What do you Believe?

sermon by Torin Eikler
2 Timothy 2:8-15 Luke 17:11-19

For five years in the early 1950s the CBS Radio Network broadcast a regular show called “This I Believe?” on which women and men wrote short essays about their own personal motivation in life and then read them on the air. Some of you might even remember the voice of Edward R Murrow coming over the airwaves to introduce the program which, in his words, sought to “present the personal philosophies of thoughtful men and women in all walks of life.” It was his hope to counteract, in some small way, the growing sense of panic and paranoia that characterized the McCarthy Era by “[pointing] to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization.”

In 2005, Jay Allison and Dan Gediman revived the program which is broadcast periodically by National Public Radio. “As in the 1950s,” says Allison, “this is a time when belief is dividing the nation and the world. We are not listening well, not understanding each other -- we are simply disagreeing, or … worse.”

Since I first heard the show five years ago, I have listened to this new version of “This I Believe” somewhat less than religiously. I have been impressed by the way in which the show seeks to encourage people to develop understanding and respect for beliefs different from their own rather than simply to persuade them to agree on the same beliefs. It has been a refreshing voice as our society has become more and more caught up in a hardening of viewpoints that pushes us to take up residence in one camp or another, hurling epithets at all the others even as we are still setting up our tent.

But even more than that, what I have found absolutely fascinating is how many different things people identify among the core values that guide their lives. I may be somewhat influenced by my chosen profession, but when I hear the question, “what do you believe,” my thoughts always go straight to religion. Apparently, that is not the case for other people, though, because I have heard essays on topics ranging from playing baseball to finding God in the space between religions to living with autism to the Beatles. Each time I listen to a new one, I find myself amazed by the endless variety as well as moved by the passion and conviction in the voices of the readers as they lay out their own personal credos for all to see … in 500 words or less.

I don’t if I could do that. It’s hard to boil it all down, and I have a natural reluctance to do so since I have been taught since I was young that summaries like that always leave out important pieces. But I have been wondering lately if it might actually be a good idea.

As I was preparing to present on human sexuality at the district Bible study, I started thinking about how our opinions in so many areas of theology and the way that it should guide our lives seem to pull us apart. We find ourselves encamped and building up defenses almost before we realize it. Do we support or oppose same sex relationships? Do we support or oppose the leadership of women in the denomination? Do we support or oppose infant baptism or the military or … fill in the blank?

As Christians we have been struggling with questions like this for centuries, and it has led to division and the creation of hundreds of new denominations that often have quite a bit of animosity for one another. That seems to be somewhat at odds with the scriptures injunction to live together in unity. So it might be good for us to figure out exactly what is at the core of our faith. Perhaps we would find that all of us can come together around a few central beliefs. I don’t really think that would do away with denominations, but it could help us let go of the hostility and distrust that keep us at each other’s spiritual throats.

But where to begin…. What do we believe? What do you believe? Would it sound something like this?
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

I have to admit that I didn’t write that. It’s the Nicene Creed as amended by the Third Council of Toledo in 589 (and by the way, the word catholic there at the end refers to the universal church not the one led by the Pope), and it was the official statement of faith for the church for centuries. Yet, even that wasn’t something that everyone could agree on. Even in the 6th century, people were wrangling over words to the point that the phrase, “who proceeds from the Father and the Son,” – just one word in Latin – lead to the separation of the Western church (eventually the big C Catholics) from the Eastern Orthodox Church.


Of course there were other factors at play as well, but there always are. And I have to wonder if including filioque – “and the Son” – instead of leaving it in the original form of “who proceeds from the Father” was all that important. It has significant repercussions for the theology of the Trinity, but does it really make a difference to your faith?

So what is? What do you believe?


The other day, I had a conversation with another pastor about what makes a Christian a Christian. We went back and forth a bit, but it came down to the question of whether Christians need to believe something in particular, if they need to live a certain way, or if they only need to claim Christ as Lord and Savior. Both of us, being of Anabaptist stock, felt that simply claiming Christ was not enough. “Christian,” at its simplest, means “follower of Christ,” and although scripture tells us that we are saved by faith alone, it also tells us that faith without works is dead.

The question of a “litmus test” belief, though, was never quite settled. Is it crucial to believe that Jesus Christ was God incarnate? I don’t really know. That’s a statement that was certainly under discussion among early believers, and there are still Christians today who struggle to accept such a claim.

At one point, my colleague pointed out that Jesus never claims to be God – that he simply says that he came from the Father and is going back to the Father. And that’s true. There is no direct indication that Jesus was divine though Christians have taken the beginning of John and its discussion of the Word made flesh to mean that. John was written a century after the death of Christ, and some scholars propose that the opening was included to make a point in the midst of an ongoing disagreement about the divinity of Christ among believers. It seems that the wrangling started a good deal earlier even than the Council of Toledo.

So, what did the earliest believers – the followers of way – agree on? I don’t think we’ll ever really be sure about that. The words that Paul wrote to Timothy should be a clue….

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
If we endure, we will also reign with him;
If we deny him, he will also deny us;
If we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.

Like I said, those words should be a clue. But this is Paul we’re talking about, and his writing is … shall we say … difficult to understand at best.

It helps if we remember that Paul was writing to people that he had already taught. So, phrases like “If we have died with him, we will also live with him” were probably catch phrases that evoked a whole set of teachings with just a few words. Paul was also elaborating on what early Christian leaders had said to the Jews. So, we need to keep in mind what people like Peter had been preaching.

The first sermon given by Peter seems to stress just three things:
Jesus of Nazareth was sent by God,
he died and was raised from the dead,
and he was the promise Messiah spoken of in prophecy.
A bit later in Acts, Peter goes on to say that there is salvation in no one else.

Paul took pains to stay close to those words by Peter, even as he explained the promise of new life through Christ as reconciliation with God. Within that context – and with a little extra information from Paul’s other writings – we could, perhaps, interpret these words as an explanation of the nature of salvation and how it works. A quick (and therefore incomplete) summary might sound like this:
once we have given up the sinful way we used to live and committed ourselves to following Christ’s teachings no matter what may come our way, then even if we fall short in our efforts, Christ will welcome us into everlasting life with honor when this life comes to an end.


If we put all of that together, the earliest Christians believed that Jesus was the Messiah – the Christ – who had died and been raised from the dead and who came to bring salvation to the people, and that everyone who made the commitment to follow his teachings would receive the promise of eternal life. That seems to have been the core of the good news early on, and it seems pretty good to me, though I would have trouble stopping there (I did say earlier that I have trouble leaving things out if I think they are important).

I can say that I believe that … and I believe that Jesus was God … and I believe that all of creation will be reconciled to God according to God’s deepest desire … and … and …

and I believe that it may be time for us to stop wrangling so much about what we all believe, run back, and thank God for the wholeness and healing we have already received….

What do you believe?