The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered, by Roger Williams CHAP. CXXVII. CHAP. CXXVII. Peace. Dear Truth, you have uprightly and aptly untied the knots of that eleventh head; let me present you with the twelfth head, which is, Concerning the magistrates’ power in the censures of the church. The twelfth head examined. “First,” say they, “he hath no power to execute, or to substitute any civil officer to execute, any church censure, under the notion of civil or ecclesiastical men. “Secondly, though a magistrate may immediately civilly censure such an offender, whose secret sins are made manifest by their casting out to be injurious to the good of the state, yet such offences of excommunicate persons, which manifestly hurt not the good of the state, he ought not to proceed against them, sooner or later, until the church hath made her complaint to him, and given in their just reasons for help from them. For to give liberty to magistrates, without exception, to punish all excommunicate persons within so many months, may prove injurious to the person who needs, to the church who may desire, and to God who calls for longer indulgence from the hands of them. “Thirdly, for persons not excommunicate, the magistrate hath no power immediately to censure such offences of the church members by the power of the sword, but only for such as do immediately hurt the peace of the state: because the proper end of civil government being the preservation of the peace and welfare of the state, they ought not to break down those bounds, and so to censure immediately for such sins which hurt not their peace. “Hence, first, magistrates have no power to censure for secret sins, as deadness [or] unbelief, because they are secret, and not yet come forth immediately to hurt the peace of the state; we say immediately, for every sin, even original sin, remotely hurts the civil state. “Secondly, hence they have no power to censure for such private sins in church members, which being not heinous may be best healed in a private way by the churches themselves. For that which may be best healed by the church, and yet is prosecuted by the state, may make a deeper wound and greater rent in the peace both of church and state: the magistrates also being members of the church, are bound to the rule of Christ, viz., not to produce any thing in public against a brother, which may be best healed in a private way. “Now we call that private, “First, which is only remaining in families, not known of others: and therefore a magistrate to hear and prosecute the complaint of children against their parents, servants against masters, wives against their husbands, without acquainting the church first, transgresseth the rule of Christ. “Secondly, that which is between members of the same church, or of divers churches: for it was a double fault of the Corinthians, 1 Cor. vi., first to go to law, secondly, to do it before an infidel, seeing the church was able to judge of such kind of differences by some arbitrators among themselves. So that the magistrates should refer the differences of church members to private healing, and try that way first: by means whereof the churches should be free from much scandal, and the state from much trouble, and the hearts of the godly from much grief in beholding such breaches. “Thirdly, such offences which the conscience of a brother dealing with another privately, dares not as yet publish openly, coming to the notice of the magistrate accidentally, he ought not to make public as yet, nor to require the grand jury to present the same, no more than the other private brother, who is dealing with him, until he see some issue of the private way. “Thirdly, hence they have no power to put any to an oath, ex officio, to accuse themselves, or the brethren, in case either criminis suspecti, or prætensi, because this preserves not, but hurts many ways the peace of the state, and abuseth the ordinance of an oath, which is ordained to end controversies, not to begin them, Heb. vi. 16. “Fourthly, hence they have no power to censure any for such offences as break either no civil law of God, or law of the state published according to it: for the peace of the state being preserved by wholesome laws, when they are not hurt, the peace is not hurt.” Truth. In this passage, as I said before, I observe how weakly and partially they deal with the souls of magistrates, in telling them they are the guardians of both tables, must see the church do her duty, punish, &c.; and yet in this passage the elders or ministers of the churches not only sit judges over the magistrates’ actions in church affairs, but in civil also, straitening and enlarging his commission according to the particular interests of their own ends, or at the best their consciences. To give the government of the church to the civil magistrate (as before), and yet to abridge his conscience, what is it but to sport with holy things? &c. I grant the word of the Lord is the only rule, light, and lantern in all cases concerning God or man, and that the ministers of the gospel are to teach this way, hold out this lantern unto the feet of all men; but to give such an absolute power in spiritual things to the civil magistrate, and yet after their own ends or consciences to abridge it, is but the former sporting with holy things, and to walk in contradictions, as before I noted. Many of the particulars I acknowledge true, where the magistrate is a member of the church; yet some passages call for explication, and some for observation. First, in that they say the civil magistrate ought not to proceed against the offences of an excommunicate person, which manifestly hurt not the good of the state, until the church hath made her complaint for help from them, I observe two things:— An evident contradiction. An excellent confession of the proper end of civil government. When civil laws are not broken, it is confessed that civil peace is not hurt. First, a clear grant that when the church complaineth for help, then the magistrate may punish such offences as hurt not the good of the state: and yet in a few lines after they say, the magistrates have no power to censure such offences of church members by the power of the civil sword, but only such as do immediately hurt the peace of the civil state; and they add the reason, because the proper end of the civil government being the preservation of the peace and welfare of the state, they ought not to break down those bounds, and so to censure immediately for such sins which hurt not their peace. And in the last place, they acknowledge the magistrate hath no power to punish any for any such offences as break no civil law of God, or law of the state published according to it: “for the peace of the state,” say they, “being preserved by wholesome laws, when they are not hurt, the peace is not hurt.”