The Quakers Catechism, Title page – To the reader
THE QUAKERS CATCHISM, OR, THE Quakers queſtioned, THEIR QUESTIONS Anſwered, AND BOTH PUBLISHED, For the Sake of thoſe of them that have not yet ſinned unto Death; And of thoſe ungrounded Novices that are moſt in danger of their Seduction.
By RCHARD BAXTER
LONDON, Printed by A. M. for Thomas Underhill at the Anchor and Bible in Pauls Churchyard, and Francis Tyton at the Three Daggers in Fleetſtreet. 1655.
TO THE READER.
READER,
I Suppoſe thou wilt marvell that I trouble my ſelf with ſo wilde a Generation as the People called Quakers are; or that I trouble thee with a few haſty lines which I wrote on ſuch an Occaſion; I'le truly tell thee the cauſe of both: 1. They ſent me five ſeverall Papers, one of them containing the Queries which I anſwer, and others of them almoſt nothing but abundle of filthy railing words, [Thou Serpent, thou Liar, thou deceiver, thou childe of the devil, thou curſed hypocrite, thou dumb dogge] with much more of the like. They choſe out one day, when it pleaſed God to confine me to my Chamber by ſickneſse, to come into our Aſsembly, and after Morning Sermon to fall a queſtioning the Preacher, my aſſistant; and becauſe he avoided publike diſputing with them at that ſeaſon, as not taking it for a profitable ſpending of the Lords day, they call him the hireling that flieth, it ſeems referring to Joh. 10. 12. and ſo confeſsing themſelves to be the Wolves. I finde that they do ſo challenge, and brag, and triumph, if we ſay nothing to them, and that too many ſimple people expect that we ſhould anſwer them, that (after an unprofitable verball diſcourſe with an unreaſonable railing fellow) I reſolved to ſend them this brief anſwer to their Questions: And becauſe they abhorre Syllogiſmes and diſputings, I was fain to deale further with them in their own questioning way: I had before offered to come and anſwer all their Queries in their Aſsembly, if they would conſent that I might do it without diſturbance; But inſtead of permitting that, they denied it, and ſent me a Letter of Reviling, calling me ever and over Serpent and Hypocrite, and the like Names, and commanding me in the Name of the moſt High God to anſwer their Questions in writing, that they might print them with their reply; ſo that if I ſay nothing they will inſult; If I write to them they will print it: Being therefore ſo far called to ſpeak, I choſe rather to print my own Papers, how mean ſoever, then let them do it.
Two Objestions I foreſee will be raiſed againſt me; One is, that the Perſons are ſo contemptible and the errours ſo groſse, that it's a needleſse work to ſtrive againſt them; To which I ſay, Let ſad experience witneſse, whether it be needleſſe; when they ſo much multiply, and ſo many where they come are preſently infected. The ſalvation of the pooreſt Chriſtian is ſo far from being contemptible, that it is worth much more then our greateſt diligence. 2. It will be ſaid, it is but the Churches of the Separatiſts and Anabaptiſts that are emptied by theſe Seducers; and it's best even let them alone to keep their own Flocks, and ſecure their Churches, or if they fall off it may ſhew others the tendency of their waies, and ſo pervent their turning aſide; To which I anſwer: 1. Though the ſtream of Apostates be ſuch as firſt were Anabaptists or Separatiſts, yet here and there one of the young unſetled ſort do fall into that ſtream that were not before of them, but perhaps inclining to them, and ſo do ſome few that had no Religiouſneſs. 2. I had farre rather that men continued Separatists and Anabaptiſts, then turned Quakers or plain Apoſtates; And therefore would do all that I can to hinder ſuch an emptying of their Churches as tendeth to the more certain filling of Hell; It's better to ſtop them in a condition where we may have ſome hope of their ſalvation, then to let them run into certaine perdition; I did therefore take it to be my duty when theſe poor neighbours who had before been Anabaptiſts, Separatiſts, and ſome Seekers, had turned Quakers, to offer them a verbal anſwer to all their vain Queſtions, that I might have had ſo much opportunity to undeceive them; When they refuſed that, and ſaid, they would not be drawn into a Serpents ſnare, I thought best to ſend them my Anſwer in writting, committing it to ſome of their Neighbours, that they might deſire leave to reade it in their Aſsembly; And when I heard that they would not grant that neither (for all their inſulting adjuring of us to anſwer them) but talkt of Printing ſomething against me, I choſe rather to tell the world of theſe Paſſages between us, then leave them to their reports; eſpecially hearing how they encreaſe in London and other parts, and that the ignorant have need of ſome plain Information to prevent their Apoſtacy and perdition in this temptation.
April 20. 1655. R. B.