Affirmation of our beliefs as Christians

laoda99 SG

In my church, we use the Apostles' Creed to affirm what we believe in. In this time of apostasy, I feel it is necessary for us to constantly remind ourselves what we really believe as Christians:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.

The Elder SG

Amen. Come Lord Jesus. We are still waiting for the resurrection of the body & the judgement.

breytonhartge SG

if it is the apostles creed, my question is why is it related to the holy catholic church????

The next question to follow is then why would the protestant churches be reciting this as they have separated and distanced themselves from the catholic church because by reciting it, they then go back to saying they believe in the holy catholic church???

It seems that there is some confusion here... Confused

Chin Eng SG

sigh!!!!

source: http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/catholic
catholic (in lower case):

ADJECTIVE:

Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive: "The 100-odd pages of formulas and constants are surely the most catholic to be found" (Scientific American).
Including or concerning all humankind; universal: "what was of catholic rather than national interest" (J.A. Froude).
Catholic
Of or involving the Roman Catholic Church.
Of or relating to the universal Christian church.
Of or relating to the ancient undivided Christian church.
Of or relating to those churches that have claimed to be representatives of the ancient undivided church.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English catholik, universally accepted, from Old French catholique, from Latin catholicus, universal, from Greek katholikos, from katholou, in general : kat-, kata-, down, along, according to ; see cata- + holou (from neuter genitive of holos, whole; see sol- in Indo-European roots)

Note that in all Protestant publications with the Apostles Creed, catholic is always in lower case, and some even have a footnote that qualifies the word.

breytonhartge SG

but you can see how the confusion can take place?

I have often long wondered about this. In my time at wesley(some 7 years), whenever we recited the apostles creed, we were handed sheets of paper and I do not ever remember seeing a qualification to this... care to share? Admittedly, I always attended praise and worship and not the traditional service.... Embarassed

Chin Eng SG

The qualification is in the official United Methodist Hymnal.

breytonhartge SG

oh well, will just have to look it up. Confused

laoda99 SG

In my church (traditional), think now we use a version which omitted the word "catholic". Previously Pastors explained by word of mouth as we use Powerpoint.

Chin Eng SG

Definition of the Apostles' Creed found in the United Methodist Church website, glossary page.

"The affirmation of faith most widely used by United Methodists. The Apostles' Creed derives its name from its use in the Christian church from as early as A.D. 150 and the early belief that it was used by the apostles. Beginning in the third century, this creed was used at baptisms by the Roman Catholic Church. Through the years it has been used widely by both Roman Catholics and Protestants as the formative statement of the faith into which Christians are baptized."

If the word "catholic" exists even before the formation of the Roman Catholic church, then there is no reason to exclude it from the Apostles' Creed.

laoda99 SG

yes...catholic church do not mean the "Roman Catholic Church".

Chin Eng SG

yah loh, but then the will always be people that needed explanation - which is why in the United Methodist Hymnal, there is a footnote (or something - I gotta check and maybe I take a photo) Laughing

vince69 SG

something like this?

*The word "catholic" refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chin Eng SG

quite zhun leh!

If people take offense at having the "c" word in the Apostles' Creed, they better also take offense at the world "Bible" at most reference books at Kinokuniya - we need to note that we do not have the copyright to Bible, which simply means "The Book"..... so we should all be at peace when we read the Photoshop Bible.

sgdiehard SG

I am a Baptist, we don't "recite" Apostle Creed. It is just an affirmation of our faith. We remember it by heart as a short summary of what we believe.

The word "Catholic" was replaced by "universal" to avoid confusion.

Really no need to argue. Neutral