Why the Nicene Creed Still Matters
Last night I gave a lecture on the history of the Nicene Creed — the creed that defines the one absolute necessity of belief for orthodox Christians. By orthodox I mean with a small “o,” embracing Christians of every denomination and in every place.
It’s a history woven from two intertwined stories. One is the story of the Roman Empire—its struggles to defend its borders while maintaining internal coherence. The other is the story of the Church as it grew from a few Jewish followers of Jesus into an empire-wide faith composed largely of Greek- and Latin-speaking former pagans.
As exciting as I find these stories, I know they don’t often generate eager anticipation in most people, Christians included. Nevertheless, about thirty people attended the lecture, and it was recorded. It should appear on YouTube within a week or so.
The Creed was developed 1,700 years ago. The first and most important draft was adopted in the year 325, at the Council of Nicaea. It tried to express what it means to say that one God has been made known to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — to a population steeped in Greek philosophy, with little understanding of Christianity’s Jewish roots.
Can a 1,700-year-old statement of faith, addressed to Greek-thinking people of that era, still make sense in the twenty-first century? I think it can. In fact, I think it must. This may surprise some, but everyone raised in the tradition of Western civilization still thinks like the ancient Greeks. Their legacy is embedded so deeply in the way we form ideas and see the world that one need not have read Plato or Aristotle, or even heard of them, to think as they did.
The Creed does not need to be rewritten for modern times. Clergy and theologians, however, must make it intelligible and meaningful to everyday Christians by clearly explaining the contemporary sense of ancient terms. Its message is timeless — it transcends the centuries past and, I believe, the centuries yet to come. Tolerating illiteracy in theology so basic to the Christian faith is not acceptable.
Moreover, the Hebrew roots and Jewish traditions of our Christian faith must again become essential elements of lifelong Christian education, for youth and adults alike. That means more than teaching the familiar and entertaining Old Testament stories. It means exploring the depth and breadth of God’s self-revelation throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and the moral imperatives God commanded through the prophets.
As Jesus said, I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. As the body of Christ we are to continue in the process of fulfilling it.
We began to lose sight of the Jewish foundation of our faith when the early Church explained that new Gentile Christians did not need to follow Jewish rules and rituals. The unfortunate side effect was to lead popular Christianity away from God’s self-revelation recorded in Hebrew Scripture.
There’s no better time than the present to get back on track, so here is the text of the Nicene creed. What would you do with it?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, 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 of 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 (s)he is worshipped and glorified. (S)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.