| The Apostles' Creed, Introduction: The Idea of Creeds |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, October 10 2011 00:00 |
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In worship this morning the congregation confessed the Apostles’ Creed together. I find it meaningful, not only for its content, but in its connection to Christians through the centuries all the way back to the earliest days of the church. However, some people question the validity or even the scriptural authority for creeds. Before turning to an examination of the oldest known Christian creed, we need to consider what we mean by a creed and whether or not it is warranted in worship. First, the word creed comes from the Latin word credo which means “I believe.” Christians all believe something. We believe many things, but especially we believe in Christ, for that belief sets us apart as Christians and separates us from all other religions. Of course, it is right to confess the name of Christ; we are commanded many times in Scripture to do so. No one disputes that. But should we say it together? Should we affirm our faith as a congregation, or should it remain unspoken and unwritten? The British have an unwritten constitution, and the Americans have written theirs down; but both have constitutions. Even churches that do not have a written creed have an unwritten one, for they all have certain distinctive beliefs. Every time a church sings, they sing a creed, for they sing what they believe…unless they are paying no attention to the words and singing heresy or simply don’t believe. But did the early church have creeds? Of course, they did, and they stated them out loud. The Apostles’ Creed, that we are about to investigate is a good example, as it dates from the first or second century, though probably not actually written by the apostles. There is evidence that the earliest church knew of creeds, for Paul evidently quotes part or all of them in various places in his letters, such as Phil. 2:6-11 and 1 Tim. 3:16. Many church historians have research that indicates that when the early church gathered for worship, the leader would ask: “Christian, what do you believe?” And the church would respond together with an affirmation of their faith. There is surely great benefit and good reason for a congregation to affirm again and again what they believe, connecting them to two thousand years of Christian worship and impressing the reality of the great truths of our faith upon our hearts. How can we defend the idea that we should not affirm our faith? If we believe something strongly, then certainly we should be willing to confess it meaningfully, forthrightly, and frequently. |
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