My creed, what I believe, is this:

Transcription

1 Write your own Creed, seeking to make a comprehensive modern statement of faith. Write about 750 words, giving reasons for what you have written in your Creed. Definition of the word creed from the Oxford Dictionary: NOUN 1. A system of religious belief; a faith. people of many creeds and cultures Synonyms 1.1 often the Creed. A formal statement of Christian beliefs, especially the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. the godparents will then swear that they believe in the Creed and the Commandments 1.2 A set of beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions. liberalism was more than a political creed Origin: Old English, from Latin credo. My creed, what I believe, is this: I believe in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe in God the Father as creator of all things, Jesus Christ his Son as Saviour and Redeemer of all mankind and the Holy Spirit as our inspiration and guide on earth. I believe that there should be justice and peace for the whole world. That all people should be able to live in freedom, without fear of violence. That all people should be valued for what they can contribute, not put aside for perceived frailty. I believe that we should start from a position of first do no harm to any part of God s creation, animal, vegetable or mineral. However, although we should avoid harm where possible we should not lose the right to be able to defend ourselves against violence and injustice and defend those who cannot defend themselves. I believe, that we should be conscientious stewards of our planet, look after it, nurture it and share in it s bounty fairly, unselfishly and without greed so that our descendants may also benefit from its beauty and fruitfulness.

2 I believe in the Church as a community of faith. Like-minded people joining together in fellowship, to worship and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through outreach and mission. I believe that the Father sent his Son to die for us that we might live, and that Jesus left the Holy Spirit here with us to guide us on our journey to join him. My creed is exactly that, my creed. I m sure that there are some that would find it woolly, liberal or without substance. However, I will explain below why it is written as it is. Firstly, as a Christian, it goes without saying that I believe in the Trinity. As Paul showed in 1 Cor 15 a belief in Jesus as Saviour and Redeemer is fundamental to any Christian belief. To deny Jesus death and resurrection negates the whole of the Christian faith. It therefore follows that belief in the Son leads to a belief in the Father who sent Him. It also means that I must also believe in the Spirit which Jesus promised to leave with us when he ascended into heaven. During his lifetime Jesus preached many times about justice and peace for all, about loving our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22 v 39). Unless we can live by this tenet we cannot hope to achieve justice and peace. If more people could be persuaded to subscribe to this part of my creed the world would have a better chance of solving their differences with words rather than weapons. Jesus also treated everyone as an individual. He saw past their race, colour and any infirmities to the true person, he did not discriminate against anyone. It is discrimination in its many forms that cause so much pain and injustice in the world today. If we could see through His eyes, look for what people can offer, not their restrictions, then everyone could feel valued. The line about first do no harm in my creed is very important to me. This line encompasses both harm in the form of violence, abuse and injustice to us and others and harm to the planet itself. I also firmly stand by my belief that we should have the right to defend ourselves, to protect ourselves and those who cannot protect themselves. However, I do think that the first line of that defence should be

3 negotiation. Anything that can be done to prevent the use of weapons and violence should always be the first line of defence. God created our planet and everything on it and in it for us. Through Adam He gave us dominion over everything He had created (Psalm 8 v 6, Gen 1 v 26). To me the word dominion in this instance means care, the care of the planet and its myriad of fauna and flora. Humankind, in its effort to create something better, has consistently destroyed what He created. We need to stop the devastation of the planet and give it time to heal. That is why I think we should become better stewards, taking care of what He created, using it to benefit all while ensuring that we allow regeneration so that those that follow us can still appreciate the beauty of His creation in all its glory. When it comes to the Church what I have written in my creed is the ideal which I believe all Churches should aspire to. However, as each Church is a microcosm of the world in which it is situated this ideal cannot always be achieved. Humankind was created in many and varied forms and all of us, whilst proclaiming our belief in God, each has our own interpretation of what that belief is. We all have preferences on how services are conducted. Within my own benefice we have four churches, they each have Eucharistic Services and each Church does the Eucharist in a slightly different way because that s the way we ve always done it! At the risk of the ground opening and swallowing me I must ask, Does it matter? Don t we all go to church to worship, to praise God and to spread the good news of the Gospel? How can we do this when we can t agree on what words we should be using, whether we should be singing them or saying them? That is why my creed states, categorically that we are gathered together in fellowship, to worship and to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through outreach and mission. This can only be done if we all agree that this is why we are there. We need to show a united front if we are to have any hope of going out and encouraging people to allow Christ into their lives, showing them what he has done for us and what he can do for them. The words of the Thy Kingdom Come prayer at the Annex to this essay say much of what I believe the Church, both as a building and a community, should be.

4 Although I have written my creed here I believe that much of what I try to use as a template for living my life is contained in the Serenity Prayer which can be found at the Annex to this essay. The New Oxford Annotated Bible NRSV With the Apocrypha Fully Revised Fourth Edition that, my creedn/creed - Accessed 10 Jul Accessed 24 Jul Accessed 24 Jul 18

5 Annex to Essay A prayer from The Oxford Book of Prayer Thy Kingdom Come (Prayer 211, pages 73-74) O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling-block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter s power. God make the door of this house the gateway to Thine eternal kingdom. The Serenity Prayer God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change Courage to change the things I can, And Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.