prove that they were Figures R. B. might have saved his Quotation to prove that for G. W. acknowledges it so says R. B. The Martyrs intended one thing and G. W. would make them to intend another May I not say O pertinent Logician Is there not divers Texts in holy Scripture that one and the same Text holds out two or more Principles of Faith And what because one of these Texts is brought to prove one of these points if one offer it for proof of another must it be accounted a Perversion I hope not His next Charge is That the Faith of the Body of Christ now absent in Heaven is lost among us I believe he here speaks Truth of us against his will and saves himself telling a great Lye thereby for that Faith is indeed lost nay it never was received by us That the Body of Christ is now absent in Heaven we have always and still do believe it to be there present These are fit Reasons to shew his leaving us was out of Envy for I hope I have made it already manifest that we believe the Existence of the Body of Christ in Heaven as really as any Christians whatsoever As to his hopes and dependance on the outward Baptism and Supper as two such Pillars and Supports of the Christian Faith I may advertise him that suppose they were what most Protestants account them to be yet if he have not regard to something beyond them he may find himself mistaken in the end and the Army of Abaddon may compass him about To conclude what I have to say concerning them at present is That as many as do practice them out of pure Conscience to God believing the same to be their Duty we are charitable towards them hoping in time they will come to see further as they continue true Seekers of God His next is he saith It is a specious pretence the Quakers have made to the Vertue and Efficacy of the inward Principle as having therein an Art of Extraction by which they perform as by one single Still all that can be proposed from the variety in a Laboratory This specious pretence as he calls it rightly stated will stand all Winds and Weathers For this Principle in it self as held by the Quakers is no other than the Word God in whom was Life and the Life the Light of Men John 1.4 Tho' the Quakers are no such ill Distinguishers that if R. B. will be so barbarous as to divide the particular Measure or Manifestation from the fulness and the purchase of that Blessing tho' that is a Presumption the Quakers dare not attempt because God as Father Word and Spirit is present therein to say That that particular Measure and Manifestation so divided is sufficient Tho' they do boldly say This inward Principle not divided but conjunctly taken as aforesaid is able to effect whatever is needful yet this doth not lead us to slight any of the least means appointed of God as helps in the Work of our Salvation for there are many things very useful and highly needful towards an End yet cannot be said to be absolutely necessary and yet who so unwise as to reject them At the same rate R. B. might find fault with St. John who told the Believers of his time That they had received an Unction from the Holy One and they knew all things and that they needed not that any Man should Teach them but as the same Anointing should Teach them of all Things Tho' the Apostle no more than we intended hereby to lay waste Gospel Means or outward and instrumental Helps appointed by God What he adds of William Penn's Ranting at an unreasonable rate and disparaging the Reputation of our Principles I must say doth not become him if he had only regarded Civility it would have taught him better Language Doth he think his going to Church will priviledge him to abuse by Authority Nay surely many of them are Men of better Temper and more Honour Nor can I think he cares how much W. P. disparages our Principle tho' the Truth of his Heart may be that he thinks him too great an Honour to it neither can I believe that the repute of our Principles affords him any great pleasure His charging G. Whitehead with irregularity of Practice without producing proof doth not bespeak him a Man of Honour for a Person of worth would abominate to impeach Men of Note without producing some good Ground for so doing P. 9. He has more cause to reflect upon his own Incivility for exposing in Print part of G. W's private Letter to his Father-in Law unduly intercepted together with his own angry Resentments and Defamations against G. W c. I am sure saith R. B. no Principle of Truth ever taught W. P. to advance such a Notion of the Composition of Man as he delivers in p. 71. of his Primitive Christianity Man says W. P. as I said just now is a Composition of both Worlds his Body of this his Soul of the other World If R. B. has a better Notion of the Composition of Man to advance I should be glad to hear it tho' a truer I am confident he cannot so that I cannot but tell him he is mistaken in so rashly judging W. P's Notion Is it not apparent that our Bodies are of