Are We Non-Creedal or Something Else? —The Nicene Creed for Non-Creedal Christians Post #5

 

                I began this series of posts, which will extend through this year, with the intent to offer a take on the Nicene Creed from a Non-Creedal perspective. The 1700^th anniversary of the Nicene Creed stands at the center of this effort. The creed and the council that it is connected with was the focus of last week’s bilateral dialogue between representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I serve as co-chair of this dialogue, so I am very invested in the conversation we are having. Many from both denominations are interested in this effort, which is now in its sixth year. We began the dialogue in 2020 but did not meet in person until 2022. We have covered several areas as we have gotten to know each other and each other’s traditions.

One of the areas of interest/concern centers on the role of the ecumenical creeds in our two traditions. For Lutherans, while Scripture is primary (sola scriptura), the creeds (including the Athanasian Creed) are of central importance as interpreters of Scripture. Disciples, on the other hand, do not place the creeds at the center of our ecclesial life. That has led to the assumption that Disciples are anti-creedal, which is a mistaken idea (though many Disciples take an anti-creedal stance). Instead, we have identified ourselves as being non-creedal. But, even that term is negative. In the course of our conversations, we pondered the question of whether there is a better way to identify ourselves. Perhaps covenantal or confessional (confessing) might be better. As one of our team members noted, Disciples identify as non-creedal largely in response to the charge that we are anti-creedal. The truth is, that Alexander Campbell believed that the Apostles Creed was a useful summation of the biblical message. What Disciples resisted was making creeds a test of fellowship. While it is not used with great frequency, the Preamble to the Design (the constitution for the Disciples) is a confession of faith.  It is even trinitarian in structure.

As members of the Christian Church,

We confess that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of the living God,

and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.

In Christ’s name and by his grace

we accept our mission of witness

and service to all people.

We rejoice in God,

maker of heaven and earth,

and in God’s covenant of love

which binds us to God and to one another.

Through baptism into Christ

we enter into newness of life

and are made one with the whole people of God.

In the communion of the Holy Spirit

we are joined together in discipleship

and in obedience to Christ.

At the Table of the Lord

we celebrate with thanksgiving

the saving acts and presence of Christ.

Within the universal church

we receive the gift of ministry

and the light of scripture.

In the bonds of Christian faith

we yield ourselves to God

that we may serve the One

whose kingdom has no end.

Blessing, glory, and honor

be to God forever. Amen.

As can be seen in this confession of faith, the suggestion that we are anti-creedal doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the same is true of non-creedal, except in terms of the usage of the creeds, confessions, and affirmations of faith. As I noted in my reflection on the relationship that we each wrote for the meeting, the issue isn’t the content of the creeds but the way they are used. We know that the creed first developed at Nicaea in 325 and then expanded in the Council of Constantinople in 381 to exclude Arius and his followers. Neither the ELCA nor the Disciples intend to use this Creed or any creed as a means of exclusion, but that has been the concern voiced by Disciples since our movement originated in the early 19^th century.  

                I want to take note of the conclusion offered by our presenter representing the ELCA at the meeting, Carmelo Santos-Rolón. He writes: “I have argued in his paper that creeds and confessions of faith can be helpful means for communities of faith to define their identity, to establish healthy boundaries, and to enter into meaningful relationships with others but have often been distorted into idols and used as weapons to attack those with whom we disagree.” The question that he also raises concerns whether the inherited creeds and confessions “adequately reflect back to the community the faith that is constitutive of their identity.” These are good questions to ponder, even regarding the Preamble to the Design.

                For Disciples, we have embraced the idea that when creeds and confessions are used to exclude, they fail to serve their purpose. On the other hand, it is useful for Disciples, who seek to give people the freedom to develop their own understandings of the faith, that “As members of the Christian Church, we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.” In other words, we have put in place healthy boundaries in the sense that we identify ourselves with Jesus. That is foundational. With that in mind, I share this word from our Disciples presenter, Dr. Kristine Culp.

At their best, creeds articulate in whom and in what we trust and to whom and to what we are loyal. They also confess the limits of our apprehension and recognition, the limits of knowledge of ourselves, others, our communities, the world, and God. They are still capable of erecting harmful barriers “to keep other Christians out or to keep our Christians in, or both.” However, they can also create spaces of recognition and shared worship and work that allow us to invite others in or to join with others. Creeds do this not only by what they confess, but also by how they allow us to confess together. They can foster hubris and exclusion, but they can also foster humility, and possibly even inclusion, by enabling us to recognize and confess together that we are not self-made, that we must depend on others and on the One who made us and who is with us. They can affirm what Scripture tells about the reality of suffering and hope, and its testimony to reunion in love, to an ultimate justice, and to glory beyond our imagining. The Nicene Creed tells us that Christ is not a creature, but rather is the key to the cosmos and to divine mysteries, including God’s gracious yet mysterious ways of being with and for us creatures.

I believe that this is a helpful description of how creeds can function for even communities, like the Disciples, which bear witness to the dangers of using creeds as weapons, as Carlos noted.

                I will have much more to say, but with these thoughts in front of us, in answer to the question of whether there is a better way to describe ourselves as Disciples than the term non-creedal, we can simply say that we do not deny the truthfulness of the creeds, but we do not use them as a test of fellowship. Additionally, since Restructure in the 1960s we have identified ourselves as a covenantal church, confessing our faith in community incarnationally. That takes us back to the primacy of the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Therefore, we can also describe ourselves as a confessional people.  

                For more information about the recent dialogue, see the press release provided by the two teams. https://www.disciplescuim.org/2025/02/24/disciples-and-lutherans-deepen-ecumenical-dialogue-and-explore-new-pathways-for-partnership/  I should note here that what I’ve shared represents my own perspective on these matters and not the teams or the denominations, except what is shared in the press release. That has some official sanction!