Everybody Knows There Is One God I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I
recall sitting on a couch one weekend night, twenty years ago, watching a football match with a group of friends. During a commercial break, an advertisement – probably for some beer or other – referred to the pagan gods, and this was enough to trigger the ire of one of the group. “Why should we believe in the Christian God,” he blurted, “rather than Zeus or Loki or Apollo?” He expected no answer. He assumed there was no answer. And no one offered one. All these years on, I continue to see that episode as emblematic of how much long historical experience and hard philosophical thought the inhabitants of our age have simply forgotten. For, yes, to be sure, the Christian and the Jew would be offended by this supposed equivalence of God with the gods, but so also would have been the ancient pagans in 13
Praying the Nicene Creed.indd 13
08/03/2022 14:42
