last Authority I shall Produce is of the Great Fox Himself in his Book call'd Several Papers given forth for the Spreading of Truth c. Printed 1671. There p. 54. is a Chapter which bears this Title Concerning Christ's Flesh which was Offered c. And this Flesh he makes not to be That which He took of the B. Virgin but That which he had from the Beginning and which he supposes was Crucify'd when Adam Fell And in That Crucifixion to Consist the Atonement and Satisfaction made for Sin And he takes that Text The Lamb slain from the Foundation of the world not as then Decreed and Purposed by God but Literally as then Actually Fulfill'd Thus he Begins that Chapter Christ the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the world when it began its Foundation then the Lamb was slain And Christ according to the Flesh Crucified the Lamb slain that Flesh of His which is a Mysterie when the first Adam's and Eve's Flesh was Defiled This he calls a Mystery And it is the true Mystery of Quakerism It is upon this account That the Quakers think all the Christian world to Lie in Darkness but Themselves That other Christians know of no other Flesh and Blood of Christ but that outward Flesh which He took in Time of the B. Virgin Hence it is common in their Discourse and in their Books to tell others That the Flesh of Christ is a Mysterie That they understand nothing of it As Solomon Eccles wrote That the Pope Sn. Sect. x. p. 138. the Episcopal the Presbyterian Independants and Baptists understand the Blood of Jesus Christ no more than a Brute Beast Therefore the Quaker's Confessing to the Blood of Christ in General Terms can be no Justification of them while they mean another Manhood Flesh Blood and Bones of Christ than any Christian ever Dreamt of But it Argues their Deep Deceit and Hypocricy to seem to Justifie themselves to the world by their General Confessions But Conceal their secret Meaning whereby they know that they Differ most Widely from those with whom they make this False Appearance of Agreeing Exactly Therefore their Answer to the Queres is no Answer while they Refuse to Renounce this Distinction that they have of Different Manhoods in Christ or otherwise to Explain themselves and tell us which of the Manhoods they mean The words of their Answer to the Queres upon this Head are these We sincerely believe in Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of the Living God both as he is true God and Perfect Man But what they mean by Man here they do not Declare Whether that Eternal or Heavenly Manhood before spoke of or the Outward and Terrestrial Manhood which he took of our Earth But Tho. Ellwood we thank him has told us and Discover'd the secret in his Answer to G. Keiths first Narrative p. 205. where he Recites a Quotation G. K. had brought out of G. Whiteheads Book The Malice of the Independent Agent p. 17. That Christ's Body now in Heaven is the same in substance He had on Earth which wou'd seem a Fair Confession to the Humanity of Christ But hold a little crys T. E. Did G. Whitehead ever call or own Christ's Body now in Heaven or while it was on Earth to be Terrestrial or of the Earth Here we see how to Understand their words and how to Interpret this their Answer to the Quaeres not of the outward or Terrestrial Manhood which Christ took of our Nature but of their Secret and Heavenly Manhood which they Madly Fancie He had from Eternity And thus G. Whitehead Explains himself in his Part of The Christian Quaker Printed An. 1674. p. 140. where he says That he was not at all against Jesus Christ being God and Man take Man says he as Christ is the Heavenly Spiritual and Glorify'd Man But he Confesses that he was against this viz. That Jesus Christ consisteth of Human Flesh and Bone Here he Distinguishes betwixt the Heavenly and the Human Manhood The first he Ascribes to Christ but Denies the Latter that Christ has any Human Manhood And the Reason he gives for it is Seeing Christ says he was from Everlasting which is the same we have heard before from Thom. Ellwood where he takes upon him to Explain Will. Penn's sense in this Matter viz. That Christ as Christ always had a Manhood And seeing He had it from Everlasting therefore it cou'd not be the Human but the Heavenly Manhood Flesh Blood and Bone What then was that Flesh and Blood which he took of the B. Virgin wherein He suffer'd and Rose again And of which he said Behold my Hands and my Feet Luk. xxiv 39. Handle me and see for a Spirit hath not Flesh and Bones as ye see Me have To this says G. W. ibid. p. 139. 140. yes Christ Had such Flesh and Bones but he did not Consist of them I distinguish between Consisting and Having Says he i. e. A man Hath anything that he Possesses or wears I Have a Cloak but I do not Consist of that Cloak that is It is no Part of my Nature and I may Put it on or Throw it off without any Change of my Nature And no otherwise do the Quakers reckon of the Body and Blood which Jesus our B. Lord took in Time in the Womb of the Virgin Not that He took it into His Person so as to Consist of it as a Man do's Consist of Both Natures of his Body and Soul But only that He Had it that is Made Vse of it and wore it for a Time as a Vail or Garment which He has now laid aside and subsists in Heaven only in that Heavenly and Eternal Manhood Flesh Blood and Bones which He had as Christ from Eternity And they make it a Contradiction to say That Christ do's Consist of any other Flesh and Bone that is of Human Flesh and Bone they think this to be a Contradiction to Christ's being the Eternal Word because they hold that He cou'd not be the Word or Christ without Consisting of Flesh Blood and Bone And therefore That if He had None but the Flesh c. of the Human Nature which was Created in Time it must follow That He was not the Word or Christ from Everlasting Thus says G. W. ibid. p. 139. Is there not a Plain Contradiction between Jesus Christ Consisting of Flesh and Bone Human Nature And that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Eternal word from Everlasting c. Therefore you see it is Necessary for us in order to Oblige these Quakers to Discover their Meaning that we Insist upon the word Human And that they will Answer whether they Allow Christ to have Now in Heaven any Human Body Or whether He do's Consist Now of that Body or did Consist of it while He was upon Earth But will the Word Human hold them Have they no Dodge nor Shift whereby to use even that word Plainly in a sense in which they know that
in Pennsilvania An. 1695. And by this the Reader may Judge whether it proceeded from Want of Capacity or Sincerity in George Whitehead and the Rest of the London Quakers That in their Printed Answer to these Queries they say They are Not Plain and Direct Queries therefore cannot Positively be Answer'd by our Single Yea or Nay to Each Query as Desir'd We therefore at present send this General Answer to the Queries Of which Sufficient has been said in the First Part Sect. v. p. 9. c. But here I wou'd observe That the Pennist Quakers in Pennsilvania durst not trust their own Light within to Answer these Queries And bound themselves to stand by the Answer of their London Friends Whereas those who with G. Keith had Return'd to the Truth of Christianity took no time to Consider nor Ty'd themselves Implicitly to the Determination of Any Whatsoever They said not that the Truth was farr off beyond the Seas in Old England And they must stay till some Good Body shou'd Fetch it to them with Safe Wind and Tyde and Deut. xxx 13. See before Second Part. p. 225. From all this we may take Notice of the Different Assurances which Proceed from a Rational Faith Founded upon the Rock of the H. Scriptures And that which is Built upon the Sand of our own Imagination which the Quakers call their Light Within A FAITHFUL RELATION Of the great Opposition made by some Preachers among the Quakers to three great fundamental Doctrins of the Christian Faith at Two several Meetings at London in the year 1678 appointed to hear the Charges made by them against me George Keith for my asserting the said Three Fundamental Doctrins in my Book call'd The way cast up Printed 1677. AND The Reasons of my Publishing the said Relation IN the Year 1678 at London there being great Whisperings and Complaints privately spread among the People called Quakers against Me on the Account of Certain Principles laid down by Me in a Book of Mine Printed in the Year 1677 called The way Cast up And I happening to be then at London and hearing of the said Complaints against me and my said Book I spoke to diverse of the Ministry of the People called Quakers that they would appoint a Meeting to hear the Complaints of those Persons that Objected against some things Contain'd in my Book charging them to be False and Erronious and also to hear my Defence and Vindication touching the things to be charged against me A Meeting was procured at a Friends house call'd John Osgood a Merchant in White-Hart Court in Grace-Church-street London in the winter Season which began about the Sixth hour at Night where a Considerable number of those called Friends of the Ministry were met together with divers other Persons of account among the Quakers among whom were William Penn George Whitehead Thomas Green William Mead William Gibson George Watt Francis More Thomas Hart James Claypowl John Bull And many other besides The persons that appeared against me at the said Meeting were chiefly Samuel Newtown a great Preacher then among them who not long after Broke and went to Virginia and still Preacheth there among the Quakers as I have been certainly inform'd by some that heard him and are ready to bear witness to it and William Shewen a Preacher and a great Writer among them who hath Printed divers Books highly approved by many of the People called Quakers Containing some abominable Principles whereof I have given some account in my Second and Third Narratives of the Proceedings at Turners-Hall This man was never Censured by Friends of the Ministry for his Antichristian Doctrin Contained in some of his Books but lived and dyed in Unity with them and had Solemn Commendations and Testimonies given him by some of the Ministry at his Funeral The first Meeting not having time sufficient to hear all that was to be said for and against appointed another Meeting at the house of James Claypool Merchant in Scotch Yard in London when some others were present and mostly all the foremention'd the Meeting began about the Sixth hour at night as did the former The particulars were Three especially wherewith these two above named Persons severally charged me and blamed my Doctrine and opposed against it to be Contradictory to the Ancient Friends Books whereof they brought a Considerable number which were laid on the Table but it happened that none of them were used but instead of them the Bible was called for and some places in it read and Discours'd upon The First Particular they blam'd in my said Book and charg'd to be false was that I had affirmed that Christ's Body that was Crucified on the Tree of the Cross and was Buried pag. 131. Rose again and Ascended into Heaven and was in Heaven Diverse spoke their mind to it one after another some against it and some for it and some very doubtfully which I was greatly astonished to find I Quoted that place of Scripture in defence of the Resurrection of Christ's Body Psal 16.10 compared with Act. 2.30 31 32. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell nor suffer thy holy one to see Corruption Will. Mead said to me dost thou understand this of an outward Body that which was not to see Corruption was the Seed within I answered let the places be read and compared and it will be found that they are to be understood of Christ's Body that was laid in the outward Grave so these two places of Scripture were read and several gave their assent to it that by the Holy one that was not to see Corruption was to be understood Christ's Body that was laid in the Grave whereupon Thomas Green an ancient Preacher said Friends one of two things we must needs say either that Christ's Body remains in some hole or cave of the Earth or that it Rose and Ascended for it did not see Corruption and for my part I rather think it Rose and Ascended into Heaven as George Keith affirms than that it remains in any hole or cave of the Earth Diverse other places of Scripture I had to bring forth to prove the truth of the Resurrection of Christ's Body as his own words to the Jews Destroy this Temple meaning his Body and after three days I will raise it up and his appearing to his Disciples after his Resurrection having said as it is Luk. 24.39 Handle me and Feel me for a Spirit hath no Flesh and Bones as ye see me have After Thomas Green had spoke as is above related George Whitehead said that whereas many both Priests and Professors had questioned Friends much concerning Christ's Body what was become of it and where it was by occasion of Friends Preaching Christ within so frequently he confesses that Friends were at some stand to give a possitive answer but rather evaded the Question And though in former times Friends were shy to answer the Priests and Professors Questions about Christ's Body fearing they sought
