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
daies he said False Prophets should come and should arise and deceive many and the Apostle John he said in his time that there was then already many false Prophets gone out into the world and the world went after them and the false Prophets which Christ prophesied of should come in the last times the Apostles saw were already come and coming in their daies and it was then the last time 1 Joh. 4. and such were they as you may read that were covetous and taught for filthy lucre and through covetousness made merchandize of people and such were they that preached for hire such as these even Wolves in Sheeps cloathing Christ said should come and the Apostles saw were coming in even in their daies and abundance of such as these have over-spread the Christian Nations for many ages so it is not as though the false Prophets were but coming now for that Scripture signifies and plainly saith that the false Prophets and Antichrist did come in even in the Apostles daies and most of the Apostles themselves were Martyred and the Churches of Asia were running into Idolatry and back-sliding from the truth even before the Apostles decease and John in the Revelations he saw what was to come to pass that Power should be given to the Beast and to the Dragon the Devil over all Nations Kindreds and Tongues and that the Martyrs blood should be shed and the Witness slain and the Woman the true Church should fly into the Wilderness and that the Whore the false Church should cause all Nations even the Kings of the earth should drink the Whores Cup and Antichriâ—t should rule and Myâ—…ery Babylon as a Quean should sit upon Peoples Multitudes and Nations and the Saints Blood should be drunk by the false Church the Whore These things John saw was to come to pass in his time as you may read in the Revelations and since Johns daies within these sixteen hundred years we know they have been brought to pass and fulfilled so the present time is not now as though deceivers were but newly comed in for the Nations of the earth have long been deceived by Antichrist in sheeps cloathing and the Lord is now again gathering People from them so be not deceived in your hearts neither be ye ignorant concerning the times and seasons for its the time of the Womans returning out of the wilderness and she shall be adorned with the same gifts and parts that she had in the Apostles dayes and all shall walk in the light of the Lamb and the marriage of the Lamb shall come and the Devil shall be chained to deceive the Nations no more these things will the Lord bring to pass and we are hapned to be even in the beginning of this time of the Churches returning and the fulfilling Gods promises for the light of the Lord hath appeared and the everlasting Gospel must be preached again through the world and this is Gods promises as you may read in the Revelations Therefore be not ignorant but now consider and let the fear of God be in your hearts for the day of vengeance will suddenly come upon the ungodly and them that are not prepared but wants the Oyl in their own Lamps they shall be shut out and left in utter darkness therefore consider now you have time the day of the Lord is at hand And yet though great darkness hath been over the Nations yet the Lord had his people that is a few in every Nation some in every age that were sincere in their hearts did fear the Lord in Spirit and did desire after him and that were in a measure humble before him some such have been among Papists and Protestants in all ages who have according to their present time been zealous in their way towards God and such have been dear to the Lord at all times who sought after him and suffered for him for their present testimony against sin and iniquity as it was manifest to them and such sincerity of heart in any we never have judged Though we say as for the matter of Government Discipline or Ordinances and as for Ministry the Call to it and maintenance of it all this both among Papists and Protestants of all sorts for the generality of it hath been wholly Antichristian Their Church Government Ordinances Worship their Ministry its Call its Maintenance hath been Antichristian and not according to the example of the Apostles And this we judge even by the Spirit of the Lord Though the sincerity in no man nor amongst any sort of people do we judge yet the constitution of Churches and the Worship and Ordinances and Ministry as it hath stood for many ages both among Papists and Protestants we do judge and deny by the Spirit of the Lord. Much more might be said as in these things but if any of you Parishioners of Kendall desire any further knowledge of these things or to be acquainted with our Principles we have given forth divers Books though they have been rejected hitherto yet the time is at hand when those truthes which we have declared both by word and writing shall be pretious throughout the world And we do not impose our Religion upon people by force of external laws as Papists and Protestants have done by Antichrian power But we do leave what we declare by word or writing to the witnesse of God even in all mens consciences thereby to be approved and though we have been sufferers and yet may for good conscience sake yet we are not ashamed of the truths which the Lord hath given us the knowledge of But in all boldnesse and in the fear of God we confidently give forth