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A84411
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Some reflections upon Francis Bugg's book, entituled, The pilgrims progress, &c. By Edmund Elys.
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Elys, Edmund, ca. 1634-ca. 1707.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing E695; ESTC R171936
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3,071
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6
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Some Reflections upon Francis Bugg's Book ENTITULED The Pilgrims Progress c. By EDMUND ELYS ALL Pious and Learned Men of my Acquintance cannot but know that I am as ready to Vindicate the Truth I find among any other sort of Men as among the People called Quakers And I wish Francis Bugg would be as ready to Detest the Wicked Errors of other Dissenters from the Church of England as of any Person of that Denomination I do not believe that any one of the Quakers now living do Adhere to so wicked a Conceit â—as that which GEORGE TROSSE of Exeter has Publish'd in his Book Entituled ' The Lord's Day Vindicated viz. that our Blessed LORD was not actually Jesus i. e. a Saviour before He had actually Suffer'd which is as False as it is True that He was the True Light which Enlightneth every Man that cometh into the World which Text the Quakers Interpret according to the Interpretation of that most Learned and Pious Man John Chrysostom and other Learned Writers of the Primitive Church This Principle that it is every Mans Duty to follow the True Light manifesting himself in our Hearts and Minds as our Chief and Principal TEACHER does most certainly lead every Quaker that is sincere in this Profession nearer and nearer to a clear and explicit Knowledge of All Truth I cannot but have an high Value for these Words of a Quaker being to me so clearly Expressive of such Truth which is of the greatest Importance to the Souls of Men. ' The great reason of our so much Asserting Christs Inward Appearance and Spiritual Manifestation as a Mediator Sanctifier Justifier and Saviour within has been as to assert the Truth so to counterpoise if I may so speak the contrary Doctrine and Assertion of those who deny him to be with respect to these Offices at all within and shut Him wholly out making the Work of Mediation Sanctification Justification and Salvation to be only and altogether outward whereas we acknowledge to the utmost whatever Christ hath done or doth without us in order to our Salvation yet cannot exclude the Inward Work To which I shall add these sound Words of W. P. in his KEY ' Though none are Justified that are not in measure Sanctified yet all Man does is Duty and blots not out old Scores that is Grace and Favour purely upon Repentance through Christ the Sacrifice and Mediator So that Men are not Justified because they are Sanctified but For His sake that Sanctifies them and works all their Works in them and for them to wit Christ Jesus who is made unto them as he was to the Saints of Old Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption that he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord 1 Cor. 1. 30 31. F. B. Chap. 2. has these Words ' I went to their Meetings in the Afternoon and gave great heed to what was Spoken whose chief Subject was the Light within and that Light to be Christ I and others were catch't by these and the like Fallacious Arguments not being well grounded in the Principles of the Christian Religion nor understanding the Wiles of Satan This certainly is one of the subtilest Wiles one of the strongest Snares of the Devil a Conceit that CHRIST is not the LIGHT within every Man For without a Virtual Belief where there is no Formal or Explicit Belief that CHRIST is the Fountain of Light to our Souls 't is impossible for any Man to Do any thing but what may justly be term'd a Work of Darkness Chap. 3. ' The Ten Commandments are not the Quakers Rule No no not unless they be convinced by their Light within of the Reasonableness of their Obedience Answ They are not any Mans Rule that is no Man can use them as a Rule 'till he is convinced by the Light within of the Reasonableness of his Obedience But this Conviction is certaâ—nly wrought by the Light within when ever any Man does not Rebel against it Chap. 5. ' The Journal and our Friends Books tâ—ach both by Precept and Example that the Light in every Man is the Higher Power to whom All must submit and obey Answ Certainly they ought so to Teach since the Person of Jesus Christ or Jesus Christ Himself is The Light in every Man By calling Him the Higher Power they shew that nothing must be DONE but in Obedience to Him being King of Kings and Lord of Lords Therefore I Affirm that these Words of F. B. are very Foolish and Absurd ' Let us then begin to remember how Zealous Kings and Parliaments have been ever since the Reformation against such as adher'd to a Power Superiour to the King Lords and Commons which our Protestant Divines have held to be the Higher Powers and to which we are commanded by the Apostles to submit our selves Now any People that adhere to a Forreign Power to be Supream in England besides and above that of Kings Lords and Commons who under God are the Higher Powers are to be suspected to undermine the Government whether they mean the POPE of ROME or their QVAKER LIGHT in their BODY Assembled in COVNCIL Answ Most certainly the Quakers mean no other Light by the Light they say they are to follow or take heed unto when they are Assembled in Council than The True Light The Light of the World And certainly 't is plain Blasphemy to call Him a Forreign Power or to compare Him with the Pope of Rome Chap. 19. ' All true as Gospel This is a PROFANE Expression F. B. p. 110. in a Sermon he makes in the Person of George Whitehead has these Words 'To be plain with you according to our Ancient Testimony we own no other Trinity nor God than is within us for the Light is God the Light is the Son of Man the Light is the Holy Ghost Answ All this is true that there is no other Trinity c. If it be true that GOD IS LIGHT and the WORD IS GOD and that the WORD was made FLESH and that the Father the Son and the HOLY GHOST are the One True and Eternal GOD the One True and Eternal LIGHT What Censure Francis Bugg deserves for his gross and horrid Ignorance in scorning this Testimony of the Quakers I leave to others to Determine P. 111. After F. B. had receited the form of sound Words wherein the Quakers had made their Confession of Faith to the Parliament he makes this Malicious Reflexion Personating G. W. ' Now my Friends tho' this Confession be as contrary to our Ancient Teshimony as Light is to Darkness as by our Books quoted you may see yet we kept our meaning to our selves Answ By the Observations I have made upon the Life and Profession of the People called Quakers above Fourty Years I am induc'd to believe that this their Confession of Faith contains nothing else but what has ever been the SENCE of their Community And therefore I shall again declare as I have lately done in a Paper Entituled ' Reflections on a Passage concerning the Light within in a Book Entituled Primitive Heresie c. ' That to me it is most Evident and Unquestionable that these People called Quakers deserve more Favour than any other sort of DISSENTERS from all Persons throughout the World who make their Solemn VOCAL Confession of the Christian Faith in that form of Words which we call the NICENE CREED what they mean by the Light within is nothing else but what is implied in those most important Words LIGHT OF LIGHT That is to say the True and Eternal GOD the SON of the True and Eternal GOD. Though I should have no cause to be offended with any Man that should say of Me I am a Man of Strife and a Man of Contention to the whole Earth yet GOD is my Witness I am in perfect Charity with all Men even with those that have done me the greatest Injuries The Peculiar Affection I have for many of the People called Quakers ariseth from a Belief that they concurr with mein a Sincere and Effectual Approbation of these excellent Words of a Person of that Denomination in a Book of his Entituled Some Fruits of Solitude Let us then try what Love will do For if Men did once see we love them we should soon find they would not harm us Did we believe a final Reckoning and Judgment or did we think enough of what we do believe we would allow more Love in Religion than we do since Religion it self is nothing else but Love to God and Man Love is above all and when it prevails in us all we shall all be Lovely and in Love with GOD and with one another ΕΡΧΟΥ ΚΥΡΙΕ ΙΚΣΟΥ THE END