this World Yet where is the Person that believes that the Soul is a created immortal and invisible Spirit that can be so gross as to believe it is of this World too If not of this then of some other World of this it cannot be for this World is Visible Material and Corruptible but the Soul is Invisible Immaterial and Incorruptible Truly I should think R. B. cannot be so gross as to think otherwise if he believes Man to have an Immortal Soul He goes on adding more words of W. P's viz. By the Body the Soul looks into and beholds this World and by the Word it beholds God the World without end Upon which R. B. Comments thus So that the World without end and God are with him Terms Synonimous which by the way is falsly inferred and of this endless World it 's with him a part of Man's Composition his Soul is of its Essence and beholds its being a-kin to God not only by a Relation but in Substance Oh! false Comment and notable Reason for leaving the Quakers it is much that Men will expose their Envy so apparently Let us consider W. P's Words and then without any difficulty we shall discern the disingenuity of this Adversary and the falseness of the Comment First let us observe tho' W. P. do say Man's Soul is of the other World yet he doth not say The other World is God or that God and the other World are one and the same thing so that except R. B. can make it appear that W. P. believes the other World and God to be one and the same he argues to no purpose and all the fine Gloss and
Robert Bridgman's REASONS For leaving the QVAKERS Upon Examination Proved Unreasonable Being only A Demonstration Of his ENVY By W. Rawlinson Rom. 1.22 23. Because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankful but became vain in their Imaginations and their foolish Hearts was darkened Professing themselves to be Wise they became Fools London Printed and Sold by T. Sowle in White-hart-court in Gracious-street 1700 R. B's Reasons Unreasonable IT was our Saviour's Doctrine Mat. 7.18 20. that a good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit neither can a corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit. Wherefore by their Fruits ye shall know them And it stands true for ever so that upon certainly knowing the Fruit we may infallibly know the Tree whether it be Good or Evil. Now in all good Actions Love is a chief Ingredient and in most evil Actions Envy doth much Influence Hereby we may make a pretty safe Judgment both of Men and their Actions whether they be Good or Bad for Love is of God and seeks the real Good of all as Envy is of the Devil and seeks their Hurt and Ruin It might be of good use to instance some Presidents of each sort though my intended Brevity will not admit thereof at present So in a general way do say That the Practice of all in whom the Love of Christ prevaileth is To seek the Good both of the Souls and Bodies of all even of their Enemies and never can by any Provocation whatsoever be prevailed upon to Detract Calumniate and Misrepresent their greatest Enemies much less thereby to endeavour to Influence the Civil Magistrate against them that so they might come to suffer either in their Bodies Estates or Liberties being of the Mind of the good Houshoulder who would not admit his Servants to pull out the very Tares from among the Wheat till the Harvest Praying for our Enemies and doing unto all Men as we would have them to do unto us was the Doctrine of him whom we all pretend to follow That my present Adversary has been in this his Undertaking acted by this sweet and amiable Virtue which is the true Characteristick of a true Disciple and Follower of the blessed Jesus doth not appear tho' the contrary it 's very evident hath too much prevailed upon him which hath been the Cause he hath so grosly misrepresented us Not to say any thing of his abusive Language And if so as I doubt not but what follows will make evidently appear then I hope we may be satisfied what place all his endeavours will have with all sincere Christians so that the Pit he digged for his Neighbour he is fallen into himself He begins his Paper with a very sad Account viz. It has been matter of Sorrow and Shame unto me and many others that have now left the Quakers Communion that we so long professed the Christian Religion whilst we remained so ignorant of the Fundamental Principles of it The Doctrine of the Trinity or Three Persons of one Nature and Substance in the Godhead The Incarnation of the second Person or Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ The Satisfaction and Atonement made unto God the Father by his Obedience and Death upon the Cross The Resurrection and Ascension of his Body and Person into Heaven His remaining in our Nature at the right Hand of God in the Glory of his Father our Head High-Priest and Intercessor The Faith and full perswasion of his Second Last and Outward Appearance and Coming again to Raise the dead Bodies