannot be one Being or Subflance,
3. In Confequencc of their prime Pofition, Both confpire to difcard, in realityy the Son and the Holy-Ghoft from the One true God- heads looking upon it as Tritheifm to make the Perfons real, and divine too. One Hjpo- Jiajis in the G(?^/j^^^/is allthat either of Them
admits ; Both Judaizing, as * Gregory NyJJen juftly obferves, in that refped : And the Sa- iellians T^cJvjju©', (or God with three Names)
"Ay-imtTcy, Gjeg. NylT. ContT. Eunom. p. 6j6.
anfwers
356 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXIIL
anfwcrs to the yirians 'Ayi'mr©^-, Self-exiftenty or Unbegotten God. Thus far they amicably agree ; let us next obferve where They differ.
Suppofing Them fix'd and fettled in the pre- liminary Principle, it is manifeft that the Word and Spirit muft either be Names only, or, if real diftind Pcrfons, Creatures, The Sabel- lians were at liberty to chufe this, or that: But, finding Scripture run high, and Tradition ftrong for the 'Divinity of the JVord2iW^ Holy- Spirit, They made choice of the former 5 in- terpreting F/2!^^^r, Son, and Holy-Ghoft^ as dif- ferent Names of one and the fame Hypoftajis^ or real Pcrfon. By this, they effedually guard- ed againfl: the fuppofed Tritheifrn of the Ca- tholicks, as well as againft Pagan T^olytheifm ; and, being wife Men fo far, fecured the Point which They aim'd at. The Arians, who came after (and who, as I before faid, fet out upon the fame preliminary Principles) finding that the Sabellian Confufion of Perfons had been utterly routed, baffled, and exploded by all good Catholicks, had really no Option left; but either to make the Son and Holy-Spirit Creatures, or to give up their ^Prelmmaries, Accordingly , They took the way which the Sabellians had left Them ^ and were very un- happy in this particular, that, endeavoring to avoid one kind of Tritheifwy They fell into Another.
1 ho Jrian Scheme, befides its failing in its principal Dcfii^n of avoiding Toljtheifm, has
many
Qu. XXIII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 557
many real and great Difficulties; being as well too high for fome Texts, as too low for others ^ wliich the Catholicksy or Sabellians can much better deal with. Hence, I fuppofe, it was, that the Unitarians, at the Beginning of the Re- formation, having modeftiy begun with * Aria- nifm^ for the moft part, fettled into Socinia- mfin--, which is near to Sabellianifm : And our Engliih Unitarians, who for acutenefs of Wit and fubtilty of Thought have not been infe- rior to any of their Brethren, have been ftill refining upon the Socinian Scheme (which had (truck upon l^itheifm, in like manner as the Arian had upon Tritheifm) and have brought it ftill nearer to Sabellianifm. After all, when Men have run their Courfe from Orthodoxy to Arianifm^ from Arianifm to Socinianifm, and from thence to Sabellianifm -, if They will but give themfelves leave to refled and look back, Tiiey may peiiiaps perceive, at length, that Catholicifm^ is the only Scriptural^ as well as the Antient Scheme 5 liable to the feweft Dif- ficulties, and beft guarded againft Objed:ions. It is therefore no wonder that the Bulk of Chri- ftians, learned and unlearned, have, for as many- Centuries upward as we have any clear Re- cords extant, efpoufed it. It is an eafy mat- ter for Men of Wit and Fancy to find fault with Any Thing : But it requires Thought and Judg- ment to fettle Things upon their true Bottom. Let Thofc who are difpleafed with the received
f Socin. Contr.Erafm. Johan. p. 49<5.
Dodrine^
35S y^ D E F E N S E Qli. XXIII,
Dodrinc, fliow us a Better; and make any other confillent Scheme ( confilknt with Scripture and with it Self) if They can. Wife and good Men will be always willing to Reform, if there be Caufe for it : But they will not be forward to pull down what appears to be founded on a Rock, in order only to build upon the Sand. It is fome Satisfadion to the Trinitarians to obierve, how long fome great Wits have been new-modelling Chriftianity 5 and have not yet been able to agree in any one certain Scheme. The Arians fall upon the Sabellians, and the Sabellians again upon Them : One defends the Terfonalityy and the other the "Divinity of the Ao>'©-5 or ffori^y and cannot yet be brought to any Agreement. * Betwixt Them, the Prin- ciples of the Catholick Church are fupportcd, and They condemn each other, in the very Things which the Church condemns in Both, If I may give a Judgment of the two Schemes, the Sabellian appears to be the neater of the Two, and mod confillent with it felf : ^\\zArian is more pious and modcft, tender of degrading the Son of God too far. As Men 2;row bolder and more learned in Herefy^ They will, very probably, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Sabellians. Two of the ableft and acuteft Men of tile later Unitarians (one Here, the other Abroad) have prefer'd the J^s^^iV/i/?/ way : And
• Urcrquc Iloftis Ecclcfioe rcr, Ecclefio: agit: Dum SaMlius Deum ex natura in opcribus prccdicat; Mi vcro/ cx SaC.amcntQ Fidci, Filium Dei confitentur. Mil. p. 9 19.
4 SS
Qii.XXIII. of fame Q^U E R I E S. 559
as They have given Proofs of their Learning, fo have they fufficiently fhown their Boldnefs alfo, by treating fo fublime and tremendous a Subjed, in the way of Scoff and Ridicule. To return : You arc pleafed to fay, that you have anfwefd for ®r. ClarkcV Notion not being Sabellian, and have provd that it is not Tri- theiftick. But give me leave to fay, that you are deceived in Both: The Ground is Sabel- liarij and the Superftrudure Tritheijiick-^ and, the whole contrived in fuch a way, as to hang ioofely together.
It is obvious, at firft fight, that the true Arian or Semi- Arian Scheme (which you would be thought to come up to at leaft) can never tolerably fupport it felf, without taking in the Catholick Principle of a Human Soul to join with the Word. If you come thus far, it will then be cafy to perceive that the Sabellian Scheme is the fimpler and plainer j befides that it better anfwers the high Things fpoken of the Word'^ in refpeft of which your Scheme is as much too lo'-^y as before too high. But then a- gain, the Arguments for the diftind perfonalitj of the IVord and Holy Spirit, bear fo full and ftrong, that there will appear a Neceflity for taking in another Catholick Principle j and That .will compleatly anfwer all. And why then fhould not the Catholick Dodrine (fo ap- parently nccelfary to make Scripture confiftent) be admitted ? The Cafe, in few words, appears to be only this. You cannot undcrftand how
Three
360 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXIIT.
Three c^inho: One ':, you fee noreafon, a priori^ why, if the Son and Holy Spirit be Co-eval and ConfubfiantiaU They fliould not be Co-ordi- vate too ; you kno^ju not why the Father might not as well be faid to be begotten^ as to beget 5 to be fent, as to fendy or the like. Very true : But you may /?raReafon, zprioriy why Crea- tures, of yefterday, may not be able to fearch the deep Things of God: You may know how well it becomes Them to fubmit their Fancies, or Prcfumptions, to divine Revelation j content to fee through a Glafs darkly^ till the Time come to know God more perfedly, and to fee Him as He is. This may be a fufficient An- fwer to a pious and humble Mind, in all Cafes of this Nature ; where the difficulty is owing only to our imperfe£l and inadequate Concep- tion of Things.
I was obliged to pafs over fome Remarks you had in your Notes*, for the fake of Me- thod : But it will not be too late to confider Them here. I had made no ufe oi^Joh. 10. 30. (/ and my Father are 07ie) but you had a mind to bring it in, to let us know how well you could anfwcr it, from the primitive Wri- ters, I am always willing to defend thofe good Men, and to rcfcuc them out of the Hands of Thofc, who cither knowingly, or ignorantly abufeThem. You begin thus, Triumphantly: The T)e fenders of the Scholaftick Explication of the Trinity in Unity^ thd They pretend
* Pag. 106.
much
Qii. XXIII. of form Q^U E R I E S. i6i
much that the moft Antient Writers of the Church are on their fide^ yety in exprej/ing their Notion of the Unity in the divine 'Per- fonsy They do not only leave Scripture and Rea- fony but plainly run againjl the whole Stream of Antiquity alfo. The Text on which thev fo much rely (Joh. lo. 30.) is underftood by Ter- tullian Himfelf of the Unity of LovCy md Confent^ and l:^0\ver. You go on to cite Ter- tulliayiy and others, from Dr. Clarke, But, Writers in a Caufe, are very often known to reprefent Things by halves. You fhall fee , prefently, what little Reafon you have to talk of the '-juhole Stream ofAniiqttity. The Text, which you fpeak of, has all along been made ufe of by the Catholicks, in twoRefpecls ; firft, in Proof of our Lord's real Divinity, againft as many as denied it ; and fecondly, in Proof of his real Diftinclion from the Father, againft the Noetians or Sabellians, There was very little occafion to infift much upon Unity of Subftance y with thofe who had carried Unity of Subftance fo high, as to make but one Hypoftajis, It might be fufficient, in difpute with thole Men, to obferve that That Text did by no means prove an Identity of Ter- fony unlefs "Taul and Apollos were one Per- fon, which is abfurd. Whatever the Text might othcrwife prove, it certainly did not prove, what the Sabellians pretended, an Unity of Terfon, This the Toft-Nicene Fa- thers frequently obferve, againft the Sabellians
B b (as
362 /^DEFENSE Qu. XXIII.
(as the Ante-Nicene had done before) though at the fame time, That Text might be of good ufe againft the Avians ; as it had been all along againft the Impngners of Chrift's ^Divinity. For your clearer Apprehenfion of this Matter, I fliall fct down, * in Two diftinft Columns, the Sentiments of the primitive Writers, on this
♦ jiga'mfl Impugners of Chriji's Divinity,
Tertullian. Nunquam feparatus a Patre .aut alius a Patre, quiac^oSc Fa- itr unum famus, adv. Prax. c. 8. Qui TresUnum funt, non Unus, quomodo dictum ell, "Ego ^ Pa- ter JJnum fumus. Ad Subftantiae Unitatcm, non ad numeri Sin- gularitatem. Ailv, Frax. c. i^.
NOVATIAN.
Quod fi, cum nullius Hominis Ha:c vox efCe pofTct, Ego ^ Ta- ter unum [iimus^ Jianc vocem de Confcientia Divinitatis Chriftus Soius cdicir— merito Deus eft Chriftus, r. 15.
Si Homo tantummodo Chri- ftus, quid eft quod dicit, Ego ^ Fater ur,u)7t fumus. Si non Sc Deus eft, £c Filius, qui idcirco unum poteft dici, dum ex Ipfo eft, £v dum Filius ejus eft, 8c .dum ex ipfo nafcitur, & dum ex ipfo proceflllle reperitur, per quod £c Dens eft. r. 25.
O R 1 c F. K.
AiKifJ ^ (C' TS-p^CyTHTO, OTl H'^TtC ViUCf.Ki 0 Kt?,tro<i TO, 'Efo> )^ 6 T«l)«p
m ie-f^ , , HI , JK uv utlu i^^S; ^
uigainji Sabellians.
Tertullian.
Unum dicit neutrali verbo, quod non pertinet ad Singulari- tatem fed ad l/nitatem, ad Con- jundlionem, ad Dileftionem Pa- rris, qui Filium^ ^iligit, & ad obfequium Filii , "qui voluntati Patris obfequitur. Unum fumus, dicens, quos aequat & juagit, adv. Frax. c.zi.
NOVATIAN.
Quia dixit unum, fntelUgant Hsrretici quia non dixerit unus. Unum enim neutraliter politura Societatis Concordiam, non U- nitatem Perfon^ fonat— merf- to unum fit Pater 6c Filius per concordiam, 8c per amorem, & per dilecftlonem m^m Novit hanc concordi^E Unitatem 8c Apofto- lus Faulus cum Pcrfbnarum di- ftinftione — « ^ii plantat ^ qui rigat unupt funt. Quis autem non intelligat altcrum eflc Apollo, alterum Faulum , non eundem atque ipfum Apollo paritcr 5c PauUifn, c. 2z.
O R I c E K.
Toy srolspa, '^ uXyj^ucce, tc. T tnov
T)fjV U^i'fiucCV, t,V\OC aoo TV. VS!7Tr«W
Qu. XXIII. offome Q.U E R I E S. 3 <; j"
«A. Conrr.Cdi'.l. S. p. 386. D I ON Ys I us Rom. QltTi ( -/i^'^ ) 7rci*icr<i xuXoiif to ec^^iuubcc y^ ro ijsr'f-iecAXoy fji^iytS^ » Ki'fd ■! •■Jvo'cu^ ^ T« Gem t
cAwy T A070V, £'/&) yep, <P/j(r<, x^
zrxrti^ iviTfBfj. Ap. Athan.p.i32.
HiPrOLYTUS. Ou Olio 0<»? Xlyu, ccXX' co<; ^u^ C/n (puToc^ vi oxi iatk/e c/k sr^jy??, Ij eo<i uktTvcc ^^ttb^ kAi», otxv Ufjuic, f^ fjtjicc If C/X 3* zrxvTo^, TO i) zrSv sr«- T>)^, s| 8 ^M>'c<.uji<i xdy(^-. C. I I . Alexander Alex,
ri" 0 xt<'g^©-, ii zrcili^ec iuvTcv civa- jo^a^an. jiOi Tdc, rvj -jj^TBf-oso'jt oty© ^ua-iiq fjjUv uvea frx<pr,vi^o)v. ocXX'
'oTi TViV ZTXIqAkIu) if/j<Pi^ilCCV Ci,KQ^Za<i ■SS-itP'JKi (TCil^HV 0 1/40? S'' Z5-«/^5, TJJV
y.ATU TS'civlx oUjOioTijlcc wjts ci< ^£/- trf<y5 ^(//&i^«^t^(^, }cxl u^cccuX- '*.«x./05 sjjcajy ^ TTXi^'; Tvi^^uyuy, x.xt
Thcod. E. H. ]. I . c. 4. p. i y.
Epiphanius.
Kxi 5r^5 TisTnq tc r»^ vcfJUK^e*' T«5 uXXoT^iov ilyvA T iiov 3* 2r«- Tcqc: ,>.iyn, iyu (c" o zrxiyip h
tV^.i. ■ r.i.;^^ ro Sii'ai cv fjjiocivo- TTiTi B-ioTyii(^y y.VA cv f/ji^ yyuf/jv xxk cf'ufjxyjii. p. 4S8.HxT._f7.
Cyril. Hiergs.
r.y JAJ A ro kxtu t^.v ^ioTriTU u^iu- fJtjcc sV'itfli 0£o§ Oicv tyl'jr^a-iv. '^£v t^g.T0 KXTec Try e«(rM£(Ot:*i i^i kV 3^ ro yj7)0iu/iuv ii^ui ^ijA^uviXy y, ^^a.TXC-if. ■ ■■ ■'^E> ^* Tj ^){ ftWi tifAAct Pifir» i^yjiiif'y^iU^XTx Kui ocX-
XCC 7:cCr^CC,- f/jiX '^ Y ^OCtTCU)) o^-
fjjwyiic. p. 142, 143. O.x. Ed.
(PUViCC, Kxi TVjTXVlOTr.U is' /SaXyiyjCC-
r(^. ax^ T iufXKorx T itG)> (ovtoo UTruvyua-fjtjX t^ ^o|);?, xctt x^pxx.-'
XsWi cV Xurca cyjt liy.ivi ij" 0£5, T"
^ui. Contr. Ceir.l. 8. p. 386*
HippoLytus. Ow» s/tt^v on iyu KXi o Trxk^ ii Ufjui, ciXX' £y icrfS^. to yx^ i<rfd/i CVX i<p' ivo^ ^iy\), xXX' {ttI a'ua
TTpoCUTTX iOH^EV, OhjU XUJIV S UiiXVmmma ^m^T-^V OCZfCV KV idUKU^ fllOly 10U»»
xuToTi; Ivx axriv m, kuBox^ v.fJi'U<i iv— .— .rt' TTpo? txZtx i;^8(r* Xtyuv ol Hovilix'joi i fjuvi 7r<x.y%q h (rcot/jX ifiv KXTX r«» is<rtxv, jj tv, oujjufiin kxi ti| ^^.S^(rn T^ i. [jjoCp^c'j^x^ iv yivcfjijiGx j 7" «t)roki c*) t^^tToh 0 '7:xitwmm u^tO- Xcywif «<V«* c* raJ 7r«rf< ^vuMf^u,
Contr. Noet. c. 7. p. ii»
it5 y^ y»? ;ro6/po5 6 ;r«i<;«
Epiphakius. ^
ITfOi; ^ ra5 vcfJL,i^o)iTX<i xvtov ilvxt'
TOV TfATifX K. T X'JTCV SlVXi llCV 2^ TO iift/iKi'JXl, Sya/ KXi 6 T^'XTYiP iV icr/jjiv^
Xifny 7roir,Tov xoTiiq iyx ci/criy tv kx~ 3- 6/5 ly'a Kxl cru tv i(rfd/j, Ivx kxtxi-
^UViJ NoyjTOV KXi T'ti') XUTM o/oXlui ,
TTxpxyxyay £«5 to fXiiTov tv.v T ^06- B-r,Tcov tyeL'civ. Hat, ^ viOiu/xro Ils- Tpo5 KXi 'luuyvt)<i, xxi ol Kxds^Kt; uveH tv ac KXTX <ruvxXoi(pui)'i p. 4S8.
Cyril. Hierosol.
Oux. uTTnyaiicXi ozxtvi^ i¥ sifAi,
xXX' iyco KXi 6 TTXrv.s iy io-f/jSVyivx fju*i'
Ti XT^xXX'iTpiucruuiiy , fX/iiTi (rvvxXci-
^y'vic^x^tixc, i^~x(pu}JA$x, p. 142.
Bb
Head
56+ ^DEFENSE a^. XXIII.
Head; that you may perceive how They de- fended fuch an Unity as we mauitain, at the lame Time that they ftrcnuoufly oppofed the Sdbellians. 1 fliall make particular Remarks up- on the Authors, fingly, as I pafs along; and af- terwards throvv^ in fome general Obfervations.
To begin with TertuUian : You will obfervc, that He interprets the Text exprejly of Unity of Snbftancey in one Citation: And He is to be fo underftood in the other, had you but thought liow to conftrue Unit at em ^ as you fhould have done. I fuppofe, Unit'j of Love^ Confenty znd 7* ozji'er may very well follow, after fo good a Foundation laid for it. Tertul- lian elfewhere * intimates the flrid and inviolable Harmony of the three Pcrfons, refolving it into Unity of Snbftance.
Novatian is your next Author: You may pi cafe to obferve, how abfurd He thinks it would have been for any mere Man to have faJd, I and my Father are one. And whyfo? Might not there be Unity of IVilf-, Confenty Authority, between God and Man ? Undoubt- edly there might. Well then ; Novatian did conceive the Text to fpeak of Unity of Lovey &:c hwx. Equality o^ Nature pre fuppofed: For even 'Paul and Apollos were not of a different Mature; one \v:\s vs truly Alan, as the other: And ioy if Chrifl: was truly God, as well as the I-'arhcr, He might fay, / and my Father are
* T.un coafurtibusSubnantfuePatris. Comr,?rax, c. 3.
one.
Qli. XXriI. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 365
one. This is * plainly Novatians Senfc, in the Citations of the tirft Column ; and it is very con- fident with the other, in the oppofite Colunin. All That Unity of Confenty Love, 6:c. is found- ed upon, and refolvcs^into Unity of Subftancc and 'Principle, according to this Writer.
OrigenQO\r\Qs next. I have fet againO: Him a Padage of 'Dionyfius of Rome, who quotes the Text in Confirmation of what He had juft before faid, that we ought not by any means to under- value the fuper-emincnt Dignity of the Son, by fuppofing Him a Creature. As to Origen particu- larly, it is to be confider'd, that, if He hadrefol- ved the Unity of Godhead, in that PaiTage, into Unity o^Co?i/e7it, mentioning no other; yet no certain Argument could be drawn from thence, that He held no other ; any more than from the Paflages of Nov at i an :indTertu!/ian before cited. Had They been left /ingle, They had been liable to the fame Charge; and yet it feems merely ac- cidental that They were not. A uthors do not al- ways fpcak their whole Thoughts upon a particu- lar occafion ; but arc content only to fay as much as the occafion requires. Origen was guarding againft the Sabellian abufe of the Text, and his Thoughts were turned to That chiefly. However, in That very place. He made fo much Ufeof the Text, as from thence to infer, that Father and Son are one God, and one Obje^ of Worfhip -, which, to any one who is acquainted withOr/><?;^'sPrinci- plcs inThatBook,mufl:appear to denote ihcdi-jine
* Conjpare a Tajfage of Novatian, cited above^ P-S^*
B b 3 and
166 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIII.
and uncreated Nature of the Son ; and confc- qucntly a fnbfiantial Unity betwixt Him and the Father: Bcfides, that this is farther intimated, in thePaflagc cited,by theWords, diroLya.cixa. -f d^o^r^y and ^af^yiTYipj. ^\om7cl<Ti(t}9^ which feem to have been added to qualify the former 5 and are hardly pertinent but on fome fuch Suppofition. To con- firm which, pleafe to compare Origen with Alex- nnder Bifhop oi Alexandria his Comment on the fame Text, and you'll find Them very nearly the fame ; which is fufficient to acquit Origen of any Sufpicion of Arianizing-, in this Point.
I come next to Hippolytus, who has but lately appear'd, and whom neither the Dodor nor You have took notice of He argues againft the Sabelli- (ins, in the very fame way with Terfullian, Nova- t'lan, and Origen: But then, in the other Citation oppofirely plac'd, He clearly refolvesthe Unity of the Godhead intoUnity of SubJIance ^ndTrinci- fie. But befides this, it deferves your fpecial No- tice, That while He fpeaks of Unity oiJVtll-, and Concord (admitting a kind of Parallel between the Union of Chriilians, and the Union of God and Chrift) He clearly fignifies hov\^ infinitely more perfect the latter is 5 refolving it into this, that the Son is the v«V -nraTpor, the Living and Subfiantial Mind, or Thought of the Father. This then is the C'alc: There is an Unity * of Concord,
♦ rtiam nosquippc incomrarnbilcm ConlcnfLini voluntatis atqiie imlivitlucc Cariuiti.s Parr is i Filii 5: Spiritus Sancri confiLcmur, propter cjuoii diciinus, Hixrc Trinitas unu.'cflDcus. Augufi.conty. Maxim. 1. 2. p. 720.
Vid. ctiam Greg. Nvfl'Contr. Eunom.I. i. p-jS*?. Hilar, dc Trin. p. p/S.
and
Qu. XXIII. offome QUERIES. 367
and Harmonious Love, founded upon Unity of Subftance : And the words, / and my Father are oney Exprefs both the Unity it fclf, and the Foundation of it. Taul and Apollos were one in Heart and Will, in fuch Mcafure and Degree as They were capable of : And fo God and Chrift are one likewife; but by an Union infinitely more perfed, and upon an infinitely higher Foundation. You need not be told, that jta^wV often fignifies not an exaEi Equality-, hmi general Similitude : * The Remark is juftj and, as it is at other times urged againft us, fo let me here claim the Benefit of it.
I have added to the Number, Two ^oft-Ni- cene Writers, Epiphanius and the elder Cyril i which are enough to fliew that the fame way of reafoning againft the Sabellians (which pre- vailed before the Nicene-Council) obtaind likc- wi(e afterwards. Some are apt to triumph ex- tremely, if They can but find any the Icaft Difference between the Ante-Nicene and "Tojl- Ntcene Writers. If there be but a Text or Two differently interpreted, a folemn Remark is made upon it 5 and fometimes a trifling Note of fome obfcure Scholiafiy or an Imaginary Dif- ference (having no Foundation but the JVritefs Ignorance, or Negligence in comparing) is im- proved into an Argument of Change of "Do- ctrine'-, and Athanafianifm is made the Name for what has been conftantly held in the Chri- fiian Church. If there be occafion to fpeak of
* Vid. Athanaf. Orat. 3. p.fji.
B b 4. the
368 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXIII.
the Things fcemingly Derogatory to the Honour of the Son (his h^w^z^ Subordinate'^ his refer- ring all Things to the Father, as Head, Root^ Fount am, Can fe-, his executing the Father's Will, and the like) or of a real Diftindion betweet^ Father 2nd Son (as their being o^'uc d^^ij.^^ du£ Res, or oneof thein, a^^/aajtrfp©', that iSyper- finally diftinct from the other) then only Ante- Kicene Fathers are quoted 5 as lUhtTofi-Nicene did not teach the very fame Dodrine: But if a- ny thing, which feemsto make more for the Ho- nour of the Son, be mentioned (as His being ttn- created, eternal, one God with the Father, Crea- /^r of ail Things, and the like) this is to be re- prefentcd as the Dodrine of the Tojl-Nicene Fa- thers only 5 tho' nothing is more evident than that They varied not a Tittle, in any material Point of Dodrine, from their Predeceffors 5 but only prefervcd, as became Them, with an up- right Zeal, the true Faith of Chrift, which '■^'as cnce deliver d to the Saints,
To return. It is needlcfs almofl, to take no- tice of other Teflimonies : Thofeln the Mar- gin are lufficicnt to fiiew the true and con- ilaut ScLfe of the Chriftian Ciiurch. The * Dodor quotes Bafd and Chryfoflom, as lay- ing Father and Son were One, xara J^wia^iv : And, ]c([ the Reader flioiild underftand what thofe Fathers meant by y.cLrdcujjctfM-j, He cuts Chry- Joflorn fhort; whofe words immediately follow- ing id J >? cwjaiJLi^ h cwTf,^ iijc'O.o'J on y^ n yV/a) * Pag. 100.
fliew
Qii. XXIV. offome aU E R I E S. 3 69
fhew that He meant by cJ'^jvay.is^ not the fame Authority y but the lame inherent, effential, om- nipotent Power.
Athenagoras's (^iwd(xi may be rightly inter- preted by Hippolytus before cited ; or by Chry- foflom ; or by Himfelf, in feveral Places where He is clear for the Confubflantiality, Jujiin Martyr's Sentiments have been explained a- bove i and the Council of Antioch'% Exprellion (t)j cruju(pcov/a) is vindicated by ^Hilary-, who Himfelf may be readily underftood by fuch as remember how the primitive Fathers held the Holy Ghoft to be, as it were, Vinctilum Tri- nitatis, and fometimes Amor T^atrts & Filii i as the Son Himfelf is alfo ftiled Charitas ex Charitate^ by -f* Origen, Thefe Things I can only hint to the intelligent Reader, having al- ready exceeded the Bounds of a Digrcflion.
(^ U E R Y XXIV.
IVhether Gal. 4. 8. may not be enough to deter- mine the difpitte betwixt Us\ fince it obi ved the Tractor to confefsthat Chrifi is I! by Na- ture truly God, as truly as Man is by Nature truly Man.
He equivocates, indeed, there, as ufuaL For, He will have it to ftgnify that Chriji is God by Nature, only as having, by that Nature which He derives from the Fa-
* Pag. 1 170, 1 17 I. t Pamph. Apol. p. 2 3_j'. Ed Bcned.
1) Reply, p. 81.
ther^
370 yf DEFENSE Qu.XXIV.
ther^ true divine ^ower and dominion : That isy He is truly God by Nature^ as having a Nature diftinEi from, and inferior to God'Sy vjanting * the moft eflential Cha- ra£lcr of God, Self-exijlence, What is this hut trijiing "isjith IVordSy and playing f aft and loofe ?
IN Anfwer hereto, you begin : Will the S^ierift injift tipon it, that the Son cannot be God by Nature , unlefs He be Self-ex- iftent ? And you proceed : / can ajjiire Him^ the learnedefty even of his own Friends^ are ajhamedof this : and there are few fo hardy ^ as direEily to affirm it. Bat, have a little Pa- tience, and III endeavour to make you eafy. Where were your Thoughts ) Where were your Eyes ? Either I am ftrangely miftaken, or the Line, which offended you fo grievoufly, was fcored underneath ; and pag. 9 2^ of the Do£lor*s Jieply referred to, as you find now : And my charging the Doftor with playing faft and loofe^ immediately after, might have been a fufficicnt Intimation of my meaning. Whether I think the Son Self-exiftent or no, is not now the Queftion. I took hold of the Dodor's Ex- prcffion, charg'd Him with faft and loofe, that is, faying and unfaying, contradifting Himfelf. If Sdf-exiflence be the moft ejfential CharaEier of God, it fcemstometo follow, that the Son^ V ho by the Doftor's Confeflion wants that Cha-
• Reply, p. Q2.
ra&evy
Qii. XXIV. offome QUERIES. 571
ratter, cannot be truly and by Nature God, any more than any thing can be truly and by Na- ^//r^Man, without the effential Character of Man. As to my own part : I never pretended that Self- exiftence is an effential Charader of God : Yon might have confider'd that we deny it abiolutely ; we ilippofe it * negative and relative, and call it a perfonal Character. NeceJJary-exiftence is an effentialC\\d.i7i€ttTy and belongs equally to Fa- iher and Son: If That be what you mean by Self-exijlence, then That alfo belongs to Both. Explain your felf, and deal not fo much in am- bigitons Terms, which we have juft Reafon to complain of. The Doctor knows how Self-ex- iflenty by Cuftom, founds among common Rea- ders ; and that denying the Son to be Self-ex- ifienty may be thought by many the fame Thing with denying Him to be God. Had He pieafed, in his Tranflations of dy^^m.-r'^^ and elfewhere, to fay oftner unbegotten or iinderived, inftead of Self exijienty it would have been kind towards his Readers, and perhaps as kind to Himfelf; For it will be always thought as much beneath a grave Writer to take the poor Advantage of an equivocal^ ox^y as it is a difparagement to any Caufetobe fervedby it. But to proceed. You wanted, itfeems, to bring in a parcel
* Sicut— fecundum Subflanthm aio, Homo eft, fie fecundum Subfiaytttam nego, cum dico, non-homo eft, Sec. Relative autem nega- musdicendo mn-filius : relative igitur neeamus dicendo ^iO«-^w/>«/. IngenitHs porro, quid eft nifi mn-gemtus I ) quod autem rf/«//x/«
prcnunriatur, non indicat Subjiant'um. Aug. dc Trin. 1, ^. c 6. Comf. Fulgent. Contr. Arian. p. /i. Ed, Parif.
of
372 yf D E F E N S E Qu. XXIV.
of Qiiotations, which you might as well have rcferr'd to only, where They * lie, and may be fccn to greater Advantage. Whatever they are, They contradid not me ; nor are They at all pertinent to the Bufijiefs of the Query. My Defign was to fhev/, at once, the Dodor's In- confiflency with Scripture, and with Himfelf : Both which are intimated in the Query. It was your part to defend Him, as fairly as you could. T he Dodor, I obferved, was obliged from Gal. 4. 8. 'o confefs that the Son is bj Nature truly Cjod, From thence I infer, that His Scheme cnnnot ftand with that Text 5 being an exprefs Conrradidion to it. You infift upon it notwith- (laiid'ng, that the Son may be ^7 Nature truly C '\ agreeable to the Text, and confident with the Oodor's Principles. This then is the fole Point between us, to be here difcufs'd.
