Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	hear_v	heathen_a	publican_n	4,379	5	11.4435	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54154	The invalidity of John Faldo's vindication of his book, called Quakerism no Christianity being a rejoynder in defence of the answer, intituled, Quakerism a new nick-name for old Christianity : wherein many weighty Gospel-truths are handled, and the disingenuous carriage of by W.P.	Penn, William, 1644-1718.	1673 (1673)	Wing P1305; ESTC R24454	254,441	450

unworthily of the Scriptures we utterly detect their Actions For his second I confess I am greatly at a stand I have travell'd several Nations convers'd with Men of most Ways of Religion read a great many Books for my time but never yet did I meet with such an Insolent Blasphemous and Scornful Expression as this I now transcrib'd word for word out of his Reply 'T is true there was an Old Peevish Priest in Ireland who to get a little Money as clearly appear'd writ an Envious Book against us in which he called the Light within an Ignis Faetu●●s a Dim Light c. who lived long enough to vex himself to Death with our Answer as we are credibly informed not long surviving its Arrival and general Acceptance of most sorts of People in those Parts But never yet have I heard or read of such hard Names from the worst of our Adversaries For Tho Hicks himself in his Dialogues against us acknowledges that the Light within checketh for many Evils and excites to many good things c. It were too large to go over the Praises given it by the best Jews Gentiles and Christians Philo the Jew calls it an Immortal Precept Plotin a Gentile sayes it is the Root or Life of the Soul That this Divine Principle in Man makes a true and good Man Clemens Alexandrinus a Christian-Father speaks of it thus The Light will shine out of Darkness therefore it shines in the hidden part of Mankind in the Heart Again Man cannot be void of Divine Knowledge who naturally or as he cometh into the World partaketh of Divine Inspiration c. Thus Munster Vetablus Clarius Castellio Drusius and Codurcus upon this Passage in Job And upon whom doth not his Light arise acknowledge both its Vniversallity and Sufficiency too where obey'd I could produce a Multitude of approved Protestants without being beholding to one Papist whatever J. F. says of us in Commendation of the Universal Light within but will conclude with J. Caryl one of the most ancient and eminent Pastors of the Independent Way in his Exposition on Job and J. Owen that great Doctor of Independency in his Latin Exercitations formerly writ against the Quakers under the Name of Phanaticks a Term since bestowed and improved by he knows who upon such as need no pointing at J. Caryl on Job 32. 8. says that Wisdom and Knowledge in the Things of God come from the Inspiration or In-shining of the Light or Spirit from above And on Chap. 24. 13. That Light there mentioned shined in Wicked Men's Hearts as well as Good or to that purpose And that it is not a Natural or Proper Light as the Sun in the Firmament but such as reproved them for their Iniquity and comes from above c. J. O. abundantly confesseth to the Morallity and Vniversallity of the Light calling it also a Supernatural and Spiritual as well as Moral Light as he frequently phrases it Good Use of which hath been made by our Christian and Learned Friend Samuel Fisher in Answer to Him Rich. Baxter J. Tombs and T. Danson unto which they have never attempted any the least Reply that we hear of though it greatly concerns their Cause and Credit to do something in it For my own part I shall say no more to J. Faldo's Refutation then that he calls the Light within us by which it hath pleased God to redeem us from our Vain Conversation against the Judgment of many Good and Learned Men in several Ages A BLASPHEMER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD A SORDID SINFUL CORRUPT AND RIDICULOUS THING for which God rebuke him But there yet remains a notable Testimony of our Friends to be consider'd which J. F. produceth to prove our great Affinity with the Papists Rep. If any pretend to be of us and in Case of Controversie will not admit to be tryed by the Church of Christ Jesus nor submit to the Judgment given by the Spirit in the Elders and Members of the Church but kick against it such we testifie ought to be rejected as Heathens Rejoyn Nothing but Rank Ranterism can call this Popery in such Disgrace or reject it as unsound as I will make appear The Church of Christ indued with his Spirit hath a Judgment This