Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	christian_a	church_n	profess_v	3,448	5	8.0722	4	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13699	The imitation of Christ divided into four books / written in Latin by Thomas à Kempis ; and the translations of it corrected & amended by W.P.; Imitatio Christi. English. 1639.	Thomas, à Kempis, 1380-1471.; Page, William, 1590-1663.	1639 (1639)	STC 23993; ESTC S1152	141,497	457

her Mothers Children why then doth she make such an involved speech of it My mothers children were angry with me True indeed though they cannot choose but be her brethren as being her Mothers children yet she doth not she dares not call them brethren for they will not acknowledge it they hate the name of brethren and make themselves professed enemies and therefore she is forced to leave out this loving and affectionate compellation of brethren and say in a kinde of strange phrase My mothers children were angry with me Yet should no man be discouraged from performing so worthy a duty for though there be a perâ—ecution that attends upoÌ„ peace-makers here yet is there a blessing promised them hereafter And seeing our blessed Lord and Master Christ Iesus when he was about to leave his Apostles and Disciples he left unto them this golden legacy Ioh. 14. 27. Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you O how well would it become us his Priests to be men of peace to write for the peace of Ierusalem to pray for the peace of Ierusalem for they shall prosper that love it Psal. 122. 6. I will begin this exhortation unto peace and Charity from that common name which we all beare in that we are called Christians and doe all pretend to imitate Christ in our doctrine and practice There was a time indeed when this name was much taken notice of and great danger for any man to owne it when they had no other argument then nor any other cause of their cruell persecutions but to heare a man confesse Christianus sum I am a Christian But when these stormes were blown over and the Church began to be in peace this name of Christian was not so much regarded And yet methinks the very name of Christian is not altogether to be contemned for unlesse I am deceived whosoever hath but this appellation may challenge a brotherhood with me for in Scripture I find a brother and a Christian to be the very same so that whosoever is a Christian will necessarily be my brother 1. Cor. 7. 12. 13. If any brother hath a wife saith the Apostle that believeth not and she be pleased to dwell with him let him not put her away and if the woman hath an husband which believeth not if he be pleased to dwell with her let her not leave him But if the unbelieving depart let him depart a brother or a sister is not in bondage in such cases Where the Apostle plainly sheweth that a brother and a sister are such as are Christians and opposite only to Infidels and unbelievers Neither ought we to take that exhortation of Saint Paul 1. Pet. 2. 17. when he saith love the brotherhood in any narrower sense but that we should love every one that is a Christian not only because he agreeth with me in some opinions concerning religion but I ought to love him in that respect he is a Christian and professeth Christ crucified Neither ought we to love him thus with an ordinary kinde of love in wishing him well and doing him good for so we ought to love and doe good to all but there is a more strict tie of love that lies upon us Christians one to another and therefore although the Apostle wisheth us to doe good to all men yet especially to the houshold of faith Gal. 6 10. that is to such as be Christians Were this precept of the Apostle practised as it ought to be there would not be so much uncharitablenesse nor peradventure so much dissention amongst Christians Why can wee not consider one another as united in this blessed name of ChristiaÌ„ and set aside for a time those names of faction and divisionâ— why should wee not rejoyce awhile in those things wherein we agree and not alwaies be wrangling about those things wherein wee differ Of what moment those opinions are wherein we disagree I am not able to determine this I dare be bold to say that the points wherein we are friends are of farre greater consequence then those are wherein wee fall out And yet we so eagerly contend one with another and damne each other to the pit of hell as though our differences were very important our agreement not worth the talking of For my part I should be loath to exclude any visible Christian Church from all hopes of salvation and if I must needs offend I had rather give account to a mercifull God for too much mildnesse and Charity then too much fiercenesse and severity yet I hope to make it appeare that my opinion of Charity shall not exceed the bounds of verity A chiefe cause of the continuance of these dissentions is that men minde not so much the common cause of Christianity as their own particular engagements nor stndy how they may agree one with another as how to uphold the side they are on whereas would they set aside prejudice and partiality and cast an equall eye upon all the Churches they would not spye so many faults abroad and so few at home but would freely confesse there might bee greater concord amongst Christians then now there is No other unity doe I labour for at this time but that of charity that Christians would not for some differences in opinion pronounce such an heavy sentence upon one another as is that of Damnation If God should deale with us as we deale with one another if he should censure us all as we censure one another I know not who should be saved The Papist damning the Protestant and some among us the Papists and both of them any other that shall differ from them both But my hope is and my hearty prayer to God shall be that he would be more mercifull to all these then they are one to another When I consider with my selfe the manifold distractioÌ„s of Christians about Religion and the great fiercenes and violence used on all sides every one thinking his own opinion truest and consequently damning all others that differ from him I could not but call to minde that prophecy of our blessed Saviour Mat. 24. 12. concerning these latter and worser times Because iniquity shall abound saith he the love of many shall waxe cold for although charity of it selfe be of a hot and diffusive nature yet now clean contrary to the nature of it it is in most men grown cold it being the nature of cold to contract and combine to congeale and draw into a narrow roome thus is it now with our charity For whereas like the heat in our naturall bodies it should diffuse it selfe into all the members thereof unto the whole Christian Church yet I know not how it hath taken cold for men contract their love now into a very small compasse and narrow roome that is to no more then to such who jumpe with them in the same opinion about Religion leaving others who differ from them to nothing but death and damnation For not only in severall countries but

