Primitive Christianity Revived, Again
In 1680 Friend William Rogers published a book documenting why some founding Friends were not of the same conscience as George Fox (and those who followed him) concerning the institutionalization of the gathering of Friends by establishing a specific set of outward forms and practices.
The following links comprise the whole of Rogers' work in the form of a facsimile of the original text, a digitized version, and an online version.
Christian Quaker ... By William Rogers
Written 1680
Please let me know if there are any issues.
I am working on a modernized version of the book along with annotations and cross-references. However, it will not be available any time soon. At least there is an electronic version now available for those who are interested.
Keith F. Saylor
kfsaylor@gmail.com
Comments are closed for this blog post
The integration of page numbers indicators that match that actual page numbers in the original document is complete.
The process of proofreading and formatting the text is the current focus. Also, the number of related texts that will be appended to "The Christian Quaker" as a supplemental section is under serious consideration as most of them required keyboarding also.
Finally, I’ve brought this project to a point where I can publish the a first (by me) printing in electronic format.
A newly keyboarded version of “The Christian Quaker...” has been published in HTML format and as a pdf.
In summer 2016, I set out on a journey to publish a facsimile copy of William Rogers' The Christian Quaker. This soon morphed into keyboarding (transcribing) his text and publishing it in html and pdf format and also keyboarding and publishing supplemental early Quaker texts mentioned by Rogers in his book and also other relevant early Quaker texts touching on the concerns Rogers documents in his book within a 10 year plan.
It is been ever on me to offer up a context, wherein people interested, may enter into the conversation between early Quakers over the concerns expressed in Rogers book and the nature of government and rule within the Quaker gathering; and to do it in such a way that there was no need to depend upon how others characterize the concerns of the early Quakers through small quotations. I’ve struggled over a format through which I may accomplish this task. Slowly, one has manifested that shows promise. Using the blogspot infrastructure as a test platform, I am now in the process of publishing a portal through which Rogers book and the various of the relevant early Quakers documents are published or will be published.
The 10 year plan (starting in 1016) is a fixed date wherein all relevant supplemental documents are to be keyboarded and published into the portal or kiosk.
This will also be a place were my research will be reflected. The various early Quaker documents being published as static pages will be discussed on the “blog” (I call them Backlog Studies) side of the platform and that is were the conversation between my research and the thoughts of others who may wish to contribute through comments will take place. Through this process I will begin cross-referencing multiple documents between one another. These cross references will serve as notecards relevant to my research. What is neat this about this is that the reader will not only be able to view the notecards containing various thoughts and quotations, the reader will have excess to the full text of all or most of the cross-referenced documents so he or she may spend time reading the whole documents for context and to test conclusions or theories. This is all being freely given as the inshining Light is freely given. There will be no advertises on the portal and no donations will be requested.
You may gain a sense of the direction the of Christonomy kiosk by following the link below:
Keith Saylor: kfsaylor@gmail.com
Quaker Research Document List
The COMPLETED documents are Published on:
www.christonomy.net
I have keyboarded published nine more early Quaker related documents to the Christonomy project. These documents are in some way related to William Rogers' "The Christian Quaker" either mentioned directly or the subject matter is topical.
1. Anarchy of the Ranters - Barclay
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/taotra-title-and-contents.html
2. Hidden Things Brought to Light - Robert Rich
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/htbtl-title-page.html
3. Tyranny and Hypocrisy Detected - Anonymous
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/tyranny-and-hypocrisy-detected.html
4. An Exalted Diostrephes Reprehended - A Response to Roger's "The Christian Quaker" signed by multiple persons.
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/the-exalted-diotrephes-reprehended....
5. Saul's Errand to Damascus - George Fox and James Naylor
1. http://geofoxlit.blogspot.com/p/saul-errand-to-damascus.html
6. An Epistle for True Love, Unity, and Order - Anne Whitehead and Mary Elson
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/an-epistle-for-true-love-unity-and....
7. An Epistle Concerning the Government of Christ - George Fox
1. http://geofoxlit.blogspot.com/p/an-epistle-concerning-government-ch...
8. To all People that Profess the Eternal Truth - John Harwood
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/to-all-people-that-profess-eternal-...
9. The Spirit of Envy, Lying, and Persecution - George Fox's reply of John Harwood's reflections upon him.
1. http://quakerlit.blogspot.com/p/the-spirit-of-envy-lying-and.html
The Homepage to the Christonomy Project is here:
http://www.christonomy.net/
I've begun keyboarding the "Cambridge Edition" of the Journal of George Fox. I became convinced of the necessity of this effort (within the context of the Christonomy Project) mid way through keyboarding "The Christ Quaker" by William Rogers. I am also considering the addition 1709 edition, the Nickalls edition, the "Short Journal" and the Armistead edition into the Christonomy Project. Effort.
