Dorothee Soelle’s Creed in Contrast to the Nicene Creed

Earlier this week, I criticized the Nicene creed for leaving out the teachings of Jesus. Quite a lacuna, I would say! 

I recommend the following creed gifted to us by the late feminist theologian, Dorothee Soelle, who has written substantively on Meister Eckhart and on the Beguines. 

Notice how, unlike the Nicene creed, it is less about a list of dogmas about Christ, but a call to action in Jesus’ name. An invitation to follow and imitate Jesus, rather than argue over his nature. It is a 21^st century creed that recognizes evolution and democracy and responsibility. This creed is born from a woman and mother, not from fourth-century bishops gathered under the eye of an Emperor.

Credo

I believe in god
who did not create an immutable world
a thing incapable of change
who does not govern according to eternal laws
that remain inviolate
or according to a natural order
of rich and poor
of the expert and the ignorant
of rulers and subjects

I believe in god
who willed conflict in life
and wanted us to change the status quo
through work
through our politics.

I believe in jesus christ
who was right when he
like each of us
just another individual who couldn’t beat city hall
worked to change the status quo
and was destroyed

looking at him I see
how our intelligence is crippled
our imagination stifled
our efforts wasted
because we do not live as he did
every day I am afraid
that he died in vain
because he is buried in our churches
because we have betrayed his revolution
in our obedience to authority
and our fear of it

I believe in jesus christ
who rises again and again in our lives
so that we will be free
from prejudice and arrogance
from fear and hate
and carry on his revolution
and make way for his kingdom

I believe in the spirit
that jesus brought into the world
in the brotherhood of all nations

I believe it is up to us
what our earth becomes
a valley of tears starvation and tyranny
or a city of god

I believe in a just peace
that can be achieved in the possibility of a meaningful life
for all people

I believe this world of god’s
has a future.

Amen.*

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*Dorothee Soelle, Revolutionary Patience, trans. Rita and Robert Kimber (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1977), pp. 22f.

Adapted from Matthew Fox, Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations, pp. 269-272.

See also, Matthew Fox, Chapter Five, “Liberated and Liberating Sisters: Meister Eckhart Meets Dorothee Soelle, the Beguines Mechtild of Magdeburg and Marguerite Porete, and Julian of Norwich,” in Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, pp. 77-96.

Banner image: “Sermon on the Mount.” Painting by Andrei Mironov. Wikimedia Commons

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Queries for Contemplation

Do you find many differences between this and the Nicene Creed? Do you find it filling in the gaps that are missing from the former?

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Recommended Reading

Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations

As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry.
“Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us in wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents in service of compassion and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of the most profound spiritual teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless Youth.

Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time

While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward