Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A91605
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The Quakers complaint against George Keith, humbly presented to the clergy of the Church of England, who have lately receiv'd him into their communion, and suffer'd him to preach in their pulpits With some reasons why the people called Quakers have excommunicated George Keith, &c. clearing them from the aspersions cast upon them by him.
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Wing Q19; ESTC R230134
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THE Quakers Complaint AGAINST GEORGE KEITH Humbly Presented to the CLERGY OF THE Church of England Who have Lately Receiv'd him into their Communion and suffer'd him to Preach in their Pulpits WITH SOME REASONS WHY THE People called QVAKERS HAVE Excommunicated George Keith c. Clearing them from the Aspersions cast upon them by him London Printed and Sold by the Book-sellers of London and Westminster 1700. THE Quakers Complaint AGAINST George Keith c. FRIENDS WHereas George Keith when professing himself to be of our Communion yea of the Truth it self tho' known by the People of the World by the Denomination of Quakers did cast as Evidence can be brought out of his Books such Aspersions upon Us that its evident and demonstrable out of our Books printed and hereafter Quoted about the same time that we never had Unity with his Doctrine his Books held forth That that outward Person that suffer'd at Jerusalem was properly the Christ of God yea the holy Thing that was born of the Virgin Mary was the Christ of God And likewise he preached up that the same Christ as God and Man in one Person is now in Heaven and from thence shall come to Judge the World and at whose coming the Dead in the Graves shall be raised O Friends these Doctrins did he hold forth to us which Doctrine plucks up our ancient Testimony by the roots O how were we pressed down when we heard him preach up those things which shall be no more again and in a divine Sense of what we believe we have firmly and innocently held forth in our Preaching and Writings as hereafter Quoted That these Doctrins held by us are the real Doctrins of the Truth and these are our ancient Testimonies yea they are the truth pray consider the truth is the truth and it changeth not And tho' this said G. K. chargeth us to be guilty of denying the Lord that bought us that we do not believe that outward Person that suffered at Jerusalem to be the Christ of God yet Friends O marvel not thereat for we do declare it and our Books do declare that we never did believe That the outward Person was the Christ the Son of God We own that Christ the Son of the living God who was with the Father before the World was dwelt in that bodily Garment and we did always declare that we could never Call that bodily Garment Christ therefore we thought it necessary in our Wisdom to take off those Aspersions that the said G. K. did cast upon us while he was of us for tho' he boldly and zealously affirm'd that we owned that holy Thing to be the Christ of God in answer to R. G. and in his Way cast up yet we say it was not our Opinion since we have known the truth O Friends we would declare a little of the Foundation that we held forth when we were first raised to be a People which will be worth your Observation but before we proceed we tell you by way of Confirmation that these Quotations following which are truly Quoted out of our Books are the Real Doctrins that We in the beginning professed and held forth the Foundation that we laid was that People might be turned inward to Christ within and not regard a Christ without we are not to mind Christ any more after the Flesh nor to look for Justification by outward Blood but to Christ in us who is born in us his Blood shed in us Crucified in us and offers up himself a living Sacrifice to God for us by which the Wrath of God is appeased to us Ah this inward Blood we found the Priests of the Nations ignorant of and this inward Mystery was the Foundation and Object of Faith that we turn'd People to we did not bid them believe in Christ as God and Man in one Person without them but we declar'd to say that Christ is God and Man in one Person it is a Lye and thus as the Foundation was laid and Truth broke forth O it grew and prospered and such hath been our Esteem for the ancient Testimony of our Elder Friends who have born the burden and heat of the Day and is gone before us First Our soundest Friends never preach up