Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	religion_n	true_a	7,548	5	5.1593	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27232	The Quakers challenge made to the Norfolk clergy, or, A relation of a conference between some clergy-men of the Church of England and some Quakers held (on the 8th of December 1698 in West-Dereham Church) in the county of Norfolk : together with those letters which passed between them in order thereunto : to which is added a certificate relateing to the challenge.	Beckham, Edward, 1637 or 8-1714.; Meriton, Henry, d. 1707.; Topcliffe, Lancaster, 1646 or 7-1720.	1699 (1699)	Wing B1654; ESTC R27616	19,882	30

THE Quakers Challenge MADE TO THE Norfolk Clergy OR A RELATION OF A CONFERENCE BETWEEN Some Clergy-Men of the Church of England and some Quakers held on the 8th of December 1698. in West-Dereham-Church in the County of Norfolk together with those Letters which passed between them in order thereunto To which is added a Certificate relateing to the Challenge LONDON Printed by H. Hills for Edward Poole at the half Moon under the Royal Exchange Cornhill 1699. A Relation of a Conference between some Clergy-Men of the Church of England and some Quakers SOME Quakers in the County of Norfolke having by a Letter Challenged the Clergy of the Church of England Time and Place leave from our Superiours first obtained were at length fixed and our Charge according to their desire sent to them as appears by our first Letter and on the Day appointed viz. Dec. 8th 1698. the Quakers and We met in West Dereham Church in the County aforesaid and took our Places before prepar'd We first read the Service of the Day near the beginning of which they coming in staid it out not to Joyn in the Duty but rather to affront it carrying themselves Irreverently all the Time As soon as our Service was Ended one of their Speakers began to Pray whereupon all of them immediately pulled off their Hats and carried themselves as at a Religious Worship The first thing we did we read the Letter containing their Challenge presently they started up and denied it to be a Challenge and Avowed they would not go one step further unless we would own our selves to be the Agressors and acquit them of that Charge we Insisted that they were our Challengers and Repeated to them their own Letter of Challenge They told us they were provoked by certain Carriages of Ours to write that Letter But nothing could they make appear under our Hands only urged some Stories they had heard as a provocation we told them further that that was a plain owning of their Challenge that they did it only they were provoked to it And after many long Harangues of several of their Speakers they desired that all the Letters which had passed between us might be read to the Auditory not as if they could get any advantage by reading them but as appeared to us afterwards meerly to divert us an Hour or more from prosecuting our Charge Then they Quarrelled with us about the Preliminaries of our Charge that we did not send them the Charge some time before We told them we had in our first Letter and it was a Charge of Blasphemy against God c. but they Insisted to have a more particular account than a general Charge that is they Expected to have the Names of the Books Page and Line from whence we Intended to prove our Charge against them sent them some time before We answered we had Law and Equity against such an unreasonable demand We told them the Law was their own 't was from Edw. Burroughs who was a Son of Thunder and spoke all from the Mouth of the Lord whose Book used to be with them of as much Authority as the Bible which allows us a liberty to appoint our own Time Place and Terms They would by no Means have it read spending two Hours or more in a mighty noise against it which sufficiently Exposed them to all our People who in great numbers and very oft cryed out Let it be read Read Edw. Burroughs and tho we assured them it was not to be read as any proof of the Blasphemies we Charged them with but only to settle the preliminaries yet could we not prevail for a long while And so gladly would we be made manifest to all the World if that after the reading of this Book any be unsatisfied still in this matter and if any Especially of the Heads and Rulers have Doubts and Jealousies raised in them concerning Us and the Priests and that they further would be satisfied and resolv'd for that end let any wise Men propound for full satisfaction of all sorts of People that We with the consent of the Chief in Authority that have Power in this Nation who may preserve Peace and Safety among People and thereby to stop all Jealousies may Freely and Cheerfully 4 10 20 30 more or fewer of Us give as many of the Wisest and Ablest of the Priests and Professors a meeting for Dispute at any Place in England at what Place Time and for what Continuance as they shall Ascribe and Consent unto and to Dispute and Controvert betwixt Us and Them any such Thing and every such Particular as shall or may be objected by any of the Heads and Rulers or other grave understanding Men and a little after he saith thus And let such whether Them or Us that cannot prove our Selves to be the True Church of Christ nor of the True Worship and True Religion nor in the Truth but is found to be in the Errour and out of the Truth Let such deny their Worship and Church Renounce all their Religion and Confess to all the World under their Hands that they are and have been deceived and for ever hereafter stop their Mouths and never profess nor practice any more what they have done in such a Religion And freely upon these Issues and Conditions We will joyn Tryal with Them Let Them appoint Time Place and profer Terms at Their own pleasure and then to all the World it shall be manifest and to all People discovered whether We have not good Ground and sufficient Reason to War against these Priests The passage out of Edw. Burroughs being read at last they then alledged they were not bound neither would they stand to Edw. Burroughs's Terms for such Meetings as these And then We Insisted upon Equity and told them there was no reason as in one of our Letters that We should be so generously kind to Them as to tell 'em the very Place where We would Assault 'em for the nature of the Blasphemy We charge 'em with should be so Plain and Obvious that every Christian shall be able to understand it to be so upon the reading it to them But should we tell them the Names of our Books Page and Line beforehand we had deserv'd rather to be laughed at as Fools than looked on as Disputants for this would be to send them our Arguments before the Disputation if we should tell 'em all the Mediums from whence we intended to setch them We told them the Evidence we should bring was not from ours but from their own Books and it was not sit we should tell them the Names of our Witnesses beforehand that they might have time to Tamper with them and make them speak what they never Intended and so weaken their Testimony We assur'd them the Blasphemy we Charge them with should be very plain and they need not send for their Advocates from far Countries to Plead the Cause of it and make People believe that Blasphemy is