Profession of the Presbyters (Elders) of Smyrna
Hippolytus has preserved this confession from around 180 AD:
We also know in truth one God, we know Christ, we know the Son, suffering as he suffered, dying as he died, and risen on the third day, and abiding at the right hand of the Father, and coming to judge the living and the dead. And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us.
The thing that jumps out at me about this creed is it's opening and it's closing. We also know in truth one God..., a monotheistic confession. What follows is surprising: ...we know Christ, we know the Son... One God, Christ, the Son. Clearly it is important to them to maintain the full divinity of Jesus as a uniquely Christian confession. The Son, Christ, a god who suffered, died, rose, abides, and will come. And in the wording of the Creed, it is not that God did all these things; but it is Christ who did all these things, who is God. The Father did not do these things, but is specifically mentioned as being the authority at whose right hand Christ is abiding presently. So the Father and the Son are different people, but the Son is God, and the Son is subject to the Father. Equal in deity, distinct in personhood.
And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us. Very early in the church, it was important to establish 'Apostolic Succession'...the truly Christian teaching is the teaching that was received by the Apostles, who were firsthand with Christ and the Spirit (though the Spirit is given to all), and who passed that teaching on. Especially with regard to the Gnostic heresy (which is a whole different subject) the Apostolic Succession became paramount. Gnostics claimed to have secret, privileged knowledge that the Apostles did not have, and the Church's defense against that was to reject the possibility that Christ would have anything to disclose that he did not disclose to his Twelve.
But do we accept Apostolic Succession? Or do we believe that we know better than they who actually saw and touched and talked with Jesus while he was on this earth? When we discover new ideas, do we test them against the Bible and against good doctrine, or do we take a particularly American stance and toss all these ideas, together with Biblical truth, into a melting pot in order to forge something weaker? This isn't to say that we can't learn things from the Bible, from our experiences, or from our rational capacities on our own, because all of these and more play a great role in our faith. However, if we neglect the riches of knowledge, wisdom, and insight that came after the Bible, but before our present day, we are prone to discover all kinds of bad teaching. The true traditions of the Church, the traditions that must be maintained at the risk of great cost, are not hymns and liturgies, but are in fact the bracing truth behind the hymns and liturgical ceremonies. As we seek to worship God, we may express some aspects of worship differently, with guitars instead of organs, or with powerpoint instead of creeds. But we cannot abandon the true traditions: the doctrines and truths which our true faith in the true God is founded on.
In unrelated news, I miss my kitty.
We also know in truth one God, we know Christ, we know the Son, suffering as he suffered, dying as he died, and risen on the third day, and abiding at the right hand of the Father, and coming to judge the living and the dead. And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us.
The thing that jumps out at me about this creed is it's opening and it's closing. We also know in truth one God..., a monotheistic confession. What follows is surprising: ...we know Christ, we know the Son... One God, Christ, the Son. Clearly it is important to them to maintain the full divinity of Jesus as a uniquely Christian confession. The Son, Christ, a god who suffered, died, rose, abides, and will come. And in the wording of the Creed, it is not that God did all these things; but it is Christ who did all these things, who is God. The Father did not do these things, but is specifically mentioned as being the authority at whose right hand Christ is abiding presently. So the Father and the Son are different people, but the Son is God, and the Son is subject to the Father. Equal in deity, distinct in personhood.
And in saying this we say what has been handed down to us. Very early in the church, it was important to establish 'Apostolic Succession'...the truly Christian teaching is the teaching that was received by the Apostles, who were firsthand with Christ and the Spirit (though the Spirit is given to all), and who passed that teaching on. Especially with regard to the Gnostic heresy (which is a whole different subject) the Apostolic Succession became paramount. Gnostics claimed to have secret, privileged knowledge that the Apostles did not have, and the Church's defense against that was to reject the possibility that Christ would have anything to disclose that he did not disclose to his Twelve.
But do we accept Apostolic Succession? Or do we believe that we know better than they who actually saw and touched and talked with Jesus while he was on this earth? When we discover new ideas, do we test them against the Bible and against good doctrine, or do we take a particularly American stance and toss all these ideas, together with Biblical truth, into a melting pot in order to forge something weaker? This isn't to say that we can't learn things from the Bible, from our experiences, or from our rational capacities on our own, because all of these and more play a great role in our faith. However, if we neglect the riches of knowledge, wisdom, and insight that came after the Bible, but before our present day, we are prone to discover all kinds of bad teaching. The true traditions of the Church, the traditions that must be maintained at the risk of great cost, are not hymns and liturgies, but are in fact the bracing truth behind the hymns and liturgical ceremonies. As we seek to worship God, we may express some aspects of worship differently, with guitars instead of organs, or with powerpoint instead of creeds. But we cannot abandon the true traditions: the doctrines and truths which our true faith in the true God is founded on.
In unrelated news, I miss my kitty.