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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62157	Some queries proposed, to the monethly meeting of the Quakers at Aberdeen; the sixth day of June, 1700. By Robert Sandilands With their answers thereto; together with some remarks thereupon. Published by authority. To which is prefixed a letter from George Keith, sent to the Quakers in Aberdeen, containing a very serious and Christian expostulation with his old friends, &c.	Sandilands, Robert.; Keith, George, 1639?-1716. aut	1700 (1700)	Wing S663; ESTC R220626	23,403	36

only in some but in all the fundamental Truths of the Christian Religion but whether A. J. and his Friends have evidenced themselves to be such by their Answers to the Queries before recited I leave that to all impartial and judicious Readers to judge And for a manifest Tryal of the sincerity and soundness of their Faith in those points wherein they seem orthodox and that they have no secret reserved meanings but what is agreeable to the Sense of all sound Protestants it is here proposed to them and which is reasonably expected that they give a publick Testimony in Writing against those erroneous passages and positions as they are here set down as before and quoted out of their approved and antient Friends Books which plainly contradicts their own orthodox Answers They are obliged I think either to own or else to disown these errors the latter I hope they will ingeniously doe as being no Respecter of Persons For the Truth must be owned and preferred before all things and persons tho never so near or dear to us And unless A. J. c. doe this their sincerity will still be suspected notwithstanding all their great Pretences As for their saying we are not bound in Reason to receive the Testimony of an avowed Adversary against our Brethren as I would not be imposed upon in such weighty concerns so I doe not impose my Testimony upon them but have fairly and sincerely laid before them their own antient and most eminent approved Friends Testimonies both in England and Scotland And I could have produced many more Quotations if they had been so candid to have granted me the use of their Friends Books which I had not by me here and I being a Traveller could not be other wayes provided with however I offer this to them let the Books be produced out of which the Quotations are taken and let them be perused by any judicious and indifferent Persons and see whither they are justly and fairly quoted and I shall submit the same to their censure And whoever it is they mean to be their Brethrens avowed Adversary I bless GOD I can sincerely say that I have no Personal enmity or Prejudice against them or any Persons whatsomever it s true I detest their vile errors but I still love and respect their Persons and what I have herein done may shew that it was not through Malice c. I could also have given an account of many very Unchristian and unsavoury Passages which were Preached publickly in their Meetings at Reading in England where I live which occasioned divers to leave them And whereas they say and if he have any thing to Charge against them among whom he receeds he wants not opportunity to doe it face to face and we doubt not but they can clear themselves sufficiently I should be very glade as I have said before they would do so indeed but I am sure they have never in the least yet done it as they ought to doe notwithstanding of the many opportunitis and that publickly to have cleared themselves of what has been charged against them and still lyes at their door uncleared and unanswered by them and I am fully satisfied that notwitstanding of their many late new Creeds they can never well clear themseves until they publickly and ingeniously Retract those Errors in their Printed Books and when they once do that I think there is none will be so Unchristian as to Charge them any more therewith There is one or two Quotations more which I think fit to add G. F. and R. H. sayes in Truths defence p. 89 and 109 Our giving forth papers and printed Books it is from the immediat eternal Sipiritual GOD. 〈◊〉 Now I leave it to the serious Consideration of A. J. 〈◊〉 and the rest of his Friends whether in their Consciences they realy believe that the foresaid Passages quoted out of their Friends Books were given forth from the Immediat Eternal Spirit of GOD. And G. F. pleads for the same degree of the Spirit to know the Scriptures by as the Prophets and Apostles had See his great Myst p. 213. c. FINIS

SOME QUERIES Proposed to the Monethly Meeting of the Quakers at ABERDEEN the sixth Day of June 1700. By ROBERT SANDILANDS With their ANSWERS thereto together with some Remarks thereupon Published by Authority To which is Prefixed a Letter from GEORGE KEITH sent to the Quakers in ABERDEEN Containing a very serious and Christian Expostulation with his Old Friends c. Gal. 4. 16. Am I therefore become Your Enemy because I tell You the Truth ABERDEEN Printed by IOHN FORBES Printer to the CITY and UNIVERSITY To the Right Honourable THOMAS MITCHEL Lord Provost Bailies ALEXANDER RAGG ALEXANDER FORBES ALEXANDER KER ALEXANDER PATON IOHN LESLIE Dean of Gild WILLIAM CROWDEN Thesaurer And to the rest of the Honourable Council of the City of ABERDEEN RIGHT HONOURABLE THE Hereditary Tyes I am under to the City of Aberdeen of which my Father was Recorder several years wherein many of my Friends Live and some whereof have been Honoured with the most eminent Posts in the Magistracy and of which I my self am a Native and Burger are so strong that they need no new motives to raise and preserve in me the greatest Honour and the most sincere Love for the Place And ye who are the present worthy Governours hereof have surpriz'd me with such new favours and Personal Obligations since my last Return to your City that nothing but a publick acknowledgment can secure me against the Reproach of Ingratitude Those Shelves on which I and many well designing but