The Perennial Importance of Creeds for Christian Faith – Part 1
by Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism:
In the rapidly changing world of the early twenty-first century – what has been called “liquid modernity” – maintaining Christian integrity is difficult for many people. The revivalism of nineteenth century Protestantism, which forms the bedrock of American Evangelicalism, historically eschewed creeds, preferring instead to rely simply on the Bible, or even strictly on the New Testament. Defending one’s faith today or that of the Christian community to which one belongs against myriad interpretations of the Bible, skepticisms, or denials can be overwhelming. Many Evangelical churches today maintain a “What We Believe” page on their websites, thus showing the need for a clear summation of faith.
The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals presented its first annual Prince Georges Conference on Reformed Theology at Greenbelt Baptist Church on September 23-24. Speakers discussed the need for creeds, the first and second Nicene Creeds, and the Chalcedonian formula of Christ’s full deity and humanity.
J.V. Fesko, Professor of Systematic and Reformed Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi began by discussing the need for creeds. He said that early nineteenth century reform leader Alexander Campbell “uttered the famous statement ‘no creed but the Bible.’” This became a “mantra” for American Evangelicalism and was pervasive in the revivalism of the nineteenth century. It was “not only a mantra, but a creed, however short that…may be.” It became in fact “a battle cry” for much of American Evangelicalism.
Congregationalists and Presbyterians, who in fact did subscribe to the ancient creeds, constituted 39% of the American population early in the nineteenth century, but “some 75 years later, their numbers fell to some 15% of the American population.” This decline was due to the nature of the new nation, expanding as it was to the west. The lack of a physical environment with old monuments and buildings which speak of the Christian past inclined people to look only to the universally recognized authority among Christians, namely the Bible, and then to the preachers, perhaps itinerate preachers, proclaiming the Bible’s message of salvation. These preachers often were not trained at a seminary, but simply understood the basic gospel shared by Protestant Christians.
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