Vetuit ne

Gentilium

are not, before God and good Men, Enemies to true Religion, but the great Friends of it. Nay they that call Heathenish Schools by the Name of Chriftian, that they may ftill remain with the better Credit in their Heathenifin, without any true Reformation according to the Gospel, I rather judge them to be Enemies to the true Religion, and Friends only to their own Profit, Preferment and Ends.

Fulian indeed did forbid that Christians should Chriftiani be inftructed in the Disciplines of the Gentiles; Difciplinis but faith Sozomen (the Writer of the Ecclefiaftiinftrueren- cal Hiftory) he did this because he thought, that by men. Hiftor. thofe Difciplines Men might attain to a great Faculty Ecclef. cep to perfwade, which Advantage he would not have the

tur. Sozo

17.

Chriftians to gain to the Help of their Religion. Now certainly this was done, as Socrates (another Writer of the Ecclefiaftical History) doth acknow. ledge, by the fingular Providence of God. For feeing then Chriftians had begun to degenerate from the Gospel, and to betake themselves to Heathenish Learning, Julian attributed all the Glory and Excellency of Christianity to that Learning, and fo thought with Mr. Simpson, that if Humane Learning were denied to Chriftians, Chriftianity it felf would foon be at an end. Wherefore True Reli the Lord stirred up Julian to put down the Doctrine gion depend's not on Hu- of the Heathen in the Schools of Chriftians, that mane Learn- it might appear to all the World, That as the true

ing.

Chriftian Religion is not helped by Humane Learning, fo neither is it hindred by the Want of it: And that there is more Light, Knowledge, Truth, Wifdom, Power, Utterance given to Chriftians by the Unction of the Spirit alone, which all receive who believe, than through all Heathenish Disciplines: And also that it might be manifeft that true Christianity is founded on Faith in Chrift, and the Gift of his Spirit only, and not at all on Humane Learning. For what Humane Learning had Peter

and

and John? And yet in what Wifdom and Authority did they, being ignorant and unlearned Men, Ads 4. 13. reprove, convince, and filence the greatest and ableft Men of the Jews? And what Humane Learning had Steven? And yet he confuted the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and all the Philofophers of Cilicia, and Afia, which dif- Als 6. 10. puted with him; and they all were not able to refift (not the Humane Learning, but) the Wisdom and Spirit by which he Spake. And Chrift hath promised all his People, that when for his Names fake they fhould be brought before Kings and Rulers, who ufually have the greatest Accomplishments of Humane Learning, that they should not study beforehand what to fay; for he would give them, in that very Hour, a Mouth, and Wisdom which none of their Adverfaries fhould be able to refift. And the Power and Vertue of the Gospel, and the Wisdom, Knowledge, and Utterance of God's Spirit, is more gloriously manifest in plain Men than in learned Men; For in the one, the Grace and Vertues of the Spirit are attributed to Humane Learning; But in the other, to God only, who dwells in them. Wherefore that the Wisdom and Knowledge, and Light, and Power of the Word of Faith in true Chriftians, might not be attributed to Humane Learning, God stirred up an Enemy to Chriftian Religion to be fo ferviceable to it, as to hinder Heathenish Doctrine from being taught in the Schools of Christians, that fo the Church might be reftored to be as in the Days of its Youth, when there flourished in it only the fimple and plain Word of Faith, without any intermingling Philofophy or Humane Doctrine. And if Conftantine had made fuch an Order in his Time, Julian had not had fuch an Opportunity to have renounced Christianity, and turned Heathen. For Julian being inftructed in the Philofophy and Difciplines

of

Chriftianos

Gentilium

mo eft

prodeffe con

of the Heathen, by Libanius his Tutor, by this means, he came to love Philofophy better than the Gospel, and fo by degrees turned from Chriftianity to Heathenifm. Which may be a fair Warning to all Christians, that they fuffer not their Children to be fo educated, left at laft, with Julian, they (at least in their Hearts) loath and reject the Gospel, and become with him Apoftates and Pagans.

And hence it is most evident, that Heathenish de integro Philofophy is fo far from being a profitable Study Difciplinam for the Children of Chriftians, that it is very danimbibere, nefque gerous for them to be fo educated, as Socrates is Chriftien forced to confefs; where he faith, For Chriftians to Religioni be thorowly inftructed in the Difciplines of the Gentiles, cefferit. there is none will grant that this is profitable to the Nam non eft Chriftian Religion: For it is not without Danger for culum Chri-Chriftians to be taught in the Learning of the Heathens, Aianos Gen-feting this teatheth that there are many Gods. And ditione in- therefore, faith he, The Doctrine of the Heathen is ftitui, quip not approved by Chrift or any of his Apostles or Dimultos effe fciples.

extra peri

tilium

pe quæ docet

Deos. So

crates Hiftor. Eccles. cap. 14.

