Rector’s Reflections: Tuesday 20th April 2021

Thought for Today

This week I am writing a short series of reflections on some of the answers which we might give to others who ask about our Christian faith. Yesterday, I wrote about how one of the foundations of the Christian life is an awareness of the fact that human beings aren’t perfect. We don’t know everything and sometimes we do bad things. In short, human beings are sinners – sinners loved and forgiven by God, but sinners none the less.

But of course, there is so much more to the Christian faith. There are various core beliefs which have formed the heart of the Christian faith since earliest times, often summarised in short statements known as Creeds. One of the best known is the Nicene Creed, from the 4th century, which is still recited today.

In other words, if you’re a Christian, you can’t just believe whatever you want to believe: you have to agree to certain core beliefs, which are set out in one of the Creeds. The number of core Christian beliefs are very few, and they can be interpreted in imaginative and flexible ways. But they are there, none the less. This might seem very restrictive – why are Christians told that some opinions are correct, and some are erroneous? There are various reasons for this. To start with, Christians have felt that truth matters – we can’t live our lives simply pretending that everything is merely a matter of opinion. It might be your opinion that the moon is made from green cheese, but I’ve got news for you: it isn’t. Furthermore, all organisations need to have their agreed rules - the rules of the club, if you like. If you want to play cricket, you have to agree to abide by the rules of cricket. Indeed, abiding by the rules of a sport is an integral part of what it means to play the sport in question, and it allows the sport to take place. If you don’t like the rules, choose another sport.

The core Christian beliefs, set out in the Creeds, remind us that as Christians we are part of something bigger than ourselves: we are part of the worldwide Christian community, and our beliefs are based on the life and teachings of Jesus himself, and the teachings of the earliest disciples.

Prayer for Today

Lord, we thank you for the rich inheritance of truth which the Church has inherited;
help us to interpret this inheritance wisely,
and be open to what you might be saying to us in our own generation. Amen.

View the 'Daily Message' for this month