How does the Nicene Creed unite believers from East and West?
This episode of The Missions Podcast—in collaborative edition with Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church’s Captivate and Conform podcast—features Dr. Donald Fairbairn, a theologian and former missionary to Soviet Georgia. The conversation explores the intersection of missions, theology, and church history, particularly how the Nicene Creed and patristic theology offer transcultural insight for modern missiology. Dr. Fairbairn shares his journey from seminary to the mission field and how his time in Eastern Europe reshaped his academic focus on Eastern Orthodoxy and early church thought.
He emphasizes that the early church’s theology was already multilingual and multicultural, forged by African and Asian theologians rather than Europeans—a reminder that Christianity’s foundations are inherently global. Fairbairn advocates for retrieving the transcultural truths of the Nicene Creed and a deeper understanding of the relational nature of salvation.
Key Topics:
- The transcultural and multilingual origins of the Nicene Creed
- Differences between Eastern Orthodox and Western (Protestant) theology
- The concept of divine acceptance vs. human striving for God
- How patristic theology informs modern missiology
- The importance of understanding the Trinity in global missions
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