in a publick Meeting with Blasphemy for asserting it but whither the Body of Christ now since his Ascension is in all things and every where If not every where then but some where and that some-where is a Local Heaven which W. P. hath said is Mahometan E. Burrough charg'd John Bunnion with Wickedness for saying Christ was in Heaven in our Nature And for the same did G. Whitehead blame John Horn as I have shewn in my Narratives And saith G. W. in his Nature of Christianity p. 41. That Christ existeth outwardly bodily without us at God's right hand What Scripture hath he viz. his Opponent R. G. for these words W. Bailey will have it That Christ ascended into Heaven in no body but what came down from Heaven All which and much more is proved out of my three Narratives the third especially And whereas he saith Let it be never so true it cannot affect the People if not the act of the People the Church of England has Doctors of very differing Sentiments c. I answer what any one of your Teachers have asserted in Print especially it affects your Second days Meeting that licenseth all your Teachers Books and yet profess to be all one and the same in all that ye believe as God and Truth is the same And if the Church of England hath Teachers of different Sentiments in lesser Matters yet not in Fundamentals so far as she knows and if they had and she should know it and not censure them it would affect her From all which it appears that W. P. and his Brethrens Conciseness in their Gospel Truths was on purpose in general Terms to cover their gross Errors And where Men are sound in the Faith and of known Sincerity what is implied in their words may in Charity and Justice be granted but not if they be Insincere and given to equivocate as is the present Case Section 6. His Fallacy in asserting that his owning future Rewards and Punishments in his Sense doth imply his owning the Resurrection of the Dead which it is proved he hath disowned His unjust Offence at the Bishop's Censure of his unsound Notion of the Light within and his uncivil Treatment of the Bishop on that account as if he were a meer Natural Man a Persecuter a Nicodemus in the Knowledge of Regeneration The Bishop's Doctrine of the Light within more sound and intelligible than that of W. P. By W. P 's Definition of Light within and Sight within a Natural Man is capable to understand it though in contradiction to himself W. P 's Ignorance in making the natural rational Faculty to be all the Spiritual Sight even in Regenerated Persons The Bishop's Doctrine of the Light within and Spiritual Sight of regenerated Persons as more sound so more sublime than that of W. P. IN Page 43 he proceeds in the like Fallacy and Equivocation alledging That their acknowledging the future state of the Just and Unjust implys the resurrection of the Dead which as it is true in a Scripture sense it is as false in his sense and in the sense of all others of his Heathen Brethren many of whom professed to believe the immortality of Men's Souls both Greek and Latin yet that profession did not imply they believed the resurrection of the Body either of the Just or Unjust for they generally disbelieved it and opposed the Christians for asserting it And that W. P. himself hath opposed the Resurrection of the Body is above sufficiently proved In his Page 51. and 52. W. P. seems not a little moved with the Bishops saying their discourse about the Light within as far as he can see is perfectly such as we usually call Banter that is when Men have a faculty to speak things seemingly profound but in the end neither themselves nor others can make any distinct Sense of what they have said This Modest Censure of the Bishop upon his discourse of the Light within in his 5th 6th and 7th Sections W. P. calls one of the severest Persecutions This to me saith he is one of the severest Persecutions because Spiritual things are only to be Spiritually discern'd and understood I would fain know saith he how a regenerate Man can possibly make a Carnal Man understand the new Birth yea he chargeth it to look Antichristian as well as unreasonable and he quotes diverse places of Scripture which he at least implicitly levels at the Bishop as if the Bishop were the Unregenerate and Natural Man that because he is so he cannot understand W. P's profound Doctrine of the Light within And the Bishop is he that is born after the Flesh who persecutes W. P. that 's born after the Spirit and his Brethren with Tongue and Pen when he and others such as he can no longer commit violence upon their Persons and Estates and as if the Bishop were a very Nicodemus in the Doctrine of the new Birth All which it plainly appears and much more W. P. indirectly and implicitly levels at the Bishop otherwise why quotes he such places of Scriptures with such large discourses on them if not to point to him and that his want of the new Birth and being but a Natural Man tho' not wanting Academical Learning made him uncapable of understanding W. P's Spiritual Doctrine about the Light within and after his instance of the blindness of the Scribes and Pharisees and the High-Priest of the Jews in not discerning the Messiah when he came he infers let the Bishop also have a care and he further tells the Bishop he should be glad to see the Bishop's evidence for the knowledge of God by the Revelation of the Son of God in his own Soul To give my sense freely so far as I am able to understand the Bishop hath given a better account and evidence of his knowledge in the Mystery of God and of Christ by his Christian Scriptural and sound expressions than W. P. and I suppose in his manner of Life is nothing inferior to him And what evidence of his true knowledge by Internall Illumination or Revelation can W. P. give or has given that the Bishop cannot give yea hath not given in this very case Is it enough for W. P. to say he has it and the Bishop has it not Or wherein do W. P's fruits of a holy Life give more evidence of his knowledge and experience of the new Birth than these of the Bishop I shall first take notice of the Bishop's sound words in giving his sense how the Conscience of Man is enlightned to know and believe aright the Doctrines and Articles of Faith necessary to Salvation Conscience saith the Bishop opened by the holy Spirit under the Ministry of the word Acts 16. 14. does and must take in its Light from holy Scripture quoting Psal 19. 8. Eph. 1. 18. Psal 119. 105. Isaiah 8. 20. Now these things saith he are intelligible this Rule is fixt and certain nothing of which can be said of your Light within
