6 things + one or 7 things about the Apostle’s Creed
so why 7 things about the Apostle’s Creed? well I could say I wanted to pick some where between saying 5 to 10 things about it but instead settled with 7 because I am (a) blatantly stealing the 5Q+1 one idea from getreligion.org (a very awesome sight) (b) using it because it my favorite number is seven, or (c) that I am imitating God in the seven pattern thing that sometimes happens in scripture. Take your pick.
So what seven things does the Apostle’s Creed mean to me personally? I will number the creed and write some general thoughts I get from this creed.
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. (1)
And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, (2)
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin Mary, (3)
suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, (4)
was dead and buried, descended into death (some versions hell: meaning he delivered the captives in death),
on the third day rose from the dead,
has ascended to heaven, sits at right hand of the throne of God the Father, and is coming again to judge the quick (spiritually alive) and the dead (spiritually dead).
I believe in the Holy Spirit, (5)
the one catholic (purified) Church, (6)
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen. (7)
(1) I appreciate the confessional nature of this creed. It helps me commune with other believers. It begins with this is what I believe. It is a affirmation of beliefs already held, not a list of beliefs to learn to be held. I appreciate that is begins with God. These brief descriptors in the first verse are remarkable in their depth and give clarity to show what God is like. God is is a personal god involved in relationships. He gives himself in close relational terms as a father and this implies that he has at least one child. As a parent he is my role model for what it means to be dad. God is a parent as he is first described as God the Father. But what type? He is All Mighty, the creed teaches us that all power is his, and he gives and reclaims his might as he so chooses to whom he chooses. If God is almighty what does he do with his power? He is the Maker. All things in the heavens and earth are made by him. They are his possession and reflect him in some way either directly or indirectly. All things are ultimately his and he can do with his creation as he so chooses.
(2) The creed switches drastically switches from the Father to reflect on his son. This help me learn about the beauty of God’s son. So who is his son? The next lines in the creed tells us two things about God the Father and the first thing solely about the son Jesus. First Jesus is God’s only son (this is later clarified in the Nicene Creed with addition of begotten). What this attempts to clarify is the utter uniquely and special relation between the Father and the Son. Second, Jesus is the Christ of God. The name Jesus basically means “the God who Is Saves” and the title Christ means that he is “the anointed one”. This gives the initial role of salvation beginning with the Father and that it is the Father who anoints Jesus. Jesus is then called our Lord. This tells us a great deal about Jesus. In the first testament only God the Father is referred to as the Lord of his chosen people. Only God is Lord, since Jesus is our Lord then he is fully God as the Father is fully God.
(3)The third section tells us succinctly about how Jesus earthly life began to fulfill what his name and title suggest he came to do. This reminds me how important the incarnation is and how unique it was. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit so his physical bodily creation could only come from God. All humans are conceived through sexual copulation of male and female, but Jesus only biologically had a mother! This virgin birth fulfills the promise given to Eve by God that one of her descendants (Mary) would bear the savior of those who believe. So how did Jesus accomplish his mission?
(4) This section is my favorite in that summarizes the passion of Christ and the return of Christ incredibly well. Jesus took upon himself the punishment of the sins of his people in a literal sense. He was unjustly punished under a wicked ruler, was murdered in a horrible way, died a literal death, his body was put in a tomb, yet while he was dead he descended into death and led the captives free in that he revealed himself to the saints who had gone before the coming of Christ, on the third day just as he foretold he conquered death and rose from the grave, ascended eventually into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, and is preparing to come and judge all the people of the Earth including those who believe and don’t.
(5) This is the one section I really wish they had elaborated upon. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is inserted to clarify that God exists in a Godhead composed of three persons that are still one being. The creed is far too silent on this issue but at least it does mention him twice and affirm his importance in the Christian life. He is given the place of honor after the Father and the son.
(6) I love this section because it affirms the universal nature of the Church even when there are so many various churches. The reality of believers is spelled out in that God is purifying them (the root of the word catholic means pure hence the the use of the word catholic not referring to the denomination). I love how it shows that we believers enjoy being with one another and celebrating what Jesus has done (communion), believe in the forgiveness of sins (both ours and others), wait for the resurrection of our bodies, and look forward to life everlasting with God.
(7) This all ends with the word Amen. Amen is believed to mean “so let it be.” It is both a declarative statement and a petition of hope that God will bring it about. All have to say about it all is Amen.
