The One Thing That Emil Brunner Got Right!

Despite his serious theological problems and their promulgation, Emil Brunner offered a remarkably insightful (even prophetically spoken into our current politico-historical context!) observation in his inaugural address at the founding of that specious ecumenical World Council of Church in 1948 in Amsterdam. Hear Brunner speaking of our own experience today.

“The problem by which our age is dominated is the emerging of the totalitarian state – the new Leviathan begotten by economic materialism and by the deliberate negation of personal freedom and responsibility. The danger of totalitarianism would not be so overwhelming if it were merely a matter of political dictatorship as opposed to democratic forms of government. Totalitarianism is something more pernicious than dictatorship. It is the attempt to direct and mould the entire life of the community and of its individual members in accordance with the dictate of an omnipotent state, using for this purpose all the powerful methods of mass-suggestion and police-control provided by modern technics.

“The disquieting feature of our situation is that totalitarianism—in the sense indicated—is in ascendency everywhere, even in those countries which are regarded as traditionally democratic.”

As cited by Von Meyenfeldt, F.H. in “The Meaning of Ethos,” which is available here and highly, highly recommended.  

WHY THE NEED FOR CREEDS - PART 4

The No-Creed View Can Make Dictators of Pastors

As mentioned above, the anti-creed attitude reflects the spirit of the age, which is dead set against authorities and historical tradition.

However, not having a public creed, which sets the bounds for the essentials of the Faith, then anything goes for the pastor. A popular response might be, “No! Our pastor only preaches the Bible!” The fact is that, their pastor preaches what his personal understanding of what the Bible means.

So, if a church has “No book/creed but the Bible!” and the pastor is the best trained person to interpret the Bible, then what the pastor says the Bible means will be the most authoritative voice in that church. Without a creed, the members of the church have nothing against which they can check whether what their pastor is saying is true or not.

Taken to its logical end, without a public creed, the pastor is the ultimate authority!

If the pastor best knows what the Bible teaches, and there arises a question of doctrine or life, then what the pastor says is the last word on the issue. On the flip side, if a church has a public creed and confession, the other elders or even members of the church have a standard or rule by which they can test the teaching.

In I John 4:1, the apostle John says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits (i.e., teachings, messages) to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (ESV).

In the very next verse (v. 2), the Apostle then goes on to give the standard by which the teachings are to be evaluated. In this, he gives us a creed, a confession!! “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (ESV). This statement functioned as a creed, over against the group in the church known as the Gnostics, which denied that the man Jesus was the Christ. Rather, they taught that the Christ was pure spirit that used the mere human Jesus of Nazareth as a sort of vehicle, as he cruised around teaching those in the know how to escape earthly reality. The Apostle teaches us to reject Gnosticism, since it contradicts our confession of Christ, “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary...etc.,” that is, Christ’s incarnation.

So, just like the apostle John prescribed, public creeds function to test the claims of those who are responsible to teach and rule in the church. 

  

Wrapping It Up

Despite how popular the sloganeering claims of “No creed but...” are in today’s church culture, they are something that may work on a bumper sticker, but cannot stand against logic, the Bible, church history. This attitude also creates dysfunction in the life of the church.

In summary:

            1. “No creed but...” is self-refuting, because “No creed...” is a creed!

2. “No book but the Bible” is a claim that is against the teaching of the Bible, because the Bible is full of creeds and teaches us to maintain them.

3. The fact is that, everyone has a creed, whether it is public or private!

4. The private-creed view can lead to the pastor becoming a dictator, since there is no standard by which to test the pastor’s interpretation of the Bible.

How good is God, that he has graciously worked the thought, circumstances, theology and history of his church to hand down to us—and future generations—the ancient creeds, confessions, and catechisms, which have shaped who we are and remind us of our rich and deep heritage, going back to Christ’s apostles! Let us pray that as he nurtures our appreciation and use of the creeds, he likewise give us the grace to help lead the church in a faithful trip back to the future, and in her seeing the need for creeds!

WHY THE NEED FOR CREEDS? Part I

A big part of our culture—in both the world and the church—turns its nose up at the idea of a creed, confession, or any other expression of tradition. In the world, the spirit is one of “progress,” moving into the future without any respect for the past. It’s an un- or anti-history attitude. Similarly, the spirit of our age is anti-authoritarian, throwing off any authority that would try to limit or even influence the individual’s personal views, values, and allegiances.

Sadly, there is a similar spirit in the church today. This anti-creedal and anti-history attitude is expressed in many different ways and through many different sorts of practices. But, it is well summarized by a few popular slogans.

           

            “No creed but Christ!”

            “No book but the Bible!”

            “We serve Truth, not traditions!”

These kinds of statements sound really good, don’t they?!? They almost sound like they fell out of the pages of the Bible. We all want honor Jesus, the Bible, and God’s revealed, inspired Truth as the ultimate authority in faith, life, and doctrine!! As good as it all sounds, though, these sorts of statements are seriously flawed, as are the assumptions behind them. Consider just a few points.

 “NO CREED, BUT...!” Is a Self-Refuting Statement!

A self-refuting or internally incoherent statement is one that contains a self-contradiction. So, whether in theory or practice, the claim that is being made cannot be consistent with itself. For example, “I can’t read English!” If you read that claim out loud, then you were making a self-refuting statement, because you DID read it and it WAS in English! “I never tell the truth” is another example of a self-refuting or internally incoherent statement someone might make. If this claim is true, then you shouldn’t believe it, because the one making it never tells the truth, so it can’t be true. However, if it is untrue, then it is false and still unbelievable. The “NO CREED, BUT...” claims have the same problem; they too are self-refuting. But, how?

The fact is, “No creed but Christ,” is itself a creed!!!

If a creed is defined as (1) a brief authoritative formula of religious belief; or (2) a set of fundamental belief(s), then it is obvious that the “No creed, but...!” is a creed in and of itself. For some, it is the most fundamental doctrine of all.

The Anvil – God’s Word

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,

            And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;

Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor

            Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,

            “To wear and batter all these hammers so?”

“Just one,” said he, and then, with twinkling eye,

            “The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,

            For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

            The Anvil is unharmed—the hammers are gone.

— Anonymous

Presuppositional Primer by Martin Jones

For anyone wanting to more capably and confidently defend the Christian worldview and commend the saving faith of Christ, I would recommend Martin Jones’ “The Futility of Non-Christian Thought.”  It is a great primer on the faithful apologetical approach of presuppositionalism, which posits Christ’s self-attesting Word as the final criterion of knowledge in all spheres of human experience.  Here is the opening paragraph.

Biblical Christianity, properly defined in terms of classical Protestantism, offers a radical philosophical critique of non-Christian thought. This Christian critique is radical in the sense that it challenges the very core of non-Christian pretensions and demonstrates that non-Christian thought, whether atheistic, agnostic, or religious, ultimately destroys rationality, science, ethics, and every other aspect of human experience. Continue reading...here.