Jesus which was not a Fantastical but a Real Body Here is putting in things they are not Accused of that they may seem to vindicate themselves in something They are not Accused for saying that the Body of Jesus was a Fantastical or not a Real Body but that it was not Truly that is Hypostatically the Body of Christ only a Vail or Garment wherein He Dwelt And in that sense it was His Body as a Man's Cloak or Garment is his Garment and so it was that as G. W. says which Christ owned as his own Body being also adds he called the Body of Jesus i. e. in some other sense than it was the Body of Christ That is It was the True Proper and Natural Body of the Man Jesus But it was the Body of Christ only as He Dwelt in it in the Body of that man Jesus as G. W. thinks He do's in the Body of George Whitehead Otherwise it cou'd not be call'd the Body of Christ and also as G. W. here the Body of Jesus This must make Jesus and Christ to be Two Persons For Example if I shou'd say the Body of George which is also the Body of Whitehead this wou'd either be Non-sense or else it must Divide George from Whitehead and make the Body to belong to George in one sense and to Whitehead in another It is told before p. 17 18. How nicely G. W. do's Distinguish between Consisting and Having and tho' he Allow'd that Christ once Had a Body that is in His Possession as a man Hath an House or a Cloak yet G. W. positively Denies That Christ did Consist of Human Flesh and Blood And if so Then He was never Truly and Really a Man only such in Appearance and False-shew Which overthrows the whole Foundation of the Christian Faith And is an Abominable Heresie long since Condemn'd by the Catholick Church as I have elsewhere shewn And that the Quakers have Lick'd it up as they wou'd Pretend by Inspiration which if so was most Certainly from the Devil the Father of Lies But let us see more of them Richard Hubberthorn in his works Printed 1663. among several Queres which he puts against Christ's being a Creature or having any Created Nature in Him do's Demand p. 49. and 50. When was that Christ Created which you say must as a Creature Judge the World And if in Mary 's time who was Judge of the World till then Was not the Person of Christ Jesus before the World was And when had the Man Christ Jesus his Beginning if you can Declare it How is Christ the only begotten Son of God if He be a Creature or how can God beget a Creature And if the whole Person of Christ was not before the Earthly Adam how was the Creation made by Him Or how can He be of the Nature of fallen Adam and not Earthly and Defiled And is the Flesh of Christ Heavenly or Earthly Or is He Christ without His Flesh i. e. He had always an Heavenly Flesh and that He has still But never took Flesh of Adam's Nature for then they think He must have been Defil'd As if He cou'd not take the Nature without the Defilement which was but Accidental to it George Fox in his Great Mystery p. 99. sets down this Principle of the Professors as he calls them That Christ hath a Humane Reasonable Soul And he Disputes against it and Battels it as a Gross Error For says he Is not a Human Soul Earthly for you say that Christ had a Human Soul and is not Human Earthly And hath a Human Body and is not a Human Body an Earthly Body was not the first man of the Earth Earthly and had an Human Body the Second man the Lord from Heaven This is the Heavenly Body and Flesh which they suppose Christ had from Eternity But here and in many other Places they Deny Christ to have either Human Body or Soul or to be a Man otherwise than as they say He was Man before the Creation This being Urg'd against them by John Bunyan Minister of Bedford who in his Gospel-Truths Opened Sect. 18. takes pains to prove that the Christ who was Born of the Virgin was the true Saviour and then Infers p. 652 of his works in these words How are they then Deceived who own Christ no otherwise than as He was before the world began For in their owning of Him thus and no otherwise they do directly Deny Him to be come in the Flesh and are of that Anti-Christian Party which John Speaks of 1. Joh. iv 3. Edw. Burrough Answers this Book of Bunyan's and coming to this Passage p. 142. of his works he Repeats Bunyan's words thus How are they Deceived who own Christ no otherwise than as He was before the world began c. And instead of Clearing the Quakers from this Objection or Disowning it to be a Principle of the Quakers he stands by it and pretends to give Reasons for it as Christ the same Yesterday to Day and for Ever And that Christ was before Abraham c. And falls upon Bunyan for his Grievous Ignorance in not Apprehending this Quaker-Mystery as he words it thus To own Him Christ as He was before the world was for Salvation But that was not the Question Bunyan's words even as Repeated by Burrough are not against owning Christ as He was before the World was for that Bunyan and all Christians own but against owning Him so And No otherwise i. e. Not as having taken Flesh in time of the B. Virgin having Suffer'd and Dy'd for us for in that Respect and not only as He was before the World was Bunyan Contends that He was our Saviour And Burrough opposing him in this shews plainly what they mean viz. That Christ has now no other Flesh or Manhood than what He had before the World was and that He is not our Saviour upon account of that Flesh of Jesus which He Borrow'd as a Vail to shrowd Himself in for a time or for what that Body suffer'd but that He is our Saviour only as He was before the World was and as they say that He is Inwardly now in their Hearts in His Heavenly Flesh and Blood which he had from Eternity And the whole Merit and Atonement for Sin they place in the Inward Shedding of this Spiritual Blood in their Hearts which they call the Sufferings of Christ yes and of His Manhood too of His Body and His Flesh thus Bantering Mankind while they Mean nothing of this of that Visible Body in which He Appear'd in the Days of Pontius Pilat and which was Nail'd to the Cross but of the Invisible Body Flesh Blood and Bones of the Godhead The Arch-Enemy having Taught them this Damnable Heresie and thereby put the Grossest of Darkness for Light and Defrauded them of whole Christianity the Faith in the outward Jesus and what He did and suffer'd outwardly for Us tho' it be Inwardly Apprehended and Apply'd by Faith which is
therefore not so strong as mine Secondly I have brought William Shewen's own Book Writ and Printed after that Meeting sufficiently declaring at least the Two last Particulars or rather indeed all the Three For since he construeth Christ's Ascension into Heaven to be inwardly in Men he has left us no proofs for his Ascension outwardly Thirdly had G. Whitehead been ingenuous he would have been positive to have told what he did remember seeing some present at these Meetings as old in years and as weak in Memory as himself hath very lately told what was said in one of them Meetings and that is the chiefest of the Three and indeed includes all the three Particulars above mention'd Fourthly know then for a further evidence that Thomas Heart an ancient Citizen of very good credit and fame a person of greater Age than G. Whitehead as I suppose and one whom G. Whitehead I think will own to be worthy of Credit in any other thing if not in this hath lately declar'd to me in answer to my request to him that seeing I was called in question as a Lyer for saying some of my opposers at one of these Meetings had said they needed not Christ then he would be pleased for the truths sake to speak what he did remember was said by them to that effect that he did remember that they did say They needed not Christ and also that he did reply to them It may be before they Dyed they would find their need of Christ thus he freely and voluntarily declared to me in my House 22d 12. Month. 1697. in answer to my request as above I having told him that to clear me of the Imputation of a Lyer I did desire him by a few lines in writing to speak with me who came to my House in complyance to my desire and I having repeated to him all his words as they are above mentioned that he spoke to them he answered me directly that his memory was weak and did not remember the other passages but this said he I do well remember that when some of them said they needed not Christ I told them before they Dyed they might come to find their need of him and he said further I own it to be a truth that I need Christ still for I find my obedience so short that I cannot rely upon it and therefore I need that God be merciful to me and forgive me my sins and failings for Christ's sake And diverse things he spoke to this purpose very sensibly and Christianly with which I was much refreshed to find him so sound and sensible and that he still adhered to his former Testimony he gave at one of these Meetings And seeing he hath confirmed the truth of my Relation in one of the chief Particulars that one containing all the rest I judge it is an Authentick evidence to the whole for if they needed not Christ then sure they were not to Pray to him and as sure it is that there is no need of any such belief according to their sentiments that Christ's Body did Ascend into Heaven for they having denyed the end of his Ascension which was that We might have him to be our merciful high Priest in Heaven to make intercession for us according to our need they must consequently deny his Ascension otherwise say he Ascended to no purpose or end as to us For a further evidence I here add the Testimony of John Bull who was present at one of these Meetings who had also at my desire and request obtesting him to speak the truth seeing my Christian Name and Reputation was concerned in the case declared Note since the writing of this Paper John-Bull is det ceased Bu I have Evidence of some alive who heard him so affirm that it having been long ago he did not remember much but this he did remember that they opposed to that passage in my Book wherein I did assert that Christ's Body that was buried rose again and ascended into Heaven As also that several Friends said they were much benefited by the things that they heard discoursed by way of Objections and Answers and blessed God for that opportunity This he told me at my House 23d 12th Mo. 1697. Having thus finish'd my Relation touching these weighty Matters which I solemnly declare to be true and which I think I have give a sufficient Evidence of by the concurring Evidences of some of their Brethren that remain in Unity with them it now remains to give some Reasons of making publick this Relation which I do thus 1. My first Reason of making publick this Relation is to clear my Name both as a Man and a Christian from the imputation of Lyer Slanderer and false Accuser which some of the contrary Party have cast upon me for my having affirmed that some noted men among the Quakers yea and Teachers too Twenty years ago have oppos'd some of the great Fundamentals of Christianity and greatly Censured me for asserting them 2. The second Reason is that this Account given by me here will serve for an Apologie and Excuse to me in great part why I have in some of my former Books especially in my Controversies with some of the Preachers at Boston in New England praised and defended William Penn and George Whitehead as sound and Orthodox in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Faith Concerning Christ and the real existence of his Manhood-Nature consisting of a glorified Soul and Body in Heaven being both God and Man and yet one Christ And our Faith in him as such for Remission of Sin and eternal Salvation whom these men did represent as unsound Now that which gave me as I thought just ground so to judge was that they seemed to me by the defence they made for me at these two Meetings aforesaid to be not only sound in their judgements as touching these great truths but to be cordially and zealously concerned for the defence of them And in this persuasion of them I continued until the differences arose in Pensilvania betwixt my Adversaries and me in the year 1691 concerning the necessity of Faith in Christ without us for Remission of Sin and eternal Salvation as well as the beleif of his inward appearance by his Light and Grace in our hearts both which I affirmed was necessary to our Christianity which my Adversaries rose up against charging it to be false as well new Doctrine and contradicting the printed Testimonies and Books of sound Friends and particularly of William Penn and George Whitehead so that I was accused by my Pensilvanian opposers in our publick Meetings there for contradicting the Principles of William Penn and G. Whitehead in their Printed Books particularly in that Book called the Christian Quaker both in relation to the sufficiency of the Light within without any thing else to Salvation and also in relation to the Resurrection of the Body And thus time after time they opposed me with these men's Books and when I
to John Draper by H. Norton p. 84. of Ms WHether Christ Jesus suffered not upon that Cross which he Preached when he was in the Body and said He that will be my Disciple must take take up his Cross Daily Luk. 9.23 Or what Cross he suffered on And how oft he hath suffer'd since the beginning See Second Part. p. 114. Ms p. 81. Wherein thou asketh me what do I understand by the Eternal Judgment Or whether ther shall be a time when God shall Judge all Men and make their works manifest and also give to every Man according to his Deeds Ans The Eternal Judge is upon his Throne and the time of his Judgment is come and the Hearts of all Men are made manifest before him And the wicked shall not Escape but shall Receive a Portion according to their Deeds Therefore say I arise ye Dead and come to Judgment for the Hour is Coming and now is when the Dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall Live Joh. 5.25 N. B. This shews in what sense they Vnderstand the Scriptures viz. That the Resurrection of the Dead and the Final Judgment is already Come as before Quoted which they bid us Mark That the End of the World was Come in the Apostles time which they Infer from 1 Cor. 10.11 Ms p. 57. in a Letter to Lieut. Scot. NEver hereafter suffer such words to proceed out of thy Mouth as to say that the Glorious God was in a Wall because thy Dark Wisdom finds it Written that He fills Heaven and Earth But this I say unto thee That that Heaven and that Earth which he fills thou knowest not neither can any Vulturous Eye see into it H. Norton N. B. The Quaker Means the Inward Heaven in the Heart which he says no Vulturous Eye can see into And they Acknowledge no other Heaven or Hell See First Part. p. 62. Snake p. 164. And Sat. Dis p. 55. For the Outward Heaven the Quaker Eyes can no more see into than those Eyes which they call Vulturous I will close my present Excerptions out of this Precious Ms with an Account which this Norton and one Will. Shaw gave of their Examination before John Bret Governor of Wexford in Ireland p. 86. of the Ms Governor Are you the Men Quakers Yea. Gov. Why did you Disturb the Minister yesterday Hum. Norton Examine the business to the bottom we were forc't out of our Meeting and brought to the Steeple-house And if there was any wrong done we had it Gov. By whom Hum. By a Lieutenant Gov. But not to disturb the Minister Humb. A Minister of Christ cannot be disturb'd neither is it contrary to the order of the Church of Christ for all to speak one by one Gov. But you have transgrest the Law in disturbing our Minister Hum. What 's your Law contrary to the Law of God Gov. Nay Hum. He is no Minister of Christ neither have we transgressed any Law of God Gov. Why is he not a Minister of Christ Hum. He was found in the Idols Temple having the chief seat in the assembly standing Praying in the Synagogue Gov. You all say so Hum. Send for him hither let us speak with him Gov. I have no command of him but I shall axamine the Lieutenant and if he have transgrest let him suffer Hum. Be not partial but let it be before us Gov. Take these men into your charge Gaoler Hum. Well mind the fear of God This was the effect of what was spoken so near as can be remembred Hum. Norton Will. Shaw The Recommendation of the above named Humphrey Norton by E. Bourrough and Francis Howgil when he went to Ireland and Answered and put the above Queries NOw dear Friends I rejoyce in the Lord that his care is towards you and his love abids for you who are unto him begotten and not of him forgotten in visiting you with his power to the refreshing of you in sending this my dear Brother and faithful companion in the Kingdom of Jesus call'd Humphry Norton who cometh to you in the name and fear of the Lord and not of his own will but according to the will of God as being moved thereunto by the spirit of the Father And unto you all I do him recommend as a faithful Labourer to be received by you in the name of him that sends him in tender pitty for you all and the blessing of the Lord upon his Faithfulness I doubt not But the flock will receive refreshment the weak will be strengthened the weary laden will be comforted and the body will be edified and for this cause hath the Lord chosen him into this service to manifest further unto you the power of the Gospel of God by his Ministry upon which the blessing of the Lord be for ever And with my dear Love in the Lord saluting you all that are faithful farewel in the Lord. London 10th of 3d. Month 56. to the Churches in Christ in Ireland by a lover of your Souls and a Labourer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ E. B. Receive Hum. Norton in the Lord whom the Lord hath moved to come unto you who is a brother and faithful in the Lords work and be subject unto him in the Lord all unto him for I much desired that he might come unto you and so the Lord hath orderd it And as you receive him you receive me Francis Howgill Some Few of the Many OMISSIONS and ALTERATIONS in the Re-printing of the Works of the Deceased QVAKERS tho' said to have been given forth by the SPIRIT of the ETERNAL GOD to Trim with every Turn of Government And Cover the Deceit of their Horrid Principles 1. EDWARD BVRROVGH the Second in Honour to the Great FOX among the Apostles of the Quakers Printed a Book An. 1656. to which he gave this Title A TRVMPET OF THE LORD Sounded out of Sion Which gives a Certain Sound in the Ears of All Nations And is a True Noise of a fearful Earth-Quake at hand which shall shake the whole Fabrick of the Earth and the Pillars of its standing shall Fall and never more be set up again Or Fearful Voices of Terrible Thunders uttered forth from the Throne And is an Alarum and Preperation for War against all Nations where Gog and Magog resideth And sheweth the Wounding Sword of the Mighty God from whose Blow the Kings nor the Captains nor the mighty Men cannot Fly to Escape Declared and Written by a Son of Thunder In an unknown Language which none can Vnderstand save the Redeemed of the Lord. By one whose Name is truly known by the Children of the same Birth but unknown to the World though it be called EDWARD BVRROVGH Ther is more than here set down in that Magnificient Title-Page But I would shew the Reader thus much to let him see the no ordinary Stile of the Quakers In this Book p. 9. Ther is a Chapter against the King and his Cause then under the
A DEFENCE OF A BOOK INTITULED The Snake in the Grass IN REPLY To Several ANSWERS put out to it by George Whithead Ioseph Wyeth c. London Printed by M. Bonnet for C. Brome at the Gun W. Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-Yard And Geo. Strahan at the Golden-Ball over against the Royal-Exchange in Cornhil 1700. CONTENTS OF THE First Part. The Preface Vindicated in an Advertisement SECT I. GEorge Whitehead's Pleasantry upon the Author of The Snake Page 1. II. His Meek and Lamb-like Treatment of him Page 2. III. His Cry of Persecution against him Page 3. IV. His Address to his Work Page 8. V. His Shuffle about their Answer to the Seven Quaeres given to their Yearly-Meeting An. 1695. Wherein a short Scheme of the QVAKERS Principles and the MONSTROVS Foundation of their Faith Page 9. VI. His Sober Caution consider'd as to those Quakers who were Possest with the Devil Wherein the Wonderful Story of John Gilpin Page 25. The Excuses which G. W. makes for this 1. That this ought not to Reflect upon the Generality of the Quakers or their Principles ibid. 2. That Satan in a Mad or Possest-Man is not Transform'd into an Angel of Light ibid. 3. That such Persons are fitter Objects of Pity than Raillery Wherein of the Quaker-Euthusiasm Page 26. 4. That not more Quakers than others have run Mad. Wherein their Excuse for Gilpin c. is Considered Page 30. Proofs of the Quakers being Mad. 1. In those who went Naked Page 42. 2. In their strange Singularities Page 48. 3. In thinking Themselves to be Free from Sin and Equal to God Page 50. 4. In Assuming to be Prophets ibid. 5. In their Prater-Natural Quaking c. Page 54. 6. In their Silent-Meetings Page 68. 7. In the New-Quakers of America Page 69. 8. In their Vindicating of Mad-Men Page 70. The Abuses and Mistakes which G. W. Alleges in The Snake As to I. The Necessity of Preaching Page 72. II. The Comparison of Fox and Muggleton With G. W's Malicious Innuendo as to the Act of Toleration Page 73. III. Their Order against Carrying Guns in their Ships Page 74. IV. Their Principles Dangerous to Government Page 75. V. Their Opposition of Tythes Page 77. VI. Their Treasons and Rebellion in Abetting Oliver and the Rump Page 83. VII George Fox his Assuming to be Equal with God Page 87. VIII Their Asserting the Sufficiency of their Light within to Salvation without Christ And Assuming the Name of Christ to Themselves Page 90. IX Their turning the Death and Sufferings of Christ into an Allegorie and a Type Page 105. X. 1. Their Spiritual Body of Christ which they suppose He had from Eternity And their Denial of His Now Human Body in Heaven Page 116. 2. Their Denyal that Christ had any Human or Created either Soul or Body while He was upon Earth Page 120. 3. Their BLASPHEMOVS Contempt of Christ Page 131. XI Their Contempt of the H. Scriptures Page 144. XII Their Conforming and Transforming to every Turn Page 146. XIII Their making no Confession of Sin or Praying for Pardon Page 149. XIV Three Matters of Fact relating to the QVAKERS Contempt of the H. Scriptures Which G. W. Denies after his Fashion Page 160. XV. G. W's Defence of Ed. Burrough for his Contempt of H. Scripture Page 166. XVI G. W's Defence of himself for the same Wherein is shewn That the Quakers are Direct Deists and the Worst sort of them Page 169. XVII G. W's Sincerity and Ingenuity in some Objections with which he Concludes the First Part of his Book Wherein the Summ of the Quaker-Doctrine is laid open viz. That they Deny the Humanity of Christ and the Divinity of Jesus Page 179. CONTENTS OF THE Second Part. SECT I. COncerning the Author Page 1. II. The QVAKERS Method in Answering of Books 1. Railing Personal Reflections and Nastiness Page 4. 2. Insolence and Threatnings against any who Oppose them Page 32. 3. Bringing of Contrary-Testimonies Page 51. 4. Double Meanings and Cross Purposes Page 78. 5. Not to take an Answer Page 82. 6. Pretending that the Quotations brought out of their Books are not True because more than is Pertinent is not Quoted Page 85. 7. Appealing from their own Printed Books to the Original Copies Page 94. 8. Falsifying the Meaning of Others For which by Will. Penn 's Rule they are Excluded from being Christians Page 100. III. The Quakers Clear'd from Contradiction in those Seeming Contrary Testimonies which are Produc'd in this Appendix to Defend them from the Heresies Charg'd upon them 1. As to Christ come in the Flesh Page 112. 2. As to the Reality of His Death and Sufferings Page 123. 3. As to the Resurrection and Future Judgment Page 124. 4. Their Testimonies Allow'd to be Contrary upon the Point of Government and Fighting And why Wherein a Deep Secret of their Government is laid open Page 127. IV. Their Wity Answer and Repartees upon the Point of their Denying Marriage and Preaching up of Fornication Page 134. V. Their Re-Asserting of their own Infallibility and Sinless Perfection Wherein of their Idolatry Page 148. VI. Their Defence of not taking off their Hats or giving Civil Titles consider'd Page 162. And of the Pure Language as they call it of Thee and Thou Page 185. Both of which are shewn not to be mere Clownishness or want of Manners But that it Proceeds from a Design they have Form'd to Subvert all Government that is not in their Own Hands For that they think none but Themselves have any Right to Govern VII The Absurdity and Blasphemy of the Quaker Notion of The Light within shewn from Will. Penn 's Defence of it and others viz. 1. That ther is no Natural Light or Reason in Man But that all in him is Divine Page 194. 2. That by this they are not only Equal to God in some sense but that they are very God Himself And that every Creature is God Even the Devil Page 206. 3. Some Texts of H. Scripture Rescu'd from the False Glosses which the Quakers put upon them to favour the Universality of what they call The Light within Page 224. THE COLLECTION Numb I. THE Quaeres given to the Yearly-Meetings of the Quakers at London the 17th of May. 1695. With an Answer given to the same Quaeres by the General Meeting of the Reformed Quakers at Philadelphia in Pensilvania the 18th of Sept. 1695. Page 1. II. George Keith 's Relation of Two Remarkable Meetings of the Quaker Preachers at London An. 1678. Concerning Three Great Fundamental Doctrins of the Christian Faith Page 16. III. Some Passages taken out of a Ms of Humphry Norton 's which is Mention'd in The Second Part. p. 99. 100. Page 39. IV. Some of the Omissions and Alterations that the Quakers have made in the Re-Printing of the Works of their Deceased Prophets Page 52. V. A Letter of John Feild and Will Bingley to Sir Thom. Lane Lord Mayor of London An. 1695. Page 78. VI. A
