Last month it was announced that Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski’s book will be available in May 2009. We have received some good reviews of this volume, and the one below, by Rev. Ruth Scott, sounds simply wonderful:
‘I must confess that a book about the Apostles’ Creed is not one that would appear on my list of ‘must-read’ books. To be honest, I cannot understand why this ancient creed continues to excite interest or have a place in modern liturgy. Not that I’ve always felt this way. Every Sunday in church as a child, I sat next to an elderly woman who always stood to attention when it came to reciting the Apostles’ Creed. For her, it was an unquestionable statement of fact and, moved by her respect for it, that’s how I accepted it as well. Today the recitation of this Creed, removed completely as it is from the context and culture in which it was formulated, leaves me cold. Far from opening a window on to God, its continued use in the Church has baffled and exasperated me.
It was with great relief and a sense of liberation that I read the Introduction to Ashwin-Siejkowski’s book. I was not being asked to approach this ancient relic of a Creed ‘on my knees’, but critically and with the purpose of understanding the issues and arguments through which it came to birth. Ashwin-Siejkowski makes it clear that the language of the Creed is of analogy, and that the images used were never intended to be taken literally. Speaking of how language is used to communicate an understanding of God, he writes,
Each language facilitates the encounter of a specific generation with God, but as language is rooted in particular sets of symbols and idioms, it may alienate other generations from the core of Revelation.
In these words my own sense of alienation in relation to the Apostles Creed was expressed with the result that I felt the book might well have something to say to me as well as to those, like the friend of my childhood, who hold the Creed in the highest regards. The major work of the book is to take each statement of belief from the Creed and to look at the theological debates and questions that lay behind it. Readers looking for clearly expressed detail will not be disappointed by Ashwin-Siejkowski’s scholarly analysis. His enthusiasm for his subject is engaging, as is his concern for accuracy. What becomes clear is that those responsible for the formulation of the Creed had no greater access to God than we do today. Just like us they debated the nature of faith and belief in the context of diverse theological perspectives about the man Jesus and his life and death, using the languages of that time and culture. The Creed itself might well be seen to tell us more about the power politics, theological arguments and faith perspectives of the time, than it does about that which we call God. To be true to the spirit of the faith of those who formulated the Creed is not to set their words on a pedestal, as the vast majority of Christians have done for centuries, but to be free to find and unfold our own understanding through on-going debate about, and exploration of God in this time and context, mindful of, but not bound by the languages of Christian voices from the past.
It is perhaps an indication of the value of Ashwin-Siejkowski’s book that at the end of it, I, the initially reluctant reader, found my perspective changed. I no longer want to eradicate the Creed from use in today’s Church, although I continue to question its use when disconnected from any understanding of its original context. When that background is understood, the Apostles Creed stands as a reminder that Christianity is about living faith not dead beliefs. It is an unfolding story rooted in a scriptural tradition that often raises more questions than answers, and which draws us into continual and creative dialogue and debate. We can learn much from the insights and ignorance of past Christian communities and their leaders, becoming aware not only of those voices that dominated the discussions, but also of those that were missing from them. In this sense the Creed also stands as a warning to us when we confuse truth with views that persist simply because they come from those who have the greatest power. Ashwin-Siejkowski’s work shows the Apostles’ Creed not to be a statement of belief set in stone, but one ‘snatch’ of a dynamic on-going conversation that continues today – the Living Word – and in which we are all invited to participate. As Ashwin-Siejkowski invites us to do in his conclusion, ‘we should treat the Apostles Creed as an ‘icon’, not an ‘idol’.’ – Rev Ruth Scott, Diocese of Southwark, UK
The Apostles’ Creed and its Early Christian Context is available in the UK in May 2009 and in the US in July 2009.
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