How do Methodists understand the Apostle's Creed?
Upvote:5
"Catholic" is like the opposite of a word such as Jacuzzi, Xerox, or Kleenex. The latter are brands that have become synonymous with a specific meaning: hot tub, copy machine, tissue. The former had a specific meaning, and is now associated with a "brand" of Christianity. The former meaning is that you can think of the word "Catholic" as a synonym for the word "Universal". That should clear up the first item in your question: there is one universal church of Christ. Don't let all the denominations fool you: depending on which group you subscribe to, the meaning here is either that they are all part of the Lord's church, if perhaps misguided on some point of doctrine or other, or not really Christian at all (though today this latter view is rare). Stating belief in this church in the creed is stating your full acceptance of all that the Church teaches1.
In talking about "communion of Saints", the creed is not referring only to those who have been granted the formal title, such as Saint Augustine or Saint Paul. It refers to everyone who is sanctified by the blood of Jesus... in other words, all Christians. When the creed says that they are in communion, it reminds us that we are all followers of Jesus: not Calvin, not Luther, not the Pope, but Jesus, and reminds us of his prayer in John 17 that "they may all be one." It also refers to a connection we all have to Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
1Side note to the answer, but within the context of a denomination, this often refers specifically to the teachings of that said denomination, and sometime even for the denomination to assert authority over it's supplicants. This is one reason why the denomination I belong to does not support the use of any creed. We believe it's up to the individual to study and find out for themselves what God's word says, and a big part of formal church worship time is to help and support you along that road.
Upvote:14
The Phrase "Holy catholic Church" does not refer to the Roman Catholic church, but to the "universal church", i.e. all true Christians, whatever earthly religious organization they belong to. The word 'catholic' just means universal. That and the "Communion of Saints" refers to a belief in the essential unity of all true Christians, whatever disagreements they currently have.
Methodists, along with most Christians believe in a God who is a Trinity; three persons in one God: Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is as much God as the Father or the Son, and is believed in just as much.
EDIT: The text you quote is only the last part of the Apostle's Creed, the whole of which also includes statements of belief in the Father and the Son. The full text can be found here, in several very-close versions. The Church of England Common Worship version is probably closest to what Methodists would accept.
More post
- π What is the distinction between Justification and Salvation? (Swedenborgian View)
- π What did people call and pronounce Jesus in Jesus' time
- π According to evangelicalism, did Jesus' divine nature suffer on the cross?
- π How do we know that death has no mastery over Christ?
- π Apologetic on suffering using a reference to Jesus
- π What does it mean for a society to be moral?
- π Does the Bible ever refer to Jesus Christ as βGodβ?
- π What are the differences in belief regarding Hesychasm between the Chalcedonian (Eastern) and Non-Chalcedonian (Oriental) Orthodox Churches?
- π What is the origin of the Doctrine of Trinity?
- π Is Genesis 18 regarded as a Theophany of the Trinity by any denomination?
- π Why did so many early church fathers say that sex was a consequence of the Fall?
- π How was Jesus able to be heard when preaching?
- π What is a free online New Testament commentary you recommend for diving into the historical/cultural context and the Greek/manuscripts?
- π Is there a connection between 666 and Solomon?
- π If flour seems to be accepted as sin offering/atonement, then why is blood needed?
- π What are Christian apologetics refutations of the objections posited by the site "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?"?
- π On what N(th) day of the week did Jesus die according to the Adventist?
- π According to Catholicism, is divine chastis*m*nt due especially to the sins of priests?
- π Do any church writers compare or contrast Jesus and the burning bush?
- π What commentary or traditions, if any, exist concerning the identity of the person named Joseph in Matthew 13?
- π Why did the Apologists adopt Stoic Philosophy of the Ξ»ΟΞ³ΞΏΟ?
- π How do Protestants deal with pre-Reformation heresies?
- π Are there any existent military orders?
- π The first conception or the first coitus?
- π Why do Catholics make the sign of the cross at the Eucharist?
- π What was Isaac Watts' theological background?
- π Election, Gods Sovereignty and Is Cain Saved?
- π Book of revelation what is wormwood?
- π Do Protestants believe that "Our Father" is on par with "Our Mother," or is Jesus strictly invoking a male symbol only?
- π In light of grace, How does a Christian consider the devotedness of Muslims and Jews?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π How do Methodists understand the Apostle's Creed?
- π How do Christians understand the omniscience of God in relation to the Uncertainty Principle?
- π How should I understand the emphasis on "begotten, not made" in the Nicene Creed?
- π How do modalists understand the role of Jesus as mediator?
- π How does the Catholic Church understand the priesthood of all believers?
- π How do Protestants who say Catholicism doesn't teach the true Gospel understand a Catholic personβs faith in Jesus?
- π How do Protestants understand the "unforgivable" sin?
- π How can I understand the rise of the Egyptians as a race in the Old Testament?
- π How do protestants understand Jesus' statement that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man we will have no life?
- π How does Swedenborgianism understand Amos 3:2, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth"?
- π How do Christians understand the existence of God in relation to the scientific concept of energy?
- π How do Trinitarians understand what Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane?
- π How do Trinitarians explain the Athanasian Creed saying that the "one God" is the Trinity rather than the Father as in the Nicene Creed?
- π How do Biblical Unitarians understand what some theologians refer as the Kenosis in Philippians 2?
- π How do Arminians understand the doctrine of Unlimited Atonement in a way that does not make God unjust?
- π How do Evangelicals understand "holy children" in 1 Cor 7:14, with respect to the salvation of children dying in infancy?
- π How did the original texts of the Creed relate Pilate to Jesus' Passion?
- π How do Swedenborgians understand Jesus' words on marriage in the resurrection in Matthew 22:30?
- π How do Biblical Unitarians understand the connection between Mark 1:1-4 and Malachi 3:1-5?
- π What is Typology in the context of Christianity, and how does it help understand doctrinal matters?
- π How do Protestants understand the blessedness of Mary in Luke 1:48?
- π How did the Church fathers of the first four centuries understand 2 Corinthians 5:21?
- π How do Biblical Unitarians understand "the glory of the Father's own self" that Jesus claims he had before the world was?
- π How to understand the paradox of 1John 5:3 and Mathew 5:29
- π How do the reformed theologians understand Hebrews 3:14?
- π How do Protestant Christians understand the βSabbath-rest for the people of Godβ in Hebrews chapter 4?
- π How do Catholics traditionally understand the divine omnipotence?
- π How do Trinitarians understand the phrase 'image of God' as in Colossians 1:15?
- π How do Jehovah's Witnesses understand the essential nature of hell, and how does it differ from that of Seventh-day Adventists?
- π How does the Reformed tradition understand Philippians 2:6-9 as it regards the Hypostatic Union?