Credo

Patrem omnipotenetem, factorem caeli et terrae,

Visibilium omnium, et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum,

Filium Dei unigenitum.

Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,

Deum verum de Deo Vero.

Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri:

Per quem omnia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos homines,

Et propter nostram salutem

Descendit de caelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto

Ex Maria Virgine: Et homo factus est.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis:

Sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est.

Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas.

Et ascendit in caelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris.

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria,

Judicare vivos et mortuos:

Cuius erit non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem:

Qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.

Qui cum Patre et Filio dimul adoratur, et conglorificatur:

Qui locutus est per Prophetas.

Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.

Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum.

Et vitam venturi saeculi.

Amen.

I cannot find my way: there is no star
In all the shrouded heavens anywhere;
And there is not a whisper in the air
Of any living voice but one so far
That I can hear it only as a bar
Of lost, imperial music, played when fair
And angel fingers wove, and unaware,
Dead leaves to garlands where no roses are.

No, there is not a glimmer, nor a call,
For one that welcomes, welcomes when he fears,
The black and awful chaos of the night;
For through it all, -- above, beyond it all, --
I know the far-sent message of the years,
I feel the coming glory of the Light!

credo is also the name of an excellent Chaosium card game in which the players, each representing a faction from the early Christian church, struggle to conform the credo of the Christian religion.

Designed for two to five players, it is exhilarating, at the same time providing a quite acurate historical simulation of how this credo (first w/u above) may actually have been formed.

Currently out of catalog, due to the demise of Chaosium Inc. the game is compromised of Church, Doctrine and Event cards, a church display for each player and a credo display. The church cards depict church elements such as bishops, prayers (called flock), and secular politic figures. The more cards a player have, more votes in the Council, therefore more credo articles approved.

The object of the game is to achieve the largest Flock at the end of the game, or at any moment achieve 11 million flock, or acquire 17 votes in the Council.

Credo is copyright 1993 C. V. Gidlow

Perhaps my search for truth in religion is coming to an end. I may have to search elsewhere.

How can I find truth when my search is focused on religion, which is a philosophy based on beliefs in the supernatural?

I do not expect to be satisfied with the definitions of religion except, perhaps, that of William James who wrote that the word religion cannot stand for any single principle or essence, but is, rather, a collective name.

Virtually all religions involve the mythical, unprovable supernatural. Arguments for and against the supernatural have devolved into the science/religion controversy. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Science gives us major answers to minor questions while religion gives us minor answers to major questions."

But science cannot prove or disprove that which does not exist. Whatever names are given to Ultimate Reality, The Ground of Being, etc. are human constructs, devised to fill a void in our knowledge which can only be filled by facts, not myths.

James points out that "God, creation, the soul, etc. are properly not objects of knowledge at all."

Huston Smith agrees with James in that science has gone too far in the direction of discounting religious sensibilities. For instance he says, ". . . empirical studies are methodologically incapable of determining whether extra-epiphenomenal invisibles do or do not figure in the workings of the brain."

On the contrary, Abraham Maslow goes so far as to say that he has schematized and generalized the descriptions of peak experiences so that they can be handled as data for study (a study that is repeatable, confirmable and with data that is quantifiable). Maslow further says, "This scientific skepticism of the impersonal, even the impersonal realm, is unwarranted."

What is revealing in Maslow is "[The] same list of described characteristics of reality, of the world, as seen at certain times, is just about the same as what have been called the eternal values, the eternal verities. We see the old familiar trinity of truth, beauty and goodness. This is to say, this list of described characteristics is also simultaneously a list of values. These characteristics are what the great religionists and philosophers have valued , and this is practically the same list that most serious thinkers of mankind have agreed upon as the ultimate or highest value of life."

Humanists have successfully developed moral and ethical systems that are independent of divine revelation from a deity. They are based, but not exclusively, upon belief that people will willingly follow humanistic codes because they are effective; reasonable; lead to self esteem; are consistent with one's natural feelings of caring, compassion and sympathy; are accepted by others, and do not lead to condemnation or rejection. No system of rewards and punishment (as in the hope of Heaven and the threat of Hell) are needed to enforce them.

Humans are social animals who can make the greatest achievements through mutual cooperation. Religions with dogmatic principles are divisive.

Essentially, I find the moral and ethical values expressed in the Seven Principles of our Unitarian Universalist Association all the guidelines I need at this time. 

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote (see http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml):

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Cre"do (kr?"d?), n. [L. See Creed.]

The creed, as sung or read in the Roman Catholic church.

He repeated Aves and Credos. Macualay.

© Webster 1913.