The Apostle's Creed:

[Esther]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Are there any "biblical" objections to the Apostle's Creed?

The Apostles' Creed
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell;
5. The third day He rose again from the dead;
6. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
7. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Spirit.
9. I believe in the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints;
10. The forgiveness of sins;
11. The resurrection of the body;
12. And the life everlasting. AMEN.

Who says this is the Apostle's creed?

[StillStanding]

The "apostle's creed" is merely the gospel in a nutshell. Remember that way back in the day, a vast majority of people couldn't read, or if they could read, they didn't have access to biblical writings. The creed was a way for the masses to memorize main doctrinal statements.

The creed is doctrinally correct, so I see no problem with it. The word "catholic" is confusing, so the church I attended used "Christian" in its place. Other churches may use the word "universal" or "Apostolic".

Since most people don't bring their bibles to church anymore, but look at the screen for a power point version, a creed is not a bad idea. Change the Apostles's creed to match your particular doctrines. E.g. We believe that woman should not cut their hair or wear pants! Ha!

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Esaias

"He descended into hell' can be problematic if the meaning of 'hell' is not clearly understood.

"The communion of saints" seems to reference the catholic concept of the 'church triumphant', ie dead saints who still maintain communion with us - that might be problematic if understood in that way.

The biggest problem is this creed is not 'the apostles' creed' but was a later invention. Start off with a lie and where do we end up?

I see your point. But the idea of Christ's descent into Hell is debated even among Apostolics. So, I don't see that as a deal breaker. And the communion of saints can mean many different things. The saints on earth? The saints on earth and in heaven? Now, I'm not convinced that we can petition deceased saints for prayer as the Catholics do. However, the Bible does imply that the saints in Heaven are well aware of what is happening on earth and indeed do offer up prayers on our behalf. Dead or alive... we are the "body of Christ".

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by imreedemed

I grew up reciting the apostal's creed in a presybiterian/anglican school and later on recited the Lord's prayer in a catholic school for years. Got so used to them i find it hard taking them seriously.. i'd much rather pray being led by the spirit

Amen... when it comes to prayer, me too!

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by larrylyates

While not always apparent to the average believer, this points to the problem with creedal theology. When we become more familiar with the man made creeds than we are our Bibles, our theology and understanding becomes distorted.

The problems with the above creed should be obvious to any Oneness believer. They stand out like a "sore thumb."

Essentially isn't a creed nothing more than an ancient "articles of faith"???

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Titus2woman

Couple of issues with this statement... While we may all have 'bibles' now when the creeds were written this was just NOT the case.... and even the few living monastic lives who had access to 'bibles' did not have the 'bibles' that are on my bookshelf in 8 versions and on my computer in 29+. Much of religion was oral tradition. The creeds served to help believers remember in what (who) they had placed their faith.

You would have to show me the 'sore thumbs' here. I still love the Apostles creed an one of my biggest disappointments in DKB was the way he villianized those who wrote them as if their sole purpose was to screw up someones theology. Good grief.

After I began to engage serious study, I was disappointed by much of what I was taught too.

[Esther]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I see your point. But the idea of Christ's descent into Hell is debated even among Apostolics. So, I don't see that as a deal breaker. And the communion of saints can mean many different things. The saints on earth? The saints on earth and in heaven? Now, I'm not convinced that we can petition deceased saints for prayer as the Catholics do. However, the Bible does imply that the saints in Heaven are well aware of what is happening on earth and indeed do offer up prayers on our behalf. Dead or alive... we are the "body of Christ".

Why is there a debate? Doesn't anyone believe the Bible anymore?

[Pressing-On]

Originally Posted by imreedemed

I grew up reciting the apostal's creed in a presybiterian/anglican school and later on recited the Lord's prayer in a catholic school for years. Got so used to them i find it hard taking them seriously.. i'd much rather pray being led by the spirit

Originally Posted by Aquila

Amen... when it comes to prayer, me too!

That is one important reason I wouldn't incorporate the Apostle's Creed into my personal devotion. After laying aside the rosary and repetitious prayer, it was very refreshing to know I could talk to God in my own words.

And being led by the Spirit is very awesome. Sometimes you will go into prayer and end up praying for people that you had no idea needed prayer and pray about things you did not have on your mind to begin with. Prayer is healing. Repetitious prayer is not.

[larrylyates]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Essentially isn't a creed nothing more than an ancient "articles of faith"???

I can see your point. It does seem like a good way to implant doctrines in memory.

[rgcraig]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

That is one important reason I wouldn't incorporate the Apostle's Creed into my personal devotion. After laying aside the rosary and repetitious prayer, it was very refreshing to know I could talk to God in my own words.

And being led by the Spirit is very awesome. Sometimes you will go into prayer and end up praying for people that you had no idea needed prayer and pray about things you did not have on your mind to begin with. Prayer is healing. Repetitious prayer is not.

Amen!