The Anglican bishops meeting for the Lambeth Conference are following a consultative process called Indaba. This is reminiscent of Benedictine and other styles of meeting.
July 25 1968 Pope Paul VI published his Encyclical letter Humanae Vitae. His commissions, set up in response to the development of oral contraceptives in…
Lambeth Bible Study with Joanna Clegg A famous poet representing the other party (Alexander Pope), once said ‘know thyself, presume not God to scan; the…
On Easter day at the breakfast that follows the 8am service, one of the people said very forcefully ‘why do we have that dreadful creed? (Nicene) Surely it puts people off coming to church!’
I invited him to discuss the creed with the other members of the breakfast club, because this is an intelligent thoughtful group of people, who I reasoned might have something helpful to say. They didn’t take the bate at all.
I loved the clip, but I’m not sure it advances the discussion at all.
Thanks, Jenny. I wonder if my section on the Creed in my book Celebrating Eucharist would help this discussion. It could be copied (with attribution ;-)) in a pew sheet. It particularly refers to Easter Day as appropriate to re-affirm our baptism. Blessings.
A friend of mine once observed that if you listen, the congregation sounds a bit like the Borg Collective from Star Trek when they recite the Creed. Hopefully thoughtful resources like this will help us — regardless of how we sound in unison — avoid BEING the mindless, soulless Borg when we say these words.
When I took instructions to join the Orthodox, the first meeting (these were all individual meetings, mind you!) focused on the corporate nature of “church” – of the assembly of the faithful God calls into being, and the entire set of instructions was based on the creed. One meeting for each person of the Trinity, another for the Trinity itself, and so on. I was nearly 65 and had a lot of prior religious training (including going to Catholic college), but I found this “grounding in Orthodoxy” experience to be something I drank in like a thirsty soul. (Even though I didn’t know I was thirsty!)
At that point, even before the instructions, I felt like I had recovered the “simple faith” of childhood. And by that I mean my faith felt really “simple” – like a child’s trust.
The creed is wonderful, I think, because it shows us where the boundaries lie. If we call all agree on these profound truths, hammered out so long ago, if we can learn to dwell in them and with them, if we could all just agree that some things are indisputable (even if unfathomable to a great degree), if we can recognize that there is “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism” – and if we can learn to accept that other things (outside the creed) are naturally going to invite different perspectives… then, maybe, we’ll feel this sense of a Large Tent of Christianity. (I feel that already. I long for more unity! And more compassion!)
Thank you for your blog, Bosco! I follow just a handful of blogs… so that says a lot!
Thanks, TheraP. I hope people have appreciated the recent Orthodox lecture here. I know you did. I have kept coming back to it. That lecture expresses well the need to have this “straight line” to measure against. There is so much that Orthodoxy can teach all. I concur with the ability to live in a Large Tent Christianity from orthodox foundations. Blessings.
The 67th book of the Bible has not been canonized as of now because this fictionalized book has not been completed. The 67th book is being written by men and is inspired by man’s opinions. This book is post 100 AD until the the present.
THE 67TH BOOK-THE BOOK OF DENOMINATIONS.
Denominations 1:1 And man said let us write our man-made creeds and traditions for men to invent their salvation. 2. Let us use church traditions to supersede the word of God. 3. Let us correct the errors that God has written in the first 66 books of the Bible. 4. Let us write a book that cannot be translated in error as were the first 66 books of the Bible. 5. Let us create various and sundry denominations with different plans of salvation. 6. Let us expose the faulty doctrine of Jesus and the apostles. 7. Let us name different denominations that express our individual man-made views about God, salvation, and the requirement for the forgiveness from sins. 8. Let us name these denominations:
The Roman Catholic Church
The Baptist Church
The Methodist Church
The Salvation Army
The Seventh Day Adventist Church
The Church of Latter Day Saints
The Jehovah’s Witness Church
The Anglican Church
The Pentecostal Church
The Christian Science Church
The Unitarian Universalist Church
The Nazarene Church
The Community Church
ETC.
ETC.
ETC.
The fictionalized Book of Denominations has not been canonized because men are still adding their man-made opinions.
Extremely powerful, Bosco, this passionate & truly inspiring call to faith.
