Creed Explained

A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.

Many Christian denominations use three creeds: the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed. Some Christian denominations do not use any of those creeds.

The term creed is sometimes extended to comparable concepts in non-Christian theologies. The Islamic concept of ʿaqīdah (literally "bond, tie") is often rendered as "creed".^[1]

History

The earliest known creed in Christianity, "Jesus is Lord", originated in the writings of Paul the Apostle.^[2] One of the most significant and widely used Christian creeds is the Nicene Creed, first formulated in AD 325 at the First Council of Nicaea^[3] to affirm the deity of Christ and revised at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381 to affirm the trinity as a whole.^[4] The creed was further affirmed in 431 by the Chalcedonian Definition, which clarified the doctrine of Christ. Affirmation of this creed, which describes the Trinity, is often taken as a fundamental test of orthodoxy by many Christian denominations, and was historically purposed against Arianism.^[5] The Apostles' Creed, another early creed which concisely details the trinity, virgin birth, crucifixion, and resurrection, is most popular within western Christianity, and is widely used in Christian church services. In Islamic theology, the term most closely corresponding to "creed" is ʿaqīdah (Arabic: عقيدة).^[1]

Terminology

See also: Credo. The word creed is particularly used for a concise statement which is recited as part of liturgy. The term is anglicized from Latin credo "I believe", the incipit of the Latin texts of the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. A creed is sometimes referred to as a symbol in a specialized meaning of that word (which was first introduced to Late Middle English in this sense), after Latin symbolum "creed" (as in Symbolum Apostolorum = the "Apostles' Creed", a shorter version of the traditional Nicene Creed), after Greek symbolon "token, watchword".^[6]

Some longer statements of faith in the Protestant tradition are instead called "confessions of faith", or simply "confession" (as in e.g. Helvetic Confession). Within Evangelical Protestantism, the terms "doctrinal statement" or "doctrinal basis" tend to be preferred. Doctrinal statements may include positions on lectionary and translations of the Bible, particularly in fundamentalist churches of the King James Only movement.

Christianity

The first confession of faith established within Christianity was the Nicene Creed by the Early Church in 325.^[7] It was established to summarize the foundations of the Christian faith and to protect believers from false doctrines. Various Christian denominations from Protestantism and Evangelical Christianity have published confession of faith as a basis for fellowship among churches of the same denomination.^{[8] [9]}

Many Christian denominations did not try to be too exhaustive in their confessions of faith and thus allow different opinions on some secondary topics.^[10] In addition, some churches are open to revising their confession of faith when necessary. Moreover, Baptist "confessions of faith" have often had a clause such as this from the First London Baptist Confession (Revised edition, 1646):^[11]

Excommunication

Excommunication is a practice of the Bible to exclude members who do not respect the Church's confession of faith and do not want to repent.^[12] It is practiced by most Christian denominations and is intended to protect against the consequences of heretics' teachings and apostasy.^[13]

Christians without creeds

Some Christian denominations do not profess a creed. This stance is often referred to as "non-creedalism".

Anabaptism, with its origins in the 16th century Radical Reformation, spawned a number of sects and denominations that espouse "No creed, but the Bible/New Testament".^[14] This was a common reason for Anabaptist persecution from Catholic and Protestant believers.^[15] Anabaptist groups that exist today include the Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Schwarzenau Brethren (Church of the Brethren), River Brethren, Bruderhof, and the Apostolic Christian Church.

The Religious Society of Friends, the group known as the Quakers, was founded in the 17th century and is similarly non-creedal. They believe that such formal structures, “be they written words, steeple-houses or a clerical hierarchy,” cannot take the place of communal relationships and a shared connection with God.^[16]

Similar reservations about the use of creeds can be found in the Restoration Movement and its descendants, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ, and the Christian churches and churches of Christ. Restorationists profess "no creed but Christ".^[17]

The Seventh-day Adventist Church also shares this sentiment.^[18]

Jehovah's Witnesses contrast "memorizing or repeating creeds" with acting to "do what Jesus said".^[19]

Christian creeds

See main article: List of Christian creeds. Several creeds originated in Christianity.

