Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A58145
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Robert Bridgman's Reasons for leaving the Quakers, (upon examination) proved unreasonable being only a demonstration of his envy. By W. Rawlinson.
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Rawlinson, William.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing R370; ESTC R217967
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22,497
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49
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what a necessary work it is to yield our Love and Obedience to that Law and Light with which God instructs and enlightens our Nature and that without some Experience thereof it is in vain to pretend to any Religion Whether does he offer this as one Reason for leaving us or Digresses and gives it as Advice to his present Friends For it 's much but he may think himself notwithstanding all the pretences of Sorrow and Shame wiser than some Older and more Eminent Church-men He goes on and tells how dangerous it is To reduce all Religion and Faith towards God under a Profession and Experience of Light and Truth without any Distinction of common and special Illumination and Grace How far he intends this a Charge against us I am not like to know besides it is too general for him to expect a particular Answer let him Charge us but Honestly and do his worst We know that though there are Diversities of Gifts yet the same Spirit and there are differences of Administrations but the same Lord and there are diversities of Operations but the same God which worketh all in all 1 Cor. 12.4 5 6. Next he chargeth us by Name for having ignorantly and blasphemously opposed this Work of Faith and Reformation and that if we contradict or deny it must bespeak great ignorance or obstinacy But seeing he has been so kind as to account us Blasphemers and Ignorant I will submit to be accounted Obstinate too before he shall pass without Rebuke and do therefore Deny his Charge and Dare him to prove it He now being upon the high Rope goes on insinuating we Reject the Institutions of Jesus Christ which as he saith is evident from our Writings constantly published from our beginning yet he offers not one Quotation of them all for Confirmation If what he says were true what must we judge of him as to joyn and continue so many Years with such a People since as he says It is evident from our Writings constantly published that we reject the Institutions of Jesus Christ to which he cannot pretend Ignorance I think he is mightily to blame thus to Reproach his old Friends and all without-Book it looks like as if he had left them rather out of Humour than real Conviction for real Conviction would have demonstrated it self with a more Christian Temper When I have added a little more of his of like Nature I shall shew from our Doctrine how opposite his Charges are to what we Believe by which his Envy will evidently appear he saith How under pretence of high Attainments and further Glory a Spirit of Pride and great Uncharitableness hath possessed us is sufficiently manifest by its Fruits in Censuring and Reproaching all other Denominations of profess'd Christians whom we set at a great Distance and account as the World which lyeth in Wickedness with some more of like nature As to this latter That we account all other Denominations of Christians as the World which lyeth in Wickedness our Charity is so far reverse to that that we blieve there may be even among Turks and Jews such as belong to the Catholick-Church hear what is said Barclay's Apology p. 400. of his Works viz. There may be therefore Members of this Catholick-Church both among Heathens Turks and Jews and of all the several sorts of Christians Men and Women of Integrity and Simplicity of Heart who though blinded in something in their Understanding and perhaps burthened with the Superstitions and Formality of the several Sects in which they are ingrossed yet being Upright in their Hearts before the Lord chiefly aiming and labouring to be delivered from Iniquity and loving to follow Righteousness are by the secret Touches of this holy Light in their Souls inliven'd and quicken'd thereby secretly united to God and there-through become true Members of this Catholick-Church Is not this very opposite to his false Charge And to his other Insinuations That we reduce all Religion and Faith towards God under a Profession of Life and Truth without any distinction of Common and Special Illumination and Grace and so Reject the Institutions of Christ See p. 405. of the same Book Secondly The Church is to be considered as it signifies a certain Number of Persons gathered by God's Spirit and by the Testimony of some of his Servants raised up for that end unto the belief of the true Doctrines and Principles of the Christian Faith who through their Hearts being united by the same Love and their Understandings informed in the same Truth Gather Meet and Assemble together to wait upon God to Worship him and to bear a joynt-Testimony for the Truth against Error Thus it is evident how notoriously False are his Charges and Insinuations against us what he observes of the Disagreeableness of what we Teach or Publish I should have thought the small Earnings his Friend G. K. hath made thereof for if we consider his Eminence and the great Number of Years he zealously preached and defended our Faith even nigh thirty Years which must be granted the chief of his natural Life and yet upon his Revolt should be able to draw off no more looks almost incredible might have given sufficient Check to his Calumny As to the oppositeness of our Principles to true Christianity is another gross Calumny without any manner of Proof however we are ready to vindicate them and shew their agreeableness with the Holy Scriptures either with this or any other Adversary And for our Quibling and Shuffling with dull and apparent Sophistry I ascribe to his want of Matter and the effect of Envy What he saith of our altering the Sense of our own and our Opponents Writings with more of the same kind is all of a piece with the former and deserves no other answer the poor Man being at a loss must vent his Envy some way As to those Sounds and Echoes he speaks of what he intends thereby is a little dubious but if he has tender Ears and cannot endure great Sounds I ought to pity him for as the saying is He is gone out of hot Love into red Fire Most of his ninth Page as far as I find is filled with his Resentments for our refusing G. K's Arbitrary Summons And since he mentions a Paper writ by our Friends on that occasion Titled A word to the well-inclined I shall for answer refer to that Paper which I doubt not but will give the Impartial entire Satisfaction As to the Spreading our Books can he or any else blame us Would any Christian Society do less if they were abused and railed on in Print by their Adversaries but use all lawful means to remove the Reproach and vindicate their just Case Would he have us Dumb that his beloved Keith's Scotch Eloquence might pass without Remark Then I doubt not but Printing would be accounted a more edifying Method than building Stages and drawing Multitudes of People together What he insinuates of the Increase of our Number doth not
