Crezul crestinilor

”Creeds are not only necessary; they are also helpful. Creeds help us answer very old and very difficult questions. Too many people today try to answer these questions as if they were the first person to face the issue. The sad truth is that they are like the frustrated little boy who wonders how he can make one of his toys move faster. He begins to wonder if he could stop dragging his toy along the ground and make it move more smoothly. He asks himself, “What would help my toys move faster and what would it look like? What shape would it take? How could things move faster than being dragged on the ground? The agonizing problem seems laughable to those of us who desperately want the little fellow to take a look at the wheels on his father’s car. Wouldn’t that help? Creeds help us like this. They keep us from trying to reinvent the wheel.
The ancient creeds of the church are God’s gift to us; they are not doctrinal entanglements. Ironically, they are not the cause of doctrinal controversy; they are the answer to it. We should be happy to know that the ancient creeds of the church can liberate us from the frustrations of doctrinal controversy. They ease the burden of reinventing the wheel and lift us onto the shoulders of men who have gone before us. This is a great benefit. This gives us a very good advantage. For instance, instead of trying to create a wheel, we can move on to other things. We can, for example, work on fine-tuning the engine or make the interior more comfortable.
Creeds are like lights in a dark world. There is always a lot of theological work to be done, but it is easier to do the work in the light rather than in the dark. We don’t need to turn off the lights and grope around in the darkness. Creeds can act like lights in dark times. In the middle of a difficult controversy, creeds can help to clear away the confusion and provide us with guidance. In certain settings, groping in the dark can be quite dangerous. Thus, to ignore the light and guidance of creeds would be folly and arrogance.
I have heard some people say that they don’t want to depend on other people for truth. They would prefer to work it out on their own. “All I need,” they say, “is Jesus and my Bible.” They act as if depending on the work of others diminishes independence of thought. This, however, is not the Christian approach to life. Indeed, it is nothing more than arrogance cloaked in false piety.”

Jackson, L. C. (2007). Faith of our fathers: A study of the Nicene Creed (3). Moscow, ID: Canon Press.

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Rostirea Crezului la Biserica Strajerul(penticostala, Iasi)