Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, with Additions from Pangea Church
I came across the below versions of the Apostles' and Nicene Creed from the (unfortunately now closed) Pangea Church, who was pastored by Kurt Willems. Their website had said they got it from the Mennonite Worker, but I can find no evidence of that online.
All major Christian creeds were written in response to historical controversies. The major creeds of the 4th and 5th centuries, for example, focused on Christology and the Trinity, because many factions at the time had different views on those two topics.
While I affirm much of the content in the creeds, I don’t view the creeds to be summaries of the most important doctrines of the faith. Rather, they are historical snapshots of what the church has believed and valued over time.
The Creeds almost entirely ignore the whole of Jesus' life. As N. T. Wright has said:
But [the creeds] have accidentally encouraged—or the way they have been used has accidentally encouraged—a reading of the New Testament in which the main body of the four Gospels is not theologically load-bearing. For many Christians, it would have been quite sufficient if Jesus of Nazareth had been born of a virgin, died on a cross, and never done anything in between except, perhaps, lived a sinless life.
The additions, while simple, place some emphasis back on Jesus' life, which has just as much theological importance as Jesus' death. The additions are bolded:
Apostles' Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He announced and embodied the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the 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,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
He announced and embodied God's Kingdom.
He revealed the full character of God
by healing the sick,
raising the dead,
modeling forgiveness,
proclaiming peace,
and confounding the powers.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, and
who has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the renewed world to come. Amen.
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