Spirit and these three are really one yet in his former Books particularly in his Sandy Foundation never yet retracted by him he hath sufficiently discovered his gross and vile error in that fundamental Doctrine of the Christian Faith thus arguing not only against their being Three Persons but their being Three otherwise than Nominally which was the Sabellian Heresie since the Father is God the Son is God and the Spirit is God which their opinion necessitates them to confess then unless the Father Son and Spirit are three distinct nothings they must be three distinct Substances and consequently three distinct God's And he bringeth Five Arguments against their being a Holy Three P. 12 13 14. In his Third Section he seemeth to profess his and his Brethrens Faith in Scripture terms But this his professed Faith is quite inconsistent with what he hath delivered in his other Books here he saith That the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among Men and was and is the only begotten of the Father full of Grace and Truth his beloved Son c. who tasted Death for every Man and dyed for Sin that we might dye to Sin But as it hath been above shewed out of his Sandy Foundation he hath argued against any such distinction as of the Father and the Son in the God-head as inferring a plurality of God's and though here he professeth to believe that this only begotten Son dyed for Sin yet in his Serious Apology Page 146 he saith That the outward Person that suffered was properly the Son of God we utterly deny And in his guide mistaken P. 25. Christ Co-essential and Co-eternal with his Father c. of being made Man of his Dying Rising and Ascending into Heaven c. he saith of all this that it is confused Babble and by Rote Canting by paths of vain Tradition and Invention results of Factious and corrupted Counsels And in his Rejoinder to John Faldo Page 299. he plainly denyes that the Body of Christ was any constitutive part of Christ and for seven leaves together contends against John Faldo That Christ did not Dye nor hang on the Cross but only the Body which he will not have to be any part of him To this Doctrine of W. P. doth that of G. Whitehead agree a Man as great or rather much greater among the Quakers as W. P. who saith in his Dipper Plunged P. 13. Jesus Christ God-man is not Scripture Language And in his Christian Quaker P. 140. 141. though he grants that Christ had a humane Body of Flesh and Bones yet he denys that he consisted of it and saith he distinguisheth betwixt Christ's having a Body and consisting of it And in a Book given forth by the Quakers from their second days Meeting whereof G. W. is supposed the Author called A Testimony for the true Christ and his Light in confutation of R. Cobbet printed 1668. They deny the Humanity of Christ as Humanity signifieth the Earthly Nature of Man's Body as coming from Humus the Ground but as Humanity signifies Meekness Gentleness Mercifulness as opposite to Cruelty in this last sence they own Christ's Humanity but deny it in the former which yet is the true sense of Scripture and of all true Christians Section 2. His Fallacy in pretending to own Justification by Christ the Propitiation in Contradiction to what he hath delivered in his Serious Apology and Sandy Foundation and his fallacious way of stating the Doctrine of Justification wherein he misrepresents his Opponents IN his fourth Section as seemingly Orthodox as he professeth himself to be as fallacious and insincere he is seeing he knoweth in his own Conscience that what he hath here delivered is utterly inconsistent with what is extant in his other Books never as yet retracted by him nor doth either he or his Brethren own any change of perswasion from what they had ever since they came under the profession of Quakers but as one of them hath lately said in Print As God is the same and Truth is the same so his People are the same viz. the Quakers I shall first set down his present profession of what he believes concerning Justification as followeth That as we are only Justified from the guilt of Sin by Christ the Propitiation and not by works of Righteousness that we have done so there is an absolute necessity that we receive and obey to unfeigned Repentance and amendment of Life the Holy Light and Spirit of Jesus Christ in order to obtain that Remissionand Justification from Sin c. But in contradiction to this see what his Doctrine is in his Serious Apology P. 148. And indeed says W. P. this we deny viz. Justification by the Righteousness which Christ hath fulfilled in his own Person for us wholly without us and boldly affirm it in the Name of the Lord to be the Doctrine of Devils and an Arm of the Sea of Corruption which does now deluge the whole World Note Reader If according to W. P's former words we Only are Justified from the guilt of Sin by Christ the Propitiation and not by works of Righteousness that we have done then it is plainly evident by the same Doctrine that we are Justified by the Righteousness which Christ hath fulfilled in his own Person for us wholly without us for these two manners of Speech are perfectly equivalent viz. That we are only Justified from the guilt of Sin by Christ the propitiation and that we are Justified by the Righteousness which Christ hath fulfilled in his own Person wholly without us The word Only plainly importing the Righteousness of Christ Wholly without us unless there be some great fallacy in W. P's words as the sequel will make appear a little after But if we take these two quotations in their genuine Sense the one that we are Justified by the Righteousness of Christ Only i. e. Wholly without us from the guilt of Sin and the other that this we deny i. e. that we are Justified by the Righteousness which Christ hath fulfilled in his own Person for us wholly without us and boldly affirm it in the Name of the Lord to be the Doctrine of Devils c. it is a perfect inconsistency and contradiction And yet now W. P. doth teach the same Doctrine which formerly he called the Doctrine of Devils without any change of his perswasion as he plainly tells in the conclusion of his Paper This saith he hath all along been the general stream and tendency both of our Ministry and Writings as our books will make appear But what a Forehead of Bras must W. P. have with so great confidence to assert so known an untruth Again the same W. P. in his forecited Serious Apology thus argueth P 148. against Christ's imputative Righteousness Death came by actual Sin not imputative therefore Justification unto Life came by actual Righteousness not imput ative Note Reader If we are not Justified by Christ's imputed which he calls imputative Righteousness as here he asserts
