This was posted on a conservative pan-Lutheran facebook page about an ELCA church in the Portland, OR area.
“Yesterday, I went to a Lutheran church and we said a different 'creed': We believe in God, who is like a good mother or father, near to us, and strong to help us. We believe in Jesus Christ, in whom we see God: He is for us the way of truth and life. We believe in the Holy Spirit, whose life is in us, giving us new life and healing strength for our spirits. We believe our faith is a confident trust in the truth and goodness of God. We believe our hope is a power, to fill the present and the future with deepest meaning. We believe our love is the means by which this faith will be made real in our lives. Glory be to God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”
This post received many replies. Here are a few of them:
Later the person who wrote the original post about the church creed replied -
“...I should have realized that it was going to be a different type of service when the first hymn we sang was 'All Creatures, Worship God Most High!' (ELW 835) that included wording such as brother sun, sister moon, brother wind, sister water, brother fire, mother earth, and sister death.”
“Yesterday, I went to a Lutheran church and we said a different 'creed': We believe in God, who is like a good mother or father, near to us, and strong to help us. We believe in Jesus Christ, in whom we see God: He is for us the way of truth and life. We believe in the Holy Spirit, whose life is in us, giving us new life and healing strength for our spirits. We believe our faith is a confident trust in the truth and goodness of God. We believe our hope is a power, to fill the present and the future with deepest meaning. We believe our love is the means by which this faith will be made real in our lives. Glory be to God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”
This post received many replies. Here are a few of them:
- "I would have left. This is a different god."
- “That statement of belief is something, but it's not Christian, even though it uses the name of Jesus Christ...Don't go back.”
- “The words 'for us' are a plain cry to universalism and the recognition that the god of the Islam, Buddhist, Hindu, etc. are all ways to the same God.”
- “This creed denies Jesus Christ is God and is entirely anti-trinitarian.”
- "'We believe our love is the means by which this faith will be made real in our lives' = denial of the Holy Spirit.”
Later the person who wrote the original post about the church creed replied -
“...I should have realized that it was going to be a different type of service when the first hymn we sang was 'All Creatures, Worship God Most High!' (ELW 835) that included wording such as brother sun, sister moon, brother wind, sister water, brother fire, mother earth, and sister death.”
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