seduced Christians had Shipwrack'd the true Faith could not be sufficiently guarded against nor those who are already fallen into fatal delusions recovered and restored otherwayes then by exposing to the impartial view of the World the gross and vile Errours that ly couched under the mask of Divine Illuminations and the palpable Contradictions that are maintained by different parties of that Society which pretends to be guided and influenced in every point by the unerring Spirit of Infinite Wisdom And as Love to Christianity and Charity to the Souls of others has induced me first to Propose and then to publish the following Queries and Remarks so I cannot in Justice conceal your Forwardness and Zeal to Countenance and encourage me in vindication of the Truth and to allow what ever might be of use to me in defence of the Truth which I have endeavoured to doe with the greatest simplicity And that GOD may strengthen you and raise up others to be valiant for Truth and Holiness shall ever be the hearty Prayer of Right Honourable Your Most Obliged and Obedient Servant ROBERT SANDILANDS To the Christian Reader SEEing it hath graciously pleased Almighty GOD in his Infinite Mercy to discover to me as well as many more in England who for sometime had lived in communion with the People called Quakers those many gross Errours that were maintained in Print by their Chief Teachers which nevertheless I my self never owned but alwayes sincerely believed the most necessary fundamental Truths of Christianity profest in common by all PROTESTANTS though I must confess I was so far misled as to believe that more stress was to be laid on the Light within then on Faith in an outward Crucified JESUS c. I therefore judged my self bound in Conscience not only to separat from them but also to return to this my Native Countrey where I first joined with them and there give a publick Testimony to the Truth and endeavour in the Strength of the LORD to satisfie my old Friends and Relations that as I erred through ignorance and unbelief never knowing nor being any way perswaded till of late that such gross Errours were owned by them which if I had in the least suspected I think I should never have been prevailed with to have joined with them So I hope that the Quakers both here and else where who are sincere and honest hearted when they are made sensible of and discover the same which they may doe by impartially searching as I have done their own authentick writtings shall be of one mind with me and with me also obtain mercy so as to have reason to magnifie the Infinite Goodness and Love of GOD in CHRIST JESUS our LORD Of this I conceive the more hopes since I got the Answers of the Principal Quakers of the last Monethly Meeting at Aberdeen given to some Queries proposed by me at that Meeting both which together with some Remarks on their said Answers are here Printed by Authority of the Magistrats of Aberdeen and at the desire of some of them as well as the intreaty of my Friends in this place I have been induced to make a short Narrative of what passed before the giving in or Answering the said Queries Soon after my arrival at Aberdeen I had occasion to meet with some of the Quakers whom I discoursed and more particularly A. Jaffray their chief Teacher in this place and in our Conferences together I mention'd some gross passages in W. Penn's Books c. But he being dissatisfied proposed that himself and I with some friends of each side should meet and after these Books were produced it might be seen whether such palpable and gross Errours were vouched in them yea or not Having so soon as possible I could got some of them I wrot to the said A. J. desiring to know when we should meet in answer to which he sent me a very passionat and indiscreet Letter intirely declining the Meeting though he himself first proposed the same and therein acquainted me if I had any thing to say against them I should give it in Write or Print I therefore went to their Monethly Meeting where Alexander Forbes of Craigie and Alexander Patton of Kinnaldie Bailies in Aberdeen with a great many more Persons of good Note were present and there after some short discourse I read the Queries as they are here Printed of which I left a signed Copie with the Quakers and gave another to Bailie Paton to which after some time I at length obtained the Answers which I have hereafter subjoined And that it may appear how groundlesly they lay claim to the immediat and infallible illuminations of the Spirit of GOD which is in all times places and persons the same without contradiction or variation I have annexed some Quotations out of their most approved Writters which most plainly contradict the Doctrine now seemingly owned by A. J. and his Friends These passages I have here adduced are not to be looked upon as the opinions of private Authors among the Quakers but as the Doctrine and Principles maintained by the whole Body of that people in England For their Books are not allowed to be Printed or Re-Printed till first they are approved off by the second days Meeting at London and all such Books so approved off are by an order among them transmitted to other Monethly or Quarterly Meetings c. and there is none that I have made use of have ever been rejected or publickly disapproved by them so far

