In 2005 NPR revived an idea originally pioneered by Edward R. Murrow in the 1950s of broadcasting short statements of faith from common, everyday people called This I Believe. The NPR broadcasts ended in 2009 and true to form, I have finally figured out what I would have said, if asked. I always seem to think of the snappy rejoinder just after the person it should be directed at has left the room.
First, I should clarify that this is definitely not a “revelation” that has come upon me suddenly. What I am about to commit to bytes are the beliefs that I have come to slowly and steadily over the past 30 or 40 years. It is only the words to express them simply and reasonably accurately that have at last emerged.
Second, while I remain culturally Christian, I have known for a long time that my beliefs were not theologically orthodox, or for that matter, anywhere near mainstream. Again, nothing has changed, I have just found the words that express what I have long believed.
So, in the best and most accurate form I have found to date, here is my credo:
- God is infinitely creative and infinitely creating
- God is more than the sum of all that creation believes and has believed that God is
- No revelation is final, God has not, and will not cease to communicate with creation
From these three core beliefs stems all else that I believe. These are the truths that drive my actions, behaviors and ideas and emotions. I put this out to the universe not in any effort to convert or persuade another, but that others may understand me a little better.
Peace,
Tim