to forgive us as we forgive them then is a Satisfaction Totally excluded And from Acts 10. 9. he concludes so that Remission came by believing his Testimony and obeying his Precepts and not by a Pretended Satisfaction Thus Reader do but observe how Proteus like he changes his shapes one while to argue against any Satisfaction of Christ to God for the Debt of our Sins by which the nature of Christ's propitiatory Sacrifice is wholly destroy'd Another while after he has thrown down Christ's being our Propitiatory Sacrifice without us he sets up an Imaginary Sacrifice of Christ the Lamb slain within the high Priest within Whereas were his Arguments of any force as they are not they would be as much against Christ's being a Propitiation by his Satisfaction to Divine Justice for our Sins within Men as without them In one thing his Cunning is observable though mix'd with horrid Ignorance and Folly and bold Presumption that he makes the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity that distinguisheth betwixt the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost the Doctrine of Christ's Satisfaction and the Doctrine of Justification by Christ's imputed Righteousness so closely joyned together that they fall together if the first of them falls and so he makes his bold attempt against the first that by throwing down the first he may throw down the second and by that means the third and having as he thinks effectually done the business he entitles his Book The Sandy Foundation shaken which is in effect to say The Foundation of the Christian Faith and Religion shaken in order to introduce Deism and Heathenism into Christendom But he shall one day know if he know it not before he dye which God grant that he may that the Foundation he calls The Sandy Foundation is not Sandy but stands on that Rock on which the Church of Christ is built that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against and if he repent not of this Blasphemy which I pray God he may this Rock will grind him to powder There is yet one main thing further that is needful to be noticed in this fourth Section before I leave it and that is That whereas he asserts there is an absolute necessity that we receive and obey to unfeigned Repentance and amendment of Life the Holy Light and Spirit of Jesus Christ in order to obtain that Remission and Justification from Sin for which he cites Rom. 3. 22 to 26. 8. 1 2 3 4. 1 John 5 7. he mentions not one word of the absolute necessity of Faith in Jesus Christ as he outwardly suffered Death for our Sins and thereby became the Propitiation for Sin though he expresly asserts the absolute necessity of Repentance Obedience and amendment of Life and though one of the Scriptures quoted by him in Chapter and Verse viz Rom. 3. 22 to 26. expresly mentions Faith in his Blood for Remission of Sin yet he knowing himself in his own Conscience that he was not for any such necessity of Faith in Christ or in his Blood as above express'd he did purposely omit it And if he or any for him shall say he implied it though he did not express it I say as he did not express it so he did not imply it which I prove from the following Reasons 1. Seeing he not only express'd Repentance but asserted it to be absolutely necessary to Remission of Sin had he thought Faith in Christ as he outwardly died absolutely necessary to our obtaining Remission of Sins no doubt he would have expressed that too either there or some where at least in some of his Books but upon all the search I have made I have not found it any where in his books and indeed very rarely in any of the books of his Brethren 2. But on the contrary I have found that both he and G. W. especially and diverse others as I have proved by Quotations out of their books in my third Narrative have expresly opposed this Faith to wit in Christ as outwardly Crucified and in his blood as outwardly shed by way of Propitiation and satisfaction to Divine Justice for our Sins W. P. in his Quakerism a new Nick-name for old Christianity p. 6. saith Faith in the History of Christ's outward Manifestation is a deadly Poyson these latter Ages has been infected with And in his Rejoynder to John Faldo p. 333. he saith Christ in the Gentiles is a greater Mystery than Christ as he was made manifest in the Flesh It 's strange saith he in opposition to J. F. who asserted like a true Christian That Christ as he was made manifest in the Flesh was a greater Mystery than Christ in the Gentiles that should be counted most mysterious which was the Introduction to the Mystery and these Transactions counted most difficult that were by the Divine Wisdom of God ordained as so many facile Representations of what was to be accomplished in Man And page 335. In short saith he it is to exclude the true Mystery of Godliness which is Christ manifested in his Children Thus we see he makes Christ's Death and Sufferings without us which he calls Transactions as so many facile Representations of what was to be accomplished in Man i. e. of his being Crucified within and his blood inwardly shed and his offering himself inwardly in his Children in the nature of a mediating Sacrifice to appease the Wrath of God Thus also we see how he hath destroyed the great Object of the Christian Faith which is Christ as he was outwardly Crucified being the great Propitiation for our Sins And G. Whitehead his elder Brother in Ignorance and Error hath given him a Copy to write after in his Truth defending the Quakers p. 65. he saith Faith in Christ without Men is contrary to the Apostles Doctrine And p. 66. he saith The Blood of Christ's Humanity the Apostle doth not tell us of Christ's Blood is Spiritual And in his Light and Life p. 56. he saith The Blood of the Covenant is inward and Spiritual P. 59 60. Christ's Blood that was outwardly shed not the Antitype or Substance signified by the Blood of Beasts shed under the Law And p. 8. he saith To look to Christ Crucified at Jerusalem and in Heaven and to be revealed in us by his Spirit is a Contradiction 3. According to that Fundamental Principle laid down by W. P. in his Discourse of the General Rule of Faith and Life he must needs exclude Faith in Christ as he was outwardly born died and rose again not only from being absolutely necessary to our Salvation but from being given to us at all otherwise than barely historically for seeing according to him the Light in every Man only as giving the ordinary Discoveries that all Mankind have is the Rule of Faith to every Man no Man either doth or can believe otherwise than barely historically what the Light within hath not revealed but the Light within as it hath not revealed the Birth Death and Sufferings of
