The Original and Present State of Man

by: Joseph Phipps

Though a shoe maker by trade, Joseph Phipps (1708–1787) was the author of several scholarly publications explaining and defending the tenets of Early Friends. In 1772, in response to a critical publication by a man named Samuel Newton, Phipps wrote “The Original and Present State of Man,” in which he cleared the Society from many unjust and untrue charges, and also defended and clarified the leading principles and practices of the Quakers. This extraordinary little book deals with “The nature of man’s fall, and the necessity, means, and manner of his restoration through the sacrifice of Christ, and the discernible operation of that Divine Spirit of grace and truth.” (Original title: The Original, and Present State of Man, briefly considered; wherein is shewn, the Nature of his Fall, and the Necessity, Means, and Manner of his Restoration, through the Sacrifice of Christ, and the sensible Operation of that Divine Principle of Grace and Truth, held forth to the World by the People called Quakers. To which are added, Some Remarks on the Arguments of Samuel Newton, of Norwich.)