affertion, abfolutely acquitted the quakers of familism; or, denying the letter of fcripture. Se sendly, that he thought them found Chriftians in all things, but baptifm and the fupper; which twa cuftoms or ufages of the first Chriftians, they do not deny, were practised occasionally; but explain in a fenfe different from other Chriftians. And, thirdly, it follows, that the doctor's notion of the inward eternal principle of divine light, was the fame with the quakers; or, in other words, the fame fupernatural principle which, through the whole bible, is afferted as abfolutely necessary so underfland and obey the will of God,

This fupernatural principle, the New Testament acknowledges, as given to all men in the world: fo that the quakers in this, as well as in their ather doctrines and church-difcipline, feem to come the nearest of any Christian sect, to true, original, primitive Christianity; that is, to bible-christianity, though not to church Christianity: they do not, with modern Christians, on purpose to support a human fyftem of religion, EXPLAIN AWAY the fpirit of God, by setting up diftinctions between the spirit in the apofiles, and the spirit in good men at all times; between inspiration, and illumination; extraordinary affiftances of the spirit and common affiftances: diftinctions, which have na foundation in the bible, or in reason.

By this principle, the quakers are alfo effentially diftinguished from deifts, as well as from modern. Chriflians for there never was a deift in the. world yet, who acknowledged that God fupernaturally wrought upon the mind of man; and, the new fashionable divinity, and modern way of explaining the bible, lays afide the necessity of it, and places all upon the letter of the scripture and our rational faculties. In truth, MODERN Chriftianity is little more than deifm chriftned; or the religion of nature, under a Christian name : for even this very bishop, who writes so angrily for Christianity, as to charge the best Christians with deifm, has, in his anfwer to Mr. Arfectt, explained thofe phrafes of Christ in us, &c. in fuch a manner, as to leave no Chrift at all within us, nor fpirit of Chrift: and fo his lordship is even with the quakers; and hath done with their internal religion, what he complains they have done with his external.

Upon the whole it appears, that the quakers are the furthest from deifm, and the nearest to original Chriftianity, of any Chriftian fect; and we may justly add, that if the providence of God had not raised them up, we fhould have no living transcript of the pure, primitive Christian religion left in the world. They are, therefore, as a light shining in a dark place, to which all persons, P 4 who

who have been taught to place religion in performing external rites and ceremonies, and believing abfurd and ufelefs opinions, would do well to turn their eyes.

BRITANNICUS.

POSTSCRIPT.

A CO

Full detection of Mr. Pickworth's falfhoods, concerning Mr. Claridge, will fpeedily be published and there are a great many perfons now living, of undoubted veracity, who were intimately acquainted with Mr. Pen, and who will declare that they never faw any figns of diftraction in him, nor ever heard him drop one word that fhewed the leaft diflike to those princi ples, which he fo religionfly taught the people, and fo judicionfly defended against his adverfaries.

THE TRUE

PICTURE

OF A

MODERN TORY:

OR A

HIGH-CHURCHMAN

Painted to the Life.

First printed in the YEAR 1722.