of the Saints and of all Men in the great Day and solemn Assize of all Nations in which a final and infallible Sentence will be passed upon all according to the Deeds done in the Body agreeable to the plain and positive Sense of divers Texts in holy Scripture Truly I am of his Mind that to remain so long ignorant whilst under a Christian Profession of these great Doctrines and Principles of the very Christian Religion is Cause sufficient both of Sorrow and Shame but what is that to the Christan Society or Societies he has joyned himself with For except he can make it appear those Societies he hath belonged to were Ignorant of them then and not else they also may come under the same Reflection but till then both the Sorrow and the Shame is like to lie solely at his own Door Let not R. B. think hereby to Charge the Quakers and render them Guilty of being defective in their Christian Belief of these Doctrines offering that as his Reason for leaving them if he do I doubt not but to make the contrary very evident to the blasting all his vain Hopes First Let us suppose tho' not grant what he insinuates to be true would not this bespeak him a great Ignoramus or worse first to joyn with such a People and then to continue so long with them but that which doth aggravate his Ignorance is that when his now Friend D. S. did Calumniate us in Print he should appear in our Vindication and wrote an answer in our Defence to that scandalous Pamphlet as he then called it not thinking I believe then which was but in 1694. that he should now write one a great deal more Scandalous himself all which tends little to his Reputation indeed if he were a Man that wanted Bread it were something and he not being educated a Quaker his ignorant Education cannot reflect on them and how much it was the Fruit of Humour I will leave to him to reflect on Since this were a heavy Charge if true That we did not sincerely believe these great Doctrines of Christianity enough to offend any Christian Ear. I shall therefore be more particular in my Answer being sorry that That which R. B. accounted the blessed Truth in 1694. should be so grosly Calumniated in 1700. because I believe it to be the blessed Truth still This at most is but R. B's insinuating Charge without the least Proof so that my single Testimony is of equal Authority I do therefore say I was brought up and educated in this Way and therefore must be granted to know their Principles as well nay better than R. B. if there be any thing in Education and I am well assured that we do sincerely believe all these above-mentioned Doctrines as to the Matter and Substance of them and do only differ with the Church of England in some few Words and Terms and why we should be blamed for that when we believe the same things and the more seeing these Terms are such as the Holy Ghost did not see meet to express these Mysteries by in the Holy Scriptures tho' I do say if we did not differ with the Church of England about weightier Matters than these Words or Terms I do not think it were worth our while to Dissent from Her Yet let us hear what G. Keith hath taught on this Head Way cast up p. 88. And saith he it is well known that these
Words Three Persons or Three Hypostases have made great Contention in former times and divers judged to be Pious and Learned Men have denied them and disputed against them as namely Jerome against the Three Hypostases and Augustine disputed solidly Lib. 5. 7. de Trinitate That the Words Three Persons are not properly applicable to the Mystery it self although he doth not know what other Names to give them And surely it is too great Presumption and Curiosity in any Man to dive further into this Mystery than what God hath been pleased to reveal or to give Names to it and yet it is more Presumption and smelleth rankly of a Persecuting Spirit to impose upon others these words which the Spirit of God hath not Taught nor left upon Record in the Scriptures and yet because we do not own these Word 's of Man's Wisdom and Spirit to cry out against us as Blasphemers and Deniers of the true Christ whereas we the Quakers believe in and own the true Christ more according both to his Godhead and Manhood more according to the Truth and the Testimony of the Scripture than our Accusers do as I hope in its due place to shew And in p. 87. saith Nor indeed is there any need of these Terms Three Distinct Persons but rather they darken than explain the Mystery which have occasioned not only some of the Vulgar but even some of them called the Learned to Err grosly in their Conceptions about the Mystery it self sure I am they are in an Error occasioned in great part by these unsound and unscriptural Terms of Three Persons in the Trinity for Persons signifies Substances and not the Modes or Properties of One Substance Thus Keith when a Quaker spoke truly of the Quakers tho' now he acts in a contrary Line These Men must be acknowledged