[The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the Old by George Bethune English]@TWC D-Link book
The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the Old

CHAPTER XIV
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But if any thing be revealed to another who sitteth by, let the first keep silence.

For ye may all prophecy, one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted." I presume it will be needless to point out more particularly, the perfect correspondence between "the spiritual gifts" of the Corinthians, and those of the Shakers.

And I would ask the venerable Paley, if it were now possible, whether an apostolical epistle of Ann Lee, William Lee, or Whitaker, (the spiritual mother and.

fathers of the Shakers,) addressed to them, and seriously giving directions about the use of "their gifts of working miracles, and speaking with tongues," would be sufficient to prove that they really had those gifts?
And, moreover, (to make the cases more analogous) suppose that the Shakers from this time become the dominant sect throughout the religious world, and kept the upper hand during a series of a thousand or two thousand years, taking especial care to collect and burn up every writing of their enemies and opposers.

How should we, (supposing ourselves all the while invisible spectators of the thing), how should we pity our posterity, who, at the end of that period, should be gravely told by the learned and mitred advocates of Shakerism, that the miracles of the founders, and first followers of their religion were certainly true, for that they were honest and good men, with no motive to deceive, and had addressed letters to their first converts, wherein they make express mention of their possessing these gifts; and give in the simplest and most unassuming manner, directions for using them.


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