Today, we need the Apostles’ Creed more than ever, but in our current church culture, there is a tendency to reject words for an emotional experience. Far too often, we see performance-driven worship use imagery to draw us into a higher emotional state.
I read an article a while ago that has stuck with me. The author described how, during a conversation with several people, he was asked, “What do you believe?” By his own admission, he struggled to come up with just the right words to describe his faith, and by the time he had something, the moment had passed.
You may have been in a similar situation; I know that I certainly have. Yet my answer was almost automatic:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Now that may have been more than the questioner was looking for, but it does describe what I believe and what orthodox Christians have believed for over two millennia. (This is the old English version that I memorized as a child and the one I still use—I just like to say, “from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” A modern English version can be found here.)
In the small, rural south Florida Presbyterian church where I grew up, the Apostles’ Creed was an integral part of our worship service. Every Sunday, the pastor asked us, “Christian, what do you believe?” And we responded with the Creed. By the time I was five, I knew it by heart—quite an accomplishment for someone so dyslexic that I still have trouble with the order of the alphabet.