ed of their religious principles, and desiring to be admitted into membership; to deal with disorderly members, and if irreclaimable, to disown them. Monthly meetings also grant to such of their members as remove into other monthly meetings, certificates of their membership and conduct; without which they cannot gain membership in such meetings. Each monthly meeting is required to appoint certain persons under the name of overseers, who when any case of complaint, or disorderly conduct, comes to their knowledge, are to see that private admonition, agreeable to the gospel rule, Matt xviii. 15-17, be given, previous to its being laid before the monthly meeting. All marriages among them are proposed to these meetings for their concurrence, which is granted, if, upon enquiry, the parties appear clear of other engagements respecting marriage, and if they also have the consent of their parents or guardians; without which concurrence no marriages are allowed for this society has always scrupled to acknowledge the exclusive authority of the priests to marry. Their marriages are solemnised in a public meeting for worship; and the monthly meeting keeps a record of them; as also of the births and burials of its members. This society does not allow its members to sue each other at law; it therefore enjoins all to end their differences by speedy and impartial arbitration, agreeably to the rules laid down; and if any refuse to act according to these rules, they are disowned. Several monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting, to which they send representatives, who produce at the quarterly meetings, written answers from the monthly meetings, to certain queries respecting the conduct of their members, and the meetings care over them. The accounts thus received, are digested into one, which is sent also in the form of answers to queries, by representatives to the yearly meeting. Appeals from the judgment of monthly meetings are brought to the quarterly mectings, whose business also it is to assist in any difficult case, or where remissness appears in the care of the monthly meetings over the individuals who compose them. The yearly meeting has a general superintendance of the society in the country in which it is established; and therefore, as particular exigences arise, it gives advice, makes such regulations as appear to be requisite, or excites to the nomination of elders. These, and ministers approved by their monthly meetings, have assemblies peculiar to themselves, called meetings of ministers and elders, in which they have an opportunity of exciting each other to a discharge of their respective duties, and of extending advice observance of those already made. Appeals from the judgment of quarterly meetings are here finally determined. There are seven yearly meetings: viz. at London, to which come representatives from Ireland; New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and New. Jersey; Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia: to those who may appear to and they in general maintain a friendly correspondence by epistles with each other. There are also monthly, quarterly, and yearly meetings of women Friends, held at the same times and places with the men's meetings in separate apartments, on which devolve those parts of the christian discipline wherein their own sex are more peculiarly concerned. Those who believe themselves required to speak in meetings for worship, are not immediatelyacknowledged as ministers by their monthly meetings; but time is taken for judgment, that the meeting may be satisfied of their call and qualification; and in order that those who are in the situation of ministers may have the tender sympathy and counsel of those of either sex, who, by their experience in the work of religion are qualified for that service, the monthly meetings are advised to select such under the de U be weak, without any needless exposure. Such meetings are generally held in the compass of each monthly, quarterly, and yearly meeting; and are conducted by rules prescribed by the yearly meeting, and have no authority to make any alteration or addition. The members of them unite with their brethren in the meetings for discipline, and are equally accountable to the latter for their conduct. No minister is allowed to travel abroad without a certificate from the monthly meeting they belong to, expressive of its approbation. This society has also meetings for sufferings, which are composed of members chosen by the several quarterly meetings. They were originally instituted and thus named in times of persecution; and are continued to superintend the general concerns of the society, during the interval of the yearly meetings. (Summary.) * History of Religion, vol. iv. and in consequence of complaints of misrepresentations in other publications. The contrary opinions on several points will be found under the articles Calvinist, Baptist, Episcopalians, &c.] or science of christianity, which they rested wholly on good works; calling it a useless labour to seek for knowledge in the scripture. In short they contended for the practice of morality in all simplicity, and blamed those who aimed at improving and perfecting it by a deeper knowledge and insight into the doctrines and mysteries of religion. The Gnosimachi were the very reverse of the Gnostics. GNOSTICS. This denomination sprang up in the first century. Several of the disciples of Simon Magus held the principles of his philosophy, together with the profession of christianity, and were distinguished by the appellation of Gnostics, from thier boasting of being able to restore mankind to the knowledge, yvwos, of the su Sewell's history of the people called Quakes. octavo edit. vol. i. pp. 45432, vol. ii. p. 552. Richard Claridge's life and posthumous Works, P. 414-442. Penn's Works, folio edit. vol. i. p. 859, 860. vol. ii. p. 783 --878. Barclay's Works, folio edit. p. 84-876. Barclay's Apology, prop. ii. sect. 6-13. prop. iii, sect, 2—6. prop, iv. sect. 2. prop. v. and vi, sect. 11-22. prop. vii. viii. ix, prop. x sect. 16-18. prop. xi. sect. 6-21. prop. xii. sect. 3. prop. xiv. xv. sect. 2-14. A summary of the history, doctrine, &c. of the Friends, p. 4--21. Bevan's refutation of the more modern misrepresentations of Friends, p. 21–95, preme Being which had been lost in the world. This party was not conspicuous for its numbers or reputation before the time of Adrian.