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book_n	great_a	life_n	write_v	5,211	5	5.2860	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30016	A testimony and caution to such as do make a profession of truth who are in scorn called Quakers and more especially such who profess to be ministers of the gospel of peace, that they should not be concerned in worldly government.	Budd, Thomas, 1648-1699.; Hart, John.; Society of Friends. Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.	1692 (1692)	Wing B5360; ESTC R19939	7,724	13

them have any Office in the Government and any thing be done amiss therein they will not be chargeable with it But we hope none will construe our sence or intention as if we desired Persecution to come either upon us or any others for we do judge and esteem that outward peace quiet and freedom from Persecution is a great mercy and blessing of God which we desire to bless God for and all his other Mercies and our Prayer to God is that none may abuse their outward Liberty but that it may be blessed to them and that they may use it to Gods Glory and their Souls peace and prosperity in the Truth Object 2. And if any further Objections be made against this Position we may conclude they are such as can be made against that position That under the pure Gospel Dispensation we are not to war nor fight with carnal Weapons which our Friends have plainly witnessed against nor will this position give any just cause of Offence to superiour Magistrates but rather it will give them great Satisfaction to find us a people that are no wise ambitious of Worldly Government and wholly principled to be subject to their Authority in all things either actively or passively By this means all occasions of jealousie or distrust will be removed from them after they have good tryal of us by finding us constant to our Principle that they can be in no danger by us of being guilty of any Plots or Conspiracies against the Government and it can give as little cause of offence to inferiour Magistrates because men commonly desire places of Office in Magistracy and Government and if all of our Profession refuse such Places and Offices this will the more oblige them by their having the more ready opportunity to have their minds answered Object 3. But if any further object What if one that is a Magistrate be convinced and perswaded to be of our Way must he leave off being a Magistrate To this it is easily answered If he be really convinced and perswaded by the Spirit of God to be of our way the same Spirit that hath convinced him of the Truth of our Way in other things will convince him of the Truth of it in that also and if so he will freely and willingly desire to lay down his former Power as a Magistrate to receive greater Power and Honour to be a Disciple and Follower of Christ who said My Kingdom is not of this World and as his Kingdom is not of this World so nor will ours be if we be faithful Followers of him Nor is this to unchristian all others who are Magistrates or may not be of our mind in this case for we distinguish betwixt the first and second Ministration of the Spirit and betwixt the present Christianity that many have as it is partly Legal and partly Evangelical And to such who aim to arrive to this degree it may be said If thou wilt be perfect leave the Worldly Government and follow Christ in order to attain the desired Perfection for as there are higher and lower degrees in Christianity so it may be more tolerable or excusable to one in his lower degree that Teeth no further and is not convinced of any further discovery than to another that seeth further and hath a further and clearer Discovery And far be it from us to judge men no Christians that see nor equally into all things pertaining either to the Christian Faith or Practice provided they hold the Head and build on the true Foundation which is Christ Jesus and have Faith in him by the help of his Spirit in us as he dyed for our Sins and rose again for our Justification who is at the right Hand of God and also maketh Intercession for us and hold the most necessary and Fundamental Principles of Christian Doctrine and obey the Commands of Christ in so far as they are convinced of them we ought in Charity to allow them to be our Christian Brethren in general yet not of our particular Fellowship or Society tho' in some things we differ from them having further discoveries of Light into spiritual things and mysteries as particularly in the case of Swearing and Fighting or using the outward Weapon in Self-defence and in the case of Paying Tythes to uphold a Worldly Ministry It is generally confessed by the People called Quakers that to Swear or pay Tythes are short of Christian Perfection and ought not to be done and yet they are more Charitable than to judge that no man is in any degree a Christian that doth Swear or pay Tythes or contribute to a Worldly Ministry because there are many yet see not the evil of those things and yet in other things are conscientious and endeavour to walk in faithfulness to what they know And as Charity ought to be extended unto them who Swear and pay Tythes if they see no further and do not willfully shut their Eyes against a further discovery so the like Charity may be extended to them who may be concerned in Wars or Government if they do not see into it that it belongeth not to the Perfect Dispensation of Christianity Given forth at the Monethly Meeting of the Christian People called Quakers at the House of Phillip James the 28th of the 12th Month 1692. And ordered to go forth in the Name and by the Appointment of the said Meeting Postscript IT is well known that the despised People of God called Quakers have been great Sufferers for their Testimony against Swearing in any case some by long and close Imprisonments and others by incurring the Sentence of Praemunire to the loosing their Estates and remaining Prisoners during Life and others have sustained great losses and damages for want of taking of Oathes in Courts of Judicature c. whereby they could not clear the Titles of their Lands nor prove their Debts and thereby have lost them and many Books have been writ and published by the said People against Swearing in any case particularly that called A Treatise of Oathes containing several weighty Reasons why the People called Quakers refuse to Swear and those confirmed by numerous Testimonies out of Gentiles Jews and Christians both Fathers Doctors and Martyrs Presented to the King and Parliament in the Year 1675. and subscribed on the behalf of the rest of our Friends by George Whitehead and twelve more Now we being and desiring to remain in Unity with our faithful Friends and with their living faithful Christian Testimony against Swearing in any case do hold ourselves obliged to maintain and stand up for the said Testimony according to Mat. 5.54 But I say unto you Swear not at all and James 5.22 Above all things my Brethren Swear not Therefore we declare unto all People that we cannot for Conscience fake take an Oath or tender it to any other neither in the form as used in England by kissing the Bible nor are we free in our Conscience to take that manner of Attestation as used here in Pennsilvania when administred in their Courts c. viz. Thou shalt solemnly declare in the Presence of God and this Court c. because to say I do solemnly declare in the Presence of God is a calling upon God to be Witness to the truth of the Testimony given which we look upon to be no less than a presumptuous Tempting of God to summon him as a Witness not only to our Terrene but Trivial Businesses as W.P. c. hath expresly said in that before-cited Treatise pag. 17. with which we do cordially agree But to the grief of our Souls we may say such Darkness Ignorance and Apostacy possesseth the hearts of many of those called Quakers here in Pennsilvania that they are frequently found in the aforesaid Practices and do frequently use Arguments in the defence thereof therefore we can do no less than to give forth this our Christian Testimony against Swearing and Fighting in any case as above hoping the Lord will be with us and preserve us and enable us to stand faithful in the aforesaid Testimony whatever Tryals Sufferings Losses and Temptations may attend us for the same Thomas Budd John Hart. THE END