A Serious Appeal To all the more Sober Impartial Judicious People IN NEVV ENGLAND To whose Hands this may come Whether Cotton Mather in his late Address c. hath not extreamly failed in proving the People call'd Quakers guilty of manifold Heresies Blasphemies and strong Delusions and whether he hath not much rather proved himself extreamly Ignorant and greatly possessed with a Spirit of Perversion Error Prejudice and envious Zeal against them in general and G.K. in particular in his most uncharitable and rash Judgment against him Together with a Vindication of our CHRISTIAN FAITH In those Things Sincerely Believed by us especially respecting the Fundamental Doctrines and Principles of CHRISTIAN RELIGION By GEORGE KEITH Printed and Sold by William Bradford at Philadelphia in Pennsylvania in the Year 1692. A few Words of Preface WHereas Cotton Mather in his Preface begineth 〈◊〉 a gross Falshood to wit that it hath been fully prâ—â—â—â— that Quakerism is Paganism for it never yet 〈◊〉 been proved by him nor any other nor ever will be to wit 〈◊〉 the Religion professed by the sincere and faithful Pâ—ople called 〈◊〉 scorn Quakers is either Paganism or any other thing than reâ—â— Christianity although there may be some that may be calleâ— Quakers but are not owned by us to be our faithful Brethren even as they are not all true Christians who are so called nor were they all Israel who were called Israel The Reader may expect what full store of Lyes he may be entertained with by Cotton Mather when the first two Lines of his Preface are such a notorious Lye And as for the Etymology of the Name Christian which as he alledgeth one that appears lately in Print as an Advocate of the Quakers giveth as if Christianoi were Christionoi that is Christ's Asses he should have given us the Name of that Advocate that we might have found how truly he hath cited him It hath been thought that some of the Heathens by way of Reproach did devise such an Etymology of the Name Christianos as if it were Christionos i. e. Christs Ass but I judge not that to be the true Etymology of that Name but that Christianos is as much as to say A Follower of Christ or one partaking of that heavenly Anointing which in all Fullness was poured by the Father on Christ and is derived in various Measures from Christ according to the good pleasure of God unto all that believe sincerely in him But supposing that Etymology that a Christian Quaker is one of Christs Asses I propose it to the serious Consideration of the People of New-England whether it be not much more honourable and profitable to be one of Christs Asses so as to witness a fullfilling 〈◊〉 figure of Christs riding upon the Ass outwardly as was â—â—â—phecied of him than to be the Priests Asses in New-England 〈◊〉 else-where to be rid upon by them as is too manifest they 〈◊〉 been And for his supposed Load he hath imagined he hath 〈◊〉 on us it toucheth us little and returneth on himself and 〈◊〉 be his own Burden And concerning Christian Lodowick his Challenge to the Quakers in Rhode-Island it is sufficiently answered and he declared to be a gross Calumniator CHAP. I. WHereas Cotton Mather in his late Address seemeth 〈◊〉 lay great weight on the Opinion of Richard Baxteâ— whom he calleth Reverend Baxter concerning thâ— Quakers I thought fit to Transcribe some few Passages of Richard Baxter in a printed Book of his called Directions for weak distempered Christians that may be of some service to that injured People called in scorn Quakers In pag. 142. of that Book he saith From my own Observation which with a grieved Soul I have made in this Generation I hereby give warning to this and all succeeding Ages that if they have any regard to Truth or Charity they take heed how they believe any factious partial Historian or Divine in any evil that he saith of the Party that he is against for though there be good and credible Persons of most Parties yet you shall find that Passion and Partiality prevaileth against Conscience Truth and Charity in most that are sick of this Disease and that the Envious Zeal which is described James 3. doth make them think they do God Service first in believing false Reports and then in venting them against those that their Zeal or Faction doth call the Enemies of Truth And a little after he saith pag. 143. Most Christian is that Advice of Dr. Henry Moore That all Parties of Christians would mark all the good which is in other Parties and be more forward to speak of that than of the Evil And this saith Baxter would promote the Work of Charity in the Church and the interest of Christianity in the World whereas the overlooking of all that 's Good and aggravating all the Evil and falsly feigning more than is True is the Work of greatest Service to the Devil c. Now if both Richard Baxter and Cotton Mather had well practised this Advice they would not have been so Uncharitable to the People called Quakers But seeing C.M. layeth so great weight on his Reverend Baxter as he calleth him though I find not any where that he calleth Paul Peter or John or any of the Prophets or Apostles by such a high designation even by Baxter's own Judgment neither G.K. nor his Brethren who are of his Faith are guilty of any Fundamental Errors that are repugnant to the Essence of the Christian Faith And it is