of the written word preached or read which is the Rule of Faith appointed and given us of God for that end and purpose W. P. doth not acknowledge but will needs have it that we receive all our Light from the inward Principle which sometimes he calls Christ at other times the Light of Christ otherwhile as in page 49. a Manifestation in the Soul of Man of Christ the word God the Light of the World c. without all Instrumentality of either the Holy Scriptures or Ministry of Men For to grant any such Instrumentality would quite marr his Notion of the Light within being not only the Guide and Ruler but the Rule it self of Faith and Life to all Mankind and he earnestly opposeth that Faith which is wrought by the outward Ministry of the Word in Preaching or Reading concerning Christ's Death and Sufferings Resurrection and Ascension c. as being but the Historical Faith that must pass away as the old Heavens For if he did grant the necessity of Scripture-Doctrine-Light received from without as well as the necessity of the Spirits internal Light or Illumination in God's ordinary way of working going along with the Doctrine-light of the Scripture there would be no Controversie betwixt the Bishop and him provided he did also grant that there is necessary a special Illumination of Christ by the Holy Spirit to be infused or inspired into the Souls of the Faithful to enable them to take in and understand the Light of the Doctrine of Salvation delivered in the Holy Scriptures Should W. P. own these two great things asserted here by the Bishop the Controversie should be none at all betwixt them but seeing he denies them both and the Bishop affirmeth both the Controversie remaineth great betwixt them and the Bishop hath far the advantage of W. P. that he hath proved his Doctrine from Scripture and thus he fairly distinguisheth Christianity from Deism neither of which W. P. hath done nor ever can do It hath been ordinary in the People called Quakers even their chief Teachers as to deny the Scriptures to be the Word of God so to deny them that is the Doctrine delivered in them to be Light in any Scripture Sense turning all these places of Scripture that mention Light as with respect to Mens Knowledge and Faith to Light within only exclusive of all doctrinal Light of Scripture without as being the Rule of Faith or any necessary means of our Instruction in God's ordinary way of working though it has been God's ordinary way in all Ages by outward means of Doctrine delivered by Men as well as by the Spirits inward Illumination to beget in Men the saving Knowledge and Faith of the things necessary to Salvation the extraordinary Revelation of these Truths without all outward means of Instruction being given only to some singular Persons as the Prophets and Apostles but was never given in any Age to all Mankind nay nor to all the Faithful in any Age for even in the days of the Apostles when Prophetical Inspiration and extraordinary Revelation did most abound in the Church it was not given to all the Faithful but only to some as the Apostle Paul said Do all Prophesie Intimating they did not though a Manifestation of the Spirit was given to every one to profit withall yet that was not the extraordinary Revelation given to the Apostles and Prophets but the ordinary given to the Faithful to enable them to believe and understand what was outwardly taught them by the Apostles and Prophets Words and Writings Having thus taken a view of the Bishop's Christian sound Scriptural Doctrine both of Christ's Light within by the Illumination of the Holy Spirit and of the Scripture Light without as joyntly necessary in God's ordinary way of working to the Faithful the which Scripture Light as in respect of the Doctrine Laws Commands Precepts and Promises of God delivered therein the Bishop hath well proved from Psal 19. 8. Psal 119. 105. Isa 8. 20. and which Scripture-light may in a true sense be called though more remotely the Spirits Light In the next place let us take a view of W. P.'s unchristian and unscriptural Doctrine of the Light within which he saith in his page 48 is with him and his Brethren a Fundamental which one while he calls Christ the Word God another while the Light of Christ a Manifestation in the Soul of Man of Christ the Word God This Light within his great Fundamental as given to all Mankind even to them who have not the Scripture nor any external Revelation of Christ as he outwardly came in the Flesh he will not have it to be the Law of God in the Heart of Man nor the Impressions and Principles which are born and come with us into the World page 50. As the Work is not the Work-man so they are not properly the Light of Christ but the blessed Fruit and Effect of the Light of Christ the word God in Man which shines in the Heart and gives him the Knowledge of God and of his Duty to him so that the innate Notions or inward Knowledge we have of God is from this true Light that lighteth every Man coming into the World but is not that Light if self But why then doth he so confound the Work with the Work-man as one while he tells us the Light within is Christ another while a Manifestation in the Soul of Man of Christ the Word God Is not the Manifestation of Christ in the Soul of Man a Work of Christ How then is it Christ himself the Word God W. P. may remember how his Brother G. W. in his Light and Life recommended by him hath argued against the Body of Christ being Christ for if it were it would have this Sense the Christ of Christ or the Jesus of Jesus which to him is Nonsence Is it not great Nonsence to say The Manifestation of Christ to wit the Act or Effect of his Illumination in the Soul is Christ himself The Body of Christ together with his Soul are constitutive parts of his Manhood Nature personally united to his Godhead and may and do receive the Name of Christ and Jesus as the parts do receive the Name of the whole but the Manifestation of Christ in the Soul of Man is no part of Christ's Manhood nor of his Godhead which hath no parts but is only a Work of Christ in the Soul of Man by which it is enlightned And as the Work supposeth the Work-man or Worker to be present in the Soul to wit Christ considered as the Word God which the Bishop to be sure in the true Sence will acknowledge so the Work-man supposeth the Work as necessary to be wrought in the Soul for Christ as he is the Word God considered simply whither as in himself or as in Men is no Light to Men but as he hath his Work and Operation in them to enlighten them though in and to himself he is Light and Life
