196 His scheme implies one absolute sovereign. PREFAT. That must be truly Catholic, which all Christians believed to DISCOURSE, SECT. XIV. be true. Inconsis tencies scheme. His rage against the Church hath transported him so far, in Tindal's that in contradiction to his own principles, he hath argued down all civil governments, but such where there is but one, independent, supreme, despotic head or power. "If," saith het, "you allow more than one power in every society, there's no reason to stop at two." And, "if it be contrary to the nature of things that there should be more than one power in a family, every one sees, that the same invincible reason forbids more than one in a society made up of several families." "What hath been said proves that all supreme, or independent power must be indivisiblet." This considered with the purpose for which he said it, to shew the inconsistency of two clashing powers, will make it necessary to have but one absolute master in a college, without a meeting of fellows to clash with him; one absolute mayor in a city, without a court of aldermen or common council to clash with him, and one despotic absolute king in every kingdom, without any parliament or parliamentary power to clash and interfere with him, and his one, independent, and indivisible power. Thus to prevent the absurdity of clashing and interfering powers, we must not only abolish the ecclesiastical power, but reform most of the civil constitutions of the world; and particularly we of this nation, ought to have no parliaments, or no kings, because they clash so often together, nor two independent houses of parliament, because they frequently quarrel and clash together, and sometimes encroach upon one another's rights. To be short, his argument taken from the clashing of powers, as an argument, is of as much force for the Church against the state, as for the state against the Church: for if the ecclesiastical power must be abolished, because it is independent on the civil, and when it is abused, interferes with it; for the same reason may a courtier of Rome, a Bellarmine, or Baronius say, the civil power must be taken away, because it is independent on the ecclesiastical, and when abused clashes and interferes with it, though it is of immediate Divine institution, and originally founded in the person and cum.-Vincentii Lirinensis Commoni- x. p. 103, C.] t[Right, pp. 36, 37.] It really creates innumerable independent powers. 197 INCONSIS office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. By this way of TINDAL'S arguing, as I hinted before, man, whom God, though the God TENCIES. of order, hath made subject to two internal clashing powers, must entirely give up himself to one of the two, and when it comes to that, I do not doubt much to which of the two our author will surrender himself. The four new societies formed of late in a neighbouring nation, when it comes to the choice of which of the two clashing principles shall have the sole, supreme government of man, shew which shall have the most votes among some sorts of men. I must also observe, that by the very scheme he hath made to argue against the independency of the ecclesiastical power, he hath set up many independent, unaccountable powers in religion, as absurd and inconsistent with the power of the magistrate, as he pretends the power of the Church to be. For his own scheme excludes the magistrate from all power in religion, and religious matters; men having a natural right to 'believe", and profess such speculative matters which they think true, and to worship God after the manner they think most agreeable to His will; and that in all matters of religion, with respect to which they are always in a state of nature, they must determine for themselves, and follow the dictates of their own consciences, and also have a natural right to form themselves into companies, meetings, and churches for religious worship after their own way; and to agree on some places, and on the persons to officiate, and to judge of the forms and modes of worship, and of the rites and ceremonies they will observe; in doing of all which the magistrate, who as to these things hath no more power over the peasant, than he hath over him, is bound to protect them; or if he do not, ita will force them to defend those natural rights by arms, of which no human power can deprive them.' Here he doth not only give to all religious societies the same independent power which the Church claims to itself; but in such a manner, in which all true Churches have always abhorred to claim it, viz., that if the magistrate will not pro u See ibid., Introduction, pp. 14, 15, 23. Ibid., pp. 24, 25. y Ibid. p. 24. z Ibid., pp. 16, 24, 25. Ibid., pp. 17, 29. PREFAT. DISCOURSE, 198 Applied to the toleration of immoral societies. tect them in the choice and profession of their religion, they SECT. XIV. may, and, I think he means, ought to defend it by force of arms. Here is resistance added to the independent power of I know not how many pretended Churches, which the Church he writes against, and all true Churches ever disclaimed. The magistrate hath no power to persecute them; but if he according to his bounden duty will not protect them, they may against their natural, and sworn allegiance, persecute him by taking up arms against him, and in defence of their belief, and way of worship, turn the nation into a theatre of confusion, and a field of blood. Let us suppose then, that there were the same heretical sect of Docetes among us, that was among the primitive Christians in the time of the Apostles", who denied the humanity of Christ, believing and professing that He had not a real body, but only in appearance, nor was really born, nor really crucified, nor really rose from the dead, but only in appearance; and as they were Gnostics, so also chose that impure manner of Eucharistical worship, which I intimated before, as most agreeable, in their corrupt sentiments, to the will of God: