N00406:225
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession…
The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended, against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pennsylvania [sic], to undermine them both. / By the minsters of the Gospel in Boston, ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]The principles of the Protestant religion maintained, and churches of New-England, in the profession and exercise thereof defended, against all the calumnies of one George Keith, a Quaker, in a book lately published at Pensilvania [sic], to undermine them both. / By the minsters of the Gospel in Boston, ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]
printed by Richard Pierce, 1690
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. Profession, as it is understood by the Assembly, is not a mere verbal thing, but practical too: it contains in it an Orthodoxy in the principles professed, and a Conversation framed thereto, a professing in words, & not-denying in works, else men are not visible Christians, but to be turned from. 2. Tim. […] 5. and yet we believe that men may do all •is, and be close Hypocrites; and that they ⟨p. 130⟩may afterwards fall away, G. K. himself confesseth: and now let us trace him.
2. Profession, as it is understood by the Assembly, is not a meer verbal thing, but practical too: it containes in it an Orthodoxy in the principles professed, and a Conversaion framed thereto, a professing in words, & not-denying in works, else men are not visible Christians, but to be turned from. 2. Tim. 〈…〉 5. and yet we believe that men may do all •is, and be close Hypocrites; and that they ⟨p. 130⟩may afterwards fall away, G. K. himself consesseth: and now let us trace him.
He infers, that Notoriously-scandalous persons, liars, deceivers, drunkards, &c. are qualified members of our Church; but without reason; if he should essay, he would find is to reject him for some of the qualifications he mentions: We acknowledge not such for professors; and if any in our Churches afterward prove so, we censure them.
And it is grossly untrue, that Independents require no more than such a profession as he talks of, to make them members of their church: for they whom he calls Independents, distinguish between the Church visible, or Christianity at large, & Membership, or Fellowship in a congregational Church, and have not been wont to be charged for their Lawness, but rather Strictness in Admission. Nor doth it argue them of Hypocrisy, or contradiction, because they separated from another Church, viz. the Episcopal, it being well known that they did it mainly because their terms of Communion were such as they could not in Conscience comply with; tho' also their promiscuous Admission of all sorts of ignorant & scandalous persons to the Lords Table, added to the incitement: as for the Presbyterian Churches, we did not separate from them