Christ allows her and that every Individual ought to rest satisfied in it in Case of Difference therefore said Christ Tell the Church and if he refuse to hear the Church then let him be as an Heathen and Publican The Saints shall judge the World and much more by their Judgment determine or reconcile things among themselves No Caution or Resolution could be more soundly and scripturally laid down First It is the Church of Christ that judges Secondly It must be the Judgment of the Church by the Holy Spirit or rather the Holy Spirit in the Church not consisting of Elders only but Elders and Members which make the whole Church Lastly The Persons rejected are such as first kick or spurn against the Admonitions of the Church of Christ VVhat Man not bereaved of his Senses or as Irreligious as a Ranter can so scornfully upbraid us with this Serious Christian and Necessary Discipline Yes J. Faldo who pretends both to his Wits and Religion dares offer something against it Rep. Oh the Charity of the Quakers Leaders All that will not submit to their little Juncto are with them numbred with Heathens and Infidels Here the poor Quakers may see the Image of the Beast among themselves Rejoyn It were well if J. Faldo would show more Charity in pretending to rebuke us for the want of it But will he allow of those Aggravations the Episcopatians and Presbyterians made upon and against the first Brownists about Gathered Churches Did not they draw as large Conclusions And had they not as much Ground for doing it as our Passage can give to J. F. since they deny'd in most harsh Terms The Church of England to be the Church of Christ The same did the People call'd Anabaptists both of the Church of England and National Presbytery But why our little Juncto otherwise call'd the Spirit of G. Fox and his Ministry or Representative Body Is not this cast out on purpose to insinuate as if G. F. with other publick Travellers in the Service of the Church were Lordly or Domineering as J. Faldo a little further calls it who rarely meddle with those things leaving every Meeting to their own Power But what Occasion had he for this Reflection of our Friends Paper even as by him●elf given us Doth it not mention the whole Church and afterwards explain who that Church is by those two Words Elders and Members for such is the Practice of J. F. in his pretended Discovery of us Nor i● there any Reason why J. F. should so much stomach the Word Heathen since he thinks it a Priviledge to be so to us at least to call us so Besides we own every such one to have a Saving

the Matter they import is not there If he doth not mean That we deny a Visible Religious Society to be a Church what makes him to infer our Denyal of a Gospel-Church from our asserting it to be Invisible Two things must follow from this Reply Either a Gospel-Church is not visible and then he breaks his own Neck or not a Religious Society and so he is impious If then a Gospel-Church is a Visible Religious Society and we deny a Gospel-Church it must follow that we deny a Visible Religious Society which in John Faldo's Opinion makes up a Gospel-Church To conclude a Gospel-Church and a Visible Religious Society he makes to be quite differing things But perhaps he will come off thus I did not say ye denyed the visible religious Societies called the Churches of Asia c. but that you deny them or such as they are to be Churches But neither will this serve his turn for we both own them to have been Gospel-Churches and are taught by J. F. to believe That a Gospel-Church is not only not invisible but an other Thing then a visible religious Society too It is worth our while to hear his Reason for it Reply p. 59. Religious Societies may be as far from a gospel-Gospel-Church as half a dozen Christian Friends associated together to eat a good Dinner or carry on a Trade yet he dirts me with want of Honesty to grace his Forgery Rejoynder He might as well have said to the Ale-House or Tavern whether he invited a Friend of ours after disputing with him doubtless not out of Love to our Friend but the good Liquor a Sort of Liberty once counted Scandalous by many of his Pretensions especially when just after so serious an Exercise but it is grown familiar with Men of his Coat to fall from the Bible to the Pot and so back again But Friendly Reader what sayst thou of this Man's Evasion Who will have me to mean by visible religious Societies visible civil Societies for such I count good Men at an Ordinary or a Committee of Trade Vain and Shallow Man Did I not give Intimation enough what