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On this page you will find information on the
three historical Christian creeds or affirmations.
The
Apostles Creed
The
Apostles Creed is widely used by western Churches as an
affirmation of a believers faith during baptism. It dates
back to early Church times, the earliest written version of the
creed is perhaps the Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus around
215AD. It has been called by many names over the years,
becoming known as the Apostles Creed by the eighth century AD.
The Apostles Creed emphases the humanity of Jesus, and probably
came into use as an affirmation of faith to counter the heretics
of the time, such as the Gnostics who denied Christ's
humanity.
The
Nicene Creed
The
Nicene Creed came into use around the fourth century AD, and was
adopted by Church leaders that meet in a town called 'Nice'.
It was adopted to provide believers with a statement or
affirmation of faith to counter a heretical movement that
had arisen and was challenging the Church. The Nicene Creed
was directed against the Arians, who denied that Christ was fully
God, therefore the Nicene Creed emphasizes the Deity of Christ.
The
Athanasian Creed
We
have no fixed date as to when the Athanasian Creed originated
from, it is thought to have originated from the time of Athanasius a
popular theologian from the fourth century AD. Some feel
that it has its origins from the fifth or sixth centuries,
but no matter when it emerged it was adopted and used by the
western Churches. It emphasizes two points that the Church
has grappled with over the years: (1) That Jesus Christ (God's
Son) and the Holy Spirit are one being with the Father; (2)
That Jesus Christ is both true God and true man in one
being. The Creed goes as far as to declare that whoever
rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ,
are without saving grace.
The
Lords Prayer
The
Lords Prayer is recorded in two of the Gospels, Mathew 6:9-13 and
Luke 11:2-5. The version in Luke is a little shorter than
the version recorded in the book of Mathew.
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