What Good Are the Creeds?
Yesterday, I briefly discussed Christianity and the creeds. Today, I continue that discussion with a quick look at the purposes which may be served by the creeds of Christianity.
Creeds may serve at least four important purposes in the corporate life of the church and in the life of the individual Christian. First of all, they help to define and give structure to the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. When even the concept of truth is assaulted on many fronts, it is important to affirm some foundational truths without which one may not rightly claim to be Christian. Creeds may keep both churches and individuals from falling into error on important theological issues such as the relation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to each other, and the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
Second, creeds may serve as a unifying force among Christian churches. They do so by pointing to a common historical Christian heritage. Not only can they unify churches and denominations today, but they also provide a bridge unifying individual believers in the present with the believers of much earlier times.
Third, the creeds may provide a foundation for systematic teaching of Christian doctrine. They help us to organize our thoughts and beliefs and study them in an effective manner. Not only useful for discipleship, they also serve to help the church in its evangelistic efforts. By being familiar with the creeds, one is able to briefly summarize the essentials of the Christian faith for presentation to others.
Fourth, the creeds have apologetic significance. All four of the ecumenical creeds of the church were written to combat specific heresies of their times. The errors of old are recycled through the ages and are present with us even today. In response to a loss of even the concept of heresy, John Webster claims:
What is so grievous about the loss of an operative notion of heresy is that it is symptomatic of the loss of an operative notion of truth.
We can learn much from the creeds and the controversies which birthed them.
Tommorow… Might the creeds be dangerous or harmful?