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Discussion of George Gillespie's Wholesome Severity Reconciled with Christian Liberty
Questions for thought, section 1 
Subject: Questions for thought, section 1
From: Richard Bacon 
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 16:47:02 -0500

In "To the Christian & Courteous Reader," Gillespie claims
that the furor sweeping London & England in 1645 was of
Satan's devices.  Is he simply speaking hyperbolically, or
is there good reason to think that the divisions in the
church in that day were Satanic in origin?  How does that
speak to the state of the church in our day?

Gillespie says that the church of 1643ff was emerging from
a period of "idolatry" and the "pressures of conscience."
What sorts of idolatry and pressures might he have had in
mind?  Does he tell us?

Who were the sectaries to whom Gillespie referred?  Was he
talking about those Independents who had signed the SL&C?
If so, then why does he refer to them as those who "give (in
this) the right hand of fellowship to the Prelatical and
malignant party, for they also put in for liberty of
conscience:" etc.  The malignants and Prelates would be those
who opposed Article I of the SL&C, which required them to
come to uniformity in doctrine, worship, discipline, and
polity.  The SL&C also required the extirpation of both
popery and prelacy in the three kingdoms.

How might we "square" Gillespie's terms that imply that folks
may be "compelled to religious duty" with his claim that England
had only recently been freed from "Popish and Prelatical
tyranny?"  Is it possible that compelling and tyranny are not
identical in our author's eyes?

Note that he claims "liberty of heresy" is not materially
equivalent to "liberty of conscience."  We are certainly free
to believe whatever God has taught, but we are not free to
believe anything we choose, are we?

Would anyone care to comment on the final question of section
one, which begins, "Shall I add further. . .?"  Who might 
Gillespie be speaking of as "our" when he speaks of "our own
ruptures?"


Dick Bacon
I'm your moderator, not your mother.