Acts 10. 34. where Peter saith of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons Sixthly where thou sayest there is no absolute decree of Election and reprobation from Eternity and sayest see a late Confession of Faith by Burroughs To this I say there is no such position in his confession of faith as thou here hath asserted but that we do believe that their is a state of Election and Reprobation as is there confest and faithfully acknowledged Seaventhly thou sayest that the Scriptures are not the Rule this is charged upon them by the Ministers of New-Castle as thou sayest To this I say as many as are begotten of the immortal seed to a lively hope by the word of God which abides for ever are his sons and children and such are led by the Spirit of God and it is their rule and not the letter Rom. 8. 14. and yet such are not Papists nor to be parallel'd with Bellarmine who shews the Scriptures are not necessary for they acknowledge that they are necessary that the man of God may be perfect and throughly furnished unto all good works 2 Tim. 3. 17. Eighthly thou compares us to the papists for saying the baptisme of Infants is not to be proved by the Scripture and quotes Bellarmine for calling it a tradition that 's no where written To this I say though we are no Papists yet I believe that Bellarmine confesses in this thing more truth than thou for it is very like it is a tradition which in its beginning was instituted by the Papists Church yet however this I am sure of that it is not recorded in the Scriptures of truth that ever God commanded it or any of his Ministers whom he sent forth practiced it therefore the Papist and thou that preaches it up as an ordinance of God is required to prove if you can when God ordained it or any of his Apostles practiced it and if you cannot Confess you have taught for ordinances mens traditions and seeing the Papists do confesse it is a tradition well may you Protestants doe the same for you had the practice of sprinkling Infants from them and in this you have drunk the whores cup. Ninethly whereas thou sayest that one day of seaven which we call the Lords day is no more than any other day and that it is without divine Authority To this I say further there is no command of God in the Scriptures for observing the first day of the week as a Sabboth of rest by ceasing from all bodyly labour of man servant or maid servant cattle and stranger that is within our gates as there was a command of God to the Jewes to observe the seaventh day and keep it holy to the Lord for a Sabboth of rest to them their sons and daughters man-servants and maid-servant cattel and stranger that was within their gates which Sabboth unto them was a signe and thou further sayest we make it Tipecal in which thou compares us to Bellarmine which comparison is altogether unequal for though Bellarmine counted it Tipical yet we make it not Tipecal for it was the seaventh day and not the first day which we say was a signe and concerning the first day of the week if thou hold that it was commanded by divine Authority as the seaventh day once was when thou writes again shew when it was commanded and where the holy Scriptures testifies of any such Command Tenthly whereas thou sayest that we say the Lords Supper as administred in your Churches is nothing but a bit of bread and wine and that we speak scornfully of it To this I say when thou writes again I desire thee to shew us an example if thou canst where ever the Apostles and true Church mett together in a Steeple House or Idolls Temple and broke bread in such a form and manner among unconverted people as you do calling it the Lords Supper or a Sacrament but the Lords Supper which is so in truth we do freely own and whereas thou compares us with the Papists in saying we speak scornfully of that which you call the Lords Supper in this I say thy comparing of us with them is altogether unequal for we do not speak scornfully of it but where we see either the Papists or you in an error we do rather pitty you than scorn you and desires that you may be recovered out of all error and be saved in the day of the Lord yet we do despise and reject the vain traditions of men which is practised for the worship of God by you Eleventhly thou sayest that wee affirm that Protestants Ministers are no Ministers of Christ that we use the vilest Language against you that we can invent deny your call and say you came from Rome c. Answ If thou meanest by Protestant Ministers of such of you as seeks for your gain from your quarters and Preaches for hire and makes a bargain for so much a year these practices being the same as the false Prophets and Papists are in doth in some measure demonstrate that your begining was from Rome for no example can you shew for those practices aforementioned among all the Holy Prophets or Ministers of Christ that have been since the begining And whereas thou sayest that we use the vilest language that we can invent against you I Answer this is utterly false for no vile language do we use or invent against you but the language of truth telling you plainly without flattering of the evil of your wayes that you may repent and in thus doing we have the holy Prophets of old for our example Twelfly that we have the same spirit of Infallability that the Apostles had To this I say further both we and all Gods children who are of the little flock have the same Infallible Spirit according to its measure and manifestation which is given to every child of God to profit withall 1 Cor. 12. 