Jonathan Daniels – Holy Cross Episcopal Church

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Luke 12:32-40Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Â Iâ€™m thinking that we should replace the old Nicene Creed that we say each Sunday with something more up to date, something that better reflects what we actually believe. Something like this:

Â We believe that a God exists who created and orders the world and watches over life on earth.
God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself.
God is not involved in my life except when I need God to solve a problem.
Good people go to heaven when they die.

This â€œcreedâ€ is the religious outlook of American teenagers, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion, a study of looking at a wide spectrum of congregations, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish. And of course it is not just the creed of our teenagers; it is what we adults actually believe, for we are the ones teaching our children â€“ or failing to teach them.

The authors of this study sum up our religious outlook as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.