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A48945
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A letter from the most ingenious Mr. Lodowick Rhode-Island, Febr. 1, 1691-2.
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Ludovici, C. (Christian), 1660-1728.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing L2813; ESTC W13455
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5,360
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10
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their Lords Supper and he that fully understands what they mean by their Light and by their Life may understand their whole Divinity The Semi-foxians finding this Doctrine to be too Gross and that God is Indivisible and Immortal and cannot be Crucisied Slain and Raised from Death will not say that the Inward Condemner is a measure of the uncreate Eternal Spirit but they say 't is a create or rather Emanated Being Emanated from God in the beginning before all things VIZ. A measure of the Esâ—ence of the Heavenly Man which they generally call the Light and Spirit of Jesus Christ and the purchase of his Death R. Barclay saith in his Apology p. 87. that it is a Measure of the Heavenly Body of Christ and that every unrighteouss Action is Reproved by it But G. Kieth on his Way cast up will have it to be the Neshamah of the Heavenly Man extended into us And consequently their pretended inward Motions immediate Inspirations Illuminations and Revelations are not Immediately from God but mediately either thro' the Body or Soul of a feigned Man and by this is also their inward Justification Sanctification and Regeneration This is their Divine Essâ—ntial Principle which they so often speak of and sometimes call the Seed Grace and Word of God and R. B. saith that it is the Manifestation of the Spirit spoken of 1. Cor. 12.7 the seed of the Kingdom Math. 13.18 19. the Light that maketh all things manifest Eph. 5.13 the word of God Ro. 10.18 the Talent Math. 25 15. the little Leaven the Gospel preached in every Creature Col. 1 23. and he is offended with them that call it a Natural Conscience He saith that if this Seed be reciâ—ved into the Heart to bring forth iâ—â—â— Effects Christ cometh to be formed of it which the Scripture calls the New Man Christ within the hope of Glory In this Birth or Formation of Christ within us and working his works in us and powring his Blood into our Souls he places our formal Justification which he explains to be all one with Sanctification viz. A making righteous inwardly and tho' he grants that Remission of sins was only purchased â—y vertue of Christs Sacri fice without us yet he saith that they may come to partake or it that are ignorant of the History of Christ for he asserts that by the operation of this Light and Seed some have been and may yet be saved to whom the Gospel is not outwardly Preached nor the History of Christ outwardly known because they have with all other men a day of Visitation in which God offers to work this Salvation by the Measure of a saving sufficient supernatural Right given to every man which all are to believe in as he would infer from Joh. 12 36. G. Keith writes in hi Way to the City of God to the same purpose And you may see by G. Keiths Books how they have framed their Doctrine Concerning Christ according to this their Hypothesis â—orrowing several of their Notions out of the Writings of some Rabbies among the Eastern Jews Translated into Latin by a Learned Noble Man in Germany whose Children I Tutored some years agoe But if the Rabbies Aensoph â—e according to the Semi-foxians the Father Word and Holy Ghost as they say and the Aensoph's having clothed himself with the Mâ—nhood called Adam Cadmon be the Word 's being made Flesh then according to them not only the Word but also the Father and Holy Ghost were made Flesh This and many other Absurdities follow from G. Keiths assertion that the Word was made Flesh in the beginning and that this Flâ—â—h is the Rabbies Adam Cadmon And these Cabbalistiâ—al Semi-foxians seem to expect that their heavenly Adam Cadmon in the Body assumed of Mary shall come from Heaven to Judgement and that then there shall be a Resurrection â—ut of the Graves and G. K. doth also believe that at his coming there will be the 1000 Years-Reign which is more then I ever heard any one called a Quaker affirm And because G. Keith as he told me last Summer favours the Twelve Revolutions or Transmigrations of our Souls whereof R. Jischack a whimsical Jew in the Eastern Countries who pretended to Revelations hath written most largely which notion he perhaps learned of some of the Turks in some of those parts who greatly favour the Pyâ—â—agorean Metempsychosis therefore he is of late very fickle concerning the Resurrection-body for he told me last Summer that this our Flesh which goes into the grave shall not rise again but there is an Invisible Bone dispersed thro' the Body called by the Cabbalists Luz which is the Seed Sown unto which God shall give a Spiritual Body and he said that he asked some of the Jews in these parts what Luz signified