When it comes to the Apostles’ Creed, there are some of us who have been challenged by some of the statements made in the Creed. When we came to those statements and read the words printed on the page, it created such a misunderstanding that we either stumbled through verbally or simply “skipped that part.” One, of course is the “I believe in…the holy catholic church.” Once we learn that it is not a direct reference to the Roman Catholic church, but that the word “catholic” (lowercase “c”) can be translated as the “Universal Church” (all Christians), we grow more accustomed to making the proclamation. However, there is another statement that rings loudly that has caused some discomfort. As a former United Methodist, there was a time in the Denomination’s history that the words were actually omitted. What part are we talking about? The belief that states Jesus Christ “descended to the dead” or in some translations “he descended into Hell.” The shortest way to summariz...
Clever, Missouri (Christian County)