our witnesse by the Spirit of the Lord. And as for this our answer it is sufficient to you and your Minister and no more needs be said till we hear a reply and further then it is possible the testimony of truth may be given and I would desire that you and he would sincerely compare this and his together and then judge of the one and of the other even by the witnesse of God in your own consciences Here follows certain proposalls which was sent to William Brownsword about a year ago which are worthy here of Inserting that he may yet answer to these things for he would neither meet me to dispute these things nor give me any answer by writing And indeed it had been more equitable for him first to have answered these things than to have gone and sent forth such a foolish book against us and all these things being compared together I doubt not but some of you may be truly Informed and your understandings opened which is my earnest desire that so it may be unto you and that ye may come to a good understanding and perfectly disern betwen truth and error and true Ministers of Christ and deceivers London the 12th Month 59. FOrasmuch as a Paper I have seen which is given abroad in the Country the
Christ much endangered by secret and unweared actings of the Emissaries of Rome Answ Though thou dost endeavour in this thy Disswasive Exhortation to perswade the Inhabitants of Kendall That wee called Quakers are Romes Emissaries by which the Truths of Christ are much endangered yet Romes Emissaries we are not neither are the Truths of Christ endangered or opposed by us as thou thy self hast confessed in the fourth position of the leaventh page of thy Pamphlet where thou confesseth Wee never opposed any fundamental truths that thou heardest of Therefore in this position thou hast cleared us from being Romes Emissaries by which truth is indangered which in thy Disswasive Exhortation thou hast endeavoured to perswade the Inhabitants of Kendall wee are Here the Inhabitants of Kendall may see thy envy and confusion who would have them to believe That wee are such by whom the truth is endangered And yet thy own tongue in contradicting thy envious disswasion is made to cleare us saying That wee never opposed any fundamental truths that ever thou heardest of which is truth For fundamental truths wee have not opposed at any time And as concerning the Church of Christ I say this It is builded upon the Rock which Romes Emissaries nor the gates of Hell can never prevaile against For all who are of the true Church and body of which Christ Jesus is the head and in his light dwells and walks by it they see and is able to diserne betwixt Truth and Error the doctrines of Christ and the doctrines which are preached by the Papiâ—…s and thee which thou wouldest instigate into the inhabitants of Kendall to cause them to believe that we their country men well known to some of them are Papists and that our doctrines are Popery but all thy labour in slandring us is in vain and thy asserting that our doctrines are Popery to no purpose for thou neither hast or ever canst confute them by the holy Scripture and Truth therefore in the end thy slanders will returne upon thy own head and unrighteous sayings be thy burden whereas thou speaks of a Quaker Jesuite at Bristol mentioned by Mr. Prynne as thou calls him That his sayings was made appear to be false and a slander I shall refer the Reader to the Answer of his scandallous paper Intituled The Quakers unmasked Put forth by William Prinne wherein his slanders is made to appear and he is found with a lye in his mouth Whereas thou goes on saying occasioned a late serious publique disswasive of you from the Church and Doctrines of Romes under what name soever and by whomsoever they were propounded to you and especially as they are propounded by the Quakers Answ It is utterly false to say the Quakers propounds Romes Doctrines either to the Inhabitants of Kendal or any other people for no other doctrines have we preached but the doctrines of Christ which we are able to prove and maintaine by the sound Arguments of Truth and Scriptures to be the doctrines that tends to the Salvation of Souls And when thou writes again give under thy hand positively what doctrines they are thou calls Romes doctrines propounded by the Quakers and name the man or men that is owned to be Ministers of Christ among us that thou call'st Quakers that did propound or preach them and till then let this slander reture into the uncleane bottle from whence this and all the rest of thy slanders hath come And thou sayest the charge of false-hood against me by them hath produced this demonstration of the truth of what I had publiquely asserted which I hope will tend to settle you against their way Answ This demonstration of Lies and Slanders doth not any way clear thee from my charge against thee in the â—ight of any who rightly understands the controversy betwixt thee and us but rather is an adding sin to sin and a heaping up wrath unto thy self against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God for the thing that was desired of thee by me was as thou behind our backs had devulged publiquely in the Steeple-House that our principles and doctrines was Popery That thou would give us a faire Meeting where all might heare the discourse betwixt ther and us And if thou could by the Scriptures prove our doctrines to be Popery or contrary to the Scriptures and