Creeds and "creeds"


In the Catechism we learned about God and the story of salvation from a statement of faith as old as the church itself. Generation after generation it was passed down, each era adopting it in continuity with the one before. Of course the Baptists and like-minded Evangelicals balked at these so-called "man made" statements. They wanted Scripture alone. Never mind that the Creed merely presents a summary of what the Scriptures proclaim. They remained unconvinced.

Then some years back the Lutheran church became infected with a strange tendency not so much to reject the Creed, but to alter it. Interestingly, this movement was born not of concerns with the theology within, but out of a need to be relevant, to have variety for the masses that bored of the same old thing Sunday after Sunday. Creative Worship, a worship tool used widely within the LCMS, once produced these creations with regularity.

This past week I discovered again that the movement to produce new creeds remains alive and well within my own church body (not that I truly doubted it ever went away.) Considering that the creeds in our official confessional documents are referred to as "ecumenical," thus noting their historical universality, the writing of local creeds only reinforces a suspicion that our unity is barely skin deep. Are we any longer bound by a common confession of a common faith? On paper, perhaps. But in practice? I have my concerns.... Each man does what is right in his own eyes, just like we read in Judges.

Read the following "creed," and if you are so inclined, give me your own assessment. I know that its various additions and omissions gave me great concern, and I am left asking once again, Why? What is so inadequate about this ancient confession (Apostles' Creed) that we feel compelled always to change it?

A CREED FOR OUR LABOR IN CHRIST'S SERVICE

We believe in God, the Master Builder, who created and still holds title to everything in the heavens above, on the earth below, and in the oceans deep.

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son and our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived the life of a humble Servant without limit, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day the Father raised his Son from the dead, and declared him Lord over the universe, time, death, and eternity. He will make his presence among us visible again on the Day that God has appointed, and then welcome us into his eternal kingdom where he will care for us forever!

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, which is the fellowship of forgiven saints who are striving to represent Christ to the world in our words and works of love. We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

By the way, I did a search of this "creed" through Google, thinking it may have been borrowed from elsewhere before being used in the service I attended, but alas, the search came up empty. Which makes my point once more that creeds are "ecumenical" by design, not local or parochial. What value is there to publicly confessing something no one else subscribes to?

Comments

Brian Yamabe said…
The thing that jumped out at me was the lack of Christ's judgment at His second coming. Hard to judge motives, but removing the judgmental Christ was probably a big reason for this "creed".
October 5, 2009 at 12:23:00 PM PDT
Donald V. Engebretson said…
An interesting observation. I think it is well worth asking why certain items were omitted, assuming that it is based on the original Apostles' Creed, such as the descend into hell. Also, what do the readers think of the creed writer's view of the church with the omission of the "communion of saints"?
October 9, 2009 at 9:42:00 PM PDT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi...
Read more

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...
Read more

Five Things You Shoud Not Say at Funerals

Image
After preparing for a couple of funerals here recently, I was reminded of an article I read a few years back in the Concordia Journal entitled, "Five Things You Should Not Say at Funerals" (October 2003). My one pet peeve with funerals I attend as a guest is the all too frequent absence of Christ crucified and risen. Too often the content is trivial and shallow and centered on the life and times of the deceased instead of our Lord. However, even after several years of ministry, I realize that I may not have always presented the fullness of our hope as accurately as possible, even while preaching Christ. Dr. Jeff Gibbs gave me pause to think. The five things he tells us we ought not to say: 1.) "Bob has received the crown of righteousness, and he has heard the Lord say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'" Gibbs reason for not saying this: Like some of the phrases to follow, these are words that point to the final Day of Judgment, not to th...
Read more