Religious Societies I meant when I instanced the Churches of Asia Thessalonica c. to explain what I meant thereby Whether I did play the Forger or my Adversary the Dishonest Shifter Let the Impartial Reader judge Again Reply W. P. proceeds p. 113. in the same Evil And from our asserting the Spirit to be the only Gospel-Teacher he concludes that we deny all Preaching of men though by the Spirit the four last Words though by the Spirit are added by him and meerly forged Rejoynder They may be added but not forged One would think it is only then when without the holy Ghost that we deny it by his Words and that hurts us not but I take it the other way and the Truth is it is a Mistake he commits against us where-ever the like Subjects fall in his Way for this implies as if we denyed Preaching by Inspiration and that he all along had mantained it A Doctrine he ever now and then flings in our Dish scorns and derides Thus can this Man's Conscience sail by any Wind to gain the Shore and after all these Shuffles dares to conclude That we in Terminis deny all Preachings of men because G. F. said cease from man when there is nothing more palpable then that G. F. meant man considered in his own meer Ability that is from such as the Prophet forbid not from true Prophets but our Adversary the Preachings of Men though by the Spirit of God for how can he make us to contradict our selves in saying man is the Spirits Instrument which he understands to be the Preaching of Men by the Spirit if he doth not make us deny all Preaching though by the Spirit In short I hope my Reader will think it no Forgery whatever my Adversary may who ever and anon would hide his own weakness by hard word flung upon me to amuse the credulous Reader to say that from our Asserting The Spirit to be the only Gospel-Teacher of all who believe he concludes That we deny all Preaching of Men though by the Spirit else there would be no sense in his charging us with a Contradiction because we say The Spirit is the only Teacher and yet that the Spirit teacheth by Men if he did not understand our Ceasing from Men or Denying Man's Ministry to be our Denyal of Man's Preaching by the holy Spirit But he will not give over yet These words The Spirit the only Teacher he often flings up as words indigestible by his foul and phlegmatick Stomach for upon my saying That such as preach by the Holy Spirit are rather the Instrument then the Teacher or Man is that by which the Spirit conveyeth his Teaching unto others he replyes thus Reply pag. 58. So that after W. P's own strict Account he allows their Practices viz. Preaching of Men to give the Lye every Day to their Tenets Rejoynder If Preachings of Men by the Spirit be the Preachings of Men such Preachings we shall alwayes allow and think it no Lye or Contradiction to our Tenets But if he that dictates a Letter of Intelligence be the Informer and not the Scribe the Holy Spirit must be the Teacher and Man but the Instrument True Teachings are not only Words but Matter and that accompanied with Divine Power which flow from the Eternal Spirit Men give them but the simple Covering of Expression and that by the Spirit 's appointment therefore not so properly the Teachings of Men by the Holy Spirit as the Teachings of the Holy Spirit by and through Men consequently not Man's Teachings but the Spirit 's Again Because we charge him with bringing in ot her Teachers then the Holy Spirit contrary to express Scripture the Promise of God and the very End of the Blessed Gospel he replies Reply pag. 58 59. Can you think this Man worth Disputing with who rambles and talks he cares not how If what P. said be true the Exhortations to do the Work of an Evangelist feed the Flock over which the Holy Ghost had made them Over-seers were not intended of Man's Teaching but the Spirit of God only exhorted the Spirit of God to these Actions and Man had not hath not any Agency in Teaching Rejoynder But did we ever say Man had no Share in being taught whatever we have said against the utmost of man's natural Ability considered separately from God's Spirit about his Teaching We never yet said That Man was not to be taught Is there no Difference betwixt Men's Teaching without God's Spirit and Men's being taught of God's Spirit At whose Door then should we lay this Absurdity The Spirit of God exhorted the Spirit of God What an Idle Non sequitur is this Nor do we deny all Agency in Man when mannaged by the Holy Ghost A Man might as well argue following J. Faldo's Steps against the Apostle Paul when he said It is no