by a Solemn Declaration asserted their Right to Possess the whole Earth and to Fight for it with the Carnal Sword And the words of their said Declaration are there set down which was Penn'd by that Renown'd Quaker Edward Burrough and Subscrib'd by Fifteen of the Principal Leaders among the Quakers in the Name of All the Rest Now G W. do's not deny one word of all this What then How do's he Answer it what is the Mistake Abuse or Calumny which he charges upon this Passage He says These are very Bitter Invidious and Calumnious Suggestions and Cruel Jealousies of a High Nature as if this poor Libeller eagerly thirsted after our Blood That Libeller as you call him I dare say had no Design upon your Blood or the Blood of any body But if you Preach up Bloody and Treasonable Doctrin must no Man Detect this without a Design upon your Blood You Proclame Blood to the Ends of the Earth especially against the Priests of all Professions Oh! Give the Priests Blood to Drink for they are worthy Slay Balaam vex the Midianites Blot out the Remembrance of Amaleck from under Heaven that is the Clergy and the Lawyers c. as the Quakers themselves Explain it See Sn. p. 230. c. yet this must not be told you but you Cry out Here is a Design upon our Blood But you Answer not a word of the Charge Are any of your Authors falsly Quoted Have they not said all these things Will you then Disown these Authors at least as to these Bloody and Desperate Tenets No. This cannot be done For then their Infallibility will Crack And your whole Foundation Sink Then will it appear that the Spirit by which they have been Led was not the Spirit of Truth but of Murder Treason and the Vilest Errors The Best Excuse that can be made for them in this Case is that which I have before Instanc'd viz. Madness For if they are in Good Earnest in all these Bloody Designs which they have Express'd Considering their Power and Number now amongst Us they are Dangerous indeed And Every Government will be oblig'd to take a Care of them And that in some other Manner than as John Parret Charles Baly and Jane Stoaks were Serv'd who were so kindly dealt with at Rome to be sent to a Mad-House and Phisick prescrib'd for them The Matters thus Suggested Says G. W. p. 17. are so Gross that we need say little to them How Say but Little to them If they are so Gross you need say the More to them But what if they are True as well as Gross And you offer not to Disprove one Tittle of the Truth of them And the more Gross one wou'd think you shou'd be the more Concern'd to Disprove them And if the least of the Proofs which are brought against you had been False or any way Exceptionable no doubt we shou'd have heard of it as from Rich. Scoryer about a small Mistake alledg'd as to his School George you shou'd either have said nothing of this Matter or have said more to it But the Nation is oblig'd to you for this Discovery You Repeat this Charge again p. 18. where you Quote the Sn. p. 133. saying Their Principles Destructive to all Government c. And you answer This is a General very Gross c. How a General was ther only a General Charge given against you and no Proof no Particulars at all Mention'd Yes George ther are abundance of Quotations and Particulars which are Insisted upon and Prov'd at large And Thou do'st not Answer to any one of them Thou Dar'st not Deny one of them yet here Thou woud'st Impose it upon the Reader as if nothing but a General Charge had been Exhibited against you This is Thy Sincerity and Quakers Plainness Their Opposition of Tythes V. From this place to p. 24. he spends against what is said in behalf of Tythes And p. 19. Quotes the Sn. saying that the Pope was the first Author of the Sacrilegious Impropriations which is more largely Insisted upon in the Sn. yet he Charges the Author as a Popish Agent and in his Contents calls this a Popish Plea for Tythes But all the Reason he gives is that some Papists were for the Divine Right of Tythes Then he names some of the Protestants which were not of this opinion And this is all Poor Man that he knows of the Matter He Answers none of the Arguments which are there brought for Tythes nor do's he bring any Arguments against them That is none of his Method But as to Fr. Bugg's Impeachment against them for opposing and Annulling the Laws of the Land which enjoyn Tythes he fairly Pleads Guilty in Express Terms while he thought he was Acquiting the Quakers of that Charge And he Re-Asserts their Seditious Principle p. 18. against The Secular Powers Imposing them Tythes being Abolisht says he by Christ's Law Which was all that Bugg Charg'd against them as making our Laws to be Anti-Christian Upon this Head I wou'd Recommend to their serious Consideration a Principle they set down in a Famous Martyrologie of theirs call'd The West Answering to the North. An. 1657. wrote by G. Fox and several others of their Chiefs suffering then some Chastisements for their Blasphemie c. Contrary as they thought to the then Laws by the Arbitrary Orders of some Inferior Magistrates There p. 80. they say That for Any Party of Men under a Government to Make Laws being not Lawfully Authorized so to do for the Binding of others and thereunto to require obedience is the setting up of Themselves above the Law and Treading it under their Feet And rendring of them whom they do so Bind their Slaves and Vassals And so is Treason Now in the Sn. Sect. xix Ther is mention'd a Declaration Sign'd by above Seven Thousand of the Quakers Abolishing all the Laws and Damning the Law-Makers who Enact Tythes the Payers of them the Receivers or any who but Countenance or Own them This was in the year 1659. At which time the Quakers were very Busie with their Proposals to oppose the Restoration of the Church and the King Rob. Rich Hiden things c. p. 29. a Quaker tells Us of two other Printed Papers of the Quakers that same year one subscrib'd by more than Ten Thousand and the other by More than Fifteen Thousand All presented to the then Parliament To whom I am Credibly Inform'd They offer'd to Raise Twenty Thousand Men against the Common Enemy so they Term'd the King and Loyal Party And they had then so much Favour That as the above Author Informs us And cannot Deceive Us in that by the Act of Parliament bearing Date the 28 June 1659 for Setling the Militia the Quakers were made Commissioners to Form Troops and Regiments to Nominate the Officers and to Assess Money for Buying Horse Arms c. He Names Five by Name whom he knew who were of the Committee for the Militia of
Spirit of Truth in George Whitehead and Geo. Fox the younger as it is said on the Title-Page of this Book And p. 7. That it is of as Great Authority as the Scriptures and Greater this puts it past a Jest and ought to be Animadverted upon as a most Outragious Blasphemy And shews moreover the Mad Delusion of these Quakers that they are out of their Wits and their Brains turn'd by an Enthusiastical Distraction For as before has been shewn the meaning of the word Figure in this Dispute is a Type or Shadow whether Christ was a Type or Figure of something else i. e. of the Light within Vs And to Prove this by the Figure that is the Shape or outward Appearance of His Body and Raiment being Chang'd in His Transfiguration upon the Mount if these Men believe themselves is such a Portion of Ignorance as sets them not out of the Rank of Children But their thinking it to be Divine Inspiration makes them Mad-Men and Blasphemously so Then again to make Figure even in this sense that they wou'd take it to be the same as an Example which is Express'd in both the Answers of G. F. and G. W. this is not to know at all what they say but to set down words at Random For let Christs Transfiguration be a Figure in whatever sense yet how is it an Example to Vs Are we to be Transfigur'd while upon Earth as He was upon the Mount And must the Cloaths we wear become White and Shining as His was then Who wou'd have found fault with Hubberthorn for saying that Christ was to be an Example to Us Tho' the word But cou'd not have past even there To say that Christs coming in the Flesh was But an Example as if it had been Intended for nothing else And neither G. F. nor G. W. find any fault with this But of Hubberthorn's tho' it was objected but Justify Hubberthorn in the whole For it is the very Quaker Doctrin viz. That the Birth Sufferings and Death of Christ are but Types or Examples of all those things to be Perform'd more Eminently within Vs what Christ Did or Suffer'd Outwardly they make but the History and even Facile Representations as before has been said of what was to be Accomplish'd in Man Where the Atonement and Satisfaction for Sin is made by the Birth Sufferings c. of the Light within and not by any thing which Christ suffer'd Outwardly for Us. For that we must Suffer the same our selves even Eternal Burnings and are Justify'd only by what We suffer or the Light suffers In us And not by the Sufferings of any Christ without Vs as before shewn p. 61. And this Regeneration wrought by the Light in our Hearts they make to be a greater Mystery than the Incarnation of Christ and His taking our Flesh upon Him in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin who according to them was But a Type or Example of their Virgin Hearts where the True Christ is Born c. But G. W. has another Text for his Figure it is Heb. i. 3. where Christ is said to be The Express Image of His Fathers Person Which G. W. will have render'd thus The Express Figure of his Fathers substance He gives no Reason for the Fault he finds with our Translation Yet I suppose he gave all he had But however what use can he make of it That Christ was the Figure or Example of His Fathers Substance what is the Example of a Substance And was Christ an Example to His Father Alas poor Quakers Every thing goes wrong with them But Pursue this Antidoie G. W. says p. 39. That the Quakers do own that Christ's outward Blood is a Part of His Sacrifice But George what Part is it this was put in but to Amuse And by what is said above if it be a Type tho' the Chief Type it can be no Part of the Sacrifice or Atonement for let me ask thee George Is not the Light within sufficient without something else was ther no Atonement before Jesus suffer'd under Pontius Pilate or was it the Vertue of that Death and Sacrifice of Jesus which did operate backward to those before Him by Faith in Him who was to Come or was ther then another Atonement before He came if so was not that Atonement Perfect then the outward Blood was no Part of it Or were ther Two Atonements was that First which the Quakers suppose made by the Heavenly Body which as G. Fox says was Crucified when Adam fell was that Perfect and Sufficient If so what needed Another was the other which follow'd 4000 years after any Part of it And if not a Part then how is it a Part now But George thy Light and Life p. 55. has been before Quoted p. 97. where thou opposes the outward Blood of Christ being Any way Meritorious to Salvation Yet here thou allows it us as a Part of the Sacrifice Great wits have short Memories G. W. in the same p. 39. offers two mighty Arguments why the Quakers do not make Christ without but the History and the Light within the Mystery or Substance First Argument The Quakers make him Christ no otherwise than the Father has Appointed and made Him to be This was strong And in favour to George I pass it without any Reply Second Argument He Christ as in Himself is the Substance of all Shadows and the fulness of Light and Life Who Doubts it George But what Christ do'st thee mean Thee say'st As in Himself did'st thee not mean by this The Light within yea verily then thy meaning is that the Light within is the Substance of all Shadows And this is the very thing that is Charg'd upon thee and thy fellow Quakers Why did'st thee not say that the outward Jesus of Nazareth who was Nail'd to the Cross was the Substance of all Shadows That wou'd have been speaking Plain But that was none of thy meaning But by this Dodging way which thy Sincerity uses we see thy meaning plain enough 1. Their Spiritual Body of Christ which they Suppose He â—â—d from Eternity And their Denial of his now Human Body in Heaven X. Yet they have a Salvo even for this tho' full of more Contradictions for as before shewn p. 13. c. they have a Notion of a Body which Christ had all along before His Incarnation And which sort of Body they now allow him to have in Heaven but not that Body which He took of the B. Virgin in which He Suffer'd Dy'd and Rose again And by the help of this Private Notion of a Body they Deceive many People who know it not in their Confession to the Body of Christ now in Heaven as if they meant the same Body that we do which they do not but they mean it only of that Spiritual Body of the Second Adam's Nature as they Phrase it which they say Christ or the Light had before the First Adam was Created And they say that this