a thing generally acknowledged by all Protestants That where any Man 〈…〉 â—ociety of Men err not in a Fundamental Article of the Christian â—â—â—th we ought to have Charity towards them as our Christian â—â—ethren if in some other things they are under some Mistakes and â—â—at their Conversation and Practice be free of Scandal And that I â—ay the more effectually make it apparent how that by the Judgment 〈◊〉 Richard Baxter neither G.K. nor his Brethren who are of his Faith â—â—e guilty of any Fundamental Errors touching the Christian Faith 〈◊〉 think fit to transcribe faithfully a Passage in his fore-cited Book pag. 84 85 86. where he undertaketh to describe the intire Essence of the Christian Faith as to the matter of it The Foundation Principle saith he or Fundamental Matter is God the Father Son and holy Ghost the secondary Foundation or Fundamental Doctrine is those Scripture Propositions that express our Faith in God the Father the Son and the holy Ghost When we name three Persons as the Object of the Christian Faith we express Names of Relation which contain both the Persons Nature and Offices and undertaken Works without either of which God were not God and Christ were not Christ and the holy Ghost were not in the sence of our Articles of Faith the holy Ghost as we must therefore believe That there is one only God so we must believe That God the Father is the first in the holy Trinity of Persons that
the whole Godhead is perfect and infinite in Being and Power and Wisdom and Goodness in which all his Attributes are comprehended but yet a distinct Vnderstanding of them all is not of absolute necessity to Salvation That this God is the Creator Preserver and Disposer of all things and the Owner and Ruler of Mankind most Just and Merciful that as he is the beginning of all so he is the ultimate end and the chief good of Man which before all things else must be loved and Sought Concerning the Son we must moreover believe That he is the same God with the Father the second Person in Trinity Incarnate and so became Man by a Personal Vnion of the Godhead and Manhood He omitteth his being conceived of the holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary which was needful to have been exprest it being a great Article of our Christian Faith That he was without Original or Actual Sin having a sinless Nature and a sinless Life That he fullfilled all Righteousness and was put to Death as a Sacrifice for our sins and gave himself a Ransom for us and being buried he rose again from the dead and afterward ascended into Heaven where he is Lord of all and interceedeth for Believers That he will come again and raise the dead and judge the World the Righteous to Everlastâ—â—â— Life and the Wicked to Everlasting Punishment That this is the onâ— Redeemer the Way the Truth and the Life neither is there access to thâ— Father but by him nor Salvation in any other Concerning the Holy Ghost we must believe That he is the same one God the third Person in Trinity sent by the Father and the Son to inspire the Prophets and Apostles and thaâ— the Doctâ—ine inspired and miraculously attested by him is true that he iâ— the Sanctifier of these that shall be saved renewing them after the Image of God in Holiness and Righteoâ—sness giving them true Repentance Faith Hope Love and sincere Obedience causing them to overcome the Flesh the World and the Devil thus gathering a holy Church on Earth to Christ who have by his Blood the Pardon of all their sins and shall have Everlasting Blâ—ssâ—dness with God This saith Richard Baxter is the Essence of the Christian Faith as to the Matter of it And now as concerning that judged by Richard Baxter the Essence of the Christian Faith as to the Matter of it I declare sincerely without all Equivocation or mental Reservation in the true and genuine sence of the Words that I have transcribed out of his said Treatise that I know not wherein I or my Brethren of my Faith and Perswasion differ from him in any one particular as to the matter of it or substance therein contained the only exception we have is against that unscriptural Term or Phrase of Three Persons or a Trinity of Persons but we own sincerely That our Faith ought to be and is in God the Father the Son and the holy Ghost and that these Names are Names of Relation respecting the Relations as well as the Relative Offices and Works of those Three and this being granted by us in the sincerity of our Hearts we are excused or cleared by John Calvin for whose Memory I suppose C. Mather hath as full and great esteem as for R. Baxter for in his first Book of Institutions cap. 13. n. 5. he saith expresly Vtinam quidem sepulta essent se inventâ— Nomina as he expresly calleth them Trium Personarum constaret modo hec inter omnes Fides Patrem et Filium et Spiritum esse unum Deum nec tamen aut Filium esse Patrem aut Spiritum Filium sed proprietate quadam esse distinctos neque enim tam precisa sum austeritate ut obnudas voculas digladiari sustineam In English thus I wish saith he the invented Names viz. of Three Persons were buried providing this Faith were manifest among all that the Father the Son and the Spirit is one God and yet that the Son is not the Father nor that the Spirit is the Son but that they are distinct by a certain Property to wit in