A just vindication of my earnest expostulation, added to my book, called The Antichrists and Sadduces detected, &c. directed to the pious and learned, in the Church of England, and among the dissenters, against the trifling exceptions of Edward Pennington, which he calls Some observations, etc. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 1696 Approx. 25 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-12 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A47155 Wing K178 ESTC R14235 12937432 ocm 12937432 95818 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A47155) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 95818) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 717:15) A just vindication of my earnest expostulation, added to my book, called The Antichrists and Sadduces detected, &c. directed to the pious and learned, in the Church of England, and among the dissenters, against the trifling exceptions of Edward Pennington, which he calls Some observations, etc. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 7 p. Printed by J. Bradford ..., [London : 1696] Caption title. Signed: G.K. Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Penington, Edward, 1667-1701. -- Some brief observations upon George Keith's earnest expostulation. 2005-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-07 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2005-07 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A Just Vindication Of My Earnest EXPOSTULATION , Added to my Book , called The Antichrists and Sadduces detected , &c. Directed to the Pious and Learned , in the Church of England , and among the Dissenters , against the Trifling Exceptions of Edward Pennington , which he calls Some Observations , &c. PAssing by his Unchristian and Uncharitable Censures , of my being guilty of Pride , Ambition , Malice , &c. and Monopolizing Knowledge among the Quakers ; which last he goes to prove , with a lying Story he takes out of a lying Book , published against me , saying , It seems he told a Friend of ours in America , If you serve G. K. so , G. K. will leave you , and then ye shall wander about for lack of Knowledge , and shall not find it : Which is an abominable Falshood : And this and the like false Accusations , are the best Armour , these my Adversaries have to Fight against me , as also his falsly charging me , with imposing fond Notions , and Unscriptural Creeds upon them ( but what he calls so , were no other , then some of the great Fundamentals of the Christian Religion , the Denyal whereof I have sufficiently proved them guilty of , in the Meeting at Turners-Hall , 11th . of the 4th . Month , 1696. and in the Printed Narrative of the Proceedings there ) I think fit to give some brief Reply , to his Charge , p. 4 , 5. where he saith , I once gave a different Character of their Learning and Piety too , to whom I directed that Expostulation , for which he citeth some Passages in a Book of mine , called Help in time of Need. Printed above 30 Years ago . But none of these Passages prove , that I did judge there were none among them all , Pious and Learned , for indeed I was never so uncharitable . This Man who will needs print Books , had need to go to School to learn that from Particulars to the Universal , the Consequence is not good . What I said against the Philosophy then taught , in the Colleges of that Nation , many learned and Pious Men in both Nations , will assent to be true , to wit , the Jesuit Philosophy ; for that was it which was then taught , and which I learned almost Word by Word out of Jesuit Authors : And since that time , both that College , and I suppose all the other Colleges in both Nations , have changed that sort of Philosophy , out of their dislike to it , as I my self had done , before I was a Quaker . But what if I should blame the Philosophy that is now taught in all the Colleges ? Is there no other good Learning , but that called Philosophy ? He has but little Learning , that so argues . What I then said against Schools and Universities , was against the ill Constitution and great Abuses in them at that time , but not against Schools , well and duly constituted , as neither was Luther , whose Authority I cited against them . Next as to what I said concerning Prelacy , and Lording Bishops , ( for so I cautioned it ) in that Book . Neither doth this prove , that I did conclude there could be no pious Bishops ; for within a few Lines , in that very page , I did own there were some Bishops in Queen Mary's Days , to whom the Lord had a regard , according to their Faithfulness to what they saw ; by Lording Bishops , it is obvious , what I meant , even the same that is meant 1 Pet. 5. 