Autokatakrisis, or, Self-condemnation,: exemplified in Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Barlee, and Mr. Hickman. With occasional reflexions on Mr Calvin, Mr Beza, Mr Zuinglius, Mr Piscator, Mr Rivet, and Mr Rollock: but more especially on Doctor Twisse, and Master Hobbs; against whom, God's purity and his præscience ... with the sincere intention and the general extent of the death of Christ, are finally cleared and made good; and the adversaries absurdities ... are proved against them undeniably, out of their own hand-writings. With an additional advertisement of Mr Baxter's late book entituled The Groatian religion discovered, &c. By Thomas Pierce rector of Brington in Northampon-shire.

The general Contents of the Introduction, shewing the manifold Absurdities and Contradictions, which issue out from the Denial of Gods eternall, respective or conditional Decrees.

Sect. 1, 2. THe nearest way to end a Controversie, is to strike alto∣gether at the Root of error. Sect. 3. The grand error touch∣ing Gods Decrees, and its numerous off-spring, is rooted in the mistake of two things, The false conceits of Praescience and Praedetermination. Sect. 4, & 5. The speedy way to Conviction, made plain and open by a manifestation of three things. Sect. 6. The three things under∣taken solemnly to be proved. Sect. 7. The same men affirm it to be both blasphemy, and truth, to say that God is the Author or Cause of sin, that he wills and works sin, &c. Sect. 8. Nothing but their Principles of Gods Decrees can lead them to blasphemies of such a Nature. Instances briefly set down from Calvin, Zuinglius, Zanchy, Piscator, P. Martyr, Beza, Borrhaus, Triglandius, Dr. Twisse, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Whitfield, and Mr. Barlee, and Mr. Hick. Sect. 9. How the vi∣olent streams of blasphemy may be quickly dried up in their several channels. Sect. 10. Mr. Whitfields whole Fabrick plucked up by the Foundation. His explication of what he means by conditional De∣crees. His provision for a Flight from his whole undertaking. He is equally unfortunate whether he intended sense or non-sense. He is equally unhappy, whatever he means by the word Condition. Sect. 11. His first Argument compared with his Exposition of Condi∣tional Decrees as he professeth to understand them. He is as unhappy in his best as in his worst meaning. His way of arguing in his best sense against Conditional Decrees, is as much against the Tri∣nity of persons in the Godhead. He argues against his own Masters and Brethren, Beza, Wollebius, Dr. Reynolds. Directly against Saint Paul, and against the Eternity of Gods foreknowledge. And in a flat contradiction to himself; also against Dr. Twisse, and even against the Tenet for which he argues. He is fain to make Gods decrees to be Actus D••i ad iutra, against his own party who teach them to be ad extra. He makes Gods Actions to be God himself (and so infers ma∣ny Gods) even against his own Masters, Gomarus and Wollebius. Five blasphemous Absurdities which that absurdity doth infer. He makes God himself to be Reprobation it self. Sect. 12. An easie way to Mr. W's Reformation concisely opened and pointed at. To his pretended Arguments against Conditional Decrees are confronted two Argu∣ments for conditional Decrees. The first is grounded on the Confession of all the contrary party, and according to the tenour of the seventeenth Article of the Church of England exhibited to us in the last clause of the Article. The second is grounded on another Confession of the contrary party in their definition of Gods Decrees. Sect. 13. Mr. W's mistake of the thing in question represented in clearer and fairer colours.

The general Contents of the several Chapters.

Chap. I.

Sect. 1. MAster W's fanciful Creation of three general Obje∣ctions. The distrust he puts in his cause. His stu∣died aiming beside the mark. He overthrows his own rampire. His second overthrow of himself and of his Absolute Decrees.

Sect. 2. His third overthrow of himself by a most crimson contra∣diction. He enters on that which Mr. Calvin judged the worst part of Libertinism. His new contradiction about the manner of Gods wor∣king. His down right Libertinisme. Libertines no Christians. A Di∣lemma as a touch stone to try his meaning. The determination of mans will to wicked actions is not Gods work. He inferreth God to be worse then the Author of sin. His meaning ferreted out of his words. His abuse of Scripture to serve his turn. He speaks worse of God then can be truely said of Satan. His ugly Doctrine of God spo∣ken out by Mr. Barlee.

