Believing in God the Father: Interpreting a phrase from the Apostle’s Creed

Abstract

In our days, the creedal phrase ‘I believe in God the Father almighty’ is interpreted primarilyalong Trinitarian lines: It is applied to God as the Father of Jesus Christ. Here I argue that ithas a dual background: in Jesus’ prayer practice, in which He consistently addressed God as‘Father’, and in the Hellenistic habit of referring to the Creator as ‘Father’. I discuss Jesus’ useof the term ‘Father’ against its Old Testament background, and argue that it primarily pointsto the intimacy of Jesus’ relationship with His father. Against the Hellenistic background,however, the metaphor ‘Father’ means ‘he who brings forth effortlessly’. Finally, I discusssome gender issues connected with the use of the term ‘Father’ for God.

Palabras sobre Dios en contextos de comunidades periféricas de Medellín

“…Creer en Dios es un acto de confianza para seguirlo (Sarot, 2016), no tanto la especulación sobre una idea. En contextos periféricos, las ideas no siempre tienen consecuencias prácticas para las comunidades, de allí que la confianza, puesta en acto, es una opción más clara.…”

I believe in God: Content analysis of the first article of the Christian faith based on a literature review

“…Classically, we know two versions of the content of faith: the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. For the delimitation of the problem, we believe it is appropriate to approach the Apostles' Creed in its first article of faith, namely, 'I believe in God, the Almighty Father, Creator of heaven and earth' (Sarot 2016).…”

“…From the relationship between man and God comes believing. This verb can be a way of trusting (Sarot 2016), adhering or surrendering to God (Ponzio 2015), or something that is thought about God (Alves de Souza Filho 2016). In classical theology, this way of approaching the concept of belief is associated with the distinction of fides qua, the act of believing, fides quae, what is believed, sensus fidei, the capacity that a person has to discern in matters of faith and customs and sensus fidelium, which expresses the unity of the community of believers (Schickendantz 2016).…”

“…Although some authors show the relationship between this profession of faith and non-Christian beliefs (Múnera 2016), Christianity has widely developed this tradition. Thus, the Father is not so much a cultural designation that offers security to a group of people, as one would say from a psychoanalytic reading (Ramos González (Sarot 2016).…”

“…When it is affirmed that God creates, it is also said that he grants the necessary conditions for human beings to conserve and recreate what he did, there is a margin of freedom rather than determinism in this process (Stratton & Erasmus, 2018). This statement 'creating heaven and earth', rather than being understood literally, shows a close and dependent relationship between God and everything he created (Sarot 2016). All things, and especially human beings, have a trace of God; hence, it is said that they are the image and likeness of their creator (Zorroza 2015).…”