St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

January 25, 2015

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light ,true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven :by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

January 25: God the Father

February 1: God the Son

February 15: God the Holy Spirit

The first mention of the expression "Apostles' Creed" occurs in a letter of 390 from a synod in Milan and may have been associated with the belief, widely accepted in the 4th century, that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each of the Twelve Apostles contributed an article of a creed.

The Nicene Creed was adopted in the face of the Arian controversy. Arius, a Libyan presbyter in Alexandria, had declared that although the Son was divine, he was a created being and therefore not co-essential with the Father, and "there was when he was not.

The Nicene Creed of 325 explicitly affirms the co-essential divinity of the Son, applying to him the term "consubstantial". The 381 version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son.

It is the only authoritative ecumenicalstatement of the Christian faith accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and the major Protestant denominations.

But there are other Creeds…

Antagonist in films Rocky I and Rocky II, later a trainer to boxer Rocky Balboa in the film Rocky III. (As a fictional character, Apollo Creed is not recognized by the orthodox, catholic, or protestant churhes).

We believe in one God,the Father, the Almighty,maker of heaven and earth,of all that is, seen and unseen.

Table Conversation:1. What do we mean when we say we believe in

“one” God?2. Why does the Creed refer to God with the

title “Father”

Why does the Creed refer to God as Father?

Why does the Creed refer to God as Father?

There are only a few passages in the Hebrew Bible that refer to God as father.

Isaiah 64:8 is one of them: “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are the work of your hand.

In the New Testament, the title “Father” appears more frequently as Jesus calls God father.

Why does the Creed refer to God as Father?

By referring to “one God, the Father” the Creed states as briefly as possible the character of God that is revealed to us through Christ.

This begs the question: it speaking of God in male terms hurtful to women? In the history of the church (sadly) gender –exclusive language has been used to support sexism in the church.

How do we remedy gender exclusive language in the Creed? There are several options:

◦ 1. We could remove gendered language about God altogether from the prayer book.

◦ 2. We could replace all the male language with female language, but the problem with that is that it is just as exclusive as our current problem.

How do we remedy gender exclusive language in the Creed? There are several options:

3. We could supplement male names with female names.

Eucharistic Prayer C: “Lord God of our Fathers; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” ADD “Sarah, Rachel, and Rebekah”

Luke Timothy Johnson argues against incorporating this new language into the Creed and liturgy of the church.

I disagree with him on both accounts. Personally, I lead toward more inclusive language on all fronts, but you won’t hear me do much of it until a new version of the prayer book is released that includes this type of language.

I’m a bit of a liturgical purist…

The Greek word for almighty is pantokrator. This icon, of Christ the pantokrator, depicts Christ as almighty, ruler of the universe.

When we say that Christ or God is almighty, we are saying that God is all powerful, that God can do what God wants to do. There are no limits toGod’s power.

If we say in the Creed that Godis all powerful, how do we account for the evil in the world?

How do account for evil in a world where God is Almighty? Luke Timothy Johnson’s response:

“ When we stop looking at the mystery as though it were a problem to solve, and accept the mystery as that which has caught us up, that which defines us, and that within which we celebrate and suffer our human existence, then we can begin to think how the reality of human freedom and the presence of evil might not be the contradiction of God’s power, but part of its fullest expression…God’s goodness is shown to its most astounding perfection in God’s power to draw good even from what creatures experience as evil.”

So, in the Creed, we

confess God’s

absolute power,

even when we see all

around us ways in

which that power

does not seem to be

present.

February 1 : God the Son