I have yet to come up with a satisfactory conclusion, but will continue working on it until I do. In order to describe what Christianity is to someone else, I have to know for myself. The Nicene Creed summarizes it nicely:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
This wonderful statement of faith from antiquity is still relevant today but I can not go around day by day repeating this over and over again to everyone I meet. I have to live my life. My love for others must proclaim this very message. Therein lies the rub-people get on my nerves. But I must make the choice to allow love to cover a multitude of sins and crucify my flesh when grudge-holding looks attractive. I also must have a joy in the salvation I have received myself from Christ. If I do not, what is the attraction for others? Anyway, just some thoughts.
1 comment:
Thank you for your insights on the Creed, especially the fact that we have to be able to live it verbatim, not just repeat it verbatim, that was very powerful Nick!
For me, it is a foundation of faith that we come back to. Kinda like the level path we can return to, especially after being in some valleys. It serves that purpose not just theologically, but it makes you actually remember what God did and wonder at his works. In all reality, every line of this text can serve as a means to meditate over, in fact, I think I'll start doing just that today.
As an Anglican, I face the danger of something like this losing all significance to me as I repeat it often enough. But the stark reality of the text and the mysteries it entails should be an invitation to each and every Christian to ponder their faith in order to make a statement of it. Again, thanks Nick on your profound insight!
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