FAITH IN A NUTSHELL

WHAT DO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE?

This is a question which is almost impossible to answer.
It depends on which Christian you are asking. While we have some creeds in common, the way we interpret those statements of faith varies enormously.

I meant to create a series of pages here, but have never got beyond this one...
However you can find thoughts on the Christian beliefs around Easter, Christmas and Holy Communion on the home page of this site. On this page, though, you can find some thoughts on the Trinity, which may help you to start thinking about your own beliefs and help you to ask why you believe what you do, not just about this, but about other doctrines. If it does one thing, I hope this page might encourage you to question anything you read (in books or on the internet) or hear from people as they talk about Christian belief. The thoughts below are just my own ramblings to set you off. For a deeper exploration you will need to read more widely, and spend time contemplating for yourself. I have interspersed my ramblings with questions which may help you root what appear to be abstract ideas in your own experience.

DOCTRINE AND EXPERIENCE - THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE?

Christian faith is often approached as a list "things to believe" to which one must sign up in order to become a Christian. Doctrine (teachings) come first and experience must be understood in the light of it.

The problem with this approach is that it puts the cart before the horse. In fact Christianity is not a list of propositions but a relationship with a living God. Our faith is based on experience - our own and others - not the other way around. The creeds are really the best attempts of Christians to put into words the discoveries they made about God so that they could help people find their own way through life . They are like a map of a strange land - they will tell you that others have found mountains over here, and dragons over there, but they won't tell you where to go , and they aren't a substitute for making the journey yourself.

Below I have briefly unpacked an example of the way in which experience gives rise to doctrine in the case of one of the most baffling of Christian beliefs - the Trinity.

FOR REFLECTION

• Looking back over your life, can you see the way in which your beliefs have changed - not only about God, but about people, politics, life itself?
• How did they come to change - what were the influences on you - significant people or events, perhaps?
• How did you feel at the time and how do you feel now, looking back at your journey?

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY - A CASE STUDY. No one in their right minds would invent a doctrine of the Trinity. It is a perfect example of the way in which doctrine grows out of experience. GOD THE FATHER Those who first knew Jesus had grown up with the experience of God , both in Scripture, through creation and through prayer. God had made them and loved them ."I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43) They knew God as a faithful, personal God who cared about his creation. GOD THE SON Then they met Jesus - and as they got to know him it seemed to them that being with him was just like being with the Father God of which the Bible spoke. He was so like God that they felt he was God. We often forget that they knew nothing of genetics - how one could be Son of God and son of Mary was not a matter of DNA or biology for them - it was about character and personality. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT After Jesus' ascension, they were bereft and frightened - but then on the Day of Pentecost, they had an experience which they described as being like a rushing wind, which gave them courage and hope. They felt, when this "Spirit" came upon them just as they had done when Jesus was there. THE TRINITY All three experiences; the meeting with God the Father in the scriptures and in prayer; the meeting with Jesus, who embodied what they knew of God; the meeting with the Spirit who gave them the energy and faith to go out and proclaim the gospel, felt the same. The doctrine of the Trinity is the best expression they could manage of the way things seemed to be, with these three distinct "people" woven together as one. The details of this doctrine were argued out in early centuries of the church, and the multitude of words spilt in the debate has tended to obscure the reality of the experience to which they bear witness. I am indebted to a friend for the following gem. "The three interpersonalities as infinite other selves exist in corresponding interrelations, for ever living in the perfect harmony of mutual interpenetration of interexistence. Each divine interpersonality is absolutely inseparate from the other two, and has interconsciousness or other-consciousness rather than self consciousness." (J.B. Champion - Personality and the Trinity ) So, hope that's clear then!

FOR REFLECTION Look at the picture below. Imagine yourself in the picture, woven into this relationship of love. The Trinity by Rublev, shows the three persons of the Trinity -Father, Son and Spirit -gathered round a table. The fourth side of the table, which faces us, is unoccupied. We are invited to take our place at the table, and share in the meal. The icon recalls the story of God's appearance to Abraham (Genesis 18) in the form of three people to whom Abraham gives hospitality. In this icon it is God's hospitality which we are invited to enjoy. The doctrine of the Trinity is rooted in the belief that at the heart of God is a relationship of love. In this video, part of the Pilgrim Course series, Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter, talks about the icon.

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