Concerning the Quakers' notion of the light within.
This light, the Quakers say, is That light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World; And therefore they say that every man in the world has it. They do not call it Natural Reason or Conscience, but a Divine Light sent in upon the Conscience. It is not Conscience, says George Fox in his Great Mystery, p. 209. And thus far we will not quarrel with them; for we doubt not that there is an Influence from Above, as of the sun upon all the Earth, so of the Holy Spirit of God shining upon the Consciences of the most Profligate at some times, till, by their repeated Provocations they have banished that Holy Spirit from hearts wholly polluted: and yet his Goodness does not refuse to visit them many wonderful ways, calling them both by his Mercies and Judgments to Repentance, while there is Life or Hopes left; insomuch that whosoever Perishes will be self-condemned, and see the cause of his damnation to lie wholly at his own Door.
And this Notion of the Light Within, as a Ray only, or Illumination from the Holy Spirit, the ingenious Mr. Penn has let us see in some of his late books, to draw us insensibly off the scent of the Quaker-Notion of the Light Within, which is advanc'd by their first apostle George Fox, and the rest of his Herd; and that is, to make this their Light within, not only an Inspiration or Illumination sent from God, but to be itself the Essential God and Christ; and that there is no Person of Christ now in Heaven, or any where else out of the Hearts of Men.
This Light, or Christ, they suppose to be opposed or resisted in the Hearts of other Men, but to Live truly in Themselves. And from hence (O Blasphemy to repeat it!) they call their Souls a Part of God, of His Being and Essence; that they are One Soul with God, and therefore that their Soul is Infinite, and that in its self without Beginning or Ending ; and that God is not distinct from his Saints, as you will see in the Pages quoted in the Margin1. But I shall have occasion to explain them more at large hereafter, therefore I set not down the Quotations now at large. This monstrous Notion of The Light within is the Ground and Foundation of all their other Errors and Blasphemies: hence they assume the Name of Christ to themselves, and say, that it belongs to Them, to every Member as well as to Christ the Head, as well as to that Man Jesus; they make themselves Equal with God, Infallible and Perfectly Sinless as He is. They laugh at us for confessing ourselves to be Sinners, or praying to God for Mercy. Alas, poor souls (says Mr. Penn2 of the church of England,) are you not at Have mercy upon us miserable sinners—There is no health in us, from seven to seventy? And for this he upbraids the Church of England as opposers of Perfection.
Upon this account theyReprobate and Damn all the Christian World, from the Days of the Apostles to G. Fox; and since, all but Themselves: while at the same time they commit wild Idolatry to one an other, Worshipping and Adoring one another, especially their great Fox, and other of their Rabbies, because of the Light, or Christ, or God, which they {Page 28} suppose to be in them; and upon that account they bestow upon themselves the Attributes and Titles of God and Christ.
All these things I will shew in their order. But first let me reason a little with them upon this head, of the Light within. For if Every Man has it, (which they assert,) then it is no peculiarity to the Quakers. And yet upon pretence of this Light in Themselves they advance Themselves above all the rest of Mankind, and Damn all but Themselves, as will be shewn.
Therefore their meaning must be, that none but the Quakers do follow this Light: which they do suppose, but have yet given no proof of it more than other Enthusiasts; that is, their own saying so, and being very sure of it.
However, I would ask them this Question, Whether a Man may leave that Light without Knowing that he does so?
If he may, then all the Quakers have left it for ought they Know.
If he cannot, then all who leave it do it Maliciously. For I ask again, Whether a Man can sin while he follows this Light? If he can, then that Light may lead him wrong, and so is not Infallible. But if he cannot sin while he follows this Light, and cannot leave the Light without Knowing of it, (as in the first query,) then there can be no sin of Ignorance. Which is contrary to the Law, for there Expiations were appointed for sins of Ignorance; and it is likewise contrary to the Gospel; for Christ tells of those who know not their Master's will. They know not what they do, said he of those who Crucify'd him, (Luke xxiii. 34.) The time shall come, (said he to his apostles, John xvi. 2.) that whosoever killeth you {Page 28} shall Think that he doeth God service. And it is said, 2 Thess. ii. 11, That they should Believe a Lye. Christ has foretold, (Mat. vi. 23,) That the Light which is in some Men (that is, what they take to be light) is Darkness; and if they be so mistaken, How great is that Darkness!
But there can be no such Mistake, as our Saviour supposes, if the Light within be Infallible; and that every Man has it, and that no Man can leave it without Knowing of it.
Yet St. Peter says to the Jews who crucified Christ, I wot that through Ignorance ye did it, Acts iii. 17. And St. Paul says, 1 Cor. ii. 8, That had they known it, they would not have Crucify'd the Lord of Glory.
There is no doubt but these Jews who Crucify'd Christ, and St. Paul too while he was a Persecutor, did think that they follow'd their Light within : therefore a man may think himself in the Right, and be Mistaken, which will destroy all the Quakers certainty. Yes, a Man may Think so, and think very strongly. And yet all this may be no more than a strong Delusion.
It would make one Merry (were there not too much of Tragedy in this Miserable and Destructive Error) to see what pains G. Fox takes to struggle from under this Objection.
He repeats the Professor's Objection against him in these words: The Apostle (Paul) thought to do many things against the Church, and thought he ought to do so, and the Light within did not inform his Conscience3.
To which George Replies in these words, Did not Christ say that it was hard for him to kick against that that prickt him, and was not that within him that prickt him?
Here is manifest Perverting of Scripture. For Christ did not say that it was hard to kick against that that prickt him, or that any thing prickt him. The words which Christ spoke were these, It is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks, Acts ix. 5; that is, against the Power of Christ, which would be too hard for him, if he strove against it; as a man that kicks against Pricks or Goads of Iron, only hurts himself. But G. F. perverts the Text, to make it bear this sense, that the Pricks here mentioned were nothing else but the Pricks of St. Paul's own Conscience, or the Light within his Conscience, as the Quakers love to speak. But whether there was any thing of this in the case of St. Paul, himself can best tell, who said, Acts xxvi. 9, I verily thought with my self, that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. And, chap. xxii. 3, 4, that he was not only fully persuaded, but Zealous in the Persecution of the Christians, exceeding mad against them, Chap. xxvi. 11. Had he then any Pricks of Conscience, or of his Light within, against the Lawfulness of that wherein he was fully persuaded and Zealous? Or could he think verily that he ought to do such a thing, if he had had but any the least doubt or surmise against the Lawfulness of it? It will be very hard, when all this is consider'd, to make sense of the Quaker Notion of the Light within, against which this Instance of St. Paul (among many others) stands as an irrefragable proof.
Besides that, they are in great confusion and contradictions among themselves concerning their notion of the light within, denying and affirming backwards and forwards, as you may see in Mr. Tho. Crisp, his Just and lawful Trial of the Foxonian Quakers, &c. printed 1697. from p. 111. to 115.
And now I will go on to make good the particulars of the above charge.
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