Creedal Monologism and Theological Articulation in the Mennonite Central Committee

This chapter presents an ethnography of Christian theology. It does so by examining theological articulation in and through the creedal form. Creeds may be taken as an archetypal monologic mode of expression due to their monovocal presentation of standardized, non-debatable claims. Through close attention to how and why creeds are created it is possible to examination the contours and operations of the monological imagination. Drawing on fieldwork and archival research, this chapter explores the creedal articulation, as well as instances of disarticulation, within two North American Anabaptist service organizations, namely the Mennonite Central Committee and Christian Aid Ministries. Their differing strategies of theological articulation illuminate the uses and limits of monological discourse.