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	teach_v	word_n	4,801	5	4.3076	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B01449	The defence of the people called Quakers: being a reply, to a book lately published by certain priests of the county of Norfolk, under the pretended title of The Quakers challenge. And containing, some brief and modest animadversions upon the book it self. Several certificates, which detect the errors in those of West-Dereham, and clear the people called Quakers of the said challenge. The letters that passed between them and the priests.	Ashby, Richard, 1663?-1734.	1699 (1699)	Wing A3939; Interim Tract Supplement Guide 4152.f.20[18]; ESTC R1295	32,665	56

made in the Year 1562. by another Convocation which declares The Church hath Authority in Controversies of Faith If they will own it then whether the Sin against God be the Sin against the Holy Ghost or no We do not see how they can Quit themselves of the Blasphemy the Article speaks of For do they not of Malice Rail upon the Truth of God's Word manifestly perceived and as Enemies thereunto Persecute the same in Charging so many Blasphemies upon the Light within as taught by the Quakers For the Light within is Christ and Christ is the Truth of God's Word The Way the Truth and the Life John 14. 6. The Word that was in the beginning with God and was God Chap. 1. 1. The Sum and Substance of the Gospel and that which the Holy Scriptures give Testimony of and we Believe and Teach But whether the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost be Unpardonable we shall not Determine A great Doctor of their own Communion was of the Opinion it was not see Hammond's Annot. upon Mat. 12. If they Print again we intreat them to be Plain and Open and not Talk great Words in the Dark to Endeavour to Fright People and to Exasperate them against us without any just Cause or Provocation Rel. p. 5. And now we began to Charge them with Blasphemy against God Animad Whom did they begin to Charge Not the Quakers of this present Generation for they were then acknowledged Orthodox and yet at first all were by them Charged to be Blasphemers see their Contradiction Rel. p. 5. And as soon as we began to prosecute our Charge one gets upon a Form and Bawls aloud to the People c. Animad It 's true one got up on a Form and made a Solemn Confession of Faith in Scripture-Terms yet did not Bawl but in words of Sobriety Declared to this Effect We Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and in Jesus Christ his only Begotten Son our Lord and Saviour who was Born of the Virgin Mary whom the Holy Ghost overshadowed who appeared in the World in that Body prepared for him who died for our Sins and rose again for our Justification And we Believe in the Holy Spirit and own the Three that bear Record in Heaven and that these Three are One. We Own the Holy Scriptures of Truth and Believe they were given forth by Divine Inspiration and that they are profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness and are able to make the Man of God wise to Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus And We Esteem the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the best Book in all the World and could be glad that People did spend more of their time in Reading of them And the Ordinances of Jesus Christ his Baptism and Supper according to the Holy Scriptures and that we neither Preach Teach nor Believe in any other Light than the Life of that Word which was in the beginning with God and was God And therefore this Light as taught by us could not expose us to Error or Blasphemy And we own Magistracy to be the Ordinance of God for the Punishment of Evil-doers and Praise of them that do well Rel. p. 5. This Disorder hindred us from Prosecuting our design to any Purpose tho' we permitted every one of them from London or from Rome if they pleased to have free Liberty to Dispute if they will do it fairly without Noise or Clamour Animad Whatever their Design was it seems they did not Prosecute it to any Purpose But what an unjust and unkind Insinuation is this from London or Rome As tho' we had Romish Emissaries among us who Blessed be our God do equally Renounce all the Corrupt Doctrines Anti-Christian Spirit Lord-like Power and Grandeur Idolatrous Worship Superstitious Ceremonies and Wicked Practices both of Pope and all Others who Persecute for Religion and Conscience towards God it being Romish And this we Testifie and Declare that Whoever they are that promote Persecution upon any Pretence whatsoever they are Friends to Rome and not to England being Profest Enemies to Christian Liberty and Property and Publick Disturbers of the Peace of their Native Country Rel. p. 5. And whereas we brought a great Number of the Quakers Books both Old and New and all of them of their most Celebrated Authors they cried no Books no Arguments which occasioned great Laughter and Shouting among the People Animad Who said so We would willingly have discoursed upon Books Regularly but when we demanded a Copy of their Charge which was but Justice then the Managers of the Conference who should have been Examples to the People of Gravity and Soberness did turn it off to Laughter and Shouting with a Company of vain Persons there present to Joyn them therein Rel. p. 6. And ever and anon they would have been Charging us Insolently urging us to prove our selves Christians Animad They gave us great Occasion to Question their Christianity by reason of their frequent Hissing and Hollowing which made us take Notice of it to the Auditory that they might Observe what Fruits some of them brought forth Rel. p. 6. And by and By we must prove our selves Ministers of Christ which was answered Animad We do not remember that any of them did but if they did Why did not they Insert it here that we might have seen it They gave the Occasion by their frequent Examining our Friends whereupon One of them said If they would prove themselves Ministers of Christ he would be Chatechized by them but they Declined the Proof of that and when one in the Pulpit made an Essay towards it they discountenanced him saying He was a Young Man and not concerned with them in this Affair or to that Effect yet we Acknowledge he Behaved himself more gravely then most of them Rel. p. 6. And it was a Cunning Design of theirs to divert us from our Charge so much dreaded by them Animad It rather seems they were upon Cunning Designs and afraid to give their Charge than that we were affraid to take it For we offered to pay for the Writing if we might have had it and once we had a promise from Dr. Beckham but were afterward denied by Rector Meriton Now being thus imposed upon and denied just Measures we told the Auditory that seeing these Persons had refused us Justice we Appealed to the Lord of Heaven and Earth the Judge of All and in His Name and Fear we made our Confession of Faith in Opposition to their Charges and then some of them Laughed Hissed and Hollowed and one of them called for the Stocks and a Watch-man came near the Scaffold which we were upon and held up his Bill at us And they appearing with such seeming Threatning and Violence and we could not be heard some of our Friends took Occasion to disperse certain Books called The Christianity of the People called Quakers