Body of Christ is within them as well as His Spirit Indeed they are here in a monstrous Confusion for by this Body they mean the Spirit and by a Spiritual Body they mean nothing but Spirit However this serves them to Dodge and Decieve others It was to meet with them in this that the First and the Sixth Quaeres of those given to their Yearly Meeting 1695. were fram'd viz. Do you believe in a Christ without you Now in Heaven And Quaer 6. Is Christ now at this Day and for Ever to come Truly and Really a Man in true and Proper Human Nature without all other Men But in their Pretended Answer to these Quaeres they wave Answering Directly and leave out the words without us and without all other Men and the word Human upon which the Chief stress was laid because they do believe that this Notional Body of Christ is within them as well as His Spirit Therefore they wou'd not Answer to this And tho' this was again Prest upon them in the Conclusion of the Sn. and they were told of all this Dodging and this was put upon them as a Criterion to Clear themselves and therefore they were Desir'd to begin their Answer to the Sn. with a Plain and Direct Ans Yea or Nay to these Two short Queres Yet no Provocation can bring them to it They will not yet Answer to it for it Discovers the Heart of their Cause It wou'd totally overthrow their Ancient Testimonies wherein they Deny That Christ hath now a Body of Flesh and Bones Circumscript or Limited in that Heaven which is Above and out of Every Man on Earth These are the words of John Whitehead in his Quakers Refuge Printed 1673. p. 40. And p. 41. he says that they are in the Error who wou'd Limit it to a Particular Place and out of every Man on Earth for says he The Spirit and Body of Christ is not Divided but wheresoever the Spirit and Life of Christ is it is in the Body of Christ. This shews plainly what they mean That the Body of Christ is not Now a Body Circumscript or Limited to any Place and consequently it is no Body at all for that is Inseperable from a Body but that it is wheresoever His Spirit is and that it is within them and not without all other Men. Thus Edward Burough being Demanded in these Positive Terms Is that very man with that very Body within you Yea or Nay And this he do's not at all Deny but Answers in the Affirmative p. 149. of his works The very Christ of God is within us You must take the meaning of these men by Considering that to which they Answer and which they oppose for in a Limited sense Christ by His Holy Spirit and Influences is within us and Christ is The very Christ so that ther is a sense in which that Expression tho' offensive in the wording of it may be admitted But then when we consider that which they Oppose or to which they Answer the meaning appears Plain for why wou'd they Oppose what they thought Orthodox And this is the method by which we must understand G. Fox's Great Mystery which is a Pretended Answer to 108 Books and Disputes against the Quakers For G. Fox's own words are â—eldom either Sense or English and he Miserably Mis-Quotes and Mistakes their words whom he writes against sometimes it appears to be on Purpose and sometimes out of Pure want of Vnderstanding Half Knave and Half Fool But by Reading those Books which he opposes you may Discover what he wou'd be at Instances of this out of Number can be given Which if any think it worth the while are Ready to be Produc'd But to the Subject we are upon The first Book he Answers in his Great Mystery is of one of the then Ministers Mr. Sam. Eaton call'd The Quakers Confuted Printed A. D. 1654. where p. 12. Mr. Eaton makes as full a Confession as can be to the Inward Presense and Operation of Christ by His Spirit in the Hearts of Believers And therein says he they have Him But they have not Christ in Flesh or the Flesh of Christ dwelling in them for that was taken up into Heaven and will there be Contain'd till the Restitution of All things This G. Fox opposes in his Great Mystery p. 3. And Quotes thus much of his words with the Page But the Saints have not Christ in the Flesh p. 12. And opposes this as Contrary to Christ and the Apostles Doctrin who said they were of His Flesh and of his Bone and they that have His Flesh have it in them This shews in what sense he Understood these Scriptures and what his Notion was of the Flesh of Christ viz. That it was now at this time in all Believers and so not any Literal Flesh but some Imagination or other that they have of Spiritual Flesh which they think that God Himself has and Christ or the Light had from all Eternity so nothing of outward Human Flesh or Nature Tho' if you take the word Human as it may be Deriv'd from Homo a Man thus they will allow that Christ has a True Human Body and Ever had from Eternity that is a True and Real Manhood In this sense it is said before p. 11. l. 8. that they allow the Body which they say Christ had from Eternity to be an Human Body For ther is no other word in Latin whereby to Express the Nature of Man but Humanitas whence we use the word Humanity to mean the same as Manhood But if you Derive the word Human from Humus the Ground or Earth of which Man was Made in this sense the Quakers Deny that Christ had an Human Body from Eternity or indeed while He was upon the Earth For which I Refer you back to p. 19 20. where you will find this Artfully Distinguish'd by the Quakers But we will now go on to see the further Salvos that the Present Antidote affords in this Case Their Denyal that Christ had any Human or Created richer Soul or Body while upon Earth 2. G. W. Skips to p. 38. And takes up this Argument again where he Pretends to Answer the objection of the Quakers making the Body of Jesus only a Vaile or Garment wherein Christ or the word Dwelt but that He took not that Body into His own Person so as to be Hypostatycally United to it And to this he says p. 38. We are to seek herein as not knowing where the Quakers say these things Yet Answers not or Names one of the many Proofs which are brought for this See Sn. Sect. x. This wou'd be very Provoking but that I am us'd to it for it is his Constant Method Yet in the Excuse he makes for it he Confesses enough to shew that the Quakers are Guilty herein For says he Tho' His Flesh is call'd the Vail yet it was that he own'd as His own Body being also call'd the Body of
ther never such a thing done before to Introduce men as Answering to Queres thereby to make their meaning appear the more The Name of George Whitehead is put to a Book Intituled The Light and Life of Christ within Printed 1668. where p. 51. he Introduces a Baptist put Quaeres to him and makes Answers for him And they are worthy to be Remembered for the true Quakerism that is Express'd in them viz. Denying Salvation by the Outward Jesus For thus he Quaeries the Baptist and makes him Answer I ask says G. W. who is He that Satisfies and Appeaseth God Dischargeth the Guilty and Pays the Debt Baptist It is the Man Christ Jesus Quest Whence came he Ans God gave Him Quest And what is this Man Christ Jesus who can Satisfie Pacifie an Infinit God Bapt. He is God-Man Born of a Virgin Then G. Whitehead Replies upon him thus How wou'd this Divide God and set Him at a Distance from Himself Is it Good Doctrin to say that God Pacify'd God when He saw Himself Angry For says the Baptist It was God-Man that did it Which is all one as to say God Corrected Himself and then He was Mediator to Himself c. And so G. W. Runs on Blaspheming and with the Socinians Ridiculing the Doctrin of Satisfaction by the Death of Christ or any Salvation by Jesus Christ whom he Denies to be God-Man or the Saviour of the World Wou'd it be Good Doctrin says he p. 54. to say that Mary and Simeon carry'd their Saviour in their Arms that or they carry'd God in their Arms if that Child was God-Man as he the Baptist terms him You Baptists were fain to Hide for all your Boasting of your God and Christ a a Distance above the Clouds Stars and Firmament And Will. Penn was fain to Hide too once upon a time as others of you have done for all your Boasting of your God and Christ at Hand even Within you In the same Dialect with G. W. says Christopher Atkinson in his Sword of the Lord drawn p. 5. your Imagined God beyond the Stars your Carnal Christ is utterly Deny'd That Christ is God and Man in one Person is a Lye Which being objected in the Sn. G. W. answers here p. 145. We do not affect the Terms And yet you will not Deny but that they were Given forth by the Spirit of the Eternal God! This is all that is Desir'd of you And this we cannot bring you to Blasphemous and Contradictory WRETCHES But why George do you not Affect the Terms What do they Differ from Thine own Terms only what you Deny he says is Vtterly Deny'd and what you Ridicule and Laugh at he says plainly it is a Lye Is it not the same Christ you both Oppose Is it not the same whom you Reproachfully say to us is YOUR Christ And what Christ is this the Christians Christ And what Christ have we a Carnal Christ your Carnal Christ is Vtterly-Deny'd Now how do we own Christ to be Carnal is it in the sense of Vice and Wickedness as we say a Carnal-Man meaning thereby a Vicious Sensual Man given to the Lusts of the Flesh No. I suppose the Quakers will not put that upon us to say that we think Christ to be now Carnal that is Vicious in Heaven But 2dly do we think Christ to be Carnal as if His Flesh were as Gross and Infirm i. e. Carnal as ours is now or as His own Flesh was while He Suffer'd in it upon the Earth No. For we say all Christians say that He is now Glorify'd Ther is then no other sense ' of the word Carnal but that which has Flesh in Destinction from a Spirit And in this sense we do say and all Christians say that Christ is Carnal i. e. has Real Flesh even the same Flesh which He took of the Blessed Virgin in which He Suffer'd Rose c. And this is the sense in which the Quakers do Oppose us and Deny nay Ridicule our Carnal Christ beyond the Stars i. e. Any Christ who has True and Real Flesh or an Human Body now in Heaven This they say to Vs is Our Imagined God beyond the Stars as C. A. Our God and Christ above the Clouds as G. W. Implying that no such Christ is Theirs the Quakers God And their Denying Christ to be Carnal is plainly Denying of Him to be a Man For Christ can be Carnal but Three ways 1st As Lyable to Sin 2dly To Infirmity Or 3dly As He has true Human Nature or Flesh Now it being only the Third way that we hold Christ to be Carnal and the Quakers Denying Our Carnal Christ consequently they Deny Christ to be now a Man Your Carnal Christ says C. A. in the place above Quoted is utterly Deny'd and Testify'd against by the Light which comes from Christ. So that here is the Quakers Light or Christ Testifying against the Outward Christ. And here they may see that the Light in them is Darkness for it Testifies against the Humanity of Christ and the Divinity of Jesus The Quakers own Christ to be God but they Deny Him to be Truly and Properly a Man They own Jesus to have been a Man but not God otherwise than as by Gods Dwelling in Him but not Personally United to Him and so as it may be said of other Men in their several Degrees that God do's Inspire or Dwell in them But they call that Jesus whom All Christians do Worship a Dead-God because they think that the Man Jesus of Nazareth is still Dead Tho' Christ or the Light cannot Dye according to Them because they say It is God Therefore they think That We Worship a Dead Man for God And Consequently That our Jesus is an Idol For thus says Edw. Burrough p. 101. of his works to the Christian Professors Some of you were Teachers for the King and Bishops and were Ordained by their Law And your Prayers have been to your IDOL GOD And you Pray to your DEAD GODS c. By this they can Mean None other but Christ For whom Else did the King or the Bishops or any of their Teachers Worship as God! Therefore we must make this Conclusion And that Necessarily from the Quakers Principles That all Christians are Idolaters And Christ a Dead Idol Or otherwise as the Truth is That the Quakers are no Christians but Blasphemers of our Christ and God And here I leave them And the Remaining Part of this Antidote for the Present in Expectation of their Melius Inquirendum And for the other Reasons given in the Preface And I Turn to a more Considerable Pen than that of George Whitehead Tho' Shrowded under the Humility of an Appendix to him THE APPENDIX TO G. Whitehead 's Antidote CONSIDERED Which is Subscrib'd by Joseph Wyeth And bears the Title of Primitive Christianity Continu'd c. Part. II. SECT I. Concerning the Author AS Giants were attended by Dwarfs and Knights had their Squires ready at hand to save them