let us, I say, suppose this sect grown to great numbers and strength among us, as it might be double or treble to that of any other sect, and that her Majesty had declared she could not in conscience see her people any longer perverted by such an impure sect, and so destructive of the Christian faith, and thereupon had passed an act of parliament against all farther toleration of them; upon such a supposition our author by his principles, if he were one of them, must like the man of Belial, Sheba the son of Bichri, presently blow the trumpet, and cry out, 'To your tents, to your natural rights, O Israel; as to the choice and profession of our religion, we are still in a state of nature, the magistrates as to that, have no more power over us than we have over them; we never gave, or could give them a power to deprive us of this natural liberty; they cannot hinder us from meeting without manifest injustice; and therefore since bi John i. 1-3; iv. 3. Ignat. Epist. ad Smyrn. [§ ii. Taura yàp πάντα ἔπαθεν δι' ἡμᾶς, ἵνα σωθῶμεν· καὶ ἀληθῶς ἔπαθεν, ὡς καὶ ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη· σεν ἑαυτόν· οὐχ ὥσπερ ἄπιστοί τινες λέγουσιν, τὸ δοκεῖν αὐτὸν πεπονθένα., αὐτοὶ τὸ δοκεῖν ὄντες· καὶ καθὼς φρονοῦσιν, καὶ συμβήσεται αὐτοῖς, οὖσιν ἀσωμάτοις καὶ δαιμονικοῖς.— Patres Apost., tom. ii. p. 34.] 199 INCONSIS- Powers denied to the Church given to every sect. they act contrary to the main end, for which we intrusted TINDAL'S them with power, and have exceeded their bounds in abridging our liberty in which they should protect us, the laws of nature not only permit, but oblige us to have recourse to arms; you see how we are persecuted contrary to those laws, and to the honour of God, and the good of mankind: to your tents therefore with all speed to defend your natural freedom; only be strong, and of a good courage; we will do unto them as unto Sisera and Jabin, and make them like Zeba and Salmanna.' It will be hard for him to name any one right, liberty, or privilege, which the Church, or, if he pleases, High Church, claims, independently on the magistrate, by Divine right, which he doth not demand in a manner, as independent of him, by natural right, for every society that pretends to be a Church. Is it the liberty of professing what they think is the true faith? So doth he for every sect. Is it the liberty to worship God in the manner they think most fit? So doth he for every sect. Is it the liberty to gather, and form Churches in all places for worship? So doth he for all men of the same faith, true or false, which he calls 'belief in speculative matters.' Is it the power of legislation, for which he is so incensed against the Church, for presuming to make canons or laws for the government, regulation, and well-being of her own body? This he also challenges for every other pretended Church. For if men have a natural right to form themselves into societies for profession of belief and Divine worship, they must also have a right to make laws and orders for the government and preservation of those societies, without which they can neither be formed, or subsist. Is it the power of jurisdiction, for which he hath written such bitter invectives against the Church, for presuming to censure her disorderly members, and in particular for assuming a power to herself of turning the contumacious and incorrigible out of her communion, and obliging those who are in it to shun them, and avoid all conversation with them? Even this power also he gives to every sect over its own members. For if men have a natural right to form societies, and make laws for the government and well-being of them, they must also Rights, p. 16. [See Introduction, § 19, 20. pp. 14—16.] C DISCOURSE, 200 The Church being coextensive with the nation accidental. PREFAT. have a right to punish; because the power of making laws SECT. XIV. and orders, signifies nothing without a power to punish the transgressors of them; and therefore we find, that all religious fraternities among us take upon them, in a way of proceeding independent on the magistrate, to censure their own disorderly members, and not only to turn them out of their communion, when they are incorrigible, but to obliged "every one of their society to be the executioners of their sentence, by enjoining them to shun and avoid them," whatsoever they suffer by it; though, according to his way of reasoninge, it takes from the magistrate the right of depriving men of their trades and professions,' and 'causes the excommunicate person to lead a life more to be dreaded than death; nay though the magistrate,' supposing he were of their communion, 'is not exempt from this punishment, since as a member of their society, he is but in a natural state,' and as subject to it as any peasant, over whom, in a society for the worship of God, "he hath no more power than the peasant hath over him." If he should say, that no religious society can oblige any but their own members to shun their excommunicates, and avoid all commerce and converse with him, I say the same of the Church; and here therefore must put him in mind of his artful way, to call it no worse, of expressing himself, where he declaims upon this subject in such manner, as if the clergy, 'those Christian Druids",' as he with great respect calls them, pretended to obligei 'every one, and all people, to shun their excommunicates,' and 'become the executioners of their sentence;' whereas they can command none to do it, but the members of their own Church. If he saith, that the people of the Church of England are the great body of the nation, I must tell him that that is only accidental, and that it is his endeavour, and of many hundreds more, to make her the least of the tribes that pretend to religion among us; and that some of them, who are very numerous, expect their turn once more for a national Church. If he should say, that my reasoning against him from his own scheme is not just, d Rights, p. 63. Ibid., p. 24. |