1103. And the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, signifies the falsification of all things of the truth of heaven and the church, as can be seen from the explanation of the same words above (n. 1034). (Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith.) That the doctrine of the Trinity that is called the Athanasian Faith when it has been read leaves an obscure idea that God is one, and so obscure as not to remove the idea of three Gods, can be seen from this, that the doctrine makes one God out of three through a unity of essence, saying, "This is the Christian faith: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the essence." And afterwards, "So that in all things the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped." This was said to remove the idea of three Gods, but it enters the understanding in no other way than that there are three Persons, although they all have one Divine essence, that is, by Divine essence God is here meant; and yet essence, like divinity, majesty, and glory, which are also mentioned, is something predicated, and God because a Person is the subject; consequently to say that the essence is God would be like saying that something predicated is the subject. But the essence is not God, it belongs to God, as majesty and glory are not God but belong to God, just as what is predicated is not the subject, but belongs to the subject. This makes evident that the idea of three Gods as three Persons is not removed. This may be illustrated by a comparison. Suppose that there are in one kingdom three rulers of equal power, each called king; then if power and majesty are meant by king, these might, if it were so commanded, be called and declared king, although it would not be easy to call them one king. But as a person is meant when a king is mentioned, it is impossible from any command for three kings to be thought of as one king. If, therefore, they should say to you, Speak to us as freely as you think, you would certainly say, Ye kings and Your Majesties. If you answer, As I am commanded to speak so do I think, you are deceived, because either you are pretending or you are compelling yourself, and if you are compelling yourself, your thought is not left to itself, but inheres in your words. [2] That this is so was seen by Athanasius; therefore he explains the above words by the following: "Like as we are compelled by Christian verity to acknowledge every person by Himself to be God and Lord, so we cannot by Christian faith name three Gods or three Lords." This can be understood only as meaning that it is allowable to acknowledge three Gods and Lords, but not to name them; or that it is allowable to think of three Gods and Lords, but not to speak of them, because it is contrary to the Christian faith; also that it is allowable to acknowledge and think of three infinites, eternals, uncreates, and Almighties, because there are three Persons, but not to name three infinites, eternals, uncreates, and Almighties, but only one. Athanasius added the above words to the others, because no one, not even himself, could think otherwise. But everyone can speak otherwise, and ought so to speak in all things, because it is taught by the Christian religion, that is, from the Word, that there is one God and not three Gods. Moreover, the properties assigned to each Person as his special attribute, as to the Father creation, to the Son redemption, and to the Holy Spirit enlightenment, is not thus one and the same in the three Persons, and yet they all enter into the Divine essence, for creation is Divine, redemption is Divine, and enlightenment is Divine. [3] Furthermore, does any man who wishes to change the idea of three Gods into an idea of one God, think that the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the essence? Who is able to do this even by metaphysical reasoning that transcends the comprehension? The simple are wholly unable to do it, while the learned hurry it over, saying to themselves, This is my doctrine and faith about God; nor do they retain therefrom in the memory by any obscure idea, or in thought from the memory, anything except that there are three Persons and one God, and each one makes one out of three in his own way; but only when he speaks and writes, for when he thinks he can think only of three, and of one only from the unanimity of the three; and some are unable to do even this. But listen, my reader, and do not say to yourself that this is too harshly or too boldly spoken against the faith universally accepted in respect to the triune God, for you will see in what follows that each and every thing that is written in the Athanasian Faith is in agreement with the truth, if only instead of three Persons one Person in whom is the Trinity is believed in.