they Profess'd from the Beginning How then came they to Excomunicate any for Receiving of Baptism as for Instance John Cox And call'd it a Drawing back to the Weak and Beggarly Elements Come Friends speak out in Plainess and tell Us wou'd you own any for a True Quaker who shou'd Receive Baptism and frequent the Holy Sacrament of The Lord's Supper wou'd you neither Censure not Condemn them if they made a Conscience of it as their Duty Wou'd you have Greater Tenderness towards these than for William Wilkins whose Excommunication is put in the Collection at the End of this for Marrying one that was not a Quaker and for Marrying by a Priest Was this a greater offence than the Receiving of the outward Baptism But in good Earnest did you never Censure or Condemn Baptism Is this new Moderation of G. W.'s no other than what you always did Profess In the Quotation before brought of Edw. Burrough's it is Rank'd amongst the Damnable Heresies even to the Denying the Lord who bought Vs And it is call'd The Doctrin of the Devil And p. 644. of his Works he says That it is not Lawful for the Saints of God to Join themselves to your Ordinances Yet now G. W. will let them go and neither Censure nor Condemn them He has forgot a Book of his own to which he gave this Title The Authority of the true Ministry in Baptizing with the Spirit And the Idolatry of such men as are Doting about shadows and Carnal Ordinances and their Ignorance of the Spirits Baptism of which water-Baptism was but a Figure Discover'd And herein is shewed that Water-Baptism is neither of Necessity to Salvation nor yet is now Practised either by Authority from Heaven or by any New-Testament Law that is in force upon Believers seeing the Substance and the End of things Abolished is come and Enjoyed wherein the Types Shadows and Figures are Ended Yet George now will neither Censure nor Condemn them if they be Conscientiously Tender in the Observation of these Abolished Types and Shadows tho' he calls it Idolatry nay and Doting Idolatry yet these men never Vary'd they always said the same since they were first a People that they say now Appen p. 5. slighting all the Authorities brought for Baptism in Prim. Her within the first 150 years after Christ they care for no Antiquity or Fathers says Indeed if he can absolutly Determin the Question by the Scriptures the work is done And yet in the Discourse of Baptism the Arguments are all Limited only to the Holy Scriptures and for any thing the Quakers have said to the contrary the Question is there Absolutely Determin'd They Referr to a Book of one Dell against Baptism This is their Great Assylum Yet he was not a Quaker he was one of the Professors whom they call Children of Darkness and Damn them All to the Pit of Hell And a Cambridge Schollar too another Mark of Reprobation with them and yet they fly to this Man to Help their Light against the Divine Institutions of our Blessed Saviour And they have Printed and Re-Printed this Book as oft as they have been Attack'd upon this Point of Baptism And out it has come since the Discourse of Baptism was Publish'd This made me Curious to look into it And there I found not one Objection but what is fully Answer'd in that Discourse Tho' I am satisfy'd that Author had never seen it before that Discourse was Printed Yet still they Referr to that Book which is only a Put-off because they have nothing to say and shews them to be Self-Condemn'd Their Appealing from their own Printed Books to the Original Copies 7. They have yet another Contrivance which is the Prettiest of all to avoid the Quotations brought out of their Books When none of the former ways will do then they say They have not the Book as if they cou'd not come at their own Books or otherwise they Appeal from the Print tho' themselves have Publish'd it to the Original Copy which if Extant none can have but Themselves Yet they do not Produce the Copy or tell how it is worded there or that it is otherwise than in the Print Thus p. 9. of the Prim. Heres ther is a Bloody Quotation out of a Book of G. Fox's call'd News out of the North. p. 14. where he makes it as unlawful to Return to Baptism as to Circumcision and calls the Lord's Supper The Table of Devils and Cup of Devils which is in the Generation of Serpents c. and p. 39. where he Denies the Books of Matthew Mark Luke and John to be the Gospel and calls them Carnal c. To this says Appen p. 32. I cannot Examin it not having the Book by me but I much Question the Truth of the Quotation And this is all that is said to it Now I can assure the Reader that this Quotation was taken out of the Book it self and not from any second hand And will he believe that this Book which is Common enough for I have seen more than one of them cou'd not be Procur'd among the whole Quaker Sanhedrin or that if this Quotation were much Question'd the Quakers are so Good Natur'd or so very Remiss as not to be at the Pains to look into that Book if they thought to Catch that Author at one False Quotation which they have not yet been able to do or whether every sober Person will not rather Judge that the Quakers do herein Plead Guilty I leave it to their consideration But hear another Pleasant Instance G. W. being Press'd with a very untoward Quotation in Sat. Dis. Glean Sect. iv p. 82. out of the Works of Edw. Burrough p. 273. where he Blasphemously makes the Sufferings of the Quakers not only Greater but more Vnjust than the Sufferings of our Blessed Lord Himself He comes to give an account of this in his Antidote p. 254. and he says after the old Fashion that E. B. is Cited Vnfairly and Partially in this Point But he tells not wherein These are only words of Course in all their Answers Nay himself finds no Fault with the Quotation that ther is a word Added or Diminished or Alter'd But says he Whether it was so Verbally stated by E. B. himself or by some mistake since I shall not undertake to Determin unless I see his Original Copy This Justifies the Quotation out of his Printed Book And if ther was any Mistake it was not in him who Quoted it So that G. W. if he Reguarded Instice ought to make Satisfaction for saying that this was Vnfairly or Partially Cited But in the next place this was Printed by E. B. in the year 1657. And Re-Printed in his Works An. 1672. And these Works were Collected and Published by an Junto of the Chief of the Quakers whereof George Whitehead was one and his Epistle particularly among others Praesix'd in High Commendations of the Author and the Works Yet now he wou'd turn it
Father A Manifestation can not take Flesh be Born Suffer or Dye then it must be the Father Himself and none other who was Born Dy'd c. then it was the Father who sent Himself and Return'd back to Himself and was Received of Himself who upon the Cross Pray'd to Himself and Complain'd to Himself that He had Forsaken Himself And when He Dy'd Recommended His Spirit into the Hands of Himself c. This the Quakers are Desir'd to Answer and it will soon Discover their sensless Sabelliamsm And Farnsworth's Testimony says nothing at all against this 2. They Leap now Ten years forward for the next Testimony p. 13. which is of Rich. Hodden An. 1661. in his Book call'd The one Good way of God Where he tells of the Great Mystery of Jesus Christ come in the Flesh which he says no Man can Understand by Hearing Reading Telling or Talking of Him or Concerning what He Did Said or Suffer'd How he is Formed In his Servants How they take up the Cross or what that Cross is How they are Members of his Body of his Flesh and of his Bones What the Church is or how his Body or what it is to Eat his Flesh and Drink his Blood c. This as before told is the Body Flesh and Bones of God which they suppose He had from Eternity and which now Dwells in the Quakers not the Flesh of our Nature which Jesus assum'd in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin That is not the Flesh which we Eat c. And they that think so he tells know nothing of the Mystery of Christ which they say cannot be learn'd by Hearing contrary to what the Apostle thought Rom. x. 17. of what Christ Did Said or Suffer'd Which shews that they meant not the outward Christ but Their Christ the Light within otherwise how is it that as he says none but the Quakers understand what the Church is how it is the Body of Christ or what it is to Eat his Flesh or what his Cross is c This shews plainly That they have another Meaning for All these things than we have And Consequently this is so far from being a Contrary Testimony to the Charges produc'd upon this Head that it speaks the same and might well have been put among the Charges instead of the Contrary Testimonies 3. The third Testimony is p. 14 from Geo. Bishop that Loyal good Subject See Sn. p. 227. to 232. in his Vindication of the Principles and Practices of the People called Quakers An. 1665. where he speaks too of Christ made Flesh c. But then tells us what Christ he means Christ In you says he that is their Light within which they call Christ. He says p. 15. as here Quoted That where this Christ is there is not the Body that Suffer'd at Jerusalem that was Flesh that Proceeded from the Virgin Mary c. that is not within Men. No. who ever said it was tho' Christ may be there by the Blessed Influences of His Holy Spirit But then what Body of Christ is it which the Quakers say is within them For G. Fox will not allow Christ to be Absent from His Saints as touching His Flesh Gr. Mystery p. 210. And Edw. Burrough p. 146. of his Works says in Answer to this Question which he there puts Is that very Man with that very Body within you yea or Nay And this he do's not Deny but Answers in the Affirmative The very Christ of God is within Vs we Dare not Deny it He do's not mean as Bishop says well the Body of our Nature which Suffer'd at Jerusalem for that is not so much as in any one says Will Penn in his Christian Quaker p. 97. But they mean as before has been shewn The Heavenly Body of the Human Nature of God which He had from Eternity And this Vile and most Absurd Heresie is that Deep Knowlege which the Quakers Boast they have in the things of God beyond all other Men. This is the Great Mystery of Quakerism And this Testimony of G. Bishop's do's rather Confirm than Contradict it 4. The fourth Testimony is p. 15. from Isaac Penington Concerning the Sum or Substance c. This is he who in his Question to the Professors before Quoted in every Page almost tramples under foot the outward Humanity of Christ or that which He took of our Nature And sets in opposition to it as the Foundation of the Quaker-Faith that which he calls Christ's own Humanity or their Sensless Notion of the Humanity of the Heavenly Nature Now let Us hear what this Man will say to the Contrary How much he Attributes to the outward Humanity and Sufferings of Christ. First he puts the Objection That the Quakers look not to be sav'd by the outward Christ but by a Christ in us says he And to this he Answers We do indeed Expect to be Saved yea and not only so but do already in our several Measures Witness Salvation by the Revelation and Operation of the Life of Christ within Vs So that their Salvation is from the Attonement c. which is wrought Within them And what Salvation do they mean That of Heaven No not of any outward Heaven but the Heaven within Themselves See Sn. at the end of Sect. xii and consequently it is that Salvation which they have Attain'd Already in their several Measures for ther are Degrees of Glory even in Heaven But now that All is given to the Inward Christ what do's he ascribe to the Outward Truly as little as may be only to take Notice of Him he says That the Salvation wrought by Christ within is yet not withont Relation to what he did without us and had its Place and Service in the will and according to the Counsel of the Father What Place and Service was this For that he leaves you to Guess he will come no Near. Every Good Action nay every Good word of any Good Man has its Place and Service This is the Noble Testimony of Isaac Penington which is brought as a Vindication of the Quakers from throwing the Least Slight upon the outward Humanity Death and Passion of our Blessed Lord Jesus and the Satisfaction and Full Propitiation thereby Made for the Sins of the whole World And to Clear them from Transferring of this to the Propitiation which they suppose made within them by the Heavenly Flesh and Blood of their Light within 5. The fifth Testimony is p. 16. from G. Keith's Immediate Revelation where he do's sufficiently Express what Manhood of Christ he meant for he speaks of The Man Jesus whom Simeon Imbraced with his Arms according to the Flesh And the Quakers will not say That it was the Light within which Simeon had in his Arms or the Manhood of the Heavenly Nature which cou'd not be Seen or Felt. And then as to the Inward Presence of Christ in the Soul G. K. do's not speak of the Body of Christ there as the other Quakers but says