distructive to mens Salvation then would we lay them down if not but we on the contrary could manifest our doctrines to be truth and according to the Scriptures then as thou had publiquely spoken against our doctrines calling them Popery thou shouldest publiquely confess thy fault and this was the substance of what I said to thee in the street of Kendal and thou being not able to manifest that to be true which thou had publiquely asserted concerning our principles and doctrines this charge is still good against thee till thou publiquely acknowlege thou hast wronged us And whereas thou further sayest in these doctrines which are peculiarly Romes doth the doctrines of the Quakers conspire and may therefore be called Popery without falsehood Answ I say of this as of the rest of thy slanders that it is altogether untrue for no doctrines do we preach and hold forth but the doctrines of the Gospel of Christ and for the defence of them and manifestation that they are true against thee and all that oppose them we can bring pertinent testimonyes out of the holy sayings of the Prophets Christ and his Apostles Words who preached the same Gospel and Doctrines before us and no doctrine of ours if rightly stated and as we preach them hast thou parallel'd with the Papist and thier doctrines but thou mightest as well have parallel'd the doctrine of the Apostles with the doctrine of the Papist as it will after more fully appear in our own stating the vindication and proof of our doctrines to be true which thou hast not neither ever canst confute or disprove by the truth or Scriptures Therefore thy slander of our doctrines will returne back upon thy selfe having replyed against some of thy slanders and untruths cast upon us and our doctrines I shall go on to the right stating and more full manifestation of our doctrines to be the sound and wholesome doctines of Truth though thou hast parallel'd them with the Papists that it may appear more fully that wherein thou hast parallel'd our doctrines with any thing they say which is truths in themselves thou might as well a parallel'd the Apostles with them because they may hold some of the same truths in the unrighteousnesse which the Apostles held forth and we hold in the righteousnesse and thou thy self confesses they hold some truths I. Doctrine that light which John came for a witnesse of that all men through his testimony might believe which doth light every man that comes into the world which is Jesus Is sufficient to convince of sin and lead to repentance all them thâ—… to his call hearken and is
able to save to the utmost all them that his light love and obey for the Author to the Hebrews speaking concerning Jesus the true light of the world that lighteth every man saith he being made perfect he became the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey him Heb. 4. 9. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him Heb. 7. 25. II. Doctrine we say that the perfection of the Saints was and is attainable in and through Christ even while they were and are upon the Earth or else the work for which the true Ministry was given had been void if the work for which they were begifted among the Saints which was Ephes 4 11 12 13. For the edifying of the body of Christ till they came all to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ Could not have been accomplished while they were upon the Earth but Saints are redeemed from Sin and have escaped the pollutions of the world and by the word of God are sanctified according to what the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 6. 11. Such were some of you but you are washed but you are sanctified but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God And Jude in his general Epistle to the Saints saith they are santified by God the Father and preserved in Christ Jesus And the Author to the Hebrews speaking of himself and the Saints saith by the will of God we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all Heb. 10. 10. And the same Author saith in the 14th of the same chapter by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified and yet he and the Saints that was sanctified and perfected for ever even while they were upon the earth and preached it and exhorted the Saints to press after it were not Papists nor rightly could be compared with Idolators in their Generation no more can we that preacheth perfection and exhort to press after it and believe it to be attainable in and through Christ be rightly compared to the Papists in our Generation And as concerning the third which thou states as out of our Doctrines in which thou compares us with the Papists we do deny it it is not any of our Doctrines either held or preached by us as thou hast stated it and in stating that we hold Justification by obedience thou hast not done honestly was not thou formerly answered that we are not justified by any obedience that is of the Creature but by the free gift of God in Christ Therefore I further say that we are not justified by our obedience or for our obedience but in and through the Lord Jesus Christ to whom we are obedient Whereas thou further saith and eminent speaker among them in the hearing of multitudes asserted that the righteousness that was wrought by the Power of God in the hearts of the Gentiles mention'd Rom. 2. 14. 