I did not see this until July 3d, 2006, more than a year after its publication date. But, signed as it is by the key leaders in the emergent conversation, we find here as close as we are likely to get to a creed. The following are responsible for this piece from The Ooze: Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Spencer Burke, Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Andrew Jones, Chris Seay. Any comments? I’ve broken the paragraph into pieces and provided a heading for easier reading:
Affirmation of truth
Sixth, we would like to clarify, contrary to statements and inferences made by some, that yes, we truly believe there is such a thing as truth and truth matters – if we did not believe this, we would have no good reason to write or speak;
Denial of moral and epistemological relativism
no, we are not moral or epistemological relativists any more than anyone or any community is who takes hermeneutical positions – we believe that radical relativism is absurd and dangerous, as is arrogant absolutism;
Affirmation of Trinity and Creeds
yes, we affirm the historic Trinitarian Christian faith and the ancient creeds, and seek to learn from all of church history – and we honor the church’s great teachers and leaders from East and West, North and South;
Affirmation of Jesus Christ
yes, we believe that Jesus is the crucified and risen Savior of the cosmos and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus;
Denial of Dichotomies of reason and experience
no, we do not pit reason against experience but seek to use all our God-given faculties to love and serve God and our neighbors; no, we do not endorse false dichotomies – and we regret any false dichotomies unintentionally made by or about us (even in this paragraph!);
Affirmation of Scripture
and yes, we affirm that we love, have confidence in, seek to obey, and strive accurately to teach the sacred Scriptures, because our greatest desire is to be followers and servants of the Word of God, Jesus Christ.
Regret
We regret that we have either been unclear or misinterpreted in these and other areas.
I suggest that more folks take a gander at this before tossing rocks at EV folks. What some seem unwilling to accept is that EV has no statement of faith, since it a safe place for exploration, but these leaders seem to agree on these very typical doctrinal ideas. Let the conversation continue; learn where you are as you converse.