MUGGLETON, Lodowick.

£1,000 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Acts of the Witnesses of the Spirit, In Five Parts. Second and final edition of the scarce spiritual autobiography of the co-founder of Muggletonianism, here in a fine contemporary binding. The long-lasting sect was established in 1651 by the cousins Lodowick Muggleton (1609-1698) and John Reeve (1608-1658), who claimed that God directly appointed them as the final prophets foretold in the Book of Revelation.Written in the style of the Acts of the Apostles, using numbered chapters and verses, the contents lay down Muggletonian religious doctrine and describe events such as the founding of the religion, the author's travels through Britain, his dealings with printers and bitter pamphlet wars against Quakers, raids on his home to seize unlicensed books, and the burning of his books after he was tried for blasphemy and pilloried.Muggletonianism was a Unitarian sect that taught the mortality of the soul, the ability to bless or curse others, and that witchcraft, hell, and Satan were superstitious creations of man. Adherents eschewed prayer and church and instead typically gathered in pubs to discuss doctrine. Following the death of Reeve, Muggleton wrested control of the sect and moulded it in his vision. "The new doctrine, which in denying that God took notice of every human action, [was] attuned perfectly to later deist, as well as unitarian, sensibilities, and indeed may well be the most important single reason why Muggletonianism outlasted most of their contemporary produ

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.