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Show 154 No. VIii. ~ No. IX; ~ .ALmer to J.Co\lenges. Life P• 47• VO'L, t; 4 Dear Friends, It fell to my Lot to. manage you.r Concerils with t~e Ar·. c tome General of the Colony, and tne Lord BaftJmore about Oaths . I ob· , tain'l to George Fox's Paper the Anfwet endorsd on the back·fide. Now, ' my Advice to you is to reprefent to them, • F Jr. fi n·ll ft' .. ' Firfl That Oaths have rifen from Corruption,. that a lCD~ s, I r~ • ,, d Je' loufies brought them into the Wo~ld, as fay Pol;bTTII, Grot1111, s~fh eaGawden and others; and God havmg redeemed you to Trutl~ ~ s 160~fng, the diufe is taken away, viz. Fa/jhood, Therefore the EffeE\: by ' Ja of Remedy, to wit, Oaths, fhould c~afe .. "' ' fecondl , CbriU exprefiy forbids Swearmg, maf~uch as He doth not ' onlyproh?bit VainStvearing, which was already forbtdden under the Law, • but that Swearing which the Law lllowed. . d' . " , n· d! That 'tis not only our Senfe: Polycarptl!, Pont!wt, Blt111 11111, c Baji/i:£..r~Primitive Martyrs1 were of this Mind, an~r.J.ufhMn MartyrCbCy. • · n drigen Lallantim C!emen.r .A.!e.xandrinus, BaJdlflt agnus, r)• , :;:; ' Tbeopby!all Oecu:nenim ebTomatim, Eutbymim, Fathers, fo read ' the 0T~xt, not to m~ntion any of the Proreftant Martyrs. Therefore fhould • they be Tender. · k w: d • I. ' Fourthly, There is no Injury done to the Plantation to .ta ~your or t, • if an , to you that fuffer the fame Penalty for a Lye wh1ch t~ o~ly due to • Pe ·Jry and which the Law without your Confent does not mfhft; yo1:1( ~ C~tio~ and Pledge for Honefty is as large. as he tha~ fwear~; for, as • Truth-Speaking fulfi!ls the Law, fo equal Pumfhment Wlth perjured Per·, ! fons, fatisfies it. ;_ · r. hi ' Laft!y, That your Coming thither as to a SanOuar;.maKes It reaJona e, ' that they fhould not drive you thence for meet Conjc~e'!ce fo well ground· ' ed and confirmed by Scripture, Reafon, and Autbormu. Let your Tea, : ~n~~:t~t1~altimore ment}oned fon:tething '::tbout your allow~g fom.e 1 fmall Matter for not performmg Martzal Mauer.r: ~n tkat be W1fe, Delt. • berate and Paffive, only if they prefs too hard, mterp~fe • . 1 fuppofe ' they will be moderate in that and all other Cafes relaung to you, at ~ leal\ I was told and a!fured fo. . . ' I have no more but that Truth profpers 1n Meetmgs and out of them: • Our Adverfaries f~ll before us: And the fober People of thefe Three Na· c tions are open to hear, and ready both to think, an~ fpeak well of the .~ Way of the Lord. I fent you one of Edmard Burrougfr s Books, and two ' fmall ones of my own. aa a Token of my Love, ~h~ch accept. So the 1 Lord God of Eternal Strength preferye us all, . Lzvmg, Frejh, Zealout, • and. Wife in that which is pur~ of H1mfelf, wh1ch .He hath fhed abroad ' in our Hearts, to his Eternal Pratfe, and our Everla(bng Comfort, Amen, ~ Amen, fitith my Soul. Tour Friend and Brother in the Truth, ana Caufe of Chrift Jefus, the Light of the World. W.Penn. To_ JoHN CoLLI!NGEs: From my Houfe in Rickmerfworth, the 120 of John C,Uenger; the 11th M.nth, r6J3. ' ALthough of all Times the prefent may feem improper for Englijhmen ' and Proteflant.r to open a Gap, or whet up an Edge to Controverfy, f yet tince fo publick an Occafion hath been given by thee (a Man, I he~r, ' under the Charatler of a DoUor of Divinity) I hope, all fober People Will { have me excufed, that I defend my felf againft fuch fcandalous Attacks, f~ ' und~fetved as well as unexpef\ed on my Part, I intend nothing bitter, .or ~ · _ - ~.: · ~ proht~ VoL: r. ' '1'he Au i H'o 1\1~ L 1 FE. ~~~ • prolix. What may yet~ needful' (if any Thing aftet the "honeR and. No. IX, ' full Anfwer already made) 1s brlefty thlS: ~ • • Fir}/, Thou inrroduceft thy Reftedion witH a Defign to fhew what !g.' - & norance puts Man und~. the State of D~mnation; and what K7iowl~dge is' ' necefi'ary to Eternal Lif'l-:·Let us fee If th:it be followed honefi:ly and • clearly, and not made