- published: 29 Mar 2012
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The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were a Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Arguably, they are best thought of as forerunners of the Quakers, with whom many of them subsequently merged. Seekers considered all organised churches of their day to be corrupt, and preferred to wait for God's revelation.
British historian Christopher Hill explains that, long before the English Revolution, there already existed a "lower-class heretical culture" in England. The cornerstones of this culture were anti-clericalism and a strong emphasis on Biblical study, but there were specific heretical doctrines that had “an uncanny persistence.” There was a rejection of Predestination, and an embrace of Millenarianism, mortalism, anti-Trinitarianism, and Hermeticism. Such ideas became "commonplace to seventeenth century Baptists, Levellers, Diggers, Seekers, early Quakers and other radical groupings which took part in the free-for-all discussions of the English Revolution."
for VICE Magazine see Vice (magazine)
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption. The modern English term that best captures its original meaning is the word vicious, which means "full of vice". In this sense, the word vice comes from the Latin word vitium, meaning "failing or defect". Vice is the opposite of virtue.
Depending on the country or jurisdiction, vice crimes may or may not be treated as a separate category in the criminal codes. Even in jurisdictions where vice is not explicitly delineated in the legal code, the term vice is often used in law enforcement and judicial systems as an umbrella for crimes involving activities that are considered inherently immoral, regardless of the legality or objective harm involved.
In the United Kingdom, the term vice is commonly used in law and law enforcement to refer to criminal offenses related to prostitution and pornography. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to crimes related to gambling, alcohol, and drugs.