Making Sense of the Faith

5 Making Sense of the

A. Maintaining “”. As the movement grew and expanded beyond Palestine, often to escape Jewish persecution, its understanding and preaching of the developed as it met Greek and Roman cultures and philosophies. The need was felt to ensure “orthodox” i.e., “right doctrine”, and to preserve unity and purity of belief among .

B. Early “heresies”. Heresy from Greek haeresis, “choice, selection” with rejection of a revealed truth, resulting in expulsion from , “excommunication”. “supermarket beliefs”: pick and choose. A false doctrine condemned by church: may be exaggeration of one aspect of truth to denial of rest e.g., humanity of or of Christ; need for grace or need for human effort; adaptation or continuance of beliefs; i.e., overemphasis to point of exclusion. Formal heresy: a knowing and deliberate denial of truth; Material heresy: inadvertent, in good faith, inherited. Has stimulated, helped church clarify its beliefs, make them more precise. : Jesus not really ; a divine being created and subordinate to Father. “The Father is greater than I” Jn 14.28. Egyptian theologian in 3-4 cc. Arianism became deeply divisive in , condemned in early councils. “The Father and I are one” Jn 10.30. Rejected in Nicene . : Jesus not really human, just appears to be (dokei: seems). Attacked in 1 Jn 4.2, in apostolic writers and in . “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the is from God” 1 Jn 4.2. : a spiritual and dualist knowledge (gnosis) imparting only to elite initiates, condemning the material as evil. Attacked by Paul 1 Cor and John and Fathers.

C. Protecting and developing belief. Preserving purity of belief, increasing understanding of and maintaining church unity brought about in four major ways in early Church: Recognising Influence of authoritative leaders: “overseers” episkopoi, ; Forming a “” of scripture: i.e., gradually officially accepting a list of apostolic writings, sometimes after hesitation, e.g., , Hebrews; sometimes rejecting them (, rediscovered 1970s). See Cat 120-30; Convening local and general Councils of bishops to define Church teaching and condemn errors; Composing creeds of beliefs ( = “I believe”): brief, memorable formulas of required beliefs; taught/explained to converts. From second century they became polemical, repressive, refuting deviations. “The advantage of credal statements was that almost anyone was capable of learning them quickly to standardise belief and put up barriers against speculation or what was likely to be a boundless set of disagreements about what the Christian scriptures actually meant”, MacCulloch, 129. Cat 185-97.

D. Early Christian “creeds”. Paul, 1 Cor. 15:3-7; Phil. 2:6-11. Summary formulas preached on, instructed in, learned by heart. Two traditional forms: Declaratory creed: whole recited from memory, preparing for , used in liturgy. Interrogatory creed: reply “I believe” to three Trinitarian questions; cf Vigil renewal. immersed after each. Naturally, early stress on Christological events, but always in context of his Father, and accompanied by reference to the Spirit. Later rebutted current errors. The ’ Creed. Claimed the authority of the apostles: piously believed from that composed by them to ensure unity after dispersing to preach the Gospel, contributing a clause each under inspiration of . But based on Old Roman Creed. “The Creed of the Roman Church, the see of Peter, the first of the apostles,” , 4th c., in cat. 194. Trinitarian to reflect baptismal formula Mt 28.19 or full preaching; earlier more Christological. : Generally accepted by most Christian bodies since 4th c. “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen….” Against Manicheeism, principle of evil. “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, . . .eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father… consubstantial, homousios”. Against Arianism. “He became incarnate of the Mary and became man…“ Against docetism. “ascended into heaven and is seated…” 3-decker universe. Omits “he descended into hell:” = really died, and went to underworld to save the dead: (“he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison”, 1 Pet 3.19). Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed. Arianism was surviving, alongside controversies about how Christ was both divine and human. Also controversy moved to whether the Holy Spirit was divine. Emperor summoned First Council of 381, which reaffirmed Nicene creed, and included clause on Holy Spirit, to become Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (cat 687-744). “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.”

E. “” controversy between Eastern and Western Churches. Establishment of Byzantium as new capital Constantinople by Emperor Constantine in 4th c. began to divide Roman Empire into East and West; and as Christianity flourished, significant centres rose to become ruled by bishops as major successors of apostles: Jerusalem, , Alexandria, Antioch; later, Constantinople, “the new Rome” in Council 381. Separate development of Eastern and Western , and and Byzantine “Fathers”, and breakaway heretical groups, led to rivalries over status and disagreements on petrine jurisdiction, and notoriously the Filioque clause in Nicene Creed, resulting in mutual excommunication of Leo IX and Antiochean patriarch in 1054 (removed in 1965) and the Great . Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. In Middle Ages, the Western churches starting from Spain added in liturgy the popular phrase "and from the Son“ (Filioque) to the Constantinopolitan Creed’s formal description of the procession of the Holy Spirit “from the Father”. Much influenced by Augustine, from Jn 16.14: “he will take what is mine and declare it to you”, and it strengthened the equality of Son and Father against Arianism. Earlier was “from the Father through the Son”. Double procession of Spirit and Filioque fiercely rejected by Eastern Churches as non-conciliar, but championed by in 8th c. against Eastern Empire, leading to Great Schism. Apparent reconciliation at rejected by Greeks. Still maintained. The “Quicumque vult” 4th c. Probably not composed by Greek St Athanasius. Concentrates on and , emphasises equality of three persons in the Trinity and adds for denial. Repetitive, difficult to recite. Chalcedonian Creed 451: Two natures in Christ born of Mary (God-bearer: a Christological statement).

