GOD CHRISTIANITY - KS4 This is an introduction to Christian beliefs about their relationship with God focussing on a key text, the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is one of a number of ancient documents used by churches but it is the most common. It is recited at all Orthodox Eucharistic celebrations, all Sunday and Major Feast Day Eucharistic celebrations of the Roman Catholic and Anglican (CofE) churches.

What does ‘God’ mean to Christians? The Big Question What does ‘God’ mean to Christians? Explain to the students that there have been key moments in the history of Christianity when the issue of belief has become important. Two such moments were 325 AD and 381 AD. In two councils of the Church bishops from across the Christian world defined how Christians should speak about God, Jesus (Nicaea 325) and the Holy Spirit (Constantinople 381). The statements they agreed unite and divide Christian churches today. It is important to recognise that Christian belief took centuries to formulate. The formulations of creeds was often in response to a crisis, here the Arian crisis of the fourth century. Arius claimed that Jesus was a creature who was above the angels but below God. Hence Jesus was ‘a god’. Groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christadelphians still hold the position of Arius to be true – although their roots are in the 19th century. Explain that this presentation uses the Nicene Creed to explore what Christians understand by God and how their beliefs about God as ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ affect the way they think about their relationship with God.

The Nicene Creed – sections The Nicene Creed (as it is commonly called) has four sections: The Father The Son The Holy Spirit The rest The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin ‘credo’ – I believe Show students this slide and explain that the Nicene Creed is structured in a logical way that follows a sort of pattern of revelation: first we know about the Father, then the Son and then the Holy Spirit, and the rest follows. BUT God as Trinity is before time begins, therefore there was never a time when the Son wasn’t or the Holy Spirit wasn’t. Hence, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all have the same status and honour but their functions in relation to the cosmos, and us as part of it, can be distinguished. The order of the creed does not indicate priority. Ask the students to suggest reasons as to why presenting God as ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ might be helpful for Christians. Gather some responses and point out the importance of the idea of Christians having a ‘relationship’ with God. Ask: how might the idea of God being encountered is these three different ways help Christians at different times?

The Father ‘I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.’ Write down what this statement might mean to a Christian in terms of their relationship with God. Before engaging students in the task on this slide, point out that, for Christians, whilst the Father is the creator of all things, this is achieved through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, creation involves the whole Trinity not just the Father. In 381 the Council added ‘heaven and earth’ to counteract those groups who held that God created the heaven but that the earth, and matter, was a creation of an evil god. The Nicene Creed rejects that form of dualism.

The Son ‘and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made. Who for us and our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human; he was also crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, from where he shall come to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.’ Explain that this is the most sophisticated part of the creed in terms of language. Read it through with the students a couple of times and ask them to concentrate on the presentation of Jesus in three stages: the pre-existent Jesus, the historical Jesus and the Jesus who is to come. The passage also stresses that Jesus is fully God and fully Human (ἀνθρώπος not ἀνἡρ – male). Ask the students to suggest whether there are differences in how Christians might relate to God as ‘the Son’ in these three different stages, and to write down a few thoughts, with reasons.

Key Words Begotten – Jesus is not created, and therefore not a creature, as some claimed (Arius), but takes his being before time from the Father. The term begotten tries to convey this idea. Consubstantial – There is only one God and ‘the God-ness’ is defined as ‘substance’. Jesus is of the same substance as the Father. Incarnate – Jesus pre-exists his human form as the Word. The Word takes on ‘flesh’ and is incarnate (in the flesh). Salvation – this is the work of Jesus, to set humanity and creation free from Death, the consequence of sin. Take students through the important terms on this slide. Explain that the term ‘begotten’ denotes a particular type of relationship, one who is a child. But the child here is of the same substance (consubstantial - ὁμοούσιον – homoousion). A later edition of the creed – rejected – said Jesus was homoiousion: of a ‘similar substance’. The word used in the creed was contentious because it is not found in Scripture. Ask the students to suggest reasons why Christians have found it important to take great care with each word of the creed.

