Free and Impartial Thoughts, on the Sovereignty of God, The Doctrines of Election, Reprobation, and Original Sin: Humbly Addressed To all who Believe and Profess those Doctrines.Finch, Richard
Religion
Free and Impartial Thoughts, on the Sovereignty of God, The Doctrines of Election, Reprobation, and Original Sin: Humbly Addressed To all who Believe and Profess those Doctrines.
Finch, Richard
Theology, Doctrinal -- Early works to 1800
help to make this very Law itself concerning Treason, and
consequently they could not but acquiesce with this _very Exception_
to the Right of Inheritance in their Posterity. But if it be still
said to be unjust, though necessary, 'tis no Argument; for it
_cannot_ be unjust and necessary too: the Law, in this Case, ought
rather (with Submission) so far as it unjustly affects a Man's
Children, to be alter'd; and if it robs us of the Security, which
arises from deterring the Parent, on Account of the Evils which
shall afterwards befall his Child, 'tis easy to remedy this, by
laying an _additional Punishment_ on the Traitor himself; which, as
_Self_ is much nearest to us all, might better prevent the Sin of
Rebellion, If the present Law be just in itself, there can be no
Objection to it; if it be unjust, _no Argument_ of any Weight can be
drawn from it, in regard to the _Divine Being;_ who is holy, wise,
and true, and so are all his Appointments concerning the Children of
Men.
To bring this kind of Reasoning of theirs up to the Point, they
should have produced a Law, which subjected the Son (for the
Father's Offence) to the _same corporal_ Punishment with the Father,
and then also they must have proved such a Law to be just and good.
But, as these Gentlemen are so fond of bringing Instances from the
_Practice of Men_ in this frail State, in Justification of their own
Doctrine, I shall present them with one or two of my own. _Murder_
has sometimes been committed under such Circumstances, that though
the Murderer has been arraigned, there hath been no room to condemn
him, all Circumstances having concurred, in the Eye of the Law, to
acquit him; _will the Almighty therefore acquit him?_ Again, on the
other hand, in the Case of Murder, things have so fallen out, as to
make an innocent Person look like the Murderer, in the Eye of the
Law or Court, which has therefore sometimes proceeded to Death
itself; _is this Man therefore guilty before God?_ I have put these
two Cases, purely to shew the Absurdity of such kind of Arguments:
and I hope they will consider better of it, and advance them no
farther.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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