DeCreed-ing

Over my previous few Posts I have debunked the concept of creeding using the not so dogmatic Apostles Creed. The most important thing to have kept in mind is that the creed was devised to make sense of the mark of a Christian as drawn from the understanding of the Bible and the theology of the times.

Now and most definitely now, not only does the Creed not fit in with evolving Christian Beliefs but is a poor comfort for a world immersed in Covid. The Creed is a collection of 12 Statements, not of comfort but like a kind of examination which must be passed so that one might enter the Club.

We are in that Club by whatever rites determined our entry and now, after a lifetime or even a wee time we find – I find a need for something more simple. I know Paul has said – Back to the Bible. To read and to determine for ourselves a new way according to it and to the thought processess on the study of the Word of God as it is today.

The simplicity to image the Christ as the God who walks, beside me, a friend with whom I can converse, without worrying about the chain of niceties required to not do so. The Gospel writers record that Jesus himself said that we were to pray to the Father in his name, Catholics add to that through the Holy Spirit.

But that is prayer, what about a chat? That isn’t formality ruled by any nicety of Trinity, concocted by Constantine”s Council for the world to argue over.

I guess you had to have sussed that I am going through some queries about all of this else I would not be writing as I have.

Ice, water and steam, white, yolk and shell, clover leaves etal do not cut it anymore because as a Chatechist when I used to have to deal with the T word I was never convinced myself by the explanations they presented as examples by which to instruct our students. NB Instruct- Faith is Caught not Taught, and no end of learning would net the Fish of Faith.

I had the privilige to take a group of Children from Reconciliation to Confirmation, to watch them grow and develop or not in their Faith. To learn to question and to answer, I watched them being tapped on the cheek by the then Bishop of Woolongong-entering into full communion with the Roman Church.

Some of them, I know are making their mark on the church – they have gone on to be Ordained or becoming leaders in their Congregations. Some have changed denominations, as I have – I have been a High Church of Englander, a Baptist, a Methodist, a Uniting Churchman, a member of the Church of Christ, an AngloCatholic, a Latin Rite Catholic – and was Ordained an Ecumenical Franciscan Priest by a Celtic Bishop. Well, now I am mid-way through the Laicisation Process which will return my freedom of expression from Bishropic Veto.

Not quite the vagabond I seem since some of these descisions were determined by which denomination existed in the Bush, or which appeared the sanest, the Baptists in M were a terrifying bunch of Pentecostals – yet I found myself very much at home in the Catholic Charismatic movement during the 80s here. We left the Baptists at C since they had nothing positive to say about any of the other churches and I won’t stay where worship is vile -if-ication.

Currently I seem to be in some sort of cocoon and a very quiet unstressed place – which is nice, my bipolar has gone on holiday and my epilepsy undercover. Yet no longer do I have an active prayer life – I just don’t know what to say after the customary ‘hello’.

My beliefs are changing radically, I know my current pastor is concerned that he has a renegade Ecumenical Catholic Priest in his parish and sometimes he looks terrified about the things I question.

Back to the Bible can never mean Sola Scriptura but Informed by current understandings, otherwise the Fundalmental outcome will be more Witch hunts, as of yore when we took the Bible literally.

For me a walk through Scripture with the God who walks the earth, from whom I have always received comfort in my doubts is going to suffice, Not the reading of scripture against Fundamental Predjudice or irrational Dogma.

Leaving you with some double dutch from Catholics on the defence.