The Creed in Slow Motion

By Ronald Knox

The Christian life demands both action and speech. Christians must, in the words of St. James, “live by the word, not content merely to listen to it.” And St. Peter exhorts: “If anyone asks you to give an account of the hope which you cherish, be ready at all times to answer for it.” The “Slow Motion” collections of Monsignor Ronald Knox take up these admonitions and provide indispensable assistance for the proper fulfillment of these Christian duties. Whereas The Mass in Slow Motion endows its readers with a clear vision of the liturgy and their necessary role therein, this volume, The Creed in Slow Motion, equips its readers to confidently articulate their faith.

And God made Man did not lose the characteristics of Godhead; he went to work very slowly, for all the world to see that he was God. (Ronald Knox)

In the opening sermon, Knox links the Credo to the Confiteor to emphasize the fundamentally personal nature of faith. “It is always Confiteor we say, not Con­fitemur, even when we are saying it together. Why? Because my sins are my sins, and your sins are your sins; each of us is individually responsible. So it is with the Credo; each of us, in lonely isolation, makes himself or herself responsible for that tremendous statement, I believe in God.” As a consequence, the one worthy of the grace to say Credo is also responsible for being ready to say it with proper understanding. Preached with the full homage of Knox’s wit and intelligence, The Creed in Slow Motion is a certain aid for achieving that readiness.

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Ronald Knox (1888–1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, and author, and one of the most prominent twentieth-century converts from Anglicanism to Catholicism. Best known for his contemporary English translation of the Scriptures (the “Knox Bible”), he wrote numerous works of apologetics and collections of ser­mons, retreat conferences, and lectures, as well as six detective novels.

Paperback: 238pp.

ISBN: 978-1685951351