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A47751
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Primitive heresie revived in the faith and practice of the people called Quakers wherein is shewn in seven particulars that the principal and most characteristick errors of the Quakers were broached and condemned in the days of the Apostles and the first 150 years after Christ : to which is added a friendly expostulation with William Penn upon account of his Primitive Christianity lately published / by the author of The snake in the grass.
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Leslie, Charles, 1650-1722.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing L1140; ESTC R26153
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27,838
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41
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and Condemn'd in the Days of the Apostles This is it which St. John Reprehends 1 Joh. iv 3. Every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh c. or as Socrates Hist Eccl. l. 7. c. 32. tells us it was wrote in the Ancient Copys Every Spirit which separateth Jesus from God is not of God And he observes that this Text and other Parts of this Epistle were alter'd by those who would separate the Divinity of Christ from His Humanity Tho' as it now stands in our Copys it means the same thing for he that denys Christ to have been made Flesh only says that he took it upon Him for a Cloak or a Veil as Angels assume Bodys when they appear in them He denys Christ's coming in the Flesh so as to become Truly and Really a Man he takes away the Humanity of Christ and so separates Jesus from God Which in the sense of this Text is to Deny His coming in the flesh St. Polycarp in his Epist to the Philippians n. 7. Disputes against these Anti-Christs in the words of his Master St. John whose Disciple he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the Flesh is an Anti-Christ II. The Second point is the Quakers Denyal of the Truth and Reality of the Death and Sufferings of Christ This is Consequential to the former Heresie for if Christ took not the Body of Jesus into his own Person but only dwelt in the Body of another Man as he dwells in his Saints if Christ and Jesus are two Persons if the Body of Jesus was only a Veil or Garment for Christ to shrowd himself in as the Quakers speak then tho' Jesus suffer'd yet Christ could not and the Sufferings of Christ were but in Appearance and shew as if a Man's Cloak or Garment only were Crucify'd What are then those Sufferings of Christ which the Quakers do own as Meritorious in the sight of God for the Atonement of our sins Why an ALLEGORICAL Suffering Death and shedding of the Blood of their Light within which they call Christ of which Jesus or the outward Christ they say was but a Type and that his Sufferings were only an Historical Transaction of the Greater Mysterie of the Sufferings and Atonement perform'd by their Light within as I have fully shewn in The Snake in the Grass Sect. x. p. 127. and Satan Dis-Rob'd Sect. xii p. 11. But now I am to shew That the Devil had Broached these Heresies against the Truth of the Incarnation of Christ and consequently against the Reality of his Death and Sufferings within the first 150 Years after Christ and that they were then Condemned by the Holy Fathers of the Church Ignatius that Glorious Martyr of Christ Bishop of Antioch who flourish'd about the Year 70 after the Birth of Christ and was Disciple to St. John the Evangelist writes thus in his Epistle to the Magnesians instructing their Faith in what sort of Sufferings of Christ we were to Believe and Trust not these Inward in our hearts but to distinguish most effectually from these those that He suffered under Pontius Pilate I would have you Preserved that you fall not into the snare of vain Doctrin but that ye may abound and be filled with the knowledge of the Birth Passion and Resurrection which truly and firmly were of Jesus Christ our hope in the time of the Government of Pontius Pilate from which let none of you be turned away Stop your ears therefore says he in his Epistle to the Trallians when any shall speak to you without Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What Christ was this the Outward Man Jesus or the Light within That Jesus who was of the stock of David who was of Mary who was truly Born did both Eat and Drink was truly Persecuted under Pontius Pilate was truly Crucify'd and Dyed And who truly Rose from the Dead his Father Raising of him and his Father will after the like fashion Raise us up in Jesus Christ who believe in him without whom we cannot truly live But some Athiests that is Infidels do say That He only appear'd to be a Man but took not a Body in Reality and in appearance only seemed to Suffer and dye c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And in the beginning of his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans after having Describ'd that Christ who is the Object of our Faith in the fullest manner to obviate the Deceit of applying it to an Inward Christ by calling Him the Son of David Born of the Virgin and Baptized of John truly Crucified under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch none of which can be apply'd to The Light within He adds that we can only be saved by the Faith in this OUTWARD Jesus By the Fruits of whose Divinely Blessed Passion we are Saved For he suffer'd all these things for us that we might be saved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And to Obviate the two Heretical Pretences of making the Meritorious Suffering of Christ to be His Suffering within us And that His outward Sufferings were not Real but in appearance only as not being Really a Man but only Residing in that Man Jesus as in a Veil or Garment Ignatius adds in the next words And he truly suffered and truly Raised himself not as some Vnbelievers say that he only appeared to suffer they but appearing to Exist And as they Believe so shall it be unto them when they come to be out of the Body and in the state of Spirits 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is they shall justly Forfeit the True and Real Benefits Purchased for True Believers by the death of Christ since they will have it to be only in Appearance or False shew and take the Merit from the Outward death of Christ which he suffer'd upon the Cross and place it in a Fancy'd Suffering of the Light within them And as He asserts the Faith in Christ's outward Death so does he in His Resurrection not the Inward Rising of Christ in our hearts but in His Outward Resurrection that which was proved by their Handling of Him and Feeling of His Flesh and His Eating and Drinking with them after His Resurrection But in the next Paragraph he has a Prophetick Exhortation which looks terribly upon the Quakers among others He tells the Smyrnaeans that he gives them these Admonitions not that he thinks them Guilty of these Heresies But I Guard you before hand says he against Beasts in Human shape whom you ought not only not to Receive but if it be possible not so much as to meet with them only to pray for them if they may at last Repent which will be difficult And again says he speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ Whom some not knowing do deny or rather are denyed by him