Sect. 3. His third general Answer a meer majestick mistake.

Sect. 4. He descends from Generals to Particulars, beginning with the charge of making God the Author of sin, and with a Tergiversation, and Imposition on the Scripture. He asperseth God with the decreeing of sin in the first attempt of his excuse. His memorable Answer to his own Objection. His meaning caught in a Dilemma. His foul use of the word Permission, and its odious im∣propriety represented in other colours. The common Poultice for a sore Doctrine.

Sect. 5. He moulds a new Objection against himself, and grants what his Doctrine is charged with. His Answer consists in shifting the duty of a Respondent, and speaking quite another thing. He confounds the Permission of sin with sin, and tries to blot his Do∣ctrine fair. His abuse of Saint Austin. He argues that God doth will sin perfectly, because he wills the permission of it. And fain would have Scripture to speak against God by speaking his activity in the production of sin. 1. From the selling of Joseph. 2. Pharaoh's obduration. 3. The Candanites hardening. 4. Absaloms defiling his Fathers Concubines. 5. Shimei's cursing David. 6, 7, 8. Three other Texts. 9. The Egyptians hatred of Israel. 10. Gods being

said to deceive the Prophet. 11. Giving up to vile affections. 12. Gi∣ving eyes not to see. 13. Sending delusion. 14. The Nations ma∣king league with the Romans. All which Scriptures are explai∣ned and vindicated from the frightful misapprehensions of this Mistaker.

Sect. 6. Mr. W. most groundlesly infers God to sit still, and to be an idle Beholder, if he is not busie in the efficiency of sin.

Chap. II.

Sect. 1. OF the common Hebraisme by which such verbs are active in sound are onely permissive in signification: by the admission of which Rule the foul Absurdities aforesaid would be avoided, and Scripture expounded 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Mr. W's. manifold unhappiness in rejecting that Rule. He makes contradictions in Scripture, and overthrows his own interest in o∣ther cases. He is convinced by that which he cannot but confess. His woful shifts in expounding Scripture, and the mischiefs ensuing on it. His Masters contradict themselves by not observing the He∣braisme. Mr. W. makes light to be a sin, and incest to be no sin, by making a parity of Gods working in either case. He is beaten with his own weapons by any Atheist Dialogue-wise, condemned out of his own mouth. Scripture interprets Scripture against Mr. VV.

Sect. 2. His return to his first method of forging Objections to himself. He is at odds with Doctor Twisse. To make men sin is a a sin of the worst size, yet ascribed unto God by that sort of men.

Sect. 3. The ease and ordinary perversion of the Scriptures. Mr. W. mistakes the errors for the persons of some Protestants, and confounds them with the Papists. His party clamour against them∣selves, and affront God with an Epitrope. Mr. W's. clamours against Protestant Divines. He jumps in so doing with the Jesuited Papists.

Sect. 4. His foulest imputation cast upon the Scriptures. Saint Peters caveat touching Pauls Epistles. The literal plalnness of some Scriptures doth make them difficult to some. A short direction to the means of remedy, or prevention, removing a stumbling-block out of the peoples way.

Sect. 5. Mr. W. either means, that God hath a hand in evil, be∣cause in good; or that the act of sin is not the sin; or that God is the proper cause and efficient of sin; and that he means the last is pro∣ved by a Dilemma. Humane learning a good foundation for a Di∣vine.

Sect. 6. Mr. W's. rare essayes to separate the wickedness from the act of the wicked act.

Sect. 7. His first essay is a bare Dictate, including eight gross absurdities: Of actions Natural and Unnatural. Of nature Cor∣rupted and Uncorrupted. Mr. VV. denies Gods Omnipotence, and makes him the proper cause of sin.