You bavey you fay, proved^ that in Scri- pture tkere are different and fubordinate Ac- ceptations of the '-jjord-, God. True, you have proved that Men have been called Gods-^ and Idols Gods\ the T>evil is alfo a God, (2 Cor, 4. 4- ) and the Belly a God. But, I think, St. ^Whath fufficiently intimated, (i Cor. 8. 5, 6.) that the Son is not to be reckon'd among the Nominal Gods ; befides that you your Selves confefs it. If He be God at all, He is a real owQ : And now I want to fee, what Scripture warrants, or permits us to profefs Tv/o real and true Gods. You fay, the Son is God,
• Scripr. Dodlr. p. 3:06, Sec. alias 273, 2ic.
' trulj^
Qii. XXIV. offome Q^U E R I E S. 375
trulyy and properly^ and by Natur.y in the Scripture Senfe of the Word, Gody {p. 1 10.) Then, fay I, He mud be the fame with the one (iipreme God, becaufe there is but One, If He is truly fo, He is the fame with the on!y true God 5 if properly fo, his Subftance is properly divine ; if by Nature fo, He has the fame Na- ture with the one God. Yet I very well know that you intend nothing like it : Only, from the concurring Language of Scripture and Anti- quity, you find it neceffary to fay as we fay : And are afterwards to rack and drain Invention, to find out fomc fubtile and furprizing Meaning for it. What may we not do with any Writings in the World at this Rate, fo long as Words arc capable of being prefs'd and tortured into diverfe Meanings ? But let us go on, to fee how you account for the Son's being God by Na- ture, If dhine Tower and ^Dominion be derived and exercisd partially^ temporarily^ or in certain Emergencies only, it makes the Tcrfons to bcy and to be ftiled Gods -y not by Nature, but by Grace. Your Notion of T>o- minion making God to be God, has been fuffi- cicntly cxpofed in the former Parts. I need only ask here, what was God before the Crea- tures were made ? Or did He then commence God^ by Nature, when He created the Uni- verfe, and began tQ have T^ominion over it? the Dodor appears to be in the utmoft per- plexity, how to account for the Son's being called God, Joh. 1. 1. He is forced to quit his
Notion
J74 ^ D E F E N S E Qii. XXIV.
Notion of ^Dominion, * Sometimes it is becaufc He was ill ^o^^n Oiis after the Creation, and '\ fomctimcs becauie He was "[Partaker oi divine ^Power and Glory (He knew not liow to fay dominion) before the Creation : And fometimcs
I! lJ.irc^YJ -f a-jrc^'m S^gornr©'. So that nOW WC
have the Dodor's own Authority for contra- diding Him, if He tells us again, that the Word, Gody is always a Wotd of Office. When He was confidering the Son as God before the Creation, He fllould have Thought a little far- ther, that the Father was then alfo Gody and fhould have told us, in what Senfe He was fo. But to proceed ; Give me leave to obferve here, that the Son is God, not iy Nature, but by Grace, in Confequence of your own Principles. Being a Creature, and finite. He can exercile t\\Q: divine Power and Dominion no otherwife ■ thm partially } and fmce He did not exercifc the divine Power and Dominion to the Utmoft, before his Refurredion, He cxercis'd it only in certain Emergencies -, and fince the Exercife began tiien, and is to end after the Day of Judgment, it is barely Temporary: And fo, by your own Chara^ers, you make Him God, by Grace, like Angels, Magifirates, and "Pro- phetS', Only his IDofninion is larger, and for a longer period of Time : This is your God by Nature, But you arc very cxcufable for not doing what it is ridiculous, at firft fight, even
* Script. Dodtr. p. 7 ^ T//. 2^ f Script. Dodr. p. 240.
£^' 1^' il Script. Dodr. p. ; j.
I fo
QU.XXI V. offome Q^U E R I E S. 375
fo much as to pretend to. For how fliould the Son be God by Naturey upon your Principles, when the Father Himfelf, whatever his Meta- fhyjical Nature may be (which the * Dodor allows not to come into Confideration) is God by Office only ; might not have been God at all, if He had pleafed to make no Creatures ; and may ceafe to be Gody in the Scripture- Senfe of the word, whenever He will, by let- ting all Things drop into their primitive No- thing. Now unlefs Nature and Office fignify the fame, it is not eafy to conceive, upon the Doftor s Principles, how any Perfon can be Gody by Nature, at all. You fay, if the di- 'vine ^Powers and dominion be derived to^ and exercised by a Nature^ Perfony or intelli- gent SubftancCy Universally, (which is im- poflible to fuppofe in a finite Creature) Per- manently, (which is contrary to your own Suppofition of a Kingdom which is to have an end) Unalterably, (tho' an Alteration is prefumed in refpeft of the Son, and might be fuppofed even in refpeft of the Father Himfelf 5) If thefe Things be lb; that is, if Contradidtions be true, what then ? Then fuch a Being, or Perfon, is God by Naturey &c. And this you give us as the true meaning of Gal. 4. i. But, I hope, we Ihali have more rcfpecl for an infpir'd Apoftle than to Father any fuch meaning upon Him. For the true Senfe and
♦ Script, Dcxflr. p. 243, 29(>, alias no, 263. Reply, p. 301.
Import
376 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXIV
Import of it, I refer you to the * Learned Gen- tleman, who has fo well defended this Text a- gainft Dr. Clarke. You add. Had not the Scri^ ftiires this Scnje of the -ouord, God, They could not be intelligible or reconcileable (p. 1 1 3 •) But are you well afluredthat youunderftand whatever is intelligible or reconcileable ? The Metaphyjical ^efinitiony you fay, cannot be the only Scripture- Senfe of the Term, God. You allow then that it may be the Trincipal,t\\o* not the Only Scripture- Senfe 5 which I am glad to hear from you. The Learned Doftor will not admit the Metaphyfical Senfe to be \ ever the Scripture -Senfe of the Term, God. The MetaphyficalSzr\(Q, He expref- ly fays, is never intended ; but the confiant ufage of Scripture is different. The Word, God, in Scripture, is Always^ relative Wordof Ojfice : AVhich though the Dodor has no Proof of, nor Ground for, nor is Himfelf well fatisfied in j yet He knew why He faid it, having very good prtt- dential Reafons for it. For, if the Metaphyfical Scnfc be ever intended, when the word, God, is fpokcn of the Father, no good Reafon can be af- flgn'd why it fliould not be lb always, when fpo- kcn of the lame Pcrfon : And if this be the current and mofl: ufual Senfe of the word God, in Scri- pture, we fliall have a fair handle to prove that it wns intended in the lame Senfe, when fpoken, in fuch andfuchCircumftanccs, oftheSon : Or, at leall, the Doctor will have little or no Pretence
f True Script. Dodtr. continucJ, />. 73, e^f. \ Sciip. Dottr. /.i^^. Repiv, z^. 1 i9,25>Oc
left.
Qu. XXIV. offome (QUERIES. 377
left, upon his Principles, for faying that the Son h truly ^ zwA proper lyy God. You obfcrvc, that the MetaphYjicalV)c^mi\on of one Self-ex tftenty miderived, independent , ftipretJie^cm^, would exclude the Son, who \s derived. This is the Sum of your Argument, and clearer than you have put it. l3ut I mud obferve to you, that this 'Dejinitioji^ or fomething Uke it, hath long palTed current with Men who believed a Trinity of divine TerfonSy and were never apprehenfivc of any fuch Confequence as you would draw from it* It is properly a Definition of the to 0«cv, the divine Nature, abfiraBing from the Confidera- tion of the difiin^ionoi Perfons, which is the ufual Method that the School-men, and others have taken 5 and There the ^o^As felf-exiftenty nnderivedy independent, are not confidered as perfonaly but effentid Chara£lers. Neceffarily- exiftingy nncreatedy immutable^ aU-fttjJicienty are what They mean, in that definition : Other- wife it is a Definition of the Perfon of the Father only, fingly confider'd. But if inftead of Meta- phyficks (which muft ahvays be content to (land correfted by Gofpel Revelation) we chufe to take our Definition of God from Scripture: Then that of * Melan^hon, which I have put in- to the Margin, will be more full and compleat.
* Deus efl: EfTentia Spiritualls, intelligens, vcrax, bona, pura, jufta, mifericors. Uberrima, immenfe potentix, 5c fapicntise. Pater seternus qui Filium Imaginera fuam ab ceterno genuit, & Filiu3 Imago Patris Co-aeterna, & Spiritus Saadus procedens a Parre 5c Filio. Melftnci. LocTheolo^. deDeo.
C c Query
37S ^DEFENSE Qu. XXV. (^ U E R Y XXV.
IVhether it he not clear from all the genuine Remains of Antiquity-, that the Catholick Church before the Council of Nice, and even from the Beginnings did believe the Eternity and Confubftantiality of the Son 5 if either the oldejl Creeds^ as interpreted by thofe that recite Them ; or the Tefiu monies of the earlieft Writers^ or the pub- lick Cenfures pafs'd upon Hereticksy or par- ticular Tajfages of the Antientefi F other s^ can amount to a proof of a Thing of this Nature ?
^\T O U tell me. In anfwer, that it is not \ clear that the Ante-Nicene Church pro* fejsd the Notion of Individual Confubjlan- tiality: That the Obje£ior cannot produce one Jingle Tajfage in all Catholick Ante-Nicene An- tiqtiitjy iL'hich proves an Individual or Numerical Confubftantialityy in the three divine Terfons. This Anfwer is fcarce becom- ing the Gravity of a Man, or the Sincerity of a Chriftian, in fo ferious and weighty an Ar- gument. Did I fpeak of Individual Confub- ftantiality ; or, if I had, could I mean it in your Scnfc? task, whether the F^/-^^rj believed the Three Pcrfons to be one Snbftance ^ and do affirm that Tlicy did, tmiverfally. You an- fwer, that They did not affcrt the Three Per-
fons
Qu. XXV. offome QUERIES. 379 fons to be one Terfbn ; which is the conftant Scnfe you make oi IndividuaL And here, you would make a (how as if the ObjeUtor had been miftaken, and as if you contradided Him : when all refolvcs into a trifling Equivocation, and you really contradict Him not at all. That prefent Scholajtick Notion, as you call it, of three Pcrfons being one Terfon^ Hypojiajisj or Stippojitum •, is no \j\\ctt prefent j that I know of, amongft any that own a Trinity: Neither is it the Scholafiick Notion ; as any Man may fee, that will but look into the School-men, and read with any Judgment. In- dividual has been generally own'd, but not in your Senfe, and Numerical too, butinaSenfe very different from what you pretend to oppofe it in: And therefore, to be plain with you; this way of proceeding, in an important Con- troverfy, is neither fair towards your Adver- faries, nor Jincere towards the Readers ; but, at beft, is only folemn Trifling. You know, or you know little in this Controverfy, that all the Fathers, almoft to a Man, either exprefly or implicitcly, aflcrtcd the Confubftantiality of the Son with the Father. Call it Individualy or call it Specif ck ; that is not now the Que- ftion. They unanimoufly maintaind that the Son was not of any created, or mutable Sub- ftance, but flridly "Divine-^ and fo clofely and nearly allied to the Father's Perfon In a myftcrijus way .ibovc Comprchenfion) that the Subftance of the Son might be juftly ciKoi C c 2 the
jso y^DEFENSE Qu.XXV.
the Fathers Subftancc, Both being One. And this is all that ever any fober CathoUck meant by Individual, or Numerical h as I have often obfervcd.
Is not this fufficicnt to urge againft Dr. Clarke and You, who make the Son of an z^^- y^rar Subftancc, differing intirely in ^m^from the Father's j in fhort, a Creature^ tho' you care net to fpcak it in broad Terms ? This is what you have not fo much as one Catho- Uck Tofi'Nicene, or Ante-Nicene Writer to countenance you plainly in. The main of your Doclrine, the very Points wherein your Scheme is contained, and on which it turns, and which diftinguifli you from the prefent Orthodox, Hand condemn'd by all Antiquity, Do you imagine, all This is to be turn d off, only by equivocating upon the word, Numerical':, or by throwing out the Term Scholaftick-, to make weak Perlons believe, that we have borrowed our Dodrine from the School-men only ? No : We know, and you may know, if you pleafe toexamin, that, as to the main of our Dodrine of the Blcffcd Trinity, we have the Univerfal Church, as high as any Records reach, con- curring with us. To Them we appeal , as well as to the Scriptures, that, together with Scripture, we may be the more fecure that we follow the true Interpretation. I need not go on to prove that the primitive Writers affcrtcd the Conftihjlantiality, becaufe you have not denied it in the Senfc I intended i and indeed I could
Qu. XXV. offome (QUERIES. 381
could not. Your dipping a Word upon us , and Aiding off to another Point, may betaken for a Confellion and Ackno\vlcd<z;ment, that the Qtiery was jufl: ; and fliould have been an- fwered in the Aijirymtivey could yourCaufc have fubfiftcd, after fo lar^ie and frank a Conixf- fion. As to Crc:d<y you lay, rione of the Three firftCenturies expnfs the^iertjt's Notion: mean- ing your owii Nonon of hidividitaly which is not the ^7.:'^'/?'s. What follows (/?. 118.) is ftill purfuing the fame Mirtake. Since you have told us, that there is no Proof of Individual Confiihftaraiality {th^x is, oi pcrfonal Identity, as you underlimd it, and in which Senfe no Body oppofcs you) it would have been lair and ingenuous to have own'd that the Fathers did unanimoufly ho.i a Confithfiantial/ty^ in fome Senfe or other. If not Nu'fnertcal, or Indivi- dual in the (Iriftcft Senfe, was ir, think you, Specifick? Yet, if io, it will follow that all the Firlicrs were direclly op.^ofice to the Doclor and You ; nnd eondeiim'd your Notion of the Son's being Inferior \\\ Kindy Nature, Sub- fiance, &c. Specifick Unity implies Equality of Nature 5 as two Men, fpecirically one with each other, are in Nature equal 5 and fo, any other two Things of the fame fort and kind. This Notion, if it were what the Fathers held, You might charge with Tr/Y/^^//?//: And, at the fame Time, You muftgive Them all up, as no way favourable to your Hypothefis. But the Fathers conftantly took care to fignify C c 3 that
382 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXV.
that they did not mean that the Terfons were fpecifically one, like three Human Perfons hav- ing a feparate Exiftencc independent of each other : Nor would They allow Three Suns, which would be fpecifically one, to be a pro- per or fuitable iJluftration ; but the Rays of the lame Sun, the Streams of the fame Fountain, and the like ; all to intimate a much clofer Tie, a more fubftantial Union than Specifick a- mounts to. The Terfons, the HypoJlafeSy were Three; and yet una Subftantia^ as Tertullian cxpreffes it, in all.
You would perfuade us (finding I fup- pofe that either fpecifick or individual Con- fubftantiality would be equally againft you) I fay, you would perfuade us, that it was fome Oratorical and Figurative Confubftantiality, which the Fathers meant. This I apprehend from what you drop in Page 121, where you cxprcfly apply this new Solution to the diffi- culty arifing from 'OacaVios- in the Nicene- Creed. I will not fufFcr the Englijh Reader to go away with this groundlefs Notion, inftead of a jud Anfwcr. Such as know any thing of Antiquity, do not want to have fuch Pretences confuted : Such as do not, may pleafc to take along with Them thcfe following Confidera- iions.
I . The Doftrine of the Confubftantiality ap- pears to have been a conftant fettled Thing 5 a fort of ruled Cafe, running thro' all in general. Strange, that They ^iqw'A ^\\ Rhetoricate \x\ a
Mac-
Q11.XXV. of /owe QUERIES. 585
Matter of Faith, of fo great Weight and Impor- tance; and that wc fhould not meet with fo much as one grave fobcr Writer, to ftrip the Matter of all Fiourifh and Varnifh, and to tell us the naked Truth.
2. It is to be obferved that the Notion docs not occur only in popular Harangues, but in dry Debates; chiefly in Controverfy with He- reticksy where it concerned the Catholicks to fpeak accurately and properly, and to deliver their Sentiments very diftinftly.
3. This is farther confirmed from the Ob- jeftions made by Hereticks to the Catholick Doftrine. There were Two (landing Obj cclions made by Hereticks to the Catholick Doctrine : One was, that it inferred a T>iviJion of the Fa- ther's Subftance : The other that it was Tri- theifm. We find Footfteps of the former, as early as ^ Jttftin Martyr, We meet with it in ^TertulliaUy as urged by Traxeas, ""Tatian and ^ Theophilus Both allude to it. ^ Sabellms was full of it ; and it was afterwards, one of the chiefeft Pretences of Arius-y as may ap- pear from his own Letters, befidcs many ^othci Evidences. Now, what Colour or Preteiice could there have been for the Objection, had not the Catholicks profcfs'd a proper Commu- nication of the fame Subftance? Need wc be
■ Dial. p. 185, 57;. Jeb. See Bull D.F. p. 65, 67. .md p. 53.
* Contr. Prax. c. 8. ' Tat. p. 2 i . Ed. Worth. •• Theoph. 1. 2. p. 129.
• Alexand.apud Theod. E.H.I, i.e. 4. p. 17. Athanaf p.p^z, \^i% BullD.F.N. p. 33.
C C 4 ^old
384 ^DEFENSE Q11.XXV.
told that Angels and Archangels, orany'created Beings were derived from God without any ^bfcijfjion from, or T>iviJion of, his Subflance ? Or could it ever enter into any Man's Head to rnake fo weak an Objection to the Catholick Dodrine, unlefs a proper Conftibftantiality had been taught by Them ? Yet this was the prin- ppal, the (landing Pretence for, and Support of, Hcrcfy for near 200 Years together.
The other was Tritbeifm ; ebjefted all along . by the Sabellians, and afterwards (tho' more fparingly) by the Arians. What kind of Tri- thetftn the Sabellians meant i^rithelfm in the highcfl and ftrideft Scnfe) appears, not only from the former Objcftion about the divifion of the Father's Subftancc, but alfo, from the way they took to folve the Difficulty : Namely, by making Father, Son, and Holy-Ghoft one and the fame Hypoftafis, as well as one Sub- JIa?ice ', and their thinking it not beneath the Father Himfelf to have fubmitted to Taffion. This makes it extremely probable that the Church, at that Time, believ'd the three Perfons to be Confubfiaiitial'm a proper, not Figurative^ Scnfe ; in Confcquencc vv/ hereof, it was pretend- ed that there would be three Gods , in like inanner as three Human Perfons, of the fame fpecijick Nature, arc three Men.
4. What puts thi3 farther beyond all reafon- ablc doubt, is the Method which the Cdtho- Ijcks took to anfwer the Two fore- mentioned Objcclions. As to That r>bQUt divifion of
Sub'
Qii. XXV. offome QV E R I E S. 3 s 5
Subjtance : They never tell the Heretichy that there was no manner of Ground or Colour for the Objeftion : They never fay, that the fame difficulty would lie againft God's creating An- gels, or Archangel'., or any other Creature; as They might, and fliould have done, had They been of Dr. Clarke's Principles, or of Your's. No : * They only deny any "Divijion or T)iminiition of the Father's Subftance, and illuftrate, as well as They are able, fo fublime a Myftery, by one Light kindled, as it were, from Another-^ by the Sun and its Rays-^ by Fount ain and Streams ; Stock and Branch : All Inftances of the fame fpecifick Nature, and ^anfwering in fome Circumftances, tho' defe- aive in others. One would not defire a fuller and clearer Teftimony, that thofe, or the like Similitudes were intended to fignify the fame with a proper Confubjtantiality, than we meet with in 'Dionyflns of Alexandria \.
Then, for their Anfwers to the Charge of Tritheifm y as undcrftood by the Sobelltans y how eafy it would have been for Them to have told the Objedors, that They did not take the word God in the ftricl Scnfe; that Mofes and other mortal Men had been called Gods 5 that They believed the Son to be no
* Jufl. M. Dial. p. 183,^75. Tat. p. 21,22. Athenng. p. 40, 9^. Origen. Panipli. Apol. Tertull. Apol. c. 2 i.adv.Prax.c.S.Theognofl. apud Athanaf. Vol. i. p. 230. Hippolyt. Contr. Noet. c. i i. p. i 5. Dionyf. Alexand. Rcfp.ad Quaefl:. 5-. Conf. Prud. Apotheof. p. 172.
t 6-^^Bull. D. F.p. 120.
)J Apud Athanaf. deSentcnt. Dionyf. Toxii. i . p. 2 j-y, 2j6.
more
386 y? D E F E N S E Qu.XXV.
more than a Great urcy iho' the moft perfed of all Creatures ; and that the Sabellians did Them a very great and manifeft Injury, to huaginc otherwife of Them. This would, this muft have been their Anfwer to the Charge of Tri- theifm as underftood by the Objeftors ; had They not otherwife learned Chrift. Inftead of this, They appear to be very fenfible of the juft Weight and Importance of the Obje- aion. They muft fecure the T>ivinity of the Son, and yet prcferve the Unity too. They have recourfe to Unity of Subftance (even a- gainft Thofe who made one Subjlance to fignify one Hypoftajis) as Tertidlian frequently does, in his Difpute with Traxeas : And Notwith- ftanding that the Sabellians had, if I may fo fpeak, carried the Son's divinity too high, in- fomuch as to make Him the very fame Hypo- ftafis with the Father 5 yet the utmoft that the Catholicks could be brought to fay, in IDegra- Nation of Him, was only this $ that He was fnbordinate as a Son--, equal in every refped, but as a Son can be equal to a Father y inferior, in point of Original (the Father being Head and Fountain of all) but ftill of the fame Na- ture, Power, Subftance and Perfections 5 fub- fifling in, and from the Father, infeparably and conftantly, always and every where 5 and there- fore one God with Him. And if any Perfon, iho' in the Warmth of Difpute, did but happen to drop any doubtful ExpreiTions, tending any way to leflcn the Dignity of the Son, or was
but
Qu. XXV. offome QV ER I E S. 3 87
but fufpefted to do fo ; the Alarm was foon taken, and it awaken'd the jealoufy of the Ca- tholicks : who could not bear any Appearance of it. This was remarkably icen, in the fa- mous Cafe of TDionyfiuSy Bifliop of Alexandriay Sixty Years before the rife of ArhiSy and is re- corded by Athanafnis in his Works.
5. To this we may add, that while the Sa- hellian Controverfy was on Foot (which was at lead 100 Years, and could never havelafted io long, had the Catholicks been of any other Principles, than Thofe which I here maintain) I fay, while this was on Foot, how eafy would it have been for the Catholicks to have pinch'd Them clofe, and to have prefs'd Them with variety of Arguments, _ more than They did, had They been of your Principles, or of Dr. Clarke's ) The Father is eternaly but the Son not fo ; the Father is omnifcient^ but the Son Ignorant of the Day of Judgment; the Father is omnipotent^ but the Powers of the Son finite and limited ; in a word, the Father i. Creator, but the Son a Creature ; and the^'cfore They cannot be One and the fame Hypoftcfis, or Suppofitmn. This Argument had been irrelragabU, nnd could not have failed of being urged and pi ciVd Home, by Men of fuch acute Parts, as TertiiUmn, Oria^eny Hippolytiis, and Others, had it been confiftent with CathoUck Principles ; or had They not be- lieved, that the Son\j2isCo?ifubftantial-, in the proper Senfe, enjo} ing all the ejferitial Perfecli- ons of the Father, in common with Him.
6. It
388 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXV.
6. It would be endlcfs almofi: to proceed in this Argument: The red: I Ihall throw into a narrower Compafs, and only give Hints for your leilure Thoughts to inquire into. The ftrid Senfe which the Antienrs had of the word Gody as fignif;;ing Subftance^ and applying it to the Son, in the iame Senfe; their admitting but one SubQance to be ftridly Divine, and their utter Abhorrence of any inferior Deities 5 their ap- propriating Worlhip to the one true God, and woifhipping the Son notwuhftanding ; their unanimous Behef of the Son's being eternaly wicreated, omnipotent ^ and of his being Creator, Preierver, and Suftainer of the Univcrfe : Any- one of thefe, fingly almoft, would be fufEcient for the Proof of a proper Confubftdntiality^ as aflcrtcd by the Ante-Ntcene CathoUck Writers : But all together, and taken with the other Par- ticulars before mentioned. They make fo full, fo clear, fo ample a Demonftration of a Matter of Fa6l, that a Man muft be of a very peculiar Conftitution, who, after having well confidcr- cd the Evidences, can make the leaft doubt or fcruple of it. And this I hope may be fuffi- cicnt in anfwer to your Pretence of an Orato- rical or Figurative Confubftantiality 5 a Pre- tence, which you lay down with an unufual Diffidence ; and without fo much as one Rea- fon, or Authority, to fupport it.
It being evident, from what hath been faid, that it was a proper, not pgurative^ Confub- (^antiality, which the Ante- Nice ne Fathers in- violably
Qu. XXVI. offome qV E R I E S. 3 ^9
violably maintaiiVd : This is all I am concern'd for. As to the qucftion, whether it ihall be cal- led Specifcky or Numerical, I am in no pain about it. Neither of the Names exadly fuits it ^ nor perhaps any other we can think on. It is fuch a ConfitbjlanttaUty as preferves the Unity y without dcftroying the diflin^ ^erfonality^ fuch as neither Sabellians nor Arians would come into, but the Catholicks maintain'd, with equal Vigour, againft Both. It is a Medium to prefcrve the yr/<?r//7 of the Father, and withal the T>ivinity, the ejfential Divinity, of Son and Holy Ghoft : In a word ; it is the fober, middle way , between the Extravagancies of Both Extremes.
Q^UERY XXVI.
Whether the T^oBor did not equivocate or prevaricate ftrangely , in faying, * The Generality of Writers before the Council of Nice, were, in the whole, clearly on his Side : When it is manifeft. They "were, in the general, no farther on his Side, than the allowing a Subordination amounts to ; no farther than our own Church is on his Side, while in the main Toints of T^ijfe- rence , the Eternity and Consubstak- TiALiTY, They are clearly againft Him ? That is, They were on his Side, fo far as
* Aofveer to Vr. Wells, ^fig, 28.
we
390 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVI.
'u:e ackiiowledge Him to be right y but no farther.
IN Defence of the Doftor, you appeal to his very mimeroiis-, and, as you fay, flain Quo- tations from the antient Authors. And this, you promife before-hand, will be made further evident to all learned and tmprej tidied Per- fons, as foon as Dr. JVhitbfs Obfervations on Bifhop Bull's Defenf. Fid. Nic. appear in the World. As to the Dodor s pretended plain Qiiotations, from the antient Authors, They have not plainly ^ nor at all determined againft the Co-eternity and Confubftantiality of the Son, the Joints in ^eftton i and there- fore can do the Dodor no Service : But, on the contrary, the Ante-Nicene Writers, in general, have determined plainly againft Him, as to the main of his Dodrine, wherein He differs from us. In allcrting which, I fay no more than the great Athanajius told the Arians long ago, and it is Fad, that all the Writers before Them, of any Repute or Judg- ment, were diredlv agrainft Them. *' * We " give you Dcmonftration, fays He, that our *' Dodrhie has been handed down to us from " Fathers to Fathers. But You, Ye Revivers " of Jiidaifm and Difciples of CaiphaSj what " Writers can you bring to Father your Tenets ? *^ Not a Man can you name, of any repute for " Scnfc or Judgment. All to a Man are againft
* Athanaf. deDecrct Syn. Nic. p. 233.
[[ you.
QU.XXVI. offome QUERIES. 39r " you, &c. To the fame purpofe fpeaks St. Att- ftin^ in a ftudied Difcourfe, which may be fup- pofed to contain his cooiefl: and moft ferious Thoughts. " * All the Catholick Interpreters " of the Old or New Teftament, that I could *^ read, who have wrote before me on the " Trinity, which is God, intended to teach, " conformable to Scripture, that Father, Son, " and Holy-Ghoft do, by the infeparable " Equality of one and the Same Subftance, *^ make up the Unity divine. Here you may obferve the Summ of the f Catholick Doftrine. The fame Homogeneous Subflance ; and Infepar ability. The firft makes each Hy- poftafis, res divina ; the laft makes all to be una Subjiantia, una Summa reSy one undi- 'videdy or individualy or numerical Subftance ; one God. This is the Antient Catholick Do- ftrine; and, I think, oi xkz Schools too y tho' the School-men have perplex'd it with innumera- ble Subtilties. Hilary expreffes it briefly thus.
