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Show .M;tfttk 'John.;Cot~ons' .Anfwer ~-~-=J-i-:(h-Oh,:::-ur-,-:b-<J-H--;1;-L;etu11.' Foi !-never coun_ted them as-Leg~ll Churches . nor was I ever abcmt 'tO feparate trom them a! Legall, orother~ ile (rJ uneleane,dtat a good conli:ience might not.holdcommuuion with them without Iinne. • . . • , 1 - if;hdh:ith is, T..flene, was a Gener..anon of Famtltlls in our own, and o:her Townes, who under pretence of hold in~ forth,whad 'had tllnghc, touch in~ uuiun with 'Chrifi, and evtdencing of that union did fecretly ventfundry corrupt, and dangerousecral!>md he~li:s,denyjng a!E.inberent rigluevufne!fe, and·all evtdJ:~ci~of ~gaoihfiatatherebyjo any fort, and fome _of them denymg alfo tlre.lmmorcalide of the f.mle,and R.efurre.':bon of the b~y.When they were q!,lcfiioned by fome Brethren about chofe thmgs, they e<~rried' it as'if they held forth nothing but what they had received fr~m me. Whereof when I was adverti ftt'o.£<1. de-ate my felfe,I pub-; lfckly .P,reached againlt tbefe etrors. Thtn f4id t~Brethrento.{he erring party, See, your Teacher declares htmfelfe clear~lyto differ fromyou·. No' matter( fay the other )-what he f.mh m pubhck, . we underfiand him otherwite,and we know what he faith to us in prime •. Y.~a anli~y iHfe·teuld opt·eafil ~ bele~ve that thofe ;r· ring •Bnthren;::andi:>tl.lllfrwete.fo.G~tr"llPtiD.-thettJ!I~!I<:P•ms,as they were reported, they feeming to me forward Chn~tans,_ and utt~rlytienying unto me ;thy fuch Tenen~s, or an_y thmgelte but wllat t'bey reeeived from thy felfe. Allwhu:h bred th fundryof~~e Countrey a jeaiotif~ thiu:<tw.s'!nf~cret u foment~r.of the. Sp)rlt. o6~m1i@ie, ifi\&t'leav~ned-m¥ .felte that lll(ay. Whteh I difcern· iftg· it'wro~~ in me rh~ughrs, (as it did in matf)' other fincerdy ~ly BretHren •of our Church ) not of a Separation fr.om the Ghurches, as b:g~ll,.( whom we nilely emb' aced, and honoured 1111~he Lb~d ) .biJt of a' R~o>oqv~JI . tO New fl•"'!'l, as~ing better knowne to the Paftor, and fon re others there,:then to iudr as were· ac rhlt time jealollS<obme here. The ·crue Ground whereof was, an• irvvard _.(oathnelk to be uou~lefome to godly mindes, and a feare of the unprofi~·blenelle ofruy Mini fiery there, where my w•Y ~sfufpea~ to be doubtfull, .and 'd~nge wus, I chde the(ef~re rather' to meditate a filent departure in Peace, then by tarrytng here to make way for the bre•king forth ofTemptation!. But when at the Synod I had dHcovered the corruption of theJndgf· -~c. of 1he.erring Brethren, and faw their fraudulent pretencr 0 ...,... · holding so to Mafler Roger Williams. b<?ldir !( f&l'th·no-o\her ,llm>WI4at! dley'r~ceiv€cH'rorif met when -ihd~eii they pl'e•dh'ffi!r gro!l;'e~6rs,c6htra'ry to' ;.,y judgcme'n,j and rhereup~n b~I'<'Wltndle aga~h fi•them; ahd when_in a priyate conference \V:th lome chicle Ma~ifirates, and Elders, I perceived t-!Ja{'tnY, purl'o(e•qf <~emovall upon_fuch diffc:rencbs w-as unwel ome t6'!he_n!l·ilnl:f.t !lat' !ll~ll' Points -nl:~ecitHlt to oc~afil>r(aiiyi!ni.l)c ' (n~lfher_ ih ·place,'nor in Heart) amongll: Bretllr2n; I· then refiej famfied m nly abode amongft' them, and Co have continutd by the Grace ofChrifi unto this day. ·" .~•.r-po_ _w ·~o returlJ.e"t~·M'i ~Villia• .n J- !li~ ~;'YiO'n · .;' Itt the time of fhW:'D_iJJ'be~, wo~tlJ.'!'count .: ( f~tb he-)' a ~ert:J .iJ'}!e pllrqht up 'bj t~ rootet; m•, and'mme, and"to endltre rhe lop,, dljlraaionr, and ,/ije: I'll!, th'at•doe attend {uch a c1ndition l , A n{w. 'lfea troelyl if thofe jt:alouGes, and diffc:rences had' llill lrelc¥, Jl ~ould ~a~e, accout~ted it, and t~en; ~id atco~nt it ~ mercf to tee-a ifoor~ open FOr r~moova!I.And· the~enlre iri·myheart ch'ole ir,and-purpo~d' it,a! a way of wifrlbme, aba nu!ll:f. '' Btl~ whereas he talketh of plucking up by the routes, the Mtta• phorH. t_oo Calachrefi!call. An ~ld Tree pluckt up by 'the rooces ts-not ·hli.~to·~~~ aga1?e·: .but net~~~ .'Je, n~r. l, was ·l!kpofJd· to. filcll :in Er~dtbrtton': we mtght liave remooV'ed:( witH'dur r.NW), wha~evel'm_ooveables we had; and'whac- we could nbt t'eiiJo3ve, . wemtghqmtttoff(fooner, or later) unto others for a valuable cenfideration. So that though wee had been plucked up by the rGbtes; our rootes had not been dried up, but would have fprung forth·agaille to our comfortable fupporrance. ·· It !n qqefiion altogtthe dm~edinent,which the Examiner ptlt· ttlh·m th~ne~t pla~e, ~het?er t[tlfe lnh3bitantJ in New· England "'"" {lfr'mllttrl to en;oy w 0 d· England their Congregatinnall way whe~h~ ~ben M'.Cu~i~~ hilnfilfe (if he were feated in_ OJd·E,.!(_Iand agvm'~ wou!dhnmt zt1a li:lercy to be bam {bed from the Civil! State 1 For-!h\lt'is not at all the Q tefiion in ha'nd, bur this: whe~herif the;e were no Congregariot1all Churches in 0 1d England unto Wbtch we mlg~tjoy ne >Vithuut Iinne, whether then H we•'•: mer· cr'lolbe·t'h niHmC:? And verilv for my felfe (and I dmcbt not' for m:"'y a•tlidullm\l'tho\ e) '! ilf-ulll ~cc0 u'!l't it a· mercy to Qe.hafiC:" n«~'o\tt:; real e!rt-1rrrer~ )co~t>~t'bmil uu) iq m'c.ll.~~ ... ( •. wml•ry'; thtlttllntl >gedly·pcrCuns ·tn·tht8 Countr.ey d!IP:iot uukc t'hc lciine, G g' %' ' ' accOunt, |