to prevail Mat. 16. 18. As we Received not our Religion from Man so Man cannot Continue it to us nor Take it from us Yet we did and do Gratefully Acknowledge the Favour of the Government and do Desire to Bless Almighty God for it by whom Kings reign and Princes decree Justice Prov. 8. 15. And so far were we from Abusing this Favour that we Commended the Reason they Assigned for it namely The Vniting of the King's Protestant Subjects in Interest and Affection and Earnestly Pressed the Prosecution of it For we Heartily Desire the Well-fare of our Country and Actually Endeavour it according to what we have Received wheresoever our Lot is Providentially Cast But it never was in our Hearts to conceive that we had thereby a Priviledge to Blaspheme God or Contemn Authority though these Priests have Misrepresented us both to our Neighbours and the Nation to be Persons that Blaspheme under the Protection of an Act of Parliament O Unchristian Practice Are these the Teachers of the People Are these Ministers of Christ If the Tree is to be known by its Fruit their Works do apparently Discover that they are not As to the Demeaning our Selves under the Government We Hope We have had our Conversation Honest in the Sight of all Men and have led quiet and peaceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty Not only Doing unto others what we would have them Do unto us but we have Patiently Born many Injuries and Undergone great Sufferings for Truth and Righteousness sake And in this Temper and Evenness of Spirit have we been Preserved by the Power of our God under All and through All our Exercises to this very Day And we have not only a Testimony in our Selves but many Witnesses without us how contrary to that Strutting Carriage our Adversaries falsly Speak of we Behaved our selves at this Conference Rel. p. 4. They told us we are going about most uncharitably to Damn them all Animad And so they were but that neither was nor is in their Power to do Thanks be to God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ They have indeed Invaded the Regal Power of Christ and Taken upon them to Bind and Loose as though they were the Successors of Peter but wherein do they truly Succeed him Is it not rather in Denying of his Master than in Owning of him For they neither Follow him in Faith Doctrine Humility Patience nor in any other Characters of that Penitent and Self-denying Apostle and Minister of Christ Rel. p. 4. We told them they may Repent of their Blasphemies and be saved For Paul was once one of their Companions in Blaspheming the Name of Jesus Christ Animad We replied That ever since we have been a People Gathered by the Power and Spirit of God we have sincerely Believed and do still Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the holy Scriptures do Declare of him and do not only plainly Say but also firmly Believe That there is no other Name given under Heaven whereby Man can be saved neither is there Salvation in any other Name And this we hope is no Blasphemy Whereas they say Paul was once One of our Companions in Blaspheming the Name of Jesus Christ We Absolutely Deny that ever we Blasphemed that Sacred Name whereby we are called and which we Put our whole Trust and Confidence in and Prefer above every other Name And if they mean by Paul the Apostle Paul they have shewn great Ignorance in not Distinguishing between Saul the Pharisee and Paul the Apostle While he went under the First Denomination he was a Blasphemer and not under the Second For waving the Conjectures of others about his having two Names at his Circumcision Saul a Jewish and Paul a Roman Name We never Read in all the Holy Scriptures that he was called Paul till after his Conversion see Acts 13. 9. where 't is said He was filled with the Holy Ghost and then surely no Blasphemer So that their Simile though Designed to our Reproach Tends greatly to our Honour Paul the Apostle is our Companion in the Faith and Patience of Jesus Christ but not Saul the Persecutor and Blasphemer Rel. p. 5. They told us Blasphemy against God was the Sin against the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost was God We told them we were Sorry it was so for their sakes but for their Comfort we hope for to make it Appear it was not that Unpardonable Sin So from the 12th of St. Matthew we explained to them the Nature of that Sin and so Stop'd their Mouths Animad They hoped to make it Appear That Blasphemy against God was not that Vnpardonable Sin mentioned in the 12th of Matthew but have not done it neither have they Defined that unpardonable Sin or Proved that Blasphemy against God is not Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost If they had explained to us the Nature of that Sin they should first have given the Etymology and Proper Signification of the word Blasphemy for how should the People Understand what Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is before they are Informed what Blasphemy it self Signifieth So that not Acquainting the People with the proper Sense of the Word they were Barbarians to the Major Part of the Auditory and fill'd their Ears only with Frightful and Unintelligible Sounds 'T will therefore be Convenient since these Learned Rectors have not done it to Explain the word Blasphemy and make it Obvious to the Capacity and Understanding of the People The Word then is of Greek Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Blasphemy often rendered so by our Translators Lexicographers generally Derive it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to Calumniate Speak Evil or Reproach the good Name of another And this according to Beza in his Notes upon Mat. 9. 3. is the common Acceptation of it among the more Elegant Greek Writers Blasphemy then in True and Proper English is Evil Speaking and so 't is Translated Eph. 4. 31. Let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger and Clamour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Evil-speaking be put away from you with all Malice And having given the genuine Sense of the Word we will in the next Place for the Benefit both of Priests and People Acquaint them with what their own Church says of Evil-speaking against the Holy Ghost They may find it in Anthony Sparrow's Collection of Articles c. p. 44. and it is this Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is when a Man of Malice and Stubbornness of Mind doth rail upon the Truth of God's Word manifestly perceived and being Enemy thereto Persecuteth the same 'T is the 17th of the Articles agreed upon by the Bishops and others in the Convocation at London in the Year 1552. and Published by the Authority of King Edward VI. in the Year 1553. We do not say That we Agree to this Definition but it being the Account their Convocation gives of it we conceive the Priests should either Own it or Reject that Article