• 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 includes an early creed about Jesus' death and resurrection which was probably received by Paul. The antiquity of the creed has been located by most biblical scholars to no more than five years after Jesus' death, probably originating from the Jerusalem apostolic community.^[20]
• The Old Roman Creed is an earlier and shorter version of the Apostles' Creed. It was based on the 2nd century Rules of Faith and the interrogatory declaration of faith for those receiving baptism, which by the 4th century was everywhere tripartite in structure, following Matthew 28:19.
• The Apostles' Creed is used in Western Christianity for both liturgical and catechetical purposes.
• The Nicene Creed reflects the concerns of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 which had as their chief purpose to establish what Christians believed.^[21]
• The Chalcedonian Creed was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. It defines that Christ is 'acknowledged in two natures', which 'come together into one person and hypostasis'.
• The Athanasian Creed (Quicunque vult) is a Christian statement of belief focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. It is the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated and differs from the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds in the inclusion of anathemas, or condemnations of those who disagree with the Creed.
• The Tridentine Creed was initially contained in the papal bull Iniunctum Nobis, issued by Pope Pius IV on 13 November 1565. The creed was intended to summarise the teaching of the Council of Trent (1545–1563).
• The Maasai Creed is a creed composed in 1960 by the Maasai people of East Africa in collaboration with missionaries from the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. The creed attempts to express the essentials of the Christian faith within the Maasai culture.
• The Credo of the People of God is a confession of faith that Pope Paul VI published with the motu proprio Solemni hac liturgia of 30 June 1968. Pope Paul VI spoke of it as "a creed which, without being strictly speaking a dogmatic definition, repeats in substance, with some developments called for by the spiritual condition of our time, the creed of Nicea, the creed of the immortal tradition of the holy Church of God."

Christian confessions of faith

Protestant denominations are usually associated with confessions of faith, which are similar to creeds but usually longer.

• The Sixty-seven Articles of the Swiss reformers, drawn up by Zwingli in 1523
• The Schleitheim Confession of the Anabaptist Swiss Brethren in 1527
• The Augsburg Confession of 1530, the work of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, which marked the breach with Rome
• The Tetrapolitan Confession of the German Reformed Church, 1530
• The Smalcald Articles of Martin Luther, 1537
• The Guanabara Confession of Faith, 1558
• The Gallic Confession, 1559
• The Scots Confession, drawn up by John Knox in 1560
• The Belgic Confession^[22] drawn up by Guido de Bres^[23] in 1561
• The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England in 1562
• The Formula of Concord and its Epitome in 1577
• The Irish Articles in 1615^[24]
• The Remonstrant Confession in 1621
• The Baptist Confession of Faith in 1644 (upheld by Particular Baptists)
• The Westminster Confession of Faith in 1647 was the work of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and has commended itself to the Presbyterian Churches of all English-speaking peoples, and also in other languages.
• The Savoy Declaration^[25] of 1658 which was a modification of the Westminster Confession to suit Congregationalist polity
• The Standard Confession in 1660 (upheld by General Baptists)^[26]
• A Catechism and Confession of Faith in 1673 upheld by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)^{[27] [28]}
• The Orthodox Creed in 1678 (upheld by General Baptists)^[26]
• The Baptist Confession in 1689 (upheld by Reformed Baptists)
• The Confession of Faith of the Calvinistic Methodists (Presbyterians) of Wales^[29] of 1823
• The New Hampshire Confession in 1833 (upheld by Landmark Baptists)^[30]
• The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of the Anglican Communion in 1870
• The Richmond Declaration in 1887, upheld by Orthodox Gurneyite Quakers
• The Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths in 1916
• The Confession of Faith of the United Methodist Church, adopted in 1968

Controversies

In the Swiss Reformed Churches, there was a quarrel about the Apostles' Creed in the mid-19th century. As a result, most cantonal reformed churches stopped prescribing any particular creed.

In 2005, Bishop John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark, has written that dogmas and creeds were merely "a stage in our development" and "part of our religious childhood." In his book, Sins of the Scripture, Spong wrote that "Jesus seemed to understand that no one can finally fit the holy God into his or her creeds or doctrines. That is idolatry."^[31]

Similar concepts in other religions

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

See main article: Articles of Faith (Latter Day Saints).

Within the sects of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Articles of Faith are contained in a list which was composed by Joseph Smith as part of an 1842 letter which he sent to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat. It is canonized along with the King James Version of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, as a part of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Islamic aqīdah

See main article: ʿAqīdah and Iman (concept).

In Islamic theology, the term most closely corresponding to "creed" is ʿaqīdah (Arabic: عقيدة). The first such creed was written as "a short answer to the pressing heresies of the time" is known as Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar and ascribed to Abū Ḥanīfa.^{[32] [33]} Two well known creeds were the Fiqh Akbar II^[34] "representative" of the al-Ash'ari, and Fiqh Akbar III, "representative" of the Ash-Shafi'i.^[32]

Iman (Arabic: {{large|الإيمان) in Islamic theology denotes a believer's religious faith.^{[35] [36]} Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, known as arkān al-īmān.

