|
The Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ is a Christian confession of faith written in 1959 to express the common faith of the newly founded United Church of Christ, formed in 1957 by the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church with the Congregational Christian Churches. The statement was prepared by a 28-member commission elected at the Uniting General Synod in 1957 and was formally ratified by the Second General Synod in 1959. The commission, chaired by Elmer J. F. Arndt (Evangelical and Reformed) and vice-chaired by Douglas Horton (Congregational Christian), had equal representation from the two predecessor bodies, and included six women.〔Louis Gunnemann, ''The Shaping of the United Church of Christ: An Essay in the History of American Christianity'', expanded by Charles Shelby Rooks (Cleveland, OH: United Church Press, 1999).〕 Since the original version was adopted in 1959, two further revisions of the statement have been written in order to make the statement's language more gender-inclusive (that is, to remove references to God and to humanity that are exclusively masculine). The 1976 version drafted by then-UCC president Robert Moss retains the original statement's confession-of-faith language form, while the 1981 version transformed the language of the statement into a doxological prayer form. The statement has also been translated into Spanish. ==The 1959 Original Version== We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, and to his deeds we testify: He calls the worlds into being, creates man in his own image and sets before him the ways of life and death. He seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin. He judges men and nations by his righteous will declared through prophets and apostles. In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord, he has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to himself. He bestows upon us his Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. He calls us into his church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be his servants in the service of men, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ's baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and victory. He promises to all who trust him forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace, his presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in his kingdom which has no end. Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto him. Amen. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|