Barak Obama has won the 2008 presidency. It is a historic day. We the American people have chosen to elect the first black president in US history. I pray that my fellow countrymen have made a wise decision.
Congratulations to him and all his supporters.
Here is my prayer for the next president. May he run the country well for the next four years. May he strive daily to follow after God’s purpose for this nation. May those of us who have Christian conservative convictions do the following. May we pray for him daily, support him where we can, and may we fight for the soul of our country to follow after what we believe is the best path for America and may that be God’s path and way.
May God bless America.
I wanted to vote for Barak Obama. Here’s why. Of the two major party candidates he is on the surface different. He is articulate, he is outside the status quo of the establishment in DC, and his mixed ethnicity is a page right out of the story of American diversity and opportunity. The idea of voting for a new kind of politician does appeal to me. I liked the purple states comment the Obama made back in the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I had hoped that Obama was a new type of Democrat. Sadly I had hoped that George Bush was a new kind of Republican. The Republican party of GWB really don’t impress me much and I was looking for something new. Sadly what I see in Obama is nothing more than well rehearsed empty rhetoric. I think he will be the Democrats version of GWB. All flash, no substance.
There is also something about electing a black president that does catch part of the American dream. I grew up in the South and I have seen racism in my own family and also in the culture around me. It disgust me to see that in the 21st century. Obama is a articulate well spoken man. He first seemed to be someone that could lead well. That would definitely help heal some of the wounds that run deep between the races, parties, and ever changing social landscape of America.
Yet in the end I could not vote for the man. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “I have a dream of a day when people will not be judged by the color of the skin but by the character of their heart.” I try my best to each day follow that God inspired advice. With that in mind there are two major reasons I could not vote for Barak Obama.
First I don’t like his policy on human life. The most important issue to me by far is the sanctity of human life. Obama is radically pro-choice (that choice is murder). His words on the subject are callous. Referring to his daughter in a hypothetical situation of being found pregnant he said: “I wouldn’t want my daughter punished with a kid.” That is beyond callous. As a Christian there is no way that I can vote for a guy who thinks children how ever they are conceived could ever be considered a punishment.
Second, the day before the general election I still have no idea who Barak Obama is. What is his religious views? It seems to be black liberation theology. Why wasn’t that explained in the mainstream media. Are the guys at getreligion.com the only ones that can talk about religion and how it shapes a candidates thought process? If that theology is his position then it is nothing more than Marxism mixed with black racism. That certainly does not reflect the uniting ideas of true equality as found in the New Testament. What is his understanding of fairness? I don’t understand how 40% of the 95% of people he is promising a tax refund can even qualify. Those who don’t pay taxes can not get a tax cut. There is nothing to cut. I don’t like it when politician or anyone plays the semantic game. It sounds like welfare to me. How is that fair? How does his religious views effect this? What about the concept of equal sacrifice? I think the fair tax is far more biblical than wealth redistribution. By the way the fact that Rick Warren had Obama for a hour answering questions about his faith and policy and never asked these questions is seriously disturbing to me. Shame on you Rick for not helping clarify these issue for your fellow Christians.
I think Barak Obama may win. Yet he will do so because the media as a whole dropped the ball and didn’t really seek to see who this man is. To be honest I don’t think any of us really know. He could be a really great guy or he could be the worst candidate to ever become president. The mainstream media simply didn’t challenge the man or his history. The media was and still is in love with the idea of a charismatic black man that could atone for all the sins that America has done to black people in America.
I really want to know more about his relationship with the people in his life. What about Resco, Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, and what about leftist groups like Acorn? Why hasn’t the media helped clear this up? Where has he traveled to, how have those experiences shaped him, and what is his view of a a fair and just society.
I and my wife voted early on Friday afternoon. Our wait was about a hour and half long. Last Monday I had made up my mind and we finally made it to the polls for early voting last Friday at noon. I held my eight month old daughter for about half that time as she slept in my arms as we snaked up to the slow moving line waiting to vote. It took me a long time on how I was going to vote for the presidential ticket. I had originally planned not to vote unless it was for a Third Party candidate. I really want to see the end of the two party system of just Democrat and just Republicans. Sadly none of the major Third Party candidates appealed to me that much. Barr is a joke. He has hurt the Libertarian ticket in my opinion maybe beyond repair. Chuck Baldwin seemed interesting but he didn’t even make the ballot in NC. For full disclosure, I voted for Ron Paul in the Republican primary, my wife voted for Huckabee. Neither of us where die-hard McCain supporters.
