Something by way of query to the bishops courts, which we the people of God, called Quakers, never yet received an answer to. Fox, George, 1624-1691. 1671 Approx. 7 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-IV TIFF page image. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A84812 Wing F1909 ESTC R229271 45789317 ocm 45789317 172626 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A84812) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 172626) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English Books, 1641-1700 ; 2641:23) Something by way of query to the bishops courts, which we the people of God, called Quakers, never yet received an answer to. Fox, George, 1624-1691. 1 sheet ([1] p.) s.n.], [London : Printed in the year, 1671. Attributed to George Fox by Wing. Place of publication suggested by Wing. Reproduction of original in: Friends' Library (London, England). Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Society of Friends -- England -- Doctrines -- Early works to 1800. Broadsides -- England -- 17th century. 2007-09 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-09 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-10 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2007-10 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Something by way of QUERY to the BISHOPS COURTS , Which we the People of God , called Quakers , never yet received an Answer to . CHANSELLOR , WHY do you not come to Church ? Give a Reason why you will not come ? I demand of thee the Kings Patten , with his Seal , and his Hand , and his Armes , for keeping thy Court , before I speak to thee any more ; For many keep Courts and shew not their Authority , and by that I may be brought into Bondage : So I will see thy Patten , with the Kings Seal and Hand , and Armes . And Secondly , I would know the Reason of thee , Why thou and you forsook us near about twenty years ago , and left your Church ? that by this time I might have been turned Heathen , a Turk , or a Jew , and my Soul might have been lost for thee and you . For who hath watched over me and been my Keeper about these twenty years ? But you have left me , I have neither Sermon , nor Exhortation , nor Epistle , nor Colect , nor Gospel , nor Even-song , nor Homily , nor Mattin , from you ; though the Lord God hath been my Watcher over me , and my Overseer , who is now my Teacher . And do you think that the Lord will not require his Fock at your hands which you left almost twenty years to the Wolves and Dogs , to tear our Fleece , and Flesh , and to destroy the Sheep ; and then will he require the Fleece , if he require the Sheep and his Flock , which you have left to Wolves and Dogs , to tear the Fleece off the back of them ? For how have Anabaptists , and Independants , and Presbyterians torn the Flesh off the backs of the Sheep , and Prisoned the Sheep to Death : And you in the time of Persecution neither sent Epistle , nor Colect , nor Exhortation , nor Gospel , nor Even-song , nor Homily , nor Mattin to the Sheep , nor mattered not them , nor cared for them . For if a man hire a man to keep a flock of Sheep , and have so many delivered into his hand , and the hireling Shepherd have so much a year , will not the Master or the Lord require both Sheep and Fleece of the hireling Shepherd if he see a Dog , or a Wolf , ( which may be calling the Usurping Power ) come to worry the Sheep , and he fly away in the time of Persecution , is not this an hireling that flies , because he is an hireling , and doth not care for the Sheep , and worse than David who defended his Sheep from the Bear and the Lyon ? And so if the Shepherd suffer any of the Sheep to be worried , or Feece to be torn off , Will not the Master or Lord require both his Fleece and Sheep of the Shepherd ? So read Jacob to Laban . For doth not the Lord say , He will require both the Fleece and Flock ? So consider and judge your selves in this case , and do not ask me a reason Why I do not come to the Church but answer me this , Why you left me as a Sheep to all the Wolves ? For we have the Kings Speech , and Declarations , and Promises , and Words of a King for Liberty of Conscience , that none should call us in question if we live peaceably under his Government . Therefore what have you to do to call us in question contrary to the Kings Speech and Declaration , and Word of a King , we being peaceable ? As you may read his late Declaration , and there is an Act that Four may meet , So I may meet with my own Family by the Act of Parliament . And so if you will give me a Reason Why you for sook us , and prove all your Practice , Worship and Religion by Scripture , and whether or no Paul , and the Apostles , Timothy and Titus the Bishops , had Tippets , Hoods , Rayles , Altars , Surplices in their Worships ? And whether Timothy and Titus , which were called Bishops , were called Gracious Lords , as your Bishops are ? And whether to be called so is not a breach of Christs Command , who said , The Gentiles were called Gracious Lords , but it should not be so among his Disciples ? And whether or no John Baptized Christ in a Font , and signed him with the Sign of the Cross ? And whether he had a God-Father , or God-Mother , yea , or nay ? And whether or no those several thousands that Peter Baptized , whether he Baptized them in a Font , and signed them with the Sign of the Cross ? And whether had all these God-Fathers , and God-Mothers ? And whether or no the Eunuch , when Philip Baptized him , did he it in a Font with the Sign of the Cross ? And if so , Who were their God-Fathers and God-Mothers , and where stood the Font , and who Commanded the Cross ? Answer me these things by Scripture , and convince me by Scripture of these things , for we are to search the Scriptures whether these things be so as you speak , and try all things , and hold fast that which is good . And we are to lay hands on no man suddenly , nor presume above what is written ; thou knowest this is Scripture ; Read the Corinthians and the other Epistles . And whether or no the Apostles , or Christ , or Timothy , or Titus had Paritors to summon in People to hear them , and if they would not hear them , and come to their Meetinging Place , Excommunicate them before they were of their Religion , or know what it was , and before they had convinced them by sound Doctrine , and good Conversation ? And whether Excommunication be not to such as be of their Church , and know their Principles , and which doth some bad thing for which they are Excommunicated and put out of their Assemblies ? And is this Reason to Excommunicate such as were never of their Church , and do not know their Principles or Doctrine , nor cannot be charged with a bad Conversation in any particular , and before they be convinced by sound Doctrine , or good Conversation concerning your Religion and Worship ? And is this reasonable to Excommunicate those that you ran away from , and lest to the Devourer , before you seek to bring them in again by sound Doctrine or good Conversation ? Answer these things , Yea , or Nay . G. Printed in the Year , 1671.