More on the faith

We believe in one God, the Father almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

Of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one lord Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

Eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God,

Light from Light,

True God from True God,

Begotten, not made,

One in being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

Another assertion against those who would maintain that this creation, since it has so much evil in it, could not have been created by a good God. Another assertion that Jesus Christ, in a mysterious way completely beyond our comprehension, is the same as the YHWH that the Hebrew scriptures maintain is God.

For us, and for our salvation, he came down from heaven.

He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

Most presentations of the Creed insert the word "men" into the first line. When reciting the Creed at Mass I, and a lot of other Catholics I know of, omit the word "men". The reasons are obvious to me.

For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered, died and was buried.

This statement, as obvious at it seems to us, was a major bone of contention in the early church.You can see St. Paul in debate with the early stages of this position. The question: If Jesus was truly God, could he have suffered? Would God have even been capable of suffering? Or was this all a front, an effort at making the appearance of Jesus' being fully human? Would God even have been capable of dying? Paul stated that this whole idea of a crucified God would have been nonsense to his civilization: "The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God. . .While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ. . ." Since nothing ever goes away, two and three centuries later some who called themselves Christian also found the idea of a crucified suffering God to be untenable.

But - Jesus was also fully human. That being the case, he could suffer. He could die. And the conclusion that the Church came to was that Jesus did just that.

How?

Remember: don't ask how. We can't get it. Just ask Who?

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate - really and truly -
He suffered, died and was buried. He was indeed.

Thanks for hanging out for a few. The last few posts have been about that which is most central to my life and being. That, and family, but since I am Catholic, I can't really separate the concepts of faith and family. They go together.

Love your reactions.