Christ as God and Man in one Person now Glorified in the Heavens to be the Object of our Faith but only the Light within which George Fox the Apostle of this Age and first Minister among us taught us to believe was whole Christ God and Man Flesh Blood and Bones And we were greatly refreshed in the Testimony of an ancient Minister of the Gospel among us namely Thomas Gilpin the 22d of the third Month which the World calls May at our Yearly Meeting at Gracious Street who said that the Light within being the more sure Word of Prophecy it was most safe for us all to trust to that and not to any outward thing by which outward Thing we know very well he not only meant the Scripture which G. F. did teach us to call Death Dust and Serpents Meat but also that outward Person which suffered at Jerusalem which G. K. calls Christ and to be be plain we are not a little offended with some of our Preachers who now begin to contradict our ancient Testimony and some of them of whom we might have expected better begin to contradict their own ancient Testimony preaching now Christ without us too much favouring G. K.'s vain Notions and we never used till of late that Truth 's Adversaries has been tampering with some of our Ministers to confess our Sins in our Meetings because we thought that we had attained to a Sinless Perfection Our great concern was to be inwardly exercised by Christ only after the Spirit for it 's the Spirit that quickens the Flesh profits nothing and this Flesh our worthy ancient Ministers taught us was that fleshly Garment that suffered at Jerusalem that profits us nothing to believe that it suffer'd 2dly And next to this we were greatly concerned to cry out against fine Clothing as wearing of Silk and Gold superfluous Buttons and Button-Holes we were against curious Buildings lofty Horses Coaches to ride in Waiting-Men and Waiting-Maids against wearing of Periwigs of all sorts and Bowing and Respecting of Persons tho' some now take Liberty herein to our great Grief And the Foundation of Quakerism which is a new Nick-name for old Christianity was thus laid And Friends Truth is the same that ever it was and changeth not We are acted by the same Principle as ever we were and tho' many are gone away from us and many more are like to go off by the Aspersions George Keith and other Adversaries of Truth have cast upon us yet a Remnant will stand to the ancient Testimomy and take the advice given this Yearly Meeting by that worthy Minister T. Wilson not to dispute with Truths Adversaries for that stopped the Wells from Springing but the way to unstop the Wells especially
in younger Friends was to read the Servant of the Lord's George Fox's Epistles he did not bid us read Paul's nor Peter nor John's c. mark that Indeed great fear is upon us for some begin to think themselves wiser than their Teachers and run to the Steeple-Houses not only after George Keith but other Priests and begin to run down our ancient Testimony and slight George Fox and other ancient Friends Books And now Friends know that for G. K.'s preaching up Faith in Christ God-Man without us and denying the sufficiency of the Light within to Salvation without any thing else by which as W. Penn said at Ratcliffe Meeting 1695. when he was so transported with the Glorious Power of God that he could not tell whether he was sitting standing or kneeling when he pronounced the Sentence of Apostacy on George Keith that this Doctrine was plucking up the. Testimony of Truth by the Roots Thus having cleared Friends from G. K.'s Aspersions we shall conclude desiring you to peruse the following Quotations out of our Books wherein you will more fully see our Doctrine Concerning the Scriptures W. P. in his Quaker a new Nick-Name for old Christianity p. 71 NO Command in Scripture is any farther obliging upon any Man then as he finds a Convinction upon his Conscience otherwise Men should be engaged without if not against Conviction a thing unreasonable in a Man Note According to this there can be no Sins of Ignorance Shield of Truth J. P. p. 11. He that saith the Letter is the Rule and Guide of the People of God is without feeding upon the husk and is Ignorant of the true Light The Question being put whether the Quakers did esteem their Speaking to be of as great Authority as any Chapter in the Bible Serious Apology p. 49. G. W. Answers That which is Spoken from the Spirit of Truth in any is of as great Authority as the Scriptures and Chapters are and greater Mene Tekel p. 22. How can or dare