of the shining of this Divine Sun in Mens Hearts and which if I well remember W. P. hath some where used in some of his Books but is not too far to be stretched for though the outward Sun shine to all at one time or another yet some parts of the Earth have not that Influence of the Sun that sufficeth to ripen the Fruits of the Earth to sustain Humane Life or preserve from unsupportable Cold as under the North and South Poles and near adjacent parts where scarce ever any of Mankind yet was or could come and no doubt the word God doth in some sort enlighten the Devils and all the Fallen Angels and reproveth them severely for their Sins so that they believe and tremble but is it the Nature of the Divine Word in them to lead out of Sin all such of the Devils and Fallen Angels as love and obey the Convictions thereof Were not this to supponere non suppmendum to suppose what is not to be supposed that any of the Devils or Fallen Angels can love and obey the Convictions thereof And is it not thus also with many Men though they have some real Convictions from the common Illumination of the Divine Word yet barely and meerly by the common Illumination given unto them by the same until God visit with special Illumination and his special Grace and Favour they are held as in Iron Chains and Bonds so that they cannot come out their Prison door is shut they are inclosed in great Darkness even thick Darkness like that of Egypt so that they cannot come out though they have so much Light that shineth in their Darkness as to discover Sin and reprove for it in many particulars yet power is not given them to leave their Sins and come out of them except God visit with some more powerful Visitation of his special Illumination and Grace above what is common to all Mankind The way for W. P. to have proved that this Light in every Man teacheth him sufficiently all that is needful to Salvation had been to have given a more full description of the Light within than he hath given and then made Application as thus The Light within whom ever it enlightneth with a saving Illumination that fully sufficeth to guide to Salvation without any superadded Illumination differing in specie only allowing the necessity of greater Degrees in the same specie it not only discovereth Sin to them convinceth and reproveth for it and woundeth the Heart and Conscience with the Sense of God's Judgment and Wrath and Curse due for Sin but sheweth them the Remedy the Lord Jesus Christ as he died for our Sins and by his Death on the Cross became the Propitiation for our Sins and is now the Propitiation for us as he is in Heaven at God's right Hand in the true Nature of Man ever living to make Intercession for us But all this the Light within doth by the common Illumination in every Man therefore c. But W. P. knowing that he could not affirm this of the Light within as only enlightning by the common Illumination fallaciously after his ordinary manner leaves out the chief Matter which was that the Light within every Man not only discovers to every Man his Sin but discovers the great Remedy to wit Christ the Propitiation for Sin by whom the Guilt and Curse due for Sin is taken away from all such as sincerely believe in him which sincere Faith is always accompanied with sincere Repentance and new Obedience Section 10. His Fallacy in making as if it were an Article of his Faith that we are justified from the Guilt of Sin by Christ the Propitiation that Faith being neither grounded upon the common Illumination given to all Mankind which discovers not that Faith nor upon inward extraordinary Revelation which he confesseth is not given to him or his Brethren nor upon any external Revelation in the Scripture which he denieth to be the Rule of Faith The Historical Faith grounded upon the external Revelation in the Scripture concerning Christ the Propitiation his Birth Death and Sufferings of no value with him His and his Brethrens Pretence of being assisted by the Holy Spirit to Pray Praise and Preach generally understood in Matter of Fact proved False His and their unsound and unscriptural way of Preaching the way to the Kingdom They do not Preach the Necessity of Faith in Christ Crucified for Remission of Sin for Regeneration and eternal Salvation For the manner of Preaching the Necessity of this Faith W. Penn accused G. K. at Ratcliff Meeting to be an Apostate and at the Yearly Meeting at London some time before in the Year 1694 he accused him to Friends of the Ministry for bringing in a new Method of Preaching Christ without among Friends in order to Regeneration His Arguments against Baptism and the Supper answered in the Book called The Arguments of the Quakers against Baptism and the Supper examined and refuted AND though he makes it as it were an Article of his Faith and one of his Gospel Truths Sect. 4. that we are only justified from the Guilt of Sin by Christ the Propitiation yet it is a notorious Fallacy and Juggle How is it an Article of their Faith As it is an Historical Faith neither grounded upon the common Illumination which discovers no necessity of any such Faith nor upon extraordinary Revelation and special Illumination which is not necessary nor is given to him by his plain Concession but upon the outward History or Letter of the Scripture but alas this Historical Faith is so far from being of any valuable account with W. P. that he hath told us it is as the old Heavens that must pass away and belike is passed away from his long since though to deceive the World he would seem still to hold it for he hath said concerning it in his Quakerism a new Nick-name far Old Christianity Page 6. Faith in the History of Christ's outward Manifestation is a deadly Poison these latter Ages has been infected with In his 7th and 8th Sections he proceedeth with the like fallacy telling us how he and his Brethren are prepared and assisted by this principle in Praying Praising and Preaching to others the way of God's Kingdom as they wait in their Assemblies to feel God's Spirit to open and move upon their Hearts that they may Preach in Power as well as in words and that they thus wait before they dare offer Sacrifice to the Lord. How far this is false in matter of Fact is well enough known to their own Consciences and the unsound words they most frequently use both in Preaching and Praying is a plain Demonstration of it that they are not generally acted or moved by the Spirit of God in their Prayings or Preachings If the manner of their Praying and Preaching is as the manner of their Writing which they will say is the same for they as commonly pretend to write by the Motion of the Spirit of
