Cover of Wholesome severity reconciled

Classic Christian work

Wholesome severity reconciled

by Gillespie, George

This influential 17th-century polemic navigates the complex tension between religious liberty and ecclesiastical discipline. Drafted during the pivotal Westminster Assembly, the work offers a robust defense of the magistrate's authority to suppress heresy while maintaining the church's spiritual independence. By reconciling the necessity of doctrinal purity with Christian charity, it challenges both absolute toleration and secular overreach. This foundational text remains a vital resource for readers interested in Reformed theology, the history of the Covenanters, and the enduring debate over the relationship between church and state.
Chapters
4
Word count
15,405
Type
Book
Start reading →
Original
PDF 2.4 MB EPUB 1.9 MB

Table of contents

  1. 01 To the Christian and Courteous Reader 1,310 words
  2. 02 The True Resolution of a Present Controversy Concerning Liberty of Conscience 4,454 words
  3. 03 Tantum Religio Potuit Suadere Malorum 8,647 words
  4. 04 A Paraenetic 810 words
Front matter (1 section)

Title Page

Vvholsome Severity reconciled with CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. OR, The true Resolution of a present Controversie concerning Liberty of CONSCIENCE.

Here you have the Question stated, the middle way between Popish Tyrannie and Schismatizing Liberty approved, and also confirmed from Scripture, and the testimonies of Divines, yes of whole Churches: The chiefe Arguments and Exceptions used in The Bloudy Tenent, The Compassionate Samaritane, M. S. to A. S. &c. examined. Eight Distinctions added for qualifying and clearing the whole matter. And in conclusion a Paraenetick to the five Apologists for choosing Accommodation rather then Toleration.

Imprimatur. Ia. Cranford. Decemb. 16. 1644.

August. contra primam Gaudentii Epist. c. 5.

Absit autem ut ista persecutio dicenda sit hominum, cum sit potius pro hominibus liberandis persecutio vitiorum, qualem facit aegris etiam diligentia medicorum.

Idem contra Epist. Parmen. lib. 1. cap. 7.

Prius enim preb[illegible] se non esse Haereticos vel Schismaticos, [illegible] demum de indignis poenis suis lividam emittant vocem, &c. nos corporum persecutores vocant, se animarum interfectores non vocant.

LONDON, Printed for Christopher Meredith, and are to be sold at the Signe of the Crane in Pauls Churchyard. 1645.

Take it with you.

Get the app for offline reading, bookmarks, and progress sync.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play