Rogers on Article XXXIX: Of a Christian man's Oath

The Propositions.

1. Wee may not sweare vainely, and rashly.

2. A lawfull oath may be giuen, and taken, according to the word of God in iustice, iudgement, and truth.

1. Proposition. We may not sweare vainely, and rashly.

The proofe from Gods word.

THe better to auoid vaine, and rash oathes, and swearing, it is good to haue in remembrance that which is said by our S. Christ, and his Apostle Iames.

Our Sauiour saith, sweare not at all, neither by heauen, for it is the throne of God: nor by the Earth, for it is his footestoole, nor by Ierusalem, for it is the cittie of the great King; nor by thine head, because thou canst not make one haire, white or black, but let your communication be, yea yea, nay nay ¹.

So the apostle S. Iames, Before all things, my brethren (saith hee) sweare not, either by the heauen, or by the earth, or by any other oath, but let your yea be yea and your Nay, nay, least yee fall into condemnation ².

All Churches doe, and some in their publike writings, condemne vaine, rash, and idle othes ³.

The adversaries vnto this truth.

This declareth many sorts of men to be very impious, as

The Wantons, which for pleasure, and the couetous worldlings, who for gaine, and profit, blush not to take the name of God in vaine, by idle, rash, and vsuall oathes. Next the Basilidians ⁴, Helchisaites ⁵, Priscillianites⁶, and Familie of Loue⁷, who for ease, and to auoid troubles, and persecution dread not to sweare, and forsweare themselues.

Thirdly, the papists; whose common guise is to sweare, either by Saints, or Idols or by God, and creatures together ⁸.

Fourthly, the Puritanes who vse to sweare, though not by God, &c. yet, as wickedly vsing horrible imprecations, as I renounce God, God damne me, or, as Hackets manner was, God confound mee ⁹.

Lastly, the Banisterians who deeme it hypocrisie for one Christian to reprooue another for commō, and rash swearing, which are but Trifles in their opinions ¹⁰.

2. Proposition. A lawfull Oath may be giuen, and taken, according to the word of God, in iustice, iudgement, and truth.

The proofe from Gods word.

The truth of this doctrine appeareth plentifully in the holy Scriptures. For in the same there bee both commaundements, that we must, and may; and formes prescribed howe we shall sweare.

For the first: Thou shalt feare the L. thy God, and serue him; And shalt sweare by his Name, saith Moses ¹¹; Againe, thou shalt sweare, the Lord liueth, and thou shalt cleaue vnto him, and shalt sweare by his Name ¹².

And touching the other, sweare may we not, either by Baal ¹³; or by strange Gods ¹⁴; or by the Lord, and by Melchom (that is by Idols ¹⁵); or by any creatures ¹⁶.

But our Oathes must bee made in the Name of the Lord ¹⁷; as the Lord liueth ¹⁸; and all is to be done in truth, iudgment, and righteousnes ¹⁹; and when the magistrate calleth vs therevnto ²⁰.

All Churches ioyne with vs in this assertion, and some testifie the same in their publique wrightings ²¹.

The errors, and aduersaries vnto this truth.

Many bee the aduersaries one way, or other crossing this truth. For

1. Some condemne all swearing, as did the Esseis, who deeme all swearing as bad as forswearing ²²; and doe the Anabaptistes, which will not sweare, albeit thereby both the glorie of God may bee much promoted, and the Church of Christ. or Common-weale, furthered ²³.

2. Others condemne some kind of Oathes, and will not sweare, though vrged by the magistrate, but when themselues thinke good. So the Papistes, no man (say they) ought to take an Oath to accuse a Catholicke (a Papist) for his religion ²⁴; & such as by Oathes accuse Catholickes (that is Papists) are damned ²⁵.

So the Puritans, oftentimes either will take none oath at all when it is ministred vnto them by authoritie, if it may turne to the molestation of their Brethren ²⁶, or if they sweare (finding their testimonie will bee hurtfull to their cause) they wil not deliuer their mindes after they be sworne ²⁷.

3. Others, hauing taken the Oath doe fowlie abuse the same, as the Knights of the post, like the Turkish Seiti, & Chagi ²⁸, who for a Ducket will take a thousand false Oathes afore the magistrate; as also the Iesuits, who in swearing (which is little better then forswearing) doe vti scientia, that is cunning, and equiuocations ²⁹; as also doe they, who conscionablie, and religiouslie keepe not their faith, such are the forenamed Papistes. For (say they) An Oath taken for the furtherance of false religion (as they take the profession of all Protestantes to be ³⁰) bindeth not ³¹. Againe, Faith is not to bee kept with Haeritickes ³². Which assertion little differeth from the opinion of some Puritanes, who teach. that promise (or Faith) is not to be kept, when (as perhaps by the not erecting of Presbyteries in euerie parish) Gods honor, and preaching of his word, is hindered ³³.

