Unchanged Value, Essay Example

The Relevance of the Nicene Creed for Modern Christian Culture

Introduction

It is arguable, if not typically an imperative, that doctrine of ancient eras require some form of adaptation to apply to a world so vastly different from that in place in its initial creation.  This is particularly true in regard to Christianity, which has so dramatically evolved in terms of denominations and participation over the many centuries of its presence.  In plain terms, it seems unlikely that any doctrine established thousands of years ago could not reflect the changing ideologies – and needs – of today’s globalized and interdenominational Christianity.  At the same time, however, a true reading of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed reveals that, in the case of this single doctrine, adaptation is both unnecessary and likely detrimental, and chiefly due to the simplicity and implacable force of the Creed as it was written.  As the following will then explore, the most valid Christian Creed for the 21^st century Christian, its essence steeped in antiquity notwithstanding, remains the Nicene Creed.

Discussion

To understand why the Nicene Creed remains fully applicable to modern Christianity, it is first necessary to examine what factors may be perceived as making alteration desirable or necessary.  Certainly, the world is in many ways utterly changed from the past in which the Creed was first adopted, if only in regard to how globalization has, in generating cultural interactions, exposed all faiths to one another.  Such processes have been historically violent, and even today intense conflict marks the relationship between the mainstream Christianity of the West and Islamic extremism.  Nonetheless, and generally speaking, there has long been a gradual sense globally that no single faith, its numbers of adherents aside, dominates, just as it is largely accepted that all faiths inherently merit respect.  Consequently, it may be argued that the Creed, so blatantly and intrinsically insistent upon Christian precepts, should be restructured in a way acknowledging the wider arena of faith extant today.  This would not be, moreover, a denial of Christianity; it must be remembered, for example, the schism created by rising Protestantism, seen at the time as antithetical to the “true” Christianity of the Catholic Church.  Put another way, the Creed as only acknowledging the existence of other faiths need not lessen its insistence on the Christian’s need to adhere to it, and may in fact be incorporated as further validating Christian principles of universal brotherhood. Then, ethical viewpoints have shifted within and external to Christian worship.  A vast array of social issues, from legalized abortion to gay marriage, defy traditional Christian doctrine as those Christians in support of these movements demand a reassessment of the values of the faith itself.  In plain terms, a world far more complex and interactive appears to virtually demand a revision of a Creed devised in a far more simple era, and when Christianity itself was promoted as the only true faith in the West.  Furthermore, it must be held that a faith as enduring and consistently dominant is more than capable of adapting without lessening its core values or impact.

It is then all the more ironic, then, to note that the Nicene Creed requires no such adapting because it is ultimately a fundamental expression of Christian truth that is inherently unchanging.  When the Creed is read carefully line by line, it becomes apparent that, first and foremost, it exists “out of time.”  Coeval affairs, and no matter their size or import, are irrelevant because the Creed does not concern itself in any way with such matters.  In a very real sense, it merely relates a narrative and emphasizes the primary elements of that narrative as the divine interacted with the human.  It records Christ’s path on earth and his suffering, it documents the Resurrection, and it then insists on the Christian as embracing these truths through the acts of baptism and submission to the will of God as creator of all things: “It seeks…to know and acknowledge the triune God as the one who creates in ineffable power, wisdom and goodness” (Wood  383).  More to the point, it is distanced from any ideological or social issue, nor does it in any way demand adherence to a particular Christian denomination.

In the past, certainly, the Creed has been seized upon as a contrivance of sorts. It is to an extent inevitable that some, today and historically, perceive the Creed as something of a political instrument, or a means of manipulating Christians to accept legislative and/or social practices otherwise likely generating resistance (Williams 26).  These potentials, however, exist apart from the Creed; they are not enabled by the doctrine, but only by human machinations, and consequently they only reinforce the simplicity and truth of it.  That simplicity also goes to an applicability to life virtually timeless, because there is for all Christians the promise of salvation, no matter the nature of mortal affairs. What the Creed offers, in fact, is the insistence upon the relative unimportance of human life. Christians, and no matter their era, require “a principle of unity which rests beyond any finite or visible manifestation” (Chapman 214).  Human history is rife with struggles, but the Creed’s power lies in its expression of the greater reality eclipsing the human.  This being the case, adaptation to reflect modern concerns – today, or at any point in human history – is utterly irrelevant.

Conclusion

It is inevitable that human beings, and Christians, should consider that change must be made in regard to ancient doctrine, simply because human affairs command such intense interest.  Changing perceptions regarding ethics lead people to turn to doctrine, and insist that it reflect – and validate – in some way the “evolved” thinking.  At the same time, however, this is both not possible and completely irrelevant when, as in the case of the Nicene Creed, that doctrine exists as the most simple representation of core belief conceivable.  Offering no guidance as to behavior other than the need to recognize God as the creator, the Creed is then immune to change, and also as valuable to the modern Christian as it was to their forebears.  It is not a matter of interpretation, but of merely accepting the unifying and basic precepts for what they eternally are.  Ultimately, then, the most valid Christian Creed for the 21^st century Christian, its essence steeped in antiquity notwithstanding, remains the Nicene Creed.

Works Cited

Chapman, Mark D. “Why Do We Still Recite The Nicene Creed At The Eucharist?” Anglican Theological Review 87.2 (2005): 207-223. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

Williams, D. H. “Do You Know Whom You Worship?” Christian History & Biography 85 (2005): 25-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

Wood, Donald. “Maker Of Heaven And Earth.” International Journal Of Systematic Theology 14.4 (2012): 381-395. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.