well agree with his former account of his and many others leaving our Societies this should not Increase but Diminish our Number tho' I am willing to agree with him in this I hope our Doctrine and Faith doth take place with many and yet will more abundantly The Lord hasten to accomplish and fulfil these good things he hath promised that his dear Son our Lord Jesus Christ may come to Reign in all Hearts who has paid so precious a Ransom to God for them As to the Misery our numerous Proselites are under in Partiality and Prejudice that what is published by our Party passes for Truth not only in Doctrine and Fact but that they conceive a peculiar Presence of God as a continual Blessing that accompanies them and the same Conceit we have in all we say or do and that we are so affected with the relish and savour of it that it puffs us up with intolerable Pride while it appears to us under a disguise of Humility That we should be so Partial and Flatter our selves is even against Reason to believe for People are most apt to Flatter themselves in an easie way but few are willing to be byassed in that which may expose them to manifold Sufferings and Exercises it must be the dint of Reason and force of Conviction that must effect that to which if God be pleased to give the Sense or Seal of his Spirit or Presence I will grant to him it is a Confirmation past controul and this is so far from being the Misery of any People that it is the greatest Blessing whatsoever he may think But that we conceive a peculiar Presence of God in all we say or do I cannot tell how to give him Credit for but desire proof for I believe it is a mistake as well as he is mistaken that we are so affected with the Relish and Savour thereof that it puffs us up with Intolerable Pride I see his Charity is near at an end towards us however he ought to pity us the more because as he says This intolerable Pride appears to us under a disguise of Humility which is the opposite to Pride well he had need to have some good evidence since he takes upon him to judge other Mens Hearts and remember our Saviour's Doctrine Judge not that ye be not judged for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged This rash judgment of his puts me quite out of conceit with his fine Comment on true Humility His eleventh Page appears to me to be a kind of Preachment much like one of G. K's new Sermons What he says of a proud and obstinate Generation of Men who under pretence of Subjection to a Power above the Magistrate being very delusive in the Appearance of it By which one might conclude if one were as rash in Judgment as he that he was gotten from under that Delusion to pretend Subjection to a Power above the Magistrate If the good Men the Martyrs in Queen Mary's time could have done so they might have saved their Bodies from the Flames however those that believe Magistracy to be God's Ordinance and are desirous to be subject to God cannot be ill Subjects notwithstanding R. B's Insinuations He Insinuates that being taught that Reasoning is Dangerous in things of Religion they stop their Ears and close their Eyes c. If any that comes to us should be so unwise it 's to be feared they may not continue so long with us as R. B. did for these that comes to us had need to have both their Eyes and Ears open for there is a daily Cross to be born by all the Disciples of crucified Jesus His Envy grows so big that he cannot let the Dead alone even that Person whom he in 1694. gave Testimony had laid down his Head in Peace now he accounts him of a melancholly Temper and an ignorant Education which blown up by a Spirit of Enthusiasm gave Birth to his Faction in those Hurricane Times when the Church lay despoiled of her Power and Priviledges So that by this Man's Account not only G. F. but even all the Quakers are stark Naught this is he which judgeth others guilty of great Uncharitableness Let us hear what G. K. says of the Quakers since he was disowned by them even in 97. in his Explications p. 39. viz. But yet I do affirm that I have found divers that go under that name that to my Understanding and Apprehension have made a good Progress in spiritual Experiences and other spiritual Attainments of Knowledge and Vertue and I do continue in my real Perswasion and Belief that there was a good Work of God upon the Hearts of many of that People and his mighty Power did stir and operate in them as I hope it doth still continue in some to do unto this day Thus Keith corrects Bridgman and well he may if we consider what George must of necessity once have known to Pity is now vain and to Pray for I want Faith so shall leave him to God But since R. B. refers for Proof to the enterance of the Journal of the Deceased I shall refer thither also not doubting but the impartial will differ with Bridgman in their Judgment G. F. was well known in his Day and both his personal Acquaintance and Works gives Bridgman the Lye This Man is so very gross I shall on this Head only return him as a further Reply what Michael returned the Devil The Lord Rebuke thee What he would Insinuate of the Rise of the Quakers that it was when the Church lay spoiled of her Power and Priviledges as tho' the Quakers were then in great Prosperity and Peace whenas in Truth they were also great Sufferers and many of them in Prisons and Dungeons for their Testimony however this young Convert talks like a gallant Son of the Church and as bravely doth he undertake to inform her it 's young days for him to conceit himself wiser than his Teachers yet he is seeking out Expedients how to heal the Breach and restore the Wastes his present Thoughts are by a laborious and diligent Instruction of Youth and detecting of Error by open and free Conferences judiciously managed in divers parts of the Nation How the Ministers of the Church will like this I will not determine But to me it seems they were defective in R. B's Account or else what need is there of this Proposal if he would not have them to be more Diligent and Laborious And if so they are not Diligent and Laborious enough consequently Defective or would he have them take in Him and F. Bugg to their Assistance How he would have the Conferences managed in the divers parts of the Nation he hath not sufficiently taught he only says Judiciously but whether he intends that the Church shall Summons all the several Societies of Christians in the Nation to Dispute as G. K. Summon'd the Quakers at Turner's-Hall or the Church shall state as she sees meet