* Omnes, quos legere potui, qui ante me fcripferunt de Trf- nitate, quceeft Dcus, divinorum librorum Veterum 8c Novorum Catholici TracStatores hoc intendenint fecundum Scripturas doce- re, quod Pater, & Filius, 8c Spiritus Sandus, Unun ejufdemqut SubJlantiA inieparabili aequalitate divinam infinuent Unitatem. jiug, Trin, I. i. c. 5 . p. 7^ 3 .
t Ijhdladd another tajfage of ^/. Auflin, to explain his Smfe more clearly,
Trinitas propter Trinitatem Perfbnarum , 8c Unus Deus propter ir^ fepara6ilem Dmnitatem, ficut Unus Omnipotens propter /«/t>/)^r/?^/- /w? Omnipotentiam. Itautetiamcum de(ingulisqua;ritur,unufquir- queeorum 8cDeus2c Omnipotens eflerefpondeaturi cum verode omnibus fimul, non Tres Dii, vel Tres Omnipotentes, {ed unus Deus Omnipotens: Tanta ineftinTribusinfeparabilisUnitas, quxiic fe Voluitpraedicari, Aiigujl. in Ctvit. DeiA» 1 1. c. 24.
Nature
392 ^DEFENSE Qa. XXVl
iVrf^//r^ indilliniilis, atqiie infcparabilis Unit as. This, 1 fay, is the Doctrine ; Confute it, if yoa pleafe, or if you can : In the mean while how- ever, let us honeftly own the Fadl. But to proceed.
There were many Writings extant in the Times of Athanajins and Aiijlin, which have not come down to us ; and therefore their Te- fiimonies, in the Cafe, are of the greater Force. I might mention other Catholicks^ about that time, who appealed to Antiquity, with all the Aflurance and Freedom imaginable. But the mod remarkable Inftance to our purpofe is, that when in the Time of TheodoJiuSy the Arians were prefs'd by the Catholicks in Difpute, and fairly challenged to refer the Matter in Contro- verfy to the concurring Judgment of the Wri- ters before Them, and to put it upon that IfTue 5 the Arians declined it, and durft not abide the Trial. See the Story at large, in * Socrates zw^'\Soz,onmu So dull were the Catholicks at that Time, nay, fo unthinking were the Arians too, that They could not perceive, what is now fo clear to the Doclor ; that the gene* rality of Writers ^ before the Council of Nice, were on the Arian fide : But one Party was confident, and the other fufpedled, at lead, that the contrary was true.
But I need not take this tndireti way of confuting the Dodor's Affcition; tho' it affords Ui a very (Irong Prcfumption, and is of much
* Lib. J. c. 10. I Lib. /.c. i2»
grcatec
QiT. XXVL of feme QUERIES. 393 greater Weight and Authority than the fingic Judgment of any of the Moderns: Many of the Ante-Nicene Writings, by the good Pro- vidence of God, are yet extant, and can fpeak for Themfelves ; Bcfides that the incomparable Bifliop Bull has unanfvverably defended Them, and vindicated Them from all fuch Exceptions as appeared to have any Shadow pf Truth or Probability in Them. To fhow you how lit- tle Reafon the Do£lor, or your Self, hath to boaft of the Ante-Nicene Writers as favourable to your Caufe, I fliall here fet down feveral Pofitions, in which the Doctor and You run manifcftly counter to the whole Stream of Antiquity;
1. That the Son is not ConfubftantiaUjiith God the Father, You are dire£lly oppofite to all Antiquity in This your leading Pofition, on which the reft hang, and on which the Con- troverfy turns. This is very clear from the Teftimonies colle£led by Bifhop Bully and from what additional Obfervations I have made un- der the laft Qiiery.
2. That the Son is not Co-eternal '-juith the Father, Confubftantiality \vi\y^\\z^Co-eternity : Befides that the aforc-mention'd learned Prelate has given us numerous dired Teftimonies for it from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, above Twenty of them ; not one of any Note plainly contra- didling Them. Thefe two main Points being determin'd againft you, the reft are of lefs Mo- ment. Yet "l cannot find that the Antients
D d agreed
^9+ ^DEFENSE (ii.XXVL
agreed with you in your other inferior Pofiti- ons, which you bring in as underprops to your Scheme.
3 . Thaty God, is a relative Wordy ^so? and ^ihrtiz Jignifying not Sttbftance kit 'T>ominiony and Authority, This is direftly * contrary to all CathoHck' Antiquity, a very few Inftances excepted.
4. That God the Father only was God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, This Pofition I have fhown to be contrary to the Sentiments of the Ante-Nicene Writers.
5 . That the Titles of one, only^ &c. are exclu- (tve of the Son. This alfo I have ftiown, in thefe Papers, to be diredly contrary to the Judgment of the Antients.
6. That the Son had not diflinB worfhip paid Him till after his RefnrreElion, This, in the Senfe wherein you underftand it, is not true ; nor agreeable to the Sentiments of the Antient Church.
* 5'fgFiddes, Vol. i. p. 57f- i^-c, and what I have obferv'd above, p. 8)-. Nothing more cominon than Bsorr,!^ for divine Nature (as uvB-^uTToT'/jc, a l/o for- the Humeri) in EccleJiaflicaL Writers. I Jljall pint to a few In/lances only out of many.
McIitoapudCav. Hift. Lit. Vol. 2. p. 53. Grabe Spicileg. Vol.z. p. 24f. Hippolyt. Vol. i. p. 226. Vol. 2. p. 24. Origcn Contr. Olf. p. 342,404. Cyril. Hierofol.Catech. 11. p. 142. Cyril. Alex. Tlicfaur. p. 2 5 2 . Dial. 1 . de Trin. p. 40;-. Damafc. de Orth. Fid. I. 3 . c. I 1.
N. B. Ti'^ere is , inJlriBnefsy fotne dijference beirceen ro S-woc, and B-^orm (tho' the Ut (ens oftenufed for the former) fuch nearly as between Con- Crete, arul Ablkad; but fill Bidrij- refers to NcLture and Subftance (as (r^ux, alfo generally does) ;;o/ Dominion. Abftradi Names of Sub- (fances are not very coynmon indeed. (6'efiLock. H.U.I. 3.0.8.^ bm here thtri wvii a nccejpy for it.
4. 7. That
Qu. XXVI. offome (QUERIES. 595
7. TPjat Father arid Son {or anyt'-jjo 'Perfons) ought not to be called one God, I have referred to the Ante-Nicene Writers, who fo called Them, more than once. Some of the Teftimo- nies may be feen at large in Dr. Fiddes.
8 . That the Title of Gody m Script tire^ in an ab folate Conftrtttiion, always fignifies the Fa- ther, Diredly contrary to the Stream of Anti- quity ^ as may appear, bcfidcs other Arguments, from their Application of Scripture Texts, of the Old Teftament, in which God is fpokcn of abfolutely, to the Son.
9. That an hiferior God may be admitted be- fides the Supreme, and Worjhip paid to Both. Nothing can ftrike more at the very Funda- mentals of Religion than this Pofition, in the Judgment of the Anticntsin general.
I o. That the Son is not efficient Canje of the Univerfe^ and of all created Beings. This I take to be contrary to all the Antients. See the Teftimonies above *.
1 1 . That the Son Flimfelf is made or created. This neither you nor the Doclor admit in Terms -, but in reality-, and in other wordsy you Both do ; as hath been fliown. This Pc- fition is flatly contrary to the Dodrine of the Antients. The Teftimonics have been referred •to above. There are other Particulars, which I may at prefent forget, or which may lefs de- ferve notice. Thefe are enough to fliow that the Dodor's Pretences to the Ante-Nicene Fa- thers, are groundlcfs. ^Qu.ii. Dd2 What
396 ^DEFENSE Qa.XXVI.
What then has the Do£lor to plead for Him- fclf, and for his fo great Affurancc in this Particu- Inr ? Fiid, That the Aiite-Nicene (as did alfo the Toff-Nicene) Fathers ^\\o\.'z^ 2^ Subordination y which is very true, butnot at all pertinent j nor can any Confcquence be certainly drawn from it, in favour of the Dodor's Hypothejis -^ which He himfclf fcems to be aware of, as 1 have remark'd above *. Another Thing is, that the Ante-Nt- cene Writers, fome of Them, fpoke of a Tempo- ral Generation by the IVtlloi the Father 5 which I have accounted for in my former Pages. And a third Thing is, that the generality of the An- tie?7ts^vjhcn They fpeakof God abfolutely, ordi- narily mean the Father, and They diftinguifh His Perfon by fome eminent Titles, and peculiar Ap- pellations ; which may be cafily accounted for.
Can thcfc Three Confidcrations, or if there be more fuch, be ground fufRcient for the Do- dor to fay, that the generality of the Ante- Nicene Writers are clearly on his fide, when They cxprcfly contradict Him in fo many Par- ticulars as I have mention'd ; feveral of Them Ejjentials of His Hypothefis ? The moft that in Truth can, or in jufticc ought to be faid, is that, in fome Particulars, They feem to fa- vour Flim ; but could not r^^//)/ mean it ; unlefs They notorioufly contradicted Themfelves. The very utmoft which the moft fanguine Man of your fide fliould hope for, is, that the Fa- thers may be found Contradictory to one ano-
ther.
Qu. XXVI. offome Q^U E R I E S. 397
ther, or to Thcmfclvcs, in order to null their Evidence. If They arc confident, They arc cufs certainly. And this Difference there is plainly between us, and you : That, as to your Principles, the Fathers are exprcfs, clear, and full againftThcm j no Poffibility of reconciling Thcni together : As to our's, They are no where diredly and cxprclly againftus. If They are at all againfl: us, it is only indirecfly^ and mufl be made out by Inference, T>ediiEiiony and remote Confequcnces, neither clear, nor certain. They may be reconciled to our Vrin- ciples, to Themfehes, and to one Another : But as to any confident Agreement with y our's, it is utterly impradlicable.
Now fuppofing the Doftor ever fo ftrongly to believe that the Ante-Nicene Writers, in general, held Principles which neceffarily in- fer and imply his Conclufion j yet we infilt upon it, that They ought not to be judged of from any obfcure, difputable Confequences which the Dodtor draws for Them, againfl what They drew for Themfelves. If we once take the Liber- ty of denominating, forting, or ranking of Men with any fide, not according to what Themfelves, perhaps rightly, profefs'd, but according to what iomcmagme, in Reafon and good Confequencc, They ought to have profefs'd, we may call ^ro- teftants, Tapifts--, Arminians, Calvinifts'^ Ortho- doXy Hereticks ; and whatnot. There are fomc common Principles Vv^hich all Mankind agree in 5 and the feveral Differences and Diftindions D d 5 amongft
398 ^DEFENSE Qii.XXVI
amongft them arife only from their drawing Confcqucnces differently ; and it is this that gives Them their particular and fpecial Deno- mination. Now fince it is evident and vifible, as the Light, that the Antc-Ntcene Writers did not own the Confequences which the Dodor makes for them, but exprefly and clearly re- jected them; conftantly affirming the Eternity and CortfiibfiajJtiaHty of the Son, (the very Points of Difference between Us and the Dodor) it is plain and obvious to common Senfe, that the Dodor has no juft Claim or Title to Them, but that We have: They were, in the main Points, clearly on our fide (confident, or not confiftent, is not now the Qiieftion) and as clearly againft Him. It is to no purpcfe to plead, in this Cafe, that Treintfes only are of any Weight, and that Concluftons alwavs ftand for nothing;. This may be allowed in Argumentation'-, but not in determining on v%^hat fide any Perfon, or any Body of Men were in this particular Que- ilion ; whether fuch Conclujions follow from {y^ii'^Premifes, In this, xhzAnte-Nicene'SSIxX' tcrs were dire^l)\ zwdiplainly y Anti-Arian-^ and therefore it is a great Abufe of Language, and as great an Injury to Them and to the Truth, for the Dodor to fay that They were,, in the 'u:kole, clearly on his fide.
But you had promifed the World great Mat- ters from a Book of Dr. V/hitby%, which has fmce fcen the Light 5 and lam therefore obliged to fay Ibmcihing to it, tho' othcrwifc I (liould
much
Qu. XXVI. offome Q.U E R I E S. 3 99
much rather wave it ; becaufc it is wrote only to Scholar Sy with whom it can do no harm i and becaufc, I believe, youare fcnfiblc, before this Time, how uncautious a Thing it is to pro- mife in the Dark ; and to be Sponfor for ano- ther's Performance, fo long beforehand. Dr. Whitby is a Perfon that has done good Service to the Ciiurch, and to the learned World 5 and one would be willing to throw a Veil over his late mifcondud in this Controverfy, did not the imprudent Triumphs of others oblige us to take fome notice of it. But let us come to the Point : I fhall fhow you, in fome fhort Stridures upon the Performance, how little you are to hope for from it 5 and how far it comes fhort of Expedation. I'll divide what I have to fay into two Kinds of Obfervations.
1 . Upon general Fallacies, running thro' the whole Book.
2. Upon particular Defeds, Mifquotations, Mifconftruftions, Mifreprefentations, <irc.
His principal, and moft general Fallacy, is his making Ejjence and Terfon to fignify the fame. One individual OT numerical^&x\cQy He every where interprets to a Sabellian Senfe ; under- ftanding by it one individual Hypoftafisy or real Perfon. And this ridiculous Senfe He fixes upon * All that now pafs for Orthodox ; and, I think too, upon the generality of Thofe who have been reputed Catholicks down from the
♦ Prxh p. 32,
P d 4 Council
4CO ^DEFENSE Qu. XXVI.
Council of Nice : For He ^ charges Athanafius Himfelf with it 3 who has been generally looked upon as the Standard of Orthodoxy, in this Article. The Charge is weak, and groundlefs, and more efpeciaily in regard to Bifhop Bull-^ who is ^ known to have declar'd Himfelf againft it, as frequently, as ftrongly, and as fully, as it was pollible for a Man to do. The learned 'Examiner, tho' *^ He feems to have known this, is forced to ^ pretend Ignorance, to give ' the better Colour to what He was going about. For, otherwife, who would not, at firft fight, obferve the peculiar Extravagancy of the Un- dertaking, to confute Bifhop BtilU only by Ihowing that the Bifhop has not proved what He never intended to prove, nor fo much as believed, but rejeded as heartily as the learned Examiner Himfelf can do. However, fince this was, in a manner, neceffary, that the learn- ed Examiner might appear at leaft to have fomcthing to fay, all due Allowances are to be made for it. Let us now obferve how, in the
' Pracf. p-5i.
" / (l^a'd here only cite am Tajfageof B'tJIwp BuHj fpe^^king of Sandius 5 Ti-ho/e Sitps Dr, Whitby has too cloftly folloxo'd.
Audlor il!c, ubiquc in Libro iuo illud pro certo & rato habet Homcufartorum, quos vocat, & Sabellianorum de Filio Dei Sen- tcntiim prorlus eandcm efle. Quo nihil a vero remotius eftj Siquidcm fupra dare oftendimus, Nemincm Dei Fllium Patri ifjucHTicy pofTe dicere, nili abfurde admodum 8cimproprie,quicuni S,i6ell.o {nn'm. D.F.N, p. 148.
6('e^lfo D. F.p. i:jo. Animadv. in Gilb. Gierke, p. 1004.
' See Modcft. Difquifit. p. 107. where he charges Bt/hop Bull vith hohimg a Spcciftck Unity j and Prje£ p. 3 i .
*• Prarf.p, 31.
Entrance,
QU.XXVI. offome Q^UER I E S. 401
Entrance, He is pleafed to ftate the general Qucftion.
" * Whether All t\\z Ante-NiceneY2.\\\c\% " profefs'd the very fame Dotlrine which JVe " afcribe to the Nicene Council ; That is, whe- " ther all acknowledged the fame Numerical ^^ EiTence of the Father to have been commimi- *' cated to the Son and Holy Ghoft, and that " therefore Both are one God in Number with " the Father.
See how many Guards He has put in 5 as it were Confcious of what He had taken in hand, and fearing left otherwife there fhould not be left Him ftrength fufficient to fccure a hand- fome Retreat. He does not fay, the Genera- lity of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, but ^//; fo that if there happens to be but one Exception, He may ftill be fafe and fecure. Next, He does not fay the Doclrine of the Nicene Council, but which We afcribe to that Council : Now, who can tell what JVe He means ? Perhaps Himfelf and Two or Three more. Then again, fame EJfence will not ferve, but it muft be the fame numerical Eflence : And this He inter- prets, every where throughout his Book, in a SabelUan Senfe. So here the State of the Queftion is intirely changed : And unlefs the Bifliop has proved (which God forbid) that All
* Utrum Patres Omnes Ante-N'icm't Eandem Quam Concilio Nic^- no Tribuimus fententiam amplexi funt: hoc eft, utrum omnes Eandem Numero Patris EfTentiam Filio £c Spiritui Sando fuifTe GoiviMUNicATAM, coquc Hominc utrumquccum Patic C/'/?«W3 A"/^w^- ro JDff/??;eire agnoverunt? Proem.})-!,
the
402 ^DEFENSE QuXXVI.
the Ante-Nicene Fathers were Hereticks and fomething worfe, profeffing what Themfelves condemn d as Hercly, He has not, it feems, done enough to fatisfy the learned Examiner, Not content with this, He demands farther to have it proved that this lame numerical Effence, that is (according to Him) Terfon, was com- mmiicatedy to Two other Terfonss And He has fome pretence for cavil at the word * Communicated. Yet, as if all this were not fufficient, it muft be alfo by iyiterior Tro- dud ion -y as He obfervcs a little after in pag. 2. and He has fome Turns of Wit upon the word f Troduciion, Was this the way to an- fwer fuch a Writer as Bifhop Bull:, a wife, grave, learned, judicious Author, and One that was above Trifling \
In fliort, the plain Queftion between Bifliop Bull and the Arians is only this: Whether the Ante-Nice7ie Fathers, in general, believed the Son to be of an eternal^ uncreated^ immu- table^ and ftridly divine Subftance, or no.^ Bifliop Bidl maintained the Affirmative, and has unanfwerably prov'd it, in the Opinion of mod Men of true Learning and Judgment, whe- ther Here or Abroad. This is what the learned Examiner fliould neither have concealed, nor difguis'd ; but have frankly and honeftly con- fefs'd, as He did ^! formerly. If, notwithftanding,
* Pratf. pag.ii. f Prsehp.2;.
II Opu'-, a;^grediorquodBiiIlusnoftras, PietateSumma gcDoiftrina Vir prscditu";, arnue m Anticjuitatis totius Scriptis Vcrfatiflimus,
the
Qu. XXVI. offome QUERIES. 405
the learned Trelate has not proved that the Fathers held a numerical EjGTencc, in the Exa- winefs Senfe (fuch as He thinks neceffary to prefcrve the Unity) the Bifhop fhould not be reprefented as faiUng in the Proof of what He intended 5 but {hould be given up for a Tri- theifty and the Catholick Church with Him, whofe Advocate He is, and with whom He (lands or falls. This would have been the fair and ingenuous way ; unlefs the learned Exami- ner would have undertaken to prove that the Fathers before the Nicene Council were of Ari- an Principles, which He durft not do. What does it fignify to fhow that They were not Sa- beUians ? Did Bifhop Bully or docs any Man of Senfe, pretend They were ?
You may judge of the Performance, ifrom his ftating the Queftion fo ftrangely 5 and his fetting out with fuch diffidence, as if He thought the Caufe defperate. When you come to the Book it felf, you'll find Two Thirds of it, in effeft, little more than retreating to the Sahellian Senfe of Numerical and Individual^ which is only fo much Impertinence. This is the principal, and the mod general Fallacy which He trufts to ; and is, in a manner, the Turn of the whole Book.
He has another general Fallacy^ which He fervcs Himfelf of fometimes, and it is this.
o^sn An perenniori, ad Dociorum Invidiam, & Novatorum Coriloll- um, furomo judicio Sc induflria percgit. Utitby.Tracint, de vera, Chr'tf. Deit. pag.fp-
When
404 ^DEFENSE Qa.XXVL When He finds fome Exprcflions run pretty high and ftrong for the Divinity of Chrift, * He fays the Avians ufed the fame, or the Hke Ex- prcflions. There is very little Force or Weight in the Argument : For it amounts only to this. The f Avians, perfed Mafl:ers of Diflimulation, and notorioufly accuftom'd to equivocating, ufed fuch or fuch Exprefl^ions, meaning little by them 5 therefore the Ante-Nicene Writers, Men of a very different Stamp and Charafter, meant no more by thofe Expreflions. But, be- fides this, it is well known that the II ArianSy at firft, did not ufe thofe high Expreflions of the Son, but cam.e into them by Degrees, as They found their Doftrine too fliocking to be endured in broad Terms; and as they perceiv'd theNeccflltyof ufing C^r^^//Vy^ Language. We can eafily fliow, how, and when, and why the Avians were obliged to fpeak higher than They thought. But it can never be fhown that the Ante-Nicene Fathers were under any fuch Temptation; or that they affefted to fpeak
"* Prcef. p. 4, 29. Lib. p. 8, 9,40, ^Oyi og,i f^,J ^j . anJel/ewhere,
t Scilicet Tcnebrioties ifti parati crant quamlibet Fidei Confeflio- nem fuo fuffragio comprobare, quae modo vocem cfjtjoac-lis non ha- beret : etiamfi quoque in ca ponerentur verba alia quae apud Sanos omncs idem prorfus llgnificarent. Bull. D.F. p. zSf.
I] Arianos JefumChrifturn Dt'«?w^^ Deo, lumen de Iwn'mey njitam tx vita, ante omnia Ssicuh ex Deo Patregenitum dixiiTe, Eufebio adhiic in vivis agente, melcgiiTe nonmemini: utcunquc poftea, ad decli- nandam Invidiam inPublicis Formulishas voces fraud ulenter ufurpa- rcnt, (^c. Cav. Epijl. ylpologet. p. 6f.
Qui Artcs Eufebii, reliquorumque Arianorum Vocum Ambigui- tate pcrpctuo abutentiam, non olfaciet hac in rej ei quid aliud op- tcm non video, prxter nafum. CUr.Epift. Crit, 2. p. Ji.
1 Other-
Qli. XXVI. of fbme Q^U E R I E S. 405
otherwife than They really meant, or than They would be generally underftood. They were plaui open Men 5 unacquainted with thole Principles of Latitude, and ftudy'd Refinements, which came in afterwards. I may ufe almoft a parallel Inflance from what has been lately feen among our Selves. From the Year 1 7 1 2, Arians have been taught to fubfcribe the Ni- cene and Athanaftan Creeds. But our good Fore-fathers would have thought it horrid Pre- varication to do it 5 They were not fo fubtile and rcfin'd: And therefore, tho* Subfcription is now no certain Argument of Men's Senti- ments, it was formerly : when Men were other- wife inftruded, and loved Chriftian Plainnefs and Simplicity. This may fcrve for a brief general Anfwer to the learned Examiners fe- conA general Fallacy.
There is a third ^mfr^/^y^/i/'^, which occurs pretty often 5 that the Ante-Nicene Writers di- ftinguifli God from Chrift, (that is, the Father from the Son) and call the Father God ab- folutely : Now, fuice the Tojl-Nicene Writers do fo too, and fince no Body fcruplcs it, even at this Day 5 I need not give my felf the Trou- ble of any more particular Anfwer. Thus far for the general Fallacies, running through his Perfomiance : After which, it may be needlefs to take notice of any particular Mifmanage- ment; But, for a Specimen, you fliall have a few Inftances of his Milquotntions, Mifconftru- ftions, Mifreprefentations, Reviving of old and
trite
406 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVl.
trite Objedions, concealing the Anfwers, and the like.
To begin \j\t\\Mifquotations: Pag. 22. He cites part of T oly carp's^ ox ology-, recorded in the Epiftie of the Church of Smyrna. There He ^ leaves out tiic Two nioft material Words, ((7UV ajTw) on which the Argument chiefly de- pended, and then infults over the learned Tre- late.
Png. 6z. Citing a Paflage from ^ Athenago- ras , He changes -^^^^ durisj into srfto^ auVov, without giving any notice of it, or reafon for it ; only to make a weak Infinuation againft the T>ivinity of God the Son.
Pag. 75, 76. He has a Citation from Me- tkodmsy part cf which you may fee above {p. 143.) the remainder I have here fet down in the '^Margin. After giving a Conftrudion diametrically oppofite to the Intent and Z/^^Z-^r of the Author, He breaks out into this Expref- fion; '^ See how He (Methodius) manifefily acknowledges the Sofi to have been^ made, and before begotten (that is all the Senfe that I can make of what He fays) in fpight of the Bijhop. He might havefaid, in fpight of Grammar and
* Ht reach it at « iroi ov zrviofjtjccTi ccyica ^o%x. infiead of oi ts coi Tuv ecuTM c'y 7:iivyj!X.Ti dyi'jo ^o^ja, Vid. Eufeb. I. 4. C. If.
n^05 «jry ^ (c" ^i ctvri ZTMTK iyivsTo. Athena». Leg;, p. 58. Ox. Ed.
' To •-) tyo) T*ttjijif>ov "/iyivvyiKci. cs, on cs^ovrtx. v,^/j «?£? ^ uiavuv, Atyw, cvVoK KpK-or?, fobA^^pjv (^ r5 Ko<rfj!ja> yi'morxi, 6 J« sV* rs-fo^iv «i7»a»^V*V>^'3^o-««. Ap. Phot. p. 960.
En quam clarc agnofcit Filium yeyevsv^i Sc-zr^Vsyavwsitfadlum ?c prxf^cnicam clTc, fruftra prsefule renitente. A/W.^?. D{/^.p. 7^-
com-
QU.XXVI. offome Q\J E R I E S. 407
common Senfe : Nothing can be clearer than that Paffage of Methodius for the eternal Ge- neration of the Son; which he docs not only affert, but guards it againft the Objedion from that Text (77?/j da'j have I begotten thee) ex- plaining it, not of any Temporal Generation (for He allows no fuch Thing) but of a Tem- poral Manifejlation.
Pag. 97' You may fee how He deals with a modern Author, the learned Dr. Cave, He firft applauds his great knowledge of Eccle- fiaftical Antiquity (in which He is extremely right) and then cites a Paffage from Him, which, as reprefented, feems to fay, that many of the carlieft Fathers were againft Chrift's Divinity. He had done this once be- fore in his * Preface, fo that one may fee He is pleafed with the Difcovery. I have gi- ven the Paffage at large in the •\ Margin, in- cluding that part in Hooks which our learned Examiner has left out. The whole turns up- on thisi whether Dr. Cave by, in quibttSy in- tended the fame as, in qtiibus JinguliSy in every one of the foregoing Particulars, or rather in
* Prxh p. 28.
f Naevos, quiinScriptfsejus (Ladlantii^ not2Xit\ir y de Blvlnitate^ de seterna Filii exiftentia [de Animarum prze-exiflcntia &: Futuro poft hanc vitam ftatu, de Fine Sacculi &: Mille Annorum Imperio, de adventu Eliae Multos ad Dei cultum converfuro] aliifque capiti- bus, de quibus obfcure, incaute, quandoque etiam periculofe locu- •tusfit, excufabunt, apud candidos rerum aeftimatores, Sxculi quo vixit circa iftas res imperitia, dogmata ipla pauIo abllraftiora, nee dum a Theologis dilucide explicata nee Synodorum decretis defini- ta, & in quiirus '0[/,o^y,<pii^ habuit complures praecedentium Saccu- lorum Patres . Cav. H'tft. Liter, Vol. i . p. 1 1 z.
manyy
408 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXVI.
rnan'j-, or nwjl of them. It is impoflible to prove that He meant it ftridly of every one 5 and therefore no certain Argument can be drawn from this Paflage : But I will give you a Reafon or two, why 1 think Dr. Cave did not, or could not fo mean it. You'll obferve, that de Tiivinitatey ftands by it felf, as a diftind Article; and very probably, is to be conftru'd of the "Deity : Laciantius is "^ known to have had very abfurd Notions of the "Deity y fuppon fing God to have had a Beginnings and to have 7nade Himfelf. Dr. Cave could never mean that LaEiantiiis had 'Olxc'\■^\<^o^Jz Comphtres ^ wany of his Mind, in this Article : And there- fore could not intend, in quibuSy ftriftly, of every Particular, but of the Whole and in the General. Then, as to Dr. Caves Judgment of the Senfe of the Fathers, in refped to the Di- vinity of the Son, and his Eternal Exiftence, it is fo *f well known, and fo often appears in his Writings, that He fhould not be prefumed to contradid his declared and repeated Sentiments? without a manifcft Neceffitv. Wherefore Dr.
* La^ant. Inflirut. 1. i. C.7.
f Sancfti Patres Catholicae Fidei Nicsenorumque Dogmatum Te- ftcs funt inconcufll, Vindices accirrmi ,- qui Fidem ab Apoftolis traditam, a Majonbus acceptam, ad nos ufque propagarunt, accep- tam Vita, Voce, ctiam Sanguine fuo confirmarunt, inviftifquc Argumcntis contra omnia Hjereticor-um molimina (artam tediarn confcrvnrunt i quique niillis Sophifmatibus fledli queunt, ut in T/rjitarior/on caulam Tcftimonium dicant. Hinc illse Lachryma?- Ha-c Fundi calamita';. Adto ut de Antiquitate Ecclefiafticadici poteft, quod dc Ratione alicubi habct Malmsburienfis Philolbphus ; ubicun- quc Ratio Homini rcpugnat, Hominem ipfi Katloni repugnaturum. (^av. L^iji. A^oloict, p. 17,
QU.XXVI. offorne Q^U E R I E S. 409
Whitby docs a great injiir}^ to the Memory of that good Man, by taking an Advantage of an ambiguous ExprefTion. To proceed.
Pag. 60. He tells us, that the Titles of ra -sravTOf ztTODiTnV, and r^xi'j o\(i}v d^YiiJAH^yo^ (that is, Creator and Framer o'^ xhc Univcrfc) weiefuch as the Writers of that Age (the Second Century) always diftinguifli'd the Father from the Son by. If He means that the Son had not then thole or the like Titles given Him , it is a notori- ous Untruth (as you may fee by the Quotati- ons * above, from Irenaus, and Clemens Alexan- drinus) If He means only, that Thofe and the like Titles were eminently and emphatically given to the Father, That indeed is very true of the iS'^r^?/^^ Century; and as true of all the Centtiries following, down to this prefent, as appears by our Creeds 3 which, I iuppofe, is no great Difcovery.