3. being Lords over God's Heritage . But doth this prove , that I did judge there are none to be found Pious and Learned among any here in England , Episcopal or others . Even , Bernard , Thauler , and T. Kempis , with divers others that lived in the Church of Rome , many Protestants as well as I , have esteemed both Pious and Learned . Indeed I have to my Experience , found such great Lording and Tyrannical Imposition in George Whitehead , and William Penn , with their Lording Brethren of the Yearly Meeting , 1695. as I never found in any of the Bishops , either English or Scottish ; for by none of them was I ever Excommunicated : but by the Former I was Excommunicated , for bearing my Faithful Testimony against most Vile Errors , opposing the Great Essentials of Christianity , that I found among them . But however , to take away all Shadow of Clamour against me , on the account of any hard or uncharitable Censures I had formerly at any time passed on any of the several Professions of Protestants , whether Espiscopal or Dissenters of all sorts , or on the account of the hard and uncharitable Names I have at any time given to any of them , that were not deserving them . I have oft by Word of Mouth freely and openly acknowledged my Rashness in so doing , and in my Book of Retractations , shortly to be published , I revoke and retract them All that I have said or writ , or printed at any time against any , that did not deserve the same , though it were easie for me to prove , that they who now thus accouse me , have far exceeded me , in giving hard Names , and passing hard Censures upon the Ministry of all Protestant Professions differing from them . But the things is so evident , that it were to waste Paper , to prove it , That they have generally called them Thieves , Robbers , Conjurers , Witches , &c. But let them own and declare , whether notwithstanding these hard Censures and Names , they have given generally to all Dissenting from them , of all Professions of Protestants , do they extend this severe Censure to all and every one of them ? Are all and every one of them Witches Conjurers Thieves , Robbers , the Pest of the World , the Bane of Soul and Body of the Universe , Idle Gormandizing Priests , &c. the unlovely Epithets . they have given Dissenters from them , both Episcopal and Nonconformists , in general , do they make no exception ? Is all Britain become such a Sodom , that there are not ten Pious or Righteous Persons to be found in it among all the Millions that dissent from them ? If they will affirm it is so , their uncharitableness is detestable ; but if they will allow , that some Righteous and Pious Persons are to be found among them , then why do they quarrel with me , for allowing the same , and that there are Learned Men among them , far beyond any stock of Learning any of the Quakers lay claim to , I suppose they will not gain-say ; what is then my Trespass , for allowing that there are such in the Church of England , and among the Dissenters , when they do the same ? And whereas they say , pag. 6. Hath he ever retracted this ? If not , what encouragement have ye to become his Journey-Men , to work under him ? To the former I say , I have both by Word and Writ , and is designed by me to be in Print very shortly , retracted all the hard Censures and Names that I have at any time given to any , who have not deserved them , as is above-said . But what a base Insinuation is it in them , that I would have any of the Pious and Learned of the several Protestant Professions , to become my Journey-men to work under me ? Is there any thing like this in my Expostulation with them ? O shameless Men ! Have ye no better Weapons to fight against me , but such Lying Insinuations ! Let my Exp●stulation be examined , and nothing of that sort will be found . Nay , I have not desired any of their Assistance to defend me ( I am content they let me stand or fall to my own Master ; for my Trust is , that God will uphold me ) but my Expostulation was with them , and my Serious Invitation unto them , by their Pious and Learned Writings , to oppose and refute those Vile Errors , boldly avouched and publickly broached in the late Printed Books of some Leading Men , among a Gang and sort of Quakers . He saith , He shall digest the Matter he proposeth to treat upon into ten Heads . But what indigested matter he brings forth to his and their shame , whom he defends , I think to take some notice . The first Head is my representing the Quakers , as worse than Papists . On this Head he is guilty of gross Untruth and Falshood in two Particulars . 