From: Iain Strachan (iain.strachan.asa@ntlworld.com)
Date: Wed Jun 18 2003 - 02:20:41 EDT
George Murphy:
> gordon brown wrote:
> >
> > I just looked at the ASA web page's link to the Nicene Creed, and it
> > raises a question in my mind. The discussion indicates that there is
more
> > than one version. Which one is intended by our statement of faith--the
one
> > with the filioque clause or the one without it? In other words, are
> > Eastern Orthodox thereby excluded from the ASA?
>
> I'm glad you brought this up because it does highlight a problem in
linking to a
> text of the creed. We were deliberately non-specific about this for just
the reason you
> point out. Our intention was certainly _not_ to exclude Orthodox
Christians.
> It might be a good idea to drop the link until a proper treatment of this
can be
> discussed. A suitably placed asterisk may be in order.
> FWIW I think that the filioque is correct as a theological opinion but
that the
> western church had no business unilaterally inserting it in the creed.
>
But hold on a minute ... even without the link, you can still find the creed
if you really want to & possibly get offended by it if you're an Orthodox
Christian. The real issue here is whether you want to say you accept the
creed at all. It's no good just saying you believe it, but then making it
difficult to find because you think someone might get offended by it!
My suggestion of putting a link there was from my frequent experience as a
software developer with badly written help manuals. There is nothing more
irritating than getting to a page that you think tells you how to do
something, but when you get there you find that it assumes knowledge of
something else that you don't know about, and provides you with no easy
summary of what that other thing is, and no helpful link to get there.
You have to decide whether the Creed is in or out, not whether the link is
in or out. Alternatively, you put in a summary of the salient points of the
Creed immediately after, (or as a footnote), saying
The creed which affirms:
. God as the creator and originator of the universe
. Jesus Christ his son, his sacrificial death on the Cross and his
resurrection
. The indwelling work of the Holy Spirit in us.
(don't take the above as authoritative; I'm just thinking on my feet here).
But if, for instance, you think that some people might feel excluded because
they don't believe in the resurrection yet still think of themselves as
Christians, then you'd better not have the Creed in any shape or form.
Iain
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