I really liked McCain in 2000. The McCain of 2008 seemed to be inconsistent. He seems like part McCain 2000 mixed with whoever the Republican spin doctors were that tried to remake him. They wanted him always smiling and didn’t want him to get angry or appear to be too emotional. I hate spin. I voted for McCain in 2000 in that primary and wished he had won. I think Bush was a awful president on pretty much every single fiscal issue that his administration has touched. The GWB version of compasionate conservatism did lend to the fiscal mess America is now in. It was coupled with a version of a dead Republicanism that had died after the 1998 Clinton scandal where the RNC was obsessed with impeachment and forgot about reforming America, coupled with bad housing policy from the Democratic Carter era that got steam under Clinton and again under Bush, and American greed for “the good life” which has led to the big mess our economy is now in.
Bush did do some good for the country but on a whole it was not a well run administration. In 2008 I voted for Ron Paul in the primary because I felt McCain wasn’t being himself. Huckabee didn’t impress me in that he didn’t seem to articulate what he would do as President, Thompson didn’t have the fire to fight, Romney just didn’t impress me until ironically his succession speech, and Giluini is pro-choice so I couldn’t support him on those grounds. Ron Paul for better or worse is always Ron Paul. I think McCain listened way to much to his campaign advisers. As a result his just didn’t seem genuine. The story of John McCain is very remarkable an admirable. Ironically, in the last month of the campaign he has seemed more like the McCain of 2000. He started talking more about his views (excluding the pandering bailout package which he supposedly supports) and started to sound more like a old school Reagan style Republican. I liked that and decided to vote for him for that reason, as did my wife.
Oh, as for the pick of Sarah Palin as VP, I think Palin was a mixed bag for the ticket. Her first appearance was awesome it really helped rally the base of the RNC behind McCain. Her media appearances have been a mixed bag. My guess is she likely will be a fresh face for a new kind of Republicanism in America. Her pro-life stance is admirable. I think we will see her out there again if the McCain/Palin ticket doesn’t win this election. I think what hurt her most was listening to the same advisers that tried to change John McCain into someone he is not and told her not to speak to the press. It cut into her reformer maverick image. Listening to those advisors was a huge mistake and it may have cost them a election.
Regardless of who wins I will be praying for them. If it is Barak Obama I hope some of his positions change and that the change he brings to America curries the favor and blessings of God. If it is McCain I will pray for the same thing. It is about all I can do for now.
I think things just got interesting. The historical nature of this election is now monumental. The first serious female VP candidate in the Republican party. The first black Presidential candidate in the Democratic. I am now excited about the opportunity to elect the first female VP and much more open to supporting the McCain ticket. I will address in another post why I pray daily for Mr. Obama but hope that he does not win the presidency. Hopefully those of us who are theologically-conservative Christians will have in 2012 or 2016 the opportunity to elect the first female president in America who is a social and fiscal conservative and more importantly strongly pro-life. Mike Huckabee once well said that for pro-lifers that “we believe that life begins at conception but it doesn’t end there.” I think that Mrs. Palin will be able to articulate and help win our culture over to the pro-life position. Once that occurs abortion will be a moot issue.
I am hoping that McCain gets a big boost for his pick and I hope this is only the beginning of Mrs. Palin’s national career. I also hope Mrs. Palin takes the opportunity to explain why pro-life people are pro-life and not pro-death. Mrs. Palin will have a national platform to explain her choice to have her last child whom doctors advised killing while in the womb simply because it had downs syndrome. The issue for those of us who are pro-life is just that, it is all about life. We are pro that is to say for life, even life that is not convenient or going to be easy for the woman caring it to term. I think Mrs. Palin will able to speak to that issue better than anyone else since she and her husband had to make the decision to have a child with down syndrome. I think that Mr. McCain has now made a powerful case to vote McCain-Palin. I hope that they win and the McCain ticket now has confirmed two more votes from my wife and me. The Maverick made the right choice and I hope America does as well.
Eugene Peterson’s Message is a highly popular version of the New Testament.
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
14-15″In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
Peterson’s Version
vs. 7 has do not emulate those “prayer warriors” as the subject. Prayer warriors is generally seen as a Christian term used by Pentecostal, Charismatic, Evangelical, and other Christian traditions. To be honest I don’t like the term prayer warriors and think it is a major theological problem. But it simply isn’t right to use that term here since Jesus didn’t use it.
