25. Brief Analysis

The books, sermons, and other sayings of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation make it clear that although those leaders separated faith and goodwill, nevertheless they did say that goodwill was an appendage to faith and eventually even an integral part of it. Nevertheless they tried to avoid bringing the two together and giving them a shared or concurrent power to save. After those leaders have stated that faith and goodwill are separate, they go on to unite them, and in fact express that union in clear and unambiguous wording. For example, they say that after we go through the process of being made just, our faith is never alone — our faith brings with it goodwill or good works, and if it does not, it is dead rather than living; see §13 n, o, p, q, v, y. In fact, they state that good works necessarily follow faith; see §13 u, v, w; and that the reborn use their new powers and gifts to cooperate with the Holy Spirit; see §13 x.

From the statements gathered above from the Council of Trent in §§4, 5, 6, 7, 8, it is clear that Roman Catholics present exactly the same teachings.

37. The concept of a trinity of gods also goes against enlightened reason, as many arguments are capable of establishing. What person of sound reason would be open to hearing that three gods created the world? Or that creating and preserving, redeeming and saving, and reforming and regenerating are tasks undertaken by three gods, not one God? On the other hand, what person of sound reason would not be open to hearing that the same God who created us also redeems, regenerates, and saves us? Since the latter thoughts are reasonable, but the former are not, every group of religious and reasonable people on the face of this earth acknowledges that there is one God.

As we all know, Muslims and some of the peoples in Asia and Africa detest Christianity because they believe it entails the worship of three gods. When Christians are rebuked on this account, they have only one response: that the three persons share one essence, and therefore constitute one God.

I can attest that the reasoning power granted me allows me to see that no world, no angelic heaven, no church, and nothing within any of them could have come into existence or could continue to exist if there were not one God.