God as to Preach and Pray by it But can it be supposed that Men are acted or moved by the Spirit of God to bring forth so many false Doctrines vile Heresies and Errors and gross Untruths and Fallacies and uncharitable Judgments and Perversions of their Opponents words as they commonly do in their writings generally But what way to the Kingdom do they Preach Possibly they will say Christ who said he was the way But how do they Preach him to be the way Just as W. P. hath here and elsewhere Preached him in Print to wit as the Word God and the Light within whose Nature is to discover Sin and lead out of it all such who Love and obey the Convictions of it and that only and alone by the common Illumination which by W. P's confession discovers nothing of Christ as he became a Propitiation for our Sins by his Death on the Cross The great subject of the Apostles Preaching was Christ Crucified and remission of Sin by Faith in him and how all Spiritual Blessings yea the gift of the Holy Spirit himself comes to us by the Crucified Jesus and Faith in him but little or nothing of this sort of Preaching is to be found either in your Meetings or Books but much against it though to cover your Vile Errors you will now and then seem to own it but forgetting your selves quickly disown it all again Yea W. P. knoweth in his Conscience how both publickly and privately he hath blamed me and charged me with my being an Apostate for my asserting the necessity of Friends Preaching this Faith to wit in Christ as he dyed for our Sins c. as being absolutely necessary to Regeneration for us to have this Faith and to know and experience Christ formed in us and to live dwell and Rule in us For this my Christian Testimony he charged me at Ratcliff Meeting that I did what in me lay to pluck up the Testimony of Truth by the Roots And at the Yearly Meeting at Grace-Church-street in the Year 1694 he stood up and accused me before some hundred Friends of them called the Ministry and others that I was seeking to bring in a New method of Preaching among Friends which was to Preach Christ without and the necessity of Faith in him in order to bring People to the knowledge and experience of the new Birth and Christ in them as he dwells in the Saints And also he knows in his Conscience when and where and to whom he hath accused me for Preaching Christ without in opposition to Christ within which God knoweth I never did And therefore in his so doing he hath falsly accused me though his and his Brethrens false Notions of Christ within as above explained I have opposed and by God's help shall oppose and witness against while I live But the true Scripture sense of Christ within as the Word God and of Christ the Word made Flesh without us who is still but one Christ and of his sufficiency to our Salvation both as without us and within us without us as he came to procure and purchase it for us by his Blood and Merits and within us by his Spiritual appearance and special Illumination of the Holy Spirit in the use of the outward means to apply it to us and to work the blessed and glorious effect of it in us I have owned and still hope to own it to the end of my days As for W. P's Arguments against Baptism and the Supper as outwardly administred I know not one of them but I have fully answered that may seem to require an answer and many more in my late Book called The Arguments of the Quakers against Baptism and the Supper Examined and Refuted which he ought more particularty to have answered being so particularly concerned than to have brought them up again as if they had been new Dishes which are nothing but the Old after some Fashion new dressed If the Bishop thinks fit to notice them he may for me to meddle with them were but Actum agere to do what I have already done Section 11. His uncivil Treatment of the Bishop of Cork as if he were Ignorant of Regeneration and the way how it is wrought The Bishop has soundly and Christianly explained the Doctrine of Regeneration and the way how it is wrought W. P's great Fallacy in his definition of Regeneration and the way how it is wrought His Fallacy in seeming to agree to the Bishop's Assertion from that Text Rom. 10. 9. His Fallaeious Argument that because the Spirit Leads and Rules therefore the Spirit is the Rule detected the Ruler and the Rule distinct The great Blessing and Advantage of the Scriptures being a means to preserve us by the Grace of God and assistance of his Holy Spirit from Satan's Delusions and Impostures IN his 26th Page he saith I think nothing makes a Man a true Christian but Regeneration the Power of the Son of God revealed in the Soul converting it to God And in his P. 29 he saith I would have my Reader reflect well upon this great and Essential Truth Tho he were as Big as a Bishop Reader what thinkst thou of this Uncivil Proud and Disdainful Treatment But so far as I understand W. P. sheweth himself as if he were much more big than a Bishop he treats the Modest and humble Bishop as if he were one of his meanest subjects But for all W. P's pretence to be so Skilful in that great and essential Truth of the necessity of Regeneration and the manner and way of its being wrought above and beyond the Bishop the Bishop has beyond all doubt in his short Testimony in three or four lines on that Head made it evident that he understands the Mystery of Regeneration and the manner how it is wrought better than W. P. for all his Big and Lordly thoughts he has of himself and for all his Big talk of the new Creature and Self-denial there is great a deal more of it in his Books than in his Life But mark how W. P. describes the manner how Regeneration is wrought That it is by the power of the Son of God revealed in the Soul converting it to God which are such general words and terms and true when taken in a true Scripture sense that not only every Bishop but every Curate of the Church of England and every ordinary Christian can say the same But under these general Words W. P. hideth a great Fallacy what doth W. P. mean by the power of the Son of God revealed in the Soul converting it to God No other thing but the power of the common Illumination of the Light within given to Infidel Jews Mahometans and all moral Heathens who if they are but meer Just Men according to W. P's Gospel and System of Divinity they are Regenerated Persons though they have no special Illumination of the Holy Spirit giving them any inward and spiritual knowledge and Faith of the Son of
God as the word Incarnate or word made Flesh and as he was Miraculously conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Blessed Virgin dyed for our Sins and rose again None of all this doth the common and ordinary discoveries of the Light within teach W. P. and his Brethren and yet this is all he sets up in order to bring People to the work of Regeneration and to become the Sons of God Not only the Bishop but the meanest Curate in his Diocess I charitably think can give a better account according to Scripture of the manner how Regeneration is wrought in Men to wit by receiving Christ through a lively Faith wrought in them by the Spirit and Power of the Son of God inwardly revealed in them and by the Doctrine of Christ outwardly Preached in God's ordinary way and believing in his Name according to all his Offices viz. his prophetical priestly and Kingly Office The Faith and perswasion of the great Love of God in giving his Son to dye for us and of the great Love of Christ who gave himself for us inwardly revealed in us not by the common Illumination given to Heathens but by special Illumination of Christ in our Hearts perswading us of the truth and certainty of the Scriptures Doctrine and Testimony concerning this Love works that change in us that the Scripture calls Regeneration or the New Creature for thus the Scripture witnesseth John 1. 