the Creeds
We believe in one God, the Father All Governing, creator of heaven and earth, of
all things visible and invisible;And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all time, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father, through Whom all things came into being, Who for us men and because of our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge the living and dead. His Kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and Son, Who spoke through the prophets; and in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess one baptism for the remission of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
How refreshing it is to read a solid creed, one that states so clearly some of the basics of our Faith. Some would say that this "definition" is too finite for an infinite God. Of course it is! But it is something, and perhaps the best something we can get while we’re on this earth.
What I love about the ancient Creeds is that they do not spend their time writing about why a person should disbelieve Apolloniarianism. They do not focus on proving why it is foolish to believe that Christ is not fully man. Instead, they manage to find a way to boil down their beliefs to the core--to the things that are of the absolute most importance.
With all of the difficult doctrinal/theological/ecclesiological issues that I've been thinking about lately I'm glad to be reminded of the Truth Whom I stand in front of. As I work to understand Him, I am glad that He IS Truth and find peace knowing that of this I can be sure.
posted by Danielle | 10:54 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Sis!
It was fun hangin' with ya today.
Thanks for posting this creed. I'll have to borrow your book of creeds. One of the guys leaving comments on my blog would say this whole idea is very "modern," trying to boil God down to a few absolutes -- when did you say this creed came to being? With Constantinople? A bit before Modernism was in vogue, eh?
Deb
I am wondering why you picked that creed, and not another. Isn't the Apostle's Creed as succinct, and I think there are more that I do not remember off the top of my head.
I was wondering today when the first edict was that proclaimed Peter to be a pope. I think I read about it long ago,but you know us senile folk.
Anyway this creed does do the job.
Pat
Deb,
This Creed was the Constintinopolitan Creed, about 381 AD. But, as Dad said, there were really good Creeds even before this, called that Apostolic Creeds. About 107 AD we start seeing Creeds form.
And Dad, I chose this Creed because it was the first Creed that positively dealt with the deity of the Holy Spirit. Early Creeds, if they mention him, are very brief in their treatment of him. "I believe in the Holy Spirit." But, once our church fathers had solidly affirmed the sovereignty of God and the manhood and deity of Christ, the Holy Spirit started being discussed. This Creed is a result of that discussion. So, yes, other Creeds are as--or more--succint, but not quite as good. :) As far as Peter being proclaimed Pope, I have no idea. Apparently I'm senile too.
Thanks for your comments!
-Danielle
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