15. is a righteousnesse whereby they were justified in the sight of God Answ To this I say concerning the Gentiles in doing well and working righteousnesse they were accepted and justified in the sight of God according to that of the Apostle where he saith God is no respecter of persons but in every Nation he that fears him and worketh righteousnesse is accepted with him Acts 10. 34. 35. Whereas thou sayest in the hearing of multitudes why dost thou call so few people as were there multitudes except thou would have some to believe thou gave us a fair meeting in some publique place which thou denyed to do though much urged to it but it is no wonder seeing thou had accused our doctrines to be Popery and our practices to be fetcht out of the rules of Popish Monks altogether without any true ground as is and will be fully manifest by the proof of our doctrines to be sound and true and our practices to have example among the Prophets and Ministers of Christ And whereas thou accuses James Naylor in the fifth page of his Book tituled The salutation to the Seed To say the Doctrine of Faith is the work of the Devil Answ Thy Accusation is utterly false as that page of his Book and all that reads it may bear Testimony against theâ— And whereas in the fourth thou speaks of Judas Being a godly man until Christ gave him the Sop the Devil thereupon entered into him Answ In that thou hast stated these words again thou hast not done honestly because thou hast formerly been answered that we did not own this Principle as it is stated to wit That Judas was a godly man till he received the Sop and we had ground for the denying of this Principle and others as they were stated because the young men themselves did affirm they were not so written as they spoke them but this we do affirm that Judas who was numbred with the Apostles and had obtained part of the Ministry and others fell away as we can fully prove by the Scriptures of truth where it is said Acts 1. 25. That he may take part of this Ministry from which Judas by transgression fell and Heb. 4. 5 6. and 2 Pet. 2. 20 21 22. where it it is said It had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness then after they have known it to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them but it is happened unto them according to the true Proverb the Dog is turned to his vomit again and the Sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire more Scriptures might have been mentioned as Ezek. 18. 24. and others but by the mouth of two or three witnesses every truth shall be confirmed but these Scriptures I have not asserted to plead for falling away from grace and truth but to beare witnesse to the truth of our judgement in this particular and to manifest the wickednesse of our adversary who counts that Popery that is plain Scriptures as some of which he himself hath quoted doth bear testimony but it is no wonder seeing he saith the proofs themselves which is Scriptures is fetcht out of the Councel of Trent Bellarmine and others Fifthly that Pagans and Turks living justly and honestly may be justified and saved To which I say further that there is no respect of persons with God but in every Nation whether they be Jewes or Gentiles Turks or Pagans yet if they fear God and work righteousnesse of him they are accepted and whether he be a Turk or Pagan if he come to believe in Christ and follow his Spirit and light which leads to live justly and honestly he may be justified and saved in and through Christ And this doctrine is no Popery nor rightly can be parallel'd with theirs any more than the Apostles doctrine was to be parallel'd with the Papists
the true light that lighteth every man yet every man doth not believe in and receive the light which manifesteth those evil deeds for which he is reproved therefore every man hath not the knowledge of God because some rejects his Light which would give the knowledge of him And thou goes on and sayest their doctrines which they broach with confidence among their silly credulous followers they will not dare to owne before others Answ For our doctrines and testimonies that we have given of Christ the true light of the world we both dare and have openly owned before the world Therefore this accusation is utterly false and no true ground thou hast to say so concerning us but thou mayest imagine thou hast some ground because we would not be tyed to express our selves concerning the light in such a way and manner as thou would have prescribed to us or have our principles stated in a form of words to which thou would have limitted us And thou goes on in thy false accusations saying that which hath been vainly attempted by Antichrist is their very designe if accomplished do but think how the Papists would rejoyce in it Answ That which hath been attempted by Antichrist is not our designe neither in the accomplishment of our ends and desires will either he or the Papists rejoyce for our ends and and desire is that people may be brought from under Satans dominions and led out of the Ignorance and grosse darknesse that hath long covered the inhabitants of the earth into the true knowledge of the living God that they may him worship and glorify in spirit and in truth And in the fourth thou sayest they never yet that I have heard of did oppose any of those fundamental truths we have preached unto you Answ In this thou hast cleared us from the great slander which in the former thou cast upon us for we never did nor do oppose any fundamental truths though both