This might be a little late for some of you, but I wanted to go ahead and put it out there that I am no longer a Creedal Christian.
Some of you won’t be too surprised by that statement. If you’ve been paying attention to my books and blogs and podcasts the last two or three years, you’ve already noticed my shifting away from Creedal Christianity.
But others might not even know what I mean by “Creedal Christianity” or why I might now reject such a concept.
Here’s a quick overview for you:
Creedal Christianity is the term for someone who embraces the early Christian Creeds, of which there are three: the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed. [Some might add the Creed of Chalcedon to this list].
Essentially, they all lay out the basic beliefs that a Christian MUST embrace in order to be considered a TRUE CHRISTIAN.
Now, before I go much farther let me be clear: I am not against anyone who does embrace or believe these Creeds, or anyone who refers to themselves as a Creedal Christian. This post is about why I am not a Creedal Christian and should not be considered an attack on Christians who identify as Creedal.
For the record, I have many friends who are Creedal Christians. I am invited often to speak at churches that repeat these Creeds as part of their regular worship services. It is not wrong or evil to affirm the Creeds. I affirm them myself.
But, I do have a few problems with these Creeds…
First, I don’t think that beliefs are what make us Christian or not. It is not primarily what we BELIEVE that makes us “Christ-like” but what we DO.
So, I would suggest that what Jesus was most concerned about was Orthopraxy [how we live our lives] and not about Orthodoxy [what doctrines we believe in our heads].
Secondly, it has always concerned me that none of these creeds ever mention everything Jesus said and did between the manger and the cross. As if all he came to do was to be born of a virgin or die on a cross.
Seriously? Why don’t the creeds emphasize the TEACHINGS of Jesus? Isn’t that the most important thing Jesus did? What about the Sermon on the Mount? Why isn’t that ever reference in ANY of these Creeds?
Finally, this is really why I cannot call myself a Creedal Christian anymore, because all of these creeds were formulated after the influence of Emperor Constantine.
This passage from Elaine Pagel’s book, BEYOND BELIEF, about the origins of the Nicene Creed, explains what I’m saying beautifully:
“To strengthen his own alliance with church leaders and to unify factious Christian groups into one harmonious structure, Constantine charged bishops from churches through the empire to meet at his expense at Nicaea, an inland city, near a large lake, to work out a standard formulation of Christian faith. From that meeting and its aftermath, during tumultuous decades that followed, emerged the Nicene Creed that would effectively clarify and elaborate the “canon of truth,” along with that we call the canon – the list of twenty-seven writings which would become the New Testament. Together these would establish what Irenaeus had envisioned – a worldwide communion of “orthodox” Christians joined into one “catholic and apostolic” church.” [pg. 170]
Simply put, Creedal Christianity is Constantinian Christianity. It is an attempt to silence the voices of hundreds [perhaps thousands or millions] of other Christ-followers who had sincere faith in Christ that did not align perfectly with the views of those Bishops who sat on Constantine’s council.
This is the reason why the Gospels of Philip, and Thomas, and Mary and other ancient Christian texts were suppressed, buried, shredded and burned. This is why the writings of Valentinus, and his followers were forbidden to be taught and eventually destroyed.
My point is this: That all of us have the right to make up our own minds, based on our own individual experiences of Christ, what is true and what is inspired by God. Just like every Christian did for over 300 years prior to Constantine or the Councils that later decided for everyone else who was right and who was wrong.
Let’s not forget that those who disagreed with these bishops and creeds were tortured, burned alive, and killed for disagreeing with these creeds. The same Christians who were once persecuted, tortured and killed by the Roman Empire were now turning to persecute, torture and kill one another under the authority of that same Roman Empire. Only now, for some reason, this evil was acceptable and sanctified by the Emperor.
Imagine, the followers of Jesus twisted into violence against their own brothers and sisters in Christ over disagreements of doctrine.
This is not only sad, it’s perverse and diabolical.
So, this is why I cannot ever call myself a Creedal Christian again.
Do I affirm what those Creeds say? Yes, for the most part, although I might define some of those terms or nuance the meaning of those statements slightly different than others, I have no problem with what those Creeds say. I just have a problem with what they DON’T say, and with the dark and bloody history of their origin and their oppressive use against people throughout Church history.
For the record, I am not a Creedal Christian. I am a follower of Christ who affirms the life and teachings of Jesus. I am a believer in the words of Christ as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Mary, Thomas, Philip and the Gospel of Truth, among other texts. I am someone who embraces the mystery of God along with the revelation and inspiration of poets and mystics from across the entire span of human history – people like Buddha, Valentinus, Rumi, Black Elk, al-Hallaj, Kahlil Gibran, St. Teresa of Avila and many others who have experienced the presence of the Living God and shared their stories with us. I am someone who believes that Christ is in all of us, and that we all share a Divine Humanity and that the human race must awaken to our shared identity if we ever hope to survive.
Now, you might call the paragraph above my own personal Creed. And perhaps it is, but here’s the difference: I would never force anyone to agree with my personal Creed, or condemn anyone who doesn’t accept my view.
We all have the power and the responsibility to experience the Divine Spirit of God for ourselves and to make up our own minds about what qualifies as “inspired of God” or not.
This is what Christians did for over 300 years before Constantine showed up and forced us to all agree on doctrines, texts and creeds.
I refuse to follow Constantine. I refuse to conform to the Creedal Christianity he designed for us to follow.
The Kingdom of God is within you. The Son of Man is alive in all of us. We are the ones in whom Christ lives and moves and has being. The same Christ who fills everything in every way.
Taste and see for yourself that God is good. Look and see the face of God in your neighbor. Recognize the Divine presence in the ones who oppose you. Realize the truth that you are in God, and I am in you, and you are in me.
This is the truth that will save us. This is the reality that Jesus pointed us to.
The world will not change until we change.
Love is the only law.
The newest book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>
Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”
He co-hosts The Heretic Happy Hour Podcast and his solo podcast, Second Cup With Keith which are both available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Podbean or wherever you find your podcast fix.