In his Preface, (P. 32.) He mifrcprcfents £/^- y?/as declaring againfl: Unity of EffencCy where the good Father intended nothing but againfl: Unity of Terfon. In the fame Page, He brings in -^ Athanafais^ and interprets \vh?.t He faid againft the o.acacnov, as if it had been meant of the oaciJo-iovj betwixt vvhich, that accurate Father al-
* Qu. II. p. 188.
t Vid. Athanaf. Tom. i. p. 767. CompareTam.. a. p. 51.
Athanafius dijltngiujljpd 'very particularly, more than Hilary ani fome other Fathers did, between the otooiso-iav and the cfAifA-^cicv. He thought that to fay the Son tv as only \\kcGod, was as much («jden)'irg H\m to be God : As if tve f?outd fay aToing is only Wkc Silvery there- fore not Silver; or only like Gold, therefore not Gold. This was his Scrfe of the Matter,
E c ways
4IO ^DEFENSE Qu. XXVI.
ways carefully diftinguiflicd. A little lower. He represents Athnnafins as maintaining numerical Identity 5 which (in the Scnfe of the learned Ex- aminer) is making him a Sabellmn. Thus, it feems, He is to confute Bifliop 5////, only by puz- zling and confounding fuch Things, as that in- comparable Prelate had made plain and clear.
Pag. 9. He reprefcnts Barnabas^ Epiftle, cyvo^^otf, which he interprets Spurious^ (p. 19,) ncgleding and concealing in w^iat Senfe "^ Eufe-' bins had reckon'd it in ov vo^oi?' and what had been faid by very ^ learned Men in Defence of it.
Pag. 2 3 . He gives a partial Account of the Antient T>oxologies. No one that has fecn Sr. Bafil, the eighth Book of the Clementine Confti- ttitions, Tolycarfs Doxology, and the Church o^ Sfnyrnds, befides Clement oi Alexandrian^ and Hippolyttissy can make any reafonable Doubt, whether to or ^witky were not apph 'd in ^oxologies to the Son or Holy Ghoft, as well as ^7, through, o\: in, hy x\\<zz2it\\^{iAnte-Nicene Writers. To pretend Athanajian Forgeries in Anfwer to all, is only giving up the Point, with the ridiculous Circumftance of appearing to maintain it.
His Account of Jiiftin Martyr is oneconti- nu d Mili'cprefentation, as may appear in fome Meafure, by comparing it with what hath been obferved in thefe Papers I!.
* See CavcHiftor. Litcrar. Vol. i. p. ii. t Pcarfon.Vindic. p. 276, zSi.BulI. D.F.p. i)-. Pr. Trad p. ^ 1) v'^cc my Anfwer to Dr. IVhitfy, p. 49. &c. where Jujiin M. k vinJicatcd, at large.
Pag.
qu. XXVI. offorne Q^U E R I E S. 411
Pag. 6 1 . He takes occafioii from the Latin Vcrfion to mifreprefent Athenagoras^ and to infmuate that the Son is not like the Father. If the Greek words be rendet'd, as They fr;nify. Infect, cr Fatti, the Equivocation upon Gent- tus^ and therewith the Argument is loft.
Pag. 62. He undertakes another Pafl'age in AthenagoraSj a very famous one, and of fm^ gular ufe in this Controverfv; plainly fliowing the true and genuine Senfc of fuch Fathers, as fpoke of a Temporal Generation, and being of equal Force both againft Sabellians and ArianSy as the * learned Prelate has judicioufly and ad- mirably demonftrated againfl: Tetavius, San- dnis^ and Others. Sandhis^ being fcnfible of its Weight and Force, thought it the wifeft way to fay, that the place was corrupt ; and being a Man of Wit, He invented fomething of a Co- lour for it. Gilbert Gierke^ afterwards, thought of a more plaufible Solution of the difficulty: but the learned f Bifhop had too much A.ah men to let it pafs. Laft of all comes Dr. JVhitby with a new Device, which, I fuppofe, is in- tirely his own. You fee the Pallage in the II Margin. The words »;:^ cJrysvVy^ov, He con- ftrues thus : Not as eternally generated, as if He had read 7?vvci);i^>ov, fupplying aio'/ojs- by Imagination. The Senfc and Meaning of the
* Eul!. Dcf. F-N./). 20+, lof.
+ 5'e^Bijl!. Aiiimadv. inGilb. CI. Op Poft.p. 105-2, i of ^.
fiv. Athen. Leg, c. i o. p. 38.
E c :i word.
4t2 ^ D E F E N S E QU.XXVI.
word * yivofj^cvj fignifying rna^/e, or created, is fo fix'd and certain in this Author, that no doubt or fcruplc can be rcafonably made of it. -And that He intended to fignify the Son's ot- mutablcy eternal, nccejjary Exiftence, in this Paflage, is fo manifeft, that a Man muft be of a peculiar Complexion that can fo much as qucftion itj efpecially confidering the other high Things faid of the Son, by this Author, in other Places i fome of which have been above cited. I mention not how the learned Examiner endeavors to elude Them ; putting off one with a Jeft {p. 60.) pretending an In- terpolation for another (/>. 61.) and for fear all fhould not fuffice, retreating at length to his Qiiibble upon the word NuniericaL
P. 1 08. He makes a ridiculous Reprefentation of Tertullian, as if that Writer believed two An- gels to be as much O;?^, as God the Father and God the Son are. I fliall only f tranfcribe the Paflage, and truft it with the intelligent Reader.
Pag. 1 1 o, 1 1 3 . You find Him tampering with Irenaus ; Firft, infmuating as if that excellent
* E;'« ©!cy «y« r r^h ^ -z^-uvicc, zs-ciYiTyy, autcv fjuly » ^'jofBjJ'iv^ crt rr tv » '^i.srciij a.}Xu. to |U/>) 6U i. p. 21. To ov oiw, y£«(r*v rg cnc s^^oif i) r>.i. TO VJvc^^^uov ^i)i cv Jg jsfsl't^Tcrs. p. 67. Ou ^u<rei c'neov u:;Xk y2vrfB/,uy. p. 68.
t Et nos ctiam Sermoni afque Rationi, itemque Virtuti, per qvix omnia moiituni Deum cdiximus, propriam Siibftantiam Spi- ntam infcribiniusi cui & Sermo inlit prosnuntiantu & Rat'to adiit tlifponciui, & r/Vrwpcificicnti. Hunc ex Deoprolatum didicimus, & prolarioficgcncratum, & idcJrcoFilium Dei & Deum didlum, ex
Vii'.tatc Subjiar.t'u. Nam Ik DensSpiritn: h:i de Spirifu Spiritus
& de Deo Dens f ut Li^mende Lnnjiuc 3.ccQn(nm. TenidL^pol. c. 21. p. 202. Ed. IJavcjcanip. Lugd.
2 Writer
Qp. XXVI. offome Q^U ER I E S. 41 ?
^ Writer had fuppofcd tlie So7i was our Lord and Gody accordmg to the good Tleaptre of the invijihle Father 5 but admitting the more probable ConftriiLlioii to be, that every Knee migK't bo-jv, according to the good Tie afure of the iiivifible Father.
It is well known that Iren^us ^allows no Creature, nothing that had a Beginning, to be JLiftly called Gods " looks upon the Notion of an inferior Gody as a Contradidion ; does not '^ad- mit that any Creature cm create : And yet He makes the Son ^ truly God, ^ Co-eternaU and ^Confubftantial (tho' He ufes not the very word) with God the Father; Creator of Men, of Angels, of all Things. Tcftimoniesof the laft particular are fo many and fo clear (fome of which have been cited above) that I need not here refer to them. In Contradiction to all this. Dr. Whitby would pcrfuade us (from two or three Paflages which fay no fuch thing) that Iren£us refolved all the Dignity of the Son into the Powers given Him after his Re- furre£lion \ I may, upon this Occafion, take notice of another ^ Writer, who has lately
' Irenpeus, lib. i.e. io.p.48. Ed.Bened.
** Iren.Iib. 3. c,8.p. 183. Ed.Bened. "^ Lib. 4. c. 2. p. 229.
** Lib. 4. c. 4 1, p. 288. * Lib. 3. c. 6. p. 180. Lib.4.
c. 6. p. 235-. '^Lib. 2.C. 1 3. p. 132. Lib. i.e. 25-. p. 15-3.
*Lib. 3.C. 21 . p. 217. Lib. 2.c. 13 .p. 132. L. i.e. 25-. p. 15-3.
^ Ircnxiis's ge?7uine Principles may 6efcen m O'je fmt Sentence. Parer ■ ■ verbum fuum vifibilc cffccicomni fieri Carni, incarnatum Sc ipfum, ut in omnibus manitcftus fieret Rexeorumetcnim ca quae judicantur, oportebar videre Judicem, & Scive Hunc a (]uo Judi- cantur. hen. I. ^.c. ^. p.iS^,
' EmWn. Exam. of Dr. Eennct.. p. 18. frj7 Edit.
E e 3 mifre-
414 ^DEFENSE Qii. XXVI. mifrcprefcntcd Irenaus. He Imagines that the good Father llippoicd the Aoy^^ or Word, as llich, pafjible. The Paflages, which He builds tliis Ficlion upon, you have in the * Margin, according to the laft Edition. The moft that you can cfpy in them is, that the A07©' fujfered in the Flcfli : One of the Quotations does not certainly lay fo much, but might bear another Condrudion. It might as reafonably be pre- tended that the Aoy©', as fuch, v.':}.sVifibley and Coynprehenfibky and changed into a frail Man, as that He \j2iS pajjible : Seethe Margin. All that /r^;^^//^ intended to prove againft the He- reticks, was, that the Aoy©^ was conftantly united to the Man Chrift Jefus, and did not de- fcrt the Human Nature in the ^ajjton, it be- ing ^ neccffary that the fuffering Redeemer fliould be both God and Man : This is all the Cafe* But to proceed with the learned Examiner,
Pag. 147. He reprefentsZ<?r//////W;^, as making
* Solus vcre Magiftcr Dominus nofterj &: bonus vere Filius Dei, 8c paticns, vcrbumDeiPatris Filius Hominis fa6lus./m;.1.3.c. iS.p.zi i. 'O Aoy©- y ©sS (T^cl lytviTOy ^ %7rcc^iv. 1. i. c. I o. p. _f o.
Ccmpare the followkg Places. Vcrbum, Unigcnitus qui fcmper huniano gencri adefc, Sc con- fparfus i'uo Plafmati, fccundum placitum Panis & Caro fat^us, Ip- ie cftJclusChriflusDominus noftcr, quipafTusefl, />. 206.
O? K. cv TV uury, trxpiu, ov'^ JCj 'l^tui'^iiv IXiua-iToci, p. 20J. Conf.
Hippolyt. eontr. Noct. c. 15-.'
Invilibilis vifibilis facflus, & incomprchcnfibilis faclus comprehen- fjbilis, 6cimpairibili^pafilbilis, & Vcrbum Homo. p.io6.
t ^eelrcna^us, I. ^.c. iS.p. 211. See alfo the famous Tajfage about Qu iefccnce, /'. 2 1 3 . Which plainly fuppofcs all that xvas fuffering and hw to belong to the Manow/y, xll that was high and great to the Aoy©-, 0 Divine Nature.
the
Qti. XXVI. offome (QUERIES. 415
the Son, in his highcfl: Capacity, Ignorant of the 'Day of Judgment, Let the Reader fee the * whole Paffage, and compare it with ano- ther, four Chapters lower; and from thence judge of Tertullians Meaning. No reafonablc doubt can be made, but that TertiilUan under- ftood the Son's being Ignorant, &c. in refped only of his Humanity, 2iS well as He under- (lood the other Thin^^s, mentioned t02;ether with it in the fame Paragraph. Such as confider how \v\^\\yTertnirianj clfe where, fpeaksof the Son, as being of one undivided Subftancc with the Father, can makenoqucftionof it.
Here it will be proper to obviate a difficulty which may naturally upon the firft Thoughts, arife in one's Mind. Why fliould the Catho- licks fo often urge the Texts relating to Chrift's Human Nature only, againft the Sabellians? For it may feem that, if They thereby proved Two HypoftafeSy They proved only a 'T>ivine and a Human Hyp oft a fis \ and there might fiill be but one Hypoffafis in the Godhead, as the Sabellians pretended. But it is to be confider'd, that Both Catholicks and Sabellians were agreed
* Ignorans <& Ipfe Diem <:y> Hornmllltma?n, Soli Tatri not ajn ^ dil- poncns Regnum Dilcipulis,quomodo & iibi diipofitum dicira T^^trc, habcns Poteftatem Legiones Anc^clorum po('I:ulandi ad nuxiliiim a Pa- tre fi veilc-t, Exclamans quod fe Dtus reliquiijet, in Patris inanibus Spiritum ponens. Tertuil. adv. Trax. c. 26. p. f 1 6.
Habes ipfum Exclamantcm in PalTionc, Drui Meu.<, Dcus Mens, lit
quid me dcreliquifti ? Scd Hare Vox C3rnis& Animae , id elh
Homini?, non Sermonisy ncc Spiriiusy id el\, non />/, propterta emifla efl, ur impafl'ibilem Dcum oftendcrer, qui iic Fiiium derc- liquic, dum Homiiicm ejus tra.lidit in ir.ortcm. TertulL Adv. Prax. c. 30. p. 5-18.
E e 4 ill
416 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVI.
in one Point, that God was incarnate, the di- line Nature pcrfonally united to the Man Ckrift Jcfus : And the main Qiiefticn between Them was, whether the Father Himfelf made one Perfon with Chrift's Human Nature, or No. If the Cdtholicks could prove x\\z Negative (as They could eafily do) then the Sabellians mud, ot Courfc, and upon their own Principles, acknowledge another divine Hypoftafis, be- fidcs the Father. The Catholicks therefore urged all the Texts, where-evcrChrift fpcaksof Himfelf as a <^//?/7?t? Perfon from the Father; tho' many of thefe Texts are meant of Him, in his Human Capacity only. Had our Saviour Ckrili fpoke of the Acy'^^ or fp^ord, in the f^me manner as He does of the Father: Had He pray'd to the A67©', or fVord, complain'd of being forfaken by Him 5 or had He faid, I know not the Day of Judgment, but He, the Ao/S^, or Wordy does ; it could never have been prcfumcd, that the /and He, the Acy©- and Chrifi, made one Terfon* It appearing there- fore, from that manner of Expreffion, that the Father was not perfonally united with the Human Nature of Chrift ; this was fufficient againft the Sabellians ^ who allowed that the Man Chrift jcfus was pcrfonally united with God: And if it could not be with the Father^ it muft of Cor.fcquence be with another divine Hypojlajisy a diftintl and realSon of the Father. Thus you fee the Force and Significancy of thofc Texts (and of ail Texts which intimated
a plain
Qu. XXVL offome (QUERIES. 417
a plain perfonal Diftindioii between the Fa- ther and Chrift) againft the Sahellians. They fliowed that the Perlon Ipeaking was not the Father. And yet the Perlon who fpakc, having ( as both Sides allowed ) a "Divine and Human Nature, might fpcak of Himfelf in different Re fpedls 5 in this, or in that Ca- pacity. Thus, in regard to the Son's Igno- rance of the T)ay of Judgment, it is manifeft that the Father and Sen are there fpoken of, as of Two Perfons ; and One as kncwing, the Other as not knowing, tho' only in a certain refped : One Ignorant in fuch a Capacity, the Other not Ignorant in any Capacity, at all, as having never taken Human Nature, and therewith Human Ignorance, into a perfonal Union with Himfelf. Thus far to clear this Point, and to acquit my felf of a * promife made you fome time ago.
I fliall proceed a little farther in remarking on your Friend's Performance. It is frequent with Him to bring up old Objeftions, neglect- ing and concealing the Bifhop's Anfwers. I (hall give a few Inftances only 5 that I may not be Tedious.
Pag. 17. He pretends that the Bifhop has not fliown, that the Fathers of the Second Cen- tury refolved the Unity into the fame Principle with the Nicene Fathers. Yet the Bifliop f has
* Qu. 7. p. 1 1 1. 5*^^ Athanafius farther , upen the Jhin^ whereof / have been fpeak'mg. Vol. i.p. 261. t Bull. D.F. Sea.4.. c, 4.
fliown
418 ^DEFENSE QllXXVL
iliown it, and Dr. Whitby allows as much in the very next Page ; and has nothing to retreat to but the milcrablc Evafion about hidividiial,
Pag. 84. He refers to Bajil zs an Evidence that Gregory Thaumatttrgus believed the Son to be a Creature. This He again repeats in the next Page 5 and again in his Preface, p. i o. Yet the Fa6l is evidently falfc s Bafil Himfelf a full Witnefs on the contrary fide ; and this Bifliop Bull had * given notice of, and made clear to a Demonftration. When a Writer drains fo hard, to put a falfe Scnfe upon Another; there's no uncharitablenefs in believing, that He gives us at lead his own true meaning.
Pag. 87. He revives an old Objedlion, which the learned Prelate had ingenuoufly -f fet forth in its full Force 5 and given it as full an Anfwer. Your Friend is here pleafed to fpeak with great contempt of the Brfliop's Anfwer 5 for no other reafon, that I can fee, but becaufe He was not able to confute it. Being however refolv'd to fay fomething, He ftoutly denies a plain Mat- ter of Fad. Olxovo/x/a, fays He, is never ufed by the Fathers, in the Bifhop's Senfe. Pleafc to turn to the places noted in the !1 Margin, and judge whether the Bifliop, or He, be the
* Bull. Dcf. F.N. p. lyy, 15-6, 15-7.
t RuII.D. F. p. 267.
I) Tcrtullian adv. Prax. c. i, -i^. CIcm. Alexnndr. p.S^ijpff. Tatian c. 8. Ed. Ox'.IIippoIytusContr. Noe:. p. ii, 15-.
Valclius had obfcrvedthe Thing long ago, and vo'ithotit any View to Controverfy.
Vctus omnis Chriftianorum Thcologia Deo quidem Patri Mo-
morc
Qd.XXVI. of fome (QUERIES. 419 rnore faithful and accurate in this Matter. If any thing farther be wanting in Defence of Bi- fliop B'dlly in this Article, let Him fpeak for Himfelf, in another * Work, in anfwer to Gil- bert Clerke ; who, it feems, was much oflfcnd- cd at the OlKovo/x/a, grieved, as He well might, to fee His moft pompous and plaufible Pre- tences intirely baffled by it. I fhould weary my Reader, and my Self too, if I went on re- marking every Place, where old Objedions are brought up j and either none, or very flight notice taken of the Anfwers : If you have a mind to compare, you may note fome Pages referred to in f the Margin. I fliall proceed no farther, in this tedious and difagreeable Employ-
narchiam attribuit, Filio vero & Spiritu San(3:o oiKovofjulccv, id efl:, .Adminiflrationem&Diipenfationem. Valef. Not. adEufeb.^. ^^6, See alfo p. 90. 25-5.
* Bull. Pofth. Works, /). 104.5-, 1046, 1047, ^c, t Modeft. Difquifit. '^ ... ^ ^ ^
Pag. 27.
nicnr
420 ^DEFENSE Qu. XXVI,
mcnt ; except it be to obfcrve to you one pe- culiar piece of Management, which I leave you to refied on. The learned Examiner labours, for * two Pages together, to fliow x}cl2X. Clemens of Rome was far from i'peaking, or thinking fo highly of our Blcfled Lord, as St. Taul did. A little after, '\ He propofes Clemens to us as a very good Interpreter of Scripture ; and commends Him highly, for laying Chriftianity before Us in its naked Simplicity. What can We think of this ? The bcft Conftrudion I can make of it is, that He intended in p. 14, 15, not St. yWHimfelf, but St. T ml h^s now generally underftood : And fo He was to infinuate fome- thing, which was not fit to be exprefs'd. But a Man of Art would have conduced better; would not have difcover'd Himfelf fofoon, but have truftcd more to the Sagacity of his Reader. This manner of proceeding, in an important Caufe, is what I cannot account for. It feems to me, that if there be not Reafons of Confciencc obliging a goo<^ Mzn to fpeak out, there are al- ways Reafons of Prudence which fhould make a '-ci7/2' Man hold his Tongue.
You may perceive, by this Time, that Bi- fliop Brill's Book is like to ftand, till fome- thing much more confiderable appears againft it.
* Alitcr plane D.pW«j loquitur: Argurnento potiuseft
CUmemem dcChiifto alitcr plane quam Faulum fenfifTc xnag-
rnm fufpirioncm injirir, cadem Clementem cumFaulo minirae do- fuiffc. M'l-j^th.difcj.T^. 14,, 15-.
t Solus Clemens Chriftianns Fidei Simplicitatem pras oculis Le<aoris ponit. H'hitb. Difq. p. 1 9.
Several
Qu.XXVI. of fame QUEKIES. 421 Several attempts of this kind have been made before; but to as little purpofe: And if there be ever fo many more, by ever fo good Hands, ru venture to fay, They will fucceed no better. The Book will ftand as long as clear Senfe, found Reafoning, and true Learning have any Friends left. The main Subftance of it is not to be confuted 5 any more than you can extin- guifli Truth, or put out the Light of the Sun. the Fathers have been tried and are found faithful: What They defended while living. The T>ivimty of our Bleffed Lord, againft the Infults of Jews y TaganSy and Hereticksy They ftill maintain in their Works : And their Works will be held in great Efteem, and Vene- ration; while every weak Attempt to blaft their Credit, will meet with what it juftly de-
ferves I was going to fay what, but it may
found fevere : I proceed to another Query.
QjCJERT
423 ^DEFENSE Qii.XXVIL Query XXVII.
JVJjether the learned T>o6for may not reafon- ably be fuppofed to fay^ the Fathers are on his fide, "-jutth the fame meaning and re- fernje as He pretends our Church Forms to favour Him 5 that is, provided He may in- terpret as HepleafeSy and make them [peak his Senfe, however Contradictory to their own : And whether the true Reafon why He does not care to admit the Tefiimonies of the Fathers as Proofs, may not be, becaup They are againft Him >
IN Anfwer to this, You tell me, that it con- tains only an invidious Suggcfkion-^ not any Argument. The Suggeftion, I do afiure you, is juft, and argumentative too j and was kindly intended towards you 5 that you might not take Things implicitely and upon TruTl from others, but might examine them firft your Self s and then pafs a Judgment of them. As to the invidious Appearance of it ; had I ever intend- ed, or in the leaft thought of making the Cille- ries publick, you might, with a better Grace, have told me of it. But as I had not the liberty of revifing my Papers, nor fo much as any pre- vious Apprchenfion of your Defign (prefuming all along the very contrary, as I rcafonably might) thcfc Things confidcr'd, I hope the/«- vidious Part you'll take to your fclf 5 the Ar- gument
Qu. XXVIL of fome Q^U E R I E S. 42 5
gtiment (for an Argument it is, in its kind) you may leave to me. It is of fome Moment to us, not only to have the Primitive Writers on our fide, (as we plainly have) but to have them thought fo too. The learned Dodorhas made fome Pretences that way ; and they arc of Weight with fuch Readers, as arc not duly apprchcnfive of the Dodor's uncommon man- ner of fctting Things off, with great Advantage to his Caufe, and as great Detriment to Truth. Two Reafons are intimated, in the Query, why his claim to Antiquity ought to have the lefs Force with confidering Men : Fiuft, Becaufc He lays claim to our Chmc\\s Forms i which every common Reader may fee, are direcllya- gainftHim; And Secondly, Becaufe, notwitli- (landing his appeal to Antiquity, He is wifer than to put the Matter upon that Iffue. He endeavors to leilen the Efteem of the Antients, all the while that He prefumes They are on his fide, (a lure Mark that He fufpeds Them) and is fecuring a Retreat when They fail Him; a$ they certainly will, whenever firicily inquired into. I would leave it with any difcerning Man ( who cannot examine farther into the Merits of the Caufe) to judge, whether it be at all likely that thofe who fpeak always con- temptibly of the Antients , and endeavor to the utmoft to abufe and expofe Them, can reafon- ^bly be pre fumed to have a greater Intereft in Them, than They who fpeak honourably and handfomely of Them 5 who defend their Chara- * dcr.
424 ^DEFENSE Qii. XXVIL
der, and have, as it were, an affedionate Tenderncis and Concern for Them. Thus niuch for the lecond Reafon intimated in the ^tery. As to the firft Reafon fuggefted, the Import of it is this. If the learned Dodor can cfpy Arianifm in our Liturgy , or Articles , where it certainly is nor; He may reafon- ably be fuppofed to miftake as much, among the Fathers. He fees, in our Liturgy, the Dodrine of one God the Father, tnclujive of Son and Holy Ghoft ; but does not fee one God exclufiveoi Both j which is hisDoftrine. He finds a Subordination of Order taught in our publick Forms 5 but does not find any Sub- ordination or Inferiority of Mature'^ which is his Principle. And yet, upon thefe flight Grounds, He fcruples not to fay, that the * main Branches of his own Doctrine are ex- frefly ajfirnid in our Liturgy ; meaning, by a tacite Confeqiience of his own making. And fmce this Confequentialy that is, Imaginary y Countenance is ail that He can claim from our Liturgy, and all that He really means, when He fays the Church's Forms are on his fide ; poflibly He may mean no more , when He fpcaks of the Fathers. The Generality of Rea- ders, it may be, underftand Him, as if He had intended to fay, that the Ante-Nicene Writers cfpccially, had declared againft the Co-eternity and Confubftantiality of the Son, the Points in Qiic(iion: But I humbly conceive, He in-
♦ Script. Doar. p. ii^.firJlEd.
tended
Qu. XXVII. offome QUERIES. 425 tended no more than this, that the Ante-Ni- cene Writers have declared fomething, which. He really believes, does by Confeqttence de- ftroy the Conftibftantiality, &c. though, at the fame time, thofe Writers admitted no fuch Con- feqtience ; but exprejiy, and conftantly difowti- ed it. This is all that He can meauy with re- fped to our Liturgy ; and therefore, probably, all He does fnean, in refpect of the other 5 or however, certain I am, that it is zWHcJhould mean. Now you fee the full of my Argument* If it look invidious^ I cannot help it 5 I ant perfuaded it is juft; and I think it of as much Importance to our Readers to have the Mattef fairly ftated, as it is that Truth may not be fmother'd ; nor any ftrefs laid upon the Doftor'5 Citations, beyond what They do really bear. The learned Doftor owns, as to Tofi-Nicene Fathers, that They are, in the whole, againfi: Him. And He fliould have own'd as much of the generality, at leaft, of the Ante-Ntcene Fathers too ; and then He has no claim td any thing but ConceJJions ; of which He endca- vors to make the utmoft Advantage, threc^^ysi Firft, by making more ConceJJions than there really are: Secondly, by reprelcnting thofe ConceJJions in fo promifcuous and confufed a Light, that a common Reader cannot readily diftinguifh when, oir where the Dodor intend- cd the full and intire meaning of an Author;^ or a ConceJJion only : Thirdly, by flipping his own Conciufion upon thofe ConceJJions^ as i^ F i :.h:- i
426 ^DEFENSE Qn. XXVII.
They were the fame Thing ; tho' there really is no Connexion between Them, no juft Con- fequence from one to the other. I would not be knowingly guilty of charging the Dodor falfely, in thefe, or in any other Particulars, for any Confideration 5 and therefore it may be cxpeftcd of me, that I explain my felf more at larger which accordingly I fhall do, in the Order and Method which I have already laid down.
I. The learned Doftor has taken feveral Paf- fages for ConceJJlons^ which are really none : but only as He has given Them fuch a parti- cular Air and Afpeft ; either by prefacing Them, and holding out a falfe Light to the Reader; or by commenting upon Them i or by /// tranjlating of Them. I fhall proceed to Particulars ; and you muft not take it amifs, if we call upoi^ you to return us back what you have unfairly wrefted from us.
Scripture TioBrinCy Pag. 3 . The Dodor pro- duces a Paflage of Athanajhis-, part of which, fo far as concerns us, you fee in the * Margin ; withfo much farther as is neceffary to clear the Scnfe of the Author. The Dodor s Verfion runs thus : " For He if he Father) is the one ^[ God, and the only One, and the Firft. And
tS 'Eiici ^ Mova <z' Ufara y^ /w»«3k©- ^oy(^^ fC, <ro(pioc, tC, uTu.uyua-f^ee'
Trs «)'>.©- y^ :3-A«f j>? uy Qeo<; . Athanaf. 2 . Orat. Contr. Arian. p. f^6. E<1. Bcned.
* '' yet
Qu. XXVil. offome QUERIES. 427
" yet thefe Things do not dcflroy the T>ivi- " nity of the Soni' This rcndring is flat and low 5 and neither anfwcrs the /;2ff??f, x\o\: Let- ter of the Author. OJ/. ei^ ava/pscrr;, literally, is, not to exclude the Son: plainly meaning not to exclude Him from being the one Gody and the only One^ and the Firfl, together with the Father. And fo Atkanajius interprets Him- felf in the Words immcdiatejy following : For He [the Son) alfo is •sreciV®', the Firft, the fullncfs of the Godhead of Him who is the Firft, and only God. You'll oblerve that the Doctor renders dira^jycLaixa.^ as if it had been dirauyckGixcL tJi? c/^cgy;r, Brightmfs of Glory: Which is again concealing and ftifling the Senfe of the Author. Athanafius intended to fignify the Son's tffuing or flreaming forth, as it were* from the Father's Subftancc, as Light from the Sun; which meaning is loft and funk in the Dolor's Tranflation. You fee then that this Paflage, when rightly underftood, is intirely againft the Do^lor; and therefore ought not to be reckon'd amongft ConceJJions.