being the Preachers of Death rather than of Truth They abstain from the Eucharist that is The Sacrament of the Lord 's Supper and from the Prayers of the Church because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins and which the Father in his Goodness Raised up But these speaking against this Gift of God die in their Inquiries 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And vain and Death must those Inquiries be which leaving the Gifts of God the Sacraments of his own Institution and to which His Promises are Annex'd seek for Salvation in ways and means of their own Devising But it was unavoidable that they who had left the Body of Christ as a forsaken veil or garment to Rot for ever in the Grave or are careless what is come of it as a thing now of no Vertue or Consequence to us should Reject the Sacrament of it which is a continual Exhibition of its vertues and efficacy to us Or that they who hope for no Resurrection of their Bodies out of the Dust should continue the use of those Sacraments which were ordained as signs and pledges of it But if it please God that they ever Return to the Faith it is to be hoped that they will then Re-assume these Guards and Confirmations which are the outward vehicles and assurance of it III. The Third point is their Denyal of the Resurrection and Future Judgment For the Proof of this upon the Quakers I Refer to The Snake in the Grass Sect. xii p. 152. and to Satan Dis-Rob'd Sect. iii. and iv beginning at p. 26. and p. 21. of the Gleanings Now we find full Proof that this Heresie was Broached in in the Days of the Apostles and by them Condemn'd as is plain from 1 Cor. xv 12. c. and 2 Tim. 2.18 in which last Text the very Quaker-salvo is expresly set down by which they have Betray'd themselves into this Fatal Heresie viz. Saying that the Resurrection is Past already that is Performâ—d Inwardly to those who follow the Light see Satan Dis-Rob'd p. 21. of the Gleanings and Mr. Penn understands that Full and Elegant Description of the Resurrection 1 Cor. xv all of this Inward and Allegorical Resurrection for in his Book Intituled The Invalidity of John Faldo 's Vindication c. Printed 1673. repeating ver 44. of this Chapt. viz. It is sown a Natural Body it is Raised a Spiritual Body he says p. 369. I do utterly deny that this Text is concern'd in the Resurrection of Man's carnal Body at all And p. 370. I say this doth not concern the Resurrection of carnal Bodys but the two states of Men under the first and second Adam And though as he objects the 47 and 49 verses seem to imply a Bodily Resurrection But says he let the whole verse be considered and we shall find no such thing To the Arguments of the Apostles against this Heresie let me add some Testimonys of others their Co-temporary Fathers or rather explain the Texts of the Apostles by their Comments who learned this Article of the Faith from their mouths The Texts above Quoted were wrote by St. Paul who Phil. iv 3. mentions Clement as his Fellow Labourer and whose Name is in the book of Life And he was as likely to know St. Paul's meaning as Mr. Penn whom I desire to read his 2d Epist to the Corinthians where N. ix he will find these words Let none of you say that this same flesh is not judged nor shall rise again Vnderstand in what have ye been saved was it not while ye were in this flesh therefore it behoveth us to keep our flesh as the temple of God For as ye have been called in the flesh so shall ye come in the flesh Jesus Christ the Lord who saveth us was first a Spirit and then made flesh and so he called us So shall we Receive our Reward in this very flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Polycarp Bishop and Martyr who flourished about the Year of Christ 70. and was Disciple to St. John the Evangelist in his Epistle to the Philippians n. 7. says that Whoever does not confess the Martyrdom or suffering of Christ upon the Cross is of the Devil And he that will wrest the Oracles of Christ to his own Lusts and say that there is no Resurrection nor Judgment to come he is the First-Born of Satan 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And Hegesippus who lived near to the Days of the Apostles in his Fifth Book as Quoted by Eusebius Hist Eccl. l. 2. c. 23. speaking of these Ancient Hereticks says that they did not believe either the Resurrection or the coming of Christ to render to every one according to his Works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IV. The Fourth Point is their abstaining from the Sacraments and Prayers of the Church And for this I have before quoted Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans where he tells of those who Abstained from the Prayers of the Church and the Lord 's Supper because they did not believe it to be the Flesh of Christ which Suffered for our sins and was Raised up c. For how could they who as the Quakers made no more of the flesh of Christ than a Garment or a Vail but no part of his Person and consequently could never call the Bodily Garment Christ And thought their own Flesh and Blood to be the Flesh and Blood of Christ as well as the Flesh and Blood of that Man Jesus in whom they say that Christ or the Light dwelt as in themselves see Satan Dis-Rob'd Sect. ii n. 2. and 3. p. 2. and 3. of the Gleanings and plac'd the Meritorious Cause of our Redemption and Justification not in the Blood of Christ outwardly shed but in the Allegorical or Inward Blood of their Light within Inwardly and Invisibly shed c. I say How could these endure a Sacrament so contrary to their Belief For the Bread cannot be called the Flesh of their Light within but it was of His Outward Flesh that Christ spake when he said This is my Body and His Outward Blood was said to be shed for The Remission of Sins And the Eucharist was such a visible Representation of this as could not but shock these Enthusiast Hereticks And where the Sacraments are Practised such mad Enthusiasm cannot take place And we see by woful Experience that where these Guards of the Truth and Importance of Christ's Outward Sufferings are taken away Men fall from the True Faith in them But the Quakers have not only thrown off the Use and Practise of the Sacraments and left them as things Indifferent or Lawful to be Practised by such as may be conscientiously concern'd for them but Damn them as Carnal and Doctrines of Devils G. Fox in his News out of the North Printed 1655. p. 14. makes them the like Witch-craft as turn'd the Galatians to Circumcision And their Sacrament