AN EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF THE CHRISTIAN CREED WHICH EXCEED
THE LIMITS OF HUMAN UNDERSTANDING.
We may divide the articles of belief peculiar to Christians, into those
that pertain to the Divinity of Christ, and those that concern His
Humanity.
Regarding His Divinity, we believe that there are not many gods, but one
only God. This, the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, is not merely
believed, but also known, by enlightened and learned men. Secondly.
Together with the Unity, we believe in the Trinity of God, by which we
mean, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are One God and Three
Persons. These two articles regard the Divine Essence. The next articles
refer to the Divine works. And, first, considering the works of nature,
we profess that God has created all things, or made them out of nothing.
Next, passing to the works which He has wrought in the supernatural
order, we declare, that God alone can sanctify the creature, and that He
does so, by means of supernatural gifts, in order to draw the creature
to Himself. We next pass to the works of glory. Considering the glory
of the soul, we profess that such as have been sanctified by God, will,
after death, be glorified in beatitude and supernatural fruition, and
that the body will rise again. We also acknowledge the immortality and
glorification of the bodies of the just, and the damnation of the wicked.
Concerning the Humanity of Christ, we believe that Christ is true God
and true Man—Son of God, and Son of the Virgin Mary, by her conceived
and borne, through the power of the Holy Ghost; that for our salvation
He was crucified, died, and was buried. We believe, moreover, that He
went down to that part of hell called Limbo, thence to deliver the souls
of the Patriarchs; that He rose again from death to glory, and ascended
into Heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father; and that He
will come again to judge the living and the dead, and to make new the
whole face of the earth. Thus, our whole faith consists in these twelve
articles. We also believe all that is embraced in the Holy Scriptures,
and all that the holy Roman Church has defined, or shall hereafter
define. We shall, therefore, proceed to discuss these twelve articles of
the Creed, and to show that they contain nothing, either unreasonable,
or incredible. We have not made any mention of the Blessed Sacrament of
the Altar nor of the other Sacraments; but they are included under the
head of the sanctification of the rational creature, and we shall further
treat of them when we are explaining the ceremonies of the Church. We
have already spoken of the Unity of God, in the First Article of the
First Book. Therefore, we shall not treat of it now, more especially as
the greatest of the philosophers, and indeed nearly all men, agree with
us in admitting this truth.