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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
word_n	doctrine_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	6,474	5	9.3640	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A54151	The guide mistaken, and temporizing rebuked, or, A brief reply to Jonathan Clapham's book intituled, A guide to the true religion in which his religion is confuted, his hypocrisie is detected, his aspersions are reprehended, his contradictions are compared / by W.P., a friend to the true religion.	Penn, William, 1644-1718.	1668 (1668)	Wing P1301; ESTC R15309	49,937	66

not because the Seed of God abideth in him As is the begetter so is the begotten It may be further observ'd that into the Kingdom of which they are called Children or Inhabitants other places will not allow an entrance for any thing that is unclean or makes a lye nor is it congruous with Scripture and common sense the same Temple should hold God and Mamon Christ and Belial or that any can witness a being dead and crucified with Christ whilst living in that which has no share in him And though he would imply a Salvo or Defence for the admission of all sorts to Sacraments so call'd under the notion of the Field's being the Church yet if he well observes it is call'd the World out of which the Church of Christ both as to Doctrine and Conversation was alwayes gathered otherwise those Heathens Turks Jews c whom he would exclude must be members of his Church and whilst he would intrude Tares or the whole rabble of unrighteous persons as members of Christs Church he has forgot the Testimony born by the Apostles concerning that spotless blamless and perfect Body of which Christ Jesus was the Head And if he would from Christs words of letting them alone cover his practice of admitting all as being ignorant who is a Believer since none knows but in plucking up the Tares he may pluck up the Wheat also for this Guide's a Latitudinarian what need his whole discourse for a particular constitution he might I am sure a let that alone as knowing it would be of little force yet may he better understand the passage if he please of Persecution for they were known to be Tares else how could the servant say Sir didst not thou sow good Seed in thy Field from whence then hath it Tares if he had not rightly discerned their nature and that the Wheat was to hold no communication in any religious sort with them nor were they to express severity or force but leaving them in supernatural cases to the determination and punishment of the great Judge live a self-denying example to the world In this sense Imperfection is granted I mean to the carnal and unregenerate but to the Redeemed of God and Children of the Kingdom Perfection I am now come to the examination of the essentials of his so much recommended Choice Sect. 12. His first Article is concerning the nature of God and what of him is to be believed by those that would be happy his words are these That there is one God of an infinit perfect and spiritual nature subsisting in three most glorious persons the Father Son and Holy-Ghost who is the Maker Preserver and Governour of all things and intends his own Glory in all his Works That the greatest concernment of reasonable creatures is to know and acknowledge this God fear love adore and glorifie him and their chiefest felicity stands in his love and favour in fullest conformity to his Image and in no earthly good separate from him Taking the former part of his Definition for granted to wit the perfection infinity and spirituality of his Nature how very unsuitable herewith is the Religion and practice of this Guide first in denying that Revelation by which only a knowledge of this glorious and invisible Deity can be obtained which was the Testimony Christ bore concerning him that no man knew the Father but the Son and him to whom the Son revealed him so that if such Revelation as gives to behold the Father see his shape and contemplate the excellency of his Nature be wholly rejected by this Guide methinks it is either arrogancy to intrude into things he doth not know or folly to tell a tale received from other people for infallible truth without a demonstration in himself Next If there be no other way to have communion with this invisible God that thereby the Conformity he talks of may be known for being a Spirit it 's preposterous to imagine a knowledge of him obtainable by other mediums than what are aedequate to his Divine Nature but by this Revelation of Himself through his Son Christ in us except we are Reprobates it will necessarily follow that he must either deny Christ's Doctrine or else confess himself ignorant of what he writes and since the God he would advise all to know fear and love is that perfect Spirit I fain would know what Worship can be termed suitable thereunto but the internal and spiritual one which is altogether void of those Ceremonies Formalities Will-performances and perishing Observations once used as condescending signs to the weakness of some seasons which at this day fills up the Sacrifices and in which stands the Religion of those called Christians through the World whose ignorance of God's once dispensing with beggarly elements for their sakes whose understandings were vailed and too weak-sighted to behold at first the glorious Light has put many upon the imitation of past generations though void of their spirit and not answering the end for which they were then practised vainly conceiting them an offering acceptable to the eternal Spirit when it were as well-pleasing to present a dogg's neck as anciently was said What shall I hence conclude but as the Almighty God is a Spirit so cannot he otherwise be known or served and since he has required homage from his creatures and yet 's so purely just as to but expect what he has impow'red them to do how absolutely necessary is it that all Worship Godward should stand in the ability given of him thereunto and reasonable to believe that the occasion of all the Apostacy Darkness Inventions and whole variety of Forms and Constitutions of Religion has been from the neglect of that pure spiritual capacity once given of God to act and order them in all things that did concern their duty both to God and man As for his strange distinction of the Deity which he inforces on the faith of all that value their eternal welfare I cannot find one Scripture that will bear him out and if they had been of so much credit with this Guide as to have been by them led into their undeniable form of sound words he would not have intruded Tradition for Scripture to the creed of any but rather have inserted the Text or phrase it self whose Authority might have commanded an assent And it had more become him to give the world a Reason for his requiring a submission to and credence of his Doctrine rather than barely to draw up so many Articles and thus impiously to call on all for a subscription as they would be saved especially since he cannot but know how strongly these very points have been debated in ancient Councils and not less controverted by modern persons of Reputation and Learning Some owning one Eternal God void of all personal relations as Arrius with many Prelates and some Emperors in former Centuries F. Socinus L. Socinus Crellius Slictingius c. of later dayes