you and the Papists may hold them and preach them in the unrighteousnesse Thus contradicting of thy false sayings in thy third reason thou hast cleared us and so what hath been attempted by Antichrist and false Ministers against fundamental truths was never our designe as thy self hast confessed that we never opposed any fundamental truths that ever thou heard of yet though we have not opposed any fundamental sayings of Christ and his Apostles spoken by you yet we have opposed those fundamental errors spoken by you as witnesse that fundamental errors spoken by thee in our conference at Kendal viz that there is in every man a natural light that gives them some measure of the knowledge of God And this I did oppose thee in and shall beare my testimony against it for it is an error in the fundamental even in that which concerns the eternal life of souls when time shall be no more for if this were true viz that every man by a natural light hath a measure of the knowledge of God then everyman had eternal life all drunkards and prophane persons upon earth were in a state of happinesse And as concerning thy reproachful sayings in thy Epilogue thou calls us the Popes very Pedlars to sell off his corrupt wares in stalls which would never off in shops Answ Thy jeers and unrighteous sayings concerning us will returne upon thy own head for the Pope we deny and his corrupt wares we deny amongst us neither his nor thine is of any estimation but me thinks thou and thy brethren who have been made Ministers by natural educacation and humane learning and arts and having got the Mass-house which originally appertaining to the Papists which they founded and consecrated for their Idolatrous worship in which you now sell your wares for which you receive the same price and wages which was once esteemed due to the Pope and his Clergy therefore if any in the Nation be his Pedlars Mountebanks and drudges you are to be suspected And thou further sayest I might have fil'd sheets with their fastings and visions and impulses to strange actions To this I say when thou writes again say all that thou canst concerning our fastings and visions and cease to slander in the dark by which thou endeavours to perswade the Ignorant that thou could manifest some great evills concerning our fastings and visions Whereas thou speaks of impulses and strange actions To this I say impulses and actions that is out of truth and Power of God is denyed by us and all that is excercised therein And thou further sayest do you of this place consider and such of you as have been former professors look back to your profession your Apostacy hath been the grief of many To this I say how can there be an Apostacy and falling from the truth of any if they never have been in the truth and though the people of God at Kendall that is gathered from the false Shepherds and hirelings be not fallen from the Truth and Grace of Christ yet thy speaking that they are Apostatized and bidding them returne from whence they are fallen doth clearly demonstrate that thou admits that their may be a falling away which is the very same thing that thou hast denyed of ours as an error and for asserting that some fell away thou hast compared us to the Papists canst thou behold this again and not see thy self in confusion one while building up and another while throwing down for if thou doest not believe that their can be a falling from true grace why dost thou exhort them to returne from whence thou sayest they are fallen A few Questions to thee William Brownsword who sayest our doctrines are Popery which we have proved by the Scriptures to be the doctrines of truth and can no more rightly be compared to the doctrines of the Papists than the doctrines of the Apostles can be compared with the doctrines of the Papists Therefore thou art desired to answer these questions in plainnesse without shuffling or evading that so the ground of thy judgement may be more fully manifest to all And what reason thou hast to parallel our doctrines and practices with the doctrines and practices of the Papists Seeing we of all people do not onely testify against the corrupt doctrines and practices of the Papists in other Nations but also against the Reliques of Popery in this Nation that is found amongst the hireling Priests and Ministers that is made by the will of man and not by the will of God and gift of the Holy Ghost I. Query Whether it is Popery to affirm that Jesus the true light doth light every man that comes into the world yea or nay II. Query And whether it is Popery to affirm that the true light of the world that lighteth every man which is Jesus is sufficient to lead to repentance and save them that believe yea or nay III. Query And whether Christ Jesus may not be as truly preached in this age the leader of mankind out of Ignorance and
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
