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A54213
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The skirmisher defeated and truth defended being an answer to a pamphlet, entituled, A skirmish made upon Quakerism / by William Penn.
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Penn, William, 1644-1718.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing P1364; ESTC R21605
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31,443
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43
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pretended Minister of the Gospel to have consulted before he had engaged himself upon so strange a Skirmish That this Injury done me may more distinctly appear I shall here set down once more I hope without Offence to the Reader the present Parson's Text not his Sermon that 's too tedious No Command in the Scripture is any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience It is Conviction that can only oblige to Obedience When any Man is convinced that what was commanded another is required of him then and not till then he is rightly authorized to perform it I omit to mention his Comment but every Thing that is vicious prophane and diabolical he makes to follow upon those Premises That my Reader may the better see whether my Matter and Design at large merits any such Constructions I chuse to insert and that as the best and briefest Way the 5th Chapter of my Rejoynder to J. Faldo which contains his Charge and Proof my Answer thus pared and patched by J. C. his Reply and my Rejoynder as a more compleat Defence of E. B's and my Assertion against the vile Interpretations of J. Faldo so dexterously followed by J. C. and therefore equally fit for him Here follows the 5th Chapter of my Rejoynder to J. F. containing a Vindication of my Doctrine from any such Evil Consequences as are by I. C. charged upon it with this further Advertisement that the Reader observe that those Lines of Capital Letters are the Passages quoted by I. C. and all the rest of my Answer in the Common Letter with Comma's on the sides herein recited and much more is wilfully omitted by my Adversary also the Reader is desired to consider of the Marginal Notes by which he will be help't to understand the Disingenuity of I. C. against me my Friends and our holy Profession Of Scripture-Commands what are binding and what not Our Adversary's Disingenuity observed BUt however he has fail'd in his last Chapter doubtless he thinks he has done my Business in this he begins like himself Rep. My Charge and Argument in this Chapter is The Quakers affirm the Doctrines Commands Promises holy Examples expressed in Scripture as such not to be at all binding to us such an Argument and so proved by me mark Reader as a Thousand Penns can never invalid it Rejoyn What can there be more conceited then this He must live very lonely and far from Neighbours that proclaims so much Praise to himself and have wonderful Confidence to bid Defiance so vainly to others Reader I beseech thee for the Truth 's sake on whose side soever thou shalt find it to be to examine with all Impartiallity his Charge our Answer his Reply and our Rejoynder If his Honesty Reason and Justice hold any Proportion to his great Confidence we yield But if upon an impartial Consideration he shall be found to clip and pervert our Matter and to shuffle with us in his own once do a poor People Right in giving Judgment against this horrible Injustice The Charge thou hast heard the Proof was this That is no Command of God to me what he commanded to another Did any of the Saints which we read of act by that Command which was to another not having the Command to themselve c. Now before I give my Answer as it was set down in my Book I shall insert his Quotation of my Answer Rep To this saith P. I answer briefly and plainly and he is as good as his word No Commands saith he in the Scripture are any further obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Conviction upon his Conscience otherwise men should be engaged without if not against Conviction a thing unreasonable in a Man Rejoyn He has a notable way of Contracting his Adversary's Answers I will set down what I writ faithfully plainly and briefly Edward Burroughs's Expression may be taken two wayes and both safe enough to the Honour and Credit of the Scripture though not to the Charity or Honesty of J. Faldo Now follows that part he cited NO COMMAND IN THE SCRIPTURE IS ANY FURTHER OBLIGING UPON ANY MAN THEN AS HE FINDS A CONVICTION UPON HIS CONSCIENCE otherwise Men should be engaged without if not against Conviction a thing Unreasonable in a Man Therefore the Apostle when he wrote to the Church exhorted them not to do those things whereof they were ashamed to shun what was manifested to be Evil and affirms that whatever might be known of God was manifested within for God had shown is unto them SO THAT CONVICTION CAN ONLY OBLIGE TO OBEDIENCE and since what works that Conviction is the manifesting Light universal Grace or quickning Spirit in the Heart of Mankind it follows that the principal Ground for our Faith in the Scriptures and Reason of our Obedience to the holy Precepts therein contained is the Manifestation Conviction and secret drawing of the Light or Spirit of God in the Conscience And thus E B's words are sound and scriptural for the Scriptures are chiefly believed to be true upon Conviction therefore every Practice therein AND WHEN ANY MAN IS CONVINCED THAT WHAT WAS COMMANDED ANOTHER IS REQUIRED OF HIM THEN AND NOT TILL THEN HE IS RIGHTLY AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM IT Again Such Commands either relate to Ordinary or Extraordinary Cases By Ordinary Cases I mean such as chiefly concern Faith and holy Life which are general permanent and indispensible and then I deny his Consequence By Extraordinary Cases I understand Moses 's going to Pharaoh the Prophets several manneres of Appearance to the Kings Priests and People of Israel with other Temporary Commands relating to outward services c. And so we say that what is commanded One Man is not binding as such upon another But when the Lord shall say If thou sinnest thou shalt dye If thou keepest my Commands thou shalt â—ive Be ye holy for I the Lord your God am holy For your selves KNOW YE NOT how ye ought to follow us c I say these Precepts and Examples are obliging upon all why because they more or less meet with a Conviction In the Consciences of all For I am perswaded none that has a reasonable Soul who has not out-lived his Day but would readily say These are true and weighty Sayings For Faith in God and a holy self-denying Life are necessary both to Temporal Eternal Happiness It was Reader to this sober Answer he slung out his foregoing Rant and makes this following Comment and Reply Viz. says J. Faldo Rep. They are no Commands unless we think so 'T is no sin to break all the Commands in the Bible if our Consciences can be so blind dead or hardened as not to tell us 't is a sin They who thought they did God good service in killing his Servants did not sin in the least because they were not convinced of a Command to the contrary To vindicate
