Can you spot the difference between these two Greek words: homoousion and homoiousion? The first word, homoousion, means “of one being.” The second word, homoiousion, means “of like being.” These words may be distinguished by only a single letter, but their meanings are far apart. If Jesus is homoousion with the Father, then they are…
We Believe: God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, Begotten, Not Made
In 1994, my sister died from heresy. That’s not hyperbole. It’s not a metaphor. It’s the plain truth. Leslie had contracted HIV from a botched artificial insemination procedure in the late 1980s. She kept it hidden from most everyone, and in the secrecy of her illness, she searched desperately for healing. Leslie tried everything—strict diets,…
We Believe: The Only-Begotten Son of God, Eternally Begotten of the Father
A friend of mine grew up in a church that did not recognize the Nicene Creed’s definition of the Trinity. For them, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three labels that could be interchangeably applied to the one God. She and her family had since moved on to a church that confessed the Trinity, but…
We Believe: In One Lord, Jesus Christ
The word “Lord” often has bad connotations. In our culture, the three most famous Lords are Lord Vader, Lord Voldemort, and Lord Sauron. When the messianic heroes in those stories defeat their respective Lords, they do not become Lord Skywalker, Lord Potter, or Lord Baggins. The Christian gospel, on the other hand, is this: the…
We Believe: Of All That Is, Visible and Invisible
The first article of the Nicene Creed—“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth”—can easily slip by without our stopping to wonder at it. This is particularly true of the brief addendum, not found in the Apostles’ Creed, “of all that is, visible and invisible.” But this little phrase…
We Believe: Maker of Heaven and Earth
After the Nicene Creed asserts that we believe in “One God, the Father, the Almighty,” we begin to explore his characteristics. The first and most fundamental of these reflects the opening statement of the Bible itself: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From that sentence onward, Scripture leaves no…
We Believe: The Father, The Almighty
The Nicene Creed is, or should be, a familiar friend to us. The Creed is our regular and constant companion as the normative creed professed during Holy Communion. We begin by professing that we “believe in one God,” as do many other religions and spiritualities. In the words of St. James, “You believe that God…
We Believe: In One God
To Christians today, it seems hardly remarkable that the Nicene Creed should begin with a declaration of monotheism: “We believe in one God.” We tend to gloss over this line, often saying it without thinking. When we do discuss it, we can treat it as boring and basic, as monotheistic milk before the trinitarian meat….
Catechesis 3: On Building a Culture
Wendell Berry, in his 1977 book The Unsettling of America, argued that agribusiness was taking the practice of farming out of its cultural context and away from families. It was a prophetic work, and in the years since, we have seen continued decline in family farming in favor of a system that devalues community and…
Catechesis 2: Recovering the Old Ways
As I studied the ways of the ancient Church, I discovered two things. First, they had a very high standard for catechetical discipleship and subsequent Church membership, and second, that high standard only aided in their progress in evangelism. As we enter the age of Post-Christendom, it seems to me that if we seek to…
