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nice Difpute of the Spirit's proceeding from or by the

Son.

That which feems to found harsheft in this Creed is what follows:

And in this Trinity, none is afore or after other, none is greater or leẞ than another.

But the whole Three Perfons are co-eternal, and coequal.

And yet this we must acknowledge to be true, if we acknowledge all Three Perfons to be Eternal, for in Eternity there can be no afore, or after other and that we cannot conceive an Eternal Generation or Proceffion, is no great wonder, when we cannot conceive an Eternal Being, without any beginning or any cause as for greater or lefs, and the equality of the Three Perfons, this we muft confefs alfo, it we believe all Three Perfons to be one Supream and Soveraign God; for in one Supreme Deity, there annot be greater or lefs: but then we must distinguish between Subordination and Equality: Perfons who are equal may be fubordinate to each other

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though there be not a greater or lefs, yet there is Order in the Trinity: Equality is owing to Nature, Subordination to Relation and Order, which is indeed a greater and lefs in Relation and Order without an inequality of Nature, and it is the Equality of Perfons with refpect to their Nature, not to their Order and Subordination, of which the Creed Ypeaks; for in this fenfe the Father is greater than the Son, and the Father and the Son than the Holy Spirit, as being firft in Order, but their Nature is the fame, and their Perfons with refpect to this fame Nature co-equal

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And now I fee no reafon to make fuch exclamations, as some Men do, against that damnatory Sentence, That except every One do keep this Faith whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly, and that he that will be faved must thus think of the Trinity; which refers to no more than the belief of Three Perfons and One God, or a Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, which I take to be the true Christian Faith, and as necessary to Salvation as any part of the Christian Faith is; but of this more

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Thus much for the Doctrine of the Trinity; as for the Doctrine of the Incarnation, no Man can reafonably except against that Explication, which is given of it in the Athanafian Creed, without rejecting the Doctrine itfelf, and then we may as well part with the Doctrine of the Incarnation, as with the Athanafian Creed. As to fhew this particularly :

For the right Faith is, that we believe and confeß, that our Lord Jefus Christ the Son of God, is God and Man for otherwife the Son of God is not Incarnate, has not taken Humane Nature upon him.."

God of the Substance of the Father begotten before the Worlds as he must be, if he be God: Man of the Substance of his Mother, born in the World; for he could not be true Man, if he did not partake of Humane Flesh and Blood.o

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Perfect God and perfect Man; for otherwife he were neither God, nor Man of a reasonable Soul, and hu mane Flesh fubfifting for a perfect Man confifts of Soul and Body, and unless he have both he is not a Man; in oppofition to thofe Hereticks, who thought that the Divine Nature animated a Humane Body,

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instead of a Soul, but that Chrift had no humane reasonable Soul, though he had a humane Body, and therefore was no more a Man, than a humane Body without a Soul is a Man, but a God cloathed with Flesh and Blood.

Equal to the Father as touching his Godhead; for he is perfect God, of the fame Subftance with the Father; and inferiour to his Father as touching his Manhood for a Man is inferiour to God, and therefore inferiour to the Father, though united in one Perfon to the Son.

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Who although he be God and Man, yet he is not Two but One Christ.

One, not by the Converfion of the Godhead into Fleft, but by taking the Manhood into God.

One altogether, not by Confufion of Substance, but by Unity of Perfon.

For as the reafonable Soul and Flesh is one Man; fo God and Man is one Christ.

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All this is neceffary to the belief of the Incarnation, that the fame Jefus Chrift is both God and Man; for if he be but One Chrift, he must be God and Man in one Perfon; for two Perfons make two Chrifts and if the fame One Chrift be both God and Man, then the Divine and Humane Nature continue diftin&t without any inixture or confufion, he is perfect God and perfect Man, in oppofition to the Herefies of Neftorius and Eutyches, the firft of whom divided the Perfons, the fecond confounded the Natures; the first made God and Man two diftinct Perfons, and two Chrifts, the fecond fwallowed up the Humanity in God.

This may serve for a brief Vindication of the Athanafian Creed, that it teaches nothing, but what is necessary to the true belief of a Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God; and I thought fit to premise this, to let the World fee, that all the fpight against Athanafius's Creed, is not fo much intended against the Creed, as against the Doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation, which are fo fenced and guarded from all Heretical Senfes and Expofitions in that Creed, that there is no place left for tricks and evasions: And now I come to confider the Brief Notes, and to expose the Venome and Blafphemy of them, which deferves a fharper Confutation than this: And that this Author may not complain of unfair ufage, I fhall examine them Paragraph by Paragraph.

SEC T. III.

Concerning the Neceffity of the Catholick Faith to Sal- The Creed... vation, and a brief History of Athanafius.

7 Hofoever will be faved, before all things, 'tis Brief Note.

W neceffary, that he hold the Catholick Faith.

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"A good Life is of abfolute neceffity to Salvation; "but a right belief in these Points, that have been always controverted in the Churches of God, is in no degree neceffary, much less neceffary before all things. He that leads a profane and vicious Life, "fins against a plain acknowledged Rule, and the plain and unqueftioned word and letter of the Di"vine Law, and the dictates of natural Conscience, "he wilfully refuses to advert to these Monitors, and "therefore can no way palliate or excuse his wicked

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"nefs: But he that errs in a matter of Faith, after having ufed reasonable diligence to be rightly "informed, is in no fault at all; his Error is pure Ignorance; not a culpable Ignorance; For how can "it be culpable not to know that, of which a Man "is ignorant, after a diligent and impartial enquiry?

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This, I must confefs, is as artificial an Introduction to these Notes, as could have been invented; for it makes Faith a very useless, and Herefie a very innocent and harmless thing; and then Men need not be much concerned what they believe, if they take care to live well: The Creed affirms, That the Catholick Faith is before all things necessary to Salvation; if this be true, then how vertuoufly foever Men live, they may be damned for Herefie; and this is a dangerous point, and will make Men too much afraid of Herefie to trade in fuch Notes as thefe; and therefore this must be confuted in the firft place, to take off the dread and fear of Herefie: Now can we hope, that any thing fhould efcape the Cenfures of fuch a Critick, who will not allow the Catholick Faith to be neceffary to Salvation? For if the Catholick Faith is not neceffary, no Faith is, and then we may be faved without Faith; and yet the Scripture tells us, that we are juftified and faved by Faith; and if any Faith faves us, I fuppofe, it must be the Catholick Faith, and then whoever does not hold this faving Catholick Faith must be damned, So that at beft, he has placed this Note wrong; he should only have oppofed the neceffity of Athanafius's Catholick Faith to Salvation, not of the Catholick Faith in general; and yet this feems not to be a mistake, but

defign,

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