7. and both thou and all that say they have it not but counts it Popery for any to confess they have it art so far from being a Minister of Christ that both thou and they that have it not are not yet of his flock for the Apostle saith plainly if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his Rom. 8. 9. and yet he was no Papist nor with them to be parallel'd no more are we that confesse we have the Spirit of Christ I having rightly stated and vindicated our doctrines against thy slanders and proved them by the holy Scriptures to be the wholesome and sound doctrines of the Gospel I shall go on to lay open and reply against thy slanders and falsities concerning us in which thou hast compared us with the Popish Monks but it had been more wisdome and more like a Minister of Christ to enquired truly into our practices before thou had given judgement upon us or have compared us to the Popish Monks in whose discipiline thou sayest we seem to be admirably
darknesse under that denomination and by that name the light of the world as by any other name under which the Prophets and Apostels preached him in ages past yea or nay IV. Query And whether it was and is popery to affirm that ever the Saints was or can be perfected while they are upon the Earth yea or nay V. Query And whether it is Popery to affirm that Christ Jesus who is made of God Righteousnesse to the Saints is within them the hope of Glory yea or nay VI. Query And if Christ Jesus Gods Righteousnesse be in Saints the hope of Glory then is it Popery to affirm that the righteousnesse through which Saints is justified is revealed within them yea or nay VII Query Whether it is Popery to affirm that some that had known the way of Righteousness and tasted of the good Word of God did fall away yea or nay VIII Query And whether it is Popery to say That none is shut out and reprobated to damnation and misery before they were born IX Query And whether it is Popery to affirm That the holy Scriptures are not the Rule of unbelievers seeing thou seemed to blame some for saying It was not X. Query And whether it is Popery to affirm That God hath not commanded the Gentiles to observe the first day of the week for a Sabbath of rest as he once commanded the Jews to observe the seventh day for a Sabbath day of rest yea or nay XI Query And whether it is Popery To deny that God commanded the Baptism of Infants Or that ever any of his Apostles practised it Or that the Scriptures of truth testifies of it yea or nay XII Query And whether it is Popery to affirm that the Scriptures of truth speaks not of a Sacrament which you and the Papists so much plead for yea or nay XIII Query And whether it is Popery for to affirm that they are no Ministers of Christ which seeks their gain from their parishes and quarters Preaches for hire Divines for mony and makes a bargain for so much by the year though amongst you such may be called Protestant Ministers XIV Query And whether all are Papists that confesse that they have and are led and taught by the Infallible Spirit of Christ yea or nay XV. Query And whether all are Papists that go in plain and moddest apparel without ribbons and lace and such like costly aray which serves onely to please the vain mind and to satisfy the lust which leads the creature from God and is of the world seeing for going in mean apparel thou accused us to lay much stress upon it and compared us to the Monks XVI Qu. And whether they are all Papists that met together in the Name of the Lord and in silence waits in his counsel till his mind and Word be revealed whereby they may edifie one another seeing for meeting sometimes in silence thou hast accused us to lay our Religion upon it and compared us to the Monks XVII Qu. And whether all that have and do use fasting and prayer be Papists yea or nay Seeing thou hast compared us to the Monks for fasting and also hast falsly said we use it as a special means of spiritual knowledge XVIII Qu. And whether all that have gone up and down naked have been and are Papists yea or nay Seeing some among us have been commanded to do so for which thou compares us to the Papists XIX Qu. And whether all that have ceased to wear Ribbons and Lace upon their apparel which is not needful and do not respect persons which saith Thee and Thou to rich and poor are Papists Answer