ities may be, cannot be expected to understand. The
Creed was written by scholars, and for scholars; and for very deep
scholars, too, far deeper than I pretend to be; and the reasonable
way for most men to think of the Athanasian Creed, will be to take
it very much upon trust, as a child takes on trust what his father
tells him, even though he cannot understand it himself; or, as we
all believe, that the earth moves round the sun, and not the sun
round the earth, though we cannot prove it; but only believe it,
because wiser men than we have proved it. So we must think of the
Athanasian Creed, and say to ourselves--'Wiser men than I can ever
hope to be have settled that this is the true doctrine, and the true
meaning of Holy Scripture, and I will believe them. They must know
best.' Still, one is bound to understand as much as one can; one is
bound to be able to give some reason for the faith which is in us;
and, above all, one is bound not to hold false doctrines, which are
contrary to the Athanasian Creed and to the Bible.

Some people are too apt to say now-a-days, 'But what matter if one
does hold false doctrine? That is a mistake of the head and not of
the heart. Provided a man lives a good life, what matter what his
doctrines are?' No doubt, my friends, if a man lives a good life,
all is well: but _do_ people live good lives? I am not speaking of
infidels. Thank God, there are none here; to God let us leave them,
trusting in the Good Friday collect, and the goodwill of God, which
is, that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

But, as for Christian people, this I will tell you, that unless you
hold true doctrines, you will _not_ lead good lives. My experience
is, that people are often wrong, when they say false doctrine is a
mistake of the head and not of the heart. I believe false doctrine
is very often not bred in the head at all, but in the heart, in the
very bottom of a man's soul; that it rises out of his heart into his
head; and that if his heart was right with God, he would begin at
once to have clearer and truer notions of the true Christian faith.
I do not say that it is always so; God forbid! But I do say that it
is often so, because I see it so; because I see every day false
doctrines about God making men lead bad lives, and commit actual
sins; take God's name in vain, dishonour their fathers and mothers,
lie, cheat, bear false witness against their neighbours, and cove