About 16 years ago, I spent two years actively talking religion among hundreds of different people in a major city of the U.S. Most of these people call themselves Christian, and a few go to church regularly. I did not find one who cited or even summarize the Nicene Creed. If this creed is an essential Christian belief, it is known to only the most orthodox of die-hard "Christians," and is certainly not taught or emphasized in the Christian churches of today.
Here's the wikipedia article about the Nicene Creed, which gives some good background and links.
I have not found any claim that this creed was revealed by God or divinely inspired. Instead, it was a political compromise, brokered by the Emporer Constantine to enable peace among the growing and conflicting groups of people who believed in Jesus Christ, and to solidify his power over both the Church and the State.
At any rate, here a review of the creed with the Bible and with latter-day scripture, including the Book of Mormon..
First the 325 AD version:
"We believe in one God, the Father of the Almighty,
Agree, with one question:
1) If God is "The Father," who is "the Almighty?" I would have to assume "The Almighty" here is referring to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but it's not clear.
Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1 Nephi 13:41 for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
3 Nephi 11:31 the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
3 Nephi 11:32 this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
Moses 1:3And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?Maker of all things visible and invisible.
Agree:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Helaman 14:12 And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.
Moses 2:1 I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. (Note: This book of "Moses" was a revelation through Joseph Smith, and differs slightly from the Old Testament)
"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made,
Agree:
1 Nephi 11:18 Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
1 Nephi 11:32 And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God wasjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
Jacob 4:11 be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son,
Alma 5:48 I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.
Alma 13:9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth.
Moses 1:6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is noGod beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.
being of one substance with the Father;
Disagree, if by "substance" this means identical in physical matter--or combined physically or materially.
1 Nephi 11:21 Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!
1 Nephi 11:18 Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
1 Nephi 11:32 And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
3 Nephi 11:32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];
Agree:
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man;
He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost.
Doctrine and Covenants 35:1-2
Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.
[But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not;' and 'He was not before he was made;' and 'He was made out of nothing,' or 'He is of another substance' or 'essence,' or 'The Son of God is created,' or 'changeable,' or 'alterable'—they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.]
http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/20.18.17-18?lang=eng#17
By these things we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the sameunchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them;
No comments:
Post a Comment