Let us go on to another, in the very fame page* alias p. 4*^^. (the Paflage you have in the * Mar- gin.) The Dodor renders it thus : '' The true " God, who is moft flridly and abfolutcly fuch, " even the Father of Chrift." Here the Englifb Reader muft needs think that, if the Father be mofl ftriaiy. He is 7nore ilridly God than
* Tov «i>.5;3-<vjv yi^tvruc tiro, ©fsv, r\i r2 Xe^f} zrxTi^cc, Athan. Contr. Gcntp. o-
F f ; Chrift
42S ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVIL
Chrift is : Efpccially when nothing appears in the Paflagc to compare the Father with, but Chrift. Under this view, indeed, the Paflage cited is a very great ConceJJion : Bur, in the Greeks there is no ConceJJion at all. The juft and literal izxv- dring of the Paflage is this : Tke true God, who in reality is fiichy namely^ the Father of Chrijt, You mud know, that Athanajius is here exhort- ing the Gentiles to turn from their dumb Idols, to ferve the living God. In oppofition to what He calls * oux hra^ Things which have no real or but/>r^f^r/^;/i-Exiftence, and ^ cvy.ovra'Toic<^ray Thi?2gs which were not Jiich as the Heathens imagined, i. e. not divine. He advifes Them to come ovQitoth^ Father of Chrijl:, whofe pro- perty it is to exift in reality, and who is trtdy 2in&Jlri51ly God. This is no more than At h ana- yf//j'wouldhavefaidofthe Sons and II indeed has faid, (in other words) in that very Treatife ; and therefore you may pleafe to ftrike this Paflage alfo out of the Number of ConceJJlons,
The learned Doftor goes on, in the fame way (pag. 4.) And in another Paflage, inftead of far above all created Being ; (which the Greek Words fignify, and which is the r^r//^/» meaning of the Author) He chufes to fay far above all derivative Being 5 infinuating to his Reader as if the Son were to be included un- der derivative Being:, than which nothing
^ Vid. Athanaf ibid. p. 7, S. f Athanaf. p. 27.
Athan.Cont. Gent, p.40.
Qu. XXVII. offof^eCXUEKlES. 429 can be farther from the Scnfe of the Author, in that very Page ; as I have obfcrved * before, on another Occafion. All the Concef]Jo7i that is there, Ues only inthe Doclor's Tranjlatioriy and the Turn He gives to it in the Sequel : Atha- najiiis himfelf has granted nothing that can do you any Service; at lead, not in that PaiTage, and therefore let that alfo return to us again.
Pag. 89. {alias 79.) The Dodlor cites a Paflagc oi Etifebius, which, He fays, ex proves the una- nimous Senfe of the Catholick Church : And it may be true, as it lies in Eitfebius. Bur, as it is reprefented in the Dodor's Tranflation, ex- cluding the Son from any proper Efficiency in the Work of Creation, it is diametrically oppofitc to the unanimous Senfe of the Antients, and to Eufehius too ; as hath been fliown above "f .
iPag. 1 00, 1 o I . [alias 92.) The learned Dodor has two Citations from Chryfoftom and Bajili, who interpret the Texts, of ^ower, as the Doc- tor alfo does of Tower. But if the Dodor means one thing by To-jner, and They another, and the Ideas be intirely different j their interpretation and his muft be as different ns the Ideas are : And it is not fair to quote them as agreeing in the Thing, when they agree only in the Name. I have II before took notice how the Dodor dealt with Chryfoftom^ in order to concc.il the good Father's true meaning. I fli.iUhereobferve, how He perverts Bafih Senfe, by a fmall and leem-
* Qu. ix.p. 201. tQii. I r. p. 103. iiOii- -3- P-?,^S.
F f 3 ingly
430 .4 DEFENSE Qu.XXVII.
ingly flight Turn in his Tranflation. * Bajil's
Words arc iVy JC, Taury y.ard JiiyajUr;. That is.
Equal and the very fame^ in refpeEi of Tower, The Dodor drops equal, which would have dif- covered Bafits meaning ; and renders it, One and the fame hrFower. And thus5^/'sWords,which are utterly repugnant to the Dodiox^s Hypothejisy are improved into a ConceJJion in favor of it.
Pag. 1 02. {alias 9^-) He gives us a low and lame Conftruclion of a noble Paflage in ^ Iren£' tts. The Words, xara r'o ^sVxov ;<J, svc/^o^ov He ren- ders, in a divine and glorious Manner : The true rend ring is, in kis divine and glorious Cha- raBer : Namely, that w^hich He had as God, and Son of God. Irenaus,m that Chapter, is rcprefentingthe Son as ading at different Times, in a different Charadcr or Capacity. When He appeared to the Tatriarchs^ then He adled in his highefl: Capacity, in his divine Charader. What that Character is, (! Iren£us explains, a little above, in the fame Chapter : It is, as He is thzJVord, the Framer (or Maker) of aU
Bafil. Contr. Eun. 1. 1 . p. 35-.
xccroc TO B^tix-ov x.eci ivd'o'^^cv afjuiXH' roT(;, ~f ov tm vc^W f'f-p^r'-^V . „i Tuiiv uTTivifS/j, yy.TiC, j TXUTC6 "Av&()t>j7^'^ yivc(hf/^, .&C. Iren. 1. 3, c. 1 1. p. 191.
IJ 'O r dyiaiTm Ti^virn^ Xoy(^, 6 KC.,9-«/4f^ ^^^ t^^ X£p»oi/!A, ^ trvvt^ojv rot, zrccvrcc : Ircn. p. 190.
'Atto r5 -sscc^cii v.yif/joviKy.v uurtm ■ , „ ku,1 \vh^oy yivixv, Illam qua; eft a Patre, Principalem, Sc efficabilem, & gloriofam gcncrationcmcjusenarrat, dicens iic. In prmcipio erat Verbum, ^ Vtrbnm erat apud Deivn^ (y Deus crnt Verhum, Et omnm per ipfum facUfur.ty & fne ip[o factum eji mh'iL Iren .p. 191.
Things^
Qa.XX VII. offorne Q^U E R I E S. 431
Things y who fitteth upon the Cherubims, and containeth all Things^ who is the Son of God, and God. This fhows what is meant by the TO ^eVkov ;c, Wo^ov, and at the fame tmic, (hows that, according to IrenauSy the Aoy^-, who is GW, then aded in his own proper Charadcr, and not in the ^Perfbn of the Father only, which the Dodor would infer from this Paflage. For it muft be obferved that the Son was ®sof {Joh. I.I.) before the Time that He is fuppofed by the Dodor to have afted cy /ac^(p^ ©sa, as God's reprefentative : and it is of that Antece- dent Charafter Irenaus fpeaks, as is plain from ills referring to Joh. i . i .
Pag. 115. {alias 106.) He cites a place of Ju- ftin Martyr y where He renders the Words, which you fee in the * Margin, thus. " It was not God "the Creator of the Univerfe, which then faid " to Mofes, that He was the God of Abraham^ " andtheGodofi/^^G and the God of 7^^^^. An uncautious Reader might imagine from this Paffage, put into this View, that the Son is not God abfolutely, nor Creator of the Univerfe, according tojufiin. But the meaning is, that That divine Perfon, who called Himfelf God, and was God, was not the Perfon of the Father (whofe ordinary Charader is that of Maker of all Things) but another divine Perfon, viz>. God the Son. The unlearned Reader fliould be told.
* Oux o wor^Tn^ T 'oXm t^ui Qic^ 6 rS Mcoarii" tiTi^m ccvrov ilvm Qiov 'A^^xhfjtj, Kxl 0501* 'lu-ciUK, Kxi Qiov 'IxKuo. Juftiii. M^rt. Dial. 180. jebb,
F f 4 that
43i ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVII,
that what is here faid by JuJUriy was in Difpute with a Je'UJ, who would not acknowledge more divine Pcrfons than One. It was Jufiin's Bufi- nefs to fhow, that there was a divine Pcrfon, one who w^as God of Abrahaniy Ifaac, and Ja- coby and was not the Father ; and therefore there were two divine Perfons. The learned Do6tor, upon his Principles, could not, inthat way, have confuted the Jew 5 fo far as I apprehend of Ju- Jlins Argument : For the Jew might reply that it was an Angel fpeaking intheTerfonof God ^ and that therefore the Father only was God notwithftanding. But Juftin infifts uponit, that there was another Perfon, befides the Fatlier, who was really God of Abraham^ &c. If this is to be taken for a ConceffioUy it may be eafily fcen on what Side it is.
Pag. 116. [alias 108.) The Do6lor does not Juftice to Hilary. Inftead of called Lord and 'God, which is diminutive, it fliould have been, declared to be Lord and God : But this may ap- jpear flight. Such another flight inaccuracy ap- pears in his affcding to tranflate God his Father^ infleadof GodtheFather (p. 104, 179 ) which however fliows too much leaning to a Caufe; and helps to convey a falfe Idea to the£?;?^/(/^Readers.
Pag. 251. [alias 218.) He has a long Citation from Novatian-y in which all proceeds fo fair and plnufiblc; that a Reader, already poffefs'd with the Doftor's Scheme, and carrying it in his Head, may think that every Thing falls in natu- rally with it. But, at length, the Doftor comes to
*fomc
Qii. XXVII. ^//^;^^Q.UERIES. 433 * fome crofs Words, andfuchas, iffufFered to appear, would have made the Reader conftrue all backwards, and have given quite another Light to all that goes before or after. Here He ftops fhort, breaks off in the middle of a Sentence, paflcs over the ofFenfive Words, draws a Line, skips to the next Sentence, and goes gravely on to amufe his Reader. A Writer is not to be blamed, in fome Cafes, for taking what is to his Purpofe, and omitting the reft : But, as the Cafe is here, the beft and, indeed, only Light to di- red the Reader to the true meaning of what is cited, is left out. The word 'Divinity^ for inftance (which occurs twice in that Paffage) an Englijh Reader will be apt to take in the Dolor's Senfe ; and indeed can hardly do other- wife : But had the whole appeared, He could not but fee how much the Do6lor is miftaken. I muft obferveto you, that {p. 396, 337.) the Dodor deals with Novatian, and this very Paffage, almoft in the fame manner, again : Excepting that growing a little bolder, He takes more freedom in his Tranflation, Mind the Words {p. 3 3 7-) By the Son inf acknowledg- ment return'di and compare, per Siibjianti^ Commtmionemy a little before. Novatian, in this
* UnusDeus oftenditur Verus 8c /Eternus Pater, n quo Solo Hsec
•yisDivinitatisemifTa, etiam in Filium tradita ^ direcla rurfum per
SubJlantiACommmionem nd Patrem rezolvitur. Dcus quidem oftcn-
ditur Filius cui Divinitas tradita 8c porre6la confpicitur, Sctamcn
jiihilominus unus Deus Pater probarur. Novat. c. 3 i .
f The Latin is, reaproco meatu ilia majeflas atquc divinitas ad Pa- tremqui dederateam rurfum abilloipfo Filio mifia rcvcrtitur &: |etorquetur. Ibid, c, 3 i .
place,
43 3 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVII.
place, had no thought of Acktivdvledgments^ nor any thing like it : But was intent upon quite another Thing i explaining and illuftrating, as well as He was able, the Union and Commu- nion of Subjlance in Father and Son 5 and fhow- ins; how all recurs to one Head and Fountain : On which account the Father might be reafona- bly ftiled the one God, in as much as the Son is lb intimately one with Him, as to be reckoned, in a manner, to Him, and not another God from Him. It is all but one T)ivmityt or di- vine Subftancey of the Father in Both.
Fag. 254. We may obferve another Turn, by way of Tranflation. The * Greek you may fee in the Margin, which the Dodor renders thus : " That lefus Chrift, our Lord and God incar- *' nate, is not the Father, nor, as the Sabel- " Hans would have it, that fame Perfon who " is (tiled the only God 5 This the Holy Scrip - *' tures every where Teftify. The literal and plain Tranflation is thus : That Jefus Chrjfiy mir Lord and God incarnate ^ is not the Fa- ther^ nor {in the Sabellian Senfe) the only God, the Holy Scriptures every where Teftify, This meaning, you fee, is clear, plain, and eafy, without the Doctor's Embarafsments ; and is undoubtedly the true Senfe of the Author. But fuch a hint as this might have made an unlucky difcovery to the Reader ; Namely, that a Man
* ' Or* ^ 0 ira.{;YM^i\r, Ky^*©^ %x\ ©jc? •/i^a)) 'IforS? Xg^ro$ o Uxmo erne yfcc<pKi. Athan. Coiur. Sabell. p.^j.
may
QU.XXVII. of fomeClU EKIES. 43 s may believe the Son to be the only Cody with- out being a Sabellian.
In the fame Page, The Doctor has another Quotation from Athanafius (if that Trcatife be his) which, had He gone on but a few Words farther, would have appeared Contradi£lory to the purpofe for which it was brought. " * There is but one God, becaufe one Father ; " but the Son alfo is God, having a Samcnefs " with the Father, as a Son ; not that He is the " Father Himfelf, butm Nature united with the " Father ; two indeed in Number, but one in- " tire Effence. This is the whole Sentence Ute- rally tranflated ; and the Senfc of it is clear. The cutting it into halves, only to reprefent one part under another View, is not giving the Senfe of a Writer, but making one foY Him.
Pag. 255. {alias 212.) The Doctor cites ano- ther Paflage from Athanajius'y and by the Turn He gives it, ftifles the true Senfe of the Author, ^^ f The word has no other fort of Divinity, " but that which He derives from the only God, " as being begotten of Him.
The true Conftrudlion is This : " The Word has no other kind of Divinity, but " that of the only God ; becaufe He is bcgot- " ten of Him. The plain meaning is, that the
* Ei5 ©J05, on KXi rreil^ al<i' Otot; ^ xon Uo^, ruvrcrnTO, ix^*i ^5
i»*o? srpci; zs-cc^iifix' Ctnc uurhc^ m 6 zrockn, ccXX' vivu^iv®^ zr^oc, rov zroili^oc TV} (pua-w ouo "fA ccei^^^, fjt/icc ^ «(rat ouc-icc nXaoi. Athan. Contr. Sabell. p. 41.
Tivx r^oTTov iXiiv S-ioTJjIc^, Jj Tov ^ fjucvn ©£«, ^|rf' TO i^ wjtS rTii^y-
Kiycct. Athan. Contr. Arian. Orat. 3 . p. 5-64. Ed. Bencd.
God-
4^6 :.^DEFENSE Qu.XXVir.
Godhead o^ Father and Son is all one : Dired- ly contrary to what the Dodor cites the Paflage for. After I had wrote this, I found that the Dodtor Himfelf [p. 317. alias 1%$.) had tranf- lated the Sentence in the very fame Words that I have done ; excepting his putting derived (in- ftead of begotten) which might convey a low Idea to his Reader. But, not content with that, for fear a fagacious Reader fliould chance to difcover the true Senfe of the Author, He inferts a Note upon T>ivinity s interpreting it {divine Tower) in Contradidion to the Au- thor's known ordinary Senfe of ^somr, as well as to the Context.
P. 2 5 (5. {alias 223) He cites * Gregory Nazi- anzeny and tranflates Him thus : " There is '* but one God j the Son and the Holy Ghoft " being referr'd to the one Caufe. But then he adds a Note, which confounds all : Namely, fays He, as being divine Terfons by whom the one Gody or one Caufe and Original of all Things ^ made and governs the World, Right ; if We are to teach the Fathers how to fpcak : But what faid Gregory Nazianzen ? It is this : '^ We " may, as I conceive, preferve {the T>oBrine " of) one God, by referring both the Son and *' Holy Ghoft to one Caufe, without Compo- " fition, or Confufion 5 and by afferting (as I
• T»}*o«To & Uy, an; olfji^oe, Aey©", il<i'fi(S>ioqy ti\iv ocl'riov KCcl viS k»1 ^ni>fi,x\(^ ocvu(pi^ofO/j&'y- » (tvvt, B-i/^uy^ audi (rvyccX(-i(Po[/jiycov )c«» kxtoc TO tn X064 TxvTo T S)-ior^(^, Ivx o'oruc, ayof/joccrei), KiVYjUioc re xxl /3»Pi>j^t>t»«.
*.xi tI(a 'f iso-ia^, TxvTDTVTx. Gicg. Naz. Orat. 29. p. 490. Ed. Parif.
■^ may
QU.XXVII. offomeQjCEKlES. 43^ *' may fay) one and the fame Movement, and " Will of the Godhead together with the Same- " nefs of Eflence. Here is not a Syllable about the one God's governing the World by his Son and his Spirit; which, tho' a true Notion, is not fufficient to account for the Unity ; nor is it Gregory's Account of it, as the Reader muft have imagin'd from the Dodor's Comment.
P. 323. {alias 292.) The learned Dodor by wrong Pointing, and Miftranflating, perverts a Paffage of Juflin Martyr, But I have explained and vindicated the true Senfe of it "^ elfewhere.
P. 325. {alias 293.) He produces an excellent Paflagc of Irenatis y and tranflates it juftiy. But fearing it may be found too high. He fub- joins a Icflcning Note, to draw off the Reader's Thoughts. " This Paffage (fays He) is parallel '' to Thofe wherein He calls the Son and Spirit " the Hands of the Father, namely, executing '^ his I nil as perfectly y as a Man's own Hands " perform the Will of the Man. But why may it not be rather parallel to thofe Paffages wherein the Author fays, the Son and Holy Spirit are (in a qualified Senfe) the very Self of the Father ? They are here called his own Off-fpri7ig, and his own Figure ; and all the Angels are faid to ferve and do obeyfance to Them. Does not this found fomething higher than executing the Father's /^//, however per- feBly ? Or, than the low Metaphor about a Man, and his Hands, as the Doftor rcprefents
* Qu.S.p. 131.
it?
45 s ^DEFENSE Qii.XXVII.
it ? True, Iren^uSy and many other of the Fa- thersy uied that Expreffion, which They took from Scripture ; but they underftood a great deal more by it ; The fame as by * J^uva/jtir, or n)irtuSy the mighty To'wer of God, and God Himfelf.
In the fame Page, He cites another excellent Paffage of f Iren£us 5 and I am glad to have this Opportunity of fetting before the Reader, in its true Light, (o illuftrious a Teftimony of a Co-eternal and Co-ejfential Trinity. The literal Tranflation of the Greek may run thus : ^' Man being created and fajhtonedy is made " after the Image and Likenefs of the uncrea- " ted God : The Father defigning and giving " out Orders 5 the Son executing and creating ; " the Holy Ghoft fupplying Nutriment and " Increafe." Here you'll obferve, that the joint Operations of the three divine Perfons, con- curring in the Creation of Man, are fet forth in fuch a Manner, as to intimate both the di- ftinft PerfonaUty, and Unity of Effence. That Iremeiis fuppofed the three Perfons to be the one aytvviol©' ©so?, or eternal Gody here fpoken of, may appear ; i . From his introducing the three Perfons immediately after, as Explanatory
* Vid. TertuU. Contr. Hermog, c. 4f,Eufeb.in Pfalm. p. 701, 722. Athamf.p. ii4,8So. Ed. Bened.Hieron. Tom.4. p. 49. Ed. Bcncd. Bafil. Contr. Eunom. 1. 5', p. 1 1 1 .
Ircn. 1. 4.C. 38. p. z8f.
of
Qii. XXVII. of fome QUERIES. 439 of ic *. 2. From ^ his undcrftanding. Gen. i . 26. of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, Let U s 7nake, and alfo, after Our Image, fo that the Image of any one is the Image of all. 3. From Irenaiiss other known Principles ; his aflert- ing the Son to be infeBiis, or dyim^rQ^ ; ( fuj. created) and fuppofing the Son and Holy GhoU, to be the " Self of the Father 5 and fpeaking of Father and Son together, as one God. 4. From feveral Hints in the fame Chapter, all confirm- ing this Senfc. One Charader of the ay^vvr.r©', there given, is rsXei©^ : The fame Charadcr is, in the fame Chapter, ^ applied to the Son, in the fame Senfe. All Things, but the ay* vv^it©* are faid to be in ^ Subje^ion : among which Things, Irenaus can never be fuppofcd to in- clude the Son and Holy Spirit. And farther, every thing that is not, aytw^T©', comes fliort of Perfcdion, according to ^ Iren£us% who, at the fame time, alTerts the Perfeftion of the Son, iis before faid. Thefe Things confider'd, the meaning of Irenatis, in this Paflage, appears to be, that the three divine Perfons are one eternal, or uncreated God, as alfo one Creator, How then came the Dodtor to cite fuch a Paffagc,
• Compare a Vajfnge of Hippol)tus cited above, p. zi.
'' M&nus Dei ad t^uos pater Joquens, dicit, Faciamus Hommem del Imagmcm^ Simditudomn Nostram. Iren. J._j-. c. i. p. 293.
Idem ipfe qui initio plafmavit Adam, cum quo 8c Joquetatur Pater : Faciamus Hommem fecundum Imagmem ^ SmtUtudimM NosTRA\?, 1.)-. c. i^-.p. giz. Vid. £c 1.4. c. 10. p. 2/3.
•^ Lib 2. c. 30. p. 163.
** 'r<o? TOW 0£o£i TiXiio^uy. p. 284.
• Tu d^ Ae<7rj)f tocvTcc iv Crorxyvi wfvu 5^ ©Ect;. p. zSf.
which
440 ^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXVtl
which threatens nothing but Ruine and Deftru- £lion to his Principles ? The Cafe is this : The learned Dodor, by a ftrange over-fight, read Ts ixh 068, inftead of t» m^^ Ual^^j tho' both the Greek and the old Latin agree in this laft Read- ing. This Alteration, in the Texty fpoils all the Elegance, and alters the whole Turn of the Sentence : Befides this, the Doftor tranflates dyivvrira, tmbegotterty inftead of unmade ,• not obferving the Antithejisy between yswyjrof "Av- :&-pa)7r©'5 and dyin-kT^ ©£8, nor attending to, In- feBi T>ei, in the old Tranflation j which might have fet Him right. Thus far I have gone on with fome of the Doftors Quotations 5 but give me leave to ftep back for a few more> which I have overlooked.
P. 308* [alias 276.) The learned Do£tor pro-^ duces a Paffage of * Bajtly which He renders thus 5 very furprizingly. " We affirm that ac- " cording to the natural Order of Caufes and '^ EjfeEiSy the Father muft have the pre-emi- " nence before the Son. Whoever heard be-* fore from any Catholicky that the Son was an EjfeEi of the Father > Could Bafil fay this > If the DoQor would but have fuffered the very next immediate Words, which make part of the Sentence to appear, They would have unde- ceived his Reader. The literal Conftruftion of the whole Sentence is this: "We do indeed allow
♦ 'H/u/tr^ Jt, vjttroL fMv T»iv raijf eurwv vr^q rec j| avTZf %Kr», ^^'
Ti, »Jtx«Tot TKt ru ;cp°»'«^«^w« Baiil* Contr, Eun. 1. 1. p- 3 1.
" that
Qu. XXVII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 44f
" that, in rcfpcd of the natural Order of " [Emanative) Caufes and Things ifluing from " them, the Father is Trior in Order to the *• Son : But as to any Difference in Naturey or *^ Priority of Time, we allow no fuch Thing. Ba/il h:id juft before * explain d what He meant by the Father's being Trior in order of Can- Ja/ity, by the Inftance of Firey and Light flreaming from it.
Pag. 3 17. [alias 285.) The Doclor has ano- ther Citation from *f Bajily which He renders thus : " Therefore our Lord faith, all mine are ^^ thiney as referring to the Father, the original " Caufe of all Things : And thine are mine \ " as fignifying that from the Father was derived *^ to Him the Power of producing Things. The " true Rendring is thus, very near the Letter. " Therefore our Lord faith, all mine are " thiney in as much as the Original of the " Creatures is referr'd up to the Father : And " thine are mirWy in as much as the Power of " Creating defcends from Him, to the Son* That is, with his Efjencey as Bafil explains it a little after. The Dodor, I prefume, did not care that his Reader fhould know, how clearly Bajil diftinguiflies the Son from the
* ''Eft Ti Tctflfw? iT^^f bK Ik r^ TToiif v.fjum ^itnat; irvyiTcif^jfyoy, ciX>i cfjT\\ Tvi ft-xrli (P'jtriv oCKoXa^tct. (rvfju^ccTvoVy co^ ru Trv^i -t^5 to (pco", sV* TO s'l uuri. Ibid. p. 30,
■j- Aid, toZt'q (Pijtriv 6 »yg><®-, rot ifJUoi XuvTcC (Toe i^lVj eJ<; £.T uu- Toy TvJ? cc^X.^<i r ^r]f/tjHi^yvfJi^ocTm avayo|t</£v>j5, »«6t Toc (Toc i[/^cc, a)<; c/jtii-*
B-iv otuToZ -^ uhUi ToZ ^/}{Atni^/i'iv xa3->3Jfc»(r>3$. Bafil. de Sp. San^t* c. 8. p. 161. It feems from Tvhat follows t that x'h'?, rather thatt *tt?r»?, is the Reading,
442 yf D E F E N S E Qu.XXVII.
(Ay;/xi8p7yi/jta1cc) Creatures ; and not only fo^ but fuppofes the Creatures of the Father to be Creatures of the Son likcwife. The Dodor in- tended fomcthing by all ThingSy in one place, and Things only, in the other. But Bajil is unconccrn'd in it.
I mud juft take notice, how particularly fond the learned Dodor is of the Phrafe, was produced {See'p. 275, 277, 281, 291.) which He ufes fre- quently, without any warrant from the Authors He tranflates j and for no other reafon, that I can fee, but becaufe it is apt to convey a low Idea ( the Idea of a Creature, tho' the Doftor does not like the name) to thcEngliJh Reader.
I fhall proceed no farther in this Article, hav- ing given Inftances enough to fhow that fome Abatements and Allowances fliould be made us, for fuch CcnceJJions as are really no Concef- flons in the Authors Themfelves. Upon the whole, one might really wonder that the learned Dodor, who had fo wide a Field of Antiquity to range in, and was only to pick out fuch Paffages as, running in general Terms, or taken feparately, might be made to appear under fuch a View as He intended, fliould produce no more ; but be forced even to wreft and torture feveral of thofe He had found, by prefacing, commenting, and tranf- lating, to accommodate Them at length hardly, and after great Reludance, to his Purpofe. You will fay, perhaps, that the Doftor fets light by the Fathers, and lays no ftrefs upon Them ^
I fliall
Qu. XXVII. offome QUERIES. 44^
I Ihall believe you, when He fairly gives them up. At prelent, it mufl: be thought that They are efteeai'd of fouie Moment, when a Book is ftuifed with Quotations out of Them, and fo much pains taken to make Them any way fer- viceablc. One that fets fo great a Value upon the mere appearajice .\i\di jhado'uU of Antiquity, can hardly be fuppofcd to flight the Thing it felf : If the learned Dodor is fo well contented with CoyiceJJlons only, fnatch'd, in a manner, and extorted from the Anttents -, how would He have rejoyced to have found Them come heartily, readily, and throughly into his Scheme, as They do into Ours ?
II. But fuppofing all the Dodor's Quotations from the Tofi-Nicene, or Ante-NiceneWntCiS had been at lead real and full Concefjions ; yet there is fomething fo peculiar in this new way of quoting ConceJJionSy without taking notice of what (hould come in to explain, or balance Them, that we have rcafon to except againft it, as not a fair way of dealing.
I. Bccaufc, tho' the learned Dodor does give notice in his Preface, that we are not to take the Opinion of the Authors, in the whole, from thofe .Qiiotations : yet Many may happen to read the Book without confidering, or remen> bring a fhort hint in the Preface 5 and fo may lay a greater ftrefs upon thofe Authorities than theDoiflor intended.
I . Becaufe the Dodor no where (in Scripture-
T)o^r'me) gives any Marks of Diftinftion for aii
G g 2 ordinary
444 y^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXVII. ordinary Reader to underftand, where He in- tended a ConceJJion only of an Author, and where his intire Opinion j where He agreed with the Dodor in part only, and where in the whole. Inftead of this. He rarely lets his Englijh Reader fee more of any Paffagc, than may appear to comport with, and favour his own HypGtheJis'^ either ftriking out what might have dilcover'd it to be a ConceJJion in part, or difguifing it in his Tranflation, or explaining it away, by his prefacing it, or commenting up- on it. Befides, fince Authors have very feldom, if ever, been cited in this manner (by Men of Charader) in favour of fuch Principles as They really difown'd and rejeded in the main 5 Rea- ders will be apt to carry that Prefumption and Prejudice along with Them ; and a fhort Ad- vertifement in the Preface, will not be fufficient to prevent it.
3. Another reafon againft this Method is, that it gives a Handle to Many to boaft of the nu- merous Colledions of Dr. Clarke , againft the Received Dodrine. See (befides others) the ^ijjuajive from inquiring into the ^o&rine of the Trinity (p. 28.) where this very ufc is made of it. By this means. Truth is darken d. Evidences perplex'd, and the common Readers rather puzzled and confounded, than let into the true State of the Fad ; fo far as relates to the Judgment of the Antients.
4. It fhould be confider'd that the moral Obliquity and Turpitude of mifquoting or mif-
repre-
Qu.XXVIL offome Q^U ER I E S. 44 5
reprcfcnting Authors, confifts in this: That it is a means to deceive the Simple, to furprizc the Unwary and Unlearned (whomuft, or will receive Things upon Truft) it is taking Ad- vantage of the blind Side of Human Nature, lay- ing a Snare for fuch Readers (perhaps Ninety- nine in a Hundred) as read not with due Care and Thought. I do not fee but this very Me- thod of the Doctor's (tho' He has endcavour'd to leiTcn the Scandal of it) is big with all this Mifchief. He has indeed given Notice ; and wife Men and Scholars would have been fecurc enough 'Ui'ithottt it : Others will not be fo, with it : And therefore He is ftill to take Advantage of the Ignorance of one, the Partiality of ano- ther, theForgetfulnefsofathird, the Credulity, Simplicity, Hade, and Inadvertency of as many as come unprepared and unfurniflVd to the read- ing his Citations. The Thing it felf, you may perceive, is equally mifchievous, however gilded over with fpecious Pretences. And there's no more in it than this : Mifreprefentation praEiisdy and at the fame time, feemingly defended ^ and (tho' the learned Doftor does not perceive it) it is really nothing elfe but contriving a way how to reconcile (if poffible) a goodNamCy and an /// Thing together.