in the same Kingdome in the same City nay in the same family there are severall Religions or at the least severall opinions about Religion raigning So that what Saint Austine complained of in his time is truly verified in these Epist. 147. Thou seest saith he with how great and miserable distraction Christian houses and families are divided troubled husbands and wives can agree well enough to goe to bed together but they cannot agree to goe to Christs Altar together There they sweare peace one to another but here they can have no peace Parents and children live well enough together in one house of their own but one house of Gods will not hold them both Their desire is that those should succeed them in their own inheritance who yet think they have no inheritance with Christ. Masters servants divide the coÌ„mon Lord and Master of us all who yet took upon him the forme of a servant that so he might free all I say never more fully verified then in these daies For in how many families shall we observe this great division the husband goes to Church and the wife staies at home or the wife goes to Church and the husband staies at home and so between parents and children Masters and servants The father will give his sonne the portion of his land who yet thinks he shall have no portion in the land of the living The great division of the Christian world was first between the East and West Churches and this West hath been since subdivided into the RomaÌ„ and the reformed Religion So that the division amongst Christians which is considerable is but into three parts the Eastern the Romanist our Reformed All Christian Churches and so farre forth the members of them brethren and sisters and not only Christian Churches but also Catholike Orthodoxe in these points wherein they agree one with another with the Primitive Church Why may it not be with these Churches as it was with those seven Churches of Asia which S. Iohn wrote unto in which there were some things commendable other things amisse they were encouraged in the former and reproved for the latter And although some of them were better then others yet you shall scarce finde one of them to which he doth not say habeo adversus to pauca I have a few things against thee And yet we shall finde that Christ himself was in the midst of all these seaven Churches for he was in the midst of the seaven golden candlesticks Revel 1. 13. and had in his right hand seaven starres Revel 1. 16. For writing to the Church of Ephesus he maketh this one of his attributes Apoc. 21. These things saith he who holdeth the seaven starres in his right hand who walketh in the midst of the seaven golden Candlesticks So that our Saviour walked in the midst of all these Churches even in that lukewarme Church of Laodicea which he threatned to spue out of his mouth And let Rome tell us never so much of her infallibility and unerring chaire yet questionlesse there is none of our Churches no not the best of them that our Saviour may not say to her habeo adversus to pauca I have a few things against thee And as those severall Churches though some of them very faulty yet were all severall members of Christ and helped to make up one body so all those Churches though some of them much to blame yet may all help to make up one Chatholique Church and why may it not be so in these Churches I speak of For first they all agree in that one and only foundation of Religion Iesus Christ as the Apostle calleth him No other foundation can any other man lay then that which is laid to wit Iesus Christ and this no doubt is a sure and good foundation and this maketh them to be Christian Churches they are all baptized into Christ and looke to be saved by his sufferings And think not this to be a small matter for S. Paul desired to know nothing else I esteemed not saith he to know any thing among you but Iesus Christ and him crucified and it worked upon his affection as much as upon his understanding God forbid that I should rejoyce saith he save in the crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ Gal. 6. 14. that is in Christ crucified Besides this one foundation they all embrace the two Testaments the three Creeds and the foure first generall Councells and many other very materiall points The discord amongst us Christians hath been long agoe objected to us and certainely there hath nothing so much drawn some out of the Church and kept others from comming to the Church as these quarrels amongst our selves Vnto whom I briefly answere If they like not our differences let them joyne with us in those things wherein we agree and that is to be Christians to beleeve in Christ and him crucified and those other principall points whereof I speak and to strive to imitate Christ to their power and then our discords will lesse trouble them It is true we have not all built alike upon this foundation but some no question have built wood and straw as well as silver and gold yet all of us no doubt did strive to imitate Christ as neare as we could both in our doctrine and in our practice and certainly in these superstructures of religion good intentions must goe farre or else it will goe hard with many of us not that they altogether excuse the fault but doubtlesse they take off much from the punishment There is a difference between the East and west Churches in what kinde of bread the Eucharist is to be receaved thâ— East receiving in unleaveneâ— bread the west in leavened And herein though they differ among themselves yet theâ— both strive to imitate Christ because the one Church thought our Saviour used then the bread that was leavened the other that which was unleavened Either Church is the lesse blameable because they think both that they follow our Saviours example S. Austin in like manner doth prettily reconcile a difference between some concerning the time how often we should receave the holy Sacrament of the Lords supper for some it seemes in his time thought we were bound to receave the Eucharist every day others but now and then Some saith he Epist. 118. communicate daily others but upon certain daies some will omit no day others will only receive on the Sabbath and the Lords day There is a freedome to be used in both these Some will say we must not daily receive the Sacrament because we ought to select and set apart some daies wherein we must live more carefully and religiously and so come to the Sacrament more worthily and with greater devotion On the other side another tells us yea but if the plague-sore of sinne and violence of the disease be so great and dangerous such soveraigne medicines as these are not to be deferred Of both these saith he

Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Text snippets containing the quad