Thank you.
Something like this has been needed for a long time.
On Easter day at the breakfast that follows the 8am service, one of the people said very forcefully ‘why do we have that dreadful creed? (Nicene) Surely it puts people off coming to church!’
I invited him to discuss the creed with the other members of the breakfast club, because this is an intelligent thoughtful group of people, who I reasoned might have something helpful to say. They didn’t take the bate at all.
I loved the clip, but I’m not sure it advances the discussion at all.
Thanks, Jenny. I wonder if my section on the Creed in my book Celebrating Eucharist would help this discussion. It could be copied (with attribution ;-)) in a pew sheet. It particularly refers to Easter Day as appropriate to re-affirm our baptism. Blessings.
A friend of mine once observed that if you listen, the congregation sounds a bit like the Borg Collective from Star Trek when they recite the Creed. Hopefully thoughtful resources like this will help us — regardless of how we sound in unison — avoid BEING the mindless, soulless Borg when we say these words.
This so simple and beautiful! I love it!
When I took instructions to join the Orthodox, the first meeting (these were all individual meetings, mind you!) focused on the corporate nature of “church” – of the assembly of the faithful God calls into being, and the entire set of instructions was based on the creed. One meeting for each person of the Trinity, another for the Trinity itself, and so on. I was nearly 65 and had a lot of prior religious training (including going to Catholic college), but I found this “grounding in Orthodoxy” experience to be something I drank in like a thirsty soul. (Even though I didn’t know I was thirsty!)
At that point, even before the instructions, I felt like I had recovered the “simple faith” of childhood. And by that I mean my faith felt really “simple” – like a child’s trust.
The creed is wonderful, I think, because it shows us where the boundaries lie. If we call all agree on these profound truths, hammered out so long ago, if we can learn to dwell in them and with them, if we could all just agree that some things are indisputable (even if unfathomable to a great degree), if we can recognize that there is “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism” – and if we can learn to accept that other things (outside the creed) are naturally going to invite different perspectives… then, maybe, we’ll feel this sense of a Large Tent of Christianity. (I feel that already. I long for more unity! And more compassion!)
Thank you for your blog, Bosco! I follow just a handful of blogs… so that says a lot!
Peace be with you. Every day. In every way.
Thanks, TheraP. I hope people have appreciated the recent Orthodox lecture here. I know you did. I have kept coming back to it. That lecture expresses well the need to have this “straight line” to measure against. There is so much that Orthodoxy can teach all. I concur with the ability to live in a Large Tent Christianity from orthodox foundations. Blessings.
Like water in a parched and thirsty land. Thankyou. I cried and cried (as my granddaughter once said).
Thanks, Barbara. I’m moved by your response. Blessings.
THE 67TH BOOK OF THE BIBLE
The 67th book of the Bible has not been canonized as of now because this fictionalized book has not been completed. The 67th book is being written by men and is inspired by man’s opinions. This book is post 100 AD until the the present.
THE 67TH BOOK-THE BOOK OF DENOMINATIONS.
Denominations 1:1 And man said let us write our man-made creeds and traditions for men to invent their salvation. 2. Let us use church traditions to supersede the word of God. 3. Let us correct the errors that God has written in the first 66 books of the Bible. 4. Let us write a book that cannot be translated in error as were the first 66 books of the Bible. 5. Let us create various and sundry denominations with different plans of salvation. 6. Let us expose the faulty doctrine of Jesus and the apostles. 7. Let us name different denominations that express our individual man-made views about God, salvation, and the requirement for the forgiveness from sins. 8. Let us name these denominations:
The Roman Catholic Church
The Baptist Church
The Methodist Church
The Salvation Army
The Seventh Day Adventist Church
The Church of Latter Day Saints
The Jehovah’s Witness Church
The Anglican Church
The Pentecostal Church
The Christian Science Church
The Unitarian Universalist Church
The Nazarene Church
The Community Church
ETC.
ETC.
ETC.
The fictionalized Book of Denominations has not been canonized because men are still adding their man-made opinions.
YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com
Thanks, Steve. Did you mean the 25th, 74th, or 78th book of the Bible? Blessings.