Contemporary Creed

A mini-course in Christianity for today by John Morris

The novelty and vitality of this small paperback make it easy to read, even to dip into, and it makes you think. John Morris (with whom I was a student) taught for thirty-five years, nine in Uganda, before being ordained as an Anglican priest and becoming a school chaplain. His short creed was written for school leavers as a summary of their years in chapel. This creed is not intended to replace the Nicene Creed, and includes reference to evolution, speaking of God “granting to creation a freedom that restricts his power”.

The format of the book is unusual. It is based on sixty problems, each expressed as a question and accompanied by a succinct poem by the author. The questions range over a wide area of Christian theology and Christian living, whilst the poems, always direct and sometimes quirky, illuminate old truths with fresh language. Some of the questions have taxed theologians for many centuries, for example “Was Jesus actually conscious of being God? [If so], how could he have been completely human?” Others are more recent, including one that asks about the consequences for the evolution of homo sapiens if God had been ‘on tap’ to rescue man in danger.

A poem (sometimes a single verse) on one page is placed opposite a problem (posed in one or two sentences) followed by a few paragraphs that place the poem in a broader context, providing brief discussion and scriptural references. One’s eye is led immediately to the poem, whose striking meaning can take readers by surprise, slipping under the radar of those who might otherwise put up a defence against theological issues.

The most moving parts of this book concern the problem of suffering. They reflect the author’s experience of having a brain-damaged grandson and the death of a young friend with a radiant faith. What kind of prayer is valid in such situations? In the words of the foreword, written by the late Reverend Professor C.F.D. Moule, Morris pictures “a God who is no interventionist power but who works from within the laws of his own creation, lovingly suffering with us to create free, responsible persons”.

This most original book has stimulated lively debate in a St. Bridget’s House Group. It would also be valuable in discussion groups with questioning non-Christians, and it has much to offer and to challenge the individual reader.

See http://www.contemporarycreed.org.uk/Biography_of_John_Morris.html

Robin M^cLean

February 2008