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    author . ? , At the period . Qi tte lleforniation , this grand cprrup lion of the primitive Christian faith was left untouched , and is still * held up as the standard of orthodoxy by the great body of Roman Catholics and Protestants . Such , was almost universally the case in this country * when , the Society oi Quakers rose in the , 17 th century . Its , founders and their converts were all educated in Trinitarian churches ^ and although the rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity did not form the leading feature and principal ground of their separation from the various . religious societies to

    which they belonged , yet so far were they from expressly adopting it as a fundamental tenet of the new association , that the doctrine is very seldom noticed by their writers , and is not so much as mentioned in Barclay ' s celebrated Apology for their principles , and for " the true Christian divinity /' Yet he himself tells us , he wrote in this work , published in 16 * 75 , * as expressly and distinctly of that [ doctrine ] as is expressed in scripture . " Had the reformers from Popery 9 the founders of the Protestant reformation , been equally cautious , how much more consistently and wisely would they have acted . . '

    In the famous controversy between the Society of Quakers and George Keith , _ which commenced in America in 1692 , the former alleged , that they " never thought it necessary to be curiously inquisitive about such fanciful ; notions

    as he appeared to have imbibed , ' * not believing subjects , above the investigation of human reason and knowledge , to be necessary to salvation , farther thjaiHhey are

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    C ^ ariy revealed in -. the , scripture . And I looking < upon , ' thp * -. things . Wjhicfh are clearly i revealed , to b& long to us , and to be sufficient ito salvation , have avoided to pry into the ? secret things jvhich be * ,. i 0 ng , to divine omniscience , *' G < nigh ' s History . . voL , iii . p . SpuiiL , .. - - = <

    buch was , it seems , the rational foundation , an ^ i the , . primitive siihplicity of their faith . Ac . QOx d' - ing ; to this ., testimony ? ; concexning them , their sole concern , * as to articles : pi faith , was vyitlx such as

    were clearly revealed m the scriprtures , and not with iinintelligible mysteries and i acorn pr ^ Jbensible doctrines , but with such , as hjunian reason and knowledge was capable of comprehending , as they believed no others to be necessary to salvation . \ > \

    On this occasion it appear ^ , that the Friends in London wrotte aa epistle to their i brethren in Pennsylvania , reminding them , amongst other things ^ tc that Obedience to the precepts ofvthe gospel was a . better proof of our

    honouring Christ , as a teacher come frprn God , than airy speculations and controversies , leading to contention about his glorified * body in heaven , " - ^ -that the spiritual

    dispensation cotnmitted to Hhein \ vas Li in no vy ise to oppose ^ i reject , or invalidate Jesus / Chrit ^ tjs outward coming , suffering , death , resurrection , ascension ^ > and gibrifled estate in the ? heav ^ ris .-4-JJet

    us keep * say theyy ? ^ itoixhe plainness and simplicity of scripture language in all discourses a ^ out matters of faith , divinity , and doctrine . " Ibid . (>* 327- ^ - 3 ^ 9 * ¦ ¦<¦ - ' : " ' r : ' r t ' , ¦! r ' n / t . 'i'i' : ^ - ± »\ . T ^ ie Monthly Meeting of Phi-Imlelplua appear to have acte 4

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    JO 6 Frogrelti . tf \ tk&&o&tinte 4 $ ^ k& the . Quqjfcefit .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1814, page 106, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2437/page/34/