1. Belief in God
2. Belief in the Angels
3. Belief in Divine Books
4. Belief in the Prophets
5. Belief in the Day of Judgement
6. Belief in God's predestination

Jewish Shema Yisreal

See also: Jewish principles of faith.

Rabbi Milton Steinberg wrote that "By its nature Judaism is averse to formal creeds which of necessity limit and restrain thought"^[37] and asserted in his book Basic Judaism (1947) that "Judaism has never arrived at a creed." The 1976 Centenary Platform of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, an organization of Reform rabbis, agrees that "Judaism emphasizes action rather than creed as the primary expression of a religious life."^[38]

Still, the opening lines of the prayer Shema Yisrael can be read as a creedal statement of strict monotheism: "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Hebrew: שמע ישראל אדני אלהינו אדני אחד; transliterated Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad).^{[39] [40] [41]}

A notable statement of Jewish principles of faith was drawn up by Maimonides as his 13 Principles of Faith.^[42]

Religions without creeds

Following a debate that lasted more than twenty years, the National Conference of the American Unitarian Association passed a resolution in 1894 that established the denomination as non-creedal.^[43] The Unitarians later merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). Instead of a creed, the UUA abides by a set of principles, such as “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning”.^[44] It cites diverse sources of inspiration, including Christianity, Judaism, Humanism, and Earth-centered traditions.^[45]

See also

• Covenant
• Credo
• Mission statement
• The American's Creed – a 1917 statement about Americans' belief in democracy
• The Five Ks
• Pesher

Further reading

• Christian Confessions: a Historical Introduction, [by] Ted A. Campbell. First ed. xxi, 336 p. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996.
• Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. Edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Valerie Hotchkiss. Yale University Press 2003.
• Creeds in the Making: a Short Introduction to the History of Christian Doctrine, [by] Alan Richardson. Reissued. London: S.C.M. Press, 1979, cop. 1935. 128 p.
• Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions. Grand Rapids, Mich.: C.R.C. [''i.e''. Christian Reformed Church] Publications, 1987. 148 p.
• The Three Forms of Unity (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, [and the] Canons of Dordrecht), and the Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed, [and the] Creed of Chalcedon). Reprinted [ed.]. Mission Committee of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, 1991. 58 p. Without ISBN

External links

• The Creeds of Christendom – A website linking to many formal Christian declarations of faith.
• Creeds and Canons – A Guide to Early Church Documents from Internet Christian Library
• ICP Website International Creed for Peace