my whole Chapter concerning the Scriptures 'T is a Principle that hath all Iniquity in the Womb of it Who can find Names for such Impious Principles Penâ— hath opposed scorned the Truth vilified its Teachers and Defenders so as scarce never Man did vented the most pernicious Errors told abundance of those things that are known to himself to be False Rejoyn Reader This is all the Justice and Reason I can have from this pretended meek and suffering Nonconforming Parson What would such men do had they as much Power as Anger But I shall leave him with his Pride Passion Is there any thing more clear then that he extends the words of E. Burroughs to Ordinary Cases which were wholely writ about Extraordinary and that he takes no more notice of my Distinction then if there had been none made As if it had been formerly an equal Sin for any not to be Circumcised and to Murder his Father or Prince or that there was the same Conviction universally upon the Consciences of all Men not to wear â—insey Wolsey as to do by others as they would have others do to them That what we say was E. Burroughs's Meaning his own Words undeniably prove One sayes he was sent to baptize and another to preach the Gospel which were particular and extraordinary Commands He clearly shuffles and evades the dint of my Answer would run us within the Borders of Rantism The Question is not Are God's Commands no Commands unless we think so and therefore no sin to break all the Commands in the Bible which is the Comment he bestows upon us but whether this or that especial Injunction to any Particular Person or Persons to this or that peculiar End be warrantably immitable without sufficient Conviction and Commission Must J. F. Baptize because John Baptized or turn Preacher because Peter was one E. B. only denyed Imitation of Ancient Times in Temporary and Shadowy Services and all those Preachings Prayings Ordinances and Churches that have not as Peter Martyr well expresses it the holy Spirit for thâ—ir Root So that instead of his holding a Principle that hath all Iniquity in the Womb of it John Faldo first perverts his words and then to confute them both implyes a Denyal of the holy Spirit to be the only right Leader to the Performance of Gospel prayer Preaching and Ordinances and of gathering of Evangelical Churches and does as good as tell us that Gods Commandments are such to him not because of any Conviction in himself of the Justness of them but from the Testimony of the Scriptures which for all his high Boasts of Christianity is a State far beneath those noble Gentiles who not having an outward Law were a Law unto themselves having the Effect of it written in their Hearts their Conscience hearing witness c. And this we may boldly say That such as ever acted from that inward Sense never thought they did God good Service in Killing his Servants whilst great Admirers of the Letter of the Scriptures and who as concerning this Commandment Thou shalt not Murder thought themselves most unblameable believed They did God good service in killing his Servants Nor can I think it so great a Disgrace to our Cause that we ingenuously profess the Reason why we desire to fear God and keep his Commandments doing unto others as we would have them do unto us not so much to be from the Letter of the Scripture as the Convictions of the Eternal Light and Spirit of God in our Consciences as it ought to be unto John Faldo and Adherents who ground their Obedience upon his the Letter of the Scripture and not upon such internal Convictions What is it but to say They could Lye Swear Steal Kill c. without any Remorse did they not find such Injunctions and Prohibitions upon record A Consequence so detestable yet so natural to their Principles that if this render them not able Guides to the very Confines of Rantism and Atheism I shall gladly ask an Excuse for my Ignorance But that I may lâ—ave nothing undone that may compleat the Satisfaction of every moderate Inquirer I shall further weigh and rejoyn to these words of his They who thought they did God good Service in killing his Servants did not sin in the least because they were not convinced of a Command to the contrary nor the Idolaters in the case of Baal because they thought Baal to be a God indeed Now Reader observe the Evasion This Passage relates not to Men's practising what God commands or our Tenderness in imitating other Saints without Commission for fear we should offer strang Fire which is our Question but their doing that which God never commanded yea which Mankind in all Ages hath adjudged impious and which to be sure his Holy Spirit that E. B. said All men should wait to be convinced assisted and led by in fulfilling God's Commandments never moved any to He unworthily draws a general Conclusion against us from meer particular Premises It seems men are to act without if not against Conviction upon his principle and that it is the same thing with him to commit moral Enormities from an Hardned Heart and to be tender of taking up any external Practice or performing some Religious Duty without the Convictions and Leadings of the Holy Spirit The Apostle said to such as had not as yet so full clearness as others That if any were otherwise minded God would reveal it He did not injoyn them during that Scruple to believe or practise the thing doubted but therefore did Persecutors act inexcusably in their fiery Zeal because their blind Consciences checkt them not Again If Blindness came from Education it is â—though Blindness still and therefore it was basely done of I. Faldo to say in our Names that it is not Sin in the least c. more excusable for in the Dayes of such Ignorance God winks But if it be a Blindness proceeding from long Disobedience and Rebellion against the Convictions and Strivings of the good Spirit of God as his word Hardned implies then I say it is not only very hainous in Gods Sight but those Persons can never be excus'd neither from great Guilt nor the Sense of it in themselves let them or I. F. talk never so much of Conscience Besides the most Essential and Universally Necessary Commands of God were through all Ages confest to both before there was any of those Writings we rightly call the Scriptures of Truth from the Law of Nature as many stile it or rather the Law of God placed in Man's Nature and since where they have never been Therefore whatever particular hardned and seared Consciences may say we have the Consent of Mankind and their own Rebellion and Lewdness against them But the Words of J. Faldo in plain terms import as if 1st Men were not generally convinced of the Righteousness of the Moral Commands of God but that Men keep