The Nicene Creed

No. 9: A Compendium Entry for the Journey

Constantine the Great, accompanied by the bishops of the First Council of Nicaea (325) holding the first line of the main text in Greek, translated as "I believe in one God, the Father the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

I finished shaking the hand of one parishioner, holding my hand out for the next but they never took my hand. She was in her 70s with that stereotypical 1970s church lady hairdo underlined by her scowl. She looked like she had smelled something foul when she told me in no uncertain terms, “That was not a Presbyterian service!” She walked forcefully past me, refused my handshake, and exited the church. I turned to greet the next person in line and was grateful for their friendly response. But the first woman’s words stuck with me.

It wasn’t that the dramatic skit included in that day’s service was outside of the bounds of denominational approval. The Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order specifically stated that dramatic skits were acceptable. Like so many things we humans say, however, this woman didn’t mean what she said literally. She meant that the drama was not part of the Christian worship most meaningful to her.

We’ve heard these kinds of church arguments before. Christians in every time and place are tempted to make their way of being a Christian the definitive way of being a Christian; even when it comes to issues about which Christian belief has varied widely. We come to believe that our job is to stake out the truth in these debatable areas excluding those who disagree. Here are three examples: