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revised statement of faith

Nov 10th, 2009
by Drew Tatusko.

I was pouring through some documents yesterday and today and realized how much my theology has changed over the years. Fifteen years ago there are several spots in my new claim to faith that I would have thought were heretical! Alas, people change and times change. Not to change is not to be human. So if you were sitting in judgment on a PC(USA) committee, for example, where are the red flags for you?

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I believe in one eternal God, unmade, who existed before the expansion of the cosmos, who is among us now, and who will exist even to the end of all that has been created.  God revealed God’s own self as the one who orders the world out of chaos, and liberates the captives from slavery into freedom.  God revealed this among the Chosen people of Israel in whom God entrusted to lay the foundations of a new Kingdom on Earth, to those whom God chooses as God’s own for eternity.  This Kingdom was rejected by many including the very Chosen people of God in the form of idols of their own making for which purpose God sent judges, kings, and prophets to redirect people towards their one Creator, Sustainer, and Savior.

In God’s own mercy, God chose to take on the form of the man Jesus in order to bring the Kingdom of God among humanity.  As the fullness of God was in him, Jesus represents the true fulfillment of the human creation.  Jesus’ ministry was rebuked by the religious authorities even as Jesus ministered to the poor, outcast, lonely, and sinners while revealing the Kingdom of God.  Jesus being fully God and fully human was rejected by the people of God and mocked by imperial powers and religious authorities taking on the ultimate end of all sin which was death as a criminal on the cross.  Yet God’s grace nonetheless prevailed when Jesus rose from the dead three days after his gruesome and unjust crucifixion.  Before returning to the community of the Triune God, Jesus entrusted those whom he loved to carry on his message of mercy, compassion, service, and justice and on these pillars to continue to reveal the Kingdom of God as his very body on earth.  Jesus entrusts the human creation of God to partake and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who connects a frail and limited humanity to a powerful and limitless God.

As Jesus revealed God’s mercy among the poor, lonely, outcast, and oppressed peoples of Israel; and as Jesus demanded transformation among the religious authorities while revealing their religious systems as frail compared to the God they alone were to serve, so Jesus asks the community of faith to strive for justice through love knowing that it is God’s grace through acts of faith that sustain the people of God.  With faith in a risen Lord who by the power of the Spirit sustains the order of creation, the people of God share the responsibility of establishing a kingdom of mercy, compassion, service, and justice that exists to glorify God alone.

The church is to pursue the unfolding of this Kingdom, and “is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ” (Presbyterian Church USA Book of Order, G-3.0400).  Though the people of God continue to reject God, it is God who through mercy and love pursues them nonetheless as witnessed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Through the risen Christ, God's love and forgiveness persists in the presence of the Spirit even for all of those who reject him.

The Scriptures contained in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament bear witness to the relationship of God with God’s people, and the revelation of God’s will for all of the world and humanity in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord.  God inspired those who composed the texts in these Scriptures so that future generations may learn of God.  It is the through the Scriptures that we learn the most about the mission of Jesus and the early church and its saints.  The Scriptures remain a source of life to be inhabited in the continued revelation of God’s Kingdom in our own nations, communities, and churches today, even as those who wrote and those who later canonized the various books of Scripture lived in cultures alien to our own time.  Although imperfect in many ways, the Scriptures are yet the primary authority to ground the inspiration of the Kingdom of God.

Worship nourishes our faith through the reading and proclamation of the good news of the Gospel in Scripture. It is where we are incorporated into the body of Christ through the sacrament of baptism and participate in the holy mystery of God's salvation by grace in the holy communion. Through worship, we are joined to one another through ritual and there receive new life in Christ. We do this for the sake of God the Father who lives and reigns with Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Related posts:

  1. statement of faith
  2. maybe there is no gospel after all
  3. justice or mercy?
  4. easter means there is work to do
  5. sin kills god: why jesus had to die

Posted in: Life, Religion, Theology.

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  • Drew,

    I am overwhelmed by the beauty of how you described your faith and understanding of it. I as well could copy and paste this and claim it to speak with bravado of my faith. Likely I would feel the need to add something about non-violence and Christ-centric scriptural reading but that's the anabaptist in me shining through.
    I applaud your writing and see no reason why there would be anything to contest in it as you approach your final stages.
    Brother may God bless you deeply as you pursue the path he has laid out for you to follow. Keep your eyes on Jesus, speak his gospel of grace boldly to the world. It is the wisdom of Christ, which is foolishness to us, that will bring people to their knees in awe of how amazing God is. It is only by the guidance of Holy Spirit that we can fully walkout our faith. God has clearly anointed you to carry his message of love to the world!
  • Like much of the time, I'm left speechless at your work, Drew. I could copy and paste this and make 99% of it my own statement of faith. In fact I've already saved it so that I can print it out and read it later as it provides a synthesis of viewpoints that I've not been able to work out as organized and systematically as this.

    But that's not terribly helpful. That's really about me, and that's not the point. What do we do with this?

    The sad thing, and you know this, is that as far as your mind and ability to express yourself goes you are exactly the sort of person the Church needs. I can't speak to your pastoral ability or anything else involved in the job. But you think beautifully and you inspire well. But you provoke, you're right where the Church needs to be in its ability to re-evaluate and repurpose itself, able to look critically at itself and go "what the fuck did we do to ourselves for the last 1900 years.." And of course, the problem is that very people want that and have the courage to face that.

    William James, I believe, remarked on how little we do unless we are absolutely pressed. The church desperately needs healing and unfortunately, by the time it is absolutely pressed it will be too late. I think, and of course I think because I'm in this camp too, that this path of passionate engagement with critical re-examination is what we need to continue to build the Kingdom, first of all, and (secondly, certainly) remain relevant.

    So I'm sure your call is real... the problem may be that the Church (and I don't just mean the PC(USA), but most of our institutions) is far too much a 'principality' to handle it. You know it goes for Prophets, and I'm not calling you one, but the prophetic tradition moves still in many voices and we surely live in a magnified Jerusalem.

    The problem that remains is where does one stand in order to promote change? Do we go off and do our own thing, most likely helping some small amount of people but leaving the rest to wander the wilderness? Do we enter into the City and scream, unheaded? I think we have to be careful when me make these decisions... escapism often masquerades as purity.

    Anyway, just my thoughts on this. It pains me to see you go through this and I wish I could say something more substantial.
  • wow. thanks. i will need to re-read this a few times to soak it all in brother. a lot of wisdom here from you and angela for which i am very grateful. peace.
  • angelaharms
    I keep pushing on this Drew, but I just gotta... you don't seem to me like a man who subjects his beliefs to the judgment of an authority. I just really have a sense that you're at a crossroads. Will you throw off these shackles and run barefoot into a field of grace, bringing light with you wherever you go? Or will you stick with the "career path" and seeking approval?

    Wow. Did I just say that? I'm considering backspacing, but I think I'm gonna let it stand. I have great admiration for you, brother.
  • this is my last stop on a very long train ride. i need closure... it's where my calling began, i need to persist to see if it's where it needs to continue. but if i don't keep at it now, i will always wonder and that would be another shackle you know?

    but don't apologize for the challenge. it means a lot to me. seriously. keep pushing.

    peace.
  • angelaharms
    I'm glad to hear that you aren't attached to the results. What you believe is beautiful, but it's just so not about "right doctrine." Even if they decide they like what you have to say, as long as they're about doctrinal tests, they're barking up the wrong tree.

    And, I love the lack of pronouns. :)
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