5. It might be of ill Example, fliould this method of citing Authors (never before ufed by good and great Men) grow into Vogue. A Romanijly for inftance, might, in this vv^ay, un- dertake to defend fome of the Romijh Tenets. G - 3 Ir
44<5 A DEFENSE Qu.XXVII,
It would be cafy for Him to make a numerous Colledioii of Teftimonics from the Fathers } and as much to the purpofe as the Dodor's Collcdlion is. Two Inconveniences He might forcfee 5 one to his own Character^ upon dif- covery, the other to his Canje^ becaufe His own Citations might be tura'd againfl: Him. To obviate the former, He might declare before- hand, that " He did not cite places out of thefe *^ Authors fo much to fliow" what was the Opi- *^ nion of the Writers themfelves, as to fhow '^ how naturally Truth fometimes prevails by *' its own native Clcarnefs : And to obviate the latter, He might fay, He alledgcd the Tefti- monies not as Troofs^ but as llhiftrations only. Thus the Writer might feem to come off pretty handfomely : But, in the mean while-, the un- learned and unthinking might be led afide by the fair fliow of Authorities ^ and all the Re- medy left for them is. Si Toptdus vtilt decipu decipiatur, Thefe are my prefent Sentiments of the Nature and Tendency of this new and extraordinary Method of Citing ^ which, how- ever, I fhall be very glad to alter, if I fee any good Reafon for it. To me it feems that it ought never to bepradlis'd, tho' to fervethebeft Caufe in the World.
III. After all, I muft obferve to you, fuppofing the Method to have been ever fo fair, and the Concejjions both many and real, the Dodor has ftill failed in his main point, of making out the Importance of thofe Coiiceffioris^ to the Caufe in
Hand.
Qu.XXVII. offomeQ^UF^KlES. 447 Hand. There the Strefs fliould have been laid : We did not want to know what ConceJJions the Fathers, in general, had made ; being ready at any Time to make the fame ConceJJions : But (ho w us the Connexion between thefe ConceJJions^ and the Dodor's Conclujion, This is the Point which (liould have been labour'd ; and which required all the Learning and Acutenefs which the Dodlor is Mafter of. As thus : The Fathers afferted the Jirjl Terfon only to be begotten, or un- originate ; therefore They muft of Confequence niake the Son no more than an inferior Gody or no God. The Fathers fuppofed the Son Jiib- ordinate, as a Son; therefore They muft, by ne- cefiary Confequence, deny his Confubjiantiality and Co- eternity. This was the Conclnjwn which the Doftor was to draw out of thofe Premifesj and fliow to be juft and true. But, mftead of this, He drops the principal Thing: repeats indeed the ConceJJionSy fuch as They are, over and over; and by a multitude of Words (not to fliow any certain Connexiony^ but only a verbal Refemhlance) He at length flips his Conclujion into their Places. There is really nothing more, in this Management, than interpreting /// what the good Fathers meant JVell'y giving a lozjv Senfe to Words and Phrafcs which They intended in a high one ; and put- ting an Arian Conftrudion upon Catholick Ex- preffions. This is all that the learned Doctor hath really done by the Help of thofe Concef- fions. In the fame way a Man may quote all
G g 4 the
448 A DEFENSE Qu.XXVIL
the ConceJJions of the Fathers about a f roper Sacrifice^ in favour of the Sacrifice of the Mafs : Or their ConcejJlons about a real TrejencCy in favour of '^[tibfl ant ialT re fence of Chrift's Body and Blood in the Ettcharifi, Only, if He would do it artfully and plaufibly, He fliould take care to reft in generals 5 and fupply what is farther wanting, by Intimations and Inmiendos. This fcems to have been the very Method which the learned Doftor has taken to grace, and fet off many of his Tropofitions 5 the 9. 3 1, 12, 17, 34> 3 5, 3<5, 39, 43 v C^^- The ConceJJions there cited come not up to the Points in difpute betwixt Us, being moftly luch general T\im<gs> as may be admitted on either. Sides and fuch as would not have been fufpeft- ed to favour the Dodor's Caufe, in Oppofition to Us, but by appearing in the Dodor's Book. To make them fuit the better, the Dodor has fornVd his Tropofitions^ for the moft part, in general^ or ambiguous Terms 5 content to fcat- ter Intimations of his Meaning here, and there, as He faw proper ; and to truft the reft to the Sagacity, fhould I lay, or Weaknefs of his Rea- der>. And now, what is the refult of the Me- thod of Citing, or what does it really prove ) I will tell you frankly and plainly. Firft, It proves that general ExprclTions are capable of being }'Ut into different Views, and may be made to look this way, or that (taken fepa- rately) by Men of Wit. Secondly, It proves that when pertinent Authorities cannot be had,
Writers
Qu. XXVII. of fame dU E R I E S. 449
Writers in a Caufe will be content with Any : This is all. Having fccn what the learned Do- ftor's Evidence from Antiquity amounts to 5 I fhall next attend to what You have to fay in defence of Him.
You perfift in it, that the Ante-N'tcene Fa- thers and Councils agree with the T>oEior
i7i every Interpretation of Scripture^ where- in He dlfagrees with the School-Notions, By School-Notions (a Term of Art) I am to un- derftand the Catholick prevailing Notions of the Bleffed Trinity. And will you pretend to fay that the Ante- Nicene Writers agree with the Dodor in every Text ? How ftrangely you de- ceive your felf ? Do the Ante-Nicene Writers interpret the firft of St. John, fo as to make the Father one God fupreme ; the Word another Gody an inferior God befidcs Him? This is the Dodor's real and intended Interpretation of it ; and your's too, however carefully you dif- guife it. Did the Ante-Nicene Writers inter- pret the Dodor's 300 Texts, or any one of Them, fo as to exclude the Son from being one God with the Father? No certainly: They declare the contrary, and proclaim Father and Son to be one God, Is it poflible that the Ante-Nicene Writers ( who underftood all the Texts to be confident with the Son's Confiib- Jlantialitv and Co-eternity^ which the Dodor cites in Oppofition to Both) fliould interpret the Texts as He does ? It is too great an Af- front to common Senfc^ to pretend it. But the
way
45 o ^DEFENSE Qii.XXVII.
way is this : When the Dodor produces the Texts, He exprefles but part of his Sentiments; and in fuch general Words, as Catholicks and At tans may Both agree in : And fo far He and his Autliorities go on together. Afterwards He comes out oi generals ^ bringing the Words down to a particular refervcd meaning, before con- ceal'd (and which the Anttents would have re- ceded with abhorrence) and ftill He appeals to the Antients, as agreeing with Him in his Interpretations, Thus, forlnftancc; in inter- preting the Texts which fpeak of the Father as the one God, He finds fome of the Antients fay, the Father is Autoes©', the Son Second on- ly, or Snbordinatey God of God. Very well ; So fays the Doctor too : And now, who can make any doubt whether the Antients agreed with Him in his Interpretations ? But obferve the Sequel, When the learned Dodor comes to explain his own Meaning of AJro-S^s©^, and Sub- ordinate, it appears from many broad Hints fcattcr'd here and there, to be this^ that the Father only is neceffarily Exifting andftridly "Divine ; the Son another Being, inferior in kind (or what comes to the fame, a Creature) diredly contrary to all the Antients. Thus you fee, while the Dodor keeps in gene- rals, and fpenks his mind but by Halves, He and the Antients may agree together ; as He and We alio do : But as foon as ever He comes to Pnrriculars, and difcovers his real and full Sentiments, there tkc Antients dcfcrt Him ; as
well
Qii.XXVIL of fome QUE KIES, 451
well as He Us. But bcfidcs this general Aii- fwcr, give me leave to obferve that, as to fc- veral particular Texts, the Dodor has no rea- fon to pretend that the Ante-Nicerie Writers, in general, were on his Side. Rev. 1.8. is one of the Do£lor'3 Texts , which He interprets of the Father 5 and infifts much upon it, that the Antients applied the Title of •arav'IoK^o^Tajp, the Almighty, to the Father only. And yet nothing more certain than that That very- Text was underflood, by the Ante-Nicene Writers, in general, of God the Son : Catho- licks and Hereticks Both agreed in it. The Text was urged againft the CatholickSy in the Sabellian Controverfy^ and was as plaufible a Text as any in the New Teftament, on the Sabellian fide : Yet thcCatholicks admitted that it was to be underflood of God the Son ; and readily allowed in Confequence of that Text that the Son was 0 wavlcy.^Tcx)^^ the Almighty, as well as the Father. See * Tertiillian, Hippolytus^ and, probably, Origen, agreeing in this: The Doftor has not pretended to cite any Ante-Ni- cene,ox ^nj Antient Writer, who underflood the Text otherwife; tho' He makes a fliow of hav- ing the y^;2/-/>;^/-j- in general on his fide, in this very particular, {Script, T)o^r, p. 63.) with-
-^ Tert. Contr. Prax. c. 1 7. Hippol. Conrr, Noet. c. 6. p. 10. Orig. 'Aox,. 1. I. c. 2. Vid. 8c Athan.p.)-f4, 684,762. Ed. Bcned. Greg. Naz.Orat. 35*. p. 5-73. Andreas Cxiar: in loc. Hicron. in Zcch.c. 2. p. 1718. Epiph. Vol. I . p. 488. That the Son is zruvroK^.ccrc-.'^ might be fiown from other Tt'.yts. Pi". 1^. 10. If. 6. j-. Zech.2.8. 5'e? Eufcb.Ocm. ev. /. 6. c. 16. Juft. iMart. Dial. />. 107. Jcb. Hicron. Vol. 3. p. _>- 1 9, 1718, Ed.Bened. Sccmy Sermons, p. izSjt^'f.
out
45 2 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXVII.
out proving any thing more than that the Father was ordinarily or. emphatically (tiled Qw-avro%^' Ta^e^ which is true, but not pertinent 5 nor is it giving us the Sentiments of the yf^^f/V/^/'i-, with regard to this Text j but his own. J oh. 12.41. is another noted Text, which the Dodor endeavors {Script. "DoBr, p. 102.) to interpret in favour of his own Hypothefis 5 and makes a fliow of Autho- rities as countenancing Him in it. But none of his Authorities come up to tliis Point : So far from it, that They are all againft Him j as I have fuffi- ciently proved under ^ery the Second, and elfe- where. The like may be obferved of the Autho- rities which He produces (p. 1 14, 1 1 5.) to con- firm his Interpretation of yf{f?. 7. 30, 3 1,32. And I have, above, fliown you as much oijoh. 10. 30. and other the like Texts 5 where you pretend to have fome Countenance from the Antients, for your Interpretation. Infhort, there isnot a Text which the Dodor can pretend to urge in favour of his ;?;^/;? Dodrine, and againft Ours; and at the fame time fhow that the Antients agree with Him. As foon as ever you interpret any Text diredly againft the Divinity of Chrift, as underftood by Us in the ftrid Senfe, you go off intircly from the Antients y and go on by your Selves. But enough of this.
In anfwer to the latter part of the Qtiery, you obfcrve that the Realbn why the Dodor doth not admit the Teftimonies of the Fathers as VroofSy is not becaufe They are againft Him 5 but bccaufcy tho They are clearly for
Him:,
Qu.XXVIL ^/>;;;^Q.UERIES. 45 5 Him, yet-, hi Matters of Faith, He allows of 710 other Troof than the infallible Teflimony of the Word of God.
One might be willing to believe this to have been the reafon, why Wzwoiddnot admit Them 2.%T roofs, if there were not another very plain one, why Wq could not -, could not without in- evitable Ruin and Deflrudion to his whole Hypothefs, An Adverfary need not defire any fairer Advantage of the learned Dodor, than to have the Iffue of the Caufe put upon the Dodtor's Citations $ taking in no more than is abfolutely neceflary to clear the Senfe of the Authors, in thofe very Paffages. But waving this, let me ask you farther, why the Tefti- monies of Fathers may not be admitted as "Proofs, Inferior or Collateral Proofs ? If I can know from Church-Writers, and from Scrip- ture too, what was believed by the Church (in fundry Articles) from the Beginning j I have then two Proofs of the fame Thing, tho* not Both equally ftrong, or equally Authentick. The Proof from Church -Writers is an addi- tional, inferior Proof; but ftill a Troof it is, probable at leaft, of fomething, astoF^^; and not barely an Illuftration of a "^Dogma, or Do- drine. Are we able to prove what were the Opinions of feveral Sefts of Thilofophers from the Books which are extant; and may we not alfo prove what was the Faith of Chriftians, in the fame way , from the Books which They have left us ? You add, The Authority of the ^ FatherSy
454 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXVIL
Fathers y could it be proved to be unanimous againft 'Dr. Clarke , ought not to determine any Article of Faith. No 5 But it is a ftrong prefumptive Proof, that his Interpretation of Scripture is not the true one : A Proof fo con- fiderable, that I know not whether any thing lefs than clear and evident Demonftration ought to over-rule it. For, you muft remember that Dr. Clarke^ or any Moderns^ as well as the AntientSy are fallible Men; and have only the fame Human Reafon to work with, which others had Sixteen Hundred Years ago, in an Age of Miracles, and near to the Days of In- fpiration. Moderns, at fo great a diftance off, may, at lead, as eafily miftake, in interpreting Scripture, as you fuppofe the Antient and Uni- verfal Church to have done, in a momentous Article of Faith. Well then ; fuppofing that we had been for fome Time debating this very Point of the BlefTed Trinity, on the Foot of Scripture : Mens Wits are fo various, that fe- veral Interpretations may be invented of the fame Texts 5 and perhaps none of them fo ma- nifeftly abfurd, but that They poflibly may be true 'y nor fo manifeftly right, but that They poflibly may be wrong. What can we do bet- ter, in fuch a Cafe, than to appeal tothofe who lived neareft the Times of the infpircd Writers > Their Judgment, their Dccifions, and confe- qucnt Practice, are at length the fafeft Rule to go by ; at lead till you can fliow us a better. Scripture, you'll fay, is the Rule ; and fo fay L
* You
QU.XXVII. of fome (QUERIES. 455 You bring Your Scripture Proofs ; and I pro- duce Mine. You have your Solutions of fuch Dilficultics as I prefs you with 5 I have Solu- tions too, and fuch, as I think Sounder, bet- ter, and Juftcrthan Your's; You think the very contrary. Thus far, it is combating Text with Text, Criticifni with Criticifm, Reafon with Reafon 5 and each fide will think his own Supe- rior. Now, fuppofe I can farther produce a Cloud of Witneffes, a numerous Company of primitive Saints and Martyrs, confirming my In- terpretation, concurring in nvy Sentiments, and corroborating my Reafons : And fuppofe 1 find alfo that Thofc, who took your Side of the Que- ftion, were condemn'd by the generality as He- reticksy and Corrupters oi the Faith of Chrift ; this will add fuch Weight, Strength, and Force to my Pretenfions, that impartial Men will foon perceive, which is the moft probable, which the fafer fide, and which it behoves them to cleave ta. This is fo agreeable to the common Senfe and Reafon of Mankind ; and the Advantage of hav- ing Antiquity of one's fide is fo apparent, that I'll venture to fay, none ever talk'd againft it, who- did not fufped, at leafl:, that Antiquity was a- gainfl: Them : And this I take to be one of your greateft Misfortunes in this Controverfy ; that you are fenfible how much it would weaken your Caufe to give up the Fathers ; and yet, you are certain, in the refult, to weaken it as much, by pretending to keep Them.
Qy E R y
456 ^DEFENSE QU.XXVIIL (^ U E R Y XXVIIL
IVhether it be at all probable , that the pri- mitive Church fljould miftake in fo material a Toint as this is i or that the whole Stream of Chriflian Writers Jhould miftake in telling us what the Senfe of the Church was i and whether fuch a Cloud of Wit- neffes can he fet afide without weakening the only Vroof we have of the Canon of Scripture, and the Integrity of the Sacred Text?
IN Anfwer hereto, you admit that ^^^ !r<?/?/- mony of the whole Stream of Antiquity is Jufficient to determine, in fa^ , what Faith the Church hath always profefsd and declafd in her publick Forms. I am content to put the Matter upon this Iffue ; and let the Point be decided from their Profeflions in Baptifm, Creeds, Doxologies, Hymns, which were pub- lick Forms ; and from publick Cenfures pafs'd upon Hereticksy which arc as clear Evidence, as the other, of the Church's Faith at that Time. Only I would not exclude Collateral Proofs 5 fuch as the declared Sentiments of Eminent Church -Writers, the Interpretations of Creeds, left us by thofe that recite Them^ (fuch as T\io{coi Iren£us^ Tertulliany and Others) and Ecclcfiaftical Hiftory, telling us, what the Tra- dition of the Church was, down to fuch a Time.
From
Qu. XXVII. offome Q^U E R I E S. 457,
From thcfc put together, \vc have very deaf and full Proof that the CathoUck Church did all along profefs a Truiity of Confabjiantiat^ Co-eternal Pcrfons, in Unity of Nature, Sub-» ftance, and Godhead. This, the Incomparable Bidiop Bull has fufficicntly fliewn in his T>e- fenfio Fidei Nicen£y Judicium Ecclefi^^ and primitiva Traditio. Bifliop Stillingfleet purfued the fame Argument, with Variety of Learn- ing, in his Vindication of the 'Do^rine of the Trinity, Chapter the 9^N which He concludes in thefe Words : " Taking the Senfe of thofe *^' Articles, as the Chriftian Church underftood " them from the Apoftlcs Times, then we have ''^ as full and clear Evidence of this Doclrine, ^^ as we have that "uje received the Scriptures " from them. Dr. Clarke % and Dr. IVhitbyS Pretences, to the contrary,, have been fufRci- ently anfwer'd ; partly by the learned Gentle-^ man who 'wr:otc i\\c True Script ure-T>o^rine continued, and partly by thefe Sheets. You have little to object, but that the Fathers did not affert an individual Confubftantiality, in your Senfe; which is true: And is no more than telling me, that They were not mad 5 when I contend that They were fobcr.
But you add ; the Qucftion is, whcthei', fup- pofing the Fathers had unanimoufly declared for our Notion, whether {in a ^leftion not of Fa5i, like that concerning the Canon of Scrip- ture, but of Judgment and Reafoning) fuch a Tefiimo7iy ^-jvould prove that thofe Scrip- H h tureS
458 ^DEFENSE Qii.XXVII.
tures reveal it -, or -whether fuch an Interpre- tation of Scripture '■jvould be as infalli-
hie as Scripture it felf. But this is no Qiic- ftion at all between us. What we pretend is, that we have as good Proof of the T>oEirine of the Church as of the Canon of Scripture, Whether the Church, after the Jpoflles, was as infallible as the Apofiles themfelves, is quite another Qiieftion. We think it very unlikely that the ApoJioUck Churches fliould not know the mind of the Apoflles ; or fhould fuddenly vary from it, in any matter of Moment. We look upon it as highly improbable that the Faith of thole Churches fhould fo foon run counter to any thing in Scripture ; fuice They had the bcft opportunities of knowing what Scripture meant; were made up of wife and good Men, Men who would fooner die than commit any Error in that kind, wilfully. Upon this, we believe the concurring judgment of Antiquity to be, tho' not infallible^ yet the fafefl Com- ment upon Scripture 5 and to have, much m^ore Weight in it, than there generally is in Wit and Criticifm ; and therefore not to be rejeded, where the Words of Scripture will, with any propriety, bear that Interpretation. This is fuflkient for us to fay, or pretend. We have nsplaufiblc Arguments, to fpeak modcftly, from Scripture, as you can pretend to have: Nay, wc think your Notions utterly irreconcilable with Scripture, according to the natural, obvi- ous, grammatical Conftrudion of Words. And
bcfidcs
Qii. XXVII. offome (QUERIES. 459
bcfidcs all this, we have, what you want, the concurring Scnfe of the Antient s ^\:im\^ for us. The Qiieftion then is not, whether ScrtpUtre and Fathers be equally infallible : All the Fa- thers together are not fo valuable, or fo cre- dible, as any one infpired Writer. But it is plainly this : Whether the Antient Herettcks^ or Catholicks, as They have been diftinguifh'd, have been the bert Interpreters of difputed Texts; and whether we are now to clofe in with tke former, or the latter. You would infinuate that you have Scripture^ and we Fathers only : But we infift upon it, that we have Both y as for many other Reafons, fo alfo for this, becaufe Bothy very probably, went together : And as you certainly want one ; fo it is extremely probable that you have neither ; for this very Reafon, among many others, be- caufe you have not Both, This Argument is of Force and Weight ; and will hardly yield to any thing fhort of "Demonflration ; much lels will it yield to fuch fort of Reafonings as you are obliged to make ufe of, wanting better, to fupport your ;^^^'^/ Opinions.
The Sum of the whole Matter is this. The unanimous Senfe of the Antients, upon any Controverfial Point, is of great Moment and Importance towards fixing the Senfe of Scrip- ture, and preventing its being ill-ufed by de- fultorious Wits, who love to wander out of the common way ; and can never want fome co- lour for any Opinion almoft whatever. We do H h 2 not
460 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIX.
not appeal to the Antients^ as if we could not maintain our Ground, from Scripture and Rea- fon, againll all Oppofcrs : This has been done over and over. Athaiiafius-, Hilary y BafiU the two GregorieSy Chryfojiomy Auftiny Cyril ^ and Others, undertook the Caufe on the Foot of Scripture, and were cafily fuperior to all the Ariayis, But fince we have an Advantage, over and above Scripture Evidence, from the con- curring Sentiments of Antiquity, we think it very proper to take That in alfo % and we fhall not eafily fuffer it to be wrefted from us.
Q^U E R Y XXIX.
Whether private Reafoningy in a matter above our Comprehenjioriy be a fafer Rule to go bjy than the general Senfe and Judgment of the primitive Churchy in the firft 3 00 Tears 5 ory fuppojtng it doubtful what the Senfe of the Church was within that TimCy whether what was determined by a Council of zoo Bifhops foon aftery with the greatefi Care and deliberation y and has fatisfyd Men of the greatefi Senfe y Tietjy and Learn- ingy all over the Chrifiian Worldy for 1400 Tears finccy may not fatisfy wife and good Men now ?
TTERE you tell me, as ufual, when you X JL l^^ve little elfe to fay, that the Council of Nice knew nothing of Individual Confub-
ftantiality :
Qu.XXIX, offome dU E R I E S. 461
flantiality : and then you add, pleafantly, that you turn the §lnery againft the ^lerijh, and lay claim to the Nicene Confefjion. What ? Lay claim to a ConfeJJion made in dircd Oppofi- tion to the Men of your Principles ? You fay, if any ConfubftantiaHty is to be found in that Creed, it \%x\\z Specifick, ViotlndividnaL And what if it were? Would that give you any claim to the Nicene ConfeJJion ? Are God and his Creatures ConfuhJiantiaX of the fame rank, fort, kind, or Species ? You are forc'd to have recourfe to a Figurative Scnfc, which Pre- tence I have obviated above. You are fo kind to the Sluerijt, as to be ijvilling to fuppofe and believe^ that He is not Ignora?it of the true and only Senfe of the word 6/ao»(ji(3^- meaning thereby the Specijick Senfe. In return, I'll be fo juft to you, as to fay, that you undcrdand the word very right : And yet the Nicole Fa- thers did not teach a merely Specifick Confiib- Jlantiality, The word h[xo^<j\(^ expreifes their Senfe $ but not their whole Senfe, in that Ar- ticle. It expreiTes an Equality of Nature, and fignifies that the Son is as truly Equal in Na- ture to the Father, as one Man is Equal to another, or any Individual Equal to another In- dividual of the fame Sort or Species. And this was chiefly to be infilkd on againfl: the Arians, who denied fuch Equality, makiniz; ihcSon:^ Creature. Wherefore the true Rcaibn, to ufc Dr. CudoDorth's Words, only mutatis mutan- disy why the Nicene Fathers laid fo great a H h 3 fti'cfs
462 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXIX.
ftrcfs upon the o/jtobViov, was not bccaufe this alone was fufficicnt to make Father and Son one Gody but bccaufe T\\cy could not be fo with- out it. * ci/.cjcri;^ the Son niuft be, or He could not be God at all, in the ftrid Senfe j and yet if He was barely o/acja-ii^', like as one Human Peribn is to another, the two would be two Gods. And therefore the Nicene Fathers^ not content to fay only that the Son is o/Wcrj©', infert likcwife, God of God, Light of Light, Be- gotten, &c. and, of the Subftance of the Father 5 and this They are known to have declared over and over, to be without any divifion: All which taken together expreffcs a great deal more than ciJ-o^criQ- would do alone -, and are, as it were, fo many qualifying Claufes, on purpofe to prevent any fuch Mifconftrudion and Mif- npprchcnfion, as the word might other wife be liable to. The good Fathers, like wife Men, at once maintain'd the Equality of Nature ^
* Hi Tres, quia Unius Suhjimtts, fiinf-, Untim funt j &; Stimmt unum funt, ubi nulla Naturarum, nul'aeftdiverfitas Voluntatum. Si autem Katura Vuum client, &: Confeiifione non cflcnt, non Stanme unura elTent: Si vcro Naturci difpares elTent, unum non cflcnt. Hi ergo Tres, qui Unum funt propter ineffabilem Con- junftioncm Deitatis, qua inelfabiliter Copulantur, Unus Deus eft. uiu^. Contr. Maxim. 1. 2. /». 698.
TLis ts tery full to our purpofe 5 a?jjy by the TJ'^y, ma'j fijoro hoto far St. Auftin xi,^ as from SabelJianifm j which forne have roeakly pre- tended to charge Htm with. But there are many Vaffnges m this Piece again(i Maximin, one of kis -very lateji Pieces^ full againft Sa- bcllianifm, as yvell as againfi Arianifm. / 772ay juji remark, that there is a deal of difference betv:een Unius Subflantix, and una Subftantia. Trco Men arc Unius cjufdemque Subdantioc, not una Subftantin. But the three Pcrfons are not ordy unius Subftantice, but una Subftancia. The modern Senfe of Confubftantial takes in Both.
I which
Qu.XXIX. offo?ne Q^U E R I E S. 46$
which oiJ.o3Jt^ cxprcffcs, and the U?i/ty of the Godhead too. Guarding equally agauift ^r;- anifm, and Trilbeifm, They took all prudent care to preferve the Co-eqtiality of the two '^PerfonSy \jvt\\o\x\: dividing t\\z Subfta7ice^ which was what They intended. The learned Do^lor *reprefents this Matter fomewhat crudely. He obferves upon the word in the Nicene Creed (ytw/iOcvIa
T^f) that the Son was not Himfelf that indi- vidual Stthfiance, from which He was begotten. This He has fo worded, that individual Sub- fiance, with Him, can only fignify individual Hypofiafis, or Terfon: And it is very true, that the Son is not that Terfon, from whom, or, of whom, He proceeded: ^wt x\\Q.SubJla72ce might be undivided, notwithftanding; which is all that any Catholick means by individual Subfiance. But their tneaning. He fays, was i He was produced, not f'rorn any other Subfiance [as Man was formed from the 'Dufl of the Earth) but after ayi ineffable manner, from the Subfiance of the Father only. Here He leaves out the principal Thing, which the Arians afferted, and which the Catholicks guarded againft, vi^^. Not from Nothing, not «yf ou)iovT(i)-j. If therefore the Son, according to the Nicene Fathers, was not from any other Subftance, befides the Fathers, nor from no- thing ; it is very plain that (unlefs They fuppofcd d "Divifion of Subftancc, which They abfolutcly
* Reply, p. 35-.
H h 4 reject)
464- -/^DEFENSE Qu.XXIX:
rejed) They fuppofcd theSontobeofthefamc 'imdtvidedy or /WmW^/^/ Subftance with the Fa- ther. As tp the Suppofition of his being produced from any other Subftance (as Adam was torm'd from the Duft of the Earth) there was very Httle occafion to guard againft it : The Notion is, in it felf, too filiy for any Man to own. The Arians themfelves (againft whom the Creed was contriv- ed) never pretended it, but * exprefly difown'd it : Their noted Tenet was, that the Son was the/V/? Thing made. The Nicene Fathers defign'd, chiefly, to guard againfl: the Suppofition of the Son's being from nothings which was what the ^rmns inMcd upon; They and the Catholicks equally beheving it ridiculous to imagine any Stibftance to have been firft made ; and then the Son to have been made out of it. Wherefore I burpbly conceive, the true Reafons why the Ni- cene Fathers were fo very particular in the Words, ^yrfytv ha ri\^ ^j'iul^ rS -nrar^^^ were, "f firft, tO Hgnify that They undcrftood Generation in a proper y and not figurative Senfe , as the Arians did: And fccondly withal to II fecurethe divine Unity. For, if the Son were ab extra, and independent of the Father , the Alliance:, the
* Memorant Filium Dei neque ex aliqua fubjacente materia ge- uitumcffe, quia per eumcrcata omnia fint. H/V^^A-. p. 832.
f Vid.BulI. Def. F. N, p. 1 14, 1 15-. E^'c^s Ijc rSG^Sir^jw^svos, ^5
yuic, yvy,a-toe, — Xi^^eivi uv iUdruc, r^ h rr,<; icrUr, rS 0f8 itd^. Ath, p. Z 28.
S-iyy ; CBTC e|&,9-iv av, aAAflt j'x '^ uur^ ia-icc-j. Epiphan. p. 6io.
0(J;^ aXyOt^Kvi iri^KX^' ixurov l^t^l)^,, iii^' t^i-j^^iv recuTTi^ysyoveuii/iyci, fi^Yi TJ1 fTi^orrrn, ^uf>x.ix yiv^Tui. Atlianaf. Orat. 4. p. 617. OwJi «AAO0wjo lioc, i ^iltu^i'j tTnyoy^-j, Orat. 3. p. j/^
Rela-
Qu.XXIX. of fome Q^UE R I K S. 465
Relation^ the C/;^/^/ of the Pcrfons, in the fame Godhead, had (upon their Principles) been lort j and \Dithtifm unavoidable.
