I always find creeds, like the Apostles' Creed, the Pledge to the American Flag, the various scouting mottos ("and to OBEY the LAW of the PACK!" hee!) and other created statements of belief to be intriguing. You see, so often, we say them together. In unison. They are a statement of corporate belief. They list what we believe.
And yet, without any excpetions that I know of (although I'm sure there are some), they start off with "I."
Why is this, I wonder? I'd like to think that it's a way of showing respect for the individual. After all, we're choosing to subsume that individuality and coalesce with a group just by reciting the group's creed.
As individuals, we're affirming our personal choice to be a member of that group.
So while as a church we believe the statements of the Apostles' Creed, that in and of itself is not enough. Each of us must make that choice on our own. Each of us bears the responsibiltiy for that choice.
What will your choice be?
I -
I believe!
Image thanks to http://flickr.com/photos/35744138@N00/925335248/
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