Apostle's Creed Question

[Nelka]

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth…

John 1-3 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

A Protestant (who also prays this creed) asked why we say The Father created Heaven and Earth and not the Son?

I know the Holy Trinity created all things together as they are the Trinity but what do I say to this?

Thanks.

 

[COPLAND_3]

The Catechism paragraphs 290-292 talk about the creative action of the Trinity. Obviously the Son and the Holy Spirit are a part of creative action, but as for the choice of articulation in the Creed I really dont know exactly why other than the issue of how the Son precedes from the Father and the Spirit precedes from the Father and Son. Maybe that is the reason why the Creed is articulated in that manner, especially the more developed Nicene Creed. Here is a link to the section in the Catechism. sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/apostle-s-creed/catechism-of-the-catholic-church-on-the-apostles-creed/i-believe-in-god-the-father

 

[Neofight]

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth…

John 1-3 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him.

A Protestant (who also prays this creed) asked why we say The Father created Heaven and Earth and not the Son?

I know the Holy Trinity created all things together as they are the Trinity but what do I say to this?

Thanks.

This is the explanation I use for my RCIA class students:

Genesis 1:1 tells us, indeed, that “God created the heavens and the earth”.
However, the difficulty lies in the word “creator”.

All things were created by our Trinitarian God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Ask you friend, “Who created Disneyland?” Invariably the answer will be “Walt Disney”.

Perhaps.

But, while Disney himself was the creative genius, Disneyland was build by construction engineers. And, it has been maintained by maintenance engineers.

So it goes with the creation of the heavens and the earth.

God the Father was creator in that he (excuse the earthly analogy) owns the intellectual license on the heavens and the earth.

God the Son built the idea conceived by God the Father (the Church).

God the Holy Spirit maintains what God envisioned, and Christ built.

So, each member of the trinity were creators. God the Father conceived the plan, God the Son constructed the infrastructure to bring the plan to fruition, and God the Holy Spirit keeps it running to fulfill what the Father envisioned, and the Son built.

This explanation supports Genesis 1 (creation) and John 1 (all things were created by and for the Son), and our Creeds by showing that the Father was indeed the creator, but from the standpoint of the idea and vision.

Hope this helps.

 

[randirhoades]

This is the explanation I use for my RCIA class students:

Genesis 1:1 tells us, indeed, that “God created the heavens and the earth”.
However, the difficulty lies in the word “creator”.

All things were created by our Trinitarian God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Ask you friend, “Who created Disneyland?” Invariably the answer will be “Walt Disney”.

Perhaps.

But, while Disney himself was the creative genius, Disneyland was build by construction engineers. And, it has been maintained by maintenance engineers.

So it goes with the creation of the heavens and the earth.

God the Father was creator in that he (excuse the earthly analogy) owns the intellectual license on the heavens and the earth.

God the Son built the idea conceived by God the Father (the Church).

God the Holy Spirit maintains what God envisioned, and Christ built.

So, each member of the trinity were creators. God the Father conceived the plan, God the Son constructed the infrastructure to bring the plan to fruition, and God the Holy Spirit keeps it running to fulfill what the Father envisioned, and the Son built.

This explanation supports Genesis 1 (creation) and John 1 (all things were created by and for the Son), and our Creeds by showing that the Father was indeed the creator, but from the standpoint of the idea and vision.

Hope this helps.

:clapping::yup: I wish you taught me in Catechism.

 

[Usagi]

The Nicene Creed (but not the Apostles’) includes “through Him all things were made” in the part about the Son, so His role in Creation is acknowledged. (Given that the bits in the Nicene Creed that expand on the Apostles’ Creed are anti-Arian, it also serves as yet another statement that the Son Himself was not “made.”)

Why the Apostles’ Creed assigns Creation to the Father, I am not entirely sure, but that does seem to be the role we give Him even to this day, when we are considering the Father specifically within the Trinity. Possibly it’s because, even though the entire Trinity has always existed, we tend to associate the Father with the God described in the Old Testament, which is where we have the stories of the Creation.

Usagi

 

[TheLeastofThese]

This is the explanation I use for my RCIA class students:

Genesis 1:1 tells us, indeed, that “God created the heavens and the earth”.
However, the difficulty lies in the word “creator”.

All things were created by our Trinitarian God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Ask you friend, “Who created Disneyland?” Invariably the answer will be “Walt Disney”.

Perhaps.

But, while Disney himself was the creative genius, Disneyland was build by construction engineers. And, it has been maintained by maintenance engineers.

So it goes with the creation of the heavens and the earth.

God the Father was creator in that he (excuse the earthly analogy) owns the intellectual license on the heavens and the earth.

God the Son built the idea conceived by God the Father (the Church).

God the Holy Spirit maintains what God envisioned, and Christ built.

So, each member of the trinity were creators. God the Father conceived the plan, God the Son constructed the infrastructure to bring the plan to fruition, and God the Holy Spirit keeps it running to fulfill what the Father envisioned, and the Son built.

This explanation supports Genesis 1 (creation) and John 1 (all things were created by and for the Son), and our Creeds by showing that the Father was indeed the creator, but from the standpoint of the idea and vision.

Hope this helps.

:clapping: Bravo! Well said!!

 

[Nelka]

God the Father was creator in that he (excuse the earthly analogy) owns the intellectual license on the heavens and the earth.

God the Son built the idea conceived by God the Father (the Church).

God the Holy Spirit maintains what God envisioned, and Christ built.

I like that.