Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

SIR,

TH

Union Court, 18 Dec. 1710.

HIS comes to give our Society, for promoting Chriftian Knowledge, the Reason of my absenting myself from their Meetings now I am come to refide in Town; whereas I fo feldom ufed to fail them, when I was but occafionally there. I confefs, I am not able to enter into this Matter, nor to abfent myself from the Society without fome Concern and Uneafinefs. I have the fame Defigns for advancing true genuine Chriftian Knowledge and Practice that the reft of the Society have. My Heart is entirely with them, in their brave and religious, and charitable and Christian Undertakings. I am still as willing and as ready as ever to affift and encourage, and advise in any of their Affairs. I own myself to receive no fmall Benefit, Comfort, and Edification myself from their Society; and I, cannot, without Unwillingness and Regret, bare to be excluded or banished from them. Yet do I by no Means think it prudent in me, confidering the Circumftances I am at prefent under, any longer to frequent their Meetings, fince there may such Inconveniences thence arife as may hinder, not only myself, but the reft from doing that Good which otherwise might be expected. Infomuch, that the very fame Design of Doing Good, which prompted the Society to chufe me at firft, and me to accept the fame, and to frequent their Affemblies, feems now to require my abfenting myself from them: So long I mean, as the Reasons for fuch Absenting shall stand good; and till thofe important Things, I have to propose to the Chriftian World, be fo throughly

open

[ocr errors]

throughly examined, that I may ftand juftified be fore all good Men, and they may fee it neceffary to join my Defigns with thofe which they are already engaged in, in order to a through Reformation of the Chriftian Church, and the haftening the coming of our Saviour's Kingdom of Peace and Holinefs. This I verily believe will be found necessary in no very long Time. But fince it is not in that State at prefent, and Sufpicions and Jealoufies may cafily rife in the mean Time, I do hereby take my Leave of the Society; begging of God to blefst them in all their Religious Undertakings, and to: the Eyes of the Chriftian World, to fee, believe and practice exactly according to the Revelation by his Son: And offering my hearty Service to the Society, and every Member of it, in any fuch Designs as in my prefent Circumstances. I may be affifting in, in a more private Manner, and hoping that Almighty God will, in this Matter, accept of my hearty good Will for the Deed, and not exclude me from all Rewards of thofe pious Undertakings, which I have hitherto been ready to promote more openly, and which I fhall ftill be ready to promote by my own private Endeavours, good Wishes, and Prayers for their Succefs, and Advance-: ment in the World.

I am,

Sir, the Society's, and

Four most bumble Servant,

WILL. WHISTON.

Having just now mentioned fo excellent a Perfon as Mr. Nelson, who wrote against Dr. Clarke, and tranfmitted the folemn Thanks of the Clergy of the Gallican Church to Bishop Bull, for his Vindication of the Council of Nice, and moderate Athanafianifm, when her two moft learned Men, Petavius and Huetius had in effect given it up; I fhall here infert a Letter of mine to him, never before printed, upon the fame Subject.

Much bonour'd Sir,

Camb. July 31, 1710.

Heartily thank you for your good Wishes and Prayers for me; as fuppofing me running into a dangerous Herefy; and nothing can be more Charitable or more Chriftian than what you do upon that Suppofition. But fure, good Sir, the Opinions I have entertain'd, after most frequent and fincere Prayers to God for his Direction; after an unbiafs'd and through Examination of all the facred and authentick Writers of the first Times; after the Hazzard of all my Hopes and Preferment, of my Family, nay, of my Life itself in this World; after not only the Attainment of full and clear Satisfaction in my own Mind, but the affording the fame Satisfaction to fome others who came with Dread and Caution every Step, yet were not able to deny the Evidence that I produc'd; after not only offering, but earnestly preffing the Examination of my Papers upon the Archbishops and Bishops, and the University; after having plainly filenc'd the truly Learned, fo far that not one of them appears willing to answer what I have to fay. After all this, N certainly

certainly you ought not to write as if I were evidently in the Wrong; and that instead of any Examination, whether it be fo or not, you only would have Endeavours us'd for my Conviction. I am fo well affured that the Doctrine, which that Body of the Christian Church, which their Adversaries would call Arian, is no other than the plain Doctrine of the New Teftament, of the Apoftolical! Conftitutions of Ignatius, and all the Ancients; that it is with me a Branch of my common Chriftianity: And as to the Main, not to be difbeliv'd by me while I am a Chriftian. And the Evidence I have for what I fay is undeniable: As I am ready to fhew at what Time, and before what Company you fhall please to hear it debated. And, good Sir, give me Leave to fay, that fuch Doctrines as you and Bishop Beveridge do fupport in these Matters, are no better than the heretical Notions which Tertullian and fome of the Montanifts took from elder Hereticks; and which were afterward propagated by those ignorant and pernicious Hereticks, Marcellus and Athanafius, contrary to the Sense of the Body of the Chriftian Church in their Times: And which, as improv'd by the later ignorant Ages, have come down to our Days; but begins to be seen and rejected by all the most learned and most impartial Enquirers. Sure, Sir, we are not to believe Myfteries farther than they are a Part of the Revelation of Chrift; and fo far I fully believe any that are laid before me. But to believe any on the Credit of fuch ignorant Forgers as Athanafius, or Vigilius, Thapfitanus, you must excufe me. We are to call

по

no Man Mafter upon Earth; fince one is our Mafter, even Chrift. Even an Apostle would not pretend to have Dominion over the Faith of Chriftians; but exactly kept to that which Chrift had deliver'd. Neither they, nor an Angel from Heaven could preach any other Doctrines of the Gospel than had been committed to them by Chrift himself, and which now appear in the Apostles Conftitutions. And as I am fully fatisfy'd that thofe Conftitutions are of equal Authority with the four Gofpels themselves, and contain no other than that Faith I contend for, fo do I think you greatly guilty of the Neglect of those Cautions before-mentioned, when you declare fo firm a Belief of, and eager Concern for fuch Doctrines as have plainly no Foundation in all the original Books of our Religion. I run no Hazzard as to another World, because I keep close to that Faith and Practice which was once delivered to the Saints, without fuffering any Synod or humane Authority to turn me at all out of the Way: Whereas you venture in the most facred Concerns to believe and practice as the Country and Church, wherein you were educated, happen'd to instruct you, and feem to think it a Piece of Impiety to do otherwise. I must confefs, I cannot but wonder at the Learned, and efpecially at the Clergy; that when Things of that mighty Confequence are fo folemnly propos'd to their Confideration, they generally fatisfy themfelves to go on Year after Year, without troubling themselves about them: Nay, they ftill venture to use the most heretical Creed that is now extant in the World, I mean N 2 that

« ElőzőTovább »