Just What IS the purpose of a Creed?

I hope PS doesn't think I'm picking on her but her response to my blog on the Athanasian Creed was so modern but so NOT what the original purpose of the creeds were it got me thinking...

PS says she is not familiar with this creed and she doesn't like to confess something she hasn't read before because she doesn't know if she believes it or not.  It reminds me of a former parish that only used the Apostles Creed and became peeved with me when I would drag out the Nicene creed.  Their complaint?  The "we"  "Pastor, how can I say 'we believe' when I don't know for sure what others believe?"

First of all I'm very sympathetic to PS's complaint when it comes to all these new fangled made up creeds ("I believe in the pink goddess who dances across creation showering us with love and chocolate sprinkles" ~you know what I mean).  I don't know who said it but I agree with whoever it was that said "If someone didn't die for this creed, I'm not confessing it" or something like that.

But historically creeds are about not what we or the fellow next to us personally and individually believes or doesn't believe.   The three ecumenical creeds - The Apostles, Nicene and Athansian Creed are what define a Christian church.  They are the teaching of the church.  The idea of professing the creeds is not so much for you to proclaim what you personally believe but for you to learn and accept what the church teaches.  I know how that sounds to modern individualistic ears - Who decided THAT?  Why don't I get a vote?

Maybe the creeds could use some updating.  And there are Christian churches who eschew creeds because they think it is about YOUR personal profession of faith.  Lutherans are still catholic in that it is about what the church professes and we believe there is something about the liturgy that shapes our faith, so that even if I don't personally agree with every  sentence in the creed, I am part of the of the great communion of saints who have professed this faith throughout the centuries who may or may not have personally agreed with every line.  And saying the creed changes and shapes me and my faith. 


I wish we could update the creeds but without an ecumenical council to agree we'd just end up with that pink chocolate fairy....

Athanasian Creed

Now this is the catholic faith:

We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither
confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being.

For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is
still another.

But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in
glory, coeternal in majesty.

What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit.

~Athanasian Creed

I remember when we used to recite the Athanasian Creed every Trinity Sunday.  I remember it being very long and full of threats of burning in hell if you don't agree with it.

In preparation for this Sunday's sermon I took another perusal of it.  Parts of it are really quite beautiful.  Most of it in fact.  But what did I remember?  Lines like this "whoever does not guard it whole and inviolable will doubtless persih eternally...those who have done evil will enter eternal fire"  That's actually the only two lines about hell in a beautiful treatise about the Trinity.  But those two lines are ALL I remembered.

And that's the problem.   I know there are some all upset that it's not in the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship book.  And yes,  there would be a real advantage to people reciting the bulk of this creed a few times a year.   Maybe they'd stop thinking the Trinity was like an apple.  But what would catch their attention and what they would remember is the part about those who do evil will go to hell.   And it's not worth it.  People who want people who do evil to go to hell would feel all smug and satisfied.  People who know they have done evil would be terrified and unbelievers would say "See - those Christians just want to send everyone to hell"  And the Gospel would be lost.

And that's really a damned shame.