A BODY OF DIVINITY OR THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION; CATECHISTICALLY PROPOUNDED AND EXPLAINED, BY WAY OF QUESTION AND ANSWER; METHODICALLY AND FAMILIARLY HANDLED, FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES; TO WHICH ARE ADJOINED A TRACT, INSTITUTED, IMMANUEL, OR THE MYSTERY OF INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD
Book Details + Condition: Printed by M.F. for Tho. Downes and Geo. Badger (London). Third Edition, 1649. Extremely scarce. Embossed full leather hardcover boards and hand-sewn spine. 470 pages plus Table of Contents. The book is considered a classic work of Irish Puritan Reformation theology. Written in a question and answer format similar to the catechisms of its day, the work provides strong leanings towards Calvinism and detailed insight into Puritan history, and to understanding the roots of the English Reformation. Firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; wear to leather boards, with some chipping present. Former owners' names and notes dating from the 1770s to the 1880s, on front endpapers, title page, and preface. Centuries-old handwritten notes on rear endpapers.
Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) was a leader the Irish Puritans and staunch supporter of Calvinism during the English Reformation. His colorful history is inseparable from that of Irish Christianity and from major events transpiring simultaneously in England and Scotland. Ussher's range of achievements are numerous, including ancient languages, patristics, ancient and Irish history, theology, and chronology. He is well known for his work on Earth Creationism which uses a biblical chronology to date God's creation of the Earth. Creationists theorized that the Earth was only a few thousand years old. Ussher was the first to calculate the specific date of Creation as Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC.
