That's the problem. They fail to see that most of what is claimed in the Nicene Creed is not true, and they therefore push an erroneous, man-made, patriarchal doctrine of preeminence and superiority which was designed to recruit and convert faithful followers to what is sold as "the only religion founded by God Himself." And it was especially designed to ensure ongoing obedience to theocratic "Christian" patriarchal authority, by promising eternal reward for obedience and threatening eternal punishment for disobedience.
That's what the Nicene Creed was really designed to establish, albeit indirectly, and, admittedly, it is based on certain words in the Christian New Testament of the Bible that would seem to justify it. Unfortunately, those particular words are misguided and erroneous, because they simply ignore many facts and truths in the Judaic "Old Testament," and they also ignore and even deny crucial truths about the Christ Jesus and his actual core teachings.
Throughout the last sixteen centuries many "Christian" emperors, kings and other heads of state did not understand or denied or ignored the truth, as does the "Christian Right" today. Instead, they use the man-made doctrine of preeminence and superiority to justify their political aggressiveness, imposition, and militancy. They operate on the very self-serving belief that unless you agree with and join them, you are in league with the "devil" and will "go to hell for eternity." They insist that unless you are "saved" by joining them in their beliefs, you are doomed. How convenient for them.
The truth is that they follow a terrible precedent that has suited the military imperialist purposes of "Christian" popes, emperors, kings, prime ministers and presidents. It was initially used to justify the theocratic tyranny and oppression that plunged Europe into the Dark Ages for centuries.
In the many centuries since then, European and then American "Christians" have imposed on and confronted people all over the world, claiming to be "spreading God's word" and "saving people from hell and damnation." And they used the false man-made doctrine to justify all the imperialism, colonialism and even genocide, along with many other impositions, incursions and offenses that were perpetrated in the name of "spreading Christianity" and converting the "godless heathen."
I have to tell you that it was, and still is, the blatant, presumptuous arrogance of men, and their deceptive propaganda which was designed to justify military imperialism.
Of course, throughout history to the present day, men have perpetrated countless atrocities in the name of God, whatever their name for God might be. But, the fact is that many Christians during the last sixteen centuries weren't much better. Many offenses and crimes were committed against many native indigenous peoples all over the world, especially in Africa, Asia, South-East Asia, the Mid-East, and North America, Central America, and South America.
A true and accurate historical account will show very clearly that the European and American "Christians" responsible for all those offenses certainly did not do unto others as they would have had others do unto them. They ignored the Golden Rule. And the fact is that the full impact and legacy of "Christian" European and American imperialism and colonialism is still causing problems in the world. But, in spite of that, it has even been revived by people like Pat Robertson and George W. Bush, who are perhaps the best known or most prominent leaders of the misguided American Christian Right..
The problem is that they pick and choose which verses from the Bible to focus on, and those they focus on are inaccurate or erroneous. That's why their favorite Bible verses tend to have to do with preeminence, superiority, domination, threats of hell and damnation, militancy, force, aggression, control, etc. They think they are the true "Christian Fundamentalists" and "Evangelists." But the truth is that they are really fundamentally wrong, and for the most part they ignore the true fundamentals of Christianity.
A true "evangelist" should merely be a teacher who helps those who ask for information and want to learn, and a true servant of God does not resort to imposition or coercion, nor do they wear their religion on their sleeve. True servants of God are meek, which is to say they are humble, loving, gentle, tolerant, peaceful, and faithful. They serve as examples of how to behave, rather than arrogantly try to impose their beliefs on others.
All fair, caring, understanding, considerate people realize that in social situations and at the work place it is not polite to assume that everyone else holds your political and religious beliefs, or to assume that they should. But the arrogant leaders of the "Christian" Right DO assume and believe that. In fact, in their preaching, they insist that their efforts to impose their political and religious beliefs are "God's Will" and justified by "God's Word." They thump their bible, wave their flag and rattle their sword. They believe that they should rule by "Divine Right" as the "True Christians," and that living by the sword (gun and bomb) is necessary to deal with "godless unbelievers" and establish their brand of Christianity as the dominant, controlling force in the world. That's really why George W. Bush does what he does, not realizing that he is no better than misguided Muslim extremists who try to do the same thing.
For example, the arrogantly proud and militant leaders of the Christian Right love to cite Matthew 10:34 where it states that Jesus said he came "not to bring peace, but a sword."
That is very telling, because it conveniently ignores that the earlier book of Luke (12:51) records Jesus as saying he came "not to bring peace, but division." That's very different, and more literally accurate, because Jesus ushered in the passing age which is symbolized by the two fish that seem to be swimming in opposite directions, and Jesus knew it would tend to be an age of division. That's why he foretold that a big change would come at "the end of the age" (aeon).
The Christian Right misunderstands the symbolic comment about the "sword" because they ignore clarifying statements in the Christian gospels, such as "take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God," and "the weapons of the Lord are not carnal (or lethal) but are mighty through God for pulling down strongholds," and "I will fight them with the sword of my mouth," and "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Furthermore, the Hebrew Psalm 45 states that God's "tongue is the pen of a ready writer." That is confirmed also in Psalm 103:20, Daniel 10:6, Daniel 10:9, and other scriptures that refer to the true, divinely inspired written word being the "voice of God's word."
That is also confirmed in Daniel 2:35 where the great prophet foretells that the "stone" of truth shall "shatter the image of the King of Babylon and become as a great mountain that shall fill the earth." That's because the stone is an esoteric symbol for divine truth expressed in the divinely inspired written word. (And, by the way, the symbolic term "King of Babylon" is explained more fully in Chapter 6 of Memoirs of a Prodigal Son of Man and previous books, because even though it it does not describe a specific man, it is epitomized by leaders such as Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who have served as the champions of the Christian Right and the wealthiest few.)
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