Sect. 8. His second essay is an Impertinence beyond example; or what is so much worse, as that it ought not to be named. He is for∣ced to be pertinent, and his answer challenged.

Sect. 9. His third essay is a continuance of his Tergiversation, and inferreth God the efficient of sin. Mr. VV. vindicated from his abuses put upon himself. The probable causes of his chiefest aber∣rations. Five Expedients proposed to undeceive him.

Sect. 10. His fourth essay makes the wickedest actions to be good, and from God.

Sect. 11. His fifth essay doth betray him to a confession, that he maketh God the Author of sin. He mistakes a moral for a natural action, and is hampered in some Dilemma's. The method by which he is led into all his blasphemies.

Sect. 12. Sin is inseparable from the sinful action, which Mr. VV. seems to see by his Tergiversation. He makes an Accident the sub∣ject of Inhesion to an Accident. Confounds the act of differing with the passive power of being parted. Makes Davids lying with Bathshebah no sin. And the sin of Adultery separable from it self.

Sect. 13. He sheweth his cause is desperate, by speaking purpose∣ly beside the purpose. He attempts the washing of wet from water, roundness from a Globe.

Sect. 14. Mr. VV. affirms that God doth will and work sin, and hath a hand in effecting it, and that sin makes for Gods glory. Con∣cludes sin to be good, or Gods working it as evil. Feigns God to work evil to a good end. Q. Whether he infers not God to be a sinner. His inconsistence with Mr. Hick. and Mr. B. and with him∣self. He frames not his propositions to the nature of God, but the nature of God to his propositions.

Sect. 15, & 16. Mr. W's. great forgery in that little which he cites. His foul sense of Gods determination that sin shall be done. His impious expression or Gods having a hand in sin, and the Impor∣tance of that phrase.

Sect. 17. His gross error in the notion of Gods permission. His tre∣mendous notion of Alworking providence without exception of wickedness.

Sect. 18. He puts himself afresh into his old streights betwixt gross blasphemy, and extraordinary impertinence. He affirms that God hath an active hand in the sins of Oppression, Rebellion, Murders, Tre∣chery, Violence, and VVrong How the Great Turk proceeds on those maximes. He justifies the Ranters, by ascribing all our English changes to the hand of God. God is cleared from carelesness or weakness, with which he is charged by Mr. VV.

Sect. 19. God is cleared from willing and effecting what he hateth. A case put to shew the danger of Mr. VV's. Doctrine in order to practice.

Sect. 20. Mr. VV's. dangerous misapprehension of that figurative sentence, that God doth punish sin with sin. His making God the pro∣per cause of the greatest sins: which he also extends to the very sin of the act, the pravity it self. He treads a step beyond Calvin worst.

Sect. 21. The desperate nature of Mr. VV's. Salvo's. And the hardness of his Emollients. His open profession that Gods secret will is quite contrary to his revealed will in respect of the very same ob∣jects.

Chap. III.

Sect. 1. MAster B's. Confession of the Fact of which he pleads not guilty. His making God the Author of sin, and worse then so, in his endeavours to speak as warily as his principles will suffer him.

Sect. 2. He contradicts his own and his Readers eyes without the possibility of gaining by it. His inconsistency with himself, with Mr. VV. and Mr.Hick. He betrayes himself many wayes in his pro∣vision for an escape, making God (verbatim) the soveraign Author of sins both of omission and commission. Grants the whole charge, or understands not a moral act. His mixture of blasphemies with con∣tradictions on the right and left hand.

Sect. 3. He is ashamed to cite his own words truly. Proves him∣self conscious to himself of being left without excuse, in charging God with being a Tempter unto sin. Pretends a want of leisure to excuse or extenuate his blasphemy, yet baulks it at his great∣est leisure. He accuseth God of that which is the worst quali∣ty of Satan. Flatly contradicts the Scripture. Commits the worst of contradictions as well as blasphemies.

Sect. 4. He is enraged that his meaning should be measured by his words. Slanders ancient and modern, both Papists and Prote∣stants. Saint Austin in particular. And implies it a sin for corn to grow.

