Shirin McArthur

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Last year, I listened to a fascinating conversation between Marianne Borg and Brandon Scott. While the conversation was wide-ranging, I want to reflect upon a particular point Scott made about Constantine’s impact on early Christianity. I’ve written on my blog about how Constantine coopted Christianity to serve his own goals. Now, I want to reflect on how Constantine then shaped Christianity to meet his needs through the creation of the Nicene Creed.

First, I invite you to ponder your relationship with creeds for a moment. The term “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which means, “I believe.” A creed is a statement of faith. Creeds have been developed throughout Christian history to codify and reinforce a certain set of beliefs. At Saint Philip’s, we say the Nicene Creed every Sunday.

With that framework, let’s return to the early church. Brandon Scott (who spent much of his career studying the earliest Christian communities) sees the early followers of Christ focusing on the praxis, or practice, of the Christian faith. They emphasized how to live out Jesus’ commandment to love one another. They were not concerned with creedal statements of belief, such as whether Jesus was “begotten, not made” or if the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”

Scott believes Constantine saw Christianity as a tool to unify a widespread and diverse Roman Empire. Constantine wanted people to believe in Christ rather than follow him—a distinction that Richard Rohr has also made in many of his books. For Constantine, the Nicene Creed was one way to get everyone “on the same page,” as it were (though book pages were not yet invented!).

So, what does that have to do with us today? I believe(!) it has had a huge impact. By focusing over the centuries on how we are to think, the church has given us implicit permission to ignore Jesus’ commands about how we are to live. Many reformist spiritual traditions that developed over the centuries, down to the New Monastics of today, have sought to move from credo and return to praxis. Like St. Francis, they believe it’s how we live, not what we say, that counts.

I invite you to read through the Nicene Creed and consider how its statements have influenced your faith. Then spend some time reading one of the Gospels and notice what Jesus thinks is important. How might you want to shift your priorities as a result of what you read?

Peace,

—Shirin

A version of this message first appeared on my blog on May 8, 2023.