ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 423 



of Nicodemus, who shall obstinately inquire, &quot;How can a 

 man be born when he is old&quot; ? n But he can be esteemed 

 no disciple of St. Paul, who does not sometimes insert in 

 his doctrine, &quot;I, not the Lord,&quot; or, according to my judg 

 ment, 11 which is the style that generally suits with infer 

 ences. Whence it seems a thing of capital use and benefit, 

 to have a sober and diligent treatise wrote concerning the 

 proper use of human reason in divinity, by way of a divine 

 logic. For this would be like an opiate in medicine; and 

 not only lay asleep those empty speculations which some 

 times disturb the schools, but also allay that fury of con 

 troversy which raises such tumults in the church. This 

 treatise, therefore, we place among the things that are 

 wanted, under the name of the Moderator, or the true Use 

 of human Eeason in Theology. 



It is of the utmost importance to the peace of the church, 

 to have the covenant of Christians prescribed by our Saviour 

 in two particulars that seem somewhat contradictory, well 

 and clearly explained; the one whereof runs thus: &quot;He 

 who is not with us is against us&quot;; 18 and the other thus: 

 &quot;He who is not against us is for us&quot;; 14 whence it plainly 

 appears, that there are some points wherein he who differs 

 is to be excluded the covenant; and others again, wherein 

 Christians may differ, and yet keep terms. The bonds of 

 the Christian communion are, one faith, one baptism, 16 etc., 

 not one ceremony, one opinion, etc. Our Saviour s coat 

 was seamless; 16 but the garment of the church of many 

 colors. The chaff must be separated from the wheat, but 

 the tares in the field are not to be hastily plucked up from 

 the corn. Moses, when he saw the Egyptian contending 

 with the Israelite, did not say, &quot;Why strive ye?&quot; but drew 

 his sword, and killed the Egyptian; but when he saw two 

 Israelites fighting together, though the cause of one of 



11 John iii. 4. 12 I. Cor. vii. 12. 



13 Matt. xii. 30, and Luke xi. 23. 14 Luke ix. 60. 



16 St. Paul, Eph. ix. 51. &quot; St. John xix. 23. 