Sect. 5. His uncharitable reflexion on his own Dr.Twisse. The Doctors words cited.

Sect. 6. Mr. B's. severity to himself, proving his falshoods by self-contradictions. He unavoidably chargeth God with sin in himself; ir∣refragably proved from Heb. 6.18. He implies his blasphemies com∣mon to him with his party. He is convicted by Dr. Twisse of making God the Author of sin.

Sect. 7. He makes no difference betwixt the act of Adultery, and Marriage, but equally makes God the Author of both: worse then the Encratitae.

Sect. 8. The undeniable blasphemies which ensue upon the Do∣ctrine of unconditional Praedestination. The great Disease of making God the Author of sin. The original Cause of the Disease. The Pa∣tient proved extremely sick of the Disease by his own acknowledge∣ment of the Cause. Four short Arguments to confirm it.

Sect. 9. The easie and infallible means of cure to all that are not resolved to continue sick. The nature of Knowledge opened, and distinguished from Decree. Gods absolute Decree doth cause a necessi∣ty of event, but his foreknowledge doth not, nor possibly can it. The Absurdities which would follow if it were so. An Argument taken from the knowledge of what is past. The wide difference shewed be∣tween a necessity of consequence, and a necessity of the consequent. 'Tis vain for the Adversaries to quit the first error, unless they quit the second also. D. Reynolds his concurrence with T. P. in this point, Gods praescience doth not praesuppose a praedetermination. But rather praedetermination doth connotate praescience, if not praesuppose it. The cause of the error shewed and removed. The Application to the present case, and a way opened to reconcilement.

Sect. 10. Mr. B's. unavoidable consequential blasphemies, that God determined all wickedness before be could foreknow it. His igno∣rant use of the words, Futurition, Will, certain, Counsel. A threefold blasphemy, besides a self-contradiction.

Sect. 11. His positive Doctrine of Gods ordaining sin both original and actual. Non-sense added to Blasphemy.

Sect. 12. His self-contradiction in denying and also affirming that he maketh God the Author of sin. He is convicted by his own words, and the Assemblies, and Mr. W's. and Dr. Twisse, and Mr. Hobbs, which last is justified by Mr. W.

Sect. 13. Mr. B's. 10000. curses upon himself and his Masters, with his confession of the blasphemy of which he was accused. The like confession of his owned Masters, together with their Commissions of the crime confessed.

Sect. 14. His confession of faith touching Gods commerce with sin. He professeth openly to believe, that God is the cause of sinfulness it self.

Sect. 15. Concerning the efficient cause of sin. The state of the case from the beginning. Sin proved to have a true efficient cause, and by Mr. B's. confession, who also denies it. How his railings in lieu of answers do strike at S. James, but hit himself and his party, of Jam. 1.15.

Sect. 16. Of the positive entity of sin, clearly proved.

Sect. 17. Mr. B's. first Argument to prove the goodn'ss of sin, in

which Mr. Hick. is equally concerned. The noysomness of the Dis∣ease. The purging out of the peccant humour. Of metaphysical and moral bonity. The dangerous effects in Mr. B. and Mr. Hick. of be∣ing but Smatterers in Metaphysicks. Dr. Twisse his foundation of irrespective decrees a thin Sophisme. How a lye is verum, as much as si•• bonum. Albertus Magnus his words explained, and Austin's vin∣dicated from the impertinence of the Citation.

Sect. 18. The most remarkable impiety of one Mr. Hick. and Mr. B. called by the name of a second Argument. Inferring the Godhead of sin on one hand, or its being Gods creature on the other. Mr. H. miserably tost by the two horns of his own Dilemma. A way opened to his rescue from his ineffable dangers. He is shewed a me∣dium betwixt God, and Gods Creatures, where he could see none. How Mr. H. and Mr. B. do infer Atheism it selfe to be the Creature of God, or God himself. Sins positive things, because inward habits. Man the Author of some positive things, and God of some privatives. Mr. H. confounds Negative and privative, as well as privative and privation. To harden our own hearts, and consent unto temptations are positive things. Our destruction from our selves a positive thing. Sin spoken of in Scripture as a positive thing. Mr. Hick. convinced by his own party. He will confess he hath blasphemed in case that sin is something positive, which is further proved many wayes. The sad effects of forging God to be the maker of all things real without exception.

