Thursday 12 September 2013

The Nicene Creed and Psalm 139- The Inescapable God.

What do these two pieces say about God and His relationship with humanity: 

Throughout the Nicene Creed there is reference to The Trinity; the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit. Whilst the Father is described as Almighty and comes across as entirely independent of the other two, the Son and the Holy Spirit proceed only from the Fathers existence. In order of the three seemingly most important parts of God, the Creed describes his attributes. Through the Father, God creates heaven and earth and 'all that is seen and unseen'. He also becomes the human form of Jesus when he realizes that he, God, is needed on earth. God is shown as benevolent when he dies on the cross to salvage human kind. 
The Son 'side of God'  is shown to be dependent on the Father 'side of God' when in the main verse of the Creed it is described that after resurrection Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.  God is then also seen to be omnipotent as the Creed declares the Son will again come to glory to judge the living and the dead and that his kingdom shall have no end. 
The Holy Spirit 'side of God' is seen to be dependent on both the Son and the Father, a western Catholic belief.
So to me, within the Creed, God is seen as pretty much all the omnis as he is Almighty, and is shown to be Transcendent within the Father, Immanent within the Son and also omniscient, benevolent and omnipotent.

Alike to this, Psalm 139, is a constant reminder of Gods omniscient nature, the author explains that even before a word has left their tongue God knows it completely.
God is also presented as utterly admirable and superior to humanity in verse 6 "such knowledge is too wonderful for me...I cannot attain it" Added to this is verses 7-12 where there is an emphasis on Gods presence in the world, the author perhaps in panic or relief outlining their belief that however far they flee or however dark the darkness is which surrounds them, they could never hide or escape from God (hence the title of the Psalm) 

The two pieces vary from each other in the sense that the Creed is less based around a relationship with God and instead focuses more heavily on the Christian story of God and outlining the different areas of God (expected of the Creed, as it is a sort of declaration of belief- i think) However could be seen as more literary than Psalm 139 as it contains story like features. It is also obvious that the Creed is aimed at a wide party of fellow Christian believers, suggested through the use of 'we believe'. Other than this there is also a loving relationship hinted at during the piece as the Creed refers to Christs sacrifice for humankind. 
In contrast to this Psalm 139 seems far more reflective of one particular persons relationship with God, suggested through references to 'I' and 'You'. Suggesting a very personal and friendly relationship with God, However also holding God up as a wonderful being way beyond human understanding. 

sorry if I rambled. 



Saturday 7 September 2013

My RS A level book has just arrived, nerdy and excited.