"to their confessions of faith, they, in a very inhuman and "unchristian way, persecute us. It is in itself barbarous," says Mr. Marvel," for these faith-stretchers, whosoever "they be, to put men's consciences upon the torture, to "rack them to the length of their own notions *." This declamatory talk has been gravely, solidly, and satisfactorily answered by a very good writery: and yet the objector chose rather to declaim again upon the same head, for several pages together, than to quit his false reasonings, or acknowledge his mistakes. To say the best of it, it is a very wanton way of talking in a subject of the last importance, and is making a jest of the liberties of mankind here, and of their happiness hereafter. If those gentlemen have been so inhumanly and barbarously persecuted, how is it that they have not yet assumed the title of martyrs or confessors? For persecution and martyrdom are a kind of correlates, which suppose and imply each other. And what is that inhuman torture, that barbarous persecution, which they have endured? Have they had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, of bonds and imprisonment? Have they wandered about in sheep skins or goat skins, in dens or caves of the earth, for the sake of truth and godliness? No, but good Christians have suspended their good opinion of them, that is the grievance. And for what? Not for thinking as they please, (for thoughts are free,) but for overt acts of heresy, or perhaps blasphemy; for making public appeals to the people, in order to draw them off from listening to their better guides, to seduce them from the faith they have been baptized into, and to impose upon them such doctrines as must endanger their everlasting salvation. The kind and charitable endeavours of good men, whose province it is to prevent such fatal mischiefs in the mildest and gentlest way, (such as Christ himself has prescribed;)-these are the inhuman

■ Occasional Paper, vol. ii. numb. 1. p. 12, &c.

Preface to the Westminster Confession, p. 96-104.

z Defence of the Scripture as the only Standard of Faith, by the Author of the Occasional Paper, p. 35-40.

and unchristian persecutions which those gentlemen complain of. But to be a little more particular, they must not take it amiss to be told, in return to their odd complaint; 1. That they are guilty of a most intolerable abuse of words and names, in speaking of rack, torture, and persecution, where, even by their own account, there is not so much as a semblance of them: for it amounts, after all, only to the suspending our good opinion of them. 2. In this way of giving new and wrong names to things, they may, if they please, make the primitive churches also, and martyrs, yea, and Christ and his Apostles, persecutors. The primitive discipline, by their account, will be most of it persecution; and so instead of ten heathen persecutions, (as they are commonly reckoned,) they may increase the number of persecutions to five hundred or more, and call them Christian persecutions, or rather unchristian ones, for that, it seems, is the name for them. 3. It is wrong in these gentlemen to furnish the Papists with fresh topics for real persecution. For since it will follow from this account, that persecution is Scripture doctrine, it may be pleaded, that Papal persecutions differ in kind only, or degree, from the other, but in the main are warranted by the New Testament itself, and by the universal practice of the Church in the best and purest ages. 4. This will likewise be furnishing infidels with new arguments against Christianity, as it is a persecuting religion for it is certain, that the pretended persecution here complained of, is such as Scripture itself prescribes, as I have before proved. 5. But to come yet closer up to those complainants, let it be considered, whether they are not themselves the real persecutors, guilty of that very crime which they charge upon the churches of God. To revile men for doing their bounden duty, to load them with reproaches for righteousness sake, to libel and defame them for maintaining the faith of Christ in a Christian way, to seduce their flocks from them, and to demand at the same time to be caressed and honoured as fellow Christians ; these are grievous impositions and oppressions, and may

amount to persecution, properly so called. They that refuse to conform to order, who submit not to sound words and wholesome doctrine, who give unnecessary disturbance, and assume more than belongs to them; they are the invaders of liberty, the oppressors and persecutors of religious and righteous men.

