The Bible and HBs 112 and 113

A on Galatians 3:26–28, the heart of which is, “There is no Jew or Greek; there is no slave or free; there is no male and female.”

This declaration of faith is one of the earliest, perhaps the earliest, creed in Christian history.

This forgotten creed stands on the side of solidarity, of oneness, of universal kinship. To recall it now is to recall a future once dreamt, defined by this simple claim: ‘You are all children of God.’”

Long before the followers of Jesus declared him to be the Son of God, Jesus taught his followers that they too were the children of God. This ancient creed is recorded within the folds of a letter of Paul the Apostle (Galatians 3: 26-28).

Paul did not create this creed, but he preserved it for a time when it might become important once again. This ancient creed said nothing about God or Christ or salvation. Its claims were about the whole human race: there is no race, there is no class, there is no gender.

This creed was originally a baptismal creed. Baptism was about solidarity in the knowledge that everyone is a child of God. No category of difference we might dream up to signify the difference between us and them could withstand the restorative powers of baptism so conceived.

It is worth remembering this ancient creed as one of those rare cultural and religious resources that might be turned against the instinct to draw back from difference, to ‘other,’ to denigrate and to dominate those whom we fear.