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
vs. 7 has do not emulate the “gentiles” as the subject. The Gentiles were those who did not know God at all.
to be continued in another post.
Bob Barr the Libertarian candidate for president! Not Bar Bar the possibly Republican elephant!
Blessed - Martina McBride
I get kissed by the sun
Each morning
Put my feet on a hardwood floor
I get to hear my children laughing
Down the hall through the
Bedroom door
Sometimes I sit on my
Front porch swing
Just soaking up the day
I think to myself, I think to myself
This world is a beautiful place
Chorus:
I have been blessed
And I feel like I’ve found my way
I thank God for all I’ve been given
At the end of every day
I have been blessed
With so much more than I deserve
To be here with the ones
That love me
To love them so much it hurts
I have been blessed
Across a crowded room
I know you know what I’m thinking
By the way I look at you
And when we’re lying in the quiet
And no words have to be said
I think to myself, I think to myself
This love is a beautiful gift
Repeat Chorus
When I’m singing my kids to sleep
When I feel you holding me
I know
Repeat Chorus
Everyone needs a McCain to get excited about. This is a favorite song of mine.
Lying here with you
Listening to the rain
Smiling just to see the smile upon your face
These are the moments I thank God that I’m alive
These are the moments I’ll remember all my life
I found all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more
Looking in your eyes
Seeing all I need
Everything you are is everything to me
These are the moments
I know heaven must exist
These are the moments I know all I need is this
I have all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more
Chorus
I could not ask for more than this time together
I could not ask for more than this time with you
Every prayer has been answered
Every dream I have’s come true
And right here in this moment is right where I’m meant to be
Here with you here with me
These are the moments I thank God that I’m alive
These are the moments I’ll remember all my life
I’ve got all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more
Chorus
I could not ask for more than the love you give me ‘Coz it’s all I’ve waited for
And I could not ask for more
I could not ask for more
Imagine if what we think we know about Genesis 1Genesis 1 is probably all wrong. What if it was colored by 20 centuries of baggage from church history that has gone around the baggage return to many times to actually realize what the actual picture looked like. Let’s face it for the first 1500 years or so Genesis 1Genesis 1 was kind of a text people read and basically just left alone other than stating “Genesis 1Genesis 1 says God created the Heavens and the Earth including you ” and this is usually followed by “perhaps you now see a good reason to believe in Him.”
Around the 400s when Christianity became the established religion and went through a 1000 year period without a lot of critical thought hence the often right title of “dark ages” ensued. It stayed this way to the starting of the 1600s, Genesis 1Genesis 1 just wasn’t that big of a issue for a millennium and a half. Then came those pesky Reformers and Protestants who began to question everything. Yet sadly the Church hadn’t exactly bothered to do a lot of studying of ancient cultures including the Jewish. The Reformers and Protestants had a text but amongst the other issues of the day they certainly couldn’t spend all their time pondering Genesis 1Genesis 1 when they were trying to rediscover doctrines such as soteriology (how we get saved) and Christology (who Jesus is and what that means to us). We can and should forgive them for not coming to consensus on the issue.
They did however start a bunch of exploration and made it legal to do so, something the established Catholic Church had not done at that time. By the 1800s a lot of Christians had turned to studying the sciences and some of the new discoveries where in their view not compatible with Genesis 1Genesis 1. Sadly they should have sought to see if they understood Genesis 1Genesis 1 correctly. Enigo Montoya said: “You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means.” This has been the sad case of how Genesis 1Genesis 1 has been treated for centuries by most everyone who has approached the text. In recent centuries, people on both sides of the “Evolution-Creation” debate have used the text but it doesn’t mean they understand fully what it meant or means.
Okay so hopefully we have established that we need a fresh perspective to read Genesis 1Genesis 1. Who do we get it from? We could get it from a 21st century church planter, who has really been itching to write this post! BUT, let’s even go a step further and say let’s take that fresh perspective from say a 14th century Hebrew named Moses.
Some of the things that learning the history and culture of Moses can shed light on the Genesis passage. I have heard that Tim Keller has stated that Genesis 1Genesis 1 is a poem and I think he is right. I have yet to read his stuff because well I’m too broke to buy any of his books and second I don’t know where he wrote that in. If anyone knows feel free to inform me. I generally like being informed.
When we read Genesis 1Genesis 1 we often read it like we are reading an epistle or some other genre like that. That is a huge problem because it basically keeps us from seeing the context of the text. We know that David references the idea of Genesis 1