as I know One thing more I must say which is that as it is well known to divers in this place that no outward prospect ever mov'd me to leave the Protestant Religion and join with the Quakers so I can say in the sight of Almighty GOD and in the sincerity of my heart that no Worldly interest induced me now to leave their communion but plain conviction and full perswasion of those many gross and pernicious Heresies which were very clearly discovered to me in their Writtings And as I am convinced that many sober and serious Persons among them do not believe or somuch as imagine that such unchristian Doctrines were ever broached or mantained by their chief Ieachers so I heartily pray that the LORD would enlighten their minds that they may both discover and acknowledge their Errours and abhore them as much as I do GEORGE KEITH'S Letter My Old Friends Andrew Jaffray Iohn Robertson Robert Gordon Iohn Forbes of Achortes c. HAving the occasion of the Bearer I thought fit to send you my fourth Narrative and another late Book of mine called the Deism of William Penn c which I desire you to read impartially and without prejudice I hope ye will not be so strait as not to read them for as ever I could and did very freely read the Books of any against me so I still can and do readily read them The said Narrative as to the truth of the Quotations is attested by men of Credit and beside I suppose many of the Books that I have quoted in the same ye may have by you and some others ye may easily procure whereby to find whether my Quotations be true and just and if you find them so to be I hope you will calmly and seriously consider them and Compare them with the Holy Scriptures which I beseech you more diligently to search with earnest Prayer to God Almigty that he would give you a good understanding by His Divine Illumination by which you will see that the chief Teachers of the Quakers whom both Ye and I have in our Ignorance owned for true Teachers have Taught very false Doctrines contradicting the Holy Scriptures in diverse of the great fundamentals of Christianity I shall not here expostulat with You for your unkindness to me Uncharitableness and rash Judgement against me in your Letters and Papers sent up here to London against me some Yeasr ago But my Prayer is to God both for You and others thereaway that he may give You a better Understanding and make You more Charitable in Judgement both to me and others and more humble in Your own Conceits I freely own with sorrow and deep Repentance that I have been injurious to You and others thereaway not in any Wordly matter but while I was with You and in my ignorant Zeal thinking that I did God good Service that I was any wayes instrumental to mislead and misinform You and turn You out of the way in any of the least Principle or Practice of Christian Religion For this I acknowledge that I am a great Debtor to You and would willingly make restitution and be at as great and greater Pains to undeceive You and bring You out of the Mire as ever I was to lead You into it but if You refuse my offer God I doubt not will forgive me and not lay it to my Charge and the Sin will ly at your Door I hope I can say as Paul said I have obtained Mercy because I did it ignorantly The main things wherein I Charge my self to have misinformed You and any others either by my Words or Books are in leading You into great Unchatitablene●s towards all other Protestant Societies and into too high an Esteem of the People called Quakers and their Leaders and Teachers and Way of Practice in diverse things both Religious and Civil and more especially to the rejecting of the Holy Institutions of our Blessed Lord of Baptism and the Supper and setting up Humane Institutions in room of them as George Fox his orders of Womens Meetings and Government in Church Affairs the Condemning all other Protestant Teachers though more sound in Faith and of more Religious Practices and Professors of Christianity as Priests of Baal and Worshippers of Baal crying out against their Congregations for their Mixtures Whereas alas there has been all along a greater Mixture among the People called Quakers both as to Unsoundness of Doctrine and Practices Ye Your selves know how little God is Worshipped with Prayer and Thanksgiving in the Families of the Quakers generally very few excepted excusing all by pretence of mental and inward Prayer and want of Divine Motions to carry them forth in external Acts of Worship So that to my certain knowledge possibly to Yours also too many high Pretenders to Spirituality among the People called Quakers who are Masters of Families and have Wives and Children and Servants yet rarely Bow their bodily Knees to God in their Families And Set-times of Prayer and Thanksgiving either for the Closet or Family Worship have been generally laid aside These are the Chief Things for which I have blamed my self in being instrumental in former Times to have misinformed you though I think all along I was generally more Charitable in Judgement towards many others of other Societies then many were or now are among the People called Quakers But it 's a great Comfort to me that upon a strict Examination of my former Perswasions and Principles as extant in my former Books for which I think I can appeal to You as well as what I have declared among You I was never guilty of that Horrid Unbelief and Antichristian Errors and Heresies contradicting the chief Fundamentals of Christianity that I have found the Chief English Teachers among the Quakers guilty of I desire to Bless God my Preserver who all along hath Preserved me sound in the Faith as touching all the twelve Articles of that called the Apostles-Creed the God Head and Man hood of Our Blessed Lord JESUS CHRIST His Person and Offices For which I desire You to Read and Consider the Answer given by me and my dear and Worthy Friend Alexander Jaffray now with God to the thirty Questions sent to him by Bishop Scougal if that Worthy Man had Lived to this Day in the Body I Question not but he would have been a Strength to me in my Opposition to those Vile Errors held by the English Leaders among the Quakers Viz. G. F. G. W. F. B. and many others I hoped also that ye had been better Principled against these vile Errors and that in good Measure by Means of my Labour among You. So that it was no small Surprise to me to find you join in a Combination against me with my Adversaries here as you know ye and Your Friends generally did soon after my Arrival into England from America Your pretence then was that ye could not believe that Friends either in America or England were guilty of the