in plainness yea or nay Seeing thou hast falsly accused us for so doing to place our Religion in circumstances and compared us to the Papists XX. Qu. And whether it is not confusion to say we lay much stress upon mean and plain apparel and yet a little after to say we wear rich cloaths Answer in plainness yea or nay XXI Qu. Whether all are Papists that have gone through several Countryes preaching the glad tidings of Salvation and yet have not fainted yea or nay seeing for being unwearied thou compares us to the Monks XXII Qu. And whether the things before queried doth rightly denominate a Papist and is the ground of his being so called Answer in plainness yea or nay A Post-script To William Brownsword and his Parishioners in Kendall AS concerning thy book sent abroad by thee in opposition to the Lords Truth and his People we have seen read and considered and do find it light and empty and a dry confused piece even as a little old scrap of Babylons treasure worth nothing at all except to shew the Authors weakness and ignorance and to give occasion against himself that he may be beat with his own weapon and certain it is that his work his Quaker-Jesuite I mean will not effect the end and purpose intended by him but the Lord shall turn the end backwards upon him and by that through which he hath thought to dishonor the truth and to make it odious among people even thereby shall the truth gain an advantage and appear in more beauty and be more desirable unto many so that thy evil intent shall redound back upon thee and doubtless some of thine own Flock when they have compared thine with its Answer they shall see the weakness and wickedness of the one and the truth plainly proved in the other and the disadvantage will be thine for alas thou art a weak man and many of thy Brethren in iniquity to whom thou canst not be compared for matter of wit and subtilty but art short of them even as an Infant is of a man and they have appeared in much more fair means and politique way than thou hast done and yet their work brought forth in the height of great wit and knowledge have been rejected by us and through the Wisdome of God confounded and their bravest work taken as our spoil of Babylons treasure and then how shouldst thou and thy weak silly piece be otherwise than trampled under our feet and what art thou feeble child of Babylon that thou shouldst thus adventure to come forth into publike view wrapped in an old thred-bare garment Quaker-Jesuite Popery in Quakerisme c. and under this hast thou covered a malicious heart which the Lord will judge and bring thee to feel the weight of thine own iniquities in his dreadful day Alas friend we are far otherwise known through this Nation and about Kendal especially we are known to be none such as thou hast falsly reputed us not Papists but on the contrary we are known to be such who have many of us zealously professed the Lord and earnestly sought after him even from the daies of our childhood and if any have whereof to glory in matter of outward profession we might have something to say as being such who desired after God in our souls in much sincerity of heart and
instructed as will appear by thy following parallels Answ those false parallels and thy unrighteous judgement of us without knowledge will not make it appear that we are instructed in the practice and discipline of Popish Monks whose practice and discipline we deny but rather will discover thy folly and manifest thy unrighteous judgement concerning our practices for which we have example out of the holy Scriptures First thou sayest we lay much stress upon mean and plaine Apparel Answ Thou hast altogether mist in this thy judgement of us for no stresse do we lay upon any visible thing for salvation but in and through Christ onely and alone have wee Salvation and life Eternal and as for apparel and rayment wee take no thought and whether it be mean or not mean apparel which the Lord affords us with it we are content yet our Religion that wee are of doth keep us out of the vanities and pride of the world of which their foolishnesse in apparel doth many times signify Secondly thou sayest that we practice silence especially at some times and lay much of our Religion upon it Answ Thy judgement in this thing as in many others altogether false for our Religion did we never lay upon silence yet we have practiced and do practice waiting in the will and council of God until his mind and word be revealed to us whereby we may edify and build up one another in the most holy faith upon that foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Christ Jesus himself being the cheif Corner Stone Thirdly thou sayest that we practice fasting much in our entrance upon this way and afterwards as a special means of spiritual knowledge viz. James Parnell in Colchester Goal Answ That we have practiced fasting and prayer that wee shall not deny but freely confesse yet in so doing wee are no more to be compared to the Monks than was those holy men to be compared with them to witt David and Daniel and many others that might be Instanced Psal 109. 