The Holy Spirit ‘And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke through the prophets.’ Point out that a key word in this part of the Creed is ‘proceeds’ (see John 15:26). The difference between the Son and the Holy Spirit is that one is begotten and the other proceeds. Explain that it is not possible to define what these terms mean exactly, but as they are rooted in Scripture they define the difference in the Creed. Explain that this is the one passage that divides Orthodox and Roman Catholic/Anglican/Lutheran/Reformed churches. As a result of the teachings of Augustine of Hippo Frankish theologians added to the creed: who proceeds from the Father and the Son, which is still recited in many Western churches. The split between the Eastern and Western churches in the 11th century was in part due to this addition. It shows how important language has been to Christians and still is to many. These words should not be thought of as arbitrary or inconsequential for many Christians. Ask students to focus again on how Christians may relate to God as Holy Spirit, for example, as ‘the giver of life’, or as having spoken ‘through the prophets’ and to write down some thoughts, with reasons. Write down what this statement might mean to a Christian in terms of their relationship with God.

The rest ‘And I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.’ Write down what this statement might mean to a Christian in terms of their relationship with God. Point out the meaning of the words: holy (set apart), catholic (including all believers world wide) and apostolic (rooted in the teachings and practices of the Apostles). These are understood differently, though, by Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant theologians. Hence, language here divides Christians as opposed to uniting them. Note it mentions baptism but not Eucharist, whilst sometimes Christians have ex-communicated certain people what kept them in the Church was their baptism and therefore the most common denominator. Note too the resurrection and the life of the world to come and that these are referring back to Jesus as the Risen Lord and the Judge of the living and the dead. Therefore the Creed is not simply ‘historic’ it is also ‘eschatological’ – looking forward to the end times and their completion in the Cosmic Christ (see Colossians). Ask the students to write down comments, for example, on the implications of this part of the Creed for the contexts in which Christians develop their relationship with God.

What unites and divides Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches have kept the creed in this form. The Church of Rome added a clause into the creed in the 10th century with regard to the Holy Spirit, adding: ‘who proceeds from the Father and the Son…’ All churches that had their origins in the Western church tend to share that changed creed. Some Reformation Churches, such as the Society of Friends (Quakers) reject all creeds. For further development, students could consider what unites and divides Christians in relation to what they believe and what implications this might have for what concerns them most in life. Show students this slide and ask them to suggest: how the Nicene Creed has helped Christians understand their relationship with God and how some Christians like Quakers might understand their relationship with God without having a creed to guide them. Point out that churches aren’t simply divided by the ways they do things but also by how they define what they believe. In fact there was a lot of diversity in the way Christians did things before the 11th century (East and West) and before the 16th Century (Catholic and Protestant). Whilst the Mass was common to all Christians in the West up to the 16th century different areas and/or religious orders had their own way of doing things. In the East there are still at least three forms of the Eucharist. What united them was the shared statements of faith that they held not necessarily the form of worship they had.

Who is the ‘catholic’ church? Generally speaking the Orthodox Churches claim to be the one true church of Christ, being set apart (holy), encompassing all true Christians (catholic) and true to the earliest teachings of the disciples (apostolic). The Roman Catholic church believes it is the one true church of God, being the church of Peter – ‘against whom the gates of hell will not prevail’. The Protestant churches generally hold that believers form the true church but this is invisible and won’t be revealed until the coming of Christ in glory. Not all of these churches accept each others baptisms. Further work on the nature of the ‘Church’ could follow. This slide summarises some key points of difference. The quest for authenticity is as alive today as much as ever. Even though the Catholic and Orthodox churches have been in dialogue with non-Catholic and non-Orthodox churches they, on the whole, have not been part of bodies such as the World Council of Churches but have had observer status. The formation of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (with their national bodies) has made it possible for Catholic and Orthodox churches to have greater involvement in the Ecumenical movement. This is also true for the Quakers as they don’t hold the Nicene Creed as the ‘standard’ definition of their belief.