substance of which as the Subscribers say is an earnest and Cordial invitation and free Call to one which they name Mr. William Brownsword to exercise his Ministry at Kendall And now in the behalf of the Parishoners amongst whom this Paper goes abroad to obtain the Subscription of their hands This following Paper am I moved to send to the said William Brownsword and to others of the Inhabitants of Kendall that are of his party for them to consider of it and to compare it with the former Paper and I shall wait expecting his and their Answer I am a lover of your Souls and a friend to Righteousnesse and dayly travelleth in the work of the Gospel to the intent that Sinners may be converted to God and the Saints strengthned in the Faith which gives them victory over the world and I wait for Sions Redemption and for the overthrow of great Babylon that hath ruled over the Kings of the Earth and whereas it is manifest to me that there is a great dissatisfaction in the spirits of people in this Town and Country hereabouts concerning the Ministry and the great cry is who is a true Minister of Christ and who is is not some crying up one man and some another and it appears to me that there is a great strife in the mindes of people about Ministers and Ministry and about the Worship of God and Religion some saying This is the way others saying That is the way and some crying This is Truth and others crying That is Heresie Now to the intent that all people may be satisfied and that the way of Truth may be clearly known from all the false wayes of Error and that the true Ministers and Ministry ma be perfectly known and distinguished from all false Ministries and that the Truth may be exalted over all and all Deceipt confounded Upon these Considerations with that dear and tender love which is in my heart unto the soules of all people but more particularly to the people of this my native Countrey therefore upon these accounts I am moved of the Lord to send these unto thee that thou wouldst meet me in some publick place in the Town or at the Steeple-house where the people of the Town and Countrey may conveniently come together to hear our discourse of these things which is doubtful to them that they may be satisfied as aforesaid and these things I do propose which I do Judge are things which are most needful that the people should be informed in and no Question but the unfolding of these Particulars underwritten by the Spirit of the Lord in sober Arguments may tend to satisfie many FIrst Whether thou canst prove thy Call to the Minisâ—ry to be the same and by the same means as the Ministers of Christ was in the dayes of the Apostles in the true Christian Churches Secondly Whether the maintenance of thy Ministry and practise in thy Ministry and the fruits and effects of thy Ministry be the very same as was the maintenance and practice and fruits and effects of the Ministers of Christ and of the Apostles in the time of the true Churches before the Apostacy And if these things thou canst prove then he that denies thee and thy Ministry shall be accounted a transgressor and thou shalt be free Thirdly What are the marks and evident tokens of the false Ministers and whether thou canst clear thy self according to the Scriptures from all the signes and tokens of a false Minister and deceiver and wilt thou be tryed according to the Scriptures Fourthly Whether any man without the gift of the Holy Ghost can be a Minister of Christ and of the Gospel and whether through thy Ministry sons and daughters do receive the pourings forth of the Spirit upon them as in the dayes of the true Churches of old and whether the annointing that teacheth all things dwelleth in every member of that Church whereof thou art a Minister Fifthly What the true state of the true Church is at present and hath been for many ages and whether the Church of England as it stood in the time of Prelacy or as it now stands in Presbytery be the true Church of Christ the Lambs wife or who are the true Church and what name of people doth the true Church of Christ go under at this day Sixthly Whether the time hath been or now is or is yet to come that the true woman fled into the Wilderness and what is the Wilderness into which she was to fly and what is the state of the true Church at this time and if she hath been fled into the Wilderness how much of the time is expired that she was there to remain and what was these flocks with which the Dragon did persue her and how was the Dragon in Heaven and how and when was he cast out into the earth And these things with some others which I have to propound being fully opened in the way of a fair and sober dispute may try thy Ministry and satisfie many that are doubting and truth be made manifest and deceit confounded And these things I am willing to travel through in discourse with thee the said William Brownsword or any other that shall accept of the Propositions with the consent of the Mayor and Aldermen of the Town who may preserve the place and people in peace and soberness also provided that each of us on both parts may have full deliberation to speak forth our mindes pertinently to the matter and that each may have silence from the other whilst the other is a speaking and that all fair and sober dealing be amongst us and the fear of God but if these things proposed for subjects to dispute be not agreed to to fall upon then any other particulars which is necessary for edification which may be named by the Mayor or any other sober man in Kendal provided I may propound one thing for another And send thy Answer to this whether thou agree to it or not if thou or any other dost consent hereunto let the time be appointed to be in a convenient time after the date hereof and I shall expect an Answer to this either in agreement to dispute these Particulars or to give me an Answer to the Queries in writeing and I shall wait for an Answer hereof The 12th day of the 12th month 1659. E. BVRROVGH THE END