their â—â—lative Attributes as that the Father did beget the Son and the â—on was begotten of the Father and that the holy Spirit did proceed â—â—om both for I am not of such precise Austerity said Calvin that â—or bare small Words I would contend and withall he confesseth That the Orthodox antiently did not agree about these Terms or invented Words â—â—at he acknowledgeth were invented since the Apostles dayes to guard â—gainst the Arrian Sabellian and other Heresies And therefore since we are altogether free of these Heresies and that we detest them from our very Souls no sober Christian will judge uncharitably of us in that respect And as for the word Distinct if some of our Friends taking it to signifie distant or seperated asunder one from another as in remote and distant places have refused it in this and other matters as indeed sometimes at least vulgarly it doth so signifie as when we say America is distinguished from Europe by a great spacious Sea interveening they ought not to be accused for so doing seeing in that other sence of the word Distinct that is more in use among Schollars as when we say Things are distinct when the one is not the other they own a Distinction as that the Father is not the Son the Son is not the Father though he is our Father and is expresly call'd in Scripture the Everlasting Father and Christ's Manhood and Body is not the Godhead and yet one Christ as the Body of a Man is not his Soul and yet Body and Soul is one Man and in this second sence we do allow the word distinct And as to the Manner of receiving the Christian Faith we grant with him first That it must not only be received as true into our Understanding by a special divine Illumination that is supernatural but must be imbraced by the Will Heart and Affections as good yea exceeding good and worthy of all acceptation by a special divine Motion and working of the holy Spirit that is supernatural in upon the Will Heart and Affections 2 dly That as touching all the peculiar Mysteries and Doctrines of Faith the Scriptures have been Instrumental by and together with the immediate working of the Spirit to beget in us the true Faith of them But in this we differ I suppose from him as well as from C. Mather and his Brethren of New-England that whereas they hold That the Spirit of God worketh in Believers Effectively but not Objectively or by way of sensible Object or sensibly and perceptibly by its own Self-Evidence and Demonstration to mens Hearts and Souls We affirm That the Spirit of God worketh in Believers both Effectively 〈◊〉 also Objectively or by way of sensible Object or sensibly and â—â—â—ceptibly by its own Evidence and Demonstration to mens Heaâ—â—â— and Souls And this divers call'd Protestants have
〈…〉 10.3 And that he saith it s descended into all 〈…〉 iâ— false for as I am informed it is not used in 〈…〉 other Countries in the World And for his â—â—â—ing 〈…〉 some of us saying Thou writes Thou 〈…〉 Case of the Second Person to a Verb of the 〈…〉 It is not so much the Incongruity with a 〈…〉 fault in using You 〈◊〉 one as the 〈…〉 and the gratifying a proud Spirit and bowing to 〈…〉 be pleased with Thou altho' they give it to God in Prayer◠〈…〉 or other that they despise also to say You to 〈…〉 more in company maketh Confusion in the sence 〈…〉 uncertain whether one or more are intended but to say Thou 〈◊〉 hath no such inconveniency nor argueth no vain Respect oâ— Personâ— Nor hath he any better Argument for Salâ—â—ing with the Hat 〈◊〉 Custom but seeing uncovering the Head as well as bowing the 〈◊〉 are Religious significations of our Reverence to God in Prayers we should not give them to the Creature for it is very proper that some what of Distinction be made externally betwixt our Reverence to our Maker and our Reâ—â—â—ct to Magistrates Parents Kindred or Neighbours But he conâ—â—â—deth with a rare way to deal with us at last viz. To throw their Caps 〈◊〉 us which bespeaketh a very airy and frothy Spirit very unbecoming a Minister of Christ yea not well becoming any Colledge-Boy of New-England When the Preachers are thus light and vain what may be expected but that in Jeremiah is fulfilled Jer. 23.32 They cause thy People to Err by their Lyes and by their Lightness c. And another Instance of his Lightness and Airyness is as because one of us said as he doth alledge in a Catechism Let none reason about us for there they can never know us nor com unto us that is in Reason But nothing but a meer Spirit of Perversion would turn the sence of this as if the Quakers did renounce all true Reason whereas the sence that is obvious to all impartial men is Reason falsly so called or carnal Reason that is certainty a great Enemy to all true divine and spiritual Knowledge for what is the Wisdom of the World that is foolishness with God as the Scripture declareth but carnal Reason Reasonings and therefore saâ—â—â— the Scripture If any will be Wise let him be a Fool and again 〈◊〉 â—ot to thy own Vnderstanding And C.M. might as well mock at 〈…〉 saying Cor. 10. 