The Need for the Creeds

Authors: John Stonestreet and Dr. Timothy D. Padgett

A decade ago, BuzzFeed posted a video of testimonials which began with, “I’m Christian, but I’m not . . .” The videos mostly trumpeted progressive virtues with claims like, “I’m Christian, but I’m not homophobic” or “ignorant” or “close-minded,” etc. Christianity, the video concluded, is “really all about love and acceptance.” 

Of course, Christianity is centered on the love of God in Christ. That love, like all the central tenets of the Christian faith, is revealed to us by God. As such, these foundational truths come to us pre-defined, not open to infinite interpretations and reinterpretations. 

Having wrestled with these truths, the Church has formulated the essentials of Christian belief in the Creeds, an invaluable tool for the faithful for thousands of years. The various creeds of the Christian faith emerged when individuals or groups would claim a new word from God or would innovate some new doctrine or practice. Often, Christians were led astray and needed to be pulled back to the truth. This happened when the new teaching was recognized to be out of alignment with accepted Church practice or belief. The Creeds clarified for the Church what was true. 

Some see creeds as man-made obstacles between believers and the Word of God, or as antiquated ways to interfere with the working of the Spirit. Secular critics of Christianity suggest that each new creed was a triumph of the powerful in order to suppress other, equally valid versions of the Faith. None of these claims are true. 

The best-known creed is the oldest. An old legend is that The Apostles’ Creed came from the Apostles who each, while gathered together after the Ascension, contributed a line. That story is likely not true, but the creed faithfully records the Apostles’ teaching. As historian Justo Gonzalez noted in his book The Story of Christianity, the first version of this statement came together in Rome around the year 150, early enough for the older people in that church to have heard it from the Apostles themselves. 

The Apostles’ Creed distinguished Christianity from paganism and was likely what a new convert would declare at baptism. It contains the basics of Christian doctrine. There is one “I believe” for each member of the Trinity, with a focus on the Father as Creator, the Son as Redeemer, and a mention of the Spirit. It also challenged groups trying to claim Jesus for their own movements. The Marcionites wanted a Jesus without judgment; the Gnostics wanted a God who wasn’t the Creator; the Docetics wanted a Christ without flesh. Each is excluded by the creed. 

A few centuries later, the Nicene Creed distinguished Trinitarian Christians who believed Jesus to be fully divine from those who didn’t. Despite the rehashed claims of the Dan Brown fiction, the Council of Nicaea was not when the Romans imposed a divine Jesus on the Church. Christians believed Jesus was God long before anyone had even heard of Constantine. 

The text of the Nicene Creed further elaborated on the Apostles’ Creed, with the same structure and Trinitarian focus. It opposed the new ideas that emerged, not from pagan sources but from within the Church. An Egyptian teacher named Arius preached that Jesus was not really God, but His divinity was more honorary than actual. This might have been easier for philosophers to grasp, but it was not what Christ and the Apostles taught. The Nicene Creed spelled out the truth about Jesus Christ in response to the rise of error. 

In other words, the Creeds did not create new doctrines, nor do they fully express all Christian truth. Rather, they serve as fences to show where believers can safely disagree, while also clarifying where new ideas stray too far. Clear lines are still needed now, as in all times, because there are individuals and religious groups who claim the name of Christ while adding or subtracting from what He taught and Who He revealed Himself to be. Creeds are also needed when second or even third-tier doctrines are made litmus tests for salvation.   

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis offered a helpful image of Christianity as a “house,” with hallways and rooms. Throughout the history of the church, the Creeds have marked the boundaries of Christian belief, showing who is in one of the rooms of the Christian house and who is in another house entirely. Thus, the Creeds remain helpful today.