Taking the Creed Personally
Recently Steve Hutchens and I jumped into an e-mail discussion of whether the Creed recited in the eucharistic liturgy should begin with “I believe” or “We believe.” The first is the traditional wording, used since the Nicene Creed was first recited in the Mass, the second the wording of the modern rites of the Roman and Anglican Churches.
Some people think this sort of discussion at best an interesting diversion, but Steven and I took it quite seriously, giving us (at least among some of the people on this e-mail list) a reputation for arguing about trifles. This may be true, but still, great truths may be lost even by trifling changes—because morally, spiritually, and intellectually, compared to the Christian tradition, we are ourselves trifles.
The Arguments
The argument for the new wording is that the Nicene Creed is the Faith of the Church and therefore more appropriately begun with the corporate and communal “we” than the (supposedly) individualistic “I.” The general style of the argument for the new wording is represented by the priest who wrote in the e-mail discussion: “I joyfully agree with those who place the ‘I’ as appropriate in the baptismal and Apostles’ creeds and the ‘we’ but during corporate worship the ‘I’ must give ground to the ‘we.’ He has made us a ‘nation’ of ‘kings and priests unto our God’.”
The argument for change extended to the wording of the rest of the Creed. Some people in the discussion assumed that though the doctrines of the Creed were eternal and unchangeable, the form in which they have been delivered to us is temporary and changeable. The words of the Creed were merely the paper in which the gift of doctrine was wrapped, and one may use different paper if it would better please the one to whom it is being given.
The main argument for the traditional wording is that the Church has always used it, and that we presume the Church does so for good reasons, even if we don’t see them. I think there are at least three other reasons, one prudential, one dramatic, one spiritual.
The prudential reason is the least important, but not to be neglected. The change from “I” to “we” was made by people whom we rightly distrust, and may very well carry an ideological meaning, even if we are too similar to the innovators to see it ourselves. It is now a standard line among Protestant liberals that they can say the Creed even though they do not believe it, because its beginning with “we” means that it relays the Faith of the Church, from parts of which they are allowed to dissent.
Modern people assume that a communal identity is given but not binding; for example, that being a member of a particular church means that you go there regularly, not that you feel responsible to believe and do all that it requires. In our religious lives, most of us are like teenagers who want to be fed, housed, given money, and allowed to use the car, but do not want to come home when mom and dad say. Using the “I” therefore becomes all the more important, to clarify and enforce the requirement that one believe the Creed, every word of it, for oneself.
The dramatic reason for using “I” is that in the liturgy one says “I” at the exact same time and in the exact same words as all one’s brothers and sisters in the Faith, which unity in personal affirmation is tremendously dramatic and moving. It is like the citizenship oath, administered to a roomful of new Americans, all together pledging their personal loyalty to the new country. “I” dramatizes the fact that this is a faith taken on for oneself but in the fellowship of other believers making the same bold claim.
The spiritual reason is that in saying the Creed one is making a personal, and radical, commitment to the truths it proclaims, in which case only an explicit “I” is appropriate. It is a vow as much as a declaration of fact or an affirmation of communal identity. It is like the marriage vow. We would feel something wrong if the couple together answered the priest’s questions with “we.” Such life-binding decisions must be made, not alone, certainly, but personally and individually.
Choices for Good or Ill
David Mills has been editor of Touchstone and executive editor of First Things. He edits the opinion page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
25.6—Nov/Dec 2012
The Loss of Aristotelian Logic & the Social, Moral & Sexual Consequences by Peter Kreeft
19.1—January/February 2006
on Death & Seven of the Last Words of Socrates by Graeme Hunter
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