4 5. The Weapons of our Warfare are not 〈…〉 Mighty and to throw down Reasonings the Greek word being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is plain that tho Paul expresseth no distinction betwixt Reasonings and Reasonings more than that Catechism yet he doth not mean all Reasoning of all sort as to exclude or destroy the use of it even in divine Matters for Paul maketh most excellent use of it in proving Justification by Faith in Christ Jesus and the Resurrection of the Dead and other divine things also Christ and the Prophets did make most excellent use of true and right Reason to wit 〈◊〉 enlightned by the divine Spirit and governed thereby and in due 〈…〉 thereto and this use of it the People called Quakers approve and according to their measure have made and do make good use of even in divine matters and through Gods Mercy many can say their Reason or reasonable Understanding as men is greatly improv'd and perfected by their acquaintance with that divine Light of Christ in them and no wise impaired But if C.M. think that bare humane Reason alone without all divine internal Illumination can enable a man to understand divine Things and Mysteries he is more a Socinian than Presbyterian or Independent And the like silly and airy Jest he slingeth at Isaac Pennington withal grosly perverting his words pag. 45. as because I.P. would have them stript of all their fleshly knowledge of the Scripture which according to Paul he calleth Knowledge after the Flesh or to be wise after the Flesh which 〈◊〉 Death Rom. 8.6 That therefore he would have them stript of the Scriptures All which Perversions and many more in his Book with many gross Lyes that C.M. useth show plainly how weak he is when he has no better Weapons to defend himself and render us odious And whereas he would in the Conclusion fix it upon G.F. That he thought himself equal with God and that the Soul of man were God or a part of him But seeing he bringeth not this from G.F. but from Faldo a most partial and envious Adversary it is not to be regarded and VV. Penn hath sufficiently vindicated G.F. and also G.F. hath cleared it in his Book That he did witness both the Son and the holy Spirit revealed in him who as he taketh notice by the Westminster Confessions acknowledgment are equal to God the Father And what G.F. speaketh of the Soul its being a part but more properly a measure of the Spirit of God he doth not understand it of the Soul of many that is essential to man but of the divine Soul or Spirit in man or to speak with the Scripture the Soul of God as it is written If 〈…〉 back â—â—ith God my Soul shall have no pleasure in him And again Shall not my Soul be avenged c. and though part or portion with respect to God be not so proper yet by a tollerable Catachresis even in Scripture it is used Job 26.14 How little a portion is heard of him But to speak properly God has no parts or portions as he hath no Bodily Members which yet by a figure in Scripture are assigned to him in condescention to our low Capacity But for his saying That Souls that can digest Quakerism serve but as the Salt of the Flesh they live in showeth sufficiently he has no Salt in him to savour with the things of God Indeed if Quakerism were such a thing as he doth represent it to be and would fain have People believe it to be or that the 20th part that he saith of it were true it were most abominable and such who hold it would be most unworthy and not fit to be esteemed Men for less Christians but blessed be God our Religion is not that which he would make it to be nor are we such as he describeth and it is a great Questions to me if he doâ—h really think these things that he saith of us to be true either in general or in great part and if he doth not think so the greater is his sin The other things in the last two or three Pages of his Book are so notoriously false as that The main design of Quakerism is to advance and exalt Man and that they do in effect every one make himself a Christ and such like Lying stuff I shall not need to Refute seeing every one that hath the least knowledge of us knoweth them to be scandalous â—yes And for the advancing man into Pride or vain Glory it is so far
acknowledged 〈◊〉 us though denyed by C.M. and his Brethren of New-England 〈◊〉 yet I suppose R. Baxter will not call this a Fundamental Error in 〈◊〉 People called Quakers seeing it contradicts none of the Fundameâ—â—â—â— Articles delivered by him in his said Treatise And if any say or object That if the Spirit worketh by way of 〈◊〉 sensible Object upon the inward and spiritual Senses of Believers 〈◊〉 would make void all use of the Scriptures as being so much as the Instrument or Instrumental to our Faith But I Answer denying this Consequence and by distinguishing the Object of our Faith to wit that the Scriptures are the Instrumental and secondary Object of our Faith and the holy Spirit the principal and primary Object of our Faith as it is sensibly felt to work upon our inward and spiritual Senses together with the Father and the Son Even as in outward and natural Objects that work upon our outward and natural Senses some are principal and others are instrumental as in our natural sight of visible Things on Earth as Horses Woods Trees Beasts the Sun's Light is the principal Object of our sight but the things are at least the secondary and instrumental Object thereof or as when we read on a Book the Light that we read with is the principal Object and the Letters of the book are the secondary and instrumental and though we cannot see the Letters of the Book without some