An answere vnto a wicked & infamous libel made by Christopher Vitel, one of the chiefe English elders of the pretended Family of Loue maintaining their doctrine, & carpingly answeringe to certaine pointes of a boke called the displaing of the Fam. Aunswered by I. Rogers.

Aunswe••e.

WHat HN. hath pronoūced of all [ 30] other mens vnderstāding of the scripture, I will here agayne set down that the reader may iudge, who is in the lye. Therefore it is assuredly all false, and lyes seducing, and deceit∣full, what the vngodded, or vnil∣luminated men: out of the ima∣gination, or of their owne know∣ledge, and out of the learnednes of the scriptures, bring forth, institute, preach, and teach: they preach in deede the let••er, and the imaginati∣on of their knowledges but not the word of the liuing God. And in an o••her place ••o diu••▪ codem cap. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 thē esteme themselues, so holy as they will, they are a false Christianitye, and Diuells sinagogue, or schole. &c.

with many other places to lyke effect: so that HN. still teacheth his Familye that it is geuē to the Familye of Loue, to vnderstand the secretes thereof.

Now let the indifferēt reader iudge, whether HN. exempt not all, but him, and his, from the true vnderstanding of the scriptures: all men which are not godded, with God, he tearmeth (fleshly minded) and earthly in cogi∣tations: and intreateth whole chap∣ters of such men: he sayth: That a fleshly, and earthly man, out of his naturall, and scripture learned vnder∣stāding, hath not any sight, or know∣ledge at all, thereof he i•• so vtterly voyd of the same, that he cannot vn∣derstand the smallest title thereof: much lesse expound the same, accor∣ding: to the trueth, to an other &c. So that it appeareth p••ayne: that nono but HN. and his illuminat Elders can vnderstand the sam••▪ •• ••ccording to trueth.

You say, if HN. & his bookes, might be perused of vnpartiall Iudges, then

should his case be found, as innocent, as Susanna. Those vnparcial Iudge•• that you would haue, are you, and your fellow Elders in the Familye. For I doe truely affirme, that no god∣ly, or learned man in all Christēdome will allow your HN. and his bookes, for true doctrine: you, for your part, haue trauelled the most part of this 10. yeares: and yet I cannot vnderstād of any godly, ••r learned man that im∣braceth your doctrine, onely some er∣roneus spirites, whose heddes haue bin intox••••ated with other horrible he∣resies, doe ioyne with you, in these your wicked attempes: also certay•••• vnlearned country people, with whom by your sugred speaches, and fayre wordes, you haue not a little preuailed to the destructiō of their soules. If you would choose any godly, and learned men, to heare your reasons, and argu∣mentes, th•• matter might quietly be debated: you doe but in wordes make a shew, a•• though you would stand to indifferent, and vnp••rciall iudge∣ment:

But when it commeth to try∣all, you will be iudged, onely by your selues, which is the safest way to cloke your impietyes.