a pretext for undue Cenfure and publiek Re-' : proach. • · The Matter infilled upon relating chiefly •to us on this Occafiod was· • Th11t we in common with Socininn.r do not believe Cbriff t'tl·be the Eurnnl So~· ' of God, and I am brought for Proof of the Charge. To this hath been' ; already anfwered t.hat my ~o.ok call'd, The Sandy Foundation jhaken, toucht not upon thts, bnt Trrmry and Separate Perfonality &:t:. But this ' will not ferve thy Turn, thou muft both accufe us, and th~n Wring and ' Rack our Books to maintain it: I have two Things to do, firfr, To fhew 1 ; expreft no~hing that. di~efted Chrifl of His Divinity; next, Declare my' True Meanmg and Fanh Itl the Matter. I am to fuppofe tliat \\'hen any ' .ddverJ11ry go~s about to prove his Charge againft me· out of my own " Book, he takes that which is moft to his Purpofe; Now let us fee what ; thou haft ta~en out of that _Book fo evidently demonfirating the Truth c of thy Aff~rr.xon: I find nothmg mor~ to thy Purpofe than this, That 1 , de'!Y. a Trmay of ftpa~are Perjon£ m the Godhead Ergo What ? Ergo,., Wtlltam Penn dentes Chrijl to be the only True God; or that CbriQ the Son. ' of God i1 from Ever!aflrng to Evtrlfzfling, God. Did ever Man yet hear: • of fuch Argumentation. Doth Dofior CoUenges know Logick no better • ~ut (which is ~o~e condemnable in a Minifter) hath he learnt Charity f~ 1 dl? Are not 1rmrty and Per{onality one Thing, and Chrift'S being the: • Eternal Son of God another? Muft I therefore necefrarily deny His Divi' nity, becaufe I juftly .reject the Popij!J.Scbool·Perfonaliry? This favours o( • fuch Weaknefs, or hd1ne:Pnnity. as can never ftand with the Credit of fo : great :1 Scri~e to be G.ui.lty of. Ha.ft thon never read of Pau!rn Samojizu• nus. that demed the D1vzmry of CbnH, and_ .:MaceJonh1s that oppugned the , Dml of the Holy Gho/1? And doll thou m. good earne!l think they were one m Judgment wtth SaheOmt that only reJeiled the Imaginary Peifona' !iry of thofe Times? Who at the fame lnftant own'd and confefs'd to rhe • Eternity_ and Godhead of Cbrifl Yif11s our Lord. It is manifeft then that ' though I may deny the Trinity Of Jeparate Perfons in One Godhead, yet { ~ do not confequenrially deny the Deity of Jifm Chri/1. ' And now I will tell thee my Faitli in this Matter, I do heartily believe ' that Jifm Chri/1 is the Only True and Ever/oiling God by whom all Thingr 1 were made that are made in the Heavens above, or the Earth benearh, o~ -' the Wat~~s under the Earth, That He is, as Omnipotent, fo Omni/(ient • and Ommprefenr, therefore God: This is confeft by me in two Books : printed a little before the Snndy FounJr~tion foaken, viz. Guide Mijlak,m: p. 28. and Truth exalud, p. 14, I). alfo at large in my Innouncy witb : her open_ Face: I think I have dealt very l1oneftly wirh thee, I am fure to the Sausfathon of my own Confcience, and it is not my fault if it be : not to the better Inforrnat~o~ of thine. But as thou confeffefi ;he Scripoo • ture ~ath no Word for Trznzty,. fo thou undertakeft ro prove Perfona!iry • from It, and catlefi u a Fou~dauo~. ~ut certainly this retorts with great • Sharpnefs upon th~e, for, Ftrft, th1~ bexng a Foundation, as thou fay'ft, it follows that there JS a Neceffity of It's being known and believed in Ordet • to Salvation: But I do lver, Firfl that there is no Scripture for it; nexr, ' That Ten Thoufands, yea, Millions of People called Chriflinnr, neirhet • do underHand, nor (which is more) can imderftand any fuch Thing· fo ' mean are their Capacities, and fo intricate and obfcure is the Thing ic fell: : What d~nger~us En.quiry, and ~~nton Curiofity is thar, which CJnnot fet , down Wlth this Scnprure Deflmtton, There be Three thor luar Record in , !feaven, the .Farber, the Word., and the Spirit? It is more truly Religious, tf not _to dende, at Ieaft to rejet\: Human Invenrion.r and Pagan Philofopby, ! the thief Ingredients that make up the S&booi·DejinitionJ, and acquiefcc ~in |