onely by vnderstanding and therefore the wise and sages of olde had a greater desire to expresse the felicity of the soule then of the body the which bodely felicity though it were graunted them yet they regarded not neither esteemed it in comparison of the felicitie which is coupled with the principall veritie His loose doctrine of marriages his abuse of fasting and his description of Paradise spoken of before deliuer vnto vs that there is herein small difference between Epicurisme Atheisme Mahometisme The glutton in the gospel that was cloathed in purple fine white and fared delitiously euery day sheweth vnto vs how God fauoureth accepteth of such people The kingdome of God saith the Apostle Is not meate nor drinke but righteousnes and peace and ioy in the holy Ghost for whosoeuer in these things serueth Christ herein the true felicitye consisteth is acceptable vnto God and approoued of men Satan the schoolemaster of Mahomet shewed a glotonous disposition when he would haue had the stones to be made bread His disciple must content himself w t the answer made vnto y e maister Man liueth not by bread onely but by euery worde that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. Our sauiour saith the true worshippers shal worship the father not in corporal delights pleasurs In spirit truth this is y e maner For the father requireth euen such to worship him Again an argumeÌt reduced of y e nature of God God is a spirite and they that worshippe him must worship him in spirit truth And y t I maye deliuer the whole vnto you in few wordes perfect felicitie consisteth in knowing of God in beleeuing in God in louing of God and enioying of God warraunted by the wordes of our Sauiour This is life euerlasting that they knowe thee to bee the onely very God and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. Thirdly y e law of Mahomet was established through wiles deceit subteltie lies therfore y e law of Mahomet is a most wicked religion First he hauing y e falling sicknes perswaded his wife others y t it was the power of God the presence of the Angel Gabriell that fel him Sergius the hereticall Monke was at hande bare false witnes to y e same saith Zonaras He told them y t the tame Doue which hee taught to feede at his eare was sometime an Angell sometime the holy ghost He had three leude companions to deuise face out lies w t him WheÌ he perceiued y e meÌ gaue eare vnto him he framed that the Angel Gabriell had caried him to Ierusalem and thence to haue lifted him vp to heauen there to haue learned the secrets of his law He made y e Saracens beleeue saith Antoninus y t before God made y e world there was written in the throne of God there is no god but y e god of Mahomet wheÌ he had framed his Alcoran bouÌd it vp faire he caused secretly a wild Asse to be takeÌ the book to be bound about his necke as he preached vnto y e people vpon a sodain he stood amazed as if some great secretie were reuealed vnto him from aboue He brake out tolde y e people Behold god hath sent you a law from heauen go to such a desert there ye shal find an Asse a book tied about his neck The people ran in great hast they found it so as he had said They take the Asse they bring the book they honor the prophet Touching diuorced seperated wiues he tolde y e Saracens he had receiued a paper from heaueÌ He vsed south-saying diuination the which at Fessa a Citie of Mauritama vnto this day is called Zarragia He persuaded his folowers that at y e end of y e world he should be traÌsformed into the forme of a mightie Ram full of lockes long fleeces of wool And that all that held of his Law shoulde bee as fleas shrooding themselues in his fleeces and that he would iumpe into heauen and so conuay them all thither These and suche like were his sleightes and vntruthes without warrauntize of Gods word without reason and probable shew of truth Satan being coniured to deliuer the truth of the Alcoran of Mahomet saide that therin were comprised twelue thousand lies and the rest was truth by all likelihood very little In the like respect God threatneth Israel saying The Prophet that shall presume to speake a word many name which I haue not commaunded him to speake or that speaketh in the name of other Gods euen the same Prophet shall die And if thou thinke in thine heart how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken When a Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to passe that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Prophet hath spoken it presumptuously If we apply this rightly vnto Mahomet wee shall not finde any one thing in veritie and truth the whiche hee spake that came to passe but whatsoeuer hee wroughte was thorough wiles fraude and subteltie let