council they anathematize a large faction among themselves, declare them unbelievers, and maintain that those people have denied part of what the scriptures contain and have not considered obedience to certain of their commands obligatory; that faction, for its part, bears witness against the others that they too have rejected portions of those books.

Next come their three well-known sects—the Nestorians, the Melkites, and the Jacobites. Each sect brands the others unbelievers, curses them, and testifies that they repudiate some of the prophetic teachings and do not regard obedience to some of their rulings as binding. Indeed, their dispute reaches into the very core of monotheism and of prophethood: every group claims that the Messiah came with the doctrine it now upholds. Yet the Messiah—peace be upon him—and all the messengers are innocent of those who have splintered their religion and become factions, innocent of anyone who speaks about Allah without truth or knowledge, and innocent of every false assertion made about Allah, mighty and majestic, even when the speaker was merely mistaken and did not intend to lie.

The Christian creeds contain many further examples of this kind; a full description would be lengthy and has been given in detail elsewhere.