1* After this I was moved to go into Derbyshire, where the mighty Power of God was among ffriends. And I went to Chesterfield where one Britland2 was Priest. He was one, that saw beyond the common sort of Priests; for he had * 3beene convinced whoe was above ye Preistes4 & had spoaken much in behaulfe of Truth & soe ye Preist of ye Towne being dead Hee had gott ye parsonage & choaked himselfe with itt, & soe I was mooved to speake to him & ye people, In ye great love of God, & hee was not able to oppose, & soe they had mee before ye Maior & sent mee {with some others} to ye House of Correction, but ye Iudgments5 of ye Lord came on y2 preist soone after & hee was cutt off & dyed. And in ye Night they putt Us out of Towne with Watch men, but there were severall convinced of ye Lords Truth & ye Lords Power began to spread mightyly & his Truth up and downe in those partes [& then yt Preist Stevens6 of Drayton my Native Place, hee Preached & tould my Relations yt I was carryed up with a whyrlewind Into Heaven, & after I was found full of gould & sillver, & soe my Relations wrote a letter to mee to come & shew myself, & soe I Answered ye letter, & they shewed itt To ye Preist, & ye Preist said Aney one might write a Letter—but where was ye Man? & soe my Relations did conclude itt was soe, for said They when Hee went from Us hee had a greate deale of gould & sillver about him, neveryelesse they sent to mee againe, & after I went homewardes, & one or two went along with mee till wee came to a Towne where wee mett many Professors, & many were convinced {at Kidsley Parke7}].
*…* From the first Ellwood Edition 1694, page 30. G.F.↩
Thomas Bretland ( —1656) was Lecturer at Chesterfield in the early part of 1650. Later in the year he became Vicar, although his name does not appear in the list of Vicars of the parish supplied by the present holder of the living. He is described as “ an able, honest man” (Cor, Churches of Derbyshire, 1875, i. 173). Bretland was probably “ the priest of the town ” referred to by William Edmondson (Journal, 1715, p. 4).↩
The first 3½ pages of the ms. (pp. 1—4, 9, 10) are not in the handwriting of Thomas Lower, although he has added to the text and corrected it in various places.↩
The term priest was applied by early Friends to all persons who were in receipt of money for preaching, irrespective of the particular sect to which they belonged.↩
Fox and his fellow-workers had imbibed much of the spirit of the Hebrew prophets, who pronounced and recorded retribution upon evil-doers. Fox was quick to note what he considered to be judgments upon his persecutors, which came to his knowledge, but in some cases the events recorded as judgments can hardly be so estimated. One of the questions to be annually answered by the Church Meetings of early Quakers was :—" What signal Judgements have come upon Persecutors ?“ but in 1701, this question was suspended (Minutes of London Yearly Meeting (ms. in D.), ii. 308, 340). F. P. T.; and many early Journals. For an adverse view, see Bugg, Finishing Stroke, 1712, pt iv, p. 346.↩
Nathaniel Stephens (c. 1606—1678) was M.A. of Oxford, and became connected with Fenny Drayton about 1638 as Curate, and in 1659 as Hector. He was ejected for nonconformity in 1662, and after having been seven times driven from Drayton, he settled at Stoke Golding in the same county and held meetings at his house after the Presbyterian manner. He is described as “a good scholar and a useful preacher, in his younger days a very hard student, in his old age pleasant and cheerful” (Noncon. Mem.). Fox gave him a very different character. Stephens’s wife was also much opposed to Fox, for it is said that on one occasion she “very unseemly plucked and haled him up and downe, and scoffed and laughed'‘ (Farnsworth, Spirituall Man, 1655, p. 31). D. N. B.; Jnl. F. H. S. i. iv. vL ; Bate, Declaration of Indulgence, 1908, p. xxxvi.↩
This insertion was made by Thomas Lower. Kidsley Park forms the N.E. portion of the parish of Smalley. It probably consisted then as it does now of a small number of farmhouses. The “Olde Parke Farm” appears to have been in the hands of Friends from about 1650 to 1863. The Smeeton family was in occupation in 1691. In 1654, John Story and John Wilkinson had a great meeting here at which the Ranters “ began to singe & whisell & swear” (Swarth. MSS. iv. 63). Kerry, History of Smalley, 1905 ; manuscripts in the possession of Edward Watkins, Fritchley.↩
Here is a link to the first paragraph of the Cambridge Journal that better represents the topography and notation.
Published William Shewen's "TREATISE Concerning Evil Thoughts and Imaginations, And Concerning Good Thoughts and Heavenly Meditations." 1679
https://qualit2.blogspot.com/p/a-treatise-concerning-evil-thoughts-...
I've completed keyboarding Henry Pickworth's A Charge of Error and Charles Lesley's A Snake in the Grass. I hope to publish them soon on the Christonomy website. There is still much work on Pickworth's text in cataloging the multiple marginal notes and source documentation. I am in the 4th year of a ten year project to create an interactive catalogue of early Quaker texts to document the personal struggle of some early Quakers against the reflective nature's usurpation of the immediate and direct rule of the spirit of Christ to rule and guide human relations outside the influence of the reflective nature that manifests as outward political, religious, and social forms.
The West answering to the North (published in 1655) has been published in the Christonomy Project at:
http://geofoxlit.blogspot.com/p/the-west-answering-to-north.html
Also a number of early Quaker John Perrot's documents have been published at:
https://johnperrot.blogspot.com/
Also a number of
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