Authority to declare There is not another Leader by whom Salvation is attainable and in obedience to whom the Nations of them that are saved must walk Although I needs must say this objection of our Ignorance had much better become a person whose abilities surpass this Cantabrigian Sizer's education whose inexpertness in Story Tongues and Opinions might have barr'd him from these uncivil as well as untrue reflections and so much of Literature is to be found amongst the Quakers though it 's not their strength as does and very likely will remain unanswer'd by Scholars of a higher Form than this conceited Guide Sect. 2. 2. His charge of obstinacy we deny nor am I much solicitous to enlarge in our vindication since 't is the sense I know he has of all who withstand a Conformity to that Establishment his Interest leads him to imbrace and bow not with him to the Rising-Sun In this sense we own his Epichite and adjunct of Singular also being indeed most so in sufferings having by all Powers since we were a People separated by the Lord from their Inventions been killed all the day long in Reputation Liberty Estate and sometimes Life but in all other respects our Consciences excepted we are alwayes ready to express complacency and willingness to assist our very enemies Sect. 3. 3. He does accuse us with a total Apostasie from Christianity but if the definition Paul gives of a Christian ought to decide the case then he is one in whom Christ reigns and by the fruits of his Spirit manifests to the world he is redeemed from it and from fulfilling those lusts which once had absolute dominion over him But whether this Guide or the so much calumniated Quakers are fullest of self-denyal most separated from the World or in greatest subjection to that pure Spirit of Grace which teaches to deny all unrighteousness and to live soberly in this present World impartial Reader speak For if the preceeding qualities denote men truly Christian and that a pious diligent and inoffensive Conversation is the most express Character of Christ's Followers I make my appeal to thee and the whole World if there lives among the Sons of men a people less deserving to be called Apostates and consequently any that so visibly carry with them the badg of true and primitive Christianity as they And whereas he sayes we scarce retain any Article of the Christian Faith We do in so many words reject his aspersion being made partakers of that Divine Faith in Jesus which sanctifies and is held in a pure Conscience Sect. 4. 4. His next accusation is That they extol the Light in all men as the only sufficient Rule to walk by to the apparent slighting of Scriptures and Preaching Reader If yet thou art a stranger to this Light he thus explodes and vilifies let me beseech thee once to observe it in thy self and tell me then if it has not that Divine quality to discern betwixt the Precious and the Vile and manifest every Thought Word and Act whether it is well-pleasing or the contrary to the great God If it be criminal to own those Scriptures he falsly sayes we slight the case is chang'd otherwise we all confess that God is Light and that he hath enlightned every man by heeding and obeying the Dictates of which we may be preserv'd in that capacity as the same Scripture sayes shall bring us into the pure Fellowship and that the Blood of Jesus shall cleanse us from all sin Nor do they own a Principle in the Clouds but above all people have demonstrated the power and authority of their Principle by that Redemption it has wrought for them and alteration it has made from that condition which nakedly expos'd their immortal Souls to the snares and entanglements of this Worlds perishing glories to experiment the Blood which cleansed from all iniquity the unspeakable peace of perfect reconciliation with God And for his confident affirming we slight both Scriptures and Preaching I have this to say That as there is not any who discover more respect for them by a conformity of life to what they require so do they both read and as often quote them in Preaching or Declaration as any who profess them for their Rule And Reader that thou mayest the better be informed concerning the esteem we have them in taking but the pains to visit our Assemblies and that shall be a sufficient vindication of our innocency which also may answer him as to the advantage that 's confest the Jew had above the Heathen 5. His fifth reflection is Our openly denying the Doctrine of the Trinity but me thinks it would become him who is reproving others for not paying that respect they ought unto the Scriptures to be a little more exemplary in using their unquestionable phrase and sound expression for I am altogether ignorant of any Scripture that mentions that word Trinity and t is his own Opinion that Fundamentals should not be drawn from dubious and obscure places but rather that the Scriptures were evident and perspicuous as to what was necessary to be believed yet if by Trinity he understands those three Witnesses in Heaven Father Word and Spirit he should better have acquainted himself with what we disown than ignorantly thus to blaze abroad our open denyal of what we most absolutely credit and believe 6. His next slander runs thus The Person of Jesus Christ as to his humane Nature with all his Offices assigned to him by his Father they utterly reject though this is an Arcanum that is kept hard from their Novices Fain would he here insinuate to people by his most invective impostures hard thoughts concerning an inoffensive people whilst in reality they own no other name by which Salvation is obtainable than the Christ of God and all the Offices that ever were assigned him by his Father are by them acknowledged and so remote are they from hiding their sentiments or being jealous of exposing them to all that whosoever will but give himself the time of frequenting their Meetings or perusing their Books will soon perceive how very far this Character is wide of Truth 7. His next report is We call not upon God in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ But Reader that thou mayest not thus be dogmatized upon and better satisfied in thy sober inquiries assure thy self the Quakers never knew an other Name than that of Jesus Christ through which to find acceptance with the Lord nor is it by any other than Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant by whom they expect Redemption and may receive the promise of an eternal Inheritance Sect. 5. He farther sayes They trust not in his death for Pardon and Salvation but in a pretended sinless perfection They are so far from disowning the death and sufferings of Christ that there is not a people in the Earth that so assuredly witnesse and demonstrate a Fellowship therewith confessing before Men and