A statement designed by bishops in council
to settle centuries of dispute over
the form and nature of divinity and the Christian mysteries,
without considering the practical aspects of the faith.

This Apostles Creed reached its present form in the 500sAD,
though there are versions of it dated back to 330AD.
The Nicene Creed (325AD) was formed earlier, but
is more targetted to early disagreements.

Saying the Creed is taken as crucial to much church ceremony
and is, for many, key to the exposition of a true Christian faith,
but it is also an example of what is closing the churches.

We might ask whether such a theological approach
has any impact on a living Christian faith?
Does it matter what we believe about Jesus
if we live the life that Christ portrayed?

We might say, with greater truth, that:
They took his crucified body and stripped off his humanity;
took his human flesh and removed what made him real;
polished his whitened skeleton into shining glory
and lifted on high the residual relic
of what had been radical man.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty
Creator of Heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son,
Our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary
, THE CREEDAL COMMA
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell.
On the third day,
He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God,
the Father almighty;
from thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting.
Amen.