his prophecie of his assention after his death bee a president for all whiche was not performed Fourthly the law of Mahomet was thrust in by secular power force of armes by battels bloudshed therfore the law of Mahomet is a most wicked religion Paulus Diaconus writeth y t he spent ten yeares in Armes subduing to his raigne compelling to his religion thereof writeth Mathew Paris in this sort The law of the Saracens the deuill inditing the same by the ministery of Sergius the Monke heretick Mahomet wrote in the Arabike toÌgue taught them A gladio cepit per gladium tenetur in gladio terminatur It began of the sworde it is helde by the sworde it is finished or ended in the sword Mahomets own words vnto y e SaraceÌs are these Non sum cuÌ miraculis aut indicijs ad vos missê° sed in gladio rebelles puniturus c. I am not seÌt vnto you with miracles signs but with the sword to punish suche as resist me If any therefore receaue not my prophecy precept wil not willingly enter into this our faith if he be vnder our iurisdiction he shall die or be coÌpelled to pay tribute the price of his incredulity so liue They that are not of this faith dwel in other countries I charge commauÌd that opeÌ warrs be proclaimed armor taken against them vntill they bee coÌstrained to turne vnto the faith They that will not consent vnto our doctrine shall die the death their wiues and children shalbee committed to perpetuall slauerie to our Gallies The Scythians from whence these Turkes came are an impatient kind of people WheÌ they warred vnder Heraclius the Emperour against the king of Persia they were too too ernest for their pay
to offer for them therin repose no lesse holines There is prouision made for these passingers two famous receptacles which we call Hospitalles not farre from Mecha with all manner of Officers and Priestes to praye for the founders Soules The manner of their worshippe you shall also heare The Arabians receiued and learned of the Indians to worship the Goddesse Venus Mahomet confirmed the same with a lawe so that in the honour of Venus the Saracens to this day as I said before keepe friday for their Sabbaoth As the Indians worshipped Venus naked so Mahomet commanded the Saracens men and women yearely to worship in the Temple of Mecha all naked excepting a brieth or apporne to couer that which nature commaunded to bee kept in secrete and therin to carry stones to throw about y e temple to stone the deuill Omitting these heathenish abhomination and not forgetting the superstition mentioned a little before I woulde haue the church of Rome to beholde here in the lawe of Mahomet her founder in superstition shameful enormities borowed either of Mahomet or of the Heathens his associats The flocking to Tombs sepulchres y e worshipping of dead corpses bones reliques y e visiting Limina Petri diriges anniuersaries or yearely seruice ouer the dead praying for soules pilgrimages to saintes and shrines of the dead sending of money in their absence the opinion of holinesse and religion therein we neede not say it is popishe nay it is Turkish and Mahometicall And to the end they may be therin the better perswaded let them peruse Laonicus Antoninus Cuspinianus with others that write thereof Also as in the yeare one thousand fiue hundred and three one Ludouicus Romanus with a great number of Marchants passing by Mecha founde the experience of Mahometicall Illusions for when the Idolatrous Priestes of Mahomet vnderstood of the numbre of passingers which harbored not farre of to the end there might be an opinion of holinesse conceiued of this false Prophet with certain deuices they cast fire into the Aere at midnight ran about like madde men crying Mahomet the Prophet of God is a rising O Prophet O God Mahomet will rise Pardon me O God In like sorte of late yeares wee haue been acquainted with faigned miracles of Romish Idolatrie shewed at the Tombes of the deade beeing the feates of Satan winking smiling sweating frowning mouing with other Illusions yea speaking and geuing of aunswers Bernarde came to a Church of Spire in Germany whereas he lifted vp his eies to behold the Images of the Church y e Image of our Lady said vnto him Good morrow Bernard He perceiuing saith the history Praestigias Demonis the falshood of Monkes by the instigation of the Deuill made this aunswere Paule forbiddeth a woman to speake in the Congregation The Saracens vse inuocation of mediatours to make intercession for them They call vpon Abraham and Isaac They honor Nabi Bubacar Othomar Aumar Fatoma the followers of Mahomet with others They haue Herenutes and solitary men suche as vowed chastitie in the seruice of Mahomet in whom there is great opinion of holines but what is holines and chastitie