Sep 16, 2026 · 1 hr 16 min · 14 segments
This year the Nicene Creed turns 1,700 years old, and Glenn Packiam thinks it might be the most important thing the modern church has forgotten how to use. In this conversation, John and Glenn talk…
Glenn PackiamGuest
John OrtbergHost
Say a little bit about just at that very beginning, God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, things visible and invisible.

So often in our day when we think about the maker, you know, it leads to controversy around evolution and the creation narrative and so on.

No, because, so what the creed does is it lifts phrases from scripture itself.

And it's, I don't know the percentage, but it's pulling almost every line of the creed is pulled from a verse somewhere.

And of course, to call God the maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

sovereign source of everything and you know in the ancient world there would have been a number of different gods the god of the sky god of the land god of the you know so at one level this is a confrontation of the Babylonian myth of creation where you know the myth of Marduk Babylonian story is a couple gods are at war with each other and they rip each other's guts out and boom there's the moon and there's the sun you know I don't know if that makes a good bedtime story you know Tommy how did our planet come to be well Pleasant dreams, sweetheart.

But the creation story says, no, there's only one, and he's the sovereign over all.

And the reason that's good news, there's good news from the beginning of the Bible, and there's good news from the beginning of the creed.

I got to, my eyes are glued to the stock market and I'm watching this and I'm, I'm on dating apps and I'm doing, you know, and listen, of course, relationships are great.

And so we have the God of Sundays and then we have the God of Mondays and then we have the God of our Friday nights, you know, party.

Say a little bit about just at that very beginning, God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, things visible and invisible.

So often in our day when we think about the maker, you know, it leads to controversy around evolution and the creation narrative and so on.

No, because, so what the creed does is it lifts phrases from scripture itself.

And it's, I don't know the percentage, but it's pulling almost every line of the creed is pulled from a verse somewhere.

And of course, to call God the maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

sovereign source of everything and you know in the ancient world there would have been a number of different gods the god of the sky god of the land god of the you know so at one level this is a confrontation of the Babylonian myth of creation where you know the myth of Marduk Babylonian story is a couple gods are at war with each other and they rip each other's guts out and boom there's the moon and there's the sun you know I don't know if that makes a good bedtime story you know Tommy how did our planet come to be well Pleasant dreams, sweetheart.

But the creation story says, no, there's only one, and he's the sovereign over all.

And the reason that's good news, there's good news from the beginning of the Bible, and there's good news from the beginning of the creed.

I got to, my eyes are glued to the stock market and I'm watching this and I'm, I'm on dating apps and I'm doing, you know, and listen, of course, relationships are great.

And so we have the God of Sundays and then we have the God of Mondays and then we have the God of our Friday nights, you know, party.
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