12. To as many as received him he gave them Power to become the Sons of God even to as many as believed in his Name And this believing in his Name was not only a believing his inward appearance or Light in them but by special Illumination and operation of his mighty power in them believing in him as he outwardly came in the Flesh dyed for our Sins and rose again as our King Priest and Prophet without us as well as the Light within or Word God within us as Paul testified ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus Gal. 3. 26. to wit as outwardly Crucified and raised again And as John testified 1. John 5. 1. Whosoever believeth to wit with a sincere Faith that Jesus even that very Jesus that was born of Mary is the Christ is born of God But none of all this Faith doth W. P. think necessary to Regeneration or Eternal Salvation for otherwise it would exclude all his Deist Brethren and moral Just Men among Jews and Mahometans and Heathens from being Regenerate Persons and his sort of Christians whereas the Bishop hath plainly owned the necessity of this Faith to Regeneration and eternal Salvation in his sound but short Christian Testimony and W. P. taken notice of it and seems but most fallaciously to agree to it in his Page 44. In the first part of his note saith W. P. I agree with him that all who rightly believe the Text Rom. 10. 9. Will be Saved for that must be by the Illumination and working of the saving Power of Christ in the Heart that he can so believe Here W. P. and the Bishop would seem to agree for no doubt the Bishop doth so believe But O the stupendious fallacy of W. P. in this very thing All that Rightly believe the Text Rom. 10. 9. Will be Saved But what if they do not believe it at all or but only Historically and in the mean time Love and obey the convictions and common discoveries of the Light within given generally to Heathens according to W. P. they are Regenerated and shall be saved Can there be a greater fallacy and greater Jesuitical Equivocation under Heaven The Illumination and Working of the saving Power of Christ in the Heart he will have it to be none other either in him or any of his Brethren or any else but the common Illumination that every Heathen hath or may have which yet he confesseth discovereth nothing of Christ as he outwardly dyed and rose again that discovery belonging to extraordinary Revelation as he acknowledgeth and yet pretends not to have any such thing In his 150th Page he thus Argueth That which Leads Rules and that which Rules is a Rule to them that follow it But the Spirit Leads Rom. 8. ergo c. It is just such a Sophism as this That which ploweth is the Plow but the Plow-Man Ploweth therefore the Plow-Man is the Plow This is a piece of dull Sophistry and shews W. P. to be no very good Logician But further to shew his Sophistry by an Argumentum ad Hominem that which Rules is a Rule to them that follow it But W. P's Justices of Peace in Pensilvania Rule the People there and so doth his Deputy Governour Ergo he and they are the Rule to that People But then what need of any Laws It seems when Governour Penn goes over to Pensilvania because he is to Rule them he must be their Rule also Stat pro ratione voluntas his Will and not the Laws established by the general Assemblies of that Province must be the Rule according to which he proposeth to Rule them Can any King on Earth be more Arbitrary It hath pleased God Almighty whose Will is most Holy and Just for ever to give us an External Revelation of his Will concerning our whole Duty and that as well to us under the New Testament as to them under the Old and that that External Revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures setting aside some Ceremonial precepts and some other peculiar to the Jewish Nation should be our general Rule to instruct us both what to believe and what to do and this partly to give example to all Kings and Governments to do the like as all good and pious Kings and Governours have done viz. To give forth Laws and publickly to have them recorded that the People may have the due notice of them and regard to them and partly to prevent the Delusions and Impostures of Deceivers and Spirits of Delusions who would wonderfully prevail to deceive the Professors of Christianity were there no outward Rule of Faith and Life established by God himself one would pretend his Revelation and another his and Thousands of contradictory Revelations would daily appear and deceive many were it not for the established Rule of God's Will and Word outwardly revealed and recorded in the Holy Scriptures It 's true there are too many Deceptions still and Deceivers and all pretending that their Doctrine is conformable to the Holy Scriptures But notwithstanding so long as the publick Standard of God's Holy Word and Will remains with us in the Holy Scriptures they are a sufficient Armory to us by the Grace of God and assistance of his Holy Spirit out of which to bring sufficient Armour both to withstand and overcome all Heresies and pernicious Doctrines Nor would W. P's Fundamental Principle of bringing all to the General Rule of the common and ordinary Discoveries of the Light within given to all Mankind be any Remedy in the case for besides
them It is at best but the Old Heavens that are to be wrapped up as a Scrowl as he saith expresly in his conclusion near the end of his Book called A Discourse concerning the general Rule c. And in his Book called Quakerism a new Nick-name for Old Christianity P. 6. he saith Faith in the History of Christ's outward manifestation is a deadly Poyson these latter Ages has been insected with 9. Seeing the Scriptures are uncertain with respect to all those extraordinary discoveries upon the foundation of all others who are not Quakers as W. P. argueth expresly and can only be certain to such as have inward extraordinary Revelation of those things which W. P. confesseth are not needful P. 32. and are not given to the people called Quakers more than to others it necessarily follows according to W. P's Doctrine that the Faith of all those Doctrines concerning Adam's fall and Christ's Birth Death and Sufferings is uncertain as well to the Quakers as other because as he affirmeth the Scriptures that give the account of those things are uncertain unless upon the ground of inward extraordinary Revelation which neither the Quakers nor any others now have 10. Seeing therefore no Men in our days have these extraordinary discoveries given them by inward Divine Revelation such as the Prophets