without knowledge of the true God and faith in Iesus Christ all without Christ is to no purpose Now good people and beleued in our Sauiour Christ as the deare children of God who is ielouse ouer you your seruice haue great regarde vnto yourselues and the foundation ye build vpon least your building fall The wise builder buildeth vpon the Rocke Iesus Christ and that is vnremoueable Lett your faith be fixed in Iesus Christ the true and onely Sauiour of the world then hell-gates shall not be able to preuaile against you Mahomet vnwisely hath builded vpon the sand his doctrine hath no sure warrant hee hath reiected the true corner stone that closeth the building Iesus Christ he hath lewdly mingled together his lome and morter of Heathens Iewes and false Christians his timber warpeth and shrinketh beeing not seasoned with antiquitie of the truth but with the sappe of late inuention his walles are but painted papers a shewe of religion his lightes are but darkenes wherein his followers stumble and stumbling they fall and falling they plunge in euerlasting perdition There are reasons and arguments to settle our minds and stay our consciences in the faith of Iesus Christ and to proue that Mahomets law is no true religion First Mahomets lawe is not warranted or grounded vpon the only true pure word of God therefore Mahomets law is no true religion hee patched togeather his Alcoron of the lawes and doctrines of Heathens Indians and Arabians of superstitious Iewes of Rechabits of false Christians and Heretickes as Nestorians SabelliaÌs Manichees Arrians Cerinthians Macedonians Eunomians and Nicolaits of illusions and inuentions of his owne braine and lastly for further credit he borrowed some out of the old and new Testament God will not be thus serued he deliuered his mind of old vnto Israell in this sort and he continueth the same God still Ye shall not doe euery man what seemeth him good in his owne eies Whatsouer I commaund you take heede ye doe it thou shalt put nothing thereto nor take ought therefrom Againe Thou shalt not plough with an Oxe and an Asse togeather thou shalt not sow thy Vineyard with diuers kindes of seedes thou shalt not weare a garment of diuers sortes as of wollen and linnen togeather Wee haue commandement not so eat the pascal Lamb boyled or sodden in water Christ Iesus is our pascal Lamb the water is mans traditions wherewith he may not be mingled wee may not serue God and Mammon What fellowship saith Syrach hath Hyena with a dogge saint Paule aduiseth the Corinthians Bee not vnequally yoaked with the Infidels By reason he sheweth this may not be For what felowship hath righteousnes with vnrighteousnes and what communion hath light with darkenes and what concord hath Christ with Belial or what part hath the beleeuer with the Infidel and what agreement hath the temple of God with Idols for yee are the temple of the liuing God Our Sauiour rebuketh the Scribes and Pharisees for transgressing the commandements of God by meane of their traditions he pronounceth their worship vain in teaching the doctrines precepts of men the iudicial sentence he geueth thereof is this Euery plant y t is all maner of doctrine which my heauenly father hath not planted shalbe rooted vp Secondly the religion of Mahomet consisteth in fleshly naturall delightes in corporal pleasures therefore the law of Mahomet is a most wicked false religion the heathen Philosophers by y e rule of naturall reason haue found this an absurde opinion Auicenna one of Mahomets owne secte hath misliked with this saying The law which our Mahomet hath geuen vs sheweth the perfection of felicity to consist in those things which concerne the body but there is an other promise which is comprehended
space of 300. yeares vntill the late councell of Basill where there was but a colourable reconciliation Germanus Archbishop of Constantinople telleth Gregorius 9. the cause of their departure in this sort That great discord contrarietie of doctrine ouerthrow of Canons alteration of rites which the fathers deliuered are causes of this particion which seperateth those things which at first were vnited and ioyned with the coniunction of peace and concord let the whole world being made one language confesse c. A little after And that we may touche the marrowe of the truth Many mighty and noble parsonages would obey you vnlesse they feared your vniust oppressions your insolent exactions of riches your vnlawfull seruitude the which you extort of them that are subiect vnto you Here hence are crueel battailes one against the other desolation of Cities sealing vp of Church-dores schisme of the brethren the priestly function ceasing and a stay that God according vnto our duetye bee not praised