It will be said, perhaps, that creed makers and creed imposers, as such, assume more than belongs to them. But if that be a fault, it is a fault common to all parties: for they who impugn the doctrines of the Church are themselves as much creed makers, and creed imposers, by their appeals to the people, and by their imposing their own doctrines on the public in a clamorous way, (and generally with satire and invective upon all that dislike them,) as others are who impose their creeds in a more regular and authoritative manner. Much has been said against creed making, by many who have as long creeds as others, only not the same creeds, and who are as confident in dictating, and as dogmatical in defining, and as eager to impose their own sentiments, as it is possible for men to be. The question, properly, is not, whether there shall be creeds or no; for all parties are for them, under one shape or other, and always will be: but the real matter in controversy is, who shall have the drawing of them, or who shall impose them: and when men declaim against imposing of creeds, the secret meaning of all seems to be, that they like not that such a power or privilege should be lodged in any hands but their own. However, the fault lies not in imposing creeds, (where there is a competent authority,) but in imposing false doctrine for true : and therefore the complaint is wide, while it runs only in generals, against all creed making, and against impositions at large, especially as practised in the Protestant churches. We pretend not to impose articles of faith in an arbitrary manner, or to require any implicit belief in the Church: we require no man to receive them for true, because they are ours, but because they carry their evidences along with them, and will bear examining.

But it will be said, that the Protestant churches, however, do determine beforehand, that every person upon examination ought to find these things true which they have formed into creeds or articles. They do so, as to the main things at least; and where is the harm? It is no more than presuming that there are some things so certain, that the reason of mankind ought to submit to them, and that those things which they have defined are of that kind. To illustrate this matter farther, we may put a few cases let the propositions, suppose, of Euclid be given into any man's hand to examine, there will be no presumption in telling him beforehand, that he will find them true and if he afterwards says the contrary, it will be no breach of charity or ill manners to tell him, that either he has not duly examined them, or is not sincere in his report, or labours under an incapacity. Thus far will readily be allowed with respect to propositions of mathematical or metaphysical certainty: we may reasonably determine beforehand, in such instances, that they will be found true, upon a due examination, where capacity is not wanting. The like may be said of an account, which has been carefully cast up, and proved by the never failing rules of art: if any man comes after, and pretends to find an error in it, one may be assured beforehand that the error is his own, and that he has been guilty of some neglect in the casting it up. Apply this reasoning to cases of moral certainty: some of them are so plain, that a man may have as well grounded an assurance there, as any where. Let the question be about the truth of Christianity in general: a point so clear and so certain, that there is no uncharitableness in judging that the person who brings in a verdict against it has never fully and sincerely examined, or labours under some unconquerable infirmity. The like may be affirmed with respect to many particular doctrines contained in our Creeds or Articles. There is such a degree of moral evidence to attest them, that the reason of mankind ought to receive them. Now the imposing such doctrines, in those whose pro

vince it properly is, is not assuming, but is discharging a weighty trust and this is quite another thing from the Popish way of imposing what they please, forbidding men to examine, or so much as to doubt of what they define; because their Church, they say, is infallible. Our way supposes that men ought to examine, (if capable,) in order to know that the doctrine proposed is true: and we judge, with reason, that if they examine with care, and decide with impartiality, they cannot think otherwise of it. The foundations we go upon are, that reason is reason with every man; that human faculties are true; and that there is such a thing as moral certainty, and that it is ground sufficient for the governors of the Church to rest their own faith upon, and to hold out their light to others committed to their charge, and for whom they are so far responsible. Indeed, if the Church-governors should happen to administer poison, instead of wholesome food, there will then be reason for complaint: but let not the complaint run against creed making or creed imposing in the general, (which is foreign and impertinent,) but let the particulars be specified, wherein they have rigorously imposed something false, or at least doubtful; and if the charge can be made good against them, they then ought with the same zeal to throw such article out, as they keep the rest in. Upon the whole, there is neither persecution nor Popery merely in imposing creeds, &c. under pain of Church censures, or exclusion from the ministerial function: but there is good order and discipline in it, such as Christ and his Apostles have commanded, and the Church in the best and purest ages has observed, and such as is necessary to keep the unity of the faith in the bond of peace.

VI. There is another objection near akin to the former, namely, that for Church-governors to direct men what to believe, and to exclude them from the Christian Church, for impugning such belief, is assuming a kind of dominion over the faith and consciences of other persons. To which I answer; men may call those powers which