An Humble Attempt in Defence of Reformation Principles; Particularly on the Head of the Civil Magistrate.
James Dodson
1770-John Fairley.-This text is a theological defense of the Reformed Presbytery’s stance on the nature and origin of civil magistracy. Fairly writes to refute John Goodlet, a Seceder minister who argued that government is founded exclusively on the law of nature and human reason rather than divine revelation. The author contends that while reason acknowledges the necessity of order, the office of the magistrate is a divine institution explicitly established by God’s preceptive will in the Bible. Fairly rejects the idea that secular reason should be the supreme rule for society, asserting instead that the Holy Scriptures provide the only perfect standard for both religious and civil duties. He specifically identifies Genesis 9:6 as the biblical foundation for civil authority, proving that God, not human invention, authorized the power of the state. Ultimately, the work aims to vindicate reformation principles by maintaining that a lawful magistrate in a Christian land must be qualified according to scriptural requirements.
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