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What Is And Is Not A Creed:
What Is And Is Not A Creed:
INTRODUCTION:
Many do not understand just what a 'creed' is in the religious sense. They look at a dictionary and read, "a system of belief and/or principles," and wrongly apply it to individuals and groups who believe only in the Bible, and NOT is some man made system of beliefs. But the word as clearly shown by its usage and etymology when used in a religious sense specifically applies to manmade systems of beliefs. In fact, many of these major manmade beliefs are even followed by the word 'creed' as part of their name such as Athanasian Creed, Athanasian Creed, etc. none of which appear in the Bible. Interestingly, the word 'creed' does not even appear at all in most versions/translations of the Bible in any form, but the warning against such manmade dogma does at 2 Corinthians 4:4 and elsewhere, "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]." (American Standard Version; ASV).
LET'S EXAMINE THE FACTS:
FIRST, The Bible, like a car repair manual, of course is an interrelated set of information, but neither are creeds as clearly shown by the dictionary:
"The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
creed
PRONUNCIATION:
krd
NOUN:
1. A formal statement of religious belief; a confession of faith. 2. A system of belief, principles, or opinions: laws banning discrimination on the basis of race or creed; an architectural creed that demanded simple lines."
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English crede, from Old English crda, from Latin crd, I believe. See credo.
A creed is a formal statement of religious belief or a confession of faith and the connotation being with a formal belief, not a book.
To prove my point, there are approximately 22,000 groups claiming to be Christian and to accept the Bible, but everyone of them is different from every other one. This variance clearly rules out stating that the Bible is in any way a system of beliefs, but clearly shows it as the Creator's (YHWH's) manual for our guidance every bit as much as a car repair manual is a guidance for the car mechanic. As I clearly stated previously, I have no creed, but follow the Bible, God's (YHWH's) manual for our guidance and direction, all the way, not halfway as the many creeds do that establish a manmade system of beliefs with a formal statement, i.e., the Trinity, apostolic succession, ever virginity of Mary, etc. nowhere supported in any way by the manual. The Bible, The Bible is entirely consistent - both the New Testament & the Old Testament - and is entirely practical for our day; whereas, creeds are man made entities and systems of beliefs that do NOT win God's (YHWH's) approval per 2 Corinthians 4:4, "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]." (American Standard Version; ASV).
SECOND, The word creed clearly is to be applied to those formalized beliefs of a religious organization that are in excess and/or above those expressed in God's (YHWH's) manual for mankind, the Bible, is clearly shown in the definition given for 'creeds' in the Catholic Encyclopedia,
Latin credo, I believe).
In general, a form of belief. The work, however, as applied to religious belief has received a variety of meanings, two of which are specially important. (1) It signifies the entire body of beliefs held by the adherents of a given religion; and in this sense it is equivalent doctrine or to faith where the latter is used in its objective meaning. Such is its signification in expressions like "the conflict of creeds", "charitable works irrespective of creed", "the ethics of conformity of creed", etc. (2) In a somewhat narrower sense, a creed is a summary of the principal articles of faith professed by church or community of believers. Thus by the "creeds of Christendom" are understood those formulations of the Christian faith which at various times have been drawn up and accepted by one or the other of the Christian churches. The Latins designate the creed in this sense by the name symbolum which means either a sign (symbolon) or a collection (symbole). A creed, then, would be the distinctive mark of those who hold a given belief, or a formula made up of the principal articles of that belief. A "profession of faith" is enjoined by the Church on special occasions, as at the consecration of a bishop; while the phrase "confession of faith" is commonly applied to Protestant formularies, such as the "Augsburg Confession", the "Confession of Basle", etc. It should be noted, however, that the role of Faith is not identical with creed, but, in its formal signification, means the norm or standard by which one ascertains what doctrines are to be believed.
This fact or difference is also emphasized in Irivng Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion, first published by InterVarsity Press, Carol Stream, USA, 1994, second edition, Regent College Press, Vancouver, 1999.
CREED: from the Latin credo: "I believe." Creeds are a distinctive feature of CHRISTIANITY. Athough well developed creeds do not occur in the BIBLE, rather rudimentary creedal forms found there provide models for later statements; e.g. Deuteronomy 26:5-9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; Romans 1:3-4; and 10:9-10. In CHRISTIAN HISTORY three creeds have achieved particular prominence: (1) the APOSTLES' creed was supposedly written by the Apostles; (2) the NICENE creed which embodies in altered form, and without the anathemas, the CHRISTOLOGICAL teaching of the Council of Nicaea adopted in answer to ARIANISM and probably rests on creeds from Jerusalem and Antioch; (3) commonly called the ATHANASIAN creed and is popularly attributed to ATHANASIUS but it is thought to be a fourth or fifth century Canticle of unknown authorship. As a direct statement of Trinitarian belief it became the test of ORTHODOXY and competence of the clergy in the West from the seventh century on. The REFORMERS valued it highly while the ANGLICANS made liturgical use of it. But the Eastern, or GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, refused to recognize it.
This fact is clearly shown in what the Religious Tolerance.Org says about the word 'Catholic.'
Catholic: This came from the Greek word Katholikos which means "throughout the whole" or "universal." This implies a world-wide faith, rather than a local one. The Nicene Creed, recited in the churches of many Christian denominations, speaks of "one holy catholic and apostolic church." Many faith groups refer to themselves as Catholic: the Roman Catholic Church, centered in the Vatican; Anglo-Catholics (within the Anglican Communion); and Evangelical Catholics (among Lutherans).
And this fact that the concept 'creed' belongs to belief systems made by man is emphasized by several entries in Encyclopedia.com as follows:
1.creed creed [Lat. credo=I believe], summary of basic doctrines of faith. The following are historically important Christian creeds. 1 The Nicene Creed, beginning, I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ?...?. It is usually desc...
Related: Christian
2.Nicene Creed Nicene Creed: see creed. ...
Related: Christian
3.Athanasian Creed Athanasian Creedathena´zhen, exact, elaborate Roman Catholic statement on the Trinity and the Incarnation. It is no longer believed to have been written by Athanasius, but rather by an unknown Western author of the 6th cent. An English translation appears in the English Book of Common Prayer. It is sometimes called Qu...
Related: Roman Catholic
4.Nicaea, First Council of Nicaea, First Council of, 325, 1st ecumenical council, convened by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great to solve the problems raised by Arianism. It has been said that 318 persons attended, but a more likely number is 225, including every Eastern bishop of importance, four Western bishops (among them Hosius of Córdoba,...
Related: Roman Catholic Council
CONCLUSION:
As can readily be seen the word 'creed' when related to the subject of religion applies strictly to manmade system of beliefs and/or principles, and these often contain the word 'creed' within their name. They are first and last NOT Bible teachings, nor are they based on them, but are the work product of humans, both groups and individuals.
Now to know the truth, go to:
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Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today!