had concerning Adam's fall and Christ's Birth Death and Sufferings and many other things in controversie betwixt the Socinians and Trinitarians the Arians and Homousians Jews and Christians Papists and Protestants which cannot be certain to us and whereof we can have no certain Faith without inward divine Revelation which is given to none in our days as touching these things it is best to leave all asserting of them or disputing about them because we have no certainty of the truth of them by the common discoveries of the Light within that is the general Rule of Faith and Life 11. Whatever we read or hear read or Preached to us with Scripture proofs do not further oblige us to believe or practise them but as the common and ordinary discoveries given to all Mankind as well as to us Teach the same things Although we may Historically believe these extraordinary things concerning Adam and Christ above mentioned as we believe other Historical things yet we are under no obligation to believe them by any command of God nor is the not believing them our Sin because they fall not within the ordinary discoveries of the Light within given universally to Mankind which are the Rule of our Faith and Life and of all Mankind and we have no certainty of them and therefore we are under no Obligation to believe them 13. The common and ordinary discoveries given to all Mankind by the Light within are these which Paul calls the Work of the Law writ in the Heart and which some of the Ancients Philosophers called the Noble precepts writ in the Heart of Man and which W. P. calleth the Eternal precepts of the Spirit in the Conscience and the Testimony of the Spirit which he saith is the true Rule viz. of Faith and Life universally given to us and all Mankind P. 14. and 25. 14. These common and ordinary discoveries of the Light within given to all Mankind are but few such as that God is that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him That the way of God is a way of Purity Patience Meekness c. without which no Man shall see the Lord These and none other but these and such like common and ordinary discoveries given to all Mankind by the Light within concerning general Piety towards God as a Creator and Moral Justice and Temperance towards Men are the absolute Necessaries of Religion necessary to be believed and practised by us for Salvation 15. One great use of this Doctrine of W. P. and his Brethren if he and they can be believed is that it would bring all Men to be of one Religion by their Belief and Practise of these few things of Moral Piety and Justice according to the common and ordinary Discoveries given to all Mankind 16. This one Religion is Deisin which how much soever undervalued by false Christians whose Faith is Historical in a Christ without them is all one with true Christianity they are but two Names to one and the same thing as every true Christian is a true Deist so every true Deist is a true Christian for he who believes in God believes in Christ because Christ is God And what is Christ but Justice Meekness Patience saith W. P. Address to Protest p. 119. 2d Edit therefore every Just Meek and Patient Man is the true Christian be he a professed Infidel concerning Jesus of Nazareth Jew Mahometan or Pagan The meer Just Man ought not to be excluded the Communion of Christians saith he 17. Another great use of this Doctrine of W. P. is as he thinks that it would if duly improved put an end to all the Controversies and Heats among all Perswasions not only of those called Christians of all sorts as Papists and Protestants Arians and Homousians Socinians and Trinitarians which four he expresly mentions P. 45. but even betwixt Jews and Christians notwithstanding of their professed Unbelief as concerning Jesus of Nazareth and betwixt Mahometans and Christians by the same reason so that they may own another to be their Christian Brethren 18. And seeing the Name Christian is offensive to Jews and Mahometans it may be laid aside as also the Names Jesus and Christ for it is not the outward Name of any thing that saveth nor doth the Light within Men by its common discovery teach them that Name And because many are dissatisfied to call the Light within Christ and Jesus as Socinians Jews and Mahometans and many others of those called Christians let it suffice to call it by the name Light which is owned by all and is offensive to none and all may be called Deists or Professors of the Light within 19. And ieeing many also are dissatisfied to say or think that the Light within every Man is God or any Supernatural and Divine Principle but think it is nothing other but Conscience or the natural Light of Man's Reason let that Dispute also come to an end for Men may agree about the common Dictates and Discoveries of it though they agree not about the Nature and Essence of it so as to know what it is they shall have the Benefit of it to be happy by obeying it though they know not what it is as the Plow-man has the same Benefit that the best Philosopher has of the Sun in the Firmament though he knows not what the Sun is either for Substance Quantity or Quality 20. One great Pinch and Difficulty in the case is certainly to know the just Extent and Number of the common Discoveries of the Light within given to all Mankind as whither the same number of those eternal Precepts and Laws writ in every Man's Heart be given to all Men and whither some of those which W. P. will say are the Dictates of the Light within Men universally will not be denied by others even of his Brethren to be the Dictates of the Light within as particularly whither attesting the Name of God in worldly matters when controverted is condemned by the Light within Whither Self-defence by carnal Weapons be against the Dictates of the Light within for many of his Brethren think both are not Whither all G. F's Orders about outward things opposed by many Quakers are the Dictates of the Light within with respect to its ordinary Discoveries and whither the Quakers especially G. F. have not set up for some new Revelations and Commands beside the common Discoveries of the Light within though they have rejected the external Revelations and Commands of Christ in the Scripture that are not taught them by the common Discoveries of the Light within Christian Reader I have set before thee this short View of W. P's and his Brethrens Dejsm and Scepticism not to approve of it but that thou with all good Christians should with the greatest Abhorrency loath and detest it That this is a true Account of W. P's and his Brethrens Principles and necessary Consequences therefrom I offer to prove to his or their Faces before any Impartial Auditory George Keith London the 17th of the 3d Month 1699. FINIS See his Discourse of The General Rule of Faith ad finem