The Apostles' Creed

I've heard of the Apostles' Creed, but my church doesn't practice reciting it. Because of that, I didn't take the trouble to memorise the whole creed, but just the first few lines.

Until I attended a Methodist church service last year, I finally read it out aloud at the end of the service.

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

the third day he rose from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

After the service, I was rather confused, or you can say troubled at a statement in the creed. I wonder whether some of you had the same doubt as me.

Thanks to dad and the book "Hope Again", I finally understood what it meant.

My deepest concern was the statement "I believe in the holy catholic church." I knew Methodist believers are not Roman Catholics, so how could they say they believe in the holy catholic church?

Later I realized that "catholic" (small alphabet c) meant "universal", so what they were really saying was "I believe in the universal church." So no contradiction.

Lastly, I hope our belief goes beyond any creed...FAITH. Without faith, it's still just a creed. It is a statement of our faith!

The question is, do I believe the truth of that statement? Do you believe it? If yes, there is hope for you beyond the creeds. And that hope is a heavenly home reserved for you and I. :)