1. That I represent the Quakers as worse than Papists . But the very Words he cites cut of my Expostulation clear me , I charge not the Quakers indefinitely , or universally , but a sort and gang of them , if he be such an Idiot to make no distinction betwixt a part and the whole , how is he fit to print Books 2. That he makes me represent them , I so charge , absolutely worse than Papists : Whenas I cautioned my Words thus , — Vile Errors not only as bad as any Popery , but much worse than the worst of Popery in DIVERS RESPECTS .. Observe , in Divers Respects : I said not absolutely , and in all respects , but in divers respects . And this I can very easily prove . And as to his Insulting Queries , to answer to some of them ; which Answer will comprehend an Answer to them all . Do we promote Errors , ( saith he ) worse than worshipping a piece of Bread as God ? I say , that 's a Transition from the subject of the Controversie betwixt them and me , to another foreign subject , viz. Transubstantiation ; it seems this bold Novice has not leareed that Maxim , Verba sunt int●lligenda secundum subjectam materam , i. e. Words are to be understood according to the subject matter If I say , this is not one of these respects , wherein I have charged them , this Junior Sophister is at a non-plus . But seeing I have clearly proved that G. W. has Destroyed the true Object of the Christian Faith and Worship , by denying Christ to be either God or Man , as I have shewed in my Narrative , and , That it is needful to our Salvation , to believe in Christ as he suffered at Jerusalem . These mens Error may be justly thought equal to that of the Papists , in that very respect , if not to exceed it . The adoring a false Christ within , is fully as great Idolatry , as the Papists adoring a piece of Bread without . And it is a false Christ within , which they adore , who set up a false Notion of Light within , and a false Lying Spirit that hath led them to Vilifie and Reproach the Man Christ Jesus without them , and boldly to slight his precious Blood , and call Christ without , glorified in the Heavens , an imagined God beyond the Stars , that is denyed by the Light within ; therefore that Light within , that denyeth Christ without , who is the true Christians Saviour , and who is both God and Man , is not the true Light , but a Lying Spirit of the Devil . And let sincere Christians judge , whether is the greatest Idolatry , to worship the Devil within , or a piece of Bread without ? I am sorry they give me this occasion to detect them ; but since they will needs give it , it is fit they be answered . And the same or like Answer will suffice to his Queries , about worshipping Images , Praying to Saints and Angels , Merits and Purgatory : And as to Merits , I am sure most Papists are more sound than some of them ; for whereas Papists generally profess highly to value Christ's Merits , and own their first Justification to the Merit of Christ's Obedience and Righteousness without them : William Penn hath called this Doctrine , A Doctrine of Devils , and an Arm of the Sea of Corruption , deluging the whole World. In vain are all his shufling Aggravations against me , upbraiding me with my being changed in my Opinion , of what these Quakers were : I have owned it again , and again , that I am changed in my Opinion of them ; but how doth this prove me an Apostate , or ill man ? Are they all ill Men , that have the same Opinion of them as I now have ? And as I have formerly told them , they have changed their Opinion of me , as much as I have of them , so that in that respect , they have no advantage against me . I own it , they deceived me , they were the Deceivers and I was the Deceived ; and which was worse , let the Intelligent judge . But now I bless God , I am undeceived in them , I know them better : And what would they have more ? The Second Head , hath nothing in it worth noticing , but their Unjust charging me with Malice , both with respect to them , viz. that Gang of Quakers above-mentioned , and with respect to such whom I directed my Expostulation unto , their Application of that place in Acts 21. 28. against me , is very Abusive and Shameless . The Jews cryed , Men of Israel , help . But against what ? against Paul , and the worthy Name of Christ which he bore Testimony to . Did I make any such Cry , to help against that worthy Name , or any true Professors of it , by my Inviting them to oppose the Vile Errors that are contrary to it ? But how doth he prove that I am malicious to the Pious and Learned in the Church of England , or among the Dissenters ? They , and not he , nor his Gang are a fit judge of this . Am I malicious either to the one or the other , to tell them , I would not have the Bapists out-do them , in Zeal for the Christian Faith ? Is it not an evident Argument of my love to them ? His base Insinuation , that I would stir up Persecution against them , seeing I had so fairly cautioned against any such Jealousie , both in this Expostulation , and in my Printed Narrative , I think not worth the least regarding . The Third Head , so far as it contains a false Reflexion on me , I shall not notice , but in so far as it tells a most impudent Untruth , with respect to the People called Quakers , I cannot omit it ; for whereas I have said , That many of their chiefest Teachers , have with great boldness provoked such as differed from them , to publick Disputes . This he denyeth to be true : But with what Face of Brass