This may be enough to fatisfy you, that what- ever the word tixoii<ji& may commonly fignify, yet the Nicer/e Fathers meant a great deal more than a Spectfick Unity ; if not by that word, fingly confider'd, yet by that taken toge- ther with the reft, which were put in to explain it. The Word may indifferently ferve to ex- prefs an Equality of Nature, whether the Hy- fojlafes be widivided, or whether They have a feparate Exijlence, It was therefore pro- perly enough applied, in the Creed : And care was taken that both Generation:, and Confnhjtan- tiality, fhould be underftood in a Senfe fuitablc to Things divine \ that is, taking from the Idea all that is low, mean, and impcrfed 5 and apply- ing only fo much as might comport with the Majefty, Dignity, and Perfedions of the adora- ble and incomprehenfible Trinity.
You feem to be apprehenfive, that you muft, at length, be obliged to give up the Nicene Creed, as utterly inconfiftent with your Principles 5 as indeed it is. And therefore, in the next place, you endeavour to Icden the Credit of it j alledg- ing that the Council of Antioch before, and tie Council ^f Ariminum, and other Councils, after { fome of Them 'ujith a greater Number of Bi- Jhops than met at Nice) determind againjt the ^cfXQii(7i(^. The Objection drawia from the De- termination of the Council of ^uintioch, about
Sixty
466 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXIX. Sixty Years before the Council of Nice, you find largely anfwerd by * Bifliop Btill. They condemn'd the word, as it had been mifunder- ftood and mifapplied by Tatil of Samofata\ but eftablifh'd the very fame Doctrine with the Ni- cene Fathers, I may anfwer you briefly, upon your own Principles. You fay, Taid of Samofa- ta was condemn'd for holding o/^oao-i'^, in the Senfeof /W/*i;/^//^/Confubll:antiality {p. ii8.) which, if it be true, was reafon good enough for condemning Him ; as you underftand Individu- al, that is, in a Sabellian Senfe. The Remark oi HtUry, who goes upon the fame Suppofition which you do, may here be pertinently *f cited ; and may fcrve as a fufficient Anfwer. It is obferv- ablc that Hilary makes the Number of Bifhops in the Antiochian Council no more than 80 ; Athanafius, but 70 5 Etifebiiis, an indefinite Number ; very many. It does not appear that They were near fo confiderable as the famous Council o^Nice of 3 1 8 Bifhops.
You next mention the Council of A riminum-, and give a hint of other Councils, It would have been but fair to have told us what other Councils you meant, which had, as you fay, z^((reater Num- ber of Bifliops than met at Nice, You know, I prefume, or at leaft might know, that you cannot
* Dcf. F. N.p. 29, O'C.SsealfoMr. Thirlby. Anfivcr /<?Whiilon, p- 10;. Defence, p. ^6.
t Male intelli^itur Homoufion : quid ad me bene intelli^cntem ? MalcHomoufionSamofatenus ConfcfTus efl: Sc(}i nunquid Melius >\rii negaverunt? OdiogintaEpifcopiolim rcfpuerunt ; fed Trecenti 6c decern oilo nuper receperunt. HiUr. de S/ood. p. 1 200.
name
Qu. XXIX. offome QUERIES. 467
name One, bcfides the Council of Ariminum 5 which I fliall fpeak to prclcntly.
\nyom Appendix {p, 154.) You fay the De- termination of the Council of Nice, for the hixo4(ji©'^ W2S vqcttcd by ^ greater Council than that of N^cCy met at Jerufiilem, But in thefe few Words, you have two Miftakes 5 or at Icafl-, you have faid what you cannot prove. * Eitje- biuss Words, which you refer to, may mean no more than this, that the Council of Jeru- falem was the greateft He had known, fince the Famous one of Nice, Your other Miftake is, that They rejetied the T>etermination of the Council of Nice, &c. How doth this ap- pear \ Did They fay a word againft it ? Or did They Make any Declaration againft either the Council of Nice^ or the 6/.tcyo-rcv > Not a Sylla- ble. But ^ They received Arius to Commu- nion , partly upon the good Emperor's Recom- mendation, who believed Him to have recanted, and to have come in to the II true Catholick Faith, as eftablifli'd at the Council of Nice -^ and partly upon /Irius's ^ own ConfeJJion of
* De Vita Conftant. 1. 4. c. 47. p. 45-4. See ValefiusV Notes.
\ Seethe Hijiory'm Socrat. 1. i. c. 33, Sozom. 1. i.e. 27. Atha- r.af. p.7 34-
I) Arius fvcore to the Emperor, calling God to M^itnefs, that He believed tn Father ^ Son, and Holy Ghoji, as the v/UoicCMhoMck Church t.tught, vohich the Emperor could take in no other Senfcy but as it had been lately deter7ntn\l by the Catholick Nicene Fathers. See Sozom. 1. 2.C. 27.
^)id this may farther appear by the EniTpcror's putting Arius to the Tefl aftej'-ivards, to fee whether He really a chmv lodged the Nicene Faith or no. 5V^ Socrat. I. I.e. 3 S, Cow/). Phot. Cod. 2j6. p. 141 3.
I Extat. in Sozom. 1. 2. c. 27.
Faithj
468 ^DEFENSE Qii.XXIX.
Faithy which was fo plaufibly worded, that it might Q^{\\y ^zk ioic Orthodox, tho' it wanted the word oiJ.oiiji^'. Now, is it not very unac- countable in you to call this Rejeding the Determination for the 'O/^oaViov, when it was only receiving a Man, fuppofed by the Em- jperor, and perhaps by many of the Council, to have repented of his Herefy, and to have embraced every Thing that 'the Nicene Council had determin'd 5 the very Senfe and Meaning of 'O/aos j{®' it felf, tho' not the Word,
Pafs we on now to the Council oiAriminnniy in the Year 3 5 9> when the Arians \\2.di the fecular Power on their fide, and made ufe of it with all imaginable Severity. The whole Num- ber of Bifliops in Council are computed at about ^ 400, and ^ not above Eighty of Them Arians. "" All the Catholicks, at firft, declared their unanimous Adherence to the Nicene Creed 5 and protefted againft any new Form of Faith. All manner of Artifices, Frauds, and Menaces were contrived to bring Them and the Avians to fomething like an Agreement. Yet the utmoft They could do, was only to bring the Catholicks to fubfcribe a ^ ConfeJJioyi artfully worded in general Terms. And no fooncr (X\diX^zCathoiick Fathers, after their Re-
• Sulpic. Sev. p. 267. Athnnnf. p. 720,749. Maximinr^^ Arian mxkes the whole Number ^30. Augufl. Collar. Tom. 8. p. 6_fo.
•" Sulpic. Sever, p. 169. *^ Hilar. Fragm. p. 1541.
** Qux Cjtholicam dilciplinam, perfidialatente, loquercrur. Sulpic. p. 175. Sonabanr verba Pietatcra, & inter tanta Mclla prreconii, nemo vcncnum infcrtum putabat. Hicron. Cohtr^Ltififir.
turn
Qu. XXIX. offome QU E R I E S. 469 turn Home, perceive how They had been im- pofcd upon by ambiguous Terms, and over- rcach'd by Craft and Subtilty ; but They * con- fefs'd their Error, and repented of it with Tears. The Hiftory of the Council at large is too tedi- ous for me to recite Here : It may be feen ei- ther in the original Autliors, Athanafiiis^ Sul- p'tcius Severus, Hilarjy Socratesy Sozomeriy Theodority and Jerom ; or with lefs Trouble, and in lefs Compafs, in Caz'es Life of Atha- nafiiiSy or laftly in Montfaucons, When you have well conlider'd the Arts and Praclices of the Ariansy much the fmaller Number, in that Council, you may perhaps fee rcafon to be a- fliamed of having mentioned it, but no reafon for oppofing it to the celebrated Nicene Coun- ciL While the Council oi Arminiim was free, and left to give their real Opinions 5 i\\z Avians were condemn'd by a great Majority, and their 'Principals depofed. Even, at laft, you have no Reafon to boaft of their unanimous Agreement to a new Faith. It was a i;^r^/^/ Agreement only, to Expreflions feemingly Catholick : And proba- bly, the Majority I! departed with the fame high value and opinion of the Nicene Faiths which They brought with Them. Four Years after the Synod of Ariminiimy '\ Athanafins reckons up
* Vid. Ep. Liber apud Socr. I.4. p. 1S3. Hicron.Contr.Lucif. Dial. Sulpic. Sever.
)j Vid. Ambrof. Ep. Chnp. i. p. S62.
t Athanaf.Ep. ad Jovian, pag. 781. Theod.E. H. 1. 4.C. 3. ^-^fi Liberius'i Letters An. 366. apud Socrat. 1. 4. c. 12. Damaius'^j Lett. Sozom. I. 6. c. 23.
Hoc t^ iJlud liomottforii quod in Concilio Nicseno adverfus Iloerc-
parti-
470 >^ D E F E N S E Qu- XXIX.
particularly the Churches which ftill embraced the Nicene Faith. Thofe of Spain, Britairiy Gaul, all Italy, 'Dalmatia, T>aciay Myfia, Ma- cedonia, Greece, Africa, Sardinia, Cyprus, CretCy Tamphylia, Lycia, Ifauria, Egypt, Libya, Ton- tits, Cappadocia, and the Churches of the Eaft ; excepting a few that followed Arius. He calls them the "whole World, and all the Churches throughout the World. He declares that He kno^ws it, and has their Letters by Him to prove it. And it is worth reciting what ac- count the Bifhops of Egypt and Lybia, and among Them Atbanajiiis, give of the extent of the Nicene Faith, about Ten Years after the time that you pretend there was a general Council againft it. Writing to the Bifhops in Africa, They begin thus : " f It is the greateft " Satisfadion to us to have feen what T>ama- " ft^s our Fellow-Miniftcr, and Bifliop of the " great City of Rome, and fuch a Number of *^ Bifliops in Council with Him, befides other " Synods in Gaul and Italy, have wrote in " Defence of the true Orthodox Faith : That " Faith which Chrift delivered, and the Apo- " ftlcs taught, and our Fathers affembled at
ticos Arianos, a Catholicis Patribus, Veritatis Audloritate, & Au'-
ftoritaiis Ven'tate firmatum eft: quod podesL in Concilio ^ritninen/i Cproptcr novitatcmvcrbi, minus quam potuitintelledlam, quod ta- men Fides Antiqua rcpcrerat) mnltis FaucorumFraaJedcccpus, Hx- rctica Impietas fub lIa;rctico Impcratorelabel-hftaretentavir. Sed poftnonlonojumTempus, Libcrtate Fidci Catholicce pnxrvalente,— • Homoulioii Cutliolica; Fidei Sanitate m^e lateque dcfenfum eft. uiu- gujl. Tom. 8. p. 704. t Apud Athaiiaf. p. 891.
[' Nice,
Qii. XXIX. of fame (QUERIES. 47 1 ^' Nicey from out of the whole Chriftian World, " handed down to us. So intenfc was their Zeal *' at that Time, in regard to the Arian Hercfy ; " that They who had falhi into it, might " be reclaim'd ; and that the Heads or Authors " of it might have a Mark fet upon Them. " To this Determination ( of the Nicene Fa- *^ thers) formerly the * whole Chriftian World *' confented : And at this very Time, many " Councils have confirm'd and publiflVd the " fame : By means of which all They of T>al' " matt a y T>ardaniay Macedonia ^ Epirus ^ ^' Greece, Crete, and the other Iflands, Siciljy " Cyprus and Ta?nphyliay Lycia, Ifaiiria, all " Egypt, the two Libyas, and the moft of " Arabia have acknow^ledged it. They go on to fet forth the great Refpect and Veneration due to the Decifions of the Nicene Council, and fliow how far it w^is preferable, in every refpect, to all the Arian Synods -, and particu- larly to the pretended general Council of Ari- mintmt^ which fome prcfumed, at that Time of Day, to fet againft it. The whole would be well worth the Reader's perufal, and thither I refer you, for a more particular Anfwer; that you may learn hereafter, not to call every Thing hugely Romantick, which may have
* To the fume purpofe fays Marius Vidtorinus, fpeakmg of the
Conditum juxta Vetcnim Fidem (nam 8c ante traftatum^ 8c multi Orbis Epifcopi, rrcccntiquindccim in civitatc AVf^^, 'Viam per Totum Orbem dccrcnm Fidem mittentes, Epifcoporum .V'iliia in eadem habuerunt, vei illius Temporis, vel Tequentium Anno: um . /f 3. Contr.Armn.
hap-
472 ^ D E F E N S E Qu. XXIX. happcn'd to efcape your Notice or Oblcrvation. I niLift take leave to tell you, there never was a Synod cxn your fide, lb free, fo large, fo-, in every refped, unexceptionable as the Council of Nice was. Nay farther; that whatever Oppofi- tion was made to it, was carried on with fuch Wiles, Crafts, Subtilties, and refined Artifices, as every Honed Man would be afhamed of: And firthcr y that, notwithftanding all They could do, the Arians were not able long to maintain their Ground , but the Men who fuftain'd the Shock, and kept up the Credit of the Nicene Creed, were not only the mod numerous, but appear to have been as wife, as judicious, and as pious Men, as ever the Church was adorned with, fincc the Times of the Apoftles.
I do not pretend that there is Demonftration hi this kind of Reafoning, in favour of any Caufe. But it will have its Weight with cool and con- fiderin^ Men : Who refledins; that Reli2,ion is not a Thing to be coin d, and recoin'd, every Month; that it has been thought on fo long and well, and by Perfonsblefs'dwithasgdodaShare of Underftanding, and as great Sincerity, as ajiy are, or have been ; and that the generality of the wifeft and mod excellent Men have hi- therto gone on in fuch a way, and that too afccra drid and fevere Examination, being well apprized of the Objedions made againd'^it; I iciy, who, refieding thus, will be very cautious of Contradiding what feems to have been fo well, and fo deliberately fettled i and will be * rather
QU.XXIX. of fame QUERIES. 475
rather willing to fufpcd their own Judgment, and modeftly decline what looks like leanino* too much to their own Underftandings. How- ever, fuch Confiderations may be of ufe to Thofe who, not having Leifure, Inclination, or Patience to examine throughly into this Con- troverfy (as perhaps few ha\x) muft be con- tent to judge as They can : And fince They find the fame Scriptures fo very differently in- terpreted by the contending Parties, till They can Themfelvcs enter into the very Heart of the Controverfy, how can They do better thaa clofe in with Thofe, who have been in Poflef. fion of this Faith for fo many Centuries, and have had, in a manner, in every Age, for at leaft Fourteen Hundred Years, I will venture to fay, Sixteen, the moft eminent Lights and Ornaments of the Chriftian Church, to fupport and defend it? This I mention as the fafeft way 5 and fuch as will be taken by modeft, humble, and difcreet Men ; being what They can beft anfwer to God and their own Con- fciences, even tho', at length, it fhould prove Erroneous; which yet has not hitherto, nor ever will be, I am perfuadcd, made appear. As for Thofe who chufe to go out of the common Road, and to run Counter to all that has hi- therto been called and reputed Catholicky or Orthodox ; let Them look to it, and be it at their own Peril. They muft believe that the An- tient Hereticks were the Soundeft Chriftians ; that the firft General Council which met from all
I i Farts
42S A DEFENSE Qu.XXIX.
Parts of Chriftendonij and having mo byafs, fo far as appears, to determine Them this way or that, either did not know what was the Faith of their refpedive Churches, and what had been handed down to them by their Predeceffors, or elfe wilfully and unanimoufly agreed to corrupt it ; and that too in a very material Article, in which the fum of the Chriftian Religion is con- tained; and in which the Nature and Objed of our Worfhip is very nearly concerned. They muft believe farther that the Churches, in ge^ neral, throughout the Chriftian World, through every Age (and even fince the Reformation, up- on which Matters were ftridly look'd into, and carefully re-examin'd) have fallen into the fame Error J and fo continue, even to this Day 5 fome few private Men only, here and there, fliowing their diflike of it. Now, They who pretend this , muft bring fome very ftrong Proofs to make good their Pretences. If They have not fomething very Weighty and Momentous to urge 5 fomething that carries the Force and Evi- dence of T^emonftration with it. They are firft very unreafonable in calling us to attend to what fo little deferves it ; and next very inex^ cufable in their Attempts to draw others into their precarious Sentiments, and to raife Doubts and Perplexities in the Minds of fimple well- meaning Men. But I pafs on to
Q^UERY
Qu.XXX. of fome(lU ERIE S. 475
(^ U E R Y XXX.
Whether^ fuppojing the Cafe doubtful, it be not a wife Mans part to take the fafer Side ; rather to thmk too highly, than too tneanly of our Blejfed Saviour 5 rather to pay a modejl deference to the Judgment of the Antient and Modern Churchy than to lean to ones own Under fianding ?
UPON the QLieftion, whether it be not lafcr and better (fuppofi ng the Cafe doubt- ful) to think too highly, rather than too mean- ly of our BleiTed Saviour 5 you anfwer, quefti- onlefs it is\ which one might think a very fair and ingenuous Confcffion ; and you need not have added a word more. You go on to fay, that this is our moft plaufible Tretence% in which, I think, you do it a deal too much Honour. I did but juft hint it 5 and left it fhould not be of force fufficient, immediately ftrengthen d it with another Confideration , which I am perfuaded will bear, if this fliould not; and the rather, bccauie you have not thought fit fo much as to take notice of it. I muft however follow you, upon the former Point, that plaufible Plea, and which is fo juft, that you fcem your fclf to give into it. Yet, I know not how, by fome peculiar turn of Thought, you at length come to fay, that it proves as weak and falfe as any other they I i z ever
476 ^DEFENSE Qu.XXX.
ever alledge. If it prove no weaker y I fhall be fatisficd. Let us hear what you have to fay. Your Argument is this : Since Revelation is the only rule in the Cafe^ if we go beyond^ or if we fall port, are we not equally culpable ? I am very glad to hear from you, that Reve- lation is the only rule in the Cafe : Abide by That, and Matters may eafily be adjufted. To the Argument I anfwer : That you equivocate in the word Equally, and make a Sophiflical Syllogifm with four Terms. Equally culpable, jfignifies, either that one is culpable as well as the other, or that one is culpable as much as the other 5 equally a Fault, or an equal Fault. Our difpute is about the latter, and yet all that you really prove is only the former. Re- velation undoubtedly is the Rule, and to go beyond it is certainly culpable, as well as it is to fall fliort of it ^ and yet not culpable (at leaft not in this Inftance) in the fame Degree. Is there no fuch Thing as an Error on the right Hand (as we fay) or a Fault on the right Side ? Of two Extremes, may it not often happen, that one is more dangerous than the other? This I ailert to be the Cafe here : And I will give you my Rcafons for it. Our Blefled Lord hath done great and wonderful Things for us. If our Rcfpc^V, Duty, and Gratitude happen, through our Ignorance and cxcellive Zeal, to rife too high ; this is the overflowing of our good-natur'd Qiialitics, and may icem a pitiable Failing. But, on the other Hand, if we hap- pen
QU.XXX. of fome Q^U E R I E S. 477
pen to fall fliort in our Regards, there is not only Ingratitude, but Elafphemj in it. It is degrading, and dethroning our Nlaker, Prefer- ver. King, and Judge ; and bringing Him down to a level with his Creatures.
Befides; we have many exprefs Cautions gi- ven us in Scripture, not to be wanting in our Refpeds and Services towards God the Son 5 but have no particular Cautions againft Honour- ing Him too much. We know that we ought to Honour Him^ even as ijue Honour the Fa- ther -, which, if it be an ambiguous Exprcflion we are very excufable in taking it in the bcft Senfe, and interpreting on the fide of the Pre- cept. We know that by di (honouring the Son, we do, at the fame Time, difhonour the Father : But we are no where told, that the Father will refent it as a difhonour done to Himfelf, if we fiiould chance, out of our fcrupulous P^^cgards to the Father and Son Both, to pay the Son more Honour than ftriaiy belongs to Him. Onthefe, and the like Confiderations (cfpccially when we have fo many, and fo great Appearances of Truth, and fuch a Cloud of Authorities to countenance us in it) the Error, if it be one, feems to be an Error on the right Hand. Now you (hall be heard again. Can any Man think to pleafe the Son of God^ by giving that to Him, "izihich He never claim' d or could claim? Pofitive enough. But will you pleafe to re- member that the Query fuppofes the Cafe doubtful (which was abundantly civil to you) I i J doubt'
47S ^DEFENSE Qu.XXX.
doubtful whether the Son of God has claim d it J or no 3 and the whole Argument runs upon that Suppofition. This therefore difcovers ei- ther fome want of Acumen, or great Marks of Hafte. You add : It can be no 'DetraEiiori from the T>ignitj of any Terfon {how great foever that ^Dignity be) to forbear profejfmg Him to be that '■j^hich He really is not. I perceive, your Thoughts are ftill abfent, and. you do not reflect, that you are begging the Qucftion, inftead of anfwcring to the Point in Hand. You are to ftippofe it, if you pleafe, dotibtftilj who, or what, the Pcrfon is. In fuch a Cafe, it may be better to give Him what He docs not require, than to defraud Him of what He does : It is fafer and more prudent to run the Risk of one, than of the other. You go on : It may well become ferions and fincere Chrifiians to conjider, whether it is not poffMe that while, adventuring to be wife beyond what is written, they vainly think to advance the Honour of the Son of God, above what He has given them Ground for in the Revelation. They may dijhonour the Father that fent Him, &c. I am weary of tranfcribing. Confidcr, on the other Hand, whether it be not more than poffiblc, that, while others adventuring to be wife beyond what is written (teaching us to protcfs three Gods, making the Creator of the World a Creature, ii:ivcnting new unfcriptural Diftin- dions of a fiprcme and a fubordinate Wox-
i (hip,
Qti. XXX. offome (QUERIES. 479 fhip, with many other Things equally unfcrip- tural and unwarrantable) They vainly think to bring down Myfteries to the level of their low Underftandings, and to fearch the deep Things of God\ They may not diflionour both Father and Son, and run into Herefy, Blalphc- my, and what not ; and Sap the very Founda- tions of the Chriftian Religion. You proceed : It may become Them to conftder "jihat They will anfzver at the great Day, Jhoiild God charge Them with not obferving that 'Decla- ration of HiSy I will not give my Glory to another. They may humbly make Anfwer, that They underftood that His Glory was not to be given to Creatures ; and therefore They had given it to none but his own Son, and his H. Spirit, whom They believed not to be Crea- tures, nor other Gods J and whom Himfelf had given his Glory to, by commanding all Men to be baptized in their Names, equally with his own 5 and ordering particularly, that all Men Jhould Honour the Son, even as They Honour the Father, If They happen'd to carry their Refped too high 5 yet it was towards thole only, whom the Father principally deiighteth to Honour; and towards Vvhom an ingenuous, grateful, and well-difpofed Mind can hardly ever think He can pay too much. Upon thefe and the like Confiderations They may humbly hope for Pity and Pardon for a Miftakc; fuch an one as the humbled, moft devote, and moH: confci- e'ntious Men might be the aptcft to fall into.
I i 4 But
480 y^ D E F E N S E Qu.XXX.
But what muft an Arian have to fay, at that great T^ay^ if it appears that He has been ut- tering Blafphemies againft the Son of God, nnd reviling his Redeemer (the generality of fober Chriftians looking on, all the while, with Horror 5 fhock'd at the Impiety ; and openly declaring and protefting againft it) and for no other Reafons, in the laft Refult, but becaufc He thought Generation implied TDivifioriy and 7iecejfary Generation implied outward Coactioriy and He could not underftand whether the Unity fhould be called Spectficky or Individual , nor how there came to be three Perfons ; nor v:hj One might not have been as good as Three ; nor why the Father fhould be faid to beget the Son, rather than vice verfa 5 and the like \ Is this kind of reafoning fuitable to, or becoming Chriftians, who have their Bible to look into ; which alone can give any Satisfadign 'iajthefe Matters \ To go upon our own Fancies^ and Conjectures, in a Thing of this l^nd;. rs cflily betraying too little Reverence for the tremen- dous and unfcarchable Nature of God, and too high an Opinion of our own Selves. You havq ti farther Pretence, built upon your miftnken No- tion of individual, which I need not take notice of; having already almoft flirfeitcd the Reader with it,
Q^UER Y
QaXXXL of fame aXJEKlF^S, 481 Query XXXL
PFhether any thing lefs than clear and evi- dent Demonftration, on the fide of Ariaiiifm, ought to move a wife and good Man, againfl fo great Appearances of Truth on the fide of Orthodoxy, from Scripture, Reafon, and Antiquity : And whether we may not wait long before we find fuch Dcmonftration >
IN your Anfwcrtothis, I am rebuked, firft, for giving the Name of Orthodoxy y to a ^cholafiick Notion : And fecondly, for calling your Dodlrine Arianifm, As to the firft, I ftand fo far correded, as to beg the privi- lege of ufmg the word. Orthodoxy, for the Received Tio^rine. You are pleafed to call it a Scholafiick Notion. How far it is Scho- laflick, I do not certainly know 5 but fure I am that it is Primitive and Catholick: And I do not know that the School-men were Hereticks in this Article. If They were ; So far, you may depend upon it, our Notion is not ScholafticL As to your Dodrine bemg juftly call'd Ari- anifm, I hope, without OtFence, I may fay, I have made it plain to a Dcmonftration (except- ing only that, in fome Particulars, you fall be- low Arianifm) and I fliould advifc you here- after, for your own fake, to difpute {o clear a Point no farther. But let us go on. You add : Jf it be impoffible^ by the Rule of Scripture
and
454 ^ D E F EN S E Qii.XXXI.
and Reaforiy and the Senfe of the moft ant tent JVriters, and Councils of the Churchy that the Scholaftick Notion Jhould be true -y and if there be no Medium betwixt (the Scholaftick Notion) and the Notion of T>r. Clarke (that is Arianifm) then it will be demonfirated that (Arianifm) is the true T)oEirine of Jefiis Chriji and his ApoflleSy as revealed in Scri- pture ^ and the true Senfe of Scripture inter- preted by right Reajon^ and as under flood by the bcft and mofi antient Chrifiian Writers. This is your 'Demonftratiom, only I have thrown in a word or two, by way of Paren- thefis, to make it the clearer to the Reader. The fumm of it is this 5 if the Scholaftick No- tion (by which you mean Sabellianifm) be not true ; and if there be no Medium between Sa- bellianifm and Arianifm-^ then Arianifm \% the true Dodrine, o-'C, That is, if pdppojing be proving^ and if begging the §lueftion be the .fame thing with determining it 5 then fome- thing will be demonftratedy which is. not de- monftrated. You do well to refer us to your Appendix for proof, and to fliift it off as far as poilible. ^emonfhations are good Things, but fomctimcs very hard to come at 5 as youll find in the prefcnt inftancc. You may take as much time longer, as you think proper, to con- sider of it. Give me a "Demonftration^ juftly fo called ; a chain of clear Rcafoning, beginning from (omc plain and undoubted Axiom, and regularly dcfccnding by ncceffary Dedudions,
or
Qu.XXXL of fomeClUERlES. 485
or clofe Connexion of I^Jeas^ till you come at your Conclufion, Till you can do this, it will be but labour loft, to endeavour to fliakc the Recei'Ved'DoEtrine of the ever bleflcd Tri- nity, For, unlc(s you can give us fomething really Solid and Subftantial, in an Article of fo great Importance , the Reafons which we have, on our fide of the Qiieftion, are fo many, fo plain , and fo forcible , that they niuft, and will, and ought to fway the Minds of modcft , reafonable , and confcientious Men 3 while the Church ftands, or the World lafts. Any Man that duly confiders what we have to plead from Holy Scripture, and what from the concurring ludgment and Praclice of the Primi- tive and Catholick Church \ and reflccls farther upon the natural Tcndernefs which every pious and grateful Mind muft have for the Honour of his Blefled Lord and Saviour, the Dread and Horror of Blafphemy, and how fhocking a Thing it muft appear to begin now to abridge Him of that Rcfpedl, Service, and fupreme Adoration, which has been fo long, and fo uni- vcrfally paid Him, and by the blefled Saints and Martyrs now crown d in Heaven ; I fiy, any Man that duly confiders this, will cafily perceive how impoftible it is for Arianifyn ever to prevail generally, except it be upon one or other of thefe Suppofitions : Either that the Age becomes fo very Ignorant or Corrtipty that They know not, or care not, what They do ; or that fome nev/ Light fpring
up,
484 A DEFENSE Qu.XXXI.
up, on the fide of Ariantfm, fome hidden re- fervc of Extraordinary Evidences, fuch as, in 1400 Years Time, the Wit of Man has not been able to difcover. As to the latter, nei- ther your felf, nor yet the learned Dodor has been pleafed to favour us with any fuch Diicovery : As to the former, I have too good an opinion of you to fufpeft, that you can ei- ther hope, or wifli for it. You will have a mind to try what you can do : And fo give me leave to reprefent to you a fliort Summary of V'hat we arc to expeft of you.
1 . You are to prove, either that the Son is not Creator ; or that there arc two Creators^ and one of Them a Creature.
2. You are to fliow, either that the Son is noc to be vjorjhifd at all ; or that there are t'uo Objelis of JVorJhi^y and one of Them a Creature.
3 . You are to prove, either that the Son is not God'^ or that there are two Godsy and one of Them a Creature.
4. You are to fhow, that your Hypothejis is high enough to take in all the high Titles and At- tributes afcribed to the Son in Holy Scripture 5 And, at the fame time, low enough to account for his increafing in IVifdom, not knowing the T)ay of Judgment, His iDcing exceeding forrow- July trouble dy crying out in his Agonies ^ and the like. You arc to make all to meet in the one Aoy^, or fFord'y or elfe to mend your Scheme by borrowing from ours.
I 5- I.
Qu.XXXI. of fome QUE KIES. ' 485 5. I muft add ; that, whatever you undertake, you are either to prove it with fuch Strength, Force, and Evidence, as may be fufficient to bear up againft the Stream of Antiquity, full and (trong againft you ; or elfe to fhow that Antiquity has been much mifunderftood, and is not full and ftrong againft you.
