Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A30046
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Some reasons humbly offered against the Quakers unreasonable request touching elections of members to serve in Parliament
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Bugg, Francis, 1640-1724?
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1698
(1698)
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Wing B5396; ESTC R3240
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3,005
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4
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Some Reasons Humbly offered against the Quakers unreasonable Request touching Elections of Members to serve in Parliament WHEREAS on February the 10th 1707 8 Leave was given to bring in a Bill for the more easie Polling the Free-holders of Elections of Knights of the Shire for the County of Sussex and Yorkshire And having understood that the Quakers make Application to have their bare Declaration serve instead of a Legal Oath and that without the Words As in the Presence of Almighty God which as it appears great Presumption in them to expect So I Humbly beg Leave to offer some Reasons against their Request And I. Because they are such Mortal Enemies to the Christian Religion denying Jesus of Nazareth to be Christ the Son of God and by Villifying and Contemning the Holy Scriptures and Reproaching the Christian Ministers chiefly or in the first place because they Preach out of the Bible All which and much more I have prov'd out of their Books in my Book now publish'd Intitled Goliah's Head cut off with his own Sword and the Quakers routed by their own Weapons c. And Sold at the King's-Head the Crown and Green Dragon in St. Paul's Church-Yard and at the Bible under the Piazza in Cornhill And which I stand ready to make good to their Faces if desir'd II. And since they can take a Legal Oath to serve their private Interest why should they not do it to serve the Publick That many of them have there are many Instances in the Courts of Chancery and in particular George Whitehead against whom Mr. Thomas Daniel and Elizabeth his Wife Exhibited a Bill in my Lord Mayor's Court to which George Whitehead put in his Answer upon Oath April 9. 1695. as may be seen by the Records of that Court out of which I took a Copy of his said Oath Attested by Mr. Gibson Attorney in that Court But III. They by Principle are Enemies to the very Constitution of Parliaments declaring in their Books publickly That a Partiament chosen by most Voices are not like to act for God or the Good of the People Again That it was through Ignorance that the People subjected themselves to Hereditary Government standing in a single Person successively and that our Nation have been under the Bonds of Slavery in this Respect Moreover That all Kings and consequently Queens sprung up in the Night since the Days of the Apostles among the Anti-Christs And that such as dote upon Earthly Kings are Traytors Apostates Spiritual Egyptians c. These were their ancient Seditious and Anti-Monarchical as well as Anti-Parliamentary Principles But were forgiven by the Act of Oblivion But since their Toleration they have afresh reasserted them saying in Print We are not sensible that we have alter'd any one Principle of our Faith since we were a People but are the same in every respect that we were 50 Years ago we know not one Article of the Christian Faith in which we are alter'd since we were a People Therefore blush not publickly to declare That we are not chang'd in our Principles And if so I Humbly conceive it stands them upon first to retract these and the like Principles before they presume to ask such Favours as no Subjects besides them dare to do IV. Their Presumption farther appears by their Contempt of Authority For let the Queen's Majesty put forth Her Royal Proclamation for the strict Observation of a General Fast or Day of Thanksgiving for some Signal Victory or other National Blessing under Pain of Her High Displeasure They take no notice thereof either in City or Country but one goes to Plow others to Cart others keep open their Shops in Contempt of Her Royal Authority How then do they deserve the Favour of the Government who will not Obey Her Majesty in one of Her least and most Christian Commands But again V. Whereas the Laws of the Land not only injoin the Ministers of the Establishment but all Preachers and Teachers of separate Congregations to Abjure the Pretended Prince of Wales which both Conformists and Dissenting Protestants readily Obey But as for the Quakers they wholly refuse Subjection to the Laws in that Case made and provided to the ill Example of Her Majesties good Subjects How then can they without great Presumption ask such singular Favours of the Government who thus trample under Foot their Authority But VI. Besides all this altho' they are become a considerable Body of People yet they will not personally assist Her Majesty and the Kingdom in this time of War And that their being thus passed by with Impunity 'tis presum'd that many turn Quakers on that Account so that for every Man that turns Quaker the Queen loses an assisting Subject whereby the Strength of the Kingdom is thereby weaken'd And it is farther observable that amongst the Quakers there are no Cripples on that account no Wooden Legs Broken Arms or Lost Limbs But when there is any Advantage in Trade procur'd by the War no People upon the Earth are so ready to run and go to reap the Benefit of it who thereby like the Jews inrich themselves All which duly consider'd what great Presumption is it in them to beg such Favours and such singular Ones too as none but themselves have the Face to ask Lastly But besides all this they are so uncharitable as that they account all but themselves from the Queen on the Throne to the Beggar on the Dunghil such Infidels that they will neither marry or bury with Us yea they account that to be marry'd with a Minister is such an Abomination that as their own Words are in one of their Orders by me It is a Dishonour to their Holy Profession And that such of them as do they deny them burial with them How then can they expect from such as they account Infidels such singular Favours without an unwarrantable Presumption But for them to Request as I am told they do to have the Words As in the Presence of Almighty God left out is such an unparallel'd piece of Presumption that none but a Quaker can be guilty of especially considering that the most noted among them George Whitehead for one stands charg'd with declaring for Truth that which he knew to be False and that in a plain Matter of Fact and that in more Instances than one To conclude these brief Remarks I grant that in their late Prints they sometimes will seem thankful to the Government for their Exemptions from those Obligations that all Christians both Conformists and Non-Conformists are oblig'd to under certain Penalties But to their Friends in order to keep up their Pretences to Infallibility and Prophetical Inspirations they attribute these their Advances to the fulfilling of their own Prophecies as I have shew'd in my Book above-noted For when their Solemn Affirmations was first granted them to be taken instead of a Formal Oath and which was obtain'd by the frequent Solicitations and other secret Methods of their Grandees Yet this their Solemn Affirmation was by many of their Brethren and still is of which I am an Ear-witness accounted as bad as a Legal Oath and that because of these Words viz. As in the Presence of Almighty God And thereupon complain'd That their Friends George Whitehead c. had subjected their Testimony to Man's Will contrary to their ancient Testimony Upon which George Whitehead c. wrote an Epistle to satisfie their Scruples one of which I have by me in which are these Words viz. Let all now be thankful that the Lord hath so tender'd the Hearts of many in Authority as to subject their Wills so far to Friends Intreaties Let none therefore count or call this a subjecting our Testimony to the Will of Man seeing God hath so far subjected Man's Will to our Christian Desire And it is farther observable from this Epistle in which they labour'd to satisfie their Friends Scruples touching their said Affirmation that they quote not one Verse of Scripture but the Books of Fox Penn and ten more of their Apostles which is a Demonstration that it is as George Whitehead teaches in his Book Truth Defending c. p. 7. That what is spoken by the Spirit of Truth in any meaning themselves is of greater Authority than the Scriptures viz. That they account their own Books of greater Authority than the Holy Bible And since they have in Print deny'd our whole Religion and declare they differ in the Foundation from all Christians in the World it is Humbly hop'd that they shall not therefore be Privileg'd with Favour's above all the Queen's Subjects Sign'd on the behalf of all Christian Churches by FRANCIS BVGG SOME REASONS Humbly Offer'd against the Quakers Request Touching ELECTIONS