any say without the highest Blasphemy that the Scriptures is the Word of God G. F. ans west pet p. 30. If ever you own the Prophets Christs or the Apostles you will own our Writings which are given forth by the same Spirit and Power E. B 's work p. 105. You are in the Witchcraft who observe Commands from without from the Letter News out of the North written from the mouth of the Lord from one who is naked and stands naked before the Lord cloathed with Righteousness whose Name is not known in the World risen up out of the North which was Prophesied of but now is fulfilled called G. Fox page 14. Your Original is carnal Hebrew Greek and Latin and your Word is carnal the Letter and the Light is carnal the Letter Their Original is but Dust which is but the Leter which is Death And their Gospel is dust Matthew Mark Luke and John which is the Letter Concerning the Trinity G. Whitehead c. in Ishmael c. in Answer to Mr. Townsend p. 10. The Three Persons which thou dreams of which thou would divide out of one like a Conjurer are all denied and thou shut up with them in perpetual darkness for the Lake and Pit for thou hast no Scripture that mentions any such things That frequent W. P. his Sandy Foundation p. 12.15 but impertinent distinction that God is One Substance but Three in Persons or Subsistences A most absurd Blasphemy They the Trinitarians must necessarily conclude their Kind of Trinity a Fiction It s requisite I should inform the Reader concerning its Original Thou maist assure thy self it s not from the Scripture nor Reason since so expresly repugnant it was conceived in Ignorance brought forth and maintained by Cruelty The Scriptures do not tell People of a Trinity G. Fox 's Great Mist p. 246. nor Three Persons but the Common-Prayer Mass-book speaks of Three Persons brought in by the Father the Pope Concerning Christ That the outward Person that suffer'd was properly the Son of God W. P. Ser. Apol. p. 146. we utterly deny Your Imagined God beyond the Stars Sword of Lord drawn p. 5. and your carnal Christ is utterly denied To say Christ is God and Man in one Person is a Lye The Devil was in thee G. F. Great Mist p. 250 thou sayest thou art saved by Christ without thee and so hast recorded thy self a Reprobate Faith in Christ's outward manifestation W. P. Qua. new Nick p. 6. a deadly Poison these latter Ages has been infected with The Suffering of the People of God Quakers in this Age is more unjust than in the days of Christ E. B 's work p. 273. or the Apostles What was done to Christ or the Apostles was chiefly done by a Law and in great part by the due Execution of a Law The Blood of Christ was no more than the Blood of another Saint S. Eccle's Letter to R. Porter G. W. Truth defending the Qua. p. 22. p. 65. Christ's coming in the Flesh was but a Figure Faith in Christ without Men is contrary to the Apostles Doctrine * Serioas Apol. p. 148 This we deny viz. Justification by the Righteousness which Christ hath fulfilled in his own Person for us wholly without us and boldly affirm in the name of the Lord to be the Doctrine of Devils and an arm of the Sea of Corruption which does now deluge the whole World Death came by actual Sin Ib. 148. not imputative therefore Justification unto Life came by actual Righteousness not imputative Christ in us offereth up himself a living Sacrifice to God for us Light and Life p. 44. by which the Wrath of God is appeased to us Vindicated by G. W. Concerning Baptism and Supper I affirm W. P. Rea. agst. Rail p. 108. 109. That Circumcision is as much in force as Water Baptism and the Paschal Lamb as Bread and Wine And we can testifie from the same Spirit by which Paul Renounced Circumcision that they are to be rejected as not now required Your Baptism and Sacraments as you call it G. F. News out of the North p. 14 and all your Ordinances and Churches and Teaching it s Cain's Sacrifice Their Sacrament as they call it is Carnal Their Communion Bread Wine is the Table of Devils and Cup of Devils To say that sprinkling Infants with Water is Baptism into the Faith of Christ E. B. works p. 109. 191 this is the Doctrine of Devils Concerning the Resurrection I do utterly deny that this Text W. P. in his Invalidity of J. Faldo vind p. 369. 370. 1 Cor. 15.44 It is sown a natural Body it s raised a spiritual Body c. is concerned in the Resurrection of Man's carnal Body at all But the two States of Men under the first and second Adam Men are sown into the World natural so are they the Sons of the first Adam But they