could he deny it ? That is a thing so notoriously known , which thousands both of the Church of England and Dissenters , can testifie . But the Colour he would put upon it is , That what they did , was to clear themselves , and to detect the Abuses put on them . As if they had been only on the defensive part , in all the publick Oppositions they made in Congregations , and elsewhere ; whereas it is abundantly known , they were the first Aggressors , and first of all began to charge all the Ministry in the Nation , with being False Teachers , Hirelings , holding false Doctrines ; and though it were to carry Water to the Sea to prove it , yet let but their own Books in Print , particularly George Fox's Journal , and Edward Bou●oughs collected Treatises , bear witness to any such Novices among the Quakers that know it not . And was G. F's Primmer , to the two Universities , which he himself could not read , and his Battle door , containing Words of many Languages , of which he knew not one Letter , only to clear the People called Quakers . The Fourth Head contains nothing but repeated Recriminations and Reflections against me , already Answered ; except that in the latter part of it , they propose it , Whether it would not be most equal and reasonable for them , viz. such to whom I have directed my Expostulation , to begin with me , by calling me forth to a publick hearing upon my former Books . To this I Answer , that I am most willing they do , and what I cannot justly and safely defend of any passages in my former Books , I will fairly retract . But whereas they upbraid me again , and again , with contradicting my former Doctrines and Principles , as to Articles of Faith , I cannot find that they have proved it against me in one particular . But that they to whom I directed my Expostulation , should begin with me , I suppose they will not think so proper , because whatever just Offence I have given to any of them , my late Adversaries of that Gang among the Quakers have far exceeded me , and they have that which casts the Ballance as to them , that they justifie all they have said , and printed against them , to every tittle , to maintain their Infallibility ; which I have not done , but in divers things I confess my Mistakes , and wherein I have justly offended any , I humbly ask their Forgiveness . The Fifth and Sixth Heads , having sufficiently Answered them both in my Narrative and Expostulation , I see not the least cause to say any thing unto , but leave them to the Readers impartial Consideration . Only I take notice of the bold Untruth he chargeth me with , of my proposing the disturbing of their Meetings ; for I cautioned it expresly , that what should be done to refute their Vile Errors , might be done at the end of their Meetings , or at other set times ; and this is more regular , than what divers of them have done , to make Opposition in the Meetings of others , before their Meetings were ended , as Jacob Talner lately did , in one of our Meetings , who is one of their Preachers : And seeing they justifie what some of them did , by way of publick Opposition , to clear themselves , and to detect the Abuses put on them , and that they allow this to be equal and reasonable , and no trespass against the Civil Peace ; and that many , or rather indeed all of other Professions , do judge that the Quakers have misrepresented them , and put Abuses on them , why should they not think it fair , that these of other Professions , who think themselves injured by them in point of Doctrine , should have freedom in publick , to their Faces , to clear themselves . And why should not I also by the same Argument , have full Liberty to clear my Innocency , and detect the Abuses they have put upon me , and that Face to Face , without any breach of the Civil Peace ? Was the taking away the Preachers Hour-glass with G. F. justified , but a clearing themselves ? And Solomon Eccles coming into a publick Assembly , here in London , all besmeared with Mans Excrements , and one that got on the Pulpit , and began to sow and stitch with a Needle ? The Seventh Head , is nothing but an unjust Insinuation , That I would excite the Civil Authority against them , and that I would fain instruct the Civil Authority , what their Duty is in this Case . But they bringing no Proofs of their Charge against me , it were a superfluous labour in me to Answer them on this Head. I am very hopeful that as formerly I have had the Countenance of some in Civil Authority , in my publick Opposition to their Vile Errors , so I may have the like for the future . Their Insinuation , That such Encouragement of any in the Civil Authority , would be a breach of an established Act of Parliament , is so silly and ignorant , that it deserves not the least Consideration . The Eighth Head is a bare-faced Calumny , My high Opinion of my self in setting up for Director , both of Church and State , in Methods to be used