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 again 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.

 

Herein we have the great and unifying statement of faith. Perhaps the only creed that all Christians of all faiths – Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox can (and should) affirm.

 

I have been thinking about unity of and in the church universal because of the reading I have been doing. I have always been a staunch believer in teaching The Apostle’s Creed because it offers an ancient and clear interpretation of what it means to be a Christian. No Christian can affirm less. No Christian should seek schism over more. Sadly this is not the reality. There are many today who would ignore the history of the church and the traditions and creeds that have been passed on. They say that each Christian should be able to go directly to scripture without looking to tradition and history and find Christ. Of course this is true but the creeds, particularly The Apostles Creed which can be dated as early as 215 ad, offer wisdom and insight and we would do well to pay attention.

 

To those who would ignore the church fathers and mothers who preceded us in the faith I would remind them of the following verse:

 

"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee," Exodus 20:12.

 

While some would accuse me of misinterpreting scripture I believe in fact that it is an appropriate verse to pay attention to within the context of the church. The church is defined as a family of believers. A community. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. There is much imagery to suggest that it would be appropriate to honor our spiritual mothers and fathers who have come before us and sought to live faithful lives and left for us creeds and traditions worthy of paying attention to so that perhaps the days of the church family would be long upon the land as well.

 

I would encourage you to memorize and pray The Apostles Creed regularly, meditate on it and pray around it. Surely this would be a good thing.