24. where David saith my knees are weak through fasting and my flesh fails of fatnesse and Dan. 10. 3. where he saith I eat no pleasant bread neither came flesh or wine within my mouth neither did anoynt my self at all till three whole weeks were fulfill'd these holy men and many more have wee for our Example which if they were now upon Earth would be judged to be Popish Monks by that spirit which now judges us and thou sayest afterwards as a special means of spiritual knowledge In this as in the rest thou hast given false judgement altogether though we have practiced fasting and prayer yet wee never estemed it as the special means of spiritual knowledge And whereas thou further speaks of James Parnel in Colechester Goal To this I say the blood of the Innocent servant of the Lord will come upon this Generation of hireling Priests and envious Teachers who hath been a great cause of stirring up the Magistrates to all the persecutions and sufferings that have been afflicted upon the servants of the Lord who have not counted their lives dear unto themselves that they might finish their course with joy and testimony which they had received of the Lord Jesus but have even laid down their lives as a seal of their testimony as James Parnel and others Fourthly thou sayest we run up and down naked though not constantly but at sometimes Answ I say thou canst no more truly compare them that have gone naked in obedience to the command of the Lord for a signe and a wonder unto the world whose false coverrings must be stript off and all their secret evills manifest and their shame made openly to appear to the Grandfather of the Jesuits in this age than thou canst compare Isaiah and Micah true prophets to Idolaters in their age who went naked and barefoot three years for a signe and a wonder upon Egypt and Ethiopia Isaiah 20. and the true Prophet Micah who said I will waile and howl and go stript and naked Micah 1. 8. Fifthly thou saith we cast off respect due to our Parents and Relations witnesse the complaint I have heard of some of their Parents against them Answ Whatsoever thou hast heard The practice of the obedience of many children to their Parents may be a witnesse against thee that they do not cast of the respect due to their Parents and Relations many of their Parents would even testify the same that their children who walks in the truth unto them is not disobedient Sixthly thou sayest we ascribe great perfection to our selves calling all other men the men of the world but saith they themselves are perfect Answ This assertion of thine concerning us is absolutely false as thy others hath been for unto selfe or our selves wee do not ascribe any perfection but say that perfection is attainable in and through Christ onely who teaches us and all that follow him to deny our selves though thou hast said concerning us that they themselves are perfect and hast asserted that thy self for which thou would condemn us of which we are not guilty and so this slander of us will returne back upon thy self that we ascribe perfection to our selves as the others hath done Seaventhly thou sayest Quakers lay claim to vision and Revelations and boasts more of inward spiritual discoveries than other men Answ Wee must confesse that we have seen visions and have had revelations by which the mind of God hath been known and the things of his Kingdom opened to us and in us yet hast thou no more true ground to compare us to Monks and Nuns because we have had true visions than thou hast to compare Abraham and Jacob and others to the Monks and Nuns for the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision saying I am thy Shield and exceeding great Reward Gen. 15. 8. 1. and the vision of Isaiah the Son of Amos which he saw concerning Juda and Jerusalem Isai 1. 1. but thy saying that we boast of more spiritual discoveries than other men It is utterly false for of such things we do not boast and thou goes on telling of one grosly dealt with by an evill spirit and thou sayest witnesse John Gilpin To this I say all lying visions and dreams and such as are dealt with and led with the evill spirit as was John Gilpin we do deny for he never was of us but a prophane man of the world and one with the hirelings against us Eightly thou sayest they place their Religion in meer circumstances and formalities leaving off of hattbands ribbons lace thou-ing persons but are wanting in the true esteem of the true practice of Religion Answ Thy assertion that we place Religion in those things aforementioned is utterly false as the rest of thy assertions of us and our Religion hath been for our Religion is not placed in Circumstances as thou hast falsly asserted but in the Power of God by which we are kept unspotted from