F. Reformed professions of faith: statements of agreed differences from Rome. The Confessio Augustana, 1530. The Confession of the Diet of Augsburg marked breach with Rome and became primary confession of faith of the Lutheran church. Composed by Melanchthon from Luther, presented by Protestant cities to Emperor Charles V seeking peace, and unity against Turks. Rejected by papal theologians. Claimed to accept early church, councils and creeds; defended Luther on faith and alone; and listed Roman abuses (no , enforced celibacy, as , detailed confession, merits, monastic life abuses, power of bishops). (Increasing modern reconciliation). 1560: The French Regent Mary of Guise died in 1560, and the Scottish Protestant nobles secured English support against France. Scottish Parliament agreed to make Scotland Protestant and commissioned John Knox and others to draw up Confession of Faith on Calvinist lines. New queen Mary opposed it, but it was later passed as law, and prevailed until Westminster Confession of Faith in 1648 replaced it. Follows early Councils and creeds on Trinity and Christology, but maintains Protestant principles on Fall and , real presence but no , rejects human inventions and Mass, refers regularly to “the elect”. True Kirk known by “the Word of God truly preached, the Sacraments rightly ministered, and discipline executed according to the Word of God” XXV.

G. Creed of (Pius IV 1565): Summarising the teaching of the Council against Protestants, so concentrated on: Church authority to interpret Bible, legitimacy of apostolic traditions, Catholic interpretation of justification, seven sacraments, sacrifice of and transubstantiation, , images and , , authority of Rome and papacy.

H. Concentration on Christ. Noticeable that most Creeds concentrate on Christ, less on the Father, and least on the Holy Spirit, for historical reasons. Two fundamental questions concern the incarnation, or God “becoming flesh” in Jesus Christ: (i) who is Jesus? (Christology) and (ii) what did Jesus do? (soteriology; soter = Gr saviour). The early Christian centuries concentrated on the first question, the being of Jesus, with less reference to what he did, i.e., his saving activity, or soteriology. “Who is Jesus?” was the focus of Christian reflection, controversy and definition in the earliest centuries, from the Council of Nicaea (325) to the (451). Chalcedon had to reiterate against the Docetists (Jesus only apparently human) and Monophysists (Jesus had only one nature) that Jesus was fully and entirely human in his human nature (and later that he had a fully human mind and a fully human will); and also (against the Arians) that he was fully divine, “of the same being (homo- ousios) with the Father” in his divine nature; the two natures, divine and human, being united in one person (the “”). What did Jesus do? With his identity defined by the early Councils, later theologians concentrated more on developing Jesus’s “salvific”, or saving, activity: “for us and for our salvation,” although this has never been formally defined to the same degree. Basically, the are professions of faith in Christ, the pre-existing , who became human to save humanity from and death. He was killed by his enemies and was restored to life by the Spirit. By committing himself totally to God as God-man he was declared “Lord” in being raised from the dead, and removing the division between humanity and God from whom they were alienated at the beginning of history. (Traditional doctrines of of and Eve and Fall of humanity). Ultimately Christ’s mission is to bring his fellow-humans to become “sharers in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1.4), to live with the inner life of God’s own generous love. Less controversy in recent centuries over soteriology than previously in Christology, so less need felt for credal explanations.

I. We believe in God Basically, the gospels are professions of faith in: - Christ, the pre-existing Son of God; - who became human; and was killed by his enemies; - and was restored to life by the Holy Spirit. - By his total loyalty to his Father as God-man; - Jesus was declared “Lord” in being raised from the dead;- and removing the division between humanity and God; - from whom they were alienated at the beginning of history. (Traditional doctrines of original sin of Adam and Eve and Fall of humanity). - Ultimately Christ’s primary mission is to bring his fellow-humans to become “sharers in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1.4); - to live for ever with the inner life of God’s own generous love.

J. Some reading. Catholic 120-130, 422-682; J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 1973; Early Christian Creeds, 2011; D. MacCulloch, A , Penguin, 2010; J. W. O’Malley, Trent. What Happened at the Council, 2013; G. O’Collins, Christology. A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus, Oxford, 2009; R. Williams, Tokens of Trust, Westminster, 2007; Frances Young, The Making of the Creeds, SCM, 2002.