Lectures 41 and 42 Outline - The Creed

  1. Our inability to know Jesus:  see the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35, 44-49)
    1. Though versed in the Bible, these disciples could not place Jesus' life within its scriptural context, nor could they even recognize Jesus by sight!
    2. Jesus had to teach them how his life followed from the Jewish Bible (vv. 25-27 and 44-49)  [see Steinmetz on the analogy of the mystery story which remains unclear until the end]
    3. and their hearts had to be illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
  2.  The Creed as narrative summary:  It provides a brief summary of the biblical message (see Steinmetz, "a second narrative within the primary narrative")
    1. God creates the world (the Old Testament),
    2. God redeems the world (through the passion of Jesus Christ) and
    3. God extends that act of redemption to the entire world through the vehicle of the Church (the work of the Holy Spirit).
  3.  Creed as tripartite or Trinitarian in form:  We believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
    1. Presented in the order they appear in the salvation process.  First the Father, then the Son and finally the Holy Spirit (the "economy of salvation")
    2. But this order appears temporal only from our limited human vantage point.  God, in and of himself, is eternally Triune (the so-called "immanent Trinity").
    3. So for Augustine God is love means there is a lover (the Father) and a beloved (the Son) and the Holy Spirit is the expression of the mutual love that exists between the two of them.  
      1.  God is one in that his purposes and intentions for the world are  singular in nature,
      2.  but three in that his being is fundamentally relational in nature.
      3.  Creation is a natural extension of the Diving Being in that love  always reaches/extends outward and beyond oneself.
  4.  Creed, Catechumen, and Baptism
    1. Liturgy of the Mass has two basic parts:  liturgy of the word (which ends with the creed) and sacrament (Eucharist)
    2. Catechumens (those preparing for entry into the church) join the congregation for the liturgy of the word but exit the church just prior to the recitation of the Creed.
    3. After a period of instruction when the Catechumens learn the rudiments of the Christian faith they approach the Baptismal font to be inaugurated into the Church.
    4. At this point they are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (see Matthew 28:16-20).
    5. They are sprinkled with water three times, each time after having answered a question from the creed:  "Do you believe in God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth…"   and so on for the three parts of the Creed.
    6. Afterward they receive the Eucharist for the first time.
    7. So, those already confirmed and in good standing restate their Baptismal vows every Sunday just after hearing the word and prior to receiving the Eucharist.
  5.  Tripartite form
    1. God the Father – Creation
      1. Creation is the work of God (creatio ex nihilo)
      2. Creation is an expression of who God is
      3. Creation is good
      4. Counters the claim of the Gnostics (the "sectaries" according  to Athanasius, p. 57) who argued that the God of the Old  Testament was inferior to God, the Father of Jesus Christ.
    2. God the Son – Redeemer
      1.  One in being with the Father (homoousias)
      2. Arius (4th century opponent of St. Athanasius) had argued that  the Son was not fully God but rather a creature. 
    3. God the Holy Spirit
      1. Sent by Father after the resurrection of Jesus to illumine the church as to the identity of Christ.
Citation: Anderson, G. A. (2006, September 07). Lectures 41 and 42 Outline - The Creed. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/theology/foundations-of-theology-biblical-and-historical/lectures/lectures-41-and-42-outline-the-creed.
Copyright 2009, by the Contributing Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License