“Jesus approached the disciples and said to them,” “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,”
Today’s Feast of the Trinity is not well proven from the Gospel. Today’s Gospel contributes to a lack of proof, as the stand-alone statement is considered by scholars to be a much later addition. Also, the added statement says nothing about a belief in three distinct persons believed to be one Godhead, which is the doctrine of the Trinity. The formulation of the doctrine on the Trinity, as is the case with the formulation of all doctrines within Christianity, happened when rulers started institutionalizing Jesus’ People’s Movement. The institutionalizing was done mostly by men, for example Paul, who started to formulate a ruling priestly class. As was done throughout history, these men began to seek, even demand, obedience to their priestly rule, which they had invented for themselves given that Jesus was not a priest. Obedience is greatly helped by statements of beliefs. Thus, it was not the people who started formulating beliefs. The people were living Jesus’ relationship model of communion, sharing his love, and acting as healers like him. It was not the people who started establishing beliefs as doctrine and then developed the doctrines into a creedal system. It was the rulers who did so. A noteworthy example is baptismal candidates being required by 2nd century priests to recite their formulation of the Apostle’s Creed; “Do you believe… in God… and in Jesus… born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried…” Absent in the creed is Jesus’ life witness, as it is absent in a priest ruled institutional christianity. Considered lacking in doctrinal specifics, additional rulers formulated the Nicene Creed. That creeds are formulated by rulers for their rule is evident in the fact that the primary ruler formulating the Nicene Creed was Emperor Constantine who convened the Council at Nicaea and the bishops. Hierarchs, intent on formulating institutional christianity’s creeds were intent on preserving monotheism, the singular War Lord deity of organized religion. As there is one emperor, one pope, one president, so there is one god. Advocates for creeds, like the late Professor Jaroslav Pelikan who authored 30 books with an expertise in creeds, assert that in difficult times it is necessary to believe in something, “something specific. Specification is the task of the creed.” It is problematic that creeds are oriented toward specific ‘things’ to believe. It is also problematic that scholarship on the creeds does not clearly link them to the ruling class who composed them. So it is that rulers setting forth a belief in things, even in things like Jesus is “begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father,” that “he rose again on the third day” did not stop those same rulers of institutional christianity from betraying the commoner Jesus’ witness. The creeds did not stop the rulers from oppressing people in Jesus’ name who were trying to follow Jesus’ Way of Communion, nor stop them from inflicting suffering on people in Jesus’ name who were trying to follow Jesus’ Way of love, nor stop them from doing violence to people in Jesus’ name who were trying to follow Jesus’ Way of acting as a healing power. Let us not allow words set by rulers yesterday to eclipse a living witness energizing our present and our future.
“Ah, we disparage still The Tidings of Good Will, Discrediting Love’s gospel now as then! And with the verbal creed.” (On Love – Bliss Carman)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, I pray my intellect never diminishes my compassion.
Question: How have my beliefs changed?
May 26, 2024 Gospel Matthew 28:16-20 Feast of the Trinity