Meant than to Keep to his Light within Cou'd that have told him all that was Commanded in the Law of Moses How came all the Heathen then not to Know it for they had the Light within As little cou'd it of it Self without the Help of outward Revelation have Discover'd a Messiah the Son of God to be Incarnat and offer'd up a Sacrifice for the Sins of the World This Faith as the Apostle truly Says All men have not None Ever had it by Means only of their Light within But either by Express Revelation such as was Given of it to Adam to Abraham and the Prophets or by the outward Means of Hearing as the Apostle says in that same Chap. of the x. Rom. ver 17. Describing how that same Faith commeth of which he spoke ver 8. And he says That it cometh by Hearing viz. The outward Preaching of it For as he says ver 14. How shall they Believe in Him of whom they have not Heard And how shall they Hear without a Preacher So Mad and Void of all Common Sense as well as most Impious and Heretical Is that Quaker Exposition of Deut. xxx 14. And Rom. x. 8. Whereby they wou'd Exclude the outward Christ from being the Object of the Christian Faith And Blasphemously Translate it to Themselves that is to their own Light Within And by this make the Christian Faith Common to all Mankind even to those who never Heard of the outward Christ Which is To make Him His Blessed Death and Passion Vseless and Vn-necessary to the World Another Text they urge mightily for the Vniversality of their Light within is Joh. 1.9 That was the true Light which Lighteth Every man that cometh into the World This they Understand of Faith the True Saving Faith and so suppose that Every Man must have it But the Apostle from the beginning of this Chap. was speaking of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Divine Word by whom All things were Made And therefore not only what Light but what Life Every man or any Creature has is from Him Act xvii 25.28 Seeing He giveth to All Life and Breath and All things For in Him we Live and Move and have our Being Now that Light which He giveth to All Men is not the Light of Faith which All Men have not But the Natural Light of our Vnderstanding which is Common to All Men. And is a Ray Communicated from the Supreme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Reason The Quakers to Avoid this set about that Mad Task of Proving that All men have not Reason as before is shewn And yet wou'd give All men Faith of which no man is Capable without supposing him to have the use of his Reason Otherwise a Tree or a Stone might Believe as well as a Man I will Name but one Text more upon which they Chime Exceedingly that is 1 Joh. 2.20 27. But ye have an Vnction from the Holy one and ye know All things And ye need not that any man Teach you but as the Same Anointing Teacheth you of All things This they Interpret of the Light within which is Common to All Men. But then by this it wou'd follow That All Men do know All things Quite contrary to what the Apostle there Supposes who speaks of those who Knew not the Truth And Applys this of the Anointing only to those who Knew the Truth Ver. 21. I have not written unto you because ye know not the Truth but because ye Know it c. Therefore this of the Anointing was spoken only To and Of the True Believers and not of Infidels or Generally of All Men as is Plain to any who Read that Chapter These are the Chief Texts they Insist upon for the Vniversality of Faith which they call The Light within And they All prove Directly against them Ther are others so Forc'd and Strain'd as need not Confutation As 2 Pet. 1.19 We have also a more sure word of Prophesy c. which they apply to their Light within Whereas it was plainly spoken of the Holy Scriptures as the next Verse do's Expressly Determin it Knowing this first that no Prophesy of SCRIPTVRE is of any Private Interpretation I wish the Quakers wou'd Reflect Seriously upon this It wou'd correct the Exorbitancy of their Private Interpretations by what they call their Light within Different from the Sense of the whole Catholick Church in All Ages And let them see and Consider that ther was Great Reason for that Caution given in this same Epistle Ch. iii. 16. That the Vnlearned and Vnstable do wrest the Scriptures to their own Destruction The Quakers pretend sometimes to be Determin'd by Scripture and to admit of no Interpretation which is not in Express words of Scripture See a Book of theirs call'd The Divinity of Christ Wrote by G. Whitehead and G. Fox where in the Epistle they speak thus Where do the Scriptures speak of three Persons in the Godhead in these Express words Let us see where it is written Come do not shuffle for we are Resolv'd the Scriptures shall Buffet you about And where doth the Scripture speak of a Human Nature of Christ in Heaven And where doth the Scripture say the Soul is Part of Man's Nature Give us plain Scripture without Adding or Diminishing Come let us see Chapter and Verse c. Now the Quakers cannot Refuse the same Measure which they have Meated to others Therefore let us see Chapter and Verse where The Light within is spoke of In these Express words wher is ther any thing of Faith in the Light within of Believing In The Light within as this Appen do's often speak Where is it said that Christ was not the Lamb but that the Lamb was in Christ where is ther a word of the Manhood of God of Christ's Heavenly Flesh Blood and Bones of His Flesh that was Crucify'd when Adam Fell Where is His Body call'd a Garment or a Vessel where shall we find the Distinction of Christ Without and Within of an Outward and an Inward Christ of the Shedding of His Blood within Vs of the Blood and Bones of our Light within where is it said that the Person who Suffer'd upon the Cross was not Properly the Son of God He is oft call'd The Son of God what Text says that He was not Properly so In these Express words Come Produce Chapter and Verse Where are the Holy Scriptures call'd Beastly ware Serpents meat Death and Dust Where is the Text for Theeing and Thouing and for not taking off your Hats For your Silent-Meetings For the Ceasing of Baptism and The Lord's Supper For Womens Preaching and Womens Meetings which you call the Good Ordinance of Jesus Christ what Text do's Abolish Tythes in these Express words or Declare all going to War to be unlawful To keep Holy-Days or Marry by a Priest Where is it said that the Quakers are Infallible That their Preachings are of as Great Authority as the Scriptures and GREATER And
themselves at last a prevailing party Excommunicated Mr. Keith out of their Society but a considerable Number of Quakers stood by and vindicated him and his Doctrine and they set up several new Meetings as I am informed about twelve in and near Pennsilvania and Mr. Keith undertakes to write and print against the Errors of his old Friends and tells the World That there are such Damnable Doctrines and Heresies cloaked among the Quakers here that no Protestant Society in Christendom would tolerate the like His old Friends say they are belyed by Mr. Keith This has made some to be curious in searching into this Controversie and among the rest my very good Friend Coll. Quarry late Governour of Carolina now residing in Philadelphia has made some diligent enquiry into this Controversy but received not full satsfaction as he informs me whether Mr. Keith and these joyned with him had falsly charged their old Friends or not And there lately coming to his hands very providentially a Copy of Queries sent by Dr. Lancaster to the General Meeting of the Quakers in London last Whitsuntide and not hearing of an Answer to the same Mr. Quarry presents them to the General Meeting of the Quakers in Philadelphia viz. both to that Meeting which joyn with Mr. Keith and to that Meeting which Excommunicated him desiring their Answer to each Query That Meeting or Party of Quakers which joyn with Mr. Keith readily returned their Answer in writing to the Collonel which is hereunto annexed The other Meeting of Quakers which have Excommunicated Mr. Keith send three Messengers to the Collonel viz. Mr. Cook Mr. Jenings and Mr. Pusey who acquainted him That they received his Letter with the Queries annexed which they said were read in their general Meeting but not knowing whether their Friends in London had answered them or not they did not think fit to answer till they had an account from their said Friends and what Answer their London Friends gave they would stand by or to that effect Whereupon the Collonel told them That indeed they lay under severe Reflections as to their soundness in the Christian Faith and their answering the said Queries might have cleared them and given the world satisfaction of their soundness therein To which Mr. Jenings replyed That tho' by the said Paper of Queries it was insinuated that they turned the Scripture into an Allegory yet they did really believe that Christ was born suffered dyed was buried and rose again outwardly But he stopping there the Coll. repeated his words adding I also believe that the same Body that so Arose did Ascend into Heaven is now in Heaven and will come again at the end of the world to judge the quick and the dead Vpon which Mr. Pusey it seems took up the Coll. very short and interrogated him Whether he believed that Christ's outward Body of Flesh Blood and Bones ascended into Heaven To which when the Collonel answered Yea Mr. Pusey Replyed The Scripture says Flesh and Blood shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven c. Vpon which the Collonel told him He was sorry to find they understood the Scripture no better and that he now perceived the Accusations against some of them was not altogether groundless But. Mr. Jenings immediately brake off the Discourse whether upon finding his Friend Mr. Pusey had like to have spoiled all by discovering their Error I 'll not here determine and saying We came not here to discourse but to do our Message took leave and departed I shall not here make any further Observation upon these Answers from each party of the Quakers but commit the matter of fact to publick view and leave every man to judge for himself hoping it may make some further discovery into this great Controversie among the Quakers about the fundamental Principles and Doctrins of the Christian Religion and shew which party is the most Orthodox I shall only add Read impartially and judge Candidly I am yours in all Offices of Love and for the promoting the Cause and Testimony of the crucified Jesus and his sincere Followers J. C. To the People called Quakers assembled at their New Meeting-house in the second street in Philadelphia Sept. 18. 1695. Gentlemen I Have spent some time in perusing and considering what hath been printed on both sides in reference to the Difference and Disputes which hath lately happened betwixt you and some of your Friends and upon the whole matter I must own and declare That as to the saving Fundamentals of the Christian Religion in Controversie betwixt you and t'other Meeting you have declar'd and publish'd to the World That your Principles and Doctrine in those controverted Points are sound and Orthodox consonant and agreeable to the Scriptures and Church of Christ in all Ages But although it be my Opinion yet knowing my own weakness and very sensible that many of those called Quakers do abuse the World with false Glosses and ambiguous Terms hiding their true meaning and imposing false Notions on People therefore I am not willing to trust my own Judgment without a further confirmation And Providence hath given me an extraordinary opportunity to be fully satisfied I having lately met with a Copy of Queries sent by Dr. Lancaster of London to the Yearly Meeting of your Friends there met last Whitsuntide the answer to which I have not heard of nor seen and finding the Queries so full of substance and so learnedly handled by the Doctor and especially containing the full state of the fundamental Principles and Doctrines contested betwixt you and the other Meeting I thought my self obliged to send it to you at this your general Meeting and do beg the favour of a positive Answer Yea or Nay to each Query as the inclosed Paper doth intimate Gentlemen I do assure you I have no other design or end in this my Address to you but that by your clear and candid Answer to these Queries I may satisfie my self and others of the Truth and Soundness of your Faith in the saving Fundamentals of the Christian Religion I have sent another Copy of these Queries to the other Meeting with the same request Your Pardon for this trouble and an Answer is desired by Your assured Friend Servant Robert Quary Here follows the Answer of the said General Meeting From our Yearly Meeting of the Christian People call'd Quakers who are joyned in Testimony with George Keith held at the New Meeting-House in Philadelphia this 18 day of the 7th Month. 1695. Friend R. Q. WE this day received thy Letter with the Queries hereunto annexed and notwithstanding we might reasonally hope that our former Printed Confessions of Faith might have given satisfaction to those who have had the opportunity of perusing them yet because as thy Letter intimates some under our Profession have as we are sensible exprest themselves in Doubtful and Ambiguous words and because according to the Apostles command we are ready and willing to give an account of the Hope
