You can listen to this week’s Devotional here
Author: Carolyn Gard
When I was in eighth grade I became a member of a Presbyterian church. One of the things I remember doing was memorizing the Apostle’s Creed. I had no trouble with it; memorizing has always come easily to me, and I can still recite it today. As I look back over the years, however, a lot of its words are no longer applicable. Not surprising, since it was first written in the fifth century.
“I believe in God the Father almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth…” We’ve gone way beyond the concept of God as a father, and have changed our hymns to reflect that inclusion.
“And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord…” The use of the word only is interesting. It seems to limit the power of God. After all, if God is as powerful as we think, God could create another son or even a daughter.
“…who was conceived of the Virgin Mary…” One of the first sermons I remember was one in which the minister said that whether Mary was a virgin or not has nothing to do with the story.
“…who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried…” The creed skips over all of Jesus’s preachings of love and forgiveness.
“…descended into hell, rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, who will come again to judge the living and the dead.” I have difficulty with the concept of Hell, and judging people implies that we will be sent to either Heaven or Hell.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints…” We spent time in our communicant’s class learning that the holy catholic (lower case) church was not the same as the Roman Catholic (upper case) church, but, rather, a universality.
“…the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” Here’s where I get into logistics. I know Heaven must be an incredibly huge place, but if we are resurrected with our bodies, where is there room for all the trillions and quadrillions of these bodies? And which body is that? My body at 40, or my body at 82?
When I look back on this creed, I think of how lucky our kids are these days. Instead of parroting a statement that is 1600 years old, they are writing their own statements of faith. I think I should do the same. And I challenge the rest of you to “go and do likewise.”