for the preservation of the Protestant Religion . Doth any honest Man , that proposeth his humble Opinion , what may be good for both the Protestant Religion , and State of the Kingdom , deserve such an unworthy Character ? Is not the like commonly practised from time to time , without the least offence ? Had not divers of the Teachers among the Quakers , particularly G. F. the Younger , given far greater occasion to be judged , having a high Opinion of himself , in what he printed of Advise to the King himself , viz. Charles the Second , and what others have Printed of the like Nature , and what G. F. the Elder , and E. B. have printed to Parliaments ? In the Ninth Head , whereas they charge me , with being either grosly insincere , or else very ignorant of the Law in such Cases , which deeply affects both Persons and Estates , by Imprisonments , Fines , and Pillory , viz. because I said , If Order were given by them , bearing Authority in this Nation , that all such Books of them , as contain Vile and Abominable Errors were suppressed , they viz. my Opposers among the Quakers should have no Cause to complain . To this I Answer , 1. Were not by the same Argument they insincere or ignorant , who have charged not only some of their Brethren , but differing from them in Punctilio's of their Church-Government and Women's Meetings , as in particular Christopher Taylor his charging William Rogers with high Blasphemy , in a Printed Book of his , but also in charging with Heresie and Blasphemy , many of the Ministry in the Nation , reputed Orthodox by Civil Authority ? But , 2dly , must not their Vile Errors and Heresies be opposed , and the Authors of them witnessed against , and warning given against them , otherwise all that do so , must they be reckoned Persecutors and Malicious . O ye partial Judges , why judge ye so partially and insincerely that in another , wherein ye are so guilty your selves ? If that were any Guiltiness , to call Error and Heresie by their true Names . In their Tenth , and last Head , they labour to state the Case betwixt their Books , and my Books , from Pensilvania , as far different , and that my Books were justly suppressed by them , here at London , they think it was but common Prudence , to hide the Bone of Contention , lest my quarrelsom Books , as they are pleased to call them , should infect some with the same Spirit of Discord . But they plead hard , that their Books should not be supprest . To this I Answer , 1. Had it not been more honesty in them , as well as Christian Prudence , to have disowned these gross Errors , which I evidently proved against them in Pensilvania , out of their own Letters and Manuscripts , as well as by other Proofs , than to have hid and cloaked them , and Excommunicated me , for my faithful opposing them . 2. But where is the far different case ? why they should suppress my Books , and the Civil Authority should not suppress theirs ? Why ? my Books would have been a Bone of Contention , to infect some with the same Spirit of Discord . But must not the Truth be contended for ? Are we not commanded to Contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints ? and such was the contention of my Books , and of my Spirit . The case indeed , I confess , is very different , but to their great disadvantage , and to my great advantage . They did well , they think , to suppress my Books , lest some Discredit or Reproach should fall on them , if it should be known , that any of them did hold such Principles , which all true Christians abhor , being contrary to the Essentials of Christianity . But their Books must have free and full Scope to pass current through the Nations , that have been a far greater Bone of Contention , and tending not only to bring Infamy upon all other Christian Professions and Professors , but Reproach and Contempt upon the Person and Doctrine of our blessed Saviour , and his holy Prophets and Apostles , as not only I , but others have made clearly to appear , and may be yet made more to appear in due time . His idle Story , about the Revolutions , which they have so nauseously repeated , and which I have oft fully Answered ; to answer it any more , would be a needless Repetition , therefore I let it pass with his other Impertinencies and Calumnies , not worth the noticing . But were I inclined to retort his idle Story of Erasistratus against me , on the Hypothesis of the Revolution , ( or Transmigration ) I might say these my late Adversaries , who place all upon the Inward Principle , excluding the Man Christ Jesus from being our Saviour , are the old Stoicks , Epicureans , Pelagian Brittains redivive , and other Ethnick Philosophers , who bitterly opposed the Christian Faith. But though they have not their Souls , I am sure they have their Heathenish , Antichristian Principles . G. K. THE END . London , Printed by J. Bradford , in New-street , without Bishops-gate , near Hand-Ally , 1696.