Body: | Church Creeds: The fuel of religious division
In a historical trial in Waterloo, Iowa in 1951, the will of one who had
left large sums of money to Christian charities was contested. In it, three
Protestant clergymen were asked: "What is a Christian?" They responded by
defining a Christian as one who believes in the Apostles Creed, the Holy
Trinity, in God, the Divinity of Christ, and who subscribes to a confession
of faith. Notice this definition denies to those refusing to accept the
Apostles Creed and a denominational confession the name Christian. By it
neither Peter nor Paul would qualify as a follower of Jesus, since such
creeds were unknown in the First Century.
In the decades following the death of John, the last living apostle, the
early Church faced a difficult problem. False doctrines such as Gnosticism
and Monticism plagued the body of Christ. Some even denied the deity of
Jesus. To cope with the situation a simple confession of faith was devised
to distinguish the Orthodox Christian from the heretic. It was sometimes
called the rule of faith. And many years later, after alterations, it was
known as the Apostles Creed, although it was not written by the apostles.
This first human creed subscribed to by Christians was followed through the
centuries by many other confessions of faith. The word creed is derived
from the Latin credo meaning I believe. In a sense, what one believes is
his creed. However, the term has come to designate the authoritative
statement of the teachings of a religious body. It is not merely ones
personal convictions, but represents the official position of the church to
which a member must subscribe if one is to remain in the good graces of
that body.
Most of us can agree with the truths expressed in the Apostles Creed. Some
may wonder how anyone could legitimately object to it as a confession of
the church. The problem is not that the Apostles Creed is erroneous, but
that it is a human expression placed on par with the divine revelation of
the Bible. Human writings are not wrong because they are human, but they
become wrong when they presume to speak for God. If the teachings of the
Apostles Creed are not controversial, such can not be said for the hundreds
of creeds of Christendom which have followed it. Creeds, catechisms, and
confessions to faith are usually written to insure that future generations
adhere to the religious beliefs laid down. Unfortunately, creeds often
contradict one another. When they do, some of them at least perpetrate
religious error. They also become a major source of disunity. If two people
accept contradictory confessions, there is no way that they can get
together unless one or both abandon their creed. For example, if one, creed
teaches that a man is saved by works and another affirms that he is saved
by faith, the problem can only be resolved by forgetting about both creeds
and going directly to the source of revelation, the Bible. Even more
unfortunately, the religious disunity which creeds help to perpetuate often
causes seekers of truth to abandon their quest in utter despair.
God has revealed his will for us in his Holy Book, the Bible. This is not
man's interpretation of God's will, as is true of creeds, but it is God's
will itself. In seeking to determine what is pleasing to our Maker,
therefore, let us abandon human confessions of faith and remember the
admonition of the apostle Peter, "If any man speak let him speak as the
oracles of God". I Peter 4:11.
Click Your Choice
Go To Start: WWW.BIBLE.CA
|