Exploring the Nicene Creed—Word by Word, Truth by Truth

God is like no other being in this universe! 

My library is not very big, but the books I own for my personal growth are very meaningful to me. One I’ve read multiple times is Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking”. Whether Christian or not, positive thinking can lead one to a successful and content life. A recent book I added is “Yes, there is a God” by John Bergsma, professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

Bergsma is an extremely talented man, speaks three or four languages, and is quite scholarly. That said, he has an incredible way of explaining the most difficult CLAIMS of Christianity and Catholicism with down to earth language. I say CLAIMS because to non-believers they are just simply claims. But to believers they are the basis of our faith. I highly recommend reading it for yourself and your family. 

In Chapter 2 Bergsma jumps right into the question, “Is there a God”? He masterfully blends physics, biology, anthropology, chemistry, and SCRIPTURE into a very believable argument, “Yes, There is a God”. Along with that, there is not a much bigger claim in Christianity than THREE GODS in One. This is Trinity Sunday, giving praise to the Trinity, and second of the four part series on the Creed. 

The Creed is a long prayer and became a compact Catechism in its day. Since many people could not read 1,700 years ago, an oral tradition of faith and teachings became necessary. The Creed begins with, “I believe in ‘one’ God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”. This line alone does away with all the false gods worshipped by pagans. 

“We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father”. Begotten means to come from, not created. 

“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son”. There you go, The Trinity. 

So, which is easier to believe; God created the whole world out of nothing with a “Big Bang”? Or God always was, always has been and always will be? How about another miracle claim we accept, Jesus took bread saying “this is my body which will be given up for you. Likewise he took the cup, saying “this is my blood.” 

The above claims of Christianity, especially Catholicism, are either wild claims or they are true. Can we accept there is a God and expect that God has omnipotent power? Omnipotent, by definition, is beyond our full understanding. And isn’t that what should be expected of God?. Since God created everything out of nothing, how hard can it be to exist as three in one? 

I hope this writing is peaking curiosity to seek more truths about our faith. Best of success and God bless, Deacon Gregg.

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