Brigham Young University
by Miranda Wilcox
Paul preached to the Romans that if they confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believed in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they would be saved, for in the heart is believed unto righteousness, moreover with the mouth is confessed unto salvation (10:9-10). Taking cues from Paul, Christians narrated the story that God began in Jesus and into which they were initiated through baptism. They understood that knowing the story of Jesus Christ and affirming the significance of his saving work oriented Christians in proper relation with God. Participating in the unfolding story of Christ necessitated publicly affirming their commitment to this life. This paper argues that Christian confessions of faith are more than lists of propositions or epistemic assessments; professing the story of Jesus Christ’s saving work situates Christians within the life of God and as belonging to God.
To illustrate this claim, I compare the papal discourse Gregory I (590-604) and Boniface V (619-625) sent to England, as preserved by Bede in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. I identify a shift in emphasis from the first to second wave of missionary efforts. Gregory urged abolishing idolatry and replacing the local cultic shrines and practices with Christian churches and worship, but the English returned to local cultic practices after about twenty years. To revive Christianity in England, Boniface urged an Italian missionary, a Frankish Christian queen, and an English pagan that confessing the faith was salvific and strengthening for individuals and the church. King Edwin’s conversion illustrates how confessing the faith constituted partnership with God and created and sustained fellowship with God’s community.