Meum confi.

Wherefore faid Luther, My Counfel is, that a

lium eft, ut Youth should fhun Philofophy, and School-Divinity, Diter Philo- as the Death of his Soul.

adolefcens

fophiam ac

Tbeologiam Scholafticam, ut mortem animæ fuæ. Luth. Tom. 2: fol. 434.b.

3. ERROR.

3. Error. That the Knowledge of Heavenly things cannot come to us but by things on Earth: And that all Divinity is fwadled in Humane Learning.

Answer.

Answer.

I conceive that all Chriftians at the first reading of this, will acknowledge that this Doctrine is not Divine, but Philofophical.

The

ledge of

down from

The Philofophers fay, that nothing is in the The KnowUnderstanding, but that which is firft in the Senfe, Heavenly (which is proportionable to that which Mr. Simpson things comes fpeaks) and yet they know not what they fay, Heaven to when they fay fo. But let us confider if this be us fo: That the Knowledge of Heavenly Things cannot come to us but by things on Earth; then how fhall we know the Mystery of God, even the Father, and the Mystery of Chrift, who is God manifeft in the flesh? Or how fhall the Mystery of Faith, and 5 of our Union with Chrift thro' Faith, into one Flesh and Spirit with Him, be known? Or the New Birth and New Creature, which hath all things New in it, and all thofe New things, the things of God? or how fhall the free Juftification of a Sinner, through the Death of Christ, and his Reconciliation to God, be known, with all the reft of the things of the Gofpel; feeing nothing on Earth can reveal the least part of the fe things? And if the World by Wisdom, that is, its PhiloSophy, knew not God, how can it by that Wif dom reveal God, and his things, which it never knew? Nay, the Apostle doth clearly testifie against this Carnal and Corrupt Doctrine, in 1 Cor. 2. 7, 8. faying, We Speak the Wisdom of God in a Myftery, even the hidden Wisdom, which God ordained befor the World, unto our Glory, which none of the Princes of this world knew: And by Princes of this World, he means not only Worldly Powers, as Chryfoftome affirms, but alfo Philofophers and Orators, who often obtained the Chief Government among the Nations. God hath wrapped up his Gospel, faith Paul, into fuch hidden Wifdom, that they are never able to fearch into it, or to discover the least part of it, seeing God contrived it all, and appointed it before the World unto our Glory; and all their Knowledge is but from the World. Yea, he adds, Eye hath not feen, nor Ear

heard,

beard, neither have ever entered into the Heart of Man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. In which words, God hath fhut out the Natural Man for ever, with all his Study, Knowledge, Abilities, and Attainments, from the having any right understanding of his Kingdom, or the things of it: For the Eye of Man hath not feen them at any time, nor his Ear heard them, nor hath any Knowledge of them entered into his Heart: So far is this Doctrine from Truth, that the Knowledge of Heavenly Things cannot come to us, but by things on Earth. But the Apostle fhews how the Faithful come to know these High, Holy, Spiritual, and Eternal Things, which lie infinitely beyond the Knowledge and difcovery of all Men, to wit, by the Spirit, faying, But God hath revealed them to Us by the Spirit; for the Spirit Searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. * So that the People of God know the things of the Gospel, not by Earthly things, as Mr. Simpfon affirms, nor by Philofophy and outward Wisdom, which only as: auth reaches to Earthly Things by the Spirit.

Ου δια Tis Eδεν σοφί

xadá

περ τις θεραπαινὶς ἀτιμωμένη, ἐκ ἀφεθη ἔνδον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ παρα xúfan eis Tà dearolina Musheia. Chryfoftom. in 1 Epift. ad Cor.

Hom. 7.

Humane

Farther, If all Divinity be fwadled in Humane Learning then I do affirm that all fuch Divinity hath no great Depth; feeing the Bottom of Humane Learning is easily fathomed.

But can any Chriftian Heart think, that all true Learning to Divinity, which comprehends in it the Heighth, and Bredth, and Length, and Depth of the Love prehend true of God, which paffeth Knowledge, and all the Divinity unfearchable Riches of Chrift, and all the infinite

row to com

and incomprehenfible Treasures of his Wifdom, Power, and Righteoufness of his Love, Goodness,

Truth,