I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the history and theology behind the creeds that guide the Church. Couple of things that I want to say in conclusion to that series of posts.
One of the things that struck me the most was the organic nature of it all. These creeds were result of councils that were called usually in response to some heresy or controversy that had been raging within the church for years and years if not decades. Usually the controversies persisted for a time even after a creed was adopted. Sometimes, it was the simple fact that there were imperfect translations as some used Latin and others Greek that caused issues. In some cases, at least with Nicene, the people who adopted a particular creed had their fortunes reversed as the political winds changed. It is laughable to think that there was (or still is) some group of men high up in some tower, as part of some shadowy organization, that directs and orders the events and movements of the world or the Church. Nevertheless, the church has come through two millenia of history with a vast majority of Christians holding pretty much the same core beliefs as stated in these creeds. I would attribute this to the hand of Providence.
Second thing of note is that these creeds are statements of faith and are not proofs: They are things that the Scripture states but the workings are mysteries. The trinity or the incarnation is something that we cannot fully explain; what we can only really do is systematize in these statements what has been revealed to us. The creeds are also not something that totally encapsulates the Christian faith. In fact, these creeds are also called symbols – as in something smaller and simpler that represents something greater and more complex. Basically they serve as some boundries - however soft or hard – in which if someone takes a doctrinal position outside of them, that someone would be in danger of heresy or even something that is anti-Christian.
So what are these boundries? It boils down to three: One that there is a God and He is the creator of all. Two that God is in three Persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three that the person of the Son has two natures – a fully divine and a fully human. Pretty much every confessional statement that I have read for this denomination or that denomination, or this church or that church has these three elements.
So why is all of this important? It is important because it gives power and meaning to being a Christian. We are Christians because our sins are forgiven and we are born again, and being Christian means that we have a relationship with God. Our sins are forgiven because Christ died for us and we are born again due to that vicarious sacrifice. Christ’s death and resurrection has power not only because of his humanity but also because of his divinity. And because of Christ being a person of the God-head, this transcedent God can love us and we, the limited, can have a personal God that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omni this and that. It is the reason why we can say such things as: God shows His love for us through His Son, Jesus – something that would confound people of other faiths such as Muslims since to them Allah is not a trinity and hence cannot be personal. These creeds are important because whether we know it or not, it is part of the bedrock that our faith-life as well as the faith-life of others that have come before us, has layered itself on top of.
Hope you enjoyed it.
