Clues to the Nicene Creed

Book excerpt: The Nicene Creed's powerful summary of Christian faith has stood the test of time, embodying core truths and distinguishing essential Christian teachings from those of lesser importance. As respected thinker and educator David Willis explores the Nicene Creed in this new book, he provides clues for meaningfully interpreting this most ecumenical of church creeds in the twenty-first century. Writing especially for educated laypeople, advanced students, and theological educators, Willis eloquently links the ancient creed to life today. As he points out, faith is constantly taking different shapes within broad boundaries like the creed's perennial truths, and even these truths need to be reinterpreted in each age to keep them intelligible and compelling. Willis admirably achieves this task for our day by elucidating the creed's statement of faith with analogies drawn from such diverse areas as architecture, graphic art, poetry, sculpture, and psychological theory. Those seeking to delve into the creed or to deepen a lifelong encounter with it will be enriched by Willis's reflections.