and they because they understood nothing of that Cabbala and perhaps knowing that the word Luz in the Portugal and Spanish Tongue signifieth Light told him it mean Light and so G. Keith is hugely pleased with the fancy of it and thinks it suteth bravely with their Light and Seed And when I told him that the Cabbalists said that this Invisible Bone is only a Small Bone in the back he answered that Wise men would not tell all at once I suppose also that he believes that honest Pagans at some of their Revolutions receive the knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth according to his late absurd Notion are then perfectly Justified and Saved as if Justification admitted of Magis and Minus I asked him last Summer how any such Gentile could be actually justified and saved from wrath before he be pardoned and how he could be pardoned of the least imperfection of the very best of his moral vertues without Faith in Jesus of Nazareth and he gave me no direct Answer Certainly G. Keith hath no reason to quote not only Protestants but also the Fathers because he holds not the same Christ Grace and Justifying Faith with them You will likewise find SIR that G. Keith believeth not only the Preexistence of Two degrees of the Soul of Christ but also the preexistence of our Souls of which he makes of late more degrees then one thus contradicting what he formerly writt concerning our Nephesh in his Way cast up And indeed the GALGAL or Revolution of Soul presupposeth their Preexistence These Cabalistical Semi-Quakers labour as much as is possible to use the Expressions of G. Fox and his followers whence many of the common Foxians do not so much as suspect that they differ from them and in their Writing they use deceitfully and impudently the Words We and Us without any specifical Distinction as tho' they did write the Sense and Judgment of the whole People called Quakers when they do not and when they answer the Books writ by Anti-Quakers they will either put another Meaning or some favourable Construction on the gross Tenents of Fox and his Followers without ingenuously bearing witness against those Errors or if they be too gross they will either seek some Evasion or render their Opposites gross Lyars and Aâ—users of the honest People called Quakers because themselves do not maintain these things tho' they know in their Consciences that their Pagan Brethren as George Keith lately called them hold those gross Tenents upon whom they were also most truly and justly charg'd by their Opponents And therefore as I suppose George Keith is writing an Answer to your Book so I believe he will use many Evasions and take advantage where he can and he will either put some other Meaning upon George Foxes words which you have quoted and which he dares not well deny for his Brethrens sake who esteem George Fox the greatest Oracle and Prophet that ever was among them or perhaps he will say that you have quoted no page and therefore he will wave them I was glad to see the Antidote which you and your Honoured Colleagues in Boston have set forth against George Keith and I can sincerely say that God made it very profitable and serviceable to me in many respects and it is to be admired what Baseness and Malice George Keith did not scruple to use against you and how unreasonably he perverted the Assembly's Words and Meaning Having exceeded my intended Brevity I shall conclude desiring God to bless your Labour and Service in the Gospel of his Dear Son And Rest with my Respects to you Sir Your Servant in the Faith of Christ Christianus Lodowick
A LETTER from the most Ingenious Mr. LODOWICK Rhode-Island Febr. 1. 1691 2. Honoured Esteemed Mr. Mather HAving seen your Book called Quakerism Displayed wherein you have been pleased to mention my Name and my Challenge to the Quakers of this Island I am thereby emboldned to trouble You at this time with some Lines sending You withal Three Books penned by G. Keith with a Ma. nuscript of His Written by Him about Three years ago By perusing His Way to the City of God from p. 128. to 133. You will see what Christ he owned at that time and from p. 62 to 65. You will see what He then understood by the Seed Light and Grace within and in p. 50 51 18. what His Faith in Christ then was But G. Keith perhaps by means of His Controversies with Mr. Hicks perceiving the many Absurdities which follow from this New Fabrick e.g. that the Heavenly Body or Divine Intermediate Substance if there was really such an one would be discerpible into particles which particles should be carried hither and thither by men as they step from place to place and that there would have been so many Messia's or Christs within consisting of a Spirit and Body as there have been Saints from the beginning and that the portion of that Body in the Son of Mary increased in quantity and that that Heavenly Substance consisting of a Body and Spirit should be most properly the Father of Christ the Second Adam if a portion of him supplied the Male-Seed in the Conception of Christ in Mary c. built some years after another Fabrick as You will find by