Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	canonical_a	holy_a	scripture_n	5,721	5	6.0092	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60240	The critical history of the religions and customs of the eastern nations written in French by the learned Father Simon ; and now done into English, by A. Lovell ...; Histoire critique de la creance et de coutumes des nations du Levant. English	Simon, Richard, 1638-1712.; Lovell, Archibald.	1685 (1685)	Wing S3797; ESTC R39548	108,968	236

fact which he relates it is not to be thought strange that Gulielmus Tyrius hath fallen into the same mistakes Eutychius says M. Nairon affirms that Maron the Monothelite lived in the time of the Emperour Mauritius and nevertheless Monothelism was not as yet known at that time But if the Authority of the Arabian Historians be rejected because of their not being exact in Chronology there is not one of them but must be wholly laid aside The Authority of Gulielmus Tyrius is not so much made use of in the matter in hand for what he relates out of the Annals of Eutychius as for his own Testimony speaking of a thing that happened in his own time under Aymeric Patriarch of Antioch who made the Maronites of that Countrey abjure their pretended Errours There is no likelyhood of truth in the story that M. Nairon alledges and which hath been already mentioned by (1) Quaresm in dilucid Terrae sanctae Quaresmius to wit that Maron went from Antioch to Rome with a Legat or Envoy of Pope Honorius who created the same Maron Patriarch of Antioch because of his Orthodox faith I pass over some other Acts of this nature which are not to be found but in Arabick Books written since the Reconciliation of the Maronites to the Church of Rome The least knowledge in Ecclesiastical History is enough to convince us that these Histories have no ground in Antiquity and that the Maronites and other Eastern People who are unskilfull Criticks in Historical Learning have referred to Ancient times what hath been onely in use amongst them for some latter Ages According to this Principle we must not easily give credit to the Authority of Johannes Maron whose (2) Joan. Maro Comm. in Liturg St. Jacobi Commentary upon the Liturgy of St. James is not so very Ancient as some would have it seeing it contains matters of fact that are Posteriour to it by many Ages After all the Maronites who pretend to have always preserved the Purity of their Faith cast the errours that are to he found in the works of their own undoubted Authours upon their Neighbours who were Hereticks that had sown these errours amongst them and who had even won over to their Sect some of the Maronites themselves And so though the Maronites pretend that they have always preserved the true Faith yet they cannot deny but that some of their Nation have entertained the Sentiments of the Jacobites (1) Petr. in Epist Arab. ad Card. Caraff Anno 1578. Peter Patriarch of the Maronites in a Letter which he wrote to Cardinal Carraffa says that the errours which occur in their Books ought to be imputed to their Neighbours but the (2) Steph. Petr. in Epist ad Faust Naw Ann. 1674. present Patriarch writing to M. Nairon affirms that they have preserved many Books that are free from all these errours and gives us hopes of a Volume of Oriental Liturgies which he pretends to reconcile with the Latin Mass That must needs be a very usefull Work and will clear to us a great many matters of Fact concerning that affair which lye as yet wrapt up in obscurity CHAP. XV. Of the Religion and Customs of the Mahometans THE Religion of the Mahometans being for most part but a medly of the Christian and Jewish Religions we have thought it pertinent to give an Abridgment thereof in this place to the end that they who travell into the Levant may lay aside a great many prejudices that they have conceived against that Religion and that they may consider that it is indebted to the Jews and Christians for all the good that is in it especially in relation to Morality Mahomet who was perswaded that all Religion ought to be founded on the word of God and not upon the Dictates of Men was obliged to take to himself the Title of God's Messenger and the more to impose upon Christians he feigned himself to be that Paraclet or Comforter promised in the Gospel Nay he hath borrowed part of their Maximes and acknowledg'd Our Lord to be a great Prophet inspired by the Spirit of God On the other hand being willing also to gain the Jews and of these two to make but one more perfect Religion he hath brought into his pretended Reformation a great part of Judaism and that makes the Mahometans pretend that the two Laws aswell that of Moses as that of Our Saviour are at present abolished and that so Men are obliged to embrace Mahometanism if they would be true Believers They consess that both these Laws have been grounded upon the word of God but still add that they are no longer in force since he hath empowered Mahomet to reform Religion There are even some Mahometans who affirm that neither the Jews nor Christians can have certain and infallible Principles of their Religion because their Sacred writings have been corrupted The Jews say they lost their Law and all their Holy Books during the time of the Captivity in Babylon and what they call Canonical Books are not so indeed but onely some scraps of those Ancient Books which the Jews have pieced together as well as they could after their Captivity As for the Christians they say that the Books of the New Testament have been corrupted by the different Sects that have arisen amongst the same Christians Mahomet then feigned that during the space of 23 Years God sent him by the Ministery of the Angel Gabriel a certain Number of Pieces of Writing whereof he composed the Book which is called the Alcoran and that Book is to them the Holy Scripture being the chief ground-work of their Religion But as among the Jews besides the 24 Books of Scriture there is also the Talmud which contains their Traditions so the Mahometans have their Assonna that declares to them the Traditions which they are to follow They have likewise Expositions on those Books to which they submit and besides they distinguish aswell as we that which is of Precept from that which is onely Advice The Chief Article of their Belief is founded upon the Unity of God and therefore it is their ordinary saying There is no other God but God God is one and they call those Idolaters who acknowledge any Number in the Deity thereby condemning the Trinity of Persons which the Christians acknowledge to be in God The second Fundamental Article of their Religion consists in these words Mahomet is the Messenger of God By that they pretend to exclude all other Religions because they say that Mahomet is the most excellent and last of all the Prophets whom God was to send to Mankind And as the Jewish Religion was abrogated by the coming of Jesus Christ so in their Opinion the Christian Religion was not to subsist any longer after the appearance of their Prophet Mahomet They who introduce a new Religion ought to shew some Miracles that so their words may be the better believed And therefore the Mahometans attribute some to