to be either Insincere formerly or else they are Insincere now For as we were we are if we were Erroneous then Keith was Insincere for declaring us Orthodox If we are Orthodox Keith is Insincere now for declaring us Heterodox Nor is it in this one Particular for if it might be of Service I believe I could make it appear that he has declared us in all our Principles Orthodox Here in this one Particular we may observe how zealously he Defends our Consciencious Scruple not only by the Authority of these Fathers but also from the Unscripturalness and ill Consequences of such Terms withal fully declaring our Sincere Belief in the Holy Three which may be sufficient to shew we are Sound in Faith touching the Trinity so called I shall not for Brevity's sake say any more to Vindicate our consciencious Scrupling these Words and Terms used by R. B. to express these Mysteries by but shall proceed to shew by a Quotation or two that we are Sound in the Faith touching the Doctrines themselves out of that Book which is generally received by the Society But by this as we do not at all intend either to equal our selves to that Holy Man the Lord Jesus Christ who was Born of the Virgin Mary in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells Bodily nor to destroy the Reality of his present Existence so neither do we as some have falsly callumniated us For though we affirm that Christ dwells in us yet not Immediately but Mediately as he is in that Seed which is in us whereas he to wit the Eternal Word which was with God and was God dwelt Immediately in that Holy Man He then is as the Head and we as the Members he the Vine we the Branches so God dwells otherwise in the Man Jesus than in us We also freely reject the Heresie of Apolinarius who denied him to have any Soul but said The Body was only acted by the Godhead As also the Error of Eutiches who made the Manhood to be wholly swallowed up of the Godhead Wherefore as we believe he was a true and a real Man so we also believe that he continues so Glorified in the Heavens in Soul and Body by whom God shall Judge the World in the great and general Day of Judgment Neither do we hereby intend any ways to Lessen or Derogate from the Atonement and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ but on the contrary do Magnifie and Exalt it For as we believe all those things to have been certainly translated which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures concerning the Birth Life Miracles Sufferings Resurrection and Ascention of Jesus Christ so we do believe that it is the Duty of every one to believe it to whom it pleaseth God to reveal the same and to bring to them the Knowledge of it Yea we believe it were Damnable Unbelief not to believe when so declared nevertheless as we do firmly believe it was necessary that Christ should come that by his Death and Sufferings he might offer up himself a Sacrifice to God for our Sins who his own self bare our Sins in his own Body on the Tree so we believe that the Remission of Sins which any partake of is only in and by Vertue of that most satisfactory Sacrifice and no otherwise for it is by the Obedience of that One that the free Gift is come upon all to Justification Barclay's Apol. 334.335 Thus having given these Quotations of our Faith by which it doth evidently appear how falsly this R. Bridgman hath insinuated against us as well as the Soundness of our Faith is sufficiently declared I shall now proceed and be more Brief because what he offers in the main is but Trifling He adds That without the true Faith of them we cannot be saved which true Faith he acknowledges ought to be wrought by the Operation of the Spirit I would hope since he belteves it of so great Concernment he will take care for one or else notwithstanding all his other Performances and going to Church he is like to remain still Ignorant of the true Faith of them besides how can he be fully assured whether he has the true Faith of them wrought by the Spirit without sticking to his Quaker-Principle of Immediate Revelation I would see this R. Bridgman and G. Keith to give over playing upon words which is only a trying of Skill If they would betake themselves like Sampson to the great Pillars of our Religion our known and acknowledged Principles this were far more Manly than raising up a Man of Straw to Fight with for then if they could overthrow them it would render them Sampsons indeed Now G. K. when a Quaker accounted Immediate Revelation as stated in his Book on that Subject and the Universal Principle of Light and Grace which Principle he States and Proves in his Books The Universal Free Grace of the Gospel asserted the two great Principles or Pillars of our Religion as differing from other Societies of Christians therefore Oh ye mighty Men to work R. B. proceeds to Teach of what necessity it is to every one to be rightly inform'd concerning those above-mentioned Doctrines adding