vnder the Climate of the Grecians Hee writeth the like vnto the Cardinalls concludeth that the Aethiopians Syrians Hyberians Lazians Alanians Gothes Chazarians all Russia Bulgary hold with the Greeke-church and because of the aforesaide enormities haue did Rome farewell The Archbishop of Antioch about the same time calling vnto him a great number of Bishoppes of Greece excommunicated the Pope and the Clergye of Rome The Patriarch of Constantinople complained at the councell of Lions to Innocentius 4. face what a great number of Churches there were in Greece that reiected the Churche of Rome for the abhominations thereof Papa tacuit The Pope said not a word Hee might bee iustly ashamed who glorying in the keyes locketh vp all shutteth out suche as would come and receaue the christian faith but he will neither enter neither suffer others by reason of y e shamefull sinnes and wickednes there raigning If either Heathen or Iew or Saracen speake of the christian faith immediately he hath Rome in his mouth Rome cannot be excused And for that they knowe not the puritie of religion in the reformed Churches beeing corners pingles of Christendome with open mouth they reuile and speake ill of al to the great dishonor of God and hinderance of the preaching of the Gospel There are many nations no doubt that if the truth were opened vnto them they would most willingly receaue the christian faith many hungring thirsting after the knowledge of the true God In Turkie they may not call into question the incertainty of Mahomets law it is death vnder the dominion of the Pope they may not professe what they know for truth much like them of whoÌ Augustine speaketh that being among the schismatickes and heretickes they durst not confesse the Catholique faith least they and their houses should be destroyed Many doe heare and see yet are they stopped with staines misliking the water for the puddle of Rome O what blessinges hath God poured vppon England blessed bee his name therefore We maye saye as it is in the Gospell Many Prophets and Kinges haue desired see those things which EnglaÌd hath seen and haue not seene them It is to be feared least the vnthankfulnes of the people the rechlesnesse in Gods seruice and the want of Christian lights and works will cause God to remooue the candlesticke out of his place and the light of the Gospell from among vs and deliuer it to such a nation according vnto the parable in the Gospell as will bring foorth fruits accordingly God of his infinite goodnesse shewe mercie vnto his Church continue the Gospell purge all blemishes open the eyes of all Infidels Iewes Turkes and Saracens bring into the folde all lost and wandering sheepe make of all nations one sheepefolde vnder the head shepheard and Bishoppe of our soules Iesus Christ to whome with the Father and the holy Ghost bee all honour and glorie nowe and for euer Amen FINIS ¶ After the Sermon ended the Turke confessed in the Spanish tongue before the face of the congregation the Preacher out of Pulpit propounding the questions and receiuing the answers by skilfull Interpretors in summe as followeth INprimis that hee was verie sorie for the sinful life which he had lead in times past in ignorance and blindnes and hoped to obteine pardon in Iesus Christ Secondly hee renounced Mahomet the false Prophet of the Moores Saracens and Turkes with al his abhominations and blessed GOD which had opened his eyes to beholde the truth in Iesus Christ Thirdly hee confessed there was but one God he beleeued the Trinitie of persons the Father the Sonne the holy Ghost and the same to bee one God in vnitie which is to bee blessed for euer Fourthly hee confessed and affirmed that hee beleeued verily that Iesus Christ was and is the sonne of God God from euerlasting the onely true Messias sauiour of the worlde that he suffered for the sinnes of al that beleeue in him and that there is no way to be saued but onely by the merits of the death and passion of Iesus Christ Lastly he desired hee might be receiued as one of the faithfull Christians bee baptized in the faith of the blessed Trinitie promising from henceforth newnes of life and fruits according vnto this profession ¶ In the middest of the congregation there was a comely Table set couered with a faire linnen cloth and thereon a Basen with water After the congregation had blessed God for his great mercies and after sundry godly Praiers and Collects according vnto the reuerend order of holye Church suche as broght him thither desired his name might be William so was he baptized In the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holie Ghost Praise be to God Fulgent lib. 1. ad Trasimund Ephes 2. 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