In a message dated 7/29/05 7:28:07 PM, crscottblu@... writes: > I seriously doubt that those who wrote the Scriptures would recognize the theological edifices of recent centuries that claim to be erected on apostolic foundations. > GMSpencer@... wrote: I think you are absolutely correct. What they would recognize is the worship, don't you think? gms+ ----------------------------------------- Fr. Spencer+ Yes. The apostles might be pleasantly surprised that the sayings of Jesus they passed on to audiences around the Mediterranean are still being repeated, along with readings they would recall from the Psalms, Moses and the Prophets. While there have been changes in the liturgy, someone wrote that 70% of the BCP is directly from Scripture. Certainly the words of Jesus repeated at Eucharist, the Comfortable Words, the blessings, the prayers those first Christians used in worship have echoed down the centuries to our own hallowed halls. In my own experience, the Scriptures made more sense after I began reading the Early Church Fathers and studied the old liturgies. In the 1960's I worked with some college students in a little theater group sponsored by a Church that I served as associate pastor. The Church had been blessed with a large contribution that made possible the building of a theatre complete with lights and sound. We devoted many hours in research trying to ascertain what were the elements of worship in a first century Christian synagogue. Then we wrote out a liturgy and put it on stage. We wondered, would the Apostle Paul, had he traveled through time and landed in our midst, have recognized what we were doing? That experience was one of the little steps in my pilgrimage from free church worship. As the centuries since the Apostolic Age pass, the Christian writings reveal an increasing amount of pain because of the times in which they were written. Looking through some of the theological lenses from the middle ages on is to peer through dark glasses indeed. While there have been some great theological literature over the centuries, the making of creeds and confessions seems to me not to have kept pace with other disciplines. The oldest, simplest creeds seem to me to be the best, especially those that were originally baptismal formulas such as the Roman Symbol and the Apostles Creed. From. The Nicene Creed on, each confession reveals a new scar, more pain which the Church was suffering as it passed through time. Charles+. Indianapolis, Indiana -- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: faithandlife-unsubscribe@...