I Believe

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. - The Nicene Creed

It is a tumultuous time in the life of our parent denomination as protagonists and antagonists vie for supremacy and the capitulation of opponents. “Tho’ with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, by schism rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, “How long?” And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.” (The Church’s One Foundation. Samuel John Stone) The disagreement seems at first to be about highly volatile social and political matters, but it goes far deeper. Our denomination is rent asunder over core beliefs about God and God’s relationship with humanity. 

The Apostle’s Creed and the more extensive Nicene Creed have always served as my anchor in the tumult of social storms. The apostles did not produce the creed, but it became essential to subsequent generations because it contains a succinct summary of their teachings. Early Christians adamantly stuck to the apostle’s teachings. It served as the next best thing to sitting under the instruction of those who walked with Jesus. When the Gospel reached large swathes of peoples, protagonists and antagonists battled over human interpretations of God’s nature and God’s relationship with humanity. The Nicene Creed eventually emerged to establish logical responses to popular criticisms of Apostolic Christianity. We still use it in churches and as Christian Believers to this day. When I am asked, in my pastoral capacity, to advise teachers of children’s Christian education, I always give a copy of the Nicene Creed and suggest they help their charges to attain an age-appropriate understanding of it. 

I recently read an article by an opponent of the traditionalist movement within our denomination that criticized inclusion of the Nicene Creed by proposed rules of doctrine and discipline. The critic’s thoughtfully worded argument said many things, but was most vocal in what it did not say. The Opposition to the Creed showed an unwillingness to be bound by its tenets. By stating it should not be part of the rules and religious standards, the author is ripping the heart of Christianity from the denomination’s chest. If you gather in Jesus’s name but choose not to believe what the apostles and early Christians said about him, then what is Jesus to your religion? Is he a great moral philosopher, like Confucius or the Buddha? Is Jesus a human who founded and led a worldwide religion like Islam? Have we outgrown the bible and apostolic faith?

The perils of secularization and persecution will always be a part of religions and their institutions. That’s why schisms and rebellions are inevitable. While they often involve violence, which can be vicious non-physical attacks, too, the process always produces revival and doctrinal clarity. Violence is born out of heightened emotions and bitter frustrations with opponents. It often results in a greater devotion to the destruction of enemies than to the core matters at hand. Sadly, it defies the Nicene Creed's high calling to be “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” One Body of which Christ-Jesus is the head; set apart for the LORD, a sanctified people; a Church-Universal, unbound by human institutions; rooted in apostolic teaching and tradition. Come quickly “morn of song”!