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Solemn Pledge

So today I attended the first lecture of my elective this term, CHRTC 350 as my University calls it (that stands for CHRistian Theology: Catholic, by the way). The lecturer and professor put it to the class from the beginning that he was both a man of science and, devoutly, a man of God. He even went so far as to, on the overhead, put up a copy of the and declare that he would "fall on a sword for this". And then, he signed and dated it.

Just like that. His signature, and the date: 11 Jan. 05.

If in some dark future the persecution of Christians reasserts itself and reaches the murderous tempo that it did at the outset of the Church, that would be his death warrant. And that is what had my mind racing for several hours after the class. Oh, the course material was astounding, and I’m still pondering on several issues he raised throughout the 80-odd minute lecture. But what has resonated with me more than that is his line in the sand. which he has drawn, signed, and bound himself to.

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of in Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
By the power of the Holy Spirit He was born of the Virgin Mary
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Now this has got me thinking.

So amazingly profound was this experience that, at the risk of seeming contrived, I would seek now to emulate it. I can think of nothing greater than to publically declare that for God, for Jesus, I would face a thousand swords, or bullets, or stones. And so, on the above copy of the Nicene Creed, I would like to pledge just that:

For the above, for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I would readily perish. For the above and all it means, I would lay aside my life if my God asked it of me. I can think of no greater service I could give the One who created me.

Sadly, I can’t affix my proper signature to a website, at least not at the moment. But I deem myself bound to this pledge all the same, and my name and the date are below to declare it. So there it is folks. I’ll lay it out right on the line for everyone.

Kenneth Paul Kully
January 11, 2005