Sect. 19. Mr. B's. first chip hewen out of Mr. H's. block. He foists into the Creed the word Real, and makes it supply the place of good. Provides a Creed for the Libertines, viz. that God is the maker of all sins, if sins are things real, (and things not real, implies a con∣tradiction.) The different methods of our reasonings, and what comes of it. They ascribe the filthiest of positive Entities unto God. A••c convinced by the Assemblies confession of Faith. Are farther uncover∣ed by being supposed to be catechized.

Sect. 20. His second chip of the same block. Inconsistency with himself, and making all sinful actions to be wrought by God. His unsuccesful Relyance on the Jesuits.

Sect. 21. His third chip more pitiful then the former.

Sect. 22. His fourth chip the most lamentable of all. His argu∣ing concludes him Pelagian, or Libertine. He is impertinent on pur∣pose to make God the Author of sin.

Sect. 23. By his fifth chip he denies Gods Praescience of all wicked∣ness, unless he also praedetermined it.

Sect. 24. His impositions upon the Scripture. The Schoolmen. Aust••n. His new degree of Arminianism.

Sect. 25. Mr. Hick's. Heathenish expression of sins 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

Sect. 26. Of Calvins Doctrine, that God commands, yea compels the

Devil and all that are wicked to Conceive & execure their evil dving.

Sect. 27. Mr. B's. affected Tergiversation in his chiefest concern∣ments. Of Zuinglius his Doctrine, that God is (in plain terms) the Author of sin. How Mr. B. holds the same, even in that which he confesseth to be the proper notion of the word Author. He accuseth Calvin in excusing him for saying that God doth will sin. And Piscator as well as Calvin, for saying that God doth thrust men into wicked∣ness. He confesseth his Masters do some times teach a coaction from God to sin. He forgeth new Texts upon the Scripture.

Sect. 28. He turns his back to the prime charge, and tacitly yields the whole cause.

Sect. 29. Of Adams inclination to sin before he sinned. The birth and growth of the very first sin, with the very wide difference be∣twixt the inclinations of the sensitive appetite, and the will.

Sect. 30. The whole importance of the word Author. How the Ad∣versaries say worse, then if they had only said verbatim, God is the Author of sin. Mr. Roll••cks strange Salvo.

Chap. IV.

Sect. 1. OF the signal fallacy swallowed first by Dr. Twisse, then by his followers. Mr, W's essay to cover it. The Fallacy shewed in its deformity. The first cause of the whole mistake about the order of intentions and execution. That cause removed, and the fallacy left naked. Mr. W's. indirect course to excuse Dr. Twisse in contradiction to him. Dr. Twisse his error of Co••rdination in things subordinate.

Sect. 2. Mr. W's. forgery of objections in other mens names.

Sect. 3. Mr. W's. second part displayed, and Universal Redemption vindicated, as to the true intent and extent of Christs death, from the feeble utmost of his attempts, in a subdivision of eight Paragraphs.

Sect. 4. How the Presbyterians do nourish Socinianism in contra∣cting Christs death, and perverting Scripture. Daille, Camero, Am••rald, why they forsook their party abridging the benefit of Christs death, Received rules for the interpreting of words, and ending controversies. The extream absurdity of dutiful misbelief exploded hy the Lord Primate. Mr. W's. reproch cast upon Christendom, and the Gospel of Christ. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America inferred by Mr. W. to be the least part of the world.

Sect. 5. Universal Redemption proved from 2 Cor. 5.14. by S. Austin and Prosper, to the stopping of Mr. W's. and Mr. B's. mouths.

Sect. 6. The conclusion, giving reasons why no more time is to be lost in this employment.