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The Creeds, an examination of Early Christian Beliefs

Well, on a slightly more ecumenical note. Let us examine the creeds of the early church(which most of our churches agree on), specifically the Apostles Creed, The Nicene creed, and partially the Athanasian Creed.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

I find the Apostles Creed to be a wonderful statement of the very basis of Christianity. If you cannot affirm this creed as part of your beliefs, then I would be concerned about your salvation. This creed is commonly professed by most every Christian denomination, although there are those out there who do not (some because they do not believe in using creeds, others because they are blatantly against it). This is just an observation of mine, and I do not say it in a mean spirit, but why does this early creed talk about the Church, and not about Scripture? That is just a thought.



The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.


The Nicene Creed is probably one of the most important statements of faith ever issued by Christians. In the face of heresy, the bishops of the Church came together out the Council of Nicea, and issued the creed. This creed is also foundational to real authentic Christianity, I think very few people would disagree with me on that. I love this creed. Though there are many different ways that people get out of the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" I like to take it very literally myself. I do notice also, that this creed mentions Scripture(unlike the Apostles Creed), but once again, there is also a special place for the Church in the Creed.

The Athanasian Creed

The Athanasian Creed is a very long, yet well written creed. It is a beautiful statement of the truths of the early Church, and I would advise all to give it a read if you have the time.