Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed is generally used by a wide number of denominations of the western Christian church for liturgical and catechetical purposes. The Uniting Church (as a union of the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions) also uses the creed during things such as baptisms.

“The Uniting Church enters into unity with the Church throughout the ages by its use of the confessions known as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Uniting Church receives these as authoritative statements of the Catholic Faith, framed in the language of their day and used by Christians in many days, to declare and to guard the right understanding of that faith. The Uniting Church commits its ministers and instructors to careful study of these creeds and to the discipline of interpreting their teaching in a later age. It commends to ministers and congregations their use for instruction in the faith, and their use in worship as acts of allegiance to the Holy Trinity.”

- Uniting Church, Basis of Union (1992 edition)

I reckon that too often people just read it off the page at worship gatherings without really knowing what it is trying to say, or what the context of the situation it was trying to address. It isn’t people are not being faithful, or that their hearts are in the wrong place. It is just that too often, in order to belong and feel safe, people seem to have the idea that conformity is what is required for unity. And, generally inside the church community the party line is never publically or openly questioned.

The Apostles’ Creed is something that many people (including myself) who consider themselves part of the church, followers of Jesus, struggle with. I am not saying that what the early church was trying to say through the creed is not true or mean that the early church leaders were stupid or wrong. The problem is that the language that is used in the versions in use within the church doesn’t make sense given what we know about the world.

It is an important piece of our Christian heritage, but I think too many people have received this creed as an authoritative statement of faith without having considered them in careful study to understand and interpret the teaching in the present age.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Newcastle to attend the baptism of a nephew. A friend is the minister at the church and she had re-written/contextualised the standard Uniting Church liturgy for baptism. Within the liturgy was also a version of the Apostles’ Creed that finally I felt I could read and speak freely without compromising my integrity.

The Apostles’ Creed

We believe in God beyond us,
Maker and keeper of all life,
Of night and day
Of water and earth
Of male and female.

We believe in God beside us,
Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,
Born of a woman, servant of the poor.
He was tortured and nailed to a cross and died.
He went from earth to the place of death.
On the third day he rose from the tomb.
He went from earth to the place of life,
and his kingdom will come on earth.

We believe in God within us,
Life giving breath of the church
Spirit of healing and forgiveness
The power for new life everlasting.

Amen.

Note: the original source of inspiration for this  version of the Apostles’ Creed has been lost in its redactional history.

So what do you think? How would you re-interpret the words of the Apostles?