My statement of faith

I haven't blogged in awhile. I thought I'd jump back into it slowly by sharing the statement of faith my CPM will get from me. I'd love your thoughts.

    I believe in One God who has, from before the beginning of time, existed in community. That community finds its expression in the Trinity, in which God lives in mutual, self-giving love with God's self. Though various descriptions of the trinitarian relationship have been expressed, the one that I find most meaningful is that of Father/Mother, Son, Holy Spirit because it speaks to the familial, relational aspects of who God is. The first person of the Trinity created life from nothing and continues to draw life out of the darkness. The Son, who is the Word of God in flesh, showed through his life what humanity could be when life is lived towards God and towards others instead of towards oneself. The second person of the trinity created community by healing those outside of community, and challenging those who would use their power to exclude individuals from community. Through the Holy Spirit, God continues to heal, reconcile, and give life. The Spirit teaches, guides, and empowers the Church to continue the work of Christ.
    That work is the work of redemption. God, gives humanity freedom to choose how we will live our lives and we chose willingly to live in disobedience of what God would have us do. Christ mirrors our own sinfulness to us, in that while God dwells among us to bring life and hope, humanity in return conspires to kill the One who loves us more than we love ourselves. I believe that Christ's life was as redemptive as his death in that it shows us a better way to live. In Matthew 20:28, Christ speaks of giving himself as a ransom for many. In his death, Christ frees us from the bondage of sin and liberates us to be in relationship with God and others. If the love of God creates community, reconciliation, and wholeness, then sin is that which creates isolation, alienation, and brokenness. Sin distorts the image of God in which we have been created and prohibits us from seeing the image of God in others. The ultimate end of sin is death or complete alienation from God. Christ's resurrection,however, shows that God's love will always triumph over death. I believe that the Church is God's agency on earth continuing the work that Christ began by reconciling people to each other and to God. Included in that work is caring for the poor and ostracized, challenging the status quo of both religion and politics, and declaring forgiveness and freedom to those who are bound by sin. The Church is not limited to any time, place, building, or confession, but is comprised of the people of God in every time and place.
    The Scripture is the authoritative testimony to who God is and what God is doing in the world. It is also a historical document in that it reflects the theology of the times in which the authors lived. I believe the Scripture to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, yet filtered through the minds, hands, and contexts of men. I believe that through the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist we are given visible signs of our inclusion in God's community. Baptism reminds us that it is God who has known us and called us since before we were in our mothers' wombs. The Eucharist reminds us of Christ's life, death, and resurrection and gives us a vision for when people from all nations will gather together and feast at the Lord's table.
    The Hope that we cling to as Christians is for a new heaven and a new earth in which there will be no more suffering or death. Christ's resurrection gives us hope for when our communities will include not only those we see now, but also those who have preceded us and those who will follow us. Christ's resurrection also gives us hope to believe that the coming kingdom of God will give rise to the rebirth of the physical world and not simply a separation of the soul from the body. As Christians we hope for a world where God's will is done perfectly as it is in Heaven and yet we do not wait for that world to appear suddenly. Instead we work for the renewal of all things, knowing that the kingdom is at hand and yet not fully realized.

Comments

[Doug]

Would you say that the trinity is participatory with respect to us? That is, we we invited into this community? And if so, how, and to what effect?

Feel free to ignore the question, but it came to mind (among others) and I thought it might provide future blog-fodder :)

[Aric Clark]

Nice. Nothing I can see in it that jumps out to me as problematic for a CPM. You cover your bases well. Is there anything in here you are particularly sensitive about?

[Derrick Weston]

I'm pretty shocked to see you guys are still reading this thing. Fascinating.

Doug: Absolutely. We are invited into the community that is the Trinity. What does our involvement look like? I'd say to the extent that we participate in the life-giving, community-building work of the Triune God, we are active participants, the fourth part of the Trinity, if you will.

Aric: I'm not particularly sensitive on anything here. I've already been told that I will be grilled on the fact that I didn't hammer on substitutionary atonement, but even that isn't a major deal here.

Maybe what I'm most sensitive about is the necessity of such a statement in the first case. Does this tell you anything about me? Does it communicate my readiness or lack thereof to serve as a minister of word and sacrament? I would hope that it says something about who I am and that it is not simply Presby-Reformed-Orthodox-boilerplate.

[Brian]

Hi Derek-

These are a few questions you might get from CPM:

1) Is Trinitarian language simply a metaphor for God or actual names?
2) Explain your understanding of modalism in light of your views on the distinct roles of the different members of the Trinity.
3) Would you say more about how you understand the work of Christ as an atonement?
4) Please tell us about your understanding of the nature of the church.

Those are four questions that you might get.

[Kyle]

so would this be like your yolk that I would have to bear if I were your disciple?

[Derrick Weston]

Brian: that is helpful. My care team said pretty much the same thing. I really struggle with the Trinity stuff, though I know enough to stay away from anything that sounds like modalism. I think I've been trying to find ways to express that the persons of the Trinity do the same work (giving life, creating community) but at different times and different ways. I'm working on that.

I also have to express that while I don't reject the notion of substitutionary atonement, I don't use it as my primary metaphor for the atonement. I tend to lean more towards the moral influence model.

Kyle: the yolk you would have to bear if you were my disciple is that you are an idiot for following me.

[Kyle]

haha. that yolk sounds like it sucks.