by their subtilty to ensnare them yet now George Keith has given a plain answer to their Question he tells them Christ's Body is Ascended into Heaven and is in Heaven Note this fallacy G. W. knew well enough that what I had asserted about Christ's Body his Ascension into Heaven did contradict both his and his Brethren's Doctrine He doth Contradict what Friends had formerly said but is possitive and plain in his answer to the Professors question So my opposers ceased any more to object against me upon that Head The Second Particular they charged against me was that in my Book I had said the Friends did pray to Christ Jesus and did Worship and Pray unto the Mediator betwixt God and Man the Man Christ Jesus the Anointed King Priest and Prophet of his People who also is God over all blessed for ever pag. 123. of The way cast up And whereas I had set down some words of prayers that I had said I had heard some use in our own Meetings and I had used as Jesus son of David had mercy on us pag. 121. O thou blessed Lord Jesus that wert Crucified and Dyed for our sins and shed thy Precious Blood for us be gracious unto us c. the which prayer containeth a whole page in Print wherein also the forgiveness of our sins is prayed for a thing many say they never heard in a Quaker's Meeting to this these two men observed that it was a sort of Popery but with this difference that the Papists prayed both to the Mother and the Son George Keith though he prayed not to the Mother yet he prayed to the Son Some present said it was a part of Common Prayer to say Son of David have mercy on us but these two before mention'd Persons my chief opposers put me hard to it to give some Instance where ever I heard any ancient Friend of the Ministry that was an English man pray to Christ Jesus It is possible said they thou hast heard some Scotch Friends pray so whom thou hast taught so and were thy Proselites I confess I was at a stand to name any one English man that ever I heard so pray though in Scotland I would have named one But William Penn prevented me and said Friends I am an English man and a Freind of the Ministry I have oft prayed to Christ Jesus to my great comfort and have been answered And not long ago being under some great weight upon my Spirit and like to have been swallowed up by a power of Darkness I uttered these words its true I was in private Lord Jesus who was Crucified for me have mercy on me and immediately I was eased and comforted They objected that William Penn was but a young Minister Let George Keith give an instance what ancient English Friend of the Ministry he ever heard pray to Christ Jesus As I could remember none so nor did any in all the Meeting give an Instance But said George Whitehead it is not what William Penn or George Keith saith let the Scripture decide it whereupon he call'd for the Bible and reads in 1 Cor. 1.2 Vnto the Church of God which is at Corinth to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus call'd to be Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ both theirs and ours What say ye to this Friends ye see that Paul did-approve the Corinthians that called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Note Reader one would think that if G. Whitehead had made it his practise to pray to Christ Jesus being an ancient Minister and using to pray frequently in the publick Meetings of the people call'd Quakers he would have named himself to have been one who had prayed to Christ Jesus or some that had oft heard him ther present might have given him for an instance but no instance was brought of any English ancient Friend of the Ministry who had ever been heard so to pray and had it been a frequent practise among them to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ it could not be supposed to be possible that these two men my opposers could have objected it against me as a novelty or such a singular practise as that no English ancient Friend could be produced as a witness for that practise their answe to George Whitehead's Question was Paul was dark and ignorant in that thing as George Keith is for our parts we know better George Whitehead reply'd hold Friends say not so Ye know we have been accused by divers that we esteem our selves equal to the Apostles which for my part I never did how will this be received by Professors if they shou'd hear that we did set up our selves above them and above Paul one of the chiefest of them after he had so plentifully received the Holy Ghost and had planted so many Churches Pray let us not exalt our selves above Paul it is very well if we be where he was But they still continued blaming my assertion in my Book for saying that Christ was to be prayed unto and especially they blam'd the manner of praying to him by the name Son of David objecting against one of the prooffs in my Book how Bartimeus pray'd to Christ in these words Son of David have mercy on me Poor blind Bartimeus said they had George Keith no better Arguments for him than blind Bartimeus he was as blind in his Soul as he was in his Body Thomas Hart replyed to them Friends say not so ye are under a great mistake to think he was blind in his Soul he was greatly enlightned in his Soul and had a great Faith and Christ answered him and said thy Faith hath saved thee which proveth he was not blind in his Soul when he so prayed They still remaining dissatisfied and greatly blaming that manner of expression Son of David as improper William Penn said Friends we know that Christ after his Ascension call'd himself the root and off-spring of David Now why may it not be supposed that a Friend may be moved in prayer to say O thou root and off-spring of David have mercy on us Some also brought that place in Acts. 7.59 how Stephen being fill'd with the Holy Ghost at his death call'd saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit so after several words of discourse made by other Friends present mostly approving my assertion they passed to their Third particular charg'd against in my Book the passage in my Book that they blam'd is in pag. 123. Compared with pag. 136. where I had said pag. 123. He is that mighty one upon whom the Father hath laid help for that although the Father himself loveth us and is most willing and ready to help us in all our Necessities yet we can no otherwise receive his help but as it comes to us by the Conveyance of the Man Christ Jesus our alone Mediator And pag. 136. I had said But still as in respect of Union Manifestation
and Operation and also in respect of Communion and Fellowship the Man Christ Jesus or word Incarnate is the only and proper middle and Mediator between God and us so that whereas God is immediately United with the Man Christ Jesus no other Men or Angels have or indeed are Capable to have an immediate Union with God their Union is only Mediate with God and so their Communion and Fellowship with him is but Mediate also by the means of Christ Jesus although inrespect of other means it is Immediate All this passage they mightily censured as Contradicting their own experience 't is true said they when we were Young and weak at our first Convincement and Beginning we had need of Christ but now we have no need of him we have access to God Immediately without Christ Thomas Hart reply'd to them Friends I am sorry you should think ye have not need of Christ now I cannot say so and I dare not say it I have as much need of him now as ever formerly I need Him not only to cleanse me from my Sins but to preserve me that I sin not let me tell you It may be before ye Die you may come to find your need of Christ These words of Thomas Hart were much noticed and approved by divers Present and after divers had spoke their minds about this whole matter particularly George Whitehead and William Penn who approved and Vindicated all these Three Particulars which my opposers have objected against and severely censured and all other lesser Matters to every tittle and word that was objected so that I had need to say little and indeed said not much because I found them as seemed to me well disposed and inclined to answer for me as they readily did Divers other Friends present stood up in the Meeting and declar'd their great Satisfaction with having heard those things so well cleared and opened to their understandings which they Confessed they had been formerly Mudled about and blessed God for that good opportunity they had to have things made so clear to them among whom were Francis More and James Claypool both Citizens of good account and of good reputation among Friends and Neighbours This is but a Summary and Abreviation of the matter which was much more largely discoursed and took up several hours time at each Meeting In the Conclusion the persons that had accused me were desir'd by the Meeting to desist from their Charge and say nothing against the Book and whereas some Friends that were dissatisfied at my Book had forbidden the Stationer in George-Yard to sell it because it was unsound Order was given by the Meeting that that the Stationer might be encouraged to Sell it that it might have its Service in City and Country as accordingly was done And now Reader wouldest thou not think that these men who had so exposed their Ignorance Unbelief and Antichristian principles directly opposest to the great Fundamentals of Christianity would have received some severe Censure from the Friends of the Ministry or at least that they would have put them to disown their vile errors before they could be owned as either sound Ministers or sound Friends But nothing of this was done and to the certain knowledge of divers as well as mine these men as well as others that had privately sided with them remained Resolute and Stiff in their former errors whereof the one to wit William Shewen sometime after gave a publick demomstration in the Face of the World having after all this printed a Book called by him A Treatise of Thoughts where he saith pag. 37. Not to Jesus the Son of Abraham David and Mary Saint or Angel but to God the Father all worship Honour and Glory is to be given through Jesus Christ c. Note Reader what he means by Jesus Christ c. is easie to apprehend not the Son of Abraham of David or Mary for him he hath excluded from being the object of Worship together with Saints and Angels as in his own words is manifest but this Jesus Christ c. is the Light within so here are two Christs with a witness by this Man's Doctrin one the Son of David to whom no Worship Honour and Glory is to be given another through whom God the Father is to be Worshiped and certainly he through whom we Worship God the Father must be the object of Worship together with the Father But how long did he allow Jesus Christ c. to be him thro' whom God the Father is to be Worshiped No longer than untill he hath restored all things into their primitive Order that is brought William Shewen and his Brethren to a Sinless state which many think they have attain'd already and then Christ in them is known to surrender up the Kingdom to the Father and God to become all in all As he plainly declares in his pag. 38. and on the Margin he adds This is the assending of Christ up where he was before he descended and before there was any Cause for his descension he that can understand saith he let him this passage of Wiliam Shewen is more fully Quoted out of his Book in my Third Narrative lately Printed Judge Reader what imaginary Heavens had this man got up into after he hath witnessed a Sinless state even in the mortal Body then Christ surrenders up the Kingdom to the Father in him and it is no more Christ in him but God all in all And what Christ spoke of his Ascension as Man into Heavens without us He wholly applyeth to Christ's putting off his Offices as Christ and ceasing any more to Officiate as Christ in them but as God the Father The mystery of this is Rank and wild Ranterism to wit that God and Christ within men are but two inward Ministrations and Operations Christ is the lower and the Father is the Higher and by passing from the Lower to the Higher as men pass from the lower story of a House to the higher they pass from Christ to God and leave Christ behind or below them and ascend up to God all in all and so need not Christ either within them or without them That this is the real and genuine Sense of William Shewen's words in that above mentioned Treatise any intelligent person that reads them more especially if he read those passages throughout from first to last a part whereof I have but quoted for brevity sake cannot but acknowledge Now because it is probable many of the people call'd Quakers will say that these things which I have above related as matter of Fact are not truly related and will be ready to oppose to the credit of my relation That G. Whitehead who confesseth there was such a Meeting where he was present denyeth that he remembereth that any such things were affirmed by them that found fault with me for some things contained in my Book But First his not remembering is but a Negative evidence against my possitive evidence