Subiects be discharged from their Oath of allegeance, and may gather forces against their leige Soueraigne, if hee eterprise any thing to the hurt of his Realme, or of (the Romish) religion, was a determination of the Sorbonistes in a certaine conventicle of theirs at Paris ³⁴. And that magistrates, by their Subiects, may be brought vnder the obedience of Lawes, was a conclusion of certaine Scottish ministers in a priuate Conventicle of Edinburgh ³⁵.

Seditiosi non sunt qui resistunt principibus, politicum, aut ecclesiasticū statū perturbantibus. Nā qui resistit Principi seditioso, seditiosus non est, sed seditionem tollit, saith a Frenchman ³⁶: yea (saith an Englishman, whose workes by T.C. are highly approoued, and commended, Hunc tollant uel pacifice, vel cum bello, qui ea potestate donati sunt, vt regni Ephori, vel omnium ordinum conuentus publicus ³⁷: Subiects may not respect their oathes made vnto such Princes, which trouble the state of the Church, or Common-weale.

Finally, whatsoeuer Princes be (good, or bad) if they bee Women (say some), oathes of allegeance vnto them, are not to be kept. Their words be these.

First, (aswell the States of the kingdome, as the common people) they ought to remooue from honour, and authoritie, that monster in nature: so call I woman in the habit of man, yea a woman against nature raigning aboue man. Secondly, if any presume to defend that impietie, they ought not to feare, first to prononce, & then after to execute against thē (that is to say against women gouernours) the sentence of death. If any man be afraid to violate the oath of obedience, which they haue made to such monsters, let them be most assuredly perswaded, that as the beginning of their oathes, proceeding from ignorance, was sinne: so is the obstinate purpose to keepe the same, nothing but plaine rebellion against God ³⁸.

Last of all, whereas euery minister of the word, and Sacraments at his ordination doth sweare to obey his Diocesan in all lawfull matters, certaine Gentlemen of the Puritane faction, write thus vnto the Bishops of the Church of England, and printed the same, viz. The Canon law is vtterly void within the realme; and therfore your Oath of Canonicall obedience is of no force, and all your Canonicall admonitions not worth a rush ³⁹.

Non recipit mendacium veritas, nec patitur religio impietatem. The truth admits no lie; neither can religion abide impietie.

Vnto the king everlasting, immortall, inuisible, vnto God onely wise (be) honour, (and) glory for euer, and euer, Amen.

Footnotes

1. Matth. 5.34. ↩

2. Iames 5.12. ↩

3. Confes. Helv. 2. c. 5. Basil. ar. 11. ↩

4. Philast. ↩

5. Euseb. ex Ori. l. 8. c. 38. ↩

6. Bullin. contra Anabap. l. 2. c. 4. ↩

7. Rams[?]is con[?]. ↩

8. Pe[?]. de soto Meth. conf. s.p. 40. a. ↩

9. Conspir. f[?]r pretend. refor. p. 5. ↩

10. Vnfold of Banist. errors. ↩

11. Deut. 6.13.22.11. ↩

12. Ib. 10.20. ↩

13. Ierem. 12.16. ↩

14. Iosh. 27.7. ↩

15. Zeph. 1.7. ↩

16. Matth. 5.34. ↩

17. Deut. 6.13. ↩

18. Ie[?]. 12.16. ↩

19. Jer. 4.2. ↩

20. Exod. 22.8. 1. King. 8.31. ↩

21. Confes. Helv. i. ar. 16. & 1. c. 30. Gal. ar. 40. Basil. ar. 11. §. 1. Aug. ar. 16. ↩

22. Fard. of fashions 2. part. ↩

23. Confes. Basil. ar. 11. §. 1. ↩

24. Test. Rhe. an. Act. 23.12. ↩

25. Ibid. ↩

26. Hooker of eccles. pol. praef. ↩

27. D. Sutcliff. ans. to Iob. Throck. p. 46. b. ↩

28. Pol. of the Turk. emp. c. 24. p. 74. ↩

29. Quodlib. p. 34.68. Garnets arraign. ↩

30. Test. Rhem. an. Act. 20.1[?]. ↩

31. Iuram[?] […] propter falsam religionē praestitum non obligat Bap. [?]ickler. de iure magist. p. 11. ↩

32. Concil. Cons[?]a. ↩

33. Geneva an. Matth. [?].12. One of them hath deliuered that if the Prince doe hinder the building of the Church, the people may by force of armes. resist him. Ans. to the. Abstract. p. 94. ↩

34. Mercur. Gallobelg. l. 2. p. 86. ↩

35. Bucchan. rerum Scotic. l. 17. p. 202. b. ↩

36. Euseb. Philadelph. diall. 2. p. 57. ↩

37. Dud. Fen. S. Theol. l. 5. c. 13. ↩

38. Against the regim. of women 2. blas. p. 53. b. ↩

39. The Gentlemens demāds vnto the Bishops (printed an. 1605.) p. 46. ↩