We believe in God above us, maker and sustainer of all life,
of sun and moon, of water and earth, of male and female.
We believe in God beside us, Jesus Christ, the word made flesh,
born of a woman, servant of the poor, tortured and nailed to a tree.
A man of sorrows, he died forsaken.
He descended into the earth to the place of death.
On the third day he rose from the tomb.
He ascended into heaven, to be everywhere present,
and His kingdom will come on earth.
We believe in God within us, the Holy Spirit of Pentecostal fire,
life-giving breath of the Church, Spirit of healing and forgiveness,
source of resurrection and of eternal life.
Amen
Source and Background:
This creed/affirmation appears on page 38 of the current Iona Abbey Worship Book (Wild Goose Publications) and is one of my favorite modern creeds.
According to their official website, the Iona Community “was founded in Glasgow and Iona in 1938 by George MacLeod, minister, visionary and prophetic witness for peace, in the context of the poverty and despair of the Depression. From a dockland parish in Govan, Glasgow, he took unemployed skilled craftsmen and young trainee clergy to Iona to rebuild both the monastic quarters of the mediaeval abbey and the common life by working and living together, sharing skills and effort as well as joys and achievement. That original task became a sign of hopeful rebuilding of community in Scotland and beyond. The experience shaped – and continues to shape – the practice and principles of the Iona Community.”
The community has published a number of books with liturgies, prayers and worship materials, including a number of alternative creeds. You may visit their website at https://iona.org.uk
Analysis and Critique:
This creed was one of the favorites among the people in the focus groups I conducted and was well received even by those who strongly identified with the Apostle’s Creed. Its rightful place in Celtic spirituality is easily identifiable. There is a wonderful earthiness about this creed. In the first paragraph, it paints a picture of creation with beautiful, inclusive images that invite meditation. The pairings of sun and moon, water and earth, male and female are more than just aesthetically pleasing; each pairing expresses important aspects of creation spirituality:
Sun and Moon: fostering appreciation for both day and night, light and darkness in our spiritual lives. In the modern age we have so often neglected or rejected lunar spirituality, as Barbara Brown Taylor recently emphasized and as Matthew Fox pointed out decades ago.
“… I have been given the gift of lunar spirituality, in which the divine light available to me waxes and wanes with the season. When I go out on my porch at night, the moon never looks the same way twice. Some nights it is as round and bright as a headlight; other nights it is thinner than the sickle hanging in my garage. Some nights it is high in the sky, and other nights low over the mountains. Some nights it is altogether gone, leaving a vast web of stars that are brighter in its absence. All in all, the moon is a truer mirror for my soul than the sun that looks the same way every day.” 9
“The womb was dark and not fearful. These are our origins, the very holy origin of our original being, our original blessedness. There is no underestimating the importance of our meditating on our dark and silent origins if we are to make touch with our spiritual depths. The sun does not penetrate all of space. Much of space is dark. Much of the birth of the cosmos itself was done in the dark – the sun has not always existed.” 10
Water and Earth: both water and earth are important biblical images and describe different aspects of the same faith. On the one hand faith is radical trust and risk (water), on the other hand it is about rootedness and connection (earth).
Male and Female: It is of course nice and deeply satisfactory that the two genders are explicitly mentioned in this creed. It also reminds us of the polarity of all created life and the harmony we find when these poles are reconciled.
The earthiness continues in the second paragraph. This creed paints a supremely humble, human picture of Jesus and avoids some of the mythic, triumphant overtones that frequently cause people to stumble (Virgin Birth, Hell, Seated at the right hand of the Father). The creed states the obvious – born of a woman, – thus evoking a tone of general appreciation for the role of women in Jesus’ life and women in general, rather than singling out Mary and placing the “Virgin” on a pedestal. It calls the suffering of Jesus torture and describes him as a “man of sorrows” who died “forsaken.” It’s easy to recognize in these words implied solidarity with all people who are suffering, tortured and forsaken in contemporary society. Thus, this creed brings the compassion of Christ closer to us, without trying to be overly “contemporary” in language or style. Finally, the language about the resurrection softens the traditional supernatural narrative. He “rose from the tomb” sounds like an awakening rather than a mythic triumph over the defeat of death. The Ascension to Heaven leads to Christ’s presence everywhere and means his kingdom is coming to earth, drawing a sharp contrast to any notions of heaven as separated from earth. In Celtic spirituality, as in the Hebrew tradition, heaven and earth belong fundamentally together.
The third paragraph is heavy on symbols and short on ecclesiastical terminology. The images “Pentecostal fire” and “life-giving breath” evoke mystical energy rather than belief in an institution (Holy Catholic Church) or certain theological constructs associated with the Holy Spirit (Resurrection of the Dead; Life Everlasting).
In my opinion this creed handles Trinitarian theology beautifully by introducing each “person” as God above us, God beside us and God within us. Not only can people relate to this language quite easily; in addition, each of those expressions point to biblical stories, names or expressions. I also recognize a distant connection to Luther’s Consubstantiation concept. In his Eucharistic theology, he famously coined the expression that Christ is present “in, with and under the elements,” which also has a Trinitarian ring to it and sounds quite similar.
For those who are interested in clear theological statements regarding Incarnation, Resurrection, Ascension and Life after Death, this creed will be disappointing and weak. Its strength can also be considered its weakness: it stays earthy throughout; its trajectory always comes back to earth, to the here and now. I could see this creed as a nice entryway to the Christian faith for people who are not religious, for whom mythical concepts are difficult to digest. As mentioned before, this is a “down to earth” creed with very strong connections to the created world and images that invite further meditation and nourishment of the soul. It offers the best of the Celtic tradition.