Notes and References

1. Book: Halverson, J. . Theology and Creed in Sunni Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Ash'arism, and Political Sunnism . Springer . 2010 . 978-1-349-28721-5 . New York, NY . 39 . en.
2. Book: Harn . Roger van . Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed . 2004 . A&C Black . 9780819281166 . 58 . en.
3. Book: Hanson, Richard Patrick Crosland . The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy 318-381 AD . Hanson . R. P. . A&C Black . 2005 . 978-0-567-03092-4 . London . en.
4. Book: Cone, Steven D. . A Global Church History: The Great Tradition through Cultures, Continents and Centuries . Rea . Robert F. . Bloomsbury Publishing . 2019 . 978-0-567-67305-3 . lxxx . en.
5. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/nicene.htm Johnson, Phillip R. "The Nicene Creed."
6. Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, 2nd ed., Vol. 1, p. 77.
7. Everett Ferguson, Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, 2013, p. 418
8. J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of Protestantism, Infobase Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 170
9. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 286-289
10. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 289
11. Barrington Raymond White, Pilgrim Pathways: Essays in Baptist History, Mercer University Press, USA, 1999, p. 275
12. Ronald F. Youngblood, Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary: New and Enhanced Edition, Thomas Nelson Inc, USA, 2014, p. 378
13. Chad Brand, Eric Mitchell, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2015, p. 521-522
14. https://www.brethren.org/ac/statements/1979-biblical-inspiration-authority/#:~:text=Historically%2C%20for%20the%20Brethren%2C%20it,creed%20but%20the%20New%20Testament.%E2%80%9D&text=The%20Brethren%20followed%20both%20Anabaptism,in%20the%20context%20of%20continuity Biblical Inspiration and Authority 1979 Church of the Brethren Statement
15. Web site: Of creeds and confessions. Mathew. Swora. 24 April 2019. 11 March 2023.
16. Web site: Creeds and Quakers. quaker.org. 11 March 2023.
17. Web site: Scott. Harp. George A. Klingman. Restoration History. Buford Church of Christ. 2015-09-19.
18. Web site: Creeds .
19. "Creeds—Any Place in True Worship?", Awake!, October 8, 1985, ©Watch Tower, page 23, "The opening words of a creed invariably are, “I believe” or, “We believe.” This expression is translated from the Latin word “credo,” from which comes the word “creed.” ...What do we learn from Jesus’ words? That it is valueless in God’s eyes for one merely to repeat what one claims to believe. ...Thus, rather than memorizing or repeating creeds, we must do what Jesus said"
20. see Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus—God and Man translated Lewis Wilkins and Duane Pribe (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968) p. 90; Oscar Cullmann, The Early church: Studies in Early Christian History and Theology, ed. A. J. B. Higgins (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966) p. 66; R. E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus (New York: Paulist Press, 1973) p. 81; Thomas Sheehan, First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (New York: Random House, 1986) pp. 110, 118; Ulrich Wilckens, Resurrection translated A. M. Stewart (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1977) p. 2; Hans Grass, Ostergeschen und Osterberichte, Second Edition (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1962) p. 96; Grass favors the origin in Damascus.
21. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/nicene.htm Kiefer, James E. "The Nicene Creed."
22. Web site: The Belgic Confession. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201109220655/https://reformed.org/documents/BelgicConfession.html. November 9, 2020. 2013-01-23. Reformed.org.
23. Web site: 2000-04-20. Guido de Bres. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201006130349/http://www.prca.org/books/portraits/debres.htm. October 6, 2020. 2013-01-23. Prca.org.
24. Book: Ford, Alan. 2007. James Ussher: Theology, History, and Politics in Early-Modern Ireland and England. November 19, 2020. Oxford University. OUP Oxford . 9780199274444.
25. Web site: The Savoy Declaration 1658 – Contents. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200526210127/http://www.reformed.org/documents/Savoy_Declaration/. May 26, 2020. 2013-01-23. Reformed.org.
26. Book: Chute . Anthony L. . Finn . Nathan A. . Haykin . Michael A. G. . The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement . 2015 . B&H Publishing Group . 978-1-4336-8316-9 . en.
27. Book: Coffey . John . The Oxford History of Protestant Dissenting Traditions, Volume I: The Post-Reformation Era, 1559-1689 . 29 May 2020 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-252098-2 . 399 . en.
28. Book: A Short Account of the Life and Writings of Robert Barclay . 1827 . Tract Association of the Society of Friends . 22 . en.
29. Web site: Confession of Faith of the Calvinistic Methodists or Presbyterians of Wales . 2013-07-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180706212915/http://www.creeds.net/cmwales/main.htm . 2018-07-06 . dead .
30. Book: Hill . Samuel S. . 1997 . Encyclopedia of Religion in the South . Paperback . Macon, Georgia . . 533 . 0-86554-588-X . 97214301 . 37706204 . 305677M.
31. John Shelby Spong, The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love, Harper Collins, USA, 2005, p. 227
32. Glasse, Cyril (2001). New Encyclopedia of Islam (Revised ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 105.
33. Web site: Abu Hanifah An-Nu^man. Al- Fiqh Al-Akbar. https://web.archive.org/web/20090816084611/http://www.aicp.org/SupportingDocs/Al__Fiqh__Akbar_English.pdf . 2009-08-16 . live. aicp.org. 14 March 2014.
34. Web site: Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar II With Commentary by Al-Ninowy . 2017-09-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140315081425/http://www.scribd.com/doc/34756601/Al-Fiqh-Al-Akbar-II-With-Commentary-by-Al-Ninowy . 2014-03-15 . dead .
35. Farāhī, Majmū‘ah Tafāsīr, 2nd ed. (Faran Foundation, 1998), 347.
36. Frederick M. Denny, An Introduction to Islam, 3rd ed., p. 405
37. Book: Steinberg. Milton. Basic Judaism. World. Harcourt, Brace &. 1947. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 978-0-15-610698-6. 35. en.
38. Web site: The Tenets of Reform Judaism. 2020-11-19. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
39. Web site: Shema - Judaism 101 (JewFAQ) . 2023-11-14 . www.jewfaq.org . en.
40. Web site: The Shema . 2023-11-14 . www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
41. Web site: The Opening of the Shema Prayer Explained . 2023-11-14 . www.brandeis.edu . en.
42. "Maimonides' Principles: The Fundamentals of Jewish Faith", in The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology, Volume I, Mesorah Publications, 1994
43. Book: Meyer, Carol D. . Our Unitarian Universalist Story: A Six-session Program for Adults . Anastos . M. Elizabeth . 1996 . Unitarian Universalist Association . Boston, Mass . 978-1558963429 . 41. February 23, 2023.
44. Web site: Principles. Unitarian Universalist Association . February 23, 2023 .
45. Web site: Sources of Our Living Tradition. Unitarian Universalist Association . February 23, 2023 .