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A26979 One sheet against the Quakers by Richard Baxter. Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. 1657 (1657) Wing B1334; ESTC R13573 13,247 18

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death as their Ancestors have done Reason 16. What reasonable man would turn Quaker that seeth the common fruit of their Doctrine What good do they where they come but make people hare both godly Teachers and people whom they loved and doubtless Love is Christs work and Sheep-mark and envy strife and hatred is the Devils They break people into Divisions and set them a reviling and cast their spirite into a malicious mould and tincture of bitterness and bring in confusion and abominable error And to say that this wisdom is from above is to glory and lye against the truth No it it earthly sensual devilish For the wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated c. Jam. 3. 13 14 15 17. The fruit of their labour is to make some silly professors turn Malignant enemies of the Church and to shew themselves humble to cast off some points or lace and wander about the Country and at last many of them fall into distraction Reason 17. And it s no great encouragement to us to turn Qua●ers when we consider who are their followers and society that make all this ado in the world Very few experienced humble so●er Christians that ever I heard of that turn to them but its the young raw professors and women and ignorant ungrounded people that were but novices and learners in the principles and such as are notorious for self-conceitedness and pride being wise in their own eyes And most of all these that ever I heard of were Anabaptists or the members of some such Sect that by their division and errour were prepared before Reason 18. So that t is an evident judgement of God upon those people that turn Quakers and a punishment for their former sin Because they received not the truth in the love of it that they might be saved God giveth them up to believe a lye 2 Thes. 2. 10 11. Because they were false to the light revealed and unprofitable under precious helps and proudly disobeyed and slighted their faithful guides God giveth them up as a prey to these devourers And who would choose that for his Religion which is nothing but a dreadful judgement of God upon proud dividing self-conceited ignorant men especially of the Anabaptists Reason 19. They are already in Divisions among themselves as few as they are As the contention between Naylor and his followers and Fox and his followers and others of them shew Reason 20. And to make all their delusion a more odious wickedness they father it upon the holy Ghost and would perswade the world that they speak all their most wicked speeches by his inspiration or command and say Thus saith the Lord and the Spirit of God within me saith thus or thus O horrible impiety when they dishonour the very Word of God the Righteousness yea the ●erson of Christ they say God bids them do it and indite all as from the Spirit of the Lord when they speak against the Doctrine of the Spirit They cry down the union and love of the Saints and the Ministers and Ordinances of Christ and say the Spirit bids them do it When they pronounce damnation against Gods Church or holy servants to whom Christ hath promised salvation and the Spirit sealed it yet do they prophanely make the Holy Ghost the author of their wickedness I think there 's not a whore or thief or swearer in the Town or Country but might as justly say The Holy Ghost commandeth them to whore or steal or swear Yea when some of them preach another Gospel they father it on the Spirit when Paul saith If an Angel from heaven preach other Gospel then had been preached he should be accursed Gal. 18. Reason 21. The Quakers themselves renounce in words the Ranters and the Papists as a deluded sort But the Ranters and Papists hold the substance or greatest part of the Quakers Doctrine in which they differ from us Yea the Ranters did fall into trances as they do and spoke just as they against the Ministry and Scripture Yea the Drunkards and all Prophane ungodly Malignants cry out against the same Ministers and same exercises and ordinances and same Churches and godly people as the Quakers do Now let any man judge that hath not forsworn all wit and reason whether it be likely that the Holy Ghost would inspire a generation of new Prophets to acquaint them with the same points which Ranters Papists and Drunkards knew before and could have taught them without the Spirit Or whether the same point be Heavenly in a Quaker and Hellish in a Ranter Papist or Drunkard And whether the Quakers have not condemned themselves in condemning these sects that hold their opinions And whether it be likelyer that Ranters Drunkards and all Malignants or the holy and faithful Ministers and people of Christ should in these points be in the right Reason 22. And if I had any cause to be weary of the Christian Catholick Reformed Religion what reason have I to turn Quaker any more then to any other sect why not to the sect of Papists as well or to the Anabaptists or the Antinomians or Libertines or Familists or Socinians or such like How do they prove that they are more in the right then all these What do they bring to satisfie a wise man that they only among all these and many other sects are in the right Reason 23. Moreover the way by which they prevail is not by producing any evidence For they renounce that and offer you all on the Authority of the Spirit within them and therefore they must prove that Authority and their Revelations and Divine Mission by Miracles or such supernatural means before any reasonable man can believe them Unless you will believe every man that saith he is sent of God I have askt them to shew their Commission from God or prove that he sent them and not one of them would ever do it but tell me I was blind and he had the witness in himself But why must I believe him that saith this more then other men Can I see the witness in him He must be a witness to me if he will have credit The Ministers of Christ do not call you to receive their Doctrine upon the Authority of themselves or their own Mission but of the Apostles and their Mission from whom they prove they had it and who sealed it with Miracles long ago And therefore whether we were Ministers or no you have reason to believe us when we prove our Doctrine to be from God as delivered by Apostles in Scripture and Sealed by the Spirit But Quakers that give us their Doctrine on a new Authority within them and so Behmenists Paraceisians and all Enthusiasts and Papists that give it us on their own Authority as above or before the Scripture Authority these are bound to prove their pretended Authority by Miracles if they will be believed by wise men that love their salvation And we see that it is by the Novelty and the seriousness and earnestness of speech and threatning Hell to poor people that frightneth-in their followers to them and not by evidence of truth I have urged many of them to name one truth which the Quakers held but what we hold as well as they and I could never yet hear of any one Reason 24. Lastly they teach but such like Doctrines and take the like course as many of the antient Hereticks did of whom Epiphanius Irenaeus and other Antients will give you a full account Presently after the Apostles daies just such Hereticks as these arose and troubled the Church And they brought themselves to shame by their wickedness folly and division and God was still against them and brought them to confusion And so all along through most ages have they sped even down to the David-Georgians Wegelians Familists aad the like of late And shall we play an old game as if it were a new one where all have sped so ill before And shall we run our selves into the fire which hath consumed such Heresies through former ages To conclude as I am sure it is not an unwillingness to be informed but the knowledge of their gross deceits that hath caused me to oppose the Quakers So I beseech all young and raw Professors to consider impartially of these 24 REASONS and withall to bethink themselves 1. What a doleful case it is that Professors of Religion should be so ignorant loose and unstable and God and his word should have no more hold of them but that any confident sect that riseth up shall presently carry them away even with non-sense or that which a child might see through O what a shame is this to your profession 2. What an heavy judgement is it to your selves to be self-condemned and self-divided from the Church Tit. 3. 10 11. and carried away as chaff with every wind of Doctrine Ephes. 4. 14. and to prove rotten in a day of tryal Know you not that Heresies must arise that those that are approved may be made manifest 1 Cor. 11. 19. 3. Would you not turn Jews and Infidels and renounce Christ himself if you had but some body to ●ry you It s most likely that you would For an Infidel can put a far greater shew of reason upon his cause in opposing Christ then these Quakers have yet put on theirs Well Sirs as ever you would stand fast and be saved 1. See that you be serious Christians and true to the light received and prepare not by unholy hearts and lives to be forsaken of God 2. Stick close to the Word of God 3. And to a faithful Ministry and obey their Doctrine 4. And to the Unity and Catholick Peace of the Church 5. And to the communion of Saints 6. And to the Spirit which still concur's with these Sept. 5. 1657. FINIS