Walking in the Valley A bi-weekly column, featuring one Christian's (a)musings on life's journey by Barbara Dahlgren

Unity of the Faith Column for the weeks of September 16-30, 2008

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Non-Christians are confused. Why do we have so many different Christian denominations? After all, do we not all believe in Christ? Where is the unity of the faith?

This is nothing new. Christianity has always been in some state of crisis. New philosophies with just enough truth to make one doubt what they believe become popular. Oprah’s New Age Course in Miracles is a modern example. These teachings are disconcerting, yet they can make true Christians evaluate their core beliefs, which is not such a bad thing.

When Christianity was beginning, such teachings were rampant. In the first three centuries, the church was often forced into secrecy and seclusion. As a result, many theological disputes arose, especially concerning the divinity of Jesus Christ. Here are just a few.

Arianism was the teaching of Arius, a priest in the Alexandrian church. He taught that Jesus Christ was not eternal, divine in nature or at one with God, but a human being or perhaps a medium. This contradicted the Trinity.

Apollinarianism was the teaching of Apollinarius who was once an Arian took an opposite view. He taught that Jesus was totally divine, had no human nature at all, and could not be tempted.

Monarchianism originated with Paul of Samosata, the bishop of Antioch. This flamboyant preacher aroused suspicion by requesting applause for his sermons, having choirs sing praises to him, and amassing a large fortune through questionable means. He also denied the Trinity and taught Jesus was a man who achieved divinity through personal righteousness.

Manicheus, the founder of Manicheanism, re-interpreted much of the Christian message to fit into the Gnostic belief system (humans are divine souls trapped in a material world by an imperfect god). Manicheanism viewed humans as evil. Only the soul was good. Unfortunately only death could liberate the soul from the body. Manicheanism also held to extreme ascetic practices. Although it has completely vanished, Manicheanism was once a major world religion. St. Augustine was once a Manichee before he converted to Christianity.

When Constantine became the Roman Emperor in 306, he converted to Christianity. By 313 his Edict of Milan proclaimed religious tolerance throughout his empire. Christians no longer had to hide what they believed. However, with the above teachings creeping into Christian belief, Constantine soon discovered Christianity divided over certain issues. To bring unity, he convened a council of 318 bishops in the year 325 that met in the city of Nicaea. The result was the Nicene Creed, which affirmed the divinity of Jesus. It was confirmed and revised by 150 other bishops in the First Council of Constantinople in 381 to assure the Holy Spirit was worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son – and to specifically condemn Arianism.

The Nicean/Constantinople creed is still a standard of belief for many Christian churches today. Below is the 1975 ecumenical version agreed upon by the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET) and published in The Book of Common Prayer. The reference to “the holy catholic Church” refers to the universal church, not the denomination.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
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.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

I like to read this creed often because it deals with core values of Christianity and not peripheral issues some churches would rather emphasize. If denominations focused more on these words that unite Christians and less on doctrines of division, perhaps we could have more unity of the faith.

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.