(1.) Their endless misery: very strong texts in favour of this; its difficulties considered. (2.) Their endless happiness: most improbable. (3.) Their destruction: more likely than the last, but still improbable. On the whole the statement of the Creed seems fully justified. (_C._) THE IMPORTANCE OF A TRUE BELIEF. This is strongly insisted on in the warning clauses of the Athanasian Creed. (1.) Their meaning. (2.) Their truthfulness: they merely repeat similar warnings in the New Testament. (3.) The objection as to dogmatism. We have now reached the last stage in our inquiry. We have shown in the previous chapters that there is very strong evidence in favour of what may be called in a general sense, Christianity or the Christian Religion--_i.e.,_ the Religion founded by Christ and taught in the New Testament. We have, lastly, to inquire, is this Religion correctly summarised in the doctrines and statements of the _Three Creeds_? And the only doctrines that can be disputed, are found in the Athanasian Creed, and refer to the _Trinity_; the _Final State of the Wicked;_ and the importance of a _True Belief_: each of which we will examine in turn. (_A._) THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. Now, although there are no statements in the New Testament identical with those in the Creed, yet the latter are merely logical deductions from the former. For the New Testament asserts that, besides God the Father, there are two other Divine Persons, Christ and the Holy Spirit, and yet but one God. (1.) _The Divinity of Christ_. This has already been discussed in Chapter XXI., where we showed that Christ claimed to be not only Superhuman, but Divine; and that this is how His contemporaries, both friends and foes, understood Him. The doctrine is also asserted by St. Paul, as well as by St. John, who in the opening verse of his Gospel, states it very concisely, saying that the Word (_i.e._, Christ) _was with God_, implying a distinction of Persons, and _was_ God, implying a unity of Nature; which is the exact doctrine of the Creed. (2.) _The Divinity of the Holy Spirit._ This also follows at once from the New Testament. For the Holy Spirit is called by Divine names, such as God and Lord; He is given Divine attributes, such as Eternity and Omniscience; and He is identified with Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, of the Old Testament.[463] [Footnote 463: Acts 5. 3, 4; 2 Cor. 3.17; Heb. 9. 14; 1 Cor. 2. 10; Acts 28. 25; Isa. 6. 5-10.]