The Creed in Slow Motion

An exploration of faith, phrase by phrase, word by word

Martin Kochanski

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781399801546
• eBook ISBN:
  9781399801553
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth... The Creed is the bones of our faith. In all our different ways, it makes us who we are. But when we stand up and recite the Creed in unison, we have no time to contemplate what it is that we are committing ourselves to. The words rush past, their meaning blurred by familiarity. If we could only slow them down and hear them properly, they would have the power to change worlds. That is what The Creed in Slow Motion aims to do. This is a book for people who like to think things through from first principles. It will not tell you what to believe. (It is for you to engage your mind and discover that for yourself. And for unbelievers to learn what exactly they disbelieve, and why.)In forty short chapters, with clarity and wit, The Creed in Slow Motion draws examples from real-life stories, history and even science to uncover the core claims of Christianity. By turns it is deep, heartening, startling, revolutionary and even, by the world's standards, outrageous.

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Imprint Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• I BEING: God the Father
• 1 I believe
• 2 I believe in
• 3 God
• 4 One God
• The parable of the cube
• 5 The Father
• 6 Almighty
• 7 Maker of heaven and earth
• 8 Of all things visible and invisible
• II ACT: God the Son
• II.a Creation
• The parable of the shadows
• 9 I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ
• 10 Born of the Father before all ages
• 11 God from God
• 12 Through him all things were made
• II.b Intervention
• Into time and place
• 13 For us men
• 14 And for our salvation
• The parable of the scissors
• 15 He came down from heaven
• 16 Was incarnate
• 17 Of the Virgin Mary
• 18 And became man
• II.c Rescue
• The parable of the signpost
• 19 He was crucified
• 20 For our sake
• 21 Under Pontius Pilate
• 22 He suffered death
• 23 And was buried
• 24 And rose again
• 25 In accordance with the Scriptures
• II.d Fulfilment
• 26 He ascended into heaven
• 27 And is seated at the right hand of the Father
• 28 He will come again in glory
• 29 To judge the living and the dead
• 30 And his kingdom will have no end
• III LIFE: God the Spirit
• 31 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord
• 32 The giver of life
• 33 Who proceeds from the Father and the Son
• 34 Is adored and glorified
• 35 Who has spoken through the prophets
• 36 I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church
• 37 I confess one baptism
• 38 For the forgiveness of sins
• 39 I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
• 40 And the life of the world to come
• Further reading
• Foonotes