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A58145
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Robert Bridgman's Reasons for leaving the Quakers, (upon examination) proved unreasonable being only a demonstration of his envy. By W. Rawlinson.
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Rawlinson, William.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing R370; ESTC R217967
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22,497
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49
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Words Three Persons or Three Hypostases have made great Contention in former times and divers judged to be Pious and Learned Men have denied them and disputed against them as namely Jerome against the Three Hypostases and Augustine disputed solidly Lib. 5. 7. de Trinitate That the Words Three Persons are not properly applicable to the Mystery it self although he doth not know what other Names to give them And surely it is too great Presumption and Curiosity in any Man to dive further into this Mystery than what God hath been pleased to reveal or to give Names to it and yet it is more Presumption and smelleth rankly of a Persecuting Spirit to impose upon others these words which the Spirit of God hath not Taught nor left upon Record in the Scriptures and yet because we do not own these Word 's of Man's Wisdom and Spirit to cry out against us as Blasphemers and Deniers of the true Christ whereas we the Quakers believe in and own the true Christ more according both to his Godhead and Manhood more according to the Truth and the Testimony of the Scripture than our Accusers do as I hope in its due place to shew And in p. 87. saith Nor indeed is there any need of these Terms Three Distinct Persons but rather they darken than explain the Mystery which have occasioned not only some of the Vulgar but even some of them called the Learned to Err grosly in their Conceptions about the Mystery it self sure I am they are in an Error occasioned in great part by these unsound and unscriptural Terms of Three Persons in the Trinity for Persons signifies Substances and not the Modes or Properties of One Substance Thus Keith when a Quaker spoke truly of the Quakers tho' now he acts in a contrary Line These Men must be acknowledged to be either Insincere formerly or else they are Insincere now For as we were we are if we were Erroneous then Keith was Insincere for declaring us Orthodox If we are Orthodox Keith is Insincere now for declaring us Heterodox Nor is it in this one Particular for if it might be of Service I believe I could make it appear that he has declared us in all our Principles Orthodox Here in this one Particular we may observe how zealously he Defends our Consciencious Scruple not only by the Authority of these Fathers but also from the Unscripturalness and ill Consequences of such Terms withal fully declaring our Sincere Belief in the Holy Three which may be sufficient to shew we are Sound in Faith touching the Trinity so called I shall not for Brevity's sake say any more to Vindicate our consciencious Scrupling these Words and Terms used by R. B. to express these Mysteries by but shall proceed to shew by a Quotation or two that we are Sound in the Faith touching the Doctrines themselves out of that Book which is generally received by the Society But by this as we do not at all intend either to equal our selves to that Holy Man the Lord Jesus Christ who was Born of the Virgin Mary in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells Bodily nor to destroy the Reality of his present Existence so neither do we as some have falsly callumniated us For though we affirm that Christ dwells in us yet not Immediately but Mediately as he is in that Seed which is in us whereas he to wit the Eternal Word which was with God and was God dwelt Immediately in that Holy Man He then is as the Head and we as the Members he the Vine we the Branches so God dwells otherwise in the Man Jesus than in us We also freely reject the Heresie of Apolinarius who denied him to have any Soul but said The Body was only acted by the Godhead As also the Error of Eutiches who made the Manhood to be wholly swallowed up of the Godhead Wherefore as we believe he was a true and a real Man so we also believe that he continues so Glorified in the Heavens in Soul and Body by whom God shall Judge the World in the great and general Day of Judgment Neither do we hereby intend any ways to Lessen or Derogate from the Atonement and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ but on the contrary do Magnifie and Exalt it For as we believe all those things to have been certainly translated which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures concerning the Birth Life Miracles Sufferings Resurrection and Ascention of Jesus Christ so we do believe that it is the Duty of every one to believe it to whom it pleaseth God to reveal the same and to bring to them the Knowledge of it Yea we believe it were Damnable Unbelief not to believe when so declared nevertheless as we do firmly believe it was necessary that Christ should come that by his Death and Sufferings he might offer up himself a Sacrifice to God for our Sins who his own self bare our Sins in his own Body on the Tree so we believe that the Remission of Sins which any partake of is only in and by Vertue of that most satisfactory Sacrifice and no otherwise for it is by the Obedience of that One that the free Gift is come upon all to Justification Barclay's Apol. 334.335 Thus having given these Quotations of our Faith by which it doth evidently appear how falsly this R. Bridgman hath insinuated against us as well as the Soundness of our Faith is sufficiently declared I shall now proceed and be more Brief because what he offers in the main is but Trifling He adds That without the true Faith of them we cannot be saved which true Faith he acknowledges ought to be wrought by the Operation of the Spirit I would hope since he belteves it of so great Concernment he will take care for one or else notwithstanding all his other Performances and going to Church he is like to remain still Ignorant of the true Faith of them besides how can he be fully assured whether he has the true Faith of them wrought by the Spirit without sticking to his Quaker-Principle of Immediate Revelation I would see this R. Bridgman and G. Keith to give over playing upon words which is only a trying of Skill If they would betake themselves like Sampson to the great Pillars of our Religion our known and acknowledged Principles this were far more Manly than raising up a Man of Straw to Fight with for then if they could overthrow them it would render them Sampsons indeed Now G. K. when a Quaker accounted Immediate Revelation as stated in his Book on that Subject and the Universal Principle of Light and Grace which Principle he States and Proves in his Books The Universal Free Grace of the Gospel asserted the two great Principles or Pillars of our Religion as differing from other Societies of Christians therefore Oh ye mighty Men to work R. B. proceeds to Teach of what necessity it is to every one to be rightly inform'd concerning those above-mentioned Doctrines adding