“ADVERTISEMENT.”
John Rogers, Sr.
Whereas there is a printed law in her Majesty’s Colony of Connecticut, entitled only “Heriticks,” in the preface to it they say “To prevent the danger persons are in of being poisoned in their judgments and principles by hereticks,” etc.
Which said law the queen by advice of her council hath condemned, repealed and declared it void and of none effect, it being contrary to their charter. And indeed there is a good hand of God in the Queen’s act, for I know of no sect worse poisoned in their judgments and principles by gross heresy than the Church of New England; and it is very evident that hereticks have ever persecuted the true church under abusive titles, as deceivers, hereticks, Quakers, and the like abusive titles, which they themselves are guilty of; for erroneous persons, principles and practices are condemned by the scriptures of truth; so that they have no other way to cloak themselves, under their delusion and heresy, but by casting such like odious titles on the children of God, and so persecute them and burn their books; for Satan’s design in making use of these deluded persons, thus to act, is to suppress truth under pretense of heresy; as for instance I shall begin with the master of the house, whom they called Beelzebub, the prince of devils, Mat. 12, 24. He went by the name of “deceiver,” Mat. 27, 63. Paul by the name of heretick, Acts 24, 14. Luther’s books were burnt under pretense utterly to suppress heresy; the worthy martyrs in Queen Martyr Mary’s time suffered death under the name of hereticks; and those worthy martyrs in Boston in New England under the name of Quakers and hereticks; and my books by this law now repealed have been condemned and burnt, under pretense of heresy, though I have made fair proffers at their General Court to reward any person well for their time and pains that would endeavor to show me any one error in them, but none have yet publickly appeared.
FOLLOWING FROM ACCOUNT OF SAMUEL
BOWNAS OF HIS “CONVERSATION
WITH JOHN ROGERS,” 1703.
He (John Rogers) spoke very much of his satisfaction and unity with George Fox, John Stubbs, John Burnyeat and William Edmundson as the Lord’s servants, with sundry others of the first visitors of that country, that he knew them to be sent of God, and that they had carried the reformation further than any of the Protestants ever did before them, since the general apostacy from the purity both of faith and doctrine; first the church of England they did nothing in the end but made an English translation of the Latin service used before, the Presbyterians they dissented and the Independants, but came not to the root of the matter; the Baptists dissented from the other three, but went not through. Upon which, though I could not wholly agree with him in his assertions, I queried if he thought that all these several steps of the English church from Popery, the Presbyterians and Independants from the English church, and the Baptists from all three of them, had not something of good in them, viz. I mean whether the first concerned in dissenting from Popery, though they afterwards rested too much in the form of worship in the Episcopal way, had not the aid of Christ’s spirit to assist them in their dissent? And so for all the rest. This he did readily grant to be a great truth; and so allowing that the first reformers actuated by divine light, and being faithful to what was made known to them, had their reward; and their successors sat down in that form their predecessors had left them in, but did not regard that Power and Life by which they were actuated, and so became zealots for that form, but opposed the Power. “And this,” said he, “is the true cause of the several steps of dissent one from another; and the reason why there is so little Christian love, and so much bitterness and envy one against another, is their sitting down contented, each in their own form without the Power, so that they are all in one and the same spirit, acting their part in the several forms of worship in their own wills and time, not only opposing the Spirit of Truth, but making it the object of their scorn and those who adhere to it the subject of their reproach, contempt and envy; and this is the foundation of persecution” said he....