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A51023 Mr. George Keiths reasons for renouncing Quakerism, and entering into communion with the Church of England with other remarkable occurrences that will be acceptable to all orthodox Christians, of every persuasion. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 1700 (1700) Wing M2265A; ESTC R32938 22,833 38

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my forwardness should give them Offence in thinking I did it without such a religious Consideration and Preparation as was requisite before Receiving those Holy Mysteries That through Mercy being also much removed I became uneasie to delay that longer which I was convinced was my indispensable Duty and declared I would receive it at the first opportunity and accordingly did receive it as has been before related And heartily wish that all others who are under the same Delusions and Prejudices in which I too long continued would follow my Example and be made partakers of the same inward Peace and Satisfaction which through Mercy I enjoy in the Communion of the Church of England To conclude Another Reason why I deserted the Quakers was because I am able through Mercy to prove That they do not believe One Article of the Apostle's Creed in the true Sense of Scripture and all Orthodox Christians in the whole World and that all their Teachers pretences to Infallibility and extraordinary Prophetical Inspirations are all Artifice and Delusion which joined to the Errors Heresies and Blasphemy already mentioned will sufficiently justifie my leaving them Now what remains in this short account of my Change is to give you the Reasons why among all the Pretenders to the best reformed Church I have at last enter'd into Communion with the Church of England in which I shall use all the Brevity imaginable Now as nothing so much concerned me as the Salvation of my Soul and in order to that the choice of my Religion so I exerted all my Care in examining things conducing to it that I might be able to give account to others and have satisfaction in my self that my Religion was not the Effect of Chance but espoused upon a deliberate and well-advised Choice which I take to be the regular Method towards a Settlement Men may indeed be Confident but can never be Certain without Knowledge a diligent Examination of the Things proposed to their Consideration And this made me more in love with the Church of England that does not require a blind Obedience but is contented her Doctrines should be examined by the clearest Light in which I could largely expatiate in her Commendation and the Reproof of others that withhold the means of Instruction from their Members and boast of an absolute Infallibility which they have no pretence to but I hasten to the Reasons that obliged me to close with the Church of England And the first was because in Purity of Doctrine and Discipline the comes nearest to the Pattern of Primitive Christianity ● She retains the Three Creeds and does not reject the first General Councils and administers the Sacraments according to the Divine Prescription All her Children pray in a Tongue they understand and only to God through Jesus Christ This Church presses Men to Piety Loyalty Humility and Charity and earnestly desires the Salvation of Mankind She Preaches up the Excellency of Good Works but places her hope in the Mercy of God and the Mercy of his Son and every one that lives up to the Principles of this Religion are Safe and Happy Secondly Because in the main Articles of Faith the whole Church is of one mind and have as much Unity in Faith among them as they had in the first Churches planted by the Apostles themselves And their Differences are in lesser and secondary things which have no relation to the Primitive Doctrines of Christian Religion Which who ever opposes they disown him and look upon as in a Faction against the Church which is not thereby broken nor the Unity of its Faith destroyed For though some Men have preached strange Doctrines and drawn Disciples after them which is no more than they did in Apostles days yet they have not prevailed against this Church nor overturned its Faith And if some looser Part of the People have been carried away yet the Body of the Church like an unmovable Rock still persists in as great Unity as was antiently in any of the Apostolical Churches and that is abundantly sufficient to invite us to Conformity with it and Perseverance in it Thirdly Another Reason that induced me to embrace the Religion professed in the Church of England was Because she maintains the Scriptures to be the Word of God the Rule of Faith the Judge of Controversies and the Guide of Humane Life so that if we consult our Reasons use our Eyes and mind our Rule we cannot miscarry To this Rule St. Paul sends Timothy for Instruction and commands him to give attendance to Reading viz. the Holy Scriptures which he had known from a Child and which were able to make him wise to Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus They being given by Inspiration of God that even a Man of God like the antient Prophets might be perfected and throughly furnished unto all good Works for every part of his Employment St. Paul directs him to these Holy Writings as a means to preserve him in the Christian Belief ver 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast le●●ned and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them and that from a Child thou hast learned the Holy Scriptures c. What we have learned from them we are assured of we know from whom they come and are certain we are taught of God when we read these holy Books But cannot be assured of any other Tradition or pretended Revelation of the Spirit and therefore ought to continue stedfast in our adherence to the Scriptures and both to suspect those who would draw us from this hold and stick to those Guides who bid us stick to this and prove all things by it for it is evident that they have no mind to deceive us but do in effect bid us believe God and follow his Directions and rely upon his Authority Who cannot mislead us and will not suffer us to be misled if we continue in the things which we have learned out of the Holy Scriptures For taking them to be our Rule we shall neither admit any thing which is contrary to that Rule nor shall we take any thing to be an essential part of the Christian Faith which is not there delivered unto us For it is not consistent with the Notions we have of God's Infinite Goodness and Wisdom to believe he would give us a Rule which is defective in necessary things No he hath abundantly provided here for our Instruction in all such Matters And as we ought to refuse that which contradicts any part of these holy Books so we ought not to think it necessary that we should entertain any thing which they do not teach us And teach us plainly and evidently for in all necessary things they are very clear and perspicuous else they could not be a Rule unto us but we must seek for some other The Apostles Creed for instance which the Antients call the immovable Rule of Faith a short Summary of Christian Faith beyond which as they speak we ought not to seek for Faith together with the Nice Creed and Athanasius's which expound the Apostles Ought throughly to be received and believed for that they may be proved by most certain Warrants of Holy Scriptures But whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to required of any Man that it should be believed a● an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation This is the Doctrine of the Church of England in its Sixth and Eighth Articles unto which let us strictly keep if we would not be carried to and fro uncertainly with the Blasts of vain Doctrines which have no certain Warrant in the Holy Scriptures and therefore are not to be Received or are contrary to them and therefore are to be Rejected Here we must fix and believe that here we are safe For the Scriptures want nothing to compleat us in Christian Wisdom which they do not wrap up in Obscurity but as far as is needful give us a clear understanding of the Doctrines of Faith And make us understand withal if we please to consider them that having laid our Foundation well in a firm Belief of those great and necessary things which out of the Scriptures are summed up in the Creeds before named we need not trouble our selves about other Matters which are not so evident but make it our whole Business in this World to raise the solid Superstructure of a Holy Life upon the Foundation of Faith in Christ The last Reason I shall mention at this time is That this Church has not suited her Doctrines to advance any secular Interests but her Religion is Heavenly in its Principle and Pure in its Aim disdaining to stoop to mean Arts for Wealth and Worldly Dignities Religion was designed as the greatest Blessing to Mankind and the Author of the Christian was a great Lover of humane Race in conformity to whose blessed Example this Holy Church cancels none of our Obligations to God or Man but teacheth the absolute Necessity of Contrition and Repentance and Mortification of our Lusts to Obey our Superiors to Love God and our Neighbours to follow Justice Mercy and Peaceableness To be Charitable to the Poor and to do to all Men as we would they should do by us To use no Craft or Equivocations but to be Sincere in all our Actions and Professions to live in Kindness Civility and under the firmest Obligation to a true and lasting Friendship And if any of the Quakers think fit to oppose these Doctrines they may promise themselves an Answer FINIS