* It derives its origin from the oriental philosophy. The doctrine of a soul distinct from the body, which had pre-existed in an angelic state, and was for some offence committed in that state, degraded and confined to the body as a punishment, had been the great doctrine of the eastern sages from time immemorial. Not being able to conceive how evil in so great an extent could be subservient to good, they supposed that good and evil have different origins. So mixed a system as this is, they therefore thought to be unworthy of infinite wisdom and goodness. They looked upon matter as the source of all evil, and argued in this manner: There are many evils in this world, and men seem impelled by a natural instinct to the practice of those things which reason condemns; but that eternal mind from which all spirits derive their existence, must be inaccessible to all kinds of evil, and also of a most perfect and beneficent nature. Therefore the origin of those evils with which the universe abounds, must be sought some where else than in the Deity. It cannot reside in him who is all perfection: therefore it must be without him. Now there is nothing without or beyond the Deity but matter: therefore matter is the centre and source of all evil, and of all vice. Having taken for granted these principles, they proceeded further, and affirmed that matter was eternal, and derived its present form not from the will of the supreme God, but from the creating power of some inferior intelligence, to whom the world and its inhabitants owed their existence. As a proof of their assertion, they alleged, that it was incredible that the supreme Deity, perfectly good and infinitely removed from all evil, should either create or modify matter which is essentially malignant and corrupt; or bestow upon it, in any degree, the riches of his wisdom and liberality. In their system it was generally supposed, that all intelligences had only one source, viz. the Divine Mind. And to help out the doctrine concerning the origin of evil, it was imagined, that though the Divine Being himself was es *Under the general appellation of Gnostics, are comprehended all those who in the first ages of christianity, blended the oriental philosophy with the doctrines of the gospel. sentially and perfectly good, those intelligences, or spirits, who were derived from him, and especially those who were derived from them, were capable of depravation. It was further imagined, that the derivation of those inferior intelligent beings from the Supreme, was, by a kind of efflux, or emanation, a part of the substance, being detached from the rest, but capable of being absorbed into it again. To those intelligences, derived mediately or immediately from the Divine Mind, the author of this system did not scruple to give the name of gods, thinking some of them capable of a power of modifying matter. The oriental sages expected the arrival of an extraordinary messenger of the Most High upon earth; a messenger, invested with a divine authority, endowed with the most eminent sanctity and wisdom; and peculiarly appointed to enlighten with the knowledge of the Supreme Being, the darkened minds of miserable mortals, and to deliver them from the chains of the ty rants and usurpers of this world. When, therefore, some of these philosophers perceived, that Christ and his followers wrought miracles of the most amazing kind, and also of the most salutary nature to mankind, they were easily induced to connect their fundamental doctrines with christianity, by supposing him the great messenger expected from above, to deliver men from the power of the malignant genii, or spirits, to whom, according to their doctrine, the world was subjected; and to free their souls from the dominion of corrupt matter. But though they considered him as the Son of the Supreme God, sent from the pleroma, or habitation of the everlasting Father, they deny his divinity, looking upon him as inferior to the Father. They rejected his humanity, upon the supposition, that every thing concrete and corporeal, is in itself essentially and intrinsically evil. Hence the greatest part of the Gnostics denied that Christ was clothed with a real body, or that he suffered really for the sake of mankind, the pains and sor * The great boast of the Gnostics, was their doctrine concerning the derivation of various intelligences from the Supreme Mind, which they thought to be done by emanation or efflux: and as those were equally capable of producing other intelligences in the same manner, and some of them were male, and others female, there was room for endless combinations of them. It is supposed. that the apostle Paul, when he censures endless genealogies and fables, has reference to the philosophy of the Gnostics. |