His The way cast up from p. 89. to 168. which he further defends in his Third Book By the Manuscript You may further understand the Dotages of this Notional Man which some obscure Passages in his late Books have reference unto When I read Yâ—ur Book I did wish that You might have had the perusal of these Books of his ere You wrote Yours For tho' You have notably discovered the Errors of the Generality of the Quakers whom I call Fâ—xians yet there is also a little party dispersed to and fro among the common Foxians who tho' they observe G. Foxes Ordinances and pass with the rest under the Designation of Quakers are nevertheless no true Foxians but may for distinction sake be called Semiquakers or Semi-Foxians but they are so few that I believe if they were all gathered together they might meet in one room and make no considerable appearance They are most of them the more learned sort of the people called Quakers the chief writers of these are G. Keith Ro. Barclay both Scotchmen and because Mr. Faldo and Mr. Hicks knew not the distinction that is to be made between the Foxians Semi-foxians and their several Opinions G. Keith and W. Pen were in some things too hard for them for notwithstanding what W. Pen had written before that time as a Foxian touching the Three Persons Christs Satisfaction Remission of sins c. He subtilly without confessing any change acted the Semi-foxian in his controversies with Mr. Faldo and Mr. Hicks The common Foxians conceive that that which condemns every man within him is a measure of the Essence of God which they call Christ the Light the Word and the Eternal Spirit c. And they conceive that this Christ is also the Father because Christ is called Everlasting Father and the Hely Ghost because he is a Spirit as God and they fancy that as this Inward Condemner doth condemn for some evil which they call a Manifesting Râ—vealing and shewing them what is evil so it does shew them not only Errors in Practice but also Errors in Judgment and that if they be faithful to it which they call believing in it it will reveal unto them more in time and that there is no more required of any man then God or Christ hath thus shown him within him c. And herein consist their daily Divine Illuminations Inspirations Revelations of knowledge but their Experimental knowledge of Christs Birth Deatâ— Râ—surrection c. Consists in this that when a man is Converted then they say the Immortal Babe is born Christ the Seed and Lamb which was slain comes to be Raised and he ascends the Throne and comes to Judgement in Clouds of Heaven within and Judgeth such a man for his sins whereby they only describe the various condition of man's Conscience And hence they deny wholly that ever Christ as Man shall come down from Heaven to Raise and Judge the Dead And they say that that which is a man's Troubler Reprover and Condemner within him will be also his Comforter Approver Justifier and Saviour if he believes in it and it will redeem and save him from all sin and from Wâ—ath for sin esteeming the checks of the Conscience to be God's Wrath Herein they place their Salvation and Redemption from sin viz. some wilful sinning and their sinâ—ess Perfection consist in their abstinence from gross wilful sinning and the peace of Conscience ensuing thereupon they call the peace of God and Justification in the sight of God And their Inherent Righteousness they call the Righteousness of Christ which he hath wrought within them and they do never speak of the Merit of the sufferings Death and Resurrection of Jesus at Jerusalem but they call his Righteousness a Rightousness of another at a distance which can do us no good and they say it is an inward blood that must cleanse our Souls inwardly And here also may be understood what their Baptism of Repentance with Fire and with the Spirit of Judgement is VIZ. When a man is inwardly Judged for his sin so as to repent of it And unto this PROTON PSEUDOS or fundamental Error VIZ. That the Inward Condemner is Christ the Light and if obeyed will become a mans Justifier and Saviour they have suted all their other Doctrines concerning Christ saying that the true Christ was never seen with Mortal Eyes heard with Carnal Ears and that the Visible Body Born of Mary was but a Garment of the true Christ tabernacling in it which body some of them say he hath laid down others canot tell what is become of it and they say to mind Christ in that bodily appearance and manifestation as they call it is to know Christ after the Flesh and they call their Christ within Christ in the Spirit they say that Christ Born of Mary was Christ in the Flesh And beacuse they read of Eating Christâ—s Flesh and of Drinking his Blood they have feigned also an Omnipresent and Invisible Body of Spiritual Flesh and Blood which they say the Saints in all Ages partook of within them and when they feel an inward Affectedness or sensible Refreshment of their Boweis which they call the â—ifâ— then they say they eat of Christs Flesh or of the Bread of Life and they drink of his Blood which is Life and by which they are cleansed And herein consists