light yet we may see light yea the Sun himself if we have good Eyes without the Book and so God and Christ and the Spirit may be inwardly seen felt and known and is frequently seen felt known and enjoyed by the inward and spiritual Senses of Believers without all present use of Letters or Books when the Knowledge is Intuitive and Sensible But as for the Doctrinal Knowledge as we acknowledge it is requisite in order to bring us to so high an enjoyment of God and Christ as Vision or Intuitive Knowledge or Intuition so we grant it is commonly wrought in us and increased by means of the holy Scriptures instrumentally working with the holy Spirit and that therefore the holâ— Scriptures are of great profit and service to all Ranks and Conditions of People yea to such of the highest spiritual Attainments while remaining in the mortal Body I 〈…〉 therefore with and in behalf of my Friends and Brethren of 〈…〉 Faith and Perswasion with me in all parts of the World 〈◊〉 this Solemn Appeal to you the more Sober impartial and Judiâ—â—â—â—â— People in Boston and else-where in New-England to whose 〈◊〉 this may come Whether Cotton Mather is not extreamly Unâ—â—â—â—â—itable and possessed with a Spirit of Prejudice and envious Zeal 〈…〉 R. Baxters phrase against the Quakers in general and me in â—â—â—â—â—cular as guilty of manifold Heresies Blasphemies and strong 〈◊〉 to the rendering us No Christians in the lowest degree or 〈◊〉 while I suppose he hath som Charity to some in the Church of 〈◊〉 called Papists and to Lutherans Aâ—minians and divers others 〈◊〉 differ widely from him yet agreeing in the afore-said Fundamentals when we hold the same Fundamentals of Christian Doctrine 〈◊〉 Faith both with Rich. Baxter and many others as so declared by â—hem And notwithstanding of Cotton Mathers strong Asseverations â—gainst us as if we denyed almost all or most of the Fundamental Articles 〈◊〉 the Christian and Protestant Faith yet he shall never be able to prove it That we are guilty of this his so extreamly rash and uncharitable Charge either as in respect of the Body of that People called in scorn Quakers or in respect of any particular Writers or Publishers of our Doctrines and Principles and Preachers among us generally owned and approved by us as men of a sound Judgment and Understanding And as for his Citations out of the Quakers printed Books Treatises I would have you to consider that most of them all are borrowed and taken not from our own Books but from our professed Adversaries men known well enough to be possessed with Prejudice against us such as Thomas Hicks and John Faldo and others whoâ— our Friends in Old-England and particularly George Whitehead and William Penn have largely answered yea I do here solemnly charge Cotton Mather to give us but one single instance of any one Fundamenâ—al Article of Christian Faith denyed by us as a People or by any one of our Writers or Preachers generally owned and approved by us And if perhaps there be any Citations that C.M. cites out of our Books that he hath read that seem to confirm his Charge in one or two particulars against us I do sincerely answer that I am at a loss to find them in these Books partly because divers of these Books cited by him I am altogether a stranger to them and know not where to find them in all America and partly because he not citing the Chapters Sections Parts or Pages of them that may be 〈…〉 here in America I cannot but with great pains and expence of 〈…〉 find them out and I judge I can much better spend my precious 〈…〉 than in searching of them and it sufficeth to me and I hope dot◠〈◊〉 many others that according to the best Knowledge I have of 〈◊〉 People called Quakers and these most generally owned by them 〈◊〉 Preachers and Publishers of their Faith of unquestioned estâ—â—â— among them and worthy of double Honour as many such there 〈◊〉 I know none that are guilty of any one of such Heresies and Blaspâ—â—mies as he accuseth them Yet we deny not but as it hath happeâ—ed and doth daily happen to Writers and Preachers belonging to 〈◊〉 other Societies so it may have happened to some among us to havâ— at times in writing or speaking delivered things not so warily and cautiously worded in every respect as need were But in this case all but prejudiced Persons will say If it can be found by comparing their words one with another that their sence or meaning is found though not so altogether safely or cautiously worded in every respect Charity is to be allowed and the best Construction ought to be given to their words or they themselves or their Friends for them in respect of their absence or decease who did best know them ought to be allowed to give their sence of them as I have done in the sincerity of my heart according to my best understanding and knowledge of them and I think I should know and do know these called Quakers and their Principles far better than Cotton Mather or any or all his Brethren having been conversant with them in publick Meetings as well as in private Discourses with the most noted and esteemed among them for about Twenty Eight Years past and that in may places of the World in Europe and for these divers Years in America And I further say That if any things through inadvertency have been said or writ by any of us and that it can be found