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A47128 Bristol Quakerism exposed shewing the fallacy, perversion, ignorance, and error of Benjamin Cool, the Quakers chief preacher at Bristol, and of his followers and abettors there, discovered in his and their late book falsely called Sophistry detected, or, An answer to George Keith's Synopsis : wherein also both his deisme and inconsistency with himself and his brethren, with respect to the peculiar principles of Christianity, are plainly demonstrated / by George Keith. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 1700 (1700) Wing K148; ESTC R41035 27,308 34

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Faith in the History of Christ's outward Manifestation is a deadly Poyson for the bare Conviction of the Truth of the History and assent to it which is that Historical Faith he professeth to mean where no real Sanctification is wrought is so far from being a deadly Poyson that it hath a real Service remotely at least to prepare the Soul for Sanctification and if many so Convinced are not Sanctified as B. Cool confesseth in his 16 p. That Faith will be an Aggravation of their Guilt and Misery which is therefore no deadly Poyson but of great Vse even as Unsanctified Men's having a Conviction of the Light within and some Sense of it and that is more than a bare Historical Faith of it will be an Aggravation of their Guilt but will B. Cool allow Men therefore to call it a deadly Poyson that infects Hundreds of the Quakers so called who are no more Sanctified than many others who have but the Historical Faith of Christ without and if all England and all Christendom beside had but a bare Historical Faith of the Light within without the inward work of Sanctification that Faith would not Save them yet it followeth not according to B. C. that the Light within or a Historical Faith in it is a deadly Poyson I cannot but think B. Cool would think it a great Blessing to all Christendome and a great Introduction to the Quakers Religion if they all had a real Conviction or Historical Faith of the Quakers Notion of the Light within though all were not Sanctified by it yet that that Conviction or Faith is a deadly Poyson I see not how he can Grant The Quakers commonly distinguish betwixt Conviction and Conversion they call that Conviction or Convincement when a Man assents to their Great and Foundamental Principle the Light within which they reckon a Step or Introduction to Conversion and if Conversion do not follow yet the Conviction is good as Paul said of the Law tho' many did not obey it it was good And what B. Cool would say in the Case of a general Convincement of the Light within according to his and his Brethrens Notion of it I would say much more of a general Convincement all over the World and all Heathen Nations that the History of Christ's Birth Life Miracles Death Resurrection and Ascension c. is true that it would be so far from being a deadly Poyson that it would be a great good and a great Advantage and Introduction to spread the Christian Religion over the Heathen Nations All Christendome and in a sort all the World hath a real Notion and Faith of the Light within as it is an Assent of their Consciences to the work of the Law Writ in their Hearts and this Faith or Assent is certainly a good thing and of great Concern to the good of Mankind being the Foundation of all the good Laws and Governments that are to be found in Heathen Nations tho' thousands who have it yet are not Sanctified by it nor can they be Sanctified by it without Faith in Christ Crucified and without a special superadded Illumination and Operation of the Holy Spirit that doth usually Accompany the Written Word according to Gods Ordinary way of working and the methods of Divine Providence towards the Race of Mankind But the Quakers general Notion of the Light Within being sufficient to Salvation without any else and confirmed so to be by G. Whitehad in his late Antidote p. 28. and by W. Penn in his Discourse of the General Rule of Faith and Practice justified all along by B. Cool and his own saying as above noted That there is but one General Rule of Faith and Practice to all Mankind is such a plain Proof of his Deism in opposition to the Christian Faith that greater cannot be given notwithstanding of what he talks in contradiction and Inconsistency to himself and W. Penn and his other Brethren p. 27. That God in his Mercy and Goodness hath super-added the Holy Scriptures for a Rule to us to walk by and according to Yet saith he we are not therefore to neglect the inward Law and Rule and Eternal Precepts in our Hearts because we have an outward one to walk by Thus he still leaves the true State of the Controversy on purpose to divert and deceive his Weak Reader by his juggling None saith that we ought to neglect the inward Law or Light in the Conscience of all Mankind because we have the outward Rule of the holy Scriptures for true Christians highly Esteeem of both and Labour to conform their Lives to both but as to all the peculiar Doctrines and Precepts of Christianity as distinct from Deism or Gentile Religion however refined they hold the Rule of the Christian Faith and Religion with respect to its peculiar Doctrines and Precepts to be such a Rule as the Heathens have not and it may be acknowledged to be a Superadded Rule as much as Christian Religion is a superadded Religion to any thing that was or is True in Gentile Religion But for B. Cool and his Brethren who own but one general Rule and Practice to all Mankind And say the Light within every Man is sufficient to Salvation without any thing else Let him deny this if he dares to talk of a superadded Rule is a Contradiction and Inconsistence for if they allow a Rule superadded to the common Illumination obliging Christians to believe and practice any more things than what the Heathens are obliged to they make two Rules one common to Christian and Heathens viz. The Light Within the other peculiar to the Christian which is of a far greater Perfection and hath a far greater Number of things both to be believed and practised and of a higher Nature many or most of them than what the common Illumination in the Consciences of Mankind generally Teacheth And as Concerning what B. Cool Grants of Gods Superadding the Holy Scriptures for a Rule to us to walk by I ask him Was that Superadded Rule absolutely necessary to be added to our Christianity through our Faith and Obedience to it If he say it was and is then he contradicts their Fundamental Notion of the sufficiency of the Light Within all Mankind to Salvation and all Mens having but one general Rule his own Words If it be not absolutely necessary what need of it's being superadded seeing the common illumination hath a sufficiency in it abundantly according to the Quakers not only to inform the Understanding of all things necessary to Salvation without any super-added Rule but of Grace to enable all Mankind perfectly to obey all Gods Commands and to attain to a Sinless Perfection and that in a much nearer way and with fewer means as having fewer and easier Precepts for who can deny but the Laws and dictates of the Common Illuminations given to all Mankind are much fewer and easier to be obey'd than what the Christian Religion Superadds for it cannot be proved that the