CHAP. XVII.
Peace. I shall now trouble you, dear Truth, but with one conclusion more, which is this, viz., that if a man hold forth error with a boisterous and arrogant spirit, to the disturbance of the civil peace, he ought to be punished, &c.
Truth. To this I have spoken to, confessing that if any man commit aught of those things which Paul was accused of, Acts xxv. 11, he ought not to be spared, yea, he ought not, as Paul saith, in such cases to refuse to die.
But if the matter be of another nature, a spiritual and divine nature, I have written before in many cases, and might in many more, that the worship which a state professeth may be contradicted and preached against, and yet no breach of civil peace. And if a breach follow, it is not made by such doctrines, but by the boisterous and violent opposers of them.
Such persons only break the city’s or kingdom’s peace, who cry out for prison and swords against such who cross their judgment or practice in religion. For as Joseph’s mistress accused Joseph of uncleanness, and calls out for civil violence against him, when Joseph was chaste and herself guilty, so, commonly, the meek and peaceable of the earth are traduced as rebels, factious, peace-breakers, although they deal not with the state or state matters, but matters of divine and spiritual nature, when their traducers are the only unpeaceable, and guilty of breach of civil peace.[104]
Peace. We are now come to the second part of the answer, which is a particular examination of such grounds as are brought against such persecution.
The first sort of grounds are from the scriptures.