The answer writ in blood.
Peace. The answer, though I hope out of milky pure intentions, is returned in blood—bloody and slaughterous conclusions—bloody to the souls of all men, forced to the religion and worship which every civil state or commonweal agrees on, and compels all subjects to, in a dissembled uniformity:—
Bloody to the bodies, first of the holy witnesses of Christ Jesus, who testify against such invented worships:—
Secondly, of the nations and peoples slaughtering each other for their several respective religions and consciences.
CHAP. III.
Truth. In the answer, Mr. Cotton first lays down several distinctions and conclusions of his own, tending to prove persecution.
Secondly. Answers to the scriptures and arguments proposed against persecution.
The first distinction discussed.
Peace. The first distinction is this: by persecution for cause of conscience, “I conceive you mean either for professing some point of doctrine which you believe in conscience to be the truth, or for practising some work which you believe in conscience to be a religious duty.”
Definition of persecution discussed.