I Believe . . .

Genesis 1 (Creation story)
Luke 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son)

On Sunday, September 12, Pastor Dave Hunter began a new fall sermon series on The Apostles' Creed by focusing upon the need for creeds and confessions in contemporary society. According to the findings of the Barna Group's "Third Millennium Teen" survey,

"63 percent of churched youth don't believe that Jesus is the Son of the one true God, 58 percent believe all faiths teach equally valid truths, and 51 percent don't believe Jesus rose from the dead." (My emphasis, McDowell and Luce; for more teen statistics, see the Barna Group topic "Teenagers.")

Consequently, says Mr. Hunter, the beginning of The Apostles' Creed with "I believe" is significant. The Apostles' Creed began as an oral document, deliberately not written down in order to protect the infant faith and its adherents from persecution. Over the years, the confession developed further as a statement of our faith's tenets.

Many of the statements in the early confession helped distinguish the nascent Christian faith from the older, more established Eastern religions which surrounded it. The words "in God the Father"--although the product of a patriarchal society--were not meant to establish the superiority of males but to help illustrate and emphasize a close, personal relationship with God and God's creation. The image of God as a parent helps establish our position in the universe as God's children and as brothers and sisters of each other.

The adjective "Almighty" points to our belief that God is in charge and expresses our assurance that--despite our limited understanding of God's will--God's love and power will prevail in the universe.

The phrase "Maker of Heaven and Earth" expresses two fundamental beliefs:

1. As the Genesis story concludes, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Creation is good. We need not transcend and deny the material world. It is God's creation. It is good.
2. The earth still belongs to the Lord. While we humans may have dominion of the world, it is God's and we must keep the world in good shape through good stewardship.