Why a creed?

Why Creeds?

That is an interesting question as the issue comes up in conversation as much as infant baptism.

In a book by Gordon Clark titled, What Do Presbyterians Believe, the first call to order is that of creeds. In many churches we subscribe to the Apostles Creed.  But beyond that we might on occasion read in unison another such as the Nicene Creed.  And it is somewhat surprising how many creeds there are in the Christian faith.

The concern some theologians have regarding creeds is that are they biblical and do they address what the “church” believes as truth.  The author of the book states at one point that the creeds for many leaders are obstacles.  So some churches have creeds or follow the creeds that have been written and other churches shun such as being “unnecessary”.

But I believe that creeds help us focus on where we need to be in worship.  I think the reading of the creed in the service brings us into focus after that heart pumping chorus that went on for 15 minutes that blew out my earplugs.  Time to calm down and reflect on the Trinity, DBR*, and the central focus of our gathering.

As I am reading this and reviewing some creeds I have forgotten and were addressed on Reformation Sunday a post on Facebook from Grace Online Library was about “creeds”. The author of the blog lists out “the 7 point list” that addresses the essentials of what we believe the bible teaches us. And worth copying into the leaf of your study bible.

What I find interesting is that both the author of the book and the author of the blog use the creeds as a transition to the confessions, more specifically the Westminster Confession of Faith.  The author of the blog raises an interesting point about confessions leading us to standards.  One of the things I have learned transitioning from a Wesley-Armenian theology to a reformed Calvinistic approach is that the standards or the confessions are strictly biblical, supported by scripture and interpreted by scripture.  I could get into some issues I have had with “manuals’ that were created by man and interpreted by man, as the more don’ts than do’s, but that is another post at another time.

*DBR = Death, Burial, & Resurrection

Blog site: http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/creeds-confessions/why-do-we-need-creeds-by-andrew-j-webb/

The Confessions:

Westminster Confession of Faith – http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/

The Baptist Confession of Faith  of 1689 (with notes of Spurgeon) - http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bcof.htm

The Belgic Confession of Faith - https://www.urcna.org/1651/file_retrieve/23907

Scottish Confession of Faith - http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/ScotConf.htm

The PCA beliefs not to be confused with the PCUSA - http://www.pcanet.org/beliefs/

Creeds:

Apostles Creed - http://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed

Nicene Creed - http://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/nicene-creed

Athanasian Creed - http://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/athanasian-creed

The CRC has some good resources