Now you fee, what you have to do; and our Readers, perhaps, may underftand what we are talking about, the Duft being, I hope, in fome meafure thrown off, and the Caufe open'd. Now proceed, as you think proper : Only difpute fair ; drop ambiguous Terms, or define Them 5 put not grofs Things upon us ; contemn every Thing but Truth in the fcarch after Truth ; and keep clofe to the Qucftion : And then it will foon be feen, whether y^r/- anifmy or Catholicifm, is the Scripture-ID o- Urine of the Trinity.
There remain only two ^erieSy which I have any concern in; and I hardly think it needful to take farther notice of them, the Subftance of them being contained in the for- mer: Befides that this TDefenfe being drawn out into a length beyond what I expefted, I am willing to come to a Conclufion. You'll excufe me for not returning a particular Anfwer to your Queries, having obviated all that is of weight in Them, in this "Defenfe of my own. Befides, you have now had fome Years to con- fider this Subjed, and may probably fee reafon to alter fome Things ; tocontradt your juries
into
485 ^DEFENSE QU.XXXI,
into a fhortcr Compafs, and to put them clofer and ftronger , Tho' that part, 1 think, fliould come, after you have made a 'T>efenfe of your own Principles : Otherwife, you know, it is nothing but finding faults, without propofing any way to mend Them ; which is only a work of Fancy, and is both fruitlefs, and endlefs. My defign chiefly was to be upon the Offen- Jive : The T>efenfive Part, on our fide, has been handled over and over, in Books well known, and eafy to be had. What was moft wanting was, to point out the particular De- fcds of Dr. Clarke's Scheme, which was thought to contain fomething new y and was certainly fct forth in a very new Method.
In Conclufion, give me leave to tell you, that I have entered into this Caufe (after a compe- tent weighing what I could meet with, oa cither fide) under a full Convidion both of the Truth and Importance of it ; and with a Refo- lution (by God's Afliftance) to maintain it; till I fee Reafon (which I defpair of) to alter my Judgment of it. Make you the beft you can of your fide of the Queftion, in a rational and fair manner. Truth is what I fincerely aim at, whether it be on your fide , or on mine. But I may be allowed to fpcak with the greater Confidence in this Caufe, fince the Con- trovcriy is not new, but has been exhaufl:ed long ago ', and all had been done on your Side, tliar the Wit of Man could do, long before ei- ther You, or Dr. Clarke appeared in it. You
may.
Q11.XXXI. of fame QUERIES. 4S7
may, if you pleafe, travcrfe over again Scri- pture ^ Antiquity y and Reafon, As to the firft 5 all the Texts you can pretend to bring againft us, have been wcigh'd and coniidcr'd ; and we have Solutions ready for them ; while you are yet to feck how to give a tolerable Account of feveral Texts ; thofe , elpccially, which declare the Unity of God, and proclaim the Son to be Gody Creator, and Object of Worjhip and Adoration, If you proceed to Fathers, They (land pointed againft you ; and you are certain to expofe your Caufe, as often as you hope for any Relief or Succour from Them. If laftly (which you think your ftrong- eft Hold) you retire to Thilofophy and Meta- phyficksy I humbly conceive, you will ftill be able to do nothing. It will be only falling to ConjeBiirey after you fail of Troof, and giv- ing the World your WijloeSy when They look'd for T^emonjlrations. I do not cxped you fhould believe one Word of what I have now faid ; neither fay I it to difcourage any rational Inquiries ; let Truth have its utmoft Trial, that it may afterwards Shine out with greater Luftre : Only let not your Zeal out-run your 'Proofs. If your Arguments have Weight fufficicnt to carry the Point with Men of Scnfe, let us have Them in their full Strength ; all reafonable Men will thank you for Them. But if, failing in Troofy you Ihould condcfcend (which yet I am perfuadedyou will not) to Wile and Stra- tagem, to Colours and Difguifcs, to Mifrcprc-
fcntation
4S8 ^ D E F E N S E, d^'^. Qu.XXXI.
fcntation and Sophiftry, in hopes to work your way througli the unlearned and unthinking Part of the World 5 Then let me affure you before- hand, that That Method will not do. Every Man, that has a Spark of generous Fire left, will rife up againfl: fuch Pradices ; and be filled with Difdain to fee Parts and Learning fo pro- ftituted, and Readers fo ufed.
I am Sir, yaur Friend and Servant.
POST-
4?!
POSTSCRIPT.
To the Firft EDITION.
I Have juft run over the Second Edition of Dr. Clarke's Script iire-T> ocirine \ where 1 obferve, that mod of the Paflages, which I have anhnadvcrtcd upon, (land as They did, without any Corredion or Amendment. Where the Doftor has attempted any Thing, which may feem to weaken the Force of what I have offer'd above, I fliall here take notice of it. I had noted (as the learned Mr. Welchman had done before me) the Do* ftor's unfair manner of fupprelling fome Words of Chryfoftom, which were neccflary to let the Reader into the Author's true meaning. The Dodor here endeavors * to bring Himfcif off, by faying, that the Words left out are Chry- fofioms o^jvn hiferencey and 7wt the Expli- cation of the Words of the Text But the Truth is 5 Chryfojloms Inference fhows plainly
♦ Pag. 92.
K k
what
4*o TosrscRi'pr.
what his Explication of the Text was 5 which Explication reprefented feparately without that Inferencey by the Help of the Dodor prefacing it, was made to appear in another Light, and to fpeak another Scnfe than what the Author intended. One in Tower [k^ c^uva[j.iv) is the fame, with Chryfoftomy as eq^iial in Power or AbiUty, and ejfentially fo. He could never have imagined, that one in Tower fliould fignify no more than the Doftor pretends. One having infinite and the other only finite Power, could not, according to Chryfofiomy be properly faid to be one, v^ c'uya/jiiv, in Tower, His Interpretation then, being not only different but contrary to the Doctor's, fhould not have been reprefented in fuch a Manner (by fup- prcfling a part of it) as to be made to appear to countenance a Notion which it clearly con- trad ids.
The learned Dodor * has put in an Expla- natory Tarenthefis to his Tranflation of a Pafiage of Ire?i£us. I have took notice ^ a- bovc that He had not done ]uftice to Ire- nfcus, in that Paffage : And I am glad to find that the Dodor Himfelf is now fcnfible of it. He has not yet come up to the full Senfc of the Author 5 as you may perceive, by com- paring v/hat He hath faid with what I have remark'd above. But He has faid as much as cojld be expeded of Him :- The wifer way
* P-^i?' 94. I Pag, 450.
would
"POSTSCRITT. 491 would have been, to have ftruck the Quotation out of his Book.
Pag. 248. The learned Dodor Criticizes a Paliage of St. Auftin', which I am oblia;cd to take notice of, having made ufe of that Palfagc in thefe Sheets * : I will give you the Do- dor's ov/n Words, that you may be the better able to judge of the Matter. After He had cited feveral Pad ages out of Jujlin Martyr^ where, probably , Jujlin was fpeaking of the Tem- porary -nr^EXsuTi-r, or Manifejlation^ or Ge- neration of God the Son, He proceeds thus. *' Note: In all thefe Paflages, the words v^ " /BsXviV, and /B^Xn , and ^eX/iVcj, and c/uva/^c!:, fignity " evidently, not %;olente, but voluntate > not " the mere Approbation^ but the A^ of the " Will. And therefore St. Aujlin is very nn- " fair, when He confounds thefe t^^v Things, " and asks {utrum Tater fit T>euSy Volens " an Nolens) whether the Father Himfelf be ^' God, with or without his own J Fill? The " Anfwer is clear : He is God [Volens) with " the Approbation of his Will; but not volun- " tate, not y(^ jSbXyiv, not 3«>^^^ ^^-Xn'^^, and " c^uvdiJLi^ not bv an A^ of his Will, but by " Neceffity of Nature, Thus far the learned Doaor. "This is ftrange Mifrcprefcntation. I pafs by his Mifconftrudion of Jujlin Martyr^ and his Infinuation (grounded upon it) that the Son became GW, by an Act of the Father's
» Pa?. 126.
K k z Jrdi,
492 TOSTSCRITT.
IVtlL Admitting it were fo ; how is St. Auftin conccnVd in this Matter, and how comes in the Doclor's Therefore^ where there is no man- ner of Connexion ? Was St. Aujlin Comment- ing upon Jiifiin Martyr^ The Dodor's Thought fcems to have been this: That St. Aiiftiny having admitted that the Son was God by an AB of the Fathers Willy and being prefs d with the difficulty arifing from that Sup- pofition, had no way of coming oflf, but by asking, whether the Father Himfelf was not Godhy his own IVill, If this was not the Do- dors Thought, it is at lead: what his Readers, very probably, will have, upon the reading the Dodor's Note. But to clear up this Matter, ril tell you the whole Cafe. The ArimSy for- merly, as well as now, being very defirous to make a Creatttre of God the Son, fet their Wits to work to find Arguments for it. They had a great mind to bring the CathoUcks to admit that tlie Son was firft produced, or gene- rated, by an AB of the Father's JVill (in the Senfe of free Ckoice) and the Confequence They intended from it, was, that the Son was a Creature, The CathoUcks would not admit their Tofliilattim without Proof; and fo the Avians attempted to prove it thus, by a T^lleamia, The Father begat his Son, either NolenSy or Volens -, againfl his Will, or with , his Will: It could not be /^^^/>//? his Will, that is abfurd ; therefore it muft be with his Will', therefore that Aci of the Will was precedent I to
"POSTSCRITT, 493
to the Son's Exiftence, and the Father prior to the Son. Here the Doftor may fee, who the
Men were that firfl: confounded two diftind Things, mere Approbation, and an Act of the iVdl: Not the acute St. Auftiyi, not the Ca- tholicks':, hmxhz Arians, To proceed : The "^ Catholicksj ^^x{\zu\:it\y Athanajitis ^ Gregory Nazianzen, Cyril of Alexandria, and St. Au- Jlin (Men of excellent Senfe, and who knew how to talk perthiently) eafiiy contrived to baffle their Adverfaries with their own Wea- pons. Tell us, fay They to the Arians, whether the Father be GW, Nolens, or Volens ; againfl his Will, or with his Will. This quite con- founded the Men, and their 'Dilemma \ and They had not a word to fiy more. For, if They had faid Nolens, againfl his IFill-, that was manifeftly abfurd : If They had faid VolenSy isjith his Willi, then, by their own Argument, They made the Father /^mr to Himfelf The Dodor perhaps might have help'd Them out. Let us fee then : The Anfwer, He fays, is clear. But what is clear ? Does He imagine there was any difficulty in anfwering St. Aufliiis Que- ftion , taken by it felf? This required no Oedipus-, Any Man might readily anfwer it: But the difficulty was for an Ariaii to make an Anfwer, which fliould not recoil upon Him- felf Let us take the Doctor's Anfwer, and ob-
* Athanaf. Graf. ^. p. 610,611. Gregory Nazianz. Orat. ^f. p. 5-65-, 5-66. Cyri]. Alexandr. Thefaur. p. 5-0, yz. Auguft. Tom.8. p. 616,994. Ed.Bcncd.
Kk 3 fcrvc
494 TOSTSCRI'PT.
ferve whether it could be of ufc. T^e Father^ favf He, is God iz:ith the Approbation of his Will ( Volens ) not by an Act of his Will. But if an Arian formerly had thus anfwer'd St. A'^fiin, it would have made the good Fath^ fmile. For, He would immediately have re- plied : Vv^ell then : fo the Father had his Son (Volens) <iLith the Approbation of his Willy 2x\di not by an^c^of hhlFill: And now what becomes of your T>ilemma, and your Nolens Volens ? What could the Arian have pretend- ed farther, except it were to perfifl: in it, that the Son >■ 'as God by an A5i of the Will ? To which it would be readily anfwer'd, that this Was begging the Queftion : and fo the whole mud have ended. Judge you now, whether the Dodor or St. Auflifi had the greater Acu- men in this Mattel? 5 and which of them is moft apt to be 'very unfair^ and to confound diftinft
liiuizs. 0 |
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(T'JVTiB'if/jiyXV |
TEXTS
TEXTS o/SCRIPTURE
Illuftrated and Eplained.
Exodus.
Chap. Fer. Pag-
VI. ^,"6i,^c.
Isaiah.
XLTIT. 10.
XLIV. S
XLV. f
XLVI. 9
XLVIII. II.
7^
St. Matthew. XXVIII. 1 8. • P4
St.] OH N.
I.
V.
IT
xvu.
I. 66
ip. 2.8f
25. -^79
30. 160
1 C O R. VIII. 6. S
Gal.
IV. 8. Ephes.
I.
IV.
21. 6.
370
P4 8
Philip.
r 16 II. 6- \,jo
Hebr.
I.
8. K k 4
5. — 18,20
8,V f<5
10. Pf
THE
THE
INDEX
Of Principal Matters.
^ A ^o^^tio" fi^ Worfhip.
JiX, Ante-Nicene Writers, include the Son in
the One God. Page iz
ad?nit no inferior God. f4
difown Creature- Worship. 248
Arians conceal their Heretical Tenets under Catholick
Terms. izf^iof
are afraid to exprefs their Notions c\t^x\y. 203
■ ~ have more Difficulties to get over than the
Cutholicks. 1685171,176,217,3^5
the Portions of fome or other of them in ;
fpecl of the Son. 220
*- the Methods they made ufe of to propagate
their llerefy. 222
hoiv far they agree with^ or differ from^ the
Sabdlians. ^ 3^5*
mifieprefent the Catholick Do6lrine. 303
heir Notions of the Trinity not more intelligi-
ble/i?^/^//;^ C^/ZW/Vi^. 34f
Siippofing the Cafe doubtful^ not on fo late a
SideastheCatholicks. 47 f
What is requifite to defend their Scheme. 48
Ariminum (the Council of) vainly oppofed to the Ccun- ' cil of Nice. ' 468
Article 6 before ©ao?, the Addition or O miff on of it makes no Alteration in the Sen(e of the Word, 67
St, Ath'^n^ifms cited and explained. • ipp
Attri-
rije INDEX.
Attributes applied to the Son^ fuchascan belong to nn Creature. Pag. po
ftri^lly Divine and Infinite, P j
St. Aullin vindicated. 491
Author and Governor of the Univerfc, Whofoever is
fo^ is^ in the Arian Notion^ allowed to be God. 7 j
B.
Being, The Word bears two Senfes. 1 67, j 18 How diftinguiJJfd from Perfon, when appli- ed to the Trinity. 2 iS JVhether there can be any Medium between
a Being and^ox.'x Being. 166
Bull (Bp.) His Method of managing Controverfy
Pr. IV. 8cc. The Sum of the Queflion between him and the
Arians. 40^
Characlerifticks 0/ the true God applied to the Son. po Christ under flood by the Ancients to be meant i}t> thofe Texts which undoubtedly [peak of the one Su- preme God. *28 ■ fpake to the Jews in his own Perfon, when he ajfum'd the Titles of the Supreme God. 3 j Caird God in Scripture in as high a Senfe as
the Father Himfelf. fj
caird Jehovah in his own Perfon. f p
prov'd to be God from his being the Object of
Religious Worflnp. zf^
prov'd to be God by Nature. ^jz
Clemens of Alexandra cited and vindicated. 1 10
Co-eternity of the Logos with the Father aj/ertcd by
the Antients. 145
Confubftantiahtyc//^^ Son with the F-Athcr.^ how e^
luded by the Arians, and how ajfcrtedby the Antients.
578
Creation.,
The INDEX.
Creation, /Z'^ Scrip are Meaning of the Word. Pag. ip4 Creation of the Univerfe, attributed to the Son as
much as to the Father. i8i
■ implies an infinite Power. ipo
Creature, the Son ajferted to be uncreated impUcitely
and confequentially by the Holy Scripures. i ^6
■' "The fame affirmed direSily by many of the An-
tients. Ip7
"Tloat he was created, mt affrm'dor fuppos'd
by Origen. ibid.
No Medi urn between being a Creature and be-
ing efTentially God. 2oS
D.
Divine Attributes and Powers attributed to the Son, by Dr,Q\^vkt z;^^;^ equivocating Senfe. ijy
Divinity, How abfurdly afcrib'^d to Chrift by the Arians. Pr. xi
Dominion, not the full import of the Word God. 48,f i
Doxologies of the Ancient Church, what 'Judgment to be made of them, 16 1
Mr. Emlyn noted pf, loi, 187? 3^4? 4^ 5-
Eternity, a difin^HdeafromNeccfTury'Exiilcncc.i 1 1
How abus'd when attributed to the Son by Dr.
Clarke. ^i^
Eternity of the Son, defer ibed in Scripture by the fame Phrafes as that of the Father. 115
Ayid therefore the Scripture Proof of the Fa-
therV Eternity given up by the Arians to avoid that of the Son's. nf
IFhetherthe Son's Eternity be mcc^^yy to his.
Office and Chara6fer. 117
;w/>/?>j?/7^*S'o;^/^^^nece{rarily-Exiilent. 123
Eufcbius cited, and explained, 1 8, 22, 85, 1 8 3 , 1 8p
Fathers,
The INDEX.
F.
Fathers, Several Points inftanc'd in which they are againft the Avians. Pag. jp?
— How cited and ynade ufe of by Dr. Clarke. 41 r
fFbat ufe to be made of them in Contr over fie s. 4f 5
Hhe Advantage of a Caufe that has them on jt's
Side. 4r6
G.
Generation of the Son, a threefold one ajferted by the Ancients^ and how difiingui/lfd. 1 34
' They who ajfert //:;i?Gcncration ofthel^o^os., or his Filiation to have been temporary j yet affert his Exill- ence to have been co-eternal with the FathcrV. 1 45*
— How far an explicit Profcflion of the Son's etcr- nal Generation may be difpens'd with. \6l
God, TVhat the I Vord implies. yo
Not merely Ychtive. 47
deJwtesSubWance^ ^///^^«£^/ Dominion only. 84
. Hi Nature or EfTence denied Z'^z/j^Eunomians
and frme of the Arians to be above Human Compre- henjion. 307
H.
Hypoftafis, In what Senfe the ancient CathoUcks pro- fefs'd three Hypoftafes or one only. 3 5- 1
I.
Jehovah, Chrifi fo calVd in his own Perfon. fr>
J^hat the JVord ftgnifies. 6z
■ T'he incom/nunicable Name of the one true God. 6 f Ignatius cited and explained. 119
Individual, whether any thing individual can be com-
municated. 1 7 r
Iren^us, whether he can be under flood to afcribe Igno-
ranee to the Son. 102
]\idgmtnt committed to the Son^ not the fole Foundation
of his Honour. 279
Jultin Martyr explain' d. 131, \^z
y Meta-
The INDEX.
M.
Mctaphyficks, the Catholkks im'ongfully charged with
the Ahufe of the?n, Pag. 300, 325
Mylteries, what meant by believing them, 308
N.
NccefTary Agency no Abfurdity. 1(^4
Ncceffary Exigence, a diftinbl Idea from Self-Exifl-
cviCQ^ and from Yjttxmty. izz
■ An EJfential Character of God . 371
Nominal God, Chnji not excluded fromWov{hip a-
mong the Nominal Gods. 7
Novatian, on the Catholic k Side. i }
^''--' His Ex plication of Philip ii. 6. 14
— His Belief of Chrifi's Eternity, 1 3 7
O.
'O^ (The' Article) before Bih makes no Alteration in ihs
Senfeof the fFord. ^7
Omnifcicncc of the Son, as infinite as the Fathefs. 1 00
afferted by the Ante-Nicene Writers, 1 09
'O.uobVi©', What the Word exprejfes. 45p
One God "^ not afcribed to the Father^ in oppojiti^ or f on to^nor exclufi'ue of^the Son^either
Only true God r" in the Scripture^ or by the Ancients, J 8,12
Origen'i Orthodoxy ajfextedand vindicated, i ^7, if o,
2f8
P
Vox^owaniYitixvg^ho'Wthey differ^ 'when applied to the Trinity. 318
Pcrfonality of the Son^ whilfi in and with the Father^ and before his temporary Generation^ ajferted by the Ancients. 147
Priority of the Father'; Order, does not imply that the
Son
The INDEX.
Son is a fubordinace God . Pag. 7 1
Sabcllianifin, How far it agrees vjith^ and differs from Arianifm. ^^^
T'be Medium between that and Trithcifm,
-> •>
Self-Exiftcnce, a difith^ Idea /;'(?;« Neccfliiry- Ex lil- ence, and from ^zcrmty. iii
^ Perfonal, not an EfTcntial Chara^ler of God. yj i
Semi- Arianifm perfe^ Nonfenfe and ContradiBiou.ii^
Subordination/;^ Order, does not imply an Inferiority
of Nature. 2p8
Subordinate God, 7'he Abfurdity of callingChrifi fo.
He being not fubordinate in Nature or Power, but only in Order. 18 j
Subftance, not join* d w///:' relative Terms, 'wben un-^ der flood of any thing extrinfick. 49
One Divine Subfcance, and not three ^ profefsd by
the ancient Catholicks. Jfi
Supreme God, Chrifi fo^ or not God at all. 4
Supremacy in Order confiflent ivitb Equality of Na- ture, zpo T.
Time, The Word ufed by Dr. Clarke and the Arians in an eqiiivo eating Senfe. 1 1 j*
Trinity m Unity, How far the N'ot ion of it is capa- ble of Explanation. J 21
The Modus of it not to be too curioujly enquired
into. ibid.
Tritheiftn, The Charge of it removed from the Catho- licks. 304^331 fix'd upon /.^^ A r i ans . 5^7
The Medium between that and Sabcllianifm . 351
The Senfe of the antient Fathers in relation to it.
Two
Tfoe INDEX.
Two Gods, lHoe Confequence of the Arian Schema.
Pag. 80 U.
Unity of Godhead, not to be inferred from Unity of Authority. 7P
Cant be ajfertedbut upon an Equality of Nature,
and Unity of Principle. 3 ^p
Unity of Fat her and Son, in 'what Senfe defended by the Antients. x6i
W.
Whitby (Dr.) An Inflance of his unfair Dealing in his Authorities. 151
— Short Strictures upon his Modeft Difquifitions,
3PP
His Notion of Myfieries expos' d^ 6cc. 308
Will, and Arbitrary W ill difiinU things, 118
■ How the Son maybe faid to have been begotten with the Will of the Father. 1 26, 49 1
Worfhip (Religious) appropriated to the Supreme God only, in Scripture. 119
No Diftin^ionin Scripture between abfolute and m^QYiox IVorflnp. 235^
— — T^he fame prov'd from the Practice of the Primi- tive Martyrs. 244
And from the Dotlrine oftheknti^xxi Church 247
■ That Religious TVorfinp is due to Chiiik^ prov'd
ffOrn Scripture. ifz
— Upon what Principles given hifn by the Primitive Chriftians. %--■' if 6
How the irorfoippaidto the Son terminates in the Father. z6z
Due to him as CYcator and PvcCcyvcy of the Uni- vcrfe^ ajid before the Commencingof hi$ Mediatori- al Kingdom. Z87
FINIS.
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M. TuUii Ciccronis de Natura Deorum libri Tres, Cum notis in- tcgris Pauli Manucii, Petri Vi(5torii, JoachimiCaraerarii,DionyC Lambini, ScFulv.Urrmi. Recenfuit, liiifque Animadverlionibus IJ- luftravitac ^m:!iCu\vf\tyoanms Davijiusy L. L.D. ColLRegin.Cantab. Magiftcr, & Canonicus Elienlis. Accedunt Emendationes Ci.yoMmts U'dkeri. h.U.CoW.Tnn. SocVi. Ociazo, 1718.
La6lantii Firmiani Epitome Divinarum Inllirutionum ad Pcntadf- um Fratrcm. Eam ei: vetuftillimo MS'** Taurinenli nuper cditam recenfuit, &c fuis animadverlionibus illuflravit, ac emcndavit Joannes Davi/iusy Juris &; Theologije Dodor, C. R. C. M. C. E. OBavoy 17 iS.
Suidx Lexicon, Gracce 8c Latine. Texrum Gnccum cum xManu- fcriptis Codicibus coilatum a quamplunmis mendis purgav.'t, Notif- queperpetuis illuftravit: Vcrlionem Latinam itmilii Porti innumcris in locis correxit ■-, Indicefque Aucftorum &: Rerum adjecit Ludd^fjut Kuflerus, Profclfor humaniorum literarum in Gymnafio Regio Bc- r-olinenfi. 5 Vol. Folio, 1710.
C. Crifpi Sal'uftii quce extant j cum Notis Inte^ris Glareani, Ri- vii,Ciacconii,Gruteri, Carrionis.Manutii, Putfchii.Doufxj Selcdiis CaftilioneijC.&A. Popmx, Palmcni, Urlini, J.Fr.Gronovii.Vidoni, tkc Accedunt Julius Exfuperantius, Porcius Latro : 8c Fragmcnta Hilloricorum Vctt. cum Notis A. Popm^ Recenfuit. Noras pcr- petuas, 8c Indices adjecit Jofephus IVaJfe Coil. Rcgin. apud Cantab. Sociusi 8c NobiliiT. Marchioni de Kent a Sacris Domellicis. Prz- mittirur Salluftii Vira, Audorc V. Cl.yoxnncClcr'tco.Qn^x^o, 1 7 i o. Emendationes in Menandri 8c Philemoais Reliquias, ex nupcra l^ixnoxxefoMmtsChrici: Ubi multa Grotii 8c aliorum, plurima vc- ro Clerici errata calliganuir. Audiorc PhtleUuthero Ltj)/ieti/i. ScriptJC AnnoMDccx. Acccdit Epiftola Critica R/r/r;?r«//i lief'tla de Joanne Maleh Antiocheno j Scripta Anno mdcxcii. Editio Altera Emcnda- tior. OBavo, 1713.
Q^Horatius Flaccus cd nuperam RicharJi B'nilct't Editioncm accu- rate exprelTus. Notas Zi\i}i\C\\\.Thomas Bcmlcttis, A. B. Collegu S.Tri- pitatis apud Cantabrigienfcs Aluuinus. Ociavo , 1-13.
Oi6(ppii-ii XxfxKTtifBi; U^tice;. Theophra/ii Charadleres EthicL Grarce 5c Latinc. Cum Nods ac Emendationibus Jiaaci Cafauboni ScAliorum. Accedunt Jacobi Duporti Prxleftiones jam primum Editse. Grxca. cum vctuftiffimis MSS. collata recenfuit, & Notas adjecit Tet. Needham, S. T. P. Coll. Div. Johan. Cantab. Socius. Oclavo, 1 7 I 3 .
Beinardi VareniiGeographiaGeneralis, in qua affedtiones genera- cs Teliuris explicantur. Adje6ia eft Appendix, prxcipua Recentio- irum inver.taad Geographiam fpecflantia continens, A Jncobojurmy A. M. Collcgii S. Trinitatis Socio, 6c Scholas Pubiicae Novocaftrenfis Archididafcalo. Oclazo, 17 12.
M. T. CiceronisdeFinibus Bonorum Sc Malorum Libri Quinque. Ex Paradoxon Liber Unus. Emendavit, Notifque Illuftravit r^i?w^^ Bentley, A. M. Trin. Coll. Cantab Socius. O^azo, 1 7 1 8.
V. Ci. Andreas Tacquet, Soc. Jefu Sacerdotis &: Mathefeos Pro- feflbris Elementa Geometriae Planse ac Solidx ; ex Archimcde Theo- remata, Accedunt Corallaria non pauca illuftrandis Elementis accom- inodata, 8c Varies propofitionum plurimarum Ufus continentia. Summa curaemendata, 2c XL. Schematibus novis seri inciiis illu- ftrata. A Gulielmo WhiJloUy A. M. Editio Tertia, Audlioj* Sc emen- datior. O^avo, 1720, fub Proelo.
Publii Virgilii Maronis Bucolica, Georgica, 5c iEnefs. Ad opti- morum Exempliarumfidemreccnfita. Editio Altera. 12"'*'. 1702. Remarks upon a late Difcourfe of Free-Thinking : In a Letter to F. H. D. D. ByPhileleutlierusLipfienfis. The tfth Edition, Two Farts » O(3:avo, 1716.
A Sermon uponFopery: Frec.ch'd before the Univerfity of Cambridge ^ Nov. 5"''' 1715". i?y Richard Bcntley, D,D, Mafier of Trinity College^ andChapktn to Hii Majefty. Ocia^jo.
The Folly and Unreafonablenefs ofAtheifm Demonjirated, In Eight Ser- mons at Mr. BoyleV Le^ure, in the firfi Tear^ 1692. To which is added d Sermon preach' d at the 'Public-Commencement at Cambridge Jnly j, t6c)6, jBy Richard Ecntley, B. D. Majier ofTrmity College in Cam- bridge. The Ffth Edition Corrected. Oclavo, 1 7 1 9 .
cljufiinn Morals^ by Sir Thomas Brown, of Norwich, M.B. and Author of Religio Medici. FubliJJoed from the Original and correSi Manufcript of the Author j by John JefFery, D. D. Archdeacon of Nor- wich, I2'"*'. 17 16.
A Sermon preach\l before the Univerjity of Camhvidg;^c, on Wcdnefday the I " o/Auguft, 1 7 I 6. Being the Anntverfary of His Majefty'^ Hap- py Accefjion to the Throne. By Theod. Waterland, M. A. Fellow of Mag- Jalen College. Odtavo, 1 7 i 5.
A Sermon Breach' d before the King, at King's Cclhge Chapel in Cam- ■ bridge, on Sunday Odlober the 6'^ 171 7. By Richard Laughton, D. D. and Felloe of Clare-Hall. Bubliful by His 'MzjcHy' s fpectal Command. T^je Second Edition. Odtavo, 17 17.
A Sermon Breach' d in the Cathedral Church of Ely at the AJJiz.es he- for the Ife of Ely, Apr. 16.1718. By] ohn Whitfield, D. D. Fello of Trinity College in Cambridge. FubliJjed at the F^c^ueft of the Gran jury andothcr Gentlemen. Oclavo, 1718.
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